Solutions for Sustainable

Biodiversity Faces Severe Solution Challenges in Climate Change

2009-06-25T18:49:33Z

In his book, "Heatstroke: Nature in an Age of Global Warming" (Island Press, 2009), University of California, Berkeley, biologist Anthony Barnosky. says that because of climate change, wilderness left to its own will no longer look like the natural areas we see today.

Our conservation strategies must be rethought, he adds, because business-as-usual will not preserve all the aspects of nature we have come to know, love and respect.

Setting aside preserves, for example, puts animals and plants in a bind: As global warming makes their current habitats unsuitable, surrounding human development prevents them from moving to more hospitable places. The alternative, assisted migration, smacks of creating wild zoos - quasi-natural areas like the dinosaur wonderland portrayed in the book and movie "Jurassic Park."

"The new twist in preserving nature is that we might have to come up with a separate but equal system, where we actively set aside some tracts of land as wildlands where people can experience this feeling of 'wilderness,' but recognize that the species that live in those places and the landscape are not going to be the species and landscape we are used to," he says. "Our kids are going to see very different things in those kinds of places than we do."

Warming already altering patterns of migration

Barnosky describes in his book how global warming is already causing shifts in the ranges of animals and plants, disrupting migrations and spawning, and stressing animals confined to parks and reserves.

While ecosystem change and extinction are normal, Barnosky reminds us that past climate change, such as cooling at the beginning of glacial periods and warming with the onset of interglacial periods, took place over thousands of years.

The current warming is happening faster, by a factor of about 10.

Global warming multiplies impacts of human activities

Global warming comes on top of many other environmental impacts that have been stressing the environment, Barnosky notes in his book. He wrote "Heatstroke," in part, because he "wanted to raise awareness that global warming is not just an add-on consequence as far as impacts on ecosystems and nature are concerned.

We are all aware of habitat fragmentation, invasive species, growing human populations, and the tradeoff between resources needed to sustain us versus resources to sustain other species.

People tend to think those are the big problems, and that global warming is going to heat things up a bit.

"In reality, global warming, as far as how it is going to change nature, is as big or bigger a problem than all of those other four, and especially when you put it together with all of the other four.

There are feedbacks that make everything much more severe. It is like multiplying rather than adding everything up."

Solutions to protect both species and wilderness

Wilderness must be protected, he says, if for no other reason than that it acts as a canary in a coal mine, "a barometer of how healthy the Earth actually is."

But imperiled species must also be protected as biodiversity resources, he adds, even if this requires assisted migration of not only the endangered species, but also the plants and animals these species interact with in their ecosystem.

One alternative that some scientists have put forward is Pleistocene rewilding, a wild idea to re-establish the large "megafauna" that dominated Earth during the planet's last major bout with global climate change, the period of on-and-off glaciation that took place between 2 million and 10,000 years ago.

Read more details about Barnosky and Heatstroke

What is a Certified Green Business?

2009-06-23T20:30:23Z

The Eco-Logical Business Program in Oregon provides an extensive number of resources to small businesses to help them prevent pollution and get certified as a green business. Here is their list of what's involved in their program:

Certified businesses go beyond compliance with local environmental requirements and implement pollution prevention efforts in their work sites. Businesses are certified through an intensive application and evaluation process. During the certification process, businesses are evaluated in the areas of:

Hazardous waste management
Air quality and pollution
Spill prevention and response
Product and waste storage
Cleaning procedures
Purchasing/inventory management
Recycling procedures
Employee involvement and training
Drainage Systems
Energy And Water Use

THE PROGRAM

The Eco-Logical Business Program recognizes businesses and shops that reach the highest standards in minimizing their environmental impact. The goal of the program is to prevent and minimize pollution generated by small businesses in the Tri-County area. Currently, there are two multi-media (air, water, and solid waste) certification programs

Learn more at http://www.ecobiz.org/becomebiz.htm

Online Technical Assistance for Pollution Prevention

2009-06-23T20:20:34Z

The Portland Pollution Prevention Outreach Team provides coordinated educational messages and technical assistance in pollution prevention to citizens and businesses.

