You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it.

You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it.

~Author Unknown

The above quote symbolizes my interpretation of Sustainable Development, while combining a joy in my life: photography. It reminds me to graciously honor all that surrounds me acknowledging and respecting the subtle motions that interconnect all things equally apart of this world. We all live on borrowed time, borrowing resources to sustain our existence, we have an obligation to respect what we borrow. To treat our planet not simply as a resource, but as an entity, maybe even like a corporation that possesses a legal right to freedoms. Treating the future equally as important as if it were the present. Borrowing a snapshot of time such as the quote suggests draws to mind our temporary existence, the way we tread this planet during that short existence shaping the beauty of future landscapes. As old photo albums suggest, our time on this earth may be short, however, much like photographs the patterns and effects of our ways live well beyond us. Capitalism is on an over two hundred year crash course that does not take in account the market failure of our environment, in particular carbon. An evolution of our economic system must occur so our species can fully develop to it’s potential in harmony with the Earth.

We as a generation must meet the needs of the present without compromising the future generations ability to meet their own needs. The quote reminds us to eliminate the notion of possession and replace it with the respect that it should be returned. Borrowing can be directly connected with development because we borrow the futures ability to borrow that same resource. Sustainable Development is borrowing as little of the futures resources as possible while maintaining a certain level of necessary growth. Our nation and our world have over-borrowed the future’s resources. History has shown microcosms throughout the world what over borrowing does, for example the overfishing of Atlantic Cod in the North Atlantic. Bridging the gap between the notion of ‘my’ existence to honoring the rights and freedoms of the next existence can be seen more clearly respecting our rights of reproduction. Coincidentally, I believe when someone has children a very significant shift in consciousness occurs.

Overpopulation of our planet and having children can be contradictory to sustainable development. If we simply replace ourselves and do not have a net gain from our family planning endeavors, it would be a great step in developing sustainably. An estimated 3 billion people will be added to the world population in the next 13 years. Adding numbers adds mouths, adding mouths subtracts resources. Our planet can hold only so many, and if we continue to grow as we are, we will eventually hit a population ceiling of our species. Increases in our civilizations population borrows time from the future of mankind.

I view our civilization as stewards of Mother Earth, harvesters of her bounty. The dominating masculine-conquering philosophy of property ownership needs to be infused with a feminine sharing value of borrowing. For example my dog Cassius, I do not own, but take responsibility for. Every species and people has a right to clean air, clean water, healthy food, shelter & happiness. In my humbled opinion, if one denies another of any of these things it is truly a travesty and breaks our planets natural law. Water has the right to flow with the tide, sea lions a right to ‘human’ beaches, a tree to grow where it wishes. Life is about balance. Species’ populations grow and shrink in response to other species populations. A boom in field mice population may easily correspond with a boom in owl populations. Both have equal right for life, but must also be in balance. Mother Earth naturally finds balance; it is of the most fluid path. Many native civilizations have existed in perfect harmonious balance with nature by honoring it with high respect.

The Iroquois Confederacy coined the term, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations”. Development is essential and natural to our species, but how we go about it is another matter. Since the Industrial Revolution, our species rapidly evolving in size and complexity, civilization has grown wastefully and irresponsibly. The Native people of our North American soil maintained a very different concept of development. Their societies, while not exploding in high growth rates of monetary value, sustained growth for tens of thousands of years. They held a large social safety net that provided for all, while giving room for overall growth of the society. They did this without any concept of ownership. Interwoven into the core of the Natives belief system was that all things are connected, physical goods only borrowed. Shamanism, the world’s oldest faith is overly coined into paganism and greatly miss-understood; it is a person’s spiritual connection and practice living in balance with the natural world. Deeply ingrained in most indigenous populations, valuable philosophies of respect for interconnectedness are held. A growing number of western minds have been developing an alternative mindset to our current spiritual and economic systems; one that combines western democracy & the agile rule of law with native principals. All concepts conspiring to create more efficient solutions, which not only provide prosperity but also, reduce waste in the resolution of our greatest problems.

As our national debt passes $12 trillion, we are borrowing from our futures right to equal freedom. Our children do not deserve to inherit such a debt of negligence. As we burn past peak oil, we borrow our futures right to cheap energy options for economic growth. As we pollute, we take the purity from the future. Humankind is faced with the grave task of repositioning the future of the human race. Changing the collective mindset from ownership to borrowing, while respecting inherently what is our legal system is the most prudent task we face.

