sustainable development

Rocky Mountain Institute cofounder and Chief Scientist Amory Lovins has long argued that it's possible to protect the earth's climate at a profit.

By taking an integrated approach to climate protection, he explained Tuesday night during a talk in Aspen, CO, we can find cost-effective solutions that generate more solutions -- not more problems:...

There is no question that the world of today is a much different place from just a few years ago. And one of the most exciting policy developments we’ve seen over the past few years is the progress we’ve made on global climate change.

And Business Roundtable strongly believes we should keep moving forward.

I am proud to say that Business Roundtable – an association of chief executive officers of 160 of the largest companies in the world, representing every sector of the economy – has been out in front on this issue. Our CEOs worked hard to come to agreement on the need to address

Our allies at the Global Footprint Network and WWF have released their new report Africa: Ecological Footprint and Human Well-Being, on pathways towards sustainable development. It's a sharp piece of work, with explanations of the broader trends involved, analysis of the particular situations of several representative nations, and some good thinking about the critical roles leapfrogging technologies, sustainable cities, water management and biodiversity conservation will play in Africa's future. If you're looking for a quick primer on sustainable development in Africa, you should start here.

But what really hit me is this graph, which seems to sum up the fundamental challenge in one image:

www.cascadiagbc.org/lbl

The argument about whether or not the tremendous challenges our planet faces - now and in future years - can be reversed by proactive human action falls short. We have enacted the planet’s decline, and together we can and must move to affect vital regeneration. Yet the heated debates over defining how and the means by which this action will take place wage on.

Amid the politics and global chatter that translate to more talk and less action, a few enlightened groups around the world are engaged in leading a straight-forward, inspired charge with impacting vision.
In the heart of the United States’ Pacific Northwest, a veritable hotbed of sustainable development and leader in the op-timization of natural resources, a movement is emerging that has the potential to rival anything else of the sort in the world with respect to its aggressive approach, and potential lasting impact for change.