Thomas Schueneman

Freelance Writer and Environmental Journalist

United States

Telling a Human Story from an Environmental Perspective

Writing on environmental, social, and economic issues.

Corporate communications and international reporting.

Publishing in TriplePundit, Medium, 3BL Media, Slate.

Founder of TDS Environmental Media and the PlanetWatch Group.

Member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Pacific Media Workers Guild

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Portfolio
Medium
07/04/2022
A Republic, If We Can Keep It

Forged in the summer heat of 1787, the Constitution defining this new way of governance was a long shot. “A republic,” Ben Franklin allegedly said, “if you can keep it.”

Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust
08/16/2021
Neil Guglielmo, F/V Trionfo - Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust

There's this old fisherman's tale. Maybe you've heard it. Born into a family of fishermen, the boy learns the way of the sea, its cycles, the patterns of the waves, where the fish are. The boy grows into a man and a life on the ocean.

2020

Means and Matters
08/24/2020
Ways to Offset Your Carbon Footprint - Means and Matters

You can't reduce your carbon footprint without measuring it. This summer, Bank of the West will launch the 1% for the Planet checking account - the first checking account that will help you track the carbon footprint of your debit card purchases.

Medium
03/08/2020
Until There Are No More Left

Sea of Shadows tells the story of the illicit trade for the swim bladder of the Totoaba fish. It is an allegorical tale of heroes and villains and how we should live on the planet

2019

PlanetWatch
10/03/2019
The Climate of Our Moral Character

The growing climate activism among the world's youth opens a fresh debate on the moral character of a civilization that would foreclose the future in a last gasp effort to preserve, as Donald Trump sees it, the "wealth underneath our feet."

PlanetWatch
09/10/2019
Hope is When We Stop Fooling Ourselves: Daily PlanetWatch

In his New Yorker article " What If We Stopped Pretending the Apocalypse Can be Stopped," Jonathan Franzen argues that it does us little good to hang our hope for the future on some wildly optimistic scenario for which there is little evidence of achieving before climate change becomes a self-sustaining phenomenon pushing past a tipping point into a new normal.

Medium
09/26/2019
Greta Thunberg, Tilting at Windmills, and the Winds of Change

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."- Margaret Mead The movement Greta Thunberg started one year ago makes many of the "adults" in the room nervous.

Triplepundit
08/01/2019
Ingersoll Rand: A Legacy Company Embracing Sustainability

Image: Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz (right) presents Ingersoll Rand CEO Michael W. Lamach with the World Environment Center's Gold Medal Award. Ingersoll Rand is the kind of company you've probably heard of but aren't quite sure what they do.

Triple Pundit
06/25/2019
Breaking Down Efforts to Improve Food Security in the U.S.

Across the U.S., millions of people face penetrating physical, mental and emotional diminishment caused by systemic hunger. But why are people waging an existential battle with hunger in the richest and among the most agriculturally productive countries in the world?

Medium
02/07/2019
Why We Need an Uber Economy

(if we insist on using Uber) It seems as if I am the oddball, but when asked if I'm getting an Uber, I feel compelled to correct them: "I'm getting a taxi," I say, perhaps too coldly, as if they've said something wrong. This often elicits a shrug and a puzzled look -  whatever old man.

2018

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
07/19/2018
Chameleon Cold Brew: Quality Starts with Compassion, A Story of Coffee

In this first installment of coffee roaster Chameleon Cold Brew's commitment to quality, compassion, and sustainability, we'll examine what "quality" really means, from smallholder farmers in Peru to coffee connoisseurs the world over.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/17/2018
What Design Can Do and The Climate Action Challenge

The challenge, should you decide to accept it: "Make the huge - and for many people abstract - issue of climate change tangible and understandable, while at the same time offering potential and practical solutions." In the iconic 60s American television series Mission: Impossible, the task every week was simple: accomplish the impossible.

Medium
04/26/2018
Earth Day Without Us - PlanetWatch - Medium

In his 2007 bestseller "The World Without Us ," Alan Weisman expands on a thought experiment published in a 2005 issue of magazine: What if we considered the human impact on the planet by removing the humans?

