Under water magic, for a limited time only

This her TED talk, Edith Widder reveals a bio-luminescent rich under water world. A place where self-produced light is essential to survival and 90% of animals make blue light, the farthest reaching, and therefore most popular wavelength of light. There is so much we have not yet discovered, and yet they can all be gone in one lifetime.



I enjoy visits to the underwater world tremendously. Every vacation's top priority has been snorkeling and diving. The under water creatures puts on such an incredible display of colour and dance in their symphony of life. My heart breaks for BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill that is mass murdering these beautiful creatures and entire ecosystems. News coverage have been focusing on "compensat[ing] people for their losses and understand[ing] the damage wrought" when with our limited knowledge of only 3% of ocean life, we cannot begin to comprehend the damage wrought, let alone trying to compensate for mass murdering entire ecosystems. And while our attention has been drawn away by the Gulf of Mexico spill, oil pipelines in Dalian, China bursted and spilled enough oil to rival the Exxon Valdez.

As long as we depend on and harvest oil, these leakages will continue to happen. As much as oil executives lay out promises of better containment technologies and maybe even insure against damages, we stand to lose too much in a spill. All the gold in the world cannot compensate for lost ecosystems, the Earth's most valuable asset to the good life.

We are way beyond the canary in the coal mine at this stage. The ocean, as vast and impenetrable it is to land dwelling humans is our final frontier. And we have already lost 35% of corals in the last 15 years, with predicted escalating loss rates due to global warming. If we want to preserve the good life before we hit tipping point, the only reasonable go-forward plan is to use the precautionary, or what I call the "better never than oops," principle. That is, each and every person needs to employ all possible resources to restrain from activities, even low risk activities, that involve species murder, environmental degradation, or plausible ecosystem alteration. This includes boycotting products that contribute to said activities and choosing ones that don't. Only when we all take responsibility for our shared planet can we begin to reverse the cycle and restore the beautiful symphony of life.

Confessions of an Asian closet vegetarian

A few years ago I mapped my carbon footprint. I discovered that my diet, or more specifically, my meat eating habits, was the largest contributor. To do my part I decided that I would go vegetarian. But like many people, I like the taste of meat too much to completely give it up. After swinging between regiments of veggie days and enduring boring restaurant salads, I finally settled on becoming a closet vegetarian. That is, I would be vegetarian at home, but allow myself to eat meat when I'm dining out. This plan allowed me to continue hanging with my omnivorous friends at regular restaurants; it also came with some surprising benefits. Eating vegetarian is less expensive. I spend less time shopping by focusing on the produce section, which is conveniently located near the front at most supermarkets. The packaging on vegetables is also much lower duty than on meat, and I no longer have to deal with greasy styrofoam trays, plastic wrap and plastic bags. With no meat handling I do not have to worry about contamination in the kitchen, and spend less time cooking the quickly done vegetables.

The major downside is a more persistent 'peckish' feeling. A high protein meal satisfies for six hours, a veggie meal satisfies for only four. This means I have to keep nacho chip and dip, fruit and crackers on hand for snacking. The need to snack was a downside at first, but now I am set up with tasty snacks that I look forward to. And since I eating healthy vegetables for meals, I allow myself to indulge on cheese for snacks. Another downside is the difficulty of keeping meals interesting and tasty. Cutting meat means fewer flavor tones to choose from when cooking, and the spices that work well with meat do not always work well with veggies. This problem was intensified by my allergy to spinach and eggplant, key veggie staples, and my husband's allergy to soy. So I turn to Asian flavors for support. Indian and Thai flavors, even at reduced chili levels, are intensely flavorful enough that I don't miss the meat. Curries work extremely well with any vegetables, store very well in the fridge, and are often more tasty the next day. For a 5 minute vegetable dish I turn to Chinese vegetables of over 25 different varieties and textures, which all cook well with my mother's trusty recipe of garlic, oil and salt. For flavor variety I switch to Italian red and white sauces. With cheese for flavor who needs meat?

Most aspiring vegetarians found themselves lacking in essential nutrients when they stop eating meat. But a closet vegetarian still eats meat when dining out, which is about once per week for me, so I do not have to worry about supplements. In addition, meat has become special again, as it is associated with a dining out experience.

