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Need to Know

The Signal in the Noise
August 2024

Volume 4

N2K is a knowledge network that follows pressing issues of our time and provides solutions so you can engage in creating a world that works.    New to N2K?  Check out our Topics Page, Take Action, view stories by Map View and you can join here too.

Jane Davidson on the Creation of The Well-Being of Future Generations Act in Wales
48:25

Jane Davidson on the Creation of The Well-Being of Future Generations Act in Wales

In this discussion with Leila Conners, Jane Davidson tells the story of how one small nation responded to global climate issues by radically rethinking public policy for future generations. Based on her new book, #futuregen. In #futuregen, Jane Davidson explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she proposed the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015—the first piece of legislation on Earth to place regenerative and sustainable practice at the heart of government. Unparalleled in its scope and vision, the Act connects environmental and social health and looks to solve complex issues such as poverty, education and unemployment. Davidson reveals how and why such groundbreaking legislation was forged in Wales—once reliant on its coal, iron and steel industries—and explores how the shift from economic growth to sustainable growth is creating new opportunities for communities and governments all over the world. #futuregen is the inspiring story of a small, pioneering nation discovering prosperity through its vast natural beauty, renewable energy resources and resilient communities. It’s a living, breathing prototype for local and global leaders as proof of what is possible in the fight for a sustainable future.
The Peacemaker & the Tadadaho
10:00

The Peacemaker & the Tadadaho

This short film is part of 8 short, testimonial films, on the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois.) The Iroquois are embarking on an historic project about the 500-year history of the Iroquois, their relationship with Europe and America and their prophesies that, if heard, can help us navigate the oncoming changes due to climate change. This series of short films is done via their testimony, and creates the space for the Iroquois to tell their story as they strive to uphold the traditions and the legacy of their people while also protecting the central tenents of their people and their relationship and care for the Earth. This series was created by Tree Media in collaboration with Oren Lyons, Sid Hill and the Haudenosaunee. This series was created with the support of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and with the support of Executive Producer Oliver Stanton.
Iroquois: Originators of Lacrosse
04:17

Iroquois: Originators of Lacrosse

The Fog of War: Update on Russian Invasion of Ukraine
35:09

The Fog of War: Update on Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Professor Alexander Likhotal is half Russian and half Ukrainian. He updates Leila Conners in a second conversation about the Russian invasion in Ukraine. He discusses Putin's mistakes and the reasons for Putin's miscalculations; as well the existential path all Russians find themselves on as the horrific loss of human life continues in Ukraine. Likhotal served as a European Security analyst for the leadership of the Soviet Union. In 1991, he was appointed Deputy Spokesman and Advisor to USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev. After President Gorbachev’s resignation, Alexander served as his advisor and spokesman at the Gorbachev Foundation and served as President of the International Green Cross. Alexander is a member of the the Club of Rome, on the Board of Trustees of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, of the World Academy of Art and Science, a Councillor at the World Future Council, and serves as adviser to the Club of Madrid. He is now is a professor of International Relations at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations.
Mikhail Gorbachev Statement on the Necessity for Peace
06:31

Mikhail Gorbachev Statement on the Necessity for Peace

A warrior for peace passed August 30, 2022, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. Gorbachev was the architect of the end of the Cold War and had the audacity to think that peace between the former Soviet Union / Russia and the West was possible. We made a film about the conditions for peace the emerged at the end of the 1980s with Gorbachev and other Cold Warriors. Their message of peace was embodied in our film The Arrow of Time. http://www.n2k.world/thearrowoftime This statement by Gorbachev is his message to the audience at the premier of the film at the Zürich International Film Festival in 2017. Already ailing then, he left his doctors to issue this urgent message, a message that asked for international cooperation with the objective of peace. It is so prescient and hence why we republish it now. Russian with English voiceover, voiceover starts at :15 seconds.
Russia's Invasion of Ukraine & the Future World Order
48:04

Russia's Invasion of Ukraine & the Future World Order

Prof. Alexander Likhotal is half Russian and half Ukrainian. He served as a European Security analyst for the leadership of the Soviet Union. In 1991, he was appointed Deputy Spokesman and Advisor to USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev. After President Gorbachev’s resignation, Alexander served as his advisor and spokesman at the Gorbachev Foundation and served as President of the International Green Cross. Alexander is a member of the the Club of Rome, on the Board of Trustees of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, of the World Academy of Art and Science, a Councillor at the World Future Council, and serves as adviser to the Club of Madrid. He is now is a professor of International Relations at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Leila Conners spoke with Aleksander about the Russian invasion, its impact on global stability and what the world can do now.
Oren Lyons on the Indigenous View of the World
01:11:30

