http://sustaindane.org/blog en Copyright 2012 2012-05-15T21:59:52+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/what-we-can-learn-about-building-community-resilience-from-single-mothers http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/what-we-can-learn-about-building-community-resilience-from-single-mothers#When:21:59:52Z Rick Santorum recently disparaged single mothers as ripping the fabric of society.  Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, contributing editor-at-large for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and deputy director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy program, reminds us of what we have to learn from their ability to build networks of resilience.  In the sustainbility and resilience movement we talk alot about building community.  We talk about isolated individuals and a lack of investment in our neighbors and communities, but are we just overlooking the populations that know how to stitch a network together faster than you can say "homemade jam," with one hand tied behind their back?  Rick Santorum recently disparaged single mothers as ripping the fabric of society, but Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, contributing editor-at-large for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and deputy director of the Council on Foreign Relations' Women and Foreign Policy program, reminds us of what we have to learn from their ability to build networks of resilience.  http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/in-praise-of-single-mothers/257037/   Cities, Lifestyle, National Trends, 2012-05-15T21:59:52+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/eco-salon-tonight http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/eco-salon-tonight#When:16:21:19Z An inspirational new generation of leaders is emerging in Madison:  Meet them at tonight’s Eco-Salon Too often the “sustainability” movement can be burdened with gloom-and-doom predications—we are living beyond our natural resources, we are trashing our lakes with pesticides, etc. (you know the list).  But tonight:  A shot of optimism in the arm!  We are hosting a great Eco-Salon tonight, with several different “youth” leaders.  And, yes, the next generation of leaders are inspiring—and already are doing some remarkably strong and productive work. Putting together background research on these young leaders has been both inspiring and humbling.  Gabrielle Hinahara and her sister Natalie may not even be old enough to rent a car at the airport yet, but, oh boy, they are doing some great work:  Together, they founded Growing Food & Sustainability, to help middleschool children learn about food production. And Joel Charles, while not busy with his medical school studies, he is, among a dozen other projects, helping make rental houses in Madison more sustainable!  The program begins tonight, Monday, May 14, at Brocach on the Square, 6 pm.  An hour later you will have a bright and inspired vision of the future!   2012-05-14T16:21:19+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/tying-student-learning-to-um-sewers http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/tying-student-learning-to-um-sewers#When:15:11:38Z This project, in a New York City school, is an inspiring example of how schools, city government, and non-profit organizations can come together to engage youth in learning while accomplishing a real and meaningful project that will have far-reaching effects. This project, in a New York City school, is an inspiring example of how schools, city government, and non-profit organizations can come together to engage youth in learning while accomplishing a real and meaningful project that will have far-reaching effects.  This youth led project will address the problem of overtaxed wastewater-treatment plants - a problem only expected to grow as climate change results in more frequent and intense rain falls - while transforming a run of the mill, asphalt playground into the kind of inviting, engaging, green play space that draws children in.  Sewerage overflows are a serious problem all across the United States.  And, right here in our backyard, Milwaukee and Chicago are taking a hard look at their own waste water infrastructure having experienced the destructive impacts of sewerage overflows in recent years. This project seems like a trifecta -- improving student learning while leveraging community resources to collaboratively address a concrete community problem.  There is growing evidence showing that this type of learning, which in educational jargon is often called place-based learning, has positive impacts on student educational and social-emotional outcomes.  It is a great example of the potential to be tapped when you bring together our schools and the larger community to work towards sustainability together. So let's take a moment during this Teacher Appreciation Week to acknowledge the tremendous talent and dedication of our teachers many of whom are always looking for innovative ways to make learning come alive.   Let's also pause to think about what we can do differently to support our teachers and schools as we take on the great responsibility -- all of us -- for preparing our youth for the future.     