and miles to go before i sleep

a left-coaster in new england

And so we find ourselves in Massachusetts (still having a hard time spelling that one!)  Our decision was made after weighing pros and cons of all the options, and after we landed a great contract with a new client, Second Nature, working on (among other things) the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Over Christmas, we hopped around North America, visiting family and friends we had not seen in far too long (even a mini-reunion with some MSLS grads .  In Vancouver, I sorted my work visa, we packed up as much as we could with our Air Canada weight limit, and arrived on G's parents' doorstep for the interim.  Fortunately, they have been most hospitable, making us feel very welcome in their home while we looked for a place.  G's father offered us temporary work space in his office, so the worldwide headquarters of Greenland Enterprises has been in Danvers, MA for the last two months.

We found a great place in Jamaica Plain - two bedroom so we can work from our home office after we move in this weekend.  JP is a terrific, righteous neighborhood, with organic grocers, cool restaurants and pubs, little boutiques, etc.  It's on the subway line as well, so we are thinking about ditching the car for awhile (though a biodiesel-fueled TDI is also being considered).

We've been having lots of New England fun - for our first anniversary, I got G front-row seats to a Bruins game (they lost, but we had a great time).  Two weeks ago we went skiing in Windham, NY with 53 of G's college friends.  I guess it was the best snow the mountain has seen in a long time - I had a fantastic couple of days' skiing.  The boys have played some pond hockey, and I (for the first time ever) tried to stick-handle a puck (though not with skates on yet - I need to buy a pair).   Last weekend, we went up to Exeter for G's alumni hockey game, so I got to see where he spent his formative years (spoke volumes about how he became the amazing person he his today - what a school!)

The winter weather has been an adjustment for this Vancouverite.  There have been days that are the coldest I have ever experienced.  Not even when skiing have I ever been this cold.  We had an intense ice storm last week, and everything was a surreal moment frozen in time.  Looking at the frozen rocks in Lobster Cove, they looked just like iced cakes.  Then I realized that the iced cakes actually look just like the frozen rocks.  Amazing that I'd never thought about where that word came from until now - a product of a West Coast lexicon, I suppose.

hej då, karlskrona

The project is wrapping up.  We have had all of our completion meetings, the report is finished.  Almost time to say "hej då" to Karlskrona.  It's funny how this tiny town that I had not even heard of until two years ago became my home for a year and a half.  It's really giving a show of the cold shoulder in these last few moments - some of the darkest, windiest, rainiest days I've ever experienced have happened this week.

 
Small things come to notice - I have grown attached to a family of swans whose cygnets are now bold teenagers, with their grey down mottled with white.  I had hoped to see them grown fully into their snowy adult selves, but it seems that I will miss it.

G and I said good-by to BTH, grabbing a last few shots of the campus after lunch with Kalle at Greven (hitting all the hot spots before we leave!)  We have narrowed our books and papers down from 39.5 kg to about 25 kg.  We're really going to be strained if we want to meet the weight limits.  There have been lots of mini-negotiations going on: "The party from Canada wishes to express its interest in retaining its copy of the Carnoulles paper due to its attachment to handwritten notes contained therein," and, "The party from the United States wished to retain both copies of the MSLS text book, due to its golden nature and the potential for both parties to wish to refer to it at the same time," etc.

Looking forward to seeing the families and friends - but sad to leave my good friends here.  Not sure where we are going to land yet, but there are a few exciting opportunities on the horizon.  Stay tuned....

Found some more Kenya photos on my memory stick, so there's a few new ones. Here' a great one of G playing with girl (note the wings) on our last day in Nairobi:

support tony for the climate project

If you want to make a worthwhile gesture for climate change this holiday season, here's your chance.  My friend, and current MSLS grad student, Tony Thompson, has been accepted to go train with Al Gore on presenting the Inconvenient Truth slide presentation on climate change.  He's raising money to pay for his trip to Nashville in January to attend the workshop.

He's a really terrific guy, has devoted a lot of his time to Habitat for Humanity in the past, and shows enormous potential as a sustainability leader.  That's him on the left in the photo, engaging in a high-stakes battle with Monique "Trinity" Monteverde.  I give him my recommendation as somebody to support by donating.  I have every confidence that he will use the training well, and reach lots of people, so this is one leverage point that is a small amount of effort for you, and will likely make a big impact on climate change.

thesis published!

Our thesis, From Clean Development to Strategic Sustainable Development: Strategic Planning for the Clean Development Mechanism has been published, and I now have my diploma in hand!

We are madly finishing up our project here at BTH, and also packing to return to North America.  Looking forward to catching up with you all over the holidays....

kenya trip, part I

In order not to completely repeat Georges’ entire blog entry on our trip to Kenya (coming soon), which is an excellent and very detailed description of our day to day activities, I will give a more broad overview of the trip.

We arrived late on a Sunday night, were picked up by our intrepid driver for the duration, Bradley, and settled into our room in Emilie and Mads’ house in Westlands. 

