August

"The thrill of life is not about who we are but about who we are in the process of becoming." David Eagleman (2020). Livewired: the inside story of the ever-changing brain. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

July

 

"[T]he first study to assess oil and gas companies using the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario (...) found that none of the 100 companies have committed to stopping exploration." World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), Oil and Gas Benchmark (available rankings, methods and data). Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

July

"Here it's neither in, nor out. The transition between the inside and the outside is inspired by the traditional Japanese housing. It is called an Engawa." written in Gulbenkian Foundation Extension and Gardens' construction site wall. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA.

July

"Fully integrate biodiversity values into policies, regulations, planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies, accounts, and assessments of environmental impacts at all levels of government and across all sectors of the economy, ensuring that all activities and financial flows are aligned with biodiversity values." See New Global Framework for Managing Nature Through 2030: 1st Detailed Draft Agreement Debuts. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

2021 11 16 Note: follow up on the Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

July

“Prevention and mitigation of drought risk have a far lower cost than reaction and response. (…) [T]his report emphasizes the continuum from short-term proactive drought preparedness and response through to long-term prospective risk management and risk reduction.” United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2021). GAR Special Report on Drought 2021. Geneva. | Report page.

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

July

"O fermento havia desaparecido do pão da terra. Uma presença de graciosidade, alegria e liberdade, uma fonte de energia eléctrica desvanecera-se. Um gato erguera-se e abandonara a sala." Karen Blixen (2003). África Minha. Público: Coleção Mil Folhas. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

July

"Everyday of continued exponential growth brings the world systems closer to the limits to that growth. A decision to do nothing is a decision to increase the risk of collapse." Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers & William W. Behrens III (1972). The Limits to Growth. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

June

The Craftsman "(...) focuses on the intimate connection between hand and head. Every good craftsman conducts a dialogue between concrete practices and thinking; this dialogue evolves into sustaining habits, and this habits establish a rhythm between problem solving and problem finding." Richard Sennet, 2009. The Craftsman.

Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

June

“The slowness of the craft time serves as a source of satisfaction (…). Slow craft time also enables the work of reflection and imagination – which the push for quick results cannot.” Richard Sennet, 2009. The Craftsman. Penguin Books.

Photo of tapestry (78 x 93 cm) by Monica Pinheiro CC BY-NC-SA (CC) 2021.

June

What can we do with what we already have? What is the environment giving in abundance that we can use to solve a need or a problem? Knowledge, art, technology, resources, «things»? While we aspire for something else, what can we do with what we have?

Cut out plants may be garbage, food, play, or energy. They are also colour pallets, materials for creating tapestries, windows for other worlds. Plants, seeds, bark, and all kinds of different materials that lay around in the environment. Feeling the touch, discovering the colour, memorizing the smell. Weaving quietly different textures and tensions. Creating peace to guide action. Liberating the mind to shape possibilities.

 

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

Summer

This Epiphyllum (mixed in a vase with other plants) only flourished twice since 2009. The first time was in August 2018 and this time marking the solstice. She started to open slightly during the day, amid rain and lower temperatures but in the beginning of nightfall, there she was blooming and releasing her exquisite perfume. In 2018 I though she was a day flower but it turns out she is a moon flower, a delicate beauty that came to announce summer time. 

Images by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

Images by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

"Any human activity that does not require a large flow of irreplaceable resources or produce severe environmental degradation might continue to grow indefinitely." (Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers & William W. Behrens III (1972). The Limits to Growth).  Some activities are CO2 negative, like gardening, so they can and should be indefinitely increased. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

June

"People always said they wanted the truth, but really they were perfectly content with a facsimile." Kate Atkinson, 2018. Transcription. Painting by Jianhua Tan.

June

Images by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

 

"Human knowledge, ingenuity, technology and cooperation can transform societies and economies and secure a sustainable future. (...) Each individual and organization has a role to play in moving society along pathways toward a sustainable future that will vary across nations, regions and contexts, including through existing institutions and policy approaches." United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

 

"Whether in the case of donor-supported schemes or government-supported tree-based restoration interventions, it is crucial that sustainable financing solutions for such projects go beyond the planting stage. This can only be achieved if the scope of the restoration intervention is seen as a process beyond tree planting that requires more investment to ensure the planted seedlings also grow to be trees." See figure 1, page 12. Duguma L, Minang P, Aynekulu E, Carsan S, Nzyoka J, Bah A, Jamnadass R. 2020. From Tree Planting to Tree Growing: Rethinking Ecosystem Restoration Through Trees. ICRAF Working Paper No 304. World Agroforestry. Photograph by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

June

 

"Our current data economy is based on collecting as much personal data as possible, storing it indefinitely, and selling it to the highest bidder. Having so much sensitive data circulating freely is reckless. By designing our economy around surveillance, we are building a dangerous structure for social control that is at odds with freedom." by Carissa Véliz in The Reboot. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

 

"So, what is your vision? What do you really want? What would make this a world that would make you excited to get up in the morning and go to work in it? (...) What kind of world would that be?" in «Final Warning Limits to Growth». Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

 Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

June

Covering solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal and marine energy, the "Global Atlas for Renewable Energy is an online platform intended to help users - policymakers and investors - to find renewable energy resources maps for locations across the world (...) aimed at closing the gap between countries that have access to the necessary data and expertise to evaluate the potential for renewable energy deployment in their countries and those that lack these elements." 

