At the Envision Festival in Uvita, Costa Rica last month, one of the speakers present was Jon Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. For those who haven’t read the book, Perkins writes about how he worked for years to identify foreign nations which had resources the US economy needed, and then to […]
Love Armies and Love Economies: Economic Hit Man for good Read More 👉
Kevin Wilhelm, author of Return on Sustainability and Making Sustainability Stick, has released his new book Sustainability Jobs: The Complete Guide to Landing Your Dream Green Job, co-written with Annie Thomas, Katie Thompson and Ruth Lee. The book is for people looking to get into a green career. Topics covered include where to look for
Sustainability Jobs, the Book Review Read More 👉
The international business community has been growing rapidly in the past few years, and changing how and where we work. New technologies are making it easier than ever to communicate with coworkers in faraway countries and across timezones. Here is a list of our favorite tools that can help you build a business, manage a
New Technologies Make International Business Even Easier Read More 👉
There has been a dramatic change in how office space is being used in the past decade. Thanks to the rise of coworking spaces and an increasing level of employee demand for flexible working hours and remote working options, traditional office environments are fast becoming outdated. In fact, it could be argued that the alternative
New Business Trends that Can Improve Your Company’s Environmental Footprint Read More 👉
Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you. You’re telling someone about some problem the world is facing, whether it’s global warming, animal cruelty in factory farms, sweatshop labor conditions, polluted rivers, e-waste, or some public health epidemic like diabetes, heart disease, cancer or obesity. In your mind, it’s clear as day: the cause
The Invisible Hand (Never Picks Up the Check) Read More 👉
AOL headlined the Ad:Tech media conference in San Francisco and opened the event this morning with a keynote by CEO Tim Armstrong, who announced that AOL is going “all in” (poker parlance), on advertising. Armstrong’s troubled past and shaky performance as CEO has many pundits questioning his moves, but through a series of strategic acquisitions,
AOL goes “all in” on advertising Read More 👉
Israel’s central Arava desert, where saline soils and dry climates are the norm, a thriving community creates up to 60% of Israel’s exported agricultural products. Recently, I visited the Arava valley to see the miracle of agriculture in the desert up close and personal. According to our tour host Michal Marmary: “By any standard, farming
Agriculture where plants can’t grow: Israel’s Arava valley Read More 👉
At the Bloomberg Fuel Choices Summit in Tel Aviv, we learned about Israel’s aggressive alternative transportation goals–reducing oil use by 60% by 2025–and how they plan to achieve it. A talk by Eyal Rosner of the Prime Minister’s office elucidated some of the insights the country has learned from its various clean tech programs over
Israel’s Aggressive Oil Reduction Goals: Is 60% In 12 Years Achievable? Read More 👉
The opening of the London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind power plant, with 174 Siemens wind turbines installed in the Thames estuary, Siemens is well-positioned to continue to lead the way in offshore wind power development in the UK and EU. Their massive turbines, rated at 3.6 MW and with rotor diameters of 120
Siemens Pursuing Strong Offshore Wind Power Development in UK and EU Read More 👉
In the dry western United States, water rights are one of the biggest impediments to sustainable economic development, and often the cause of major conflicts between industries, companies and states. In addition, the archaic laws that protect water rights holders make it virtually impossible for streams and rivers to flow as they have for millenia,
Last week’s general election victory for Tony Abbott and his liberal party may well spell the end of the carbon tax in Australia. Abbott’s liberals (which are kind of the opposite of liberals in the U.S.) have verbally opposed putting a price on carbon, and with overwhelming financial backing from heavy pollution industries in Australia,
Will Australia Nix Its Carbon Tax? Read More 👉
Often, it seems the news is full of companies doing bad things. Other times, it seems that their CSR efforts are largely just greenwashing (the act of advertising themselves as doing something good, when in reality, the big picture is still really pretty bad). But there are companies we love out there, and this series
