Banks are increasingly viewed as a bane to a healthy economy. But done right, banks can play a key role in the shift to sustainability. Today, Sea Change presents three perspectives on futures for banking. Peter Blom, CEO of Triodos Bank in the Netherlands, proposes a shift in the mission of banks, from maximizing profit to maximizing sustainability. Doug Rushkoff, author of LIFE INC, discusses how a surplus of debt that banks needed to sell triggered the financial meltdown. And Lyle Estill describes the role a chapter in his book SMALL IS POSSIBLE played in a local currency in North Carolina, The Plenty, being carried by a local bank.
Longtime shareowner activist Steve Viederman discusses the notion of community governance, where communities reclaim democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces. Exemplifying community governance is the Fair Trade Towns movement, where communities commit to supporting Fair Trade commodities such as coffee and cocoa. Click to continue reading and listen to the show…
Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon speak with green business guru John Elkington about the new Phoenix Economy report. And Sea Change members join in the conversation with Elkington in the second half of the show for the first Sea Change Radio RoundTable. In this feature, we host a sustainability expert fielding questions from Sea Change members — this time featuring Calvert Social Funds Founding Boardmember and Ben & Jerry’s Boardmember Terry Mollner, Ener-G-Save Executive Director Karen Ribeiro, and Common Good Finance President William Spademan.
Wangari Maathai tells Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue the story of a great fig tree that stood near the village where she grew up in Kenya. At that time, her mother and the other villagers regarded the tree as sacred — as the tree of God. Maathai also told this story in the documentary film about her life and work with the Green Belt Movement, entitled TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai.
Lars Klüver of the Danish Board of Technology talks about the World Wide Views on Global Warming project he directs that will gather opinions of everyday citizens in 45 countries globally in September 2009 to feed into negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen in December 2009. And Colin and Carrick McCullough of OurRenewableNation.org talk about their “cross-country eco-video adventure” where they will visit, video, and interview folks advancing sustainability solutions — as well as everyday folks on their thoughts about climate change and this shift toward renewable energy. Finally, this week’s Sea Change ViewPoint comes from Nell Minow of The Corporate Library with commentary on first steps on toxic assets.
Commentator Hazel Henderson of Ethical Markets Media thinks the outline of a new, moral financial system is beginning to rise from the ashes of the old. Its being ushered in by what she calls “the new financiers”…
The Center for Popular Economics (CPE) recently hosted the first Forum on the Solidarity Economy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst — home of Sea Change Radio. CPE Executive Director Emily Kawano explains the theory and practice behind the solidarity economy, and discusses strategies and next steps for the US Solidarity Economy Network in cultivating a socially and environmentally sustainable economy. And Chilo Villarreal of the Coalición Rural in Mexico illustrates solidarity economy concepts through story. Finally, the News Analysis examines the business of water.
Sea Change is a a nationally syndicated weekly radio show and podcast covering the shift to social, environmental, and economic sustainability. You can contact us here.
And Lyle Estill describes the role a chapter in his book SMALL IS POSSIBLE
Longtime shareowner activist 
Green jobs are all the talk nowadays, which has predictably led to healthy debate. On today’s Sea Change Radio, Co-Host Francesca Rheannon talks with 
Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon speak with green business guru 
Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue of Sea Change host an intimate chat with 
The 
