Night time Musings

The night sky is a beautiful thing to behold!

During a recent river trip on the San Juan in Southeastern Utah, I had a chance to again experience a deep dark sky filled with glittering and flashing stars unimpeded by the light of the moon. In between dark rain clouds were galaxies of stars, too many to contemplate. We were camped only a few hundred meters from an ancient Anasazi settlement that is still standing, perched on the cliff, timeless in its presence. The memories are everwhere.

I am back home now, in Boulder, Colorado. I just returned from a late night visit to our small plot at the community gardens. I was again watching the sky, viewing meteors flashing from all angles. It is amazing that space debris can cause such impressive streaks. I reflect on us as a species. Such a sky makes one feel pretty small and humble. Why do we care so much about ourselves and our tiny insignificant planet? If we are religious or spiritual do we care more or less about our earth? Since we do seem do care so much for our survival and pleasure, why are we doing so much do destroy the earth and ourselves? How is it that the condo I live in will be long gone in just a fraction of the amount of time those ancient buildings have been around?

Reflecting back on my that river trip, some of it becomes clear.

We humans, ever so capable of committing despicable acts against ourselves and our home, are also much more capable of caring for one another and for the planet. In this I truly believe. We need good teachers, good souls to teach us how to do it. Sharing our knowledge and understanding of these good traits we have is really not so difficult. I am committed to making this sharing easier and more accessible. The more we share the better we become.

What will you share?

My Main Project These Days!

Check out the humble beginnings of the website for our consumer empowerment project called Visionary Values!

I recently returned from a lovely time in the North Country of New Hampshire as is now seemingly becoming a customary holiday. I am lucky to have the opportunity to re-acquaint myself with a familiar place.

At the beginning of my trip, my father and I took a short hike over past the Twin Mountain intersection to walk on a trail that follows the Ammonoosuc River for a short distance and culminates at a pool with cascades of water flowing in. Layers of granite line the river and look like stacks of multi-grain bread. These are old places. This has been a popular swimming hole for many years and my father tells me that he remembers heading over there on numerous occasions with my mother years ago.

On our return, I decided to take the road less travelled and scurry up the embankment to the old railroad line that runs through the area. It has been many years since the trains operated here although it does continue to get used by cross country skiers and snow mobilers in the winter. Before the automobile, access to these areas was almost always by train. Families packed up their trunks and boarded the trains in New York or Boston and then spent the summers in Franconia, Bethlehem and other small towns in the area. Huge hotels dotted the landscape. The notches were split up the middle with tracks. Up to ten trains a day rumbled back and forth.

As I walked along these empty tracks I thought about how vitally important these railroads were to the development of the area back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Transporting people and supplies to and from hard to reach places. Many of the early travelers to the huge hotels that once dominated the landscape arrived on these trains. Huge swaths of forest were cut down and transported out of the area by train to the urban centers of New England. The area was very different back then. To a large degree, it is now a very undeveloped part of the country compared to those early days. There is so much more forest and much less industry.

While wandering on those tracks I thought about the massive amount of embodied energy still in place. How many man hours it took to produce all the steel for the tracks and spikes and the effort to cut down the trees and process them into the cross timbers that hold up the tracks. The hillsides that were torn down to make space for the tracks and vast amount of coal that fueled these beasts all had tremendous costs.

Now, these tracks lay unused, a relic of a bygone era. What does this say of us? How much effort do we as a species put into creating things that do not last? Have we not learned our lessons?

My short journey on those tracks tells me quite profoundly that we are not making the right decisions. Fifty years from now what will we no longer be using that took millions and billions of dollars to build, projects that used precious resources, caused terrible pollution and environmental destruction and took great effort to create that no longer is functional? We so easily build and then tear down. Houses and other buildings are erected that have 20-30 year lifespans. They are built to not last when we are very capable of creating structures that can last longer and are healthier and less environmentally destructive.

Let's learn our lessons and focus on sustainability!

