November 2015

When Sarah van Gelder got together with a few friends in 1996 to start a magazine about hopeful news and positive actions, it was, to say the least, a total leap of faith. It was one of these beautiful endeavors that begin in one’s garage when no one really knows how it’s all going to pan out into the big world. Sarah simply didn’t see anything better to do with her creative skills. Twenty years later and with a run of 50,000 copies per issue, YES! Magazine has established itself as an indispensable and hope-infusing read for a growing segment of the progressive-minded population of this country, people who simply refuse to cave under the barrage of depressive and disempowering negativity propagated by most of the commercial media.

This short video explains the Land Ethic, which is an environmental philosophy developed by Aldo Leopold.  It explains the philosophical foundations of the Land Ethic and how it differs from Deep Ecology.  Thanks for the GCSC Commodore production team for helping produce this video.  Aldo Leopold is the author of A Sand County Almanac.  He is author of the first textbook on wildlife management. 

Changing the Rules - Jojo Mehta in conversation with Jonathon Porritt

Jojo Mehta, co-founder of the Stop Ecocide campaign, in conversation with renowned veteran environmentalist and author Jonathon Porritt (whose new book Hope in Hell comes out this month) on World Environment Day 2020. Jonathon brings the wisdom and understanding of decades addressing the environmental and climate crisis at NGO and government level, while Jojo has applied her activism, communication and leadership experience to growing the legacy of her long-term working partner and friend, the visionary lawyer the late Polly Higgins. From criminal law to state policy to everyday action, this is a frank yet fundamentally optimistic dialogue on the rules we must change to address - and transform - the world we face. Find out more about Stop Ecocide here. 

System transformation begins with the critical task of mapping key leverage points for change. Discover how two organisations have approached this complex task in an effort to improve environmental and health care outcomes -- and their bottom lines. Explore how Nike is differentiating itself from its competitors by moving steadily toward the goal of eliminating hazardous chemical discharge from its supply chain by 2020. And learn how Health Care Without Harm has developed tools and strategies to transform the health care industry by mapping and building a collaborative network of 450 organisations in 52 countries.

Speaker SARAH SEVERN Senior Director, Stakeholder Mobilization Nike, Inc. Speaker MARSHALL CLEMENS Principal Idiagram Moderator JOHN ELKINGTON Founder and Executive Chairman Volans Ventures Ltd Author and Speaker GARY COHEN Co-Founder and President Health Care Without Harm.

The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship accelerates the impact of the world's leading social entrepreneurs by uniting them with essential partners in a collaborative pursuit of learning, leverage, and large scale social change.

Posted June 14th, 2014

Future of Sustainability 2020: How can we harness the radical disruption presented by the COVID-19 crisis to drive a truly sustainable, just and resilient future?

This webinar took place on 8 July 2020.

The COVID-19 crisis is having a devastating impact – both in terms of lives lost and economic disruption. At Forum for the Future, we believe that it would be tragic to go back to yesterday’s “business-as-usual”; moments of radical disruption like this provide unprecedented opportunities to reinvent the future. We are therefore calling for business, governments, civil society, and communities to seize this moment in helping to deliver a more just, sustainable, and resilient world.

Panelists: Host - Dr Sally Uren, Chief Executive Officer, Forum for the Future

Co-host - Hannah Pathak, Director of UK and Europe, Forum for the Future

Leslie Johnston, Chief Executive Officer, Laudes Foundation

Nick Cliffe, Deputy Challenge Director, Innovate UK

Keith Writer, Supply Director, Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate

Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer, Unilever

Elder Dave Courchene's Convocation Address, University of Winnipeg, June 13, 2019, where he was honoured with a Doctor of Laws.

The time has arrived where we must face the reality of what we have done to the Earth and ourselves. Good leadership is essential and we all have the capacity to be leaders. 

The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps. Biomimicry design, explained with 99% Invisible. Check them out here.  99% Invisible is an independently produced radio show created by Roman Mars that focuses on design and architecture. It began as a collaborative project between San Francisco public radio station KALW and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco.

FYI

Download an infographic on Biomimicry here.

In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at biomimicry. Specifically how biomimicry can not only lead to nature-inspired design for architecture and materials, but also for better relationships, activism, and communities. I draw upon adrienne maree brown's emergent strategy in order to show that nature and the environment can show us how to best navigate a complicated social world. Help me make more videos like this via Patreon, Twitter, Facebook,  Instagram, Email: occ.climate@gmail.com

FYI/Download an infographic on Biomimicry here.

Architect, scientist, and humanitarian Sergio Palleroni zooms out to remind us of the great imabalances that we as humans have created on our planet, and how through local, community-generated actions and most importantly, education and the implication of students in real projects, have the power to slowly but surely mend the fabric of socities, preserve indigenous communities and improve the living standards of every human being. Event organized by www.blog.arkinet.com in collaboration with www.Elisava.net.

When you think about it, does your coursework perpetuate stories of paternalistic dominance by a few? Do you teach how and what you learned? Given our other many responsibilities, do you find it easiest to choose the same books year after year, rather than explore other possibilities? Is your campus facing criticism by students of color that their voices are not being heard? Do you wonder how sustainability might relate to your course? Finally, do you wonder how the previous questions are connected? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will find this webinar valuable.

Several years ago, I realized I was using textbooks written by older white men of American/European descent who have a particular viewpoint. As examples, many business strategy books use militaristic terms to describe successful tactics to compete in the marketplace and the accounting textbook I use is a newer edition of the same one I used in my studies almost 30 years ago. In this webinar, I share examples of how I now continually rethink my class material and now explore it from two perspectives: what is and what is possible if we question current paradigms. This approach allows me to cover what my colleagues believe must be covered and creates opportunities to offer a more inclusive and broader perspective. You will have the opportunity to brainstorm with others to identify resources and ways to expand coverage in your courses.

AASHE Webinar took place June 6, 2018. More information here.