The Pardox of Capitalism

Why is it that the most egregious and destructive industries to our environment and health have the capability of becoming the most successful capitalists? Oil companies are flush with cash, as they have been since their inception. However, our children’s children will pay the detrimental costs that are derived by their success. Tobacco companies have so much excess funds, they can (and do) spend millions on anti-smoking campaigns, in fact, telling people not to buy their own product…It is a reality that appointes a very unfortuante question to be asked by our society; to be a successful capitalist, do you need to be…Bad?

Of course, it should be noted that certain economic aspects have played in favor of certain “bad-boy” industries. For example, one could argue that oil is a finite resource, making it more valuable. Continuously, furs from exotic animals are rare, thereby having the association with luxury. Unfortunately, the profit achieved by such comapnies in “adverse’ industries is also in large part the result of a mis-pricing; These products have not priced the “unforseeable” economic costs, which, in reality, should be accounted for at the time of the transaction. Interestingly enough, if we were to price the adverse ecological effects of oil on our planet, OPEC would need to cut you a cheque every time you went to the pump.

Certainly, adverse industries are not capable of assuming the burden of the damages (present or future). And, of course, liability does rest on us for using their products. What we now need is to implement a different mindset. We need to see that the “good guys” do make money. And this, more than ever, is becoming a reality. In their 1999 Harvard Business Review article A Road Map for Natural Capitalism, Amory Lovins et al. put forth a new approach that not only set forth guidelines to protect our environment, but gave us the tools to be successful “good guys”. Their article provides examples of many companies that are utilizing innovative and sustainable approachs and reaping large financial rewards.

I can personally attest to this; As a business and corporate finance consultant, I see a huge trend of companies realizing the financial benefits of a sustainable approach. Plenty of files that have come across my desk have carried the name “eco” or “recyclo” or some other enviromently friendly term. And, even better news is that a lot of them are the real deal; One client’s value proposition is “rather than having your house made out of a small forest, you can have a house made from 7 recycled cars”. Another’s is “There are 30,000,000 scaffolding planks sold each year, which is just over 1 million trees per year. Not anymore. Imagine a plastic composite board which lasts twice as long, holds double the weight, and is made out of recycled plastics.”

On a final note; I recently had a meeting with a client and at its conclusion, an associate came to me and said “Isn’t it ironic… These guys provide services for Non-Profits and they are going to make tons of money”. I reflected about that comment for a moment and thought to myself “Could it be true; are we so sensitized to seeing bad guys make money that when the good guys do it, it’s like a crime!”. Just because someone works for a good cause should not preclude them from making a profit or, even worse, mean they should do it for free. In fact, if they don’t make money, its sure to cease to exist. The best thing we can do is reward the good doers. Eventually, if we do it enough, the bad guys will become good; they will do what they need to do get their economic return. And that might just be the nicest aspect of capitalism!

Shoreline Cleanup of Anse-a-L'Orme (22nd of Sept)

On the 22nd, there will be a shoreline cleanup of the Anse-a-l’Orme (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) shoreline happening from 10am to 1pm.

For more information, go to

http://groups.google.com/group/greencoalitionyouth

Debate: Vegetarianism

A debate has erupted:

Welcome to Rethos and thanks to the great folks that conspired to make it happen!

Welcome to Rethos and thanks to the great folks that conspired to make it happen!

I’d like to introduce myself and propose that we help one another in every way we can.

My name is Philip McMaster, and I was introduced to Rethos by one of the founders, Pablo Saltzman.

After many years, travels and meetings, I have classified people of the world in two “camps”... – You’re either part of the SOLUTION or you are the problem. Pablo and the people invoved in Rethos are definitely part of the SOLUTION.

It’s impossible for any of us to be perfect, (with regard to acting responsibly toward SOCIETY, the ENVIRONMENT and our participation in the ECONOMY) but our ATTITUDE and THINKING ENERGY makes all the difference.

Back in February, I had the priviledge of introducing a new development emerging from the Dragonpreneur ethical entrepreneurship program – DragonTHINK – to the Enviromental Protection Association (EPA) of Hong Kong, and later to the International Conference on Climate Change.

(there are Audio clips on the website)

DragonTHINK is fun, social, and will spread around the world like wildfire... it's a game, it's a TEST, it's simple and it encourages us to SHARE and THINK.

At the time of this email, only halfway through the first month of Rethos, I have over 60 listed allies, and probably more in total…

Now I’m asking you… (as I have asked the hundreds of people who appear on the slideshow of www.DragonTHINK.com) .. to perform the DragonTHINK test on three (3) other people…

---

The test is simple -

here it is: Find a friend, or even someone you just met.

Make a “V” symbol with your fingers and ask: “What’s this?” (usually the response is: “Peace”, “Victory” or “two fingers”)

Next hold up three fingers spread apart like the photos at www.DragonTHINK.com and ask: “what’s this?” (usually the response is, “I don’t know”)

(BTW – Any answer is correct, and there are NO wrong answers to the TEST… only an opportunity for you to pass along a SUSTAINABILITY THINKING TOOL to a friend)

When someone answers: “I don’t know”, they are now open and hungry for the answer.. and you have the opportunity to be the teacher/professor – you count off your three fingers, and say: “Society, Environment, Economy”.

