Think about what is said about scalability, format, and tradition in terms of your work in meeting and conference planning as it impacts both logistics and program.  If listening results in a discussion, all the better, but this posting is meant to be educational and to encourage professionals to learn more and experiment.

For me, coming from a marketing history, an online video preference,  and a strong will to increase sustainability awareness, there is much here that is applicable to conferences. Conferences with the  intention to educate, inspire, and promote sustainability with an objective of extending audience reach while reducing the carbon footprint events create. It just so happens that extending audience reach with tools such as video streaming is generally an objective that sponsors are willing to pay for and cover the “additional” expenses that are now considered out of the norm. Post conference education comes in here as well with the conference(s)  but one element of a multi-step learning and awareness objective that may span years.

And MOOC goes beyond logistics and technology. We have to rethink the very format of the meeting itself, making it more experiential and engaging, rather than the one to many, lecture model of which the panel is just a slight variation.  There is lots of work involved, but we have the possibility of scaling from hundreds to thousands our rich message of sustainability and a learning experience.  It doesn’t mean the end of getting together, but, rather, hybrid events.

From a blog about open and online education is information about the learning theory behind a MOOC.  It’s “based on the theory of ‘connectivism‘ *which embraces an active learning approach. One learns through participating in activities. It emphasizes doing -   discussing, reflecting and  applying. Learning comes through action.” And here are some of the tools you may need to learn about:

1. Aggregating
2. Remixing
3. Repurposing
4. Feeding Forward.

As carbon emissions from air travel continue to be felt in the pocketbook of attendees through increased fares, (carbon footprint calculator) the budgets for travel of any kind remain at best fixed, and the attendee numbers for conferences don’t meet expectations, it will become incumbent upon all of us to find ways to educate, inspire, and motivate our members, customers, partners, and citizens.

P.S. Udacity is similar to services such as Coursera and edX, the latter recently announced by Harvard and MIT.

*Connectivism was introduced as a theory of learning based on the premise that knowledge exists in the world rather than in the head of an individual.

Ruth Ann Barrett, EarthSayers.tv, May 8, 2012

Change Toward Sustainability

1) Being Present, 2) Suspension and Letting Go, 3) Intention Aligned with Higher Purpose, 4) Holding Paradoxes/Ambiguities and Multiple Worldviews,  5) Compassion , 6) Personal Power, 7) Whole System Awareness, Whole Self Awareness and 9) a Sense of Humour.

Hard work ahead!

I haven’t experienced this online training, but the capacities are right on in my opinion and the presentation of them in this circle with “Being Present” at the core is a graphic one should carry around in a pocket closest to the heart.

The Sustainability Learning Centre expresses its values as “an ecologically intelligent, values-based group that operates on the “principle of abundance” and believes that “whole” employee engagement releases unimagined potential for “making a difference in the world” and brings forward an untapped capacity for innovation.”

1. Don’t Get Anchored Down (and remain open-minded)

“When considering a decision, the mind gives disproportionate weight to the first information it receives.  Initial impressions, estimates, or other data anchor subsequent thoughts and judgments…Because anchors influence how others see a situation, savvy negotiators use them to influence how someone feels about a political issue or options for taking sides.”

Do you ever give too much weight to past performance?

“In business, one of the most frequent “anchors” is a past event or trend.  A marketer in attempting to project sales of a product for the coming year often begins by looking at the sales volumes for past years. This approach tends to put too much weight on past history and not enough weight on other factors.”

2. When to Stop Digging (move on, start fresh)

“Each time you move, speak and demonstrate what you mean, you deepen your belief, get more articulate about it and are more likely to tell others…(therefore) Seek out and listen to people who were uninvolved with the earlier decisions.  Examine why admitting to an earlier mistake distresses you, if it does.”

My experience with these two aspects of decision-making are manifested in the Website, EarthSayers.tv. It emphasizes many points of view around the big social, environmental, and economic challenges. These challenges are being addressed by a wide range of citizens who are experts, teachers, activists, business and civic leaders, artists, employees, entrepreneurs, and citizens from all walks of life.  Some of the voices you may have heard of, but most of the voices will be new and fresh to you.

So, there it is. I really can’t make people change their decision-making habits, but for those seeking to be more open-minded and exposed to fresh ideas, I helped create EarthSayers.tv, voices of sustainability.  Here’s our special collection on Transforming Our Economy.  Give Alan AtKisson a listen. He describes the History of GDP which believe it or not makes for interesting discussions not only in the classroom, but at home and work.

