7gen Bloc

I did the Advanced Theory U workshop last week with Otto Scharmer and his folks from the Presencing Institute. Interesting people - deep conversations and connections. Here is Otto talking about what inspires him, what is Theory U and how he sees it practically working in the world. WR

For the past handful of years, the New York Times Magazine has published an annual theme issue called the Year in Ideas. In the latest issue, 15 of the 70 ideas, or fully 20% had to do with sustainability. As the issue’s introduction notes, New York Times “editors and writers trawl the oceans of ingenuity, hoping to snag in (their) nets the many curious, inspired, perplexing and sometimes outright illegal innovations of the past 12 months.” Some of my favorites include: Airborne Wind Turbines Biodegradable Coffins Cardboard Bridge Criminal Recycling Fish-Flavored Fish

Been a sleepy news week here at the Enviro Desk. Not a lot going on. I suspect all eco-eyes have been on the climate crisis talks in Bali, where at last report a few hours ago, talks had extended past the deadline and hope remained for some kind of meaningful carbon reduction agreement. That and as we draw closer to Christmas things really start to quiet down. So the combination has created a perfect storm of nothingness on the wires Still there are a couple of things worth noting as we close out the week….

Just in case you’ve forgotten during the last seven years of intellectual, moral, and spriritual darkness… Watch it and hope. Share it and rally.

Truth is, I’ve always accepted the logic that local is best when it comes to produce. And local, organic is always even better. Andrew Martin, one of the New York Times best writers, takes a thoughtful step back to examine those assumptions.

This month’s cover story in the Atlantic explores why Barack Obama is the presidential candidate who may be uniquely able to move America beyond decades of divisiveness and internal conflict and into a future in which our country begins to fulfill it’s potential as a world leader, a future that both earns the U.S. international respect and heals decades of politics that have polarized the country.

As the father of two young girls and the son of a mother who had breast cancer along with her aunt, back in the days when a radical mastectomy was the only option, breast cancer is a topic of great interest to me. This thoughtful article from New Jersey's Bergen County Record combines new information with practical steps we can take to minimize risk. Information we all need to put into action.

A new survey out from an environmental marketing firm called EcoAlign has found that a large percentage of Americans lack a basic understanding of the fundamental energy efficiency terms we’ll need to know in order to get smart about energy use.