They are a cooperative working group of local areas from the Cities of Portland and Gresham, Clackamas County, Metro, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Clean Water Services, and Washington County. The Eco-Logical Business Program team includes planners and management experts in air pollution, hazardous materials, solid waste, surface water, and wastewater disciplines.

They joined together to promote, enhance and implement comprehensive pollution prevention programs and materials.

LOCATE AN AUTOMOTIVE OR LANDSCAPE ECO-BUSINESS In OREGON
	PORTLAND AREA AUTOMOTIVE ECO-BUSINESSES
	STATEWIDE AUTOMOTIVE ECO-BUSINESSES
	CERTIFIED LANDSCAPE FIRMS

Their on line resources include a wide variety of PDF downloads in the following areas:

Eco-Logical Business Checklist - pdf
Recycling Resources/Services - pdf

Their website holds a treasuretrove of waste management information to help businesses find practical solutions:

Compendia For Construction and Auto Recycling
Hazardous Waste Management
Antifreeze Recycling
Freon Recycling
Used Oil/Filters
Re-Refined Oil
Auto Body Refinishing
Alternative Gun Washing Solvents
Wash Water Management
Storm Water Management
Oil Water Separators
Secondary Containment
Spill Prevention and Response
Operations
Employee Training
Utilities
Catalogs
and... a wide variety of Alternatives

Green Living Choices for Homes and Offices

2009-06-23T19:53:24Z

Green means sustainable -- healthful, affordable, and easy on the planet. We bring you solutions that are not only about buying more products, but things you can do without to give you more time with your family and loved ones.

Green living is about making choices...and finding solutions to your specific needs for food, shelter, companionship and productive, satisfying work. We talk straight about green building, and green products. We have real solutions for real families. Stay tuned for practical green tips and techiques as well as resources to help you make going green a whole lot easier.

Green Living Solutions for Offices

Most people think it's hard to green your office -- but with our resources and tips, you'll breathe easier in not time! We make going green easier, fun and definitely better for our greater workspace and playspace, the earth.

Green workspace is about reduction, recycling and making good purchases of the everyday things like paper and paperclips, computers and travel. We'll get you started and you'll enjoy the creative potential of green living -- and we think you'll even want to take your new green expertise home with you!

Eco Psychology a new approach to mental and physical health

2009-06-23T19:51:15Z

Sometimes the ancient tug of the arts is the best way to get in touch with our deepest insights. Ecopsychology is a new approach to understanding nature as our habitat and part of our very being. It's an intriguing journey of discovery for modern professionals who are immersed in concrete, speed and business stresses.

Ecopsychology is on the cutting edge of a shift in how we see the world and ourselves. It views many of the problems we face today as being caused by our separation from our roots in the natural world. It finds many useful solutions through reestablishing connections to those roots. As a discipline, eco-psychology studies the interaction of human beings and their environments. As a therapy it seeks to return people to a balanced relationship with their environment.

-- Allison Ewoldt

Professional and In-depth Sources

Ecopsychology, or eco-psychology as it is sometimes called, is situated at the intersection of a number of fields of enquiry, including environmental philosophy, psychology, and ecology, but is not limited by any disciplinary boundaries. At its core, ecopsychology suggests that there is a synergistic relation between planetary and personal well being; that the needs of the one are relevant to the other.

International Community for Ecopsychology

A Novel about Ecopsychology

Sitting with the Enemy by Sarah Edwards

After years of pulse pounding stress and ambition, Rose and Mark Whitman's universe is rich, glamorous, high speed - and empty - a run-a-way train about to crash. They've lost meaning, magic, and soon each other ... until an unexpected turn on the tracks takes them to a remote mountain village and a community struggling to preserve an idyllic, but endangered way of life. Mark and Rose are drawn into a circle of friends who are confronted with painful decisions about what they're willing to do to save their community. When the village breaks into factions, violence erupts fed by fear, greed and prejudice and the group learns the true meaning of community - what destroys it and what preserves it and its role in the quality of their lives and the future of their children.

