Sustainability Subgroup

This group was formerly named the Energy Subgroup

Yahoo Discussion Forum

Leads

Carey King

Meetings

• March 29, 2007 at 7 pm - Meeting to discuss focus of group and view movie on Cuba's solution to an 'imposed' oil crisis. http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/bootstrap-sustainability-owner@yahoogroups.com/Meeting2.

The movie we viewed is described at: http://www.communitysolution.org/cuba.html.

See March 29 Meeting Minutes

Resources/Links

AUSTIN LOCAL

• Austin Climate Protection Plan - City of Austin Climate Protection Plan (pdf)

• Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems - Austin Local organization on sustainable/efficient building

• Austin Farmer's Market - Food from 'around here'

GENERAL SUSTAINABILITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL

• Journal of Sustainability - Online E-Journal on Science, Practice, and Policy of Sustainability

• Rocky Mountain Institute - Consulting "do tank" organization for efficient and low impact business practices with economic gain

• Natural Capital - General info on how to minimize impact of business upon natural resources

• Biomimicry Guild - Learning from Nature's natural evolution/optimization

• United Nations Environmental Accounting - U.N. Site with handbook (SEEA) for quantifying non-market and environmental contributions to society

ECOSYSTEM AND CLIMATE SERVICE TRADING MARKETS

• Point Carbon - News on Carbon trading

• Ecosystem Marketplace - Information and news on ecosystem service markets

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

• Data Center Power Reduction - Info on reducing power from data centers and servers

• Smart Communities Network - Info on communities minimizing energy usage

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND EMBODIED ENERGY ANALYSES

• Institute for Lfecycle Environmental Assessment - Organization dedicated to counting impacts of products and business practices withing the entire "Life" of the product (i.e. 'conception to grave', 'cradle-to-cradle', etc.)

• U. Florida Emergy Research Group - Environmental Accounting through 'Emergy'

Charter/Mission

This subgroup is for Bootstrappers to discuss businesses, or business ideas, to engage in markets based upon sustainability. The particular interest is in businesses, or ideas, for increasing energy efficiency, decreasing resource usage, and decreasing energy usage. This is often difficult for bootstrappers considering the large scale of the largest energy users (manufacturing, utilities, etc.), but perhaps there are opportunites to provide services that minimize the ecological and energy footprints of businesses.

Possible business quesitions:

"Can bootstrappers find a way to promote, or base a business upon what is called natural capitalism - valuing the services of nature and minimizing consumption while maximizing service to a custmer?"

"What can bootstrappers do in the area of ecosystem service markets?"

Examples of this approach include:

1. 'cradle to cradle' design in the consumer product industry
2. providing cooling/heating services instead of just selling HVAC systems.

For more information on Natural Capitalism, see a website offshoot from the Rocky Mountain Institute

For more information on Ecosystem Service Markets, see a website Ecosystem Marketplace

If you have more ideas for discussion about sustainability, and how bootstrappers can make an impact, feel free to present them. We may also choose to meet with the Green or environmental subgroups as these ideas are inherently interlinked.

Thanks.

Carey

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