This video is a great example of the power of smart permaculture design to restore ecosystems. The first 5 minutes or so are from the original; the rest is an update. Definitely watch the first 5 minutes, it's amazing:
Permaculture is a going to continue to be increasingly important in creating food systems that don't contribute to climate change, soil degradation, ecosystem destruction, food price spikes, and other sustainability issues, and are also resilient in the face of climate change impacts that threaten our current food systems.
And it's something that everyone can (and should!) do in their backyard, balcony, windowsill... Learn more at the links here.
Stay going.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Climate Hawks & #HR3242
On Wednesday, four climate hawks in the Senate made a solid push to bring this critical and urgent issue into focus for our nation's lawmakers.
Senators Sanders, Udall, Whitehouse, and Franken got right to the heart of the matter and confronted the special interests that are being so successful in making it look like there's confusion about the science - just enough to ensure the status quo.
See the highlights in this video:
In light of the "deniergate" scandal that broke this week, it's heartening to see some in Congress trying to bring climate solutions to the fore.
Other positive, exciting news from DC is the introduction of HR 3242 - the "Save Our Climate Act" - which puts a price on carbon, and uses revenues to go toward deficit reduction and dividends for the public -- starting $160 per person and rising to $1,170 per person.
Learn more about the bill here and click here to quickly and easily voice your support for it to your representatives.
Stay going.
Senators Sanders, Udall, Whitehouse, and Franken got right to the heart of the matter and confronted the special interests that are being so successful in making it look like there's confusion about the science - just enough to ensure the status quo.
See the highlights in this video:
In light of the "deniergate" scandal that broke this week, it's heartening to see some in Congress trying to bring climate solutions to the fore.
Other positive, exciting news from DC is the introduction of HR 3242 - the "Save Our Climate Act" - which puts a price on carbon, and uses revenues to go toward deficit reduction and dividends for the public -- starting $160 per person and rising to $1,170 per person.
Learn more about the bill here and click here to quickly and easily voice your support for it to your representatives.
Stay going.
Friday, February 17, 2012
New Data Quantifies Sustainability Leadership of Colleges & Universities
Feb. 16, 2012 - The American College
& University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), an
agreement between nearly 700 colleges and universities to promote
sustainability through teaching and action, today released new data
on the positive environmental impact of colleges and universities across the
country in reducing their carbon footprints.
Among the findings:
- The 599 colleges that submitted greenhouse gas inventories reported CO2 emissions of 28m metric tons, roughly as much as 2.58m homes or 5.2m passenger vehicles emit annually
- 306 institutions set a target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 or before; 93 pledged neutrality by 2030
- Collectively, the ACUPCC network has purchased more than 1.28 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits (RECs), making it the third-largest buyer in the country
Avoiding catastrophic climate change
will require transforming our economy, our institutions, our daily lives within
a generation. Only higher education has the influence, the critical mass
and the diversity of skills needed to do this.
John Olson, associate professor at
Villanova University, an ACUPCC signatory, explained the value it derives from
the network.
"The fact that Villanova is a
signatory of the ACUPCC has helped focus our efforts in many ways. It has prompted
us to collect data that are crucial to monitoring our progress. It has also
forced us to set milestones for achieving specific and concrete goals and
serves as a touchstone for developing academic programs on campus. Finally, the
pledge we made when signing the Commitment has allowed us to join the broader
coalition of institutions that have similarly committed to climate neutrality
and sustainability; such collaboration is energizing."
The ACUPCC has fundamentally shifted
higher education's attention on sustainability from a series of excellent but
distinct programs to a strategic imperative of presidents, academic officers,
business officers and trustees - becoming a key lens for measuring success. It
represents a cultural shift to focus on all aspects of social, economic and
ecological sustainability.
"This wealth of data speaks to
the enormous commitment and impact our member colleges have made," said
Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, the lead supporting
organization of the ACUPCC. "The ACUPCC truly is an example of
courageous leadership by college and university leaders. This is the first
major U.S. Sector to commit to climate neutrality and the first time since WWII
that higher education in the US has collectively stepped forward to take on a
major societal challenge without waiting for some external entity to request it
or fund them."
ACUPCC data shows that signatory
schools have secured on average $2,343,787 from outside sources
to support efforts related to the Climate Action Plan.
The data is publicly available on
the ACUPCC's online reporting system - www.acupcc.org/reportingsystem - a platform
that enables schools to quantify the sustainability activity that is taking
place on their campuses, and hold themselves accountable by sharing their
progress in a transparent way.
The full data set addresses current
emissions levels, target dates for emissions reductions and climate neutrality,
sustainability-related courses, degrees, and research initiatives, sources of
funding, projects recently completed, and a wealth of other newsworthy
information. The data is available in a variety of formats; contact Ulli Klein for
more information.
---
About
the ACUPCC
The ACUPCC is a high-visibility
effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments from
college and universities to accelerate the education, research and community
engagement to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate, and eliminate
net greenhouse gas emissions from their own operations.
Learn more at: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.
About
Second Nature
Second Nature works to create a
healthy, just, and sustainable society by transforming higher education. Second
Nature is the lead supporting organization of the American College and
University Presidents' Climate Commitment, a growing network of over 675
signatory higher education institutions in all fifty states that have made a
public commitment to transform the educational experience for all students so
they are prepared to solve the climate crisis.
Learn more at: www.secondnature.org.
Stay going.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Campus Climate Leadership through the ACUPCC
The report, which is free to anyone from an ACUPCC institution, can be accessed here.
The compilation draws from the monthly ACUPCC Implementer newsletter -- to which anyone can subscribe for free. If you're at all interested in sustainability and our future, I highly recommend signing up, it's not overwhelming to the inbox, and it's a great way to learn more about why higher education is such a critical leverage point in developing the leadership and implementing the solutions needed to create a sustainable society.
Stay going.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Back to Basics: Taxes
Here's a great and relevant TEDx talk by Chuck Collins at Hampshire College - clearly timely in light of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the raging tax-cut debates in Congress - about his work to support the inheritance tax with Bill Gates (senior).
"We're nothing without each other" - an elegant way of noting that we are an inherently social species, and when the social fabric is systematically undermined, it's unsustainable. We're all connected and no one acts in complete isolation. Taxes have been demonized over the past 3 decades since Milton Friedman's free-market fundamentalism took hold of our economic thinking, and this video makes a compelling case for why that's bad for America and global society.
For more millionaires who agree with this point of view - see this interview about "Patriotic Millionaires"
Stay going.
"We're nothing without each other" - an elegant way of noting that we are an inherently social species, and when the social fabric is systematically undermined, it's unsustainable. We're all connected and no one acts in complete isolation. Taxes have been demonized over the past 3 decades since Milton Friedman's free-market fundamentalism took hold of our economic thinking, and this video makes a compelling case for why that's bad for America and global society.
For more millionaires who agree with this point of view - see this interview about "Patriotic Millionaires"
Stay going.
Redefining The Good Life
Just in time for holiday shopping season... here's a great animated video diving into the interplay of consumerism, happiness, and meeting human needs.
Sustainability is about meeting human needs - in ways that don't undermine the capacity of others to do so, now or in the future. Check out this old post about distinguishing between human needs and satisfiers of those needs.
Stay going.
Sustainability is about meeting human needs - in ways that don't undermine the capacity of others to do so, now or in the future. Check out this old post about distinguishing between human needs and satisfiers of those needs.
Stay going.
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