Enjoy a journey of gentle exploration...you'll smile a lot ... I guarantee it!

Carolyn

Ed Kerschner on Green Investing

2009-06-23T19:48:53Z

Green investing with climate change in mind is a hot new investment strategy because awareness is high and climate change needs to be solved. It can be solved with new business strategies that help companies make money while they provide necessary solutions for risk reduction.

Green MBA for CEO training

2009-06-23T19:46:11Z

CEO training for tomorrow can come from a new pool of Green MBA students. Values, environment and system thinking are part of Aspen Institute's approach to recruiting business students into the green business sector. Social change and financial change can be partners in making a green economy grow and flourish.

Environmental and social impact can shape a greener bottom line.

www.aspeninst.org

Ray Anderson Learned Ecology of Commerce from Paul Hawkins

2009-06-23T19:44:10Z

The use of natural resources in an unsustainable way is, in essence, "plundering" and the result is the rapid destruction of the very earth that sustains millions of species of interwoven species...life.

Ray Anderson, citizen and corporate leader, has come face to face with his role in today's industrial role in unsustainable business shares his thought process and his solutions in this excerpt from "The Corporation".

This is an inspiring look at business's role, and the paradigm shift that is needed to be responsible for the world we leave for our children and the millions of species who are part of this delicate biosphere of life.

The book Ray Anderson credits with opening his eyes to the free-fall to earth that is better known as "business as usual" is "The Ecology of Commerce" by Paul Hawkins.

He calls for a paradigm shift of how we view business. That we look at how we are plundering our natural resources and natural processes and leaving a mess for our grandchildren. And we need to create a new revolution -- moving beyond the industrial revolution to a new revolution. One that could be called a "productivity revolution" or a "sustainability revolution."

Grassroots Recycling Network Develops Zero Waste Solutions

2009-06-23T19:42:01Z

The GrassRoots Recycling Network has a vision of the world where waste is not waste - it is a resource.

GRRN is the leading voice calling for Zero Waste (ZW) in the United States by promoting the message that we must go "beyond recycling" and go upstream to the headwaters of the waste stream which is the industrial designer's desk.

Zero Waste means not only 100% recovery of society's discards, but also a redesign of the products and packaging of our lives such that everything produced for our consumer economy is non-toxic and designed to be recovered for re-use, recycling or composting.

GrassRoots Recycling Network is a national network of waste reduction activists and recycling professionals. GRRN sets ambitious standards for Zero Waste goals and policies. They provide opportunities for on-going participation in campaigns and build coalitions to achieve zero waste policies, businesses and communities. They have a valuable website and an active email listserve (called GreenYes) of many hundreds of knowledgeable experts in both downstream recovery and upstream clean production issues.

What is Zero Waste?

GRRN developed the core message of Zero Waste in the mid-1990's as the new vision of the grassroots recycling movement, and has been successful in using that theme to connect recyclers, innovative corporate leaders, activists, and others both nationally and globally.

GRRN's Zero Waste message combines visionary thinking with real-world practice to go beyond recycling, and in the process have described some simple, important solutions to many pressing issues, such as

corporate accountability
local economic development
air and water pollution
resource depletion

CONTACT INFO:

GrassRoots Recycling Network
PO Box 282
Cotati, CA 94931

http://www.grrn.org

Green Jobs not Prisons is Van Jones' Solution

2009-06-23T19:38:00Z

More money is spent in California for prisons
than all 4-year colleges combined.

Van Jones helps kids in trouble get out of trouble and into jobs. Helping mothers find alternatives for their kids in prison. Jones got burned out when he confronted all the problems in the community. Facing the culture shock between Oakland and Marin County also brought healing that showed him that green jobs and a green economy could be strong enough to lift people out of poverty and improve community and health at the same time -- these new workers could retrofit the nation!

Jones saw these new workers as the rescuers of their nation -- reallocate the money from prisons to green jobs. Practical, applied, in the real world.

Green For All 2008 (VIDEO Clip)
with Van Jones. Watch video.

