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We threw the dice and we won the jackpot and elected a black guy with a Harvard degree, the middle name Hussein and a sense of humor he said, “I’ve got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I’ve got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher.” The French junior minister for human rights said, “On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes.” When was the last time you heard someone from France say they wanted to be American and take a bite of something of ours? Ponder that for a moment.

The world expects us to elect pompous yahoos, and instead we have us a 47-year-old prince from the prairie who cheerfully ran the race, and when his opponents threw sand at him, he just smiled back. He’ll be the first president in history to look really good making a jump shot. He loves his classy wife and his sweet little daughters. At the same time, he knows pop music, American lit and constitutional law. I just can’t imagine anybody cooler.

It feels good to be cool, and all of us can share in that, even sour old right-wingers and embittered blottoheads. Next time you fly to Heathrow and hand your passport to the man with the badge, he’s going to see ” United States of America ” and look up and grin. Even if you worship in the church of Fox , everyone you meet overseas is going to ask you about Obama, and you may as well say you voted for him because, my friends, he is your line of credit over there. No need anymore to try to look Canadian.

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Inside Cisco's Sustainable Packaging Project

This slideshow from Cisco Systems outlines some of the steps the company has taken to save $24 million per year as part of its sustainable packaging pilot.

How Cisco's Packaging Diet Saves $24 Million a Year

The technology giant has implemented three best practices as part of a sustainability pilot project that are netting huge savings in materials and transportation costs as well as waste management.

New Enviance Software Starts Counting GHGs in 60 Days or Less

Carbon management software firm Enviance unveiled a new product Tuesday to help companies comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas reporting rules.

Bovis Lend Lease Teams with 1e to Cut Energy Use by 90,000 kWh

The construction and project management firm has installed 1e's PC power management suite on 3,000 computers in Europe, allowing the firm to make quick progress on its corporate-wide energy efficiency goal.

Greening the Workhorses of American Fleets

Medium-duty trucks, a mainstay for American fleets, produce more than 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Environmental Defense Fund and PHH Arval are now offering fleet managers a framework for reducing emissions from the vehicles.

eBay Sells 'Green' Used Goods with Rainforest Reward

eBay made a big push Monday to get consumers to commit to using products over new ones with the launch of a new green shopping website. The company will reward the first 250,000 people who make the reuse pledge with a donation toward the protection of an acre of rainforest.

'Outsourcing' Emissions Hides Countries' True Carbon Footprints

Around a third of industrialized countries carbon emissions are exported to developing nations.

Eco-Dentists Aim to Clean and Green

With 500 members in 42 states and 11 countries, the Eco-Dentistry Association has launched a certification program for green dental practices and named its two inaugural recipients.

Walmart, Tesco Vendors Get Supply Chain Help from Five Winds

Five Winds International has created a new website to help companies meet supplier sustainability requirements being imposed by retailers.
 

Three Simple Checkpoints on the Road to a Clean Energy Future

In the midst of a gold rush of clean technologies, some observers believe we're still years from making a dent in the national carbon footprint. But these three shovel-ready technologies show a low-carbon future is already within sight.

Greenhouse Gas Management for Medium-Duty Truck Fleets

This white paper from Environmental Defense Fund and fleet management company PHH Arval lays out strategies for reducing emissions from medium-duty trucks, which are responsible for more than 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Businesses Want Clarity in Face of Climate-Law Uncertainty

With the chorus of business leaders calling for comprehensive climate rules appearing to grow louder, the face of potential legislation continues to shift as Congressional leaders work to build bipartisan support.

Solar Systems for Cheap from Sungevity, TXU Energy

Two solar power system providers are expanding the availability of solar leases with no down payments.
 

What Your Employees Know About Green Innovation That You Don't

Engagement is the mot du jour today. It's being pitched as a new religion, buoyed by the social media wave; however, behind all the hype is a remarkably simple concept: If you need help, ask.
 

