http://www.cchange.net Covering the transformations to social, environment and economic sustainability Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Sea Change Radio covers the transformations to social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Change is accelerating in positive and negative directions: the clock is ticking in the race to see which will tip first—the problems or the solutions. Join Sea Change's Host, Alex Wise, as he provides in-depth analysis to help our audience understand possible remedies and potential pitfalls. Sea Change interviews sustainability experts including Paul Hawken, Stewart Brand, Bill McKibben, Van Jones, Lester Brown, and many others. Sea Change airs on over 30 radio stations around the country. Alex Wise clean Alex Wise awise@cchange.net awise@cchange.net (Alex Wise) 2007-2011 Making Connections for Sustainability Sustainability, Climate Change, Human Rights, Environment, Corporate Responsibility, Socially Responsible Investing, Accountability, Stakeholders, Clean Tech, Renewable Energy, Green Jobs, Wealth Divide http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/cwr-images-archive/SeaChangeRadioTAG_square144_sm.jpg http://www.cchange.net Weekly http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/22/phoenix-economy-rising/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/22/phoenix-economy-rising/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:47:33 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=796 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/22/phoenix-economy-rising/feed/ 0 Alternative Economic Models,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,john elkington,karen ribeiro,phoenix economy,Social Entrepreneurs,Sustainable Business,Sustainable Public Policy,terry mollner,triple bottom line,william spademan 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 ... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/johnelkington1-150x150.jpg) (http://stage.volans.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/thephoenixeconomy-201x300.jpg)Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon speak with green business guru John Elkington (http://www.johnelkington.com/) 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 (http://www.calvertgroup.com/) Founding Boardmember (http://www.calvertgroup.com/about-board-of-trustees.html#social) and Ben & Jerry's (http://www.benjerry.com/) Boardmember Terry Mollner, Ener-G-Save (http://www.ener-g-save.org/) Executive Director Karen Ribeiro, and Common Good Finance (http://commongoodbank.com/) President William Spademan. The Phoenix.  In myth, this bird would build a pyre on which to burn itself and then re-emerge from its ashes.  Volans (http://www.volans.com/), the new venture founded by John Elkington, borrows this imagery to symbolize the current economic meltdown -- and potential re-incarnation into a more sustainable economic order.  Today, we speak with John Elkington about the Phoenix Economy report from his offices in the UK.  Elkington coined the term triple bottom line, referring to people, planet , and profits, and he founded the sustainable development consultancy and think tank SustainAbility (http://www.sustainability.com/) in 1987.  BusinessWeek called him the "dean of the corporate responsibility movement."  Baue started by asking him to describe the notion behind the Phoenix Economy.  He later asks Elkington to distinguish between the Phoenix Economy and the Chrysalis Economy (http://www.amazon.com/Chrysalis-Economy-Citizen-Corporations-Creation/dp/1841121428), the name of his 2001 book.   Elkington also serves on the Sea Change Advisory Board (http://www.cchange.net/advisory-board/), and agreed to participate in the first Roundtable with Sea Change members posing questions of sustainability experts in the second half of the show. Bill Baue clean 28:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/15/wangari-maathai-peace-and-environmental-justice-taking-root/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/15/wangari-maathai-peace-and-environmental-justice-taking-root/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:31:09 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=779 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/15/wangari-maathai-peace-and-environmental-justice-taking-root/feed/ 1 Alan Dater,Alternative Economic Models,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,Green Jobs,Green Living,lisa merton,Local Living Economies,marlboro college graduate school,nobel peace prize,Renewable Energy,Social Entrepreneurs Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue of Sea Change host an intimate chat with Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai about the links between environmental justice, women's empowerment, democratic governance, and sustainability at the Marlboro College Graduate Scho... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lisamertonalandater-150x133.jpg) (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wangarimaathaifrancescabill21-150x130.jpg)Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue of Sea Change host an intimate chat with Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2004/press.html) about the links between environmental justice, women's empowerment, democratic governance, and sustainability at the Marlboro College Graduate School (http://gradcenter.marlboro.edu/), where Baue teaches.  Maathai is touring (http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/events.php) the US promoting her new book, (http://www.amazon.com/Challenge-Africa-Wangari-Maathai/dp/0307377407), as well as the documentary, TAKING ROOT: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (http://takingrootfilm.com/index.htm).  