He was inspired by Majora Carter from South Bronx and worked for a couple years to bring green jobs to Oakland. They created "GREEN FOR ALL" for cities across the country

Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities New publication outlines strategies for developing green-collar job initiatives and pathways out of poverty at the local level. Co-authored by Green For All, this report describes a 4-step approach for local initiatives and highlights a dozen great efforts already underway around the country.

Green For All, in partnership with the Apollo Alliance, Center for American Progress, and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, recently released this guide to help cities across America develop strategies to spur the creation of green-collar jobs and opportunity in their communities.

The new guide, Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities: Building Pathways out of Poverty and Careers in the Clean Energy Economy, is a first-of-its-kind publication that addresses the demand for this information and outlines a strategic framework in which local policymakers and advocates can develop a green-collar job initiative that responds to the realities of their local economies and communities.

"Our green future will be invented at the local level," said Van Jones, founder and president of Green For All. "This report offers those leaders some of the best thinking and models currently available for building green-collar jobs and the training pipelines necessary for city residents to fill those jobs and claim the promise of living wage careers."

The guide encourages cities to take a four-step approach.

First, set a baseline to start from. Identify your environmental and economic goals, and assess local and regional opportunities for achieving those goals.
Second, develop a green economic development plan. Enact policies and programs to drive investment into targeted green economic activity and increase demand for local green-collar workers.
Third, ready your workforce. Prepare your green-collar workforce by building green-collar job training partnerships to identify and meet workforce training needs, and by creating green pathways out of poverty that focus on recruitment, job readiness, job training, and job placement for low-income residents.
And fourth, build on your successes. Leverage your program's success to build political support for new and bolder policies and initiatives.

Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities also includes 14 case studies of successful green-collar job training or policy in 11 communities on both coasts, the Midwest, and the South.

Green For All
414 13th St, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
510-663-6500
http://www.greenforall.org/

Download "Green Collar Jobs in America" Report

Challenge: green schools for all children within a generation

2009-06-23T19:32:49Z

The Mayors' Alliance for Green Schools, a coalition of mayors seeking to strategically harness the leadership and creativity of mayors across the country has been formed to promote the benefits of green schools in their communities.

Developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Alliance will work to accelerate implementation of programs supporting the 2007 U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) resolution calling for green schools for all children within a generation.

"As mayors, we know all too well that schools are the heart of our communities, as they represent the promise we make to our children and future generations, a promise of learning and of opportunity," said Mayor Diaz, President of the US Conference of Mayors. "With this alliance, we are coming together and reconfirming our promise to the health and learning of our children, and ensuring that future generations are mindful of the importance of protecting our environment."

"I've seen the enormous impact mayors have when they unite around a common goal," said Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle, who launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2005, which advances the goals of the Kyoto Protocol and now boasts nearly 900 mayor signatories. "This new coalition of mayors will shine the light on the countless opportunities to make our schools greener, our students and teachers healthier and our communities stronger."

"As first responders to the needs of their communities, mayors are the vanguard of sustainable development in our country," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of USGBC, "and USGBC wants to do all we can to support them, especially in this critically important initiative. "We have Green School Advocacy Committees in 80 local USGBC chapters throughout the country, and we are putting them at the mayors' disposal to advance opportunities, programs and initiatives that champion green school causes and help them publicly celebrate their successes."

Together with Mayor Diaz and Mayor Nickels, Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco, Cal; Mayor Will Wynn, Austin, Texas; Mayor Sheila Dixon, Baltimore, Md., Mayor Frank Cownie, Des Moines, Iowa; and Mayor George Heartwell, Grand Rapids, Mich.; have put forth a call to mayors around the country to join this important effort to support green schools for all children.

"This new Alliance dovetails perfectly with Baltimore's new Sustainability agenda," said Mayor Sheila Dixon. "It also will provide more ways to support our ongoing efforts to promote the health and well-being of our students as we improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of our school facilities."

