Hej, I'm here, really.

To those family and friends that would prefer to read about and see lots of fun pictures. i apologize for the lenghty and heady summaries of the articles I am reading. I was just trying to figure out how to best retain the information and figured blogging was abit more fun, than, typing word documents. I think I will have to archive or create two streams, perhaps even two blogs....i 'm not sure just now. It is late and there is so much more to document and yet I've left you all hanging on how I acually feel....um yes, I'm not just an information regurfitation machine, I'm actually living here and well.. on a level that is almost surreal....I continually think that I'm in Narnia and I know, as in Narnia a long cold winter will ensue, and until then I will enjoy the pleasantness of the enchanted forests and super clear night skies and pleasant bike rides. The house we share is Swiss Family Robinson style, except its not in a tree, but that would be cool too. We cook together, me Maria, and Lawrence, and share stories and keep track of the, I don't know, like 10 animals. Yes, it's a farm. And I pick fresh organic vegetables, and cruise over to the Eco-butik for natural foods.....and well...it's pretty blissful. I enjoy my 1940's bike, especially today as i discovered beauty in the slowness of its gait. And today, well, today as Dr. Karl Henrik Robert laid out the principles and his heart for us....I know that this is exactly what I'm meant to be doing right now and it feels really good. and .........12:46...good night.

Our SLTS Manifesto

Opening Thoughts of the SLTS Class of 2006-07
2006 August 29

I. Our Motivation

We are the Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability class of 2006-7. We choose to challenge ourselves at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden where dedicated pioneers of sustainability find inspiration and support amongst the tradition of this innovative and holistic Master’s program. We choose to form networks and exchange ideas and experience with a growing community of international students and professors. We welcome diversity of experience and cultural perspectives when exploring sustainability topics and leadership skills. We strive to learn sound sustainability principles based on systems thinking, and the successes and short comings of current sustainability initiatives. We wish to gain and strengthen our leadership skills, and tools for implementing sustainability practices personally, in our communities, businesses and government. We desire to introduce, improve and implement sustainability strategies in developing countries. We recognize social equity, economic prosperity and peaceful relations to be important components of sustainable processes. We hope to find personal fulfillment and sustainability success through right livelihood and a strengthened awareness and connection to the earth community.


II. The following questions lie at the heart of our work as sustainability leaders:

Tools

How can we creatively energize the sustainability movement?

How can you focus in a subject with endless direction?

How can a group of people with diverse backgrounds and personalities self-organize and work together to learn and create a practical and positive impact?

What are the practical tools and processes that we can gain from The Natural Step Principles that can be applied to bring about a paradigm shift and solve problems?

How do we measure progress towards sustainability?

Applications

We are inspired by the application of sustainable principles, technologies and frameworks. Specifically, we will explore these applications to further develop our abilities, skills and collective knowledge.

How do we integrate sustainability into the initial phases of planning and innovation?

How can we change our lifestyle to meet the requirements of a sustainable society?

How can we influence strategic planning in a non-sustainable society?

How do I begin implementing the process of change towards sustainability?

How can we implement new educational strategies for improving our environmental systems?

How do we incorporate the TNS framework within the media for better promotion of sustainability?

Community
Community is understood as the physical and virtual realm in which people lead their lives. Community is the level at which individuals can successfully effect change as they interact with one another, governments and other organizations.
- How can we bring people together to create a sustainable society?
- How can we create a community dialogue that fosters sustainability?
- How can cities be designed and managed sustainably taking land use, energy, waste, transportation and social needs into account?
- How can we promote simple and joyful living in the context of community for all humanity?

Business
Within a framework set by society and governments, businesses gather people, resources and capital to create wealth. Very often, businesses have pursued profits at the expense of all other goals and have thus led to unsustainable societies, even unintentionally.
- How does one implement cooperative business models to foster sustainable business initiatives?
- How can the triple bottom line approach become the economic standard for business?
- How can greenwashing be turned around to be true sustainable growth?

Government
Along with citizens, community groups, other members of “civil society” and private sector organizations, governments at all levels (national, regional and municipal), with their democratic mandate, are key actors in implementing sustainability, for example in establishing the right policy and fiscal frameworks for society’s stakeholders to act upon.
- How do we encourage governing bodies to support sustainability?
- What level of policy is needed or acceptable for shifting behavioural consciousness towards sustainability?
- How can government structures and functions be modified to implement sustainability?

