Green Buckeye

Labels: climate change, inspiration

Discovered this Chip Giller quote (The Way I See It #289) on my Starbucks cup this morning:

So-called "global warming" is just a secret ploy by wacko tree-huggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21st-century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don’t let them get away with it!

Viva the conspiracy.

Labels: inspiration

To celebrate the holiday, I've chosen three unrelated quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to share with Green Buckeye readers. To some extent they reflect aspects of the philosophy associated with my efforts on this blog.

The first quote reflects on the problem of imbalance and unsustainable behavior:

"The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

The second quote provides inspiration for continuing to move forward, even when feeling tired and outnumbered.

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."

And the third quote reminds us that fear is not enough to sustain change - we must also have hope in the face of adversity.

"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."

Labels: about greenbuckeye, inspiration

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places - and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

- Howard Zinn

Labels: inspiration

Are you planning to attend any part of the Green Building Expo '07 at the Athenaeum on Thursday? A friend and I have registered for the Rocky Anderson keynote address, and I'm looking forward to an inspirational boost! Anderson is the mayor of Salt Lake City, and he is internationally recognized as a leader in sustainability and environmental issues.

The keynote runs from 12 - 1:30 p.m., and it costs $10. You can register here for the keynote, the entire conference, or morning or afternoon sessions you might be interested in attending. The associated trade show is free and open to the public.

I hope to see you there!

Labels: events, green building, inspiration

Paul Hawken has written a new book called Blessed Unrest. Last night I listened to an "America the Green" podcast of Hawken speaking about the book, and I just had to share it with you here.

If you're looking for a little inspiration, this is the ticket.

Labels: inspiration, media, podcast

Former EPA administrator Carol Browner speaks eloquently and with intelligence in this lecture recorded at Stanford Graduate School of Business. The recording is part of the Social Innovation Conversations series, and it's free to listen.

When you hear the preponderance of evidence outlined, and you let yourself visualize the consequences of not acting, it's really hard to understand why anyone is still debating whether climate change is real and whether we ought to be doing something about it as a society.

Tags: global warming, climate change

Labels: climate change, inspiration, media

Last night I listened to an interview with John Sage, one of the co-founders of Pura Vida Coffee. The Pura Vida business model is an innovative blend of socially responsible capitalism and non-profit philanthropy, or "capitalism as an agent of compassion."

The entire interview is less than 30 minutes, and in that time you get a high-level explanation of "fair trade" plus an overview of Pura Vida's business model and key partnerships.

If you're running a small green business or thinking of starting one, this interview is a great listen.

Labels: green business, inspiration, media

One of the many hats I wear is that of an organization development (OD) and process consultant. This week I'm attending a conference of OD people with a deep interest in "whole system change" methods. These are participative methodologies that typically aim to get lots of organizational or community stakeholders into conversations with each other on a topic that is intended to shift the organization or community in a new desired direction. (The shorthand used to describe this is "getting the whole system in the room.")

While the conference's primary focus is on the methods themselves, there are strong secondary currents emerging around the questions of "how can we best contribute our process knowledge and skills to issues that matter" and "what issues matter most?"

It might interest you to learn that global climate change has been identified many times throughout the conference as one of the issues that matter most. Today seven conference attendees from four continents (Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America) convened a special breakout session to share sustainability success stories from their communities and ideas for spreading those stories.

It's always exciting to discover people who want to share their talents to contribute to the greater good. What are people in your field doing about climate change concerns? I'd love to hear about it!

(Photo by Nancy White)

Labels: climate change, inspiration

Tuesday I took some "me time" and went to see Margaret Wheatley lecture at OSU. I was cautiously optimistic - hopeful that it would be worth the effort to leave work early, drive the 15 miles into the city, and find public parking.

I needn't have been so cautious - Meg was far more inspiring than I hoped! Her presentation was visually beautiful, and it was built on photographs she had taken herself and quotes from famous and not-so-famous folks. She taught by way of stories and anecdotes about leaders and at the end, even a poem.

All in all, she modeled the leadership she was teaching.

Stories of great leaders and teachers like Wangari Maathai inspire me to "walk on," even when the way seems steep and narrow.

What inspires you?

Labels: inspiration, leadership, Margaret Wheatley, Wangari Maathai