When we save a couple of dollars each month, we provide for our children. When one progresses truly sustainably, a zero-sum gain will occur. Civilization must evolve to respect and honor responsibly the consequences of our actions. Photography is an analogy of our footprint on this earth; the photo being the material that lives thousands of years beyond us. A photograph is an encapsulation of a moment in the past. We must live our lives in knowing our actions will directly impact the landscape of our children’s children ability to stand before with pride and develop. The future of our species depends on our ability to develop sustainably. The current situation is example enough that a shift in consciousness, way of thinking, tried systems, must evolve. Evolution is essential to our growth and development. Learning from the outdated greed-based capitalistic model and transitioning into a community-based model of shared growth that works in harmony with our natural world is as inevitable as it is necessary. When a photograph inspires us, like a majestic landscape, it influences us to honor our ancestors, who enabled this moment, and their way of life.

Peace

After an surprising political win for Barack Obama, winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I felt obligated to write something after a month of silence...
Here it is: PEACE mon'.
I am switching between Bob Marley and Xavier Rudd while I write this to help set the mood.

Every other prize they honor someone who has contributed substantially to society similar to the Peace prize. The only difference with the peace prize is that viewed in current year, while the others are subject to the unspoken decade rule. It's funny to think to can evaluate the years worth of history in October, but that's how they do it.

Hopefully this win will give Obama the political clout that most news people have been claiming that he is lacking. He has been given the extraordinary tasks of Health Care & Energy. I know I am leaving out the war, but the moat important in regards to $moolah$ are these. Congress is debating a Cap & Trade piece of legislation this week, in addition rumors of a health care bill to emerge with enough support in the immediate horizon. This win by Barack will help him out dramatically. It would be political suicide to fight tooth and nail over outlandish propaganda from the coal or health care industry. Millions are spent every year to put off the formation of a cap-n-trade market scheme. It simply corrects a market failure that uneducated people still believe that excess carbon in the atmosphere created by human industry is a hoax. Well, European society used to think the world was flat, once reaching the edge you would fall off the world into some form of an underworld. A frightful end to nice trip on a boat I say!

I shared a good article about how the next decade's # isn't 2010-2020, but 350 titled: A New Number For a New Era: From 9/11 to 350. 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere that is. While we currently hover at 390, and wonder how far we can push it; other countries are attempting at taking the lead in a new world order. The order of the green sustainable revolution. I have 2 syllables for you So-Lar. Oh the all mighty bounty of solar radiation. I blame Regan and Bush 1, for us not needing coal to power our homes today. They put solar research into the dark ages until Clinton was elected. Heck, Regan tore down the wall and tore down the solar water heater on the white house at the same time. With the veil of individual freedoms for all, we pocketed a few extra for crony capitalist instead of mindset of sustainable economic development. Sustainable economic development in my humble opinion relies 100% on vast amounts of clean, cheap, and accessible energy.

So what is our government going to do? Vote for 'clean coal' or photovoltaic research? Natural gas extraction from Pennsylvania or wind/tidal capture research?

oh compromises....

World Population to Hit 7 Billion by 2011, New Stats Show

World Population to Hit 7 Billion by 2011, New Stats Show: "
Africa's population has now passed one billion and at current rates will double by 2050. School children in Central African Republic, photo: Pierre Holtz/UNICEF, Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team in CAR via flickr/Creative Commons.

Here's a sobering thought for your Friday morning: Mongabay reports a new study by the Population Reference Bureau shows that by 2011 ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Earth Day 2009

A few days late, but the meaning is the same.  The day is meant for people to be more aware and celebrate environmentalism and the plant's health.  This is something I am concerned about everyday.  I heard a report stating that 'Corporate ad's concerning greening their brand occur on average 4% of total ads played, and on Earth Day they account for 10%'.  What does this say to you?  For me it means that 'greening' has no real meaning at all.  Brands who push popular ideas as they come week to week are just trying to jump on the tips of the tongues on customers.  Brands that push sustainability in their business and not just their Earth Day message are exactly the brands we should be buying from.

Monsanto to try and outlaw Organic Farming

I couldn't even make this one up. H.R. 875 PLEASE Read.

