Yesterday and today, two days that could not be more different. Standing on stage at the royal theater in front of hundreds of people; sitting in the cottage behind my house that serves as my 'Global Headquarters'. Moderating a panel of leaders and ambassadors; sorting receipts and dealing with corporate paperwork. The purpose of this … Continue reading Elation, Despair, and Professionalism
Sustainability
The science and philosophy of maintaining human and natural systems
SERIES: A Month in the Life of a Professional Sustainability Change Agent
Starting today, I begin a one-month blogging/tweeting/documentation intensive. I will be writing about my work -- what I actually do, what I'm hearing and seeing and experiencing, and (some of) my reflections about that. Why? Partly, it's motivated by my interactions with students and trainees. I've been teaching an online course this month, some other … Continue reading SERIES: A Month in the Life of a Professional Sustainability Change Agent
Designing a Big Push on Renewables
On May 9, at the invitation of Anders Wijkman, I had the honor of being one of the opening speakers at the World Renewable Energy Congress 2011, which was being held in Linköping, Sweden. Just a few days before, I had gotten the green light from a UN colleague and client to go out publicly … Continue reading Designing a Big Push on Renewables
Watching Egypt 2 – “We r all vry hpy”
The quote in the above headline, "We r all vry hpy", is a real email from a real colleague in Egypt, received not long after the fall of Mubarak. The extreme efficiency (12 letters) was in sharp contrast to another email, from an old college friend, which positively exploded with emotion and language, including the … Continue reading Watching Egypt 2 – “We r all vry hpy”
Watching Egypt 1 – Private Worries, Public Hopes
It was a relief to finally hear my client's voice on the phone. She was a bit breathless, but not sounding in distress. She had been out food shopping by taxi just that afternoon (this was Monday, 31 January), able to find what she needed, "though many people are just buying up whatever they can … Continue reading Watching Egypt 1 – Private Worries, Public Hopes
What it Means to be a Sustainability Change Agent
I was lying on my back in the snow, staring up through the branches of the big old oak tree in front of our house, when it hit me. That's where I'd ended up after going down hill on my buttocks (on purpose, riding tea-saucers with my youngest daughter). It felt lovely just to lie … Continue reading What it Means to be a Sustainability Change Agent
On Being an American Troubadour at the Swedish Climate Change Conference
This is the third and last installment on my series of posts from the Climate Existence 2010 conference, organized by my friends and colleagues at Uppsala University's Center for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS). To read the posts in order: 1. Bill McKibben 2. David Abrams I am on the 5:23 morning bus, leaving the … Continue reading On Being an American Troubadour at the Swedish Climate Change Conference
Bill McKibben on Climate Change: The Depressing Bad News, and the Amazing Power of People to Create Good News
I'm attending a conference in Sweden called Climate Existence. I'm here not as a speaker, for once; I'm here as a musician, scheduled to perform this evening. I'll blog some of the highlights over the course of the day. Here is what was happening just as I walked in (late) to the event, in Sigtuna, … Continue reading Bill McKibben on Climate Change: The Depressing Bad News, and the Amazing Power of People to Create Good News
Saving Life-As-We-Know-It
Nature-lovers (which should include all of us on planet Earth, but strangely does not) breathed a sigh of relief today as we read the news from Nagoya, Japan. After two weeks of negotiations, the nearly 200 nations assembled in Nagoya, Japan, decided set aside more of the Earth's surface as natural preserve. The decision hardly … Continue reading Saving Life-As-We-Know-It
Live from Iceland: Joan Davis on “Food for Life”
Here on Iceland, the Balaton Group Meeting is entering its third day. With models of Food Futures still spinning in our heads from yesterday, we are now listening to Joan Davis. Personal reasons kept her home in Switzerland this year, but this meeting's theme touches her "heart-question" as we say in Swedish: organic agriculture. Joan … Continue reading Live from Iceland: Joan Davis on “Food for Life”
Alan AtKisson 