This page will hold an eclectic and ever expanding series of links to things I find interesting. I'll do my best to delete links that no longer work, but if you happen to find one just email me and let me know.
ITunes U
Available using Apple's ITunes software, ITunes U features lectures about many diverse topics from universities around the country, including Stanford, Duke, MIT and UC Berkeley. And the best thing is they're FREE! Go to the ITunes Store and look for ITunes U. Very cool!
Worldwatch Institute
This site has tons of research (for free and for sale) for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society. I learned today that even the Vatican is going Solar! Well, part of it is, anyway...
Bioneers
This great group, which I just joined, is sponsoring a conference in Marin County, California October 19-21, 2007.
Wiser Earth
This is a fast-growing database of companies and organizations from around the world working on environmental and social justice issues. Started by Paul Hawken (see below) and with the site architecture created by many (friends, colleagues, and volunteers) it just went live in May, so it has a long way to go to list all of the potential groups—though there are 105,943 listed as of today. As a Wiki it is self-generated and self regulated and it will evolve by consensus over time. Paul estimates there are between 1 and 2 million groups (from single-person dot-coms to billion dollar non-profits) working in these areas and that combined they create the "largest movement in history." There are two more parts to the WISER (short for World Index for Social and Environmental Responsibility) concept, WiserBusiness and WiserGovernment, that will be launched in the future.
Going Local: The Movement for Community Choice Energy
A great, fast-moving 18-minute briefing on Community Choice Energy (CCE). CCE will allow people like you and me to choose how the electricity we use is generated, either from renewable sources like wind and solar or from traditional sources like natural gas or Nuclear. PG&E, for all of its press and PR about "going green," is not moving fast enough towards renewable power generation and is instead trying to build many more fossil fuel (and even Nuclear) powered plants. I urge you to take the time to watch the video and make up your own mind which direction we should take.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Extraordinary People Plus...
I have come across some remarkable people, groups and activities in my research and I'll share a few with you from time to time, along with links to more information about them. For now, here are three:PAUL HAWKEN: I consider Paul one of the great philosopher/macro thinkers of our time. Paul is an environmentalist, entrepreneur (Smith and Hawken), author (including The Next Economy (Ballantine 1983), Growing a Business (Simon and Schuster 1987), The Ecology of Commerce (HarperCollins 1993), Natural Capitalism with Hunter and Amory Lovins (Little Brown and Co., 1999), and his current Blessed Unrest (Viking Press, 2007), lecturer, teacher and idea- incubator extraordinaire. Here are just a few links to more information about his activities:
AMORY LOVINS: Amory is another renaissance man, described as a "consultant experimental physicist" who is also an environmentalist, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute , author (Winning the Oil Endgame, Factor Four with Hunter Lovins and Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, and Natural Capitalism with Hunter Lovins and Paul Hawken, consultant and researcher. He has enormous common sense, a folksy and approachable personal style, a seemingly boundless grasp of complex environmental issues, and a clear roadmap out of the energy morass in which we find ourselves. He's not new to the debate, having been preaching (and walking) the low-energy footprint talk for over 20 years at his home and offices in Colorado. And his ideas have garnered the respect and acceptance of many liberal and conservative stakeholders alike. In addition, he's a leading proponent of the "soft energy path", described thusly in Wikipedia: The "soft energy path" assumes that energy is but a means to social ends, and is not an end in itself. Soft energy paths involve efficient use of energy, diversity of energy production methods (matched in scale and quality to end uses), and special reliance on co-generation and "soft technologies" (i.e., alternative technology) such as solar energy, wind energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, etc.
I urge anyone who is remotely interested in energy issues to find out more about Amory. He's truly remarkable.
PAUL FENN and COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION: I saw Paul recently at an event sponsored by the Mainstreet Moms group in Mill Valley presenting the concept of Community Choice Aggregation, a somewhat complicated sounding but decidedly elegant and empowering way for local communities to control energy costs and hasten the growth of renewable energy industries such as solar and wind at the same time. You will be hearing a lot more about this in the months and years ahead, but you can find out more about it here. I would also encourage you to watch the short film about it called "Going Local: The Movement for Community Choice Energy" available on the MMOB website.
Among other things Paul is Founder & Director of Local Power and Publisher of AMERICAN LOCAL POWER NEWS, based in Oakland, California.
Fenn authored California's 2002 Community Choice law, Assembly Bill 117, allowing municipalities to choose alternative electricity providers for their communities. Sponsored by state Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), the Community Choice law also removed the state's $300 million/year energy efficiency fund from monopoly utility control and made these funds available to cities to pay for their communities' local energy efficiency programs.
