tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396604678483068072024-03-13T06:42:55.381-07:00OUSustainableBusinessProfessorThis diary is a series of reflections from the instructor of "Sustainable Business" taught online at the University of Oklahoma. It is written in a stream-on-consciousness style.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-32453718441948256242010-02-01T10:03:00.000-08:002010-02-01T10:22:34.333-08:00Creating a Culture of Sustainability<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S2cb5Wb3FGI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/bx-8sI9hDak/s1600-h/YOP+blanket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S2cb5Wb3FGI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/bx-8sI9hDak/s320/YOP+blanket.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433342147534722146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S2cbcasyYII/AAAAAAAAAJw/E0ebbkIPLjQ/s1600-h/Yop+speck.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 153px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S2cbcasyYII/AAAAAAAAAJw/E0ebbkIPLjQ/s320/Yop+speck.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433341650463252610" /></a><br />Try to create any culture and you'll meet with resistance, ridicule, and persecution. Or worse: being ignored. Sustainability is a counter culture of epic proportions but it is what is necessary. How does one support a Business Culture that honors sustainability? Or a community culture that honors sustainability? or a household culture that honors sustainability? I spent three days immersed in rich conversations and lamentations (mine, not theirs) with culture change agents from Austin and San Francisco who were snowed in at my house. <br /><br />Household sustainability is perhaps the easiest but within the limitations of the social restraints, community limitations, and a conventional business economy. Our city planners have made bike transport almost impossible without risk of life; every artery is four-lane and 45 mph. Business provides limited organic food or local produce or local products. Still, no one promised an easy hike. Even the summit is a fog, but we know the general direction we are called to strive for. <br /><br />I find solace in reading Horton Hears a Who about the tiny dust speck that insist it is real. And I wonder where that final <span style="font-weight:bold;">YOP</span> will come from that will wake the sleeping world.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-20783160640739380352010-01-24T08:46:00.000-08:002010-01-24T09:03:30.968-08:00Economics and Ethics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S1x8sW4viyI/AAAAAAAAAJo/xodC9NIo_qU/s1600-h/rock+on+line.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S1x8sW4viyI/AAAAAAAAAJo/xodC9NIo_qU/s320/rock+on+line.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430352352201640738" /></a><br />"For an ethic is not an ethic, and a value not a value, without some sacrifice for it, something given up, something not taken, something not gained, . We do it in exchange for a greater good, for something worth more than just money and power and position." - Paul Hawken, Ecology of Commerce. <br /><br /><br />There is a line in sustainability where people rush like mad to reach then they spot cold in their tracks, cold in their hearts. This line is a master of men and has many names: breakeven point, point of diminishing returns, equilibrium point, cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Money makes a poor master and makes for a poorer environment. <br /><br />The line ... she is imaginary. Those that cross it find themselves walking through a new world of ethics-based decisions. When we sell environmentalism on an economic argument, that is no great sale for it is no accomplishment to entice people to make money by avoiding expenses or waste. It allows us to bypass the ethics conversation, the conversation that is awkward but necessary to sustain the human species. <br /><br />We do many thing in our lives that have no monetary motivation and in fact, actually costs us money. I shower daily though it is an expense; the intangible hygiene seems worth it. I do not sell my children into slavery though that would be an economically justified action. Ethics are not pesky, they are necessary for all that is good. It is time to expand that thought process to the larger decisions about the environment that our world faces..or more accurately too often neglects to face.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-55275742356733405342010-01-23T07:25:00.000-08:002010-01-23T07:59:39.376-08:00Pursue Beauty - Resist Stupidity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S1sVD26kkpI/AAAAAAAAAJg/GqkctjXKyKQ/s1600-h/detail_from_the_birth_of_venus_by_botticelli_poster-p228473334527437369tdcp_400.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S1sVD26kkpI/AAAAAAAAAJg/GqkctjXKyKQ/s320/detail_from_the_birth_of_venus_by_botticelli_poster-p228473334527437369tdcp_400.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429956931750236818" /></a><br />I am rereading Ecology of Commerce for the Nth time and am once again struck by the design flaw inherent in our commerce system. Some human being, not nature, CHOOSES to include toxins in our daily products... CHOOSES to manufacturer products that can not be disassembled and recycled. And we, the oblivious masses, involuntarily CHOOSE to support this insanity by spending every penny we have to purchase these toxic products. But as Dr. Jerod Diamond says in his Ted.com speech "we created these problems so we also have the ability to address and correct these problems." (paraphrased) Thus the second half of the bumper sticker "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Resist Stupidity</span>" but the first half is very important and often overlooked "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Pursue Beauty</span>."