Consider the Baltic Sea: Brackish. Beautiful. Highly polluted. Linking (or dividing) the following countries: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark – and Russia. It might irritate certain EU member states, not mentioned above, both current and former, to learn that for journalist Oliver Moody, Berlin bureau chief for The Times of London, the … Continue reading Baltic Futures = Europe’s Future
Business and Economics
The ‘big push’ transforming the world’s energy systems
As I’m sure you have noticed, renewable energy is taking the world by storm, driven by rapidly falling prices. Ever wonder how that happened? In 2009, I authored a concept paper for the United Nations Secretariat, for circulation at the Copenhagen Climate Summit. COP15 became infamous because it was deemed a spectacular failure. Heads of … Continue reading The ‘big push’ transforming the world’s energy systems
How Oslo launched a new design revolution
Once in a while, a conference actually changes the world. In this case, I refer to a series of conferences in Oslo, sponsored by Norway’s National Center for Design and Architecture (known as DOGA). In 2015, a couple of sustainability visionaries there, Jannicke Hølen and Knut Bang, had the brilliant idea to focus on the … Continue reading How Oslo launched a new design revolution
Crowdfunding 1-week challenge: help sponsor this exhibition!
Dear friends: We need your help. I’ve never tried crowdfunding before, or asking for donations for a project. But now I am. I and my friends in Stockholm are mounting a major and powerful exhibition here, on the problem of plastic garbage in our seas. But we need your help, otherwise it just won’t happen. … Continue reading Crowdfunding 1-week challenge: help sponsor this exhibition!
In Sweden, corporate sponsors did not “show up”
This is the original Facebook post from Jan 9, 2017, that made us realize we should try crowdfunding for our exhibit on ocean plastic waste. UPDATE 25 JAN 2017: WE ARE HALF WAY THERE! THANKS TO SWEDISH, JAPANESE, USA AND OTHER SPONSORS. Can you help? Click here to read more and contribute ... [Translation of … Continue reading In Sweden, corporate sponsors did not “show up”
Finding Purpose in Bangkok
I just had the pleasure and privilege of doing the opening keynote at Sustainable Brands Bangkok 2016. The "Sustainable Brands" concept has truly spread around the world. What's brilliant about KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz's creation is the way it attracts a broad business audience: not just the "true believers" in sustainability and CSR, but also the … Continue reading Finding Purpose in Bangkok
Swiss reject pioneering “Green Economy” referendum, but Geneva passes it
Yesterday, Switzerland held a remarkable vote. The question: whether to legally limit the country to living within its share of the ecological limits of our planet, by 2050. Currently, Switzerland uses three times the sustainable level of resources; so passing this law would have required the whole country, legally, to start a march toward physical … Continue reading Swiss reject pioneering “Green Economy” referendum, but Geneva passes it
Wake Up: We Have a Long, Long Way to Go
Reprinted from Greenbiz.com, 16 Feb 2016 People like me — professional optimists in the field of sustainability — are fond of pointing out the positive. And lately there have been many positives to point out, such as the global adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. However, sometimes even … Continue reading Wake Up: We Have a Long, Long Way to Go
The Economics Nobel: Should there be one?
The so-called "Nobel Prize" in economics (note that it is actually *not* a Nobel in the same way as the science, literature, and peace prizes) has awakened more than the usual amount of criticism this year. This Guardian article captures some of the usual complaints, quite well. The writer suggests a broadening out of the … Continue reading The Economics Nobel: Should there be one?
“A Fresh Start for Sustainable Development”
Note: A different, chattier version of this post was sent to WaveFront newsletter readers. The eight-point summary is the same. To read WaveFront, sign up at http://www.AtKisson.com. The new issue of the leading journal Development, under the new editorship of Tariq Banuri, is finally out! Much food for thought there. I have an essay in … Continue reading “A Fresh Start for Sustainable Development”
Alan AtKisson 