The Awkward Smile of Sustainability

I was recently asked to be the Sustainability Practice Lead for the IEEE Standards Association based on my work driving / supporting work focused on Artificial Intelligence and Ethics for IEEE SA since 2016.* I am committing to writing on a regular basis here to share key resources and insights I hope will be helpful as part of my ongoing research.

I am honored and overwhelmed.

And at times, deeply frightened.

A big part of the fear comes from the ever-growing data about how our planet is suffering due to climate change (see stats below).

Strangely however, in the wake of the existential threat of planetary collapse, the larger discomfort when thinking about "sustainability" comes from knowing how deeply I need to change to make any form of Net Zero thinking (see below) come to fruition. It's easy for me to think, "I'm just one person - what difference does it make if I compost, or drive an Electric Car or avoid buying beef?" And so on.

But it makes all the difference in the world. It makes all the difference to the world.

Because we all need to change for this big of an issue. And changing my heart, mind and actions means I have to face how hard it is to change on a deeply personal level. Not just the easy stuff (recycling), but the more fundamental issue of asking, "do I have the mental and emotional fortitude to live what I preach or am I a well-intentioned, strident hypocrite?"

I say "strident" because I'm tired of being angry in how I talk or interact with people about big issues on privacy or AI Ethics or wellbeing.

I want to shift my intensity based on fear to joy. If the world is hurtling towards 2030 where climate change and the social issues it causes may be irreversible, that means I/we have seven years and ten months to change.

Seven years and ten months.

To make the biggest personal, local, and global changes humanity has ever faced.

Dear God. (That's not a swear - it's a prayer).

What a sacred mandate and opportunity.

What a call - a cry - for joy. And mercy. And awe. And the undeniable, absolute need to come together as humans writ large for the most marginalized personage we all rely on for everything we have.

Our planet.

Our world.

Our Mom.

It's easy to deny her when the word "sustainability" remains impersonal; a green sticker on a bottle or stressful reminder of a problem so big we can't comprehend what to do. It's harder to avoid when you sit in nature and breathe deeply and feel a peace you can't attain anywhere else.

And when you recognize the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat -

It's all from her.

It's all about her.

It's not about you.

The Awkward Smile

-Or me.

Here's what I mean by "the awkward smile." Over the last two months when I talk about the 2030 statistic (below) most people respond with a strained expression I feel means:

• People may disagree with the validity of the statistics I quote.
• It may be an early morning call and people can't handle stressful news.
• I can be an intense guy (hence my working to shift towards joy).
• The immediacy and scale of planetary issues is so scary the awkward smile veils our deepest human mode of protection we've used since we first walked the earth.

I identify with all these bullet points but it's that last one I believe that provides the opportunity for us all to recognize that addressing any of the deeply entrenched social, political, economic, socio-technical, technical and especially personal issues required to get to a safe, equitable and healthy 2030 is nearly impossible.

Nearly.

Because I won't say "impossible." Not only because I'm a radical skeptical optimist but because I have no choice.

I have kids.

And where, when the word "impossible" is spoken by anyone saying how hard it will be to reach 2030 goals, we must move beyond the awkward smile or moment or conversation about climate and planetary issues and take the first step towards joy together. Despite our potential anger at a specific person a specific ideology. Despite the fact that we may disagree on certain facts. Despite the fact that "consumers and people don't like to change."

You will never stop finding reasons to prove how hard it is to save our planet by 2030.

But I am more interested - in fact, most interested in asking - what are the ways in which you and we can move beyond thinking this challenge is impossible?

I'll give you two incentives. First - we have no choice. This can be terrifying, but it's also freeing. Think of the urgency now to prioritize those who you love! To treasure your time in ways you never had before! To take long walks in nature, or try and commune with those who are suffering due to climate change because all the priorities we have - all of us - won't matter at all in seven years and eleven months unless we reach out in joy to drive change together.

