Cattle + Predators=Soil Carbon Sequestration… How Burgers Can Save Us From the Ravages of Global WarmingBy Brian Skeele, on March 23rd, 2011 The Professor is in the House… Cattle + Predators= Soil Carbon Sequestration. How’s that for a Math equation??!! You have sharp hooves (no sneakers allowed), You poop, you roam…You restore the planet’s balance. Duh!! Any questions?? Yes, you with the red blouse. More Specifics?? OK, here’s how the Savory Theorem works…
Any more questions? Yeah, you in the back. Yes, that’s right, if you eat Predator Managed Open Range Certified burgers you will be sequestering carbon back into the earth, and helping reverse Global Warming. Yes, of course. The distance from the ranch to the slaughter house to your plate adds to the carbon footprint. That’s why ranchers and meat packing plants are switching to algae biodiesel… READ MORE >> Climate Carbon WedgesBy Brian Skeele, on March 21st, 2011 Now maybe you’re saying to yourself, “Why is he talking about those things that bullies do where they pull someone’s underwear way up?”, ya know “wedgies”. Nope, but you’re close! I could take an hour to explain it, but these guys are on it.
The climate carbon wedge concept was introduced by two Princeton professors, Rob Socolow and Stephen Pacala. These wedges describe a portfolio of energy technologies and choices about how we live, that when taken together form wedges against increasing carbon emissions. This is perhaps better explained by looking at the diagram above… READ MORE >> Is your neighborhood playing with A FULL DECK OF CARDS?By Brian Skeele, on March 21st, 2011 is your neighborhood playing with a full deck of cards? To help folks become conversant in all the parts that go into a sustainable neighborhood, while having fun at the same time, how bout a deck of playing cards??! Like baseball cards, but with a different component on each card; An illustration on the face, and info on the back…”Collect em all!” The cards could tie into Lessons Learned, Ideas, Tools, How to… , Sustainable Rules of Thumb, Indicators, etc and maybe the big village scene. Hey, submit your ideas for cards, and if your idea(s) is chosen, we’ll send you a pack of cards! Make em totally fun, and yet informative, and empowering. Remember, the challenge is to make sustainable neighborhoods as popular as cell phones, so they’ll spread across the planet like wildfire! Hey, how can we be making sustainable real, if your neighborhood isn’t playing with a full deck of cards??!! Submit your ideas Here!! If it ain’t FUN, it ain’t sustainable!By Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011 I think that says it all! “If it ain’t Fun, it ain’t sustainable!” I can get overwhelmed by the immensity of it all; the Impending Bummers, the complexity of all these systems within systems, trying to figure out how we are gonna learn to collaborate on such large scales, when we’re so busy it’s hard to get three people together at any one time. As a visionary wannabe facilitator of sustainable neighborhoods, who’s been going for “What else can we do beside suburbia?” for 30 + years, I’ve learned some useful tools along the way. A major learning is working with the inspiration within. At times I call it “Letting go, and letting God”. Now I know we have deep convictions about separating church and state, and I don’t want to use language that might create separation between us, so please just consider this concept, and substitute the words that work for you…. READ MORE >> Entrepreneurship-Innovation from here on outBy Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011
Collaboration! Our times call for rapid prototyping social, economical, and ecological strategies so the emerging sustainable economy can….emerge! Many of the jobs being created from evolving technologies, don’t even exist yet. We are inventing the future as we travel forward. Half of the hottest futurist jobs don’t even exist yet, according to Daniel Burrus, author of Technotrends and CEO of Burrus Research Associates. “We’re in the early stages of shifting gears into the e-society,” he says. “Virtually every part of an enterprise will be e-enabled, which includes connectivity, content, commerce, communication, collaboration, and community.”… READ MORE >> Why own?