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
04/10/2018
LifeStraw Reaches 1 Millions School Children in Kenya With Safe Water

LifeStraw "Follow the Liters" program is one example of the "humanitarian entrepreneurship" business model driving the mission of Global Health company Vestergaard. More than 1 million schoolchildren in Kenya now have access to safe drinking water. And it's not just a "one-off".

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
04/04/2018
Eliminating Food Waste: Dupont's Tyvek a Critical Link in the Chain

I had a bowl of strawberries for breakfast this morning, which sounds unremarkable, even in the middle of February. Thanks to growers in Florida, Mexico, and South America, I can sit at my breakfast table in the middle of a California winter, munching away on strawberries.

2017

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
11/29/2017
Agricultural Evolution: Carbon Neutral, Climate Smart

A new climate for agriculture In the first part of this series on Climate Smart Agriculture, TriplePundit spoke with Dr. Jeff Seale, Agricultural Environmental Strategy Lead & Associate Science Fellow at Monsanto.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
11/07/2017
Agriculture in the Anthropocene: the Challenge is the Solution

With a population estimated to hit 9.7 billion by 2050, the world's farmers have their work cut out for them. Not only must feed a growing population, but also cope with a rapidly changing climate. And for better or worse, agriculture can have a big impact on the climate crisis, too.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
10/04/2017
Paper Doesn't (Just) Grow on Trees: Rolland Innovates Smarter Paper

It is arguably counter-productive to think our modern business world will ever be entirely "paperless." Focusing instead on production, consumption, and the supply chain connecting all stakeholders can lead to a sustainable "Less Paper" society. Though "Smarter Paper" may be a more accurate moniker.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
12/05/2017
Science-based Climate Targets: Helping Business Leaders Fill the Void

History is spiked with aspirational moments that influence a turn, a new narrative, a change of course. It's easy to look back and marvel at past historical moments. The signing of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 was a "watershed moment," for international unity and also for business, says Cynthia Cummins , Director of Private Sector Climate Mitigation for World Resources Institute, in a recent interview with TriplePundit.

Medium
10/17/2017
On Healing a Nation - Again - Tom Schueneman - Medium

Con Thien In 1967, John Musgrave was an 18-year-old Marine serving in Con Thien, an outpost just south of the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. "Con Thien" translates to "hill of angles," but in 1967 It was, as the Marines called it, a " little piece of hell."

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
07/31/2017
Climate Refugees and the Delusion of Isolation

One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic Be it from social unrest, economic upheaval, or environmental collapse, forced human migration is at unprecedented levels. According to the UNHCR, there are more than 65 million displaced people in the world today. Of those, more than 22 million are forced refugees.

PlanetWatch
12/08/2016
Wilderness in the Age of Man: Managing the Anthropocene

Jason Mark's 2015 Satellites in the High Country asks an essential question: What is wilderness? Is there any wilderness left on earth? If so, where is it? If it is true that a radioactive haze has settled across the globe, then indeed, there is no wilderness left; no place left untouched by the actions of one species.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
09/28/2017
Rolland Green Champions Counter Sustainable Business Naysayers

From the doleful musing of a gloomy donkey in a children's story to a cultural meme, "it'll never work" is quintessential shorthand for unyielding pessimism. Everything is all wrong and any attempt to fix it will fail, so why try?

Medium
08/16/2017
The President is Not the Presidency - Tom Schueneman - Medium

I have to hand it to President Donald Trump. He forces a stand. So here it is: The president is not the presidency. For Americans, indeed for all the world, the presidency is a symbol of respect, leadership, and immense power. It represents America democracy.

TDS Environmental Media
09/01/2017
The Sad Irony of Trump's Presidential Response to Hurricane Harvey

On Tuesday, August 29, as Hurricane Harvey lingered over Houston dumping an " unprecedented " four feet of rain, plus a few inches, the presidential entourage landed in Corpus Christi. Three days earlier Hurricane Harvey came ashore north of Corpus, pounding the small community of Rockport as a Category 4 storm.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
08/02/2017
Earth Overshoot Day: Living Large in a Crowded World

Today is Earth Overshoot Day. As of today, the year is done for planet Earth, she has given all the natural capital she can for this year. It may seem counter-intuitive at first. Obviously, we aren't done with 2017 yet. How can we take more than the Earth makes, for decades on end?