If you want to explain what is expected by thinking responsibly about Society, the Environment and the Economy – you are welcome to do so – but all that is necessary is that they learn what the three finger symbol represents, and that they pass those instructions along to three (3) other people.

So finally, you say: ”...now that you know what DragonTHINK represents, pass it along to 3 other people, and ask them to teach three others, etc.

---

The DragonTHINK sustainability TEST takes less than a minute to complete, can be done anywhere in the world, in any language, with anyone who has three fingers and a brain.

Imagine how the world will change when more and more of us share the encouragement to BALANCE our personal decisions, and constantly remind ourselves to consider SOCIETY, ENVIRONMENT and the ECONOMY showing the three finger symbol.

As an ally, I offer you DragonTHINK as one of the tools to experiment with in our fight against Social, Environmental and Economic problems around the planet.

Let’s help each other to show the diversity of solutions to the world’s problems. Wealth, Wisdom and Wellness,

Cheers,

Professor P! (Philip McMaster)

An Off-Grid Vertical Farm for Downtown Seattle

We face a lot of challenges, complex and sometimes overwhelming challenges. There are no Single Shot / Silver Bullet solutions out there. But, in some ways, there are solution sets that could be considered a Silver BB.

Our challenges include Peak Oil, Global Warming, clean water constraints, food supply challenges (including every increasing food miles, how far food is traveling to the dinner table), poor urban infrastructure, urban heat islands, housing challenges, etc …

Documentary Binge

Hello friends and fellow allies. My name is Jenn and I am from Vancouver BC. This is my first attempt at posting a blog (yes, I AM new to this whole blog thing!), and I feel I have found the perfect first posting. It is something I wrote just a few weeks ago after a “documentary binge”. I welcome and ask for your thoughts, opinions and contributions. As a young student I am still seeking to improve my communication skills and thus I also invite technical feedback on how you think I can improve my informal writings. This piece in particular is what I would call personal ramblings, but even in personal writing there is room for growth. So without further ado here is my first blog post of personal ramblings…

I just finished a two day documentary marathon. I watched three documentary films entitled Jesus Camp, Paper Clips and Radiant City (2 of three I have posted to my Rethos profile). These documentaries solidified my belief that I must act and that I must act immediately. Moreover, in the last few months (and also throughout my lifetime) I have also watched a slew of Hollywood blockbusters, ( such as V for Vendetta, Pulp Fiction, Accepted, Blood Diamond, Hotel Rwanda, 300, An Inconvenient Truth, Spy Game, among many others), that I believe pointedly, although dramatically, serve to reflect the state of our global society.

Through these films I have been able to extract information – via their themes and messages – that leads me to believe two key things: 1. history can and will repeat itself in passive societies, and, 2. the only way to counteract a passive society is to mobilize it. While some may not initially agree, I do believe that it is our responsibility as liberated, democratic, free citizens to enact a movement to actualize the changes which will allow us to function as a transparent, sustainable global society. As an analogy, I suggest that it is time we merge from the fast lane of no-limits progress into the “slow lane” of forethought, sustainability, science and information. Essentially, we as a greater global society need to put the breaks on long enough to pause, reflect and change course. Regardless of acceptance of these ideas, I personally believe that a new age, a new way of living will impose itself on us as humans as we enter an era of resource scarcity – realizing this and deciding to act is how you too can enter the “slow lane”.

Another realization I’ve had is that we are living in a world of extremes. Through our collective passivity and consumerist lifestyles, we are continually propagating these extremes. Everyday, the contrast between rich and poor, privileged and under-privileged, educated and uneducated becomes sharper, clearer and more tangible, while the division between church and state, private and public becomes oppositely and equally more obscure. Therefore, I believe one of the only paths to change left is to attempt to temper our extremes (foot off the gas, onto the break, signal on, merge right (figuratively, not politically!). By doing this, we will begin to clarify the ever so important independence of our governments from big-business and religion.

How do we do this though, is the question. I believe we do this by acting and acting in a collective, cohesive, goal oriented direction. The direction should be forward, towards a sustainable, socialist and information based society, with a course mapped by science and momentum driven by citizens, consumers and voters empowering themselves to act, non-violently and transparently towards goals of resorting balance in all arenas of life. By identifying the social problems, fallacies and misinformations that have lead to our current state of existing, the countering each of those problems with equal and opposite reactions to the problem’s root causes we increase the probability of achieving the greater goal of positive societal progression. By addressing root causes we slowly, and naturally stop the cycles which are perpetuating said problems, and thereby begin change. I hate to sound apocalyptic, but I do believe that without intervention, the probability of societal collapse is inevitable (this according to theories from comparative civilizations studies and general chaos theory).I for one refuse to stay passive and I will choose to engage myself in every arena. Even if my dreams are never actualized, I will have the peace of mind afforded by the knowledge that I tried.