Main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto – chemical and genetic engineering giant corporation (and Cargill, ADM, and about 35 other related agri-giants). This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the newly formed agency to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply". This will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales.

The Purpose of this bill is to

• (1) the safety of the food supply of the United States is vital to the public health, to public confidence in the food supply, and to the success of the food sector of the Nation’s economy;
• (2) lapses in the protection of the food supply and loss of public confidence in food safety are damaging to consumers and the food industry, and place a burden on interstate commerce and international trade;
• (3) recent ongoing events demonstrate that the food safety program at the Food and Drug Administration is not effective in controlling hazards in food coming from farms and factories in the United States and food and food ingredients coming from foreign countries, and these events have adversely affected consumer confidence;
• (4) the safety and security of the food supply require a systemwide approach to prevent food-borne illness involving the integrated efforts of Federal, State and local agencies; a thorough, broad-based, and coordinated approach to basic and applied science; and intensive, effective, and efficient management of the Nation’s food safety program;

There are in total 12 purposes. This seems to be right out of the documentary: The Future of Food. To all that have not watched this movie, please put it on your netflix queue. It will change the way you think about food, inherently we are what we eat. Monsanto is estimated to own 11,000 patents on different seeds; 11,000

How can we as a society mess with the genetic diversity of the very foundation on civilization, food? I hope that this entry, movie and bill will motivate you to go to you farmer's market and support local farming. If not, you didn't watch the movie. This is the same fear marketing that the Bush Administration 'patented' so well. If the USA passes this bill, we will have regressed in the advancement of human civilization. I fear that these large seed bank pockets are too large to divert our politicians.

Stem Cell Research & Morality

Large movements in the administration have occurred. This isn't your basic and overwhelming supported decision. This, I am sure, slices down the vein of morality. Whether or not you believe in the morality of the absence of restriction on stem cell research, one must agree that our scientific communities walls have been brought down. Freedom to investigate the human building blocks have be released. Whether or not the morality effects you, one must understand that only medical progression will come from the investigation of the unknown.

Morality- I understand the opposition, and in some regards I agree with it. But the greater meaning and point is that life will be given to people who are in need of this research. To opposite life, in thought to unborn life, I believe is wrong. Some choose to argue that what will can ruin our society. I say what will, will give the chance to thousands of people- life.

Will anyone else comment besides Garrett's intelligent additions to this conversation? If not, at least check out his blog, where he is documenting his trek through Appalachia HERE.

Another Bailout... It's the economy stupid

Well the skeptics and sinners have been thinking this week. Some hard nose republicans are touting after a few week in office that Obama is back to the democratic ticket of spending as usual. They claim their strength to fiscal conservativeness, yet the executive branch of California is faced with a how many billion dollar debt? 30? 40? more? BILLION dollars! Well, I believe the politics of old should and are ready to be thrown out the door. Whether it is republican or democrat, tax cuts or infrastructure spending, too much of either doesn't work. It takes a nice and balance combination of the two. Give cuts to those whom need it to encourage spending while having the government spend on infrastructure will grow the economy no matter what the situation.

Will Obama's Stimulus Package Work?

Well I hope so. I believe that 95% of the stimulus package will stimulate the economy for short and long term growth. Focusing on infrastructure, energy, and education you really can't go wrong. Each sector needs as much attention and money it can get. All focus on long term sustainable potential output for our economy. I challenge all who oppose to suggest something better that won't take years to implement.

So much for Bailouts. Let the companies whom managed their business fail so others can take their place. It is natural selection, thinning of the herd. The billions (outside of the financial system) spent on bailing out companies should have been added to the investment in the starving renewable energy sector. That is and will be the largest growth area in our economy, and has the potential to become the very core or our economic system. Much like oil has for the past years.

2009 Inauguration & Martin Luther King Jr.

There is so much to speak about today. This is a great day. The significance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day yesterday to 41 years after he made the speech 'I Have a Dream' a African-American Man was sworn-in as president. Dr. King spoke of his vision that within 40 years he believed a African-American would be elected president (he also said his hope was 25 years though). He was pretty darn close in his estimate, and it shows the capacity of his vision. Heck, if he lived a little longer maybe it would have been 25 years.