Viewing the Meaning of Sustainability

Take a look at this 18 point "primer" on sustainability written by Eric Zencey and appearing in the May/June issue of Orion Magazine.

Give a read (or a listen) and tell me what you think!

Transcending Sustainability As We Assume It

I came across an interesting posting on the Triple Pundit blog in which the author mentions that a more holistic vision of sustainability is needed to address our global eco-problems. A more comprehensive, realistic and accountable link between our talk and our walk is needed.

The post goes on to endorse a perspective that I and my associates at Visionary Values have been very vocal about and that is that any true effort at supporting sustainability requires that we all begin integrating sustainability into our daily lives. This means that our communities and workplaces must also be centers of commitment to these principles. We are the key(s) to making the concept of sustainability a normal part of our lives. Through our actions we become the change that is needed.

Take a look at the link a let me know what you think!

Pushing the Green Building Boundaries

Boulder, Colorado is especially beautiful this time of year and one of the best ways to enjoy it is on a Saturday morning down at the Farmer's Market. After my usual cuppa yummy Conscious Coffees java, I wandered over to the Boulder Green Building Guild Product & Service Fair that was being held in the adjacent park. It seems as though they have been holding this event for a few years now and it offers the general public a chance to take a look a local green building businesses as well as to ask questions of seasoned veterans.

Boulder considers itself to be a sort of center of innovation and progressiveness when it comes to environmental issues and green building. So, it is always interesting to see what types of options the industry is offering folks each year. What are the trends and where is the focus? My opinion is that the answer is not much of a truly innovative or paradigm challenging set of solutions!! Now, I certainly understand that not everyone is a proponent of nor a potential client for natural building, but it seems to me that the green building concept is lacking in low impact and truly sustainable building concepts and materials.

It was a great pleasure to turn the corner and encounter a couple of guys with whom I could have a truly interesting and valuable conversation! Ryan Chivers and Phil Metzler are the craftsmen behind Artesano, a locally based traditional plaster company. Artesano specializes in using natural materials such as earth, lime, gypsum, and clay to fashion gorgeous sinks, showers, countertops, floors, fireplaces, etc. that can fit into virtually any type of home. These functional works of art are truly a sight to behold. Having a natural building background myself, I was quite pleased to see Artesano putting themselves and their work out on display. To me, they are part of the paradigm shift in green building that must be adopted in order to really integrate sustainability.

What do you think about the state of green building? Have you thought about the life cycle of the materials used in homes built today as well as in the solar technologies that are gaining favor? Has or will your opinion change now that the Gulf of Mexico is being destroyed by our insatiable thirst for oil? Why can't we make sensible decisions regarding our use of resources? Let me know!!

Biowaste Fueled Scotch

Way up in the Scottish Isle of Islay, an interesting decision was made recently. Based in part on concern for the environment, but rooted in the bottom line and community interest, a Scotch Whisky distiller called Bruichladdich (pronounced "Brook-Laddie"), has begun to re-use its distilling waste product to produce power to run the distillery!


In reviewing the costs of disposing of the pot ale left over at the end of  the process, they determined that it would make sense to invest in the installation of a biogas generator that would convert what is essentially water and organic by-products into energy that would cycle back and produce electricity. The company will save up to around $175,000 annually between energy savings and disposal costs. If this trial succeeds, then the pot ale will be permanently cycled into the digester automatically.


In addition to the green energy they will produce, Bruichladdich also supports sustainable agriculture by using up to 40% organic barley. Again, these decisions are based on what is best and most practical for an industry dependent upon its community for its success and quality.


How would you envision changes to your business that would take into account the community where you work and/or operate?

Green Honey!

It isn't easy, but there are companies out there putting a very conscious effort into being sustainable. A good example of one is Volcano Island Honey operating in beautiful Hawaii'. In business since the late 1970's, the owner, Richard Spiegel, formalized his beekeeping hobby into a business in 1982.