Furthermore, the more I educate myself, the more I feel as if I am successfully breaking down the lifetime of conditioning and excuses that I have lived and propagated in my daily life to feel better about doing nothing. The more I know the more I want to change. It is time for someone to stand up for the principals of democracy, the true meaning of freedom of information and assume responsibility for the for the effects of a damaged capitalist system. We may not have purposefully created any of these problems, but we are allowing them not only to continue, but to mutate exponentially by accepting, excusing and generally being passive in our consumption and involvement in the political process. I am committing to act and I invite you to join me.

Sierra Youth Coalition Benefit Concert (Sept 23rd)

A Musical Sunday in Montreal West

Featuring Rosemary Shaw _violin Member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra

3pm, Sunday September 23rd 1 hour concert – perfect for young families!

Montreal West United Church Corner of Westminster & Curzon Tickets $10 at the door 514-482-3210 www.mwuc.org

This concert will benefit the Sierra Youth Coalition – the youth arm of the Sierra Club of Canada. Founded in 1996, SYC has grown into a national youth environmental coalition with members across Canada. Their main programs focus on promoting environmental sustainability in high schools, communities and university campuses across Canada

New Menus, New Mission for Breakfast

September 17, 2007

PITY the executive whose life is filled with crammed planes, missed connections and a workday that begins early and lasts as long as the Internet connection holds up.

Against that backdrop, the food that starts a business traveler’s day is particularly important. And the hotel industry is catching on, creating menus that emphasize health, renewal and, especially, a better grade of coffee.

Hotel cooks are brewing coffee from organic sources and preparing healthier so-called functional foods. And though no hotel would be caught without bacon and eggs on its breakfast menu, increasingly the bacon is from pigs that were raised humanely and the eggs from cage-free chickens.

“I don’t think the habits of the guests are changing, but what they’re looking for is changing,” said Stephen Rosenstock, senior vice president for brand standards at Omni Hotels.

The chain is taking advantage of the sustainability trend with its Art of Breakfast program, introduced this year. It features environmentally friendly, shade-grown coffee and pork from a family-owned Colorado ranch that uses certified humane methods. And lots of whole grains.

“People are eating better and looking for more balance,” Mr. Rosenstock said.

Balance is the catchphrase at Westin hotels. Menus focus on “superfoods,” 14 functional foods outlined in the book “SuperFoods Rx,” which are supposed to be eaten in combinations with other foods for maximum benefits.

The initiative, which is in 25 Westin hotels and will become chainwide next year, encourages travelers trying to beat insomnia to drink smoothies made from bananas and soy milk. Those trying to stay alert in a new time zone can order a high-protein breakfast.

“The egg white omelet is popular, but it’s the egg white omelet with the spring green salad,” said Colleen Keating, a general manager at the Westin Waltham-Boston. “They don’t want to pair it with hash browns.”

The program is part of an overall approach to renewal, which is intended, in part, to soothe road-weary business travelers, who toil in their rooms late into the evening.

“The laptop has done this to us,” Ms. Keating said. As a result, travelers are looking for ways to take care of themselves. “We’ve moved from power to balance.”

Hotels are equally obsessed with breakfast programs that are about speed. Several hotel managers call it the Starbucks effect — when business travelers are not sitting down to an egg-white, whole-grain sustainable breakfast, they want a good cup of coffee and something easy to eat as they head out the door.

“The emphasis is on convenience,” said Vanessa Bortnick of Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, which is based in San Francisco. People want food that is light but delicious, like a muffin and a latte, as long as the muffin is whole grain and the coffee is from a quality roaster, she said.

“The power breakfast that takes an hour doesn’t seem to be an option anymore,” Ms. Bortnick said.

Those power breakfasts of the 1990s, where executives lingered over a late breakfast of expensive egg dishes and even a Bloody Mary in elite hotel dining rooms, may be rare these days. But so is the idea of breakfast as a meeting Siberia, in which less important clients or last-minute meet-and-greets were relegated to a quick meal with an easy out: “Busy day ahead. Got to run.”

For some businesspeople, breakfast is a prime slot.

Sue Morgan, for example, can’t remember the last time she scheduled a lunch meeting, but she recently had three breakfast meetings in eight days.

She is on top of breakfast trends more than most people because she must be. Ms. Morgan, a 25-year veteran of the restaurant business, is a vice president for food and beverage services at InterContinental Hotels Group. The company runs more than 3,700 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories.

“With this busy schedule, I am much more hesitant to schedule a lunch,” she said. “Breakfast is more flexible. I can schedule something at 7 instead of 7:30 if we need more time.”

Breakfast is going through big changes at several of the company’s brands, which include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts and Candlewood Suites. All of Holiday Inn’s nearly 1,000 hotels, for example, serve only coffee that is certified by the Rainforest Alliance.

Although 42 percent of guests want something quicker than a full breakfast, they prefer more than the cinnamon roll that was the star of the chain’s breakfast bar expansion in 2003. A recent makeover of the Express Start breakfast bars included scrambled eggs, cereal, skim milk and fresh fruit.

