sign in sign up
<<
Home , Global Marshall Plan, Holocene extinction, Most livable cities, Paul Hawken, Sheryl WuDunn, Unified Smart Grid

Copyright © 2011 by Sustainable World Coalition. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-9838304-2-9

Art direction and layout by Design Action Collective (www.designaction.org).

Printing by J&A Printing (www.japrinting.com).

J&A Printing has created a “Green Team” to evaluate their sustainabilty metrics, work to eliminate , and become more environmentally efficient.

Published and distributed by Sustainable World Coalition

Printed on New Leaf recycled paper (see eco-audit below).

Compiled by Sustainable World Coalition A nonprofit project of Island Institute 2150 Allston Way, Suite 460, Berkeley, CA 94704 415.737.0235 www.swcoalition.org

Sustainable World Coalition will share 20% of net proceeds among organizations working for a more just and sustainable world.

Cover photos (left to right): Creative Commons/Philip Bouchard, Glenn Jenkinson, bigfoto.com, Creative Commons/Nuala Bugeye. Back cover: NASA.

environmental benefits statement of using post-consumer waste fiber vs. virgin fiber

Sustainable World Coalition saved the following resources by using New Leaf Bright and New Leaf Sakura Silk, made with an average of 82% recycled fiber and 32% post-consumer waste, and processed chlorine free:

trees water energy solid waste greenhouse gases 75 22,842 41 3,444 5,433 fully grown gallons million Btu pounds pounds Calculations based on research by Environmental Defense Fund and other members of the Paper Task Force. www.newleafpaper.com Compiled by Sustainable World Coalition dedicated to the children of all

“Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society—its world view, its basic values, its social and political structures, its arts, its key institutions—rearranges itself. And the people born then cannot even imag- ine a world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born. We are currently living through such a transformation.” —Peter Drucker, author, Post-Capitalist Society Table of Contents

IntroductioN Publisher’s Preface iv A World of Thanks v From the Editors v Foreword by Paul Hawken vi

1 Setting the Context Changing the Story 1 Where Are We? 2 How Did We Get Here? 3 What’s Possible for the Future? 4

Where Do We Go from Here? 5 June Holte

2 Environment Healing the Web of Life 6 10 ; Coral Reefs; Fresh Water 14 Forests; Art Explosion Creative Commons/Eric in SF 18 Waste, , and Toxics

3 Energy SMART POWER 21 Hydroelectric 26 26 27 27 Creative Commons/Davi PT Creative Commons/Wayne Natl. Forest Creative Commons/Wayne

4 A JUST SOCIETY A World that Works for Everyone 31 Global Challenges 33 Equitable Earth Principles 33 UN Millennium Development Goals 34 Indigenous Rights and Survival 35 Honoring Diversity 37 Pathways to an Equitable Future 39 Seven Foundations of a Just, Sustainable World Creative Commons/family 5 Economics WhaT Counts Global Crisis = Opportunity for Change 41 Global Solutions 42 Enterprise Economics 44 Local Solutions 47 Cooperatives 49 Innovative Community Banks 49 Creative Commons/Green For All Creative Commons/Green For All

6 CommunitY Living Well TOGETHER 52 Wisdom of the Community 53 Growing Communities 54 Youth-Led Activism 55 Green Building; Greening 58 Transportation

Bigstockphoto.com 62

7 Getting Personal Our Choices Matter Food 63 66 Home Sweet Nontoxic Home 67 The 69 The Consumption Conundrum 70 Spirituality 71 Tobias Kammener Tobias

8 Resource Directory 73 Organizations 88 Documentary Videos & Films

Istock Photo/track5 endnotes 89 INTRODUCTION

Publisher’s Preface: Living As If Our World Depends On It

or me, the Sustainable World SourceBook and the corresponding website are a “pay it forward” endeavor. While attending the UN World Summit in Johannesburg, South , in 2002, I ran across a book much like this one. It gave F a broad, concise overview of the big global issues, the proposed solutions and strategies, and ways I could make a difference person- ally. As I grasped the severity of the threats and the enormity of the challenges facing us, I felt stunned and devastated. I had a life-changing epiphany that led to my changing careers, from graphic designer to educator. I created a nonprofit organization and immedi- ately began producing events and materials that were—and are—intended to catalyze a widespread shift in awareness and action. ThisSourceBook is designed to similarly inspire YOU to gain an essential understanding of the challenges facing humanity, and to make the connection between your daily life choices and your impact on the world. The SourceBook brings clarity to the major issues of our time, presents some of the best solutions, and provides guidelines for effective personal and collective action. Our purpose is to contribute to the creation of an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just presence on the planet. Humanity as a whole faces daunting challenges that put our own survival into question. Recent years have seen increasing numbers of people and organizations addressing environmental devastation, , species , and extreme wealth inequity by expos- ing the truth, advocating for change, and implementing solutions. Many of these organizations have invested a great deal of time and expertise to come up with innovative strategies and potential rem- edies, leading to working models now in practice or in the pipeline. We do have reason to believe we can turn things around, but time is short to do so. It is a fact that those of us in the wealthy countries must share much responsibility for the crises, given our high per-capita consumption, and that those in poorer countries often bear the brunt of those excesses. Until we are willing to look squarely at our situation, we remain largely unmoved by its realities. Yet once we summon the courage to confront our predicament, we find that indeed there is much we can do on levels big and small, and many signs of hope and possibility that this book portrays in broad strokes. According to current data, we are rapidly nearing a point of no return for saving much of what we know and love on our beautiful planet. There is no time to wait! Restoring balance and sustainability across the globe will take our best minds and a critical mass of citizens who are not just concerned but committed to making the changes required. We know from past crises that as things continue to heat up and get worse, we will begin to experience real humility, rethink what’s important, and mobilize for action. We will find ourselves working together for the common good in ways we only now dream of. That vision gives me great hope. So where do we begin?

STEP 1: GET INFORMED. Find out about the issues both global and local, the proposed solutions, and how we as individuals can contribute to creating a healthy and just world.

STEP 2: GET ENGAGED. Open your heart. Engage your creativity, your passion, your dreams. Deepen your connections to the Earth and one another. Act on what you know and learn. Get involved with improving your community. Challenge your friends to do the same— we’re all in this together. Thank you for reading this book—please pay it forward.

Vinit Allen – Director, Sustainable World Coalition

Creative Commons/Sara y Tzunky2 iv2 INTRODUCTION A World of Thanks

e appreciate the networks, interwoven relationships, and the multitude of organizations doing the important, leading-edge work that inspired and informed the process of com- W piling the SourceBook. Our gratitude goes to all the people whose advice, assistance, talents, and commitment to creating a better world made this book possible. Kudos to all readers who join the movement or become reinvigorated in their hopes and efforts—we need and thank you all! We modeled a bottom-up collaborative approach exemplary of the movement itself, and the following people helped co-create the SourceBook. Claus Wawrzinek

RESEARCHERS: Alexandra Hart, Cheryl Fralick, Claire Borgeson, Ellen Hong, Gary Hughes, Jackie Braun, Jewel Snavely, Joan Olawski-Steiner, Juan Pablo Obando, Laura Baker, Linda Foster, Marn-Yee Lee, Meredith Stechbart, Michele Mahoney, Nicole Freeling, Paula Morrison, Peter Galvin, Rebecca Wait, Robert Bostick, Romola Georgia, Sarah Wechsberg, Susan Thomas, Suzie Mummé, Susan Burns, Tewa Heartsong WRITERS: Anita Sanchez, Ellen Augustine, Jim Embry, Kit Tennis, Leslie Mezei, Michele Drivon, Rebecca Strong, Rev. Kelly Isola, Trathen Heckman PUBLICATION SUPPORT: Lyndie Kahanek VIDEO: Celestine Star PHOTOS: Claus Wawrzinek, Connie Barlow, Frank Taylor, Gloria Garrett, Jessica Ayala, Jim Embry, John Story, June Holte, Karen Clawson, Kelly Slocum, Leah Beck, Lizzy Ziogas, Marva Weigelt, Roberta Vogel, Vicki Walker CARTOONS: Brian Narelle ADDITIONAL SUPPORT: Anjee Lang, Ann West, Bruce Erickson, Kevin Danaher, Lawrence Wallersheim, Linda Delair, Michele Perrault, Paul Gilbert, Rajyo Markman, Randy Hayes, Rua Necaise, Steven Goldfinger, Southern Oregon University Sustainability Leadership Class (2009), Tom Christopher PREVIOUS EDITORS: Shera Sever, Stephanie “Slim” Russell FUNDING: David and Shirley Allen.

“Spiritual practice is really about weaving a network of good relationships.” —Dhyani Ywahoo

From the Editors Gloria Garrett, gloriousjourneyphotography.org

ear Reader, We consider this book to be a tool to support you in your personal journey of contri- D buting to the creation of a just, sustainable human presence on Earth—portable, skimma- ble, gift-worthy—one to which you will return again and again. This is a living, breathing document; the pdf version is updated every 6 months. The book is a forum rather than a definitive treatment or position. Errors or omissions—well, please help us fix them! We sincerely hope you will visit our website, www.swcoalition.org, to collaborate and interact with us via our newly expanding platform. Although we provide a global context, the primary distribution of the printed version of the Source- Book will be in the —the country with the largest ecological footprint and largest economy, and thus the country with the largest responsibility to address our collective challenges. We are currently in production with a truly global version, with perspectives from every continent, translated into different languages, and with a section in each chapter for the trends, stats, examples and resources pertaining to the country in which it will be distributed. We have taken on the audacious task of summarizing all of the world’s major issues and their solutions in just 100 pages, consolidating information and resources from thousands of pages of authoritative documents and credible online sources—so that you don’t have to! We have credited our sources in our extensive Endnotes section at the back. We were not able to cover many important areas, and we hope you will follow the many links provided in our robust Resource Directory to useful organizations and networks. In putting this together, we found it amazing to witness the vast number of organizations and people—from all walks of life, profes- sions, and sectors—on board and contributing to the Great Turning. Millions are heeding the wake-up call and rising to the occasion. We urge you to explore the articles, major documents, and links to respected organizations doing this important work. The Web’s potential to disseminate information and organize people around the world is truly phenomenal. This SourceBook is a labor of love! Many people volunteered untold hours, riding the waves of continuously morphing content as the sustainability movement expands exponentially around us (disclaimer: contributors listed above are not responsible for the content of this collaborative project, the compilation of information, or views expressed). The writers, researchers, editors, and reviewers include both es- tablished and emerging leaders and experts. Volunteers include practitioners, graduate students from sustainability/green institutions, and Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium facilitators, hailing from diverse disciplines and residing in all time zones of the US, as well as India and the UK. Our gratitude extends to Vinit Allen, for his vision, funding, distribution, and editorial partnership in this project.

Sincerely, Jude Wait, Kathy Glass, June Holte, Karen Chaffraix

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 3v Creative Commons/itza fine day

Foreword by Paul Hawken

here is a possibility that the world will see again. At this moment, global civilization is blind to the peril and possibility that resides in forces at play in society and the environment. To rectify that, there is an essential and indispensable course of action, a systematic call Tfrom each village and neighborhood and family to others, to become literate in the social and environmental challenges we face. Aristotle said that genius is metaphor, but there is as yet no metaphor (or genius) that can adequately describe or encompass this moment in time because there is no precedent. The terms crossroads, turning point, watershed, and moment of truth do not address this juncture for these are civilizational times and they require each of us to reimagine what it means to be a human being. Critical to this act of newly conceiving who we are and what we should be doing is literacy. The Sustainable World SourceBook is a door to a newly born and critically important literacy of the world around us. Literacy is the first step to dialogue, conversation, and collaboration. If you cannot read, books look like cooking fuel. You may see a as gossamer and feathers, but it is also a creator of forests and meadows, flying with its small sac of undigested seeds. We can see the world as doomed and fatally flawed, or we can see every trend and statistic as the possibility of transformation. We can see ourselves as fortunate and separate from the suffering of others, or we can see that our bounty rests heavily on the shoulders of unknown people. Concomitant to our good fortune is the responsibility to create a world of equals, not just a nation of equals. As stunning and paralyzing as is the data about climate change, the possibilities that are emerging from the imagination and concerns of humankind are equally stunning. In energy alone, we are tasked with reducing carbon-based energy by 80% in the next 25 years if we are to prevent temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Centigrade. Yes, the world uses 84 million barrels of oil per day. But, a square meter of the Earth receives in one year the same amount of energy as a barrel of oil. The US, a profligate user of energy, has about 4,000 times more solar energy than its annual electricity use. For the world, that figure is 10,000 times, which means that if 1% of the world’s land were used for solar photovoltaics, we would have 10 times the amount of energy needed. And a new branch of thin-film solar technology is nearly at grid parity, meaning that a solar panel can produce electricity at costs commensurate with coal and gas. This example is repeated in hundreds of areas of social and technical innovation. Humanity knows what to do, once it knows what needs to be done. To make a change this broadly this quickly is unheralded. It calls for a mobilization where human beings are not rallying to defeat an enemy, but organizing to support each other. It is not just our energy and resource profligacy that is devastatingly expensive; our divisions, dislikes, and antagonisms are equally unaffordable. Coming together in communities of empowered people, to quote former President Clinton, is the work at hand, and this book and the extraordinary experience of the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium are critical tools in humankind’s journey to a world that is conducive to and protective of all life.

Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, , and best-selling author. He has dedicated his life to sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment. Paul resides in Northern .

4vi INTRODUCTION Part One

Marva Weigelt SETTING THE CONTEXT

Now you begin to see that n the summer of 1995, a small group of people answered a call for partnership from one of the world’s most remote, indigenous dream cultures, the Achuar of the Ecuadorian your dream is a nightmare… I . Thus was born The Pachamama Alliance. (Pachamama is from the Andean language Quechua; its meaning encompasses the sacred presence of the Earth, the sky, the Universe, and all time, although it is often translated as “Mother Earth.”) This partnership All you have to do is supports a federation of tribes working together to protect over two million acres of pris- tine rainforest, with achievements that include something unprecedented: has been change the dream… granted rights in Ecuador’s constitution. Yet, all along, the Achuar had pointed to another aspect of the work to be done: changing the “dream” of the modern world. You need only Thus, in partnership with dozens of organizations and individuals, The Pachamama Alliance created the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium.1 Since 2006, a growing number of over 2000 trained volunteer facilitators are taking the symposium a different seed, around the world—sharing it with groups large and small, currently in 40 countries on six continents. teach your children to dream “From the very beginning, our indigenous partners told us that…if we really wanted new dreams. to protect their lands permanently, we would need to go to work in our part of the world, and, as they put it, we would need to change the dream of the North, the dream of the modern world, a dream rooted in consumption and acquisition, without any —Elder of Ecuador’s regard to the consequences of the natural world, or even our own future.” Shuar tribe —Lynne Twist, co-founder, The Pachamama Alliance

TheSourceBook opens with a summary of the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium, in order to set the context for what follows. We will discover that the big global issues we face are symptoms of our consciousness, rooted in our cultural story, so this is the place to start.

Ch a n g i n g t h e St o r y , Aw a k e n i n g t h e Dr e a m e r

“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying the world—we’ve actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other.” —Joanna Macy, eco-philosopher

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 1 The journey of life has brought many The chart below illustrates one mea- “Environmental Justice is the belief of us to want to better understand the crises sure of humanity’s impact on Earth.4 We are that no community should have to bear we now face on planet Earth—ecological, now using 30% more of nature than it can the brunt of a disproportionate amount social, economic, spiritual—and what we regenerate—called “global ”— of environmental burdens and not enjoy can do about it. We are embarking on what eroding the natural capital that life depends any environmental benefits. But right Joanna Macy points to—creating a new on. If everyone lived as North Americans now race and class are the best indicators relationship with life, our world, and the do, we would need five ; as - as to where you’ll find the good stuff— others who share this planet with us. We ans do, three Earths. and India are like parks and trees—and where you’ll are, in fact, part of changing the “dream of just under the one-Earth level, but that is find the bad stuff—like waste facilities the modern world.” increasing steadily. Moderate projections or power .” The global overview here is offered from the UN show that, by 2050, we will —Majora Carter, as an exploration of the root causes of our be using about twice the founder, Sustainable South Bronx global crises, providing hopeful possibilities of Earth. This is accompanied by a cata- for the future. strophic loss of much of Earth’s unique bio- No one would assert that we have The SourceBook and Awakening the diversity. Although the news hasn’t reached achieved a socially just human presence on Dreamer share a common purpose: to bring the general public, we are in the midst of a the planet. Globally 200,000 people a day forth an environmentally sustainable, spiri- mass extinction crisis: Half the species on are moving to cities from environments that tually fulfilling, socially just human presence Earth are in danger of becoming extinct in have sustained them for generations, many on this planet. Although this mission seems 50 years.5 to live in slums where they have very few to be three separate issues, they options for work.6 Almost half are actually three facets of one the world—over three billion interconnected whole. people—live on less than $2 a day.7 The gap between rich and poor is widening rapidly every- Wh e r e a r e w e ? where, which exacerbates many A status report social problems. on the health of If you have food in a refrig- erator, clothes in your closet, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over Environmental your head, you are better off, ma- Sustainability terially, than 75% of people on this planet.8 ince 1972, the UN Environment Programme has been reporting on “We lament the passing of the people we Spiritual, Psychological Sthe Earth’s vital signs. More than love, and our pets…but how to lament and Emotional Impact 1,360 experts worldwide participated in the permanent loss of a mode of life? I What about our personal sense of the most recent state-of-the-art scientific think that’s beyond most of us, because wholeness and fulfillment? The costs result- appraisal of the condition and trends in the we haven’t deepened our hearts in a way ing from our modern worldview are evident. world’s ecosystems, from 2001 to 2005. They that would make possible the grief that Study after study shows that material gains conclude that, in every natural domain, the is wanting to be felt.” do not lead to greater happiness or spiritual Earth is under very severe stress. —Brian Swimme, fulfillment. Our belongings are scant com-

author, professor, cosmologist fort when we lack a sense of belonging. n 60% of the ozone layer has been lost in 50 years. n 70% of the world’s original forests have Social Justice been eliminated. Most people who are aware of the environ- n 30% of the world’s arable land has been mental crises are worried that climate desta- lost in the last 40 years. bilization, resource depletion, pollution, and n 90% of all large are gone from the will soon have a major 2 oceans. impact on their lives. For many, it already has. Environmental degradation is pro- “Sustainability is the ability of the foundly affecting millions. The movement current generation to meet its needs, to address this disparity in who is affected without compromising the ability of the most is called “Environmental Justice.” future generations to meet theirs.” It reflects a deep, innate human longing for —, 1987 3 justice and equity. Jessica Ayala

2 SETTING THE CONTEXT “There is a great loneliness of spirit today. rationally—creating jobs, gross domestic tionship here, human being to human be- We’re trying to…cope in the face of what product is rising, thinking we’re on a kind of ing. And I’m also related to the , seems to be overwhelming evidence that logical economic course—but actually we’re to the plants, even the micro-organ- who we are doesn’t matter; that there is heading toward our destruction. Western isms…Somehow, industrialized society no real hope for enough change; that the civilization creates and perpetuates a radical has not caught up with itself to really environment and human experience is separation between the human world and appreciate and respect what indigenous deteriorating rapidly, and increasingly, the natural world. We give all rights to hu- peoples have to offer, but it’s something and massively. This is the context, psy- mans and none to the natural world.” that’s very important, I think, that’s chically and spiritually, in which we are This “trance” is our current world- going to save the planet.” working today. This is how our lives are view—a point of view so pervasive that it —Tom Goldtooth, executive director, reflected to us. Meanwhile, we’re yearn- is invisible to us. As the saying goes, “If you Indigenous Environmental Network ing for connection with each other, with were a fish, the last thing you would dis- ourselves, with the powers of nature, the cover is water.” Our worldview is held in The contrast here is striking and possibilities of being alive. place by a set of beliefs and unexamined informative: The worldview that has come assumptions that we’re completely unaware to prominence over recent centuries in the “When that tension arises, we feel pain, of—like glasses we’ve worn so long, we’re modern world holds that the world is like we feel anguish at the very root of our- unaware we’re looking through them. Peo- a huge machine made up of separate parts, selves, and then we cover that over, ple take actions appropriate to how they see like a big clock—a mechanical, rather than that grief, that horror, with all kinds of the world. Thus, if our actions are producing organic, model of life. But this worldview is distraction—with consumerism, with outcomes we are not intending, it’s useful missing something profound. addictions, with anything that we can to explore the unconscious, unexamined No wonder we’ve been creating such use to disconnect. We’ve been opening assumptions that generated those actions. havoc—our destructive behavior and its ourselves to the grief, to the knowing of Here are some examples of unexamined unintended consequences are the result of what’s taking place—the loss of species, assumptions widely held in the modern an inaccurate worldview. Our actions have the destruction of the natural world, world: resulted from a cultural perspective we unimaginable levels of social injustice can now see as misguided, limited. We are n We are separate from one anoth- and economic injustice that deprive so mistaken, not somehow innately flawed. er and the rest of creation. many human beings of basic opportuni- We can now see that most of the unin- n Nature is a resource for our human use, ties. And as we open to the pain of that, tended consequences can be traced to one and it is unlimited. there’s a possibility of embracing that central unexamined assumption: believing n A healthy society depends on a growing pain and that grief in a way that it be- we are separate, from the world and from economy. comes a strength, a power to respond.” each other. This assumption shapes vir- n When we buy something, the price we tually all of our perceptions and our actions. —John Robbins, author, pay reflects the full cost of making it. But this worldview is shifting. We Diet for a New America n There is a place called “away” where we in the modern world are just now coming can throw things. (Where is “away”?) back around to what indigenous cultures o w d i d w e g e t h e r e n We have disposable resources, dispos- H ? have known all along: The world is totally able species, and disposable people. connected and interrelated. We have begun Cultural Drivers and n One individual can’t make a difference. Unexamined Assumptions to recognize, and are waking up from the “trance” of believing that we are separate. t’s important to recognize that human Other Worldviews decisions and human behavior created There are many other people on this plan- Iour current challenging situation. We did et not caught in the “dream of progress,” this to ourselves! This is good news—if our people who have a very different way of actions created this outcome, then different seeing the world and their place in it. These actions can create a different outcome. include many indigenous cultures who have It could be said that we in the mod- lived sustainably on Earth for thousands of ern world are living in a kind of “trance”— years. Recognizing other worldviews can what some indigenous people would call help us gain perspective on the trance that the “dream of the modern world.” The late our modern worldview has generated, and Thomas Berry referred to our industrial age on what else is possible. as a period of “technological entrancement” in which we think we’re headed toward “We use another terminology, called some ill-defined “dream of progress.” Berry ‘Mitakuye Oyasin,’ which is, ‘All My scholar and poet Drew Dellinger describes Relations.’ We recognize that we are it like this: “We think we’re behaving related to everything…We have a rela- Jessica Ayala

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 3 Roberta Vogel Roberta Vogel

Transforming the Cultural dramatic results show up in a very short pe- ourselves that is so profoundly inclusive, and everyone is part of this. Everything riod of time. When we look deeper, though, Story—A New Story for All of Humanity is part of this. And we discover, as well, we find that the time before such sudden a profound kinship, that no matter what shifts was a kind of incubation period of One way to describe our shared world- being we’re talking about on the planet, background work, often marked by the view—and the myriad of unexamined we are related. We’re related in terms of blood, sweat, and tears of those involved. assumptions that comprise it—would be energy. We’re related in terms of . Many small actions by many people over to call it our cultural “story.” At this time We’re all like a form of kin. …It is a mas- time create the environment in which a rap- in history, our story is transforming, going sive change in human consciousness.” id turnabout becomes possible. This means through a process no less profound than the —Brian Swimme that any day can be a tipping point. change in our Western cultural story during the profound shift—from assuming that the The fact that this new understand- “Can we change? Absolutely. Our species Earth was at the center of the Universe to ing exists—and is becoming embedded in changes when it has to. And that’s where eventually knowing that the Earth actually modern cultures—changes everything. In I find hope in the despair of the situa- revolves around the sun. Imagine the clash an emerging story of connection and the tion...There’s a driven-ness in our species between those who adopted the new sys- understanding that we’re all part of one and a creativity…a capacity to let go, to tem of understanding—that the sun is the unified whole, behaviors that before would start over, to forgive…that we’ve barely center of the solar system—with those who have been considered to be an assault on the begun to tap.” held on dearly to believing that the Earth Earth can now be seen as an assault on our- —Matthew Fox, Episcopal priest, was the stationary center of everything. selves, because we’re part of—not separate founder, Wisdom University What is now emerging in the mod- from—the web of life. This opens up enor- ern world is a transformation of our way mous new possibilities for the future. Clearly something is happening on of seeing and experiencing the world. This Earth—virtually everywhere people are new story is consistent both with modern Wh a t ’s p o ss i b l e creating solutions that can lead to a sus- and with the understanding of the tainable, just, and fulfilling world. Are these world that indigenous people have always f o r t h e f u t u r e ? random isolated occurrences, or are they had, and it is beginning to shape the con- The Great Turning signs of an emerging global phenomenon? sciousness on our planet. It opens the pos- Paul Hawken has concluded that the largest sibility for a future that is not merely an learly something fundamental has to social movement in history is arising—over extension of the past. change. Our current path is unsus- 1.2 million organizations—that doesn’t yet Ctainable on virtually all levels. But know itself as a “movement.” “It suggests that a profound wisdom is changing the dream of the modern world, at work in the Universe…As we move changing the course of history? Is it possible? “There is another superpower here into this understanding, we have a new When we look at great social change on Earth that is an unnamed move- identity of ourselves as cosmological in history—like the British leaving India, ment…far different and bigger and beings. We’re not just Americans, we’re the end of the Cold War, and of South Afri- more unique than anything we have not just French, we’re not any small cat- can apartheid—there seems to be a pattern: ever seen…non-violent…grassroots… egory. We are the Universe in the form After many years or decades of what ap- no central ideology…The very word of a human. And it is true of everyone. pears to be business as usual, at some point ‘movement’ is too small to describe it. It’s an amazing new understanding of there is an unpredicted shift in society, and No one started this worldview, no one

4 SETTING THE CONTEXT Coming Together is in charge of it…it is global, classless, in Community Earth-honoring systems, structures, ways of unquenchable and tireless…arising seeing and ways of being. spontaneously from different economic “My great-great-grandchildren ask me, As we realize that we’re already inter- sectors, cultures, regions and cohorts… in dreams, ‘What did you do while the planet connected, changing the world comes about growing and spreading worldwide...It was plundered? What did you do when the by working together, in and as community. has many roots, but primarily the origins Earth was unraveling? Surely you did some- Our individual actions are essential, but are indigenous culture, the environment thing when the seasons started failing, as the only within the larger context of “all my and social justice movements. This is hu- , , were all dying. Did relations.” manity’s immune response to resist and you fill the streets with protest when democ- We are part of a cadre of global citi- heal political disease, economic infec- racy was stolen? What did you do once you zens who are emerging from the dream of tion, and ecological corruption caused by knew?’” the modern world, able to embrace the cri- —Drew Dellinger, poet ideologies. This is fundamentally a civil sis in which we’re living, and able to see that rights movement, a human rights move- the possibilities are greater than the magni- ment; this is a democracy movement; it is The story of the monarch butterfly, from tude of the crisis. the coming world.” evolutionary biologist Elisabet Sahtouris, —Paul Hawken, offers a powerful metaphor for the process “There’s an old African proverb that author, environmentalist, entrepreneur of the transformation our world is undergo- some of you know that says: ‘If you want ing at this time. to go quickly, go alone—if you want to This movement encompasses a re- A caterpillar consumes hundreds of go far, go together.’ We have to go far, surgence of interest in personal spiritual times its own weight before it enters the quickly! So we have to have a change in growth, in the guiding wisdom of indig- cocoon stage, when imaginal cells begin to consciousness, a change in commitment, enous cultures, and in bringing together the emerge. Initially, the dissolving structures a new sense of urgency, a new appre- faithful of all religions to create peace in the interpret this emergence as a threat, and ciation for the privilege that we have of world. The New Dream isn’t something that kill off the first imaginal cells. In time, these undertaking this challenge.” is yet to come—it’s emerging already. Once cells begin to find one another and bond —, former US Vice President, you become aware of this movement, you together. When enough of them cluster, author of will see it everywhere! they form imaginal buds that can resist the attack. Even though they are not in the ma- Our work together is to contribute to Wh e r e d o w e g o jority, the buds become the genetic direc- the creation of a global movement of en- f r o m h e r e ? tors of the future. The other cells continue gaged people—global citizens—who are to dissolve and feed the growing structures informed and compassionate; people who Getting Engaged, of the butterfly—unpredictable from its are able to see, embrace, and create a new Taking a Personal Stand consumptive predecessor—a creature of possibility for the future, and who are con- great beauty, which travels great distances tinually learning and growing, to ensure that f you’re alive today, you have a role to catalyzing life. their actions will be as effective as possible play. What there is for each of us to do What’s possible is that we who are in bringing needed change during these Iat this remarkable time in history is to working to heal the web of life are the ima- challenging times. We invite you to stay in discover and act upon what is ours to do— ginal cells on the planet right now. Another a state of what modern dance pioneer Mar- and to find others to work with who share metaphor for this is that we are part of the tha Graham called blessed unrest—a vibrant, our vision. Earth’s immune system. We are here to active state of agitation and empathy with The power of one individual acting hospice the old, resistant, dying structures, those in need which fuels creativity and on their vision, from their passion, cannot while catalyzing and midwifing the new, committed action. be overemphasized. The move- ment is a perfect example of the way in which many innovations and movements start with one committed person. What began with Wangari Maathai working with a few women on Kenyan hillsides has grown to impact the soil, climate, and lo- cal economies all across Africa. More than 600 community groups have planted over 30 million trees, and the movement is now spreading to other regions of the world. For this, Ms. Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2004. John Story

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 5 Part Two ENVIRONMENT Gloria Garrett, gloriousjourneyphotography.org Healing the Web of Life

Cl i m a t e Ch a n g e Life in a Warming World

Our culture is based on a “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin, principle that directs us to 19th-century English naturalist

constantly think about the he human race may one day deeply regret its slow response to the millennial chal- lenge of climate change facing us right now. While paid-off politicians dither so that welfare of seven generations T sectors of the oil and energy industry can protect their profits—and a complacent, confused, and argument-wary public lets them—the actions we must take to reverse the into the future. crisis languish on someone’s desk. With 5% of the world’s , the US is responsible for at least 18% of global emissions (GHGs).1 That this country lags so far —Iroquois Confederacy behind on this issue is unconscionable. Humans’ impact on the Earth’s climate is everywhere, if you look, and increasingly severe changes are predicted for the future. If the increase in human-made GHG emis- sions continues unabated, temperatures will rise even more than they have, and the damage will be irreversible. Water table levels will continue to dwindle while snow evaporates and ice and glaciers melt into oceans. Sea levels are already on the rise. Adapting to unavoid- able climate change while simultaneously reducing emissions requires unprecedented global cooperation. Many aspects of climate change are happening earlier and more rapidly than climate models and experts initially predicted. It’s no longer appropriate to keep one’s head in the sand by claiming that there is not yet scientific consensus on the existence or causes of global climate change. Scientists have called the warming trend “unequivocal” on the basis of multiple lines of physical evidence, including the obvious melting of ice caps and glaciers and the rising sea level.2 Among those who understand the science of long-term climate processes, this is not a debate. The challenge apparently lies in convincing the public of this, since confusion and wild claims seem to be a common mischaracterization of serious efforts to rein in global

6 ENVIRONMENT that several phenomena are self-sustaining, now the world’s top emitter of greenhouse amplifying cycles—for example, melting gases), has hampered global progress on all ice and glaciers, melting tundra and other fronts. Moreover, the oil and coal industries, sources, and increasing sat- among other parties, are actively working

uration with CO2, which leads to increases to defeat effective climate change legisla-

in atmospheric CO2. Once a tipping point tion because it threatens their large profits. or change state is reached, climate feed- Yet the US must be held accountable for back mechanisms rapidly speed warming. emissions, which are close to double the These processes are non-linear and largely per-capita level in Europe. The European “So that’s where they’re all going!” unpredictable. For all we know, tipping Union has made a much stronger stand in points may be long past or just around the its commitment to reduce total greenhouse corner. We are unable to accurately specify gas emissions (80% by 2050). US carbon warming. Such inaccurate perceptions are what quantity of GHGs will be dangerous, emissions continue to increase, albeit not as no doubt fueled by vocal opponents from a though many agree it is much lower than rapidly as in China, India, and other parts of scientific and political fringe group backed commonly assumed. . Of course, without a US commitment by industries with the most to lose by man- According to models, global tempera- to curbing emissions, persuading China and dated emissions reductions and appropri- tures could rise by 4 degrees C (7.2 degrees India to reduce their levels is unlikely. ately allocated responsibility for them. F) by 2100. Some scientists fear that we may get there as soon as 2050. If we continue on “Weaker targets for 2020 increase the The Verdict Is In: our current trajectory of rapid fossil-fuel risk of crossing tipping points and make We Are the Source growth, over the next century the “perfect the task of meeting 2050 targets more of Global Warming storm” of , resource de- difficult. Delay in initiating effective pletion, and climate change will have cata- mitigation action increases significantly Various factors cause climate to change strophic results. Even in the most optimistic the long-term social and economic costs over the millennia; some are natural, some scenario (assuming rapid and deep changes human-caused. Experts generally agree now in our economic structure), temperatures of both adaptation and mitigation.” that recent increases in global temperatures are likely to increase by 1.1 to 2.9 degrees —Rainforest Action Network, result mostly from higher levels of heat- C by 2100, according to the International Climate Change Action Manifesto 7 trapping gases in the atmosphere, which Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Understanding the have been increasing because of human There is a time lag in seeing the effects activities since roughly 1750, or the dawn of our actions in regard to global warming. Greenhouse Effect of the Industrial Revolution. Scientists Even if we ended all emissions tomorrow, A fortuitous (for life as we know it) mix have demonstrated that the primary hu- additional warming is on the way thanks of naturally present gases in the Earth’s man source (80%) is the burning of coal, oil, to the momentum built into the Earth’s atmosphere has historically kept this upper and (fossil fuels), and the second intricate climate system. The oceans, for part of our ecosystem in equilibrium and human source implicated (20%) is defores- example, have yet to come into equilibrium the planet habitable by trapping heat in the tation and other changes.3 with the extra heat-trapping capacity of the thin blanket of air surrounding us. The gas- The ten warmest years in the 150-year atmosphere. As the oceans continue to es (with sources both natural and human- thermometer record have all occurred in the warm, so will the land around them. The caused) absorb and re-emit radiation from twelve years between 1997 and 2008; thus velocity and extent of recent changes in- the sun. This interplay of natural forces that none of the previous fifteen decades have form us that our “climate models” are result in warming is called the greenhouse been as warm on average as this one.4 2005 much more conservative than nature itself. effect. The substances now popularized as was one of the hottest years in more than Thus this is truly a millennial challenge! greenhouse gases (GHGs) include carbon a century. dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, In January 2008 scientists indicated Addressing and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons, including that recent warm summers have caused the Climate Change: aerosols). As one of the consequences of most extreme glacial melting in Greenland increased GHGs, water vapor increases in 5 An Urgent Imperative in 50 years. The US West is apparently the atmosphere in response to rising CO2 warming at nearly twice the rate of the Government Action Needed Now! concentrations, and this greatly height-

rest of the world and is likely to face more Given the uncertainties, a public response ens the warming effect of manmade CO2 drought conditions in many of its fast- has been difficult to formulate. The US has emissions. growing cities.6 a duty to provide leadership on policy shifts The greenhouse effect has been condu- Among these serious concerns is the because it bears considerable historical cive to life on Earth, and for millennia the fact that global ecosystems have feedback responsibility for the problem and has the amount of the main GHG, , loops and tipping points, not all of which we capability for action. The lack of leadership remained fairly constant at about 280 parts understand (to say the least). It is now clear on the part of the US (just behind China, per million (ppm). But since the Industrial

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 7 Creative Commons/Davi PT

Revolution, beginning around 1750, the quantity of carbon dioxide and other gases Te r m i n o l o g y f o r t h e 21s t Ce n t u r y being released into the air by human activ- ity has greatly increased. These emissions Global Warming: As more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere from cars, jets, power plants, industry, etc., from the burning of fossil fuels than are trapped by ocean, forest, and soil sinks, remain in the atmosphere for many decades, more heat is trapped there, and the average global atmospheric temperature so they are sure to affect the climate far into increases, a condition known as “global warming.” the future. Today’s level of carbon dioxide Climate Change/Global Warming: Climate change results directly or indirectly (CO2) is 394 ppm—a 40% rise from pre-in- dustrial times, in only a fraction of the time from human activity that changes the composition of the global atmosphere (in of humans on Earth! When the amount of addition to natural climate variability). The popular term “global warming” sig- GHGs exceeds the capacity of the ocean, nifies the overall increase in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, forests, and soil to absorb it (these are our but the climate will continue to change in many diverse and unpredicable ways. “carbon sinks”), more heat is retained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): A large, global scientific atmosphere; then air, ocean, and land tem- body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. peratures rise and global warming is said to occur. Climate change is a result. Protocol: This international agreement is a protocol to the United Nations The farming of animals produces (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, an environmental treaty pro- GHGs that are more harmful than carbon duced at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, informally dioxide, generating 65% of nitrous oxide known as the , held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The (296 times as warming as carbon dioxide), establishes legally binding commitments for the reduction of six greenhouse as well as 37% of methane (23 times as gases produced by industrialized nations, as well as general commitments for warming as carbon dioxide); the latter is all member countries. largely produced by the digestive system of the animals. Accord: Although the signatories agreed that global temperatures One-third of all the raw materials should not rise above 2°C, the deal does not commit any nation to greenhouse and fossil fuels used in the US go to rais- gas emissions cuts. However, the Accord does state that wealthy nations will ing animals for food. Worldwide raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poorer nations cope with the effects of reserves would be exhausted in 11 years if climate change. the rest of the world ate like the US. A na- tionwide switch to a vegetarian diet would Fossil Fuels: Also known as mineral fuels, these fuel sources are derived from allow the US to cut its oil imports by 60%.8 fossils, or hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the Earth’s crust. Examples Go Climate-Neutral: include coal, petroleum, and methane. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources How One Group Did It because they take millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted far faster than new ones are being formed. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) Carbon Dioxide (CO ): The main greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere chose to become climate-neutral with a pro- 2 gram to explicitly track and then maximally largely through the combustion of fossil fuels. Atmospheric concentrations of

reduce GHGs. They also purchased “car- CO2 are estimated to be at their highest level in at least 800,000 years. bon offsets” equal to the amount of all past Methane (CH ): This chemical compound is the principal component of natural emissions since the organization’s incep- 4 gas. Burning methane in the presence of oxygen produces CO and water. Meth- tion in 1989. These offsets, which support 2 ane emission has 23 times the impact of a CO emission of the same mass. forest conservation in , produce 2 many direct additional benefits to biodiver-

8 ENVIRONMENT sity and local communities. CBD used the arguably the most effective offset strategy to Corporate Greenhouse Gas Accounting achieve the urgently needed massive GHG and Reporting Standard developed by the reductions the US must make. World Resources Institute and others to Every individual’s footprint on the create an inventory of sources including all environment must be greatly reduced through electricity and heating fuel used in offices, conservation, improvements in technology, and all automobile and airplane travel on and potentially challenging changes in life- CBD business. They then calculated aver- style. Start with the simple acts of energy age emissions per staff member and multi- conservation suggested in these pages. Elec- Focus the Nation plied this by the number of staff members in tricity, natural gas, propane, and all forms of previous years to obtain an estimate of total energy are as valuable as water and must not Many important decisions are made emissions since 1989. This total is relatively be wasted. There are environmental costs to at local, state, and regional levels on the small, about 480 tons of CO2. After exten- their production, transport, and combus- issues that most affect you. In fact, many sively researching purchasing tion. Be aware and conserve. cities and localities have begun to take ac- options, CBD chose to purchase 500 tons Think about your personal “carbon tion, not waiting for the federal government of CO2 credits in the Makira Forest Con- footprint” on the Earth: How much gener- to do it for them. Locals can make the best servation Project, Madagascar. ated “juice” do you burn during your day? local plans of action.11 Notes Peter Galvin of CBD, “It needs How much embodied energy goes into each to be pointed out that the entire offset product you buy? How much do you drive concept is a controversial one. The key or fly in a given week? Try to carpool or use Ar e Yo u in t h e Kn o w issue here is something called verifiable public transit at least part of the time! ‘additionality’—or removal of GHGs in Be active in the public dialogue, and a b o u t 350 ? ways that would not otherwise occur.”9 talk about this problem to your friends. Renowned American environmen- The island of Madagascar off the east Help clear up public misperceptions that tal activist and writer Bill McKib- coast of Africa is one of the world’s biodiver- “no one really knows anything for sure; the ben is building a global-scale sity hotspots. The Makira Forest Conserva- all the time.” Educate others climate change movement, tion Project, a joint project of Conservation that cutting or reducing emissions of GHGs focused on the significance of the International, the Conservation is a change we all must support now. number 350. The 350.org cam- Society, and the government of Madagas- Urge local, state, and federal govern- paign aims to involve everyone in car, will mitigate 9.5 million tons of CO ment bodies to make appropriate legislation 2 realizing our collective effect on emissions over the next 30 years through a priority. Tell your representatives at both global warming. forest conservation, including replanting of federal and local government levels the cleared areas. following: According to McKibben, “350 is the most important number in the n WHAT YOU CAN DO Act now to limit potential damage from cli- world”—the number determined Increasing awareness of the greenhouse mate change rather than waiting and hav- to be the safe upper limit for car- gas consequences of our energy use, travel, ing to take more costly, reactive measures bon dioxide measured in parts per food, and other choices is the first step to- in the future. Timely action could ease the million in our atmosphere. “We ward reducing our own emissions. The av- coming impacts of hotter weather, rising need people to understand that erage American generates approximately 24 sea levels, and bigger storms. 350 marks either success or failure 2 n tons of CO annually, but this number can Adopt federal policies that establish man- for climate negotiations.” be drastically reduced with simple changes, datory limits on GHG emissions. Adhere With CO levels already exceeding many of which will also save you money. to international agreements such as the 2 350 parts per million, McKibben There are many resources available to fur- Kyoto Protocol. n is traveling the world to awaken ther reduce your emissions. See “Getting Harness the power of markets to drive people to the dire threat of global Personal” for footprint information. innovation and protect the climate. Subsi- warming and create a powerful Once you have reduced your emissions dize renewable energy investments. n and unified call to action. as much as possible, you can go even further Don’t make carbon-intensive investments by supporting organizations working for in developing countries. On October 10, 2010 (10.10.10), n policy change and purchasing offsets. Lend Climate protection in developing coun- people around the world came to- your vocal political and financial support tries must be supportive of economic gether in over 7000 local events to to organizations that are serious, commit- and social development; foster technical demonstrate the need to take ac- ted advocates for policies involving manda- cooperation programs. tion to deal with climate change, n tory reductions in GHG emissions. Investing Financiers must devise new ways of in- the most widespread environmen- your offset dollars to sue polluters is dollar vesting in the needed global transition to a tal action event ever. 10 for dollar, GHG pound for pound, quite low-carbon “re-industrialization.”