<br /><br />Beautiful items last. They don't get put in the landfill. They are cherished, appreciated daily, and inherited. <br /><br />Pursue Beauty - Resist Stupidity together is <span style="font-style:italic;">powerful</span>. Too often we see the absence of it such as when a city council votes to remove a lovely tree-lined boulevard and replace with an "efficient" four-lane road. (Duck Street in Stillwater Oklahoma) Where was the voice of wisdom that should have cried out "HEY! We must not resist beauty and pursue stupidity!" <br /><br />(Duck Street was a jewel of urban form: Timeless Victorian homes lined a street that boasted a canopy of trees. In exchange for this perpetual beauty we CHOSE to destroy it; we now have fast traffic and weekly car wrecks while discouraged walking, bicycling and street life. Let's rethink this trade-off.)<br /><br />That elusive voice of wisdom is latent within us. Imagine what the world would be like if we all pursued beauty and resisted stupidity. Someday sustainability will just be the way things are. There will be no discussion required. No persuasion necessary. We will have a culture of sustainability or we will have no culture at all. The choice is simple but we have to CHOOSE it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-37912082078440212232010-01-03T20:38:00.000-08:002010-01-03T20:56:46.021-08:00A Quiet Time of Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S0F0z4d-EaI/AAAAAAAAAJY/19mfqvYHLoY/s1600-h/teach-in.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/S0F0z4d-EaI/AAAAAAAAAJY/19mfqvYHLoY/s320/teach-in.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422743861011026338" /></a><br />The solstice is a time to sigh and reflect on what has been and what will be. Christmas is a ritual to endure and I'm always glad when the expectations pass and we can get down to the business of playing with new toys. The New Year is my most quiet time of year. It is when I ponder how to best approach a new crop of students. How will I reach them? What do they need? What have I learned that I can give to them to take on their lifelong journey?<br /><br />I'm so glad I don't teach English. I like teaching about survival and prosperity. These seem important. In fact, it hit me that sustainability is on a species level not an individual level. We tend to think in terms of sustaining our household and our legacy but it is so much bigger than that. How does one teach something so big?<br /><br />I'm reading an essay called "Survival U" in a 1970 Environmental Teach-in book. It is worrisome that they were right, we have faced this challenge before and failed to create a systemic change that would value the environment that supports human life. Times are different now so the question is how to leverage all that favors successfully teaching sustainability ethics.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-67570183071284531112009-11-21T14:50:00.000-08:002009-11-21T14:56:56.970-08:00Passive Solar at Work<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SwhvAnrvdfI/AAAAAAAAAJA/3h-pT2Z-ALk/s1600/under+piano.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SwhvAnrvdfI/AAAAAAAAAJA/3h-pT2Z-ALk/s320/under+piano.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406693409101411826" /></a>The late afternoon sun streams through a bank of south facing windows to cast warm rays across 18 feet of living room. It creates beautiful shadows amid the warming rays. Passive solar design is primarily to allow the natural heat of the sun to warm the home but the natural light is also fabulous. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">This is what makes an ordinary home extraordinary. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-89823486668792011912009-11-14T13:55:00.000-08:002009-11-14T14:21:18.574-08:00Building on Beauty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sv8sn8JZ5BI/AAAAAAAAAI4/cufOqdLjtkI/s1600-h/side+house.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sv8sn8JZ5BI/AAAAAAAAAI4/cufOqdLjtkI/s320/side+house.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404087142539977746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sv8na1PkzwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/i_NEtMbfgbA/s1600-h/spring+house.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sv8na1PkzwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/i_NEtMbfgbA/s320/spring+house.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404081419790372610" /></a>Randy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Veitenheimer</span> was a guest speaker on the final panel at our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">OLLI</span> class. People were intrigued by his discussion about the "community overlay" he has developed as an economic redevelopment tool for Tecumseh, Oklahoma.<div><br /></div><div>His strategy has several tenets. One is based on increasing the amount of opportunities for social interactions. This allows for an exchange of economics of course, yes, but equally as vital, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">giving</span>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another is to build beauty. A beautiful structure is not diminished by people looking at it. No one saves an ugly building from demolition, but a beautiful structure will be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">repurposed</span> and remodeled for decades or centuries if possible. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Beauty gives.</span> </div><div><br /></div><div>Rights and Responsibilities is another tenet interwoven into his approach. Your community deserves to be beautiful AND each member has an obligation or responsibility to provide beauty by whatever means they possess. Everyone can do something.