Those changes are just what business travelers like Carlos Boughton want. He is on the road a lot as a brand manager for Tecate beer, and he is scheduling more business meetings than ever at breakfast, usually over oatmeal, fruit and yogurt.

“It’s easy to say I need to pack this trip with meetings, so let’s have breakfast,” he said. “Even when you say 7 a.m., people say: ‘Sure I’ll have breakfast. Are you buying?’ ”

Mr. Boughton says he still relishes taking a moment alone in the morning. Not only is it relaxing, but is also without stigma. Having a solo dinner feels “kind of lame,” he said. But going downstairs and having breakfast alone? “That’s O.K.”

Going Green in the Cairo Desert - The New American University Campus

In roughly one year, the American University in Cairo will relocate from the bustling and smog-filled city center to a brand new 300-million dollar campus in the East Cairo Desert. The new campus will occupy a sprawling 260 acres compared to the current 7.3 acre downtown location.

The university cites environmental optimization, sensitivity and sustainability as part of it’s major goals. Two sets of studies were conducted to minimize the site’s environmental impact. The first set was based on macro-climactic concerns, building location and landscape. The second on micro-climactic issues primarily building design and climate control of indoor and outdoor spaces through renewable and natural means.

The building layout is meant to compliment the desert environment and regional traditions of desert life- using architecture rather than energy to provide comfort. Passive architectural designs provide better illumination with natural light, fully shaded courtyards and naturally ventilated buildings and hallways. Also, over 8,000 trees from 150 species are in the process of being planted. They will be planted in the campus center, providing shade and cleaner air, as well as around the campus perimeter to block desert winds and dust.

But how green is it?

All of these measures will undoubtedly minimize energy requirements and make the new campus on the cutting edge of eco-conscious construction in the Middle East and may begin a new push for sustainable designs in the region.

However, there are some obvious major downsides to this move. The campus is located 40 minutes outside of the city-center and is meant to be a flagship in a new district of Cairo (imaginatively called “New Cairo”). Such urban sprawl encourages increased development outside of the current city boundaries and promotes the building of more infrastructure for easier access into the district. Students and faculty living in Cairo proper will also need to drive to the new site. Even if all the buildings are built green it will end up doing more harm than good. Since the old campus will continue to be used, in the end, there is a net negative environmental effect.

Unfortunately, with the city center already incredibly crowded and choking with the smog of over 3 million cars it’s hard to convince anyone to stay.

:: Info from AUC ::

Fish Farmings Growing Dangers

A few things to think about before you go for sushi tonight.

Tofino - Canada's Westernmost bastion of Sustainability

Today we saw the reasons why the Sustainability Symbol and DragonTHINK are so important.

Whales

Sea Lions

1,000 year old trees

Storms

We are on the West coast of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, witnessing the omnipotent power of nature.

Humans are truly so insignificant on the Earth – we’re only ONE species – and it’s only our numbers, our multiple horsepower machines and selfish, uncooperative ways that leverage our impact in such devastating ways.

Tofino is a beautiful place that has “changed its ways” from the early days of whaling to its current attitude of trying to live in harmony with nature and profit from observing nature.

Seeing untouched nature the way it has thrived for millenia is a humbling experience – enormous still living trees that were alive when Captain Vancouver first visited, mountains that have no signs of human interference, oceans boiling with sealife… that was here before we were, and will be here long after humans are gone.

The Sustainability Symbol and DragonTHINK are a “drop in the ocean” of the effort to make amends with the planet, and beg permission to share it a little longer. But the more of us that share the Sustainability TEST and attitudes that go with understanding the relationships between Society, Environment and Economy – the more we’ll secure a future on the planet.

Don’t come to Tofino – discover the wonders of your own region, town, backyard and respect and treasure what supports you, feeds you, and provides you with a home.

Building Green Havens [Part 1]

Educate yourself on how WHERE you live, work, or play is affecting the environment. The season is changing. We are shifting from the warmth of the summer sun, encouraging us to be active and savor the outdoors to the teeth-shattering unwelcoming cold. The days are becoming shorter, allotting us less time on our favorite bike or running trails. We begin to find ourselves hibernating inside and hopefully not storing up our fat cells. Even if you are the most avid skier or hiker slicing and crunching through the snow, you still need a warm haven to crash in. As we use the indoors more in the colder seasons and some of us in the hottest seasons, utilizing air conditioning, more people are realizing we have yet another personal choice to make. Most of us opt for environmentally friendly food, transportation, clothes, etc. So isn’t it time we use our conscience and wallet on one of our most basic of needs for survival. Our shelter. Regardless of our motivations of slowing global warming, respecting mother earth, or saving money, we can only do good and reap benefits by becoming more aware of where we our living, going to work, or taking vacations. “Building Green TV and RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) announced that health is the most powerful motivator for consumers to build or purchase a green home. A recent survey conducted by RCLCO found that as many as 42% of all buyers would be motivated to purchase a green home based on knowledge of their health benefits, compared with only 17% for energy savings and 12% for the environment.”* We care about our family and friends and being able to come together in our homes, offices, or commercial centers without worrying about how our surroundings are deteriorating our bodies.

