Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Here is another example of how we limit our creativity. In the hierarchy of education of maths and language at the top, humanities next and the arts last the skill that we need the most for the current age is creativity. We usually educate it out of kids and move whole body education up to the left side of the brain.

300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds

I first saw this informative clip on Patrick Jones' blog http://permapoesis.blogspot.com/
Filtering the volume of information we have at our finger tips can be overwhelming. This clip is one of the simplest potted history I have seen and is a great introduction to the new book by Richard Heinberg and William E Rees, Thinking Resilience, Ch.3, The Post Carbon Reader, Edited by Richard Heinberg and Daniel Lerch, 2010

Changing Behaviour Is As Important As Changing Technology

Compared to what is put into technological research behavior change is a neglected area of climate change education. Yet unless we can do something different things wont change. I think this is a brilliant article on how to get more savvy with behaviour change. Using behavioral science to make smarter energy policy | Energy Bulletin

Here is a small excerpt from the article:

"How much does it cost for a given climate solution to eliminate (abate) a metric ton of CO2 emissions? With plug-in hybrid vehicles, that ton costs around $12. With wind power, it's $20. With carbon capture and storage at coal-fired power plants, it's $44.

How much does that same ton of CO2 abatement cost using these behavioral programs? -$165. No, that's not a typo. It's a negative sign. As in: $165 worth of profit per ton of carbon pollution reduced. If similar programs were expanded nationwide, Allcott and Mullainathan estimate a net value -- savings minus costs -- of $2,220,000,000 a year. Of course much research and testing remains to be done before it's clear whether these programs perform equally well at scale, but as a first approximation, that's not too shabby."

metro regrets.... as sung by men in suits

Coming Home Workshop December 3 Melbourne

I had the privilege of doing Ian McBurney’s ‘Coming Home’ workshop earlier this year which is a meaningful, fun and inspiring professional development experience that explores ecological sustainability from a really unique approach. The workshop content is up to date and relevant AND his facilitation is really brilliant. As a professional facilitator I cannot help but admire work that is well constructed. He covers how we learn and why we change, why conversations beat solar panels, what we can learn from nature and how to win in a green economy. The workshop has been in development for over ten years and is delivered with Ian's trademark humor, passion and clarity. It is a fast paced and inspiring look at the fast growing green economy and the largest people movement in human history.

Working in the sustainability field professionally I have attended lots of these kind of workshop this was really worthwhile and lived up to its promise. The workshop is for professionals who want to engage in a more meaningful approach to sustainability rather than only a techno fix. ‘Coming Home’ is on at the Abbotsford Convent on Friday December 3 from 9am to 4pm. The cost is graduated to enable individuals as well as community and corporate participants to attend.

The details are on http://www.liveecological.com.au/ where you can download a brochure or register.

Please contact me if you would like to know more about the workshop. All the best!

The Golden Rule

Leadership Change Comes from the Heart

I am really getting into Otto Scharmer's work after working with the wonderful Dale Hunter in a Facilitation Master Class in August:

"The key leadership challenge of our time is to shift the inner place from which we operate. As individuals, as teams, as institutions, and as societies we all face the same issue: that doing 'more of the same' won't fix flawed and failed systems. We have to leave behind our old tools and behaviors, and immerse ourselves in the places of most potential. We have to listen with our minds and hearts wide open, and then connect with our deep sources of knowing and self. It's only when we pass through this eye of the needle-letting go of the old and letting come the emerging self-that we can begin to step into our real power: the power to collectively sense and create the world anew. Theory U describes a social grammar and practical methods for such a transformative leadership journey."

-- Otto Scharmer's take on the essence of leadership today - from his blog
(http://www.blog.ottoscharmer.com/?p=169)