</div><div><br /></div><div>Randy quoted the Navajo poem "Walk in Beauty" as a source of inspiration. Google it and read aloud. </div><div><br /></div><div>Randy's house is 1,300 square feet but lives large. Infill. Fruit trees. 9 ft ceilings. The thoughtful details abound. It has taken 3 years to build because it is build to last a century. The intentionally is what sets this house apart from others. It provides shelter, it gives beauty, it is not a burden to its future owners. "It is finished in beauty," echoes the Navajo. </div><div><br /></div><div>When I see cheap thoughtless new buildings erected in my community I cringe at the permanent blight being forced onto the public realm. When the only metric is the economic dollar, beauty is cut from the budget. It is no small tragedy to watch selfishness manifested in the name of economic development. The track house, the metal building, the bare structure, these all favor only one but cheat the rest. We must be proud of what we do and what we build, it is a measure of our humanity. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-7153757700013870792009-11-07T13:38:00.000-08:002009-11-07T13:52:17.383-08:00Noticed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SvXo-ULxI0I/AAAAAAAAAIo/SiximStis5c/s1600-h/images-3.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 110px; height: 117px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SvXo-ULxI0I/AAAAAAAAAIo/SiximStis5c/s320/images-3.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401479485368378178" /></a><div>"Notice" she slowly repeated with emphasis to make sure I had heard her use her newly found word. Sage, now two, began our conversation this morning with this statement. </div><div><br /></div><div>"I NOTICED my bow. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">noticed</span></span>."</div><div><br /></div><div>All day that "noticed" stayed with me. Isn't that how we gradually change our culture and develop an environmental ethic, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">by noticing?</span> </div><div><br /></div><div>There is distinct perception and deliberate discernment in the word <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">noticed</span>. It implies that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">intrinsic</span> value has been assigned. She appreciated something previously overlooked.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was overjoyed. And inspired. She noticed something tiny and lovely about her blouse today. Noticed and celebrated and shared her discovery.</div><div>This made me smile and instilled a glimmer of hope.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-20538867282436478692009-11-03T22:24:00.000-08:002009-11-05T16:30:06.435-08:00Osher lifelong learning institute at OSU<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SvEgep07OoI/AAAAAAAAAIg/L8wSVtbwx6o/s1600-h/paddy+hangs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SvEgep07OoI/AAAAAAAAAIg/L8wSVtbwx6o/s320/paddy+hangs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400133139189938818" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It has been my privilege to teach </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Sustainable Prosperity</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to the </span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">OSU</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> alumni this fall. It has been a challenge to condense a 16-week class down to a 4 hour buffet. The final session had a plethora of multi-media clips which are now assembled in one easy-to-access place. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Enjoy!</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">OLLI</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> members asked the same questions as the college students. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Where is our leadership?!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Why isn't anybody doing anything?!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Well.... they say when you point one finger in blame three others on your hand are pointing back at you. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">O</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ur conversations circle back around to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">education</span>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">citizenship</span>, and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">ethics</span>. Frankly all three involve a lot of work. Yet I am hopeful because sustainability is being universally demanded by multiple generations. Do you suppose it is instinctual? I know it is contagious. I propose the motto:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sustainability: The Good Pandemic </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The photo? My 10-year-old son rocking climbing Old Central. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hanging on to education is what </span></span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">OLLI</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> is all about!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Click on the links in green below to connect to a 1-3 minute video clip of the topic. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Latest News in Science</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(also bad news): CO2 levels have not been as high as they are now for 15 million years. 15,000,000 years. We are at 387 ppm now and 350 ppm is considered a stable desirable level. We increase 2-3 ppm every single year. Like compounding interest, we are compounding carbon.