Ruth Ann Barrett, Sustainability Advocate, April 9, 2011.

EarthSayers.tv, an advertising-free and public digital library, features over 1,000 voices of sustainability. We are looking to maintain EarthSayers.tv by customizing the look and feel of the collection with content as an information service to organizations with a shared objective of increasing sustainability awareness and a desire to educate and motivate their audience. The collection will continue to grow by aggregation and by our branded partners adding their original content and that of their stakeholders.

The following curated selection reflects the complexity of the sustainability category of food production and farming and points out the opportunity for us to make more capable decisions about the food we buy and eat as well as move us beyond the more common conversations around organic products and nutrition, especially dieting.  Hopefully at least several of the eight will be conversation starters for you around the dinner table, at work, and in community meetings.

1. Big Picture, Agricultural Reform, University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, How to Feed People without Destroying our Environment? 3:02 – 35,396 views on YouTube. 2. Paradigm Shift, Agriculture, Sophia joanes, Fresh (trailer), 2:54 – 144,000 views on YouTube.

3. Big Issue, Food Prices & Poverty, The World Bank, Rising Food Prices and Hunger, 2:50 – 206,843 views on YouTube.

4. Supply & Demand, Local Farming, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Back to the Start, 2:20 – 6,043,001 views on YouTube. 5. Factory Farming, Sustainable Table , Meatrix and the Lie We tell Ourselves, 3:46 – 135,687 views on YouTube.

6. Sourcing, McDonald’s lettuce supplier, Top Quality from Field to Fork, 1:54 – 213,730 views on YouTube. 7. IBM commercial, Tracking Food through the Supply Chain, 0:31 – 18,073 views on YouTube.

8. Food Safety, Richard Linton, Ohio State University, Food Safety, 2:05 – 170 views on YouTube.

Ruth Ann Barrett, Sustainability Advocate, March 28, 2012, San Francisco, California 415-377-1835

Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground – the unborn of the future Nation.

Here are thirteen other voices, some you may recognize, others, until you listen, are strangers, but all are sustainability advocates. We begin with Dr. Stuart Hall of Cornell University, Sustainability Has Many Definitions, 1:37

Larry Merculieff (Aleut), Alaska Native Science Commission, Use of the Term Sustainability 4:52. This is one interview of a series conducted by Dr. David Hall on Native Perspectives of Sustainability.

Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt of The Natural Step, Defining Sustainability:Business Insights, 1:39 and The Responsibility of Civic and Business Leaders, A Personal View 5:56. No better source for sustainability than Dr. Robèrt.

Dassault Systemes, Definition of Sustainable Innovation, Elementary Style, animation, 2:50

Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism Solutions, What is Sustainability? A Nest of Issues 9:26

RealEyes, Definition of Sustainability, animated feature 2:02. More videos on their YouTube channel such as Sustainability in Turkish.

Dr. Albert Bartlett, Sustainability 101: Exponential Growth, 59:12 Even the first 3 minutes is worth the listen especially about percent growth rate, but this is really stuff we should have all learned in arithmetic.

Chris Farrell, Being Frugal: The Original Sustainability, 5:34 He makes a good point.

Christoph Lueneburger of Egon Zehnder, Definition of Sustainability by Corporations, 3:01. Biggest barrier is just starting with the definition.

People 4 Earth, Consumer Awareness of Sustainability, animation, 2:50. More of this kind of education and we further consumer and sustainability awareness.

Allison and Bud McGrath, R&K McGrath & Associates, What Is Sustainability? (audio only) and a father-daughter team.

Professor Julian Agyeman, Tufts University, What is Just Sustainability? 38:11. This is Julian’s keynote speech before the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

Professor Nikos Avionas, What is Your Vision for Sustainability, 4:56

These voices of sustainability on EarthSayers.tv will give you more to talk about, new people to reference, and great quotes when the topic of sustainability comes up as it does often. We hope you will be inspired to do your own definition and “broadcast yourself.”  When you do post it to YouTube to let us know about it and we will add it to our special collection, What Is Sustainability?  If you want to do more online video around sustainability to increase sustainability awareness for you and your business, call us. With over 1,000 voices now in our collection, all curated for relevancy and quality, we have learned a bit about sustainability and online video.

Ruth Ann Barrett, Sustainability Advocate, March 12, 2012, Portland, Oregon, 415-377-1835.

Note: *This is about the same number for those searching on corporate social responsibility and those wanting to know the price of an iPhone.

It puts CSR into the real estate transaction to benefit communities.

