!"#$%&'&($%))#$*)!&++&$,)-(&$'%)&$)).(/+012)3$4&"($/1$'#0))56%'1/%7)81+("')96)':1);5<)7*4&%("6).(//&''11)=(")3$4&"($/1$'#0)81%1#">:)#$*)3*?>#'&($About the Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and EducationIn 2000, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established the Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education (AC-ERE) under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to: Provide advice, recommendations, and oversight concerning support for the NSF’s environmental research and education portfolio. Be a base of contact with the scientific community to inform NSF of the impact of its research support and NSF-wide policies on the scientific community. Serve as a forum for consideration of interdisciplinary environmental topics as well as environmental activities in a wide range of disciplines. Provide broad input into long-range plans and partnership opportunities. Perform oversight of program management, overall program balance, and other aspects of program performance for environmental research and education activities.The AC-ERE has a particular interest in those aspects of environmental science, engineering, and education that affect multiple disciplines. Each of the directorates and major offices of NSF has an advisory committee that provides guidance on the disciplinary activities within that directorate. The AC-ERE includes scientists from many disciplines, including a member from each of the other NSF advisory committees, and focuses on coordination, integration, and management of environmental programs across the Foundation. AC-ERE interests include environmental education, digital libraries, and cyberinfrastructure, as well as interdisciplinary programs, centers, and major instrumentation. Additional information can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/geo/ere/ereweb/advisory.cfmTransitions and Tipping Points in Complex Environmental Systems 1Transitions and Tipping Points in Complex Environmental SystemsPrologue Deterring Unprecedented Social Upheaval: Now is The Time to Act ...................................................................2Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................................................................................9A Call for Action .......................................................................................................................................................................................................12 Environmental Challenges ................................................................................................................................................................................ 13 Interdisciplinary Opportunities .....................................................................................................................................................................15 Earth: Our Planet As We Know (Knew) It ............................................................................................................................................17 SIDEBAR: Dust, Oceanic Phytoplankton, and Climate Change .........................................................................................17 The Rapid Progression of Our Environmental Challenge: A World without Recent Parallel ...............................................18 SIDEBAR: A Disappearing Sea—A Place Blighted ......................................................................................................................19Research Priorities ................................................................................................................................................................................................22 New Strategies for a New Era ......................................................................................................................................................................23 Thinking About the Whole—Not Just the Pieces ............................................................................................................................24 “Tragedy of the Commons” Becomes Collective Wisdom if Choices are Enforced ..................................................26 SIDEBAR: Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Drainage Basin .............................................................................................27 Tipping Points in Complex Environmental Systems .......................................................................................................................28 SIDEBAR: From the Corn Belt to the Gulf of Mexico’s “Dead Zone” ..........................................................................29 Promoting Integrated Science and Engineering to Tackle Environmental Challenges.................................................31 SIDEBAR: Bluer than Blue: Tipping Point for Glacier Melt .....................................................................................................32 SIDEBAR: Changing States: Social System Resilience and Recovery ...............................................................................33 Networks for Environmental Research ...................................................................................................................................................36 SIDEBAR: A History of Change in Coupled Natural Human Systems ..........................................................................39Environmental Literacy .....................................................................................................................................................................................40 Moving Beyond Changing Light Bulbs ......................................................................................................................................................41 An Environmental Literacy Framework: Learning What We Need to Learn .................................................................41 Formal Environmental Education
View Full Document
Unlocking...