International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: 
Toward a Sustainable Future

Special Paper 520 of the Geological Society of America (GSA)

by Gregory R. Wessel* and Jeffrey K. Greenberg**

Jeffrey K. Greenberg

Gregory R. Wessel

*Geology in the Public Interest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Seattle, USA 
email: gwessel@publicgeology.org

**Department of Geology and Environmental Science, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, USA 
email: jeffrey.greenberg@wheaton.edu


Picture at the top: Cover of the book

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this paper solemnly engage the authors

Special Paper 520 of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future is a confluence of purpose and determination. 
Two geologists (who did not know one another) each proposed and chaired similar sessions at the 2013 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Denver. Greg Wessel from the State of Washington chaired "Geology for the Common Good: Sustainable Resources for the 21st Century" and Jeff Greenberg from Illinois coordinated "Geoscience and International Development." 
Upon recognizing their shared vision, they began a partnership to include a combined session for another GSA conference and a dream of publishing many articles to inspire other colleagues.  

This book represents a lot of effort in gathering a comprehensive collection of very practical and hopefully inspirational papers. The ultimate goal of this work is to apply our science where it is needed most. The book's Introduction by the two editors and a Preface by GSA past-President, George Davis, provide overviews that should attract attention, not only to the 39 articles, but also to challenge geoscientists about their own motivations.

Articles are from a wide array of international authors. Many contributions are of global scope, as well as focused upon Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria, and Senegal), Asia (Bangladesh, The Himalayas, Thailand, Afghanistan, Iran, and Oman), the Americas (Haiti, Guatemala, Columbia, and the USA), Europe (Italy), and the Pacific Islands. Topical divisions for the papers range from: "Fundamentals and Foundations", through "Metals, Minerals, and Mineral Resources", "Water Resources", "Engineering, Public Safety and Urban Development", "Waste Management", "Geological Hazards and Risk Reduction", to "Multi-Agency and Regional Approaches." 

It is greatly desired to see this volume get the widest distribution, beyond all academic institutions, on to government agencies, research groups, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and to many individuals and associations involved in decision making, development, and human-environmental relationships. The scope is truly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary. 

Information available at the GSA Website includes the following description:

Full Title: Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future

Editors: Gregory R. Wessel and Jeffrey K. Greenberg

Description:
This publication offers an overview of the applications of the geosciences to sustainable development and geophilanthropic efforts worldwide, and offers advice to guide the creation of development projects. The primacy of geologic input to all development activities is highlighted along with problems that are encountered and environmental issues that must be addressed. General principles to follow are discussed, including guidelines for creating truly sustainable solutions, building foundations for effective international development, the importance of ethical and social values, the motivation behind sustainable development, and how geoscientists can best become development practitioners.
Numerous case studies provide examples of planning for sustainability in mineral resources, water resources, mitigation of geologic hazards, waste management, urban development, and regional evaluation of development constraints and opportunities. The reader should come away with a general understanding of how sustainable development projects might be organized and where they might be most successful.

[Table of Contents] [Foreword by G.H. Davis & Introduction]

Product Code: SPE520

Published: May 11, 2016

ISBN Number: 978-0-8137-2520-8

Pages: 478

Product Categories: B. Special Papers

International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

Oceans are the mirror of our civilization

Translation from German by Jeffrey Michel

Jeffrey Michel

Ing.-Büro für Energieforschung/Energy Consultant, Germany 
email: jeffrey.michel@gmx.net

Picture at the top from http://www.news.ch

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this paper solemnly engage the author.
The text was published in German by Pressetext on Thursday, 31 Mar 2016 / 10:32 at:

http://www.news.ch/Weltmeere+sind+Spiegel+unserer +Zivilisation/692670/detail.htm

Energy usage is to blame for the desolation

The worsening condition of the oceans is a foreseeable consequence of global energy usage. 

