Mr. Obama: “hope over fear”

20, January 2009. There’s never been more to be proud of as an American; the entire world is chanting with us, “Yes we can”, in every language imaginable. CNN has had nearly 14 million video streams with millions logged into Facebook during the inauguration broadcast. Now is the time to echo President Barack Obama’s words, to ensure we choose “hope over fear” right now!

For me, “hope over fear” means taking an active role in sustainability legislation; now more than ever Americans have the opportunity to take a role in positive leadership within the international community. 

I was on twitter @carbonoutreach [do follow me] and the response was phenomenon was amazing!

Now, to harness the power of social media for sustainability is what many are after. I’ve heard some really great recommendations and believe we need to show Obama we’re serious about sustainability-focused legislation in 2009.

For example, on twitter @dcarli is drawing up suggestions, comments or questions for Sustainability Amendments to the US Constitution. From the White House website, Energy & Environment are top issues. But the bigger question for me is: how do we get there? Which organizations are urging the government to consider legislation and which lobbying groups are/should do the same?

No clean coal: Tennessee disaster

Luckily, we have clean drinking water and my house isn’t surrounded by dead fish and toxic sludge. This isn’t the case for Tennessee residents (and in Alabama and Kentucky) where two different spills in Tennesse have released a total of 300-500 MILLION gallons of toxic sludge between 22 December and 9 January (mapping out the destruction below and attached video). 

Although the entire accident could have been averted with proper storage of the coal ash byproduct, it magnifies the massive problem with coal fired plants. Like popping a primordial pimple, this disaster surfaces disgusting byproducts of having an energy diet that includes coal.

On 31 December, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen called the accident, a “disaster”.  There is no clean coal; the byproducts are serious and until we stop using coal, we are all to blame.

Stern: revolution

Yesterday, I stumbled upon encouraging words from Lord Stern on the BBC [Former economic advisor to the UK government, senior economist and Chief VP of the World Bank from 2000-2003 and author of the 2006 "Stern Report"]. Stern interview on the Today Programme is available here. 

Stern noted the USA and China would be fundamental in creating international climate legislation which could be signed and ratified in the immediate future. “Governments must intervene… in a way that encourages markets, creativity and entrepreneurship to work well” Stern notes on the Today Programme, “We’ve got a real oppurtunity;… an energy revolution.” 

Indeed, until Copenhagen 2009, the European economies will have to address other major issues including the global financial crisis. What Stern notes very interestingly is that we must view the solutions to our current climate crisis as positive, revolutionary and opportunities to create jobs and a market for ethical and just products and services.

This, just as the UK Energy Minister, Ed Miliband, noted why firm “carbon budgets” spur the low carbon economy. Also, the UK is close to passing the Climate Change Act. Albeit imperfect, this bill offers comprehensive national legislation; a foundation to continue debate on the best ways to solve our climate crisis.

Low Carbon Communities such as Transition Towns (the first in Totnes, UK) and the Low Carbon Communities Network have changed the way Europe views the environmental movement. 

Overall, I’m so glad to hear we’ve finally got carbon budgets. A portion of GDPs associated solely for reducing carbon emissions. Now, maybe we should consider how best we could spend that money.

Whether social entrepreneurs, subsidies or insulation, we need to consider how best our communities will define our solutions to reducing local, regional and international emissions–by up to 80%… ASAP!

Open source Christmas

2008 has seen international economic crisis, transformational political change and several new verbs including ‘to facebook’ [with circa 130 million active users]. But how have these incidents influenced our psyche’s and how will this Christmas season change Americans?

Today, Americans are seeing retail stores slashing already low priced—from 50, 60 to even 70 percent. Many consumers continue to wait for even deeper discounts. According to a new survey from the National Retail Federation as of 14 December 2008, 40 million people hadn’t even started shopping. 

According to one shopper on National Public Radio [21 December 2008, All Things Considered], “I’m nowhere near done… [but] if I can get a sale, I think that’s prudent. And I’m enjoying it.” As for me, Erica Grigg, I haven’t even started and expect I’ll be cooking, knitting and e-mailing Christmas presents.

Without the money to purchase presents, I feel personal and professional relationships strengthening. Most importantly, I’ll be telling people how very important they are to me. Friends and acquaintances from across the world have influenced my life deeply and make me more engaged in international change.