PlanetWatch
06/09/2017
Monterey Bay Fisheries: Reflections from a Harbormaster

From Doc Ricketts to Mack to Dora Flood, Monterey is the stuff of legend, the iconic fishing town hugging the Pacific Coast of central California. Brought to life by the characters of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the abundance of Monterey Bay fueled Steinbeck's imagination.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/05/2017
Design for a Better World: Autodesk Doubles Down on Its Commitment

In 1982, Time magazine named the personal computer its "Machine of the Year." Subtitled "the computer moves in," Time's designation foreshadowed what its writers could barely imagine. The mainframe had been around for decades, of course; but they were anything but personal, requiring a crew to run one.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
06/02/2017
Tactics of Diversion: Measuring and Reporting Zero Waste Targets

Waste implies squandered resources, be they time, money or materials. Managing money and time are core competencies of any successful business. But somehow, trash and garbage have gotten a free pass.Fortunately, that is changing. As companies embrace one form or other of "zero waste" commitments, the business-case for efficient and sustainable resource flow management is catching on.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
04/18/2017
Measuring the Circular Economy : Putting Principles into Practice

Observers from pre-industrial times could only imagine the world-changing possibilities lying dormant in the pent-up energy of ancient rocks, or the remains of long-dead flora and fauna. Only a visionary few came close. For most, the health, wealth and material abundance made possible by an industrial economy was simply inconceivable.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/09/2017
Mutually Secured Destruction and the Circular Economy

The corporate waste stream can be complicated. Recalled products, expired pharmaceuticals and electronics containing personal data are just some of the waste items that can give companies pause: They can't be reused or resold, but landfilling them wastes resources. That's where secure destruction comes in -- and it can even create clean energy.

Medium
04/18/2017
In Search of Tomorrow - Tom Schueneman - Medium

Be Present and Imagine the Future You Want Yesterday morning I spoke with Cyril Dion, a French filmmaker, writer, and activist. Dion co-produced the documentary with actress, director, screenwriter, and musician Melanie Laurent. Tomorrow won the 2016 French César for Best Documentary. After successful release in more than 20 countries, the film made its U.S.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
03/20/2017
Pollinator Restoration : Häagen-Dazs Makes the Connection

In late February, California's almond orchards awaken from their winter dormancy, transforming more than a million acres of fertile valley soil into a low canopy of pink and white blossoms ready for pollination and another season's harvest. Commercial almond production accounts for $5.3 billion of the state's $47.1 billion in agricultural output (2015), second only to milk and cream.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
03/28/2017
Trumps Signs Executive Order Gutting Clean Power Plan

This morning, under the cover of "energy independence," U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a rewrite of the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The Plan is the cornerstone of U.S. commitment to curbing emissions under the Paris climate agreement, so the rewrite represents a significant rollback of U.S.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
02/02/2017
'Climate Saving' Companies Build a Framework for Progress

WWF launched the Climate Savers Program in 1999 as a platform for corporate leadership in climate action. Partnering with leading companies within their sectors, Climate Savers guides and supports these leaders as they develop effective climate action plans.

2016

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
12/01/2016
Packaging the Circular Economy: A Holistic Approach to Stuff

Does the circular economy start where it ends or end where it starts? It's the classic chicken-or-egg conundrum. From the perspective of the consumer-driven linear model to which we are accustomed, the idea of a circular economy may be a bit obtuse, like our opening riddle. Or so it may seem.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
01/18/2017
The EPA Under Scott Pruitt - The Fox Guarding the Henhouse

Today, two days before Donald Trump ascends to the presidency, Scott Pruitt will face his Senate confirmation hearing to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Pruitt is now halfway through his second term as Attorney Genera l for the state of Oklahoma.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
10/21/2016
GRI Global Standards Push Momentum for Sustainable Development

