Blogs & Ecology

The Petroleum Ceiling and the Limits of Growth

Last week marked the 60th anniversary of the World Conservation Congress. The Congress is a ten-day forum for leaders in academia, business, government, NGO’s and the UN. Led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this year’s event in Barcelona drew over 8,000 participants. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the IUCN, declared, “The clear message coming out of this meeting is that biodiversity underpins the well-being of human societies and their economies.”

The green networking space is getting crowded. Countless online resources are available where green-minded professionals can connect and interact. But you know that a profession has truly arrived when bona fide professional associations arise to support and promote it. Several niche organizations have sprung up to serve professionals in specific areas like CSR or supply chain. Marsha Willard, the Executive Director of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), believes her organization goes beyond niche to address the entire profession:

The New California Academy of Sciences (CAS) in San Francisco will open September 27th with a long awaited, Renzo Piano designed, 2.5 acre living roof undulating across Golden Gate Park. While the roof has great scientific, educational, and ecological benefits, it will also have a financial benefit by helping to conserve energy use. The roof will keep the building an average 10 degrees cooler than a standard roof.

eBay today unveiled a new ecommerce marketplace called WorldofGood.com by eBay, which offers products that have a positive impact on people and the planet, empowering consumers to align their social values with their shopping. As a result, the new site is both very consumer- as well as idea-centric.

According to Walter Stahel -- one of the founders of the sustainability movement and original thinkers behind the Cradle-to-Cradle design philosophy – social ecology is one of the five pillars of sustainability. He defined social ecology as encompassing “…the fabric of societal structures, including peace and human rights, dignity and democracy, employment and social integration, security and safety…” Simply stated, addressing issues of social sustainability is equally important as the economy and the environment for ensuring the survival of our species.

Low carbon societies can become a reality because technically and economically it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, say scientists from nine countries who researched the issue on behalf of the G8. They say that reducing global carbon emissions by half by 2050 is feasible if clever models are applied and outlined details of three extensive models in a peer reviewed article in Climate Policy.

Microfinance, the practice of making very small loans to people to support their businesses in developing countries, has been helpful to many, and is growing with the emergence of such partnerships as Kiva B4B. But what if your business is too big to be helped much from a microloan, but not big enough or your ideas/skills developed enough to warrant the attention of large scale venture capital?