The environmentalist began asking long ago, but now the suburban mother is asking, what is “green” building and how to do it. The terms thrown around are “green”, “eco-friendly”, and “energy conscious”. It comes down to how friendly we are to our natural environment as we populate and cover natural ground with residential and commercial properties. Most people hear about new “green” building projects and know it’s a good thing, but don’t know why. I know when you think of “green” homes or office buildings, some of you picture a mud hut and others of you see a chic office building with a wall of ferns and flowering plants which actually cleans the air inside of the building. Since “our nation’s 81 million buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy, including transportation and industry”, more corporations and upscale homebuilders are recognizing how appealing it is to become LEED or energy star certified, minimize your carbon footprint, contain urban sprawl, renovate old spaces, and create and construct with the environment on the forefront (www.eere.energy.gov). The main goals many ecologically aware builders are focusing on include: understanding your natural building site to find a balance with it, becoming a minimalist, creating a self-sustaining energy efficient building, and educating oneself on where the materials are actually coming from.

So what is the USGBC or LEED certification? The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system encompasses a third-party coming in to evaluate the design, construction, and operation, and certifying the commercial building as either LEED Certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, or LEED Platinum to prove to the developer, clients, and the critical public about their use of “sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. LEED standards cover new commercial construction and major renovation projects, interiors projects and existing building operations.” In the works are certifications to “cover commercial “core & shell” construction, new home construction and neighborhood developments”.

Sustainable/Sustainability is a very common word these days. Many people throw it around, but does everyone really understand its true meaning? It is the ability to continue to supply the current necessities of life with minimal long-term effect on the environment so that future generations will still have the same resources available. We can accomplish this by the 3 R’s; reduce, re-use, and recycle. We have to conserve the natural resources we still have by taking advantage of renewable natural sources rather than the ones that have an end in sight.

Be careful to not assume that all green development is overwhelmingly positive. “Greenwashing” is when the same building receives a “new image”, but it is just a positive façade. It is “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image” as McGraw-Hill Construction states. Corpwatch.com states that it is “the phenomenon of socially environmentally destructive corporations attempting to preserve and expand their markets by posing as friends of the environment. It is environmental whitewash. Hogwash.” Developers may make a list of their “green” improvements, but they may just be worded very well and actually may be very minimal changes. These improvements may be very randomly chosen, such as air quality over energy efficiency, and don’t work together overall. As a friend of mine stated, “When your environmental advocate is placed only in a marketing department position, then there’s something wrong.”

Although with the current certifications and updated building codes, green washing is much harder to get away with. Now, between the new “green” TV shows, your boss at your newly renovated “green” office, or choosing your upcoming vacation hot spot, you as a home dweller, employee, or consumer no longer have to be torn between protecting the environment and living. In the upcoming series on green development, you can look forward to learning about terms such as, geothermal, FSC-certified wood, runoff, native landscaping, VOCs, solar PV, and energy star certifications. You will also learn about investing and the returns on environmentally friendly building, the building process, energy efficiency, and more opportunities and resources.

Valuable Resources: www.NRDC.org/buildinggreen : The Earth’s Best Defense: Building Green from Principe to Practice

http://greensource.construction.com : GreenSource

www.bcap-energy.org/home.php : The Alliance to Save Energy’s Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP): “promotes energy-efficient building codes and standards in the United States through advocacy, technical support, and outreach.”

www.buildinggreentv.com : *” In the spring of 2007, RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) conducted a national survey of homeowners to gain an understanding of their attitudes toward Green residential products. The survey, deployed via the internet, yielded 1,011 complete responses from the continental United States. The survey was geographically stratified to mirror the geographic distribution of householders across the contiguous United States. The survey targeted existing homeowners with incomes of over $50,000, or in the case of retirees, those with estimated net worth of at least $250,000.”

Building Green Havens [Part 1]

Educate yourself on how WHERE you live, work, or play is affecting the environment. This is not published by the NRDC, but I believe they are providing valuable official information to builders looking to become involved in Green building. The season is changing. We are shifting from the warmth of the summer sun, encouraging us to be active and savor the outdoors to the teeth-shattering unwelcoming cold. The days are becoming shorter, allotting us less time on our favorite bike or running trails. We begin to find ourselves hibernating inside and hopefully not storing up our fat cells. Even if you are the most avid skier or hiker slicing and crunching through the snow, you still need a warm haven to crash in. As we use the indoors more in the colder seasons and some of us in the hottest seasons, utilizing air conditioning, more people are realizing we have yet another personal choice to make. Most of us opt for environmentally friendly food, transportation, clothes, etc. So isn’t it time we use our conscience and wallet on one of our most basic of needs for survival. Our shelter. Regardless of our motivations of slowing global warming, respecting mother earth, or saving money, we can only do good and reap benefits by becoming more aware of where we our living, going to work, or taking vacations. “Building Green TV and RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) announced that health is the most powerful motivator for consumers to build or purchase a green home. A recent survey conducted by RCLCO found that as many as 42% of all buyers would be motivated to purchase a green home based on knowledge of their health benefits, compared with only 17% for energy savings and 12% for the environment.”* We care about our family and friends and being able to come together in our homes, offices, or commercial centers without worrying about how our surroundings are deteriorating our bodies.

