1. Suggestions for Prayer, Study, and Action
Prayer of Thanksgiving for God's Creation
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God’s Grandeur
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
— Gerard Manley Hopkins
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What is the Root Cause of the Ecological Crisis?
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Become Active in the Global Citizen Movement
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2. News, Publications, Tools, and Conferences
NEWS
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PUBLICATIONS
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TOOLS & DATABASES
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CONFERENCES & JOURNALS
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3. Advances in Sustainable Development
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs)
"With some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) already met, more targets are within reach by the 2015 target date, while challenges to achieving others must be urgently addressed, according to a new report launched on 1 July by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Based on comprehensive official statistics, The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013 shows that the combined actionsof national governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector are making the achievement of the MDGs a reality." For links to annual MDG reports and data, 2005 to 2013, click here.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)
The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), due to expire in 2015, are being reformulated into a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a renewed attempt to address the global scale and complexity issues involved in sustaining both people and planet. Six interconnected goals are under consideration: thriving lives and livelihoods, food security, water security, clean energy, healthy and productive ecosystems, and governance for sustainable societies. Reportedly, "the targets beneath each goal include updates and expanded targets under the MDGs, including ending poverty and hunger, combating HIV/aids, and improving maternal and child health. But they also define a set of planetary "must haves": climate stability, the reduction biodiversity loss, protection of ecosystem services, a healthy water cycle and oceans, sustainable nitrogen and phosphorus use, clean air and sustainable material use."
PRELIMINARY DEFINITION OF THE SDGs
1. End Poverty
2. Empower Girls and Women and Achieve Gender Equality
3. Provide Quality Education and Lifelong Learning
4. Ensure Health Lives
5. Ensure Food Security and Good Nutrition
6. Achieve Universal Access to Water and Sanitation
7. Secure Sustainable Energy
8. Create Jobs, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Equitable Growth
9. Manage Natural Resource Assets Sustainably
10. Ensure Good Governance and Effective Institutions
11. Ensure Stable and Peaceful Societies
12. Create a Global Enabling Environment and Catalyze Long-Term Finance
Source: UN MDGs SDGs HL Report, 30 May 2013
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4. Advances in Integral Human Development
2013 Human Development Report
The 2013 Human Development Report (HDR) – "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World" – was launched 14 March 2013 in Mexico City. It examines the profound shift in global dynamics that is being driven by the fast-rising powers of the developing world - and the implications of this phenomenon for human development. Excerpts:
"The rise of the South is radically reshaping the world of the 21st century, with developing nations driving economic growth, lifting
hundreds of millions of people from poverty, and propelling billions more into a new global middle class, says the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) 2013 Human Development Report. "The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale,"
the 2013 Report says. Never in history have the living conditions and prospects of so many people changed so dramatically and so fast."
"The 2013 Human Development Index (HDI) Report shows major gains since 2000 in most countries of the South. Over the past decades, countries across the world have been converging towards higher levels of human development, as shown by the Human Development Index," says the 2013 Report. "All groups and regions have seen notable improvement in all HDI components, with faster progress in low and medium HDI countries. On this basis, the world is becoming less unequal."
"Environmental inaction, especially regarding climate change, has the potential to halt or even reverse human development progress."
HDR 2013 Brief
HDR HDI 2013 Brief
HDR Summary Report
HDR Full Report
HDI Statistics
See also the
International Human Development Program Annual Report 2012 IHDP Secretariat, Bonn, Germany May 2013
"The comprehensive report presents IHDP's scientific and policy research on the most pressing challenges and opportunities of the human dimensions of global environmental change. In 2012, with the new Future Earth beginning to take shape, IHDP strived to ensure a leading role for the social sciences throughout the ongoing transition, while maintaining its proactive efforts in the science-policy sphere."
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5. Advances in Integrated Sustainable Development
For over a decade, the Great Transition Initiative has advanced a visionary scenario of a future rooted in human solidarity, well-being for all, and ecological sustainability. It now enters a new phase with renewed energy and heightened sense of urgency. Its reimagined website — www.greattransition.org — serves as a platform for exploring bold visions and change strategies.
