While my family and I make every effort to eat local and lower on the food chain – mostly vegetarian – when we travel, we occasionally become “flexitarians” and enjoy a seafood dish or two when we’re at the edge of a vast ocean, perhaps with a wharf at the end of the street. At Passionfish, a restaurant nestled in the scenic Monterey Peninsula just a mile from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we connected with the Pacific Ocean by both its salty breeze and through the food we savored.

Opening in 1997, Passionfish is the brainchild of Chef Ted Walter and his wife Cindy Walter. Besides being restaurateurs, the Walters’ might as well be called “marine activists.”  This dynamic duo have ambitions of changing the world by educating people about what they eat, especially if what they eat comes from the sea. Using their restaurant as the alluring (and delicious) platform, the couple promotes sustainable seafood as well as locally sourced, fresh, organic vegetables and fruits. Even their meat products are pasture-raised.

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But I don’t want to support the landfill economy. I want to support the restoration economy and, when I need to purchase things, support companies that care about the planet the way I do. Some of these companies break from this planned obsolescence mentality and profit obsession, companies like REI, or Recreation Equipment, Inc., where your love of the outdoors actually pays dividends to you, as a customer-member of the cooperative enterprise.

REI, the nation’s largest consumer cooperative, got its start in 1938 when a bunch of climbing buddies got together to buy some gear to explore the great outdoors. They support people, their community and the environment on which their enterprise is based. And they guarantee that their products last and perform as expected.

A couple years ago, for example, I purchased a pair of sandals from REI.  After limited use, my sandals had an ankle strap that broke. The brand is well known and adventure proven: Teva. Since I live in a four-season climate, they should have lasted longer than they did. Walking into the REI retail store in a much older pair of Tevas I wore when traveling to South America, I talked briefly with a salesperson in REI shoe department who found a replacement pair of a different model for me in minutes. No hassle. No runaround. Try that at a big box retailer or chain.

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Located in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, about an hour from St. Paul-Minneapolis, this Travel Green Wisconsin and Green Routes certified enterprise launched by John Huffaker and Charlene Torchia in 2006 artistically crafts a peaceful refuge to enhance our experiences with nature and allow our inner beings to breathe. Journey Inn is part restoration enterprise and part center for recreating our human soul in more meaningful ways.

I had the opportunity to stay at Journey Inn for a couple days this past September with my family, since we prefer ecotravel-oriented accommodation options. We hiked some of the abundant hiking trails on their sixty-six acre property that includes a spectacularly restored prairie and garden labyrinth. We sipped tea while relaxing in their gardens. We even shared a few of our cucumbers and tomatoes from Inn Serendipity with a couple celebrating their honeymoon there.

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This past weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting Dennis Paige, founder of Swiftdeer-Paige, at Inn Serendipity to share a program on storytelling with our community of friends and family. Awarded the 2008 Grassroots Conservation Leadership Award from the Audubon-Chicago Region and the Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project, Paige has been entertaining and teaching thousands of people about the most pressing ecological issues of our times while inspiring a more balanced relationship with the web of life through the craft of storytelling. He’s been at it since 1989.

Paige’s hour-long program was a reminder of how far we still need to go on our journey of creating a “Story of Sustainability” that most American’s can embrace, not just a few. Obviously, the present American story of never-ending growth, executive bonuses, consumer-based economy, and more jobs is not compatible with the long term sustainability of a finite planet – especially if you recognize that despite our technological know-how, two thirds of the planet’s human inhabitants still cannot drink a glass of safe water, for example.

Elements of a Great Story

According to Paige, the elements of a great story are imagination, believability and content. Our group of local friends, bed & breakfast guests and family members circled around Paige as he orchestrated various activities to help our group, who ranged in ages from 4 to 80, become better storytellers and understand this ancient art and craft of storytelling. In terms of the content, it’s all about the problem, resolution and moral of the story.

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Here are some ideas for moving green without any major studies or projects:

1) Switch to eFax and stop using your paper fax.  This way, you have the faxed page readily accessible in your computer and are no longer wasting paper. 

2) Put all desktop PCs and printers on power strips, and turn them off at night. This saves both power and money.

3) Use Webex or Go-to-Meeting for initial sales meetings to save travel costs and the carbon footprint associated with air travel.

4) Email PDF’s of brochures instead of printing and distributing them.  If you must print, use recyclable materials.

5) Switch lights to CFLs or CCFLs instead of incandescents.

6) Use cloud computing to store your data instead of on-site servers or large hard drives.

7) Buy materials and supplies locally whenever possible.