The environmentalist began asking long ago, but now the suburban mother is asking, what is “green” building and how to do it. The terms thrown around are “green”, “eco-friendly”, and “energy conscious”. It comes down to how friendly we are to our natural environment as we populate and cover natural ground with residential and commercial properties. Most people hear about new “green” building projects and know it’s a good thing, but don’t know why. I know when you think of “green” homes or office buildings, some of you picture a mud hut and others of you see a chic office building with a wall of ferns and flowering plants which actually cleans the air inside of the building. Since “our nation’s 81 million buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy, including transportation and industry”, more corporations and upscale homebuilders are recognizing how appealing it is to become LEED or energy star certified, minimize your carbon footprint, contain urban sprawl, renovate old spaces, and create and construct with the environment on the forefront (www.eere.energy.gov). The main goals many ecologically aware builders are focusing on include: understanding your natural building site to find a balance with it, becoming a minimalist, creating a self-sustaining energy efficient building, and educating oneself on where the materials are actually coming from.

So what is the USGBC or LEED certification? The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system encompasses a third-party coming in to evaluate the design, construction, and operation, and certifying the commercial building as either LEED Certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, or LEED Platinum to prove to the developer, clients, and the critical public about their use of “sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. LEED standards cover new commercial construction and major renovation projects, interiors projects and existing building operations.” In the works are certifications to “cover commercial “core & shell” construction, new home construction and neighborhood developments”.

Sustainable/Sustainability is a very common word these days. Many people throw it around, but does everyone really understand its true meaning? It is the ability to continue to supply the current necessities of life with minimal long-term effect on the environment so that future generations will still have the same resources available. We can accomplish this by the 3 R’s; reduce, re-use, and recycle. We have to conserve the natural resources we still have by taking advantage of renewable natural sources rather than the ones that have an end in sight.

Be careful to not assume that all green development is overwhelmingly positive. “Green washing” is when the same building receives a “new image”, but it is just a positive façade. It is “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image” as McGraw-Hill Construction states. Corpwatch.com states that it is “the phenomenon of socially environmentally destructive corporations attempting to preserve and expand their markets by posing as friends of the environment. It is environmental whitewash. Hogwash.” Developers may make a list of their “green” improvements, but they may just be worded very well and actually may be very minimal changes. These improvements may be very randomly chosen, such as air quality over energy efficiency, and don’t work together overall. As a friend of mine stated, “When your environmental advocate is placed only in a marketing department position, then there’s something wrong.”

Although with the current certifications and updated building codes, green washing is much harder to get away with. Now, between the new “green” TV shows, your boss at your newly renovated “green” office, or choosing your upcoming vacation hot spot, you as a home dweller, employee, or consumer no longer have to be torn between protecting the environment and living. In the upcoming series on green development, you can look forward to learning about terms such as, geothermal, FSC-certified wood, runoff, native landscaping, VOCs, solar PV, and energy star certifications. You will also learn about investing and the returns on environmentally friendly building, the building process, energy efficiency, and more opportunities and resources.

Valuable Resources: www.NRDC.org/buildinggreen : The Earth’s Best Defense: Building Green from Principe to Practice

http://greensource.construction.com : GreenSource

www.bcap-energy.org/home.php : The Alliance to Save Energy’s Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP): “promotes energy-efficient building codes and standards in the United States through advocacy, technical support, and outreach.”

www.buildinggreentv.com : *” In the spring of 2007, RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) conducted a national survey of homeowners to gain an understanding of their attitudes toward Green residential products. The survey, deployed via the internet, yielded 1,011 complete responses from the continental United States. The survey was geographically stratified to mirror the geographic distribution of householders across the contiguous United States. The survey targeted existing homeowners with incomes of over $50,000, or in the case of retirees, those with estimated net worth of at least $250,000.”

The Sustainability Symbol heard on Washington D.C. Radio

Last week the Sustainability Symbol made a “command performance” at the Adventure Travel World Summit in Whistler, British Columbia.

Frances X. Farrell, Publisher of National Geographic Adventure Magazine and Keynote speaker at the Summit, asked me to do the “Sustainability TEST” on the 500 assembled delegates to the conference.

From that point forward, and throughout the conference, many of the speakers and participants used the 3 finger Sustainability Symbol in their talks, discussions, the breakout sessions and even during the outdoor adventure events in beautiful Whistler B.C.!

Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrick, hosts of Travelin’ On Radio program at 630 WMAL Washington D.C., were at the conference and interviewed me about the Sustainability Symbol, asking their D.C. and world-wide internet listeners to share the Sustainability Symbol with at least 3 other people.

