The Solarbag from Puralytics offers a simple, reusable solution to the problems of poor and unsanitary drinking water, using nanotechnology to purify water anywhere in the world, at any time.  In this video the founder of the company, Mark Owen talks about his moment of inspiration while on a trip to Japan.

From the creation of the Boston Common in 1634 to the emergence of cross-boundary, large-landscape conservation initiatives in the 21st century, innovators have risen to address seemingly intractable land, water and biodiversity conservation challenges. It will require our best talent, technology, financial tools and social innovation techniques to tackle today's global conservation challenges. What makes for innovation? Five attributes: initiatives characterized by
Novel/Creativeness in conception, strategic or cultural significance, measuarble effecitvness; transferability to jurisdications around the world; and endur for not just years but decades perhaps centuries.

Jim Levitt is the director of the Program on Conservation Innovation at the Harvard Forest, Harvard University and a fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

What are you thinking? We need to shift the whole energy system of the planet off of coal. Those with control and access to capital bear the greatest responsibility and burden of this challenge.

John Fullerton is the Founder and President of Capital Institute, a collaborative working to transform finance to serve a more just, resilient, and sustainable economic system.

This animation provides a vision of what a post-consumer society could look like, with people working fewer hours and pursuing re-skilling, homesteading, and small-scale enterprises that can help reduce the overall size and impact of the consumer economy. Narrated by economist and best-selling author Juliet Schor. Produced by The Center for the New American Dream.

Order Dr. Schor's book from Amazon by clicking on the image or visit your local bookstore. Thank you.

Infographic, cumulative natural gas wells drilled in Pennsylvania, January 2005-April 2012.

The animation illustrates Pennsylvania's relatively recent transition from conventional vertical wells (black diamonds) to horizontal wells (red diamonds), drilled mostly in sections of the Marcellus, Utica, and Geneseo/Burket shale formations located in the northeast and southwest portions of the state. The animation also shows that as horizontal drilling increased, the number of vertical wells—which are typically less productive—fell, resulting in an overall decline in the state's new well count. For the full Today in Energy article, visit here.

Published on May 23, 2012

Matt Damon plays Steve Butler, an ace corporate salesman who is sent along with his partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company's expansion plans. Promised Land explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge. The issue is fracking, the place is rural America.

Using wikis and digital fabrication tools, TED Fellow Marcin Jakubowski is open-sourcing the blueprints for 50 farm machines, allowing anyone to build their own tractor or harvester from scratch. And that's only the first step in a project to write an instruction set for an entire self-sustaining village (starting cost: $10,000). April 2011.

Open Source Ecology Website is here.

Watch as Marcin (bio) explains the connection between artificial material scarcity, a decent economy, and autonomy. Part of a longer speech published in segments on the Marion Institute's YouTube channel here.  His TED talk on a civilization starter kit, part of Open  Source Ecology, is here on Earthsayers.tv.

The Marion Institute is a member based non-profit that acts as an incubator for a diverse array of programs and projects that delve into the root cause of an issue and seeks to create deep and positive change.

http://bit.ly/storyofbroke — The United States isn't broke; we're the richest country on the planet and a country in which the richest among us are doing exceptionally well. But the truth is, our economy is broken, producing more pollution, greenhouse gasses and garbage than any other country. In these and so many other ways, it just isn't working. But rather than invest in something better, we continue to keep this 'dinosaur economy' on life support with hundreds of billions of dollars of our tax money. The Story of Broke calls for a shift in government spending toward investments in clean, green solutions—renewable energy, safer chemicals and materials, zero waste and more—that can deliver jobs AND a healthier environment. It's time to rebuild the American Dream; but this time, let's build it better.

Inspired by the idea that "when one teaches, many learn," Ryland King, a 2012 Brower Youth Award Winner, founded Environmental Education for the Next Generation, a program that recruits college students to teach elementary school kids about our environment. King wanted to "promote sustainable action throughout communities, from the youngest members of society up" and so he designed an eight-week curriculum for college students to teach first and second graders. The curriculum, which is aligned with the California State Board of Education's content standards, includes topics like "The Importance of Bees," "Composting," and "Water Conservation." In less than three years, 400 college student volunteers have taught more than 3,000 elementary school students in 200 classrooms across California. King hopes that by 2015 college students will be teaching at least 14,000 elementary school students a year.