NGOs, ORGs, and Centers of Learning

"Globalization has no future unless it is designed to be inclusive ecologically, sustainable, and respectful of human rights and values" -Fritjof Capra

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs, def- not specific to any central government) are the most important contributors to the funding and accessibility of resources on the topic of sustainablity and projects therein. Also equally important, but not as universal are institutions of research and learning.

The New York Public Library

Though central to any democratic institution, these centers are the only viable means of communities to acquire the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. Also in line are the companies themselves that are developing, implementing, and relying on the sustainable path in their industrial prerogatives. They are responsible for offering the public goods and services that are both ecological and socially sustainable, but also examples of how the future of our "green" initiatives might turn out.

I owe the following collection to the material in my sources, as well as to their presence in my community. You may be surprised to find out that even though cars are hazardous to the health of our planet, there are some makers following (or trying to) the sustainable path. Here they are:

NGOs (not in order):
• Herman Miller DFE Team (see their protocol)

• MBDC

• World Federation for Engineering Org.

• World Bank

• Worldwatch Inst.

• Rocky Mountain Inst.

• International Forum on Globalization

• Global Trade Watch

• Foundation on Economic Trends

• Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives in Japan, Africa, and Latin America

• Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology in India

• Council of Canadians, in Canada (...)

• Focus on Global South in Thailand and the Phillipines

• Third World Network in Malaysia

• WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development): started in 1991, this NGO is focused on a positive contribution to the well-being of society and is an active leader in sustainable development (ergo its name) --- From its pamphlet "Cross-Cutting Themes," SOURCE 11, "Yet, helping to build a free and equitable international market that is not distorted by subsidies, or non-tariff barriers should be high on the agenda of any business, NGO, or government that cares about alleviating poverty." --- Also, its representative Björn Stigson, in his speech "A Road to Sustainable Industry: How to Promote Resource Efficiency in Companies," 2001 (SOURCE 8): "An interest in better understanding the future challenges they [industry projects] will be facing, the need to create more stable platforms for future long-term investments and efficiency, and the need to strengthen their business license to operate."

"Governments soon responded to these forceful expressions of public opinion" -Mark Hertsgaard (SOURCE 3)

Institutions of Research and Learning (also not in order):
• Institute for Food and Development Policy
• Land Institute and the Center for Ecoliteracy
• Schumacher College, UK
• Upsalla University, Sweden
• Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy, Germany (the city Freiburg in Germany is unique in that there are no cars: everyone uses public transportation or walks everywhere ("note to self"))
• Your local library, or school, or environmental legislator, etc...

"The clustering of these productive systems inexpensively generates revenue streams in addition to the original" -Fritjof Capra

Companies and businesses on the sustainable path:
• 

  Connecting to the Internet and doing a search for environmentally conscious businesses and companies is your best personal bet. It is the way technology presents us with a paradox: most technologies are not sustainable,but offer the only large-scale sources of information.

• Ford Motor Co.
• Fiat, Italy
• Daimler-Chrysler
• Canon, Japan
  • 
  • GO HERE TO VIEW CANON'S "ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER"
• Toyota, Japan
  • Toyota Motor Co. is another leader in supporting business initiatives that consider the environment. Their newly redesigned and engineered Prius should be on the market this fall
  • GO HERE TO VIEW TOYOTA'S 2003 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
• Interface, Atlanta
• General Motors (GM)
• Nike (... ... they have sustainable feedstock suppliers according to SOURCE 4 ... ...)

Throughout history, these NGOs, institutions, and companies have come a long way. It brings to attention the course of events that have led the world, and these associations, to hunt down the right path for our future. Many of them have become what they are because of some of the following events (from SOURCE 2) from the early 1980's to now.

They are:

THEN: local or plant-level scale developments in community; end-of-pipe "treatment" (i.e., point source contamination) was a preferred method.

THEN: toxic pollutants and global climate changes guided increasing concern for issues and scale of immediate "bioaccumulation" (the phrase was coined then, c.).

THEN: models were aimed at "acceptable discharge."

THEN: no "realistic" prevention processes, and the development of institutions of knowledge started providing materials on pollutants and ecological concerns.

NOW: green chemistry and engineering

NOW: pollution prevention

NOW: "products, processes, and systems" (12 Principles... BACK 2 PAGES) management is implemented, companies are growing PROACTIVE in their resource managment efforts

NOW: expectations of engineers to consdier Life Cycle Assessment(s) of "products, processes, and systems."

NOW: there is a hope for renewable energy resources (i.e., photovoltaics, passive solar design, wind turbines, etc.)

"'The elders said that one day a giant snake would appear in the jungle, flash its tail, and cut our village in two,' he recalled. 'This snake would have ten thousand legs'...For had not the ribbon of asphalt come flashing out of the jungle in a burst of noise and dust and cut the village in two? And the travellers and vehicles that began appearing on the road, were they not the ten thousand legs of the snake?...Such incongruencies were perhaps to be expected in a culture that was fast forwarding from traditional isolation to high-tech overdrive" (Hertsgaard, SOURCE 3, p. 83).

The time is now. The situation is finally at hand. If we do not soon start developing practices and principles key to the goal(s) of sustainability, what else will we (be forced to) do? What other choice do we have? As an informed community, I think that we owe it not only to our following generations, but also to ourselves to start small and work our way to the top. We should become literate in the pertinent subjects of the environment, green engineering (in practice), ecology, population, and many others. IN the coming age of new technologies in biology, industry, and information, there is a lot to be expcted. In a few words: "THIS IS NECESSARY" (to quote "Disgustipation," by TOOL, on the album Ænima, 1997)