Enhancing Leadership Capacity

How can I best lead people to sustainable practices (personal skills/tools)?

How to motivate others to join a movement for positive change?

How can I inspire others?

How to convince and engage people in sustainable pathways?

What are sustainability leaders?

How to be an effective and compassionate leader in my work place, family, and community?

How to convince decision makers?

How can a sustainability leader encourage proactivity?

How can we engage the masses to participate in the same dialogue we are having?

Personal Explorations

How can I participate on the route towards sustainable development?

How can I do my best, maintain personal integrity and work within a framework of sustainability in a way that includes and respects all parties involved?

How can I effect change?

What is my contribution?

How is sustainability affected by and/or affect self-awareness/self understanding?

How to keep a balance between personal hope and imposition of personal agenda within development and sustainability projects?

Provocative questions about Systems and Definitions

Is there a potential for changing the world globally?

In a western culture heavily rooted in consumerism, how can we avoid contradictions inherent in sustainability?

How to define sustainability or can there be a clear universal understanding of sustainability and how can this be achieved?

Can we live without oil?

How can we turn the sustainability term into reality (so it won’t be only a nice word on the board)?


III. Expectations

We expect from the faculty and ourselves to be challenged and supported in a respectful and rigorous learning community.

We expect to trust each other. We choose to embrace and support cultural and linguistic differences; we will not be afraid to confront each other. We will speak up when we are not heard. We expect to feel loved and accepted as a community, having mutual respect for individual backgrounds, aspirations and objectives; a community in which everyone is free to learn, to make mistakes and to evolve as individuals. We are committed to consensus decision making and group process. Through rigorous academics, we expect to receive a world-class and holistic intellectual challenge rich with creativity and innovation. We expect to take away tangible tools and knowledge of sustainability for effective use. We expect to learn how to practically implement the processes of sustainability; to be able to confidently share the tools necessary to encourage others and ourselves to implement The Natural Step Framework. We expect to be visionary and skilled leaders providing unlimited possibilities within the scope of sustainability. We expect to emerge prepared and invigorated with clear purpose within the sustainability field and able to apply all that we have learned in our home countries. Most of all, we expect to have a great group experience and to have fun!

If you can't see yourself in the picture, then by definition you have no lever to change the world.

Adam Kahane, founding partner for Generon Consulting

"My paradoxical conclusion is that to change the world you both have to be committed to changing it and be able to listen to how it wants to change." ...."The first thing to do is to commit yourself to changing the world. The key to tapping into your own best energy and creativity of those around you, is to commit yourself to serving a larger purpose.

Adam allows people to create scenarios of future visions. As they play out the visions, they come to see which is the vision that should move forward.

1. You must be able to see the world through the eyes of your competitiors, clients, community, and all the players.
2. You must be able to see yourself in the mirrot and your role and influence.
3. Then you must see where looking at the world and looking at yourself are the same.

Goethe said," Man knows himslef only to the extent that he knows thw world; he becomes aware of himself only within the world, and aware of the world only within himself. Every object, well comtemplated, opens up a new organ within us.

a story paraphrased: There was a rabbi who wanted to change the world. He wasn't making much progress so he tried to change his country, and in failing, he tried to change his town, and in failing, his family, and in failing again he tired to change himself. Then an interesting thing happend. When he changed himself, is family changed, and then his town, and then his country, and when his country changed, he changed the world...

"The Systems Thinker: Dialogic Leadership" ......for competitve advantage and organizational effectiveness

Often, as was the case with the merger between Monsanto and American Home Products, personal differences, or power struggles will cause a business deal to dissolve. These power struggles and discussions fail by bringing forth arguments, where people defend their points of view and try to convince the others that one idea is right. Conversely Dialogic conversations bring forth collective wisdom where people "think together." They explore the questions and uncertainties that not one person has answers to. In any conversation a balance of four-players allows an idea to succeed. This is why dialogic leadership is essential to problem solving and seeing ideas into fruition. The term 'dialogue' in its essence is "an inquiry that surfaces ideas, perceptions, and understanding that people do not already have."

