The world is facing unprecedented challenges in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss. The price tag for taking on these issues exceeds the current and combined capital resources of governments and nonprofits, but there is still hope. Increased private capital, led by impact investors, offers an opportunity to better-leverage public and philanthropic resources and tackle our conservation challenges.
Watch a conversation about how businesses can drive us away from plastic dependence. Plastic Soup Solutions: How Business Can End Plastic Pollution is hosted in partnership with Green America.
Panelists:
Resilience-the capacity to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of change-is a characteristic of all living systems. Human communities are remarkably resilient as is proven when a city can completely rebuild after catastrophic events. In contrast, engineered systems such as machines and structures are generally more "brittle" and prone to failure.
Something I learned in 2001: unlike classic psychiatrists, who will drag out a conversation for years without giving much away if they can manage it, psychopharmacologists will, after half an hour’s probing, tell you bluntly what they think is wrong with you.
This letter is a response to your request for ideas—for the philanthropic strategy you’re thinking about. You say you like long term, but you’re drawn to “the other end of the spectrum: the right now.” I get that, and have the perfect answer for you, one that serves both ends at the same time.
While researching No One Eats Alone, sociologist Michael Carolan interviewed more than 250 individuals, from flavorists to Fortune 500 executives, politicians to feedlot managers, low-income families to crop scientists, who play a role in the life of food. Advertising consultants told him of efforts to distance eaters and producers—most food firms don’t want their customers thinking about farm laborers or the people living downstream of processing plants.
The terrorist attacks that occurred in Paris on November 13 shattered the complacency of the French lifestyle. A few weeks later, a savage attack erupted in San Bernardino, California, further exposing the vulnerability of Western societies.