David Braden (CCAL30) (1865)
Subsections
Actions
- Delete
- Edit
- Reply
Practical Approach
Posted to: David Braden (CCAL30) (1865) by David Braden (CCAL30) (1865), Mon, 28 Mar 2005 13:46:03 PST
Feedback score: 2 (* *)
Comments: 3 by 3 members
Viewed: 44 times by 18 members
I have been working on relating productive elements into sustainable systems. I can see how we might rearrange things to move away from linear business plans that end up with waste to integrated business plans in which each element feeds on and supports other elements. I've been talking to the folks at ZERI, reading up on the Bioneers, etc. There is a lot of expertise out there but, apparently, little momentum for change.
You can see the same thing here on O.net. Sincere talented people in tens of discussions concerned with bits and pieces of what we might call an emerging vision of the future. Its just that there are so many pieces and the possible arrangements so numerous that it is hard to grasp a big picture.
It occurs to me that one could spend a lifetime designing a project and trying to attract the critical mass of interested people to make the project feasible. Perhaps a better way would be to try to integrate those project on which people are already working.
For example, Boulder and Aspen are currently developing plans to do their part to prevent global warming. There are designs that would take the sewage from those cities, use it to grow biomass, and prevent pollution of the mountain streams. That should interest people like Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited and perhaps the nature conservancy. There is also a need to thin the local forests to prevent forest fires that can be combined with a program of wood gasification to produce renewable energy. This should involve the forest service and open space advocates. Additional energy can be saved if more food is produced and consumed locally. That should involve local food coops and organic gardening and farming groups.
So I think that is what I will explore next. How can I motivate existing activist organizations to look for ways to share resources with other activist organizations?
By Rosemary Nocera (4), Thu, 14 Apr 2005 13:45:01 PDT
Comment feedback score: 0
topBy David Braden (CCAL30) (1865), Thu, 14 Apr 2005 14:13:26 PDT
Comment feedback score: 0
Rosemary Nocera said:
Hello - I just recently joined omidyar and am interested in sustainability theory/practice. I'm an artist/writer living in Oakland, CA and am wondering if you know anyone in this area that I might contact about issues you discussed...
Sorry Rosemary, I'm from Colorado and I just starting to look for that sort of contact here. There is a list of California members of Omidyar.net at:
http://www.omidyar.net/group/community-general/ws/People/
perhaps you can start there. I also invite you to join the discussions at the Sustainable_Living Group. Nothing much is happening there right now but there are topics that I for one would be interested in continuing to pursue.
By Russell Schwartz (2), Mon, 04 Apr 2005 12:30:02 PDT
Comment feedback score: 1 (*)
I have come to precisely the same conclusion that you have. I recently sold a small business that i had built over the last 7 years in order to focus on work that matters more to me. I am also a lawyer, though the only law i have engaged in has been pro bono representation of political asylum applicants. It has been my intention to continue working in the human rights arena.
Recently, I have been reading books on sustainability (Insatiable is not Sustainable by Doug Brown, Earth in Mind by David Orr) and I am now looking at the work i would like to do differently. although i am still interested in human rights, i am also as interested in the connections to an economy of sufficiency including economic redistribution in many forms, access to public healthcare (Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder is an excellent book about what Paul Farmer, a right minded doctor, has done for community healthcare in the poorest parts of Haiti), and other reforms that have been talked about by progressives for a long time. I also recently read The Tipping Point, an inspiring book for those of us wanting to make a difference but awed by the enormity of the task in reforming our growth driven culture.
I was speaking with Michael Posner, the executive director of Human Rights First a few months ago about his organisation and he echoed similar thoughts. We discussed the need for Human Rights First to share resources with other organizations in order to educate like minded constituancies. He understood that it wasn't doing a whole lot of good to keep speaking to the same people on the upperwest side of Manhatten over and over again.
I think cross organizational education may be an important missing and critical link here. So many people are simply uninformed about the issues and how they are linked. So I too am interested in the links between issues and organizations, which you have illustrated in your comments above.
I am meeting with Human Rights First next week and possibly also Partners in Health, Paul Farmers organization in Boston. These thoughts will be at top of mind. I welcome any response.