In the second half of the show, Rheannon and Baue speak with the filmmakers, Alan Dater and Lisa Merton (http://takingrootfilm.com/production-team.htm) of Marlboro Productions (http://www.marlboroproductions.com/index.html). In her native Kenya, Wangari Maathai saw that deforestation was devastating the environment. Good arable land was eroding, streams were getting polluted or drying up and the women had to go further to find ever-scarcer firewood. So in 1977, she founded the grassroots Green Belt Movement (http://greenbeltmovement.org/index.php). Over the past 32 years, it's planted 35 million trees, bringing back whole ecosystems with it and revitalizing villages. The program has been carried out mainly by women in those villages. By hiring them to plant the trees, it gave them the means to care for their children and protect their environment. The corrupt regime of Daniel Arap Moi sought to stop her, arresting her numerous times and even jailing her. In 1991 she was beaten while planting trees on public lands and suffered a head injury. But she fought on and earned world acclaim for her actions and her courage. In 2004 Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” She's in the US to promote her new book, CHALLENGE FOR AFRICA and a new film about her, TAKING ROOT, which aired recently on the PBS program, Independent Lens (http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/takingroot/index.html). Taking a break from her tour of major cities, Wangari Maathai visited the filmmakers near their home in Vermont for a public talk.  Sea Change Co-Hosts Francesca Rheannon and Bill Baue  sat down for an intimate chat with Wangari Maathai at the Marlboro College Graduate School, where Baue teaches. The story of Wangari Maathai, and the Green Belt Movement, is captured vividly in the documentary, TAKING ROOT.  The film won a bunch of awards in 2008.  Rheannon and Baue spoke with filmmakers Alan Dater and Lisa Merton of Marlboro Productions from their home studios.  The interview started with the question, what inspired them to tell the story of Wangari Maathai's vision in film? Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/25/seeding-the-solidarity-economy/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/25/seeding-the-solidarity-economy/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:03:49 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=729 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/25/seeding-the-solidarity-economy/feed/ 0 Alternative Economic Models,center for popular economics,chilo villarreal,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,emily kawano,Fair Trade,forum on solidarity economy,Green Jobs,Green Living,human rights,Labor Rights 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 s... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/solidarityeconomy.gif)The Center for Popular Economics (http://www.populareconomics.org/) (CPE) recently hosted the first Forum on the Solidarity Economy (http://www.populareconomics.org/ussen/node/99) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst -- home of Sea Change Radio.  CPE Executive Director Emily Kawano (http://www.populareconomics.org/bios/kawano_e.htm) explains the theory and practice behind the solidarity economy, and discusses strategies and next steps for the US Solidarity Economy Network (http://www.populareconomics.org/ussen/) in cultivating a socially and environmentally sustainable economy.  And Chilo Villarreal (http://www.ruralco.org/aboutus/board.html) of the Coalición Rural (http://www.ruralco.org/index.html) in Mexico illustrates solidarity economy concepts through story.   Finally, the News Analysis examines the business of water. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/emilykawano.jpg)As our existing economy collapses under the weight of its own unsustainable growth, what economic forms will replace this failed system?  Policymakers bend over backwards to prop up a the broken status quo, while idealists around the world envision more equitable and ecological alternatives.  The solidarity economy -- that's one such vision.  Last week, these visionaries traveled from around the world to the Forum on the Solidarity Economy here at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, hosted by the Center for Popular Economics.  This week, after the dust had settled, Center for Popular Economics Executive Director Emily Kawano visited us in the WMUA studios.  Sea Change Host Bill Baue opened the conversation by asking Emily, what is a solidarity economy, and what role can it play in helping fix the current economic breakdown? Kawano identifies three priorities for advancing the solidarity economy by focusing on leverage points where the current economic system is failing or has gaps: housing, finance, and cooperatives. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/chilovillarreal.tiff)The colorful wrap draped across her back immediately caught the eye of Sea Change Host Bill Baue at the Forum on the Solidarity Economy.  When he saw her later in an empty classroom, he jumped at the chance for an interview.  She introduced herself as Altagracia Villarreal -- but everybody knows her as Chilo.  Since 1995, she's served on the board of the Coalicion Rural, a collaboration between 17 organization in Mexico.  Its partner in the US, the Rural Coalition, is made up of 70 to 80 organizations throughout the country.  He opened by asking Chilo how she defines solidarity economy, and later asked Chilo to describe a specific example that illustrates the solidarity economy in action, and she answered in both Spanish and English.  You'll hear her Spanish underneath her English response. Bill Baue clean 29:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/building-green/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/building-green/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:01:47 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=657 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/building-green/feed/ 2 Alex Wilson,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,Erin Gorman,Fair Trade,Green Building,Green Jobs,Green Living,human rights,Karl Frisch,Labor Rights,Local Living Economies BuildingGreen.com founder Alex Wilson discusses the history, current state, and future of the green building movement. Erin Gorman, CEO of Divine Chocolate USA, welcomes the move by Cadbury to source Fairtrade cocoa from the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in ... