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SUMMARY:Solutions for a sustainable and desirable future - Ida Kubiszewski
DTSTART:20120326T094500Z
DTEND:20120326T104500Z
UID:TALK37041@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Microsoft Research Cambridge Talks Admins
DESCRIPTION:Humans no longer live in an empty-world\, where natural and so
 cial capital is abundant. We now live in a full-world\, full of our artifa
 cts and wastes.  We are now at a point where increasing material consumpti
 on is unsustainable on our finite planet\, and\, for much of the world\, i
 t is no longer the limiting factors to improve quality of life.  However\,
  our current society is a set of interconnected worldviews\, institutions\
 , and technologies that support the goal of unlimited growth of material p
 roduction and consumption as a proxy for quality of life.  So what are the
  solutions?  This talk will discuss what we require to chance those worldv
 iews\, institutions\, and technologies.  To change our worldview\, we need
  to create potential future scenarios or a single shared vision that demon
 strates society’s shared end goals.  Such a shared vision would create g
 uidance in making decisions with future implications.  Examples of such sc
 enarios and visions can be seen internationally on multiple scales includi
 ng agriculture in Iowa and around the Great Barrier Reef.  We also need ap
 propriate tools to ensure that we are headed in the direction we want to b
 e.  Ecosystem services and their valuation is one example of such a tool. 
  It provides us with the ability to calculate the true cost of our decisio
 ns and the trade-offs we make.  A critical example is the pending decision
  of whether to dam the mainstream of the Lower Mekong River.  To accomplis
 h all this\, we need to create institutions that guide behavior and serve 
 as problem-solving entities that allow societies to adapt to their environ
 ments.  One important aspect of such institutions will be the need for app
 ropriate and open dissemination of information and forums for discussion a
 nd communication.
LOCATION:Small lecture theatre\, Microsoft Research Ltd\, 7 J J Thomson Av
 enue (Off Madingley Road)\, Cambridge
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