CURRENT NEWS: Fall 2010 SOLAR GRANT WORKSHOPS and the Annual Sustainable Energy Tour

Our Fall Programs include two WHSEP Solar Grant applicant two-day workshops, October 9th and 23rd, and October 16th and 30th.

Email hawaii at one-island.org to confirm your location is eligible if in the South Kona / Kau areas. October 3rd we will be hosting the annual Sustainable Energy Program in conjunction with the nationwide American Solar Energy Society solar tours. Join us for renewable energy presentations at the South Kona Green Market on Sunday October 3rd.

All Our Relations

Exploring the sacred human relationship with plants

There is an ancient wisdom embodied in our relation with plants, one that touches us at a very elemental core of our being as inhabitants on this miraculous green planet. Our relationship to plants is both an ancestral memory and a living contemporary experience. And it is a relationship that is essential to maintain and acknowledge as we face the future and rebuild local food systems, enhance family well being, and co-create sustainable communities.

This is the first in a series of storytelling circles that will illuminate individual and cultural practices from around the world that honor our nourishing and healing relationships with plants.

Thursday May 6^th, 9am-1pm

By invitation, with a local foods lunch potluck.

Featuring video insights from inspiring philosophers, scientists and visionary leaders
with local Island community capacity building strategies and more.

We will be hosting a morning of music and art 10am-noon, a catered Local Foods Lunch, and the Symposium will be held from 1-5pm at the  One Island Center.

Reservations are required. Donations welcomed.

Lunch is $16 (reserve by May 1st).

The  Avocado  Festival is February 20th at the  Amy Greenwell Garden and we welcome  you to stop by our booth and say hello, learn about our March and April WHSEP energy workshops, and join in the community energy independence  conversation. 9am-4pm.

The Earth Day Festival will be April 24th, 9am-4pm at the Keauhou  Resort on the oceanfront lawn. We’ll have solar technologies on display and welcome you to stop by and  learn about our programs.

One Island recognizes the accomplishments of local businesses in Going Green by adding renewable energy to their operations. This season we feature:

The Lotus Cafe for its 450 panel solar array installation, biodegradable containers, organic local foods, and green cost saving practices. They serve excellent Northern Thai, Indian and East Indian cuisine with lots of organic ingredients - and make a wonderful coconut milk ice cream with local flavors. Be sure to give the fresh squeezed ginger /sugar cane juice a try. They can often be found at local Farmers Markets on Saturdays and Sundays, and their restaurant is in the Upper Koloko area, diagonal from Costco.

Sustainable Living is in large part about developing a Green Lifestyle. And a Green Lifestyle offers a new form of wealth that can be both enjoyed today and passed forwards to future generations.

A Green Lifestyle isn’t a product to buy, nor is it a single practice to adopt. This is about a rewarding change in our daily behavior that is the result of an intentional shift in our values and responsibilities. Feel free to borrow these ideas, please!

The following Green Living Resources are available as a Sustainability Primer for all ages to provide real examples of actions we can take to accelerate positive change in our homes, gardens, workplaces, schools and communities.

GREEN VALUES - Less really IS more

GREEN CHOICES - New Wealth in Action

GREEN GLOSSARY - DIY!

Are there really such things as Green Businesses? And if so, what Green Jobs can they provide? Is it only about manufacturing solar panels or wind turbines for alternative energy? Or are there green practices that many types of companies could employ and thereby become part of Green Job development?

One important way to avoid the pitfall of making hyperbolic ‘green’ claims - what is being called ‘ green washing’ or ‘green mirage’ - is to define and practice what GREEN actually means, and to anchor green practices in the real lives we already lead.

Not some mirage out on the horizon, Green Jobs exist and new Green Jobs can be implemented in many organizations right now, this year, in any community.

So, just what IS a Green Job?

Let’s look at some ideas:

Greening an Organization that creates Green Jobs

a) A Green Job may assist in the production of resources, provide a service, or implement a practice that lowers an operation’s carbon footprint or environmental impact. To lower these negative impacts it is essential to effectively problem solve inside the organization and pass those solutions on to its chain of suppliers and customers. A Green Job provides employment activities that lessen the negative environmental impact of the Materials, Manufacturing, Packaging, Delivery, Use or Disposal of a consumable or service as compared to previous methods used in the product’s lifecycle.

(Six Trees is the top Green rating for an organization’s problem solving solutions, see rating information below)

Greening a Wider Community that builds a Green Economy

b) A Green Job may also assist with a product, service or practice that specifically addresses the lowering of OTHER’S carbon footprints or environmental impacts. By helping another agency or company develop and deliver consumables or services with less negative environmental impacts, these Green Jobs participate in Community Problem Solving. Ideally, the Green Business providing these jobs is also practicing what it preaches and is thereby also qualified as a Green Job organization itself.

(12 Trees is the highest rating for a community-wide problem solving effort - 6 as an organization and 6 for community impacts. These are where the greenest Green Jobs are emerging.)

How Green is Green ?

One way to help develop and promote Green Economy standards and practices is to establish a rating system that showcases and visually communicates verified accomplishment levels of Green Businesses.

Why Ratings?   As consumers gain awareness of the short and long term values of supporting Green Businesses, new Green Jobs will be created, strengthening the Green Economy and helping to build local Green Communities. Ratings build consumer confidence, increase market share, and also help prospective employees idenitfy companies and organizations where they want to become a productive team member.

One Island is testing an award system that recognizes accomplishments made by Green Organizations that are the forerunners in developing Green Jobs. Each area of activity in which an organization ‘greens’ itself then earns them a Tree as a symbol of their commendable accomplishments. These activities span a product or services full life cycle (and include associated activities among their suppliers and customers):

Materials

Manufacturing

Packaging

Delivery

Use

Disposal

In future years, this type of rating system will be adopted as an industry standard. In these early days of the Green Economy’s creation, there is already a need to begin defining what a Green Job is and what qualifies a Green Business as being ‘green’.

How GREEN is your company or organization? How Green is your Job or the job you are seeking? Give it a tree for each of the above 6 activities where it practices a significant carbon reducing or environmentally friendly activity internally. And if it provides a product or service that also helps others reduce their carbon footprint and be more environmentally sustainable, add a tree for each activity it does that benefits the wider community. Top rating would be TWELVE TREES.