young european business campus
Last year, we talked Fair Trade. This year, we go beyond.
november
In
2009
we'll talk
Sustainable Business Culture in every respect ! *
good for the planet. "Today, more than ever, we need good for the people. political leaders who can see good for your lifestyle. the big picture, who understand the relationship good for making a living. between the economy and its environmental good for ideas and change. support systems." –Lester R. Brown good for having a good time. Plan B 3.0 good for being with nice people. good for a world of opportunities.
* we'll be there
* ?
* what is Yours
* it's our world
What are You up to? Ways to make a Living are changing. The world is changing. Want to meet cultural creatives surfing the tidal wave of innovation @ the 2009 campus Globally connected, new ways are forming between new and old cultures. Organisations, business and media blend, new lifestyles, learning and education emerge. Caring people create ideas that benefit the people and the planet. Living their ideals - enJOYing their
work and allies - and making a good living on it. Administration, business, government and education are turning to them for help in creating the future. This future is unfolding and opening up ~ will You co-Create it?
Social Entrepreneurship - Social Business - The hub world network Positive News media - and countless Ideas !
In 2008, many new models had their breakthrough! New, fresh, exciting things are emerging! Exciting times !
You can not not Your Lifetime is a very special c h a n g e t h e w o r l d . moment in the history of In the USA, the young genereation's human civilisation. lifespan is expected to be less that "Even though they live in the world's wealthiest nation, Generation We are inheriting a damaged future, and a set of potentially catastrophic problems. But we have every reason to be optimistic. These kids identify themselves as strongly progressive, and are fed up with partisan politics. They're socially tolerant, environmentally conscious, and peace loving. They volunteer in record numbers, they're technologically brilliant..." Eric Greenberg, author of Generation We.
The world is cranking on all edges with
environmental devastation, illnesses, poverty, social injustice, escalating violence, health problems, deteriorating social networks, stress. According to the IUCN's Red Data books, many species are still at risk of extinction. Scientists estimate a daily loss of 150
species.* 60 percent of the ecosystem
their parents'. Trends show that 50% will have cancer, 30% suffer a heart stroke, and 30% will develop diabetes, And you?
All these are in one way or another related to ... an economy that is out of tune with the biosphere and the living needs of healthy people.
climate change. Moving towards a 5 degree rise in average global temperature.*** On top of all this comes -
While one would expect the captains of the global, industrial Titanic to change the course... the exploitation, destruction and degradation of forests, oceans, coasts, freshwater reserves, agricultural surfaces - and, people - are Yes,
services that support life on Earth are on the edge of collapse.**
accelerating.
people. Through stress and unhealthy living conditions. ** United Nations, Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. The world's most comprehensive scientific analysis on the state of the Biosphere. Conducted by 1,300 top-level experts from 95 countries, it reveals that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth are being degraded or used unsustainably. ... increasing the likelihood of potentially abrupt changes that will seriously affect human well-being. This includes the emergence of new diseases, sudden changes in water quality, creation of 'dead zones' along the coasts, the collapse of fisheries, and shifts in regional climate.
* IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network - a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.
*** David Wasdell; up to date climate science presented to 500 global leaders at Taellberg Forum 2008, and to Nicolas Stern, author or the renowned Stern Report to the British government..
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simon idoia
& more moving in environments like
It's all here! the hub world network Youth-Leader Magazine the kaospilots.dk
?! www.
youth-leader.org kaospilots.dk the-hub.net
we're offering
knowledge, media, methods, tools & ideas beyond your imagination. With many doors to open and follow after this short week.
&
you're welcome because just like everyone else who cares, you should learn about the best stuff out there in the world ~ to change the world.
your contribution is your spirit & creativity This is not a free Show. We will be present with all that we have. And we share it with those ready to do the same. Those with an earnest desire to learn about things that matter. Because only then can our worlds connect. All of us 70 people meeting there come from different worlds. And this is why we need you to tune in & contribute, so we all have some things in common, and create something new together. Through checking a few texts, articles and video clips, and contributing some yourself. Like You, We don't like boring stuff. So expect to be surprised. This can be a most unusual experience. The more you put in, the more you will get out of it.
POSITIVE CHANGE & EDUCATION In face a of a changing world with new challenges and opportunities, the United Nations have launched the World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014. You are right if you think - "hey, looking at my school, I think there is still a long way to go". Definitely! The shift to education systems nurturing Fair Global Citizens able to live a global, peaceful, just and sustainable civilisation is only in its tender beginning. And there's no time to wait - to learn
How evolve the Now to create a great society, together ? How to adapt to climate change ? How to have a world of peace and prosperity ? How to apply successful solutions to solve the world's problems ? How to share and develop solutions ? A society where everyone can participate in shaping it ? How to work co-creatively and generate ideas in a large, diverse group of people ?
One of the easy ways we use to share available solutions with the world is this Positive News Board. One reaches the entire school community daily at minimal cost. With YL Magazine, we are evolving in 15 languages. And your campus contributions will also feature in the Magazine. Your teachers also appreciate having complex, practical, real life learning projects in your school ~ such as the school company. And they are fully behind the adventure journey into the new. emerging realms of 'Business & Sustainability'.
We encourage you to join in and take the chance for a special trip out of school. With no Education but lots of Learning.
* HOW TO JOIN * Here's what to do ~ Step 1
Check out the Positive News Board Like what you read ? Please add your thoughts to the Feedback Page & Jump to
Step 2
Contact your teacher - that is ... _________________________. Check to make sure you can attend from Nov 8-14. No sister birthday or so in that week ;-) Your teacher will provide you with information on participating in the required preparation - which includes
Step 3
Telling us about your school company/ies or related activities.
Step 4
Tell us about yourself using the Profile Form.
