323
Wind turbines are explained to young
students. The SBI advocates ecological
education in schools and universities so
that people can learn how to manage
and sustain the biosphere.See also: The ecosystem 134–137 ■ Chaotic population change 184 ■ Gaia 214–217 ■ Overfishing 266–269
■ Halting climate change 316–321 ■ The economics of climate change 324–325 ■ Waste disposal 330–331ENVIRONMENTALISM AND CONSERVATION
research that included not only
acquiring new knowledge, but
communicating it and helping
incorporate it into real-world policy
changes.The future of research
Lubchenco and her colleagues
created the SBI as both a mission
statement and an argument for why
ecological research deserved more
funding and attention. Their report
was published in 1991 in the journal
Ecology as “The Sustainable
Biosphere Initiative: An Ecological
Research Agenda.” It was well
received within the scientific
community, and has been adapted
for use at a global level—first in the
International Sustainable Biosphere
Initiative that was developed in
Mexico in 1991, and then in
Agenda 21, an action plan adopted
in 1992 at the United Nations Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Since 1991, the SBI and its report
have influenced a generation of
ecologists, opening up new avenues
of funding and collaboration,
forming committees, putting onworkshops, and creating reports to
advance its agenda. The SBI has
brought ecology into the public eye,
and today ecologists sit on advisory
boards, influencing both corporate
and government policies.
Despite such improvements,
Lubchenco still believes that the
changes that have been made have
not kept pace with the growing
dangers the planet faces. New
campaigns such as the ESA’s Earth
Stewardship Initiative, created inJane Lubchenco An acclaimed environmental
scientist and marine ecologist,
Jane Lubchenco grew up in
Denver, Colorado. She earned a
bachelor’s degree in biology at
Colorado College, and a Master’s
in zoology. She got her Ph.D. in
marine ecology at Harvard.
She researches the interaction
between humans and the
environment, with an emphasis
on biodiversity, climate change,
and oceanic sustainability.
From 2009 to 2013, she served
as Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere, and
Administrator of the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). She
was the first female and the first
marine ecologist head of NOAA.
In 2011 Lubchenco oversaw the
creation of Weather-Ready Nation,
a project to prepare the public in
case of extreme weather.Key works1998 “Entering the century of
the environment: a new social
contract for science,” Science
2017 “Delivering on science’s
social contract,” Michigan
Journal of Sustainability2013, build on the work of the SBI.
They hope to effect greater change
in the next two decades, so that
sustainable development can
satisfy humans’ current needs
without compromising the needs
of future generations. ■US_322-323_Sustainable_Biosphere_Initiative.indd 323 17/12/2018 14:34