IIC is an innovative program that corporations can launch as part of their CSR and sustainability initiatives for their real estate transactions as well as for those of their employees, enhancing the reputation of all and increasing the visibility of the broker, the employee, and the leaders of the company and the non-profit. Everybody wins.

Real estate brokers, as members of IIC, commit 10% of their commission from IIC-related transactions to the non-profits of the clients’ choice. The membership fee is nominal at $150.00 per year.  A recent Cone study reported “Anywhere from 87 percent to 96 percent of consumers in all countries expect companies to be doing something to support causes” ranging from economic development, environmental and human rights to health, education and poverty.

As part of increasing the visibility of these brokers, organizations, and their employees we here at EarthSayers are teaming up with IIC to feature online videos of their participants in an IIC special collection on our all video site, EarthSayers.tv, voices of sustainability.  Now over 1,000 voices strong EarthSayers.tv gives our citizens easy Web access to the largest collection of thought leaders on sustainability in the world.

As the curator of the IIC special collection, I have been scanning the Web for videos of thought leaders around these two phrases, investing in communities and impact investing. The first step in creating a special collection starts with definitions.

So to get us started, here is a short interview (video) with the author, Jed Emerson in which he defines impact investing; gives good examples; and distinguishes it from socially responsible investing.  He is co-author of the book, Impact Investing. Click on the image to order from Amazon.com.

There will be more to come.

Investing In Communities® enables individuals and businesses to fund non-profits through brokered real estate transactions. Anyone can use IIC – individuals, business or organizations – for any commercial or residential real estate transaction using any broker they choose to give their assignment to.

CSR staff can leverage the real estate transactions of their company and employees to enhance corporate giving without touching the bottom line while significantly increasing brand awareness and reputation with the IIC program. It starts with creating an account here. It’s that simple.

EarthSayers.tv is the only thought leadership platform that highlights business and civic leaders, experts, teachers, students, and citizens from all walks of life who are addressing one or more of the twenty-eight sustainability categories under the elements of planet, people, and prosperity. With nearly 1,000 videos we have created special collections around environmental, social, and economic challenges ranging from climate change to human rights to social entrepreneurship and investment.  We include interviews from events such as those produced by 3BL Media for the Ceres Conference 2011.

Sustainability Advocate is by Ruth Ann Barrett, Founder and CEO of EarthSayers.tv, voices of sustainability, Portland, Oregon, February 29, 2012.

In all of your deliberations in the Confederate Council, in your efforts at law making, in all your official acts, self interest shall be cast into oblivion. Cast not over your shoulder behind you the warnings of the nephews and nieces should they chide you for any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the Great Law which is just and right. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground – the unborn of the future Nation.

In the bioregion of Salmon Nation, there is a rich heritage and modern day presence of diverse indigenous cultures. Seeking to engage and more deeply understand Native perspectives, David Hall, Ph.D. of Portland State University conducted a series of interviews with contemporary Native leaders on the subject of sustainability, in terms of:

• the meaning of “sustainability”
• visions for a sustainable future for their communities
• how to get there

Visit Native Perspectives on Sustainability on EarthSayers.tv and the Website, Voices from Salmon Nation.
Ruth Ann Barrett, Sustainability Advocate, February 15, 2012, Portland, Oregon

Republished 2/26 with correct photo of David Hall.

Astra Taylor

Examined Life is a 2008 documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. The film features eight influential contemporary philosophers walking around New York and other metropolises and discussing the practical application of their ideas in modern culture.

The philosophers featured are Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Hardt, Slavoj Žižek, and Judith Butler, who is accompanied by Taylor’s sister Sunny, a disability activist.

Ruth Ann Barrett, Sustainability Advocate, February 11, 2011, Portland, Oregon

Drawing on a broad range of disciplines, including history, literature, and philosophy—as well as his own experience of life on three continents—Kwame Anthony Appiah delivers a moral manifesto for a planet we share with more than six billion strangers.

Ruth Ann Barrett, February 10, 2012, Portland, Oregon

I think the debate around climate change (see two previous blog posts, Advancing Science and Serving Society) reflects a lack of confidence in scientists coming in part from the health sciences where false claims and misrepresentations, not to mention theft, spill over and sully the reputation of all scientists. The result is increasing doubt and distrust on the part of citizens. It shouldn’t work that way, but it is with studies showing “trust in science is decreasing.”

