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Blog Om Sweden

   American diplomats get an education by engaging with the people,
   politics, and panoramas of Sweden.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Blog Om: Science, Nature and Economy

   Nature is the Economy
   That’s what I learned last night.
   I had the honor to attend the magnificent Royal Gala where Stephen
   Carpenter received the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize. Dr. Carpenter is
   Professor of Zoology and Limnology at the University of
   Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.  His groundbreaking research
   combined theoretical models and large-scale research on lakes to show
   how lake ecosystems are impacted by humans and the surrounding
   landscape.  He helped us understand how we all affect lakes by the way
   we farm, fish, and bring in exotic species – and what we should do
   about it. His findings have led to concrete improvements in managing
   lakes.
   The evening was filled with many delights.  The excitement and grandeur
   of a Royal event; a highly entertaining, charming Master of Ceremonies;
   splendid music, including an amazing 15-year old student from Lilla
   Akademien playing a beautiful piece that sounded like Gershwin and
   classical music at the same time, and the most evocative folk music as
   a chorus of women seemed to be standing of the shores of the Bohuslan
   Coast longing for their men out at sea.  But none of that was the
   highlight.
   The stunning beauty of City Hall, with its Golden Room and Blue Room;
   such creative, even artistic, Swedish cuisine; the many fascinating
   people I met – wonderful, but not the highlight. Seeing the humble joy
   and satisfaction of an American professor and scientist honored for a
   lifetime of work – that touched my heart, but it was not the highlight.
   The highlight started with the buzz at my table among the Stockholm
   International Water Prize Laureates from the United States, India,
   Australia and elsewhere talking excitedly about the lively seminar they
   had  earlier in the day.  They said it was not the usual Power Points,
   or paper presentations, but a real dialog where people with very, very
   different views listened to each other, had their views shaped by each
   other, and reached “convergence.”  Convergence, not consensus, they
   said.  Convergence around what?  I needed to know. But, I was timid
   that I might not understand the answer if I asked these chemical
   engineers, zoologists, ecological scientists, and limnologists what
   their great minds converged on.  (I had to look up what limnology was –
   it’s the study of freshwater, like lakes.)
   Fortunately, Dr. Carpenter used  his Tack för Maten (and Tack for the
   honor of the Award) speech to tell us what they learned in their
   seminar that day.
   I tried to remember each word, but can only offer a poor paraphrase.
   Nature is the economy.  And water flows through it all.  Food security,
   human health, biodiversity, and so many other things that make our
   planet livable depend on water. Finance, prices, all of that, are only
   an approximation of what has real value - what we depend on to live.
   The problem is that pricing is not realistic because it does not
   reflect the value of things in the real economy – nature.
   When I am not acting as Chief or Deputy Chief of the U.S. Embassy, I’m
   an Economic Officer.  I have learned that economies only work when we
   get the incentives right, when we reward good behavior and discourage
   bad behavior.  That’s why President Obama proposed to the G-20 that we
   eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels. As long as we subsidize green
   house gas producing energy sources, we will encourage too much
   production and consumption of those fuels.  The decisions people make
   when we shop, invest, an go through our daily lives will not reflect
   the real value, the real cost.  We need to align economic incentives
   with the real economy – nature.
   Thank you to the Stockholm International Water Institute for bringing
   together such a passionate group of scientists, engineers, government
   officials, activists, business people, young people and others for the
   21st annual World Water Week in Stockholm.  Thank you for giving me
   such a great lesson.
   Laura Kirkconnell, acting Chargé d'Affaires
   Posted by the U.S. Embassy Sweden team at 10:02 AM
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   the U.S. Embassy Sweden team
          Welcome/Välkomna! We want Swedes and Americans to engage and
          collaborate with each other even more, so the U.S. Embassy team
          is using this blog to to share our thoughts and experiences as
          we engage with the people of Sweden - traveling, listening,
          learning, and drawing inspiration from what we see, those we
          meet, and the many links between our countries. We hope that
          this sharing will open new doors of insight, and facilitate new
          connections. We want to have dialogue, not monologue, so let us
          know what you're thinking, what you're working on, and what you
          are wondering about. Contact us at: usembsweden@gmail.com