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/alexwilson-150x150.jpg) BuildingGreen.com (http://www.buildinggreen.com/) founder Alex Wilson (http://www.buildinggreen.com/about/staff.cfm) discusses the history, current state, and future of the green building movement. Erin Gorman, CEO of Divine Chocolate USA (http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/), welcomes the move by Cadbury to source Fairtrade cocoa (http://www.csrwire.com/News/14719.html) from the Kuapa Kokoo (http://www.kuapakokoogh.com/) cooperative in Ghana that owns Divine, and Bama Athreya of the International Labor Rights Forum (http://www.laborrights.org/) also applauds (http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/1971) Cadbury's move.  And Karl Frisch (http://www.karlfrisch.com/) of Media Matters (http://mediamatters.org/) brings us the ViewPoint on how the mainstream media is dropping the ball on covering climate change. Alex Wilson founded BuildingGreen in 1985, when the green building movement was in its infancy.  As executive editor of Environmental Building News (http://www.buildinggreen.com/articles/), the bible of green building, Wilson has provided the information that has formed the building blocks of the movement.  In November 2008, Wilson received the Leadership Award for Education (http://www.buildinggreen.com/press/leadership_award.cfm) from the US Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org/), whose board he served on from 2000 until 2005, the crucial period when the organization created the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) (http://www.usgbc.org/leed/) certification. Wilson launches the conversation with a primer on green building and its history, starting with an explanation of LEED.  He then compares indigenous structural design, such as the Anasazi, who oriented their dwellings toward the sun to capture solar energy, compared to design that developed in the age of cheap fossil fuel, which abandoned age-old principles of efficiency.  Wilson points out, however, that the Anasazi  civilization collapsed due to reliance on unsustainable water use -- a fate our current culture may share with them. Wilson highlights solutions, such as green roofs (http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/1/30/Integrate-Food-Production-and-Green-Building/) and urban agriculture which integrates into the built environment (http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/1/29/Growing-Food-Locally-Integrating-Agriculture-Into-the-Built-Environment/), citing the example of City Farm (http://www.resourcecenterchicago.org/70thfarm.html) in Chicago.  He then proposes the idea of passive survivability (http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2008/10/14/On-the-Path-to-Passive-Survivability), the notion of designing our buildings to survive the kinds of challenges that will become more prevalent as the climate changes, such as power outages and water shortages.  The beauty of this idea is that it's exactly the kind of design we need to achieve sustainability. Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/newsanalysis-fairtrade-cocoa-goes-big-league/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/newsanalysis-fairtrade-cocoa-goes-big-league/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:59:49 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=653 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/newsanalysis-fairtrade-cocoa-goes-big-league/feed/ 0 child labor,Community Economic Engagement,equal exchange,Erin Gorman,Fair Trade,Ghana,human rights,Labor Rights,Local Living Economies,Social Entrepreneurs,Sustainable Business,West Africa Cadbury, the popular British chocolate maker, just agreed to source Fairtrade cocoa for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the top-selling chocolate bar in the UK. The move effectively triples sales of Fairtrade cocoa for farmers in Ghana, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/cadburydairymilk-150x150.jpg) Cadbury (http://www.cadbury.com/Pages/Home.aspx), the popular British chocolate maker, just agreed to source Fairtrade cocoa for Cadbury Dairy Milk (http://www.csrwire.com/News/14719.html), the top-selling chocolate bar in the UK. The move effectively triples sales of Fairtrade cocoa for farmers in Ghana, where Cadbury sources from Kuapa Kokoo (http://www.kuapakokoogh.com/).  It was one of the first cooperatives there to be Fairtrade (http://www.fairtrade.net/) certified in the '90s.  In the late '90s, Kuapa Kokoo also started its own brand, Divine Chocolate, to keep more of the value that typically gets skimmed by middle-men and big chocolate companies.  Erin Gorman, CEO of the Divine Chocolate USA (http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/), welcomes the move, which validates its model of Fairtrade sourcing.   Bama Athreya, executive director of the activist NGO International Labor Rights Forum (http://www.laborrights.org/) (ILRF), also supports the development (http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/1971).  (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bamaathreya-150x150.jpg)Athreya and other activists have been campaigning for over eight years to convince major chocolate companies such as Nestle, Mars, and Hershey's to purchase Fairtrade cocoa.  The Commitment to Ethical Cocoa Sourcing (http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/resources/861), a set of guidelines signed by activists and progressive chocolate companies such as Equal Exchange (http://www.equalexchange.coop/), argues that Fairtrade helps stop the worst forms of child labor and trafficked labor.   Both are widespread problems on cocoa farms in West Africa. Chocolate companies balked at the Fairtrade solution.   Erin Gorman of Divine points out how Fairtrade addresses not just the symptom of child labor, but also the root causes that underpin child labor.  