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 9 the hatcheries can’t grow larvae anymore.16 Acidic waters may prevent coral reefs from surviving in most regions by mid-century if current GHG emissions trends continue, an international panel of marine scientists said in early 2009. The ripple effect through- out marine ecosystems could be disastrous, according to the Monaco Declaration, the science panel’s joint statement, which added: “The current increase in ocean acidity is a hundred times faster than any previous nat- ural change that has occurred over the last many millions of years.”17 In one of the many feedback loops we Creative Commons/Pet R are witnessing in this time of rapid envi- ronmental change, the rising ocean tem- Th e Oc e a n s perature interferes with established ocean Deep Problems on the Water Planet currents that move vital nutrients upward from deep regions. Without these nutrients in abundance, the plankton do not thrive “The frog does not drink up the pond in which s/he lives.” at the foundation of the ocean food chain. —oral tradition, Teton Sioux Furthermore, abundant plankton actually

helps store CO2 in the ocean floor as they 14 18 ast as they are, covering three- 22 million tons per day. The CO2 reacts die and decompose. quarters of the globe, the world’s in the oceans to form carbonic acid, which V oceans are not infinite. We are has greatly increased in concentration (by pushing up against limits by overfishing, 30%) in the last two centuries.15 This is how The booming population of humans with as well as by polluting and dumping waste higher levels of greenhouse gases acidify the our growing appetite for seafood is push- into waterways and seas, including non- oceans’ pH balance and threaten , ing many ocean species toward extinction. biodegradable . Current problems of which is unable to adapt so quickly. Global seafood consumption (per person acidification, pollution, and threats to fish- average) has tripled since the 1950s,19 and eries stem from cumulative abuse. And only has been called fish stocks are already collapsing world- a serious culture-wide reduction in both global warming’s evil twin. wide. Most of the ocean changes observ- pollutants generated and carbon dioxide able today—as well as immediate threats to

(CO2) emitted will stem this rising tide of Ocean acidification depletes seawater marine species—are the result of unsustain- death. of compounds that organisms need to build able fishing. Scientists project that at today’s All life on Earth is connected to the shells and skeletons, impairing the calcium- rates of withdrawal, all currently fished spe- oceans. They are our life support systems, building capacity of coral-forming polyps, cies of wild seafood could collapse (expe- from the food chain to the water cycle. Yet crabs, seastars, sea urchins, plankton, and riencing 90% depletion) by 2050.20 This human activities are collectively driving the other marine creatures. In what could be one will not only affect the entire food chain, it health of the world’s oceans down a rapid of the first indicators of an industry-wide if will decimate the livelihood and sustenance spiral.12 not ocean-wide effect, the Pacific North- of millions of people who depend directly west oyster industry is collapsing because on the ocean’s bounty, including some 100 Global Warming

As a major carbon sink, or absorber of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, the ocean is ultimately limited in this capacity. Though the response takes decades, the ocean’s average surface temperature and acidity are now rising, thereby contributing to weather changes, higher sea levels, current shifts, coastal , and altered routes. The oceans have absorbed about half

of the CO2 we’ve emitted in the last 200 years as it accumulates in the atmosphere;13

this load is currently estimated at about Creative Commons/ish2dant

10 ENVIRONMENT Sustainability f o r Oc e a n He a l t h • Choose Sustainable Fish or Farmed Seafood. For information on ocean-friendly seafood, visit the Seafood Choices Alliance at www. seafoodchoices.org. • Buy Local Products. Support local farmers and fishers. Eating local enhances your community’s economy and our global ecosystem. seastheday.theoceanproject.org. • Be Trash-Conscious. If you can’t recycle it, be knowledgeable about what you throw away. For instance, flushing non-biodegradable products can damage the sewage treatment process and end up littering beaches and waters. For other tips on safe trash disposal, visit www.epa.gov/recyclecity/ or www.obviously.com/recycle. • Be Considerate of Ocean Wildlife. Our trash can damage or kill ocean wildlife. Never dispose of fishing line or nets in the water. Don’t release helium balloons outside. Minimize or reject use of styrofoam. Cut open plastic six-pack rings that can entangle ocean life. • Reduce Household Toxins. By using natural fertilizer, phosphate- free detergents, and non-toxic cleaning products, you can ensure a

healthier ocean and a cleaner overall environment. For more ideas on Creative Commons/webzer reducing pollution, see es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/safe-fs.html. • Reduce Run-Off. Avoid contributing to nonpoint source pollution. Use chemicals) and polluted storm water are soap sparingly if you must wash your car. Don’t use toxic chemicals discharged into American waters annu- on your lawn. And scoop pet waste—an estimated 15 tons flows into ally.26 Around 60% of the wastewater dis- ocean waters every day! Other ways to reduce your run-off can be charged into the Caspian Sea is untreated, found at www.epa.gov/owow/nps/whatudo.html. Don’t dispose of while in Latin America and the Caribbean hazardous substance down storm drains. the figure is close to 80%, and in large parts • Support or Volunteer for the Oceans. Find a local nonprofit organization of Africa and the Indo-Pacific region it’s as working to save the oceans and ocean life, and get involved. For high as 90%.27 international volunteer opportunities, see www.oceanicsociety.org. WHAT WE CAN DO —from the San Francisco-based Oceanic Society n Use a lot less fossil fuel-based energy. Use as little plastic as possible. Don’t eat endangered or threatened species. Limit million people in Southeast Asia21 and as eat, thus adding to our toxic load. your consumption of seafood in general, many as 3 billion worldwide.22 The oceans’ ability to dilute these and learn which species concentrate tox- Fisheries have had many catastrophic substances is declining, but the amount ins and thus toxify you. n effects on the oceans—disrupting the food of contaminants is not. In places like the International laws are drastically inad- chain, diminishing water quality, destroying Mississippi delta, the waters are dead equate to address threats like large-scale habitat, harassing and displacing wildlife, zones for miles—uninhabitable for fish commercial fishing, which sweeps life out and otherwise altering the overall marine and shellfish. Nitrogen, , and of the seas at unprecedented rates—often ecosystem. And wherever there’s fishing, other nutrients from fertilizers, large live- only to discard the unusable “bycatch,” an there’s bycatch—fisheries’ wasteful and stock farms, and septic systems provoke unacceptable waste of life. n unintentional capture of unwanted species. explosive blooms of tiny plants known as Urge the US Congress to increase Commercial fishing creates millions of tons phytoplankton, which die and sink to the government protection of fish stocks. of discarded catch annually, including not bottom and then are eaten by bacteria that Existing regulations and controls on over- just fish species but turtles, marine mam- use up the oxygen in the water. This oxygen fishing must be enforced, primarily target- mals, , and even seabirds. starvation makes it difficult for fish, oysters, ing those fisheries with the highest rate sea grass beds, etc., to survive—hence the of bycatch. 23 n Pollution dead zones. There are now at least 200 of Join a beach clean-up. Since 1986, the carried in the world’s rivers and these zones around the world, and they are Ocean Conservancy organizes shoreline ends up in coastal waterways and increasingly rapidly.24 The most severe cases cleanups each fall. To date, 6.2 million oceans, including sewage, industrial dump- exceed 20,000 square kilometers.25 volunteers in International Coastal Clean- ing, and agricultural run-off. Industrial pol- More than 1.2 trillion gallons of sew- ups have removed 49 million kilograms of lutants like mercury or PCBs that end up in age (including human waste, excreted phar- debris from nearly 288,000 kilometers of 28 streams and oceans are absorbed by fish we maceuticals, detergents, and household coasts in 127 nations.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 11 Co r a l Re e f s Fr e s h Wa t e r Colorful “ of the Sea” Using Water Wisely

Degraded for decades by toxic run-off, bleached coral reefs e all know that most life on are now viewed as early indicators of global warming. Earth is impossible without W water, so why would we pollute oral reefs are among Earth’s most according to The Nature Conservancy. The and waste this priceless substance? Water diverse, exquisite, and fragile eco- International Union for the Conservation bodies are assumed to have endless capac- C systems, essential to the web of life. of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 500 mil- ity to “disappear” toxins, trash, and wastes They have been vanishing at alarming rates people depend on coral reefs for their (industrial, sewage, agricultural, to name a for the last 40 years, mainly from run-off livelihoods.32 few). But Earth’s rivers, lakes, and oceans of agricultural (including lawn) chemicals The assessment found that have suffered so much dumping that their and waste. Now the rapid pace of envi- 45% of the world’s reefs are healthy, pro- ability to support life is lost, compromised, ronmental change threatens to overwhelm viding hope that some species may be able or disappearing fast. There isn’t enough the reef species’ ability to adapt. Coral reefs to endure the changes expected from global anymore, with our increasing population, to appear particularly vulnerable to even the warming. Marine biologists are now at- waste another drop. With global warming most modest climate-change scenarios, as tempting to understand how certain coral drying out much of the planet, this will only they are unable to adjust to rapid changes reef species can better survive warmer, more get worse. in temperature and ocean acidity, and we acidic ocean waters. Nearly 97% of the world’s water is may be approaching a tipping point that In addition to climate change with salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% will wipe out entire bio-regions. its warming sea-surface temperatures and is locked in ice caps and glaciers. Only 1% While these changes are likely to acidification, other factors affecting the can be used for all agricultural, residential, exceed the capacities of many species to health of coral reefs are overfishing (includ- , community and personal adapt, elkhorn and staghorn corals gained ing the technique of dynamiting reefs to needs, and much of that is polluted.34 US federal legal protection in 2006, becom- catch fish), pollution, and About 20% of the world’s fresh ing the first species listed under the Endan- such as crown-of-thorns starfish. water (one-fifth of the 1%) is in the Great gered Species Act because of vulnerability Lakes.35 Humans currently consume 50% to global warming. Coral reefs throughout WHAT WE CAN DO of the Earth’s available fresh water, leaving n 36 the Caribbean and along the coast of Flor- The area of coral reefs under protection what’s left over for all other species. ida are vanishing at unprecedented rates.29 needs to be increased globally from the Protection under the ESA creates greater current level of 15% to 30%. Within these “What you people call your natural opportunities for coral reef conservation. protected regions there need to be clear resources our people call our relatives.” The 2008 report, released by the Glob- areas where human uses are significantly —Oren , al Coral Reef Monitoring Network, pre- limited so that already-stressed marine faith keeper of the Onondaga 33 dicts that many of the remaining reefs may species can recover. disappear within the next 40 years if current n Don’t touch delicate corals with swim Climate change will exacerbate water emission trends continue; 19% are already fins. Learn to enjoy snorkeling without shortages. The Intergovernmental Panel dead.30 A third of reef-building corals are touching or breaking the corals, or keep a on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted threatened.31 The demise of coral reefs af- safe distance. that melting alpine glaciers and evaporat- fects the entire ocean ecosystem—a quarter n Don’t buy coral jewelry, and inform those ing snow cover will accelerate during the of all marine fish species reside in the reefs, selling it about the threats to coral. , which it has steadily been doing. As a result, many regions will likely If nothing is done to substantially cut CO emissions, 2 experience a decline in freshwater resources coral reefs as we know them will no longer exist. and hydropower potential, with redirected seasonal water flows.37 Water security in a warming world will require major improve- ments in water use efficiency (especially in the agricultural and industrial sectors) and in techniques such as rainwater harvesting and groundwater management and use. It may be that investing in renew- able energy sources enables us to conserve water. According to Harper’s magazine, half of all fresh water drawn from US sources

Creative Commons/thoth 1888 each year is used to cool power plants.

12 ENVIRONMENT to extend systems to the billion people WHAT YOU CAN DO According to the Washington Post worldwide who lack access to clean drink- Support Public Water! in 2005, just one flush of a toilet ing water and sanitation, the private sector Ensure that a public resource stays in the West uses more water than has entered the picture. Institutions like the in public hands most Africans have to perform an and Inter-American Devel- n If your utility is publicly owned, ask if priva- entire day’s washing, cleaning, opment Bank often require privatization tization is being considered. Get involved. cooking, and drinking.a of utilities as a condition of making loans Food & Water Watch can help provide in- to governments. The idea is that the pub- formation on fighting privatization—email lic sector is failing to deliver; and the pri- [email protected]. Water: A Basic Right Not vate sector, which is presumed to be more n Advocate for democratic control and pro- efficient and cost-effective, can pick up the Yet Available to Everyone tection of public water resources in the slack. However, in countries with heavy face of international corporate strategies Ensuring access to safe water for all peo- debt loads and desirable natural resources, to privatize ownership and distribution. ple has long been a humanitarian goal, “Privatization World Bank-style becomes n Public funding for improve- but this has yet to be accomplished. It’s a feeding frenzy for foreign multinational ments is the answer, not privatization! already clear that the UN’s Millennium corporations, eager to scoop up struggling n World Health Organization’s website is a Development Goal will not be met in this enterprises at bargain prices.”41 great educational resource to learn more area: “Halve by 2015 the proportion of peo- The social and environmental impacts about the water crisis. You can contribute ple without sustainable access to safe drink- of water privatization have caused fresh to this cause through organizations like ing water and basic sanitation.” waves of protest as communities all over the World Water Council; Charity: Water; and In addition to the existing shortages, world have organized, and in some cases End Water Poverty. strife, and distribution problems around shed blood42 to regain control of their water n To raise awareness, the US Fund for clean drinking water, we are facing an resources. This growing social movement UNICEF has initiated the Tap Project enormous crisis of increasingly degraded stands in firm opposition to the privatiza- (www.tapproject.org): Various restau- water quality and diminishing quantity. The tion of our most essential natural resource.43 rants pledge a certain amount of money world’s population is growing rapidly while Let’s face it: Private-sector companies are and then offer diners the option of pay- freshwater sources are drying up or pollut- organized to make profit, not to fulfill ing a nominal fee for their usually free ed—from overdrafted aquifers to shrinking socially responsible objectives. glaciers to toxic urban rivers. tap water. Funds provide drinking water More than a billion people today lack to children around the world who lack access to potable water, and 2.4 billion are No Profits from Water! access. As the website tell us, “Just $1 without sanitation services.38 That’s one out of six people worldwide. The United Nations projects there will be more than four billion people living in nations defined Tr u e Th i r s t as water-scarce or water-stressed by 2050, up from half a billion in 1995.39 How to • 40% of the world’s population carries their water from wells. ensure that all people will have access to • 50% of India’s morbidity is because of poor water quality. this vital, limited resource? Conservation and wise usage is the only answer. • In Nigeria, impoverished households spend almost 20% of their Transnational corporations are view- income on water. ing investments in water as potentially • By 2050, more than 523 million people in Africa will not have lucrative—in fact, water is being called “the access to clean water, and famine will be even more rampant as oil of the 21st century.” Yet water should not the arid landscape increases. be a profitable industry. Concerned organi- zations are working to protect universal ac- • Forty of the 50 countries on the critical list for cess to safe and affordable drinking water are located in the Middle East, and in north and sub-Saharan 40 by keeping it in public hands. In short, the Africa. sale of public works to private companies • 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, which has only 36% can foster corruption and result in higher rates, inadequate customer service, and a of the Earth’s renewable fresh water. loss of local control and accountability, as • 90% of wastewater of developing nations is discharged untreat- many privatization efforts have shown. ed into local waterways. Historically, governments have been responsible for public water systems, but • Between 1.8 and 3.5 million Americans get sick from tainted b with the high cost of development and water annually. upkeep along with the moral imperative

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 13 Th e Fo l l y o f Bo t t l e d Wa t e r Consumers waste billions of dollars a year on billions of gallons of bottled water. With these unnecessary purchases, we are creating trash and financing the corporate takeover of water supplies. Bottled water can cost up to a thousand times more than tap water and funnels the profits from the sale of water, a public resource, to private companies.45 As much as 40% of bottled water comes from a municipal tap!46 Production, transportation, and disposal of bottled water consume large quantities of water and energy. You can actually conserve water (and spare yourself the carcinogenic leaching of plastic chemicals into the liquid) by switching from the bottle to the tap.

Bo t t l e d Wa t e r Co n s u m p t i o n in t h e Un i t e d St a t e s • 1978: 415 million gallons. • 2001: 5.4 billion gallons. • That’s a rise of 1,300%, equaling about 43 billion 16-oz plastic bottles. • Bottled water is now the fastest growing product among the top 50 supermarket categories. • National Geographic estimates that more than 85 million plastic water bottles are used every three minutes.

can supply a child with safe drinking water at a little differently because of their ability for 40 days.” to suck carbon out of the atmosphere and n Techniques for water retention and im- sequester it in their . Climate change proved technology allow simple practices might finally be the catalyst to economical- such as solar water heating, rainwater ly value standing forests more than lumber. harvest and storage, stormwater manage- The global money machine is even begin- ment (bioswales, sediment traps, rolling ning to work out a process for giving carbon dips), micro-hydro , credits to businesses that leave trees stand- and biofiltration (“living machines”)— ing and storing carbon. This also spares the all of which help replenish groundwater air the effects of burning the wood that is resources, conserve water, and use it cut down—a massive contributor to global wisely. The Internet offers many options warming that has put Indonesia and Brazil and resources. third and fourth, respectively, on the list of n Rainwater harvesting can take place any- top GHG contributor nations (with the US where there is a roof by gathering rain- and China topping everyone). water in do-it-yourself systems (such as Creative Commons/Matthieu: giik.net/blog plastic barrels) or commercial systems (for Home to countless creatures, and ). This traditional documentaries sure to get the message forests are the lungs of the practice is just as appropriate today, if not across. Earth, arbiters of weather more so!44 n Curb your own water use! Calculate patterns, major storehouses n Water is a public trust. It is time for a water your using an online water of carbon, and our original trust fund, a long-term solution to provide calculator: www.h2oconserve.org (part of cathedrals. all US communities safe and affordable foodandwaterwatch.org). water for the future—not just those that Scientists agree that the world’s rain- can afford sharp rate increases. Support forests are the best natural defense against clean and safe tap water—tell Congress Fo r e s t s climate change because they are carbon to make clean water a priority and to in- orests have long been valued and sinks. For example, Indonesian old-growth crease funding for it. exploited for timber products, lead- rainforests store almost 750 tons of carbon n Download and share the Smart Water F ing to the loss of the great majority of dioxide—the equivalent of 620 flights be- Guide from Food and Water Watch, filled global primary forest ecosystems. According tween New York and —per acre. with facts and helpful tips. to one estimate, stands of century-old forest When cleared, rainforests release that car- n a movie screening of FLOW, Blue now account for only 7% of forest cover in bon into the atmosphere, furthering global Gold, or The Water Front, powerful the US.47 But lately trees are being looked warming rather than curbing it.48

14 ENVIRONMENT The Takeover Halting new is as pow- For example, California issued rules allow- erful a way to combat warming as closing ing offset credit for logging that can include Palm oil, found in food products, soaps, the world’s coal-burning plants.49 But until clearcutting!51 A major criterion is that and cosmetics, could well be the most now, there has been no financial reward for GHGs be removed from the atmosphere in widely traded vegetable oil in the world keeping the trees standing. That’s what may ways that would not have occurred other- today, seemingly a part of everything tasty. change: A growing number of experts is wise—such as replanting denuded areas. It is the controversial link that connects saying that cash payments are the only way your cookies, climate change, and disap- to end tropical forest destruction and “pro- The Plight of the pearing rainforests. Demand for palm oil vide a -changing strategy in efforts to Tropical Rainforests has more than doubled in the last decade limit global warming.”50 as worldwide food consumption soars. And Home to more biodiversity than any eco- now that palm oil is being used for , Carbon Offsets system on Earth, the magnificent rain- the problems are magnified.54 Farmers are This emerging (and controversial) trade forests are falling daily, often for rapidly expanding existing palm oil plantations seeks to enable industrialized nations and proliferating palm oil and soy plantations. and burning primary forests to plant more. wealthy corporations to “offset” their GHG Largely owned by US agribusinesses, these Nearly all palm oil imported to the US emissions by paying developing nations to plantations and the rapid expansion of originates in Indonesia. protect their forests and/or replant new industrial constitute one of the Rainforests shouldn’t be open for agri- ones—Reducing Emissions from Defores- fastest-growing threats to the world’s great business. tation and forest Degradation, aka REDD. tropical forests: in the Amazon and Indo- Forests were not considered as carbon sinks nesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. “ began with a great dream: in the Kyoto Protocol, but later realization Spurred in part by the growing demand making fuel from oil or plant waste. But that deforestation accounts for roughly 20% for biofuels, US agribusiness giants Archer when agribusinesses got involved, the of global has led Daniels Midland, Bunge, and Cargill are dream went bad.” to their reevaluation. Meanwhile, the buyer establishing soy and palm oil operations in —Rainforest Action Network of the offset can keep polluting (theoretical- some of the planet’s most biodiverse and ly until he can afford to make deep changes virginal forests. WHAT WE CAN DO in his business). n Don’t destroy pristine ecosystems to Not all offsets are equal. Poorly de- Warning: May Contain signed programs to pay for forest conserva- make way for plantation farming. tion can end up financially rewarding the Rainforest Destruction n Consumer power can be directed to seek very people who are destroying them! Veri- out responsible sources of palm oil and fying the efficacy of an offset is a key issue, Tropical rainforests are disappearing at to avoid products derived from recently and the details have yet to be determined. a rate of 100,000 acres per day. That’s an area cleared land and other unsustainable agri- Already many people are lining up to get larger than the state of West Virginia.52 business practices. Companies providing “carbon credit” for some dubious activity. consumption is one of several palm oil need to improve techniques and factors driving soybean demand and pro- sourcing to be part of the solution. duction. Brazilian is surging in global n Instead of cutting and burning forests to popularity, and soybean prices are on the rise make way for palm plantations, farmers due to global meat consumption and biofu- should be encouraged to grow the crop els production. However, biofuels made from on already cleared land. “Global produc- recycled waste products differ greatly from tion could be doubled by planting palm “first-generation” agrifuels—agribusinesses’ trees on degraded areas of Borneo. The industrial alternative. Agrofuels are not low- advantage is that not a tree would have to 55 carbon. Because of their impacts on climate be cut.” change, direct and indirect land use impacts, n Go vegetarian, or at the very least, source fossil fuel inputs, and the investments they your meat responsibly. Beef production is may draw away from real solutions, agro- ruining the planet. fuels will not solve the twin crises of cli- n Rather than continuing to pursue agro- mate change and our dependence on oil.53 fuels policies and increasing the global marketplace for agrofuels, decision-mak- ers in the corporate and political arenas Every blade of grass has its angel should prioritize proven, true solutions that halt the expansion of carbon-inten- that bends over and whispers, sive industries. Policies and investments “Grow! Grow!” that support mass transit, bike transit, and —The Talmud Vinit Allen Vinit plug-in vehicles recharged by a green grid

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 15 are far more efficient and cost-effective us, in myriad large and small ways. farming, livestock, fuel, roads, and other means to reduce our dependence on oil. Although extinction is a natural phenom- uses. Species previously living on that land , Agrofuels are not low carbon, and we enon, its “background” rate is about one either move and adapt or die. Worldwide can’t afford to lose any more time pur- to five species per year. Scientists estimate deforestation is occurring at record rates.62 suing false solutions. It’s time for a real that presently dozens are going extinct Efforts to reestablish habitat seldom work 56 transportation revolution. every day.58 According to biologist E.O. and are less stable than the natural systems n Wood and paper buyers should endeavor Wilson, we are experiencing this cata- that evolve over time. to understand the origin of the products strophic extinction “at 100 times the nor- 57 they buy. Look for the Forest Steward- mal rate of , and this rate is ex- The extinction of species has ship Council (FSC) logo as a tool to pro- pected to rise to 1,000 or higher. In each of reached crisis proportions with mote environmentally, socially, and eco- the prior extinction spasms, it took about the collapse of the diversity nomically responsible management of the 10 million years for to regain the of life that sustains both eco- world’s forests. Beware of imitations such amount of biodiversity lost.”59 If present systems and human cultures as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), trends of human consumption continue, Extinction is forever. designed to evade higher standards and half of all species of life on Earth could be mislead consumers. Learn more about extinct in less than a century “as a result of Invasive Species certification standards at these links: habitat destruction, pollution, invasive spe- The second leading cause of extinction is www.credibleforestcertification.org cies, and climate change.”60 the presence of invasive species, brought and www.buygoodwood.com. The trees Species loss weakens the web of biodi- to a new habitat by humans. Not all trans- thank you! versity. Given our interrelatedness here on planted species adapt well, but some can spaceship Earth, the extinction numbers are take over habitat of indigenous species, likely to snowball in coming decades if eco- often driving them to extinction. Humans Biodiversity systems continue to unravel. We don’t know can be viewed as the number-one invasive Every Species Matters what the major tipping points will be. species, since we use 40% of net primary Every 10 or 20 minutes—the time it productivity—all organic matter produced may take you to read a few pages—the last by photosynthesis on Earth—leaving what’s “This we know. All things are connected individual of a unique species has taken its left over for other species.63 like the blood that unites one family. last breath and has gone extinct forever.61 Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the Pesticides and Toxic Pollution sons and daughters of the Earth. Man Major Causes of Extinction After World War II, the use of new syn- did not weave the web of life; he is mere- thetic chemicals as pesticides and herbi- Habitat Loss ly a strand in it. Whatever he does to the cides became widespread and began to bio- Habitat alteration and loss is the main force web, he does to himself.” accumulate in plants and animals, including driving species extinction. As human popu- —attributed to Chief Seattle humans. Rachel Carson’s ground-breaking lations increase exponentially, more land is book Silent Spring (1962) brought our deforested or otherwise altered for housing, 64 his is the sixth great extinction doc- attention to negative effects on wildlife. umented on Earth, and the largest Additional sources of potentially lethal T since the dinosaur exodus 65 mil- pollution include lawn chemicals, human lion years ago. A 2008 study in the Pro- Cr i e s o f t h e W i l d medications, and other synthetic chemicals ceedings of the National Academies of Science flushed into surface water. Mercury from • 50% of all and 100% said the current extinction period, known as coal-fired power plants is found in fish of great apes are threatened the , may be the throughout the US.65 with extinction. greatest event in the Earth’s history and the first due to human actions. • Three of the world’s eight Global Warming Our impacts are undeniable in regard subspecies became extinct in The warming climate is undermining to the current extinction crisis, including the past 60 years; the remain- biodiversity by accelerating habitat loss, our relentless pressure to accommodate the ing five are endangered. altering the timing of migrations exploding human population, obtain essen- • Humans have already driven and plant flowerings, and forcing some tial forest and ocean resources, and convert 20% of all birds to extinction. species toward the poles and to higher alti- native ecosystems to arable land (in large tudes. Major alterations to the complex and part to raise soybeans to feed to make • 12% of mammals, 12% of re- delicately balanced food chain will have burgers). Land use changes such as defores- maining birds, 31% of reptiles, significant and often unpredictable impacts, tation and conversion to cropland contrib- 30% of , and 37% including the domino effect. Scientists ute to global warming emissions as well as of fish are threatened with warn that just ten more years of our cur- c species loss. extinction. rent GHG pollution trajectory may commit Extinction is accelerating all around the planet to devastating warming trends,

16 ENVIRONMENT n Support conservation groups locally and worldwide. n Educate your friends and family about these issues. n Don’t buy wood unless it is certified “green.” Purchasing power can stop the destructive logging of endangered forests around the world.68 Read and follow the guidelines in Green America’s Guide to Woodwise Purchasing. Urge government representatives to enter into and support treaties to protect wildlife and preserve ecological “hot spots.” Encourage cre- ation of jobs that will help achieve these goals. n Demand elimination of subsidies that pro- mote destruction of habitats (forests, wet- lands, oceans, etc.). Vicki Walker Vicki n Eat lower on the food chain: a plant-based sea-level rise, and species extinction. Many protecting valuable wildlife habitat. diet respects the lives of animals as well species such as polar bears and penguins are Tourism is a vital component of many as the sustainability of the planet. already suffering and severely threatened by national economies, bringing in foreign n Work for a strong climate bill. Become an the effects of climate change.66 exchange and ideally creating minimal neg- advocate for legislation to cap and rap- ative impacts on a protected area. If enough idly reduce GHG emissions. Encourage and travelers pay to visit botanically interesting the enforcement of existing laws like the Overhunting by humans has caused many and/or wildlife-rich areas, this is a strong Clean Air Act that already address GHG species to go extinct. “Sport” of incentive for local communities to value and pollution. and other large mammals has con- protect habitat. Obviously, the local people n Write to companies that have an obvious tributed to the demise of many of the must be direct economic beneficiaries of negative impact on species, e.g., those planet’s most majestic creatures. Poaching, tourism to be inspired to maintain natural that promote operations that cut down such as the elephant deaths that the illegal qualities for long-term motives rather than rainforests or pollute. ivory trade propagates, undermines global short-term gain. n Continue to educate yourself. Documen- conservation efforts and must be opposed Ecuador has recently taken a mighty tary videos, in particular, are a powerful with all legal means. step by passing an amendment to its con- experiential way to stay informed. stitution stating that nature has the right n See The Center for Biological Diversity’s Solutions to exist, persist, maintain, and regenerate “toolboxes” for more ideas for action, Many concerned nonprofit organizations its vital cycles, structure, functions, and its including advice on writing letters and assist countries with purchasing and man- processes in evolution.67 speaking out: www.biologicaldiversity.org. aging refuges for endangered wildlife while Finally, only a concerted international simultaneously educating people about the effort to slow greenhouse gas emissions and “Pollution not only is destroying the importance of biodiversity, rainforests, and maintain as much biodiversity as possible global commons worldwide but also is sustainability. See the Resources section for will give any of Earth’s wild species a hope ‘trespassing’ onto the local commons and a complete list, and give these groups your of surviving the coming decades, much less private property. I say trespassing advis- support! centuries. edly because loud noises, the unwanted In recent years innovative debt-for- glare of lights at night...the stench from nature swaps give poorer nations a chance to WHAT YOU CAN DO a nearby factory, and industrial chemi- wipe out some of their international finan- cals fouling water in a private well are cial burden by protecting vital habitat from n Never buy products made of endangered all examples of pollution caused by some- degradation or loss. Even more recently, species’ parts, e.g., ivory, turtle shells, one else, somewhere else—pollution that intact forest ecosystems are being accorded coral, etc. crossed the boundary into such commons a different value on the world market—that n Travel with responsible eco-tour groups, as the seven seas, national parks, of carbon credits—in recognition of their and carbon-offset your travel. parks, as well as private property, all important natural functions, which include n Grow a wildlife garden, not a lawn. without the owner’s permission.” carbon storage and climate moderation. n Eat less meat and fish, and if you wish, go —Chris Maser, This trade-off has yet to be refined to avoid vegetarian or vegan. author, Earth in Our Care corruption, but it holds some potential for n Support animal rehabilitation centers.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 17 Wa s t e , Po l l u t i o n , of a much larger area (approx. 10 million sq. Pl a s t i c St a t s miles!) stretching from the equator to about a n d o x i c s 69 T 54 degrees N latitude. Californians use about 19 billion plastic bags each year, or 600 Fouling Our Own Nest bags a second. Plastic debris doesn’t just look s a species we’ve created a lot of bad—it behaves abominably. Only 6.8% of municipal waste pollution on Earth, far more than plastic in the US gets recycled. A anyone wants to really know. That A plastic vortex, or gyre, gets its name The average American throws fact is not news if you have read about or from the dynamics of its formation: ocean away 184 lbs of plastic annually.d even experienced poisoned produce, toxic currents and winds create pools or eddies tuna, birth defects, or asthma induced from where things can gather. And gather they in the dirty air. Yet the work of have—about threefold since the 1960s. The plastic floats near the sea surface where it reducing waste and pollution at its source North Pacific Gyre (also known as the Great is mistaken for food by birds, fish, and other remains to be tackled with resolve. Excess Pacific Garbage Patch) contains at least 4 marine life. groups consumption, wasteful practices, and the million tons of plastic litter, including bits estimate that more than a million seabirds ongoing manufacture of deadly toxins are of packaging, plastic bags, cigarette lighters, and 100,000 mammals and sea turtles die at the core of many of our environmental and diapers. Broken, degraded plastic piec- globally each year by getting tangled in or problems. They need to be comprehensively es outweigh surface zooplankton here by a ingesting .72 addressed at the industrial level as well as factor of 6 to 1. That means six pounds of Although plastic products are of the personal. Fouling one’s own nest is a plastic for every single pound of zooplank- great convenience, plastic dust never fully sign of a sick animal. ton.70 The UN Environment Programme degrades, even the process of photodegrada- While we can lobby our political rep- estimates that 46,000 pieces of plastic lit- tion can take a long time: Estimates include resentatives to enact or enforce laws reining ter are floating on every square mile of the 500 years for a disposable diaper and 450 in industrial-scale pollution, most people oceans.71 The gyre continues to increase due for a plastic bottle. The more we produce, feel powerless to alleviate these serious to poor practices on the more we have to live with forever! Just problems. Yet there are multiple personal land and sea. Estimates for the total quan- say no to plastics! actions that we can each take to reduce not tity of plastic at sea exceed 100 million tons, Project Kaisei, which is surveying the only climate pollution (those darn green- with only 20% from ocean sources (like lost area and gathering data, is attempting to house gases) but plastic and paper trash, or tossed fishing gear) and 80% from land- find ways to clean up and recycle plastic cumulative effects from “mildly toxic” home based sources. Much of the plastic is single- into useful commodities, such as clothing, and yard products, and many other perni- use disposable consumer items like bottle construction materials, and diesel fuel.73 cious forms of pollution. More importantly, caps, wrappers, and plastic bags. you might finally be inspired to tackle the The tragedy of plastic is that it doesn’t “Instead of having sand made out of consumption disease—affluenza—at its core biodegrade—no naturally occurring organ- coral and lava rocks and other rocks and and create a simpler life, thereby inspiring isms can break it down. But it does pho- shells, now we are having beaches made others around you to do the same. Just stop todegrade (breaks down from the effects of out of broken-down plastics.” buying and using most of this stuff! That sunlight) into ever tinier bits, each of which —Captain Charles Moore, alone will help curtail its production. See remains a plastic polymer for centuries that scientific researcher “Getting Personal” for details on how to can resemble seaweed or plankton. Most clean up your own act. The Plastic Vortices With all the plastic we produce, use, and toss, it was inevitable that the oceans would eventually teem with windblown and drifting debris. Durable and lightweight, buoyant and persistent, plastic travels over vast distances. The majority of marine debris is plastic. A plastic “vortex” north of Hawaii has been the subject of recent study and news reports, but as it turns out, this North Pacific Gyre is not the only one in our oceans. And while the main known part of this particular gyre is stated to be twice the size of Texas, this particular vast eddy of

plastic refuse is now known to be a sub-gyre Creative Commons/kqedquest

18 ENVIRONMENT Mushrooms as Planetary Healer POLLUTION—WHAT WE CAN DO

“War against nature is war against our n Raise the price of what harms the environ- into dumping overseas. It is currently un- own …It’s time for environ- ment. This will help reduce consumption likely that you will be able to responsibly mentalists to come to the forefront of of unnecessary items as well as trigger recycle your e-waste without paying for business.” efficiency improvements in businesses. the service. For information on —Paul Stamets, mycologist n Agencies at all levels of government need electronic waste, go the US Environmen- to mandate and enforce emissions reduc- tal Protection Agency’s website at www. Nature’s solutions to pollution, evolution, tion targets and pollution limits for cars epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/ and other daunting processes surpass our and trucks, industry and agriculture. Pen- index.htm or www.ban.org. conception of what’s possible. This is pri- alties must be stiff. n Products must be easy to recycle, the marily why preserving biodiversity (espe- n Eliminate subsidies that go to polluting least toxic, and the most cradle-to-cradle cially in highly diverse areas such as complex businesses. in terms of raw materials. Our calculus old-growth forest ecosystems) is a matter of n Institute an environmental tariff: an im- must take into account the lifecycle of the human survival and future security. There is port or export tax placed on products im- product and its true value; we must reject too much to lose that we don’t even under- ported from or being sent to countries cheap products that don’t last. stand yet. with substandard pollution controls. This n Get plastic manufacturers directly involved helps avoid “environmental races to the with plastic disposal and closing the mate- bottom” and eco-dumping. rial loop. Container and resin makers can n Ideally governments would reward or help develop the reprocessing infrastruc- subsidize low consumption through tax ture by taking back plastic from consumers. deductions and credits. n Standardize labeling and inform consum- n Legislatively require recycled content ers: The “chasing arrows” symbol is in containers. Post-consumer material ambiguous and misleading. We need sig- reduces the amount of virgin material con- nificantly different labels for “recycled,” sumed. “recyclable,” and “made of plastic type X.” n Let’s move on to a new paradigm that n Reduce, Reduce, Reduce—then offset “liberates us from this rat race of cheap and reduce some more! replacements for cheap products that pol- n We need to take the slogan “Yes, we can” lute and don’t work for very long.”76 seriously and develop alternative strate- n Unfortunately, much “recycling” of elec- gies—the tepid solutions often proposed tronic waste (old equipment) translates are not going to work in the long term.

different contaminants or pests, and Creative Commons/photogirl7 Stamets has received many patents, includ- ing a ground-breaking one for a strain that Mycologist and author Paul Stamets can work against more than 200,000 differ- is an advocate of bioremediation, or clean- ent insects and which has the potential to ing up contaminated areas with natural revolutionize the entire pesticide industry. processes such as mycelium breakdown Mycelium (plural mycelia) is the veg- of stubborn toxins. To be exposed to his etative part of a fungus, vital in terrestrial research and insights is to have hope again and aquatic ecosystems for its role in the that our mess may yet get cleaned up prop- decomposition of plant material. It contrib- erly. Stamets is utilizing mushroom my- utes to the organic fraction of soil and can celia to break down hydrocarbon-based also confer resistance to some plant patho- contaminants such as gasoline, diesel, and gens. The sciences of mycofiltration, my- PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); coremediation, mycoforestry, etc., are part to clean up dioxin at lumber mill sites; to of an emerging field of study with great degrade and disappear PCBs, PCPs, pesti- potential for repairing many forms of envi- cides, herbicides, and other toxins; to work ronmental damage.74 as an antimicrobial and anti-viral agent; and Various forms of living machines can even to be active against insects such as the create soils, purify water, and break down carpenter ants destroying his Washington- contaminants utilizing carefully selected

state home. Different fungi strains overcome grasses, plants, bacteria, etc.75 Jim Embry

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 19 Creative Commons/Dominic’s Pics Creative Commons/Dominic’s Part Three ENERGY Smart Power: Toward a More Energy-Efficient and Eco-Friendly Future

Welcome to the dream he fossil-fuel era is coming to an end. Cheap energy has fueled the economic sys- tem at the cost of our environment, and reversing course requires changing almost of renewable energy— T everything. We citizens will have to brace for this change—from the convenience of cars to the level of our utility rates. Some might call it “sacrifice,” but we can achieve similar a future where our standards along with a healthy environment if we shift our practices away from fossil-fuel dependency. Almost every modern human activity is dependent on oil, and this cannot go on. The good news is that an array of options exists. We know how to make energy energy consumption efficiency and renewable power a reality. The bad news is that it is taking us far too long to identify, agree upon, and implement the best alternatives, and to turn our practices around. doesn’t harm We are far behind in these efforts. What should have been stepped up with the environ- mental momentum of the 1960s and ’70s ended when Ronald Reagan took office after the environment. Jimmy Carter and removed the solar panels from the White House roof. “” is a term given to the impending scenario in which the supply of oil declines rapidly as demand increases, both in the US and from rising consumption giants such as China, India, and Brazil. (The US currently consumes about 25% of the Earth’s oil supply.1) The phrase can include all fossil fuels—for example, coal and natural gas, all hydrocarbon- based—which when burned produce carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas and “cli- mate pollutant.” In 2007, Portland, Oregon, became the first city to develop an official strategy for the impending decline of the oil age. Regardless of when the peak in oil production actually occurs, their report notes, the changes required will be so immense that immediate action is necessary to prepare for it.2

20 ENERGY En e r g y Op p o r t u n i t i e s t o Re d u c e Gl o b a l Wa r m i n g

The Natural Resources Defense Council pinpoints six major groups of energy sector opportunities that can significantly reduce global warming:

1. Building efficiency reduces heating and electricity usage. 2. Vehicle efficiency and self-sufficient communities help cars go farther on less fuel and reduce vehicle travel. 3. Industrial efficiency reduces usage of fuel for heat and power. 4. Renewable electricity: Wind, geothermal, and solar-generated elec- tricity have the potential to supply 40% of our energy needs. 5. Low-carbon transportation fuels, such as biofuels made from crop waste and switchgrass, can replace imported oil. 6. Coal-fired power plants can possibly be part of our energy future if they are equipped with technology to carry out carbon capture and storage

of CO2 emissions deep in the Earth, where it is gradually absorbed.

Rather than waiting for government action, many communities are considering proac- tive strategies based on relocalization—meeting more community needs from local sources, and fewer from distant ones. Such arrangements reduce both vulnerability to unstable oil prices and the CO2 pollution of long-haul transport. Relocalization increases commu- nity independence, enhances energy and , strengthens local economies, and dramatically improves environmental conditions. Communities can and should set energy usage and water consumption goals. To learn more about this process, check out Transition Istock Photo/Plainview Towns on the Internet.3 Wh a t Is Ha r n e s s i n g Re n e w a b l e En e r g y “Re n e w a b l e En e r g y ”? Renewable energy is defined as ccording to Worldwatch Institute and other research centers, solar and wind en- any energy resource that is natu- ergy sources are already sufficient to provide for all of the world’s energy use today, rally regenerated over a short A using available technology (if we had the money to implement systems every- time scale and derived directly where). A resource qualifies as “renewable” if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate from the sun (such as thermal, comparable to or faster than its rate of consumption. Solar radiation, tides, and winds are photochemical, and photoelec- perpetual resources that are in no danger of running out—for the lifetime of the sun. Such estimates indicate that renewable energy is more abundant (about 6,000 times tric), indirectly from the sun greater on an annual basis) than all fossil fuel supplies, and that well before mid-century (such as wind, hydropower, and it will be possible to run most national electricity systems with minimal fossil fuels and photosynthetic energy stored in only 10% of the carbon emissions they produce today.4 Solar, wind, and , biomass), or from other natural hybrid and electric cars, and aggressive energy efficiency are climate-repairing solutions that movements and mechanisms of are safer, cheaper, faster, more secure, and less wasteful than nuclear power and our ongoing the environment (such as geo- oil addiction. Growing our capacity to make use of renewable energy can alleviate strife, thermal and tidal energy). Re- competition, and war over limited fossil fuels; diversify each nation’s and newable energy does not include enhance national security; help preserve water and air quality; and create green jobs and a energy resources derived from new economy on both supply and demand sides, benefiting millions of energy consumers. fossil fuels, waste products from More than $100 billion annually is now being invested in new renewable energy sys- fossil sources, or waste products tems, manufacturing plants, and research and development.5 Yet the output of sustainably from inorganic sources.a Fossil produced energy remains a small fraction of global energy production as a whole—supply- fuels are both finite and climate- ing only 2 to 3% despite being among the lowest-cost options for reducing CO2 emissions and fossil-fuel dependency.6 Increased investment in renewable energy has been spurred polluting, necessitating a large- by climate change concerns, greater government support, and high oil prices. However, the scale switch to renewable energy level of investment needs to grow much more rapidly to meet even the most minimal targets sources in a short time frame. for climate protection.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 21 The piecemeal efforts are insufficient to tap the Common devices to harness the sun’s One of the obstacles to utilizing renew- nation’s potential for renewable energy. energy include: able energy on a large scale is the con- n Solar or photovoltaic (PV) cells made pri- struction and maintenance of new trans- marily of silicon, the same material used mission lines for the power produced at The energy generated from the sun is thou- in computer semiconductor chips. remote sites such as the desert South- sands of times greater than our energy n Concentration systems that use mirrors to west for solar and the Dakotas for wind needs, and its potential for power genera- focus the sun’s energy onto a PV cell or power. Not only is this a massive financial tion eclipses that of all other renewable en- heat-transferring fluid to generate steam investment; the power lines often pass ergy sources. This, the cleanest and most which spins a turbine and generates indiscriminately through sensitive ecosys- abundant renewable energy source avail- electricity. These can be large enough to tems and valuable wilderness habitat. Giv- able, can be actively captured to generate replace a coal-fired power plant. en appropriate siting of power plants and electricity, or passively harnessed to heat n Windows, sunrooms, and skylights that lines (if possible), and ideally, water and buildings. Yet at present solar allow the sun to passively heat and light burial of lines underground, what might a power accounts for only a fraction of a per- buildings.12 Smart Grid or advanced energy-transmis- cent of total electrical output—much less sion system of the future do? than hydropower or wind energy, which are It will be extremely efficient, non- cheaper to produce.9 polluting, and decentralized or “distribut- Why? For starters, sunshine is incon- Wind power is the most widely developed ed.” In the US this unified Smart Grid or sistent and certainly not abundant at every aspect of renewable energy, created through “Transmission Superhighway” would serve locale on Earth. For small-scale applications the conversion of mechanical wind energy as a modern upgrade to a national electric such as hot water and household electricity, into useful form (such as electricity) using power grid that was designed in the 1930s. solar panels work great (and take up no ex- wind turbines. Wind energy has long been According to many estimates, the Smart tra space on roofs), but they are expensive. used to grind grain or pump water via tra- Grid could be built for about $400 billion. For larger applications, in addition to limi- ditional windmills. While the down side of Through its increased efficiencies, savings, tations of the transmission grid, mass col- wind power includes the need to transmit it and reliability improvements, this vital up- lection technology is still being optimized, long distances on an outdated system, and grade will be paid in full in fewer than four and (of course) lots of money is needed. the death of tens of thousands of raptors years.7 Building the infrastructure to switch to so- and other birds who fly into transmission Policymakers have long known about lar would cost much more at current prices lines and support wires, the potential of this transmission problems and limitations of than continuing to burn fossil fuels. Costs clean energy source is great indeed. Wind the existing grid, but the Feds yield to state are falling steadily, however, and the abun- energy can compete with coal-powered governments, which exercise authority over dant sunshine in the tropical and subtropi- energy in terms of cost, at around 4 cents the grid. In Texas, T. Boone Pickens, the oil- cal regions means investment in solar could per kilowatt-hour. The federal government’s man building the world’s largest wind farm, pay off more quickly there. In a few sunny National Renewable Energy Laboratory plans to use a right of way he is developing places where electricity rates are high, such projects that the price of wind energy will for water pipelines for a 250-mile power as Italy and Hawaii, sun-generated electric- fall even further over the next decade, mak- transmission line from the Panhandle to ity is closer to competitive. ing it the most economically competitive the Dallas market. “If you want to do it on China is planning a huge new so- renewable energy technology of them all.13 a national scale, where the transmission line lar project, with US developer First Solar Many modern wind farms are already distances will be much longer, and utility providing the panels. The 2,000-megawatt operational in the US Midwest. In 2008 the regulations are different, Congress must photovoltaic farm is to be built in the Mon- US surpassed Germany—the world’s leader act,” he said in testimony on Capitol Hill.8 golian desert.10 in renewable energy R&D—to top the list States (including California) with In 2007 the first solar-powered boat in installed wind capacity. The Department aggressive goals for renewable energy are crossed the in a five-month trip to of Energy has stated that the nation can get being forced to deal with the grid’s inad- demonstrate the feasibility of clean energy 20% of its power from wind energy alone equacies by adding power lines, but these vessels on the open seas.11 by 2030. According to the DOE and the

Using solar technology alone, one-fifth of US electricity needs could be produced on a 1,500-square-kilometer plot of land slightly larger than the city of Phoenix, Arizona. An area covering less than 4% of the Sahara Desert could produce enough solar power to equal global electricity demand.b

If photovoltaic panels covered just three-tenths of a percent of the US, a 100-by-100 mile square, they could power the entire country.c

22 ENERGY “This is deeper than a solar panel. I want you to have a clean energy revolution. That’s beautiful. But I’m gonna tell you the truth about it. If you stop there, if all you do is have a clean energy revolution, you won’t have done anything. I’m gonna tell you why. “If all we do is take out the dirty power system, the dirty power gen- eration in a system, and just replace

Creative Commons/Green For All it with some clean stuff, put a solar Solar panel installation, part of Green For All’s Green Jobs Now Program. panel on top of this system, but we don’t deal with how we’re consuming National Renewable Energy Lab, there The most common form of geother- water, we don’t deal with how we’re will be more than $500 billion of new wind mal power plant, a flash steam plant, uses treating our other sister-and-brother turbine generators added to the US wind water at temperatures greater than 360°F 14 species, we don’t deal with toxins, turbine fleet between now and 2020. Job (182°C) that is pumped under high pressure we don’t deal with the way we treat Alert! There is a huge demand for certified to electricity generation equipment (tur- each other…If that’s not a part of this windsmiths, the technicians that keep the bine generators) at the surface. Geothermal movement, let me tell you what you’ll wind turbine generators maintained and resources are considered “,” mean- operating at peak efficiency. ing they are available 24 hours a day, 365 have; you’ll have solar-powered bull- Denmark gets the greatest percentage days a year.18 dozers, solar-powered buzz-saws, of its national energy from wind (approx. Other benefits of geothermal include and bio-fueled bombers, and we’ll be 19%), and three north German states in reliability and a cost of about 4 to 7 cents fighting wars over lithium for the 2007 got upwards of 30% of their electric- a kilowatt-hour that is competitive with batteries instead of oil for the engines, ity from wind power—39% in Schleswig- wind power and significantly cheaper than and we’ll still have a dead planet. Holstein, whose goal is 100% by 2020.15 solar. Geothermal facilities occupy a frac- “This movement is deeper than a so- California has the most wind power de- tion of the space required by wind and solar lar panel. Don’t stop there! We’re gon- velopment in the US, followed by Texas, farms. Although the supply of geothermal with the capacity to power approximately energy is virtually unlimited, there are large na change the whole thing. We’re not 750,000 homes annually.16 upfront costs to extract it. According to the gonna put a new battery in a broken USGS, “The amount of heat that flows an- system. We want a new system! We’re Geothermal Energy nually from the Earth into the atmosphere gonna change the whole thing.” Talk about a power source! Geothermal is enormous—equivalent to ten times the —Van Jones, author, potential defies imagination. There is 50,000 annual energy consumption of the United The Green Collar Economy, times more heat energy contained in the States and more than that needed to power speaking at the PowerShift ’09 first six miles of the Earth’s crust than in all nations of the world, if it could be fully all the planet’s oil and natural gas resources, harnessed.”19 conference for youth according to the USGS.17

Th e Mi c r o p o w e r Re v o l u t i o n While nuclear power struggles to attract private capital, investors have switched to cheaper, faster, less risky alterna- tives that The Economist calls “micropower”—distributed turbines and generators in factories or buildings (usually cogenerating useful heat), and all renewable sources of electricity except big hydro dams (over ten megawatts). An even cheaper competitor is end-use efficiency (“negawatts”)—saving electricity by using it more efficiently or at smarter times. Despite relatively small subsidies and many barriers to fair market entry and competition, negawatts and micropower have lately turned in a stunning global market performance, with electrical savings already adding up to huge totals. Indeed, over decades, negawatts and micropower can shoulder the entire burden of powering the economy. This section condensed from information available from the Rocky Mountain Institute.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 23 Biofuels, Biomass, and Biomethane e n e w a b l e n e r g y d R E DIY (Do It Yourself) All these green options can get a little con- Turn the sun, wind, or rain into on-demand power at your home! fusing, so here is the lowdown on these up and coming energy sources that can Assessing the potential: often utilize waste products. • If you have a spot on your roof or within a few hundred feet of Biofuels are developed from crops such your house that sees sun from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. most months of as corn (ethanol), soy, and palm oil. For all the hype about biofuel, its net benefit to the year, you have excellent solar potential. the global warming crisis remains uncer- • If your site has an annual average wind speed of 12 mph, you are tain. When the expansion of biofuel crops in a good area for a wind turbine. forces food production to move elsewhere or releases carbon from the soil or vegeta- • If you can divert 40 gallons of water per minute (7.5 seconds to fill tion through clearing and deforestation, it a 5-gallon bucket) into a pipe and run it downhill/downstream 100 makes the world’s climate problem worse feet, you can potentially have 400 watts of hydropower, 24 hours because forests, peatlands, and a day. are nature’s premier method of carbon capture. In this case, biofuels can actually

Available technologies to use and store renewable resources: produce more CO2 than they save, negating 20 • Photovoltaic modules (PV) use semiconductor technology to any biofuel-related benefit for decades. Prioritizing fuel crops can also exacer- convert sunlight into electricity, which can be used in an off-grid bate hunger issues. For example, in the US system to charge batteries, or in a grid-connected system to nearly one-third of all corn planted will be directly feed the grid, offsetting part or all of the energy consumed used to create biofuels rather than food.21 on site. New biofuel studies tell us in yet another way that the current world agricultural sys- • Solar water heating systems are a logical way to meet part of tem, like the world energy system, is unsus- your energy demand. Contemporary systems are well-designed, tainable. And unless it’s fixed, increasing reliable, and efficient. production of both fuels and food will con- tribute to global warming. • Wind turbines can charge batteries or directly feed the grid As biofuel technology develops, we (like PV). They are usually designed to make the best use of the have come to learn that corn-based etha- available resource, considering variables such as wind speed and nol and soy-based biodiesel, our “first- turbulence. generation” fuels, have considerably lower greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential • On or off the grid, appropriately sized small hydroelectric than “second-generation” fuels such as cel- generators (aka “micro-hydro” systems) can operate seasonally lulosic ethanol, or even “third-generation” or year round. They can work 24 hours a day (unlike solar and algae-based fuels. While biofuels can re- wind) and are capable of generating high-voltage power, which duce GHG emissions, we must consider can be sent thousands of feet, enabling you to access a more the full range of impacts that their produc- tion entails, including land use changes and distant water resource. effects on food production and prices. Truly • Inverters change the direct current (DC) power from a battery sustainable biofuels have a role in a clean bank or directly from the renewable source to alternating current energy future as long as costs do not out- (AC), a more common and usable form of electricity. weigh their benefits. Biomass: The energy contained in • Batteries are essential to an off-grid system, for storing energy plants (which absorb and store energy from when it’s available and accessing it later. However, their production the sun as they grow) can be harnessed to and disposal remain weak links in the alternative energy reality. produce heat and electricity. Biomass en- ergy provides vegetation-powered heat, Remember, if you are investing now in alternative energy, you electricity, and transportation fuel. Biomass can receive a federal tax credit of 30% of the price of the installed also can be turned into transportation fuels such as ethanol. system. California residents can receive a rebate for the installation The largest source of energy from of grid-connected PV and wind systems. wood is “black liquor,” a waste product from the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry.