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06nYSrjFNB0&feature=PlayList&p=3ADE3D82DBF52402&index=4&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Vanishing Ice Caps by CBS</span></span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sGKvDNdJNA"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"We Call It Life"</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">commercial by the people who want you to believe CO2 is nothing to worry your pretty little head about. </span></span></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5-F30YFEv8&NR=1&feature=fvwp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Antarctic melting</span></span></span></a></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SoBF4vFArg&NR=1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">BBC: Rate of Ice Melt in Greenland (great graphics that explain!)</span></span></span></a></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5393129n"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Catlin Ice Survey Finds 6 ft. arctic not 12 ft.</span></span></span></a></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJpj8UUMTaI&feature=related"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Vulcan CO2 Map with Live Carbon Flares on the US Map. LOOK at Tulsa burn baby burn!</span></span></span></a></b></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf65xUKRCuk"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Walmart</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Commercial</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Girls bragging that T-shirts are made from Soda Bottles</span></span></b></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XGshOMljFs"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Walmart</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Commercial</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">about </span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">CFL</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> impact</span></span></b></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><a href="http://walmartstores.com/Video/?id=1284"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bill </span></span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">McDonough</span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> of Cradle-to-Cradle Fame speaks at </span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wal</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">-mart (24 minutes)</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Just like the </span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wal</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">-Mart store, you could spend an entire afternoon on their sustainability site:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Cambria;"><a href="http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%A2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BerHLW6KhRY&feature=fvw"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ray Anderson</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">,</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Greenest CEO in America speaks for 15 minutes.</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In summary, a 12-minute video from <a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);" href="http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp">Patagonia</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"> </span>with many thought leaders on achieving sustainability in organizations. Refreshingly honest.<br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why </span></span><a href="http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/homeowner/cflreport.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I won't switch</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to </span></span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">CFLs</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> with toxic mercury to save $10 per month on my lighting bill but instead employ natural daylighting and dimmer switches.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >I hope you have enjoyed this free education brought to you courtesy of the Environmental Science Graduate Program at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. </span><br /></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-6651062236278591752009-10-08T18:51:00.000-07:002009-10-08T19:14:40.751-07:00Kiddie Urban planningI love 2nd grade for many reasons. Mostly though because they let me teach city planning to 7 year olds. Second graders are indignant about ugly, thoughtless development. They demand beauty. They recognize form. They "get it" more than planning commissioners do. <div><br /></div><div>They also get the importance of protecting the pedestrian and providing safe bicycle transportation. They love parks. Hell, they even get the impact beauty has on economic development. <div><br /></div><div>Our town elected a 27 year old Mayor this year. I think he might be 20 years too old. Seven year olds are brilliant when it comes to urban planning. </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-68415890999630506662009-10-05T09:14:00.000-07:002009-10-05T09:23:21.874-07:00TELL JOE!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SsobaMjUgCI/AAAAAAAAAIY/4nLD7q_hVdQ/s1600-h/1+Joe+The+Plumber+web+(1).jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 148px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SsobaMjUgCI/AAAAAAAAAIY/4nLD7q_hVdQ/s320/1+Joe+The+Plumber+web+(1).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389150040962138146" /></a>Oh how I love the enthusiasm of my classes! When they learn about climate change they become enlightened and then motivated to educate the world. "We should educate Joe the Plumber!" they screamed.