Oren Lyons on the Indigenous View of the World

Oren is a faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Council of Chiefs, Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy). He has been active in international Indigenous rights and sovereignty issues for over four decades at the United Nations and other international forums. He is a State University of New York (SUNY) distinguished services professor emeritus of the University at Buffalo. He serves on the board of Bioneers an environmental champion of the earth. Oren is chairman of the board of directors of Plantagon International AB, the leader in urban agriculture, Plantagon is designed to meet challenges of compounding human population, finite resources and global warming. For more information on these interviews as well as more interviews: http://www.treemedia.com/#!11th-hour-research-tapes/c18kw
John Trudell on Being Human
19:55

John Trudell on Being Human

"In the race to midnight, it is well after 11." This discussion was conducted in 2005 for The 11th Hour by Leila Conners. The discussion covers Trudell's worldview that encompasses his call for humans to return to their intelligence and their humanity to forge a pathway forward. His responses to the questions now seem prophetic. John Trudell was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the United Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969,broadcasting as Radio Free Alcatraz. During most of the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the American Indian Movement, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After his pregnant wife, three children and mother-in-law were killed in 1979 in a suspicious fire at the home of his parents-in-law on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada, Trudell turned to writing, music and film as a second career. He acted in films in the 1990s. The documentary Trudell (2005) was made about him and his life as an activist and artist.
Wangari Maathai on The Value of a Tree, Africa & the Green Belt Movement
34:48

Wangari Maathai on The Value of a Tree, Africa & the Green Belt Movement

Wangari Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. She was born in Nyeri, a rural area of Kenya. Professor Maathai was internationally acknowledged for her struggle for democracy, human rights, and environmental conservation, and served on the board of many organisations. She addressed the UN on a number of occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly during the five-year review of the Earth Summit. In recognition of her deep commitment to the environment, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General named her a UN Messenger of Peace in December 2009, with a focus on the environment and climate change. For more information on these interviews as well as more interviews: http://www.treemedia.com/#!11th-hour-research-tapes/c18kw
The Rubber Tree
01:02:03

The Rubber Tree

Restoration
09:40

Restoration

RESTORATION is the fourth film in Green World Rising, ( http://www.greenworldrising.org ) a series of films aimed at moving the climate debate forward. The film focuses on how nature can protect the Earth from the harmful effects of climate change and how industrial design and science researchers can learn valuable lessons from natural systems. “When we plug into the wisdom of nature and work alongside Earth’s ecosystems, we discover new and exciting innovations. Many are already underway. It is this partnership with nature that will solve our most pressing climate concerns and create the building blocks of a civilization that works alongside nature, not against it,” said Leonardo DiCaprio, Narrator of RESTORATION. The film can be seen at greenworldrising.org, where viewers can also take action with resources to contact elected officials and spread the word. "I’m proud that this series moved the needle not only by garnering hundreds of thousands of viewers. It also inspired real action," said Leila Conners, director of the film, which was produced by George DiCaprio, Mathew Schmid, Roee Sharon Peled and Earl Katz, and presented by Thom Hartmann. “There is too much at stake to sit back and do nothing. We must act,” said Conners. CARBON debuted as the first film in the Green World Rising series, exploring the effectiveness of the carbon tax and carbon pricing in fighting climate change. LAST HOURS, the second film in the series, describes a science-based climate scenario where a tipping point to runaway climate change is triggered by the release of methane into the atmosphere. The third film, GREEN WORLD RISING, shows how we can be 100% fossil fuel free in a few decades through technological innovation. “Nature has mechanisms which naturally protect us from the negative effects of climate change. So when we harm nature, we harm ourselves. Technology will play a crucial role in averting a climate crisis. Yet many solutions lie right before our eyes. We must partner with nature – both by preserving wildlife and habitats and by appropriating natural systems in new technologies -- to solve these problems,” said Thom Hartmann.
Last Hours
11:18

Last Hours

The film “Last Hours” is the 2nd film in the Green World Rising Series ( the first one is "Carbon" that is available on this channel). Last Hours describes a science-based climate scenario where a tipping point to runaway climate change is triggered by massive releases of frozen methane. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, has already started to percolate into the open seas and atmosphere from methane hydrate deposits beneath melting arctic ice, from the warming northern-hemisphere tundra, and from worldwide continental-shelf undersea methane pools. Burning fossil fuels release carbon that, principally through greenhouse effect, heat the atmosphere and the seas. This is happening most rapidly at the polar extremes, and this heating has already begun the process of releasing methane. If we do not begin to significantly curtail the use of carbon-based fossil fuels, this freed methane threatens to radically accelerate the speed of global warming, potentially producing a disaster beyond the ability of the human species to adapt. With this film, we hope to awaken people to the fact that the earth has experienced five major extinctions in the deep geologic past – times when more than half of all life on earth vanished – and that we are now entering a sixth extinction. Industrial civilization with its production of greenhouse gases has the potential to trigger a mass extinction on the order of those seen in the deep geological past. In the extreme, it could threaten not just human civilization, but the very existence of human life on this planet. An asset for the climate change movement, “Last Hours” will be disseminated globally to help inform society about the dangers associated with climate change and to encourage the world community to chart a path forward that greatly reduces green house gas emissions. We encourage you to explore this website and the highlighted actions you can take to address climate change. We look forward to bringing you additional films about the challenges we face and the solutions that exist over the next few years, in the lead up to COP21, the 2015 UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris. “Last Hours” is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, presented by Thom Hartmann and directed by Leila Conners. Executive Producers are George DiCaprio, Earl Katz and Roee Sharon Peled. Last Hours is produced by Mathew Schmid and was written by Thom Hartmann, Sam Sacks, and Leila Conners. Music is composed and performed by Francesco Lupica. Last Hours is brought to you by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and produced by Tree Media.
We the People 2.0 - Feature Documentary
01:31:21