Keep A/C and heat turned down to as low a level as possible to still keep a comfortable workplace.

9) Move to a virtual PBX VoIP phone system such as that offered by Ring Carrier.  This means you no longer have a power burning PBX on your site, and you can also save 60% on your phone bills.  

10) If at all possible, allow your employees to telecommute at least one day per week.  If this is not possible, find ways to incentivize them to take public transportation or ride their bicycles to work.  

Any more ideas?

But what about Slow Money?

In Woody Tasch’s visionary book, Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered (Chelsea Green, 2008), he breaks from the grow-big-and-go-global-fast mode of industrial capitalism and industrial agriculture by providing a remarkable synthesis of the writings, ideas and practices from such authorities on the subject of soil, agriculture, community and commerce as Wendell Berry, Eliot Coleman, Gene Logsdon, Gary Snyder, E.F. Schumacher, Paul Hawken and David Suzuki – calling for and sharing examples of a new economy whereby capitalism creates and sustains life, not destroys it.

Tasch’s observation: “As it circulates the globe with ever accelerating speed, money is sucking the oxygen out of the air, the fertility out of the soil and the culture out of local communities.”

“In our devotion to money, market, and machine, we are destroying not only the fertility of the soil, but the fertility of our imaginations,” continues Tasch. “What is, in the farmer’s field, a struggle between economics and ecology becomes, in the investor’s mind, a struggle between quantity and quality, portfolios and possibilities, numbers and words.” Tasch goes on to document the widespread loss of topsoil and erosion of fertile land, noting that roughly a third of all farmland in the world has been degraded since World War II. “There is another kind of erosion at work here: erosion of social capital, erosion of community, erosion of an understanding of our place in the scheme of things.”

Expertly woven together like the rich tapestry of biological life abundant in a mere teaspoon of soil, Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money tugs at our yearning to be connected to the land, to the soil and to the great food it can provide. It also explores our relationship to money and all the things it can, and cannot, buy.

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Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to interview Andrew Winston, the author of ‘Green to Gold‘, a seminal work in the environmental space and all round green guru. If you haven’t read it already, I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the sometimes difficult relationship between the environmental sector and commercial organizations. As ever, Andrew provided thoughtful commentary on the state of the environmental movement and CSR:

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This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

Many Japanese, want what amounts to a revolution in a politically risk-averse nation: the ousting of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan for more than a half-century. More on this story here.

The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores is on a mission to determine the social and environmental impact of every item it puts on its shelves. And it has recruited scholars, suppliers, and environmental groups to help it create an electronic indexing system to do that. More on this story here.

Europe is gearing up for a major swine flu outbreak in the Fall. New calculations from the U.K.’s Department of Health suggest that, in the worst-case scenario, 63,000 people in the country could die after contracting the H1N1 flu virus in the first wave of the pandemic. More on this story here.

Economic downturns have historically been times in which there are more startup businesses than usual.  This particular recession is a great time to start a green business.  One easy place to start, for someone without a great deal of startup capital or knowledge base, would be to start a mobile food vendor business.  More on this story here.

Nabucco and other new gas pipelines may make Europe’s energy more secure, but market liberalisation matters too. More on this story here.

The opening session of Intersolar North America was packed and full of energy. The solar trade show almost tripled its exhibition space and more than doubled the number of exhibitors from last year, when the first North America Intersolar show was also hosted in San Francisco. More on this story here.

Remember the last time you had the flu or a lingering cold? Get much done? When we’re healthy, we take our good health for granted. Despite what our politicians and healthcare providers might suggest, good healthcare does not necessarily provide good health. Our lifestyle and daily habits contribute to feeling great just about every day of the year.

Some companies provide a good healthcare plan when it comes to physician access and medical coverage. But what does that matter when the stress-filled, unhealthy environment in a cubicle – with no access to the outdoors and fresh air – ends up giving us poor health? The American healthcare system is great – perhaps the best in the world – if we crashed in our car. It’s designed for treatment, not prevention. It’s a healthcare system based on the poor health of relatively well-off people who can pay (by credit or otherwise) for the services it provides.

Given all the debate on a national healthcare plan offered by the United States, below are a few promising trends many people are discovering.

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The short answer, of course, is “a lot”: Gil’s spent nearly 40 years in the sustainable business field, so he’s able to address questions ranging from the general (”What’s the business case for green?”) to the very specific (”What elements should an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program include?) with deep knowledge of green business ideas, as well as plenty of real-life examples.