24 ENERGY supplies, biomethane provides huge GHG n Support farmers who want to invest in emissions reductions. sustainable fuel crops such as perennial grasses or fast-growing trees. As the chemical compound CH4, biomethane is no different from the fossil- n Increase investment in solar, wind, and fuel variety of natural gas, except that it other forms of renewable energy that is not a limited fossil fuel. It starts out as provide greater climate benefits than do biogas and is “cleaned up” (impurities are today’s biofuels. removed such as carbon dioxide, siloxanes, See: and hydrogen sulfides) for use in com- n Worldwatch Institute produced a pioneer- pressed natural gas vehicles or any other use ing 2007 book, Biofuels for Transport. of natural gas. n Worldwatch Institute worked with the Biomethane can displace and substi- Sierra Club on the report, Destination tute the equivalent of 29% of all petroleum Iowa: Getting to a Sustainable Biofu- diesel transportation fuel used—almost im- els Future, that offers recommendations, mediately. That’s about 10 billion gallons including these suggestions above. of gasoline per year! And it’s ten times the amount per year projected for natural gas in Hydrogen the annual DOE outlook.22 Hydrogen fuel is a promising alternative for transportation since the byproducts of its BIOFUELS: combustion are simply oxygen and water. Creative Commons/Udall Legacy Bus Tour WHAT WE CAN DO Significant hurdles continue to stand in the Biofuel station in Eugene, Oregon. n Policy must ensure that biofuels are not way of commercializing clean and sustain- produced on productive forest, , able means of producing hydrogen, as well as developing the vehicle technologies re- The second-largest source of biomass en- or cropland. quired to efficiently store and use hydrogen. ergy is waste energy, mainly created from n Reduce subsidies to food-based biofu- An extensive infrastructure investment is municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, man- els (mainly corn) and increase them for necessary to support its widespread use in ufacturing waste, crop residues, manure, and fuels with a low-, such as motor vehicles. landfill gas. Conversion of biomass wastes waste and cellulose-derived biofuels. Bio- Assessments by the Natural Resources such as these into energy has great potential fuels made from waste biomass or from Defense Council show that the least ex- to help resolve energy and environmental biomass grown on abandoned agricultural pensive and most developed methods of problems. lands planted with perennials incur little or hydrogen production in use today are not Biomethane: Arguably the best and no carbon debt and offer immediate and necessarily environmentally sustainable. greenest of all biofuels, “super low carbon” sustained GHG advantages. For example, one of the cheaper options biomethane is made n Incentivize the production of biomethane currently available, producing hydrogen from organic sources that would have been from sources such as animal manure, from coal without carbon capture and stor- released into the atmosphere if simply landfills, and biomass. age, will further aggravate the problem of burned or otherwise disposed. Biomethane n Accelerate development of cellulosic bio- global warming. “The most sustainable ways sources include wastewater treatment fuel technologies and the infrastructure to to produce hydrogen in the future are from systems, landfill gas, anaerobic digesters, harvest, transport, and process new crops. wind, solar, and biomass resources, and, animal and crop waste, and most waste n Provide incentives for low or no-till agricul- under certain circumstances, from fossil-fu- from agricultural and forestry operations. ture, the planting of cover crops, and the el sources with carbon capture and storage. Besides supplementing existing natural gas creation of riparian buffer zones. As a result, it will take at least two decades before hydrogen can even begin to make a significant contribution to reducing global Sweden is the global leader in cellulosic biomethane production. Sweden’s warming pollution, improving air quality, goal is to displace all natural gas use with biomethane and also all gasoline and reducing US oil dependence.”23 and diesel with renewable fuels. Biomass sources make up 45% of Sweden’s Nonetheless, initiatives to install hydrogen fueling stations are spread- biomethane. This industry has been growing at an annual rate of around 20% ing in the US and beyond. Iceland in- over the last five years. Biomethane powers more than 8,000 transit buses, stalled the first one in 2003 as part of its garbage trucks, and 10 different models of passenger cars in Sweden.e plan to become the world’s first “hydrogen society.” For a list of worldwide hydrogen In 2007, Spanish biofuels developers selected Kansas as the site of the first US fueling stations (with a photo of each—pretty cellulosic ethanol plant, slated to produce fuel from corn stalks, switchgrass, cool!), go to www.fuelcells.org/info/charts/ and other woody biomass.f h2fuelingstations.pdf.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 25 is first filled…One intriguing aspect of this issue is proposed new technologies to cap- ture tropical reservoir methane and use it to generate electricity.”25 The greenhouse gas methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Co a l The Dirtiest Fuel

oal is by far the most polluting and carbon-intensive source of electric- C ity. This industry is working hard to make us believe that “clean coal” will play a continuing part in meeting the world’s en-

Creative Commons/Ontario Power Generation ergy needs, yet the promise of its expensive Ontario Power Generation’s Sir Adam Beck Generating Complex. and unproven green technology is becom- ing increasingly ridden with doubt and crit- Hy d r o e l e c t r i c developing regions. This is not a new story, icism—clean coal has even been compared having come to light incrementally over the to a healthy cigarette. The leading clean- How Free Is Its last fifty years. As the links between healthy coal technology is called carbon capture Power? environments (such as a river system) and and sequestration (CCS), which aspires to healthy societies are more widely under- “capture” and bury carbon emissions, thus he potential for free energy, the stood, destructive river infrastructure proj- keeping them out of the atmosphere (for gravity-powered use of a renewable ects are losing favor in the Global North. now). For this to be an option in a warming T resource, the security of stored water Unfortunately, they are still being promoted world, the coal industry, with government and flood protection…The promises of hy- in the Global South. help, must vastly increase investment in dropower have in many ways been realized, What is new is the discovery that research and testing. though it has taken decades to recognize reservoirs as well as the dam mechanism Presently coal provides about half of the true cost of this controversial watery itself, in its churning of the water, are ma- our electricity in the US. From the mine to “freebie.” Some believe that big dams rank jor sources of global warming pollution.24 the plant, coal is our dirtiest energy source. among the last century’s greatest engineer- Dams and reservoirs release significant As a major contributor to global warming

ing achievements, yet they could one day be amounts of the greenhouse gases methane (CO2) and air pollution (soot and sulphur

widely regarded as one of our worst acts of (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO), and carbon di- dioxide), it is a leading cause of asthma

environmental destruction. Small dams can oxide (CO2), according to a growing num- and other respiratory and health problems; have a large cumulative impact, destroying ber of scientific sources. “Gases are emitted destroys mountains (“mountain-top remov- and/or blocking access to fish habitat. from the surface of the reservoir, at turbines al” is actually the phrase for a type of coal Electricity generation via running and spillways, and for tens of kilometers mining); and releases toxic mercury into water works well on a small scale in many downstream. Emissions are highest in hot our communities. And because of impend- parts of the world when the conditions and climates…The ‘fuel’ for these emissions is ing carbon pricing, coal-burning plants are set-up are right. However, large-scale hydro the rotting of organic matter from the veg- rapidly becoming more expensive.26 projects have often proved disastrous in etation and soils flooded when the reservoir The coal industry spends millions on public relations and media exposure for its “green” efforts, but like Big Oil, it works si- Co a l Mi n i n g b y t h e Nu m b e r s [Sierra Club] multaneously to block and delay effective 90 million Gallons of waste slurry produced every year while preparing coal federal legislation that aims to cap GHG to be burned emissions and to require utilities to include 1,200+ Miles of streams that have been buried or polluted in Appalachia more renewable energy sources in their because of mountaintop removal mining portfolios. How long will profits supersede 260 million Gallons of water used for coal mining in the US every day climate protection as an imperative? 12,000 Miners who died from black lung disease between 1992 and 2002 There is a growing trend in the US 55 Percent decrease in number of coal miners employed from 1985 to against coal-fired power plants. Since March 2000 2006, plans for at least 25 coal-fired power 22 Percent increase in coal mining production from 1985 to 2005 plants around the country have either been rejected or significantly delayed.27

26 ENERGY Nu c l e a r Po w e r Te n St r i k e s Ag a i n s t Nu c l e a r Po w e r Not a Climate Solution 1. Nuclear Waste will be toxic for humans for more than 100,000 years. ecause safe and healthy power We can’t securely store all the waste from the plants that exist now. To sources like solar and wind exist scale up is unthinkable. B now, we don’t have to rely on risky 2. Nuclear Proliferation: We can’t develop a domestic nuclear energy nuclear power. As recently as July 2007 an earthquake in caused leakages program without confronting proliferation in other countries. at a nuclear plant, raising the alarm about 3. National Security is at risk because nuclear reactors (which are not 28 these severe accidents waiting to happen. entirely secure) are an attractive target for terrorists. Yet some people tout nuclear as a potential 4. Accidents—human error or natural disasters—can wreak just as much climate solution since CO2 emissions are relatively low. havoc. The Chernobyl disaster forced the evacuation of nearly 400,000 Currently there are about 400 nuclear people, with thousands poisoned by radiation. plants operating worldwide, 132 in the US. 5. Cancer risk for childhood leukemia and other forms of cancer seems to (Fifty-two percent of the 253 originally or- be higher in communities near nuclear plants—even when a plant has dered have been built.)29 Though no nuclear an accident-free record. plants have been built in the US for more than 30 years, a new site permit was ap- 6. Not Enough Feasible Sites exist on Earth for new nuclear facilities, which proved in March 2007, the first new site must be near water for cooling, and safe from droughts, flooding, hurri- permit in three decades—a sign of renewed canes, earthquakes, and other potential triggers for a nuclear accident. interest in nuclear.30 Nuclear proponents say 7. Not Enough Uranium: Scientists in both the US and the UK have shown we would have to scale up to around 17,000 nuclear plants to offset enough fossil fuels that if the current level of nuclear power were expanded to provide all to begin making a dent in climate change. the world’s electricity, our uranium would be depleted in fewer than 10 See Ten Strikes Against Nuclear Power for years. reasons why this isn’t possible. 8. Costs for nuclear power increase with scale, unlike some types of energy production, e.g., solar power, which experience decreasing “New nuclear power is so costly that costs to scale. shifting a dollar of spending from nu- clear to efficiency protects the climate 9. Private Sector Unwilling to Finance: Due to all of the above, the private several-fold more than shifting a dollar sector is largely taking a pass on the financial risks of nuclear power. of spending from coal to nuclear. Indeed, 10. No Time! We have the next ten years to mount a global effort against under plausible assumptions, spending a climate change—not enough time to build enough new nuclear plants. dollar on new nuclear power instead of Reproduced, with some editing for length, courtesy of Rocky Mountain Institute. on efficient use of electricity has a worse climate effect than spending that dollar on new coal power!” —from “Forget Nuclear” simultaneously offers some of the cheap- components here: Conservation is saving or by Amory B. Lovins, Imran Sheikh, est options for reducing CO2 emissions. not using a resource in the first place. Effi- and Alex Markevich This proven, common-sense approach has ciency is using resources, including smarter sometimes been denied and derided in the technologies, with an eye toward maximum past: Former Vice President Dick Cheney output. Energy efficiency, for example, is En e r g y summed up the oil industry’s stance (and about doing the same amount of work (or that of the previous administration) when more, and often better) with less energy. It’s Co n s e r v a t i o n he infamously said in 2001: “Conservation not about sacrifice; it’s about being smarter may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not in how we spend our natural capital. educing the amount of energy a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive A recent report by the McKinsey wasted and increasing the amount energy policy.” Global Institute concluded that further im- R of economic output that can be In fact, conservation in each home provements to US energy efficiency could produced with a given amount of energy as well as large-scale conservation on the offset 85% of the projected national demand (using less to get more) is now considered part of industry and agriculture makes a for electricity by 2030, offering an excellent the most economical way of reducing de- huge difference in overall energy consump- alternative to the relentless need to increase pendence on fossil fuels.31 Energy efficiency tion and climate pollution. There are two energy supply.32

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 27 According to renowned energy consultant imports from OPEC countries, and cities and states continue to be far ahead of : 13 [times] net imports from Persian the US government in terms of legislation Gulf countries.33 for regulation of GHG emissions. Increasing energy end-use efficiency— technologically providing more de- The state of California has aggressive- sired service per unit of delivered ly pursued energy (as well as water) conser- energy consumed—is generally the vation for decades, with impressive results. largest, least expensive, most be- Over the past 30 years, while per capita nign, most quickly deployable, least electricity usage in the US grew by more visible, least understood, and most than 50%, California’s consumption stayed neglected way to provide energy flat, even while the state’s economy dou- services. The 46% drop in US energy bled—proof that we don’t need to choose intensity (primary energy consump- between growth and sustainability.34 (Cali- tion per dollar of real GDP) during fornia developed the nation’s first efficiency 1975–2005 represented by 2005 an standards for appliances and buildings). effective energy “source” 2.1 [times] If the rest of the US followed Califor- as big as US oil consumption, 3.4 nia’s lead, we could forget about new coal [times] net oil imports, 6 [times] plants—a huge leap forward in the fight domestic oil output or net oil against global warming. In general, both

Hydropower 2.5% Hydropower 6.5% Biomass 3.5% Renewables 1.5% Residential & OtherOther Renewable (excludi (excluding hydro) Commercial (Oexclu 1% 10% Nuclear Nuclear 9% 5.5% Electric Petroleum Petroleum Industrial Power 37% 35% 21% Natural Gas Natural Gas 40% 24% 22.5%

Coal Coal Transportation 23% 29% 29%

US energy consumption, Global energy consumption, US energy consumption, by fuel type (2008)35 by fuel type (2008)36 by sector (2007)37

Right now over 70 percent of the is convinced that something serious has to be done about the dangers facing the planet...Most of humanity wants to know how to make the change. It’s one of those tipping-point times where things can change unbelievably fast... —Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson

Transformation to me means the powerful unleashing of human potential to commit to, care about, and change for a better life. Transformation occurs when people give up their automatic way of being and commit themselves to a different future, recognizing that they can influence the flow of events and thus create new futures—individually and collectively. —Monica Sharma, UN Director of Leadership and Capacity Development

28 ENERGY WHAT WE CAN DO • Insist on and be part of the shift to clean, renewable energy. Laws as well as individual activities must aim to rein in global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. Shift to renewable and energy efficiency in all possible aspects of your life.

• In order to harness the potential of renewable energy, we need a strong Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS) requiring utilities to generate 20% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020. Such a standard would reduce global warming, create jobs, and save consumers money.

• Climate, energy, and transportation policies must complement one another and aim for similar goals.

• Urge government not to favor giant power plants over distributed solutions; nor to emphasize enlarged supply over efficient use.

• Call your local utility company and sign up for renewable energy. If they don’t offer it, ask them why not.

• Make your home energy-efficient. This yields dramatic savings in heating and cooling. California building codes have resulted in an energy savings of $30 billion since 1975, more than $2,000 per household. Roll those policies out nationally, and the savings would be immense. Dept of Energy Best Practices Guidelines can be found at www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america.

• Start with caulking and weather-stripping on doorways and windows. Then adjust your thermostat and start saving. Ask your utility company to do a free energy audit of your home to show you how to save even more money.

• Many homes and offices are a nightmare of passive energy use. Turn off electronics and unplug appliances when not in use.

• Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use about a quarter of the electricity and last ten times as long.

• Buy energy-efficient electronics and appliances. Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances or visit www. energystar.gov to find the most energy-efficient products. Mike Krautter (www.mikekrautter.com) Capitol Climate Action, Washington, DC, March 2009

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 29 Global Exchange Part Four A JUST SOCIETY A World That Works for Everyone

“There are no roads to peace; peace is the road.” —Mahatma Gandhi

We are way more powerful magine all the people, living life as one,” sang John Lennon, a ballad that still brings “ tears of hope to many. Gandhi’s metaphorical “road,” the work of uplifting and uniting when we turn to each other Ihumanity, has countless twists and turns, multiple colors, with choices along the way, stories and strategies to share, and potential unity in our vast diversity. and not on each other, when This section provides but a glimpse of our collective social problems and a sample of the inspiring efforts to address social inequities and reach out to our fellow humans. On this spaceship Earth, together we face the magnitude of , global migration we celebrate our diversity, due to both calamity and opportunity, and rampant human rights violations perpetrated on , women, immigrants, and all the children of the world. In unity of focus on our commonality, purpose on the Earth, we look here at United Nations declarations, visionary leaders, a healthy environment, and educational opportunity for all ages—from a schoolyard garden and together tear down the for young mothers to the urban green jobs corps. For more background on sources of the problems (the globalized economy, for example) and solutions being implemented, see the next part, Economics. mighty walls of injustice. The bottom line: True global security depends on equal access and opportunity for all.

—Cynthia McKinney, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home— so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the candidate for world of the individual person, the neighborhood he lives in, the school or college he US Presidency, 2008 attends; the factory, farm or office where he works.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

30 A JUST SOCIETY Gl o b a l Ch a l l e n g e s Population growth constantly pushes Hunger the consequences of any level of individual consumption to a higher pla- According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, as reported by the UN Millennium teau, and reductions in individual con- Campaign, “the economic crisis has resulted in 100 million more people going hungry, sumption can always be overwhelmed taking the total number of hungry people in the world to a staggering one billion.” The by increases in population. The simple Campaign’s director adds that “since the inception of aid (overseas development assistance) reality is that acting on both, consis- almost 50 years ago, donor countries have given some $2 trillion in aid. And yet over the tently and simultaneously, is the key past year, $18 trillion has been found globally to bail out banks and other financial institu- to long-term environmental sustain- tions. The amount of total aid over the past 49 years represents just 11% of the money found ability. The sustainability benefits of 1 level or falling human numbers are too for financial institutions in one year.” Part Five, Economics, links resolution of global crises powerful to ignore for long... to fundamental changes in how wealth is managed. The magnitude of environmental im- “When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care pacts stem not just from our numbers of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person but also from behaviors we learn from what he or she needed.” our parents and cultures. Broadly —Mother Teresa speaking, if population is the number People on the Move of us, then consumption is the way each of us behaves. In this unequal Migration is a complex and shifting reality. You might be next! The 2009 UN Human world, the behavior of a dozen people Development Report, Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development, challenges in one place sometimes has more en- stereotypes and broadens perceptions of migration, noting: “Migration not infrequently vironmental impact than does that of gets bad press. Negative stereotypes portraying migrants as ‘stealing our jobs’ or ‘scrounging a few hundred somewhere else. off the taxpayer’ abound in sections of the media and public opinion, especially in times of recession. For others, the word ‘migrant’ may evoke images of people at their most vulner- — able.”2 In addition to the tragically familiar fate of refugees from war and genocide, people are increasingly being uprooted by natural disasters (whether or not national borders are crossed). Environmental and resource pressures are additional drivers of displacement.3 “Climate refugees” is a new term for those forced to relocate due to ecosystem disrup- “The increase in the decline of Earth’s bio- tion (such as increased ), sea-level rise, water shortages, and resulting health epidemics. All this is costly in both economic and human terms. diversity has been caused by multiple fac- The quest for better economic opportunities is another factor. To quote the UN report cited above again: “For many people around the world moving away from their home town tors increased by human activities, includ- or village can be the best—sometimes the only—option open to improve their life chances. Migration can be hugely effective in improving the income, and participation ing habitat loss, climate change, invasive of individuals and families, and enhancing their children’s future prospects. But its value is more than that: being able to decide where to live is a key element of human freedom… species, pollution, , There is no typical profile of migrants around the world. Fruit pickers, nurses, political refu- gees, construction workers, academics and computer programmers are all part of the nearly and overexploitation. Human overpopula- 1 billion people on the move both within their own countries and overseas.”4 tion is the root cause for the other factors.” Overpopulation Human overpopulation bridges every concern related to sustainability—from food supply, —E.O. Wilson, biologist, Harvard professor health, and education to climate change and an Earth-centered economy. The good news is that our best and most effective strategies to curb population growth also achieve other sustainability goals. Actively improving the lives of people worldwide—through educating women and girls, making available (including ), and alleviating poverty—is our best insurance against the woes of overpopulation, as well as the best hedge in security matters and other universal goals. Humans currently number about 6.8 billion, a number projected to exceed 9 billion by mid-century.5 Consider the exponential rate of population explosion: It took all of hu- man history until 1830 for world population to reach one billion. The second billion was achieved in 100 years, the third billion in 30 years, the fourth billion in 15 years, and the fifth billion in only 12 years.6 This rapid population growth is exceeding the carrying ca- pacity of our planet in terms of and depletion, waste generation and disposal, in large part because the dominant economic model emphasizes rapid growth, wealth accumulation, consumerism, and dependence on fossil fuels. Bigstockphoto.com

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 31 Women when women enter the workforce, start Without providing more rights and re- businesses, inherit assets and otherwise in- sponsibilities for women, social justice will teract with men on an equal footing, their never be achieved and all other goals will be desire for more than a couple of children elusive. It is widely agreed that aid to poor fades even more dramatically.” 12 countries best achieves its goal of improv- A report from ing economic conditions when directed Trust and the prestigious London School of toward health, education, and microfinance Economics argues that expanding access to initiatives, especially when such programs family planning and contraception is about focus upon women and girls. Benefitting five times less expensive than implementing the welfare of the entire community, when low-carbon technology to combat climate women hold assets, family money is more change. The report, called Fewer Emitters, likely to be spent on nutrition, medicine, Lower Emissions, Less Cost, concludes that and housing, and consequently children are if basic family planning were available glob- healthier.9 ally, we would save 34 gigatons of carbon Art Explosion The obstacles to women contributing emissions over the next 40 years.13 their full economic and political potential Note also that children born in devel- to their community—beyond their vital oped nations are a greater burden on the roles in the family—include their abuse and environment due to greatly increased con- mistreatment in various situations, from En a b l i n g t h e Gl o b a l sumption levels throughout their lifetime. horrific to less intense forms of cultural Ri s e o f Fe m a l e That’s why the population question isn’t as confinement and inconvenience. Along Em p o w e r m e n t simple as expanding numbers of people us- with lack of education for many girls and ing more resources. The rate of consumption the marginalization of women, the circum- • Women’s issues should be a per person—which differs greatly among stances facing millions of women and girls prominent part of foreign policy. nations—is significant when considering worldwide include mass rape, genital muti- national birth rates and global impacts. lation, sex trafficking, bride burnings, “hon- • Governments should make it A recent Scientific American article points or killings,” and more—tragically indicating easy for women to hold prop- out: “[The] one-two punch of population that gender equality is not yet everywhere erty and bank accounts. They growth followed by consumption growth is accepted as a universal human right. should also make it easier for presently occurring in China (1.34 billion microfinance institutions to people) and India (1.2 billion). Per capita “The transformation of women’s start banks so that women commercial energy use has been growing so roles is the last great impediment to can save money. rapidly in both countries…that if the trends universal progress…So-called women’s continue unabated the typical Chinese will issues are stability issues, security issues, • Donor countries should out-consume the typical American before equity issues.” 10 nudge poor countries to ad- 2040, with Indians surpassing Americans —Hillary Clinton, just their laws so that when a by 2080. Population and consumption thus US Secretary of State man dies, property is passed feed on each other’s growth to expand hu- on to his widow rather than to mans’ environmental footprint exponen- Economically, socially, and geopo- his brothers. tially over time.”7 litically, women have tremendous contribu- Stemming population growth re- tions to make.11 The education of women • Writing that “men must raise quires education and universal adoption of has a strong population control corollary: the level of their conscious- sustainable lifestyle practices and policies. educating girls significantly reduces birth- ness with respect to the way Progress should be measured by genuine rates. Educated women delay child-bearing in which they treat women,” well-being, not an increase in production and they have fewer children. According to author Chris Maser specifies and consumption. As people grow in under- demographers at the International Institute that we need to give women standing of the connection between natural for Applied Systems Analysis in , the choice of how many chil- systems and our complete interdependence, “women with no schooling have an aver- dren to have and when; to value them beyond their abili- adopting sensible zero-population policies age of 4.5 children, whereas those with a ties to satisfy a male’s sexual and practices will become the norm. And few years of primary school have just three. urges and to bear children (es- with reproductive freedom (not globally Women who complete one or two years of pecially sons); and to provide available yet) and an understanding of the secondary school have an average of 1.9 adequate counseling about consequences of exponentially rising popu- children, which leads to a decreasing popu- .14 lation, women are individually better able to lation. With one or two years of college, the make wise decisions.8 average childbearing rate falls to 1.7. And

32 A JUST SOCIETY THE UN: ENVISIONING A BETTER WORLD

Eq u i t a b l e Ea r t h UN Mi l l e n n i u m De v e l o p m e n t Go a l s Pr i n c i p l e s he MDGs, to be achieved by 2015, are drawn from the Millennium Declaration of he United Nations (UN) was found- 2000. Adopted by 189 leaders from the north and south, MDGs explicitly recognize ed in 1945 to maintain peace and Tthe interdependence among growth, poverty reduction, and , Tsecurity within and among nations, which build on the foundations of democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human and to promote social progress, better liv- rights, and peace and security. ing standards, and human rights around the world. Three of the most fundamental 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger instruments developed by the UN address 2. Achieve universal primary education basic human rights for all people: they are 3. Promote gender equality and empower women the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 4. Reduce child mortality (UDHR), the Millennium Development 5. Improve maternal health Goals, and the UN Declaration on the 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While many 7. Ensure environmental stability nations agree to the goals, it will obviously 8. Develop a global partnership for development take a multitude of organizations working on many levels, and all global citizens pitch- ing in, to turn the promises into reality. Yet We are not meeting the goals they get little media attention, and many “Progress towards the goals is now threatened by sluggish—or even negative—economic people do not know they even exist. growth, diminished resources, fewer trade opportunities for the developing countries, and possible reductions in aid flows from donor nations,” according to the UN Development Pro- Universal Declaration of gramme (UNDP) annual Human Development Report for 2009. For example, if we continue Human Rights at today’s pace, sub-Saharan Africa won’t achieve its poverty reduction goals until 2147, the “Protecting and empowering the poor must Cyberschoolbus website for youth predicts. become an urgent rallying cry to honor The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said of the MDGs, “Indigenous and the spirit, the letter, and the promise of tribal peoples are lagging behind other parts of the population in the achievement of the dignity for all,” according to the UDHR. goals in most, if not all, the countries in which they live, and indigenous and tribal women This document was adopted more than 60 commonly face additional gender-based disadvantages and discrimination.”17 As with any years ago to promote equality, justice, fair- process that concerns them, “including indigenous peoples in the MDG context requires ness, non-discrimination, and dignity for a culturally sensitive approach, based on respect for and inclusion of indigenous peoples’ all people across all boundaries everywhere world-views, perspectives, experiences, and concepts of development.”18 and always. Still, 160 million children are moder- ately or severely malnourished; 110 million Campaign strives to end poverty are out of school; and at least 500,000 are The UN Millennium Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments ac- left motherless each year by death in child- countable for achieving MDGs. Its supporters vow: “We are the first generation that can 15 birth. For more grim statistics like these, end poverty and we refuse to miss this opportunity.” see the Human Rights Factsheet of the UN See EndPoverty2015.org. Cyberschoolbus (an informative website geared to youth). The UN says that “poverty is often both Millennium Villages show promise a cause and a consequence of human rights Focused on sub-Saharan Africa, where 300 million people live on less than $1 a day and 500 violations…Destitution and exclusion are million lack basic sanitation, Millennium Promise works in 10 countries. The Millennium intertwined with discrimination, unequal Villages initiative combines community-led actions that ensure a village meets long-term access to opportunities, as well as social and needs with “simple solutions like providing high-yield seeds, fertilizers, medicines, drinking cultural stigmatization.” It is apparent that wells and materials to build school rooms and clinics…insecticide-treated bed nets, anti- removing discriminatory practices and poli- retroviral drugs, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and internet and mobile cies, along with providing pathways out of phone connectivity…”19 poverty, serves to “remove barriers to labor In West Africa, six villages with 31,000 people are clustered in the coastal area of Potou, market participation and give women and Senegal. School meal programs, construction of schools and clinics, along with credit support minorities access to employment.”16 and scholarships for young women, are helping to transform this remote area where only half

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 33 the children attend school and 20% under In the students of horticulture, “Before the day is over, an Indigenous the age of five are malnourished. Counter- nursery establishment, and soil and water person will be displaced or killed. Before ing the impacts of pollution from chemical management do work and knowledge ex- the month is over, an Indigenous home- agriculture, industrial waste, and domestic change with local farmers, feed families, and land will be clear-cut, strip-mined, or refuse, a piped water network reaches most reinvest their profits into scholarships.21 flooded. Before the year is over, dozens of cluster residents via 119 community taps. Indigenous languages will vanish forev- Drip irrigation helps increase farm yields. In d i g e n o u s Ri g h t s er. Governments and powerful economic In southwestern Uganda, a shrub interests perpetrate this human and cul- called Artemesia is processed into a drug he United Nations counts 370 mil- tural devastation.” that serves as the first line of defense against lion indigenous people in more than — Cultural Survival, malaria, providing both a lucrative venture T70 countries with 5,000 distinct in- a global partner of indigenous peoples, for many small-scale farmers and a sense digenous cultural identities. Although in- supporting their autonomy and welfare of self-empowerment in the fight against digenous people only account for 5% of the malaria.20 world’s population, they account for over Reducing poverty by supporting small 15% of the world’s poor.22 Indigenous peoples and NGOs have business development, the UK-based orga- The UN Declaration on the Rights of invoked other agreements over the decades, nization Teach a Man to Fish helps create Indigenous Peoples was overwhelmingly in order to assert indigenous peoples’ land self-sufficient educational institutions via adopted in September 2007, but signifi- rights and to insist on being consulted on vocational training and entrepreneurship. cantly, not by , , and projects affecting them, reports the MDG In Kenya, a secondary school partners the United States. It covers protection of Monitor, an information-sharing project with the Eco-Finders Youth Movement, cultural property and identity, the right to of the UNDP. Increased recognition that raising poultry to produce eggs as well as education, employment, health, religion, indigenous peoples merit special treatment fertilizer for horticultural plots and a fruit language and culture; and it protects the based on historical pre-existence and spe- tree nursery. Proceeds from the sale of eggs, right to own land collectively. It says, “In- cial attachment to ancestral lands was in- vegetables, and tree seedlings at the lo- digenous peoples have the right to maintain voked in 1989 by the International Labour cal market are reinvested in the school. In and develop their political, economic and Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal , the school vegetable garden helps social systems or institutions, to be secure in Peoples—at the first binding international feed the community all year around while the enjoyment of their own means of subsis- convention to address the specific rights of also helping fund the school. In Armenia, tence and development, and to engage freely indigenous peoples and the legal responsi- the youth sell compost from their worm in all their traditional and other economic bilities of governments to promote and pro- farm, supporting organic agriculture. activities.”23 tect their human rights.24

In d i g e n o u s Su r v i v a l “Wild rice is at the core of our being…For us, rice is a source of food and also wis- dom. For the globalizers, it is just a commodity to be exploited for profit. The he work of keeping attention and paradigms are at loggerheads…That philosophical, spiritual, and cultural advocacy focused on the rights of in- dialogue needs to be deepened in our own communities, because it’s in our hands to Tdigenous peoples is shared by many determine the future.” —Winona LaDuke exemplary organizations around the world. Native American activist, economist For 35 years, Cultural Survival has part- nered with indigenous peoples to protect overall conception of balancing biodiversity their lands, languages, and cultures; educate protection and sustainable economic de- communities about their rights; and fight velopment in indigenous territories. First against marginalization, discrimination, Peoples’ development strategy is based on exploitation, and abuse—all enforcing the culturally appropriate management and UN principles. control of the ample and diverse commu- In 2006, First Peoples Worldwide es- nity assets possessed by many indigenous tablished Keepers of the Earth to protect peoples (land, natural resources, traditional the rights of indigenous peoples, includ- knowledge, culture, etc.). In collaboration ing rights related to subsistence hunting with the Calvert Group, First Peoples cre- and gathering, access to sacred sites, and ated the first social investing screen that traditional and cultural practices—with an protects the rights of indigenous peoples. Creative Commons/Fod T Mike

34 A JUST SOCIETY Indigenous Support

All of us can ally with efforts to increase Wh a t Yo u Ca n Do opportunities and living conditions for in- n Affirm that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declara- digenous peoples, so their cultures, wisdom, tion, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political and traditions are not lost. or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” by signing the Declaration at Every Human Has Rights website. Acknowledge Sovereignty: Vice Chair- n Get your organizations, schools, and businesses involved. Hang the Declaration poster on person of Seventh Generation Fund’s your wall. Spread the word. Board of Directors, Tonya Gonnella Fric- n Participate in actions that make sure human rights matter, at home and around the hner (Onondaga), says of sovereignty: “It’s world. not something that’s given to you—it’s an n Support equitable pathways out of poverty. expression of who you are as a nation, as a n You can participate in one of the many Oxfam campaigns. people. It’s an act—not only something you n Join with Human Rights Watch to help defend and protect human rights. think about, it’s something you do. For me, n Advocate for Human Rights First policy change proposals. sovereignty is something an Indigenous n Support the world’s most vulnerable through One.org. Support the Human Rights De- nation expresses through the act of treaty- fenders Policy Reform program of The Carter Center. making, because only sovereign entities can n Help make human rights real for people around the world through GlobalRights.org. enter into treaty-making. Even though the n United States takes the position that our Stand up for the rights of endangered indigenous peoples with CulturalSurvival.org. sovereignty is now ‘internal’ sovereignty on n Learn from one of the many organizations linked on Human Rights Web. a domestic level, many of our Indigenous n Connect with one of 10,000+ organizations protecting human rights on WiserEarth.org, leaders challenge this position and don’t and access their state of the art networking tools. agree with it…Most important to me as an individual is that the act of sovereignty bears with it a great deal of responsibility.”25 change that advances environmental and Ho n o r i n g Di v e r s i t y Seek Environmental Justice: The rights social justice…The abundance of wind of indigenous peoples have been systemati- and solar resources on our reservations is nvironmental racism refers to any cally violated by oil, gas, timber, and min- astounding. Tribes have the potential to environmental policy, practice, or ing industries, creating “unconscionable produce 15% of the country’s electricity Eaction that negatively impacts com- destruction to traditional territories that with wind power, and the solar resources to munities, groups, or individuals based on have sustained us for time immemorial,” power America 4.5 times over. ” race or ethnicity. The concept of environ- according to the Indigenous Environmental The Navajo Green Jobs Coalition was mental justice (EJ) provides a framework Network. It’s a pervasive and centuries-old organized “because Navajo citizens are sick for communities of color to articulate the pattern of assault on native rights as well of working in dirty jobs that pose seri- political, economic, and social assumptions as the Earth. But the resistance is increas- ous risks to their health, land, and water.” underlying why environmental racism and ingly sophisticated, as many modern First Similarly, Diné Care is working to promote degradation happens and how this con- Nations’ approach to economics and sover- clean and .26 tinues to be institutionally reinforced. EJ eignty reveals. Joining together strengthens Founded in 1989, White Earth Land principles prioritize public good over profit, the movement. For example, the Indig- Recovery Project is one of the largest res- cooperation over competition, community enous Environmental Network and the In- ervation-based nonprofits in the US. Its and collective action over individualism, digenous Women’s Network represent more multi-issue approach addresses root causes and precautionary approaches over unac- than 200 grassroots Native communities of problems faced by residents of the White ceptable risks. across , and their partner- Earth Reservation, including the loss of land, ship gives them great collective strength. culture, and self-determination. Located in A Need for Systemic Change Honor the Earth works to leverage northern Minnesota, White Earth is the What would it take to achieve social jus- financial resources, articulate Native issues homeland to the Anishinaabeg of the Mis- tice and a sustainable world that works for within a wide political context, and reach a sissippi Band, also known as the Ojibwe or everyone? Our present condition calls for non-Native public to provide support and Chippewa. “Over the past seventeen years... us to claim our evolved selves and shed solidarity. From their website: “Our Energy we recovered more than a thousand acres the skin of patriarchal attitudes, economic Justice Initiative is designed to strategically of land, began restoring a traditional food exploitation, dysfunctional structures, and and actively develop community infrastruc- system, expanded a wild rice export market, Industrial Age mindset. All of our human ture essential to a sustainable future in In- and initiated a renewable energy program,” institutions must be guided by the intent to dian Country. We are addressing the issue said founding director and former Green give honor and future to our sacred inter- of energy policy as a means to democra- Party Vice Presidential candidate Winona connectedness. tize power production and create systemic LaDuke. 27

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 35 nomic upheavals resulting from climate 2009 No b e l Pr i z e s change…are disproportionately burdened The 2009 Peace Prize was awarded to “President for his extraordinary by the health effects of climate change… efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples…For less responsible for climate change than 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that other Americans…[and] will be dispro- international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading portionately affected by extreme weather spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that ‘Now is the time for all of 30 us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.’” events, storms, hurricanes.” It is a fact that poor people worldwide are the most vulner- Applicable to the failed financial markets and environmental crises, the Nobel Eco- able to the coming negative consequences nomics Prize went for the first time to a woman, Elinor Ostrom, for demonstrating “how common property can be successfully managed by user associations…based of climate change. on numerous studies of user-managed fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes and The work and mission of many orga- groundwater basins.” She shares the prize with Oliver Williamson of UC Berkeley, nizations echo these concerns. Ella Baker whose work combines economics and organizational theory as applied to corpora- Center for Human Rights (EBC), founded tions. The jury said of his theory, “When corporations fail to deliver efficiency gains, in 1996, has a vision for “justice in the sys- their existence will be called in question.” tem; opportunity in our cities, and peace on our streets.” Their blog summarizes a new We may be saying “yes” to the need (March 2008), “America can change. That report on climate equity that “uncovers to recycle, drive hybrid cars, and use solar is the true genius of this nation…It requires what researchers call a ‘climate gap’ or hid- and wind power, but if we are still abusing all Americans to realize that your dreams den pattern revealing that poor people and women and treating them as anything less do not have to come at the expense of my people of color in the United States suffer than our sacred mothers then we can’t be dreams; that investing in the health, wel- more from environmental changes than sustainable. “Yes” we need to eat locally, but fare, and education of black and brown and other whiter and wealthier Americans.” if we are mis-educating our children and white children will ultimately help all of Risk and actual occurrence of heat-related then locking them up in prisons, we are not America prosper.”28 illness and death are much higher in low- being sustainable. “Yes” we need to buy Fair income neighborhoods, and the proportion Trade, but if we are viewing human beings “The next American revolution will be of income going to water expense is three who happen to relocate from one place on radically different from the revolutions times higher. The report also offers some this sacred planet to another sacred space as that have taken place in pre- or non- climate change adaptation investment so- “illegal aliens” then we can’t be sustainable. industrialized countries like Russia, lutions that can alleviate pollution, create “Yes” we need to grow food organically, but , China, or Vietnam. As citizens jobs, and lower the cost burden.31 we if we are denying humans full access to of a nation that had achieved its rapid life experiences because of their sexual ori- and prosperity at the Latino Communities and entation, then we can’t be sustainable. The expense of Native Americans, African Immigration sustainability movement offers us an oppor- Americans, Latinos, , Social and environmental justice issues face tunity to celebrate and embrace the fullest and peoples all over the world, our pri- many Hispanic/Latino , es- diversity of our humanity that mirrors the ority has to be correcting the injustices pecially in North America. While the US Earth’s miraculous diversity. and backwardness of our relationships immigration system appears reasonable, While campaigning for President, Ba- with one another, with other countries, and highly regulated to those not directly rack Obama said in his speech about race and with the Earth.” 29 affected, the facts on the ground illustrate —Grace Lee Boggs, that it is badly broken and in urgent need founder, Boggs Center to Nurture of reform. Community Leadership The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) contends that the underlying Climate Justice flaws of the legal immigration system must Climate change and social justice are inter- be addressed, with establishment of a fair, twining issues, and many people are taking humane, and practical immigration sys- notice of the consequences affecting and tem that is responsive to the needs of the likely to affect poorer communities and na- economy and encourages legal behavior. tions disproportionately. A year before Hur- NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil ricane Katrina, the book African Americans rights and advocacy organization in the and Climate Change: An Unequal Burden US—works through its network of nearly was published by the Congressional Black 300 affiliated community-based organiza- Caucus Foundation. It concludes: “When tions, conducting policy analysis, and ad- it comes to US environmental conditions, vocacy in five key areas: assets/investments, African Americans are…on the frontline civil rights/immigration, education, em-

Environmental Service Learning Initiative (eslisf.org) of the likely social, environmental and eco- ployment and economic status, and health.