<div><br /></div><div>In Oklahoma we don't discuss the fact of climate change in polite conversation. It is a waste of breath. People either already know it and agree with you or they are totally closed to anything that challenges their world view. </div><div><br /></div><div>But consider this, the official high school graduate rate is 70%, but in reality those "transfers" are usually dropouts so it is closer to 50%. So 5 out of 10 people can't comprehend any scientific conversation you may want to have with them. But 5 can, so you try. Of those 5 maybe 2 have a natural curiosity that would allow them to explore new ideas. You also have to get through the filters of politics, religion, denial, distractions, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div>So let's say you have ONE person out of 10 who is reachable, but did they ask you to educate them? At least students in my classes have paid for education so I can legally shower them but strangers on the street are less receptive. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-19445782334672498202009-08-16T11:42:00.001-07:002009-08-16T11:56:19.204-07:00Pioneer Single Mom?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SohTVV0zaVI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/gEgaP_ofRo0/s1600-h/pioneer+woman.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SohTVV0zaVI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/gEgaP_ofRo0/s320/pioneer+woman.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370634181740292434" /></a>This statue was erected in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ponca</span> City Oklahoma by the oil baron Mr. Marland in 1929 to honor the Pioneer Woman. As my 9 year old son leaned against it all kinds of thoughts flooded my mind. What would his life have been like if he grew up in Oklahoma in the 1890s? Was the Pioneer Woman a single mom? Did her other children die? <div><br /></div><div>The story of the Pioneer Woman is interesting. Over 40,000 people came to her witness her unveiling and to hear humorist Will Rogers speak. Considering the population of Ponca City in 1929 I can only assume every living being within 50 miles came to this event. <a href="http://www.marlandmansion.com/Pages/pw.html">http://www.marlandmansion.com/Pages/pw.html</a><br /><div><br /></div><div>Life before fossil fuels. Hmmmm. They had a lower carbon footprint but only because of limited income I'm sure. Sustainable lifestyles are equated with lack; is there a type of rich, affluent modern lifestyle that is also sustainable? I suppose we'll have to find one, or die trying.<br /><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-82491346154764301542009-08-04T17:17:00.000-07:002009-08-04T17:32:03.476-07:00Some Bad News is too Good to keep secret<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SnjQztTgZhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/dfrdLDfSzTM/s1600-h/simple_painless_400_8857.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 275px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SnjQztTgZhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/dfrdLDfSzTM/s320/simple_painless_400_8857.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366268542765262354" border="0" /></a><i><b>Weathercocks and signposts: The Environment Movement at a Crossroads </b></i> is a critical re-examination of the assumptions underlying current approaches to motivating environmentally-friendly behaviour.<br /><i><b>Simple and Painless? The limitations of spillover in environmental campaigning </b></i>presents a critical examination of the evidence that urging people to switch to energy-efficient light bulbs encourages them adopt more ambitious changes.<br /><br />Both these reports are readable, fascinating, and paralyzing. Download and despair with me! http://www.valuingnature.org/<br /><br />Speaking as an average American energy glutton, I was able to cut my carbon emissions by about half through good choices, behavior modification, and a lot of insulation. When I think about what is necessary to cut emissions 90% I recoil at what that means for my lifestyle.<br /><br />In the limbo game it is fun to sing "how low can you go?" <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SnjSLViZAFI/AAAAAAAAAII/TfVyK9NGzGU/s1600-h/limbo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SnjSLViZAFI/AAAAAAAAAII/TfVyK9NGzGU/s320/limbo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366270048213729362" border="0" /></a>But I'm not entirely sure I could sport a bikini and actually shimmy under a blazing limbo pole. And if I did....you can bet I would sell tickets to see that!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-20967954953115596442009-07-29T18:43:00.000-07:002009-07-29T18:55:57.921-07:00SPETH<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SnD8pqVha3I/AAAAAAAAAH4/cBg-ln_oB0A/s1600-h/david_michelangelo%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 221px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364064948867656562" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SnD8pqVha3I/AAAAAAAAAH4/cBg-ln_oB0A/s320/david_michelangelo%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Speth</span> is someone who writes books I consider seminal. I stayed up until 2 am reading his latest book "Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, Environment and Crossing the Crisis to Sustainability." I like happy endings so I flipped to the back of the book for the answers.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Reading all these different sustainability perspectives was like looking at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Michaelangelo's</span> David sculpture in Florence. It never looses the beauty or intrigue for me. Sustainability, an art form?</div><div> </div><div><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Michaelango</span> said he could look at a block from the quarry and "see" the figure that needed to be released from it. I think sustainability is like that. It is inside all of us waiting for the ignorance and apathy to be chipped away to reveal a beautiful world. At least, this is my hope.