My hope is that Barack Obama uses all the political power he has collected over the past few months to focus on core economic issues. If he does not lead us out of economic turmoil, every other initiative he wants to address will not happen.

He is calling for all of us to sacrifice for the greater good of society. No one, since FDR has had the political resources and momentum to call on so much from Americans. FDR called for the 'New Deal', and Obama is calling for his 'Deal' which will involve many of the strikingly similar concepts as FDR's plan in 1933. Click here to view more about FDR's 'New Deal'. Both involved a lot of government spending, and many argue the only reason we got out of The Great Depression was because we were building up to fight the Second Great War (WWII). It is my belief that what will pull us out of this 'depression' will be the need to conquer 'The First Great Energy Crisis'. It will be as, if not more significant than WWII was on its generation.

What are Americans willing to sacrifice?
So far it has been their jobs, houses, and savings (not that funny). I think it will be peoples time. Spending a couple of days a year doing community service of some sort to help those in need. For young adults a excellent resource to help connect you to a cause in your local community is Dosomething.org. They will take your cell number and within minutes text you the location of a place to volunteer your time in your local community.

I am willing to sacrifice the convenience of eating non-organic & non-local food. Every time you buy food, spend the extra pennies on food that is coming from your local community. It will allow you to contribute to your local community and allow you to feel good about what you are putting into your body. Again, you are what you eat- The age old slogan taught in kindergarten is true! How about extending this commitment to: Make a goal to recycle every can, bottle, jug, newspaper, & piece of cardboard (to start); it is very simple. While you might not see the entire effect of the effort, feel good that what you did will help the next generation. These two (volunteer) services are something little you can do. You know, the 'simple' things. If everybody did the simple things we would be better off.

Barack Obama & Thomas Friedman on 'This Week' with George Stephanopoulos

Wow. If you didn't get the chance to watch the show, it was worth the hour- (This Week). Barack Obama is becoming a real positive leader in this world. Not only does his charisma motivate one, his policies are right in line with correcting America's economy to get on a sustainable path. His first point and question was of course concerning the economy. He outlined his plan with a little more depth, but highlighted the so called 'green economy'. Clean energy, mass transit, energy efficiency, etc. is thoughtfully being laid out as pieces to the sustainable economy & sustainable growth puzzle for decades to come. He is building the foundation that directs human civilization away from greedy inefficiency. With energy demand increasing we need to become more efficient. He is proposing that 75%+ of ALL federal buildings will be given money to solely solve 1 problem, increase energy efficiency. Listening to him speak made me feel motivated, encouraged and prideful of my country, something that has not been felt for at least 8 years and possibly much more; in actuality since 1996 when the Kyoto protocol was initiated by the US (but never signed on to: errrrr....).

To top off the enjoyable 30+ of uninterrupted minutes of Obama, I was pleasantly surprised to see Thomas Friedman on the show to follow up on the round table. While he mostly spoke of the middle east troubles of Hamas and Israel (one section of his expertise), he didn't get to touch on a lot of topics which he wrote about in his most recent book. If he hasn't met Barack Obama in the past I bet he got his opportunity today. I am sure the topic of discussion was the ideas covered in Hot, Flat, and Crowded- Energy efficiency, clean energy, & sustainable development. That brings me another few ounces of confidence in the direction of the Obama administration. Obama has stayed true to his principals since voting for him. His commitment to reorganizing the government & economy based on clean efficiency for growth and sustainability. I salute to 4 years of leadership, change, & sustainability. Something that Al Gore might be passionate about, but never showed enough leadership in until he was out of office. That was harsh, I know. Al Gore didn't have the luxury (hard to call it that) of an economy in shambles to implement such altering policies. I don't hold it against him, if anything I hope it motivates him to advise Obama, because we all know it is where his life's work exists. So overall, for anyone who cares about the future, your confidence should have just increased.

A Call for Action

Continuing on my journey, I wish to call for the greatness in people.