The second incentive - my kids. Please prioritize my kids. It's okay that you don't know them, or if this seems selfish. Because I should also be thinking about your kids. And if you don't have children of your own, who are the younger people you love? Perhaps you're an Aunt or have taken care of children you want to see flourish long past 2030 or 2050.

Keep in mind every step we take to protect those kids for seven generations to come means we protect all those we all love. And every step we don't take means we're choosing to not help other children due to our fear.

I'm tired of fear. In the wake of COVID. In the wake of deep personal challenges faced over the past few years as I'm sure all of you have faced as well. And I'm tired of feeling less than. I accept I'm not perfect, and more often than I'd like, a hypocrite.

But I'm also humbled. In my less-thanism. In my recognition that I don't know enough about the science of climate, or economics, or data science, or ethics to be an expert in the ways so many of my friends are.

But that's okay. I'm good at pointing to other people and organizations who I believe are the experts to make change. And I have passion, which when directed with joy has proven to be a gift when used for others versus my ego.

Plus - I'm the only me I have. And nature and her splendor has been a key part of me feeling connected to the planet, to others, and to myself. Because she helps me see the forest for the trees. And the trees for the forest.

And as part of my overall work I'd love to help other people shift from fear to joy. It's not a once and done process as you may imagine. This is one of the key reasons I need to write here on LinkedIn. Plus I have so much to be grateful for. So many glorious people who bring wisdom, music, art, and love into my life. I have my kids. And the new birdhouse I bought because my best friend reminded me I need to watch the birds. The beautiful birds.

Let's move beyond our awkward smiles.

Let's do this for our kids, and your kids, and the generations to follow.

And most of all - in terms of our glorious, strained, lovely planet:

Let's do it for Her.

*******

Resources:

In contrast to the field of AI Ethics which is quite young, and which was much younger in 2013 when I began researching the field for my book, Heartificial Intelligence, the world of sustainability as you may imagine is VAST. So here and in my daily work a lot of what I'm going to do is point to people, organizations, resources, and facts I've discovered that I believe would be most helpful to you as readers. I have many friends, like Yael Rozencwajg, Maike Luiken, KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, Kay Firth Butterfield, Konstantinos Karachalios, Azeem Azhar, Riane Eisler, Gabrielle Aruta, and dozens of others whose wisdom has deeply shaped how I think about (and rethink) the world. I'll do my best to honor them and the others I meet in my work here in these articles and in my daily work.

The 2030 need for Net Positive Thinking

I choose to believe that the scientists from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have the latest / greatest statistics and facts about climate change. While I'm not interested in trying to be alarmist (hence the joy thing) I am much more happy in the thought of getting to 2030 and being "wrong" about climate change than facing the end of 2029 with my (and your kids) asking, "Why didn't you do more?"

To that end, where you hear talk of "Net Zero Emissions by 2050" be aware that many sources (the IPCC included) are saying the emissions reductions needed (in combination with things like having enough air to breathe and water to drink) must be radically addressed now so that by 2030 our 2050 goals to be achieved. This is due to systems thinking realities. For instance, saying, "we believe in reforestation and will start planting trees in 2045," while laudable in theory, due to physics means said trees won't be large enough (if they don't burn down) to do diddley by 2050. And in my day job and work here I want to be clear - my goal is to be positive and encouraging to business, government, and individuals. But a key part of being positive is also sharing hard truths, which in this case is we all have to make major changes by 2030. Short termism won't restore our planet's ecosystems or the social systems that continue to harm the marginalized due to climate change.

In terms of statistics / data, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provided the scientific basis for understanding what actions we need to take to avoid a climate crisis.? Unfortunately, as of 2021, making 2050 goals isn’t enough. Here's a quote from United Nations, Climate Action: For a livable climate: Net-zero commitments must be backed by credible action. This is a key finding from the NDC Synthesis Report, September, 2021: ?