36 A JUST SOCIETY discrimination that has prejudiced their nities of color across California face chal- ability to exercise the most basic rights. One lenges of poverty, toxics and pollution, of the most abusive examples was the bru- unsafe and unsustainable work conditions, tal internment of approximately 120,000 and a lack of safe, affordable housing and Japanese Americans during World War II. basic goods and services.”36 It was not until 1965 that discriminatory quotas were discontinued against immigra- a t h w a y s t o a n tion from Asia. Since 1993, there has been P a continual increase in hate crimes against Eq u i t a b l e Fu t u r e APAs. Post 9/11, the level of racial profiling against South Asian Americans nationally estoration—from the top of the has increased tremendously.34 water catchments to the urban cen- The overall poverty rate for Asian Rters, and down to the rising sea— Americans is 14% (compared to 9% for can provide sustenance to many a family whites), based on US 2000 Census data. and community. Reparations help fix the Hmong and Cambodian Americans have natural capital upon which the human so- poverty rates of 60% and 40%, respectively cial systems depend, making green jobs, en- (much higher than 27% for African Ameri- ergy innovations, community gardens, and Green Jobs Now: National Day of Action to Build the New Economy, designed by Design Action for Green Jobs Now. cans and Latinos). Addressing these social farms possible as we build the Earth Com- disparities, the Asian Law Caucus repre- munity economy from the soil up. For Latinos and other people, edu- sents the legal and civil rights of Asians and cating families about healthy lifestyles and Pacific Islanders. “Whatever you love opens its secrets to you.” increasing their access to health services can The Asian American Justice Center —George Washington Carver be better achieved by removing language promotes the human and civil rights of and cultural barriers. Sisters of Color for Asian Americans through a growing net- Green Jobs: Education hosts the oldest Promotora de work of nearly 100 community-based or- Repairing Ecosystems Salud program in Colorado. Recently rec- ganizations. Considerable health disparities Repairing ecosystems is labor-intensive, as ognized by the Centers for Disease Con- persist in the Asian Pacific American com- tree-planters, cone pickers, wildland fire- trol as a best practice for its effectiveness in munity, and barriers to accessible culturally fighters, and forest restorationists know Latino communities, Promotoras de Salud and linguistically appropriate health care is very well. Forest worker cooperatives helped are well known throughout Mexico and a critical goal because of the serious health improve green-collar jobs during the tim- Central America as front-line community trends that have emerged in this population ber boom of the 1970s and ’80s. Like other health workers and educators. Participants that are out-of-step with the American large-scale agricultural sector labor, forestry access meaningful healthcare and support population as a whole.35 has a history of social and ecological ex- services through community activism, ad- An exemplary model for coordina- ploitation. Now there’s a lot more focus on vocacy, information exchange, referrals, and tion among diverse groups focused on en- removing roads (before a flood does), fixing art as social justice.32 vironmental health, the Asia Pacific Envi- trails, reestablishing fish habitat, and thin- ronmental Network and four other groups ning forests as part of a care-taking, natural “Census data reveal that the experience published Building Healthy Communities resource-based economy. of immigration is deeply embedded in from the Ground Up: Environmental Justice The Society for Ecological Restoration the social and political fabric. Nearly in California because “Every day, commu- (SER) and its Indigenous Peoples’ Resto- one quarter (23.4%) of the US popu- lation in 2008 consisted of either im- migrants or the children of immigrants. Community Gardens and a Pioneering Agriculturalist Two out of every three Latinos (67.9%), George Washington Carver encouraged African Americans to create what we now and one out of every ten non-Latino call sustainable communities. He encouraged farming methods using crop rota- whites (10.4%), was an immigrant or tion, cover crops, and companion planting, which we now call . the child of an immigrant…Two in five Often regarded as the Peanut Wizard, Carver discovered ways to make most every immigrants came to this country before item needed in the household using local farm products. 1990 and therefore have deep roots in the US.”33 Aspiring to be the George Washington Carver of the 21st century, and modeling urban agriculture in Milwaukee and , Growing Power’s Will Allen says that Asian American Communities his group is dedicated to the idea of “growing food/fish.” Sharing his methods From the very beginnings of American his- with communities around the world, he modifies the old adage to state, “Teach tory, Asia Pacific Americans (APAs) have people to grow fish/food and the community eats for a lifetime.” faced governmental and institutionalized

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 37 “generate more than 16 million hours of service annually.” Credited with improving employment and earning gains, particularly for young African American men, Corps members show a one-third drop in arrest rates and a drop in teen pregnancies. Par- ticipating youth work on public and park lands, help with preparation and recovery from disasters, renovate housing in low income neighborhoods, and provide for after-school education programs.39 Inspiring Youth Engagement

Environmental Service Learning Initiative (eslisf.org) Our deepest life-giving emotions, aware- ness, and actions need to be transmitted to ration Network support the integration Green For All’s Clean Energy Corps the children of this generation and future of traditional ecological knowledge into program and Green Pathways Out of generations. Adults must find ways to con- ecosystem repair and management. SER Poverty Community of Practice advocate nect sustainability efforts in creative ways International has members in 37 coun- building the green-collar economy “from with the youth of all ages. tries and 50 states, and their Global Res- the bottom up,” offering tools for citizens Art-making is a vital strategic element toration Network is a hub of information working to get local governments to adopt in social change work. The arts engage the on ecosystems, toolkits on how to repair Green Collar Jobs Taskforce and action whole person, the whole community, and them, and links to care-takers and funders. plans. The Center for American Progress the whole story, which is essential in finding and the International Council for Local our way to creating sustainable communi- Green Jobs Are Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) are also ties. Environmental education and service Local Careers urging cities to sign on to the Local Gov- learning are integrated with empowerment. Taking the Ella Baker Center’s Oakland, ernment Green Jobs Pledge, whereby 500 Promoting the role of arts and social California-based Green-Collar Jobs Cam- cities around the world share models, train- change, the Youth Green Corps was founded paign to the national level, Van Jones co- ing, software, and other resources through in 2007 in Lexington, Kentucky—a grass- founded Green For All with Majora Carter, the international ICLEI. roots initiative that engages youth in local founder of Sustainable South Bronx, in Green For All collaborators include environmental, horticultural, and artistic 2008. Green For All’s intention is to build the Apollo Alliance, “a coalition of labor, projects that provide opportunities to be of a strong enough to raise business, environmental, and community service to their communities. In partnership people out of poverty, through green job leaders working to catalyze a clean energy with many other community groups, youth creation and training, and urban energy- revolution.” The Innovations in Civic Par- from all ages are helping to “green-ify” the efficiency retrofits. Through the website, ticipation program is focused on creating community with new gardens. learning communities, and conference calls, civic engagement opportunities for youth, Models are sprouting up all over the members are linked to one another to find and hosts a searchable database of organi- world. Alice Waters initiated the Edible out what works, to leverage their strengths, zations and initiatives around the world. School Yard at the Martin Luther King, and to build partnerships. Green For All’s Social entrepreneur and young Lati- Jr., Middle School in Berkeley, California. website includes tools and resources for re- na leader Kendra Sandoval, founder of Project Sprout is an organic, student-run moving barriers, diversifying funding, and Denver-based Blue and Yellow Logic, is garden on the grounds of Monument High evaluating programs. in business “to empower and ‘green’ our lo- School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Green For All helped ensure that cal economy in our historically black and which supplies the school’s cafeteria with green jobs provisions made it into the brown neighborhoods” through education, fresh fruits and vegetables, helps feed the American Clean Energy and Security training, and green jobs development. A hungry in the community, and serves as a Act ( June 2009). The “Pathways Out of Blue and Yellow staffer says, “It’s all about living laboratory for students. Poverty” is one of a suite of federal grant diversifying the green and local-food Located on Detroit’s west side in a programs, designed to fund “projects that movement. We cannot continue to let the distressed neighborhood with many empty prepare workers for careers in the energy environmental movement be separated by lots and dilapidated houses, the Catherine efficiency and renewable energy sectors… race. We need to remember that the green Ferguson Academy (CFA) has 350 middle [for] both green job training and research movement is not just some byproduct of and high school students who are pregnant projects.”37 Groups and partnerships across rich, white culture.”38 or are teen parents. It offers pre- and post- the US are working to activate this vision, The Corps Network, a modern Ci- natal care for the students and well-baby and communities are sharing lessons about vilian Conservation Corps, has 26,000 care for the 200+ children in on-site day successes and challenges. members ages 16 to 25 in 42 states that care. The young women at CFA have a 99%

38 A JUST SOCIETY rate of graduation, 90% rate of graduates young adults maximize their capabilities multi-disciplinary courses in photography, going on to post-secondary schools, and and bring out their best in all areas of life. fine arts, jazz, greenhouse production of an 80% rate of no second pregnancy. The Manchester Craftsmen Guild, located orchids, and much more. Strickland envi- connection with the Earth through various in and founded by Bill Strick- sions a Guild in every US center city. The farm experiences provides the young wom- land in 1968, was established to help combat resulting message is clear: When youth and en an opportunity to dig deep into their the economic and social devastation experi- adults at risk are given an environment that own humanity. This is sustainability! enced by the residents of his predominantly fosters artistic expression and high expecta- When we nurture all children’s minds African American North Side neighbor- tions, they can become part of the Cultural and when we keep them out of prison, we hood. Through educational experiences that Creatives that Paul Ray wrote about as the can develop sustainable communities. We utilize art and enterprise, students enhance driving force for the Great Turning. need to develop educational experiences and revitalize the economic, physical, social, that tap into our innate abilities and al- and human conditions of their communities. “We [the youth] are not the leaders of low our children to experience their divine Based on the Guild’s success, a vo- tomorrow; we are the leaders of today!” gift of creativity. Dawna Markova’s Smart cational education program for adults —Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Wired is dedicated to helping kids and called the Bidwell Training Center, offers UN speech at the Rio Earth Summit

The Seven Foundations of a Just, Sustainable World

1. ECONOMIC FAIRNESS that recognizes that the future of humanity • Goals: Equal rights for all (including A world dedicated to economic fairness depends upon our ability to live in harmony rights for all living things), universal health would strive to meet every person’s basic and balance with our natural world. care and education. needs, so that no one would lack food, shel- • Challenges: Resource , ter, clothing, or meaningful work. People’s pollution, global warming, overpopulation. 6. strength of character and passion should de- • Goals: Clean energy sources, sustain- A society that embraces simple living would termine their opportunities rather than the able resource use, stable population growth, encourage each person to find meaning and economic circumstances into which they global cooperation. fulfillment by pursuing their true passions, were born. Everyone would benefit from fostering loving relationships, and living au- economic prosperity. 4. deep democracy thentic, reflective lives rather than by seek- • Challenges: Economic inequality, debt A world built on deep democracy would ing status and material possessions. crisis and unfair trade, sweatshops. empower citizens to participate in shaping • Challenges: Advertising overload, com- • Goals: End of global poverty, fair trade in their futures every day (not just on election mercialization of childhood, hyper-consum- all commerce, ethical economics, regulation day), provide broad access to quality infor- erism. of multinational corporate practices. mation, and democratize our most powerful • Goals: Reclaimed consciousness, a culture institutions. of simplicity. 2. Comprehensive Peace • Challenges: Lack of democracy, money A world committed to comprehensive peace in politics, media control by corporations 7. revitalized community would shift its creative energies toward co- with vested interests. A revitalized community would create a operating rather than competing, resolving • Goals: Open and honest politics, demo- healthy and caring environment for people conflict rather than escalating it, seeking jus- cratic media, full civic participation. to celebrate their many shared values while tice rather than enacting revenge, and creat- embracing individual differences, and would ing peace rather than preparing for war. 5. social justice provide support for each person’s physical, • Challenges: War and genocide, militari- A world dedicated to social justice is a place emotional, and spiritual needs. zation, unilateralism, culture of violence. where everyone receives respect and equal • Challenges: Loss of connection, lack of • Goals: International cooperation, demili- access to jobs, education, and health care compassion. tarization and regulation of weaponry sales, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual • Goals: Revolution of caring, smart growth nonviolent culture. orientation, age, physical or mental abilities, (cities designed to support people interact- or economic background. ing with each other), strong local institu- 3. ecological • Challenges: Gender inequality, rac- tions. SUSTAINABILITY ism, heterosexism, inadequate health care, A world committed to ecological sustain- prisons based on punishment rather than The Seven Foundations are from The Better ability would create a new vision of progress rehabilitation. World Handbook.40

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 39 Roberta Vogel Part Five ECONOMICS What Counts: Valuing Life

Confounded by the illusion he necessary transition from the Industrial Revolution and growth society to a life- that ours is a world of endless sustaining human presence on the planet is our current imperative, as well as our open frontiers with abundant T opportunity to reinvent our cultures, institutions, and ourselves accordingly. Merg- resources free for the taking, we ing all efforts to recreate our agriculture, built-environment design, exchange, and energy humans have created an economic systems, we will be able to reconstitute the deep foundations of our beliefs and behaviors. We can actualize new rules for “…a regenerative society [that] is a flourishing society. system shaped by rules that… The revolution is not about giving up; it’s about rediscovering what we most value…making reward individualistic competition, quality of living central in our communities, businesses, schools, and societies. It is about material accumulation, and reckless reconnecting with ourselves, one another, and our fellow non-human inhabitants on Earth.”1 consumption. We are just beginning New Rules could include: n Surf the flux. Live within our energy income by relying on renewable sources of energy to come to terms with the reality such as solar, wind, tidal, and bio-based inputs. that we inhabit a living spaceship n Zero to the landfill.Everything, from cars and iPods to office buildings and machine tools, of finite resources and intricately is 100% recyclable, remanufacturable, or compostable. balanced ecosystems...Managing n We are borrowing the future from our children: we have to pay it back. Our first economies to maximize growth … responsibility is to leave a healthy global for our children, their children, and on on a finite planet is the equivalent into the future. n We are only one of nature’s wonders. Just one of the countless species that all matter, to maximizing the rate of con- we depend on each other in ways we cannot even imagine. sumption of essential resources n Value the Earth’s services. They come free of charge to those who treasure them. Healthy on a spaceship. Both are ecosystems are precious and must be treated as such. actively suicidal. n Embrace variety and build community. Harmony amid diversity is a feature of healthy ecosystems and societies. —”New Rules for a SpaceshipEarth,” n In the global village, there is only one boat, and a hole sinks us all. Our mutual security New Economy Working Group and well-being depend on respect and concern for all. If any of us is insecure, then we all are.2

40 ECONOMICS Gl o b a l Cr i s i s = Op p o r t u n i t y f o r Ch a n g e

n The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, economist David Korten refers to this crisis and opportunity as humanity’s “defining moment of choice between mov- I ing ahead on a path to collective self-destruction or joining together in a cooperative effort to navigate a dramatic turn to a new human era.”3 The New Economy Working Group, co-chaired by Korten and John Cavanagh of the Institute for Policy Studies, affirms that “the current financial crisis has put to rest the myths that our economic institutions are sound. Financial failure is just the tip of the iceberg. Their grossly inefficient and unjust allocation of the resources necessary for human survival and well-being bears major respon- sibility for spreading social and environmental collapse.”4 Korten’s analysis looks squarely at economic and social justice linkages—an essen- tial aspect of the emerging green economy that has been a long time coming: “Equalizing economic power and rooting it locally shifts power to people and community from distant financial markets, global corporations, and national governments. It serves to shift rewards from economic predators to economic producers, strengthens community, encourages indi- vidual responsibility, and allows for greater expression of individual choice and creativity.”5 In contrast to the “Empire” money story, the “Earth Community Story” is where “mutual caring and support are the primary currency…Real wealth is created by investing in the human capital of productive people, the social capital of caring relationships, and the natural capital of healthy ecosystems…Markets have a vital role, but democratically accountable governments must secure community interests by ensuring that everyone plays by basic rules that internalize costs, maintain equity, and favor human-scale local businesses that honor community values and serve community needs.”6 To ride the wind of current opportunities and changes we must summon the collec- tive will and people power to “create a money system that serves people, community, and the whole of life. To do so we liberate our minds from the illusion of a cultural story that would have us believe that money is wealth and the making of money is synonymous with 7 “A crisis is an opportunity riding the creating wealth.” In the long run, such a people-based system is the only one that can be dangerous wind.” sustainable. —Chinese proverb On the skewed role of money, David Korten again: “Money is…a means of exchange [that] makes modern commerce possible and is one of the most beneficial of institutions… Money, a mere number of no inherent substance, utility, or worth created from nothing with an accounting entry when a bank creates a loan, shapes the boom and bust cycles of economic life. Its international flows determine the fate of nations. Individuals who have it in large supply enjoy lives of grand opulence in the midst of scarcity. Those who lack it face death by starvation in the midst of plenty.”8 Bring On the New Economy! To achieve the great transformation, the New Economy Working Group storyline implores that we demonstrate a new reality by supporting localization initiatives to rebuild “Main Street.” This neighborly term refers broadly to economies made up of a col- lection of human-scale enterprises devoted to serving the needs of people and nature, fully accountable to the community. It is used to reframe the economic debate based on a vision of possibility, made popular through education and media outreach. We need to reduce aggregate consumption, and reform the way we measure economic performance by using health, equity, and well-being indicators. We need to support political action to convert the predatory Wall Street money system and war economy to a peace economy that provides direct benefit at the community level. To bring our species into balance with Earth’s life support system, we must reallocate our use of finite resources from harmful and non-beneficial to beneficial and more efficient uses. A just redistribution of wealth—both income and ownership—will help secure the health and general well-being of all. We won’t be able to simply buy ourselves out of eco- nomic crises and environmental collapse.9 More than stimulus and recovery programs, we need to restructure local, regional, and global rules and institutions. We can start with our own local . and Bottom: June Holte Top

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 41 to accelerate worldwide economic devel- Trade agreements that deregulate cor- The four richest people in the world have opment and stabilize currency exchange porations and financial markets, along with more wealth than a billion of the poorest. rates, the IMF focused on bringing “under- banking consolidation, are now widely seen The fortune of the 792 billionaires in the developed” countries into the global econ- as preparing the way for the recent finan- world increases by $300 to $400 billion omy. By 1948, the General Agreement on cial crash. Affecting far more than trade, annually. Global spending on armaments is Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was regulating these instruments are about “eliminating an astounding $1 trillion per year. In 2004 manufactured product trade quotas—later the regulation of corporations, eliminating $79 billion was spent on development proj- adding investment and corporate services public services, and putting public assets up ects worldwide, but $116 billion was paid trading. GATT folded into the WTO in for sale to the highest bidder while hold- in interest payments to the “donor coun- 1995. Critics of the WTO point out that ing governments accountable for enforcing tries.”10 Some economists consider this a world trade rules continue to be set be- intellectual property rights monopolies,” form of global predatory lending. hind closed doors by corporate interests— as David Korten says. The “Old Economy” The increasing concentration of circumventing democracy and excluding also privatizes the commons and reduces or financial power and economic growth has- the most harshly impacted countries as well eliminates taxes on the rich. tens the destruction of the life-support as all Non-Governmental Organizations system of the entire Earth. The evidence (NGOs). Gl o b a l So l u t i o n s of systemic failure also includes livelihoods TheCenter for Food Safety reports that and jobs lost, displacement of indigenous NAFTA, the WTO, and other “free trade” olutions lie in systemic change driv- peoples, and massive immigration. Most systems have “eliminated a nation’s rights to en by individual actions, localized social and ecological costs (such as pollu- protect its citizens and its natural resources S systems, organized communities of tion) are still externalized; in other words, while allowing multinational corporations place and interest, and collaboration on a not paid for by the industry or consum- uncontrolled and unrestricted access to a global scale, within the context of dramatic er but by the public and the biosystem. country’s markets and resources…Califor- restructuring of global rules and institu- Brief History: Background on Glo- nia’s farmers and rural communities are dis- tions. The groundswell of new propositions balization and Free Trade. In Alterna- appearing; crops that once thrived and were and the expansion of long-standing mod- tives to Economic Globalization, the Inter- profitable are now being plowed under; and els is awe-inspiring, springing from diverse national Forum on Globalization explains ecosystems are collapsing at alarming rates.” levels of humanity and institutions. that “since World War II, the driving forces According to The Center for International From the halls of Columbia Univer- behind economic globalization have been Policy, Mexican small farmers are being sity, former World Bank chief economist several hundred global corporations and driven off the land: “The World Bank re- Joseph Stiglitz, recipient of the 2001 Nobel banks that have increasingly woven webs ports that 73% of Mexico’s rural population Prize in Economics, chairs a UN Commis- of production, consumption, finance, and lives in poverty (a significant increase over sion of Experts on Reforms of the Inter- culture across borders...These corporations the pre-NAFTA period), while the major national Monetary and Financial System. have been aided by global bureaucracies US agribusiness transnationals have grown The group’s preliminary report predicts that have emerged over the last half-cen- by leaps and bounds under the auspices of that the global economic crisis is likely to tury, with the result being a concentration the free trade model.” 11 hamper if not prevent poverty reduction. of economic and political power that is In already poor and developing countries, increasingly unaccountable to governments, 200 million more people may be thrust into people or the planet and that undermines “Whichever way forward is fol- poverty, with 30 to 50 million more people democracy, equity, and environmental unemployed globally in 2009 compared to lowed, the solution will require sustainability.” 2007.13 Stiglitz’s UN Commission is calling The current banner-carrier of de- trust, not suspicion. Collaboration for quick action and wide-ranging solu- regulation, the World Trade Organization rather than confrontation in bilater- tions that fill the gaps in current economic (WTO) was set up to prevent obstacles al or multilateral relationships is re- arrangements, tighten regulations, and es- to global commercial interests, effectively quired, as no country can deal with tablish a Global Competition Authority— undermining working people, labor rights, climate change alone in a global- along with better ways to handle the debt environmental protection, human rights, crisis for many developing countries.14 ized trade network…It is important consumer rights, social justice, local culture, Numerous groups and economists are and national sovereignty. to make sure trade is more ethical calling for action. You can too! Tell law- In order to assist the rebuilding of and more environmentally friendly makers what actions you support. We can Europe after World War II, finance min- and that the costs and benefits are start with: isters and heads of corporations and banks more fairly distributed.”12 n Follow principles of UN agreements sup- convened in 1944 in a historic session in —Worldwatch Institute, State of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. They set porting human rights, labor standards, the World Report (2008) up the centralized World Bank and Inter- indigenous rights, and environmental pro- national Monetary Fund (IMF). Devised tection.

42 ECONOMICS develop water, food storage, and sanitation systems. One African farmer said, “If the whole value chain was made fairer, Africa would be lifted out of poverty.”18 Credit to the People, Global to Local Microcredit is made available in tiny incre- ments that make a huge difference in alle- viating poverty in communities that need it the most. For example, the organization (and video) called Girl Effect illustrates the story of a young woman who borrows Global Exchange enough money for a cow in Bangladesh. With the cow, she feeds her family milk, n Reform international finance institutions communities, workers, and the environ- sells the surplus, gets more cows, and sells and rules. Reform the global governance ment from which commodities originate. more milk. She is so successful she gets on framework. The price “premium” is set to cover costs the village counsel, demonstrates that girls n Institute responsible lending and expand plus investment in education, healthcare, are valuable, and a whole new economic debt cancellation. and ecosystem restoration. Worker em- model—and cultural pattern—takes form. n Reform corporate subsidy systems and powerment and collectives of small pro- The organization Care shares the Girl institute corporate accountability. ducers are essential components. NGOs Effect video in their work to create perma- n Redefine indicators of economic progress promoting Fair Trade create online mar- nent social change by supporting women to include environmental and social im- ketplaces, facilitate associations (World and children, who are known to suffer pov- pacts, and insist on transparency. Fair Trade Organization and Fair Trade erty disproportionately. n Charge global transactions and consump- Federation), and provide education (Fair Grameen Microcredit—Inspiring tion of resources as a source of funding. Trade Resource Network). To ensure that Microfinance Institutions Around the n Raise an additional $100 billion per year standards are met before products receive World: Starting with the belief that credit for development projects. the Fair Trade stamp, a rigorous evalua- is a human right, Grameen Bank (GB) lends n Reduce the need for natural resource tion is performed by Transfair USA, or one money to people based on their potential, extraction linked to conflict, war, and civil of the 23 other members of the Fairtrade regardless of their level of material posses- 15 strife. Labeling Organization International. sions. More than 90% of the borrowers are Forest products certification similarly women, with repayment rates of 97%. GB is The Citizens Trade Campaign pro- helps protect forests from destruction. The owned by the borrowers and provides cus- motes legislation in the US along these Forest Council (FSC) is one tomized credit in diverse countries, econo- same lines to create “new rules for global- of the leaders of this market approach. mies, and cultures. One study reports 68% ization that ensure economic security and There are multiple certification systems for of borrowers’ families having crossed the the creation of quality jobs here, while wild harvesting of medicinal and aromatic line out of poverty. Higher education loans offering opportunities for sustainable de- plants, including, FSC, Fair Wild, and and scholarships help the next generation velopment in poor countries.”16 Organic Wild Crop. of Grameen families. Hazel Henderson, economist and When you buy crafts, clothes, cotton, US President Barack Obama said of producer of “Ethical Markets TV,” advo- coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, honey, wine, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and cates creating an economy aligned with bananas, or flowers—products grown under Grameen founder, Muhammed Yunus, “He true democratic access, resulting in a bet- a Fair Trade certified label in many coun- revolutionized banking to allow low-income ter world: “As world trade evolves into tries of Africa, Asia, or Latin America— borrowers access to credit…he has enabled exchanging what works, as well as continu- you are making a difference in alleviating citizens of the world’s poorest countries ing to savor and trade cuisine, art, music, poverty and protecting ecosystems! Global to create profitable businesses, support dance and literature, world trade can actu- Exchange reports a need for more demand their families, and help build sustainable ally help our human family evolve toward to help ensure products become and stay communities. In doing so, he has unleashed higher levels of planetary awareness and within the Fair Trade realm. new avenues of creativity and inspired Earth ethics.”17 Fair Trade works wonders. From a millions worldwide to imagine their own banana plantation in Ecuador to a tea pro- potential.” The Nobel Committee recog- “Fair Trade” Certification ducer in Kenya, to a cotton farmer in Mali, nized microcredit as “an important liberat- A market certification strategy, Fair Trade farmers are able to send their children to ing force in societies where women in par- operates on principles that are monitored to schools and health clinics they erected, ticular have to struggle against repressive ensure that trade relationships benefit local rebuild bridges after a hurricane, and social and economic conditions.”19

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 43 reason to “maintain a conceit that we can viewing and valuing nature. It’s also a nec- manage our way out of the mess, increas- essary race to the rescue.”23 ingly with heroic interventions of tech- Biologists with the Biomimicry Guild nology…We’ve learned from past tech- help companies, cities, nonprofits, and nologies—nuclear power, DDT, CFCs agencies create products, processes, and (chlorofluorocarbons)—that we don’t know policies using nature’s time-tested patterns enough about how the world works to and strategies. The Biomimicry Institute anticipate and minimize unexpected conse- promotes learning along a four-step bio- quences…We have no choice but to address mimetic path: “quieting human cleverness, the challenge of bringing our cities, energy listening to life’s genius, echoing what we needs, agriculture, fishing fleets, mines, and learn, and giving thanks.” so on into balance with the factors that Products resulting from the appli- support all life. This crisis can become an cation of biomimicry include a solar cell opportunity if we seize it and get on with inspired by a leaf, self-cleaning surfaces, Creative Commons/Jeevs finding solutions.”20 non-toxic dyes and adhesives, and pas- A Bangladeshi receiving loan from Grameen bank. The New Economy Working Group sive home cooling. Night vision of a bat asserts that we need to “favor organization informed the design of a walking cane for Peer to Peer: Launched in 2005 to forms that lend themselves first to serving blind people. Mercedes modeled the Bionic help alleviate poverty, provides a the community and treat financial return Car after the coral reef-dwelling boxfish— person-to-person micro-lending website, as a secondary consideration. The pre- both have high strength for the low mass empowering individuals to lend directly ferred models are small to medium-sized and are aerodynamically efficient. to unique entrepreneurs around the world. community-rooted cooperatives, worker Lenders can invest any amount between owned, community owned, and various lo- Full Accounting $25 and $10,000 to projects they directly cally owned independent businesses.” These No-Waste Accounting: Enterprises seek- choose online. While there’s no financial re- structures can also “aggregate economic ing to be more sustainable analyze the steps turn to investors, repayment rates are nearly resources” through alliances of many forms, along the supply chain, which starts with 100%, a remarkable achievement. Loans are such that they “do not create concentrations the natural resources used to make products managed by Kiva’s field partners, Micro- of monopoly power or encourage absentee and ends with waste (disposed of during Finance Institutions (MFIs) that provide ownership.”21 manufacturing, delivery, consumption, and localized program support. Kiva expanded when the product wears out). That’s the lending to entrepreneurs in the US in June Nature’s Design linear model, “cradle to grave.” For a sum- 2009, through partnerships with Opportu- Halting the push for so-called economic mary of the process, watch the Story of nity Fund and Accion USA. growth is the only way to conserve and Stuff video, showing how the supply chain maintain biodiversity because “as the econ- affects everything. Its simple sketches have “This is a moment in history when the omy grows, natural capital, such as air, soil, educated both children and adults. average person has more power than at water, timber, and marine fisheries, is real- Improving “eco-effectiveness” requires any time.” located to human use via the marketplace, full-cycle accounting, which ideally fol- SM —Katherine Fulton, president, Monitor where economic efficiency rules.” Nature’s lows Cradle to Cradle design where the lessons suggest that we must “favor bio- industrial processes don’t generate waste or Institute (community philanthropy) physical effectiveness over economic ef- toxic pollution. With this model, “cyclical ficiency,” and repair the ecosystems upon material flows…like the Earth’s nutrient En t e r p r i s e which life depends.22 cycles, eliminating the concept of waste.” Our Natural World Models What Each part of a product is designed to be safe Ec o n o m i c s Works: Innovators in a relatively new field and effective, and to provide high quality re- called biomimicry are looking closely at sources for subsequent generations of prod- ll over the world, millions of people nature’s designs and using its principles. ucts. All material inputs are conceived as are redefining relationships, liter- Author Janine Benyus says: “Just as we are nutrients, circulating safely and produc- A ally reinventing the human within beginning to recognize all there is to learn tively, so products are either completely the community of life systems. Community from the natural world, our models are recyclable in the “technosphere” or become work is vital in the creation of a counter- starting to blink out—not just a few scat- biodegradable food for the biosphere. force to the old economy, providing an al- tered organisms, but entire ecosystems. A Cradle to Cradle author William ternative or at least a measure of balance to new survey by the National Biological Ser- McDonough and German ecological individual pursuit. It is likely the only way we vice found that one-half of all native eco- chemist Michael Braungart are featured can develop workable solutions. systems in the United States are degraded in the film Waste = Food, which illustrates David Suzuki (Time Hero of the to the point of endangerment. That makes how materials are “perpetually circulating Environment) indicates that we have no biomimicry more than just a new way of in closed systems that create value and are

44 ECONOMICS inherently healthy and safe.” The film tours Ecology of Commerce (1993). Ray Anderson satisfy green consumer demand, and avoid a Swiss textile factory, a German clothing relates his epiphany: “The biggest culprit is negative PR. Companies are adding hybrid manufacturer, the Nike shoe headquarters, the industrial system with its take-make- and biodiesel vehicles to their operations,30 a US furniture manufacturer, a Ford Motor waste system. The real telling point was that reducing toxics used in manufacturing, con- Company plant, and a government-housing there is only one institute on Earth that is serving water, buying recycled plastics, and project in China—showing how the “intel- large enough, powerful enough, wealthy conserving energy. FedEx is finding more ligent product system” has been adapted enough and pervasive enough to lead hu- fuel-efficient airplanes and using smaller (“Cradle to Cradle Design Challenge”). mankind out of this mess, but it’s also the vehicles.31 Reducing the use of the mail- one doing the greatest damage—the insti- order, with its heavy impacts, is a good Corporations Going Green: 27 tute of business.” strategy for consumers. Incentives and Progress Many companies touting their good- Companies “doing good” are said to be Measures will (advertising their green measures and following the notion of Triple Bottom Line Progress toward a greener economy publishing slick sustainability reports) are (TBL). Evaluating progress since he coined comes from consumers and businesses “really focused on reducing the unsustain- the term in 1994, John Elkington concluded focused on sustainability, socially respon- ability of a flawed economic development that “the TBL agenda as most people would sible investors, and corporate social respon- system that is increasingly based upon the currently understand it is only the begin- sibility, but many contend that the shift is addiction to commodified, material con- ning.” He recommends policies on taxation, too slow. Many doubt whether corporations sumption,” says John Ehrenfeld, Director technology, labor, corporate disclosure, and publicly traded on a stock exchange can of the International Society for Industrial involving diverse stakeholders.32 Govern- ever measure up to even the most basic defi- Ecology. He calls for a radical transforma- ments can play a role beyond the regulatory nition of sustainable development: meeting tion in thinking and action that acknowl- realm by demanding that corporate goods, “the needs of the present without compro- edges a “deep-seated systems failure.”28 services, operations, and overall perfor- mising the ability of future generations to To make it feasible for corporations mance meet criteria set up through cred- meet their own needs.”24 to internalize costs, they need a more level ible indicator systems,33 including requiring Trends: Given the mandate to maxi- playing field, through government rules and companies to take full responsibility for (in- mize profits for investors, publicly traded incentives, or a different corporate structure. ternalize) environmental and social costs. corporations tend not to invest in environ- Otherwise, David Korten explains, they risk Of the hundreds of initiatives that mental and social considerations. Given this take-over or being “driven from the market offer parameters for organizations seeking constraint, Seventh Generation, a pioneer- by competitors that gain a market advantage to embody sustainability, three prominent ing distributor of safe and environmentally by externalizing these costs, as, for example, frameworks—the Earth Charter, the UN friendly household products, reverted back Wal-Mart,” which relies on cheap foreign Global Compact, and the Global Report- to private ownership after seven years of supplies and ridiculously low wages. ing Initiative (GRI)—are voluntary, part- being publicly traded. Loss of control was Corporate Social nership-based frameworks derived from a major factor cited in the decision to leave international norms (like the Universal the market. The shareholder focus on short- Responsibility (CSR) Declaration of Human Rights) that help term profitability, maximizing the value of While some are working with corporations- quantitatively measure adherence to CSR.34 stock, and showing corporate growth in -from within or without—to promote CSR, The Earth Charter is compatible with the order to attract investors were challenges to others question the extent to which reform UN Millennium Development Goals. CSR an ethic that did not center on profit.25 is possible: for example, Corporate Watch’s reports that follow the GRI disclose eco- Even though Clif Bar’s largest com- 2006 report states that “CSR was, is and al- nomic, social, and environmental impacts of petitors, Power Bar and Balance Bar, are ways will be about avoiding regulation, cov- a company based on 146 indicators ranging now owned by Nestlé and Kraft, owner ering up the damage corporations cause to from water and energy use, waste and emis- Gary Erickson decided not to sell, in order society and the environment, and maintain- sions, labor practices, product safety, human to ensure that his progressive vision stays ing public cooperation with the corporate- alive and the high organic standards are dominated system.”29 To institute sufficient maintained.26 change rapidly, they suggest strategies such A pioneer in corporate sustainability, as regulation, grassroots action and interna- Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface Global, tional solidarity, challenging and exposing the largest commercial flooring company, corporations—and importantly, building has been paving the way up what he calls, viable alternatives to corporate-dominated “Mount Sustainability,” since reading Paul society. Hawken’s inspiring business manifesto, The Still, companies making a lot of prog- ress (and profit) report (and market) the results of “doing well by doing good.” They Make a living, not a killing. reduce resource and energy consumption, “Tell me that story about the —bumper sticker attract green MBA graduates and investors, Garden of Eden again.”

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 45 “The individual is forcing the change. People are shopping around, not only for the right job but for the right atmosphere. They now regard the old rules of business as dishonest, boring, and outdated. This new generation is saying, ‘I want a soci- ety and a job that values me more than the gross national product. I want work that engages the heart as well as the mind and the body, that fosters friendship and that nourishes the Earth. I want to work for a company that contributes to the community.’” —Anita Roddick, founder, The Body Shop

Greenwashing: Citizens and environ-

Jim Embry mental groups who are paying attention to Vandana Shiva, author, leading proponent of (in lavender sari). the corporate marketing messages warn of greenwashing and, lately, “local” washing. rights to community impacts. By 2008 there and rapidly grew in the 1980s. The US-based CorpWatch defines green- were more than 1,000 organizations world- A growing number of investors, pen- wash as “the phenomena of socially and wide (including 100 US companies) using sion funds, agencies, and collectives pay environmentally destructive corporations, GRI reporting guidelines, a 46% increase close attention to where their money goes. attempting to preserve and expand their over 2007 participation.35 A leading source of information about SRI markets or power by posing as friends of Corporate Watch reports that “the for the US, Green America (formed as the environment.”41 UN’s Global Compact…is a set of nine Coop America in 1982) offers guidance, While there can be truth to the posi- principles on human rights, environmen- links to resources, and community invest- tive spin, the average TV-watcher is prob- tal sustainability and labour rights (now ing opportunities. Green America’s Green ably unaware of negative company news. expanded to 10 with the inclusion of a Business Network features more than 4000 For example, Chevron underwrites public principle on corruption).36 Many NGOs, carefully screened small to medium-size TV that carries ads touting the oil giant’s including the Corporate Responsibil- business members. investments in green energy and innovation. ity (CORE) Coalition, are highly critical The Investors’ Circle (IC) Foundation At the same time, the international cam- of the Compact as it has no monitoring has many partners as well, and since 1992, paign seeking justice in Ecuador, Chevron- or enforcement mechanism and so allows IC has supported more than 200 compa- Toxico, launched by Amazon Watch, urges companies to appropriate the name of the nies with $130 million, investing in energy, consumers, shareholders, and the public to United Nations to reinforce their reputa- health, education, and media, as well as take action, support the people and com- tions without requiring them to change any community development and minority- or munities of the rainforest, and pressure aspect of their activities.”37 women-led enterprises. They call it patient Chevron to clean up. “Over three decades Investing in CSR: Ceres is a US-based capital, and a study they commissioned of oil drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon, network of investors and environmental showed that the “buy-and-hold” strategy Chevron dumped more than 18 billion gal- and public interest groups that works with could yield 5-14% returns. The IC set up a lons of toxic wastewater into the rainforest, companies and investors to integrate sus- new nonprofit in 2008 named after Woody leaving local people suffering a wave of can- tainability into capital markets. Their analy- Tasch’s book Inquiries into the Nature of cers, miscarriages and birth defects.”42 An sis concluded that while many companies Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and award-winning independent documentary “are making progress, their actions to date Fertility Mattered. Following on the “slow by Joe Berlinger, Crude, tells this story. are only the beginning of what is needed.”38 food” movement, the Slow Money Alliance hosts an information, Among their recommendations, companies aims to relocalize money and jobs, thereby news, and action website about greenwash- should tie compensation packages to cli- countering the corporate culture’s tendency ing that explains how consumers suspect- mate performance measures. toward speed, quantity, and growth. Slow ing misleading advertising can contact the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is Money advocates promote the expansion US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). not new. In the mid 1700s, Quakers were of Community Supported Agriculture Meanwhile, “Green Guides” for the “Use of not allowed to have slaves, and many reli- (CSAs), as well as new structures like B Environmental Marketing Claims” are be- gious groups promoted worker health dur- Corporations, investment cooperatives, and ing revised by the FTC, as they evaluate ing the Industrial Revolution. Modern SRI social enterprises that combine nonprofit terms such as “eco-friendly,” “sustainable,” expanded with the and for-profit goals.39 and “carbon neutral.”43

46 ECONOMICS To help consumers evaluate marketing example) “involve regressive redistribution Researchers with the Institute for claims, hold businesses accountable, and and the destruction of crucial knowledge; Local Self-Reliance report that communi- stimulate the market demand for sustain- are vulnerable to bubbles and crashes; erode ties with buy-local campaigns are faring able business practices, EnviroMedia Social notions of transparency and conflict of better financially right now, and that “In Marketing and the University of Oregon interest; and call into question the assump- city after city, independent businesses are set up a Greenwashing Index online. Users tion that each and every market can be suc- organizing and creating the beginnings post and rate ads. cessfully regulated simply by virtue of being of what could become a powerful coun- Climate Washing: The most blatant a market.”45 terweight to the big-business lobbies that examples of this new PR trick are seen Local Washing: Food corporations have long dominated public policy. Lo- among corporations claiming to sup- are gaining notoriety for “local washing” cal business alliances have formed in more port GHG emissions reductions, while at (Hellmans, Unilever, Frito Lay, Foster than 130 cities or states and together count the same time paying lobbyists and trade Farms), while a giant bank, HSBC, inaptly some 30,000 businesses as members.”47 To associations to defeat such policies and leg- calls itself “the world’s local bank.” Even advance localization campaigns, communi- islation. International Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, and Starbucks ties can get support from the American In- (FOEI), known for tackling corporate are getting in on the local act.46 As a result, dependent Business Alliance and the Busi- greenwash, will announce “Worst Climate some true localization efforts are more spe- ness Alliance for Local Living Economies Lobby Awards” at “COP15” in order to cific with their claims: “locally-owned and (BALLE). highlight how corporate lobbying is delay- independent businesses.” Vermont has strict ing effective action.44 The Corner House rules about claims made, and other places asserts that both financial markets and new could follow their lead using the model that Lo c a l So l u t i o n s climate markets (carbon credits trading, for Vermont has pioneered. The Earth Community Economy Yes, banking can serve the public interest! “The communities with the best pros- pect to weather the mounting forces of a Government-owned banks, an option that has existed for decades, serve perfect economic storm will be those that the public interest and are doing relatively well in the current crisis. Public act now to rebuild local supply chains, banking does not suffer from the private banks’ flaw, “because interest is reverse the trend toward conversion of not drawn out of the system but is returned to the public coffers. Public farm and forest lands, concentrate popu- banking is thus mathematically sound and sustainable.” lation in compact communities that bring home, work, and recreation in easy reach Advocating that California’s governor use a public bank model to address by foot, bicycle, and public transporta- that state’s budget crisis, economist Ellen Brown explains the benefits: tion, support local, low input, family “Money in a government-owned bank could give us…all the credit-gener- farms, and seek to become substantially ating advantages of private banks, without the baggage cluttering up the self-reliant in food and energy.” books of the Wall Street giants.” A state could deposit its vast revenues in —David Korten, its own bank and proceed to fan them into 8 to 10 times their face value in loans…[and] control the loan terms. The state could lend at ½% interest to The World We Want itself and to municipal governments, rolling the loans over as needed until ooperation is key to building the lo- the revenues had been generated to pay them off. cal economy, which requires restor- C ing caring relationships and find- Since 1919, North Dakota’s revenues have been deposited in the state- ing common values. Sustainability advocate owned Bank of North Dakota, enabling that state to supply low-interest Chris Maser writes: “To protect the sus- loans to students, farmers, and others. It’s one state not feeling the pinch tainability of a resident’s community within of the credit crisis. Canada’s Alberta Treasury Branches, initiated during a landscape, the community’s requirements the Great Depression, has been self-funded since 1938. India’s banking must be met before other considerations are taken into account; if this does not happen, system is 80% government-owned and is credited with keeping the coun- no other endeavor will be sustainable…The try’s financial industry robust at a time when the private international banks choice of how and why we alter the Earth are suffering their worst crisis since the 1930s. China’s state-owned bank is ours, the adults of today. The consequence invested in local government and state-owned enterprises “to create a real we bequeath to every child of today and fiscal stimulus that put workers to work and got money circulating again in beyond. How shall we choose—to protect the economy”when external markets declined drastically.40 the commons as the unconditional gift of Nature that is everyone’s birthright or

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 47 continue to fight over how we are going to tail shop, and 90% for services.50 ment, and healthy lifestyle and services. carve it up for personal gain and so despoil The Small-Mart Revolution Check- Social enterprises focus on public ben- it unto everlasting?”48 list offers 96 suggestions—ones that can efit and community service—where the fi- Bioregional solutions include learning save money include “honor junk,” use lo- nancial return is a means for meeting the from and applying traditions (ecological cal currency and barter systems, and rent community needs rather than private profit. knowledge, permaculture, organic farming, more. Their “daily mantra” for policymakers: TheSocial Enterprise Alliance of Midloth- , low-impact design, “Remove all public support, including any- ian in Scotland includes business-like en- seed swaps, and other “back to the land” thing that requires city staff time and en- terprise, cooperatives, and credit unions, as strategies), reclaiming community support ergy, from nonlocal business and refocus it well as traditional nonprofits, in their defi- “commons,” and rebuilding the resiliency we instead, laser-like, on local business.” nition of social enterprise. need to adapt to change. Prevalent among Associations of small businesses and rural strategies we find a restoration-based Local Empowerment entrepreneurs are more resilient than economy in natural resource sectors, such You can help ensure public interest is served, individual competitors. For example, farms as sustainable forestry, fishing, and agri- citizens are valued, and basic human rights can cooperate in community-supported ag- culture—including enterprises involved in are met. Among “31 Ways to Jump Start riculture programs (CSA) offering a wider urban-to-rural market linkages. the Local Economy,” YES! magazine sug- variety of products to their customers under Localization is helping to restore an gests that you: one umbrella—adding value to the benefits efficient balance between local production of individual farm CSAs. Limited liability and global imports, and reduces local eco- n Help folks cope in the crisis and act partnerships are a newer model than con- nomic vulnerability. Redefining Progress (a together to create the new economy: start sumer, producer and worker cooperatives, policy think tank that created the Genuine a Common Security Club in your faith are fairly flexible, and can combine aspects Progress Indicator) finds that a focus on community or neighborhood. of cooperatives with other goals. local also minimizes the negative social and n Reach out to groups that are organizing “Good society” advantages of innovative environmental externalities of inefficient people on the frontlines of the crisis, like locally-owned enterprises, according to the trade and concentrated absentee ownership Jobs with Justice and Right to the City. National Center for Economic and Secu- in Wall Street financial institutions. Local- n Keep your energy dollars circulating rity Alternatives, include their emphasis on ization enhances equity and stewardship as locally. Launch a clean energy cooperative democratic values, accountability, and lo- well, when people come together to take to install wind turbines or solar roofs, and cal control of assets, and capital that stays care of one another and their environment. to weatherize homes and businesses. around. This group tracks many emerging n Declare an end to corporate person- forms of community-rooted, asset-building Smart Revolution hood in your community. institutions and enterprises such as com- Spending money in your neighborhood cre- munity development financial institutions ates the local multiplier effect—measured Communities demanding to decide (CDFIs), municipal and nonprofit enter- in jobs, income, tax revenues, and wealth. for themselves what industry and outside prise, urban land trusts, and local currency Local businesses are essential to healthy corporations can or cannot do have passed and barter systems. tourism, participation in politics, charities, ordinances that ban destructive practices. Community-Wealth.Org hosts a di- and social activities.49 Michael Shuman For example, three communities in Maine rectory of community-building resources, (author of The Small-Mart Revolution: have done it. With the help of the Commu- covering many types of financial institu- How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global nity Environmental Legal Defense Fund, tions and municipal initiatives, socially Competition and Going Local: Creating Self- the entire town of Barnstead, New Hamp- responsible investing, partnerships, trans- Reliant Communities in a Global Age) helps shire, passed an ordinance in 2006. To keep portation-oriented development, and more. communities plug “leakage” of money out out-of-state sludge dumping and corporate For example, a 2006 survey found nonprofit of the local system. feedlots from taking over small farmland, community development corporations Dollars leave the community unneces- more than 100 communities in Pennsylva- (CDCs) to be responsible for developing sarily when imported products and services nia have passed ordinances to protect them- more than 86,000 affordable housing units could be sourced locally. Other than new selves where regulations did not.51 and 8.75 million square feet of commercial 53 electronic devices, appliances, cars, and fos- Community-Friendly and industrial space a year. CDCs now sil fuel, there are few things that even a rural number around 4,600 in the US, growing community could not supply its residents— Enterprises from a handful in the late 1960s, and there provided the local independent businesses TheSmall-Mart blog offers information on are approximately 11,000 worker-owned exist and are supported. The more money legal structures for stimulating investment firms (ESOPs).54 that circulates in an area, the more income, in local businesses and entrepreneurs, in- There’s no shortage of creative ideas wealth, and jobs it generates (as opposed to cluding micro-lending and cooperatives.52 and opportunities, particularly when groups being sent to some corporate headquarters). Besides finance, food, and energy sectors, join forces to use tried and true principles A dollar spent at a local restaurant has 25% local economic development can focus on with the new wave of expanded technology more impact than in a chain, 60% for a re- recycled and reclaimed products, entertain- applications. For example, David Korten

48 ECONOMICS suggests that the Consumer Cooperatives among a growing number of institutions In n o v a t i v e Management Association “think about an that have revolutionized micro-enterprise alliance between the cooperatives move- finance to improve incomes in the develop- Co m m u n i t y ment and the green jobs movement.”55 ing countries. To raise awareness about the De v e l o p m e n t challenges that women face daily in access- a n k s Cooperatives ing financial and other resources, the Coun- B cil’s Global Women’s Leadership Initiative Membership-Based works in partnership with the Canadian “Communities cannot achieve economic Banking and Business Co-operative Association that was started prosperity if entrepreneurial activities in 1909. and residents’ health are compromised One member, one vote. —A co-op principle The International Cooperative Alli- by toxins in the land, air and water, or ance (ICA), with 223 member organiza- if natural resources are consumed in an ooperatives subscribe to seven prin- tions from 87 countries, representing 800 unsustainable way.” ciples: voluntary and open member- million people who participate in the coop- —ShoreBank Corporation C ship; democratic member control; erative movement, reports that even in the member economic participation; autonomy financial sector, locally controlled, fiscally o create economic equity and a and independence; education, training and conservative credit unions and cooperative healthy environment, one of the information; cooperation among coopera- banks are faring well. The rate of new co-op T oldest Community Development tives; and concern for community. The three formation of all varieties is rising.57 Banks, ShoreBank, headquartered in Chi- main types of cooperatives are consumer In rural Mississippi, Winston County cago, invests proceeds from their traditional cooperatives (including credit unions and Self Help Cooperative brings small farmers banking services to support borrowers who food coops), producer cooperatives (such and landowners together to overcome ad- “convert deteriorated apartment buildings as agricultural producers), and employee- versities. When they started in 1985, “small into income-producing properties, expand owned. family farmers were under seige due to un- their small businesses, and upgrade their Credit unions, local member-owned favorable financial conditions and USDA’s homes and property” in Chicago, Detroit, and democratically governed, invest in their lack of interest in serving black farmers, and Cleveland.58 members and communities while offer- [who] needed an outlet to earn more in- By lending to “local companies that ing standard banking services. In a recent come from products...” use energy efficiently, reduce waste and innovation, credit unions in South Carolina, Small farmers and landowners sell pollution, and conserve natural resources,” Texas, and Alberta and British Columbia and buy in bulk, and adopted a mantra of ShoreBank Pacific fulfills its goal of “creat- offerLiving Young and Free services, infor- “Saving Rural America” to emphasize the ing a conservation economy in the rainfor- mation, and a social network for members stewardship of their natural resources. Key est of the Pacific Northwest.”59 Their non- (or anyone) 25 years or younger, so they partners include the Federation of South- profit subsidiary, ShoreBank Enterprise can discover that “banking doesn’t have to ern Cooperatives and Heifer International, Cascadia (SBEC), covering enterprises that suck.”56 supporting long-range planning and farm don’t qualify for bank loans, invests money TheWorld Council of Credit Unions, diversification. University Extension and and expertise in sustainable farming, toxic with 177 million individual members served cost-share incentives from the Natural Re- cleanup, green building, child care, sub- by 49,000 credit unions in 96 countries, is source Conservation Service also help. stance abuse, and affordable housing. SBEC Left: Woodshanti, Middle: Rainbow Grocery, Middle: Rainbow Grocery, Left: Woodshanti, Courtesy of Inkworks Press Right: Scott Braley, The Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives is a grassroots organization dedicated to building workplace democracy in the and beyond. Members include Woodshanti (left), Rainbow Grocery (middle), and Inkworks Press (right).