If you are thinking about becoming a closet vegetarian here is what I would recommend.
1. Plan to make veggie meals at home, since eating vegetarian at restaurants may mean salad after salad unless you stick to ethnic foods.
2. Add the following veggie-friendly spices to your pantry: cumin, fresh or dried chili (thai, japaleno, serrano, anything), dried mushrooms of any variety, oregano, thyme, sage, soya sauce, fresh garlic and ginger, sesame oil, olive oil. Have a few cans of coconut milk on hand for making curries. Pre-made Having grated parmesan and cheddar cheeses on hand are also useful.
3. Explore Asian supermarkets and cook books. Frozen dumplings come in veggie versions and are excellent fast food at home. There are many more fresh veggies to be explored and tried.
4. You will be hungry more often, so keep snacks on hand. Try lots of fruits, crackers and cheese, chips and dip. But remember to snack in moderation.
5. Prepare to stick to the new plan for at least 4 weeks before making an evaluation. It will take a while for your cooking style and eating habits to settle into the new routine.

If you do it right, you will enjoy good health while eating to your heart's content, and you will love not having to handle raw meat again. Of course, you'll also incidentally be keeping tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

Cycling- the portal to sustainable transportation still stuck between two worlds

As a cyclist, I have had my share of interactions with rude drivers. But today was my first taste of a rude pedestrian. To avoid rush hour traffic I was riding slowly on the sidewalk. Slowly is indeed the only way to ride on the sidewalk as it dips and rises with every driveway. Since pedestrians have the right of way on sidewalks, I slowed even further to a walking pace when I saw a woman approaching with her dog on a leash. I passed by their side, then I heard her say accusingly "There is a bike lane, you know." I was already past her and started to cross the road, so I ignored her and rode on. But her comment bothered me, as I do not wish to create a bad reputation for cyclists. But it also made me angry, because there is no functional bike lane on the road. There is an illusion of one, as signs along the road indicates. But cars parked all along the "bike lane," or more appropriately, the shoulder, means that I am stuck between parked cars and moving cars if I tried to ride on the road. That is much more dangerous than riding on a shoulder, however skinny, that is directly beside a sidewalk.

Commuting cyclists ride to do our part for the environment. But yet we are stuck between and often shunned by both pedestrians and drivers. Where bike lanes are barely available, neither law nor culture guides where one should ride and receive right of way. Specifically, the law allows sidewalk riding when no bike lane exists, but what happens in the scenario above where the "bike lane" is used as a parking lane?

I can sympathize with both pedestrian and drivers as I am both at certain times. The lady with the dog responded simply out of entitlement for the sidewalk, as pedestrians have been trained to do. Without the perspective of a cyclist, she simply cannot see that the assigned bike lane is cluttered with parked cars. She has probably also encountered her share of unruly teenagers on fast bicycles. And I have to admit that as a driver I have been annoyed by slow cyclists on the road. But I shouldn't be feeling this way. Proper city planning and alterations have the power to eliminate the tension between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

The future of sustainable transportation is filled with trains, trams, buses, bikes, scooters and rollerblades. Half of these modes of transport are currently unwelcome on road nor sidewalk, and disallowed in many public spaces. Culturally, personal modes including bikes, scooters and rollerblades have been dominated by unruly teenagers. But increasingly, people are switching to these modes to bridge the last mile on their work commute. How do we keep the peace on the roads? I believe nationwide licensing extended to personal modes of transport are necessary to establish order and respect, and re-establish trust between drivers, riders and pedestrians. We all need to do our part whether walking, riding or driving, to impart respect and actively share the road towards a sustainable future.

Neoclassical Economics vs Ecological Economics

The most significant difference between neoclassical economics and ecological economics is the fundamental modeling of economics in relation to the planet’s ecosystem.  Neoclassical economics assumes we are in an Empty World, where the economics is only a small piece of the overall ecosystem picture.  Thus ecosystem is abstracted as an input output element.  In this neoclassical world, our actions are un-restrained by the ecosystem capacity simply because this element is not factored in.   Thus, the assumption is that we can grow indefinitely  In the ecological economics view, economics is contained within the ecosystem of the planet.  Thus the boundaries of the economy must remain within the boundaries of the ecosystem.  Physical laws of thermodynamics apply.  We can create matter; we have only what is available within the ecosystem.  In the Full World that we are in today, this view is more appropriate and realistic.

The price of nature

In the TED talk by Barry Schwartz on our loss of widom, he proposes that in our society mad with bureaucracy, what we need is fewer rules and more moral will and moral skill.  This concept applies in the debate on the price of nature.  Ecological Economists such as Daly and Farley believe that one cannot solve the debate on natural resources simply by pricing it and letting market forces ensue.  Schwartz's message supports this argument.  There are situations where price and incentives creates a counter effect, as in his example contrasting voluntary versus incentivized hazardous waste dumping where a community was more willing to accept the dumping on a voluntary basis.  By putting a price on nature, we impose rules and take moral-will out of the picture, thus motivating people to optimize against those rules instead of stopping to ask "Is this the right thing to do?"