 

"The Global Atlas platform provides different sorts of simulators developed by the contributors or as part of the Global Atlas initiative", including a tool for bioenergy simulation, "based on the user's chosen geographic scope". 

 

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Cooling

Green Up to Cool Down: United in Action, webinar registration. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May

 

"A massive shift away from fossil fuels is a prospect that Big Oil can no longer rule out." The Week That Shook Big Oil by Camila Domonoske. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May

From nothing to something. The power of creation. "It seemed to me that man could be as effective as God, in tasks other then destruction." in The Man Who Planted Trees (16:40 / 30:02). Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May

"What is it you are searching for? What is it?" by Xinoby, On the Quiet: Searching For.  Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

May

 

"I've touched creations beautiful and wondrous

I've been places where I question all I think I know 

But I believe this could be heaven.

 

We are born inside the gates

with the power to create life and to take it away

The world is our temple 

The world is our church 

Heaven's here on earth.

 

If we have faith in humankind

and respect for what is earthly

and an unfaltering belief in peace and love and understanding

this could be heaven here on earth.

 

I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise

of ordinary people leading ordinary lives

filled with love, compassion, forgiveness and sacrifice 

Heaven's in our hearts.”

 

 Heaven’s Here on Earth by Tracy Chapman 

 

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

April

European Climate Law: "a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The EU Institutions and the Member States are bound to take the necessary measures at EU and national level to meet the target, taking into account the importance of promoting fairness and solidarity among Member States." See proposal for the first European Climate Law. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Climate-neutral transitions

"[T]his toolkit focuses on technical options to (re‑)use the infrastructure and sites of coal‑fired power plants (...) to convert power stations to alternative energy facilities such as energy storage, renewable energy hubs, gas and biomass plants, and provides examples and ideas for non‑energy‑related options. (...) For gas and biomass, special attention needs to be given to limiting factors related to carbon neutrality goals and long‑term applicability. Generally speaking, as every region is different (...) the arguments for or against a certain option for after‑use of coal‑fired power plants and their related infrastructure must be carefully considered and fit into an overall transition strategy for the region." [added italics] European Commission (2021). Toolkit Technology options in coal regions in transition: Transforming industries in coal regions for a climate‑neutral economy. 

Note: Toolkit "‘Environmental Rehabilitation and Repurposing’ looks into questions of governance, institutions and tools to support regional decision‑makers in the process of repurposing coal related infrastructure".

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC) 

Global Tree Knowledge Platform

  

"Planters, scientists, policy makers and anyone else who is interested in trees will enjoy using the resources. (...) The present lack of knowledge globally about tree species and their uses is a major constraint in achieving the full potential of trees to help address the crises affecting all life on Earth. It is this knowledge gap that the Platform aims to help close. The benefits of increased access to improved knowledge include enhanced food and nutritional security for communities, higher incomes, healthier people and landscapes, and more and cheaper energy. Benefits also include effectively restored soils and forests and the better provision of ecosystem services, such as cleaner air and water." in World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Global Tree Knowledge Platform. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

March

"The world in our heads is not a (...) replica of reality; our expectations about the frequency of events are distorted by the prevalence and emotional intensity of the messages we are exposed." Daniel Kahneman (2012). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

March

 

“There are a total of 399 protected areas in Portugal, 167 Natura 2000 sites - 62 Special Protection Areas (Birds Directive) and 102 Sites of Community Importance (Habitat Directive) - as well as 232 sites designated under national laws. The protected area network in Portugal is strongly influenced by Natura 2000 sites, which make up 60% of the total area covered by protected areas.” in Biodiversity in Portugal [data displayed in February 17, 2021]. 

See Green Infrastructures in Portugal. See also report from EU (2020) "Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services: The state and trends of ecosystems in the European Union", that gives an assessment of the key ecosystems in the EU, evaluates the EU 2020 biodiversity targets, and provides a baseline for the 2030 biodiversity policy and EU nature restoration plan.

March

 

"Halting land transformation and degradation could contribute 6.6 (range 2–11) GtCO2e per year to greenhouse gas emission reductions between 2020 and 2050, and land restoration-related activities could contribute a further 18.6 (range 1.8–35.5) GtCO2e per year over the same period, while simultaneously restoring ecological function and ecosystem services, and in some cases, biodiversity" p.73, United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

March

 

“(…) the analysis suggests that NCS [Natural Climate Solutions] have the potential to limit the pace of climate change significantly, delivering up to one-third of net emission reductions required by 2030. But what makes investments in nature especially attractive if done well is the enormous and varied array of “co-benefits” that can arise alongside directly addressing the biodiversity and climate crises – benefits that accrue to nature and to communities.” World Economic Forum (2021). Consultation: Nature and Net Zero.