Now, you know why I would really appreciate some help to improve the www.DragonTHINK.com site and www.SustainabilitySymbol.com websites – they are not representative of what we’re doing, and confusing to people who hear about the Sustainability Campaign and want to participate.

Direct Download of Radio Interview: http://rope.wmal.com/aud_archive/TN071020.mp3

Blog: www.Dragonpreneur.com/blog

Why biofuels are becoming 'bad' for the environment

Biofuels ‘crime against humanity’ By Grant Ferrett BBC News

Food prices have risen as more land is used to produce biofuels A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity.

The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, said he feared biofuels would bring more hunger.

The growth in the production of biofuels has helped to push the price of some crops to record levels.

Mr Ziegler’s remarks, made at the UN headquarters in New York, are clearly designed to grab attention.

He complained of an ill-conceived dash to convert foodstuffs such as maize and sugar into fuel, which created a recipe for disaster.

Food price rises

It was, he said, a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.

He called for a five-year ban on the practice.

Within that time, according to Mr Ziegler, technological advances would enable the use of agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and banana leaves, rather than crops themselves to produce fuel.

The growth in the production of biofuels has been driven, in part, by the desire to find less environmentally-damaging alternatives to oil.

The United States is also keen to reduce its reliance on oil imported from politically unstable regions.

But the trend has contributed to a sharp rise in food prices as farmers, particularly in the US, switch production from wheat and soya to corn, which is then turned into ethanol.

Mr Ziegler is not alone in warning of the problem.

The IMF last week voiced concern that the increasing global reliance on grain as a source of fuel could have serious implications for the world’s poor.

Enter Title:The alonovo October 2007 Newsletter (whew, just in time!)

The alonovo.com news is up and posted. Includes information about:

Americans for Fairness in Lending Rainforest Action Network Campaign about Coal Power Financing Coverage of a new partnership between the Breast Cancer Fund and LUNA Vivoleum Lives! -The Chevron “Human Energy” Campaign Info about Stephen Colbert’s book and “Wake up and Smell the Planet” -from Grist.org

Creativity in sustainability

I doubt I am the only person out here that has a passion for sustainability, but I am probably one of the few interested in how new ideas develop within its processes. My definition of sustainability is far from original; it is any processes that seek to preserve the life sustaining capacities of future generations.

Right now I am a graduate student who is developing a deep understanding of the processes, conditions and personal traits that foster creative behavior. Just to clarify, creative behavior is a novel and practical response to a perceived problem, often it is an effective response. My goal is to be the one go-to facilitator on sustainability issues and help people and groups identify and solve their issues related to sustainability, on whatever level that might be.

I am seeking active conversations to help focus my direction.

Aaron, AgCreativity

Deadly Incentives - Response to Ian Wooden on Corporations

Response to Ian Wooden on Kiadso’s post “The Silliness of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)”

http://www.rethos.com/news/view/626-The-Silliness-of-CSR-Corporate-Social-Responsibility

I like to see corporations as well, but only to learn about their practices. The fact that they are on this site most certainly does not mean that they are courageously trying to make a difference by throwing themselves at our mercy. It means, we are a profitable market, and they are trying to get us to buy their stuff any way they can. Now I think this is a great idea. Let’s tell them what we want.

We want you, corporations, to pay laborers a standard minimum wage… 10 dollars an hour. We want you to become directly accountable to the public, meaning, if a community decides they don’t want you around, you have no right to set up shop. Wal-mart, I’m talking to you.. in Austin, Texas you are taking over Northcross mall and people are very upset about it. Please leave. We want you all to advertise on your product and on your commercials your labor practices, your percentage of profits given back to communities, results of independent studies comparing similar products, death and injury resulting from your practices, animal treatment, number of anti-trust violations, and other things I’m sure I’m leaving out. This type of advertising would undoubtedly slaughter profit-margins..public relations is a massive massive industry because psychology can be used to get people to buy things without actually making the “thing” better – it is a despicable, corrupting practice, and would essentially be done away with.

If DOW advertised its testing practices and deaths caused it would hemorrhage money. If IBM advertised its prior nazi support it’s profits would take swan dive. If KFC plastered its abuse of chickens on every bucket the ensuing shareholder lawsuit would be over before Judge Judy’s first commercial break.

Oh, and, corporations, you can’t own two or more businesses whose coinciding interests disrupt democracy. G.E. you’re out. G.E owns NBC, and is a war contractor. NBC, as a media station, should disseminate information in an unbiased way, but how can it? With profits as the sole motivating factor, It would be silly NOT to use NBC to make war more likely..people love war-related media which increases advertisement value, and war means big aircraft, water treatment, etc. contracts. Imagine Halliburton bringing you news. In fact, Halliburton is a good comparison. Former CEO, *@@$ Cheney, is our Vice President. GE director, Sam Nunn, was senator of Georgia for 27 years. If that’s not a conflict of interest I don’t know what is. So you also can’t share politicians, OK corporations? And no lobbying as well, it’s not right to change the laws so you can make more money at our expense. AT&T and Comcast, stop lobbying to eliminate net neutrality so you can make a few more bucks, we like our websites being equal in cyberspace(I’d like to know your opinion on net neutrality, Ian). Rethos shouldn’t be disadvantaged by Change.org because Chang.org paid Comcast to have it load faster (not true to my knowledge). G.E might pay to have its websites load faster than DemocracyNow.org because Democracy Now dissuades people from supporting a war. All these things are kind of a bummer on that profit-margin..but that’s what we want.

