Experts Talk Climate at the Met

The PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature hosted a star-studded panel discussion last night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, investigating the question that's on everyone's mind these days: what can we do about global warming? The program, titled "The Weather Report: What Can We Do?" featured leading scientists and writers such as James Hansen, Andrew Revkin and Bill McKibben. The discussion barreled past its posted 9:30 pm deadline and, judging by the excitement of the panelists, could have continued on into the night.

Jostein Gaarder, author of Sophie's World and co-founder of the environmental Sophie Prize, began the evening. Gaarder posed a brilliant metaphor, comparing carbon in our atmosphere to a genie that has escaped from a lamp. Before the Industrial Revolution, Gaarder imagined, this "genie" screamed from inside the lamp, "Let me out!" Now the genie has escaped, and we are desperately trying to push him back inside.

James Hansen spoke next, with the dispassionate certainty of a scientist who has been looking at the causes and implications of global warming for over thirty years. Hansen, who recently published the book "Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity," advocates a tax on oil, gas and coal that would require the industry to pay for its own damages. As long as fossil fuels are cheap, he says, people will use them, a practice that unequivocally must be stopped.

Bill McKibben agreed with Hansen that a new way of thinking about energy production and use is long overdue. The global warming ship has sailed, he said, and since stopping its progress completely is impossible, we need to find ways to mitigate and adapt. We have made the earth "a different place already," McKibben said, "and it will get much different still."

Even so, McKibben is far from disillusioned. The interest and excitement generated from his international campaign 350.org ("350" being the parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere scientists say is a tipping point against stabilizing global warming) has reinforced his belief that the will exists to put the brakes on greenhouse gas emissions.

Andrew Revkin, drawing from a long career as an environmental reporter, introduced some sobering statistics toward the end of the evening. People living in the United States, Revkin said, have a higher per capita carbon footprint than any other population in the world. Each U.S. citizen is responsible for about 20 tons of carbon annually, compared with 10 tons per person in Europe, and about 6 tons in India and China. Even if all countries agreed to either shrink or cap per capita carbon output at 6 tons, 2050's projected population of 9 billion people would still be spewing 54 billion tons of CO2 each year into the atmosphere. Although green technologies and political treaties are steps in the right direction, Revkin's math communicated the inevitable message that globally, we are facing this challenge together, and no one solution alone will do the trick.

Early in the evening, Bill McKibben called climate change the "greatest problem humans have ever faced by far." Sitting in the auditorium at the Met last night, it seemed possible that we are up to the challenge, and we will commit to real changes and solutions. But waking up this morning to news of oil gushing toward the coast off the Gulf of Mexico, and commuting through NYC's overstuffed shopping district in bumper-to-bumper traffic, those solutions seemed less possible, and the gravity of the task ahead more clear.

Good News for the Green Economy

Two government studies tracking the progress of the nation's green economy show that, while still small, it is poised for growth.

Although the studies found green products and services only comprise one to two percent of the nation's overall private business economy, the Executive Summary of the report (out of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration) begins with an auspicious statement: "The Administration is committed to fostering the development of a clean and energy-efficient economy; that is, a "green economy." Check out the full report here.

As we grapple with a climate bill and face increasingly clear signals that fossil fuels can no longer be burned with impunity, an official commitment to green the economy is long overdue. It is, perhaps, the magic feather industry needs to forge ahead with green products, a clear signal that "green" is a sound investment and the inevitable way of the future.

However, as a nation at the precipice of an industrial makeover, a long journey remains. For instance, the report "U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Intensities Over Time" measures emissions per dollar of economic output. While this measure, called "carbon intensity," has decreased over time, our total carbon output has actually increased. So while industry efficiency has gone up, production has grown even faster. Production per unit may be producing fewer emissions, but more production leads to more emissions. An overhaul of the current cycle of production, consumption and disposal will certainly play a large role in any national environmental improvement.