Indeed, enhancing relationships and better-connected communities is much like having open source emotions; where our minds are like applications exposed for input.

This doesn’t mean we’re all open to change ourselves, but with less money—consumers have no choice but to feel less consumerist. For me, that means better relationships and more time to reconsider how I can unite my family against the normal struggles of teetering dysfunction.

Congruently, if we can improve our relationships and understand how best to open source our emotions offline, we might better solve our problems in the parallel universe of online.

And what a better way to step up to January 2009 then open source problem solving for our biggest problems our universe has ever seen; climate crisis, famine, HIV/AIDS and global poverty. Maybe this Christmas you could have more emotional ‘open source’?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hope. Now.

4 November 2008 was absolutely momentous for Americans—indeed all global citizens; a testament to the American dream. From Washington to Los Angeles, historically high voter turnouts and pressurized campaigns (both financially and politically) made the 2008 election has been the most impassioned political memory ever.

According to the Associated Press referencing George Mason University [Washington], election results reached around 64.1 percent of registered voters. This number was only bet in 1908 when 65.7 percent of registered voters turned out—a century! Although disagreements have ensued, many analysts agree the turnout hasn’t been higher since 1965 at least.

What made me so hopeful about this election is the participation rate of volunteers (albeit that one problem with a McCain volunteer). Seniors, students, unemployed people, parents and professionals came together. Dedicated democrats, moderates and even fallen Republicans made calls using the ‘Neighbor to Neighbor’ tool and extensive network of social media tools on www.barackobama.com (built with an open source) to connect them with events, other supporters and news.

One volunteer, Mike Smith, a political specialist and representative from the Australian labor party was so interested in the Obama campaign he took one month leave to assist the Obama campaign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In October, Smith canvassed doors, fundraised and increased the efficiency of an already full-proof campaign through inputting a system of barcoding to enable volunteers to manageably deal with the vast amounts of data handled everyday.

The New York City NetSquared chapter met with Mike over a coffee on 6 November before his 23-hour flight home and had an interesting chat about how he planned a campaign in his local Ryan, Australia.

And the 4 November election saw even more social media interest. Streaming video of participants who were crying, cheering and overjoyed in Chicago. A personal favorite is a friends’ facebook page of a fellow NetSquared enthusiast and social entrepreneur created called Live @ ObamaPalozza to detail the Obama acceptance speech.

For me, that historic moment gave me so much hope for change. Let’s use our positive energy for good, America!

Let’s change ourselves.

Green on the horizon: Obama v. McCain debate

Among a group of Lakeview Democrats at Sheffield’s Mad Bar & Grill, there was shouting and hooting and, unsurprisingly, many atendees felt Obama won the second Presidential debate. According to another select others, namely undecided Ohio voters watching the debate, Obama also clearly overpowered mean-talking McCain. As a liberal American, I’m proud to say Obama is currently  ‘widening his lead’ according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll.

Although, there are still important issues which need visiting! Particularly, ”clean coal” [i.e. using coal-fired power plants with 'carbon sequestration'] and increased offshore drilling to pluralize the USA’s energy portfolio. Considering, according to the Energy Information Administration (supplying Official Energy Statistics for the U.S. Government) the USA imported 20,680,000 barrels PER DAY [in 2007] yet produced only 5,064,000 barrells per day [2007] more options need reviewing, no!?

Barack Obama’s point is completely correct that we should have a pluralised energy economy, but should that include ‘clean coal’ and more ‘drill, baby, drill’? According to a government-funded organisation to research, around 90% carbon sequestration may not be possible until 2012 if not longer. Further, will the current bailout/rescue package facilitate the government to continue to be interested in the development of the green economy?

Such a green economy will provide ethical, environmentally-responsible jobs in booming industries such as recycling and social enterprise. Instead of polarizing America’s energy policies, wouldn’t it make sense to reduce our energy FIRST and then use a portfolio of energy options, to include renewables, nuclear, geothermal based on regional natural energy sources.

Laughter kills: Biden v. Palin

On Thursday night, at Dylan’s in downtown Chicago, a group of ladies sat around a dozen chicken wings and potato skins laughing. The topic of our celebratory conversation–the presidential debate. Around us, other tables ignored the baseball game and talked politics. People jeered loudly, and I’d heard it several times since the Vice Presidential debate; winking, shooting off fake guns for the ‘maverick’. A friend even recommended a drinking game which included a sip for every wink, shot, “you betcha” or evasive answer. My liver is dying thinking about it.

