Changes, Challenges and Choices: The Air We Breathe ... There is no Substitute!

Plants, animals, even entire ecosystems are disappearing. So what?

When we forget how Nature takes care of us, we risk degrading the natural ecosystems that provide the services which support our economies and sustain our lives. Water purification, climate regulation, flood prevention and pollination are just a few of Nature’s services that we often overlook. Unfortunately, decision-makers lack a way to reliably account for the true economic value of Nature’s services, causing many unintended consequences.

Join the Environmental Forum of Marin for the first class in 2012 Seminar Series module, Natural Capital: Ecosystem Services on Saturday, February 25.

Speakers

Dr. Hector Saez, Principal Economist, Environment and Economy, will look at ecosystem services from the economist’s point of view and offer a new perspective on how the value of these services can be determined.

Hilary Staples, who leads the Science Department at San Domenico School and lectures on behalf of the Biomimicry Institute, looks at how organisms in Nature function in place despite the limited resources available to them. She will reveal how biologists are partnering with engineers, materials scientists, chemists, designers, and businesses to emulate bio-mimicry in producing less harmful and more sustainable products.

Jim Smith, Senior Information Officer at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, will provide a historical overview of California and San Francisco Bay Area air quality issues and outline how air quality is regulated in the region. He will also review recent research showing how air pollution threatens human health and how local efforts are targeting improved air quality in our region.

Abby Young, Principal Environmental Planner at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, will speak about the relationship between planning ahead for climate change in the San Francisco Bay Area and the state’s Climate Action Planning process. She will address how California’s primary climate protection policies, including Assembly Bill 32, Senate Bill 375, and the California Environmental Quality Act, provide the foundation for local climate planning. 

Topics of the day

• What are ecosystems and what services do they provide?
• Understanding the critical ways in which Nature supports and sustains all life and how we often take Nature for granted.
• How and why should we place an economic value on Nature?
• Are we taking good enough care of Nature’s basic gifts, especially those which are humanly impossible to replicate?
• Biomimicry: Learning from Nature’s way of doing things.

Upcoming Classes

Food and Soil: Nourishing Ourselves and the Planet  Saturday, March 3, 2012

It's all about Water!                                            Saturday, March 10