The impairment of sensitive marine biological equilibriums leads to coral degeneration, with ocean acidification threatening increasingly larger expanses. The requisite awareness of government and society remains deficient. In view of this sobering conclusion, energy researcher Jeffrey Michel has called for the definition of carbon dioxide (CO2) as an environmental pollutant as well as the use of smart meters in this Pressetext interview.

"The continued decline in pH in the oceans is now proceeding at 100 times the rate of previous millions of years. The oceans have therefore become a seismograph for the CO2 pollution caused by the global energy industry" according to Michel. For the expert, who has already advised several German municipalities on energy issues and was awarded the "Climate Hero" 2005 award by WWF for his commitment in the Saxon village of Heuersdorf, the seas thus constitute a "mirror of our modern civilization." Michel notes that "nothing is hidden from this mirror. Relying on fossil fuels ends up as a CO2 transcript in the oceans."

800 million tons of CO2 per year

For the researcher, it is only logical to declare the reduction of CO2 emissions as a primary political objective. However, the reality is different: "The fossil energy industry in Germany releases more than 800 million tons of CO2 per year into the atmosphere," says Michel. "It also remains unrecognized that biomass combustion contributes to ocean acidification. At present, carbon dioxide has not yet been appreciated in Europe as an environmental pollutant – although that definition has been legally binding in the US since 2012. "This designation of the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA should be applied to all future CO2 reduction strategies," he urges.

This energy researcher is not alone. As early as 2014, the Left Party in the German Bundestag presented a bill for defining CO2 as an environmental pollutant to substantiate a systematic phase-out of coal usage. The aim was to save at least and additional 60 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2020. "Unfortunately, the proposal was rejected on January 29th by the parliamentary majority. A change in awareness among political leaders is obviously overdue," Michel has concluded.

Motor vehicles, the internet, and smart power meters

However, all citizens can play a part in protecting the oceans and thus the entire global ecosystem. The necessary public comprehension is often lacking, the expert notes: "Hardly anyone is aware of the fact that not only his own car, but also internet usage entails immense energy expenditures. The World Wide Web consumes more electrical power than Japan and Germany combined. Education campaigns are desperately needed."

A promising way to make energy usage at home more sustainable would particularly be the everyday use of smart metering, according to Michel. "We have to adapt to a growing shortage of energy and environmental resources. Digital power meters can cut energy consumption by simple monitoring and even more by interactive control," the researcher believes.

The practice of yearly power invoicing that still prevails in Germany is unsuitable for this purpose. "A monthly reading would already permit savings of several percent to be achieved on the basis of accumulated experience with power conservation strategies," Michel concludes. "After all, would any motorist accept a petrol receipt only once a year?"

International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

The IAPG section of Paraguay

Welcome to the IAPG section of Paraguay! 

The section will work under the responsibility of Moisés Alejandro Gadea Villalba (Department of Geology at the National University of Asunción).

Moisés Alejandro Gadea Villalba

Moisés Alejandro Gadea Villalba is a geologist, who has worked with seismological data for many years in Paraguay. He teaches sedimentary petrology in the Department of Geology at the National University of Asunción.
He attended post-graduate and specialization courses in the fields of seismology, petrology and risk management in many countries. 
Currently, he is getting the MSc. degree in Hydrogeology. 
He created and manages the website "www.geologiadelparaguay.com.py", a point of reference for finding information on geology of Paraguay.

Other IAPG national sections: http://www.geoethics.org/sections.html

International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

Event on Geoethics in Argentina: Geologist's Day 
(information in Spanish)

Mesa Redonda "Geoética"
Chubut, Patagonia (Argentina), 6 June 2016

Más información: 
Geol. Msc. Leonardo Ferro (email: geociencias_esquel@hotmail.com)

Con motivo de la celebración del “Día del Geólogo”, la Cátedra de Geociencias, Facultad Ingeniería-UNPSJB, y el CPGCH realizarán una Mesa Redonda sobre “GEOETICA” en el marco de los lineamientos planteados por la Asociación Internacional para la Promoción de Geoética (IAPG - International Association for Promoting Geoethics).
​
Esta actividad abierta a docentes, alumnos y a la comunidad, se desarrollará el Lunes 6 de Junio 2016 a las 18:00 hs en el Edificio de Aulas de la UNPSJB. KM4.Esquel. Chubut. Patagonia Argentina.