On Wednesday, the GRI announced the launch of the world's first Global Reporting Standards for sustainability reporting. These new standards give businesses large and small a common language for reporting non-financial information. They dovetail with recent global initiatives, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, in advancing integrated, un-siloed cooperation and transparency to address common challenges for a world in transition.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
11/02/2016
NASA and the Evolution Climate Change Research

"Distance lends enchantment to the view." - Mark Twain Back when America was young and farmers outnumbered city folk, planning next year's crop typically included a quick look to the Farmers' Almanac for advice. Filled with seasonal forecasts, planting charts, tide tables and astronomical charts, the Farmers' Almanac was cutting edge technology for long-range forecasting when it was first published in 1792.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
12/22/2016
The New Plastics Economy: Thriving in a Plastic World

Plastic is the "key enabler for sectors as diverse as packaging, construction, transportation, healthcare and electronics," says the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. But the durability and flexibility that render plastic a good fit for these applications mean we're drowning in it. The foundation consulted 180 experts and 200 publications to develop a fix.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
11/29/2016
COP22 Outcome: The Spirit of Paris, the Elephant in the Room

Just as the COP22 climate talks opened in Marrakesh, Morocco, fresh on the heels of a historic year of progress and growing momentum, the surprising result of the interminable U.S. election sucked the air out of the room. Years of progress between China and the U.S.

Global Warming is Real
08/25/2016
Solar Goes Mainstream in the Midwest

Indiana is going solar. That may seem an odd thing to declare say about a state that gets 85 percent of its electricity generation from coal. Indeed, coal may be king, but the king is approaching the end of its reign. While there are a smattering of solar incentives in Indiana, it's the market and...

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
10/18/2016
DuPont Urges Industry to Adopt More Rigorous PV Solar Testing

Solar power is no longer a boutique industry. At least 900 million solar panels are deployed across the globe. Eighty-one percent of those came online within the last five years. From rural villages in India to the rooftops of suburban America, photovoltaic solar is fast becoming a mainstream source of energy.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
08/01/2016
Remember Teddy Roosevelt - An Environmental Republican

An environmentalist and a Republican walk into a bar... The punch line is that the Republican and environmentalist are the same guy. Though it needn't be a "punch line" at all. Jim Brainard, mayor of Carmel, Indiana, reminds as many as will listen - Democrat, Republican or "none of the above," but especially his GOP colleagues - that it wasn't always like this.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
09/28/2016
Global Aviation: Innovation and the Modern Silk Road

Air travel connects people, creates economic opportunity and support sustainable urban development. But it isn't all pie-in-the-sky. Significant challenges remain if we are to meet the development and climate goals outlined by United Nations -- and aviation will play a huge role in a low-carbon future.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
09/27/2016
U.S. Climate Policy: Unraveling the Consequences of a Trump Presidency

Dean Scott, the senior climate change reporter for Bloomberg, moderated a panel discussion this weekend at the 2016 conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists. The topic at hand was the upcoming U.S. election and what it means for climate change policy, particularly if Donald Trump wins the presidency.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
07/06/2016
A Culture of Thought Leadership

What is a thought leader? If you're not careful, you'll find yourself going down a rabbit hole searching for the definitive answer . There is no shortage of opinion on what it means to be a thought leader. And still, we are suspicious, rightfully so, when someone calls themselves a "thought leader."

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
07/08/2016
Enel Energy and the SDG Compass

Adopted last September, the Sustainable Development Goals reflect the best aspirations for a world in transition. Building on the Millennium Development Goals of 2000, the SDGs integrate all stakeholders across developing and developed nations, challenging each to confront the global goals of sustainable development, social justice and equity.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/20/2016
My Inconvenient Truth : The Ten Year Anniversary of Gore's Movie

In May of 2006, Al Gore's now-classic climate change documentary " An Inconvenient Truth"was released. The moviewon an Oscar in the Featured Documentary category, and Gore was co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
10/09/2015
Satellites in the High Country: Wild in the Anthropocene

What's so great about wilderness anyway? Does it even exist anymore? What does being "wild" even mean? Is nature just about ecosystem services, or is there an intrinsic value to the natural world beyond our interference, untrammeled by human activity? There is no place on the globe untouched by the work of humanity, even where it is not the intent.