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 49 Ch o o s e We l l “Economic competition, which today is being globalized, increasingly pits work- ers in each enterprise against workers in all enterprises, workers in each eth- nic group against workers in all ethnic groups, and workers in each country against workers in all countries. Eco- nomic competition can only destroy so- cial/environmental sustainability—never forge its links. We thus find ourselves

bigstockphoto.com oftentimes competing with the very people with whom we need to collabo- helps protect habitats by supporting value- dles the accounting, but the lending decisions, rate, which frequently leads to destruc- added production that enables harvesters to based on a unique set of social, ecological, and afford coastal projection. financial criteria established by SHARE, are tive conflicts over the way in which re- made by the community of depositors, thus sources are used and who gets what, Lakota Funds increasing their sense of responsibility. how much, and for how long. This need Modeled after the Grameen Bank A multi-program organization, the So- not be, however, because, we are not microcredit structure (see “Global Solu- ciety uses Community Land Trusts to foster locked into any given circumstance. If tions”), Lakota Funds serves the Oglala “common land ownership…[that] remove[s] the choices we make do not work, we Lakota Oyate (People) on the Pine Ridge land from the speculative market.” The So- can always choose to choose again. Indian Reservation (South Dakota) with ciety also developed a local currency called The final question will always be: How business loans, technical assistance, lever- BerkShares as a “tool for community empow- shall we choose?” aged funding from outside sources, and fa- erment, enabling merchants and consumers —Chris Maser60 cilitation for groups of borrowers. This first to plant the seeds for an alternative economic Native American Community Development future for their communities.” Financial Institution helps to break the cycle of poverty. When Lakota Funds started there were only two Native American-owned busi- Ea r t h Ec o n o m y Ti p s nesses on the reservation. Eighty-five percent n Consume wisely: of borrowers had never had a checking or • Pay cash and shop at local independent stores; buy locally made/grown items saving account; seventy-five percent had nev- • Join a cooperative and shop there; support worker-owned companies. er had a loan; and ninety-five percent had no • Favor companies in the National Green Pages, and get tips from Green America. business experience. Today there are over 328 • Ask for Fair Trade, FSC, and other third-party-accredited certified products. licensed businesses. n Support or start a local BALLE affiliate network. Small Is Beautiful n Support local currency, timeshares, barter, and other local economic innovations. n Use a local community development bank or credit union. One of the earliest “ecological economy” n See greenwash? Report it to the FTC and post on the Greenwashing Index at the voices, E. F. Schumacher wrote the clas- University of Oregon. sic Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If Peo- n Invest well: ple Mattered (1973). He knew that nature • Become a micro-lending investor. can only handle so much pollution, and • See the Microcredit Primer of microcredit resources and links from kbyutv.org. the focus on rapid output of consumer • See Green America’s Investing in Communities guide. products through advancing technol- • Find a mutual fund through the Social Investment Forum’s directory. ogy based on non-renewable fossil fuel was n Get longer lists of tips from: destructive and unsustainable. • Global to Local: What You Can Do—www.IFG.org. Developed by The E.F. Schumacher • YES! Magazine. Society, the Self-Help Association for a • Better World Handbook. Regional Economy (SHARE) is a nonprofit • The Small-Mart Revolution. membership organization that partners with • Sierra Club’s Green Life tips. a local bank to offer microcredit loans at • Earth Day tips: Earth911.com. manageable interest rates to businesses that are often considered “high risk” by traditional • National Geographic’s Green Guide. lenders. The bank makes the loans and han-

50 ECONOMICS istockphoto Part Six Community living well TOGETHER: Growing and Nurturing Strong Communities

A too highly developed “You need other people in order to be. You need other beings in order to be…you also individualism can lead to a need sunshine, river, air, trees, birds, elephants, and so on. So it is impossible to be by yourself, alone. You have to ‘inter-be’ with everyone and everything else.” debilitating sense of —Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and peace activist

isolation so that you can be very community can be part of the worldwide sustainability movement! What is lonely and lost in a crowd… emerging in Lexington, Kentucky, exemplifies what is possible and what is, in fact, E emerging in communities everywhere. With the multitudes of environmental ini- Ubuntu speaks to the essence tiatives, urban gardening programs, and other sustainability projects that have emerged in recent years, the challenge is how to coordinate, how to connect the fragmented dots, how of being human. to surrender our disconnected efforts to the magic of synergistic and integrated systems. Sustainlex.org, formed in 2005, is guided by four principles: environmental stewardship The solitary individual is, (the foundation), economic prosperity, community empowerment/involvement, and social equity. These provide the framework for bringing together previously disparate elements of in our understanding, what Paul Hawken calls “the movement that doesn’t yet know itself as a movement.” The network includes education, government, business, faith, and community-based efforts. In- a contradiction in terms. tegrating these initiatives has been enhanced by the creation of the Bluegrass Partnership —Archbishop Desmond Tutu for a Green Community. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 51 Br i n g i n g t h e Wi s d o m of 8-12 people who meet regularly, linked a Partnership society, and the Real Wealth o f t h e Co m m u n i t y together to build momentum and broader Community Project, training dozens of impacts. Over 200,000 people have partici- leaders to engage their various communi- To g e t h e r pated in the eight Northwest Earth Insti- ties in lively discussions about creating an tute discussion courses, whose orientation economic system that values people who do ocial process may be conceived either is education. Empowerment Institute offers the work of caring for others and a sustain- as the opposing battle of desires with five distinct empowerment-based, team- able planet. Sthe victory of one over the other, or as oriented programs for creating sustainable Founded in the UK, Transition Towns1 the confronting and integrating of desires. The lifestyles and communities. Be the Change are a system for communities to organize former means non-freedom for both sides, Circles offer study-action-support groups in response to peak oil and climate change, the defeated bound to the victor, the victor with a variety of curricula, as well as period- through a structured process, resulting in bound to the false situation thus created— ic symposia and quarterly gatherings. This a community-defined, community-imple- both bound. The latter means a freeing for both sides and increased total power or is a great way to stay engaged and continue mented 15- to 20-year “ increased capacity in the world” (Mary to educate yourself on the issues, so that you Action Plan.” Links to resources, toolkits Parker Follett). can be an effective agent of change. and a growing network of 227 Transition How do we begin to come together For those wanting to clarify just what communities in 15 countries are available. and create the future based on this emerg- their own unique role is in the Great Turn- One Transition group in Washington start- ing “ancient future” wisdom of intercon- ing, What’s Your Tree? offers circle-courses ed simply with “Potlucks With a Purpose,” nectedness and sufficiency? How do we to support participants in finding and act- and has grown to over 300, with a LETS organize ourselves in and as community ing on their purpose, passion, and personal (Local Exchange Trading System) of around issues of sustainability? How do we power, within a growing network of others over 160, along with The Whidbey Com- do so in a fair and inclusive way? There are dozens of initiatives for working together likewise engaged. The Center for Partner- munity Exchange, and Whidbey Island toward a sustainable future, in community: ship Studies offers tools to create a Partner- Food Asset Mapping Project. They offer coming together in unity. Explore tools for ship Community, a group of people com- a “Re-Skilling Digest” of many practical embodying community from the perspec- mitted to facilitating the emerging shift to self-reliance classes, workshops, and tours. tive of the oneness—tools of co-creation, co-intelligence, building united vision, and healing through communication. Foundational to growing successful 12 St e p s t o Be c o m i n g a Tr a n s i t i o n To w n (TT) community-based initiatives are skills for 1. Steer the Transition. You need a core group of people to “drive the integrating voices and desires/needs: com- project forward during the initial stages.” municating clearly, sharing power, collabo- ration, and honoring diversity of culture, 2. Raise Awareness. Teach and learn about Peak Oil and Climate Change background and skill. Tom Atlee’s The from experts; screen key movies; get media attention. Tao of Democracy provides an overview of 3. Lay the Foundations. Network, build alliances and honor the existing many excellent tools, exercises, frameworks, groups. and resources for all of these areas. Non- 4. Stage a Great Unleashing Event. Launch the TT Initiative into the Violent Communication is a simple, pro- broader community. found method that provides a needs-based way of transforming what is possible 5. Form Working Groups. Invite the “collective genius of the communi- through communication. Another practice ty” to focus on specifics: food, waste, energy, youth, transport, water, economics, education, and local government. for building human connections is Rela- tional Presence. A consensus-based process 6. Use Open Space. Transition Network folks find Open Space Technol- for self-organizing groups is Sociocracy (aka ogy effective for running meetings. “Dynamic Governance”). Other group pro- 7. Be Visible. Actions attract people. Plant trees. Do something beyond cess approaches worth investigating include the planning talk. Open Space Technology, and Dynamic 8. Share Skills. Relocalization includes learning skills in gardening, Facilitation. repairing, insulating, etc. How do we link groups of people who 9. Build a Bridge to Local Government. Explore planning coordination. want to make changes toward sustainable living? It’s really as simple as starting a 10. Honor the Elders. Learn from the past and develop connections. series of conversations, as exemplified in the 11. Let It Go Where It Wants to Go…Be flexible. Inventive solutions will initiatives highlighted here. Many effective emerge from a focus on “building and reduc- models are emerging for rapidly diffusing the ing the carbon footprint.” knowledge, skills, tools, and support needed 12. Create an Energy Descent Plan. Form working groups for key aspects for broad-scale, systematic community of planning and management, and create integrated action plan. change. Each uses some version of the time- —Adapted from the Transition Initiatives Primer honored format of self-organizing circles

52 COMMUNITY Gr o w i n g Co m m u n i t i e s Land Use and

Local Government

“When we see the land as community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” —Aldo Leopold, author, A Sand County Almanac

e-visioning how we relate to and Karen Clawson utilize the land is foundational to R creating a sustainable future. From be explored on GreenAmericaToday.org.2 nity members. Seminars and certifications there, we must learn how to work with local Green America recommends creating a in permaculture and green building are and state government to influence land-use neighborhood Home Repair Team, where offered regularly. Governance is by consen- policies and practices. members contribute time and talent to each sus. Buildings utilize passive solar construc- The Institute for Sustainable Com- others’ home projects. The Business Alli- tion, non-toxic materials, composting toi- munities (ISC) is an example of resourc- ance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) lets, and solar and wind electricity. Vegetable es available for learning to successfully is building a vast international network of oil powers vehicles. Gardening is organic work with local government. They helped communities, bringing together small busi- both on the grounds and in the greenhouse, the people of Moss Point, Mississippi, ness leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, devel- and meals are shared. What little food they recover from the devastation of Hurricane opment professionals, government officials, do not grow is purchased in bulk, and all Katrina, working with city officials to create social innovators, and community leaders to scraps are composted. “Ecology comes from a neighborhood advisory committee, mak- build local living economies. Their Living a deep inner sense of the sacredness of life. ing sure neighborhoods were represented in Economy Principles are an excellent road- We want people to have a deep experience the city-rebuilding planning processes. map for sustainable communities. so they will alter their life patterns.”3 For planning building and develop- ment that meets sustainability criteria, check “A person’s heart away from nature Hammarby Sjöstad, , Sweden. out The Urban Land Institute and the Proj- becomes hard…lack of respect for grow- This former industrial brownfield was de- ect for Public Spaces (PPS). Smart Com- ing living things soon leads to lack of veloped to be an environmental role model. munities offers support and success stories respect for humans, too.” Author Bill McKibben writes that in this for both renovating existing structures and community residents “live half again as —Lakota proverb building new ones. Partners for Livable lightly as the average Swede, who is already Communities has an “Aging in Place” ini- Sometimes community planning is among the most ecologically minded citi- tiative, developed to help US communities undertaken to start from the ground up, as zens of the developed world…the level cal- become places that are good to grow up and in Arcosanti, in the high desert of Arizona, culated to be sustainable for all the world’s grow old in. “built to embody a fusion of architecture six billion humans.”4 Garbage is almost Whether you are a landowner inter- with ecology.” Intentional Community is an eliminated, with combustibles burned to ested in protecting property from future inclusive term for eco-villages, co-housing, produce heat and electricity and food re- development, or a citizen wanting to mo- residential land trusts, communes, urban mains composted. Wastewater has multiple bilize your community in support of pro- housing cooperatives, and other planned lives: the sewage treatment plant separates tecting undeveloped land, Land Trust Alli- communities where people live together liquids and sludge; sludge produces biogas ance can direct you to opportunities in your with a common vision. The mission of to fuel kitchen stoves and buses, as well as locale. An example of success in such action Communities magazine is “creating and en- fertilizer for farms. Treated wastewater goes is western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge For- hancing community in the workplace, in into radiators, heating apartments. As the ever initiative, where thirteen organizations nonprofit or activist organizations, and in water cools, it is used to cool office com- joined to protect 50,000 acres of land and neighborhoods.” puter rooms and grocery store coolers.5 water through agreements and acquisitions. The City Project Manager says that “75% Many communities are implementing Three Model Communities of Hammarby’s sustainability is integrated sustainable economic alternatives, such as Sirius, Shutesbury, Massachusetts. Mod- into buildings and infrastructure—the re- Time Banks, and Local Exchange Trading eled after Scottland’s Findhorn commu- maining 25% is up to the residents them- Systems (LETS). Concepts such as “coop- nity, Sirius was established in 1978 on selves.” The “Hammarby Model” has been erative cooking” and “supper swapping” can ninety acres, and is home for 30 commu- exported to Russia, England, and China.6

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 53 Los Angeles (LAEV). Los An- would otherwise be thrown out and make Since the economic downturn of 2008, geles, California. Some 500 people live in free, fresh, hot vegan and vegetarian meals an increasing number of individuals and this two-block working-class neighbor- served outside in public spaces. “Farm Fresh families are returning to the practices and hood near LA. After the 1992 Choice,” a program of Berkeley, Califor- perspective of an older generation, who civil unrest in Los Angeles several people nia’s Ecology Center, supports healthy local conserved in every respect, cultivating inge- began to transform their own troubled agriculture as well as the health of poorer nuity, resourcefulness, and commitment to neighborhood. The first three years (1993– citizens nearby. Fresh, organic fruit and community. Sharing labor, food, child and 1996) were about building trust and a sense veggies are purchased wholesale from grow- elder care, along with enjoyment of simple of safety, planting trees and small gardens, ers at Berkeley Farmers Market, then sold (often free) pleasures, supports the well- and acquiring property. The first purchase at wholesale to residents at markets set up being of individuals and families, but also was a 40-unit apartment building, with a near schools and childcare centers. builds a strong sense of community. community revolving loan fund. Substantial Re-imagining renovations were done, mostly by training o u t h e d c t i v i s m residents, and utilizing the best sustainable Sustainable Culture Y -L A and recycled materials available. One unit Community-based arts and cultural “You are brilliant and the Earth is hiring.” is used as a “common house” for gatherings, organizations supported by the Ford Foun- —Paul Hawken, to the graduating and another is for bicycle parking. Residents dation are revitalizing neighborhoods by class of 2009, University of Portland without cars get a $25 rent discount. partnering with traditional community They were among the first LA apart- development groups to build common rom the coal fields of Appalachia to ments to set up an extensive recycling vision, create tolerance and respect, and liquid gas terminals in California, program, influencing neighbors to recycle boost economic prospects in rapidly chang- Fyoung people are reclaiming their as well. To further “re-use,” residents put ing underserved neighborhoods. A key goal communities and the planet. Ivan Stiefel items no longer needed on a “free table.” of the Shifting Sands Initiative of Culture and Erica Fernandez became just two of A self-help bicycle repair shop called “The Shapes Community is to accumulate best many young Eco-Heroes by following the Bicycle Kitchen” started in the kitchen of practices that highlight a new role for arts path of their hearts. Young people who one of the apartment units. “The Food Lob- and culture groups in community develop- similarly feel the call to right an injustice or by,” an organic food-buying coop, minimiz- ment, through programs supporting social stand up for something they love will find es waste through bulk produce and grocery integration across race and class, upward venues across the globe where they can col- purchases. Composting is part of everyday economic mobility, neighborhood identity, laborate, jam, query, network, and gain skills life in LA Ecovillage, and the neighbor- and civic engagement. to work the media, and organize powerfully. hood now showcases several water-har- Beginning and Ending: Home birth, The Resource section in this book lists a vesting permaculture gardens. A variety of midwives, and dulas have long been an number of them. small business start-ups provide livelihood option for healthy childbirth. TheMatrona. for several neighbors, including fair-trade com has been “promoting quantum mid- Ivan Stiefel: No Clean Coal coffee, vegan chocolates, and custom bike wifery and undisturbed birth in the global in Appalachia building companies. village since 2001.” And while good coop- Observing a persistent, convulsive cough of erative childcare models are easily found, far a loved one who came from West Virginia Food and Meals fewer cooperative elder care models exist. coal country led Ivan Stiefel to create an The ultimate in eating locally is to grow Green burial is also gaining recognition as alternative to beaches and beer for college it yourself! Even apartment dwell- a final testimony to the impact we can have spring break destinations: Mountain Justice ers can participate. To start, join, or help on the environment. Kim Zorn’s Green Spring Break (MJSB). Students met with defend a community garden, The American Casket Company offers beautiful, 100% people in coal communities, held workshops Community Gardening Association offers biodegradable pine coffins, and Carol Mot- on mountaintop removal mining, coal slurry practical advice. Food Not Lawns offers ley’s Bury Me Naturally even offers 100% injection, the toxic coal cycle, the connec- educational, organizational, and hands-on recycled cardboard coffins! tion between poverty, and the destruction services to support transitioning from lawns Taking Care: Based on the psychol- of the local environment. Students learned to home grown food. ogy of interdependence, Gentle Teaching media outreach, campus and community : How to Make It Happen in International trains caregivers and compan- Your Community, by Tamzin Pinkerton, is ions of those who have inherent vulnerabil- the first in a series of how-to books, based ities, such as extreme poverty, homelessness, on wisdom gained by Transition Towns mental disability or illness, focusing on from around the world. Larger-scale com- being kind, nurturing and loving. munity efforts to make quality food avail- Waste Not, Want Not: Among our able across the social spectrum include most overlooked natural resources are the Food Not Bombs, an all-volunteer organi- skills honed by our elders, especially those zation where local groups recover food that who lived through the Great Depression. Nadia Khastagir

54 COMMUNITY 10 Sh e l t e r St a t s and whole-house switches ), to combinations of both (geothermal applications with vast • 40% of US energy—10% of all energy used in the world—goes toward powering swaths of urban green roof “prairies”). We buildings. Much is wasted through poor insulation; leaky windows; inefficient light- also need major investment—public and 14 ing, heating, or cooling systems; and poor construction technique. private—in commercial building retrofits. • In the US, buildings account for 38% of all CO emissions.15 2 Green building is a phrase with wings 16 • Buildings represent 72% of US consumption. so wide it covers everything from the practi- • US residences are at least twice the size of typical homes in Europe and Japan, cal (adding insulation), to the visionary (the 17 consuming 2.4 times the energy. Cellophane house11), to building entirely new communities from scratch (- burg, and Eco City).12 organizing, and building bridges with com- at risk of rupture and explosion from corro- “Green, or sustainable, building refers munities of faith. sion, metal fatigue, manufacturing defects, to a set of new construction practices that MJSB 2007 focused on securing a new, leakage, human error, earthquakes, and ter- consider energy and resource use; environ- safe school for Marshfork Elementary, sited rorist sabotage. Accidents have occurred mental and site impact; product and build- next to a coal silo, a coal processing plant, worldwide from Cleveland to Algeria. ing durability; and the impact of the built a leaking coal slurry impoundment, and Shortly after moving to California at environment on occupant health and safe- mountaintop removal mines. The Mines age 12, Erica volunteered at beach clean- ty.” Considered “through every step of the appeal board released a decision for a sec- ups, and joined with adults working to design and construction process,” a home’s ond coal silo to be built next to the school. delay the LNG project. To get low-income negative impact on people and planet is Students and community members con- Latinos active, in whose neighborhood the reduced.13 ducted a sit-in at the Governor’s office; the pipeline would go, Erica posted flyers and occupation ended with 13 being arrested, spoke everywhere, galvanizing thousands, “Retrofitting existing houses to achieve including Ivan, but no commitment from demonstrating what one person can do. a two- to three-fold reduction in ener- the Governor to build a new school. The result of Erica’s three years of gy use is necessary if we are to achieve In 2008 students blocked American work? Agencies and the Governor nixed the emissions reductions scientists say Municipal Power from building a fifth the multinational corporation’s project in are required for avoiding catastrophic coal-fired power plant in an area with some May 2007. Erica is currently collaborat- climate change.” of the highest cancer rates in the country. ing with Mexican students and concerned In Wise County, Virginia, one of the most adults on 350.org. —BuildingGreen, publishers of heavily strip-mined counties in the country, Environmental Building News students joined residents in pressuring the Gr e e n Bu i l d i n g Virginia Dept of Environmental Quality se v e n St e p s t o a to deny Dominion Power the permit for a A Green Village Begins Su s t a i n a bl e Bu i l d i n g coal-fired plant—and they ultimately won! with Green Homes Ivan’s efforts contributed to decisions by the 1. Siting and orientation are the greatest US EPA to delay action on 79 mountain- magine being outside in winter with gifts for a high-performance building.18 top coal mining projects (EPA Takes on the holes in your pockets and rips in your Coal Industry 2009), and to halt the Clean I garments, money and body heat leaking 2. Energy Efficiency. Good insulation, low-energy lighting and appliances. Water Act permit for the nation’s largest out with each passing moment. Our build- Water. Hardy landscaping, low-flow proposed mountaintop removal coal min- ings squander precious resources in much devices, and awareness of water usage. ing site in West Virginia. the same way. Enhancing energy efficiency 3. Natural Light, Heating, and Cooling. is a big step in greening our homes. Erica Fernandez: Windows and skylights provide daytime We spend 90% of our lives inside light, while thermal mass, overhangs, 7 Triumph over LNG buildings. They are akin to a body, as a and ventilation help you stay comfortable. Erica came from a conservative Mexi- coordinated system8 which protects and Once installed, it’s free energy. can family where girls were taught not to keeps us warm. The future will see smart 4. Indoor Environmental Quality. Balance speak up, but at 16, she was the most rivet- buildings responding so seamlessly to our a tight building envelope against need for ing speaker at the California State Lands sweat, our shivers, our need for hot water fresh air; avoid products that outgas,19 Commission hearing on the BHP Billiton and other shelter-related details, that we such as some paint and particle board. Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) project. will view our present-day programmable 5 Recycled and Renewable Materials. LNG is primarily methane, chilled to thermostats as we now do our phono- minus 260 degrees. Methane is 23 times graphs.9 But right now we need those ther- 6. Solar and Wind. more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon mostats, along with every other technology 7. Regenerative/Adaptive uses technolo- dioxide. Three-foot-wide pipelines carrying available, from ancient (plugging the leak gies that positively respond to the greater LNG through residential communities are and facing the sun), to modern (solar panels environment.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 55 becoming more available as affordability is addressed in design.22 A 1500-square-foot modern jewel-box prefab that you’ll cherish won’t cost more than a 2500-square-foot McMansion with rooms you’ll heat and cool but never use. From affordable to high-end luxury, well-designed smaller buildings feel and function better than cavernous spaces. 23 The Rocky Mountain Institute states the obvious: “Efficiency first, and then renewables. Do everything you can to cut power usage and then supply what’s still needed with renewable energy sources.” There are several rating systems in use for green buildings: Energy Star/Green Star, LEED (Leadership in Energy and ), and BREEAM (the UK’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).24 LEED’s thorough checklist of green build- ing components is often linked to US tax 25

Creative Commons/Green For All incentives, and LEED certification raises property values and is increasingly coveted by residential and commercial real estate Taking Stock $5 billion issued to state programs.21 At the investors. Energy audits are available at low cost in other end of the financial spectrum, sample almost every state. Save up to 40% on your some of the incredible homes on Planet Greener Housing for All power bill by simply sealing leaks and insu- Green TV’s “Ultimate Green Homes” or in All over the country municipalities, non- lating ducts and furnaces.20 Identify prob- a copy of Dwell magazine, for fun. profits, and incentive-driven private compa- lems, prioritize, then retrofit. A retrofit can “Architects and designers can save nies are building green affordable housing. be as low-cost as adding some insulation, as money up front…by incorporating good Tassafaronga is an award-winning 7-acre significant as adding a geothermal system. thermal bypass mitigation techniques right community in Oakland, California, full of Your climate, site, budget, DIY skills, and from the beginning,” says green designer affordable green dwellings and community green builder availability will drive your Armando Cobo. Thermal bypass is condi- spaces. Phase 2 will include a former pasta process. tioned air seeping out of your dwelling, factory being green renovated for people Most areas of the country have local which kicks on your HVAC and ratchets living with AIDS.27 experts (profit and nonprofit) who are eager up fossil-fuel use and GHGs. Net-zero sta- New Orleans, devastated by Hurricane to advise. The US Green Building Council tus—no greenhouse gas emissions and off- Katrina, has become an experiment in green serves as a clearinghouse for technologies the-grid power—is most attainable when building. Habitat for Humanity, Global old and new, and points toward experts and built into the design itself. Green, Home Depot, and Brad Pitt’s Make forums on retrofits and new construction, Leading-edge green prefabs, such It Right Foundation are working diligent- whether you want simple tips on weather- as Warren Buffet’s Clayton Homes, are ly to build the town back green, with an ization, solar hot water, or a cutting-edge emphasis on affordable housing.28 Holy heating/cooling system. Its global coun- Between 2000 and 2005, electricity Cross village, in the Lower 9th Ward, has terpart, the World Green Building Council, become a workshop for green building as it has chapters from Croatia to Brazil. Cali- bills have gone up approximately constructs homes and trains local builders. 29 fornia’s Flex Your Power website has step- 20%, fuel oil, 50%; and natural gas, Federally, Housing and Urban Devel- by-step instructions on affordable ways opment (HUD)30 is spending $500 million to retrofit your house, with do-it-yourself more than 60%. Energy costs are in recovery act grants to add affordable videos hot-linked. The EPA’s sustainabil- expected to continue to rise, so the rental housing and to green existing public ity website and Treehugger have additional housing. Internationally, Architecture for resources for home energy efficiency. investments in both energy efficiency Humanity is addressing innovative sus- The US Department of Energy Weath- and conservation have increasingly tainable disaster housing and longer-term erization Assistance Program has been solutions.31 As Australian UN ambassador 26 helping low-income families for 30 years. shorter payback periods. Hugh Jackman commented: “You can’t The program got a major boost in 2009 with separate the issues of climate change and

56 COMMUNITY poverty. They are inextricably linked.” He this feature should be required in standard Gr e e n i n g Ci t i e s points out that greenhouse gas emissions design for our schools, hospitals, and homes, from developed nations have brought on and should take a place on the LEED list. he New Yorker’s David Owen dubs many of the grave problems that develop- Greener schools save precious dol- NYC “the greenest community in ing countries face, creating a profound ethi- lars. Sustainably built pre-fab classrooms by T America” for reasons including its cal obligation. On World Habitat Day (in Toby Long, of Clever Homes, are now part density, shared walls (easier to heat), and October), we are asked to “reflect on the of the New High School Project.36 These high use of public transportation.43 If GHG state of human settlements and the basic can be retrofitted as residences, with 300 emissions can be stemmed using green roofs, right to adequate shelter for all.” 32 square feet of glazing, clerestory windows (a efficient buildings, and commercial retrofits Commercial building retrofitcosts are band of windows at the top of a high wall), (like the $500 million retrofit planned for off the charts when compared to residential. radiant flooring, recycled wallboard, and the iconic Empire State Building44), our In his cautionary screed, “Losing Money non-formaldehyde insulation. Even though densest city can maximize its strengths. Through the Walls,” Arthur Schlender says, pricey, initially, they pay for themselves over Policy initiatives under Mayor Bloomberg’s “We’re a motivated company with [a track time in re-use potential and energy savings. tenure have stimulated public and private record that] puts us at the forefront of the The passive solar system of North Car- green investment.45 Cities across the coun- sustainability movement. And yet we’re olina’s Durant Middle School saves $50,000 try like Portland, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, having trouble fixing just one of our build- a year in energy costs.37 Nevada plans to San Francisco, and urban centers in more ings. We [need] a comprehensive national replicate a green school prototype across traditionally conservative states like Texas program to finance this work…cobbled the state, using integrated design to reduce and North Carolina are all seeing green.46 together through government, nonprofit, energy consumption by 50% and construc- In Washington, DC, GreenHOME and foundation. [The] vast majority of tion costs by 20%.38 An addition to the aims to make our nation’s capital a model building owners, no matter how well-in- Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland, for sustainable development and has moved tentioned, will sit on their hands. We need Oregon, uses skylights and a diffuser to from small-scale demos to actively market- a program that literally pays for a portion avoid using electric lights during the day.39 ing larger developments.47 Seattle’s 120- of these retrofits, donating cash so that the Greening Government acre “High Point is the first large-scale return on investment becomes acceptable, development in the country to feature or at least so the price of the fix isn’t pro- Buildings low-impact, in a dense hibitive. This program has to happen soon; The Big House: A LEED platinum White urban setting. It is a model for healthy home almost instantly. Scientists are telling us House? As a protected historic building development that benefits the environment we have a decade to replace the inefficient there are limitations, but they’re working on and promotes healthy living.”48 Sustainable infrastructure that is hobbling our climate. it. Smart switches, low-emitting finishes, Jersey, Sustainable Seattle, and Sustainable They are speaking, in part, about our build- window films, green cleaners, and recycled South Bronx sites may serve as a source of ings—about the building you’re sitting in equipment are all in the works.40 ideas, inspiration and incentives for entire right now.”33 The other “Big House”: In Wash- municipalities to go green. Passive Survivability? When the pow- ington State, prisons are saving millions in er and water go out, how long would you be energy costs via retrofits. Might they spend able to stay alive in the house or apartment the savings on rehabilitation and train- you live in? The question points to pas- ing for sustainable jobs? In 2009, a federal sive survivability, a concept introduced in prison in Butner, North Carolina, became Environmental Business News in 1995. Tom the first to achieve LEED certification. Whipple of the Falls Church News-Press Besides saving money, architect Ken Ricci reminds us that “the temperature, mois- says green design is a “plus for a population ture, and even the oxygen content of the that’s confined 24 hours a day. Environment air we breathe are all kept at acceptable cues behavior.” Incarcerated individuals are levels by—you guessed it—energy. Take more likely to re-enter the world less dam- away the energy and, under some cir- aged and angry if they have been treated cumstances, a cave, tent, or even sitting humanely in sustainable environments, under a big tree might be preferable to making the world a safer place for all. being indoors.”34 Removing freedom is punishment enough. “Cooling-load avoidance strategies, Let in the daylight, reduce the noise, cre- shades on the southwestern windows of ate gardens and green jobs.41 Reducing the the Langston High School & Community number of people locked up for petty crimes Center in Arlington, Virginia, help main- must take place simultaneously at the policy tain livable thermal conditions in a build- level. Fewer prisons = less energy needed, ing even when the power goes out.”35 As and a huge leap in our collective ethics and we retrofit existing buildings and build new, humanity.42 Creative Commons/Flatbush Gardener

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 57 Greening Greensburg, Kansas: After the largest tornado in the state’s history com- Ho w Ca n I In f l u e n c e Po l i c y a n d St i ll Ha v e Ti m e t o Co o k Di n n e r ? pletely leveled Greensburg, Kansas, its green • Don’t get overwhelmed. Sign up for Environmental Leader’s daily email,58 rebirth is being documented step by step, choose an area of interest, and when you spot a project in the works call your reps in your state capitol or DC. with a goal of having more LEED build- ings per square foot than anywhere on • Group your representatives in your contact list and lobby these folks! Fax/ email/call when you hear about green building initiatives. Write a template Earth. View Greensburg, the TV show, on 49 for yourself: “I support xyz,” your personal standard message, and just Planet Green (a Discovery channel). change it a bit for each initiative you write about. Greening roofs: Every city has hun- • Become a fan. Many groups have Facebook pages these days, and while dreds of acres of flat, black-tar roofs, cre- you’re looking at the photo of your grandkid, click on a link from GBC or ating a heat-island effect. Simply painting Inhabitat. Sign up for the email newsletters. them white or with solar-reflective paint • Take a peek at the amazing futuristic designs! A few minutes a day, and could go a long way (www.ultimatecoat- before you know it you’ll be a green building info whiz for your friends, fam- ings.net). “White roofs can cut a building’s ily, and community. energy use by 20%,” says California Energy • Get inspired. Creative minds are sparking new ideas across the planet. Commissioner, Art Rosenfeld. “The poten- Explore these ideas in a circle of like-minded friends where you can act together. tial energy savings in the US is in excess of $1 billion annually. And by conserving elec-

tricity we are emitting less CO2 from power to educate and empower those interested projects will not be driven by cost savings, plants.”50 Even better, create a green roof. in building sustainable water culture and but instead will be initiated to meet broader They reduce storm water runoff, last 50+ infrastructure. , i.e., policy and business objectives, such as lower years (20 years for black tar), increase the the ,52 has made impres- carbon footprints, higher employee produc- value of any nearby property with a view, sive improvements to health and cleanliness tivity, and higher property values.”56 The US and have a long-term fiscal payoff. The view in rural regions, and the day is near when Department of Energy plans to advance the of Chicago City Hall’s 12th floor “prairie” those same methods can be implemented in development and market adoption of net- is coveted. Green rooftops immediately urban environments. Large-scale ecological zero commercial buildings by 2025. The reduce the carbon footprint, reduce heat sanitation can be integrated into any urban American Reinvestment and Recovery Act generation, and are up to 60% cooler. Green environment. of 2009 provided $25 billion for weather- walls, or vertical plantings, are starting to Greening wastewater: Innovative ization and energy-efficiency upgrades for take root across America, reducing cooling wastewater treatment technology is becom- commercial and government buildings.57 costs and adding value.51 ing state of the art. The Solid Immobilized Bio-Filter (SIBF) system, for example, ransportation Water and Sewage eliminates some drawbacks of convention- T Stewardship of our natural resources is al treatment plants, costs less to start up Rethinking How We the sine qua non of sustainable living. The and operate, and can save 90% of ongoing Get Around conscientious community must establish energy costs. Reusable treated water is used its development practices, including water for groundwater recharge, and creates on- ransportation is the way we move harvesting, conservation, and management and off-site gardening irrigation opportu- goods and people from one place of solid waste and greywater. The Greywater nities.53 At home, new Energy Star toilets T to another. Most Americans to- Guerrillas are educators, designers, build- offer useful flush options. Specialized com- day make the best of a rather dysfunc- ers, and artists who’ve made their mission posting toilets, though expensive, are the tional transportation system, given the solution for some. If a retrofit, replace the totality of pan-social-strata and ecologi- potty. If building new, consider a greywater cal needs. Heavily reliant upon individual recycling toilet/sink. ( Japan has been using automobile ownership (a system perpetu- these combo potties for years.)54 ated by the flawed tenet that owning a car is “Single ” recycling helps cities equivalent to personal freedom), and strug- divert up to 70 percent of their waste from gling to refurbish aging infrastructure, a the landfill by allowing households to put heavily indebted US now faces a multiplic- all their recyclables in the same bin. The ity of transportation-oriented crises. ultimate goal is .55 Sustainable Scientists tell us that we have a 10-year Communities Network provides profiles of window before catastrophic climate change innovative projects across the US. becomes inevitable and irreversible.59 We Policy and decision-makers: Elected need to re-think our transportation systems, officials need to know we want the fiscal attitudes and behaviors—now! support needed to retrofit our vast inven- Motor vehicles are major sources of Why dinosaurs really became extinct tory of commercial buildings. “Most major carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspend-

58 COMMUNITY ed particles, nitrogen oxides, and volatile on traffic management for those with cars day a week. You’ll be surprised at all the organic compounds (VOCs), contributing and for institutionalized people, not on benefits. mightily to ground-level ozone and smog.60 non-institutionalized people without vehi- n Start an anti-idling policy in your town. Ozone and suspended particles induce and cles. New Orleans had only one-quarter the Redesigning Urban exacerbate respiratory ailments, a cost dis- number of buses needed to evacuate car-less proportionately borne by communities of residents during the Hurricane Katrina di- Transport: What Works color and lower income. saster. In the case of a mandatory evacua- Around the globe city planners and citi- tion order, 33% of Latinos, 27% of African zen activists are finding that a blend of rail, Back to the Hood Americans, and 23% of whites say that lack bus, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian pathways As US communities sprawled over decades of transportation would be an obstacle pre- offers the best set of options to provide past, today’s transportation quagmires venting them from evacuating, according to mobility, cost effectiveness, and a healthy were largely unforeseen. Yet substantially the US National Center for Disaster Pre- and pleasing environment. modifying this live/work arrangement is paredness. Optimally, rail provides the hub with essential. Changes at both the personal and bus lines intersecting. Bogotá’s highly suc- policy level become critical at this juncture, Idling Gets You Nowhere cessful bus rapid transit system, Trans- as communities cast a keen eye on eco- Idling damages our vehicle, our health, and Milenio, uses special express lanes to move sensitive development, and wise land-use our environment. It creates soot deposits people quickly through the city. This is planning. Individuals and families need to and water vapor which mixes with sulphur being replicated in other countries.66 Japan’s find ways to stem dependence on private oxide to become sulphuric acid in the crank- legendary bullet trains have carried billions automobiles, keep commutes short and/or case. Just 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel over the past 40 years without a single casu- work from home. Taxes at the pump can than restarting the engine—idling burns alty. Europe has 4,745 miles of high-speed become revenue streams for public trans- almost one gallon of gas per hour.62 Engines trains. Carbon dioxide emissions from high- portation systems—buses, light rail, cycling emit three times the amount of exhaust speed trains are a third those of cars and a paths, walkable , and the like. gases when idling than when pulling the quarter those of airplanes. If the grid were For intercity travel, the future belongs to vehicle. The most effective way to warm up powered by green electricity, emissions from high-speed trains. a car in cold weather is to drive at a moder- trains would be zero. A train averaging 170 Taking public transit, ridesharing, bik- ate speed.63 US drivers waste 2 billion gal- miles per hour could travel North America ing, or walking may mean it will take us a lons of fuel each year idling.64 For European coast to coast in 15 hours, even with stops little longer. What’s more important, small drivers, idling is viewed as irresponsible and in major cities along the way.67 inconveniences and a few extra minutes per politically incorrect behavior.65 Cities such as London, , day to reach our destination, or exacerbated Stockholm, and Milan are reducing traf- global warming bringing irreversible change What You Can Do fic congestion and air pollution by charg- for this and all future generations? There are ing cars to enter the city. In 2003, London many benefits to a lifestyle shift, including n Be aware of when your car will be idling began charging $10 per car entering the keeping more money local, spending less of and turn off the engine, then restart rather city center between 7 am and 6:30 pm— our lives on gridlocked highways, saving the than idle. this immediately reduced vehicles, and Earth, and much more yet to be realized. n Drive less! Start going car-free just one within a year, bus ridership increased 38%, Sustainable Transportation Plan- ning Recommendations: “Smart growth” includes linking the transit system to a network of walkable/bikeable streets, mixed-use retail, residential areas which include affordable housing, and workplaces, according to the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. It provides improved quality of life and reduced household transporta- tion expenses. Any region benefits with stable mixed-income neighborhoods that reduce environmental impacts and provide alternatives to traffic congestion. Transportation for All: A new Unit- ed for a Fair Economy61 report finds that transportation is the second biggest expense for American households, after housing, according to the Surface Transportation Claus Wawrzinek Policy Project. Evacuation planning focuses ICE (Intercity Express) trains are fast, safe, reliable, comfortable and low emission.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 59 far establishing “complete street” policies in An extensive body of technology and fuels 14 states and 40 metropolitan areas.71 already exists to enable cleaner and afford- Greener Trucking: Since it will be able vehicles to be manufactured today. That with us for a while longer, trucking needs such vehicles are not on the road was the to be cleaned up. Heavy-duty, long-haul impetus for Union of Concerned Scientists truck smokestacks emit 6% of the United engineers to create the Vanguard—a safe, States’ carbon dioxide each year. Doubling fuel-efficient minivan that meets Califor- the efficiency of trucks from 6.5 miles per nia’s (and 14 other states’) global warming gallon to 12.3 mpg could save 3.8 billion emission standards by using existing tech- gallons of diesel annually. According to the nologies and fuels. “Many cars and trucks Rocky Mountain Institute, this could be on the road today already use at least one done with readily available technology, in- of the climate-friendly components used cluding auxiliary power units, more efficient in the Vanguard, but none come close to wide-base tires, and improved aerodynamic matching the potential benefits of the full mechanisms such as trailer side skirts.72 And Vanguard package.”76 no idling! Hypercar Equals Hypercool: The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has Hybrids and Electric designed a prototype Hypercar whose syn- ergy of ultra-light composite materials,

Safe Routes to School National Partnership Vehicles: The Best for Now low-drag design, hybrid-electric drive, and The Obama administration has mandated efficient accessories achieve a 3- to 5-fold traffic delays decreased 30%. In July 2005, an increase in passenger vehicle fuel econo- improvement in fuel economy along with the fee was raised to $16. Overall, traffic has my to a fleet average of 35.5 mpg by 2016. equal or better performance, safety, ame- declined 36% and bicycle usage has in- Each gallon of gasoline emits an amazing nities, and affordability. RMI has placed creased 50%.68 24 to 28 pounds of carbon dioxide.73 Un- the Hypercar in the public domain so that According to Earth Policy News, til more sustainable transportation systems any car company can utilize the technolo- Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, elected in 2001, are created, alternative vehicles are essential gies they have developed. Their for-profit faced some of Europe’s worst traffic con- to slow global warming and to serve as a venture, Fiberforge, continues to research gestion and air pollution. He decided that bridge: necessary but not sufficient. While advanced-composite structures to further traffic would have to be cut 40% by 2020. ample information on hybrid and hydrogen lower costs.77 The first step was investing in better transit fuel-cell vehicles is readily available in the A Word About Biofuels: Produc- for outlying regions. Next express lanes for mainstream press, for depth of understand- tion of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) is buses and bicycles were created on thor- ing look to The Union of Concerned Sci- growing worldwide, but this much-touted oughfares, decreasing lanes for cars. The entists’ website comparing hybrid vehicles technology is loaded with problems. 1) third step was establishing a city bicycle (www.hybridcenter.org). Small Neighbor- Net energy gain is minimal. 2) Its de- rental program that by the end of 2007 hood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) are gaining mand is causing too much conversion of had 20,600 bikes at 1,450 docking stations. in popularity for off-road use in airports, native forests in Southeast Asia and In- Accessed by credit card at inexpensive daily, college campuses, retirement communities, donesia to palm oil plantations. 3) Its de- monthly, or annual rates, the bicycles are and other areas.74 Looking for the most ef- mand is causing increased mono-cropping immensely popular. Paris is well on its way ficient car to buy? Check out the American of corn, often genetically modified, to the to its 2020 goal.69 Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s exclusion of diversity of local food crops In Copenhagen, each day 500,000 Green Book (www.greenercars.com). people bicycle commute to work or school. Cleaner cars should come from cleaner The Danish are now investing $47 million plants. Toyota is focusing on building mod- in building “bicycle superhighways” extend- el manufacturing facilities. Their Tsutsumi ing far into the . Elements include plant has reduced carbon dioxide emis- smooth, even surfaces free of leaves, ice, sions by 50% compared to 1990 levels. Its and snow with sufficient width for passing, Thailand plant is solar-operated, recycles “service stations” with air and tools along wastewater, and has contributed no waste the routes, and “Green Wave” sections with to landfill since the beginning of operation timed stoplights (cycle 12 miles per hour in 2007.75 and you hit green lights all the way).70 Commercial car companies aren’t on The US lags far behind in diversify- their own to come up with new technolo- ing transit options. The National Complete gies. They can get a little help from our

Streets Coalition lobbies for streets that are friends, the Union of Concerned Scien- Cityhop New Zealand also friendly to pedestrians and bicycles, so tists and the Rocky Mountain Institute. Cityhop New Zealand’s plug-in car share service

60 COMMUNITY Author and global activist, Vandana Shi- va, sheds light on the increasing demand for What You Can Do biofuel production this way: When global commodities double in price due to biod- Sierra Club’s Green Transportation initiative promotes actions everyone can take to iesel demand, those in the industrial world reduce their carbon footprint.80 The good news is that you can takemany small steps on may cheer for reduced energy costs and a daily basis to do your part in the fight against global warming: lowered GHGs, but the other half of the n DRIVE LESS! world which depends on these crops for basic sustenance, those who previously only n If you’re in the market for a new car, buy the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your ate two meals a day, suddenly can only af- needs. Better fuel economy = a better environment. ford to eat one meal a day! Many countries n Check tire pressure frequently and keep tires fully inflated; this can improve your fuel have experienced food riots due to these in- economy up to 10%. Also keep your car tuned up. ternational energy dynamics.78 n Use a GPS—using a navigational device can reduce miles traveled up to 16%. Counting on biofuels to keep piloting a massive fleet of combustion engine-driven n Sell your car and join a car sharing company instead. See www.carsharing.net. private vehicles is an attempt to hang on to n Find out your car’s optimal speed for fuel economy and set your cruise control. obsolete paradigms. Nonetheless, mandates for blending biofuels into vehicle fuels have n Choose an efficient route for your errand-running and combine errands to avoid mul- been enacted in a number of states, prov- tiple short trips. If you plan to make multiple stops at a shopping center, park your car in the middle and walk to your individual destinations. Cars emit more pollution in the inces, and nations. Most mandates require first mile than the next 10 miles! blending 10–15% ethanol with gasoline, or blending 2–5% biodiesel with diesel fuel. n Roughly 44% of car trips taken are fewer than 2 miles. Burn calories instead of gaso- line—walk or ride a bike. Commit to taking public transit, walking, or riding a bicycle at Fuel tax exemptions and/or production least one day a week. subsidies have become important biofuels policies in more than a dozen countries, n Telecommute a number of days per week. which increases their production. See Part n Carpool with co-workers. If a daily carpool won’t work, try one or two days per week. Three, Energy, for more on biofuels. n If you have two cars and are taking a trip, choose the more fuel-efficient car. Ridesharing n If you’re driving a standard, save gasoline by downshifting instead of braking in Ridesharing is gaining momentum in com- neutral. panies and on campuses. In 1973, Ecol- n Don’t drive with windows down at high speeds—it creates drag and reduces your fuel ogy & Environment, Inc. (E&E) created a economy. Web-based alternative transportation pro- n x gram for its 20-plus offices around the Actively support public transporation in your community! Increased use and demand for public transportation can improve the level of service. country. GreenRide (www.greenride.com) now coordinates ridesharing, rail, and bicy- n After the headlines, the second most widely read part of the newspaper is the Letters cle routes across the United States, Canada, to the Editor. Write, write, write. Raise awareness on some aspect of the transporta- tion issue; perhaps include a short vignette from your life. and Europe. It has saved 31 million miles of driving and prevented 13,000 tons of car- n Express yourself to your legislators! Keep a page in your schedule book where you bon dioxide emissions. write the names, phones, emails, and addresses of state and national officials and your local Board of Supervisors. It takes only a couple of minutes to register your views. The University of Florida in Gaines- ville—the nation’s fifth-largest campus— n Contact your federal legislators to allocate more funds for public transit than for high- was the first American university to way construction. implement the program. They initially ex- n Express your support for raising taxes on gasoline as a stimulus to get people into perimented with their 17,000 employees, alternative modes of transportation. then extended it to their 46,000 students. n Advocate and work for meeting the needs of all strata of society, addressing issues of GreenRide matches not only student class income, age, and disability disparity. schedules, but also weekend and vacation destinations. The service includes an on- n If your public transit system excludes bikes from rush hour, write or call and ask them line calculator that determines how much to accommodate bicycles. This is when the most automobile trips and pollution could be saved! money and pollution is saved. GreenRide usage saved the university $1 million—the n The Surface Transportation Policy Project promotes “location-efficient incentives,” amount a new parking structure would have targeted subsidies to employers that locate in transit-accessible places, and sprawl- prevention measures so that people who cannot afford (or choose not to own) a car cost—demonstrating clearly that making can still access jobs.81 sustainable choices can be both good for the planet and financially prudent.79

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 61 Th e Ea r t h Ch a r t e r

he Earth Charter is one of the most unique documents in human history, created through a series of consensus-based dialogues, with thousands of people participating from all over the world, over the Tcourse of more than a decade. Now endorsed by more than 4,500 organizations and governments, it inspires shared responsibility “to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.” The Earth Charter Initiative promotes living by example, with the help of The Action Guidelines, which suggest that people focus on root causes of problems and be resourceful. Earth Charter Principles

I. Respect and Care for the Community of Life 1. Respect Earth and life in all its diversity. 2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love. 3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful. 4. Secure Earth’s bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

II. Ecological Integrity 5. Protect and restore the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life. 6. Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply a precautionary approach. 7. Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth’s regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being. 8. Advance the study of ecological sustainability and promote the open exchange and wide application of the knowledge acquired.

