There is one aspect of my job that I love beyond measure is that it gives me the opportunity to meet truly passionate individuals and groups, and let me underline a crucial point here, passionate entrepreneurs are often reasonable and progressive. These are actually three main traits that characterize successful entrepreneurs. The type of entrepreneurs that I have been meeting in the last three years shares this in common: they are very attune with their environment and the impact they have on the economy, society and environment, at any level. They are progressive, triple bottom line focused, social and environmental entrepreneurs, and one thing they will not compromise on is their values and code of ethics. I have discovered over this weekend this applies to organic medical marijuana outdoor growers as well. Continue Reading »

From our friends at Oceana
Oceana Applauds Commitment to New Analysis for Shell’s Plans to Drill in the Beaufort Sea, Calls for Better Science and Preparedness Before New Leasing

December 1, 2010

Contact: Michael LeVine ( mlevine@oceana.org )
Will Race ( wrace@oceana.org )

Anchorage, AK – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced an updated strategy for the Bureau of Ocean Management, Regulation, and Enforcement’s (BOEMRE) management of offshore oil and gas activities. The announcement contains some good news for the Arctic: the agency will prepare new environmental analyses for Shell’s proposal to drill in the Beaufort Sea in 2011 with opportunity for public review and comment; and it will enter an agreement to collaborate with NOAA on future planning decisions. In addition, however, DOI has included the Chukchi and Beaufort seas as areas to be considered for future leasing in 2012-17 and stated that it will honor existing leases, which could include those purchased under Chukchi Lease Sale 193.

“The Obama administration took some important steps forward today,” according to Oceana Pacific Director, Susan Murray. “By rejecting Shell’s proposal to rush forward, BOEMRE has the opportunity to get better science and learn from what happened in the Gulf before allowing drilling in the Beaufort Sea.” Continue Reading »

NEW GLOBAL WATER PRIZE ANNOUNCES WINNERS

Winning Innovations Show Promise for Vastly Reducing Water Consumption

SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2010 – A web application that alerts wine grape farmers when their vines are thirsty. Rainwater storage that’s easy to install and fits in tight spaces. Technology that tells water utility customers their usage rate and rewards them for cutting back. These are the winning business ideas for the inaugural Imagine H2O Prize and they’re ready to save the world hundreds of billions of gallons of water. Continue Reading »

No, it’s not the new black, or the new green or even the blue gold. Water should, if it is not already, be your new project. The hot days will be coming before we realize it and many states will be – once again – asking their constituents to reduce their water consumption. Well, can you think of 5 critical issues the world is facing because of our lack of access to drinkable water? Here are mine: Continue Reading »

A November 2009 report by international researchers who are also part of “Global Carbon Project” and published by Nature Geoscience shows an increase in CO2 emissions of 2.0% from 2007, 29% from 2000 and 41% above emissions in 1990. Another report by the International Energy Agency confirmed that China is by far the world largest CO2 emitter ahead of the USA. However, the USA still leads the CO2 emissions per capita ahead of Australia and Canada. These reports have highlighted several frightening trends: Continue Reading »

Greening our lifestyle and activities can be a daunting enterprise, especially when we start with a strong will to go green, little time and a vague idea about what is the problem, what’s causing it and how to fix it. So the idea of providing consumers and businesses some indicators in the form of third-party ratings, labels and certifications about one product and/or organization environmental performance seemed at first a good one. That was until the stakes became to high. Continue Reading »

Not surprisingly Green Age’s 2009 top 3 personalities have made the headlines for the right reasons. The months preceding Copenhagen have brought the spotlights on many individuals and organizations, but no one had been more expected than President Barack Obama. Some have been disappointed by his position, more by the lack of concrete results, and to sum up this year’s climate talk “We do not have the fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement that millions around the world hoped the world leaders gathered in Copenhagen would deliver. They are not done yet, and neither are we.” posts 350.org on their web site. As important this event was, let’s not forget there is a life outside climate change negotiations; organizations and individuals that have made a real difference in advancing the cause of a cleaner and a safer world, conservationists, scientists and activists alike have helped push environmental and health issues one (at least) step further. So without any delays, here is our top 3:

#3: The Climate Change Activists. Copenhagen and environmental talks could not have been the same without them, they are at the heart and soul of the contestation movement, and although they some times have made the headlines for the wrong reasons, it would be silly to ignore their roles in telling the world what was really happening in Copenhagen: tcktcktck, 350.org, avaaz.org, Union of Concerned Scientists and so many more that have rallied millions of people under the banner “A Fair, ambitious and bidding agreement now”. Keep the beat up, people! and so many more that have rallied millions of people under the banner “A Fair, ambitious and bidding agreement now”. Keep the beat up, people!

#2: Ken Cook, without a moment of hesitation is the environmentalist who, in our humble opinion, can contribute the most to environmental and health protective reforms. His non-profit, Environmental Working Group that he started with Richard Wiles in 1993, has raised to become one of the most respected voice in the green community through acute analyses. This year alone, EWG’s work in toxic chemicals in umbilical cord and many children products, school clening supplies, farm subsidies and water pollutions have helped change the conversation and speed the ban of some of the most harmful chemicals. He was also named ultimate green game changer by Huffington Post.