Global Warming is Real
03/04/2016
World Wildlife Day: Building the Ark for the Future of Our Wild Heritage

The future of wildlife is in our hands - The UN named March 3 as World Wildlife Day at its 68th General Assembly on December 20, 2013. The designation aimed to coincide with adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) on March 3, 1973.

Global Warming is Real
06/05/2015
World Environment Day: Reconsidering Our Relationship With Nature

Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care - Today is World Environment Day, or WED. Every June 5th WED serves as a platform for the United Nations Environmental Programme to focus world attention on humanity's relationship with our environment. Every day, as sunrise moves across the Earth, 7 billion people awake to face another day.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
12/09/2015
Fossil Fuel Deception: Academics on the Take

Greenpeace revealed today the results of an undercover investigation showing how fossil fuel companies secretly pay academics from leading U.S. universities "to write research that sows doubt about climate science and promotes the companies' commercial interests," reported Lawrence Carter and Meave McClenaghan on EnergyDesk Greenpeace on Tuesday. Reporters from Greenpeace U.K.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
04/22/2016
Climate Action: Steps Toward a Great Transition

Arguably one of the most important things to come out of the COP21 climate talks in Paris last December, aside from the Paris Agreement itself, is the signal sent solidifying the growing shift in the global consciousness. We seek a transformative path forward into the new century.

TDS Environmental Media
05/13/2016
Helping the Monarch Butterfly Recover

The life-cycle of the Monarch butterfly is epic. When cooler temperatures signal the coming North American winter, the vivid orange and black insect makes a grand 3,000 mile, multi-generational journey south to Mexico, at times flying at altitudes as high as 10,000 feet. The Monarch is the only butterfly species making such a long, two-way annual migration.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
09/08/2015
Center for Carbon Removal: Beyond Mitigation in a 2C World

Later this year ministers, scientists, diplomats and heads of state from more than 190 countries will convene in Paris for COP 21 with the ambitious goal of adopting a binding international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. The enormity of that task can be distilled to one number: two.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
12/15/2015
COP21, the Paris Agreement and the Art of the Possible

"Recognizing that climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and thus requires the widest possible cooperation by all countries, and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response, with a view to accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions."

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
09/28/2015
Amina Mohammed on the Sustainable Development Goals

This weekend world leaders met at the United Nations in New York City to define a sustainable development agenda through 2030, a process built on the successes, failures and lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) launched in 2000 and expiring at the end of this year.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
11/23/2015
Climate and Prosperity: Two Roads Converge in Paris

Next week delegates. ministers, heads-of-state and civil socity meet in Paris at COP21 in hopes of striking an international commitment limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Data recently released from the MET Office in the UK projects average global surface temperatures in 2015 are set to reach the threshold of 1 degree Celsius, halfway to the limit of "acceptable" climate change.

Earth911.com
02/24/2015
Depression: It's No Walk In The Park

Life would be a sad place without the Blues. That feeling of occasional melancholy, the ups and downs in life, bring with it some of our most sublime moments of expression. It adds color and dimension to our lives. We all have occasion to sing the Blues. Depression is different.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
09/01/2015
Electronics Recycling: Breaking Down Barriers to Employment

It doesn't seem that long ago that I brought home my first computer, a Mac Classic "plus" souped up with four megs of RAM (that's "megs" with an "M") sporting a 40-meg hard drive. The Motorola 6800 processor inside the plastic case ran at a blazing eight megahertz. I was thrilled.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
02/01/2016
GRI and the SDG Compass: Sustainability Beyond the Report

If you're a CEO and want to report on your triple bottom line, where are you gonna go? GRI . Sustainability reporting is nothing new for readers of TriplePundit. Since the late 1990s, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has been the standard-bearer for corporate sustainability, literally creating the global standard for integrating non-financial metrics into business reporting.