Website: 
http://www.colegiogeologosch.com.ar/index.php/cursos-congresos-jornadas-geologia

International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

Geoethics and Art:
an artistic exhibition in Oklahoma City

We are glad to announce an artistic exhibition by our IAPG member, Prof. Ying Kit Chan, University of Louisville (USA). If you can attend, don't miss this event!

[Artspace] at Untitled presents “GeoEthics: Work by Ying Kit Chan”

Exhibition: May 26 to July 16, 2016
Reception: Thursday, May 26 at 5 pm
Location: 1 NE 3rd St, Oklahoma City 73104

Environmental ethics - a philosophical study of the moral relationship between human beings and nature and the value that society extends to the environment - is a reoccurring theme in Ying Kit Chan's more than three decades of art making. Utilizing a wide range of media, the artist employs this philosophy alongside Taoist and Buddhist ideologies to examine our relationship with nature, from the mental impact of contemplation to the actions resulting in environmental degradation. The works selected for "GeoEthics" highlight the artist's conceptual development and explore environmental ethics through three themes: oil spills, industrial landscapes, and philosophical thought.

Ying Kit Chan has presented his art work in 200 exhibitions in the United States as well as in Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Germany, Korea, Japan, England, Hong Kong, Poland, Taiwan, and Portugal. Chan has received public awards including two Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Visual Arts Fellowships (1994 and 2002), a National Endowment for the Arts / Southern Arts Federation Visual Arts Fellowship (1992) and an Urban Council Fine Arts Award at the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial in 1977. He is presently Professor of Art at the University of Louisville.

Facebook page: Facebook page: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/666651163484322

Prof. Ying Kit Chan's website: 
http://louisville.edu/art/faculty/ying-kit-chan-m.f.a

International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

A new IAPG paper on geoethics
in a special volume of the Geological Society of America

We are glad to announce a new IAPG article in which you find a discussion on some fundamental values of geoethics:

Peppoloni S. and Di Capua G. (2016). Geoethics: Ethical, social, and cultural values in geosciences research, practice, and education. pp. 17-21. DOI: 10.1130/2016.2520(03).
In: Wessel G. & Greenberg, J. (Eds.). Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future
Geological Society of America, Special Paper 520.

Download the paper:
http://specialpapers.gsapubs.org/content/520/17.abstract

Abstract:
All geoscience practices have evident repercussions on society. Geoscientists have knowledge and skills to investigate, manage, and intervene on the geosphere, defined as the component of the Earth system constituted by the land surface, the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, and the atmosphere. This implies ethical obligations. The adoption of ethical principles is essential if geoscientists want to best serve the public good. Ethical responsibility by all geoscientists requires a more active role while interacting with society. Geoethics, which investigate the ethical, social, and cultural implications of geoscience research, practice, and education, represents a new way of thinking about and practicing earth sciences, focusing on issues related to the relationship of the geoscientist with the self, colleagues, and society in the broadest sense. In this paper, we define some of the main values relevant to geoethics.

Other papers in: Wessel G. & Greenberg, J. (Eds.). Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future: 
http://specialpapers.gsapubs.org/content/current

IAPG publications on geoethics: 
http://www.geoethics.org/publications.html

International Association for Promoting Geoethics Nigeria - Official blog

A report on the session on Geoethics at the EGU 2016
organized by the 
IAPG – International Association for Promoting Geoethics

IAPG has organized its fourth session on geoethics at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) – General Assembly 2016 in Vienna (on 18 April 2016), with the support of the GSL – Geological Society of London. 

The session (EOS5), entitled “Geoethics: theoretical and practical aspects from research integrity to relationships between geosciences and society”, was convened by Silvia Peppoloni (IAPG Secretary General), Nic Bilham (GSL and IAPG Corresponding Citizen Scientist), Eduardo Marone (IAPG-Brazil Coordinator) and Marie Charriere (IAPG-Young Scientists Club Chair), and got a large participation of geoscientists, who gave 12 oral and 30 poster presentations. Authors came from 18 different countries in 5 continents (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA). 