Peerless Coffee Brews More Efficient Waste Management

The Oakland-based company has spent the last 10 years finding ways to recycle its waste, use less packaging and testing reusable delivery crates.
 

The Truth About Millennials

We hear it all the time: “It’s the young people we need to target!  They’ll buy anything green.” In fact, they do a lot of talking, but are only just starting to buy green products and change their behaviors

The Unintended Consequences of Corporate Transparency

The final installment of our three-part series on transparency explores how organizations must walk the line between an unhealthy and unsustainable obsessions with quarterly earnings results and an unmanageable expectation of 'accountability to everyone.'

ExxonMobil Takes Third Place in Big Oil Sustainability Rankings

The latest industry rankings from Tomorrow's Value Rating looks at fossil fuel firms and finds that, despite solid leadership in innovation, the 10 largest companies are failing to take action on a number of environmental issues.

Toxie Awards Name Worst Chemicals of the Year

A coalition of environmental and advocacy groups staged a red carpet event this week to spotlight a slew of what they call "bad actors" -- pervasive toxic chemicals that consistently behave poorly. BPA, lead and mercury were among the honorees.

The Toxie Awards' Bad Actor Chemicals

This report highlights 16 bad actor chemicals in widespread use in California. What they have in common is that they affect the health of those exposed to them -- whether the exposures take place in manufacturing settings, in the home, or in the general environment -- and that there are safer alternatives to all these chemicals.

Networking the Green Economy

This report outlines the ways that broadband technologies and smart grids can create jobs, save individuals and businesses money, and cut the national carbon footprint.

Green Jobs, Green Technology in the Spotlight in New Report

In the run-up to the release of the federal government's national broadband plan, a coalition of groups are detailing the ways that green technologies can grow the economy while cutting the country's carbon footprint.

Don't Sweat the Trickle of Stimulus Funds

Recovery Act funding hasn't been squandered, it just hasn't been spent yet. While it's understandable to be disappointed about how long it's taken to get things in gear, there's no reason to overreact and attack the program now that most of the growing pains are behind us.

Tesco, Nestle Among UK Firms Planning Big Packaging Cuts

The second phase of a program for reducing the impact of packaging in the U.K. hopes to lower packaging-related carbon by 10 percent by 2012.
 

Record Number of Shareholder Actions Target Climate Change

Investors filed 95 shareholder resolutions during the 2009 proxy season -- a 40 percent increase over 2008 -- seeking more information about how companies are measuring and managing their carbon footprints, preparing for risks, and moving to take advantage of potential opportunities.

Why Employees Should Be Part of Any Green Solution

Training, educating and bringing employees on board with green projects is an end in and of itself, both for increasing workplace satisfaction and spreading a mentality of conservation at work as well as at home.

Volunteering Brings Together Social and Business Profits

More than three million U.S. citizens are expected to descend on local parks and schools with brooms, shovels and garbage bags over the next three months as part of the Great American Cleanup, an initaitve of Keep America Beautiful (KAB). Allowing workers to participate in volunteer activities helps to cultivate skills prized by many companies, such as ability to work as part of a team and self-direction, according to KAB's president.

Your Taco's Footprint: 19 Ingredients that Logged 64,000 Miles

A new project from a California college aims to map how far the various ingredients in your taco-truck lunch have traveled to reach your plate.

Burgerville's New Corn-Based Cups Complete Green Packaging Project

By now using cups and lids that are compostable, fast food chain Burgerville has switched all possible packaging to compostable versions.
 

Even Houston, the 'Petro Metro,' Loves Electric Cars

Why on earth would Houston, the city of "drill-baby-drill", the fossil-fuel capital of America, the city whose NFL franchise used to be called the Oilers, embrace the electric car? For good reason, it turns out.

Four Steps to Prepare for the Low-Plastic Future

The FDA's reversal of its decision on BPA is one more sign that the way we use plastics today may be on the verge of a significant shift. As more studies implicate plastics in a range health problems, the FDA has vowed to be more responsive to health concerns about plastic.