The new site features:
- An open-access journal of ideas publishing new essays, book reviews, and interviews.
- A MacroScope highlighting current developments that carry long-term global significance.
- Educational material such as videos, an overview of critical ideas, and archival literature.
- A GT Network Space for those seeking more intensive engagement.
GTI offers a unique and valuable resource for understanding our present moment and shaping our collective future.
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6. Sustainability Games, Databases, and Knowledgebases
World Resources Institute (WRI)
CAIT 2.0 Climate Data Explorer
"CAIT 2.0 provides free access to comparable greenhouse gas emissions data sets, as well as other climate-relevant indicators, to enable analysis on a wide range of climate-related data questions.
CAIT 2.0's primary purpose is to provide accessible, transparent, high-quality information to support the many dimensions of climate change policymaking.
Through its powerful yet simple and easy-to-use online interface, CAIT 2.0 is designed to help users from government, business, academia, civil society, and the media efficiently explore, understand, and communicate climate data."
To access CAIT 2.0 online, click here.
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Trend Charts, Statistics, and Databases
IEA World Energy Outlook Facts & Graphs
McKinsey Resources & Urban World
OECD Country Statistics & Outlooks
UNDP Human Development Database
UNEP Issues for the 21st Century
UNEP Global Environmental Outlook
UNEP Environmental Data Explorer
World Bank Country Statistics
Corporate Sustainability Research, Analysis, and Tools
WRI: Aqueduct Water Resource Maps
WRI: Corporate Ecosystem Services
WRI: Greenhouse Gas Protocol
WRI: Stories to Watch
WRI: Profits & Sustainability Alignment
BCG & MIT Sustainability Tipping Points
Sustainable Business Modeling Tool
KPMG: Expect the Unexpected
Oxfam, CERES, and Calvert Investments
Physical Risks from Climate Change
WBCSD Vision 2050
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7. Sustainable Development Measures and Indicators
8. Sustainable Development Modeling and Simulation
"C-ROADS is an award-winning computer simulation that helps people understand the long-term climate impacts of policy scenarios to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It allows for the rapid summation of national greenhouse gas reduction pledges in order to show the long-term impact on our climate." For more information, click
here.
Click here to view a larger version of the video.
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9. Fostering Sustainability in the International Community
The scale of the global sustainable development challenge is unprecedented. The fight against extreme poverty has made great progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but more than 1 billion people continue to live in extreme poverty. Inequality and social exclusion are widening within most countries. With the world at 7 billion people and current annual GDP of US$70 trillion, human impacts on the environment have already reached dangerous levels. As the world population is estimated to rise to 9 billion by 2050
and global GDP to more than US$200 trillion, the world urgently needs a framework for sustainable development that addresses the challenges of ending poverty, increasing social inclusion, and sustaining the planet.
Under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, and in line with the recently launched High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was announced on August 9, 2012 and will provide global, open and inclusive support to sustainable-development problem solving at local, national, and global scales. The SDSN will work together with United Nations agencies, other international organizations, and the multilateral funding institutions including the World Bank and regional development banks, to mobilize scientific and technical expertise to scale up the magnitude and quality of local, national and global problem solving, helping to identify solutions and highlighting best practices in the design of long-term development pathways.
Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals
SDSN, 14 February 2014
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Three highest priorities:
Aligning governance to the challenges of global sustainability
Transforming human capabilities for the 21st century
Ensuring food safety and food security for 9 billion people
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Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5)
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"A new report issued today by a top-level United Nations knowledge network under the auspices of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon lays out an action agenda to support global efforts to achieve sustainable development during the period 2015-2030.
"The post-2015 process is a chance for the global community to work towards a new era in sustainable development," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The latest report from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the result of a collaboration between top scientists, technologists, businesses, and development specialists, is a critical input to the work we are doing to shape an ambitious and achievable post-2015 agenda." To download the report, click here.
What is Human Development? from UNDPKosovo on Vimeo
The UNDP Kosovo animation video "What is human development?" explains and promotes sustainable human development. Sustainable human development means the creation of the same opportunities for a life with dignity for all people and next generations.
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