Education, 2012-05-09T15:11:38+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/rain-rain-stick-around-while-i-rent-a-movie http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/rain-rain-stick-around-while-i-rent-a-movie#When:15:25:56Z Each week, Sustain Dane recommends a good eco-film rental from Four Star Video. With our gloomy spring rains, perhaps tonight is a stay-at-home sort of evening. Each week Sustain Dane presents a movie selection at locally-owned Four Star Rental.  This week, to celebrate the recent re-opening of the Farmers’ Market, what better way than checking in with the documentary Food, Inc..  Bolstered by smart interviews with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), the film tells an important story about the current food industry, and how it is unkindly ruled by large governmental agencies and money-intent corporations.   2012-05-07T15:25:56+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/its-never-too-late-to-change http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/its-never-too-late-to-change#When:18:12:10Z We are large. We contain multitudes. And we will never stop changing. Have you seen the 2009 documentary Food, Inc.?  I did, and I saw lots of images that deeply disturbed me. Like the overcrowded chicken house filled with squawking chickens, unable to fly due to their unnaturally bred size. I felt sickened and pained watching them. And, in all honesty, I felt angry with the farmers who were raising them like that. Why would they enter into such a business knowing that that was the norm? When we experience negative emotions (like mine above of anger, pain, and disgust), it’s easy to try and blame someone or something; to put them into a box and label it “cold-hearted,” “stupid,” “greedy,” or some such other simplistic adjective, and then be done with the whole mess. In that moment we forget two things: 1) that we are all multifaceted, and 2) that change is constant. (Okay, we forget at least two things, maybe more, but I'm trying to keep this blog post short.) Walt Whitman wrote, in Song of Myself,    “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large. I contain multitudes.)” This is true for all of us. We contradict ourselves constantly. It is only human; the price we pay for a complex brain that contains the both inner “reptilian brain” and the impressive neocortex with its deep grooves and wrinkles. We cannot help but contain multitudes. Putting someone into a labeled box negates that fact and when we define someone with a singular characteristic, we sell them (and ourselves) short. Another way we sell people (or organizations) short is to deny that they are capable of change. There are lots of clichés to remind us that change is inevitable (like that one). This too shall pass (my mantra during adolescence, thanks to my dad). The only constant is change. But how often do we really take that timeless truth to heart? Change can be so much harder to deal with than a constant. How do you make plans, or form opinions, when things can change on you at any moment? But change equals possibility and opportunity. Instead of working to avoid change, we can embrace it (or at least expect it) and find ways to take advantage of those possibilities and opportunities newly brought about. If you’ve read this far you’re probably wondering why I’m getting into all this. So here's the thing, this morning these two points were driven home for me in a subtle, but no less meaningful, way. A just-posted article on Grist profiles a chicken farmer from Food, Inc., one of the farmers I was angry with when I saw the movie. Carole Morison, who used to run an overcrowded (not to mention other things) chicken farm,  now runs a humane one where the hens are outside every day, fed a vegetarian and antibiotic-free diet, and have plenty of space to run, peck, and flap their wings. Not only are the current hens faring better than the previous ones, but Carole herself is happier. I love this story for reminding me that we never know the whole story about someone (heck, we don’t even know the whole story about ourselves!) and to have faith in change. Whether it’s change for the better or for the worse, it’s never over ‘til it’s over (to use another cliché). And in an infinite universe, it’ll never be over! (Although maybe I should check with Brian Greene about that infinite bit.) In any case, at every moment we are faced with opportunity; no matter how bad it gets (peak oil, extreme climate change, etc.) we can still choose to change. 2012-05-03T18:12:10+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/fried-chips-in-a-baked-landscape http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/fried-chips-in-a-baked-landscape#When:16:50:14Z Frito-Lay rethinks chip-making.  (Spoiler: they’ll still be using potatoes.) This just in from public radio land: Frito-Lay (a subsidiary of PepsiCo) is recycling water and generating energy from biomass at an Arizona factory, with the goal of being entirely resource self-sufficient. Why? Well, as with most business sustainability course corrections, there is usually always a money saving component.  