A Tall Order: Serious Materials to Retrofit Empire State Building's Windows

Green building materials manufacturer Serious Materials will retrofit all 6,514 windows in the Empire State Building to quadruple their energy efficiency -- but without discarding the 26,000 panes of existing glass.
 

Recycling: from E-Waste to Resources

This report from the U.N. Environment Programme looks at the growth of e-waste generated by and sent to developing nations, and suggests ways to reduce the health and environmental impacts from discarded electronics.

Mapping the Waste from Pizza and Sandwiches

Groups in the U.K. are examining the food and packaging waste created by the supply chains for pizza, sandwiches, quiche and frozen meals.
 

Obama's Nuclear Madness and the Future of 'Clean' Energy

In early February, President Obama did something that his predecessor George W. Bush was unable to do: He pushed the restart button on the U.S. nuclear power industry

HP, Intel, General Mills Top List of Best Corporate Citizens

The 11th annual list of the top 100 corporations released by Corporate Responsibility Magazine puts those three firms in the top slots; Bristol-Myers Squibb, which topped last year's list, falls to seventh in the 2010 rankings.

Finding the Greenest Companies in Silicon Valley

Tech companies, in California and across the world, are among the highest-ranking firms in a new sustainability assessment. But while some of these companies are strong on initiatives, the industry lacks systematic, holistic approaches to greening.

Eateries Move to Address Mountains of Food and Water Waste

British restaurants have come together to establish an association aimed at improving their reputation for poor environmental performance.

Companies Cutting Carbon Despite Lack of Laws

The desire to be environmentally friendly and the promise of saving money through improved efficiency were cited in a recent survey as the most significant drivers for companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Star Honors Scores of Firms for Efficiency

Whirlpool, Ford, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle, Sears Holdings, Lowe's, Kohl's and Servidyne are among the many companies recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Program this year for making strides in energy efficiency.

The Running Shoe Leading the Race to Sustainability

Seeing more athletic companies pick up the pace on sustainability is a welcome trend. One business at the front of the pack is Brooks, whose modest marketing approach has left its efforts less known than peers.

How Colorado Takes the Green Economy to a Higher Altitude

Is the political malaise about climate change getting you down? Take a trip to Colorado, a clean energy hotbed that is creating thousands of new green jobs despite the climate cold war in Washington.

Why Are Biotech Crops Growing Like Weeds?

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Marks & Spencer Vows to Win Green Retail Arms Race

The company released enhanced Plan A pledges today, promising to become the world's most sustainable retailer by 2015.

The Secret to Moving Beyond Your CSR Report

Your sustainability report is critical. It is not worth sharing just for sharing's sake -- and it's essential to understand the difference between transparency and "tell all."

Is a Bloom Box a Good Investment for Your Company?

The new Bloom Energy Server was touted far and wide last week as a game-changing fuel-cell device. We talked to some of the first owners of 'Bloom Boxes' to find out why they made the $700,000 purchase -- and whether it's right for your firm.

Cradle to Cradle Certifications Top 300

McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) certified more than 100 products to its Cradle to Cradle (C2C) standards last year, bringing the total number of C2C products to more than 300.

Should Port-au-Prince be Recycled?

With much of Haiti's capital razed to the ground from the devastating January earthquake, construction firms are looking at the city as a test site for construction recycling technologies.

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Anyway, I feel lucky to have grown up in the mid-west with my parents at in their mid-point of life. I had a lot of opportunities to spend quality time with Dad, sailing on Willy Wispe, hanging out at the Detroit Boat Club, and traveling on vacations all around the country and world.

But, there was something special about cruising on the sailboat. I think it was because Dad was at such peace when he was on the water. I’ll never forget summers cruising in the Georgian Bay and North Channel in Canada, where we would go for days without seeing another boat, anchoring at uninhabited islands, and filling the water tanks right from the lake (you can’t do THAT in salt water!)