Fenn also wrote San Francisco's 2001 "solar bond" or H Bond authority Proposition H and the 50 MW San Francisco Solar Power Facility proposal for which the revenue bond authority was written. Sponsored by San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, the project calls for construction of the world's largest urban solar utility on San Francisco rooftops.
Digital Earth
On Friday June 8th I had the pleasure of attending the International Symposium on Digital Earth, held this year for the first time in the U.S. on the UC Berkeley campus.
A new wave of technological innovation (using GIS tools like Google Earth, Microsoft's Virtual Earth, ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer and GeoFusion) means that we can now view the complexity of our planet at any specific location on the Earth's surface. Launched during a speech in 1998 by former United States Vice President Al Gore (yes, THAT Al Gore!), Digital Earth is a "global initiative aimed at harnessing the world's data and information resources to develop a virtual 3-D model of Earth in order to monitor, measure, and forecast natural and human activity on the planet." 
Pioneered within NASA in the late 1990's and formalized by the Beijing Declaration, the Digital Earth movement is increasingly being seen as the major scientific integration project of the 21st century. Built upon and integrated with World Wide Web technologies and protocols, the development of the Digital Earth project is "involving the grassroots efforts of many individuals, companies, university researchers and government organizations. In creating the Digital Commons, the Digital Earth initiative will provide for a vast digital marketplace where citizens can access both free and commercial information and services."
When you see the acronym GIS, short for Geographical Information Systems, these are the combined technologies used to monitor and measure the data coming from satellites as well as a host of other geographic and atmospheric measuring devices in, on and above the Earth. GPS (Geographic Positioning Systems), like those used in some cars to help you find your way around, also use GIS data. A planet-wide system of sharing GIS data, and even the computational power of thousands of computers (including some super computers) needed to process it, is already partially built and in the process of being connected.
One of the truly remarkable things about the Digital Earth movement is that most of the architecture used to serve up the information, along with the data itself, is open source, meaning that most of the GIS information being obtained and cataloged worldwide will be available to anyone. Some of this information is necessarily protected for national security reasons, but most will be available to anyone, worldwide, wishing to study and use it. And this will allow and foster endless opportunities for research and education on the university, high school and even elementary level, as well as allowing NGO's (non governmental organizations), governments and even individuals to view, repackage and market the data in exciting new ways (such as is being done with Google Earth).
A Meat Lover Becomes Vegan—And Thrives!
As a lifelong, confirmed meat-head I never, ever thought I'd become strictly vegetarian, much less a Vegan (no animal products whatsoever). But a less-than-stellar health report from my doctor, along with the gift from a friend of a book entitled The China Study by Dr. T Colin Campbell and his son Thomas M. Campbell II, have changed my mind, and my quality of life, forever.
If you can get past the initial rejection response most people have to the idea of living life meatless—that veganism is somehow unnatural and that choosing this lifestyle necessarily means eating the same boring vegetables over and over again—and if you're willing to become educated and listen to the facts, this book just might extend your life, and the lives of those near and dear to you, significantly. Please understand that I'm not opposed to eating animal-based products on strictly moral grounds, as long as the animals were raised in an ethical and humane way (unfortunately, though, many are not). Rather I discovered through this massive, clinically-controlled 20 year study (and others done by highly-respected, traditionally trained scientists and doctors that are cited in the book) that there is clear evidence that the western lifestyle placing a heavy emphasis on consumption of animals and animal-based foods contributes significantly to many of our "diseases of affluence."
In fact, many of the symptoms and effects of these diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity, can be minimized, controlled and even reversed without drugs—simply by changing to a whole foods, plant-based diet and increasing exercise. While this sounds shockingly simple, I can assure you there is ample evidence that it's true. We've all heard over and over that we should eat more vegetables, exercise more, and eat less crap. What isn't made clear, however, is the degree to which our animal-eating lifestyle is literally killing us and how relatively easy it is to mitigate and reverse the damage being done.
Lest you think this is yet another quack diet book by some fringe nutritional "guru" out to make a quick buck, or some militant vegan with an agenda, believe me it is far from it. Dr. Campbell grew up on a dairy in the Midwest and did his Ph.D. dissertation on methods of increasing dairy production, so he was decidedly pro-animal agriculture from a very young age and continued to be so until the evidence of the negative effects of our animal-based diet became overwhelming. And what is so surprising, and so powerful, about Dr. Campbell's views is that he has been a well-respected member of the medical research establishment for years, and he knows the system from the inside out.