Global Warming is Real
06/12/2015
The Road to Paris: Halting But Hopeful Progress at Bonn Climate Talks

Ten days of meetings wrapped up in Bonn this week as negotiators worked on the draft text of global climate treaty that, if all goes according to plan, will be finalized at the COP 21 climate conference in Paris later this year. The conference coincides with the G7's pledge to decarbonize their economies by the end...

The Greenwashing Blog
07/16/2014
Greenwashing Tar Sands - Ethical Oil is a Fallacy

by Thomas Schueneman You wouldn't think that greenwasshing would ever be a real problem when it comes to the Alberta Tar Sands. It is more or less assumed, or at least should be, that there's not much in the way of green when it comes to the process of squeezing low quality oil out of tar sand.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
08/17/2015
Global Development and Engaging Faith-Based Communities

Nigeria is a land of contrasts and conflict. Too often potential allies are mistaken as enemies and, for the nation's more than 184 million people, one key path to survival is distinguishing who, or what, is truly the enemy.

The Greenwashing Blog
07/08/2014
Greenwashing Pushback: Dangers of a False Green Message

by Thomas Schueneman The meaning of "green" and "sustainable" may be in danger of losing their meaning and impact. These terms are diluted as they become buzzwords for marketers seeking to ride the bandwagon fueled by a growing public eco-consciousness. But not so fast.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
06/11/2014
New England Fishing Communities: Life After Cod

When Americans today think of the first Thanksgiving feast, we often lean on our childhood history lesson version of events; the brave settlers celebrating with their new neighbors the survival of those first harsh months in a new world.

The Greenwashing Blog
04/20/2015
Matthew McConaughey Lincoln Ad Isn't About Hugging Trees

by Thomas Schueneman I can't tell if a recent Matthew McConaughey Lincoln ad is really meant to be taken seriously (or just seriously sell cars). It seems like a Saturday Night Live spoof at first. I checked to make sure it wasn't actually Saturday night as I watched.

Planetsave
Prosperity Without Growth: A New Path for a Sustainable Future

February 11th, 2011 by Tom Schueneman As the world's economies continue to dig themselves out of the "Great Recession of '08", some are now looking to a rising stock market, a sputtering of new jobs, and an uptick in corporate profits (much of it from the same corporations that triggered the collapse in the first [&hellip

Global Warming is Real
12/30/2013
Will Our Cities Save Us? Municipalities at the Nexus of Change

Editor's note: The following post is adapted from several previous posts published in GWIR over the past year about how cities are often the best examples of furthering sustainable development, resilience and adaptation in a climate-changed world. This post has been entered in the Masdar Engage blogging contest for the upcoming Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week ---...

Slate Magazine
What's Most Essential to Children at Risk - presented by DMI and SlateCustom

"Drink your milk...and eat your vegetables!" This is the unyielding cry heard across generations of families in America, a childhood memory for many. But what happens when the closest thing to a fresh vegetable (or fruit) is a soggy tomato atop a sandwich and, instead of a cold glass of milk to drink, there is only a bottle of sugary soda or fruit punch?

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/08/2014
The Future of Mariculture and the Role of Startups, Lawmakers and NGOs

Editor's note: This is the second post in a three-part series on sustainable fish farming startups. In case you missed it, you can read the first post here. In the first post of this series, we introduced Kampachi Farms, an open-ocean mariculture startup on the Big Island of Hawaii co-founded by Neil Sims and Michael Bullock.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/07/2014
Sustainable Fish Farming Startups: From Open Seas to the inner City

Editor's note: This is the first post in a three-part series on sustainable fish farming startups. Stay tuned for the next installment tomorrow! Powered by their rapidly expanding populations, emerging world economies are working hard to close the gap with developed nations.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
12/10/2014
A Look at Business Aviation and Climate Change

When Detroit's Big Three automakers flew their corporate jets to Washington, D.C. in 2008, to plead Congress for a $25 billion bailout, those airplanes conveyed not just their contrite passengers but also a public image of corporate aviation as an excessive luxury - how the "one percent" get around (including some preachy environmentalists).