What makes the The Truth about Green Business really stand out, though, isn’t necessarily the quality of information, but the format of the book itself. Most of the other books mentioned above delve deeply into their topics, and require a sustained reading effort (both of which are good things, of course). Friend’s created something quite different: in the Introduction, he describes the book as “designed to help you tackle these grand ideas in simple, practical, profitable, bite-sized chunks” (specifically, 52 “truths”).

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Like millions of Americans, we’re celebrating July 4th, Independence Day.

However, we’re celebrating this national holiday by focusing on the many aspects of our life that, in various ways, have led us to quite a different vision for a sustainable tomorrow – complete with local, renewable energy and lots of delicious meals harvested within ten miles of where we live – if not from our own kitchen garden.  Sometimes we even celebrate July 4th with a rainbow.

Here’s how our Independence Day is different — and yours can be too:

•  Be energy independent by generating all our power with renewable energy systems.
For a vast portion of the United States, there is enough solar and wind energy to completely meet our needs right where we live.  True, adopting renewable energy will require an investment either personally or for your business if you work from home.  But with present Federal tax credits and many state incentives, the time couldn’t be better.  We completely power our Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast and Farm with solar electric and wind turbine systems.  In fact, we overproduce renewable energy to the tune of about 4,000 kWhs (kilowatt hours) a year.  We share the surplus with our neighbors.

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Julie Thomas had been working for LaSalle Bank for ten years when she got her final assignment. She was transferred to Chicago to sell the bank-essentially, to sell herself out of a job.

In that situation, most people of Thomas’ ilk would have begun the search for another corporate career. But with new-found freedom and a little extra cash, Thomas took a different route. She decided to follow her idiosyncratic dream– to start an eco-friendly doggy daycare. Earth Pups was born.

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Clove, a brand new salon in midtown Atlanta, strives to have more than the best products and service in town. Owner Tomeca Kanu and manager Carla Kootsillas are dedicated to giving back to the community and running the greenest business they possibly can!

Tomeca bought the salon while in the middle of what turned out to be sort of a rough year. A car accident meant she had to be on bed rest just as the business was getting going. She wasn’t able to take care of the day-to-day operations for a while, which is when Carla came on board to help out.

After Tomeca’s recovery, Carla says the two of them, “took a hard look at the business and what [they] could do with it.” They wanted it to be more than your run-of-the-mill salon. They wanted to “do something [they] felt good about.” The result is a beautiful salon with great service, a mellow atmosphere, and, the best part, a conscience.

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Today the Center for Small Business and the Environment (CSBE) launched a new initiative aimed at the 111th Congress and the Obama Administration, reminding them that the best way to revive the ailing U.S. economy is to think green – green entrepreneurism that is.

With multiple options to explore greening your business, this new initiative gives green entrepreneurs a chance to share their stories and connect with other entrepreneurs. Launched with an eye on social media, they’ve included all of the right tools. You can join the community on their Facebook Page or follow them on Twitter.

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The following ecopreneur profile, drawn from my ECOpreneuring book, is an example of how some of the most successful ecopreneurs follow their passions, not the profits, while navigating their often diversified enterprises that thrive with a triple bottom line.

Books, bikes, canoes. Publishing, tourism, outdoor recreation. Family, friends and fun. Like nature’s diversified geography providing the Missouri River backdrop for the scenic town of Rocheport, Brett and Tawnee Dufur’s ecopreneurial life reflects the strength in diversity. Despite the sleepy town with a population a dash over 200, 15 minutes outside of Columbia, Missouri, the thirtysomething husband-and-wife team has created a laboratory of innovative, ecopreneurial ventures that keep life and livelihood blended and blooming, locally focused, yet reaching audiences and customers well beyond the river’s touch.

Brett’s first venture started in 1995, when he wrote and self-published the first guidebook for the Katy Trail, the longest rails-to-trails project in the United States, 225 miles along the meandering and mighty Missouri River. It remains a best-seller to this day. “What I discovered is that people are hungry for the opportunity to connect with a sense of place, and that’s what this guidebook is all about,” explains Brett.

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Don’t get me wrong, magic has been made and minds blown with just Powerpoint and a good presentation. I don’t know about you, but how many times do you find yourself thinking, “I have something to add to what they’re saying,” or “Gah! I wish they’d do a session on *this* topic!”

Green Business Camp, done for the first time a few weeks back in South San Francisco at the Green V Sustainable Center, a creative reinvention of a former car dealership site, may be just the antidote you’re seeking. It’s what they call an “unconference.” As in the opposite of all the trappings of your usual conference.