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-64074094687498492402009-07-20T15:08:00.000-07:002009-07-20T15:14:04.583-07:00All-You-Can-Learn Buffet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SmTrEsup1NI/AAAAAAAAAHw/JK3VoRh02n0/s1600-h/web-brunch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SmTrEsup1NI/AAAAAAAAAHw/JK3VoRh02n0/s320/web-brunch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360667922436576466" border="0" /></a>16 weeks of 16 gourmet dishes! That is how I see Sustainability curriculum. Not everyone is going to like every dish, but there are so many distinct flavors and ways to serve Sustainability that each semester becomes a buffet of topics.<br /><br />I like to try new recipes and new ingredients in an effort to continuously improve. My students are like my tasters. From them I learn how to make the topics tasty. To them I am grateful.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-44488361255666584752009-07-15T14:45:00.000-07:002009-07-15T14:56:47.939-07:00Thinking about the Future<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sl5N-Hdb6vI/AAAAAAAAAHo/r1gk5Jg8sc8/s1600-h/the-thinker-surrounded-by-gears-posters-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sl5N-Hdb6vI/AAAAAAAAAHo/r1gk5Jg8sc8/s320/the-thinker-surrounded-by-gears-posters-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358806336167209714" border="0" /></a><br />Today was a good day for thinking. I met with my marketing advisor and together we pondered some good questions. His specialty is personality traits so we discussed if there were radio talk shows in Europe that influenced the politics and science. The one that stumped me was "can a far right wing conservative known to be low on openness ever become a sustainability advocate?" I'd like to say everyone can hold their exact beliefs, maintain their lifestyle choices, and just snap their fingers and become sustainable. But I don't think that is possible.<br />Can I overspend daily and build a savings account?<br />Can I eat like a pig and remain slim?<br /><br />No, we probably can't ask people to change but I predict a gradual evolution across society will occur over the coming decades that will create a more widespread mindset rather than the polar opposites that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">paralyze</span> progress today. I think our children will be as ashamed of our ignorance as we are of our ancestor's discrimination.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-11104499378634958022009-07-08T12:26:00.001-07:002009-07-08T12:31:37.713-07:00CO2 per minute of funOn Friday night I saw the new movie "Transformers" and on Saturday night I attended an outdoor wedding at the lake followed by a band and dance at the picnic pavilion. Reflecting on my weekend entertainment choices I had to ask myself how much CO2 was emitted in the production of this multi-million dollar film vs. how much the simple little country wedding created. Like MPG, maybe there should be a carbon-per-unit of fun measurement. I'm pretty sure I had more fun watching real people sing and dance and hug under the moonlight than watching computer animated robots explode for two hours.<br /><br />A low-carbon economy might just be a high-fun society to live!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-26396226894975119132009-07-01T12:23:00.000-07:002009-07-01T12:28:34.434-07:00The Edge vs. the Top<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sku43eleviI/AAAAAAAAAHg/6RSbLDXT9V0/s1600-h/3586064675_6afb7b3781.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sku43eleviI/AAAAAAAAAHg/6RSbLDXT9V0/s320/3586064675_6afb7b3781.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353575845302550050" border="0" /></a><br />It is NOT lonely at the top, it is lonely at the edge -- the cutting edge. At the top everyone wants to be your friend, at the edge you stand alone. They also call it the bleeding edge which is the second clue it is a painful place to be. When I spoke in front of the city council tonight I was bringing mainstream global thinking to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">mainstreet</span> middle America where it is viewed with great suspicion as cutting edge risky propositions. Ironically the sustainability knowledge I shared with my local government officials is not even cutting edge in other parts of the country. Opportunity <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">doesn</span>’t keep knocking until we are ready, it moves on to receptive people willing to open their doors.<br /><br />My friends tell me I am once again too far ahead of the curve and that I should not waste my time. Dress rehearsals are important. Citizenship is rarely a waste of time; it is a privilege and responsibility. Some people confuse this as leadership, but that is not accurate. An innovator invents for the love of creation; <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">followership</span> is not required. The innovator sees a way to make the world a better place and expressing that vision is an absolute joy. I have special knowledge I shared with my city tonight. They may have to hear it ten times before it becomes familiar and acceptable. And I really don’t mind paving the way for that tenth person who will be heard. Who knows, I may even get back in the queue and be that tenth person. The point is to persevere toward progress because it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">doesn</span>’t happen by accident or apathy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-23911212560673143412009-06-15T15:57:00.000-07:002009-06-15T16:09:40.130-07:00One Room School House of Sustainability<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SjbR7NpJv4I/AAAAAAAAAHY/8upD9WHXVWM/s1600-h/abandoned-old-one-room-school-house-in-palouse-washington-wa422.