… when you can Carshare!!By Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011 Oh my God! We can share stuff, even cars! Sustainable living with a carshare! Can you imagine, you can rent out your car by the hour??!! yep, human ingenuity strikes again. You probably have heard of Zipcars, and other private car share programs. Well, another variation on the concept, peer to peer car sharing, is coming on line. RelayRides in Boston claims their participating car owners can earn up to $8000 a year by renting out their cars. With different Smartphone interfaces, integrated web cam configurations, and insurance packages tailored to the club program, a variety of business models have sprung up around the planet. … READ MORE >> 350 ppm-A number we can live withBy Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011 350 is a pretty dang good batting average. It’s also the amount of carbon in parts per million that scientists have agreed upon that makes for a sustainable planet. In other words, if we want to avoid a lot of the impending bummers that come with Global Warming, we need to figure out how to get the amount of carbon in the atmosphere back to 350 ppm (carbon sequestration). And we need to then stablize the amount of carbon we release each year to 350 ppm. I think we are currently at 387 ppm. not so good for ocean levels rising from melting ice…etc. I’ve listed 350 ppm as an Indicator. We need good indicators so we can tell how we’re doing. As we redesign our neighborhoods sustainable, we need a “killer” modeling tool (s) to give us feedback. ”Are we there yet??” Every decision comes with a bunch of consequences…If we can keep our carbon spew down to 350, we have a good idea we are getting close to one aspect of ecological sustainability. I’m so amazed at how complicated our lives have become. It seemed so easy to just crank out suburbia, go to work, manufacture stuff, go shopping, retire and play golf into the Golden Years. Alas, those days are gone. With great modeling tools and sound indicators, we can figure out how to live on the planet with billons of our fellow citizens. We can do this, we can make sustainable real!… READ MORE >> BioChar-Carbon Sequestration and Soil FertilityBy Brian Skeele, on March 19th, 2011 Black Soil, biochar, a special kind of charcoal, has been discovered in the Amazon jungles, as well as in Japan. Tierra Preta, as it is also called in Brazil, has amazing properties. In the midst of large amounts of rainfall, where large quantities of biochar have been introduced into the soil, the soil’s fertility has lasted for centuries. This special kind of charcoal retains nutrients for plants and creates a most hospitable environment for microorganisms and has provided fertile soils for large populations in the Brazilian jungles for several thousand years. As the “charcoal” withstands being broken down for long periods of time, modern soil scientists and farmers have realized Biochar could be the most effective way to sequester carbon out of the atmosphere, while adding to a soil’s fertility. Most any material that contains carbon can be “cooked” to not only create a charcoal like product, but also the gases released during cooking process, pyrolysis, can be used as a substitute for fossil fuel. These two together have raised the specter that creating biochar out of waste carbonaceous material (agricultural wastes, etc) could be a major part of a long term solution to global warming, while adding to a soil’s fertility… READ MORE >> Cap & Trade-smoke and mirrors?By Brian Skeele, on March 19th, 2011 I’ve read a couple of articles about cap and trade, and the authors seem to think it’s bogus. Way too complicated. A boondoggle to make the same clever people who brought us the foreclosure bummer even richer. Here’s Anne Leonard’s take on it. The idea I like is to tax carbon, and lift taxes on income. In this way, folks will be encouraged to take their savings and invest in renewable energy. I cannot believe how happy newspaper stories report on increase fossil fuel production, or the good news about nuclear energy…What planet are these people living on???… READ MORE >> Health and Healing- Inner work in a supportive environment!By Brian Skeele, on March 19th, 2011 Physical, emotional, mental, spiritual levels of health Whoa, this is a huge component to a sustainable lifestyle. In many ways, health is an indicator of sustainability. There’s inner health, coming to grips with emotional, mental, and spiritual issues. And of course, there are the elements of physical and outer health. A newborn’s health begins in the womb. Diet and food quality, toxicity in the environment, stress in our lives, how loving our environment, and what kinds of options we have available as we age and transition from this plane are just a few of the profound components that come into play…. READ MORE >> |