Mayors across the country are leading efforts to deliver the benefits of green schools to their communities. For example, EcoMedia is working with mayors in Miami and San Francisco to leverage innovative public‐private partnerships that create new opportunities for green school projects.

Other Alliance initiatives will work to:

Develop and create public‐private partnerships with a local business to allow schools to plant a green roof, install a solar garden or start a recycling program.
Help school districts green their existing facilities through the Clinton Climate Initiative's K‐12 Retrofit Program.
Encourage state legislatures to create policies and incentives for green school improvements.
Engage in a national dialogue about green schools, green jobs and green infrastructure.

Retread Tire Solutions for Fleet Management Savings

2009-06-23T19:30:19Z

Transportation costs can be reduced on the wheel and in the landfill when quality retread tires are used on fleets of trucks, cars and other equipment.

Retread Tire Solutions for Public Sector Fleet Managers in Cities, Counties and States

With the worldwide downturn in the economy facing cities, towns, counties, states, provinces and even villages everywhere, it is more important than ever for fleet managers to manage their tire costs, a significant part of the transportation budget.

Retreads can be the cost saving, and green answer.

Not only are retreaded tires very environmentally friendly, they are far more economical than comparable new tires. The larger the tire size the greater the savings. In fact, for most tire sizes retreads can cut your tire costs by 50% and sometimes even more!

Retread Tire Safety and Reliability

The safety and reliability of today's top quality retreads (quality matters!) has been proven by millions of vehicles throughout the world over billions of miles.

All major commercial and military airlines use retreads - even on the largest planes flying - as do fire engines and other emergency vehicles, school and municipal buses, taxi fleets, race cars, small package delivery services such as FED EX, UPS and even the U.S. Postal Service, along with all types of other commercial and passenger vehicles.

U.S. Federal Executive Order (13149) even MANDATES the use of retreaded tires on selected federal fleet vehicles.

Objective information is available for fleet managers who wish to evaluate the benefits retreads have to offer and much of it can be found on the Tire Retreat & Repair Information Bureau web site, www.retread.org.

Take a look at their extensive information about the true causes of tire debris (also known as rubber on the road & road alligators).

The Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau is a worldwide association and our materials are all non-commercial and available at no cost to interested readers everywhere.

Information about Retread Tire Solutions

They will send a CD and two DVDs to those who wish to learn more. Their latest DVD, "Reputable Retreading," contains a virtual retread plant tour, along with testimonials from public sector fleet managers and is very convincing to those who are not certain about retreads.

This nonprofit retread organization will also arrange a tour of an actual retread plant in your area. They encourage "doubters" to take a tour because it is very convincing to see how much care goes into the retread process.

You can do get the attention of taxpayers and the environmentalists in your area by using retreaded tires on your public sector fleet vehicles. Your agency can do well and good at the same time by making the switch to this recycled solution of tires -- definitely a problem for communities that must deal with the millions of discarded tires that end up in landfills!

To order the retread tire information CD and DVDs, or to arrange for a retread plant tour or for more specific information contact the organization:

Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau
www.retread.org
info@retread.org,
Toll-free: 888-473-8732. From other parts of the world call +831-372-1917

Recycling Center Picture Show for Understanding!

2009-04-22T20:17:28Z

Recycling is nothing new, but few among us have seen what happens to our plastic, paper, metal, and glass once it departs from our blue, curbside bins.

The photographer Mathieu Young takes us on an enlightening tour of the Waste Management Materials Recovery Facility in Pico Rivera, California.

This recycling operation in Southern California is a single facility that sorts nearly 6,000 tons of material per month, and it's quite a load to take in.

The Waste Management Pico Rivera MRF is a privately owned and operated 39,000 square foot recycling facility that sorts 5,800 tons of material per month.

USDA Creates Green Space, Habitat and Garden to Focus on Restoring US Natural Resources

2009-02-16T23:43:26Z

On Lincoln's 200th birthday, Feb. 12, 2009, the new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack "broke pavement" on The People's Garden during a ceremony on the grounds of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commemorating Lincoln's birthday.