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Quotes:

   “Though analogies are often misleading, they are the least misleading
   thing we have.” - Samuel Butler (Novelist)
   “And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call
   for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st
   century.These challenges can't be met by any one leader or any one
   nation. And that's why my administration has worked to establish a new
   era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the
   world we seek.
   21st century.” – President Barack Obama Oct. 9, 2009 on learning he had
   won the Nobel Peace Prize.
   "In this hall, we come from many places, but we share a common future.
   No longer do we have the luxury of indulging our differences to the
   exclusion of the work that we must do together. I have carried this
   message from London to Ankara; from Port of Spain to Moscow; from Accra
   to Cairo; and it is what I will speak about today -- because the time
   has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a
   new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and
   our work must begin now” – President Barack Obama addressing the United
   Nations General Assembly, Sept. 23, 2009.

Blog Archive

     * ▼  2011 (39)
          + ►  December (1)
               o BlogOm: New Address and Thanks!
          + ►  November (1)
               o Blog Om: An Evening Out
          + ►  October (2)
               o BlogOm: Does Research Actually Spur Innovation?
               o BlogOm: Women Working Together
          + ►  September (1)
               o Blog Om: Embrace!
          + ▼  August (3)
               o Blog Om: Science, Nature and Economy
               o Blog om: Water and science
               o Blog om: The World in Rinkaby
          + ►  July (3)
               o Blog Om: Entertaining, If Not Always Enlightening
               o Blog Om: The Donkey and the Cart
               o Blog Om: Dreams, Broken and Otherwise
          + ►  June (6)
               o Blog Om: Crime…Pays?
               o Blog Om: LGBT Pride Month
               o Blog Om: Fast Friends
               o Blog Om: grattis och gemenskap
               o Blog Om: Sounds of Spring
               o Blog Om: Harmony and Continuity
          + ►  April (7)
               o Blog Om: My New Mission
               o Blog Om: Not Lost in Translation
               o Blog Om: Class Outside
               o Blog Om: Leaving the Ground to Appreciate Roots
               o Blog Om: Ideas @ Zero
               o Blog Om: Building a Platform
               o Blog Om: Flight
          + ►  March (3)
               o Blog Om: Swedish Spring
               o Blog Om: Discussing Discussions
               o Blog Om: Bright Eyes, Cold Feet
          + ►  February (6)
               o Blog Om: Ties, Tweets, and Taking Off
               o Blog Om: The Sad Pill
               o Blog Om: Culinary Exchanges
               o Blog Om: Roots, Glass and Monster Trucks
               o Blog Om: Charting Your Course
               o Blog Om: Kalmar is Key
          + ►  January (6)
               o Blog Om: Teaching
               o Blog Om: Big Goals
               o Blog Om: Köpings and Kebabs
               o Blog Om: Grading winning and losing, and chatting...
               o Blog Om: World House
               o Blog Om: Becoming

     * ►  2010 (122)
          + ►  December (10)
               o Blog Om: Toward More Peace on Earth
               o Blog Om: A Ton of Ideas vs. An Ounce of Imaginatio...
               o Blog Om: The Way to See America
               o Blog Om: Practicing Peacemaking
               o Blog Om: Contrast
               o Blog Om: ‘Twas
               o Blog Om: Superlatives
               o Blog Om: Nobel’s International Intersections
               o Blog Om: Tools of the Trade
               o BlogOm: Farewell (for Now) Umeå
          + ►  November (15)
               o Blog Om: Green Boxes
          + ►  October (10)
          + ►  September (10)
          + ►  August (6)
          + ►  July (5)
          + ►  June (13)
          + ►  May (6)
          + ►  April (10)
          + ►  March (15)
          + ►  February (22)

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