Earth Day Complexity over the Centuries

Earth Day has me thinking about the amazing complex systems around and above us.  From the wonder of bird life, to wild winds that come with a storm and the skies above.  Moreover, as a Covenant of Hope,
 let’s face each day with the future our children and grandchildren will inherit in mind.

Living on an isolated island, in hurricane alley like Bermuda, makes your connection to the natural world and near-Earth space (the next blog for Earth Day is on the topic of space environmentalism and activism) more poignant and deeply experienced across the centuries  because you can see the necessity of alliances, access to markets and importation of supplies.  History has shown Islanders the consequences and impacts of embargoes set in place by trans-Atlantic wars or sunk by tempestuous Atlantic storms.

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Bermuda. Photo by M. St Jane

For Earth Day let’s consider Bermuda’s historic legacy and some of the significant historical influences on the shaping of the present. Stroll with me back 500+ years to walk on one of the most isolated rock in the Sargasso Sea.

Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, geographic coordinates are 32 20 N. 64 45 W, Bermuda is as isolated as an Island can be.   The island has played an important role across the centuries.  Bermuda, approximately 21 square miles, is an archipelago surrounded by lethal reefs that have in turn embraced ill-fated mariners struck by hurricanes or necessity during their Trans-Atlantic travels.  

Bermuda is a geographically isolated twenty square mile land oasis of nature’s bounty in the North Atlantic Ocean. Aptly described, in the twentieth century by a Commission of Inquiry as “... too far from the mainland to be part of North Americas. It is alone – and, as is often said, different” (Wooding Report, 1969).

Good planning and risk management, already critical also extends to stewardship of air, land sea and space. But even may not always be enough when faced with turbulent Atlantic storms.    

On route to Jamestown, as part of a convoy bringing urgent supplies to the newly established, but near starved Virginia Colony in North America, the British vessel the Sea Venture on the July 28^th 1609, was hit by a hurricane that drove it onto the then uninhabited Island and shipwrecked (Hallett, 2005).

The significance of this Island’s geographical positioning, the pertinence of local and global demographics, and the dynamics and characteristics of the global presence can be traced over the centuries from its historic beginnings as a joint-stock company in 1615 (Hallett, 2005) to its current “corpor-nation” (Derber, 2000; Folbre, 2006) at the center of the sacred financial phenomenon.

As early as the seventeenth century there were activists advocating for balance between the market and society. For example one of the first early dissenters was Sir Edwin Sandys.

One of the first principal shareholders of the Bermuda Company was Sir Edwin Sandys’ voice reaches us from Bermuda's historical start as a company whose by-laws stated that, ‘it was to develop Bermuda as a Plantation (Hallett, 1993). Sandys owned 250 acres of the Island and was a shareholder with ten shares (Bernhard, 1985). He headed the Bermuda Company in 1612 and was formerly a colonial administrator who served in English parliaments during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

Sandys’ is well remembered for leading a "faction to the House of Commons that opposed the unlimited prerogative of the king who endeavoured to maintain the privileges of the House and liberties of the subject." During the parliament of 1604. Sandys’ had a voice, the skill and courage to take a confrontational stance toward monopolistic company practices. The Bermuda Company was dissolved in 1684 (Hallett, 1993).

Socio-environmental concerns were evident and addressed early in the island’s settlement with the enactment of the first conservation law in the New World in 1623 which reads:

[to protect] “... the breede of tortoyses, ... by the liquorousness and wasterfulness of many persons, killed ouer young and scared awaye, the which this law prouided against” (Lefroy 2010).

Today diligence is maintained through the Bermuda Turtle project in collaboration with the Caribbean Islands conducting research into the biology of sea turtles and their use of Bermuda's habitats, fostering conservation of the populations that travel between their shores.

Now is the opportunity to protect our precious Earth Day.  The 2021 Theme is  ‘Restore our Earth.’  Bermuda has centuries of engagement around conservation and preservation with initiatives focused on being a green country extending into blue economy.

#Leadership #Journey #Wisdom #Legacy #Consciousness #Values #Purpose #ConsciousStewardship #chrysalis #possibilities #wisdom #courage #conversation #path #contribution #boundaries #contemplation #soul #purpose #reflection #sensingIsolation #Creativity #expansiveness #BermudaBusinessDevelopmentAgency #BDA #BermudaSeaGrass #BermudaTurtles #EarthDay2021 #resiliency #ClimateRiskFinance #climate #conservation #resilience #sustainability #restoration, #regenerative #WorldClimateLeaders #marineResources

Resources

• Take the Earth Day Pledge https://www.earthday.org/pledge/
• Ideas for Business https://www.earthday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EARTH-DAY-MENU-Businesses.pdf
• Conservation of Bermuda Seagrass Beds https://environment.bm/seagrass-beds
• The Bermuda Turtle Project. To promote turtle conservancy through education and researchhttps://bermudaturtleproject.org
• Film: Don’t Let the Gene Out of the Bottlehttps://protectnaturenow.com/shortfilm/

Sources

Bernhard, V. (1985). Bermuda and Virginia in the seventeenth century: a comparative view. Journal of Social History, 19(1), 57–70.

