
Inspiring Ideas
More stories
-
A New Economy That Works for People, Place, and Planet
Welcome to the 2nd Annual “New Economy Week.” The many thousands of ways that people are creatively working to build a new and more sustainable economy are being celebrated from October 13-19. In this week, NewEconomyWeek.org is exploring what it takes to build an economy that works for “people, place, and planet.” Through a week-long […] More
-
Moving Towards Global Unity
The recent events in Ukraine have been described as the most serious international diplomatic incident to have occurred since the end of the cold war. To those familiar with the power politics of that earlier time, the signs are eerily familiar; a sovereign country being destabilised by the actions of two competing power blocks; an […] More
-
-
A Permaculture Cryptocurrency
Originally published on Ecopreneurist. The use of cryptocurrency to support alternatives to the status quo is picking up steam, and while we’ve previously covered one that is backed by solar energy, one chosen by the Lakota, and another for the marijuana industry, this new digital currency promises to be the “first true asset-backed cryptocurrency on […] More
-
Should We Put a Price on Nature to Save it?
The first World Forum on Natural Capital was held in Edinburgh, Scotland last November. This comes at a time when there is increasing interest in the idea that we need to place a value on the services that nature provides us with for free if we are to prevent further environmental degradation. The conference attracted […] More
-
Educating Students for the World of Tomorrow
It is a question which is of concern to all high school students and to all parents of teenage children. What will I do after school? For some the choice will be obvious; they will have a desire to follow a certain career path, or to enter a specific field of study. However, the majority […] More
-
Time for a New Politics of Sustainability
The major defining feature of politics in our current day and age is the division between the political left and right, with the political spectrum popularly being perceived as a progression from communism on the extreme left, through socialism, liberalism, and conservatism, to fascism on the extreme right. The terms left and right are believed […] More
-
Nationalism and the Global Consensus
Like most people I am proud of my culture. I was born in Scotland and spent the first 25 years of my life there. Although I now live happily in Canada, in many ways I still think of Scotland as being home. It is the landscape which shaped my perceptions of nature and beauty, the […] More
-
The Sharing Economy: A Short Introduction to its Political Evolution
Can the sharing economy movement address the root causes of the world’s converging crises? Unless the sharing of resources is promoted in relation to human rights and concerns for equity, democracy, social justice and sustainability, then such claims are without substantiation – although there are many hopeful signs that the conversation is slowly moving in […] More
-
A Golden Rule for the Future: Charter for Compassion
To bring about a more sustainable and just world, it might not be enough to simply reduce our energy use, or to implement more renewable energies, or to choose to only support ethical companies. It might also be necessary to bring compassion to the forefront of our lives, to put the Golden Rule to the […] More
-
Could a Blue Economy grow a more sustainable future?
One of the big problems with truly innovative and world-changing ideas is the fact that many people, when hearing about them, dismiss them as fables, as being a “nice concept, but totally unfeasible,” and instead of believing that a more abundant and prosperous future is possible, thanks to ‘blue sky’ thinkers, they continue doing the […] More
-
Making a Case for Optimism: Abundance is Our Future (TED Talk)
If you’ve been paying attention to the issues that are at the core of building a more sustainable world, such as food, healthcare, water, climate change, education, energy, natural resources, clean air, and so on, and the multitude of challenges that must be overcome in each of those areas, you might be of the mind […] More
-
Patagonia Subverts Black Friday with this Short Film
As we head into the frenzied weekend of mass consumerism (at least in the US) that kicks off right after Thanksgiving Day with Black Friday, and continues on through Cyber Monday, one of the leaders in responsible business is serving up an antidote and urging us to celebrate the things we already own. If you […] More