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GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks with green blogger and eco-entrepreneur Shea Gunther, previously of EarthFirst.com and now with MNN.

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Difficult Choices

The commitment meant many difficult decisions and careful calculations throughout the two-year construction process of Earth Pups. When Thomas had to stray from her green business ideas, she agonized. After three months of considering all options, Thomas finally resigned herself to using PVC in one area of the dog’s playpen-the biodegradable option would have to be replaced every few years as it wouldn’t stand up to the dogs hard use. When it was feasible, however, she did it-even when it meant having items custom made or special ordered. For example, the paneling was one custom made item that Thomas had adapted to her need for a protective covering from sharp little claws. However, even when she found a green company to order from, she discovered it only came in black.

“So, the question was-what goes with black?” she said.

Thomas also loves owning her own business because it lets her decide exactly what she wants to do in the community.

“There is no red tape,” she said.

Many years ago, she rescued her own dogs with the help of a local agency. Now, she welcomes dogs from neighboring canine rescue into her building for socialization workshops.

Earth Pups has been open for thirteen, short weeks.  Thomas excuses herself for the hair on her shirt and several months without sleep, but she is all smiles. “It feels good to watch a baby grow,” she says, looking at the 17 dogs playing in the yard with staff. One day, she hopes to have up to 30 dogs, but this is a good start.

One of her own two dogs plays alongside the others.  The other one-black and curly haired- is curled in a staff member’s lap.  She smiles at them, then ducks so they don’t see her. Her standards for their care are even higher than her green standards. And she built her business to please herself.

“It’s a place I’d leave my babies,” she says. “You can’t sell something you don’t care about.”

Image source: sarah m scott at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

kyknoord at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

3rdWhale is a bridge between talk and action, with an iPhone app that allows you to search for green businesses in proximity to you, plus submit your own finds that aren’t already on there, all listings filtered by 3rd Whale and then rated by users, ala Yelp. An Android version is on its way.

But here’s where it gets interesting: As seen first in Mother Nature Network 3rd Whale are joining forces with Creative Citizen, a hub for crowdsourced, specifically measurable sustainable choices. Each is broken down to how much energy, waste, water, emissions you’ve saved, and in what I think will help it bridge to a broader segment of the population, money. When you have this kind of clearly tangible benefit laid out for you, and it’s on something that you carry with you, action is much for likely.

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Editor’s Note: Lyndon Rive is the co-founder and CEO of SolarCity, a national leader in solar power. This is the first in a series of posts from the CEOs of major solar companies.

Is it May already? Maybe it’s just me, but the media didn’t seem to make as big a deal over Earth Day as it has the last few years. I noticed that Vanity Fair didn’t do a “green issue” this year, and according to John McCaslin on Town Hall, Outside, Discover, Mother Jones, Newsweek and Time cut back on their Earth Day green issues too.

Treehugger reported that Vanity Fair is going to spread its environmental articles throughout the year, and this section of the magazine’s Web site seems to support that. But McCaslin calls it “green fatigue.” I think they’re both right.

• » Consumer solar aggregation project launched in San Diego
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As co-founder of Renewing the Countryside, Joannides created a means to showcase positive examples of rural revitalization while simultaneously serving as an inspiring example of how one’s purpose and life can passionately blend.

As I write about in the Ecopreneur Profile found in ECOpreneuring, the seed for Renewing the Countryside stemmed from Jan’s master’s thesis work in the late 1990s profiling vibrant, diversified Minnesota farms and ranches. “As I interviewed these folks, I became so deeply inspired by their story and commitment to their family farms that I wanted to get these narratives out to the public, since the media often focus just on the negative decline of rural America,” explains Jan. Inspired by a similar venture in the Netherlands, she tapped into grant funding to publish Renewing the Countryside: Minnesota in 2001, showcasing 44 profiles of successful rural enterprises.

The enthusiastic response to this book led Jan, in partnership with her husband, Brett Olson, to found Renewing the Countryside as a non-profit organization in 2002. Its mission is to strengthen rural areas by championing and supporting rural communities, farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, activists and other people who are renewing the countryside through sustainable and innovative businesses, initiatives and projects. “After all,” she says, “rural America is abundant with prospering enterprises as diverse as colors in the rainbow.” Brett leads the creative side of the organization, developing innovative public education strategies and campaigns.  It’s through our work on the Rural Renaissance book that my wife and I discovered this innovative non-profit organization, an organization that had its pulse on the revitalization happening in rural areas and the net migrations afoot from urban and suburban areas back to rural areas.

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