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
01/10/2013
The Water-Energy Nexus in a Climate-Changed World

As a lead-up to Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, January 13-17, Masdar sponsored a blogging contest called "Engage: The Water-Energy Nexus." The following post was among the finalists. The water-energy nexus - the fundamental connection between water and energy - may not seem an overly complex concept to initially grasp - and yet its implications are not fully understood in our industrial, resource-strained, climate-changed world.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
05/09/2014
Sustainable Fish Farming: Global-Scale Aquaculture in the Big City

Editor's note: This is the third post in a three-part series on sustainable fish farming startups. In case you missed it, you can read the first post here. In the first two posts of this series, we introduced Kampachi Farms, an open-ocean mariculture startup on the Big Island of Hawaii co-founded by Neil Sims and Michael Bullock.

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
06/26/2015
General Mills: Water Stewardship and the Evolution of Business Imperatives

This article is part of a series on "The ROI of Sustainability," written with the support of MeterHero . MeterHero helps companies and organizations offset their water and energy footprints through consumer engagement. To follow along with the rest of the series, click here. Just like everyone else, the Pillsbury Doughboy needs water to survive.

Planetsave
Does Earth Hour Demonize Electricity?

March 25th, 2011 by Tom Schueneman In defense of Earth Hour - 8:30PM this coming Saturday is the fifth annual Earth Hour event, which began in Sydney Australia in 2007. I admit to my own personal ambivalence of Earth Hour: Does it send the right message?

The Greenwashing Blog
05/13/2010
National Restaurant Association: A Greener Shade of Greenwash, Part 4

Over the past three days, we've seen what we've been calling "A Greener Shade of Greenwash" from the National Restaurant Association (NRA). In Part One we laid the foundation. Showing how the NRA uses slick marketing and well-produced multimedia to deliver a message supposedly promoting green business practices, emphasizing the advantages of appealing to the eco-minded customer and implementing sustainability best practices.

Global Warming is Real
03/11/2008
Scientist on Western Hudson Bay Polar Bear Population: "I Consider Myself a Historian"

Polar bear on the Western Hudson Bay - My recent adventure participating in the Earthwatch expedition based at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre presented a unique opportunity for a one-on-one discussion with Dr. Nick Lunn of the Canadian Wildlife Service. Nick is one of a handful of scientists focusing their efforts, knowledge, and talent on...

Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
04/26/2011
Looking to the Built Environment Will Lead to Sustainability

Earth Day is over for this year, but what is arguably more important than the day itself is the day after - and the day after that (and the day after that...). Earth Day serves as the rallying cry calling for the sustained action that drives progressive environmental trends.

The Greenwashing Blog
02/19/2013
McDonalds: Saving the Ocean or Fast Food Greenwashing?

by Thomas Schueneman Late last month McDonald's announced the addition of " Fish McBites" to the menu for their 14,000 US restaurants starting in February. Labeled as "juicy, tender and irresistible," the fast food chain is also touting that they will source the fish for the new product from sustainable wild-caught Alaskan pollock fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

CleanTechnica
07/19/2012
Intersolar North America 2012: Solar Gets Down to Business

Clean Power The Intersolar North America Conference in San Francisco has wrapped for another year, and if last year's theme in my post-show commentary was " Solar is Ready to Launch," then this year is "Solar Gets Down to Business!"

Tcktcktck
04/23/2012
Tom Schueneman: Redefining prosperity and the fallacy of growth

This is a guest post by Tom Schueneman,a finalist in the TckTckTck Rio Blogger Prize competition. If you would like to see this entrant as the official TckTckTck blogger at Rio+20 this June, please help spread the word by sharing this post on your social networks .

CleanTechnica
07/16/2011
Solar is Ready to Launch: A Peek Inside Intersolar North America

Clean Power I spent two days last week at the Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco, speaking with key people within the industry, from solar panel producers to developers of testing and control software for solar cell manufacturers, inverter makers, solar system designers, silver paste materials manufactures and more.