Our Green Streets Blog

News from Environmental Leader:

Safeway has become a founding member of the Sustainability Consortium, the group launched in support of Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Index.

The goal of the consortium is to develop guidelines and promote innovations as the supply chain seeks to reduce its energy use, emissions and packaging. The consortium made headlines in January when Wal-Mart and Best Buy, together with electronics suppliers Dell, HP, Intel and Toshiba, officially launched the effort.

The consortium is administered by Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas, with financial support from Wal-Mart.

The consortium has courted Safeway, in hopes that it would become involved in what could be an industry wide sustainability metric system.

Safeway made its involvement in the initiative public March 1, reports Supermarket News. Safeway is the first grocer to join the group, according to a press release.

The retailer will use life cycle assessment data to create a company-wide supply chain policy encouraging sustainable purchasing and manufacturing practices throughout the organization’s direct and indirect buying.

From the Governor’s Energy Office:

Colorado Carbon Fund Advisory Committee Meeting

The Colorado Carbon Fund’s Advisory Committee meets Monday, March 1 from 2-4 pm at the GEO office.

The Agenda includes:

• An update on Colorado Carbon Fund marketing and plans for 2010.
• An introduction to Ben Vitale, the new president of The Climate Trust, our partners in managing the Fund and finding high quality projects.
• An Executive Session review of proposals received during the RFP for solar hot water systems. This portion of the meeting will be closed to the public.

If you’d like to listen in by webinar, please register online.

To attend in person, please contact
Susan Innis

On March 17 in Greensboro, NC, the American Wind Energy Association is bringing  representatives from a diverse range of industries, international and U.S.-based wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, service providers to the wind energy industry, and hear first hand the wind energy industry’s needs, challenges, and opportunities for growth.

Don’t miss this opportunity to network and share resources and best practices with industry leaders and experts, and your peers.
For more information visit:
www.awea.org/events/supplychain4

Paul Hawken, keynote speaker Source: http://paulhawken.com

Santa Monica, CA – The Sustainable Industries Economic Forum, scheduled Jan. 14, will feature environmental economist, Paul Hawken, and The Huffington Post co-founder, Arianna Huffington.

Paul Hawken, CEO of Pax Engineering Group and author of “Ecology of Commerce” and “Natural Capitalism,” will address the opportunities created by a triple-bottom-line approach (people, planet, profit) in the midst of the current business climate.

Arianna Huffington, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post , will give a presentation and serve as moderator for a question-and-answer session with Hawken.

The event will also feature an informational panel of local business leaders which will be moderated by Lewis Perkins, Sustainable Strategist at New House, LLC. Read more of this >>

Bevan Suits,Sustainable Design Group

Bevan Suits, head of Sustainable Design Group and recently featured on Green Streets in a review of  his Aquaponics Guidebook, penned this analysis: “Hydroponics is an industry. Aquaculture is an industry. Aquaponics is not an industry…yet. What current trends will guide its growth?”

As author of The Aquaponics Guidebook, Access to Personal Agriculture, Suits has a pretty good notion about how such questions might be answered, especially by today’s college students.

To make a point, he refers to compelling book on food by Michael Pollan, “In Defense of Food.”

If you have not read the book, this quote tells a lot about his concerns.  “Food. There’s plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?

“Because most of what we’re consuming today is not food, and how we’re consuming it — in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone — is not really eating. Instead of food, we’re consuming “edible foodlike substances” — no longer the products of nature but of food science.”

Suits believes Pollan’s work appears to be taken as a call to action by many university students attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Incoming freshmen were given copies of the book for free and seemed happy to think of it as a guidebook.

Read more of this >>

A note from Peter Olins, co-founder of the Northern Colorado Entrepreneurs Network, my emphasis provided:

Glenn:

“Almost certain you’re on Al’s list, but just in case.
It’s almost worth a blog article about the next generation of nonpartisan “political” speech and action.
It also helps to be Nobel laureate :~)

Regards,

P.”

REPOWER AMERICA

When a clean energy economy finally becomes a reality in America, people will look back to the day that together, you and I launched The Repower America Wall.

The Wall is a place where literally thousands and thousands of people committed to a revolutionary new energy future for our nation and the world are coming together — to express our hopes, share our resolve, and step up to a leadership role in building a grassroots movement for change like nothing America has ever seen. It’s an opportunity for you to be part of the climate movement in a new way, in a way that takes us beyond ourselves.

Read more of this >>

For those who do not know Earthship, one of these scheduled webinars might be a great time to visit. And the price is exceptionally good, as is the subject matter! GRM

Earthship logo

“Long Way Home and Architects for Humanity will present world-renowned founder of Earthship Biotecture, Michael Reynolds (http://www.earthship.net/home/begin-here.html) as part of BuildBoston 2009 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on Nov. 18, 2009 from 7 until 8 pm.

“Reynolds is best known for starting Eathship.net, a socially conscious construction venture that builds homes out of garbage with yearly utility bills under $100.”

Nov 16 and Dec 15 events: Read more of this >>

We received this missive from the people at SustainLane:

“…because your blog is related to our mission of living healthy lives on a green planet. This is just a quick note introducing the Local Action Challenge, a local contest that encourages people in Denver, CO to think global, act local… and win prizes doing it!

“SustainLane is heading up the Local Action Challenge in partnership with Hopenhagen, an international movement to drive action on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen this December.

“Cities across the country – like Denver, CO – have sent in their top-ten lists of actions they’d like residents to take in order to combat climate change and otherwise care for the planet right in their own communities.”

Read more of this >>

It is nearing time to be excited about the human spirit of innovation and invention.

I recommend visiting the Buckminster Fuller Challenge 2010, and looking at some of the entries from previous challenges, particularly the winners from last year (2009). Read more of this >>

ICAGO, October 14, 2009 – The Trade Commission of Spain in collaboration with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Houston Partnership will host two Spain – U.S. Business Sustainability Conferences on Oct. 26 in Los Angeles at the Omni Hotel and Oct. 30 in Houston at the Houstonian Hotel.

Business and government leaders from Spain and the U.S. will explore how public and private partnerships are critical to creating growth in the renewable energy, transportation infrastructure and water treatment industries.

Both conferences will feature Spain’s Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Miguel Sebastián, as a keynote speaker. The Los Angeles conference will also include the California Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing, Dale E. Bonner, California Natural Resources Agency Secretary, Mike Chrisman, Qualitative Economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Woodrow W. Clark II and Spain’s Secretary of State for Energy, Pedro Luis Marín Uribe.

Speakers at the Houston conference include Texas Secretary of State, Hope Andrade, Texas High-Speed Rail & Transportation Corporation Chairman, Judge Robert Eckels, Texas Water Development Board Executive Administrator, Kevin Ward, and Gestamp Wind North America CEO, Javier Mateache Sacristan.

Register to attend this event.Spain – US

source: gibbs-soell.com