May 2011
Sustainable Community Development
Steve Dubb from the Democracy Collaborative interviews Jon Emmeus David, co-founder of Burlington Associates in Community Development and Dean of the National Community Land Trust Academy.
Slow Money NYC held its first Entrepreneur Showcase presenting panels featuring sustainable agriculture enterprises and sustainable investment vehicles to spark conversations and connections amongst sustainable food and farming entrepreneurs, investors, intermediaries, food activists and interested parties.
The microfinance industry has been rocked with a series of scandals, and it appears to be unraveling despite many lenders’ noble aims. Grammen bank’s challenges and accomplishments introducing microfinance in New York City are documented in the film To Catch a Dollar. Also on the positive side, the Sam Adams Brewing Company and Accion USA have announced a new partnership to bring microfinancing to food and beverage entrepreneurs in New England.
Community banks are doing surprisingly well in the post-crash market, bankers said, thanks to their personal, small-town style of service and a common-sense approach to balancing their books.
Environment
The media landscape is dotted by climate believers and deniers, but why are those who do much of the speaking about climate science so rarely climate scientists? That’s the question raised by a handful of Australian scientists in this hilarious video from the Australia Broadcasting Corp. show Hungry Beast.
The French public says no to ‘Le Fracking’. Opposition around Paris and southern France has halted the plans of energy titans such as Total. France’s lower house approved a bill to ban fracking on May 12th.
Advocates for the Earth are dusting off old legal concepts and developing new ones to bring the fight to save the environment to the courts. CSRwire writer Francesca Rheannon describes efforts to create an earth-friendly jurisprudence.
A report commissioned by the Vatican’s Scientific Panel, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, doesn’t mince words: it urges the world to act quickly and strongly to address climate change.
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