Coping with the Giant Garbage Patches at Sea
In the North Pacific, there’s a vortex of trash roughly twice the size of Texas. Known as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” this sluggish whirlpool grows daily – swelled by massive currents hauling literal tons of human waste.The “Patch” is one of 11 naturally occurring global current systems called “gyres.” And it...
China’s New 250-Acre Solar Panda Makes Sustainability Adorable
Who knew that solar power could be so adorable? Bred out of necessity, sustainability has often been viewed as a sacrifice in the face of the ever-growing climate change. But now China, one of the leading investors in renewable energy, is trying to rebrand sustainability as fun. This has come in the form of a new 250-acre solar farm,...
Adrian Grenier’s Last Straw
Adrian Grenier has had it with drinking straws. Not because the little paper wrapper is hard to open, or because if they bend and split they become useless, but because they are a perfect example of an unnecessary single-use plastic. “We all encounter plastic straws daily,” Adrian Grenier tells us. “And we use plastic straws...The Corporate Guide to Loving Green (the other kind)
Corporate sustainability efforts are a bright spot in the quest to reduce carbon emissions. Yet these bright spots – equivalent, perhaps, to an old-fashioned 60-watt light bulb – could be brighter and more effective (LEDs) if more organizations were on track to integrate green thinking into corporate culture.Instead,...Is Silicon Valley Guilty of Greenwashing?
A modern commercial begins with a lush field, pristine mountains, and a beautiful waterfall, as soothing music plays in the background. However, after all that natural scenery, something a bit less, shall we say, organic appears: a BMW roaring down a highway. This type of nature-focused branding is nothing new. Companies such as...Why Life Cycle Assessments are the Cheat Code for Green Businesses
Even with the prevalence of email, text messages, and websites, our nation is far from paperless. According to Boston College, each American uses about 680 pounds of paper per year, and all that paper takes a lot of trees, water and chemicals to produce.Traditional paper is resource-intensive, that’s why sustainability-minded paper...Study Shows "The Good Life" is all about Connections and Simplicity
Citing a recent study conducted by Harris Poll and Sustainable Brands, Erica Parker set off today's proceedings at the annual Sustainable Brands conference by discussing exactly what composes the ever-sought "Good Life."Here was the breakdown:Balanced Simplicity: Simplicity, balance, health, & happiness:...
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and the Climate Case That Could Change Everything
“This is no ordinary lawsuit.”This pithy line opens the “Background” portion of Judge Aiken’s decision to deny the dismissal of Juliana v. United States last year in Oregon.With the makings of a David & Goliath trial, the suit pits 21 young plaintiffs, ages 9-20, against the U.S. government – the former...Justin Wren, an Unlikely Champion
If there is one thing Americans love, it is the comeback story. Winning can be boring, but winning after failing elicits something very primal in our nature. But life isn’t a Rocky movie; usually the demons of addiction and depression end up destroying a person. There rarely is a made-for-TV ending, the musical montage with the smiling...Hip-Hop's Akon Brightens the World of Sustainability on New Cover
Rapper, businessman, and sustainability advocate Akon is definitely the perfect fit as the cover story for Innovation & Tech Today’s first issue of 2017. While he may be best known as an award-winning hip-hop artist, Akon has also spent the past few years spearheading Akon Lighting Africa, an organization which looks to...The 49ers Tackle Sustainability
It’s not every day an NFL organization takes on the daunting task of creating a sustainable stadium. Actually, it’s so uncommon that the San Francisco 49ers are the first NFL organization to be awarded two LEED Gold certifications, two years in a row, for their superb work. Their Levi’s Stadium, one of the first stadiums built with...
Interview: Bill McKibben on Pipelines and the War for the World
Perhaps one of the most influential thinkers in the sustainability movement, Bill McKibben has a knack for converting ideology into action. After his seminal book The End of Nature was published in 1989 (appearing in 24 languages to date), McKibben became the leading figure for a number of high-profile green missions – with 350.org and...Business as (Un)Usual: The Women in Green Forum
What you’ll find as a common thread in the environmental industry is a lack of women adequately represented in leadership roles. The tide, however, is shifting, and the Women In Green Forum, created seven years ago by Founder Jaime Nack is a testament to this.While the Forum may have started out years ago as an opportunity to...
Giraffe joins list of species that are 'vulnerable to extinction'
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) made an update to its Red List of Threatened Species earlier this week at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancun, Mexico. The report states that one of the world’s favorite mammals—the giraffe—is now vulnerable to...Thoughts on Greenbuild 2016
Don't wait to be something to do something. These are the words of California's Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom at the 2016 Greenbuild Plenary event in Los Angeles, California. Together, he argued, we can all attain success while remaining loyal to the ideas of People, Planet, and Profit. Sustainability is not only good for the...