In sum, if corporations did what we think they should do, a wave of suicides would wash over Wall Street.

Do you see the depth and width of the web we face. And rest (or don’t) assured it is a hard web to cast off, it is tenacious, powerful, and armed to the teeth with a ferocious greed and awesome power (something like half of the world’s 100 biggest economies are corporations). This web, undemocratically and unaccountably, reaches almost every aspect of your life, bowing only in the presence of profits. Why would we want a structure like this dominating our lives, if we had a say, we wouldn’t have them act this way.

For precisely this reason, we forge our say.. by creating structures that give everyone a voice, that allow those most affected by decisions to affect the decisions. I’m sure the residents of Richland, Washington would like to at least have known when GE released large amounts of radiation into the air to see how far it would travel. The soldiers who worked with Agent Orange would’ve appreciated a heads-up from DOW about its demonically deforming effects. It is our responsibility to do away with a system that encourages this type of behavior. The incentives run the wrong way – toward corruption not honesty, distortion not clarity, ignorance not enlightenment, authoritarianism not democracy. We can create a system with honorable and just mechanisms – we are human beings, the most complex information processing entities in the known universe. If we cannot come up with a freer and fairer way of producing goods and services, then I say we deserve the inevitable fate of corporatism.

Urban Harvesting - Collect And Distribute Local Foods

The idea is simple and based upon the problem that most of the fruit that makes it into our grocery stores is transported great distances (1,000+ miles on average). All this energy, while a large percentage of fruit in people’s backyard simply goes to waste because most homeowners lack the time and interest to properly share or store this food.

I'M GIVING AWAY MY DOMAINS (Free) for you to create powerful communication portals

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

My gift to you this season are some of the valuable Sustainability-related domains I’ve collected over the years.

All I ask in return is that you design a really cool site that gets people involved, spreads the Sustainability Symbol around the world and brings attention to at least one of the Climate Change related projects we’re working on (Like “STOP the GLOFs”) The rest will be up to you.

Almost one year ago we introduced the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol (Peace Plus One) to the HK Environmental Protection Association. http://www.dragonpreneur.com/images/3fingerPhotos/EPA_0228.jpg http://www.dragonpreneur.com/images/3fingerPhotos/EPAgrp_0256.jpg

Since that time, the Peace Plus One Sustainability Symbol, representing a balanced THINKING considering SOCIETY, ENVIRONMENT and ECONOMY has been shared by hundreds (maybe thousands) of people around the world.

DragonTHINK – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-X6GkYNUTQ

International Conference on Climate Change – http://www.dragonpreneur.com/images/ICCC/ICCCmay31_DragonThink.jpg

NOW IT IS TIME TO “PROFESSIONALIZE” and SHARE with the WORLD-

I’ve decided to hand over control of my domains to passionate people like you to create powerful, diverse websites that will contribute to the effort to change world attitudes.

---

You will have the freedom to create the most entertaining, interesting, effective and convincing websites that encourage at least these two efforts:

SELF-CERTIFICATION as a “Sustainable Thinker”

This is only the beginning of an effort to unite the world in THINKING about how we can each make small, SUSTAINABLE decisions every day, while respecting the different attitudes and approaches of other cultures, languages and belief systems. Our “big hairy ambitious goal” is for 1 million people to know about the Sustainability Symbol* by its first anniversary – February 1st 2008.

In addition to the 3 fingers signifying individual “Self-certification” as a Climate Change Agent – (someone who is part of the SOLUTION to Climate Change and Global Warming – through the sharing of the Sustainability Symbol) our efforts include at least one specific project:

"STOP the GLOFs"

STOP the GLOFs is an effort to bring global attention to NEPAL, where 3,000 Glaciers are rapidly melting in that tropical zone, creating disasterous GLOFs (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods or Vertical Tsunamis).

---

There are over 100 domains to choose from, first come, first served! (send me an email with a brief proposal of your IDEA/TREATMENT, and how you will include the 3 Finger Sustainability Symbol promotion and STOP the GLOFs)

Everyone who sends in at least a paragraph of proposal will recieve a list of the domains still available at the time. (First come, first served)

To see the elements of the “Old” website and blog, please look here: www.Dragonpreneur.com/blog

Cheers, Philip McMaster

Some Questions to consider in your response through Rethos:

- What group or market segment would you like to introduce to Self-Certification as a Climate Change Agent?

- Are you skilled in some aspect of global communication through WEB 2.0?

- Program Designer?

- Web Designer?

- Blogger?

- Financial / Fundraising Wizard?

- Database Designer / manager

- In-School Climate Change Agent

- SEO Expert (Search Enging Optimization)

*NOTE: Only open to Rethos Members!