It is said: “when a student is ready, the teacher appears.” For over 20 years, I have been asking the question of how can we live in ways that sustain and restore the earth, and ourselves? Over that time, I have been blessed to learn from some amazing teachers, each adding new dimensions and experiences… Read more
Tag: Sustainability
Hold the Vision, Dad, Hold the Vision
I’m pleased to share this guest blog post from John Tener, my dad, who has been an inspiration to me in his persistence in working for positive social change over decades. “Tommy” Menino, 20 year-long mayor of Boston, died a month ago… He was eulogized and buried on November 3, the day before the election. … Read more
Collaboration Over the Long Haul: Community Revitalization in Lawrence
Last week, I had the opportunity to tour the Spiket River Greenway, a community restoration initiative in Lawrence, MA that provides an inspiring story of vision, collaboration, and persistence over decades. The tour was part of a “learning journey” organized as the kick-off event of the Great Neighborhoods Network sponsored by the MA Smart Growth… Read more
Dashboards to Track Progress on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This week, the State of Massachusetts just launched a new dashboard to track the progress of greenhouse gas emission reductions and related indicators. The Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Project (GWSP) Network has been working with the state to develop a meaningful set of metrics to enable progress to be evaluated.
An Innovation Accelerator: The 2013 New Hampshire Social Business Innovation Challenge
“Our aim is for the New Hampshire Social Business Challenge to serve as an innovation accelerator” was how Yusi Turell of the Carsey Institute described the intent behind this first-ever Business Challenge in New Hampshire. The Challenge involved teams submitting proposed designs for innovative, business-oriented solutions to pressing social and environmental issues at the state,… Read more
Creating the Structures for a Generative Economy
A friend handed me a copy of Marjorie Kelly’s new book Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution; Journeys to a Generative Economy and said he thought it was so good that he had bought a case of them to share with colleagues and friends. By the time I was 50 pages into the book,… Read more
Doing More with What the Earth Produces
This blog is part of a series about permaculture, drawing on experiences in a Permaculture Design Course I am taking with Chop Wood Carry Water Permaculture in Nottingham, NH. “We must stop expecting the earth to produce more, but start doing more with what the earth produces.” – GUNTER PAULI, Upsizing: The Road to… Read more
Overcoming "Functionally Insane" Short-Term Thinking
This blog begins a series of posts about permaculture, drawing on what I am learning in a Permaculture Design Course I am taking with Chop Wood Carry Water Permaculture in Nottingham, NH. Green Biz reported on a recent speech by Al Gore where he shared a story of a survey of CEO’s several years ago…. Read more
Fragmented Bureaucracies or Integrated Policy Coordination?
NPR’s Living on Earth show recently ran an interview with David Suzuki, author of “The Legacy: An Elder’s Vision for Our Sustainable Future,” where he shared a moving story illustrating the interdependence of the temperate rainforest ecosystem. He contrasted that to how compartmentalized our government agency approaches are to “managing” our forests. Coincidentally, the same… Read more
Networks: A Core Strategy for Sustainability
Consider these scenarios: Every hotel could adopt greener practices, such as saving water, reducing energy use, serving food from local farms in its restaurants – and many leaders already have. How do we get the rest of the hotels to learn from the leaders and adopt these innovations? Buildings are responsible for about one-third of… Read more