Scientists are Trying to Squeeze Energy from Poop
Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory proudly present the pungent power source of the future: poop. These scientists have found a way to change sewage sludge into crude oil called biocrude.Through a process called hydrothermal liquefaction, the sewage is heated to 650 degrees Fahrenheit,...
4 Nature-Inspired Sustainable Technologies
“A sustainable world has already been invented,” according to Dr. Janine Benyus, who argues nature has implemented sustainable technologies much earlier than man. A biologist and TED Talks alumna, Benyus works to transform how we perceive invention by bringing it down to earth. According to her, if you want to build a better world...Eating Beer with Dan Kurzrock
With Dan Kurzrock of ReGrained. “Granola” has become a playful slur for environmentalists over the years. When you say, “He’s pretty granola,” you’re immediately summoning an image of hippie parody – the lanky arms, the tie-dye shirt, the sticky So-Cal accent; it’s the caricatured person a of “going green,” the guy...Sustainability & Hops: Green Energy & Craft
Craft Breweries have led the beer industry to grow and evolve in exciting new ways. And we aren’t just referring to supersized breweries like Coors, Budweiser or Miller. Consumers continue to gravitate towards more complex flavors, styles and the highquality, unique taste of craft beer.The craft beer industry’s smarter, more...
Streamlined solar battery boosts renewable energy potential
A new solar energy battery, large and affordable enough for our nation’s power grid, promises to hasten the U.S.’s transition to renewable energy. The battery was developed by Dr. Song Jin, a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his colleagues at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in...
Homegrown Technologies & Advanced Fuel Efficiency
Every year in the United States, inefficiently operating vehicles waste billions of gallons of fuel. According to Argonne National Laboratories, vehicle idling (leaving a vehicle running while stationary) alone wastes 6 billion gallons annually across both the personal and commercial vehicle sectors. Idling, inefficient driving,...Our Interview U.S Green Building Council's Rick Fedrizzi
Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, co-founded the organization in 1993. Fedrizzi oversaw the creation of the LEED green building certification program, which has drawn participation from nearly 75,000 commercial properties since it was introduced in 2000. Though 2016 is Fedrizzi’s last year as CEO, he describes the...What Exactly Does “Activating Purpose" Mean in Sustainability?
“Activating Purpose” is a constant theme at this year’s Sustainable Brands conference in San Diego, CA. Emblazoned on numerous banners, flyers, and web pages, the phrase speaks deeply to both the mission and dilemma of green organizations. But, as anyone in the business world knows, the buzzwords and mantras of enterprise are never...
Fixing The World's Water Crisis: What the Experts Say
Everywhere you look, the news is rough. NASA calls last year's West Coast drought the worst in a millennium. And the Southwest continues to burn or flood, with no middle ground in sight. Meanwhile, we continue consuming water at voracious rates. One would think that with all the flooding, ice packs, oceans, and fresh water sources,...Columbia Island: A Weird Past and Promising Future
Evolution of Columbia Island The evolution of Columbia Island reads like an outlandish adventure or historical novel – and now, a direct peek into the present and future of well-integrated renewable energy. A radio transmission center was built in 1941 on the two-acre island near New Rochelle, NY by CBS, only to be purportedly used...Raphael Bemporad: Four Sustainability Aspirations
Raphael Bemporad's Sustainability Checklist During his talk at SB ’15 San Diego, BBMG’s Raphael Bemporad made a startling comment: “For awhile, we’ve been missing a truly aspirational generation.” As he elaborated on what it would take for us to again reach for the proverbial stars, like the Baby Boomers actually did in the...Sustainable Brands: Relevance & Resiliency
Sustainable Brands’ annual San Diego conference moved from sharing success stories to implanting practices for our new economy — and environmentWhile Southern California baked in the sun, leaching what little water remained during a drought considered the worst in 500 years, everyone from basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton,...
Peer Stewardship: The Future of Sustainability
"As businesses and customers begin to thrive in economic sustainability, we look ahead to what it really boils down to: taking care of each other."Matthew Yeomans knows his way around stories. He’s dealt with some of the most outlandish claims, and battled through the “take it or leave it” corporate mentality like the...President Obama’s Climate Change Plan
Climate Change Plan Pope Francis suggested a revolution was necessary to combat climate change, President Obama took the front lines in August with a bold, ambitious plan. According to the EPA, the $8.4 billion plan will result in $34 billion to $54 billion in benefits. Its highlights include:States must meet specific...
Rick Fedrizzi: Greenbuild 2015 Exclusive Interview
Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, co-founded the organization in 1993. Fedrizzi oversaw the creation of the LEED green building certification program, which has drawn participation from nearly 75,000 commercial properties since it was introduced in 2000. Though 2016 is Fedrizzi’s last year as CEO, he describes the...