Is government action or legislation ever powerful enough to bring about massive social change?

Massive social change is a slow process, and no singular action, be it government, business or civil society, can bring about this change alone.  Usually one body initiates the change, however, social change is at the intersection of all three, so all three forces need to act together in order to affect change quickly. World War II was one example where all three forces act together to create very fast changes.  The US government instigated by supporting wartime spending and creating wartime advertising.  Private sectors responded to wartime product needs.  And civil society, motivated by patriotism, responded by buying government bonds, working longer hours, sending their sons, and doing whatever else they can to support the troops.  The recent earthquake response for Haiti is another example of all three working together to solve a crisis.  Civil Society instigated  with compassion.  Individuals went to Haiti to pitch into the rescue, or helped from afar with effort such as the Open Street Mapping for Port-au-Prince to help on-the-ground workers find victims.  Then governments sent aid, private sectors actioned on the aid, or supported employee efforts to help Haiti.  The solar industry is another example where all three forces eventually aligned to create the momentum we have today. The Germany government initiated by offering feed in tariff.  Individuals passionate about solar started companies, and generated private enterprises that supported the solar effort.  Then homeowners pitched in with investments on solar systems, and word of mouth advertising to their communities.

The examples above were both social changes instigated by government and civil society.  Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" qualifies as a change through civil society by using media. While government and civil society are the likely instigators in social change, there are some examples of businesses as instigators.  For example, Nike started a basketball culture in Africa in order to sell more footware to African men, who traditionally go barefoot.  It is important to realize that business for social change will inherently be bottom line driven.  Some would argue that for-benefit businesses exist.  However, for-benefit businesses, who generate social change for social betterment rather than for bottom line, were started by individuals who believe in a cause.  therefore the fundamental instigator in this case is civil society (individuals), and business is a medium for reaching the social change goal.

When affecting change, it is important to recognize where you reside in the forces.  Tennis player and activist Arthur Ashe states “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”  First, recognize whether you can initiate the change through government action, individual action or business action.  If you can change laws then propose a law.  If you can talk to your neighbours, or make a movie, then do so.  If you can leverage your business towards action, start there.  Since all social change require all three forces, it doesn't matter where you start.  However, you must then partner with others who hold power in the other two forces in order to effectively generate momentum behind the social change you seek.

Future Salon - Activating Corporate Consciousness

I attended my first Future Salon on Thursday night.  Future Salon is a monthly event in Palo Alto that sparks our imagination about what could be.  As we gathered around the refreshments during networking hour, we pondered the future of corporations, and what could happen if corporations gained a conscience.  That was the topic of the night: Activating Conscience in Corporations

The concept is not new, in fact, many professionals have struggled with the dichotomy between personal values and work demands.  The bottom line only, winner take all type business model seem less and less appealing for many who are seeking an alternative form of career satisfaction.  How would a corporation behave if it were person with values?  How do we embody these values into the DNA and culture of the corporation?

To prepare us for this discussion, host Mark Finnern asked the audience to submit their top 3 values prior to the Future Salon.  Mark then took the values and created a word map.  Integrity, Honesty, Freedom, Respect and Kindness were the top 5 values that the audience-collective submitted prior to the Future Salon.  As an exercise, we used those five collective values to create a values roadmap for an imaginary FutureSalon Inc.  As guest speaker John Montgomery guided the audience through the values roadmap process, I find myself thinking, it's nice to have value statements, but everyone has encountered "Core Values" framed on the wall, how do culturally successful companies make them a reality?

It all starts with the founder and the leadership team.  Culture successes like Southwest and Zappos are all out on a mission, a mission driven by their founder.  The founder's every movement oozes with values and the followers embrace those values as their own.  "In order for culture to work, you need to hold each other accountable, tops down and bottoms up."  said John Montgomery, who has worked with hundreds of start-ups in the bay area.  He tells three stories about start ups whose founders have died in accidents, and how the cultures of those companies was stimulated and rallied around each death.  "I'm not saying the founder needs to die," joked Montgomery.  But the shared experience of death really bonded the team and cemented the culture.   The point is that well established and understood values along with strong, shared personal connections are the foundations for a strong and thriving value based culture.


About Future Salons:
Future Salons starts with networking from 6-7pm, with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP; then the presentation and discussion follows at 7-9+pm.

Location: SAP Labs North America, Building D, COIL (Co-Innovation Lab). SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304.  Free and open to the public. Please spread the word and invite others, but be sure to RSVP http://bit.ly/9kPpRt so we know how many people to expect.