Sustainable Initiatives by Andrea Dean

In this podcast I interview Zach Mermel about the Transition Town Movement in Hawaii. The Transition Town Movement came out of the Permaculture Community. Rob Hopkins was teaching permaculture in Kinsale, Ireland and he challenged his students to think about a future that was post peak oil by creating an energy descent action plan. This document was the origin of what has now become the Transition Towns movement. As Rob Hopkins writes in The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience, “It is one thing to campaign against climate change and quite another to paint a compelling and engaging vision of a post-carbon world in such a way as to enthuse others to embark on a journey towards it.”


There are no official Transition Town communities here in Hawaii yet, but there are discussions afoot and communities who are beginning to discuss how to become transition towns. There is an online social network http://transitionhawaii.ning.com/ where you can join the Hawaii conversation and learn more about the Transition Town movement. Zach Mermel started the social networking site transitionhawaii.ning.com and has gone through the Transition Town training.


Read about the 12 Key Steps to embarking on your transition journey.


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In this podcast I interview Susan Cox, also known as Green Power Girl. Susan is an environmental educator and activist and the creator of Green Power Girl and the other Green Power Heros- Buddy Biomass, Jah Wind Power, Mercury Man, Marina del Ray and others. Susan transforms herself into the Green Power Girl and does energy and environmental education in the schools- she is currently in three states and is building her capacity to expand her reach nationwide. The Green Power Girl education includes an assembly program, activities, and resources for teachers. Susan has also created the Green Power Hero Universe Card Game. There is an animated version of Green Power Girl and her origin story which Susan shows to students (and below).



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It does work, doesn’t it? Do you feel cheap? Last week I attended a webinar entitled Creating an Effective Social Media Strategy Using the New Rules of Marketing & PR given by Marketing and PR strategist David Meerman Scott. The webinar was great and I took away a lot of useful information, but one thing continues to haunt me.


Must sex or weight loss or improved self-image be the driver behind every successful on-line marketing campaign? David gave an example of a dentist outside of Boston (this sounds good, I’m thinking), who wrote a very successful e-book (I can do that, I’m thinking), called Healthy Mouth, Healthy Sex (dang, how can green business compete with that?) It is catchy… I am blogging about it right now…I know you are clicking on it, aren’t you? I have just lost you off of my blog page, haven’t I?


Which leads me to the questions of the day:
-Does sex sell green business?
-How do we make green business sexy? Should we?
-Did my headline: Have More Sex, Lose Weight and Make More Money with Green Business! get you to my blog? What then- did you peruse my services? Did it enhance or detract from my credibility?
-I would like to have 100,000 people download my e-book (no, I haven’t written it yet!), what do people want in the way of green biz information? What is enticing and engaging?

I am just not that good at coming up with witty, marketable names for my classes. Help me!


My first Green Business Coaching Group is wrapping up in July and I am launching a new Green Business Group/Class in September. The new Group will feature different green business topics being taught each week by me and special guest speakers. Coaching techniques (active listening, powerful questioning, asking for commitments and accountability, etc) will be incorporated in the conversation in order to enhance learning and help participants to achieve their goals. Participants will also be able to help drive the agenda- asking for classes on topics of interest to them. People in the current group have really enjoyed the conversations that we have had and the connections they have made with each other. Feeling connected to each other and exchanging ideas has been a rich part of our group.


The New Name

Some basic info:

Here are some of the words that I have been playing with, but unable to put into any great order:
Connect (Connection)
Engage (Engagement)
Achievement (Achievement)
Accomplish (Accomplishment)
Regenerate
Action
Stimulate
Accomplishment
Network with linke-minded….
Advancement
Progression
Expansion
Innovation
Resource
Evolution
Innovate (Innovation)
Eco preneur
Eco innovation
Aina innovation
Green Business
Green Biz
Sustainable business class series
Sustainable Business
Sustain biz
Greenasiannce
Socio eco
Green biz innovators class series
Eco biz
Green Team…..
Green Biz Blast
Hawaii Green Innovators
Eco Innovators
Going Green Hawaiian Style
Hawaii Eco-preneurs
Green Business Instutute of Hawaii
Green Biz Grow and Connect


If I choose a name that you come up with, I am happy to offer you a place in the Green Biz Group (or whatever it’s called!)- a $390 value.

Mary Traynor of Akamai Promotions will be the guest teacher in my Green Business Coaching Group.


Here are some national and Hawaii green internet resources to get things started:


Hawaii Green Directories

HawaiiHealthGuide.com Green Business Directory
HawaiiGreenPages.com
Hawaii Going Green Marketplace


National Green Directories

Green America National Green Pages (must qualify)
GreenConnected.com
GenGreenLife.com
GreenDrinks.ning.com


Hawaii Green Social Networks

GreenHawaii.com
PikoHawaii.ning.com
HawaiiGreenLeaders.ning.com


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