Tag: UNESCO

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France United Nations

September 1, 1968 – UNESCO Biosphere Conference begins in Paris

Fifty six years ago, on this day, September 1st, 1968, people talked eco, at a pivotal meeting.

The Bisophere Conference was held under the auspices of UNESCO in Paris from 1 September to 13 September 1968.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 323ppm. As of 2024 it is 420ishppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that people had been banging on about the biosphere for a while. You can take it back to Vladimir Vernadsky (see also Dinshaw 2013). And this had especially picked up pace with things like the International Biological Programme in the mid-60s and the US interest in it.

What we learn is that seemingly new ideas, new-ish ideas can have a very long history and that certain individuals like G. Evelyn Hutchinson (among many others) had to work crucial in translating these and saving these and popularising them. 

What happened next? UNESCO’s Biosphere conference was a bit of a kickstart for concerns about what was happening and what was being done to “the natural world.” Concerns were well underway before, but this kind of crystallised them. And from it, the report in May of ‘69, about issues including carbon dioxide buildup that U Thant, then Secretary General of the United Nations, made was significant. 

And twenty-five years later…

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Also on this day: 

September 1, 1972 – “Man-Made Carbon Dioxide and the “Greenhouse Effect” published in Nature

September 1, 1983- #climate change is all in the game, you feel me?

September 1, 1998 – Sydney Futures Exchange foresees a bright future. Ooops.

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Australia

May 16, 1973 Energy and how we live. UNESCO seminar at Flinders

Fifty-one years ago, on this day, May 16th, 1973, there was a UNESCO-sponsored conference on Energy and how we live at Flinders University of South Australia, 

16-18 May 1973 / Australian Unesco Seminar ; Australian-Unesco Committee for Man and the Biosphere. –

You can see a clip with John Bokris here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-12/professor-john-bockris-on-his-warning-of-impending/13837976

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 329.6ppm. As of 2024 it is 425ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that UNESCO had been holding conferences about the environment and man’s impact pollution, blah, blah, blah for a while, the most notable of these was in Paris in ‘68. And that had been attended by some Australians. 

There was the Man in the Biosphere programme. Meanwhile, Adelaide had been alerted to climate issues, in newspapers and so forth. And watching the television, for example, the Monday programme and there had been the “Is Technology a blueprint for destruction?” seminar at Adelaide University in September of 1972. 

What we learn is that people who cared about that sort of stuff, were well aware of the dangers ahead, but basically were unable to convince everyone else that the danger was real and that something meaningful could and must be done. 

 What happened next. In November 1973 South Australian politician, Don Jessop gave a speech in Parliament about the buildup of CO2, possibly influenced by this event. And the emissions kept climbing 

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Also on this day: 

May 16, 2005 – Anthony Albanese says critical action on #climate being delayed by 20 years… #auspol

May 16, 2006 – UK Prime Minister Tony Blair goes nuclear…

May 16, 2005 – Anthony Albanese, eco-warrior…

May 16 – Interview with Rosie, about zero population growth, zero climate progress, etc…

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United Nations

October 14, 1977 – a UNESCO education conference mentions climate change…

Forty six years ago, on this day, October 14, 1977, the head of the United Nations Environment Program mentions climate at an UNESCO conference on environmental education.

Tolba at Tblisi UNESCO conference on environmental education 14 Oct 1977 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000032763

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 333.7ppm. As of 2023 it is 423ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that the United Nations Environment Program, although small and weak compared to other UN bodies, still had some weight. One of its sticks was environmental education. Mostafa Tolba here was well aware of the climate problem and was helping Bert Bolin stitch together the kind of international cooperation and collaboration that you need for an international problem.

What I think we can learn from this is that in the 1970s people were banging on about climate change in the context of Environmental education. 

[insert screen grab of 1983 thesis abstract that you sent Jenna Ashton]

What happened next

Here we are 40 years later and environmental education is still not on the agenda. I think part of this is if you did teach children about the fragility of the planet and and how to do systems thinking then it would be harder to keep them in line as obedient production and consumption units 

see also Noam Chomsky quote on the Kyoto Protocol and what they teach you at university highly educated people is to conform and consume. 

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

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Ireland

April 23, 1954 – Irish Times runs carbon dioxide/climate story. Yes, 1954.

Sixty nine years ago, on this day, April 23, 1954, the Irish Times ran a brief article about climate change and carbon dioxide. Yes, 1954. 

It came from a journalist/scientist, Gerald Wendt, who had been writing for the UNESCO Courier.

23 April 1954 Irish Times article

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 313ppm. As of 2023 it is 420ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was

In May 1953 Gilbert Plass had said to the American Geophysical Union meeting, in essence – “you know, that Brit, Guy Callendar who said, before the war, that carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere was leading to warming?? “ell, he’s right.”

What I think we can learn from this

The idea that carbon dioxide build up could be a problem was in the air (sorry, not sorry) for a long time.

What happened next

Wendt’s writing got syndicated/serialised elsewhere, including in the colonies.

By 1956 Plass had published on the subject. Others were doing likewise.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong?  Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

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Ignored Warnings

July 9, 1965 – “Spaceship Earth” is launched, trying to get us to see our fragility (didn’t work)

On this day 9 July 1965, two time Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson gave what was to be the last speech of his life, to UNESCO. In it he used the imagery of “Spaceship Earth”, which he had cadged from Barabara Ward.

“We travel together, passengers on a little space ship, dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and, I will say, the love we give our fragile craft. We cannot maintain it half fortunate, half miserable, half confident, half despairing, half slave—to the ancient enemies of man—half free in a liberation of resources undreamed of until this day. No craft, no crew can travel safely with such vast contradictions. On their resolution depends the survival of us all.”

https://www.bartleby.com/73/477.html

Why this matters. 

The language of fragility, of danger? Yeah, we have been saying and hearing that for a long time. And for a lot of that time it has been about the comfort and convenience of a sliver of the population, amid worries that those on the pointy end of “development” might somehow rise up…

What happened next?

The economist Kenneth Boulding popularised the phrase “Spaceship Earth”. It became popular. The Earthrise photo happened.

Then Earth Day. And the world? It was not saved, as per Jeremiah 8:20.