The reports also identified a shift in the sector producing the most emissions. While industry has gone greener, domestic emissions have grown. Weatherizing homes and buying efficient appliances are becoming mainstream activities, but many people remain bewildered by what exactly they can do to have the greatest positive effect. And inconsistent messages are no help -- a recent report out of the Government Accountability Office revealed that Energy Star labels are not nearly as stringent as they once were believed to be. The GAO easily got certification for fabricated and inappropriate products, and also found that once certified, manufacturers could download and print the Energy Star label with no further oversight. New rules and regulations for the Energy Star label were quickly promised, but there will no doubt be a backlash of consumer malaise and apathy stemming from the findings. Read another take on the findings on The Consumerist.

Overall, the Commerce Department's reports are good news, if for no other reason than they highlight investment in the green economy. It is also important -- and heartening-- to note that the findings were compiled using data from 2007. They do not measure improvements since the Obama Administration's commitment to green jobs.

EPIP: Day Three

Well things wrapped up very nicely in Denver. The last day of the conference featured Gara LaMarche, President and CEO, Atlantic Philanthropies, and Benjamin Todd
Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP. Because the three tracks throughout the conference were
Generational Change, Philanthropic Effectiveness and Social Justice Philanthropy, they were both really well poised to comment not only on these issues but also about the role of the emerging generation of philanthropists. In fact, LaMarche made a good observation that the word "emerging" may be a bit of a misconception, and that the field needs to look to young people as leaders not just in the future, but right now. I have been fortunate enough to hear Jealous twice in the past month (he spoke to our Board back in March, and I blogged about it here). But of course it was great to hear him again. One of the things that he mentioned that I found most relevant to the work of social justice philanthropy is that we are coming to a point where we are seeing the diminishing of a social class dominance, and eventually we will witness minorities becoming the majority. He pointed out that the Tea Party is a backlash against this kind of progress. Jealous also mentioned the importance of understanding who your allies are, and that they might not be who you think they are.

I really want to give a huge shout out to everyone who made the weekend possible, especially the folks at EPIP, Rusty Stahl and Rebecca Schumer in particular did so much hard work over the weekend. And thanks again to all the sponsors of the conference, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Levi Strauss Foundation, California Wellness Foundation and Council of Michigan Foundations. And a special thanks to the Knight Foundation, who sponsored the LiveFeed of the conference and DoGooder TV, which made it all possbile. Yesterday more than 2000 watched Benjamin Jealous from the NAACP!

And of course, I wasn't the only one who blogged about the conference and its participants. If you're interested in hearing what others thought about it, head on over the EPIP Blog, Epiphanies. Thanks again to all who participated, it was a great weekend.

If you want to follow the rest of the Council on Foundation's 2010 Conference via Twitter, the hashtag is #cof10 and they have a great list of live bloggers. I suggest checking out the Philanthropy411 blog for updates.

EPIP: Day Two

Day Two of the 2010 EPIP Conference started off with a great observation from Steve Gunderson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Foundations. Gunderson addressed the folks at the morning plenary by stating, “EPIP needs to change their tagline from the “next generation” of grantmakers to the NOW generation of grantmakers. The future is now.” I couldn’t agree more and know that everyone else in the room felt the same way.

Following Gunderson, we had the opportunity to hear from Bill Somerville, the President and Founder of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation. Somerville brings more than 50 years of experience to the non-profit sector and is nationally recognized as an expert on creative grantmaking. He really challenged the group to think about philanthropy in a variety of ways that we may not have. I can’t stop thinking about some of the ideas that he talks about. For example, he talks about paperless giving, and how this goes beyond just filing everything electronically. He also talked about the importance of having more failures. This may seem counterintuitive, but he argues, and I rightly agree, that the field of philanthropy can learn as much from its failures, if not more, than its successes. He even advocated for the non-profit sector to put out a book that discusses some of its failures in depth. I think Somerville is right when he says that if we aren’t willing to take risks, we may be afraid to think creatively. He also discussed the importance of building trust between organizations and sectors. He advocates for people to get out from behind their computers to really understand the work they are funding, and for people to get out of their comfort zone. Lastly, he talked about the dangers of “academic philanthropy” (I have to admit, this was the first time I’d heard that term mentioned), meaning that as we see a rise in things like strategic philanthropy, standardized program evaluations, performance metrics etc, that we need to really engage grantees in our partnerships, ask them how they measure the success of their programs etc.