Step 5
Take a dive into the world of sustainability and business by browsing your choice of articles, websites, video clips from our resource list.
Step 6
Measure your Ecological Footprint. And maybe even join a Social Experiment. The upcoming resource list tells you all you need about this :-)
POSITIVE NEWS - SOLUTIONS & IDEAS FOR A BETTER WORLD Your preparation includes learning about good examples, and finding some - as a contribution to the campus gathering. We expect that you already know some of the important things of what clean, responsible business means. Minimising effects on the environment at every stage of the production chain, recycling, transparent consumer information, fair wages, pleasant work atmosphere, workers rights...
With this
POSITIVE NEWS BOARD we want to show you a few more impressions from the rich, evolving spectrum of ingenious solutions.
* Browse the stories * Please share Your thoughts on the Feedback Page * Did you know that other parts of the world are taking these steps already ?
* What if these available simple solutions were applied everywhere ?
Do You have questions about matters of sustainability, the future, your personal path ? You are welcome to ask, and we will respond and/or include them into the campus process. You can write directly to our contact address. Ask your teacher for it :-)
ok - WHY CARE about developing a civilisation based on a sustainable economy ? Poorer states need '100 billions per year' for global warning, says World Bank The Hague (AFP) Sept 29, 2009, www.terradaily.com Developing countries will need up to 100 billion dollars (80 billion euros) a year for 40 years to combat the effects of global warming, said a World Bank report released in The Hague on Tuesday. Assuming the planet is two degrees Celsius warmer by 2050, "the study puts the cost of adapting ... at 75 billion to 100 billion dollars a year" from 2010, according to an investigation commissioned by Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland. "What we try to show with this report is the urgency of ensuring that there are sufficient funds for adaptation" for poor countries, Dutch Development Minister Bert Koenders said on receiving the report. "It is for many countries a question of life and death," he added. "There will be no climate deal in Copenhagen if there is no financing for adaptation" -- referring to the UN climate summit to be held there in December. East Asia, South Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa are those most affected by global warming, the report said. The European Union, Japan and the United States "realise" that money had to be found, Koenders said, adding however that funding "does not necessarily have to come from national budgets".
"The big political debate is now about the figures, that is why it is very important to have objective figures from this report." Koenders said developing countries would require additional aid on top of traditional development assistance to deal with climate change. World Bank economist Sergio Margulis, who headed the study, said the costs of global warming will rise. "Development is the most powerful form of adaptation," the report said. "It makes economies less reliant on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture. It boosts the capacity of households to adapt by increasing levels of incomes, health and education. "It enhances the ability of governments to assist by improving the institutional infrastructure. And it dramatically reduces the number of people killed by floods and affected by floods and droughts." Development also means breeding drought- and flood-tolerant crops, climate-proofing infrastructure, the report said. Margulis said developing countries, like their rich counterparts, also had a duty to reduce CO2 emissions "to avoid the unmanageable consequences of higher temperatures". If nothing is done, the report argued, global warming would kill half the
species on the planet, flood 30 percent of coastal wetlands, and cause a steep rise in malnutrition and disease.
__ Up-to-date climate science presented in high level environments since summer 2008, by David Wasdell, Al Gore and Nicolas Stern, explain that limiting global warming to 2 degrees is no longer possible. We are moving towards 5 degrees. The fact that large institutions still stick to outdated figures is not very encouraging. __ The declared goal of the forthcoming Copenhagen negotiations – reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 – will allow business-asusual for another 15-20 years. According to a recent MIT s t u d y, e v e n i f a l l t h e governments completely fulfill their current promises, CO2 levels will have reached over 600 p.p.m. by 2050, while global temperatures will have risen at least 4°C (6.9F). This is irreversibly catastrophic. www.bioneers.org newsletter 2 Oct 2009
Since 1992, nations have met at UN summits and produced much paper and newspaper headlines. But for almost twenty years, political & business leaders have not made relevant decisions. Will you keep waiting ? Or will YOU become part of the SOLUTION ?
MeToWe - Sweeping Canada with a Powerful Spirit of Positive Change. Watch and wonder. Here's a youth wave taking off! Youthled. Super professional. Super impact! This is a new level! Unlike anything You've Seen so far! Hu-wow! There's so much to say about metowe that this article can only show up a fraction of it... Originally Craig and Marc Kielburger's (www.freethechildren.org) priority focus lay on forming adopt-a-village partnerships from Canada to fourty countries. Now, they include taking care of local communities in Canada. Based on their experiences overseas, they unite the Freethechildren school group network under the overarching philosophy of (from) me to we - from individualism to caring - using our personal priviledge and capacities for helping others - which not only makes the world better, but makes us feel reaally good. Right on! MetoWe is remarkable for its full scale professionalism in running the campaign, bringing thousands of youth from hundreds of schools together for MeToWe Day, involving many inspirational speakers and celebrities who really care www.freethechildren.com/weday and stick to the movement. And it's cool they don't take themselves too serious. Watch Craig's public speaking tips ;) http://we.freethechildren.com/get-involved Their approach may look puzzlingly mainstream to change-makers used to being counter-culture. But - hey, look at this - they are achieving, mobilising on massive scale, with fun, and massive impact and inspiration! This is a new generation! The people involved are full on sincere and living positive change action spirit! It is so good to see them take over the mainstream, blinking out all those fake and hyped celebrity wanna-be events. This is the way to do it! Craig and Marc - thanks and Go Go Go! Below are some picks of an incomplete list of what they do (the whole enchillada! Wow!) and INSPIRATIONAL 'HOW THEY DO IT' VIDEOS that are really fun to watch. Enjoy! METOWE FEATURES - inspirational leaders - strong media appearances - a massive! inspirational website - maaajor events - a huuuge school group network - lots of participation - great team feeling - youth leadership training in schools - seminars, like The 7 Steps to Social Involvement, Effective public speaking, Facilitator training, Fundraising made easy, Interpersonal communication, How to inspire others, How to organize a press conference, How to promote volunteerism, How to raise public awareness, How to work with the media, How to write a great resume, Interview techniques, Negotiation skills, Teambuilding and goal-setting, Thinking outside of the box... - teaching tools - overseas volunteer opportunites - responsible travel opportunites - books and dvds - clothing and music - "metowe Academy" youth leadership training camps ... all this based on a massive, inspired staff of volunteers!
