7th Gen Blog

Several interesting developments on the bee front in recent days. For one thing, it’s been gratifying to (finally) see the mainstream media pick up the story. Seems like it took forever, but the issue (and a fair amount of its seriousness) is at last being communicated by TV, newspapers, and other conventional media outlets. People are talking about it. Attention is being focused. That’s a good thing because that’s how action happens. If nobody knows or cares about a crisis, it generally isn’t treated like one.

So the public eye is opening on the fate of the honey bees. But you won’t yet find the real eye-opening news in USA Today or on CNN. Instead, what would seem to bee the big story can be found a report published on the Organic Consumers Association website from the Guerilla News Network.

It says that unlike their captive specially-bred cousins, organic bees doing fine. There are no reports of the so-called colony collapse disorder in organic hives. The scary weird die-off is only occurring among factory-farmed bees living in conventionally maintained hives

In Second Life I am Kelvin Kavka. Last week I met up with my ole film gu-ru, Robert, aka Shamada Shinobu at the Seventh Generation Design Center on Echoditto Island (188, 98, 27) to shoot some shite. Come check out the design center, let me know what you think. It is our first iteration "place" so we have virtual miles to go. Also, check out the rest of Echoditto island, designed by my ole karma buddy Usu Ventura - some pretty cool design going on. Soon...WR

Several months ago the U.K.-based Employee Ownership Association published an exceptionally important and insightful report about the tremendous benefits of employee-owned companies. The report has some invaluable observations for all businesses, and I highly recommend it. Here are just a few highlights:

• Employee owned businesses have the potential to meet two vital objectives, which are too often seen as diametrically opposed. They are ideal vehicles for meeting productivity challenges but also for generating happiness; an employee-owned company is a wellbeing creator as well as a wealth creator.
• The Employee Ownership Index (EOI) has consistently outperformed the FTSE All-Share. In cash terms, an investment of £100 in the EOI in 1992 would have been worth £349 at the end of June 2003; the same amount invested in the FTSE All-Share would have been worth £161.
• For a worker on a $65,000 a year salary, an increase from a job satisfaction score of 8/10 to 9/10 delivers as much extra happiness as an extra $35,000 in their annual pay check.

So I am a little behind in my vid-edits. Caught Michael from Echoditto (the guys that help us with this blog) two weeks ago in an inspired moment just coming off the Stepitup2007 event. Here are his reflections. WR