III. Social and Economic Justice 9. Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative. 10. Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities. 11. Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner. 12. Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity.

IV. DEMOCRACY, NONVIOLENCE, and PEACE 13. Strengthen democratic institutions at all levels, and provide transparency and accountability in governance, inclusive participation in decision-making, and access to justice. 14. Integrate into formal education and lifelong learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life. 15. Treat all living beings with respect and consideration. 16. Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence, and peace.

“Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.” —Earth Charter conclusion Left: Global Exchange, Middle and Right: Art Explosion

62 COMMUNITY Jim Embry Part Seven GETTING PERSONAL Our Choices Matter: Creating a Sustainable Future with Our Daily Actions

The time of the lone wolf is over. Fo o d Gather yourselves! We Are What We Eat ew personal choices and acts bring us closer to the core of sustainability than locally Banish the word “struggle” sourcing our own nutritious food supply. This topic is wide-ranging in both scope from your attitude F and implication, from personal health and well-being to the planetary consequences of large-scale agriculture. How we feed ourselves is linked to all planetary sustainability is- and your vocabulary. sues: pollution, population, transportation, energy, social justice, economics, animal welfare, the risks of genetically modified organisms, and more. All that we do now Mass-production techniques developed over the last 50+ years are highly polluting, energy-intensive, delocalized, and hazardous in many ways—from toxic inputs (pesticides, must be done in a herbicides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers) and fossil-fueled global shipping, to a loss of biodiversity resulting from vast . Processed foods are far less nutritious than sacred manner and fresh foods. Consumption of “dead” food in plastic packages adds another aspect of discon- in celebration. nection between human life and the life-generating Earth. (And we’re eating the breakdown products of that plastic.) Industrial agriculture degrades the very soil it depends upon for We are the ones nourishment. We need to move away from this model toward biologically informed ap- proaches that keep yields high while reducing environmental harm. we’ve been waiting for. With each dollar spent on food and drink, we vote for the system that produces what —The Elders we buy, whether it benefits our body and the planet or wreaks havoc on both. So, by learn- ing about what we eat, we can learn to “vote” consciously for a life-nourishing food system. Oraibi, Arizona, Hopi Nation Over the past few decades, books such as Diet for a Small Planet (Frances Moore Lappé),

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 63 Diet for a New America ( John Robbins), Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser), The Omnivore’s Th e Six Pr i n c i p l e s Dilemma and In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan), to name only a few, have raised awareness o f Fo o d So v e r e i g n t y about the personal and planetary impact of each food choice we make. Yes, a little short-term convenience will be sacrificed when you eat consciously. But 1. Food for People: All individuals, peo- once you realize the true cost, cheap food no longer seems inexpensive, and the investment ples, and communities have the right in organics and your body becomes less an indulgence and more a form of personal and to sufficient, healthy, and culturally planetary health insurance. appropriate food. Food is not just an- A World of Food and a World of Want other commodity for international agri- business. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes—one child every five seconds. An estimated 963 million people worldwide are hungry, and more are chronically 2. Food Providers: All are valued who 1 malnourished. cultivate, grow, harvest, and process It has long been said that global food production is sufficient to meet the current food. Policies, actions, and programs needs of all people; getting it distributed is the problem. With human population growing that undervalue them, threaten their exponentially and effective food strategies not yet in place, world hunger, malnourishment, livelihoods, and eliminate them are and starvation are sure to be exacerbated. The number of the world’s hungry is projected to rejected. reach 1.2 billion by 2025.2 The Food Sovereignty movement champions the rights of people, communities, and 3. Localized Food Systems: Food pro- countries to define their own agricultural and other land-use policies in ways that are appro- viders and consumers resist governance priate to their unique circumstances (see Food Sovereignty sidebar). It stresses the universal structures, agreements, and practices right to sufficient, healthy food, and rejects the idea that food is another commodity to be that depend on and promote unsustain- exploited. It’s a proactive step for a better world and local security, and against purely profit- able and inequitable international trade seeking entities with little or no stake in an area or community’s long-term quality of life. and give power to remote and unac- countable corporations. What’s the Trouble with my Packaged Food? 4. Local Decisions: Food sovereignty On the average, US produce is shipped 1500 miles3—more if you add produce imported seeks territory, land, grazing, water, from other countries and continents. Nutritional value decreases with every day of transport seeds, livestock, and fish populations and storage. Fossil fuels used in fertilizers, fertilizer production, and food transport contrib- for local food providers. These resourc- ute to global warming and pollution. The luxury of our purchase of internationally produced es ought to be used and shared in so- food is only possible due to artificially low energy prices that externalize the environmental cially and environmentally sustainable cost of a wasteful food system. Clearly the less transportation used to bring food to market, ways that conserve diversity. Privatiza- the better for the Earth—and the less packaging, the less waste. tion of natural resources through laws, Modern industrial agriculture is polluting and unsustainable, and has a highly det- commercial contracts, and intellectual rimental environmental impact. In addition to more obvious effects of toxic inputs and property rights regimes is rejected. byproducts, “about 60% of our country’s land area is devoted either to crops or to livestock grazing, often greatly diminishing its ability to support natural wildlife. [Food is] second 5. Knowledge and Skill-Building: Build 4 perhaps only to transportation as a source of environmental problems.” on the skills and local knowledge of food Factory farming has become a public health issue, as it’s a leading cause of the devel- providers and their local organizations, 5 opment of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Animal waste, pesticides, and fertilizers and reject technologies that undermine, contain nitrates, which contaminate surface and ground waters and have been linked to threaten, or contaminate them, e.g., various ailments and birth defects. Being a vegetarian is a major act of conservation. genetic engineering. And let’s not forget nutrition. In contrast to industrial food, organic produce can con- tain at least twice the nutritional mineral content of regular supermarket produce by weight 6. Working with Nature: Use the con- and far less dangerous pesticide and heavy-metal residue. One must definitely eat organic tributions of nature in diverse, low foods or better (such as homegrown or wild foods) in order to get enough quality minerals external-input, agro-ecological produc- 6 in the diet. tion and harvesting methods that maxi- mize the contribution of ecosystems Thinking It Through and improve resilience and adaptation, It’s time to fundamentally reevaluate our food systems in light of energy efficiency and especially in the face of climate change. environmental impact. Encourage your elected officials to act in support of this change. Rejected are methods that harm benefi- Cheap energy and agricultural subsidies facilitate a type of agribusiness-oriented mass food cial ecosystem functions and/or depend system that weakens communities and family farms, creates mountains of solid waste, and on energy-intensive monocultures and funnels wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people and corporations. The overhaul livestock factories, destructive fishing of agriculture and food policy at the federal level can complement health care reform by practices, and other damaging produc- encouraging better nutrition to prevent disease, and be part of the effort to combat climate tion methods. change as well.

64 GETTING PERSONAL Instead of massive subsidies—such receive shares in the farm’s harvests, often Gr e e n h o u s e Ga s e s as the $7.5 billion paid to farmers in 2008 on a weekly basis. To find your local farmers’ p e r US Fo o d Se c t o r a for growing grains and soybeans, result- market, CSA, or food coop, go to the Local ing in an abundance of corn and soy that Red Meat 30% Harvest website: www.localharvest.org. provide cheap feed for livestock and inex- pensive food ingredients like high-fructose Dairy Products 18% Seek Out Fair Trade Products corn syrup7—farm policy and federal dol- For commodities such as spices, coffee, Cereals/Carbs 11% lars should encourage planting more diverse chocolate, and bananas, make an effort to crops, reward conservation efforts, and pro- find “fair trade” products. This will help Fruit/Vegetables 11% mote local food networks, not industrial ensure that our taste for the exotic reduces agriculture. harm on the world’s farmers and the planet. Chicken/Fish/Eggs 10% Human culture historically has revolved For more information, check out Fair Trade around agriculture. Management, use, and Other 9% Federation, www.fairtradefederation.org, or conservation of useful flora, including wild Global Exchange, www.globalexchange.org. food plants, are important features of non- Beverages 6% industrial agricultural societies.8 Until rela- Eat Less Meat tively recently, organic agriculture had been Oils/Sweets/Condiments 5% How do our food choices affect the cli- the only form of agriculture practiced on the mate? Animal agriculture is directly or planet, but the last century saw technology partially responsible for many of the override traditional methods of food pro- world’s most serious environmental duction in favor of petroleum-based fertil- Buy Local problems, including global warming, de- izers and genetic modification. It is crucial Local food is fresher and tastes better. It forestation, air and and that science incorporate traditional knowl- aligns us with the seasons, and a sense of species extinction. The United Nations edge, put farming back in balance with the place. Farmers’ markets are a good option for Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Earth, and reverse the trend in small farm- buying locally grown food, as are Commu- recently released 400-page scientific study land losses. nity Supported Agriculture farms (CSAs). called “Livestock’s Long Shadow” reveals Typically, CSA members or “subscribers” that animal agriculture causes more green- WHAT YOU CAN DO pledge in advance to cover the anticipated house gas emissions than all of the world’s Go Organic costs of the farm operation. In return, they transportation combined.9 Two senior Would you deliberately dump poison on your food? Would you purposely spray farm workers with toxic chemicals? Would you intentionally eradicate butterflies, or kill millions of birds annually? When we buy conventionally grown food, we are contrib- uting to all of these. Foods carrying the “or- ganic” label too pricey? Try buying organic a portion of the time, and reach for natural, unprocessed food for the rest. Eat lower on the food chain. Buy locally grown products. Join an organic foods coop. Slow Food USA and Organic Consumers both offer a wide Claus Wawrzinek range of topics on organic food. A community farmers’ market in Portugal

De f i n i n g Su st a i n a b l e Ag r i c u l t u r e

Organic agriculture is farming without synthetic chemicals. A pioneer of the , Lady Eve Balfour, provides a useful description: The criteria for a sustainable agriculture can be summed up in one word—perma- nence—which means adopting techniques that maintain soil fertility indefinitely, that utilize, as far as possible, only renewable resources; that do not grossly pollute the environment; and that foster biological activity within the soil and throughout the cycles of all the involved food chains.

Living sustainably means, in writer Derrick Jensen’s elegantly simple definition, that whatever we do, we can do indefinitely.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 65 advisors to the World Bank on climate is- change, and the most accessible whole sues published a major new study in the system is our self, our home, our garden, Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Worldwatch dem- and our relationships. By re-skilling and onstrating that livestock actually contributes reclaiming our power through meeting up to 51% of global GHGs.10 Over half the basic needs, we reconnect and renew ancient total amount of fresh water consumed in cycles of sowing, harvesting, and process- the US goes to irrigate land growing feed ing food together—composting, grafting, for livestock and to water them.11 catching the rain, using greywater. Switching just two meals a week to a Every ounce of the needs we meet lo- plant-based diet is ecologically better than cally with our hearts, hands, and neighborly buying all locally sourced food, according to relations grows our power and connection. a study in the journal Environmental Science It grows the fertility of an emerging culture and Technology.12 The American Dietetic of stewardship, celebration, and resilience— Association, the leading nutrition authority a regenerative culture that treasures every in the United States, affirms that “appropri- drop of water, scrap of carbon, and act of liv- ately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, ing by assembling communities that catch, nutritionally adequate, and provide health store, and sustain more life nutrient then benefits in the prevention and treatment they use. This is what Sharif Abdullah calls of certain diseases.”13 The farming of ani- becoming “menders” rather than “takers.” mals also causes great suffering. Reducing Being the Change or eliminating the consumption of ani- mals and animal products is one of the most in Your Own Yard effective ways any individual can heal the Where to start is where you are, with environment, help animals, and live a lon- whom and what inspires you. Observe, Istock Photo/Amanda Rohde ger, healthier life. interact, and ask: “How do we grow a regenerative culture, a permanent culture Instead of a resource-hungry lawn, Pe r m a c u l t u r e of care?” This is the fundamental question why not a patch of strawberries, a veggie of permaculture, an ethics- and principles- garden edged by chives and culinary herbs? hen we mimic the wisdom of centered system for sustainable living and How about a fedge—a food hedge made nature’s systems and turn our land use. Adopting the permaculture model with berries, artichokes, or dwarf fruit trees? W homes, landscapes, and com- for living is an empowering response to Rather than reading about collapsing critter munities into productive, resilient ecosys- our environmental and social crises, cen- populations, why not create gardens full of tems, we not only rebuild self-reliance, we tered in three ethical principles: earth care, plants that feed beneficial insects and birds address enormous problems such as climate people care, and setting limits to consump- while providing pest control? Need privacy? crisis, topsoil loss, drought, and the collapse tion to ensure fair share. Grounded in self- Try a living fence of apples, citrus, pineap- of fish, bee, and songbird populations. sufficiency, permaculture is being applied ple, guavas, or olives. Care for some edible Permaculture is about having a planet- from urban yards to intentional communi- air conditioning and cheaper bills? Plant wide circle of concern while focusing on ties, and from 40,000-person Kosovo refugee deciduous fruit trees and vines that shade our areas of influence. Yes, we need systemic camps to the Jordan desert. the summer sun, but let winter light in.

Is Seafood a Good Choice?

Oceans are becoming dangerously depleted due to commercial fishing operations, which, in addition to their intended catch, haul in and throw away enormous amounts of sea life as “bycatch.” Fish farming operations are often toxic and unsustainable. For example, native Pacific Northwest salmon’s status is further impacted by the parasites resulting from commercial salmon farming.

Helene York, foundation director for the Bon Appetit Management Company, a food service group that provides 80 million meals a year based on a low-carbon diet, recommends clams, mussels, and oysters, which require “practically zero” energy to farm. Other good choices are herbivorous fish, like tilapia and catfish; and species low on the food chain, such as mackerel, herring, and sardines.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium supports responsible seafood choices and has excellent literature on this.b

66 GETTING PERSONAL Question: Who is #1 in Vertical gardening beautifies habitat ethers), which are found to be doubling in while supplying food. Grapes, hops, runner Environmental Leadership human tissue every three to five years. These beans, and are just a few multi-ben- in the World? carcinogenic substances can cause birth eficial vining plants. Container gardening US chemical lobbyists claim that re- defects and hormone disruption (thyroid, reclaims unused space. Try dropping the moving hazardous chemicals would have estrogen, testosterone), as well as irrevers- one-crop-per-spot paradigm and grow a dire economic consequences. Yet European ible learning and behavioral effects, includ- 21 food forest of purposeful plants from can- goods now live up to strict toxin-free codes, ing hyperactivity. opy to root zone, using trees, shrubs, herbs, having endured no such economic catas- Since the Consumer Product Safety roots, and vines. Rather than throw food trophe. In Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Commission mandates that non-cotton scraps and yard waste away and buy fertiliz- Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for fabrics for children’s pajamas must pass a fire ers, try composting to enrich soil life, retain American Power, award-winning investiga- retardancy test after 50 washings, PBDEs 22 water, and produce strong, healthy plants. tive journalist Mark Schapiro reveals how are widely utilized. So, if you don’t want Explore, experiment, and just keep on US companies have reconfigured products toxic chemicals next to your baby’s skin, buy planting. Together we are growing com- without toxic chemicals for the European snug-fitting cotton shirts and pants instead munity self-reliance rooted in ecological market while continuing to manufacture of pajamas for sleepwear. resilience. We are nourishing our land as the same products in the United States with Avoid contact with PBDEs by pur- we transform waste into fertility. It’s the toxins. chasing furniture without foam, and cov- smell, touch, and taste of the world being Answer: the EU. The European Union ered by naturally fire-resistant fabrics, born, and it’s right out your door. As Frit- has adopted the precautionary principle to such as cotton or wool. The National Green jof Capra writes, nature sustains the web of safeguard its 450 million citizens. This prin- Pages, published yearly by Green America, life by creating and nurturing communities. ciple assumes possible health and/or envi- lists companies offering nearly every prod- Life is about relationships, and ecosystems ronmental risks instead of waiting for them uct and service needed for a healthy life. 14 are communities. to arise. Companies must be able to dem- Another annual compilation of natural onstrate that a product is safe. Every three home products is published by Natural Ho m e Sw e e t months a scientific committee convenes to Home magazine. assess substances, posting on the EU web- Everyday Green Practices No n t o x i c Ho m e site a growing inventory of several hundred ingredients that are considered potentially While many organizations and websites Creating a Haven in a harmful. It is time that we demand that the Hazardous World offer suggestions, the Environmental Work- precautionary principle be the standard in ing Group has particularly succinct Guide ou may have an uneasy suspicion the US, as it is in Europe. Sheets for citizens to make informed choic- about how toxic and polluted our The cosmetics industry is a flagrant es. Some highlights from EWG: Y environment is—it’s worse than example of a double standard. In 2005 the Choose better body-care products. you thought. Each year, astonishingly, 5,000 EU Cosmetics Directive banned the use of “Gentle” or “natural” or “nontoxic” have new chemicals enter the marketplace.15 The chemicals determined to be carcinogens, no legal definition or guidelines. Read the only requirement for approval is for the mutagens, or reproductive toxins. Proctor ingredients. Avoid triclosan, BHA, fra- company to send the Environmental Pro- & Gamble redesigned their products for grance, and oxybenzone. tection Agency (EPA) the structure of the Europe but fought potential US regula- Pick plastics carefully. Avoid clear, chemical. Most have never been tested for tions for two years, until conceding in 2007 hard plastic bottles marked with a “7” or their effects on human and animal health, to make all cosmetics to EU standards. “PC” and toys marked with a “3” or “PVC.” much less tested in the combinations that But a great many US firms still use toxic Give your baby a frozen washcloth instead occur in the real world, which can increase ingredients and hormone disrupters. The of vinyl teethers. their potency and toxicity 10 to 20 times.16 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics encourages Filter your tap water. Use a reverse Newborns today begin life with almost companies to sign their Compact for Safe osmosis system or carbon filter pitcher. 300 chemicals in their bodies.17 Likely life- Cosmetics, a pledge to replace hazardous Don’t drink bottled water. time health risks are cancers, allergies, chemicals with safe alternatives within three Cook with cast iron or stainless steel asthma, skin disorders, and hormonal dis- years of signing. only. Nonstick can emit toxic fumes and ruption. According to the EPA, 40% of US leach into your food. rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are so con- Flame Retardants: Use a HEPA-filter vacuum. Kids taminated that they are unfit for humans spend a lot of time on the floor, and house- 18 From Furniture to fish in, swim in, or drink. It is expected to Children’s Pajamas hold dust can contain contaminants like that 1 in 3 of us will have cancer in our life- lead and fire retardants. time.19 Cancer’s major contributor is expo- One of the disruptive and unhealthy chem- Get your iodine. Use iodized salt. sure to the 85,000 chemicals in use today, icals that we regularly come in contact with Iodine buffers against chemicals like per- more than 90% of which have never been through our skin is flame retardants made chlorate, which can disrupt your thyroid tested for effects on human health.20 from PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl system and affect brain development.

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 67 Im p r o v i n g App l i a n c e s t o Sa v e Wa t e r a n d En e r g y c

Clothes dryers, refrigerators, and water heaters are the top three energy expenses in US homes, according to the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Energy Saver tips. So it’s worth doing the math to figure out if a new appliance will save you energy and money over the long haul. Many have become more efficient in recent years, so hanging on to an old machine isn’t always the eco-answer!

The Water Institute offers simple technologies for heating water with the sun.

Don’t Flush the Future!

Toilets bearing the EPA’s new WaterSense label use at least 20% less water than standard 1.6-gallon toilets. WaterSense helps Americans make smart decisions regarding water use and water-using products, in part through partnerships with manufacturers. WaterSense offers consumers a simple way to choose products that use less water without sacrificing quality or performance. EPA’s Energy Star program offers energy-efficiency product and practices guidance.

Do not heat plastics in a microwave. require very little water. Consider replacing load on sewer systems, and maintain eco- This causes chemicals to leach from plastic turf grass with native plants, shrubs, and wise landscapes. Greywater may contain into food and beverages. trees that generally grow well without a lot detergents with nitrogen or phosphorus, Avoid anything plastic for infants of watering, and contribute to biodiversity which are plant nutrients, resulting in more and young children. not chemical pollution. vigorous vegetation. However, you’ll want House cleaning: The Berkeley Ecol- Another option for sustainable land- to research ways to minimize sodium and ogy Center offers a Fact Sheet of Alterna- scaping is found in the Food Not Lawns chloride, which can be harmful to some tive Cleaning Recipes. You’ll notice that movement: “Besides global inequity and sensitive species. Energy is also saved, there- nontoxic alternatives are less expensive. agricultural chemical dependence, some by lowering your carbon footprint. Grey- Basic nontoxic ingredients: Baking soda, elements of this culture include the ero- water systems are site-specific. Start your vegetable-based liquid soaps, white vinegar, sion and loss of our topsoil at the rate of 38 online research with Greywater Guerillas. borax, cornmeal, citrus-based cleaners, lem- tons per acre per year and the pollution and ons, toothpaste, salt, hydrogen peroxide. salinification of whole watersheds by fertil- All-Purpose Cleaner izers and industrial waste, leading to the 1 quart warm water desertification of once fertile land and mass 1 teaspoon liquid soap species extinction. This is also facilitated by 1 teaspoon borax the 2,500,000 tons of pesticides used every 1/4 cup undiluted white vinegar year. We are losing diversity both in nature Mix ingredients and store in a spray and in our agricultural systems, as repre- bottle. Use for cleaning countertops, floors, sented by a 75% decrease in crop diversity walls, carpets, and upholstery. in the last hundred years.”23 Humans have disrupted an enormous Rethink Landscaping amount of natural habitat, causing a result- In water-stressed areas like California and ing decline in wildlife. “Habitat gardening,” the US Southwest, artificially green lawns which includes the use of native plants in have become an unaffordable luxury on landscaping, helps offset this damage by practically every level. Many locales are providing natural food and shelter for birds, already formulating water restrictions, new butterflies, and other creatures. The Nation- pricing structures, and laws to limit water al Wildlife Federation offers information use for what has come to be seen as irre- on backyard habitat gardening. sponsible landscaping. The new “green” for landscaping is back to a native ecosystem! Utilize Greywater Save water, labor, and fertilizers, and pesti- A good portion of household wastewater, cides by choosing landscaping plants adapt- called “greywater,” can be reused in land- ed to your area. Drought-tolerant plants scaping. Recycling greywater helps to con-

are ideal— is using plants that serve water, lower water bills, reduce the June Holte

68 GETTING PERSONAL Th e Ec o l o g i c a l Fo o tp r i n t Squaring humanity’s demand with nature’s supply

ust like any company, nature has a tality and other factors—can have very dif- Much of our Ecological Footprint, budget—it can only produce so many ferent levels of resource consumption. The however, is the result of infrastructure deci- Jresources and absorb so much waste average resident of the European Union, sions made by business leaders and policy- every year. The problem is, our demand for for example, has a Footprint half that of the makers, in some cases decades ago: deci- nature’s services is exceeding what it can average American (although still well above sions such as investing in highways rather provide. what is replicable worldwide.) than public transportation, and suburban Using a resource accounting tool Why is this the case? The answer lies growth over concentrated, urban devel- called the Ecological Footprint, we can partially in the way our societies are struc- opment. For that reason, one of the most measure the land area it takes to produce tured. Consider Italy, which has a per capita important individual actions we can do is the resources a population consumes and Footprint of 12 acres. hold our business and government leaders absorb its CO2 emissions. Ecological Foot- Most people live in compact cities, accountable to make decisions that will print accounting enables us to compare where they can walk to work, school and help balance our budget with nature, not human demand against —what shopping, or use extensive bus and train further aggravate the debt. nature can supply—in the same way that systems. Public transportation is easily You can determine your personal eco- financial accounting tracks expenditures accessible, and is often more convenient logical footprint and what actions you can against income. And the current ledgers are and cheaper than driving. People get much take to reduce it at www.footprintnetwork. sobering. of their food from local markets and food org/calculator. According to Global Footprint Net- producers, and eat less packaged and fro- work, a research institution that calculates zen food. Also, by living in more compact The Way Forward the Ecological Footprint for human- cities with less housing surface per person, While the realities we face are indeed ity and 150 nations, globally, we demand the houses consume less energy for cooling troubling, there are key opportunities to the resources it would take 1.4 planets to and heating. reverse current trends. On a community renewably produce. Put another way, it In the US, some of the Ecological level, creating resource-efficient cities and takes about 16 months for nature to pro- Footprint is related to individual choices we infrastructure, fostering best-practice green duce the biological resources humanity de- make that affect our resource consumption, technology and innovation, and making mands in one year. such as whether to walk, drive or ride the resource limits central to decision-making We maintain this ecological over- bus, whether we live in a multi-unit dwell- at all levels of leadership can begin to turn spending by liquidating the planet’s natu- ing or detached home, how much stuff we the tide. Human ingenuity has transformed ral resources. For example, we can cut trees buy, how much meat we consume and how the way we use nature. We must now put faster than they re-grow, and catch fish at a much of our diet is unprocessed and local. that talent toward another transformation: rate faster than they repopulate. While this Much of our footprint is determined by our creating a society that provides prosperity can be done for a short while, this ultimately daily choices and is completely within our and opportunity within the bounds of what leads to the depletion of resources on which control. the planet can provide. our livelihoods, and very lives, depend.

While globally we are demanding the 5 resources of 1.4 planets, some countries North America demand much more and some much less. Western Europe 4 Central and Eastern Europe In the US, the average person’s Ecological Latin America and Caribbean Footprint is 23 global acres, the equivalent Middle East and Central Asia of 17 football fields. Asia-Pacific 3 Africa At the other end of the spectrum are countries like Haiti, Afghanistan and Number of Earths (regenerable resources) Malawi with Ecological Footprints of less 2 What than 1.3 global acres per capita—in most we cases, too small to provide for the basic have 1 (one needs for food, housing and sanitation. Earth) Although high-income nations tend to be clustered at the high end of the Foot- 319 390 337 520 334 3,407 810 print scale, nations with similar living stan- dards—as measured by UN statistics on This chart shows both total footprint per capita and total population by region. longevity, income, literacy rate, child mor- The volume (both vertical and horizontal) represents the total footprint (Global Footprint Network, 2006).

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 69 restructuring the economy for shared distri- bution of the fruits of our economy. Consumption patterns are a function of lifestyle choices and political, economic, and sociocultural structures. A child born today in an industrialized country will pollute and consume more over his or her lifetime than 30 to 50 children born in developing countries.28 With judicious use of our purchasing power, we can shift these institutions and habits toward sustainability. The Center for a New American Dream of-

Creative Commons/Always Breaking fers a wide variety of tools for re-conceiving our cultural patterns of consumption and choosing sustainable practices. Th e Co n s u m pt i o n Co n u n d r u m A Culture of Simplicity et’s tell this one with an economy of requisite change in consumption patterns Voluntary simplicity is a movement based words: we in the West buy and throw lags. High-consumption nations must find on a new vision of progress: our ability to L away way too many things. Our wisdom and pleasure in simplicity, as op- live in balance, deriving a sense of fulfill- appetite for everything from sports cars to posed to acquisition; in the inner as op- ment from relationships and authentic liv- swordfish is driving climate change, extinc- posed to the outer; the ethereal as opposed ing. The focus is on developing talents and tion, and an inequitable economic system. the material. Embracing this truth may be passions rather than status and materialism, The widespread American assumption that the only way the real work can begin. placing high value on social issues and cre- consumption and growth is a healthy, sus- ation of a better society. As we move beyond tainable model is myopic and fallacious, not Consumer Spending a cultural obsession with trying to achieve to mention a root cause of environmental Can’t Save Us happiness through material possessions, we degradation. Commercialism and retail therapy become more and more unwilling to sacri- won’t save our economy, or our ecosys- fice quality of life, equality of opportunity, tem. As economist and “New Dreamer” and even our health for meaning and status Juliet Schor tells us, “The current decline in based on accumulation. spending is an effect of the recession, not Many people are working longer hours the cause.”26 The standard remedy of getting than ever and beginning to ask themselves: consumers or the government to spend more “Am I working to live or living to work?” (to “grow” our way out of recession) can no To pull back from this competitive, con- longer work because the planet is telling us, sumption-oriented lifestyle, try joining a loud and clear, than it can’t cope with busi- Simplicity Circle. ness as usual. Whatever government and Participants learn to look at the “It started when I bought the Hummer” consumers spend on needs to reflect that consumption-based patterns of their lives reality. and develop action-plans to help them Schor advises more sharing: job sharing, Collapse or change of this economic property and income re-distributing, and Wh a t ’s t h e st o r y w i t h model is 100% predictable. We simply can- sharing of access and know-how. “This time “Th e St o r y o f St u ff ”? not go on living this way. As a writer mused the economic pain needs to be assuaged by in Grist magazine, “Bitter climate truths deeper structural changes that re-introduce An Internet sensation, “The are fundamentally bitter cultural truths… fairness into our system. That’s not just Story of Stuff” is a concise Our version of life on Earth has come to moral, it’s also good economic sense.”27 look at our production and an end.”24 Opportunities for future spending consumption patterns, and the Rapidly growing energy and criti- include purchases that enhance and regen- global economy we are en- cal resources consumption is consistently erate the Earth and its inhabitants, busi- meshed in. The corresponding breaking records25 on this planet. The nesses that are truly sustainable, support of website lists NGOs working on Earth’s global ecosystem, upon which life nonprofit groups doing important work, the issues of extraction, pro- depends, is being stretched to the limit by and other aspects of the green economy. duction, distribution, consump- climbing consumption patterns. While But what is also necessary is moving toward tion, and disposal. Check it out! environmental, social, and other challenges voluntary simplicity—in other words, www.storyofstuff.com. are being addressed in innovative ways, a consuming only what is needed—and

70 GETTING PERSONAL consume less, work less, slow down, and Sp i r i t u a l i t y devote more time to their passions. Group members choose to simplify their lives by A Personal Compass for Today’s World streamlining daily habits, cutting consump- tion, carrying less debt, changing careers “In a real sense all life is inter-related. All persons are caught in an inescapable network of mutu- and/or spending more time with friends and ality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can family. An international listing of in-person never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.” Circles, as well as online Simplicity Study —Martin Luther King, Jr. Groups, is available on the Simple Living Network website, www.simpleliving.net. he times in which we live are per- When Going Within Means Going haps more challenging than many of Away: In the face of profound and fright-

WHAT YOU CAN DO T us are willing to admit. Increasingly ening change, people tend to contract people are becoming aware of the scope, spiritually and emotionally to stave off fear, Practical ways to lower your scale, and urgency of our global crisis, aware anger, loneliness, and grief. But this causes consumption and spare the of financial instability, terrorism, climate us to lose our connection with other hu- Earth change, the destruction of our natural world, man beings and with our natural world. and widespread social injustice. It’s natural It causes us to lose spiritual perspective, and n Power down! This includes shutting down that we would feel anxiety or despair, trying our capacity for empowering visions and your computer at work and at home. Also, to cope with what looks like chaos, sensing creative solutions. We begin to look outside wash your clothes in cold water. About our limits and our vulnerabilities. ourselves for fulfillment. We see this played 90% of the energy used for washing It’s when things get most difficult that out in addictions, rising school violence, clothes is for heating the water. Unplug we begin to ask existential questions: Is life suicides, and depression. All are states of (the TV and internet) and plug in (the com- an ordered system where good triumphs disconnection, isolation, and the feeling munity). and justice prevails, or a mere flip of a coin, that we do not belong to each other. n Consume less, waste less. Don’t drink roll of the dice, survival of the fittest? Not Make a Space for What’s Good in bottled water. Bring a reusable bag wher- having answers, either intuitively or by the World: These days we are living ina ever you go (not just the grocery store). faith, could certainly be considered a crisis sea of loneliness and separation. Many Excess bags add to the landfill and you of spirit. of us are acting out our anger and fear don’t need them. To be positively engaged in today’s because we have not embraced our grief. n Ditch the processed food, the energy it world, it helps to feel connected, worthy, We avoid feeling the painful issues and by takes to produce it, and its tons of packaging. and happy to be alive, and to know we are doing so inevitably cause more of the pain. n Make your own cleaning products (see not powerless. To know we are actively Yet, underneath all that, intuitively each of “Home Sweet Nontoxic Home”). making a contribution to the world, be it in us knows that life will survive. Our global n Pass up the fast food joint. our family, community, or civil society, gives crisis is not a reason to go unconscious and n Skip the franchised coffee conglomer- us a sense of hope and energy. disconnect, to spiritually cop out. Within ate and brew your own. Skip the store- bought cereal and make your own granola instead. n Become a vegetarian. n Grow some of your own food. This way you don’t have to buy it and it’s about as local as it gets. n Consider the “embodied energy” of every article you use and consume, meaning its cost to be made, stored, and carried to where you are. Get clarity on your wants vs. your needs. n Park your car and walk, and when neces- sary MARCH! n Change your lightbulbs…and then, change your paradigm. n Recycle your trash. n Talk to everyone about these issues. n Buy green, buy fair, buy local, buy used, and most importantly, buy less—voluntary

simplicity is the new cool. Connie Barlow

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 71 “The best way to tell whether we are moving in the direction of greater wellbeing is by listening to our inner messages of comfort or distress. Our highest evolutionary path is the one that generates the least resistance and the most joy.” —David Simon, M.D.

the nature of the sacred and spirit, of all life, Steps to Change from the Inside Out is the inherent ability to awaken toward life, toward harmony. If we look at Earth’s his- Asking powerful questions provide access n What are your most compelling goals and tory, this is what has happened repeatedly. wisdom. Here are a few to ask: purposes in your life? (from Stages of Life There is tremendous pressure to evolve, n What are you spending and being spent by James Fowler.) to awaken, just to be able to cope. To survive for? we must consciously choose to evolve, and to n What commands and receives your best The answers will help you move in the direc- change our beliefs and behaviors. The world time, your best energy? tion of your own transformation and spiritual is going through a crisis, but crisis births n To what or whom are you committed in fulfillment. Like all things, though, we don’t transformation. To be spiritually fulfilled life? In death? do this alone. Spiritual fulfillment is a two- requires transformation. As Gandhi said, n With whom or what group do you share fold path, the inner path of our own personal “If we want to remake the world, we must your most sacred and private hopes for your journey, and the outer path of compassion remake ourselves.” life, and for the lives of those you love? and caring for others. So what does being spiritually ful- filled mean? While spiritual leaders may and what we yearn for most is connection— of loneliness, anger, and grief, embrace the have somewhat different answers to what to ourselves, to each other, and to our world. feelings and transform that energy into spiritual fulfillment means, all agree that to To achieve these qualities on a deep level, strength, passion, and commitment; into survive as a species, compassion and inner we must commit to our own inner develop- a knowing that every life does matter and peace are crucial. We are solitary creatures ment. We must look closely at our feelings makes a difference.

“The environmental crisis is an outward manifestation of a crisis of mind and spirit. There could be no greater misconception of its meaning than toT believeh r e e itF toa be c econcernedts o f only“t h with e G endangeredr e a t T uwildlife, r n i n ghuman-made” ugliness, and pollution. These are part of it, but, more impor- tantly, the crisis is concerned with the kind of creatures we are and what we must become in order to survive.” “Reminded that ‘fear is excitement that has forgotten to breathe,’ we can see—Lynton distress K. as Caldwell, opportunity, author, professorthe seedbed of the future. Then, as countless men and women are doing in this time of Great Turning, we join hands in learning how the world self-heals.” —Joanna Macy Th r e e Fa c e ts o f “Th e Gr e a t Tu r n i n g ” Joanna Macy coined The Great Turning, as “the transition from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining “Remindedsociety,” with that “three ‘fear is simultaneous excitement that and has mutually forgotten reinforcing to breathe,’ dimensions”: we can see distress as opportunity, the seedbed of the future. Then, as countless men and women are doing in this time of Great Turning, we join • Holding Actions: the front-line, direct actions to stop or limit the immediate damage, hands in learning how the world self-heals.” —Joanna Macy as well as all political, legal, and legislative work; Joanna Macy coined The Great Turning, as “the transition from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining • Systems Change: solutions that address structural causes of the crises and offer society,” with “three simultaneous and mutually reinforcing dimensions”: alternative models; • Holding Actions: the front-line, direct actions to stop or limit the immediate damage, • Shift in Consciousness: a profound shift in our perception of reality, our values, our as well as all political, legal, and legislative work; attitudes, our goals. • Systems Change: solutions that address structural causes of the crises and offer As we engage “the essential adventure of our time,” Macy cautions that there is no guarantee that we will alternative models; make this transition in time for the survival of civilization or even of complex life systems. It is in the not knowing• Shift how in the Consciousness: future will turn a profoundout that we shift will in find our perceptionour passion, of whichreality, will our inform values, and our sustain us in striv- ing to bringattitudes, forth ourthe goals.Great Turning.

As“The we engage environmental “the essential crisis isadventure an outward of our manifestation time,” Macy ofcautions a crisis that of mindthere andis no spirit. guarantee There that could we bewill no makegreater this misconception transition in time of itsfor meaning the survival than of to civilization believe it or to even be concerned of complex only life withsystems. endangered It is in the wildlife, not knowinghuman-made how the ugliness, future willand turnpollution. out that These we arewill part find of our it, but,passion, more whichimportantly, will inform the crisisand sustain is concerned us in striv- with ingthe to kind bring of forthcreatures the Great we are Turning. and what we must become in order to survive.” —Lynton K. Caldwell

72 GETTING PERSONAL Resource Directory

“What kind of world do we want? This is a fundamental question that most of us are asking. Does it make sense to participate in the existing world order? We want a world where life is preserved, and the quality of life is enriched for everybody, not only for the privileged...I want to make this world good. Not better. But to make it good! Why not? It is possible. Look around…all this knowledge, energy, talent, and technology. Let’s get off our fannies, roll up our sleeves and get to work passionately in creating an almost perfect world.” —Isabelle Allende, TED talk, A Tale of Passion

Welcome to the vast array of organizations we invite you to sample for deeper research, links to videos, tool- kits, etc. Organized by relationship to SourceBook chapters, the organizations listed represent a sample of the amazing work going on (the majority are based in the US). Within each chapter, they are listed alphabeti- cally. Many of the groups are cross-cutting, working on a range of issues and offering many programs. Visit www.swcoalition.org to submit your suggestions, and to access the searchable version of the SourceBook.