Less raw resource consumption = more money for use on other things (office fancy-dress parties?). The move by Frito-Lay is hardly news in the sense that plenty of huge corporate brands have acknowledged the cost-savings to be realized from sustainable changes.  Indeed, PepsiCo has one of the more robust corporate social responsibility platforms and appears genuinely invested in forward motion vis-a-vis sustainability. But one quote from the radio piece stands out.  Given that the factory in question is in parched Arizona, a spokesman for PepsiCo's environmental sustainability efforts had this to say about water shortage as a probable incentive for change:  [The factory's] not really directly challenged today. We looked at that as an opportunity to go try that technology and prove it before we need to actually go roll it out. It's terribly exciting to hear businesses talk in the future tense -- not about what they "will do," but about how they will be resilient because they've made smart and creative business decisions.  And they're making those decisions NOW. Let's think about it the other way 'round: What are the incentives for waiting for a major disruption before making smart investments?  Personally?  Organizationally?   Comment here, or on Facebook!     2012-05-03T16:50:14+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/accepting-panel-nominations-for-sustain-danes-badger-bioneers-conference-su http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/accepting-panel-nominations-for-sustain-danes-badger-bioneers-conference-su#When:19:31:43Z We are interested in highlighting projects that reflect the current status of the sustainable schools movement in Wisconsin.  If you are involved in this movement and would like to share your work by participating in one of our panels described below please let us know by Friday, May 11.  Sustain Dane is hosting our 4th annual Badger Bioneers Conference in partnership with the UW-Madison’s Office of Sustainability and Global Health Institute December 12th & 13th, 2012.  We are interested in highlighting projects that reflect the current status of the sustainable schools movement in Wisconsin.  If you are involved in this movement and would like to share your work by participating in one of our panels described below please let us know by Friday, May 11.  Simply email Rachel@sustaindane.org with your name, title and contact information, the panel you best fit, and a brief description of the work/project you would like to share.   Panel 1: Sustainable Schools Showcase Helping children understand systems – ecological, social and economic – and our role in them is a key tenet of Education for Sustainability.  This showcase will provide case studies that demonstrate how projects within a system have broad and far reaching outcomes.  Listen to the stories of 3 schools in Wisconsin that are using their knowledge and understanding of systems to explicitly and intentionally impact student outcomes and fuel change in their schools and communities.   Panel 2: Schools Can’t Do It Alone: School-Community Partnerships Help Students Go Green and Get Healthy Community partnerships are key to the success of sustainable schools.  Those relationships are vital to connecting the curriculum to relevant, real-world issues.  They make sure that the sustainability efforts of schools support those of the community and vice versa.  They bring in resources and support.  Hear how businesses, governments, and non-profits are working with schools to help both the school and community go green and get healthy. ********************************************************************************************* Introduction to the Badger Bioneers Conference: Theme:  The Intersection of Energy, Climate Change, Health & the Economy December 12th & 13th, 2012 at Union South, UW-Madison Reception: December 13th, 6:30 – 10:00 pm Madison Children’s Museum The Badger Bioneers Conference is an annual 2-day conference in the Madison Region, inspired by the national Bioneers Conference held every year in Marin County, California.  The national Bioneers Conference features global social and scientific innovators from all walks of life changing how we view daily life, work and nature.  The Badger Bioneers Conference features 5 local visionaries in sustainability; panel discussions and regional artists, in addition to a curated selection of plenary talks from the National Bioneers Conference.   Participants can design their own schedule for the conference, taking advantage of programming that focused on business, education, communities, and outdoors.  Music, locally-grown food, and a fabulous, extremely well-attended Friday night reception allows attendees to connect with like-minds from the community.   