Bermuda Islands, Wooding Commission, Wooding, H. O. B., & Bermuda Islands. (1969).

Grizzard, F. E., & Smith, D. B. (2007). Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. ABC-CLIO.

Hallett, A. C. H. (1993). Chronicle of a colonial church: 1612-1826, Bermuda. Bermuda: Juniperhill Press.

Hallett, A. C. H., & Bermuda Maritime Museum. (2005). Bermuda under the Sommer Islands Company, 1612-1684: civil records. Bermuda: A joint publication of Juniperhill Press & Bermuda Maritime Museum Press.

Lefroy, J. H., & ebrary, Inc (Eds.). (2010). The historye of the Bermudaes or Summer Islands. Farnham [England] ; Burlington, Vt: Ashgate.

Sir Edwin Sandys (1561-1629). (1962). Bermuda Historical Quarterly., XIX(4).

onto the then uninhabited Island and shipwrecked (Hallett, 2005).

The significance of this Island’s geographical positioning, the pertinence of local and global demographics, and the dynamics and characteristics of the global presence can be traced over the centuries from its historic beginnings as a joint-stock company in 1615 (Hallett, 2005) to its current “corpor-nation” (Derber, 2000; Folbre, 2006) at the center of the sacred financial phenomenon.

Sir Edwin Sandys Portrait at Senate Building Hamilton Bermuda. Photo by M. St Jane   

As early as the seventeenth century there were activists advocating for balance between the market and society. For example one of the first early dissenters was Sir Edwin Sandys.

One of the first principal shareholders of the Bermuda Company was Sir Edwin Sandys’ voice reaches us from Bermuda's historical start as a company whose by-laws stated that, ‘it was to develop Bermuda as a Plantation (Hallett, 1993). Sandys owned 250 acres of the Island and was a shareholder with ten shares (Bernhard, 1985). He headed the Bermuda Company in 1612 and was formerly a colonial administrator who served in English parliaments during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.

Sandys’ is well remembered for leading a "faction to the House of Commons that opposed the unlimited prerogative of the king who endeavoured to maintain the privileges of the House and liberties of the subject." During the parliament of 1604. Sandys’ had a voice, the skill and courage to take a confrontational stance toward monopolistic company practices. The Bermuda Company was dissolved in 1684 (Hallett, 1993).

Socio-environmental concerns were evident and addressed early in the island’s settlement with the enactment of the first conservation law in the New World in 1623 which reads:

[to protect] “... the breede of tortoyses, ... by the liquorousness and wasterfulness of many persons, killed ouer young and scared awaye, the which this law prouided against” (Lefroy 2010).

Today diligence is maintained through the Bermuda Turtle project in collaboration with the Caribbean Islands conducting research into the biology of sea turtles and their use of Bermuda's habitats, fostering conservation of the populations that travel between their shores.

Now is the opportunity to protect our precious Earth Day.  The 2021 Theme is  ‘Restore our Earth.’  Bermuda has centuries of engagement around conservation and preservation with initiatives focused on being a green country extending into blue economy.

To hear more:

https://www.podpage.com/life-leadership-a-conscious-journey/

#Leadership #Journey #Wisdom #Legacy #Consciousness #Values #Purpose #ConsciousStewardship #chrysalis #possibilities #wisdom #courage #conversation #path #contribution #boundaries #contemplation #soul #purpose #reflection #sensingIsolation #Creativity #expansiveness #BermudaBusinessDevelopmentAgency #BDA #BermudaSeaGrass #BermudaTurtles #EarthDay2021 #resiliency #ClimateRiskFinance #climate #conservation #resilience #sustainability #restoration, #regenerative #WorldClimateLeaders #marineResources

Resources

• Take the Earth Day Pledge https://www.earthday.org/pledge/
• Ideas for Business https://www.earthday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EARTH-DAY-MENU-Businesses.pdf
• Conservation of Bermuda Seagrass Beds https://environment.bm/seagrass-beds
• The Bermuda Turtle Project. To promote turtle conservancy through education and researchhttps://bermudaturtleproject.org
• Film: Don’t Let the Gene Out of the Bottlehttps://protectnaturenow.com/shortfilm/

Sources

Bernhard, V. (1985). Bermuda and Virginia in the seventeenth century: a comparative view. Journal of Social History, 19(1), 57–70.

Bermuda Islands, Wooding Commission, Wooding, H. O. B., & Bermuda Islands. (1969).

Grizzard, F. E., & Smith, D. B. (2007). Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. ABC-CLIO.

Hallett, A. C. H. (1993). Chronicle of a colonial church: 1612-1826, Bermuda. Bermuda: Juniperhill Press.

Hallett, A. C. H., & Bermuda Maritime Museum. (2005). Bermuda under the Sommer Islands Company, 1612-1684: civil records. Bermuda: A joint publication of Juniperhill Press & Bermuda Maritime Museum Press.

Lefroy, J. H., & ebrary, Inc (Eds.). (2010). The historye of the Bermudaes or Summer Islands. Farnham [England] ; Burlington, Vt: Ashgate.

Sir Edwin Sandys (1561-1629). (1962). Bermuda Historical Quarterly., XIX(4).