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 215px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SjbR7NpJv4I/AAAAAAAAAHY/8upD9WHXVWM/s320/abandoned-old-one-room-school-house-in-palouse-washington-wa422.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347692422753795970" /></a>Each semester a new class begins and offers an array of students with varied backgrounds and different levels of environmental <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">savviness</span>. My goal is to offer challenging topics while not overwhelming newcomers to the field. The one room school house is my favorite analogy; it is a place where everyone helps everyone else. The wise teach the new. The young eyes bring fresh perspectives. It becomes a community of sustainability. <div><br /></div><div>Everyone is still learning. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Everyone</span></span>. That includes world leaders, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">CEOs</span>, professors, and me. Nobody was born knowing this material and no one knows it all. Trust me. Sustainability is like a door into another world. Some people walked through their doors years ago, some days ago. Some were pushed like I was. Nevertheless, eventually we all will find our door and follow the path that is right for each of us. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-86939350732606253512009-06-10T10:01:00.000-07:002009-06-10T10:06:10.898-07:00Brand on Your RadarBe personally optimistic and globally pessimistic... Stuart Brand <div><br /></div><div>Before the Wikipedia, The Internet, Apple's Hypercard or even the J. Peterman catalog...there was The Whole Earth Catalog.<img style="-webkit-user-select: none" src="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Images/Chicago/turner_plate7.jpeg" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-46463485653377326492009-06-04T11:38:00.000-07:002009-06-05T15:39:03.831-07:00Learning Composting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SigU12EvFsI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/cEYUjJma5bY/s1600-h/COMPOST+%26+jt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SigU12EvFsI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/cEYUjJma5bY/s320/COMPOST+%26+jt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343543873156093634" border="0" /></a>I teach myself as I teach others. I have had very little experience with composting table scraps. I found this used <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">compost barrel</span></span> for $25 and considered it an expense no worse than a textbook. I am still making my first load of dirt and not sure I'm doing it entirely right. It has attracted <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">gnats</span>. I mistakenly included my eggs shells and that may be the problem. My gardening consultant now tells me the round style <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">compost makers</span></span> of wire that sit on the ground are better and easier. Turning this handle every day SEEMED like a good idea at the time but summer vacation plans have prevented me from turning it properly everyday. I'm not giving up. Yet. But I'm not persevering forward anymore. I stopped saving food scraps until I figure it out. I'm learning too. I would probably sell it for $20 in a heartbeat.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-62939855401440730522009-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:002009-04-26T20:11:35.678-07:00Corporate Social Responsibility with Kellie McElhaney<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SfUgUHz5MSI/AAAAAAAAAGo/xVgO5AaZTe0/s1600-h/mcelhaney-2l-book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 316px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SfUgUHz5MSI/AAAAAAAAAGo/xVgO5AaZTe0/s320/mcelhaney-2l-book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329201264129028386" border="0" /></a>Amazing people sweep through Oklahoma. Last week it was Dr. Kellie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">McElhaney</span>, a professor from Berkeley. Her specialty is corporate social responsibility aka "corporate citizenship." Her pitch to corporations is to make their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">p</span>hilanthropic causes align with their core business mission. Sometimes the obvious just isn't.<br /><br />Kellie is an engaging speaker who amazed and delighted MBA students with her fresh take on maximizing shareholder value. Her Whirlpool example was a real tear <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">jerker</span>. Sales also increased.<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeliQtSuCkM<br /><br />Buy the book and you'll have a first-class understanding of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">CSR</span>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-11338145288506751362009-04-20T20:14:00.000-07:002009-04-20T20:52:27.948-07:00Teacha Teacha<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Se0-Rnjz_II/AAAAAAAAAGg/z2l45GCGYTA/s1600-h/international-teaching-jobs1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Se0-Rnjz_II/AAAAAAAAAGg/z2l45GCGYTA/s320/international-teaching-jobs1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326982406647053442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Maybe a college instructor isn't supposed to care quite so much but I am so fond of my students. I look forward to watching them learn the language of the industry, reading their papers with dozens of typos, and seeing those light bulbs go off above their heads. Sustainability is a funny field; it ranges from moments of gentle ecological enlightenment to being horrified and sometimes even morally outraged. Sadly the semester is coming to a close which means I'm also inventing extra credit opportunities to help those borderline students who were distracted by life.