The rest of the day featured some really great sessions centered on social justice philanthropy and allowed members to hear experience from those working in this area. I really appreciated the multigenerational panels and experienced foundation leaders that provided concrete suggestions for how grantmakers can advance social and racial justice philanthropy. Although I wasn’t able to attend every panel, the feedback I’ve heard from everyone has been extremely positive!

In the afternoon, EPIP and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Association held a concurrent workshop. Since both groups are here in Denver at the same time and are clearly interested in a lot of the same issues, I think it was really great to plan this session. Keynote speaker Barry Gaberman, Senior Vice President (Retired), of the Ford Foundation talked about the need for infrastructure to support talent in philanthropy and nonprofits.

Tomorrow marks the third and final (half) day of the conference, before the annual Council on Foundation’s 2010 Annual Conference officially kicks off. If you’ll be staying on after the EPIP conference is over, or if you’ll be participating remotely, be sure to follow the hashtag #cof10 for updates.

EPIP Day One

The first day of the 2010 EPIP National Conference in Denver is over and it went great. The theme for this year’s conference is “Building a Movement, Making an Impact” and that’s exactly what over 100 young philanthropists are interested in doing. Even a little bit of snow in April couldn’t stop the excitement!

Yesterday marked the start of the conference and included a great opening session with Robby Rodriguez, the Executive Director of the Southwest Organizing Project and co-author of a book called Working Across Generations: Defining the Future of Nonprofit Leadership (all participants were lucky enough to get a free copy). In his talk Rodriguez talked about the issues within the non-profit sector with respect to leadership change and generational shifts between baby boomers, generation X and Millenials (like yours truly). I’m hoping that I can get a copy of his slides which goes into a bit more detail and if so I’ll be sure to provide a link to it. Probably my favorite quote from the session was “The world is seriously jacked up and we have to fix it.”

Following Rodriguez, we heard from Cynthia Gibson, who has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector as a consultant and senior staff person for national nonprofits and philanthropic institutions. Gibson talked a little bit about her new effort called the “Generational Change Initiative” which will examine these trends and how the definition of philanthropy and social justice will shift as we see dynamic changes in the workplace. Gibson also talked about what she called “a perfect storm of whiteness” when it comes to the lack of diversity amongst nonprofit leadership and what efforts must be made in order to combat this problem.

The rest of the weekend’s sessions will be featuring some great diverse and multi-generational speakers. There are various learning tracks on philanthropic effectiveness, generational change and social justice philanthropy, interactive workshops, free career counseling, and a joint afternoon session with the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, who is also in town for their annual conference. Sunday’s keynote speakers include Benjamin Todd Jealous, President & CEO of the NAACP.

If you aren’t in Denver, don’t worry you are not out of luck and can still participate. Thanks to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, EPIP is offering a free livestream of the conference content. You can check out the stream schedule, and join the conversation by chatting, tweeting, facebooking of blogging the conference from wherever you are. If you’re following the ocnversation or participating on Twitter, the hashtag is #epip10.

Earth Day: Looking Back and Looking Forward

As the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day approaches, the environmentally-minded are reflecting on the past, something we rarely have time to do when every new issue seems like the most important, the most time-sensitive, the one that will certainly lead to a torrent of unforeseen problems if not nipped immediately in the proverbial bud. Given this chance to take stock, it's heartening to recognize the legacy of a devoted, activist conservation movement. But looking back also brings up questions about the path we're on. Have we even come close to fulfilling promises made on the original Earth Day?

Click here for a May 1970 article from Earth Day originator Senator Gaylord Nelson's newsletter.

