Environmental/Social Sustainability
From WikiForGood
Contents |
Big Picture Essays
Bright Green Funding (29 Sep 04) "Environmental giving from private foundations misses the boat when it comes to systematically addressing the major problems we face in providing a catalyst to significant environmental restoration, protection, and generation of an environmentally friendly and sustainable human impact upon the earth. Have we noticed that we have been losing most of the political and ecological battles over the last ten years while we continue to approach grant making in the mode of 10, 20 and 30 years ago?" The essay goes on list a number of ways to improve funding.
Drop that apocalyptic vision and start imagining a positive future (11 Jul 2006) via Grist. Karen Hurley's point in this brief essay is that we must be able to envision the kind of future we want to create. That takes hope and imagination. We need to spend more effort speaking about where we want to go or we're doomed to live out a darker future.
The Death of Environmentalism (Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, October 2004) "...not one of America's environmental leaders is articulating a vision of the future commensurate with the magnitude of the crisis. Instead they are promoting technical policy fixes like pollution controls and higher vehicle mileage standards -- proposals that provide neither the popular inspiration nor the political alliances the community needs to deal with the problem."
The Soul of Environmentalism: responds to The Death of Environmentalism; connects the sustainability and environmental justice movements with other critical social movements; and calls for (among other things) environmental organizations to invest in "deep change" in addition to the specific technical fixes.
Books on Sustainability
Celebrities For Good
Celebrities For Good -- reveals the green lifestyles (if any) of the monetarily rich and publicly famous.
Locally Grown Food Movement
Places That Need Saving
NRDC Bio Gems "NRDC launched the BioGems Initiative in 2001 to mobilize concerned individuals in defense of exceptional and imperiled ecosystems."
Recycling
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is leading the charge to encourage electronics recycling.
Sustainability Policy
Synfuel boondoggle (Feb. 26, 2006) -- this Time Magazine article explains a scam of sorts relating to subsidies for synfuel. You might think synfuel is liquid or gas fuel derived from coal, but the subsidies reward practices such as simply spraying coal with diesel fuel prior to burning at electric plants.
Sustainability Quotes
"Humanity will soon have to choose between utopia or oblivion.... Do we work only for ourselves or for our planet?" Dr. Buckminister Fuller, 1982, quoted from an article in yahoo news (April 17, 2006).
Sustainability Tools
Clothing Swaps are the new night out. Here's the article from the New York Times (July 9, 2006).
Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) allows you to calculate the natural resources necessary to support your lifestyle in terms of acres. "When the total amount of ecologically productive land area...is divided by the human population, there are about 4.5 acres (1.89 hectares) available for each person," according to the non-profit Redefining Progress. And the average footprint of a U.S. citizen is 23.6 acres, states a Redefining Progress report titled Ecological Footprint of Nations 2004.
The Happy Planet Index is an innovative new measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered around the world. It is the first ever index to combine environmental impact with well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which country by country, people live long and happy lives. The results are surprising, even shocking, but there is much to learn from what they show.
Sustainability Trends
Who is an environmentalist? Read the surprising results of a poll conducted by the Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Studies (March 3, 2006).
Fabulous article on the growth of one of China's largest and fastest growing cities, Chongqing (15 March 2006). Did you know that while Britain has five cities with more than 1 million residents, China has more than 90. Chongqing "is now the world's biggest municipality with 31 million residents (more people than Iraq, Peru or Malaysia)," according to the article. Wow, I'd never heard of the place until today!
Sustainable Vacations
Water
Colbert and Kamen Solve the World's Water Problems (March 25, 2008) There has been much buzz about the water-purifying machine that Segway inventor Dean Kamen demonstrated on the Colbert Report last week. Everyone has been trying to find out more about his claim that "you stick a hose into anything that looks wet ... and it comes out ... as perfect distilled clean water."