The longest time Dad and I spent together was taking the boat from Michigan to Maryland after he retired, a trip which took an entire summer between high school and college. It was such an amazing journey. From Dad, I learned the joy of timelessness, where each day blended into the next. It was an adventure- we never knew what to expect. I remember circling around a buoy in the fog in the Thousand Islands for an hour. We didn’t know exactly where we wanted to go because Dad refused to spend money on charts for a place we’d only be once in our life. So we used a Texaco ROAD map as our guide, which didn’t clue us in as to where the shoals were or the location of the next buoy. But sailing the Thousand Islands with a road map made the trip that much more fun.

A really important lesson I’ve learned from Dad is that you can keep growing and enjoying life. He LOVED his retirement. It was so smart for him, especially now as I look back, to retire in his fifties. He got more than 10 wonderful years with mom traveling to cool places, visiting family and friends, and hanging out in their new home in St. Michaels.

But then events surprised us all. The family script, as I remember it, was that mom was supposed to live into her 90s, and dad to die earlier. Historically, men in the Foster family were not long-lived. But mom died in 1991 at the age of 69, and I have always been thankful Dad didn’t wait to retire until he was 65.

Mom’s death was devastating to us all. But Dad KEPT his sense of adventure and desire to learn new things. He continued his travels and adventures THEY had once BOTH enjoyed. I was lucky to go to the Galapagos with him on his first big trip after Mom died. Dad’s nature was to remain receptive to what life had to offer. (pause)

And then, the best “tip” he got from his financial advisor, Judy Werbitt, was Diane Keane’s phone number. In Diane, dad found a fellow widower with a zest for life who wanted to share the adventure. I saw their relationship grow in love and admiration over the years, and I want to thank Diane for bringing so much happiness to my father the last years of his life. I saw him grow and change at an age when many people are bent on remaining the same.

THAT is one of the GREAT GIFTS he has given us…. The lesson that life is to be lived to its fullest. No matter what your age, growing older doesn’t mean you stop growing.

I’m the baby of the family, but even I am quickly approaching the mid point of my life, and my siblings, I hesitate to say, crossed that mark a little while ago. But if we have learned anything from Dad, it’s to enjoy life to the end.

DAD…. WENT…. QUICKLY, which in many ways, as hard as it is for us, was a blessing for him. I believe he’s now in a place that’s like sailing in the St. Lawrence on a foggy day. And if I know Dad, he’ll circle that buoy for a while, but it won’t be too long before he changes course and goes where the current takes him.

Good bye dad, I love you.

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But when I return to my little world
To make the preparations
I forget the reality of that intense love
When I acquiesced.
Eventually, I return to the sanctuary
Calculated to miss the promised time
Having forgotten about the ceremony
And the Beloved must start over again.

My preference is to arrange
A fling with the Divine
I have secretly married my little world,
Vainly believing I have foiled the Supreme
I arrange discreet encounters
When I have a moment to spare

I convince myself it’s not my fault
That our relationship is not fulfilling
Because the Beloved
Hasn’t succumbed to the dictates
Of my terms.

I have lost count of the promises I have made,
When in the midst of your embrace.
Yet, in a blink of an eye
I have already forgotten

I pray that some day I will realize
That the separation between
The Divine and my little world
Is merely my own illusion
And unbounded love and joy
Are mine for the taking
When I walk down that aisle
And say, “I do”.

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Throwing Rocks through windows
Using my own head to ring
Great bells

Pulling out my hair
Tearing off my clothes
Tying everything I own
To a stick
And setting it on
Fire

What else can Hafiz do tonight
To celebrate the madness
The joy

Of seeing God
Everywhere

– HAFIZ –

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It’s not just a contract

It is the result of my desire

to give you an unconditional love

For me this is a big step

To stop hedging my bets

Keeping my options open

Love is not something to do half-way

To contain

It is the ocean with boundless depths

It is reality

So let’s jump in together

Into it’s warm embrace

So sign on the dotted line

And we shall win and lose everything

together

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