Should politics be deadly serious? Surely, Palin’s antics are best featured on Saturday Night Live (one Palin-Hilary Clinton skit has around 3.5 million views on youtube already), but at least she spices up McCain. And with far more difficult times on the road, there seems to be all-the-more to laugh about. SNL, a weekly comedy spectacle, featured Palin’s interview with Tina Fey, the Biden-Palin debate, Lehman Brothers “interview” with former CEO Richard Fuld wearing a barrel suit and the McCain v. Obama debate. And, “you betcha” I watched… Well, online.

What ever happened to the totally ‘exclusive’, Harvard-style, Post Communist, World Bank, IMF politics; complex, deep and more challenging than holla hoping? Are we destined to debate simple soundbytes and broad generalization over cumbersome facts? Or shouldn’t the 40% of usual voters just be indebted to more involvement. Dude, it sucks being the only political person in the room so let’s get everyone on board.

Nevertheless, breaking something down without analysis and proper investigation is truly wrong. Leaders of the United States of America should be thoughtful. Pensive (but not boring); friendly, like fireside chats. But is the fireside chat equivalent to Gordon Brown youtubing about No. 10? Do I really want a ‘cool’ politician, or maybe someone interesting instead.

Although dumbed-down politics is fabulous–even far more entertaining at times than what goes on in the Senate or House–we must not loose track of what politicians are meant to do. We sure won’t forget (our pocketbooks clinch) our deep troubles with money. Our situation is no coincidence (although economic cycles are around ever 7-10 years). We have have systematic and sizeable problems, the greatest of which is America’s environmental degradation!

And avoiding the question of how, exactly, politicians can work towards solving the environmental crisis they did. Both candidates seemed to believe, although one slightly more fervent than the other, a proliferation of energy sources and a cap (and trade?) could magically reduce our carbon emissions to necessary levels by ASAP. We shall see in the coming year what happens with such policies.

Well, I’ll never loose my faith in politicians. Only struggle to ensure politicians stay on the right track. And, as a bold partisan (very subjectively), in the coming week, I’m going to Michigan, one of the swingin’ states, to interview and connect with partisans from all colors and even undecided voters to see what their views are on the environment. Maybe our group can even persuade some to vote Obama.

Although political simplicity may be the best strategy, interesting insight has always won me over. What about you?

great depression or great potential?

 

Riding the ExpressBus from JFK to Grand Central Station yesterday night, I listened intently to a mobile conversation behind me that really resonated to a nameless West-coaster. New Yorkers are going through a ‘Great Depression Part II’, he said to his Florida-bound family members. Coming from London, Lehman Brothers associates crying outside their offices seemed a distant and possibly distinctly separate event from what’s happening in NYC. Could my indifference be because my industry isn’t going to get hit anytime soon–or vice versa?                                                      

I’ve been told I should be excited there is less money flowing through the economy. It prevents waste and out-of-control consumerism. Obviously, without the extra capital, useless and frivoulous could be entirely phased out–like the new urban chic culture has made remade, reused products cool and trendy.  Like in every economic crisis, we set our funds away for the necessaries, like food and beer. Let’s just be real; this is always the case.

I admit I have a bias; I’m an eternal optimist. Nevertheless, is this economic downturn a sign we should be investing our time and energy into something more ethical and even more innovative and slightly radical? Rather than investing money into dodgy ethical practices, we could decrease consumption and invest our time into new socially- and environmentally-responsible ventures. Decreasing consumption could be the best way to increase equality amongst poor and rich, considering what a fellow blogger, Anah Shah, noted from the World Bank, about consumption and inequality.  Unfortuntately, I could not find the graphs’ location on the World Bank website.

 

When comparing these indicators against World Bank Development Indicators, 2008, on pg. 124, we can see there might be a connection between the fact that increased consumption and has led to increased incidence of climate change. The below graph is available here.

 

Unsurprisingly, this might be a great addition to my argument that in fact this ‘great depression’ might leave room for potential entrepreneurs to come out of their shells and re-invent themselves in the new green economy.