I was undoubtedly motivated and disturbed last night. I boarded a airplane just like I have every Thanksgiving and like always stood in long lines of families flying all over the world to see loved ones. Cars driving from all over Tri-State area to an airport, people funneling like sheep through to their gates. All just to board a plan for vacation, for the 4 day weekend at highly inflated prices. Once everyone is herded, they board a 300,000 pound plan bound for a city that is not their ultimate destination(there is so much fuel used to pick that plane up). We cut through the 30,000 altitude on a clear night. After a short conversation with my wife, I glanced out the window only to street lights for hundreds of miles. I don't believe I have ever seen such a far distance from a plane before (there was a heavy rain the night before). To look out on civilization growing for many years planned around the capabilities of car, was disturbing. There will be a lot of hurdles to cross on our path to become a more clean energy dominated economy. Almost every single neighborhood was planned in the 50's or late 90's. All when gas was cheap. Housing sprawl followed what was convenient for car commutes, based on old highway designs. Where does this take us?

Well for starters: I believe very strongly that America will rise to the greatest occasion in history and take a leadership role in growing & developing a sustainable economy based on clean & renewable energy. I believe this country has to to stay competitive throughout the world in the coming years. We can not take this for granted, we may have the greatest accumulation of brain power and in turn innovation. But, we have a infrastructure based on 1950's models. Outside of efficient commuting cities in the country (San Fransisco, New York, etc) all else is based on cheap energy to propel a car. How do we overcome such a hurdle and don't allow a country that has very innovative thinkers, a dictator in leadership (democracy is always slow to change because everyone wants to give their input), or abundant resources that have not been entirely exploited yet to step into our role? That is our challenge and the longer we wait, the harder old habits will take to overcome.

Who has suggestions?

A note worth reading

I decided that I needed to start this blog somehow. Of all that is going on in this world what would I start writing about? Well... How about a excellent chapter I read in my new book, Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded.

I just tackled a chapter, which title reads 'Petro-Dictatorship'. Which outlined the effects our energy consumption to unstable mineral-exporting rich countries. These nations have the luxury to be lazy in reform due to windfall profits from huge mineral deposits, in particular oil. With strong supporting information, the conclusion was that a nation will only want reform when they are forced into it. Otherwise the elite will oppress the weak and poor, financed by the large mineral exports. Oil slows reforms due to the money it provides for a country. That money allows dictators to 'silence' opposition, subsidize industries that would otherwise fail, and buy time to address real issues later on.

I have noticed over the past few months that the price of oil has been going down. Some of this was due to the past election, some from US consumers curbing their driving habits, but mostly from the loss of speculation in the market. The one and most important thing that came out of last summer's $150+ barrel price of oil was the sweeping realization that change in old habits is needed. Americans have spent the last few years propping up dictators with oil revenue. I don't know why it took so long for us to see our present economic situation brewing, or trouble ideological-oppressive religious states given there are many factors to it's stumble, the most important being our energy policy.

When I hear the words 'sustainable economic development' I think growth in moderation. Planning for unforeseen & predictable problems through strong economic policy and guidance. It is to view the world as one system, and the worlds economy as a subsystem. This means the overall health of our planet is immediately dictated by the size of the worlds economy. I believe it is inevitable that once the economy becomes X size, there will be no resources left to continue it's growth. We are talking about a closed system, size is definite, but not yet defined.

This leads me into energy policy. The harvesting of energy is essential for every economic system in place. To consume all of a finite resource, that is very efficient (oil) is unintelligent. To waste in the name growth, & hinder future possibilities of sustained growth sounds again, unintelligent. We have the resources available to us to use less of a non-renewable resource. Combining innovative & localized harnessing of wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, & supplementing these with oil where they won't work is the correct direction. What would need to be done is an outlined plan for energy development, investing today to make these resources more efficient. This would curb our appetite on oil, and allow greater sustained growth of our economy by using what is abundant and free before what is limited and non-renewable.

If we use up what took mother nature millions of years to brew, how will our economy continue to flourish? We live in 1950's infrastructure developed in the direction of ZERO knowledge about oil life cycle. The more we rely on oil to fuel our economic development the harder it will be to get off of it. It is like an addict, and we are on step 1, just beginning to admit the problem. The faster we tone down that addiction to unsustainable growth, the quicker we will prepare ourselves for the next 100 years. So this becomes a call to action, most will want to call upon Barack Obama, but that is not the correct place. It has to be a call to ourselves, a call that causes us to reduce our wasteful consumption. A call to strive and be better, and a call to demand that change of our leaders. Our leaders only do what they think is most beneficial to our county, and most believe that is saving our wallets by providing cheap oil. That mindset only re-affirms the addict.

So what will you do?.... Make a pledge.