Category Archives: sustainable management

Off-Grid Lessons Learned

On April 2nd I wrote about our plans to install an off-grid solar system with Aquion batteries on our new bamboo home on the Big Island of Hawaii. It seemed we had little choice. Off-grid solar was less expensive than hooking up to the electrical grid.   Seven months later, we live in the homeContinue reading “Off-Grid Lessons Learned”

The Uncertain Future of Elephants

Earth’s largest land animals, elephants, have never been more threatened. Dozens, if not hundreds, of organizations and individuals are working on various tactics in hopes of turning the current very negative trend.   Since 1977 the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has been devoted to protecting elephants. Their Orphans Project is noted for rescuing, raising andContinue reading “The Uncertain Future of Elephants”

Great Things Happen to Good People

  You often hear “bad things happen to good people.” It’s sometimes true and unfortunate, but sometimes great things happen to good people. Ange Imanishimwe was selected to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowships (MWF) this summer. We first met Ange when training Certified Interpretive Guides in Rwanda. Ange organized Biocoop Rwanda to defeat povertyContinue reading “Great Things Happen to Good People”

What’s in a battery?

It is an exciting time in the energy innovations business. And I am wishing I had paid more attention in high school during physics class. It was my worst subject. I just did not know how to relate it to the real world. After a lifetime of applied physics lessons, I am actually learning howContinue reading “What’s in a battery?”

Living Off-grid – A Lesson in Energy Consumption

  In the early 1980s I was a nature center director in Pueblo, Colorado. The energy crisis nationally energized us to be early adopters and models of conservation measures. We put a solar hot water heater on the center, added clivus multrum composting toilets and built a solar greenhouse both as demonstrations and to showContinue reading “Living Off-grid – A Lesson in Energy Consumption”

Gift Shops – Eights Ideas to Consider

Great gift shops extend the learning experience in a community or at a natural science or cultural site. They encourage us to invest and take home a symbol of the visit. These are traits that you might consider in planning or revamping your gift store.   1) Sell fair trade goods, sustainably crafted, with enduring value.Continue reading “Gift Shops – Eights Ideas to Consider”

Message Your Waste

Locations where people throw away items or use bathroom facilities can be great opportunities to send messages that matter. Here are nine thoughts on creative ways we see messaging of varied kinds at facilities the public almost always has to use wherever they go.   Art in bathrooms or on recycling centers can help tell yourContinue reading “Message Your Waste”

Biocoop Rwanda: Entrepreneur at Work

Lisa and I took our first hike at Nyungwe National Park in 2012 with Ange Imanishiwmwe. He proved to be a talented park guide and naturalist, engaging us in a discussion of the importance of forest elephants and helping us identify the birds calling in the distance.   What we also learned about Ange rightContinue reading “Biocoop Rwanda: Entrepreneur at Work”

Build It and They May Not Come

Who doesn’t enjoy the passionate pursuit of a romantic dream? Kevin Costner’s successful movie, Field of Dreams, fed a new generation of dreamers in 1989 when it came out.   Many organizations plan their future facilities with the “Build it and they will come” idea in mind, but just because a facility works well inContinue reading “Build It and They May Not Come”