Check out the Divine Chocolate website for videos of Kuapa Kokoo (Gorman of Divine points out how Fairtrade addresses not just the symptom of child labor, but also the root causes that underpin child labor.) members. Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/02/11/envisioning-a-green-economy/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/02/11/envisioning-a-green-economy/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:22:58 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=550 http://www.cchange.net/2009/02/11/envisioning-a-green-economy/feed/ 0 Clean Tech,Climate Change,economic security,Green Building,green business,green economy,Green Jobs,Green Living,greenbiz,joel makower,john harrington,Obama This week, green business guru Joel Makower encourages us to envision success in creating a clean, sustainable economy that averts climate catastrophe and improves our environment, communities, and lives.  And shareholder activist John Harrington urges... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/joelmakower.jpg) This week, green business guru Joel Makower (http://www.makower.com/) encourages us to envision success in creating a clean, sustainable economy that averts climate catastrophe and improves our environment, communities, and lives.  And shareholder activist John Harrington (http://harringtoninvestments.com/johnharrington.aspx) urges banks bailed out with Troubled Asset Relief Program funding to make sure they stabilize US economic security. Green is the buzzword of the day, when it comes to business and the economy.  But what is a green economy, and how do we distinguish between a coat of green painted on the old, now failing economy -- and a truly clean, sustainable economy?  These are the questions Joel Makower has been asking for decades.  He founded the Green Business Letter in the early 1990s, and then launched GreenBiz.com (http://www.greenbiz.com/) in the early 2000s.  The Associated Press calls him the "guru of green business."  His latest book, (http://www.makower.com/book.html), came out this year.  Joel spoke with Sea Change Radio Co-Host Bill Baue from San Francisco on the heels of the release of the annual State of Green Business (http://www.stateofgreenbusiness.com/) report from GreenBiz. Makower started by discussing the good news, how business is greening in amazing ways, often under the radar screen of mainstream media.  Makower calls this effect "greenmuting," a term coined by Bob Langert of McDonald's (http://www.crmcdonalds.com/publish/csr/home/_blog.category.2254307.html), and he notes the irony that companies like McDonald's may be greening more than most individuals.  Makower also discusses the bad news -- that business is not greening enough, or fast enough, to avert environmental, social, and economic crises such as climate catastrophe, human rights abuses, and the financial meltdown. Baue poses the specific example of GE to illustrate this paradox of good and bad news.  Makower consulted on GE's Ecomagination (http://ge.ecomagination.com/) initiative, encouraging the company to set rigorous standards.  The conversation expands to the broader issue of standards for a green economy, and Makower opines that green jobs, which currently lack clear definition, may be the next greenwash (http://readjoel.com/joel_makower/2009/02/will-green-jobs-become-the-new-greenwash.html). Makower ends with inspiration, using the example of Obama's campaign of hope as a launching pad for encouraging us all to envision what success would look like in achieving a green economy (http://readjoel.com/joel_makower/2009/01/obama-and-the-vision-thing.html)that not only saves the world, but also improves our lives. Bill Baue clean 29:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/28/after-capitalism-prout-as-a-sustainable-democratic-economic-model/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/28/after-capitalism-prout-as-a-sustainable-democratic-economic-model/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:14:18 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=470 http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/28/after-capitalism-prout-as-a-sustainable-democratic-economic-model/feed/ 0 Alternative Economic Models,Clean Tech,Climate Change,climate policy,Climate Progress,Community Economic Engagement,corporate governance,corporate social responsibility,EPA,greenhouse gas emissions,joe romm,Lisa Woll Today, Dada Maheshvarananda meditates on the alternative economic model of Progressive Utilization Theory, or PROUT. Joe Romm of Climate Progress analyzes the climate resolve of the Obama Administration. Lisa Woll of the Social Investment Forum propose... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dadamaheshvarananda-150x150.jpg) Today, Dada Maheshvarananda meditates on the alternative economic model of Progressive Utilization Theory (http://www.prout.org/), or PROUT. Joe Romm of Climate Progress (http://climateprogress.org/) analyzes the climate resolve of the Obama Administration. Lisa Woll of the Social Investment Forum (http://www.socialinvest.org/) proposes (http://www.socialinvest.org/documents/ObamaAdministrationFINAL1.14.pdf) an Office for Innovation in Corporate Social Responsibility to the Obama Administration.  And auto and environment expert Jim Motavalli (http://www.jimmotavalli.com/index.html) comments on the significance of President Obama's executive order (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_greenhouse_gases) directing the EPA to reconsider its refusal to grant California a waiver allowing it to regulate greenhouse gases from autos. Capitalism, in the highly deregulated form currently practiced, is showing signs of collapse.  What happens After Capitalism?  Dada Maheshvarananda meditates on this very , which outlines the alternative economic model of Progressive Utilization Theory, or PROUT.  Maheshvarananda directs the PROUT Institute of Venezuela (http://www.priven.org/).  Last Thanksgiving, he visited our studios, soon after he had published a commentary (http://vcr.csrwire.com/node/11848) entitled "The Human Cost of Economic Meltdown and Its Alternative." Bill Baue clean