Along with companies, cities and financial institutions, more than 130 countries have now set or are considering a target of reducing emissions to net zero by mid-century. While net zero is a critical longer-term goal, steep emissions cuts – especially by the largest greenhouse-gas emitters – are imperative in the next 5 to 10 years in order to keep global warming to no more than 1.5 °C and safeguard a livable climate.

According to their website, “The IPCC is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. The IPCC was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.”

• This logic is why you'll hear me use the phrase "Net Positive" or "Planet Positive" a lot when I write. The word "positive" here is not just about demeanor, but my informed belief (based on this science) is that simply being "net neutral" or "not harming" the planet isn't enough to heal her by 2030 and beyond. Where technology or policy or our actions work to only not harm the planet (which of course is necessary), we aren't necessarily healing her. "Sustainability" cannot mean just continuing the actions or relying on the systems that got us to this crisis. For instance, what difference does it make to not harm ground that was once fertile but now has given way to desertification? You literally can't harm that ground any further - if it's desert, it - she - are already gone. Unless you focus on land regeneration, or regenerative farming as shown with great positivity and specificity in the documentary, Kiss The Ground which I highly recommend you watch asap.
• The phrase, Net Positive is being championed by a number or people, including Paul Polman and Andrew Winston, authors of the book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive By Giving More Than They Take. This in fact may be their phrase and if so, I hope to honor it by using it often, especially based on how good the book is so far. Here are two quotes from the preface as examples: "We say simply that profits should come not from creating the world's problems, but from solving them." And, "We are finding more and more that the cost of inaction is becoming significantly higher than the cost of action." Awesome. I'll be quoting a lot more from this book in the future since it's written by one of the world's leading CEOs driving a major organization (Unilever) who provides pragmatic details to be truly helpful to corporate orgs.
• I mentioned the word, "Mercy" before in regards to sustainability. I recently met and learned about the work of Dr. Carmody Grey, whose video, What is Mercy? Part One, Connecting with Nature has helped shape a lot of my recent thinking on sustainability. Her work is based on Pope Francis' Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home. Basic summation: when you literally think of the world as a person, it makes it much harder to ignore her pleas for help, and makes it much easier to love her and ourselves in the process.
• The Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences. Beyond kind words or intentions saying, "we must not further marginalize indigenous populations regarding climate" it's time to recognize how deeply many, if not most, indigenous traditions pioneered the science of things like regenerative farming or other ways of living with our planet in a non-extractive, truly sustainable way. This is highlighted in the excellent paper, Culture change to address climate change: Collaborations with Indigenous and Earth sciences for more just, equitable, and sustainable responses to our climate crisis. I'll end my references today with an excerpt from the paper which I highly recommend you read (highlights mine):

"What humankind actually requires is a climate change—a cultural climate change, a change in our thinking and actions—if we are to have any reasonable expectation that we might mitigate what increasingly appears to be dramatic plant and animal extinction.

Intercultural collaborations to understand the climate crisis

• Engaging both Indigenous and Earth sciences to address climate change challenges is increasingly accepted and promoted within mainstream scientific enterprises. Intercultural collaborations are necessary to bring all relevant knowledge to bear on the pressing climate crisis and are opportunities to produce more just, equitable, and sustainable climate science and responses to climate change.

Without cultural diversity in science “we pay an opportunity cost, a cost in designs not thought of, in solutions not produced." Indigenous Knowledges represent intergenerational understandings and practices based on lifetimes of observing and interacting with the environment. These rigorous knowledge systems are based on holistic, place- and experience-based observations, long-term monitoring, testing, hypothesizing, and evaluation developed over millennia.

• Because they focus on relationships within ecosystems that constitute the web of life, Indigenous Knowledges are keenly attuned to local changes in those relationships. Earth sciences can complement Indigenous Knowledges by identifying the underlying and larger-scale causes of change and enabling prediction of future changes. Intercultural collaboration is about interacting—not integrating—between complementary but distinct knowledge systems so that the integrity of each remains intact."

*These insights are my own and don't necessarily reflect the views of IEEE where I work.