Over the years Spiegel has committed his business to the betterment of the community and the environment. Among the company's commitments to sustainability are:

• Using 100% recycled paper and soy-based inks for his brochures
• Use of 100% post consumer waste office paper
• Thorough zero waste program
• Encourages and fosters open communication and personal growth of employees
• Donates 0.5% of gross profits to charity
• Allows for flexible scheduling for employees
• Use of biodiesel to run the primary farm truck

Take a look at the website for more information on his operation.

Clearly there are many ways in which a business can approach integrating sustainability into an operation. Remember the three key components of sustainability according to triple bottom line measurements:

1. People - your employees and your community
2. Planet - not just the physical pieces, but the spiritual, resources, waste produced, etc.
3. Profit - taking into account the full range of impacts your business has and the value you produce

What kinds of ideas can you come up with for "greening" your business?

Newsweek's Green Rankings

Hello Readers!

Check out this link for a ranking of the greenest and not so green companies according to Newsweek's latest comprehensive listing of the largest corporations. How do the companies you respect, don't respect, purchase from or that you ignore stack up?

Let me know if you find some surprises!

Also, check out this GreenBiz review of the rankings if the list seems a bit too daunting! GreenBiz also has an overview of how these rankings are reflected in commonly held investments. You may be shocked to find that you are participating in the financial boons of the worst polluters! Check out that link here.

How Can Wal-Mart Help Advance Sustainability?

Just to be up-front at the start, I am not a fan of Wal-Mart. I believe they mistreat and bully suppliers and potential suppliers as well as play huge roles in eliminating smaller businesses from local landscapes. They have been ruthless.

That said, since they are currently a major player in the global economy, anything they do that both support sustainability and advances it can't be all that bad!(?) If the ruthlessness they have utilized so effectively to become the world's largest retailer can be applied to increasing sustainability in our economies, good!

In this GreenBiz.com article, the author begins a series of writings that address how suppliers can position themselves for success relative to Wal-Mart's sustainability standards. For a better idea of their commitment to sustainability, take a look at Wal-Mart's Sustainability Index, Version 1.0 .

Essentially, if you cannot achieve these standards you will not find your products on the shelves at Wal-Mart. Tune in to the ongoing reviews of the development of this trend.

Microfinance in the US: Will There Be a Green Focus?

The world is a better place with effective microfinancing entities offering loans to people with drive, initiative and dreams who haven't found the finances to move forward. With the Nobel Committee's recognition of Muhammed Yunnus in 2006, a world of attention fell upon this unique and highly effective way to get folks up out of poverty and into their local economies.

An article I recently came across details and briefly discusses efforts by Kiva, another well known microfinance lender, to begin operations in the United States. The perspective of the author is that these loans should have "green" and socially responsible prerequisites.

I agree with that perspective. Kiva has the chance to create very clear and achievable criteria for those who seek loans from them. This criteria should not support business which harms the environment or is not supportive of social responsibility.

What do you think? If you agree, get in touch with Kiva to let them know that sustainability must be at the forefront of their decision to loan. This organization has done an excellent job thus far and I am certain they will continue to pave the way and can do so in a manner supportive of a green economy.

Check out Kiva here.

Other excellent microlenders are:

Accion International

Grameen Foundation

Continuing Cuban Experiment

Here is an informative overview of real grassroots efforts in the Cuban capital of Havana to recover lost agricultural roots. Clearly one of the most damaging impacts of the revolution in Cuba was the transfer of energy and effort from producing foods crops for the island's population over to the virtually exclusive production of export crops such as tobacco and sugar.

This story offers insight into what many small farmers (organiponicos) have been able to do use small plots of city land to produce large amounts of fruits and vegetables. Finally, the Cuban people have access to a wide variety of healthy options that previously had been very hard to come by as well as very pricey!

Havana has almost 200 urban allotments - known as organiponicos - providing four million tons of vegetables every year - helping the country to become 90% self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables.