Education, 2012-05-02T19:31:43+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/wendell-berry-has-his-say http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/wendell-berry-has-his-say#When:16:00:10Z The Kentucky farmer is awarded one of the nation’s highest honors. Last week, Wendell Berry was awarded the highest honor bestowed for “distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.” He’s a farmer. People will add that he’s a poet, a novelist, an activist, etc. But all of these activities stem from Berry’s seven decades as someone who pays close, intimate attention to the Kentucky country which he (and two centuries of forbears) has been the steward. If you don’t know Wendell Berry, you have a hole in your soul –- you just don’t know it yet. There is little to say but let the man say it himself; the National Endowment for Humanities filmed his hour-long address and you can view it here (or read the transcript.) The only thing to add as a postscript is that, as with many of the best and brightest, it would be easy to assume that Berry’s achievements have come easy or without the rocking of many boats. His quiet essays contain damning indictments of American energy policy, the national obsession with leisure and ease, and the deeply flawed view of agriculture as simply a product or a service that ought to be calibrated for maximum profit & yield. Agriculture is nothing, Berry notes, without “culture” –- making implicit the deep, ages-old relationship between human-kind and the Earth, and the responsibilities that inhere. Enjoy. He’s the best we’ve got.   2012-05-02T16:00:10+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/accepting-business-panel-nominations-for-sustain-danes-badger-bioneers http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/accepting-business-panel-nominations-for-sustain-danes-badger-bioneers#When:19:39:43Z Send your nomination to Jessie by May 9th Sustain Dane is hosting our 4th annual Badger Bioneers Conference in partnership with the UW-Madison’s Office of Sustainability and Global Health Institute. We are looking for nominations to be featured on a panel in the business track: The Next Step: Paradigm Shift towards Sustainable Business Businesses are beginning to make a paradigm shift to take responsibilities for the externalities they produce through sustainable practices.  Businesses often begin their journey in sustainability with the low-hanging fruit in their operations - changes that will bring a high rate of return within a year.  Further in the process they begin to integrate sustainability into their strategic planning and core mission work.  Hear from 3 businesses that have made this shift. If you would like to nominate a/your business, please do so no later than Wednesday, May 9th by sending short responses to the following questions to Jessie@sustaindane.org: Business Name: Suggested speaker name, title and contact: Why do you think your business should be showcased on this panel? Provide an example of how your business has integrated sustainability into strategic planning and/or core mission work: Provide an example of how your business made a sustainable choice that goes beyond the “low-hanging fruit”:  Can you trace how this shift happened? For example, was it led from the top? A passionate middle manager? Grassroots? Was it purposeful? Did it just happen? How have you looked at your impact beyond your own four walls, e.g. supply chain, community involvement, etc.? Introduction to the Badger Bioneers Conference: Theme:  The Intersection of Energy, Climate Change, Health & the Economy December 12th & 13th, 2012 at Union South, UW-Madison Reception: December 13th, 6:30 – 10:00 pm Madison Children’s Museum The Badger Bioneers Conference is an annual 2-day conference in the Madison Region, inspired by the national Bioneers Conference held every year in Marin County, California.  The national Bioneers Conference features global social and scientific innovators from all walks of life changing how we view daily life, work and nature.  The Badger Bioneers Conference features 5 local visionaries in sustainability; panel discussions and regional artists, in addition to a curated selection of plenary talks from the National Bioneers Conference.   Participants can design their own schedule for the conference, taking advantage of programming that focused on business, education, communities, and outdoors.  Music, locally-grown food, and a fabulous, extremely well-attended Friday night reception allows attendees to connect with like-minds from the community. Business, 2012-04-30T19:39:43+00:00 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/eco-film-pick-of-the-week1 http://sustaindane.org/http://sustaindane.org/blog/post/eco-film-pick-of-the-week1#When:18:02:41Z Start out spring with a great Eco-Movie from Four Star Video Each week, Sustain Dane staff choose a video suggestion:  Something to teach about sustainability issues, or something fun to watch that is connected to ecological matters.  There's an amazing treasure trove of films about there on topcis from penguins to dolphins, and oil to food to saving-the-trees. This week's choice:  To celebrate the re-opening of the Farmers’ Market, what better way than checking in with the documentary Food, Inc..  Bolstered by smart interviews with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), the film tells an important story about the current food industry, and how it is unkindly ruled by large governmental agencies and money-intent corporations. Stop by Four Start Video, and ask for the Eco-Movie of the week.     2012-04-30T18:02:41+00:00