October « 2009 « Sustainable Bonanza

October 23, 2009

Diversity for Sustainability Sake

Filed under: Educating for Sustainability — Tags: Agrigulture, Brick City, Diversity, Educating for Sustainability, Evan Shapiro, IFC tv, Internship, Media, Sundance, SVN, SVN conference, The Providence Effect — admin @ 8:11PM

Evan Shapiro, president of IFC tv and the Sundance Channel, kicked off the Fall 2009 Social Ventures Network Conference with an entertaining, insightful and frequently funny talk on the challenges and necessity of building a diverse business.

Evan likened the strengths of a diverse culture and workforce to the importance of planting a diversity of crops in agriculture. By encouraging diversity within our ranks and rows we will be able to reap a far richer crop. Throughout his talk, Evan wove statistics and anecdotes together to illustrate the concept of how diversity is necessary in order to achieve success.

Evan stressed that in order to find that “qualified, diverse candidate” we need to start looking long before we post a job opening. Business must provide opportunities to access so that both the employer and potential employee gain exposure. These opportunities can simply be inviting students in to see how an office environment operates or setting up an internship program. Success in piercing the glass ceiling hinges upon such interactions.

Evan is working with educational institutions in order to reach a more diverse population before that population is out of the running. Building that “pipeline” early is critical for both the future job seeker and the business. Returning to his farming analogy, Evan said “when you are hungry you can’t go plant a seed.” The key is to make the connection before a job is needed.

Evan points out that although “we are a more diverse culture every single day” we are still likely to look within our own social circles to fill positions. We’ve got to break these walls down when we endeavor to create and encourage diversity within the sustainability movement.

**Check out Brick City on Sundance, the five part documentary trailer Evan mentioned

***One resource suggested by a participant regarding diversity and providing the necessary education to break through the glass ceiling was the The Providence Effect

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October 21, 2009

San Diego Arrival

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: California, San Diego, SVN conference, Travel — Kirsten @ 11:38AM

Lights sparkle over the water, it’s rippling effect creating a light show that seems to dance across the harbor. A sailboat glides by to find its place at the docks.

I got here an hour and a half ago. Knowing I would need to wait for a colleague to arrive at the airport, I asked around to find a place to wait.

The first time I asked that question the answer was to turn left, go down the road and you’ll find a Starbucks. Since that wasn’t really the kind of thing that I wanted to end up doing, with my interest in supporting local businesses before big chains, I was a little disappointed.

On a whim, just before I left the car rental place, I asked for a second time where could I go? The answer this time around was different. The attendant at the exit guided me to go right to the harbor.

While on my drive towards towards Anthony’s, the fish place that the attendant had recommended, I not iced a sign on the left side of the road that advertised the entrance to a solar or wind company. Regardless of what they were selling the message was clear to me I was heading in the right direction.

As I walked down the sidewalk ‘I want to know what love is’ was broadcast from a radio mounted on a bike taxi.

Sitting on the outside deck of Anthony’s, looking in on the more formal diners, I knew that on the deck with a Corona and Fish Taquitos, I was in the best spot the place had. Combined with the music, the lights on the harbor, and the atmosphere, I felt reaffirmed in every moment the feeling I got driving in town. I was in the right place.

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October 15, 2009

Blog Action Day -or- Woe is Me Garden

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: Blog Action Day, Challenges, Climate Change, Environment, Garden, Global Cooling, Global Warming, Late Blight, Northampton Community Garden, Peppers, Tomatoes, Weather — admin @ 10:42AM

This Blog Action Day on Climate Change and Global Warming I want to take a look at how the changing climate has affected my garden this year.

For anyone living in the north eastern Unites States, referring to the summer of 2009 is likely to elicit a sigh or perhaps a sarcastic laugh. In my youth the seasonal description ‘April showers bring May flowers’ somehow became ‘April sunshine brings May, June, July and some August showers too!’ The temperatures were lower than usual and in combination with the excess of rain many of my plants had a less than ideal growing season.

You see, I have a plot at the Northampton Community Garden in which I grow fruit, vegetables, herbs, and some flowers. While I like eating close to home for the lower environmental impact, I also think it is wonderful fun to watch things grow and to nurture them along the way. But this summer as I was weeding, watering and planting another thing happened: my plants started to behave strangely in reaction to the seasonably strange weather that some referred to as ‘global cooling.’

First of all, my pepper plants never really grew. When the plants finally got a little bigger, I was waiting and waiting for the peppers to come. I’ve had peppers grow well in the past, but this year, nothing. Research amongst my fellow gardeners and my ‘small-scale farming guru’ father taught me that peppers are of a tropical origin and grow best with heat, something which typically comes all of July and the first part of August, but only made a short appearance this year.

The other major challenge in the garden this year was my tomatoes. The excess of water caused many fruits to split before they ripened and then the late blight, something that I have always know to signal the end of the season in late September, came early and wiped out a majority of the tomatoes. Fortunately I had three varieties of the eight I planted which survived the blight. The otherwise poor tomato growing conditions wiped out my hoped-for good season with this fruit.

I think it is important to notice that there are changes occurring and that we have some affect on those changes. I don’t know if they are reversible, but I believe our daily wasteful habits contribute to continued environmental degradation. Our environment supports life on this planet. Shouldn’t we maybe pay a little more attention to this?

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