Extensively annotated from his own research and from that of many others, it quickly becomes clear in The China Study that Dr. Campbell is uniquely positioned to serve up these facts because of his extensive 30-year career and experience in the fields of nutrition and health research. But Dr. Campbell doesn't stop there. He examines the politics of health, the dire lack of nutritional training of our health professionals, the gamed and manipulated health care system created by the cozy relationships between doctors and the pharmaceutical industries, and the huge amounts of PAC money donated to politicians by stakeholders in the animal agriculture juggernaut. His views are therefore incredibly threatening to the health care industry and he has been vilified by many whose livelihoods are based on preserving the status quo. But believe me....if the information in this book could convince a lifelong meat eater like me to so radically change my diet, there's a good chance it will influence you as well, even if you don't decide to do anything but include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. For more information about being, or becoming vegan, go here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, if you're concerned about the problems being caused by Global Warming, another eyeopener regarding how animal agriculture affects our planet as a whole is detailed in a study published last year by the United Nations entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, available here: Livestock's Long Shadow.
I had no idea that the animal agriculture industry worldwide was responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gasses released into the environment, and how much valuable space and how many precious recources we devote to it.
And for more great information about diet as it relates to the environment, click here and here.
I really can't encourage you enough to get your hands on The China Study. It very likely could change your life, as it has mine.
If you can get past the initial rejection response most people have to the idea of living life meatless—that veganism is somehow unnatural and that choosing this lifestyle necessarily means eating the same boring vegetables over and over again—and if you're willing to become educated and listen to the facts, this book just might extend your life, and the lives of those near and dear to you, significantly. Please understand that I'm not opposed to eating animal-based products on strictly moral grounds, as long as the animals were raised in an ethical and humane way (unfortunately, though, many are not). Rather I discovered through this massive, clinically-controlled 20 year study (and others done by highly-respected, traditionally trained scientists and doctors that are cited in the book) that there is clear evidence that the western lifestyle placing a heavy emphasis on consumption of animals and animal-based foods contributes significantly to many of our "diseases of affluence."
In fact, many of the symptoms and effects of these diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity, can be minimized, controlled and even reversed without drugs—simply by changing to a whole foods, plant-based diet and increasing exercise. While this sounds shockingly simple, I can assure you there is ample evidence that it's true. We've all heard over and over that we should eat more vegetables, exercise more, and eat less crap. What isn't made clear, however, is the degree to which our animal-eating lifestyle is literally killing us and how relatively easy it is to mitigate and reverse the damage being done.
Lest you think this is yet another quack diet book by some fringe nutritional "guru" out to make a quick buck, or some militant vegan with an agenda, believe me it is far from it. Dr. Campbell grew up on a dairy in the Midwest and did his Ph.D. dissertation on methods of increasing dairy production, so he was decidedly pro-animal agriculture from a very young age and continued to be so until the evidence of the negative effects of our animal-based diet became overwhelming. And what is so surprising, and so powerful, about Dr. Campbell's views is that he has been a well-respected member of the medical research establishment for years, and he knows the system from the inside out.
Extensively annotated from his own research and from that of many others, it quickly becomes clear in The China Study that Dr. Campbell is uniquely positioned to serve up these facts because of his extensive 30-year career and experience in the fields of nutrition and health research. But Dr. Campbell doesn't stop there. He examines the politics of health, the dire lack of nutritional training of our health professionals, the gamed and manipulated health care system created by the cozy relationships between doctors and the pharmaceutical industries, and the huge amounts of PAC money donated to politicians by stakeholders in the animal agriculture juggernaut. His views are therefore incredibly threatening to the health care industry and he has been vilified by many whose livelihoods are based on preserving the status quo. But believe me....if the information in this book could convince a lifelong meat eater like me to so radically change my diet, there's a good chance it will influence you as well, even if you don't decide to do anything but include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. For more information about being, or becoming vegan, go here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, if you're concerned about the problems being caused by Global Warming, another eyeopener regarding how animal agriculture affects our planet as a whole is detailed in a study published last year by the United Nations entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, available here: Livestock's Long Shadow.
I had no idea that the animal agriculture industry worldwide was responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gasses released into the environment, and how much valuable space and how many precious recources we devote to it.
And for more great information about diet as it relates to the environment, click here and here.
I really can't encourage you enough to get your hands on The China Study. It very likely could change your life, as it has mine.
City Planet: Stewart Brand's Views on Urbanization
Last night I attended a talk given by Stewart Brand at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco exploring the concept of “City Planet,” or the urbanization of the earth's populations that is and has been occurring at an unprecedented rate. Stewart has always seemed to be at the forefront of thought provoking ideas and concepts that have interested me, starting with his stint as the publisher of the Whole Earth Catalogue (from 1968 to 1972), one of the defining publications of the environmental/back to the land movement and continuing as the founder in 1974 of the CoEvolution Quarterly, another particularly relevant and environmentally savvy magazine covering diverse topics, many with a decidedly sustainable/whole systems flavor—-WAY before sustainability was cool! So Stewart has been providing platforms for the exploration of alternative thought for years, and judging by this discussion he hasn't slowed down a bit.
