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Showing posts from September, 2011

"I am NOT the solution...Yet" - Getting to Solutions

2011 Sierra Innovation Summit Series – Part 2 of 6 Focus on Opportunities and Solutions In part 2 of the 2011 Sierra Innovation Summit Series, I want to address the theme of focusing on opportunities and solutions.  During the opening statements of the summit, the audience was reminded to "focus on the opportunities", "focus on the solutions."   This message should not be new to anyone yet it seems to surface often in light of knowing that for any industry to succeed, this set of rules must be included. As a new student entering the industry, you may very well have the solutions or even believe that you are the solution.  So what are we missing here that would prompt the reminders?  Perhaps it’s the overwhelming possibilities that come with solution generation.  But more importantly, not all possibilities are solutions. One of the common words of guidance that I've received from those who are successful in their green careers is that you must first ident

Free Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core Training

Green-Tern  has accepted the opportunity to help with the promotion of  Ecology Action ' s Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core Training.  For my friends and followers in (or near) Placer County, read on and share... Ecology Action is pleased to announce a free Energy Efficiency Public Outreach Specialist training program for residents of Placer County and the Capitol region. In exchange for the free training, students become a part of the EA Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core program, a grassroots effort to promote residential energy and water efficiency rebate programs in Placer County.  Please see the attached flyer and application for details and a class agenda ( volunteercoreapplication  ) , or go to  http://www.ecoact.org/Volunteer_Application/ . Please consider posting the volunteer application link to your website and/or distributing this announcement to people in your circle who may be interested in joining the EA Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core. Please note the October 7th applicat

Message Undeliverable – Generation or Culture?

2011 Sierra Innovation Summit Series – Part 1 of 6 "How will our generation change to adjust to today’s conditions?" This was one of the questions brought up during the 2011 Sierra Innovation Summit and focuses on how our generation will respond to the current environmental state (with the “state” left open for interpretation).  As I sat in the audience and looked around at the various Sierra region organizations, I initially thought the answer was apparent.   We simply just adjust and make things happen.   Yet as I walked away from the presentation, I realized that the question started to weigh heavier on my mind.  See, the important thing for me to do was to not answer that question from my own perspective, but rather from a general societal approach, because if I compared my journey from wireless technology to the world of sustainability, my method of adjustment simply does not apply to the majority. If we look at this question from a counterculture or subculture per

Innovation Summit Statements

I recently attended the Sierra Business Council 's (SBC) 2011 Sierra Innovation Summit and was impressed with the content of the event, which addressed the current economic landscape of the Sierra and innovation-based tools for sustainable economic growth.  If you haven’t been to an SBC event, I suggest that you bookmark their website and keep an eye out for the next gathering of leaders.  Key speakers included Ari Derfel of Slow Money, an organization that aims to catalyze investment in local food systems, Bill Feyling of the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, and Glenda Humiston – California Director of Rural Development, US Department of Agriculture to name a few.    While there were many important topics, a few statements caught my attention during the presentations. What are you thoughts on the following: How will our generation change to adjust to today’s conditions? Focus on opportunities and solutions Communities capitalizing on existing assets Long

Focus On Delivering Experience

‎For any person or organization that directly provides training to those that are new to the industry: "Remember, the measurement of success is based not on the number of students that go through your program, but rather the experience that you and your company delivers that help them confirm that they are in the right industry." ~Michael