Dialogic conversations have four balancing players made up of one or more people.
Some people (1) inspire and move an idea forward, others (2) follow and support the idea, (3) others oppose, and question the validity of the idea, and others (4) bystand and provide perspective. These are the Movers, the Followers, the Opposers, and the Bystanders. Some people will naturally feel more comfortable in one role, than another, and others will see where there is unbalance and fill in the necessary actions. It is also necessary for people to keep each other in check that one is not stuck in one position. If only the Movers and Opposers are actively participating, the Followers and the Bystanders will become disabled. The positions of Movers and Opposers are that of Advocacy, while that of Bystander and Follower in that of Inquiry.

A father came to Gandhi and said...you must get my child to stop eating sugar. Gandhi replied, come back in three days. In three days, the father came back with the boy. Gandhi said, "boy you must stop eating sugar" The father was confused and said, why did you make us come back? Gandhi replied, "First, I had to stop eating suger."

A good dialogic leader will be able to facilitate all roles happening and keep balance where balance is due. This person also leads in everyday life this example. By expressing one's true voice, being courageous and encourageing others to do the same. A dialogic leader will also encourage listening as well as voicing one's opinion, respecting as well as opposing, following, and suspending your certainties to make room for other's views.
A dialogic leader will:
1. evoke people's genuine voices
2. listen deeply
3. hold space for and respect other's views as legitimate
4. broaden awareness and perspective

As the leader exhibits these actions and encourages others to do the same, this balance found allows for creative ideas to flourish when we listen together.

Without Movers there is no direction...Without Followers there is no completion....Without Opposers there is no correction...Without Bystanders there is no perspective.

Summary of "Developing Cultural Empathy" by Engholm & Rowland

International business and a move towards consumer culture has caused a trend called "retrenchment" where diverse cultural identity is cherished and valued more than ever. American influence in particular is not only frowned upon, but often prohibited. Any sign of American culture in other countries is more a pop culture phenomenon, than a real move towards American values. The Philippines insisted on America removing their military bases from the country despite financial penalties. Jack Weatherford, author of "Savages and Civilization" has found the the preservation of cultural identity is strengthened in respect to increasing technological advance.

For these reasons, if we are to work cooperatively with developing countries to form sustainable business partnerships, cultural sensitivity is of the most crucial importance. This also holds true for regions within developed countries like the deep south or New England. Ethnocentricism proves detrimental in the international business arena and the goal today "is to live in harmony without uniformity" says Weatherford. It is also necessary to remain peacefully diverse in areas such as religion and ethnicity. An example of a business failure due to a different precedant in business practices was the failure of a 130 million dollar business venture between American Corning cermics and Mexican Vitro glassware. The Americans saw the Mexicans as lazy, unmotivated and slow, when really they preferred to focus on relationships, personal loyalties, and tradition, like afternoon breaks. And the Mexicans saw the Americans as cutthroat and ruthless, laying blame and working through lunch, when the Americans were simply dedicated. Thus it is important to develop cultural sensitivity in ourselves and in our team members, not to see behaviors as stereotypes, and not to believe your business ways are intrinsically the "right way" or superior. View others behaviors in terms of cultural relativism, based on the cultural norms and values, not as absolute behaviors. Understand that what another shows is only half the story.

1. You must first get to know yourself, what cultural norms you practice and how they may be perceived in the context of another culture.

2. Foster humility, respect and learn to hold your tongue when your opinion is not asked for or may not be well received. Not all cultures respect you "speaking your mind."

3. Show respect for other's values and resist ethnocentricsim.

4. Go with the flow. Understand that contradiction may be relevant, as is silence and ambiguity.

5. Observe without judging. If a behavior seems odd, recognize that is may have cultural integrity, and is not rude or inappropriate.

6. Also take into account personal differences, like someone coming from a farm or city, class differences, and regional differences. Just because you are in Spain, does not mean everyone speaks Spanish. There are 4 official languages. Get to know the goals and values, as well as the educational system.

7. Get to know the topography, geography, history, national pastimes and cultural identifiers, like futbol. Understand that each culture has a story, hardships, successes, sensitive areas, etc. Religious differences, national holidays, bargaining styles, minority groups, and poltical theories.