<br /><br />Today some my students went to their first city council meeting to watch citizenship in action. We have a new Mayor who is a 27-year-old <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">OSU</span></span> student. They saw people standing up for principles. At issue was a $25 fee assessed to Senior softball players who lived outside the city limits. Dozens of citizens gave up their evening to politely protest this discrimination; it was the principle not the money. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sustainable societies springs from citizenship.<br /><br /></span><span>The $25 fee generated a total of $750 additional revenues, but it was a net loser because teams disbanded taking with them thousands of dollars of team fees. Teams opted not to travel to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Stillwater</span> for the day; there is a loss of economic development. Goodwill was not increased. If you take a sustainable holistic analysis of this situation, it becomes clear the community backlash coupled with revenue loss makes this $25 fee suddenly not a viable idea. I think they can find a win-win, even now, because a dialogue has been initiated.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-58066383473368511492009-04-04T18:58:00.000-07:002009-04-04T19:10:14.914-07:00Greenest CEO in USA<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SdgQi0yOQ2I/AAAAAAAAAGY/KTxsOezwyoI/s1600-h/Ray+%26+Jane+2009.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/SdgQi0yOQ2I/AAAAAAAAAGY/KTxsOezwyoI/s320/Ray+%26+Jane+2009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321021150209131362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ray Anderson Speaks in Tulsa</span><br /><br />I very well could be Ray Anderson's biggest fan in Oklahoma. I have a deep abiding respect for all he is and does. He is the CEO of Interface Carpet: a one billion dollar carpet company with 27 plants worldwide. He read Ecology of Commerce in 1994 and became a "reformed plunderer" who publicly states his quest is to make Interface a restorative company. Ray earned the ultimate green business PHD: <span style="font-weight: bold;">P</span>aul <span style="font-weight: bold;">H</span>awken <span style="font-weight: bold;">D</span>egree.<br /><br />As a teacher of green business I have to confess, Ray is the poster child for what I want all my students to become. You can hear his famous speeches on Google video or YouTube. The first thing you'll notice is his disarming southern drawl and then you'll hear him humbly speak of integrity, responsibility, courage, and love....all in the context of profitable manufacturing.<br /><br />http://www.interfaceglobal.com/Sustainability.aspxUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-88654950248749188222009-03-16T09:37:00.000-07:002009-03-16T09:52:16.104-07:00Lunch with a CAFO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sb6AzjfRlLI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/KRDk3go3hIc/s1600-h/pig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sb6AzjfRlLI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/KRDk3go3hIc/s320/pig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313826233531864242" border="0" /></a>As chance would have it, I happened to meet a representative from a confined animal feeding operation (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CAFO</span>). Seaboard Foods, an integrated producer of premium pork products, is one of the top ten pork producers and processors in the United States.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">CAFOs</span> are an interesting evolution in business. Think "Henry Ford makes bacon... lots of bacon." Factory farming is a logical extension of product manufacturing invented in the Industrial Revolution. This means it comes under the scrutiny that all mass production now requires and it also brings a host of ethical questions.<br /><br />Because I strive to hybridize sustainable business practices I feel it is not only appropriate but necessary to engage the people from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">CAFO</span> industry. We may agree to disagree but surely we can have conversations and learn about each other and maybe, just maybe find some common ground for the mutual benefit of those in the present and those of future generations. Sustainability begins with a conversation and that begins by listening. We all want to be heard.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839660467848306807.post-10024359898519308132009-03-12T17:40:00.001-07:002009-03-12T17:42:16.702-07:00Our thoughts Balance the World on a Fulcrum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sbmrkwcv5xI/AAAAAAAAAGI/r3nZa6WeG-w/s1600-h/curves17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XbbJzk0f-Go/Sbmrkwcv5xI/AAAAAAAAAGI/r3nZa6WeG-w/s320/curves17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312465883429332754" border="0" /></a><br /><p><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:130%;color:#ffffff;">Holy Curves</span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, Serif;"><strong>Turning PointS<br /></strong></span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">A dot, a basic building block<br />A point, a point of view<br />A fulcrum, for leveraging conception<br />A dot turning full circle, is still a dot<br />A point turning, pivots understanding<br />A fulcrum turning, tips the balance<br />A dot moving, engenders a line<br />A point moving, engenders another<br />dimension<br />A fulcrum moving endangers the world<br />Our world, a dot in the universe<br />Our world is, just a point of view<br />Our thought, a fulcrum on which to move<br />the world</span></p> <span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><br /><b>- Sachin Phatak</b><br />16th December’01<br /><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0