Towards a sustainable future: reasons for urgency and hope

Opening keynote address as delivered on April 5 by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator as part of the Albert, Norma, and Howard Geller ‘77 Endowed Lecture at Tilton Hall, Clark University

April 5, 2011

[Slide 1: Title Slide]

[Slide 2: Outline]

[Slide 3: Challenges for sustainability]

[Slide 4: Loss of ecosystem services]

 [Slide 5: Deepwater Horizon tragedy]

[Slide 6: Gulf Coast: microcosm for sustainability challenges]

[Slide 7: Fierce urgency of now – but reasons for hope]

[Slide 8: Advances in scientific understanding]

That baby has grown and thrived, and is now flexing her muscles and influencing her surroundings.

These efforts, have contributed to heightened awareness and understanding, including a Nobel Prize to Lin Ostrom, as well as on-the-ground action.

[Slide 9: Strengthening science-policy interface]

[Slide 10: Sustainability is a priority for the Obama Administration]

[Slide 11: National Ocean Policy]

[Slide 12: Sustainability Executive Order]

[Slide 13: Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future]

[Slide 14: Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force]

[Slide 15: NOAA’s role in sustainability]

[Slide 16: NOAA’s Role in Sustainability]

[Slide 17: NOAA’s Climate Services]

[Slide 18: Proposed Climate Service line office]

[Slide 19: Climate Services in Action: Digital Coast]

[Slide 20: Coastal and marine spatial planning]

[Slide 21: Spatial planning in Massachusetts]

[Slide 22: Interdisciplinary tools]

[Slide 23: Marine InVEST application for wave energy siting]

[Slide 24: Marine InVEST – informing decisions]

[Slide 25: CMSP fosters sustainable uses of coasts & oceans]

[Slide 26: “Walking the talk” at NOAA: green infrastructure]

[Slide 27: “Walking the talk” at NOAA: Green Fleet]

[Slide 28: Outline]

[Slide 29]

 [Slide 30: Reasons for urgency]

Continued progress is key to future sustainability and for economic recovery.  Innovative approaches to find and enable environmental and economic synergies are needed as the new “business” model. But despite these challenges – and they are very real, there are strong reasons to be hopeful.

[Slide 31: Reasons for hope]

[Slide 32: Thanks!]