They have a beautiful little cottage on a huge property with flowers and trees, my favorite being the jacaranda with its delicate purple flowers that glow in the flat light and litter the lawn with a soft lavender carpet.

Emilie welcomed us with a wonderful meal and a beautiful bouquet of roses; Mads was off saving the world in Rwanda until Tuesday.

Nairobi is a busy, mad rush of people going about various sorts of business. I am constantly amazed by the number of people moving in the streets at any given time. So far, despite its reputation for nefariousness, I have felt quite secure. Still being vigilant, at the urging of the US State Department and the United Nations, due to the increased likelihood of attacks during the COP, which is happening up the road at Gigiri.

In the first week we visited with the family and saw some sights in and around Nairobi. We drove out to the Kitengela Glass factory which makes cool creations out of recycled glass and other objects. We went to Karen, the ex-pat community named after Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa fame, and fed giraffes. We went for lunch with Charlotte, daughter of Ing-Marie, the Vice-Chancellor’s secretary at BTH.

We flew to the coast to Lamu with Emilie, Mads, Liv, Haakon, and Agnes, where we stayed at Palm House. Steps from the beach, it was beautifully-appointed with Lamu furnishings, excellent views, and an attentive staff, including a fabulous chef who ensured we were not losing any weight over the weekend.

Lamu is a vibrant town at the crossroads of ancient Arab, Indian and African trade. Sparkling blue water, Arab-influenced architecture, Islamic culture, fisherman and their dhows, Swahili language, and stretches of empty white sand beaches all combine in a wonderfully rich experience that defies explanation in a few simple words. We had such an amazing time, I hope to return again one day.

We returned to Nairobi, reluctantly, in time for our excursion with the Green Belt Movement. We traveled through the Aberdares, where we saw at tree farms and tea farms, and hiked to a waterfall. Had a close encounter with a pit latrine – not my first, which was in India twelve years ago, but definitely the most skill-testing (small opening). We went on to Lake Naivasha, where we had lunch at the country club, and had an interesting talk on the ecological challenges of the area. The lake is currently under pressure by pollution and competition for use by the locals, the plant life, the wildlife, the flower industry, and the large influx of people looking for work, the large majority of which do not find it. We had a somewhat harrowing ride back to Nairobi – a combination of factors including a road under construction, potholes, dust, crazy truck drivers, a delayed schedule, darkness falling, a rainstorm, downed power lines, ridiculous traffic, detours through slums, interesting logistics, topped off with an exploding transformer. It was a very wild experience.

This morning we went to Gigiri and browsed around the COP (not inside the negotiation rooms, but through the booths, etc.)  We saw some familiar faces, the usual suspects from the conferences we have attended.  We got some good latest-greatest reports from some of my go-to sources for presentation material (IEA, IISD, WBCSD, WRI).

We spent the afternoon today and most of the day yesterday working away in front of our computers at The Java House at Gigiri – something any self-respecting person interested in development must do to feel they have experienced Nairobi. We easily lapped the UN-badged hordes, and even caught a glimpse of the Kenyan President’s motorcade on our way there yesterday – we’re definitely in the mix now!

Next on the itinerary is a relaxing weekend at home in Nairobi, then a two-day trip to Tsavo West and Amboseli national parks for some game viewing.  Keep your fingers crossed for an elephant and/or lion sighting (not too close though!)

The current count:

Wildlife seen: giraffes, zebras, warthogs, hippos, camels, waterbucks, monkeys, yellow-billed storks, kingfishers, marabou storks, geckos

Trees seen: jacarandas, acacias, neem, baobob

Places visited: Nairobi, Lamu, Aberdares, Lake Naivasha, Great Rift Valley

Tropical diseases and illnesses exposed to: malaria, conjunctivitis, the common cold, bronchitis, yellow fever, sunstroke

Tropical diseases and illnesses caught: none so far (just a mild sunburn)

snow and africa

It snowed today.  I think I'll go to Africa.

I've lost the battery for my camera, so I couldn't take pictures of the first snow of the year, and I'm afraid I won't find it before we leave for Kenya on Saturday.  If so, I think we will be the very first Western tourists ever to experience a game safari with the naked eye.

Georges' niece Liv is getting very excited.  I hear from Emilie that she's been talking about him non-stop since their conversation about our impending visit, including looking out the front door with an "Uncle Georges?"  I guess "in a week" is a difficult concept to grasp at the tender age of two.

Georges and I got some immunizations today.  We had not originally planned to, but now that we are going to do a trip to smaller communities with the Green Belt Movement (Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Mathaai's NGO), we thought it might be better.