Every city in the world is more than capable of achieving great levels of capacity to produce fruits and vegetables as well as herbs (both medicinal & culinary). In my eyes, if rooftops, porches, patches of dirt, parts of underused parks, etc. were converted to cultivating food crops or other crops that could be made into products (hemp, sisal, etc.), our world's cities would be healthier and happier places. Now, isn't being healthier and happier integral to sustainability?

This dynamic keeps people active, employed and productive. My own garden this season has produced endless greens like lettuce, arugula, chard and kale as well as cucumbers, basil, tomatoes (still mostly green!), beets and tomatillos. I have saved quite a bit of money, worked the soil and added value to my community. Even at home, on my porch, I have grown lettuce and tomatoes and some herbs. We have even been able to give many pound of veggies away to friends and neighbors as well as trade them for other goods. If we replicate this even just a little bit, the impact would be enormous!

Urban agriculture is essential to global sustainability. Individuals and businesses can participate. Imagine a business converting the rooftop of its building into a beautiful garden that would offer tranquility, food, and climate control! Awesome!

Here is a link to the video:

The vegetable gardeners of Havana

Save Money, Use Less Paper

If you operate your own business or work in one where invoices are a constant juggling act, you may be pleased to hear about Invoice Cloud, a paperless invoicing or e-invoice option.

If you are "old" enough to remember the start of the computer age, you perhaps can relate to the promises it had of reducing (or eliminating) paper in our offices!! My personal experience is almost the exact opposite! In fact, I remember a fellow I worked with who used to print out every e-mail he received to read them in hard copy! I digress!!

Invoice Cloud may just be the type of service we need to begin to reduce the amount of paper we generate and to help reduce the massive amount used just for invoicing.

• Invoices are responsible for 10% of all trees cut down worldwide.
• Creating paper invoices uses as much electricity each year as the consumption of 20 million households.
• A year`s worth of invoices take up as much landfill space as 10 football fields each stacked more than 100 feet deep with paper.
• Getting rid of 12 billion pieces of paper means saving almost one milliontrees and 240,000 tons of paper every year.
• Slashing paper invoicing by half also translates to reducing our carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint by almost 250,000 tons.

A reminder, please ask all the important questions of this company as part of your sustainability due diligence.

Check to see just how sustainably they operate their own business. 

What kind of energy do they use? 
Do they have a company-wide recycling program?
Any energy efficiency policies?
Is their website hosted by a green host?
What kind of involvement to they have with their community?

Add your own questions as well. The key is to help these companies with great green ideas who are not aware of how they themselves can be greener and operate more sustainably.

Organic Farmers Seek Healthier Future

What constitutes sustainability in business? What are the key elements that must be present in order for a business venture to be sustainable and stay that way?

I found a good Wall Street Journal article that describes the benefits to farmers in India when they make a concerted effort to convert to and stick with organic farming to achieve certification. Clearly, according to the article, farmers indicate that they are better off producing their crops without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Additionally, they seem to be making more money as yields are up, less is lost to harsh conditions and prices are higher. If they can get past the big expense of certification ($2000 annually!!), they have a good chance at success. Bravo!!

A big caveat for me is who is profiting the most from this? There is no mention of any fair trade element, so one can only imagine a fat cat middleman skimming off the top (sorry for the pessimism)! Additionally, the certification expense is HUGE and there seems to be no financial assistance coming from anyone or anywhere. Perhaps a scale for farmers that gets them certified for less in the first year and then builds up until they are self-sufficient? I would posit that the certifiers and the government could work out a deal that they could afford and that creates a win-win situation. Perhaps they could form community support groups for those who endeavor to grow organically, but must overcome serious barriers?

Bottom line is, sustainability must be a group effort. We are all in this together and our success is dependent upon working together and sharing ideas and experiences as well as some of the elbow grease!

What do you think?

