Mathis Wackernagel, PhD - President, Global Footprint Network Source: FootprintNetwork.org

Mathis Wackernagel of Global Footprint Network, is working with global leaders to help us understand and ultimately align our activities with the basic carrying capacity of the earth.

This 14-minute speech is very much worth seeing and sharing.

Video presented by: Sustainable Life Media:

“We may finally be on the verge of a tipping point wherein mainstream attention to identifying and mitigating a company’s carbon impact will become a core strategic priority for all businesses. But what comes next? The reality is, global warming is just one of the detrimental impacts of unchecked business activity. During this time of seismic shift in awareness of the interconnectedness of things, the opportunity is to take a longer, more systemic view of the many ways our activities impact the world around us.

“By doing so, we will begin to anticipate and respond more quickly to both the needs and the enormous world of possibility in front of us to innovate for a whole, healed world. Be inspired by this thought leader who is working with leaders around the globe to help us all understand and ultimately align our activities with the basic carrying capacity of the earth. Learn more about Sustainable Business & Design at: sustainablelifemedia.com“

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:Nov 18 Webinar with Michael Reynolds
(venue in Boston, MA) Followed by Q/A, approximately 2 hours. Anyone in the world with an internet connection can virtually attend. You can also have people physically gather together and have a laptop with projector on site so everyone can see. $10 per person (per connection).

Dec 15 Webinar With Michael Reynolds
(venue in Melbourne, Australia) Followed by Q/A, approximately 2 hours. Anyone in the world with an internet connection can virtually attend. You can also have people physically gather together and have a laptop with projector on site so everyone can see. $10 per person (per connection).

Here are clips from Mr. Edwards’ letter (emphasis place by me):

“…we manufacture and distribute water products, mainly through Natural Foods Retailers across the Nation. We have been in business for over 15 years and our products offer consumers a way to live litter free and chemical free lives by filtering the water they drink,  they shower and bathe in, and a way to ease the problem with our nation’s landfills.
“There are many environmental issues facing the world today. One of which is the bottled water epidemic that is systematically helping to destroy the environment we live in. It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil — enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year — to make the plastic bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water, according to the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., environmental think tank. Furthermore, The kind of plastic most commonly used for water bottles — polyethylene terephthalate, or PET — is recyclable. But consumers recycle just one of every five bottles they drink, with the rest ending up in landfills, said Pat Franklin, executive director of the Container Recycling Institute….we here at New Wave are trying to combat this by promoting re-usable bottles and home water filtration.

“We offer a full line of BPA free plastic bottles made out of Eastar™ resin, we were the first company to change from poly-carbonate when the BPA studies first came out….We are also proud to carry a corn resin bottle with a built in filter, the first of its kind, which is completely bio-degradable in 180 days in a commercial compost. With these products we hope to alleviate some of the problems facing us today.

“I would like to send you some samples to review, and possibly post on your site.
New Wave Enviro is based in Colorado and being in business over 15 years means we were green when green was still just a color.”

Thanks for your note and your innovation. Send a sample so we can share our analysis and shout loudly. And I look forward to that particular time when I can use your last quote!

Auto graveyard - Nebraska farm Photo: Glenn Meyers

The following clips come from  Matt Cawood, writing on a study from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists at farmonline:

“Agricultural land could be the focus of an “economic opportunity of unparalleled scale”, according to the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, which has called for a re-write of emissions trading legislation to properly recognise “terrestrial carbon”.

“In a discussion paper released earlier this week, the Group argues that by focusing on terrestrial carbon sequestration as a solution to climate change, Australia can simultaneously address many of its most pressing environmental challenges.

“Terrestrial carbon includes carbon stored in forests, woodlands, swamps, grasslands, farmland, soils, and derivatives like biochar and biofuels.

“We’re about to create a multibillion dollar terrestrial carbon market, and that has the potential to radically change our rural landscapes,” said Wentworth Group director Peter Cosier. “We have to maximise the benefits and minimise the consequences.”

“According to the paper’s introduction, global warming science now regards it as impossible to avoid dangerous climate change solely through emissions reduction. Positive change in the carbon balance can only be achieved if parallel efforts are made to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.”

The Wentworth Group sees much potential for managing carbon. “At a global scale, a 15 per cent increase in the world’s terrestrial carbon stock would remove the equivalent of all the carbon pollution emitted from fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution,” the paper says.

“A recent CSIRO study that examined Australia’s capacity to sequester terrestrial carbon suggested that carbon-friendly grazing practices could be capable of storing 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year (Mt Co2-e/yr) for the next 40 years.”

To review this article and related papers, go to http://qcl.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/farm-carbon-offers-unparalled-economic-opportunity/1655404.aspx

“…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.”

According to Adam Waks, marketing manager for SustainLane Media, the program is gaining momentum. “So far, we have seen an incredible number of participants from all over the country. Since we launched the site on October 7th, thousands of people have visited and many are stepping up to the challenges, including Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who challenged his constituents to follow his lead and “walk at least 10,000 steps each day.” As we get closer to the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December and as more media begins to cover our challenges, we expect this number to increase rapidly.”

May the Force be with us!