Get the full story + great video links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
YES! Youth for Environmental Sanity Yes! are the world's leading, most holistic and innovative organisation for nurturing young leaders. YES! was born when Ocean Robbins, a 16 year old Californian youth, heard Nancy Reagan* say "Just say No". He felt there’s a better way “Just say Yes! - and it's just amazing what's come out of it! In 1990, Yes! ‘Youth for Environmental Sanity’ was born www.yesworld.org. Beginning with local environmental actions, Yes! soon started touring the U.S, visiting high schools and speaking to more than 650,000 students, bringing them a special message : 'Young people are not the leaders of tomorrow. We are the leaders of today. And we are going to show you how.' The experience of encounters with young people of different backgrounds, sharing the aspirations for positive change, has brought Yes! to the next step, which they have become known and famous for : Yes! Jams. YES! JAMS : The healing power of community Innovators - especially at young age – naturally have few or no one to share their feelings, their drive, motivations and aspirations with. And this can be extremely hard. This is why Yes! is bringing young, visionary leaders together for informal, week-long gatherings, full of dialogue, of sharing their stories, their pains and dreams, of playing and art, of caring and joy. Until today, Yes! has held more than 90 week-long jams around the world, with visionary young leaders from more than sixty-five nations! Surveys among participants have shown that, among other things, 94% of Jammers gained valuable skills and perspectives that enhanced their life. They have also started more than 400 non-profit groups working for positive change, with immeasurable impact within the organizations and communities they serve. Instead of asking ‘Can Young People Change the World?’ we should ask ‘Can the World Do Without them?’ “As an activist we focus so much on healing the pain and conflict around us that we never get a chance to heal the pain inside our own lives, to grow as individuals with integrity and strength of spirit with healthy bodies full of energy to dedicate to our work. Thank you YES! for a wonderful time. My heart has opened to the possibility of a place for spirit in my work. This camp through me will reach hundreds of young people.” —Karun Koernig, 25, Manager, Environmental Youth Alliance, Vancouver, Canada 'Unleashing all that we have, and all that we are, on behalf of all that we love.' "I am trying to help us change our definition of growing up, so that it ceases to mean giving up on our ideals, and comes to mean learning how to live our dreams, every day, on the Earth. I want to awaken the passion and creativity of youth, combine it with the wisdom, experience and insight of elders, and transform our world." Ocean Robbins, Yes! founder
Get the full story, activist portraits and inspirational video links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Muhammad Yunus about a World Without Poverty Muhammad Yunus tells us his exciting story of revelations and puzzling experiences with officials and how to follow one's path for transforming the world. Known as the 'Banker to the Poor', this finance visionary and innovator, founder and manager of Grameen Bank and its growing family of social venture businesses, was honoured with a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. His work with Grameen echoes a theme among modern day social entrepreneurs that emphasizes the enormous synergies and benefits when business principles are unified with social ventures.
"In the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe, bringing with them enormous potential for positive change. But traditional capitalism cannot solve problems like inequality and poverty, because it is hampered by a narrow view of human nature in which people are one-dimensional beings concerned only with profit. But human beings are not one-dimensional. In fact, human beings have many other drives and passions, including the spiritual, the social, and the altruistic. This is why I believe strongly in the potentials of social business, where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today's most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick, and protecting the planet." Muhammad Yunus leads a movement that has lifted millions from poverty. ~ How did he get there? ~ What have been important experiences along the way? ~ What are the main steps in overcoming a paradigm irrationally resistant to sound change? Here he describes how he created microcredit collateral-free lending and savings - and other business services to the poorest citizens, particularly women. Yunus lays out the path to this extraordinary vision and success: from his youth as the son of a small jeweler in East Pakistan to his later years leading Grameen and driving global social change. Don't miss this! This is one of the most exceptional videos around. 47:26min, english language, with subtile translations in 77 languages to choose from! Excellent for school use - on global issues, innovation and poverty reducation.