Doubt: False Claims and Misrepresentation

The fact that scientists are closely allied with big Pharma on and off the campus is no big secret. Marketing drugs that generate billions in sales, year after year, by making unsubstantiated claims with mouse type disclaimers is often news and has been for years.   Such was the case with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) at the time a real money maker with $2.75B in revenues (2001). It supposedly prevented heart attacks, offered only a slight risk of breast cancer, and, making it the Viagra of its day, “improved the mental health, sex lives and overall well-being of older women.”  Wow.  Small potatoes compared to the statin Lipitor, the best selling drug of all time with 2009 revenues at $27B. And the effect of long term use of statins? Diabetes maybe? Wow again.  And it really isn’t about health is it?

Forty two percent of Americans distrust the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and 39% gave poor ratings to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for failing to serve companies in 2007.

Instances of fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data are not uncommon, unfortunately, and tend to be what the reading public remembers because often the individual or someone in their community, even a close family member, have had direct experience with an undelivered “brand promise.”  And it is about the scientists.

A 2007 Harris Interactive poll found that among 1,726 US adults, 27% of the public distrusts- ’somewhat’ or ‘very strongly’- the Food and Drug Administration. More

Then there’s The New York Times report yesterday on a “scientific reversal as dramatic and strange as any in recent memory, the finding (possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome) has been officially discredited…a legal melodrama erupted, dismaying and demoralizing patients and many members of the scientific community.”

75% of U.S. clinical trials in medicine are paid for by private companies

Distrust: Theft

Cancer Center, in Suit, Claims Ex-Official Took Research

In Monday’s business section the New York Times reports on the theft allegation by the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn against its former scientific director, Dr. Craig B. Thompson, now President of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  “At Penn” is the revenue angle for the University, an increasingly compromising factor that turns discoveries into gold.   The overall take away: follow the money, not the science.  Mr. Abramson is “one of Penn’s biggest donors” with a major source of his wealth coming from the sale of the company he founded, U.S. Healthcare, to Aetna in 1996.

From the drug scene to natural gas

When you hear this story, Game Changer from the radio show This American Life about Terry Engelder, a geologist at Penn State University and Dan Volz, director of the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, you will hear the sound of big money talking at the intersection of environment, community, health, and climate change as natural gas is the hot “alternative clean energy investment.” We prefer to think of it as a high risk energy alternative and encourage credible advocacy from scientists on helping citizens determine just how risky to ecosystem services, especially the nation’s clean water supply, fracking really is.

Antidotes to distrust and doubt

Dr. Chappell

In a recent lecture Dr. M. Jahi Chappell of Washington State University referenced research that shows most of us don’t even know a scientist making it difficult to balance what one reads and sees on TV with personal experience.  Dr. Chappell as a political ecologist cultivates and collaborates with a diverse group of scholars and practitioners.

Add to the isolation picture the following state of affairs in many universities and you can see opportunities for scientists to address distrust and doubt by developing personal relationships, speaking to the community directly, partnering with practitioners, and being activists for change (credible advocacy is how Dr. Chappell put it):

• academic research centers reliance on turning discoveries made on their campuses into revenue – a tide that needs turning with a firewall or two;
• scientists rewarded for writing for each other, not for citizens and credible advocacy organizations, a practice unattractive to younger faculty who understand the need to regain trust and respect while migrating from print to the world of social media and “broadcast yourself.”
• a belief on the part of the scientific community that so-called objectivity is compromised by exercising responsibilities as a citizen needs to be debunked by the leadership of educational institutions; and
• silos of belief systems organized to fly under one flag, sustainability science, designed to

… bring together scholarship and practice, global and local perspectives from north and south, and disciplines across the natural and social sciences, engineering, and medicine ^– it can be usefully thought of as “neither ‘‘basic’’ nor ‘‘applied’’ research but as a field defined by the problems it addresses rather than by the disciplines it employs; it serves the need for advancing both knowledge and action by creating a dynamic bridge between the two.

Video Resources

To spark interest and seed conversation among scientists who recognize the need to address trust and confidence in their institutions and community these resources are helpful, some of which have been referenced above.

Video excerpts from Dr. Chappell’s lecture at Portland State University, Social Sustainability Colloquium, the podcast, Responsibility of Intellectuals, from the program, To the Best of Our Knowledge; Gas Land by Josh Fox; Examined Life by Astra Traylor; and an interview with Al Bartlett, Professor Emeritus, Physics, Colorado University, entitled My Trust Was Misplaced.

Dr. Bartlett’s advice seem particularly apt for the citizen we all are: “You have to do your own thinking.”

Ruth Ann Barrett, February 8, 2011, Portland, Oregon