The session was divided in two parts: “Geoethics: communication and application” and “Geoethics: institutional paradigms and conceptual challenges”. Interesting works and ideas were presented on many issues of Geoethics: theoretical and philosophical aspects, geoethics in natural hazards studies, geo-engineering paradigms, global initiatives on sustainability and geo-risks reduction, activities on ethics by geoscience organizations and research infrastructures, etc.).

Among the authors, Margaret Leinen (President of the AGU – American Geophysical Union), Stefano Tinti (President of the IAPG), Pat Leahy (Executive Director of the AGI – American Geosciences Institute), Werner Leo Kutsch (Director General of ICOS – Integrated Carbon Observation System), Nic Bilham (Director of Policy & Communications at the Geological Society of London), Joel Gill (Founder and Director of GfGD – Geology for Global Development), Vitor Correia (President of the EFG – European Federation of Geologists).

IAPG network contributed to the session with presentations by members of the Executive Board (Stefano Tinti, Silvia Peppoloni and Giuseppe Di Capua) and the Young Scientists Club (Marie Charriere and Francesco De Pascale), Corresponding Citizen Scientists (Martin Bohle and Nic Bilham), and coordinators of the following sections: Italy (Silvia Peppoloni), Iraq (Nawrass Ameen), Greece (Gerassimos Papadopoulos), Argentina (Elizabeth Rovere and Roberto Violante), Brazil (Eduardo Marone).

Among the authors there were the representatives of two great European Research Infrastructures (EPOS - European Plate Observing System and EMSO - European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory) and the responsible of an important European Project in Horizon2020 (ENVRI-Plus - Environmental Research Infrastructures).

Among the public, the past and current Executive Directors of the GSL – Geological Society of London (Edmund Nickless and Sarah Fray).

A large audience has crowded the meeting room for the entire duration of the session.

Slides of the orals and posters in pdf version have been uploaded on the IAPG website for free download at: http://www.geoethics.org/egu2016.html 

Below, some selected pictures from the IAPG session EOS5 on geoethics.

A complete photo gallery of the session EOS5 on geoethics is available at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125283529@N05/albums/72157667550429246

Convenership of the session EOS5 on geoethics organized by the IAPG at the EGU 2016: from the left, Nic Bilham (Director of Policy & Communications at the Geological Society of London and IAPG Corresponding Citizen Scientist), Marie Charriere (IAPG-Young Scientists Club Chair), Silvia Peppoloni (IAPG Secretary General), Eduardo Marone (Coordinator of IAPG-Brazil).

Silvia Peppoloni and Nic Bilham, while starting the session EOS5 on geoethics.

Silvia Peppoloni (IAPG Secretary General), organizer and convener of the session EOS5 on geoethics at the EGU 2016.

A large audience in the room 2.83 attended the session EOS5 on geoethics at the EGU 2016.

Pat Leahy, AGI’s Executive Director, during his speech at the session EOS5 on geoethics.

Eduardo Marone, coordinator of IAPG-Brazil, while discussing on ethical dilemmas.

Participants at the session EOS5 on geoethics: from the left, Stefano Tinti (IAPG President), Silvia Peppoloni (IAPG Secretary General), Margaret Leinen (President of the American Geophysical Union - AGU), Edmund Nickless (Past Executive Director of the Geological Society of London - GSL), Christine McEntee (Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the American Geophysical Union - AGU).

Poster session on geoethics at the EGU 2016: from the left, Nic Bilham (Director of Policy & Communications at the Geological Society of London and IAPG Corresponding Citizen Scientist), Ruth Allington (Chair of the International Union of Geological Sciences - IUGS - Task Group on Global Geoscience Professionalism), Silvia Peppoloni (IAPG Secretary General), Vítor Correia (President of the European Federation of Geologists).