Depression or not, I think today might be the best day to go out to the park and have a lie in the grass. Ah, the beauty of consultancy.

Climate change: like a fish

At Interesting London, you can listen to all things interesting. In a move to be more interesting, I’d like to note how climate change is like a fish, or maybe a mob. A CarrotMob to be exact–connecting with purpose.

In July 2008, I spoke at 2gether08 about how climate change is like a fish. One month earlier, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts published a report about The 7 C’s of selling sustainability. Successfully, I scratched my head and thought, “hmmf! Interesting!”; amazed a government-funded agency could impress me. Things like creativity and communication were noted!

Now, climate change is one of the most important issues facing our generation. Why do I have to be put asleep whenever I want to know how and what to do to tackle the seriousness of such an issue? What about meeting people and feeling cool firstly, then gradually moving towards change? Surrounding ourselves with like-minded people who have made the choice to deal with these issues. Changing the way you do business (maybe literally?) takes not only courage and strength, but stability, especially visible in large numbers. Which is why having a support system of encouragement is absolutely necessary.

You can find groups of committed individuals at CRAGs, and just so you know, green men are sexier? If you had a chance to go to the Secret Garden Party 2008, you’ll know what I’m talking about. A growingly environmentally-friendly party, thousands of sexy environmentalists and artists were glistening in British sun during one weekend in July.

Another great thing is the way people connect on and offline. Meetup.com and fb have revoluntionised the way people can connect. Mediums of communications have decreased incredibly and now flashmobs can finally form and create a silent disco! Or a silent disco for climate change. This is what CarrotMobUK has done this week. Changing a central London British pub towards green and connecting people in the process. It’s pretty cool.

So why not get a little sexier this week and sign up to do the Green Thing?

a 1.183 tonne happy medium?

If it were up to me, I wouldn’t spend my time or money on a long-haul flight from Heathrow to JFK. In the worst of times, I’d move cities or change my job. Sometimes, you don’t plan to spend 1.183 tonnes of carbon. As an entrepreneur and social innovator, I’m not yet an asset to the Her Majesty’s Treasury and so therefore must pass go and not collect my $200.

What does that mean? I’ve got to go to my home country (USA), to reapply for the Tier-1 Post Study Work visa to fly back to London once I’ve received final notification from University College London’s School of Slavonic Studies that I’ve been awarded a degree of the Political Economy of Russia and East Europe. To the credit of the UK Government, I did reapply once before for a visa to resit an exam.

A friend specialises in no-fly travel, Jaime Andrews of Loco2, recommended I take a cargo ship and I thought, “whoopie! An excuse to take a cargo ship!”. Nevermind the fact it takes two weeks to reserve a ticket, and it’s over 1000 squids per way. “Damn!” That sure isn’t going to happen. I’ve been recommended to leave before the weekend. The longer I wait the less probability of visa approval later.

A happy medium? Maybe offset the 1.183 tonnes British Airways says I’m going to use by flying to JFK? Or maybe, in 2009 I can save up the money to ride a cargo ship over, whose impact is far less than flying. My choice? Working within legality and monetary constraints, I’ll fly (oh my god, I’ve said it!) from London Heathrow to New York City and take a fabulous Amtrak train from New York City to Chicago, saving around 20% of my carbon emissions over flying. Amtrak even has a sustainable cartoon champion called Arte, what a handsome greenie!

Is that really enough? The world is waiting for a significant change; we’ve only got 100 months until god knows WHAT happens and I hop on a plane. The website is now ticking at me and I’m feeling slightly guilty. It would take significant changes to our lives to reduce carbon to offset a long-haul plane trip. And even then! I’m not sure being vegan, shopping local, decreasing our house’s thermastat by 3-5 degrees, using less water and walking more would impact our footprint as much as a long-haul flight.

But what about just knowing, better yet, picturing in my head, how much carbon I’m using daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly! Carbon calculators can do this, although imperfectly. According to Low Carbon Community guru Tracey Todhunter, it’s better to calculate and reduce your carbon footprint than worry about differences between carbon calculators (they might be around 10-20% differences). Again, from Jaime Andrews, the Carbon Account helps you measure and reduce your carbon footprint.

So now you’ve read about my trials and tribulations, why not calculate and reduce your carbon footprint with me?