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“As the world gets more complex, we just simplify it to two dimensions. It is EITHER-OR. There is no complexity. I think that is a human reflex. My response to that is the concept of Natural Intelligence. There is untapped intelligence out there in nature. It is on our doorstep, but we are not even talking about. As I was writing my chapter for the Bloomsbury Handbook, I came up with this idea of Natural Intelligence. My hope is that the book will elevate the idea within academia and perhaps start a global conversation that trickles down and triggers a re-think,” stated Michael Blackstock.

“It is all about storytelling. Keeping things simple; not getting caught up in academic theory or jargon. Making things simple and accessible is what is going to resonate. The more we can help people understand they have the power to do what we are talking about, right now, in whatever role they are in…and the more they open their minds to it, and the more they practice and exercise those muscles…their work will become easier. It will become more effective. And it will become more fun. Shining a light on that path is what we can help to do,” stated Jane Wei-Skillern.

“I did my PhD in the Pacific Northwest to get educated about indigenous world views. I drew a lot of inspiration from Michael Blackstock’s Blue Ecology work on how we can intertwine indigenous knowledge with western scientific methods. Now I am trying to figure out what that means in the context of the US Northeast. I became familiar with Michael’s Blue Ecology framework paper when I was at Portland State University. The PhD program was about doing experiments in interdisciplinary fellowships that tackled real-world problems, not just academic problems,” stated Zbigniew Grabowski.

“Though it may sound like a bold claim, my mission is to be a bridge between the humanities and science studies,” stated Serpil Oppermann. “We have to rethink the traditional humanist idea that storytelling is all too human and that humans are the only species with the ability to tell stories. WHAT IF the world we cohabit with a myriad of nonhumans is also expressive and is story-filled? HOW MIGHT our understanding of nature change if we recognize nonhuman stories conveyed in codes, signs, colors, gestures, and signals, as stunning narratives? Solutions are in the stories.”

We share our world view through our stories and storytelling This is how we pass on our oral history. Storytelling is the way we share intergenerational knowledge, experience and wisdom. “Storytelling is the commonality of all human beings, in all places, in all times,” stated Professor Rives Collins, Northwestern University, author of “The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling”.

“Warming is speeding up, and many climate scientists worry something may be missing from the models. Could the answer lie in an inconvenient and forgotten, but critically important piece of climate science? Water cycles are beautifully complex, with endless feedback loops. Modelling them is a huge challenge most climate simulators, seeking clear outputs for policymakers, shy away from. The effect of CO2 by contrast is simple, and aesthetically boring, but easier to explain,” wrote Eurof Uppington.

“Differences between generations in their contribution to climate change are undeniable,” said Dr Shane Timmons of the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit. “But focusing on these differences may contribute to existing misperceptions about the beliefs of others. Instead, communications about climate change that highlight commonalities between subgroups of the population may help to reduce eco-anxiety and foster the kind of cooperation necessary to mitigate and adapt it.”

“If we continue to mischaracterize (extremes), and if we continue to manage the forest and disturbance levels as if we were doing fine, we’re going to take the system further and further out of anything that is protective,” stated Dr. Younes Alila. And as climate extremes become more frequent and severe, he says, assessing the risks incorrectly could lead to greater damages and losses of life. He says frequency is the “lost dimension” in B.C. forest hydrology. It’s crucial to consider frequency because dikes and bridges can fail when battered by peak flows that are happening more often.

“Mother Nature has an amazing sense of timing. On the 20th anniversary of the evacuation of 27,000 people from Kelowna due to forest fires, history repeated itself in August in the Kelowna region, in particular West Kelowna. We have had two decades to prepare for the obvious and the inevitable. Some of us have spent our careers working on solutions to watershed, water and food security issues and challenges. Climate change is accelerating. There is no time to re-invent the wheel, fiddle, or go down cul-de-sacs. Understand how the past informs the future and build on that experience,” stated Kim Stephens.

The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. The Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for all U.S. states and territories by decade for the next 100 years and beyond, based on a combination of tide gauge and satellite observations and all the model ensembles from the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).