Using Paper Wisely

You can reduce the environmental footprint of your office if you think before you print and choose the paper that's right for the job. As one of the world's largest suppliers of papers for office printers and copiers and a long-time advocate of sustainable operations, Xerox is sharing five simple tips for using paper smartly.

Education for Sustainability

It is becoming clear that we must rethink and redirect education to address the problems of the 21st century.

The challenges of climate change, peak oil, urban sprawl and population growth will require a fundamental change of philosophy in how we live our lives.

Establishing an education program based on sustainability will offer us the knowledge and skills we’ll need if we’re willing to make this change. We must acquire the abilities needed to “green” our economy and create just, vigorous communities that support a high quality of life for all people. Learning spaces should integrate the ecological, social and economic facets of sustainability into the school program drawing on nationally recognized models of education proven to raise academic achievement and engagement for all students.

Environmental studies in our schools will drive real social and economic youth leadership initiatives in the community. Learning will be inquiry-based, driven by the questions that emerge as we grapple with real problems in our community and bioregion. The curriculum needs to illuminate the interdependence of human and natural systems as a foundation for sustainable education. An emphasis on systems thinking, a unique approach to problem solving, across the curriculum will support students in developing a sophisticated, multifaceted understanding of the world they live in.

As Gandhi said so well ... "We must be the changes we want to see in the world." Let's get going!

Some Basic Reasons We Need a New Energy Policy

Thank you to Keith Schneider, the Communications Director for the Apollo Alliance for this.

1. America can’t drill its way out of addiction to oil.
2. Efficiency and conservation are consequential pieces of a comprehensive energy strategy.
3. Scaling up wind, solar, geothermal, clean fuel made from grass, and other renewables reduces the triple-barreled risk to our security, economy, and environment.
4. New technology – especially in the development of clean next-generation vehicles, and in dramatically reducing CO2 pollution from burning coal for electricity – is essential.
5. These steps will produce a blossoming economy and millions of good jobs that people can count on, reduce the risk of climate change, curb the $700 billion a year bill for foreign oil, and dramatically improve national security.

The choice is clear and the sooner we all act on it the better our chances of making a smoother transition for all of us.

Lets do it......

Calm Before the Storm

The following 27 minute video with Richard Heinberg, author of “Peak Everything”, reviews the accelerating events since mid-2007, including the credit crunch and fossil fuel price volatility, noting that we’ve missed most of the best opportunities to manage collapse.

High Speed Trains

Watch this exciting video showing what is now being planned in California using high-speed trains.

Urban Agriculture

Here is an excellent video showing what people are already doing to bring agriculture back into our neighborhoods and into our lives.