Sunday, September 16, 2007

Speaking sustainability, day 1

OK, Stanford University is big, and blogfish is small, but Stanford wants to blog Business Strategies for Environmental Sustainability, and blogfish is here, so let's work together. Who needs whom?

This Stanford connection is interesting. Riding in the limo to Sea-Tac airport today, a newly-met neighbor and I share an interest in Stanford's programs that reach beyond the University and offer solutions to real world problems.

First, off the bat, blogfish wonders who else in the crowd wants to blog the program? Several people say yes, but there are surprising concerns. Does blogging the program exert a chilling influence on dialogue? This is not good, what shall we do? I guess the only answer is that everyone has the rights to their own experience, but that doesn't extend into revealing anyone else's private information.

Is there a blogging ethics for such situations? I must study and find the Truth of Such Things.

We have study groups for the program, and my group spent a couple of hours talking about what is sustainability and other such. Good start to the week.

I offered my blogfish view, sustainability is a state of mind, and we sustainability advocates are seeking an increased "mind share" for concepts like sustainability. But, alas, there are problems with focusing too heavily on broad, general principles and it is important to develop some standards for judging sustainability. But what are the principles for? I think they're to "hook" people on sustainability and bring them along to higher and higher performance.

What is sustainability? Any answers from out there? You can post comments, or if you're terminally private you can email me personally and I'll promise to bring the answer live and in person to the grand workshop in the Sierras.

Oh, did I tell you already that the Stanford conference center is beyond magnificent? If there were ever a grander place to ponder great questions, who cares because this one is grand enough.

Now I must go because the yoga session begins tomorrow morning at 7 and who could bear to miss that?

2 comments:

Hodad said...

"sustainability is a state of mind, and we sustainability advocates are seeking an increased "mind share" for concepts like sustainability"

well spoken, and oh how true

yes futurists still have some hope for mankind, it's all about the heart chakra maybe?

Mark Powell said...

heart is a good place to come from when one wants to conserve, i agree