My interest in renewable energy (specifically Solar) and organic gardening is traceable to the WEC and I remember rushing to the nearest bookstore to pick up a copy when a new one came out and spending hours (and days) leafing through the oversized “well” of ideas and information on new tools and technologies.
Not surprisingly, Stewart also co-founded The Well in 1985, one of the first online communities and a kind of online extension of the WEC, as well as the Global Business Network in 1987. He founded The Long Now Foundation in 1996 to “provide a counterpoint to what it views as today's "faster/cheaper" mindset and to instead promote "slower/better" thinking, and has been involved in numerous other projects and causes over the years too numerous to mention here.
I have photographed Stewart several times over the years, first for an article in The Pacific Sun newspaper in Marin County (the subject of which escapes me), then at a reunion (I think it was for the Whole Earth Catalogue folks, but I’m not sure) that took place in the Marin Headlands sometime in the 80’s. He’s lived and worked in and around the Sausalito houseboat community for years.I pretty much lost track of Stewart over the last 20 years, though I was aware of his participation in The Well, so I was interested in discovering what this Renaissance man has been up to. Stewart views cities as profoundly trans formative both to individuals (particularly women) and to societies in general. Outlining civilization’s drive to urbanize, he ran through a slide program heavy on facts and figures showing clearly that statistically there is no longer a back-to-the-land movement (that he catered to with the WEC), rather people are fleeing the countryside in droves and, combined with births and transplants from other areas, some 1.3 million folks are being added to urban communities worldwide each week, or almost 70 million a year. This is having, and will continue to have, profound impacts for all of us well into this century in terms of urban planning, creation of wealth, increased globalization, poverty services, education, and even creativity and innovation.
This movement represents a significant shift from the past. In 1800 just 3% of the world population lived in cities. Currently about 50% do, and projections show some 61% will be city dwellers by 2030. A huge percentage of this urban growth is going on in the east, and the southern hemisphere—both in South America and Africa. And most people moving into cities worldwide are joining the burgeoning squatter communities such as those in Kibera, Nairobi or Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro. According to Brand, 1 billion people currently live in such slums, with an estimate 2 billion more expected by 2070. Those are huge numbers which have the potential to redefine the cities themselves, strain city services and utilities, and which will no doubt add to the frictions inherent in large populations of "have-not's" bumping up to a much smaller group of "haves." According to Brand, rather than being hotbeds of crime, however, many of these squatter neighborhoods are teaming with people trying to better themselves and work their way up and out, fostering enormous “informal economies” that are not tracked by traditional economic measures but which make up about 60% of the employment in developing countries. Again according to Brand there is a surprising amount of money already circulating in these communities, and since cities give women and families better access to increased economic opportunities there is reason to believe that many will eventually be able to pull themselves up and out and into the traditional economy.
One last interesting point Brand made is that urban young people tend to delay child rearing and also have fewer children when they do have them. There is already zero population growth in many developed countries, and this will also be true of the developing countries as the trend towards urbanization continues. This will lead to a point later this century when the worldwide population will peak at 8 or 9 billion, then actually start to recede—very good news from a planetary perspective.
Stewart recommended several good books for further information:
SHADOW CITIES: A BILLION SQUATTERS, AN URBAN NEW WORLD by Robert Neuwirth
THE FORTUNE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID: ERADICATING POVERTY THROUGH PROFITS by CK Pralahad
THE EMPTY CRADLE: FALLING BIRTHRATES THREATEN WORLD PROSPERITY AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT by Phillip Longman
SHANTARAM by Gregory David Roberts and Alejando Palomas
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In early May I attended EcoLive, an event in San Francisco that featured Robert Kennedy Jr. as the keynote speaker. I have been aware over the years of his work as an environmental attorney, but I had no idea how intelligent, erudite and charismatic he is. His book, Crimes against Nature, is a MUST read for anyone who wonders what the hell happened with the election process in 2000 and 2004, and who wants to understand just how detrimental the Bush administration has been towards the environment. I HIGHLY recommend it. He would make an excellent Secretary of the Interior or Head of the EPA. I hope when the Democrats finally get the White House again in '08 they'll consider him for one of these posts! The difference Kennedy could make in reversing the damage the current administration has done to the environment, and in helping to form a sustainable mind-set at the highest levels of government, would be incalculable.
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