Rancho Margot - Costa Rica

Here is another informal video of parts of the main area at Rancho Margot in the Lake Arenal area of Costa Rica. The location has a fully functioning farm with livestock and many organic crops. There is also a biodigestor project to use manure for fuel for a thermal hot tub project that may even be ready to use at this time! A good deal of electricity is produced by turbines driven by hydro power. The wilder area moving away from the lake is actually the backside of the famous Monteverde region! It is a wonderful vision unfolding daily. Enjoy!

Beginning a New Project!

Hello All!

I am in the beginning stages (sort of) of putting rubber to road and am looking forward to years of hard work and discovery! I am putting together a project that really will pull together a great number of things that I am truly passionate about and can sink my teeth into! In all honesty, it is really taking what I have been working on for the past 17-18 years and making it a bit more of "my own." When I say more of my own, I don't mean that it won't be a full on collaboration, but I mean that it will be something that comes from my heart and soul and will be something that resonates profoundly for me!

In taking all my experience and learnings about sustainability, I endeavor to pull together a legendary team to scour the globe (and our backyards!) for people, businesses and communities that are putting the principles of sustainability to work. We will document their efforts and identify key ingredients for success. In doing so, we will also endeavor to foster links to connect these efforts into global webs of cooperative and sharing sustainability.

Let me know what you think! Let me know if you have any suggestions! Thanks!

Rancho Margot - Costa Rica

This is a short and rather informal video showing part of a very interesting eco-tourism project in the Lake Arenal area in Costa Rica. Juan, the Chilean owner and visionary behind the project, is converting the 152 hectare ranch into a sustainable and self-sufficient operation to both serve the needs of eco-tourists and the community.

Green Festival in Denver

It looks like I will head on down to the Colorado Convention Center to attend at least one day of this weekend event. I am looking forward to seeing how well-received the event is here as it is the first time for Denver to host it. I will post some reviews of the event on this blog.

Chelsea Green Bloggers

I should also encourage everyone to take a looksie at the Chelsea Green bloggers page for some good ole home cookin' of ideas and philosophies from the sustainability cookbook!

"Living Above the Store" - How a Business Became More Sustainable!

No doubt another great read available from our literary stalwarts of sustainability at Chelsea Green Publishing  is now available! It was to be released on April 12th, so look for it at your local bookstore(s) or, put an order in! It looks like an important read for those thinking of, or even attempting to, put a little more effort into becoming more sustainable and green.

The full title is: Living Above the Store Building a Business That Creates Value, Inspires Change, and Restores Land and Community and it is authored by Martin Melaver.

The Chelsea Green website offers the following about the book:

Living Above the Store demonstrates how to:

• Adopt a business model that provides for economic success while contributing to society and the environment
• Shape a business culture that is restorative to a workforce by helping employees realize their highest potential
• Leverage an ethos within a business that “ripples outward” to foster restoration of both land and community
• Embrace a notion of limits to growth
• Reframe ideas about competition, proprietary knowledge, and business success

Living Above the Store is for readers who care about issues of community and sustainability as well as for those who want to learn more about how a socially responsible business can first redefine, and then find, success.

Here are some quotes about the book:

Living Above the Store breaks the mold on business writing. This is a tale of three generations of the Melaver family, the purported end of the world, and the true nature of enterprise. It is a book about the greening of business to be sure, but it is literature first, brilliant disquisitions and narratives that place commerce within the broader context of history, culture, and the cherished human values that bind us together. Martin Melaver has enlarged the vocabulary of commerce and restored it to a place of honor, a timely gift in an era of disillusionment. You may put it down to absorb what has been written, but you will not forget the stories of courage, the humility of reflection or the import of what has been said, and you will want to read it straight through to the end.--Paul Hawken, author of The Ecology of Commerce

The most sustainably growing family business leaders, I find, are philosophers of management. Living Above the Store is a compelling example. Further, it is a wonderful story built on wonderful stories. All business leaders will be inspired by the power of connecting driving values with convincing stories.--John L. Ward, Clinical Professor, Kellogg School of Management and Principal, The Family Business Consulting Group