The May 1970 Gaylord Nelson Newsletter is full of hope and a sense of determination to turn over a new leaf for the environment. But it is sobering to recognize an all-too familiar rhetoric, a fed-up "this is it"attitude we continue to hear today, obviously fallen short of its bold intentions. For example, look at this passage:

"Scientists, ecologists, environmentalists, educators and political leaders warned darkly before massive gatherings and small meetings that time was running out for the world and that all men had a responsibility to themselves and to leave a legacy of life for their children."

Sound familiar? Environmentalists today often present the climate crisis as a moral issue, attempting to bring even the most obstinate skeptics on board. If you don't see the utility in acting now, the argument goes, then at least do something to make the world safe for your grandchildren. But this may not be the most effective approach. Author Bill McKibben, recently interviewed on The Leonard Lopate Show, says the "for our grandchildren" approach actually just postpones work that needed to be done years ago. If the looming threats to our planet won't take affect for another two generations, subscribers to this mode of thinking can more easily forget them.

Check out McKibben's blog and global environmental activist network at 350.org.

Click here for Earth Day activities going on in your area, or for information on a climate rally going on this Sunday in D.C.

Or check out Edward Hoagland's beautiful paean to a life well-lived in this month's issue of Harper's magazine, in which he regrets having to leave the planet while expressing a sense of foreboding as he looks at what lies ahead.

Hoagland writes:

Bees, bats, amphibians, forest primates, meadow birds, pelagic fish, coral, and polar animals, at risk or worse—the upending of ecology, disequilibrium of meteorology and oceanography, desertification, extinctions at four thousand times paleontological rates, are not the sort of scale of change old grumps have previously objected to. Nature is being defenestrated in a fast-track snuffing out of half of Creation.

and:

Amazingly late in the game, popes, presidents, and pundits began to tell us we were “stewards” of the earth. Earlier, mostly marginal or maverick figures had cared to touch on the topic, apart from a handful of well-heeled conservation charities that oversaw the status quo in our national parks, or of poster-suitable megafauna here and there... I’ve found the speed of alteration, the totality of havoc and sprawl accompanying the pole-axing of nature, undreamt of.

Hoagland's Last call: Old age and the end of nature, if read well, could serve as the environmentalists' new rallying cry. Yes, we need to treat the planet well for our grandchildren, but they are not the only ones we're working for. In 2050, when those of us who are still around have passed through the next forty Earth Days, wouldn't it be nice to look back with accomplishment, as well as forward with peace of mind?

2010 NTEN Recap

Well, I am back from Atlanta and I really enjoyed last week’s 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference. If you didn’t check out the agenda for the conference when I posted it last week, it’s still up online. There were over 1450 people who came together from all over the non-profit sector. Although this was my first year attending the conference, I didn’t feel too overwhelmed mostly because of the great structure of the conference and how well organized it was.

Andrew Sullivan, journalist and blogger for The Atlantic gave a great keynote speech on Friday morning, in which he talked about the changing nature of technology, and what it means to be a blogger in the 21st century. Tech Soup has a great video with Sullivan from after his speech about what it’s like to take criticism that comes with putting yourself out in the public space on a daily basis. Once the full video from Sullivan’s talk becomes available I’ll be sure to put it up online.

I also attended some really great breakout sessions; two in particular that I thought were useful. The first was called “Got Gov? Why You Should Care About Technology Policy” and had speakers from both Free Press and ZeroDivide. The session focused on how media policy issues at the federal level will affect how nonprofits engage with technology in the future. It included both an overview of the key federal policy issues and how the world of nonprofits could be changed, depending on the outcomes of these policy initiatives. The other sessions was titled “Expanding Broadband Access and Adoption in Undeserved Communities” and focused on how organizations are building capacity of organizations to support community technology providers. We discussed capacity building work including some of the best practices and challenges for increasing technology and broadband adoption.