En v i r o n m e n t 1Sky Washington, DC; Communicating a positive vision for coherent climate challenge policies. www.1sky.org

350.org Global climate change activist organization, with a mission of keeping CO2 levels below 350 ppm, known to be the safe limit. www.350.org

Acterra USGS Palo Alto, CA; Protecting the environment with restoration and education. www.acterra.org Association for the Advancement of Bluewater Network San Francisco, CA; Stops environmental damage Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Sustainability in Higher Education Various US cities; Educates high school students Information on campus sustainability, discussion from vehicles, vessels, reducing dependence on on the science behind climate change and forums, initiatives & consortiums. www.aashe.org fossil fuels. www.bluewaternetwork.org inspires them to take action. www.acespace.org Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary California Student Sustainability Coalition Amazon Watch Educational website, includes restoring America’s Berkeley, CA; Connects, supports and empowers San Francisco, CA; Defends the environment, coastal heartland of Louisiana. www.btnep.org students in California to transform their schools and communities into models of sustainability. rights of indigenous peoples of the Amazon Biomethane.com basin. www.amazonwatch.org All about biomethane—links to related info, www.sustainabilitycoalition.org American College and University products and uses. www.biomethane.com Campus in Power Presidents Climate Commitment Blue Comprehensive organizing and funding guide for Higher education to achieve climate neutrality. Steelworkers and Sierra Club spur dialogue on student organizers working for sustainability on www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org climate, clean energy, toxics, fair trade. their campus. www.campusinpower.org www.bluegreenalliance.org Apollo Alliance Center for Biological Diversity San Francisco, CA; Broad coalition catalyzing a Blue Planet Project Working through science, law, media for all clean-energy revolution in the US and creating Justice for water as a public trust, part of the species on the brink of extinction. many green-collar jobs. www.apolloalliance.org commons. www.blueplanetproject.net www.biologicaldiversity.org

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 73 Environmental Action International Rivers , MA; Protects the environment from Works to halt destructive river projects special-interest polluters and their allies in govt. worldwide, and to support equitable www.environmental-action.org sustenance. www.internationalrivers.org

Environmental Research Foundation International Scientific Congress Supports grassroots activists working on toxics on Climate Change and social justice issues. www.rachel.org Providing a synthesis of existing and emerging Claus Wawrzinek scientific knowledge to make sound decisions. Environmental News Service www.globalwarmingisreal.com Center for Environment, Health and Justice Independent daily international wire service of Falls Church, VA; Fights toxic dumps, works with the environment. www.ens-newswire.com ItsGettingHotinHere.org victims of contamination. www.chej.org Media project featuring student leaders, to stop Environmental Service Learning Initiative global warming. www.itsgettinghotinhere.org Climate Education Initiative Youth empowered service learning in San Durham, NH; Online learning community Francisco high school classrooms Jane Goodall Institute using Curriculum, Operations, Research and www.eslisf.org/ Arlington, VA; Empowers people to make a Engagement. www.sustainableunh.unh.edu difference for all living things. Food and Water Watch www.janegoodall.org College Sustainability Report Card Consumer rights org challenges corp control, In-depth profiles of hundreds of colleges in US abuse of food, protects water resources. and Canada. www.greenreportcard.org www.foodandwaterwatch.org Measures trends in the Earth’s biological diversity; from World Wildlife Fund Conservation International Friends of the Earth International. www.panda.org Empowering societies to care for nature and the Washington, DC; Focusing on clean energy, well-being of humanity. www.conservation.org global warming, toxin protection, smarter Marine Center transportation. www.foe.org Sausalito, CA; Appreciation of marine mammals Earthday Network through rescue and treatment, scientific inquiry, Washington, DC; Explore annual Earth Day Global Footprint Network education and communication. www.tmmc.org festivals everywhere. www.earthday.org Oakland, CA; Make informed choices based on Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Earth Island Institute human impact on the planet. Washington, DC; Assessing the consequences Oakland, CA; Supports people and groups www.footprintnetwork.org creating solutions to protect the planet. of ecosystem change for human well-being. www.earthisland.org Green Belt Alliance www.maweb.org San Francisco, CA; Protecting the green belt National Audubon Society Earth Justice while improving the livability of cities and New York, NY; To conserve and restore natural Public interest nonprofit law firm dedicated to a towns. www.greenbelt.org healthy environment.www.earthjustice.org ecosystems and bird diversity. Greenpeace USA www.audubon.org Earth Policy Institute San Francisco, CA; Ordinary people working to National Geographic EPI’s sustainable future plan comes with a save the planet. www.greenpeace.org/usa roadmap; founded by Lester Brown. Multi-media producer exploring, educating and www.earth-policy.org Greywater Guerillas conserving the natural world around us. Educating, empowering to build sustainable www.nationalgeographic.com East Bay Municipal Utilities District water culture, infrastructure. National Park Conservancy Association Comprehensive consumer site for information, www.greywaterguerrillas.com conservancy and education on community water Washington, DC; Safeguarding America’s scenic supply. www.EBMUD.com Harvest H2O beauty, wildlife, historical treasures. Advancing sustainable water management www.npca.org Ecology Action practices. www.harvesth2o.com Santa Cruz, CA; Education and programs Natural Resources Defense Council on environmental awareness, change, and Health Care Without Harm New York, NY; Safeguarding Earth’s natural sustainable economy. www.ecoact.org Promotes ecologically sound alternatives systems on which all life depends. to health care practices that pollute the www.nrdc.org Energy Action Coalition environment. www.noharm.org US and Canada; Youth coalition for clean Nature Conservancy energy. www.energyactioncoalition.org Indigenous Environmental Network Washington, DC; Protecting ecologically Bemidji, MN; Links grassroots and tribal important land and water worldwide for people EnviroLink Network governments protecting the sacredness of and nature. www.nature.org Up-to-date news and links to thousands of orgs. water. www.ienearth.org www.envirolink.org

74 RESOURCES NoNukes.org Rocky Mountain Institute Water Institute Global library, links to info about nuclear power, Providing R&D, funding, resources that create Information and resources for local watershed weapons, contamination, citizen action. pollution-free power. www.rmi.org activism. www.oaec.org www.nonukes.org Sarvodaya Water Quality Association Ocean Arks International Sri Lanka; Transformation of human Representing all levels of water treatment use Falmouth, MA; Global leader in the field of consciousness through spiritual, moral and and industry. www.wqa.org ecological water purification. www.oceanarks.org cultural awakening. www.sarvodaya.org Water Use It Wisely Ocean Futures Society 100 ways to conserve water; reports, videos, Save San Francisco Bay Exploring our global ocean, inspiring responsible links to products. Oakland, CA; Working to protect and restore action through membership and education. www.wateruseitwisely.com watersheds. www.savesfbay.org www.oceanfutures.org Wilderness Society Sierra Club Oceanic Society Washington, DC; To protect wilderness and San Francisco, CA; Environmental action and Protecting endangered wildlife and marine inspire Americans to care for the wild places. green shopping. www.sierraclub.org habitats worldwide. www.oceanicsociety.org www.wilderness.org Species Alliance Orion Grassroots Network Wind Energy Institute Emeryville, CA; Raise public awareness, Great Barrington, MA; Resources for sustaining To educate consumers about wind power and education and policy advocacy on mass and funding nonprofits. www.oriononline.org other renewable energy. extinction. www.speciesalliance.org www.windenergyinstitute.com Planet Walk StopGlobalWarming.org Pt. Reyes, CA; Raises environmental Women’s Earth Alliance Demanding a freeze and reduction of CO2 consciousness and earth stewardship, emphasis Unites grassroots women-led environmental emissions. www.stopglobalwarming.org on experiential learning. www.planetwalk.org initiatives globally to benefit communities. StopWaste.org www.womensearthalliance.org Portland State University San Leandro, CA; Environmentally sound solid Resources, tools, technical assistance for clean World Resources Institute waste management and resource conservation Washington, DC; Many resources moving energy on campus. www.nwgreencampus.org program. www.stopwaste.org society to live in ways to protect the PowerShift09.org environment and capacity. www.wri.org Student Conservation Association Young people demand bold action on climate Charlestown, NH; Engaging youth in hands-on World Wildlife Fund and energy. www.powershift09.org service. www.thesca.org US, Canada, ; Working to preserve Project Kaisei the diversity and abundance of life on Earth. Suzuki Foundation Studying the North Pacific Gyre plastic debris. www.worldwildlife.org Canada; Finds ways for society to live in www.projectkaisei.org balance with the natural world. Worldwatch Institute Public Citizen www.davidsuzuki.org Accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global Ralph Nader-founded consumer protection and issues. www.worldwatch.org Trust for Public Land government accountability. www.citizen.org San Francisco, CA; Conserving land in 50 states Zero Waste Alliance Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) for public enjoyment. www.tpl.org Promotes practices that lead to the reduction Hundreds of grassroots groups disseminating and elimination of waste and toxics. United Nations Environmental Program info on justice, environment. www.pirgs.org www.zerowaste.org Providing leadership and partnership in caring Rails to Trails Conservancy for the environment. www.unep.org Washington, DC; Nationwide network of trails En e r g y United Nations Geo Report along former rail lines. www.railtrails.org Overview and reports on state of environment American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Rainforest Action Network and policy. www.unep.org/geo/geo3 Bringing all forms of renewable energy into the San Francisco, CA; Transforming the global Water Resources Research Center, mainstream. www.acore.org marketplace via education, organizing, non- University of Arizona violent direct action. www.ran.org AZ; Promotes understanding of critical state and Build It Green regional water management and policy issues. Berkeley, CA; Energy- and resource-efficient ag.arizona.edu building practices. www.builditgreen.org

Kelly Slocum California Cars Initiative Water for All Campaign Palo Alto, CA; Promoting efficient, non-poluting Protecting essential resources by transforming automotive public policy and technologies. public consciousness. www.wateractivist.org www.calcars.org

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 75 Veggie Van Organization California Indian Basketweavers Green curriculum includes www.thefuelfilm.com. Association www.veggievan.org Preserving tradition and access to healthy gathering areas. www.ciba.org

A Ju s t So c i e t y Centre for Justice and Reconciliation Aboriginal Mapping Network Clearinghouse for restorative justice, repairing Information-sharing on indigenous land claims, harm caused by criminal behaviour by bringing treaty negotiations and development. parties to meet cooperatively. www.nativemaps.org www.restorativejustice.org

Alternative Information The Center for Media Democracy and Development Centre Promotes media transparency and informed debate, engaging the public in collaborative, fair

Creative Commons/Think Panama South Africa; Works in Africa for economic justice and social transformation. and accurate reporting. www.prwatch.org Capitol Climate Action www.aidc.org.za Color of Change Activists uniting to stop global warming. Amazon Alliance Strengthening black America’s political voice. www.capitolclimateaction.org www.colorofchange.org Defending rights, territories, environment of EcoGeek peoples. www.amazonalliance.org ColorLines Direct Technology news, tips, and blogs on energy, Oakland, CA; News on race, politics focused on Amnesty International policy, green food, and alternatives to cars. structural solutions to advance racial justice. London, UK; Preventing human rights abuse and www.ecogeek.org www.colorlines.com demanding justice. www.amnesty.org Energy Efficiency Resource Standard Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities Anti-Privatization Forum Advancing energy efficiency as a means to of Ecuador South Africa; Unites workers against economic prosperity. www.aceee.org Ecuador; Guaranteeing indigenous peoples’ privatization, promotes living-wage jobs. political voice; defending rights, livelihood. Green Building Councils www.apf.org.za www.conaie.org Woodbridge, ON, Canada; Helping the Applied Research Center construction industry reduce GHG emissions Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Racial justice research, policy, media, activism. from the . www.worldgbc.org Activists expose racism and achieve civil rights. www.arc.org Home Energy www.core-online.org Asian American Justice Center News on energy-efficient, durable, comfortable, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Advancing the human and civil rights, with a and green homes. www.homeenergy.org Policy research and education to improve growing network of nearly 100 community- socioeconomic circumstances of underserved McKinsey Global Institute based organizations. www.advancingequality.org Original research on critical economic issues communities. www.cbcfinc.org facing businesses and governments. Asian Law Caucus Cultural Creatives www.mckinsey.com Promoting legal and civil rights of Asians and Uniting 50 million adults in the US who Pacific Islanders. www.asianlawcaucus.org National Renewable Energy Laboratory share worldview, values and lifestyle. Washington, DC; Basic onformation about culturalcreatives.org Asian Pacific Environmental Network renewable energy for consumers, homeowners Empowers grassroots social and environmental Cultural Survival and businesses. www.nrel.gov justice. www.apen4if.org Cambridge, MA; Promotes the rights, voices, Native Energy and visions of indigenous peoples. Bidwell Training Center Charlotte, VT; Offering Native Americans www.culturalsurvival.org Pittsburgh, PA; Occupational / adult vocational certified RECs and CO offsets that help build 2 education. www.bidwell-training.org Delancey Street Foundation new renewable energy projects. San Francisco, CA; Residential mentoring www.nativeenergy.com Blue and Yellow Logic beyond crime. Natural Resources Defense Council Social enterprise of young leaders that www.delanceystreetfoundation.org Environmental action group; 1.2 million+ cultivates economic, social and racial diversity. EarthJustice members strong. www.nrdc.org www.blueandyellowlogic.com Oakland, CA; Non-profit, public interest law US Department of Energy Efficiency Boggs Center to Nurture Community firm. www.earthjustice.org and Renewables Leadership Edible School Yard Washington, DC; US govt. gateway to energy Multi-cultural community activism encouraging Berkeley, CA; Urban garden, nutrition and efficiency info. www.eere.energy.gov strategies for rebuilding our cities. www.boggscenter.org science lab. www.edibleschoolyard.org

76 RESOURCES Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Healthcare Without Harm International Labour Organization (ILO) Oakland, CA; Four cutting-edge campaigns Arlington, VA; Working to transform the health Indigenous and Tribal Peoples offer alternatives to violence and incarceration. care sector worldwide. www.hcwh.org Promoting social justice and internationally www.ellabakercenter.org recognized human, labor rights. Heifer International www.ilo.org/indigenous/lang--en/index.htm Engage Network Little Rock, AR; Helping to end hunger and Creating self-replicating groups that take care poverty through providing livestock as source of Intertribal Council on Utility Policy of people while changing the world. food and self-reliance. www.heifer.org (Intertribal COUP) www.engagenet.org Policy and education for tribal governments, Highlander Research and Education Center Environmental Justice Resource Center colleges and orgs. www.intertribal.org at Clark Atlanta University New Market, TN; Grassroots education for sicial The Jellybean Conspiracy Atlanta, GA; Clearinghouse for environmental justice in Appalachia and the South. Kansas City, MO; High school drama template, justice. www.ejrc.cau.edu www.highlandercenter.org explores inclusivity and compassionate Environmental Working Group Honor the Earth relationships. www.jellybeanconspiracy.org Washington, DC; Protecting public health; pushing Native-led support for grassroots efforts; for national policy change. www.ewg.org forging change in Indian country. Just Think www.honorearth.org Innovative youth media education programs and Equality Now curricula. www.justthink.org Works to end violence and discrimination Howard Gardner, Harvard University League of United Latin American Council against women and girls around the world, Cambridge, MA; Harvard cognition and Serving Hispanics with a full range of including female genital mutilation. education professor’s site about multiple www.equalitynow.org community-based programs; operating 700 intelligences. www.howardgardner.com councils across the US. www.lulac.org Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Human Development Reports Well-documented criticism of media bias, Manchester Craftsmen Guild Making the case for a new vision with research, censorship. www.fair.org/index.php Pittsburgh, PA; Youth arts and vocational statistics and analysis. www.hdr.undp.org education. www.manchesterguild.org Federation of Southern Cooperatives Human Rights Watch Saving black-owned land across the South. Millennium Development Goals New York, NY; Defending human rights, seeking www.federationsoutherncoop.com Tracking the progress toward a sustainable and justice globally. www.hrw.org First Peoples Worldwide just world for all. www.un.org/millenniumgoals Hunger Project Led by Indigenous Peoples, dedicated to National Conference for Indigenous economic determination. New York, NY; Ending poverty by mobilizing self Community and Justice www.firstpeoplesworldwide.org reliance and empowering women. www.thp.org Chapters around the US; fights racism, promotes Free Press ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability understanding and respect. In New York: www.nccjny.org Reform media, transform democracy. Helping local governments go green. www.freepress.net www.icleiusa.org National Council of La Raza Genesys Works Largest Latino civil rights and advocacy in the Immigration Policy Center Houston, TX; Designed to arm students with US. www.nclr.org Accurate information about the effects of the knowledge they need to provide value to immigration on the US economy and society. corporations. www.genesysworks.org www.immigrationpolicy.org Global Restoration Network Ecosystem restoration resource hub. Indigenous Environmental Network www.globalrestorationnetwork.org Empowering Indigenous Nations, demanding environmental justice and maintaining Green For All traditions. www.ienearth.org Working to build an inclusive green economy to lift people out of poverty. www.greenforall.org Indigenous Women’s Network Training and publications link women globally. Growing Power www.indigenouswomen.org Milwaukee, WI; Building equitable, ecologically sound, sustainable food systems, one Innovations in Civic Participation community at a time. www.growingpower.org Links to organizations worldwide on civic Harlem Children’s Zone engagement policies and programs. Harlem, NY; Replicable holistic system of www.icicp.org education, social-service and community- building. www.hcz.org Art Explosion

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 77 National Network for Immigrant and Rockwood Leadership Program United for a Fair Economy Refugee Rights Berkeley, CA; Promotes social change through Boston, MA; Popular economics education Educates and advises on immigrant and refugee training progressive nonprofits. bridging the equity divide; great library, training issues. www.nnirr.org www.rockwoodfund.org tools. www.faireconomy.org

Natural Resource Conservation Service Roots of Peace United Nations Association Cost share and technical assistance for San Rafael, CA; Removing land mines in New York, NY; UNA-USA encourages landowners. www.nrcs.usda.gov exchange for vines. www.rootsofpeace.org responsible US leadership in the United Nations. www.unausa.org Navdanya International Ruckus Society Delhi, India; Promoting peace, seed-saving, fair United Nations Development Programme Oakland, CA; Training for peace, social and trade, and more. www.navdanya.org New York, NY; The UN’s global development environmental justice. www.ruckus.org network. www.undp.org ONE Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Committed to the fight against extreme poverty United Students Against Sweatshops Development and preventable disease in Africa. Washington, DC; Students organizing for Upholding the sovereignty of Native peoples, www.one.org sweatshop-free labor conditions and workers’ with grassroots support. www.7genfund.org Oxfam International rights. www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org UK; Long-term solutions to poverty, hunger, and Smiles Change Lives Universal Living Wage social injustice around the world. Kansas City, MO; Helps low-income children Austin, TX; To ensure that every American is www.oxfam.org receive braces. www.smileschangelives.org working and paid a Fair Living Wage. www.universallivingwage.org Pew Hispanic Center Sisters of Color for Education Pew Global Attitudes Project; research, news, Colorado-based health education and advocacy Via Campesina and trends about Hispanics and Latinos. program for Latino communities. ; Coordinates small- and middle-scale www.hispanicpewresearch.org www.sistersofcolor.org producers, agricultural workers, rural women, and indigenous communities. Society for Ecological Restoration Education and action toward population www.viacampesina.org Tucson, AZ; SER and the Indigenous People’s stabilization. www.populationconnection.org Restoration Network integrate tradition and Washington Peace Center Population Institute western science. www.ser.org Washington, DC; Anti-racist peace, justice and Washington, DC; Seeks to voluntarily reduce social change advocates. excessive population growth through universal Southern Poverty Law Center www.washingtonpeacecenter.org access to family planning information, Montgomery, AL; Civil rights/anti-hate group White Earth Land Recovery Project education, and services. law center, promotes tolerance. Native Harvest catalog, alternative energy www.populationinstitute.com www.splcenter.org projects, preserving cultural heritage. Population Reference Bureau Survival International www.nativeharvest.com Washington, DC; Empowering information to UK; Working for tribal peoples’ rights through The White House Project advance the well-being of current and future education, advocacy and campaigns. Advancing women’s leadership across sectors. generations. www.prb.org www.survival-international.org www.thewhitehouseproject.org Raffi Sustainable South Bronx Winston County Self Help Cooperative Canada; Promoting “child honoring,” Dedicated to environmental justice solutions sustainable communities; offers children’s Jackson, MS; Saving rural America with youth informed by community needs. www.ssbx.org songs by Raffi. www.raffinews.com gardens, keeping land in black ownership. www.wcshc.com Terra Madre REACH Center Italy; Slow food communities network. Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage Witness for Peace www.terramadre.info curriculum for schools. www.reachctr.org Washington, DC; Committed to nonviolence, led by faith and conscience. UN Millennium Campaign to End Poverty Research Foundation for Science, www.witnessforpeace.org 2015 Technology, and Ecology New York, NY; Supports UN Millennium Women for Women International India; Protecting rights to livelihood and Development Goals. Washington, DC; Addresses the unique environment threatened by centralized www.endpoverty2015.org/ needs of women in conflict and post-conflict . www.vshiva.net environments. www.womenforwomen.org US Labor Education in the Richard Louv Americas Project Women’s Learning Partnership Getting kids back to nature. Supports economic justice and rights for Working on rights, development, and http://richardlouv.com workers in Latin America. www.usleap.org leadership. www.learningpartnership.org

78 RESOURCES World Vision International Australian Fair Trade and Investment Monrovia, CA; Christian relief to overcome Network poverty. www.wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf Community and union education and debate on trade and investment policy. www.aftinet.org.au Youth GreenCorps Lexington, KY; Sustainable Communities B Corp Network partnership for youth in horticulture Web network of new B corporations solving Bigstockphoto.com and art. www.sustainlex.org/ygc.html social and environmental problems. www.bcorporation.net Canadian Co-operative Association Ec o n o m i c s Bank Information Center Canada; Represents coop and credit union 50 Years is Enough Fosters socially just development and policies. members in Canada and 40 countries. Coalition to reform international financial www.bicusa.org www.coopscanada.coop institutions, including debt cancellation. www.50years.org Bank of North Dakota Center for American Progress State run bank promoting citizens, agriculture, Progressive think tank improving the lives of Accion International commerce and industry. www.banknd.nd.gov Americans. www.americanprogress.org Boston, MA; Poverty alleviation through micro loans, training, . Bay Area Green Business Program Center for Community Self-Help www.accion.org CA; Gov agencies and utilities help local Durham, NC; Credit union, real estate developer, businesses conserve resources, prevent policy advocate, investment link. Action, Research and Education Network pollution, minimize waste. www.self-help.org of Aotearoa (ARENA) www.greenbiz.ca.gov Aotearoa, NZ; New Zealand network resisting Center for Parntership Studies corporate globalization and promoting Bay Localize Pacific Grove, CA; Promotes realization of human capacities for consciousness, caring, and alternatives. www.arena.org.nz Oakland, CA; Catalyzing regional self-reliant creativity. www.partnershipway.org economy for Bay Area. www.baylocalize.org Ad Busters Center for Popular Economics Global network of culture jammers and Better Business Bureau Amherst, MA; Economics training for community creatives working to change the way Check out a business, charity or file a complaint. organizers, activists and social change information flows, and the way meaning is www.bbb.org produced in our society. www.adbusters.org initiators. www.populareconomics.org Better World Club Center for Responsible Lending Alliance for Responsible Trade Portland, OR; USA’s only environmentally US network promoting equitable trade and Durham, NC; Tools, resources and action tips friendly auto club. www.betterworldclub.com development. www.art-us.org about money and credit. Biomimicry Guild www.responsiblelending.org American Booksellers Association Helena, MT; Helps designers, engineers, Tarrytown, NY; National independent Center for State Innovation architects, and businesses learn from and booksellers. www.bookweb.org Helping states implement innovative, emulate natural models.www.biomimicryguild.com progressive policies. www.stateinnovation.org American Independent Business Alliance Biomimicry Institute (AMIBA) Center for Sustainable Economy Bozeman, MT; Representing community-based Missoula, MT; Education, training, resources, Santa Fe, NM; Policy and analysis by experts in independent businesses. www.amiba.net case studies. www.biomimicryinstitute.org economics, law and biology. www.sustainable-economy.org American Pictures Business Alliance for Local Living Denmark; A multi-media presentation on racism, Economies Center of Concern oppression, and the underclass. San Francisco, CA; Conferences, training, and Catholic research, educational org promoting www.american-pictures.com tools for localization of wealth. just, sustainable international finance, trade www.livingeconomies.org systems. www.coc.org Appalachian Sustainable Development Cooperative networks and marketing for Business for Innovative Climate and Center for the Advancement of Steady sustainable forestry/products and agriculture. Energy Policy (BICEP) State Economy www.asdevelop.org Boston, MA; Supporting comprehensive energy Arlington, VA; Promotes the steady state and climate legislation. www.ceres.org economy as a desirable alternative to economic Association for the Taxation of Financial growth. www.steadystate.org Transactions for the Aid of Citizens Calvert Foundation (ATTAC) Bethesda, MD; Investment network helping CERES France; Advocating the Tobin tax, and communities globally. Investors, environmental, public interest groups democratic control of global financial markets/ www.calvertfoundation.org working w/ corps to address climate change. institutions. www.attac.org www.ceres.org

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 79 ChevronToxico CooperationWorks! Fairtrade Labeling Organization Justice campaign in Ecuador to hold Big Oil Ames, IA; Created to grow the cooperative International accountable for contamination. model across the United States. Maintains standards for certification and www.chevrontoxico.com www.cooperationworks.coop labeling. www.fairtrade.net

Chilean Alliance for Just and Corner House Forest Stewardship Council Responsible Trade Supporting democratic, community movements Germany; Supporting environmentally- Chile; Coalition of environmental, labor, and for environmental, social justice in the UK. appropriate management of forests via others supporting economic integration. www.thecornerhouse.org.uk certification program. www.fsc.org www.comerciojusto.cl Corporate Responsibility (CORE) Coalition Foundation for International Community Citizens Trade Campaign UK; Alliance promoting respect for rights Assistance National coalition opposing NAFTA; promoting of workers, local communities and the Washington, DC; Provides financial services to just trade legislation in US. environment. www.corporate-responsibility.org lowest-income entrepreneurs. www.citizenstrade.org www.villagebanking.org Corporate Watch COP15 United Nations Climate Change Exposing corporations’ detrimental effects on Foundation for Sustainable Development Conference society, the environment. San Francisco, CA; Throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America: supporting sustainable solutions. 2009 UN conference in Copenhagen; with www.corporatewatch.org www.fsdinternational.org climate facts, blogs, news, and more. CorpWatch http://en.cop15.dk Girl Effect Corporate greenwash watchdog. Video showing the benefits of valuing girls. ClimateBiz www.corpwatch.org www.girleffect.org Business resource for climate management: Cost of War news, analysis, reports, policy links, and more. Global Business Network Running calculator of the costs of war. www.climatebiz.com San Francisco, CA; Helping orgs adapt and grow www.costofwar.com effectively in the face of mounting uncertainty. Common Frontiers Council of Canadians www.gbn.com Canada; Examining the effects of economic Canada; Citizens’ watchdog org promoting integration in the Americas. Global Compact economic justice, environmental preservation. www.commonfrontiers.ca Promoting accountability to human rights, www.canadians.org labour, environment, anti-corruption principles. Common Security Club Cradle to CradleSM Design www.unglobalcompact.org Network to prepare for economic change. Charlottesville, VA; Certifies environmentally- www.commonsecurityclub.org Global Environmental Management intelligent design. www.c2ccertified.com Initiative (GEMI) Community Environmental E.F. Schumacher Society Washington, DC; Guidebook on forging Legal Defense Fund Great Barrington, MA; Building local economies: corporate-nonprofit partnerships. Chambersburg, PA; Legal services for building www.gemi.org microcredit, land trusts, local currency, training, sustainable communities and ending corporate publications. www.smallisbeautiful.org governance. www.celdf.org Global Exchange San Francisco, CA; Offering tours, a fair trade Economic Policy Institute Community Investing Center store, and resources supporting human rights. Broadening public debate strategies to achieve Washington, DC; Online investing in www.globalexchange.org prosperous and fair economy. www.epinet.or microenterprise, women, communities around Global Giving the world. www.communityinvest.org Environmental Defense Fund Washington, DC; Thriving online marketplace of Nonpartisan environmental advocacy group. Community Investment NetworkSM goods and ideas. www.globalgiving.com www.edf.org Online credit, funding, assistance, and capital Global Greengrants Fund tools. www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org Ethical Markets Boulder, CO; Financial support for grassroots Television, website, promoting a green Community-Wealth.org groups in developing countries. economy. www.ethicalmarkets.com MD; Wealth building information, tools and www.greengrants.org links. www.community-wealth.org Fair Trade Federation Global Initiative Washington, DC; Global association of Consumer Cooperative Management Promoting an eco-social market economy wholesalers, retailers, producers in N.A. Association globally. www.globalmarshallplan.org www.fairtradefederation.org Working together to achieve social, economic Global Policy Forum well-being thru orgs we own and control. Fair Trade Resource Network New York, NY; Monitors UN policy, informs www.cdsus Education on fair trade. citizen action for peace and justice. www.fairtraderesource.org www.globalpolicy.org

80 RESOURCES Interfaith Center on Corporate Movimento Dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Responsibility Terra (Landless Workers Movement; MST) Puts pressure on companies to be socially and Brazil; Land reform in Brazil helps reduce environmentally responsible. www.iccr.org poverty, increase literacy. www.mstbrazil.org

International Co-operative Alliance National Center for Employee Ownership Costa Rica; Uniting, representing and serving Oakland, CA; Clearinghouse for all things Art Explosion co-operatives worldwide. www.ica.coop related to employee ownership. www.nceo.org

Goods from the Woods International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) National Community Reinvestment Licking, MO; Demonstrating certified organic UK; Promoting organizations for greater justice Coalition wild crop harvesting. www.wildcrops.com in world trade. www.ifat.org Association of groups supporting affordable housing, job development. www.fairlending.com Grameen Bank International Forum on Globalization Bangladesh; Providing micro credit to the poor San Francisco, CA; Stimulating new thinking, National Housing Trust in rural Bangladesh. www.grameen-info.org activity in response to economic globalization. Preserving affordable homes across the US. www.ifg.org Grassroots.org www.nhtinc.org Bethesda, MD; Serving nonprofits with free International Society for Ecology and Natural Solutions information, internet services, legal consulting. Culture Eldorado Springs, CO; Providing leaders www.grassroots.org UK; Promotes locally-based alternatives to with tools and strategies for companies, global consumerism. www.isec.org.uk Grassroots Leadership communities and countries. Charlotte, NC; Training and resource center International Sustainability Conference www.natcapsolutions.org to end social and economic oppression, and , Switzerland; Social scientists working Natural Capitalism, Inc. achieve justice and equity. toward sustainable development. Eldorado Springs, CO; Sustainability tools for www.grassrootsleadership.org www.isc2008.ch increasing profits and efficiency. Great Old Broads Investors’ Circle Foundation www.natcapinc.com Durango, CO; Unites voices and activism of “Patient capital for a sustainable future” from Natural Logic elders to preserve and protect wilderness and venture capitalists. www.investorscircle.net Berkeley, CA; Assessment to recover lost profit wild lands. www.greatoldbroads.org Jobs with Justice in waste. www.natlog.com Great Turning Washington, DC; Protects workers’ rights and Natural Step Changing the defining stories of the prevailing standards of living. www.jwj.org Sweden; Creating a fundamenal paradigm shift culture. www.thegreatturning.net John Perkins to true sustainable development. Green America Former “Economic Hit Man” promotes ecology, www.naturalstep.org; Washington, DC; Providing economic solutions sustainability. www.johnperkins.org in the US: www.naturalstepusa.org via National Green Pages, resources, Green New Economics Foundation Festivals and more. Jubilee UK; Challenging mainstream thinking on www.greenamericatoday.org Joining hands against debt and global poverty. economic, environmental, social issues. www.jubileeusa.org Greenpeace Greenwashing www.jubilee2000uk.org Washington, DC; Corporate watchdog, Kiva New Economy Working Group accountability advocate, exposing deceptive San Francisco, CA; Web-based microlending to Virtual think tank reframing the economic policy environmental and social claims and ads. alleviate poverty around the world. www.kiva.org www.stopgreenwash.org debate. www.neweconomyworkinggroup.org Lakota Funds Institute for Community Economics ND; Growing businesses on Pine Ridge Indian Northwest Earth Institute Community Land Trust model of building, Reservation by microlending and coaching. Portland, OR; Workbook articles by leaders in rehabilitation of urban, rural housing. www.lakotafunds.org many fields, for use by dicussion groups. www.iceclt.org www.nwei.org McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry Institute for Local Self-Reliance Charlottesville, VA; Trasnforming the design Oakland Institute Supports local enterprise, principles of of products, processes and services to an eco- Oakland, CA; Policy think tank focusing on food governance. www.ilsr.org; www.newrules.org friendly environment. www.mbdc.com issues. www.oaklandinstitute.org

Institute for Policy Studies Mexican Action Network on Free Trade Opportunity Fund Washington, DC; Policy and research for social Mexico; Labor, environmental, human rights Lending working capital to working people. and environmental justice. www.ips-dc.org groups promoting alternative to free trade. www.opportunityfund.org www.rmalc.org.mx

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 81 People-Centered Development Forum SustainLane Global network of activists resisting corporate San Francisco, CA; Directory for green globalization. www.pcdf.org everything. www.sustainlane.org

Rainforest Alliance Teach a Man to Fish Frank Taylor Protects ecosystems, people and wildlife. UK; Supports schools, education and vocational www.rainforest-alliance.org training to achieve self-sufficiency. American Community Gardening www.teachamantofish.org.uk Right to the City Association National alliance working for urban justice. Third World Network US, Canada; Building community by increasing www.righttothecity.org Malaysia; Southern perspectives on economic, community gardens. social, and . www.communitygarden.org ShoreBank www.twnside.org.sg Chicago, IL; Community Development Bank. American Jewish World Service www.shorebankcorp.com Transfair USA Supporting communicating-based development Certifies Fair Trade products; links to Fair Trades to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease throughout ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia sites. www.transfairusa.org Africa, Asia, the Americas. www.ajwsconnect Ilwaco, WA; Loans and support for green Transnational Institute businesses and social entrepreneurs. Architecture for Humanity The Netherlands; Network of activist-scholars www.sbpac.com Design solutions for humanitarian crises. providing critical analyses of global problems. www.architectureforhumanity.org Slow Money Alliance www.tni.org Brookline, MA; Building new financial means to Asheville Integrative Medicine UN-HABITAT invest in local food systems. Reversing chronic diseases. www.docbiddle.com Promotes a better urban future. www.slowmoneyalliance.org www.unhabitat.org Be the Change Earth Alliance , BC, Canada; International network of Small-Mart Urban Institute Takoma Park, MD; Ideas and tools for building study/action/support circles. Nonpartisan economic and social policy www.bethechangeearthalliance.org healthy local economies. www.smallmart.org research. www.urban.org Berkeley Community Gardening Social Enterprise Alliance of Midlothian US Federal Trade Commission Collaborative Scotland; Resources for local benefit. Link to legal filing about greenwashing. Berkeley, CA; Urban agriculture and healthy www.seamidlothian.co.uk www.ftc.gov/opa/reporter/greengds.shtm food. www.ecologycenter.org/bcgc Social Equity Group World Council of Credit Unions Blue Ridge Forever Berkeley, CA; Specializing in socially Advocates for credit unions; information and Collaboration of 13 land conservancies. responsible investment. www.socialequity.com serivces about finance. www.woccu.org www.blueridgeforever.info Social Investment Forum World Fair Trade Organization Brower Youth Awards Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA; Online marketplace and association support. Promoting youth environmental leadership. Responsible investing and financial services www.wfto.com www.broweryouthawards.org directory. www.socialinvest.org WorldChanging Building Green Soul of Money Institute Seattle, WA; for sustainability. For environmental protection and a healthy San Francisco, CA; Transform your relationship www.worldchanging.org indoors. www.buildinggreen.com with money and life. www.soulofmoney.org Campaign for a Commercial Free SourceWatch Co m m u n i t i e s Childhood Wiki site of organizations and issues shaping Action Without Borders Boston, MA; Limiting impact of commercial the public agenda. www.sourcewatch.org Connecting people w/resources to help build a culture on children. Southwest Network for Environmental and free and dignified world. www.idealist.org www.commercialfreechildhood.org Economic Justice American Center for Energy Efficient CARE Action Network Albuquerque, NM; Grassroots lilinqual groups Economy Atlanta, GA; Humanitarians fighting global developing regional strategies on injustices and Researchers advancing energy efficiency. poverty, putting women at center of community policies. www.sneej.org www.aceee.org efforts. www.care.org State of the World Forum American College for Advancement in Medicine Center for Transit-Oriented Development San Francisco, CA; Guiding humanity to Physicians combine conventional and Integrates transportation systems to include an increasingly global and interdependent alternative medicine; offer training, referrals. transit, walking. www.reconnectingamerica.org civilization. www.worldforum.org www.acam.org

82 RESOURCES Center for Wise Democracy Equality Now Global Oneness Project Dynamic Facilitation is used for Wisdom Working to end violence, discrimination against Film project to show how interconnectedness Councils. www.wisedemocracy.org women, girls, globally. www.equalitynow.org can be lived. www.globalonenessproject.org

Co-Intelligence Institute Fair Vote Global Sufficiency Network How to tap wisdom together. Transforming elections for universal access Getting out the message—there is enough for www.co-intelligence.org to participation, and a full spectrum of ballot all. www.globalsufficiency.org choices. www.fairvote.org CommonDreams.org Good Works Internet news and activism for progressive Farm Animal Reform Movement National directory of social change community. www.commondreams.org Bethesda, MD; Advocating plant-based diet, organizations, alternatives to corporate Community Solutions humane treatment of farm animals. employment. www.goodworksfirst.org Empowering survival of peak oil and climate www.farmusa.org Green America change. www.communitysolution.org Fistula Foundation Green Business Network; the go-to place for Creative Problem Solving Institute Sponsor life-transforming surgery for women new economy resources. Sponsors training in creative problem solving. injured in labor. www.fistulafoundation.org www.greenamericatoday.org www.cpsiconference.org Flex Your Power Green Casket Company Culture Shapes Community California’s award-winning energy efficiency Providing “green” caskets handcrafted by locals, Turning neighborhood tensions into outreach campaign. www.fypower.org local timber, sawmills. www.greencasket.net opportunities for interaction. www.cultureshapescommunity.org Food Not Bombs Green Cross International Working to end hunger and stop economic and Cultivating global interdependence and shared David Suzuki Foundation environmental exploitation. responsibility, clean drinking water. www.gci.ch Conserving environment through science-based www.foodnotbombs.net education, advocacy, policy work. Green Festivals www.davidsuzuki.org Food Not Lawns San Francisco, CA; Gatherings to accelerate the Community transformation and ecological urban emergence of a new economy. Dictionary of living via gardening, shared resources. www.greenfestivals.com Project of the Presidio School of Management. www.foodnotlawns.net www.sustainabilitydictionary.com Green For All Dynamic Facilitation Friends of Edna Maternity Hospital Lifting people out of poverty by building For great meetings, resolving conflicts, co- Help support the work of remarkable Somali inclusive green economies. www.greenforall.org creating solutions and fostering true democracy. activist Edna Adan. www.ednahospital.com GreenerCars www.tobe.net Gentle Teaching International Rating the environmental friendliness of every Earth Charter Initiative Teaches skills of being kind, nurturing, and vehicle on the market. www.greenercars.com Costa Rica; Promotes ethical principles for loving toward marginalized children and adults. GreenHOME building a just, sustainable, peaceful global www.gentleteaching.com Working to make affordable housing and society. www.earthcharterinaction.org Girls Learn International neighborhoods green in DC. Earthaven Pairs US classrooms with spartan classrooms in www.greenhome.org NC; Intentional community offering short term Africa, Asia, Latin America. www.girlslearn.org experiential sustainable living training. Greensburg, Kansas www.earthaven.org Global Ecovillage Network Rebuilding a green Greensburg, Kansas after Supporting via expanding education, 2007 tornado devastated town. Ecology Center demonstration programs. www.gen.ecovillage.org www.greensburggreentown.org Berkeley, CA; Sustainable living models, tools, training, referrals, strategies, infrastructure. Global Fund for Women Grist www.ecologycenter.org Provides grants, advances human rights. Monitors and reports on environmental news www.globalfundforwomen.org since 1999; website forum. www.grist.org Energy Star/Green Star US Environmental Protection Agency and Dept. Global Green USA Habitat for Humanity of Energy promote energy efficiency. US arm of Green Cross Int’l; creating green Americus, GA; Ecumenical housing ministry www.energystar.gov buildings/communities, drinkable water. seeking to eliminate homelessness. www.globalgreen.org Environmental Protection Agency, www.habitat.org Sustainability Global Living Hale Akua Garden Farm Portal to urban sustainability, built environment, Connects donors to projects that need support. Maui, HI; Educational retreat center and climate change programs. www.globalgiving.com certified organic farm. www.sunrise-center.org www.epa.gov/sustainability

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 83 Haute Couleur IPAS Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Women restoring health to Earth’s life support Safe abortion can save women’s lives. See the Occidental, CA; Programs on permaculture, systems. www.hautecouleur.org film. www.notyetrain.org hydrology and bioremediation. www.oaec.org

Healthy Built Homes Land Trust Alliance Omega Institute for Holistic Studies NC; Support for small green home builders. Unites local communities working to save Rhinebeck, NY; Offering year-round lectures, www.healthybuilthomes.org natural areas. www.landtrustalliance.org workshops, library; summer work and camping. www.eomega.org The Heritage Institute Los Angeles Ecovillage Clinton, WA; Distance, on-line, and on-site Re-inventing how we live in cities at a lower One World USA sustainability related continuing education for environmental impact. www.laecovillage.org Washington, DC; Global info network for teachers. www.hol.edu Make It Right Foundation nonprofits helping create a better world. Housing and Urban Development Actor Brad Pitt’s project to rebuild New Orleans www.oneworld.net US support for affordable housing. green. www.makeitrightnola.org Open Space Technology www.hud.gov Marin Conservation Corp Guidelines for highly effective meetings, Hybrid Center San Rafael, CA; Develops youth and conserves conferences addressing complex problems. Consumer resources for hybrid vehicles with natural resources for strong, sustainable www.openspaceworld.org reviews, comparisons, detailed specifications. community. www.marincc.org www.hybridcenter.org Pachamama Alliance Matrona San Francisco, CA; Empowering indigenous Imago Therapy and Education Promoting midwifery and undisturbed birth. rainforest people, promoting new global vision. Transforms relationships and the world through www.thematrona.com www.pachamama.org dialogue. www.gettingtheloveyouwant.com National Capital Institute Partners for Livable Communities Institute for Sustainable Communities Serving pathways of change with books, Providing information and leadership that help Montpelier, VT; ISC trains and mentors research reports and tools. communities help themselves. communities in sustainability. www.iscvt.org www.naturalcapital.org www.livable.com

Institute for Transportation and National Complete Streets Coalition Pathfinder International Development Policy Promoting “complete streets” with safe access Working for women’s right to contraception, Lancaster, UK; Promoting environmentally for all users. www.completestreets.org quality reproductive health care. www.pathfind.org sustainable and socially equitable New Dimensions Radio transportation worldwide. www.itdp.org Peace Action Ukiah, CA; Striving to provide listeners with Silver Spring, MD; Mobilizing for peace and Institute of Noetic Sciences practical knowledge and perennial wisdom. disarmament. www.peace-action.org Petaluma, CA; Research on the potential and www.NewDimensions.org power of consciousness. www.noetic.org Peace Alliance / Department of Peace New Roadmap Foundation Center Line, MI; Education and activism to make Seattle, WA; Practical tools and innovative Intentional Communities peace central to society. approaches to personal and cultural change. Information and directory of IC’s, with related www.thepeacealliance.org links. www.ic.org www.newroadmap.org Plan USA International Council on Clean Transportation NextGEN Grassroots programs in health, education, Lancaster, UK; Improving air quality and Youth working towards sustainability and water, sanitation, income-generation, cross- transporation issues around the world. stronger communities. cultural communication. www.planusa.org www.theicct.org www.nextgen.ecovillage.org Planetwork International Dark Sky Association Noise Pollution Clearinghouse San Francisco, CA; Digital technology for Washington, DC; Promotes light pollution Resources for reducing noise pollution. education and prevention. www.darksky.org www.noisepollution.org democratic, socially just, ecologically sane future. www.planetwork.net North American Eco-Municipalities Network Positive Futures Network Creating sustainable communities by sharing Bainbridge Island, WA; Education, resources Roberta Vogel expertise, resources and experiences. and publications on building a just and www.1kfriends.org sustainable world. www.futurenet.org

North Carolina Integrative Medical Society Post Carbon Institute Sebastopol, CA; Transition from fossil fuels: Promotes natural healing. www.ncims.org research and education. www.postcarbon.org

84 RESOURCES Surface Transportation Policy Project Urban Permaculture Guild Coalition for equitable, smart communities. Oakland, CA; Inspiring communities to creatively www.transact.org transform how and where they live. www.urbanpermacultureguild.org Sustain Dane Creating communities that deeply enjoy their Venus Project unique environment. www.sustaindane.org Blueprint that maximizes technology to benefit

Environmental Service Learning Initiative (eslisf.org) humans and environment. Sustainability Institute www.thevenusproject.com Hartland, VT; Understanding the root causes of Project for Public Spaces unsustainable behavior. Virtual Library on Transportation Central hub for those striving to make public www.sustainabilityinstitute.org Washington, DC; Dept. of Transportation spaces better. www.pps.org compilation of information links. Sustainable Communities Network Right Livelihood Award www.bts.gov/external_links/index.html Online resources for livability. “Alternative Nobel prize” given annually to www.sustainable.org Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) pioneers in creating a just and sustainable Federal program assisting low-income families future. www.rightlivelihood.org Sustainable Lexington improve energy efficiency of homes. Inspiring systemic changes to create Shift in Action www.waptac.org sustainable cities. www.sustainlex.org Online resources for advancing new What’s Your Tree? perspectives. www.shiftinaction.com Sustainable Seattle Creating an international network of small Citizen-based indicators and great resource Save the Children groups that heal the world. list;leaders since 1991. Creating lasting, positive change in the lives of www.whatsyourtree.org children in need. www.savethechildren.org www.sustainableseattle.org Wiser Earth ShoreBank International Sustainable Urban Transport Project Helping developing world cities achieve their Connecting people, nonprofits, businesses for a Chicago, IL; Invests in communities toward just and sustianable world. www.wiserearth.org economic equity and healthy environment. goals. www.sutp.org www.sasbk.com Tapestry Institute Women for Women Helping women survivors of war gain stability Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition Elizabeth, CO; Research, scholarship and and self-sufficiency. www.womenforwomen.org San Jose, CA; Coalition concerned with health education emphasizing kinship with the Earth. problems caused by high-tech electronics www.tapestryinstitute.org World Green Building Council industry. www.svtc.org Transaction Net Transforming building practices for thriving environment, economy and society. Sirius Community Web collaboration for technology and monetary www.worldgbc.org A Massachusetts intentional community in it’s systems. www.transaction.net 30th year reflecting reverence for all Life. Transition Towns World Resources Institute Center for www.siriuscommunity.org Broad international community of groups and Sustainable Transport Small Planet Institute individuals basing work on Transition Model. Lancaster, UK; Implementing sustainable Cambridge, MA; Strives to bring to light the www.transitiontowns.org solutions to urban mobility problems. emergence of “living democracy.” www.embarq.org Tree Hugger www.smallplanetinstitute.org Media outlet; clearing house for green news, World Transport Policy and Practice Journal SmallPlanet.org solutions and products. www.treehugger.com Lancaster, UK; Initiatives that bring reduction Positive stories about participatory democracy in global dependency on cars, lorries, aircraft. U.S. Green Building Council and sustainability. www.smallplanet.org www.eco-logica.co.uk/worldtransport.html Enabling an environmentally responsible built Smart Communities environment via LEED, training, conferences. YES! Youth for Environmental Sanity Education for technology and innovation in new www.usgbc.org Soquel, CA; Connects, inspires, educates and global economy. www.smartcommunities.org facilitates change-makers. www.yesworld.org Union of Concerned Scientists SpaceShare Works towards securing changes in policy, Oakland, CA; For carpooling, greening your corporate practices, consumer choices. e t t i n g e r s o n a l events, and more. www.spaceshare.org www.ucusa.org G P Action for Solidarity, Equality, Summer of Peace Urban Land Institute Environment, and Development (A SEED) Supporting cities in making a commitment Research and education org providing The Netherlands; Promoting small, local organic to peace that addresses the root causes of leadership in responsible, thriving communities. farms. www.aseed.net violence. www.summerofpeace.net www.uli.org

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 85 Agape International Spiritual Center Center for Food Safety Eco-Troubadour Culver City, CA; Active teaching and practice of Promotes organic and sustainable agriculture. Rock n Roll eco-education assemblies/cd’s for the New Thought-Ancient Wisdom tradition of www.centerforfoodsafety.org nearly 800,000 youth. www.stanslaughter.com spirituality. www.agapelive.com Center for Teen Empowerment Evangelical Environmental Network Alliance for a New Humanity Inspires young people to handle difficult social Inspiring and mobilizing Christians to care for Connecting people through personal and social problems, create positive change. God’s creation. www.creationcare.org transformation to build a just, peaceful, and www.teenempowerment.org Focus the Nation sustainable world. www.anhglobal.org Center for Visionary Leadership Portland, OR; Young leaders for a clean energy Awakening Earth Helps people develop the inner, spiritual future. www.focusthenation.org resources to be effective leaders. Resources/change indicators in global Food Not Lawns www.teenempowerment.org consciousness, voluntary simplicity, media Turning yards into gardens and neighborhoods activism. www.awakeningearth.org Challenge Day - Youth into communities around the world. www.foodnotlawns.com Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Concord, CA; Experiential programs for youth, featuring a powerful day of transformation in Dream Symposium Forum for Food Sovereignty San Francisco, CA; Inspiring environmentally high schools. www.challengeday.org A global network of NGOs/CSOs concerned sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just Circle of Life with food sovereignty issues. human life around the world. Oakland, CA; Find a way of life that honors www.foodsovereignty.org www.awakeningthedreamer.org diversity, interdependence. Foundation for Conscious Evolution www.circleoflifefoundation.org Better World Handbook Supporting the awakening of the spiritual, Davis, CA; Tips for living for everyone! Excellent Common Cause social, and scientific potential of humanity. sustainability overview. Washington, DC; Vehicle for citizen voices in www.foodsovereignty.org www.betterworldhandbook.com holding elected leaders accountable to public Free Child Project interest. www.commoncause.org Advocates, informs, celebrates social change Better World Shopping Guide led by young internationals. US; 1000+ company database for eco-conscious Community Food Security Coalition www.evolve.org consumers. www.betterworldshopper.org Coalition to build strong, sustainable local, regional food systems. www.foodsecurity.org Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing Beyond Pesticides Substantially increasing philanthropic Daily Acts Protecting public health and the environment. investment in youth groups. www.fcyo.org www.beyondpesticides.org Petaluma, CA; Inspiring choices that matter; sustainability education. www.daily-acts.org Generation Waking Up BigPictureSmallWorld The awakening youth movement of the 21st Daily Green Media, PA; Education to empower student century. www.generationwakingup.org leaders. www.bigpicturesmallworld.com Green news and information. www.thedailygreen.com Green Yoga Association Biodegradable Products Institute Resources for doing yoga and being green. Scientifically based standards; education; Democracy School www.greenyoga.org promote commercial composting. New organizing model for citizens. www.celdf.org/DemocracySchool www.bpiworld.org Dream Change Coalition Bioneers Whately, MA; Shifting consciousness and Santa Fe, NM; Great conference, education, lifestyles through education; w/ John Perkins, solutions to restore Earth communities; support Llyn Roberts. www.dreamchange.org youth leadership. www.bioneers.org Earth Policy Institute Car Sharing EPI’s sustainable future plan comes with a Car sharing info. and links. www.carsharing.net roadmap; founded by Lester Brown. Care2 www.earth-policy.org Redwood City, CA; Online advocacy programs Eckhart Tolle groups in environment, human rights, women, animals Teaches spiritual awakening as next step in and more. www.care2.com human evolution. www.eckharttolle.com

Center for a New American Dream Ecological Footprint Takoma Park, MD; Helps Americans consume Ecological Footprint Quiz: estimate your daily

responsibly. www.newdream.org use of earth resources. www.myfootprint.org Lizzy Ziogas

86 RESOURCES Global Youth Action Network Monterey Bay Aquarium Brooklyn, NY; Facilitates youth participation and Monterey, CA; Provides excellent links to intergenerational partnership. resources and info on seafood internationally. www.youthlink.org www.montereybayaquarium.org

