The Wider Social and Political Implications of the Greening Man theme

As many of you know, I am part of a team that is helping to create a baseline for the Burning Man event this year. This is a post from one of the team members that i think is important in understanding the evolution that is taking place and it's worth considering the wider impact that this year's theme will have.
From Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty:

As we all know, Burning Man is much more than either an organization or event. It has become, for many of us, an organizing principle. what is important in thisyear's theme and concurrent actions by, not just the org, but the many participants, is EDUCATION. It's not just about awareness of carbon output, but of overall daily lifestyles.

If you take a look at the greeningman web site, (www.burningman.com/environment/) you'll see that stores in Reno are stocking their shelves with green alternatives to products bought by burners on their way to Reno, lectures, soirees, awards and green film festivals have all been organized by theme camps, a green man pavilion will offer education on vehicles, grey water systems, composting, alternative energy storage, the town of Guerlach will move over to solar power with the installation of all the solar panels being used ont he man....many, many things are happening. And so many people are participating SPECIFICALLY because it's Greening Man (people like Starhawk). Did you know that an anonymous donor has given 3000 bikes to BM to use as public bikes on the playa making it the city with the most concentration of bikes int he world?????

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Have We Reached a Green Business Tipping Point?

by Joel Makower
Where are we, exactly, in the trajectory of green business? Things seem to have changed decidedly in the past six to twelve months, as more and more companies do more and more things. But what should we make of it?

I've done close to 100 media interviews since New Year's, a wide assortment of publications, websites, broadcasts, and podcasts. And two questions keep popping up from reporters: Is there a green business bubble? And have we achieved a tipping point?

I've already largely addressed the bubble question. In short, the greening of business isn't a bubble simply because it's a bell that can't be unrung. Once companies wring out the resource waste, toxic ingredients, embedded energy, and carbon intensity of their products and services, there's no turning back. Even if energy prices were to take a sharp dive, the old inefficiencies won't return. (Indeed, cheap energy would exacerbate the problem, by increasing energy use and, hence, carbon emissions.)

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Product Labels That Count Calories, Carbs And Now Carbon

August 17, 2007: 12:56 AM EST - CNN Newswire

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Dow Jones) -- "Ethical" products will soon be hitting the shelves, replete with labels on packages that -- just like calories and carbohydrates -- show how much carbon was emitted to produce them.

Carbon emissions are a leading cause of global warming. Carbon dioxide is emitted when fossil fuels are burned to create energy.

Figuring the energy used to produce one item isn't easy, but the initiative is taking hold and gaining momentum among manufacturers that want to separate themselves from other brands and jump on the green gravy train. Consumers are lapping up all things green and slapping a label on products to show that you're part of the club can translate into big business.

Until now, companies have been painting themselves various shades of green through different environmentally friendly tactics, branding, advertising and corporate reporting.

Product labeling takes green to a whole new level, however, because it can be showcased in the shopping aisles.

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Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds

Source: GreenBiz.com

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 8, 2007 -- According to a new survey from EyeForProcurement, more than 50 percent of companies have policies on greening their supply chain, and companies are nearly unanimous in their belief that green supply chains will only continue growing.

The survey asked 188 procurement professionals -- primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia -- about their companies' practices, policies and plans for reducing the environmental impact of the materials used in their work.

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Food That Travels Well

By JAMES E. McWILLIAMS

Published: August 6, 2007

THE term “food miles” — how far food has traveled before you buy it — has entered the enlightened lexicon. Environmental groups, especially in Europe, are pushing for labels that show how far food has traveled to get to the market, and books like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” contemplate the damage wrought by trucking, shipping and flying food from distant parts of the globe.

There are many good reasons for eating local — freshness, purity, taste, community cohesion and preserving open space — but none of these benefits compares to the much-touted claim that eating local reduces fossil fuel consumption. In this respect eating local joins recycling, biking to work and driving a hybrid as a realistic way that we can, as individuals, shrink our carbon footprint and be good stewards of the environment.

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Corn biofuel 'dangerously oversold' as green energy

17:00 18 July 2007
NewScientist.com news service

Phil McKenna

Ethanol fuel made from corn may be being "dangerously oversold" as a green energy solution according to a new review of biofuels.

The report concludes that the rapidly growing and heavily subsidised corn ethanol industry in the US will cause significant environmental damage without significantly reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuels.

"There are smarter solutions than rushing straight to corn-based ethanol," says Scott Cullen of the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC) and a co-author of the study. "It's just one piece of a more complex puzzle."

The report analyses hundreds of previous studies, and was compiled by the environmental advocacy groups Food and Water Watch, NNEC and the Vermont Law School Institute for Energy and the Environment. The study was released as the US Congress debates key agriculture and energy laws that will determine biofuel policy for years to come.

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