It was a fun Swedish adventure.  Call the hospital, get the correct number, call the number, get an automated receptionist, go the the downtown clinic to investigate, get given the number for the hospital, repeat all of the above, then bang on phone keys trying to get a person, then hang up and try again, hit '1', get a message that seems to be telling me that if I leave a message I will get a call back by 11am, leave message, cross fingers, get a phone call at 11:00am (having completely forgotten about the whole thing), take a few minutes to figure out why this woman who doesn't speak much English is calling me, explain that I'm going to Kenya and need some shots, get the rundown, tell her I'm leaving in 2 days, get yelled at ("You're so late!"), Agree with her, tell her my boyfriend also needs the shots, get told that it is not possible because there are no appointments left, accept my fate to die of yellow fever, get put on hold, get an appointment at 4pm.

This is the way here.  Nothing is possible when you don't do things the 'right way' but then again, the nurse could not bear to think that we would go to Africa without our immunizations.  Five hours, three sore shoulders and 1100 SEK later, Georges and I are immunized against Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A, and have the yellow card to prove it.  We're taking a risk on the cholera, but it's bacterial - how bad could it be (touch wood, touch wood!)

Still no firm word back on our outside observer status for the COP.  We have been in talks with the Malaysian Business Council for Sustainable Development about representing them, but it looks like it may not happen.  Letting it go and letting things come.

We are confirmed for lunch in Karen (named after Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa fame) with Emilie and Haakon on our first day.  She is patiently indulging my romantic image of Africa.  I promised not to show up in head-to-toe khaki from Tilley Endurables.  The first weekend we are there, we are heading out to the coast, to Lamu, with Em, Mads, Liv, Haakon, and Agnes (nanny).  It is beautiful there, and here's hoping my daily running with Geo is going to pay dividends in the beach bikini shots.

We also have confirmed the Green Belt trip, as mentioned above.  It is 5 days total with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Management (great cross-fertilization of ideas potential) on the theme of "Effects of Climate Change at the Local Level."  We will be going in and out of Nairobi with 2 overnights in the communities.

Day 1 - We go to Kirita and Gatamaiyu Forest (Lari) for tree planting, Lake Naivasha, Maumahiu to witness desertification and hear from the community members how it affects their lives.

Day 2 - We tour Mt. Kenya forest, to see the Ragati forest system and share experiences of the community and the forester.  This night we overnight in Tumutumu-Kiria in host families' homes.

Day 3 - We participate in Green Belt Movement projects, including: tree planting, food security, civic education, advocacy  activities, and income generating projects.  Again, we overnight with our hosts.

Day 4 - Daily chores with the host families (collecting firewood, fetching water, harvesting grass).

Day 5 - Tree planting event in Karura forest, then meeting and lunch with Prof. Wangari Maathai back in Nairobi.

Okay, most people would not consider a day collecting firewood and planting trees in rural Africa a vacation, but Geo and me, we're different.  Sustainability geeks are a rare breed.  We are rounding the excursion menu up with a trip to Amboseli National Park, in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro, for a game safari at a luxury tented lodge, complete with the hurricane lantern-lit dinner on the savanna of my dreams.  Of course, it's rainy season, so here's hoping that we can sit outdoors.  And that I don't get eaten by a lion.

After our return in late November, we have three more weeks here before we go back to North America.  End of quite a life-changing era, and on to new beginnings.  Can't wait.....

greenland enterprises presents...

Georges and I are presenting a side event, "Creating market opportunities through strategic sustainable development," at the Make Markets Work for Climate conference in Amsterdam on 16 October 2006.  See the Greenland Enterprises site for more information.

Good Magazine

Please drop everything and sign up for a subscription to Good Magazine.  All of the $20 cost of founding subscriptions is donated to a charitable organization you choose from a list of sustainability-minded foundations.  Their first issue's theme is: America: Love it or fix it.

Here is a statement from owner Ben Goldhirsh (who, incidentally, lives just down the road from the Dyers in Manchester).

We see a growing number of people tied together not by age, career, background, or circumstance, but by a shared interest. This revolves around a passion for potential mixed with fierce pragmatism and creative engagement. We sum all this up as the sensibility of giving a damn. But to shorten it, let's call it GOOD. We're here to push this movement and cover its realization.

For while so much of today's media is taking up our space, dumbing us down, and impeding our productivity, GOOD exists to add value. So here's our first issue. We worked hard to give you something that you'll like.

This is just the beginning.

I, too, see this growing network of people brought together by a shared vision of a sustainable future.  It is exciting to see the growing tide of people 'giving a damn.'  Good luck to all the folks at Good Magazine!

modified foods to die for

Sometimes people write things that hit the spot so directly on the nose, that all I can do is point people to it and recommend they read it.  I mean, Lore Sjöberg's piece on GMOs, "Modified Foods To Die For," in Wired News is just plain hilarious.

Square One Vodka

Ah, yes!  Now we can all toast to a sustainable future with completely non-hyprocritical martinis.  Square One is the world's first certified organic vodka.  In their own words: "We're social - and socially-conscious."  Find a retailer near you.

Maybe soon they'll make vanilla-flavored vodka, then you could make a YummyEarth lollipotail that is completely organic.  Mmmmm....