We the People 2.0 - Feature Documentary

Feature Documentary We the People 2.0 We the People is a visual essay about the loss of democracy in the United States. The film utilizes both original footage as well as found footage to describe a profound change in thinking at the grassroots level. The story unfolds through the eyes of rural people who have faced decades of toxic dumping, drilling and mining in their communities. We learn with them that the reason why, in spite of all their efforts, they “get what they don’t want, again and again,” is because they are, by law, truly powerless in spite of propaganda that says they live in the “best democracy in the world.” These people come to understand that the reason they can’t stop the destruction is that the US has become an oligarchy, run by the corporate few who ignore the rights and will of the people. These people are frontally challenging our corporate state; thereby saving nature and themselves. Thomas Linzey, a nonprofit attorney’s inspiring words shows how, we, the people, can turn this around and lay claim to our democracy. This movement is building as you read this, not just in this country but around the world; our film shows how and where it all began.
Securing the Rights of the Atlantic Ocean
21:08

Securing the Rights of the Atlantic Ocean

The boldest move in the Nature Rights Movement to date is led by a young Inuit, Patricia Johnson-Castle, a Nunatsiavummiuk and Co-chair of the Social Justice Co-op of Newfoundland and Labrador. They are bringing the rights of nature to the Atlantic Ocean in the city of St. John, of Newfoundland & Labrador which means that they can bring suit if the Atlantic Ocean is impacted by pollution...like pollution that leads to climate disruption. Bold. Patricia Johnson-Castle is Nunatsiavummiuk (an Inuk from Nunatsiavut) as well as of British and German descent. She is the co-chair of the Social Justice Co-op of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the former Director of Policy and Planning for Nunatsiavut Government (an autonomous regional and ethnic Inuit government in Northern Labrador). Patricia is an incoming PhD student at the University of Minnesota in the Department of History.
Jane Davidson on the Creation of The Well-Being of Future Generations Act in Wales
48:25

Jane Davidson on the Creation of The Well-Being of Future Generations Act in Wales

In this discussion with Leila Conners, Jane Davidson tells the story of how one small nation responded to global climate issues by radically rethinking public policy for future generations. Based on her new book, #futuregen. In #futuregen, Jane Davidson explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she proposed the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015—the first piece of legislation on Earth to place regenerative and sustainable practice at the heart of government. Unparalleled in its scope and vision, the Act connects environmental and social health and looks to solve complex issues such as poverty, education and unemployment. Davidson reveals how and why such groundbreaking legislation was forged in Wales—once reliant on its coal, iron and steel industries—and explores how the shift from economic growth to sustainable growth is creating new opportunities for communities and governments all over the world. #futuregen is the inspiring story of a small, pioneering nation discovering prosperity through its vast natural beauty, renewable energy resources and resilient communities. It’s a living, breathing prototype for local and global leaders as proof of what is possible in the fight for a sustainable future.
Enno Schmidt and Mathew Schmid
46:48

Enno Schmidt and Mathew Schmid

Interview with Gary Lamb
01:02:41

Interview with Gary Lamb

In this video, Mathew Schmid speaks with Gary Lamb about social renewal. Gary Lamb is the director of the Hawthorne Valley Center for Social Research in upstate NY. He was a high school economics teacher and administrator in the Waldorf school movement, a magazine editor, and a lecturer and workshop facilitator on addressing social issues from the perspective of Rudolf Steiner's ideas of a threefold social organism. Gary has written and edited several books on economics, education, and social renewal. His most recent published books are, "A Road to Sacred Creation: Rudolf Steiner's Perspectives on Technology, Volume 1" and "Steinerian Economics." (both available from steinerbooks.org) His current thinking and work are devoted to the development of ethical technology in the 21st century, and more generally, to exploring ways to bring a wide spectrum of like-minded non-partisan social reform groups and movements into alignment around a common cause as a method to accelerate social renewal.
Urban Roots