I also got a sneak preview of Beth Kanter and Allison Fine’s new book titled The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change. I’ve read the first chapter and can’t wait until the whole book comes out in June. I’ll be sure to blog about the book when it becomes available as well as my thoughts after reading it. I didn’t get a chance to attend their session, but if you’d like to follow up, here's a bit more about the session.

I was also glad to see that NTEN made a great effort to “Green the Conference”, cutting down on the printed size of the conference guide (the iPhone app was a great idea and kept me up to date on the schedule and speakers), and offering totebags made from recycled materials, to name just a few of their efforts.

The 2011 Conference is already scheduled so save the dates on your calendar! The event will take place March 17th -19th in Washington DC.

2010 NTC Conference

I'm headed to Atlanta first thing tomorrow morning for 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference which is taking place April 8th-10th, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center. I'm really looking forward to it.

Click here to check out the very full agenda for the conference. There are also more breakout sessions that I know what to do with! You can also check out the list of whose coming (over 1400 people!). And, I downloaded my iPhone app which was put together for the conference so hopefully I'll be able to sort out where I'm supposed to be and when.

If you want to follow the conference on twitter, check out http://twitter.com/10ntc or search for the hashtag #10ntc. Since the conference is "all about connecting and learning so that you can transform technology into social change in your work and communities", I'm hoping to connect with as many people as possible and make the most of the experience. This is my first year attending the conference.

If you can't make it to Atlanta, don't fear! Check out what they are doing so you can participate remotely. Several cities are having remote gatherings and some sessions will be streamed live, and some will be presented as webinars. When I get back next week I'll do a mega blog post on my takeaways and thoughts from the two days. See everyone in Atlanta!

Oh, and if you just can't wait to see what goes on this week/weekend, click here to visit materials related to last year's conference out in San Francisco.

Conservation and the iPad

As most Americans who were not in line themselves have heard by now, Apple released its much anticipated iPad this weekend. The new (and slightly cryptic) device was met with requisite fervor following the iPhone release in 2007, with crowds camping outside Apple stores to be among the first to open the expertly packaged computer/tablet/e-reader/...what exactly is it? In fact, one of the most compelling features of an otherwise elusive iPad is its ability to convince over 300,000 people so far that its possession is absolutely necessary.

The New York Times quoted a devoted fan waiting outside the San Francisco Apple store at 4 a.m. Saturday. "It's beyond technology," the fan said. "It's a culture. It's a community."

From an environmentalist's perspective, the iPad release allows time for reflection on consumption and the American obsession with "stuff." (Hear all about that in Overbrook grantee Annie Leonard's web video The Story of Stuff.) If "stuff" becomes our culture and community, what are the implications for conservation? Will people care about the planet when their well-being is satisfied by portable screens and wireless transmission? Will iPad purchasers make the connection between resource use and the shiny tablet in their $500 box?

An Op-Ed piece yesterday, also in the Times, asks How Green Is My iPad? The piece, written by Daniel Goleman and Gregory Norris, goes through a life-cycle assessment of an e-reader versus a traditional paper book. The assessment is thorough yet unavoidably confusing: while an e-reader requires the toxic extraction of metals that may or may not be responsibly recycled down the line, a traditional paper book comes with its own dirty footprint. The fossil fuels required to ship books hundreds of miles, to drive back and forth from the bookstore year in, year out, to power the nightlight on your bedside table, all must be taken into account to make a valid life-cycle comparison. In the end, Goleman and Norris mercifully just tell us what to do: "All in all," they conclude, "the most ecologically virtuous way to read a book starts by walking to your local library."

In the end, people like gadgets, and it's not the iPad specifically that raises questions about the future of conservation. Rather, it's what the hype surrounding the iPad can tell us about the values of our culture. Check out a video of fan Greg Packer, who has no special allegiance to Apple but prides himself on being first in line for a whole slew of coveted products and events. Or think about first purchasers' descriptions of entering the Apple store, greeted with applause, as though by sitting in line for hours they owned some part of the pride inherent in creation. Is it the actual gadget people are excited about, or the feeling they get from having it?

For a funnier take: David Letterman's Top Ten List