 Weather
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A Warm and Wet Winter Ahead
For all you East Coasters out there who are still traumatized by last year’s “bomb cyclone” you can take solace because the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting warmer temperatures for much of the country. The Old Farmer’s Almanac which has been published since 1792 and has made advanced forecasts for the seasons sums up the 2018-2019 winter weather as “warm and wet.”
“This winter, we expect to see above-normal temperatures almost everywhere in the United States, except in the Southwest, where we’re predicting a colder-than-normal season,” wrote the team behind the almanac. “Our milder-than-normal forecast is due to a decrease in solar activity and the expected arrival of a weak El Niño, which will prevent cold air masses from lingering in the North.” As Mother Nature Network described, unlike the Farmers’ Almanac, which famously predicts seasonal weather based on sunspot activity, tidal action, planetary position and other “top secret mathematical and astronomical formulas,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac leans a bit more on the side of science for its forecasts. While the exact formula is still secret, much of it is based on solar activity, prevailing weather patterns and meteorology.
Why This Matters: While the Old Farmer’s Almanac claims an accuracy rate of 80%, meteorologists and science journalists are quick to encourage people to take these long-range predictions with a huge grain of salt. But even a recent report by the National Weather Service estimated good odds for above-average temperatures in the Southwest and Northeast for the 2018-2019 winter.
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 People
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Photo: Cathy Novelli iPhone selfie!
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Our Exclusive Interview of the Week, Cathy Novelli
Cathy served as Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the State Department from 2014 to 2017, and was Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs at Apple, Inc. from 2005 to 2013. She is currently the President of Listening for America and a Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University.
ODP: You spent nearly 10 years working for Apple during the introduction of the iPhone. Did you foresee then all the ways that this technology would advance conservation — from smartphone apps to increase energy efficiency in your home to tracing things like where the fish you buy in the market comes from?
CN: Technology presents unlimited opportunities to advance conservation and to allow individuals to actively participate in ways that were not possible before the revolution in cell phones and apps. For example, there is an app that now allows individuals who believe they have seen illegally trafficked wildlife, such as rhinoceros horns or elephant tusks, to report what they have seen anonymously, including the location. That information goes directly to the relevant authorities so that they can take action. On a more local front, apps allow us to crowdsource bird sightings, which in turn provides important information about everything from the health of the flocks to the changes in the environment that are affecting bird migration.
ODP: During your time at the State Department, you worked with Secretary Kerry on two pivotal global initiatives — the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Our Oceans conferences. Are you optimistic about the future of climate change and ocean governance, given where we are today?
CN: I am optimistic that the market dynamics around renewable energy and less-polluting fossil fuels will continue to mean that market forces will mitigate in favor of energy resources and technologies that use less fossil fuels. It will be important to allow markets to work. There are currently proposals that would actually distort the market in favor of more polluting fuels. With regard to the Ocean, the efforts of many countries to create the Blue Economy are also encouraging. These countries have recognized that it is possible to have economic growth and environmental protection at the same time— without a detriment to either.
ODP: While at the State Department, you also worked to combat wildlife trafficking. What is the most important thing the global community can do now to counter this continuing problem?
CN: It is critically important that the global community continues to advance on all fronts— demand, supply, and transit of illegal wildlife trafficking. Efforts such as the US, China, Kenya and many other countries have taken to end the commercial sale of elephant ivory are key. The EU is now considering a similar measure. If the EU and Japan were both to act, it would deal a significant blow to those who seek to profit from animal trafficking.
ODP: You also spent many years as a senior official at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. How do you think the government’s new approach on trade policy will most impact conservation and the environment?
CN: Cooperation among nations is vital to conservation and a healthy environment. Animals and climate do not recognize national boundaries. Trade Agreements have provided bridges for cooperation on the environment. Building on those Agreements and devising provisions that recognize the intersection of environmental agreements with Trade Agreements is essential to continued progress both on trade and with respect to the environment.
ODP: You have spent the last year on a “listening tour” as part of your new organization Listening for America. What can we in the environmental movement learn from what you have heard in your many stops across the country talking with Americans whose voices are often not heard in D.C.?
CN: I have conducted over 70 listening sessions with people from all walks of life around the country on the effects that international trade and globalization have had on their lives. One of the most striking things about these informal conversations is the concern that people of all political affiliations have about ensuring that globalization does not result in a downward spiral on the protection of the environment.
Thanks, Cathy, for your transformative work and leadership on global conservation. We will be watching and listening for what comes next from Listening for America!
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 Oceans
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Christen Spiten, Co-Founder & Chief Global Strategist Blueye Robotics, Photo: Blueye Robotics
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Young Women Making Waves in Ocean Tech
There is a rising crop of young entrepreneurs in ocean technology development, and some of the best and brightest, as it turns out, are women. This week, Business Insider interviewed Christine Spiten, a 28-year-old from Norway who co-founded in 2015 a firm called Blueye Robotics that has developed and begun to sell an inexpensive ($6000.00 list price) underwater drone. Best of all, the drone can be operated from a smartphone or tablet and can explore down to a depth of nearly 500 feet below the ocean’s surface. Blueye has sold hundreds of drones already in advance of production, which is set to begin this October. The possible applications and users are varied — from cruise ships who use them to help their passengers see below the surface and experience the marine environment without getting into a sub, to scientists monitoring coral health on the Great Barrier Reef. Christen was named earlier this year as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30-under-30 for Europe and sees the company’s drone (known as Pioneer) “as a platform for exploration, learning and gaining an increased understanding of the ocean.”