Hire a cultural expert for a day's training for you and your team. It could make or break the deal and will ensure respectful relations

Hej!

In Karlskrona...the beautiful little house, my bike, town, and the sea....

Climbing at Grouse Slab

Hot Buttered Rum at the River Ranch

Good ol' bluegrass with reggae and funk vibes. These guys are amazing musicans. Awesome show.

One Last Time: Big Chief Climbing

View along 89 south and Squaw Valley

From the top of Warpath

Tacking...at Boca Resevoir in a 1989 Hobie Cat

Friday night Greg took us sailing. The sun was setting and we had the resevoir to ourselves. Pretty blissful.



Boca Resevoir is fed by the Little Truckee and supplies Reno with its water.
Boca used to house an ice manufacturing plant and is now home to a dam that is strangely closed due to terrorist scares.











Captain Greg wants to live on a sailboat. I think this is a fabulous idea.

The best way to predict the future is to create it

Although I am often in the present and thouroughly enjoying the pleasntness of our seemingly peaceful lives, I often feel disguted that we may enjoy ourselves at the expense of a thousand other nations and millions of other people. My culture's destructive. And this disregard for responsible consumption and production is somehow a legitmized normalcy of consumer behavior. This is really sickening and to drive the stake in the ground, really normal. I am not blaming the masses for NOT knowing how food, clothing and goods are produced and transported, knowing the child labor used in the garment industry and massive water use, the erosion and desertified soil created by our agriculture, the fossil fuel "wars" that have begun our natural resource hoarding games.....only just scratching the service, with our meat industry, our outsourced labor force, our unsustainable single family home and car addictions.....but I believe the education is lacking. We are presented with big ideas and techonlogies everyday and the within this rapid stimuli environment, most are unable to sort out the facts from the biases and the truths from the lies. And I don't blame them, but it is time to slow down and understand how the pieces of this live fort together. Where are the connections and the disconnect? What is the consequence? There is always a consequence. We are not seperate from our actions. In my understanding of everyday life, a past precedes the present and a future is created by the past and present. Our destructive culture of consumption runs so deep and at times I feel suffocated by the overwhelming complacentcy of accepting this 'dominion over.' But I will not let it all weigh me down, the disease, the corporate greed. The knowledge of what is in the world today must not be dibilitating. It must be motivating. Because the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Greg Brown Show at Hawkins Amphitheater

Me, Liz, and Linsey...Linsey's in South America, LIz is moving to Costa Rica. And I'm guilty as charged, but it is abit difficult here in Tahoe as the place is so transient. The beautiful people that come into your life often move away...I guess it just means there's a lot of living to do out there.

My beautiful housemates

Monique and Jolene

In Loving Memory of Lovely Lua

I will always remember your bliss and love for life, your fairy ways in the kitchen and your generous spirit. I love you honey and you will be so missed. I'll play DJ Loren Laughter Crescendo right now for you.

Tour de Fat ...raising money for the Land Trust

Taking over the roundabout...It's a little too fun stopping trafficMy Enduro Pro may have suffered a bit of an identity crisis for this event. Covered in faux fur (having Burning Man withdrawal), she was sitting pretty for the parade. Of course, like most Tahoe events...the grog was flowing, but New Belgium Brewing Company is worth supporting. They are employee owned, spend the summer touring the country with a vaudeville show raising money for local orgs.... and they brew the beer entirely on wind power.This dude bumped tunes like "Stayin Alive" and "I Want to Ride my Bicycle" during the parade. Liz and Kyle in the backdrop. We stayed close by to this 70's show and got our groove on. So next time, you see a Fat Tire, Blue Paddle, 1554...Skinny Dip...support the renewable energy generating brew h'a ha. This event felt surreal...it was a fantasy come true.....Bikes taking over the streets... I got a little excited and was yelling "Bikes not Bombs" to the spectators on the sidelines....couldn't help myself. A more subdued comment may have been "Share the Road". Oh well, the event was too cool for holding thy tongue. CM diehards: Kathlee, Yardley and MeThe BoysShannon and Morgan riding the super fun two seater banana boat with rudder style steeringThe Shoe Bike...great for not going anywhere fast