Green for Watershed Protection

Secretary Vilsack declared the stretch of pavement permanently closed and returned back to green, and encouraged other Administration officials and the general public to join in to protect the Chesapeake watershed.

"It is essential for the federal government to lead the way in enhancing and conserving our land and water resources," said Vilsack. "President Obama has expressed his commitment to responsible stewardship of our land, water and other natural resources, and one way of restoring the land to its natural condition is what we are doing here today - "breaking pavement" for The People's Garden."

The dedication comes on the 200th anniversary of the birth of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln founded the Department of Agriculture in 1862 and referred to it as "The People's Department" in his last annual message to Congress.

Green for Beneficial Gardening Promotion

Secretary Vilsack announced a goal of creating a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide. The USDA community garden project will include a wide variety of garden activities including Embassy window boxes, tree planting, and field office plots.

The gardens will be designed to promote "going green" concepts, including landscaping and building design to retain water and reduce runoff; roof gardens for energy efficiency; utilizing native plantings and using sound conservation practices.

Green Space for Runoff Reduction

The USDA People's Garden will eliminate 1,250 square feet of unnecessary paved surface at the USDA headquarters and return the landscape to grass. The changes signal a removal of impervious surfaces and improvement in water management that is needed throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Demonstration Habitat for Backyard and Green Space Applications

The new garden will add 612 square feet of planted space to showcase conservation practices that all Americans can implement in their own backyards and green spaces.

As a component of the garden, pollinator-friendly plantings will not only provide important habitat for bees and butterflies, but can serve as an educational opportunity to help people understand the vital role pollinators play in our food, forage and all agriculture. The garden plot is adjacent to the site of the USDA Farmer's Market.

Watershed Protection of the Chesapeake Watershed

About 100,000 streams and rivers thread through the Chesapeake's 64,000-square-mile watershed, which is home to almost 17 million people in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, New York and the District of Columbia. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America, with a length of 200 miles and 11,684 miles of tidal shoreline, more than the entire U.S. West Coast.

The Chesapeake Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants, fish and animals.

Reduce Pollution on Wildlife Habitat, Forests and Water Resources...and Improve Community Natural Resources

USDA leads efforts on public and private lands to help reduce the impact of nutrient and sediment pollution on wildlife habitat, forest lands and water quality, as well as supporting community involvement in managing natural resources, urban green space and land stewardship. For more information about USDA, the People's Garden, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and other conservation and agriculture related programs available in local communities, visit a USDA Service Center or go to the USDA Web page at www.usda.gov.

Complementary education materials such as the distance-learning project MonarchLIVE and partnerships with schools and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign which will extend the impact and reach of the USDA garden initiative are available at na.fs.fed.us. Backyard conservation and other materials also can be obtained by dialing 1-888-LANDCARE.

Floriculture Association Leads the Sustainabiilty Fight

2009-01-15T02:30:21Z

Trade associations are taking a leadership role in developing sustainability standards for their member companies and often leading the charge with their own association operations. One such association is the OFA.

OFA is an Association of Floriculture Professionals -- a national organization of greenhouse growers, garden center operators, nurseries, retail and wholesale florists, interior plantscapers, green industry suppliers, students, and educators.

They have implemented sustainable methods in their own offices, promoted the topic in education courses and cosponsored a national conference on sustainability.

On October 29-30, 2007, the Leonardo Academy and Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) co-hosted a meeting to start soliciting stakeholder input on SCS-drafted language to create a national standard for producers and handlers (including retailers) who want to make a claim of engaging in sustainable agriculture (includes ALL crops, including greenhouse and nursery crops) practices. The intent of SCS is to get these draft standards adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) no later than April 2010. However, plans sometimes go awry. The US Department of Agriculture has challenged the process undertaken by Leonardo Academy.

OFA's website also provides a wealth of information about sustainable practices for their member companies.

And the OFA Short Course, July 11-14, 2009 has a theme of "Make It Your Business". The Monday sustainability sessions will cover everything from the proposed sustainability standard to methods for marketing sustainability to practical ideas for becoming more sustainable.