Global Youth Connect Move On Empowering youth to advance human rights and Online progressive activism and news. create a more just world. www.moveon.org www.globalyouthconnect.org National Campaign for Sustainable GratefulnessPractice.org Agriculture Provides resources for living in gratefulness to Coalition of farmers, environmentalists, and heal our Earth. www.gratefulness.org consumer advocates. Green Guide for Everyday Living www.sustainableagriculture.net A green guide consumer website and blog. National Coalition for Pesticide-Free www.thegreenguide.com Lawns Jim Embry Pesticide reform groups and concerned HeartMath Population Connection individuals. www.beyondpesticides.org/ Practical and science-based research on heart- Washington, DC; Advocating to stabilize world pesticidefreelawns based living. www.heartmath.org population at sustainability level. Initiative on Children’s Environmental National Family Farm Coalition www.populationconnection.org Organizing national projects to preserve and Health Reconnecting America Eliminating environmental exposures that strengthen family farms. www.nffc.net Advocating redeveloping communities around undermine health. www.iceh.org New Road Map Foundation transit, walking and biking. www.reconnectingamerica.org Institute of Interfaith Dialog Promotes financial integrity, and helps people Promotes community service, and study of transform their relationship with money. RenewableEnergyInstitute.org traditions. www.interfaithdialog.org www.newroadmap.org Changing the way the world does energy by providing research and development. Institute for Responsible Technology Next Generation www. RenewableEnergyInstitute.org Fairfield, IA; Features the Non-GMO Shopping San Anselmo, CA; Offers numerous programs in Guide. www.responsibletechnology.org leadership development among youth, teachers. Resources for Spirituality Journeys www.nongmoshoppingguide.com www.gonextgeneration.org Spotlights people of different religious, spiritual traditions. www.spiritualityandpractice.com Integrative Spirituality Nonviolent Communication Universal science is part of the life-affirming Living and teaching Nonviolent Communication. Roots and Shoots Eco-spirituality center. www.cnvc.org Berkeley, CA; Promotes understanding of all www.integrativespirituality.org cultures and beliefs, and inspires action. Nourishment www.rootsandshoots.org Interfaith Youth Core CA; Programs in cleansing, fasting, Raw Living Bridges campuses to cooperative relationships Foods education. www.innourish.com Simple Living Network in local communities. www.ifyc.org Provides tools and examples, and database of One World Now - Youth voluntary simplicity study circles/groups, with Land Institute Providing global leadership opportunitites for related links, and 3000 resource pages. Revolutionary ag research in hybridizing youth. www.oneworldnow.org www.simpleliving.net perennials for food. www.landinstitute.or Organic Consumers Association Slow Food Movement Landmark Education Online and grassroots campaigns. www. Italy; Reviving threatened seed varieties and San Francisco, CA; A powerful, accelerated organicconsumers.org regional food specialties. www.slowfood.com learning experience affecting quality of life. www.landmarkeducation.com Permaculture Institute of Northern California Square Foot Gardening Bolinas, CA; Teaching the skills necessary Natural, high-yield garden method using less Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability to live a more sustainable life on the planet. space, and water than conventional methods. Green living tips for businesses and consumers. www.regenerativedesign.org www.squarefootgardening.com www.lohas.com Pioneers of Change - Youth Story of Stuff Low Carbon Diet Young practioners network. Berkeley, CA; Video exposing problems with US; Lose 5000 pounds of household carbon in production and consumption patterns. www.pioneersofchange.net 30 days. www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd www.storyofstuff.com

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 87 Sunrise Center Corte Madera, CA; Compassionate Commu- Do c u m e n t a r y Vi de o s & Fi l m s nication, health seminars, interfaith spiritual gatherings. www.sunrise-center.org A Convenient Truth GREEN How Curitiba, Brazil transformed itself into About tropical rainforest destruction. Surface Transportation Policy Partnership one of the in the world. www.greenplanetfilms.org Nationwide coalition working to ensure smarter www.mariavazphoto.com/curitiba_pages/ transportation choices. www.transact.org How to Save the World curitiba_dvd.html About modern industrial agriculture and Taking It Global - Youth Addicted to Plastic biodynamic, sustainable farming. , ON, CAN; Collaborative learning on About . www.greenplanetfilms.org line. www.tigweb.org www.crypticmoth.com/plastic.php Mama Earth: Eco-Econ 101 Transmilenio Burning the Future: Coal in America Being eco-friendly is an economic necessity. Bogota, Colombia; Model urban passenger- Challenges the notion of “clean coal.” www.earthwalkmedia.com/projects.htm transportation services. www.burningthefuture.org PetroApocalypse Now? www.transmilenio.gov.co HOME (2009) How oil prices are bankrupting the world. www.petroapocalypsenow.com/film.html What Kids Can Do Aerial footage of Earth’s fragile beauty and manmade problems. www.home-2009.com Voices and work from the next generation. Power Paths www.whatkidscando.org Crude Hopi and Navajo force closure of a Nevada Profiles an Ecuadorian environmental lawsuit coal plant. www.powerpaths.org Wisdom of the World against Chevron. www.crudethemovie.com Novato, CA; Creating intelligent delivery River of Renewal systems for universal, inclusive wisdom. Division Street Profiles a battle over Klamath River Basin www.wisdomoftheworld.com Explores wildlife corridors and “green” resources. www.aifisf.com/aiff/2008 highways. www.divisionstreetmovie.com World Changing Scarred Lands & Wounded Lives Independent thinkers covering innovative End of the Line Explores the ecological impact of war. solutions to planet’s problems. www. Explores the impact of over-fishing on Earth’s www.scarredlandsfilm.org oceans. www.endoftheline.com worldchanging.com Tapped Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars About the bottled water industry. World Health Organization Texans fight the construction of coal-fired www.tappedthemovie.com The directing and coordinating authority for power plants. www.fightinggoliathfilm.com health within the United Nations. The Future of Food www.who.int Food Inc. Investigates the controversy over genetically The lowdown on where are food really engineered foods. www.thefutureoffood.com World Spirit Youth Council comes from and the implications for human Starting spot for young spiritual seekers. and planetary health. www.foodincmovie.com The Next Industrial Revolution www.worldspirityouthcouncil.org Architectural design for both ecology and Forces of Nature humans. www.bullfrogfilms.com Young and the Restless Profiles six Brower Youth Awards win- TN; Addressing the most pressing social, ners. shop.nationalgeographic.com/prod- The Power of Community: How Cuba environmental and economic problems in the uct/170/2513/104.html Survived Peak Oil How Cuba came to thrive after losing half South. www.highlandercenter.org Forever Wild their oil imports from the USSR collapse YouthActionNet Profiles modern American wilderness heroes. www.powerofcommunity.org Supporting young social entrepreneurial leaders www.foreverwildfilm.com The Real Dirt on Farmer John around the world. www.youthactionnet.org Garbage! Profiles creation of the largest Community How households contribute to environmental Supported Agriculture farm in the US. degradation. www.garbagerevolution.com www.greenplanetfilms.org

Do c u m e n t a r y So u r c e s Bullfrog Films Media Education Foundation Ecological and social justice documentary Documentary films on the impact of films. www.bullfrogfilms.com American mass media. www.mediaed.org Green Planet Films The Video Project Ecological and social justice documentary Ecological and social justice documentary films. www.greenplanetfilms.org films. www.videoproject.com June Holte

88 RESOURCES 13. SOTW 2009 14, 15. The Center for Biological Diversity, www.biologicaldiversity.org ENDNOTES 16. Sustainable Fisheries Initiative, a project of the New England Aquarium; www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/projects/fisheries_bycatch_ Key aquaculture/sustainable_fisheries CBD=Center for Biological Diversity 17, 18. Ben Block, “Scientists Sound Alarm on Ocean Acidification,” Worldwatch NRDC=Natural Resources Defense Council news reports (Jan 30, 09) RAN=Rainforest Action Network 19. “Window to Prevent Catastrophic Climate Change Closing; EU Should Press for RMI=Rocky Mountain Institute Immediate US Action,” Worldwatch news reports (Sept 13, 07) SOTW=State of the World Report, published annually by the Worldwatch 20. SOTW 2008 Institute 21. SOTW 2009 WWF=World Wildlife Fund 22. “Window…,” see note 19 above UCS=Union of Concerned Scientists 23. CBD, see note 14 UN=United Nations 24. Brian Haldell, “Ocean Pollution Worsens and Spreads,” Worldwatch news reports (Nov 8, 07); www.worldwatch.org/node/5474 25. SOTW 2008 Part One: Setting the Context 26. Ocean Futures Society, headed by Jean-Michel Cousteau; www.oceanfutures.org ~ Quotes and figures sourced from The Pachamama Alliance website, 27, 28. Brian Haldell, see note 24 www.pachamama.org. 1. Symposium website; http://www.awakeningthedreamer.org Coral Reefs 2. Earth under severe stress; stats from sites below listed: 29. CDB, see note 14 ozone: http://www.livescience.com/environment/080612-ozone-warming.html 30. Ben Block, “Coral Reef Loss Suggests Global Extinction Event,” Worldwatch forest: http://www.un.org/earthwatch/forests/forestloss.html news reports (Dec 12, 08) land: http://www.worldometers.info/ and 31. CBD, see note 14 http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0667e/t0667e04.htm 32. Ben Block, see note 30 fish: http://overfishing.org 33. Recommended by WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation 3. UN, Section 3, #27 of , 1987; International http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm 4. Charts and stats available on http://www.footprintnetwork.org Fresh Water 5. Extinction research by professor David Ulansey; 34. Drinking Water Week, accessed Sept 09 on the Occidental Arts and Ecology http://www.well.com/~davidu/extinction.html website, www.oaec.org 6. Environmental displacement info; 35. http://water.org/facts/ http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/envirorefugees.htm 36. The Species Alliance, http://speciesalliance.org 7. Stats relayed in larger context at 37. International Rivers, www.internationalrivers.org http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp 38. Sara Grusky and Maj Fiil-Flynn, “Will the World Bank Back Down? Water 8. If the Earth had 100 people, ratio description; http://miniature-earth.com Privatization in a Climate of Global Protest,” a special report by Public Citizen’s Water for All program (April 04) “When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water.” 39. Robert Engleman, “Population and Sustainability: Can We Avoid Limiting the –Benjamin Franklin Number of People?” Scientific American (June 09); www.scientificamerican. com/article.cfm?id=population-and-sustainability Part Two: Environment 40. To mention a few: Public Citizen, www.citizen.org and www.wateractivist.org; Food & Water Watch, www.foodandwaterwatch.org; Occidental Arts and Climate Change Ecology Center, www.oaec.org 1. The Pew Center for Global Climate Change, “Overview,” www.pewclimate.org 41, 42, 43. Sara Grusky and Maj Fiil-Flynn, see note 38 2, 3. The Pew Center, “Mythbusters” pdf, www.pewclimate.org, accessed Aug 09. 44. For example, see www.rainwaterharvesting.org; www.raingardens.org; At note 2 the article is referencing the IPCC 2007 report. www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/3475#rainwater; Salmon Protection and 4. NASA 2009, “Global Temperature Trends: 2008 Annual Summation” Watershed Network, www.spawnusa.org www.data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2008 45, 46. Food & Water Watch, www.foodandwaterwatch.org 5, 6. Worldwatch Institute, State of the World Report (SOTW) 2009 7. As reported by Natural Resources Defense Council, Sidebars http://docs.nrdc.org/nuclear/nuc_08042301A.pdf (a) www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/ 8. GHG sources: www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report; AR2005091901295.html www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news; The Revolution Project (b) True Thirst. Statistics from Jean-Michel Cousteau, “Seas the Day: Water is 9. Peter Galvin, CBD, personal communication, Sept 09 World’s Key Security Issue,” Ocean Futures Society, June 2004 feature story, 10. See International Climate Bonds Proposals—Draft from the Network for www.oceanfutures.org Sustainable Financial Markets at www.ethicalmarkets.com. Sourced on Hazel (c) Bottled Water Consumption. Statistics (except for National Geographic stat) Henderson’s website, July 09, www.calvert-henderson.com/current.htm from Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh 11. Transition Towns and Post Carbon Institute, for starters. See also “Energy,” Waters by Robert Glennon (2002); sourced on www.oaecwater.org note 3 (below), and the Resource Directory. Forests Sidebar (Terminology sources): The Pew Center for Global Climate Change, 47. USDA-FS 2000, accessed Sept 09 on www.ran.org, site of the Rainforest www.pewclimate.org; The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Action Network www.ipcc.ch; International Rivers, www.internationalrivers.org 48. www.ran.org 49, 50. Elisabeth Rosenthal, “In Brazil, Paying Farmers to Let the Trees Stand,” Oceans (Aug 22, 09), front page 12. Science Daily (Aug 13, 08); www.sciencedaily.com/ 51. Peter Galvin, CBD, personal communication releases/2008/08/080813144405.htm 52. UN Global Forest Resource Assessment 2005 on www.ran.org

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 89 53. Posted on RAN’s blog by Jennifer Krill (Oct 2, 09) Part Three: Energy 54. Marc Gunther, “Eco-police find new target: Oreos,” Fortune magazine (Aug 13, 08) 55. The World Wildlife Fund’s Jason Clay, author of World Agriculture and the 1. Christopher Flavin, Worldwatch Report: “Low-Carbon Energy—A Roadmap,” Environment http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5945 (download free report using this URL) 56. See www.lesscars.org, www.culturechange.org and/or search “paving 2. See “Portland Leads the Way in Preparation for Peak Oil” at www.worldwatch.org moratorium” on the Web. 3. To become a and wean your community from fossil fuels, see 57. New American Dream offers links to certified sustainably harvested wood and Part Six, Communities, of this book, as well as: http://transitiontowns.org/ recycled products,http://www.newdream.org/marketplace/wood.php. TransitionNetwork/Criteria; and http://transitionus.org (United States); Follow links to both FSC-certified wood (www.fscus.org) and Smartwood- www.citiesgogreen.org; www.greencities.com; www.summitgreen.org; www. certified (www.smartwood.org) reused, reclaimed, recycled and salvaged wood postcarbon.org products. Also find good wood and “WoodWise” products at Green America, http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/woodwise/consumers/ Renewable Energy whatyoucando/goodwood.cfm Sidebar (a) What Is Renewable Energy? boxed definition from Biodiversity www.RenewableEnergyInstitute.org ~ Chief Seattle quote sourced on www.ecoera.org Sidebar ~ E.O. Wilson quote from The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth (2006), p. 31 (six major groups of energy sectors) NRDC, Fig 1 in http://docs.nrdc.org/nuclear/nuc_08042301A.pdf 58. Center for Biological Diversity, www.biologicaldiversity.org 59. E.O. Wilson, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth (2006) 4. Christopher Flavin, “Low-Carbon Energy,” see note 1 60. Extinction research by professor David Ulansey; 5. “Renewables Global Status Report, 2007 Update,” Renewable Energy Policy http://www.well.com/~davidu/extinction.html Network, accessed through http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/renewables_ 61. Trish Andryszewski, Mass Extinction (2008) exec_sum_2007.pdf. Also SOTW 2008, noting a UN report that investments in 62. http://www.conservation.org/LEARN/SPECIES/Pages/overview.aspx; info@ renewable energy reached the $100 billion mark in 2006. sierraclub.bc.ca, and www.sierraclub.bc.ca/quick-links/media-centre/media- 6. Worldwatch Institute, SOTW 2009 clips/-of-extinction 7. Renewable Energy Institute, www.RenewableEnergyInstitute.org 63. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 2009, Red List, 8. Matthew L. Wald, “Wind Energy Bumps into Power Grid’s Limits,” The New York sourced on www.biologicaldiversity.org Times (Aug 26, 08), Business section 64, 65, 66. Trish Andryszewski, Mass Extinction, see note 61 9, 10. National Geographic, “Plugging into the Sun” (Sept 09) 67. http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/ecuador-constitution-grants- 11. SOTW 08 nature-rights/ 12. NRDC, http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/renewables/solar.asp 68. CBD, www.biologicaldiversity.org; see also note 57 13. Sierra Club, www.sierraclub.org Waste, Pollution, and Toxics Sidebar ~ Captain Charles Moore quoted from Earth Island Journal; see note 69 below (b) Christopher Flavin, “Low-Carbon Energy,” see note 1 above 69. Project Kaisei, radio news reports sent from the gyre, Aug 09; (c) National Geographic, “Plugging into the Sun” (Sept 09) www.projectkaisei.org. See also Earth Island Journal (Spring 09): http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/charles_moore/ 14. www.WindEnergyInstitute.com 70. Algalita Marine Research Foundation, www.algalita.org/pelagic_plastic.html 15. Rocky Mountain Institute, www.rmi.org, “Forget Nuclear” by Amory Lovins et al. 71, 72. Brian Halwell, “Ocean Pollution Worsens and Spreads,” see note 24 16. NRDC, http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/renewables/wind.asp 73. www.projectkaisei.org 17. US Geological Survey (USGS), “Geothermal Energy: Clean Power from the Earth’s Heat,” accessed Aug 08 at Sidebar www.nonukes.org/library/usgs_2003_report_on_geothermal_energy.pdf (d) Plastic Stats: California Integrated Waste Management Board, www. 18. Sierra Club, www.sierraclub.org zerowaste. ca.gov/PlasticBags/default.htm; US Environmental Protection 19. USGS, see note 17 Agency (2008), Municipal Solid Waste: Generation, Recycling, and Disposal– 20, 21. Renewable Energy Institute, www.RenewableEnergyInstitute.org Facts & Figures for 2007; third stat based on US Census data for 2005, and 22. Rocky Mountain Institute, www.rmi.org US EPA (2006) Municipal Solid Waste report for 2005. Sidebar (Renewable Energy DIY) 74. Mushroom info gathered from the following: www.fungi.com (Stamets’ own (d) Condensed from “Producing Your Own Renewable Energy” by Andy Karnitz, site); Mycelium Running, one of the books by Paul Stamets; www..com/ published in Humboldt Coalition for Property Rights Newsletter (Summer 09) PaulStamets; the TED video “Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World” on Sidebar (Sweden) TED.com; radio interview with Sue Supriano, www.SueSupriano.com/audio/ (e) www.RenewableEnergyInstitute.org paulstamets.mp3 (f) SOTW 2008 75. For living machines, start with www.oceanarks.org; also www.yesmagazine. org/article.asp?ID=673 Hydroelectric, Coal, Nuclear Energy 76. Quoting Captain Charles Moore; see note 69 23. NRDC, www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/hydrogen/contents.asp 24, 25. www.InternationalRivers.org among others 26. NRDC, http://docs.nrdc.org/nuclear/nuc_08042301A.pdf No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back. 27. www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/factsheets/power.asp#return4 —Turkish proverb 28. SOTW 2008 29. Rocky Mountain Institute, www.rmi.org Creative Commons/Center for American Progress Action Fund 30. SOTW 2008

~ “Ten Strikes” list and quote beginning “New nuclear power is so costly…” from “Forget Nuclear,” by Amory B. Lovins, Imran Sheikh, and Alex Markevich of the Rocky Mountain Institute; accessed on www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid467.php

90 ENDNOTES Energy Conservation 23. UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous 31. Christopher Flavin, “Low-Carbon Energy,” see note 1 Peoples, Article 20.1; www.un.org 32. McKinsey Climate Change Special Initiative 2007, found on NRDC website 24. Bonney Hartley, see note 16 33. Amory B. Lovins, commissioned paper, “Energy End-Use Efficiency,” accessed 25. Seventh Generation Fund newsletter, Aug 09 at www.rmi.org/images/PDFs/Energy/E05-16_EnergyEndUseEff.pdf March 06; www.7genfund.org 34. Jeff Goodell, “Look West, Obama,” Rolling Stone (Feb 19, 09) 26. Nellis Kennedy and Winona LaDuke, 35, 36. Pie charts: US chart from Energy Information Administration, AER 2008; “Opportunity knocks but it’s not Desert Rock,” Bigstockphoto.com Global chart from British Petroleum, annual report on energy production, 2008 Navajo Times (June 18, 09); http://www.honorearth.org/news/opportunity- 37. Chart: US Energy Consumption by Sector, US Energy Information Administration, 2007 knocks-it039s-not-desert-rock 27. “White Earth Land Recovery Project Receives…Award,” Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation press release; http://www.foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/ “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” Honoring Diversity –“Imagine” by John Lennon ~ Nobel Prize references: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/ laureates/2009/press.html (Oct 9, 09); “Nobel economics prize goes to woman Part Four: A Just Society who studies natural resources” by Grist contributor Agence France-Presse (Oct 12, 09); www.grist.org/article/2009-10-12-nobel-economics-prize-goes-to- ~ Cynthia McKinney quoted from her acceptance speech (GA Congress) in Nov 04. woman-who-studies-natural-resource Eleanor Roosevelt quoted from remarks at a UN presentation, 1958. 28. www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-th_n_92077.html ~ E.O. Wilson quote from The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth (2006), p. 75 29. In These Times, “20 Questions with Grace Lee Boggs,” www.inthesetimes. com/community/20questions/4060/grace_lee_boggs/ Global Challenges 30. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, African Americans and Climate 1. End Poverty 2015 Millennium Campaign, press release (June 23, 09); www. Change: An Unequal Burden (2004); www.cbcfinc.org endpoverty2015.org 31. Hayes Morehouse, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights blog (Aug 21, 09); www. 2. Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development, Human Development ellabakercenter.org/blog Report 2009, UN Development Program, http://hdr.undp.org 32. Denver-based Sisters of Color for Education; www.sistersofcolor.org 3. Michael Renner, “Environment a Growing Driver in Displacement of People,” 33. Census data Immigration Policy Center; www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/ Worldwatch news reports (Sept 17, 08) default/files/docs/American_Roots_in_the_Immigrants_Experience_101909.pdf 4. Overcoming Barriers, see note 2 34. Charu Chandrasekhar, “Flying While Brown: Federal Civil Rights Remedies to Post- 5. Robert Engleman, “Population and Sustainability: Can We Avoid Limiting the 9/11 Airline Racial Profiling of South Asians,” Asian Law Journal, Vol 10 (May 03) Number of People?” Scientific American (June 09); this is also the source 35. Asian American Justice Center, www.advancingequality.org of the boxed text in the right margin: www.scientificamerican.com/article. 36. Asian Pacific Environmental Network,http://apen4ej.org/building.ht m cfm?id=population-and-sustainability. Engelman is VP for programs at the Worldwatch Institute and author of More: Population, Nature, and What Pathways to an Equitable Future Women Want (Island Press). See current numbers on the federal government’s 37. US Department of Labor, “DOL Announces Green Jobs Grants—$150 Million “population clocks” site, www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html Available for Pathways Out of Poverty” (June 09); www.doleta.gov/grants/ 6. “Population Challenges: The Basics,” published by The Population Institute and find_grants.cfm available as a downloadable pdf from their website: www.populationinstitute.com. 38. Joel Warner, “Urbavore’s Dilemma: Blue and Yellow Logic hopes to mix up a 7. Robert Engleman, Scientific American, see note 5 new form of green,” Denver Westword (Aug 4, 09); www.BlueandYellowLogic.com 8. “The Population Taboo,” posted by Lisa Stiffler on Sightline (June 17, 09), 39. The Corps Network, www.corpsnetwork.org/index.php?option=com_content&vi accessed July 09, http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/06/17/ ew=article&id=87&Itemid=54 the-taboo-of-population-growth 40. Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson, The Better World Handbook (2007) 9. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, “Why Women’s Rights Are the Cause of Our Time,” The New York Times Magazine (Aug 29, 09) 10. Hillary Clinton quoted by interviewer Mark Landler in “A New Gender Agenda,” Part Five: Economics The New York Times Magazine (Aug 29, 09) 11. Kristof and WuDunn, see note 9 1. Peter M. Senge, Joe Laur, Bryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, and Sara Schley, 12. Robert Engleman, Scientific American, see note 5 above The Necessary Revolution (2008). Excerpt, “Seeing the Whole Picture” in 13. Optimum Population Trust and the London School of Economics, “Fewer Sustainable Systems at Work, Discussion Course by Northwest Earth Institute, Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost” www.optimumpopulation.org/ 2009; www.nwei.org reducingemission.pdf 2. Peter Senge et al., The Necessary Revolution (2008). List slightly abridged for space. 14. Chris Maser, “To Control Our Population, We Must Honor Women,” essay from The Perpetual Consequences of Fear and Violence: Rethinking the Future (2004) Global Crisis 3. David Korten, “Living Wealth: Better Than Money,” Yes! Magazine (Fall 07); The UN: Envisioning a Better World www.yesmagazine.org/issues/stand-up-to-corporate-power/1834 15. UNDP Human Development Report, 1997 4. The New Economy Working Group, www.neweconomyworkinggroup.org 16. United Nations, “Human Rights and Poverty: 60 Years Later,” www.un.org/ 5, 6. David Korten, ”Living Wealth,” see note 3 above works/sub3.asp?lang=en&id=63 7. The New Economy Working Group (in process) 17. UNPFII (2005), Report on the Fourth Session (E/C.19/2005/9) 8. David Korten, “What do you mean by ’Money is a System of Power’?” 18. Bonney Hartley, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “MDG Reports www.davidkorten.org/MoneyPower and Indigenous Peoples: A Desk Review,” No. 3 (Feb 08) www.mdgmonitor.org/ 9. The New Economy Working Group website: www.neweconomyworkinggroup.org factsheets.cfm 19, 20. Millennium Promise website: www.millenniumpromise.org Globalization 21. Teach a Man to Fish website: www.teachamantofish.org.uk 10. “Global Marshall Plan, Balance the world with a eco-social market economy,” www.globalmarshallplan.org/the_initiative/strategy/index_eng.html Indigenous Rights 11. Laura Carlsen, “Americans Policy Report the Mexican Farmers’ Movement: 22. “Resource Kit on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues,” UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Exposing the Myths of Free Trade (2003); www.ifg.org/analysis/wto/cancun/ Issues, 2008; www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/.../resource_kit_indigenous_2008.pdf mythtrade.htm International Forum on Globalization

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 91 12. Tao Wang and Jim Watson, “Trade, Climate Change, and Sustainability.” 39. Carl Frankel, “Putting the Brakes on Fast Money: An Interview with Woody In 2009 State of the World–Into a Warming World, Report by Worldwatch Tasch,” Chronogram Magazine (April 27, 09); http://www.chronogram.com/ Institute; www.worldwatch.org issue/2009/5/Community+Notebook/Putting-the-Brakes-on-F...8/27/2009

Global Solutions Sidebar Notes (40) 13, 14. Joseph Stiglitz, “Reform is needed. Reform is in the air. We can’t afford to (a) Ellen Brown, “The Public Option in Banking: How We Can Beat Wall fail,” (27 March 09); http://guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/ Street at its Own Game” (Aug 5, 09); http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/ mar/27/global-recession-reform public_option.php 15. List compiled from the following sources: Henderson (2002, 2003), Jubilee (b) Ellen Brown, “But Governor, You Can Create Money! Just Form Your Own USA, Redefining Progress, Global Policy Forum, and the Global Marshall Plan Bank” (May 26, 09); http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/but_governor.php Initiative’s “Five Elements of an Eco-Social Economy” 16. Citizens Trade Campaign 2009 “Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and 41. See also Sourcewatch wiki: www.sourcewatch.org for info on Greenwashing Employment (TRADE) Act” had 75 US Congressional co-sponsors in 2008. 42. www.ChevronToxico.com 17. Hazel Henderson, “Re-defining Economic Growth and Re-shaping Globalization 43. Brian Goldberg, “In the US, the Federal Trade Commission Takes on Toward Sustainability 2009,” International Conference on Concerted Strategies Environmental Marketing Claims.” Posted on Resource to Meet the Environmental and Economic Challenges of the 21st Century. (July 8, 09); http://www.environmentallawresource.com/2009/07/articles/ , Austria (April 2009); http://www.clubofrome.org/eng/meetings/ sustainability/in-the-us-the-fe... vienna_2009/presentations.asp 44. “Learn more about corporate power,” http://www.foei.org/en/what- 18. Rachel Dixon, “’Teach us how to fish—do not just give us the fish’; Does buying we-do/corporate-power/nominations-wanted-worst-corporate-climate- Fairtrade products really make a difference to people’s lives?” lobbyists/?searchterm=corporate%20lobby www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/12/ethicalliving.lifeandhealth/print 45. Larry Lohmann, “When Markets are Poison: Learning about Climate Policy 19. Norwegian Nobel Committee, Oct 06. Accessed at www.grameen-info.org/ from the Financial Crisis” (Sept 09); www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/pdf/ index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=197&Itemid=197 briefing/40poisonmarkets.pdf 46. Stacy Mitchell, “The Corporate Co-Opt of Local” (July 9, 09); Enterprise Economics www.newrules.org/retail/article/corporate-coopt-local 20. David Suzuki with Faisal Moola, “Life-altering planetary experience,” Science 47. Stacy Mitchell, “Local Where? Big corporations are finding ways to sell Matters (Oct 2, 09), email newsletter themselves as the folks next door” (July 22, 09); published on Seven Days 21. David Korten, “Why This Crisis May Be Our Best Chance to Build a New www.7dvt.com Economy,” YES! Magazine (Summer 09) 22. Chris Maser explains in detail in Earth in our Care (2009) Local Solutions 23. Janine Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (1997) 48. Chris Maser, from “True Community is Founded on a Sense of Place, History 24. Definition of sustainable development: 1987, United Nations World and Trust” (2008), Social Essay 28; and from “The Commons Usufruct Law” Commission on Environment and Development (2009), Social Essay 31; www.chrismaser.com 25. Joyce Marcel, “Seventh Generation buys itself,” Vermont Business Magazine (July 49. Michael Shuman, “Local Stock Exchanges and National Stimulus,” posted on 1, 2000); http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3675/is_200007/ai_n8903496/ Sept 2, 09; www.small-mart.com/home 26. Hazel Henderson, Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy (2006) 50. Michael Shuman, The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are 27. Ray Anderson, plenary speaker, Bioneers conference 2008; www.bioneers.org/ Beating the Global Competition (2006) presenters/ray-anderson 51. Doug Pibel, “Communities Take Power: The Citizens of Barnstead, New 28. John R. Ehrenfeld, “The Roots of Sustainability,” MIT Sloan Management Hampshire, Used Local Law to Keep Corporate Giants Out of Their Water,” Review (Winter 05). IN Sustainable Systems at Work, Discussion Course 2009, YES! Magazine (July 07); Northwest Earth Institute http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/stand-up-to-corporate-power/1828 29. “What’s Wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility?” Corporate Watch Report 52. Michael Shuman, “Local Stock Exchanges…,” see note 49 (2006). Downloadable pdf from www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=2693 53. www.community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/cdcs/index.html 30. www.climatebiz.com/news/2008/11/17/verizon-ups-cox-fleets?page=0%2C1 54. “Models & Innovations in Ownership,” on National Center for Economic & 31. www.climatebiz.com/news/2008/11/13/fedex-ibm-and-office-depot-report- Security Alternatives website: www.ncesa.org/html/thirdway.html green-progress 55. David Korten, “The World We Want,” presentation to the Consumer 32. John Elkington, Chapter 1 Enter the Triple Bottom Line (Aug 17, 04); Cooperatives Management Association, June 08 www.johnelkington.com/TBL-elkington-chapter.pdf 33. John Talberth, “A New Bottom Line for Progress.” Chapter 2, SOTW 08 by Cooperatives the Worldwatch Institute. Dr. John Talberth is Director of the Sustainability 56. Living Young & Free website quote: www.livingyoungandfree.com/ Indicators Program at Redefining Progress. 57. “Resilience of the co-operative business model in times of crisis” and 34. Earth Charter International. “The Earth Charter, GRI, and the Global Compact: statistical information on the International Co-operative Alliance website: Guidance to Users on the Synergies in Application and Reporting” (2008), (c) www.ica.coop/coop/statistics.html Global Reporting Initiative, downloadable pdf from www.globalreporting.org 35. Global Reporting Initiative, “Number of companies worldwide Innovative Community Banks reporting on their sustainability…,” press release (July 15, 09); www. 58. “Our Story” about Development Depositssm; www.shorebankcorp.com globalreporting.org/NewsEventsPress/PressResources/PressRelease_14_ 59. “Our Story,” www.shorebankcorp.com/ July_2006_1,000GRIReports.htm 60. Chris Maser, “True Community is Founded on a Sense of Place, History and 36. “What’s Wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility?” Corporate Watch Trust” (2008), Social Essay 28; www.chrismaser.com Report, see note 29 37. Kenny Bruno, [50] “The UN’s Global Compact, Corporate Accountability and the Johannesburg Earth Summit,” Corporate Watch (Jan 24, 02); “The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=1348 IN “What’s Wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility?” Corporate Watch Report (2006). Downloadable pdf from less is compassionate, prosperous, and thus more intelligent, even www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=2693 competitive.” —Paul Hawken 38. RiskMetrics Group, “Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Consumer and Technology Companies.” A Ceres Report (Dec 08); http://www.ceres.org/Page. “Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be aspx?pid=1002 acting. Otherwise, what is the use of seeing?” —Thich Nhat Hanh

92 ENDNOTES Part Six: CommunitY 27. Tassafaronga is registered for LEED for Homes with a goal of Platinum certification, www.dbarchitect.com th 1. http://transitionus.org (United States) 28. Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation plans 150 new homes for New Orleans’ 9 Ward, www.makeitrightnola.org/ 29. New Orleans: www.globalgreen.org/neworleans/holycross/; www. Growing Communities helpholycross.org 2. “Cook One Meal, Eat for a Week…,” http://www.greenamericatoday.org/pubs/ 30. www.hud.gov/recovery. Watch HUD Secretary Donovan talk green. realgreen/articles/cooperativemeals.cfm 31. “Architecture for Humanity brings design, construction and development 3. Phone interview with Bruce Davidson in Shutesbury, MA, Sept 23, 09 services to communities in need globally,” www.architectureforhumanity.org 4. Bill McKibben, “A Place that Makes Sense: On Not Living Too Large,” Sept 23, 32. World Habitat Day, US-hosted in 2009, www.hud.gov/whd/ 08; www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=5225 33. Arthur Schendler, “Getting Green Done,” www.thebigmoney.com/articles/ 5. Stephanie Hemphill, “Swedish Town Takes Sustainability to New Level,” judgments/2009/03/12/losing-money-through-walls Minnesota Public Radio, Morning Edition (July 8, 09); http://minnesota. 34. Tom Whipple covers peak oil in the Falls Church News-Press, www.fcnp.com publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/07/sustainable_sweden/ 35. Environmental Building News, “Passive Survivability: A New Design Criterion 6. Alison Pruitt, “Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm Becomes Model of Sustainability,” for Buildings,” www.buildgreen.com July 13, 09; www.energyboom.com/policy/Hammarby_Sjostad_Stockholm_ 36. USGBC on Langston High School, leedcasestudies.usgbc.org; Washington Becomes_Model_of_Sustainability Post on green schools, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2007/09/10/AR2007091002310.html Green Building 37. www.ecoschools.com/Energy/Energy_wSidebar.html 7. A simple formula: Add the number of hours each day you are at work/school, in 38. Nevada’s “model for a sustainable regional energy economy,” www. transit (vehicle), eating, using TV/computer, shopping/errands inside, sleeping, energynevada.com and average the numbers. 39. NY Times blogs green schools: greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/ 8. www.baosol.com/ shining-a-natural-light-on-green-schools/ 9. Visionary: http://weburbanist.com/2008/07/08/15-more-future-wonders-of- 40. A Green White House: www.inhabitat.com/2009/09/15/the-white-house-takes- green-technology/ aim-at-leed-certification/; www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/28/obama-i- 10. When you grab your keys to go, turn off all nonessentials with a single switch: want-to-make-the_n_146951.html www.jackgodfreywood.co.uk/switch.htm; www.diylife.com/2007/10/02/power- 41. “Teach, don’t just lock up,” www.grist.org/article/2009-08-19-washington- off-the-whole-house-with-a-single-switch/; www.ecogeek.org/component/ state-prisons-pursue-sustainable-practices-green-jobs/; blogs.evergreen.edu/ content/article/958 sustainableprisons/ 11. Architects Steven Kieran and James Timberlake are profiled in “Treehugger.” 42. ADPSR’s Prison Alternatives Initiative supports community-based alternatives The transparent Cellophane house is designed to be disassembled, re-used, to incarceration, www.adpsr.org and recycled. www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/wrapping-up-with-the- cellophane-house.php; www.kierantimberlake.com Greening Cities 12. The pride of the Midwestern green building community, Greensburg was 43. David Owen, “Is one of the greenest cities around?” The New flattened by a tornado of historic intensity, now being reconstructed from Yorker; www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2009/09/david-owen- the ground up. Planet Green covers the process, reality-TV style; www. green-.html greensburggreentown.org/; www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/realestate/ 44. Rocky Mountain Institute, Clinton Climate Initiative, and partners, www.rmi.org commercial/23kansas.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=greensburg&st=cse. Germany’s 45. ’s PlaNYC provides a comprehensive set of sustainable Eco City is profiled in Inhabitat, www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/19/eco-city- objectives: www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030; volunteer.nycservice.org seeking-highest-rating-from-the-three-major-major-green-rating-systems/; 46. North Carolina: www.ncprojectgreen.com/; Texas: www.txgreenenergyaudits.com www.ecocity.de/ 47. DC’s websites go deep: www.greenhome.org; www.green.dc.gov. 13. “The State of Green Building,” a White Paper; published by ThermaTru, a door 48. “High Point…,” www.seattlehousing.org manufacturer; www.thermatru.com/pdfs/WhitePaper.pdf 49. Watch Greensburg rebuilding: www.planetgreen.discovery/tv/greensburg. 14. A thorough report from Environment America: www.environmentamerica.org/ More great shows include Greenovate, World’s Greenest Homes, Focus Earth, uploads/qk/zy/qkzycNV75kmR8g8HlAR7rw/AME_BBA_web.pdf Invention Nation, Renovation Nation, and scolding Wa$ted! 15. Global Footprint Network expands on the carbon footprint concept, www. 50. Sundance Channel, www.sundancechannel.com, “White Roofs Can Cool footprintnetwork.org Homes, Businesses and the Planet;” Target Center: livegreentwincities.com/ 16. US Green Building Council, Green Building Research, www.usgbc.org news/newsitem.aspx?newsid=1072&newsitemid=7006; Chicago’s City Hall: 17. Pat Murphy, “The Energy Impact of Our Buildings,” www.communitysolution.org www.cityofchicago.org; www.greenroofs.org 18. Andrew Michler, “Seven steps to a sustainable building, a performance path” 51. “Green walls–go vertical!” www.eltlivingwalls.com/; www.g-sky.com/; www. (April 16, 09); www.igreenbuild.com .com/2009/TECH/science/06/28/green.walls/index.html; www.mnn.com/ 19. On outgassing/indoor air pollution: dkmommyspot.com/what-is-outgassing; business/commercial-building/blogs/pnc-unveils- www.outgasreport.com/ six-story-green-wall; www.mnn.com/the-home/ 20. Each of these sites has energy audit links: www.cbpca.org/homeowners; www. building-renovating/stories/green-walls-of-china; energystar.gov/; www.mygreenelement.com/category/environmental-footprint/ www.treehugger.com/files;/2008/09/11-buildings- Kelly Slocum 21. Get stimulated! Find weatherization programs at www.waptac.org/; apps1. wrapped-in-green-walls.php eere.energy.gov/weatherization/ 52. The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting 22. Just a few: www.jetsongreen.com/2008/01/greenmobile-ult.html; www. Human Manure, www.weblife.org/humanure/ greenpoddevelopment.com/; greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/ 53. www.igreenbuild.com/cd_3218.aspx reinventing-modular-housing-as-green/; www.weehouse.com; www. 54. Sleek style for a greywater workhorse: www.inhabitat. motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/Green-Modular-Homes.aspx com/2009/09/28/sinktoilet-combo-is-an-all-in-one-greywater-recycling-system/ 23. Architect Sarah Susanka brings to light a new way of thinking about what 55. www.grist.org/article/single-stream-dream makes a place feel like home: www.notsobighouse.com 56. “Green Building Retrofits Represent a Potential $400B Market,” 24. LEED: www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19; BREEAM: www. www.environmentalleader.com/2009/06/18/green-building-retrofits-represent- breeam.org; www.thegbi.org/news/news/2009/GBI-Testimony-and- a-potential-400b-market/ Background-info-to-Senate-Energy-Committee.pdf 57. “Insulation gets stimulated!” http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/weatherization 25. State tax incentives, www.dsireusa.org/; federal incentives, www.energystar.gov 58. Environmental Leader: www.environmentalleader.com; State Government 26. “The State of Green Building,” see note 13 above reps: www.usa.gov’s; DC names you need: www.congress.org

SUSTAINABLE WORLD SOURCEBOOK 93 Transportation Sidebar 59. Senator John Kerry, “We Can’t Ignore the Security Threat from Climate (a) GHGs per US Food Sector chart: US Institute for Agriculture Change,” The Huffington Post (Aug 31, 09) and Trade Policy, http://www.iatp.org/iatp/publications. 60. Toronto Transportation Services, Idling Control Bylaw, www.toronto.ca/ cfm?accountID=258&refID=105667 transportation/onstreet/idling.htm 61. United for a Fair Economy, www.faireconomy.org 9. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Livestock’s Long 62. Toronto Transportation Services, see note 60 Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options,” Rome (2006), p. 272 63. The Idle-Free Zone, http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/idling/why-idle. 10. Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, “Livestock and Climate Change,” cfm?attr=28 Worldwatch (Nov/Dec 09), p. 11 64, 65. Entrepreneur, “Unnecessary Engine Idling Causes Air Pollution,” www. 11. USGS, “Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000,” authored by entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/128712592.html Hutson et al. (2005) 66. “Redesigning Urban Transport,” Earth Policy News, adapted from Ch. 10, 12. Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, Univ of Chicago study (2006), “Vegan Diets “Designing Cities for People,” in Lester R. Brown, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Healthier for Planet, People Than Meat Diets,” Environmental Science and Save Civilization (2008) Technology (2008) 67. “Restructuring the US Transport System: The Potential of High-Speed Rail,” 13. Journal of the American Dietetic Association (June 03), Vol 103, No 6: pp. 748–65 Earth Policy News, adapted from Ch. 11, “Raising Energy Efficiency,” in Lester 14. Trathen Heckman contributed his unique and passionate writing to this section. R. Brown, see note above 68, 69. See note 66 Sidebar 70. Lloyd Alter, “They are Building Bicycle Superhighways in Copenhagen” (b) Sidebar: Is Seafood a Good Choice? From Helen Olsson, “Eco Eating,” in (Aug 21, 09); www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/copenhagen-bicycle- Delicious Living Magazine, Whole Foods Market (April 09), Vol 25, No 4. For superhighways.php responsible seafood choices, go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website at: 71. See note 66 www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx; see also New England 72. Rocky Mountain Institute, “Transformational Trucking, How the Trucking Aquarium, www.neaq.org Industry Can Avoid the Automotive Industry’s Fate,” accessed at http://www. treehugger.com/files/2009/03/transformational-how-trucking-industry-avoid- Home Sweet Nontoxic Home automotive-fate.php. See also CSR Wire, The Corporate Social Responsibility 15. Rachel’s Environment and Health Weekly #538 (March 20, 97) Newswire, July 7, 09, press release, “EA Logistics Publishes White Paper on 16. Yes! Magazine (Summer 98), p. 13 Green Transport,” www.csrwire.com 17. “A Greener Future, Part 1,” Los Angeles Times (Sept 14, 08) 73. Sierra Club, www.SierraClub.org 18. Elise Miller, ED of the Institute for Children’s Environmental Health, at a 74. See, for example, Union of Concerned Scientists, “Clean Vehicles,” Bioneers panel on “Protecting Our Most Vulnerable” (Oct 18, 08) http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/technologies_and_fuels/hybrid_ 19. American Cancer Society fuelcell_and_electric_vehicles/battery-electric-vehicles.html; “Automakers 20. Sightline Institute, www.sightline.org/research/sust_toolkit/solutions/ Go Electric” by Ben Block (Dec 9, 08), Worldwatch Institute, www.worldwatch. precautionary org/node/5956; Honda Corp., http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/; and 21. Bioneers panel, see note 18 Tesla Motors, www.teslamotors.com. To compare hybrid vehicles: 22. US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Children’s www.hybridcenter.org Sleepwear Regulations, 1, 16 CFR Parts 1615 & 1616 75. Toyota Green Road to Growth, “Making Manufacturing Sustainable,” www. 23. Food Not Lawns (landscaping) toyota.co.jp/en 76. UCS, www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/technologies_and_fuels/gasoline_and_ Sidebar diesel/ucs-vanguard-2009.html (c) Improving Appliances: DOE site; www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/ 77. The Rocky Mountain Institute, www.rmi.org water_heating.html; From Treehugger.com, “Repair or Replace (and Recycle) 78. Vandana Shiva paraphrased from Soil Not Oil (2008), pp. 2, 77-89. Your Hot Water Heater,” by Colin Dunn, posted March 23, 2008. 79. For more on Univ of Florida efforts, see www.sustainable.ufl.edu See www.oaecwater.org for solar water-heating tips from the Occidental Arts 80. List based on Sierra Club material, with additional suggestions toward the end. and Ecology Center’s Water Institute. See www.sierraclub.org 81. The Surface Transportation Policy Project, www.transact.org, is a nationwide Ecological Footprint coalition working for safer, smarter transportation choices that enhance Info contributed by the Global Footprint Network; www.footprintnetwork.org the economy, improve public health, promote social equity, and protect the environment. RE: Connecting jobs to public transit, see http://goodjobsfirst. The Consumption Conundrum org/smart_growth/connecting_jobs.cfm 24. Adam D. Sacks, “The Fallacy of Climate Activism” (Aug 23, 08), www.grist.org/article Part Seven: Getting Personal 25. See regular Worldwatch Institute reports called Vital Signs for statistical evidence Food 26, 27. Juliet Schor, “Forget commercialism! The new realities of consumption 1. India Environment Portal: Food and Water Watch, www.indiaenvironmentportal. and the economy” (posted Nov 18, 08); see also “The Politics of Consumption,” org.in/category/publisher/food-water-watch Boston Review (Summer 99). www.simpleliving.net is a good place to start 2. Univ of Minnesota studies: C.F. Runge and B. Senauer, “How Biofuels Could thinking about your own consumption. Starve the Poor,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 07), referenced in “Why GM Crops 28. “Population Challenges: The Basics,” www.populationinstitute.com Will Not Feed the World,” by Bill Freese, GeneWatch magazine 3. www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp Spirituality 4. Union of Concerned Scientists, The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Thanks to Rev. Kelly Isola, MDiv, for this section. Environmental Choices (1999), p. 58 5. www.sierraclub.org/factoryfarms/factsheets/antibiotics.asp 6. David Wolfe, Eating for Beauty (2009) The Way is long—let us go together. The Way is 7. Andrew Martin, “Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?” The New York Times difficult—let us help each other. The Way is joyful— (March 22, 09), Business section let us share it. The Way is ours alone—let us go in 8. India Environment Portal, see note 1 love. The Way grows before us—let us begin.

—Zen Invocation Leah Beck

94 ENDNOTES John Story

“What has never been understood so fully before is that we co-author our future. Life doesn’t just happen to us: we inhabit a participatory universe, influencing and being in- fluenced on a cellular level by everything that is around us. We know now that we are not simply parts of a machine, and that the greatest gift we can offer is the use of our consciousness to transform our experience.” — Dawna Markova, psychotherapist, author

“As we nurture and restore Nature toward ecological sustainability for all generations, we heal ourselves. As we heal ourselves, we heal our society—one person, one community at a time. As we heal society, we heal our environment. As we heal our environment, we begin to understand what it really means to be a compassionate human being entrusted with the care of Planet Earth.” — Chris Maser, author Making the Connections:

How Your daily life choices affect the fate of THE world

How does your diet affect climate change? How is the global economic recession an opportunity for positive change? What is your ecological footprint, and what can you do about it? From environment, energy, and economics to local communities... Find the answers here.

A World of Solutions at Your Fingertips

A rich, engaging summary of the major issues, from global to personal, with resources for becoming part of the solution.

“We’re challenged at this critical moment in history to change our thoughts and behavior in significant ways. That’s why I love theSustainable World SourceBook: it tells us everything we need to know to create a healthier, more just and more peaceful world.” —Marianne Williamson, internationally acclaimed author and teacher

“This incredibly practical and visually rich SourceBook conveys much of what is called for in these extraordinary times. It is chock full of the critical information necessary to save our planetary life-support system and create thriving communities.” —Randy Hayes, founder, Rainforest Action Network

“The Sustainable World SourceBook is a fabulous tool—it’s loaded with information and resources that enable you to understand the big picture and to make a meaningful contribution to a just, fulfilling and $11.95 sustainble world. US /Canada —Lynne Twist, co-founder, The Pachamama Alliance; founder, The Soul of Money Institute

“The SourceBook is one of the very best ways to get yourself informed and motivated so you can play an active role in the global project of turning things around.” —Dr. Kevin Danaher, co-founder, Global Exchange and Green Festivals