Get the full story + this extraordinary video link in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Muhammad Yunus Recounts Grameen Success Stories How an initiative to bring mobile phones to poor villages became the biggest mobile phone company in Bangladesh. Muhammad Yunus, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is well kown for his achievements in lifting millions of people from extreme poverty through microcredit ventures of Grameen Bank. The Grameen Foundation, however, has started many other ventures, and Muhammad Yunus, has now stepped forward to proclaim a new business paradigm - 'Social Business'. At Vision Summit, he shared several success stories, for example
ABOUT GRAMEEN PHONE
„One problem of poverty is isolation from the world. This is why we thought about starting Grameen Phone, for bringing mobile phones to the villages. So, I started talking to government officials to receive a license for setting up the Grameen Phone program. This was not as easy as I thought. I encountered some unexpected situations. The first question of the government official was „Why?“ I was puzzled, and I answered „So they can call people by telephone.“ He replied „They have nobody to call anyway.“ It took me a while to understand what he was saying, because this is a way of thinking I could not comprehend. Of course, they have people to call. So, I explained the idea to him. „We will be selling the phone to individual people in the village, so they can rent out the phone to others in the village who pay for using the phone. We will only sell it to women, making them the telephone ladies. We sell it to them for a loan that they can pay back in small rates over time.“ He was not convinced. „She has never seen a phone before in her life.“ I was surprised again. Remembering my own experience in discovering a cell phone, I replied „Well, there is a first time to everything! For a cell phone. For me, for you, too. And we still stumble using them.“ „She cannot read the numbers.“ „Well, there are only ten numbers in the world. If she knows pushing these numbers makes money, she will learn them in ten minutes.“ These people are poor. But they are not dumb. He was not convinced. Finally, we got the license. Six months later, after we had sold a lot of phones, I went to the villages to ask questions to twenty phone ladies about their experience. They were all enthusiastic, and while I was talking to them, the phone kept ringing all the time, and they went „Wait a minute. Wait a minute.“ I remembered the talk I had with the government official, and I asked „Do you have any problems pushing the numbers?“ „No. We do it all the time.“ (We have a rule when selling the phones. Do not give it to the customer. You do the dialling, and when you hear the response sound, you give it to the customer.), but sensing the doubt behind the question, she replied „I will do it blindfolded. Tell me any number, and I will dial it. If I cannot do it, I return the phone to you, since then, I do not deserve it.“ I had never expected this. She challenged me, I was shocked. It is so easy to undermine the capacity of others.
Today, there are more than 300,000 phone ladies all over Bangladesh, doing rolling business. In total, we have sold more than 15 million cell phones. Grameen Phone is the biggest company, with more than 50% of the market share. Like Grameen Bank, we want Grameen Phone to be owned by poor women in Bangladesh." There's more... about 'Ending Night Blindness' . .. 'Bringing Solar Energy to Remote Villages' ... 'Technology for Healthcare' ... 'Affordable Nutritional Yoghurts for Poor Villages' ... 'Providing Affordable, Clean, Safe Water to Villages'...
Get the full story + video links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
KIVA : people2people Microcredit Partnerships Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first personto-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. It may take as little as 20 dollars to start a business in 'developing' countries. But getting thse twenty dollars has been close to impossible until microcredit programs have - only recently - appeared and lifted millions out of extreme poverty. The breakthrough has been achieved by Grameen Bank, 'a bank for the poor', founded by Muhammad Yunus. You can listen to his amazing story here. Worldwide, institutions and organisations are developing microcredit support networks. But - the world is large, and they are not everywhere. That's why - Here comes You! Kiva adds an additional, precious dimension to the world of microcredit: individual People2People loans from private citizens connected through the internet! This is particularly useful for people in countries that do not yet have large scale programs. You are the change! But there's more to it. There is no need to take any interest rate. Further, this kind of personal international co-laboration is a great emotional experience and expands the awareness for Fair Global Citizenship. "The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need." kiva website It is easy to get started. Kiva's website offers all the information and the contacts you need to get started in experiencing yourself in a role of both priviledge and generosity like never before. Enjoy! P.S. This is a unique opportunity to get involved as young people! As individuals, groups and schools. What a great Global Learning experience with an impact! Imagine the empowerment felt by students! Find out more @ www.kiva.org
Get the full story + links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Eco-Tipping Points : Making Wells Flow again in the Desert of Rajasthan, India Re-adopting traditional economic practices has reanimated a desert-region in India's state of Rajasthan. Wells, forests, communities and animals - all started coming back! "Then his eyes would fix upon the well. The water pouring from the pump is a quiet miracle, not far removed from striking a rock with a staff and watching a spring gush forth. He’d recall that once, two decades ago, the well had been empty..." The wells in Rajasthan’s Alwar District had dried up, thrusting the people into abject and seemingly inescapable poverty. In the language of EcoTipping Points, it had suffered a negative tip – a switch from sustainability to decline. The revival of traditional earthen dams to capture rainwater for recharging the underground water supply provided a tipping point that brought the wells back to life. And with the water came a better life for the people. The story of Gopalpura and the Alwar district of Rajasthan paints a dramatic picture of what Eco-Tipping Points are and how they work. It concerns the most basic of resources: water. It demonstrates how a "negative tip" can take a vital resource away, and how a "positive tip" can bring it back. And it shows how the ripples from a relatively small event can change an ecosystem and a community. It started in the spare, humble village of Gopalpura. Nearly a thousand villages are now following Gopalpura’s example! The experience has triggered a strong feeling of stewardship in the population, making it resistent against short sighted outward interference into the life-systems of their region.
Get the full story, insights into the Eco -Tipping Points approach + more in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
'Better Bananas'! Partnership Of Rainforest Alliance & CHIQUITA Leads to 100% Approval of Company Farms in Latin America; no more pesticide use, improved social standards and - with 27% higher yields ! According to the Rainforest Alliance, 100% of Chiquita's banana company-owned farms in Latin Americ now abide by strong environmental and social standards, which have positive impacts on rural communities and tropical landscapes." "By meeting the Rainforest Alliance's standards, Chiquita has improved water quality, instituted programs for recycling and safe waste disposal, dramatically decreased agrichemical use, and improved the quality of life of workers. Investing tens of millions of dollars, Chiquita has implemented recycling programs and reforestation projects, modernized warehouses, protected rivers by setting up water filtration systems, designed safer and more comfortable packing plants, and instituted soil conservation measures. The company has also devoted considerable time and money to worker training, housing, schools, day care, and health and safety programs for employees and their children. The changes at the farm level are tangible and dramatic, but the program has also generated improvements that are harder to quantify. According to the Rainforest Alliance's Chris Wille, the director of the Better Banana Project, "Perhaps the most important changes are in the minds of farm managers and workers who now see the value of conservation and view nature as an ally in crop production." "Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita’s president and CEO, says this was the first time he’d made an investment without consulting a spreadsheet. And, he adds, it was the best one he ever made. Chiquita is saving $5 million U.S. a year (4 million Euros) on pesticides, and production has increased 27 percent." says Ode Magazine. Although Chiquita bananas are not certified organic, this shift represent a big improvement to industry mainstream. This large scale example clearly shows that non-pestide, organic agriculture in general does not mean lower yields. In fact, many studies show that organic agriculture produces higher yields. Not to speak of cutting the cost on chemical poisons.