If you read Inspired Economist, you’re well aware that our economic model based entirely on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is flawed and is driving us over the edge of a cliff. Growth, traditionally, has been measured only by transactions. The more transactions worth more money, the more the gross domestic product, the better. But of
Sustainable Economics: Tim Jackson gives a reality check Read More 👉
John Kerry, Secretary of State, is tasked with making some high level recommendations to President Obama regarding the construction of TransCanada’s controversial oil pipeline known as Keystone XL. Environmentalists have weighed in firmly against the project, citing the “dirty” nature of tar sands oil and the high probability that the pipeline will leak and be
Economic Analysis of Keystone XL: Jobs, the Environment, and Long Term Outcomes Read More 👉
Element Media, publishers of a variety of magazines focused on the Honolulu market, this week announced a partnership with Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods to plant native koa trees on the Big Island of Hawaii in order to offset the carbon emissions and paper use from their periodical Pacific Edge. The move bucks a trend, as many
Element Media’s Print Publications Go Carbon Neutral Read More 👉
The small town of Lac-Magentic in the Quebec province of Canada is ablaze over a full day after a driverless train carrying 72 tankers of oil derailed and exploded in the downtown area. At least one casualty has been reported, with police and officials indicating that the death toll will likely continue to rise. The
Economic dangers of oil reliance Read More 👉
Generally speaking, putting solar on your home is a good investment. But what if you’re planning to sell? Are homebuyers willing to up the ante for a home with solar panels? According to some recent studies, the answer is an overwhelming yes. The first study, by the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, looked at home resale statistics
Solar Panels & Resale Value: Is There An Effect? Read More 👉
Most enviros these days have their sights set squarely on Keystone XL (KXL) as the true barometer of the Obama climate change legacy. Given that, just yesterday, the British Columbia government shut down the possibility of piping the extremely dirty Canadian tar sands oil from Alberta to the coast through the BC province, Obama’s decision
“Stealthy” Obama Adds Some Cement to His Climate Change Legacy Read More 👉
Restaurant chain McDonald’s yesterday rolled out a new menu item in Italy built around the country’s iconic food staple, pasta. The new dish, “Insalata di pasta” is made up of bleached, processed white flour pasta with tuna, tomatoes, peppers, capers, and olives, and was rolled out at a premium price of €4.90 (currently about $6.33). It’s
McDonald’s sets sights on local food… or, at least its version Read More 👉
It’s fairly well established that, in terms of sustainability, attitudes far surpass actions. According to Gallup polls, at least 2/3 of respondents have consistently responded to questions about their concern for the environment by saying that they would describe themselves as fairly green. This trend has been consistent for decades. But action is not always
People frequently respond very positively to polling about environmental attitudes. Even in down years, a grand majority of people respond that they’re concerned about the environment (and/or describe themselves as “environmentalist” in attitude). But the behavior often doesn’t follow the attitude, and it is perhaps the biggest missing link in creating real sustainable change. In the introductory
Environmental Attitude vs. Behavior: Why the Disconnect? Read More 👉
Japanese electronics manufacturer Epson has kept a low profile in its corporate social responsibility efforts over its 7 decades in business. The company has recently made a few small waves, including committing to the green electronics certification EPEAT. EPEAT is a certification registry that now includes computers, printers, scanners, copiers, and multifunction devices. Other than that,
Corporate Social Responsibility at Epson: Printers Designed for the Dump? Read More 👉
“The cornerstone of sustainability is behavior change” I think, as environmentalists, we’d like to see people, altruistically, care about things that [we think] matter. Species extinction. Global climate patterns that are going to create millions of environmental refugees and spawn war and bloodshed. Ever dwindling wild places. But reality hits, and we realize that that’s
With concerns over the wider environment growing on an almost daily basis, the pressure is increasing on some of the world’s largest companies, particularly those in the technology sector to clean up their act. Google is one firm that seem to have paid attention to their carbon footprint, and have apparently invested huge amounts of
Why is Google investing so heavily in renewables? Read More 👉