#1: And the winner is … President Barack Obama. We can’t think of anyone who has had more impact on the green and sustainable scene since Al Gore and the release of the Inconvenient Truth in 2006. President Obama did not wait long before pushing green initiatives. Even before taking office, he and his staff met with hundreds of NGOs, green and cleantech professionals. Immediately after moving to the White House, (and we’re going to cite our friends from Grist.com) “he appointed the greenest Cabinet ever, chock-full of top-notch scientists and long-time climate advocates. His administration has made massive green stimulus investments, set EPA moving forward to regulate CO2 and chemical policy reform, pushed green jobs, promoted eco-friendly retrofits, established new fuel-economy rules and efficiency standards, launched national retrofit programs, delayed mining and drilling permits, set new energy standards and goals for all federal departments, created a White House garden and farmers market, and oh so much more”. Unfortunately he has deliver more mountaintop-removal permits than his predecessor – although he plans to make it more constraining; we’re still waiting for him to take a position in regards to GMOs and conventional biofuels; and – but that is not very fair to charge him for this – he has not been able to impose (or convince) the Houses and the world of the necessity to adopt and implement drastic measures to curb the world’s CO2 emissions. But hey, in less than a year, he has done more than the last 3 presidents combined.

Otis Elementary School, Alameda California. Inside the multipurpose building kids have painted on two contiguous walls. The mural represents Alameda (the island city) but it could represent any other city, instead of the San Francisco Bay, it could be any bay or any lake. What’s striking about this mural is the overall theme, what everyone can or should do to keep their surrounding clean and sustainable. How did these kids picture their environment? Green and blue. Continue Reading »

It is not “that” difficult to create a useful and accessible online tool when the will is there. Trust me, I have experienced it first hand. Imagine getting 10 of the largest cities in California to collaborate on making available to other cities across the world their best green practices and actually to make it happen in a record 9 months time … Of course, some of the cities started to feel the increasingly heavy burden of answering requests from other cities and consultants interested in learning from them the how’s, the what’s and the why’s of say waste reduction policy and practices in Oakland or San Francisco, San Jose or Santa Monica. But that was not the only hurdle. In time of financial crisis, allocating a budget of roughly $100,000 to eventually save money and promote sustainability practices is a hard sell, even though everyone understands it has to happen: By switching to 100% recycled paper, GCC members annually have saved since 2008: 8,600,000 pounds of CO2 emissions, 19,600,000 gallons of water, 11,500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, and 67,000 trees. The list of achievements goes on covering energy, waste reduction, urban design, transportation, environmental health and water. Continue Reading »

Really, who would have imagined the Obama administration would have used the presidential communications privilege to hide the identity of the people Obama’s team is meeting behind close doors to shape the country’s energy policy? I am baffled, I must admit. Call me naive, but I do recall then candidate Obama openly and vehemently criticizing the Bush administration for keeping everyone in the dark and pushing his agenda without any dialogue and promising an unprecedented level of openness.
I can’t help but feeling awkward that such strategy is used to hide whom the energy team is meeting and at which frequency these meetings are taking place.
The release of 42 mountain top removal permits and the administration’s plans to continue mountaintop coal mining (even though it gives the EPA greater oversight), along with the recent decision by the supreme court to allow dumping debris in lakes send a chilling signal to environmentalists and the communities affected by these destructive practices.
“The real questions for the administration are these: will they stop the destruction caused by mountaintop removal or not? Will they follow the Bush administration’s policies of allowing enormous piles of waste to be dumped into streams, forever burying them, or not?” Joan Mulhern, Senior Legislative Counsel at Earthjustice, said in a release.
With a near 100% score amongst environmental and social activists during the last election, I believe we deserve the right to know.

We seem to all agree achieving sustainability whether at home or at work entails three types of practices: reuse, reduce and recycle. They all make perfect sense. Think of plastic bags and bottles, office paper and cartons, energy and water. In the three months following a rethinking of our energy and water consumption as well as our waste management practices, although we made significant milestones, we felt we could have achieved better results if we’d also replaced some items and if we could reinvent the way we live. Continue Reading »

With 17 million inhabitants, Beijing is China’s second largest urban area. In less than a month, the Imperial City will host the XXIX Summer Olympic Games, and both the People’s Republic of China and the City’s government are making sure the most viewed planetary event will be a success. Even the air pollution that has been plaguing the city will be taken care of ($17 billion has been spent to this effect), even if it means forbidding car access for a full month. Athletes with asthma will be able to compete. China’s efforts to organize a green event have become incompatible with the resources required for a smooth event of this magnitude. Actually, Beijing Summer Olympic Games may enter history as the most environmentally unfriendly event in Olympic history. But this is only a “historical detail” in comparison to what the future may hold for this megalopolis. Continue Reading »

Mark your calendar: Earth Day is on Tuesday April 22. So, what are you going to do? Earthday.net gives you plenty of tips, events you can join to make this day enjoyable and memorable. Professional organizations are also on the deck. Tips from green cleaning guru Steve Ashkin: how about informing your clients? I agree: how about sharing three green/ environmental tips with each one of your friends and learning three from them?

AFTER BALI: THE ROAD AHEAD ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Hosted by the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on February 7th, 2008.

I thought it would be interesting to hear what three distinctive voices representing the political, business and scientific spheres had to say about the Bali talks. I was particularly curious to see how the policy maker (in charge amongst other to define, coordinate, implement US environmental policy) would answer when facing the hard reality as exposed by a renown and respected scientist.
Continue Reading »

Congratulations to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former US VP. Al Gore, winners of the 2007 Peace Nobel Prize … “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”.
But it is the Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded, and truly so, the Norwegian committee recognized that the effect of climate change increases the chance of conflicts as natural resources are becoming scarce and countries or ethnics will fight to access these resources. Looking at the list of Nobel Prize Winners, I believe this is the first time that this prestigious – although sometimes controversial – distinction has been awarded for the sake of conflict prevention. Continue Reading »