A major global good practice example! How about telling all other companies to follow? Sources: Rainforst Alliance : www.rainforest-alliance.org/news/2000/chiquita.html and Ode Magazine www.odemagazine.com/news.php Image: Rainforest Alliance : www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/agriculture/certifiedcrops/bananas.html
Get the full story + links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Holistic Community Development in Rural Nicaragua This remarkable project, benefitting the entire region of San Ramos and the international partner community, was initiated by a single tourist couple, who developed friendly ties in the community of San Ramos, Nicaragua. Together with Ms. Yelba Valenzuela, organising activities on-site, they started informal community-twinning activities in their home town of Durham, North Carolina, USA, and established the non-governmental organisation „Durham-San Ramón Sister Communities“. Much of the region's economy had shifted to coffee production over recent decades. However - coffee plantations, which are not operated according to ecological criteria, contribute significantly to water pollution during the harvesting, to the point of rendering the water undrinkable !!! Think about it, realise it. Consider spending a dollar more on a packat of ground coffee to ensure the (almost always poor) farmers have safe drinking water! Therefore, among one of the first activities was the search for a coffee roaster in the USA, which was willing to purchase the entire harvest of the 32-member cooperative of organic coffee farmers in San Ramón. The search was successful. "Café San Ramon" is "fair trade" certified, and is sold with the quality criterion "shade-grown" . Generated profits are being returned into sustainability projects benefitting the community, and developing the Finca Esperanza Verde from a dusty hilltop into a blooming and awarded eco-tourism facility. As a result of this
cooperation, the region's Gross Product has risen by 30%! The tourism facility is an important factor because it offers paid work. Moreover, it functions as a small fund (a kind of "Funding source") for the support of various local, social and cultural tasks in San Ramón. The buildings and visitors' accommodations at Finca Esperanza Verde are equipped with solar panels producing a total of 500 watts, providing power for the lights, the radiotelephony equipment maintaining communications, as well as two freezers (the nearest power transmission line is to be found at a distance of 2 km.) Most of the food used at the finca is produced or procured locally, part of it from organic farms (vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat). Hot water for the showers comes from large, portable hose bags heated by the sun. Clean drinking water is provided from a protected mountain spring above the finca. The waste water is collected in septic tanks before being passed through an underground filter bed. There are no "artificially" created tourist activities. On the contrary: Things that were and are available have been made accessible. International visitors are well briefed on local codes and values. Activities include a rich network of hiking trails, guided trips (on foot or by horse) for bird- and animal watching (toucans, sloth,
howler monkeys, eagles) or for visits to the butterfly breeding station, work days on a coffee plantation, or simply enjoying the ecologically rich and beautiful Finca Verde itself. A maximum number of 22 visitors and of three consecutive homestay nights protects the community from too much stress. The community notices that visitors coming via the „international bridge“ are more respectful than individual travellers. Yet, the tourism council sees no negative impact for the community, as long as operations stay small and controllable. Each visitor represents about $US 750 investment into the local economy. Visitor numbers have reached 450, and the Nicaraguan Award has triggered a national visitor flow of today 200 well-situated Nicaraguans. The international bridge alone has generated more than US$ 49,500 from Community-Stays. Further funds have gone into building and equipping schools, providing healthcare, realising water projects. All staff are paid above average wages , young guides also take responsibility as volunteers to care for the integrity of their environment. www.fincaesperanzaverde.org
'The Story of Stuff' with Annie Leonard The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. www.storyofstuff.com This animation film is not the kind of tame, boring info film or aggressive antidocumentary we've all come across many times. No, it's that special kind of ingenous style typical of Free Range Studios - who are the absolute champs in Flash Movie Activism @ www.freerangestudios.com! Not only are the animations fun, but the film addresses the full scope of production, consumption and waste, incl. fundamental political! flaws in the system, illustrated with graphic facts without being one-sided, and very straightforward - not trying to euphemise the effects of industrial resource extraction behind artificial words. “We’ll start with extraction, which is a fancy word for natural resource exploitation, which is a fancy word for trashing the planet. What this looks like is we chop down the trees, we blow up mountains to get the metals inside, we use up all the water and we wipe out the animals.” The high quality informational and entertaining quality has made it a major success on the internet AND in schools. This movie is the BEST TOOL around on the topic to be used in education! and that's the kind of multiplying effect we need! So, please join in spreading this tool left and right, up and down! Since The Story of Stuff was launched online on December 4, 2007, the site has been visited by people in over 224 countries and territories around the world, and been translated to many
languages. More than six million people have seen it on the website, 'and millions more have seen it on YouTube. More than 7,000 schools, churches and others have ordered a DVD version, and hundreds of teachers have written Ms. Leonard to say they have assigned students to view it on the Web. Based on the gained international attention and support, Annie is now working with educational organisation Facing the Future on developing a two-week middle and high school level educational module with the film at its core. But don't wait for it - use Story of Stuff in SCHOOLS right now. The website offers all the tools you need.