Similarly, Daniela Fernandez, the founder of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), is working to educate young people about ocean conservation and through the Ocean Solutions Accelerator provide early-stage companies with initial funding and opportunities to engage with mentors, partners, and investors that are committed to transforming innovative ocean solutions into scalable businesses. Daniela started SOA while a student at Georgetown University and working as an intern at The Case Foundation – it was a way to connect her passions for business and the ocean. Today, with seed funding from the Pineapple Fund, the Ocean Solutions Accelerator has funded its first round of companies whose technologies cover everything from ocean energy, to plastic pollution to sustainable fishing.
Why This Matters: Even as we are sometimes overwhelmed with bad news about the state of the global environment, these young women give us hope that millennials, armed with technology and determination, will overcome the challenges they face to ensure a brighter future for the planet. The blue economy is real and we are on the cusp of it. In full disclosure, I (Monica) have known Daniela since she was a student of mine at Georgetown, and could not be more pleased to have been one of her advisors as she launched SOA. But she has moved from student activist to entrepreneur by the force of her own smarts, enthusiasm, and energy. I am looking forward to seeing what Christen and Daniela and many others like them will accomplish.
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Daniela Fernandez launches the Ocean Solutions Accelerator in October 2017.
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 Food
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Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm Photo: Asastasia Cole Plakis
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Rooftop Farms in the City Build Community
There is more than one way to get outdoors and commune with nature, even if you live in the city. In order to “eat local,” creative farmers are looking up — to the roof as a perfect place for growing produce, which encourages healthier eating and also improves the environment. For example, take Brooklyn Grange, the largest rooftop farming operation in New York City, which has been farming on rooftops since 2010. One way these urban farms benefit the local environment is through water recycling and flood mitigation — rooftop farms act as a sponge that sops up stormwater, which reduces flooding and overflows in the sewage system. In addition, rooftop farms provide energy saving because the produce growing on the roof actually cools down the building.
In Washington, D.C. a small non-profit called Rooftop Roots has set its sights even higher — in addition to improving the environment, they aim to promote social and economic justice as well. The rooftop gardens are social because they provide needed green space in the inner city, and economic because once they are able to scale up they hope to pay building residents to tend to the farms. So far, Rooftop Roots has installed 60 gardens in the DC area many on low and moderate income apartment buildings. The Washington Post interviewed Elmer Brown, an 88-year old retiree who lives in federally subsidized housing in Washington and has been planing vegetables for three years in a rooftop garden that Rooftop Roots installed. What he loves the most, according to the Post, is that the garden has allowed him to get to know neighbors, who began befriending one another as they tended adjacent garden plots on the roof of the building.
Why This Matters: These rooftop gardens fuel two passions shared by many — enjoying the outdoors and food! And the community gets the benefit of farm to table produce that is about as local as it gets. More than that, as these two companies demonstrate, weekly open houses at its Queens location in Long Island City where people can participate in tours and activities that, Flanner says, “demonstrate to the public how food is grown, how food systems work, and create conversations.”
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This song performed by the Drifters says it all.
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This story was brought to you by the National Wildlife Federation. To learn more about how the National Wildlife Federation can help you connect your family with the outdoors, click here.
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 Sustainability
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Green Apple
Apple announced this week that it will be adding a buzzy new drama series to its growing roster of streaming content based on Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times Sunday Magazine story entitled “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change.” As the New York Times described, the “Losing Earth” article recounted how, from 1979 to 1989, a small group of American scientists, activists, and politicians tried to save the world from the ravages of climate change before it was too late. The article was produced with the support of the Pulitzer Center and was based on more than 18 months of reporting and over 100 interviews. Apple is ramping up its original programming in an effort to compete with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon and had to fend off at least a half-dozen bidders who also wanted to aquire the rights to the project.
Why This Matters: We’ve seen the impact that series like Planet Earth and Blue Planet can have on pop culture, yet this will be the first drama series to focus on a climate change story. Programming like this is important because nearly 60% of Americans stream content each day and are increasingly relying on companies like Netflix (and soon to be Apple) as their primary source of entertainment. Hopefully, if a company as large as Apple develops programming about climate change it will inspire its competitors to do the same, thus further exposing the public to these themes.
One Cool Thing: I (Miro) got a chance to visit Apple Park in Cupertino, CA yesterday and after reading about the 9,000 trees (including an orchard) that were planted, central meadow, pond, and 17 MW solar array on the roof, I can say that all of these features were even more spectacular IRL. It’s been reported that this campus was Steve Job’s dream before his death in 2011 and it truly seems like that dream was honored. Read more about the immense effort it took to purchase and plant 9,000 trees!
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 Hero
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Hero of the Week: 11 Year-Old Innovator, Rumaan Malik
Rumaan Malik, an 11-year-old student at Grasby All Saints Primary School in Lincolnshire, England, wanted to do something about the amount of produce that gets thrown away so she invented a fruit bowl called the “Alarm Cup” that alerts its owner when food is about to expire. The bowl allows its owner to program the expiration date of the fruit in the bowl and Alarm Cup will send an alert when it is about to expire. As the Independent reported, the innovative device scooped Ocado’s Food Waste Challenge award, which has seen the online grocer partner up with design website, Little Inventors. Some £13bn-worth of food is thrown away every year in Britain.
She said: “I started thinking about what we throw away at home and what would help us stop this happening. Apples are my favorite fruit, but they were always going all soft when my mum left them out in the fruit bowl and forgot about them. That’s when I thought of my idea and started drawing The Alarm Cup. I thought that we all need something that could help us use up our fruit by sounding an alarm before it goes off, instead of letting it end up in the bin.“
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Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday bright and early! |
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