Get the full story + various language video links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
China is Building a Sustainable City : Dongtan China's rapid transformation period is enabling amazing break-throughs. Now, China takes a step into the Age of Sustainable Urban Design. A couple of years ago, the government has started the creation of the world's first eco-city in Dongtan. Arup, a Britain-based planning, engineering and design firm, and the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC) have joined hands to transform Dongtan, a rural island nestled in the Yangtze River near Shanghi, into a green city that has minimal negative impact on the environment and takes an active role in encouraging the well-being of its residents. Planners, like Peter Head, Arup's director of this project, want this city to revolutionize how cities are built. Through sustainable design and planning, Arup aims for Dongtan to be self-sufficient, generating all energy from renewable resources, growing all food, and recyling all waste. The residents of this city, which will eventually be three quarters the size of Manhattan, will live, work and relax in the city. The final project will have parks and other such areas to encourage an active population. Dongtan is to become a "city of towns", a city of three villages - with many focal points for citizens and integrated into the rural landscape. It will have several communities of different characters, rather than creating one faceless area. This shall make the city a lively, vibrant and sustainable, a unique, varied and high-quality urban environment, which enables inhabitants and visitors to use the city as a place for play, leisure, encounter, work and enjoyment of the natural world, in a balanced and sustainable way. It will accommodate a population of 50 000, rising to a projected 500 000 by 2040. Dongtan will incorporate many traditional Chinese design features and will feel like a 'Chinese' city. The first phase of the eco-city is slated to be finished by 2010, just in time for Shanghai Expo trade fair. And, at the present time, two more eco-cities are planned for China; timeframes and locations have yet to be disclosed. Charting this new frontier, planners have faith in the bright future of China. "There is a growing recognition in China that long term economic and social vitality depends upon more efficient, effective use of nature's resources, coupled with improved human and environmental health," says Gary Lawrence, senior advisor on the project and Urban Strategy Leader. "The building of Dongtan on an island close to Shanghai is a horrendously expensive project but the Chinese are convinced that their investment will pay off. The new technology and new modes of urban living pioneered at Dongtan will, they hope, be replicated throughout China and sold on to a world desperate for environmental solutions."
Get the full story, detail aspects + video links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Cartoon of the Week 20 Minute Neighbourhoods
by Andy Lubershane http://earthlycomics.blogspot.com/2009/04/20-minute-neighborhoods.html
featured in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Ricoh to Place First 100% Eco-Powered Electronic Billboard in New York's Times Square Japan's office equipment supplier Ricoh Co. set up an ecopowered sign in Times Square in New York City (U.S.) for a lighting in December 2008. With its hybrid power generator and batteries for power storage, the billboard will be powered entirely by the sun and the wind, needing no electricity supplies from other sources. The sign (14.3 x 38.4 meter) bearing the company's logo will be equipped with four wind turbines and 63 solar panels. The sign, although capable of storing four days worth of supply in the batteries, may not be illuminated in case there is not enough wind or solar power.
RICOH Powers Off Billboards Globally on World Environment Day. The Ricoh group, turned
off all of its billboards, neon signs and other facilities globally for the night of June 5, 2009, the United Nations' World Environment Day. Its subsidiaries in Japan joined the lights out campaign to reduce CO2 held by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, simultaneously conducted on June 21 and July 7 of the same year. Participation in these events was an attempt to improve employees' environmental awareness under the "Ricoh Global Eco Action" as a part of its global environment events. The Ricoh group all over the world began such efforts in 2006, and it encourages their employees to switch off lights at major facilities, billboards and offices, and to think about and act for the environment. In fiscal 2008, 43,000 employees in 65 offices across 31 countries took part in similar activities and reduced CO2 emissions by an estimated 14 tons.
San Francisco Bans Plastic Shopping Bags San Francisco's city council voted 10-1 for banning plastic bags from consumer stores. The reasons are clear: An annual volume of more than 180 million plastic bags in California alone adds to polluting the oceans, the land, and wasting oil on a big scale. Environmentally, organic and 100% bio-degradable alternatives have long been available, but corporations made no significant moves - so much about corporate self-responsibility. Here comes the legislation. As usual - from hippie hang-outs, peace ralleys to green technology legislation - San Fran proves to surf the tidal wave for global, human society evolution. OK, mayors and citizens of the world - now you can dare do so, too! Actually, Curitiba and Porto Allegre (both Brazil) and Bogotรก (Colombia) have taken jumps in innovation when run by ingenious mayors. So, don't wait to break the historical pattern and demonstrate practical steps on the yellow brick road to a desirable future.
Sweet Breakthrough: Oranges + CO2 = Plastic Professor Geoffrey Coates and graduate students Chris Byrne and Scott Allen describe a way to make polymers using limonene oxide and carbon dioxide, with the help of a catalyst. Limonene is a carbonbased compound produced in more than 300 plant species. In oranges it makes up about 95 percent of the oil in the peel. "Almost every plastic out there, from the polyester in clothing to the plastics used for food packaging and electronics, goes back to the use of petroleum as a building block," Coates observes. "If you can get away from using oil and instead use readily abundant, renewable and cheap resources, then that's something we need to investigate. What's exciting about this work is that from completely renewable resources, we were able to make a plastic with very nice qualities." The Coates laboratory comprises 18 chemists, about half of them striving to make recyclable and biodegradable materials out of cheap, readily available and environmentally friendly building blocks. "Today we use things once and throw them away because plastics are cheap and abundant. It won't be like that in the future," says Coates. "At some point we will look back and say, 'Wow, remember when we would take plastic containers and just throw them away?'"
7th Grader Invents Solar Cell Efficiency Scientific Breakthough 13 year old Yuan has already met with his state's congressional representatives, and in half an hour, he will appear onstage to accept a $25,000 fellowship from the Davidson Institute. The seventh grader won the award for designing a new, more efficient solar cell -- a project he undertook at Meadow Park Middle School. Yuan began working with solar cells two years ago, after science teacher Susan Duncan encouraged him to tackle an engineering project. He spent hours searching the Internet, brainstorming with Duncan, and talking with professionals before he found a topic that piqued his interest: the global energy crisis. Building on research from Georgia Tech and Notre Dame universities, Yuan found a way to improve the conversion efficiency and yields of solar cells. Most solar cells absorb visible light to produce electricity, but his design harnesses both visible and ultraviolet light. That's particularly helpful in cloudy areas, such as where he lives in the Pacific Northwest, because the solar cell can continue to generate electricity even when clouds obscure the Sun. To achieve this result, Yuan applied various coatings, integrated nanotubes, and added specialized nanostructures to a typical solar cell. Experts have given his method a thumbs-up. Read the whole article at http://www.edutopia.org/william-yuan-summa-options-science
Solar Village in India Red LED-lamps Is now 100% CO2-free cut greenhouse Bysanivaripalle has been special ever electricity use by since it installed the first biogas units 96% !!! in the Eighties. Now, not a single stick needs to be burned any more. The village has gone 100 percent solar! Bysanivaripalle is a small village in India's southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. In the Eighties, its inhabitants decided to go for biogas, with a total of 23 facilities today. And now, there is more: Bysanivaripalle has gone solar - to one hundred percent! The Austrian NGO Intersol has sponsored the first 26 solar installations. "Today, we are running our 49 facilities without a single match", says Sadananda Reddy, a silkworm breeder and solar activist in charge of the solar cookers, which are good for everything from cooking rice and traditional meals to roasting peanuts, making fries and heating up irons. Mrs. Papulamma enjoy the cookers just as much: "I don't have to go collect firewood anymore. All the women of the village have learned how to maintain the solar cookers". She is preparing school-lunches for forty-eight children. This model village saves on emitting 104 tons of CO2 per year. Dieter Seifert of Germany, who designed the SK-14 solar cookers, is proud of their achievements. "There are places with more solar cookers, of course. But the combination with biotechnology is unique. This village is a hundred percent CO2-free."
New Solar Film Utilizing Indoor Light to be Commercialized by 2010 in Japan
Red LEDs contribute to longer lamp life and energy savings. As of January 2007, a 90 percent Toppan Forms Co., a Japanese management solution success rate has been achieved. information company, announced on March 16, Since 2002, Nippon Keiki Kagoshima Works, Ltd., an LED (light emitting diode) manufacturer in Japan, has been experimenting electric light cultivation of chrysanthemums using red LEDs, which contribute to longer lamp life and energy savings. As of January 2007, a 90 percent success rate has been achieved. Using red LEDs has various benefits: 1) they are more efficient than incandescent lamps, ensuring longer (semipermanent) lamp life; 2) they do not generate excess heat, and thus cause no temperature damage to chrysanthemums; 3) they repel insect pests from chrysanthemums and so less agrochemicals are used. Running a greenhouse of six meters by fifty meters requires 50 incandescent lamps of 75 W (a total of 3,750 watts). By using red LEDs, two 75 W lamps (a total 150 watts) are sufficient. The company plans to continue the experiment, with the ultimate aim of commercial production.
2009, that by 2010 the company is going to commercialize a power generating organic film, a solar cell which can utilize low-intensity light such as indoor light. This thin-film solar cell is based on technology developed by Konarka Technologies, Inc., an American organic solar cell development company. Currently, the majority of solar cells on the market are made of silicon and have some limitations for wider application. They need to be installed outside where a lot of sunshine is available, and they are not portable due to their weight and thickness. They also require a large initial investment that takes time to recover. The new photovoltaic film, however, can convert indoor light to power. It is as thin as 400 micrometers and weighs only 500 grams per square meter, which makes it more flexible and versatile than conventional solar cells. The new film is also cost-effective as it can be manufactured by traditional printing coaters. Toppan Forms intends to apply the new thin-film solar cell to various goods: furnishings such as window shades and curtains; office equipment such as partitions and whiteboards; products for commercial facilities such as posters and showcases; fabric products such as clothes and lap robes; and portable products such as handbooks and roll up chargers.
The Tesla Roadster is an all-electric sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors. Tesla has shipped more than 500 Roadsters to customers in the United States and Europe, and Canadian deliveries are expected to begin in late 2009. The Roadster can travel 244 miles (393 km) on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack, and can accelerate from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 3.9 seconds. The Roadster is the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV to travel more than 200 miles (320 km) per charge. Electric vehicles require much less service and maintenance than internal combustion engine vehicles. They do not require routine oil changes. They do not have any tailpipe emissions and therefore do not require any muffler or exhaust system work. They do not require replacement spark plugs, pistons, hoses or belts. The conventional parts of the car—including the brakes, body work and any interior and HVAC work—can be performed by any qualified automotive technician, exotic car garage or other local provider. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster
Supermarkets open E-Car Battery Charging Stations Aeon Co., a major Japanese retailer opened a new style of eco-shopping center in Saitama Prefecture on October 2, 2008. The store has systematically incorporated the latest environmentally-friendly technologies and systems, including a high-speed charging station for electric vehicles (EVs) and 11 chargers for electric motorbikes. The installation of such an automotive charging station is the first of its kind in a domestic commercial facility, in preparation for the upcoming roll-out of electric cars in 2009. Japan for Sustainability http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/028548.html
In 1996 Electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust, and ran without gasoline. ...
Up-to-Date Climate Science "Planet Earth - We Have a Problem!" 'We have already passed the tipping point that marks the onset of runaway climate change, and are fast approaching the critical threshold beyond which the behaviour becomes unstoppable.' This is David Wasdell's message in this high end science presentation given to 500 world leaders and parliament, already in summer 2008! We think Everyone Should Know ! "Beyond the Tipping Point: Feedback Dynamics & the onset of Runaway Climate Change" is probably the best and most important presentation on climate change out there : Earth's heat engine, tipping point, runaway climate change, macroscale strategic response and action. Chapters: Forewords by Bo Ekman, Chairman of the Taellberg Forum (01:54) Introduction to the Presentation (06:46) Part 1: Basics of Climate Change (09:02) Part 2: Feedback Dynamics and the Acceleration of Climate Change (13:42) Part 3: Tipping Point: Onset of Runaway Climate Change (08:15) Part 4: Climate Stabilisation: The Task (07:53) Part 5: Climate Stabilisation: The Strategy (09:27) Epilogue: From Despair to Action based on Realistic Hope (04:58) David Wasdell delivered this copiously illustrated presentation on the 29th June 2008 to the Strategy-Planning workshop of the T채llberg Forum (annual informal gathering of 500 world leaders @ www.tallbergfoundation.org) in the heart of Sweden. After a basic introduction to climate dynamics, the powerful feedback system, already accelerating climate change, is analysed. It is argued that we have already passed the tipping point that marks the onset of runaway climate change, and are fast approaching the critical threshold beyond which the behaviour becomes unstoppable. The presentation concludes with an outline of the global strategy now urgently required to re-stabilise the life-support system of Planet Earth. David explains why international negotiations are based on 5 year old data incl. outdated predictions for an ice free North Pole towards the end of the 21st Century. But it occurred in summer 2008. Still politics and business are bargaining with arguments that make sense only in their fantasies. New scientific research, published since the video was completed, calls for a doubling of the figure used in the presentation for the strength of the water-vapour feedback. This adds 50% to the calculated power of current global heating and reinforces the conclusion that runaway climate change has already been initiated. The urgency of the imperative response to the global emergency cannot now be overstated. "A civilisational shift, from the supertanker to the shoal, responding to threats instantenously." In KOSMOS JOURNAL's Spring 2009 Issue, Youth Leader's editor Eric Schneider has explored how to enable the "Civilisational Shift from Supertanker to Shoal" illustrated in the Epilogue through a new MEDIA CULTURE, and how YOU can become part of it!
Get the full story + video links in Special Edition #1 @ www.youth-leader.org
Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization? September 29, 2009, Earth Policy Institute www.earth-policy.org “In early 2008, Saudi Arabia announced that, after being self-sufficient in wheat for over 20 years, the non-replenishable aquifer it had been pumping for irrigation was largely depleted,” writes Lester R. Brown in his new book, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company). “In response, officials said they would reduce their wheat harvest by one eighth each year until production would cease entirely in 2016. The Saudis then plan to use their oil wealth to import virtually all the grain consumed by their Canada-sized population of nearly 30 million people,” notes Brown, President and Founder of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based independent environmental research organization. “The Saudis are unique in being so wholly dependent on irrigation,” says Brown in Plan B 4.0. But other, far larger, grain producers such as India and China are facing irrigation water losses and could face grain production declines. A World Bank study of India’s water balance notes that 15 percent of its grain harvest is produced by overpumping. In human terms, 175 million Indians are being fed with grain produced from wells that will be going dry. The comparable number for China is 130 million. Among the many other countries facing harvest reductions from groundwater depletion are Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen. “The tripling of world wheat, rice, and corn prices between mid-2006 and mid-2008 signaled our growing vulnerability to food shortages,” says Brown. “It took the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression to lower grain prices.” “Past decades have witnessed world grain price surges, but they were event-driven—a drought in the former Soviet Union, a monsoon failure in India, or a crop-withering heat wave in the U.S. Corn Belt. This most recent price surge was trend-driven, the result of our failure to reverse the environmental trends that are undermining world food production.” These trends include—in addition to falling water tables—eroding soils and rising temperatures from increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Rising temperatures bring crop-shrinking heat waves, melting ice sheets, rising sea level, and shrinking mountain glaciers. With both the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melting at an accelerating pace, sea level could rise by up to six feet during this century. Brown notes, “Such a rise would inundate much of the Mekong Delta, which produces half of the rice in Viet Nam, the world’s second-ranking rice exporter. Even a three-foot rise in sea level would cover half the riceland in Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people. And these are only two of Asia’s many rice-growing river deltas.” “The world’s mountain glaciers have shrunk for 18 consecutive years. Many smaller glaciers have disappeared. Nowhere is the melting more
alarming than in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan plateau where the ice melt from glaciers sustains not only the dry-season flow of the Indus, Ganges, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers but also the irrigation systems that depend on them. Without these glaciers, many Asian rivers would cease to flow during the dry season.” The wheat and rice harvests of China and India would be directly affected. China is the world’s leading wheat producer. India is second. (The United States is third.) With rice, China and India totally dominate the world harvest. The projected melting of these glaciers if we stay with business as usual poses the most massive threat to food security the world has ever faced. The number of hungry people, which was declining for several decades, bottomed out in the mid-1990s at 825 million. It then climbed to 915 million in 2008 and jumped to over 1 billion in 2009. With world food prices projected to continue rising, so too will the number of hungry people, leaving millions of families trying to survive on one meal per day. “We know from studying earlier civilizations such as the Sumerians, Mayans, and many others,” says Brown, “that more often than not it was food shortages that led to their demise. It now appears that food may be the weak link in our early twentyfirst century civilization as well. “The world is entering a new food era, one marked by rising food prices, growing numbers of hungry people, and an emerging politics of food scarcity. As grain-exporting countries restrict or even ban exports to keep domestic food prices from spiraling out of control, importing countries are losing confidence in the market’s ability to supply their needs. In response, the more affluent ones such as Saudi Arabia, China, and South Korea are leasing and buying large tracts of land in developing countries on which to grow food for themselves.” READ MORE @ www.earth-policy.org
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