An Update on our Fellow, Hazel Henderson The Academy is happy to share that our Fellow, the wonderful Hazel Henderson, recently participated in a webinar entitled “Sixty Minutes with Ecological Economists Hazel Henderson and Kate Raworth”. Scroll down below to watch a recording of this interview. Hazel is an ecological economist and futurist, and the […]
May Round-Up
“Each shift makes more shifts possible. But only if we go actively toward the possibilities rather than passively into the collapse.” – Rebecca Solnit Dear Academy Friends and Supporters, Here we are at the end of May! We feel a growing optimism looking towards summer as vaccines continue to impact the case counts in the […]
April Round-Up
Dear Academy Friends and Supporters, “The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” – Harriet Ann Jacobs As we arrive on the last day of April 2021, I reflect on how this April is different and yet similar from the last. We remain cautious and […]
75 Years of Global Prosperity: A Brief History of Free Trade
Welcome back to New Business Paradigms, where we address the most pressing socioeconomic issues and trends of our time. On this episode, Kristy Jansen and Rinaldo Brutoco discuss the history of trade and the impact of free trade in the globalized world. We discuss multi-lateral trade agreements, notably Brexit and NAFTA, and check […]
Practically Visionary
This article was published on November 24 in the Montecito Journal’s “The Giving List” – a curated guide to the philanthropic community of Santa Barbara. Click here to read the digital online edition “Helping build strong and lasting relationships between our philanthropic community and the nonprofit organizations which not only serve as a critical safety […]
Proposed COVID-19 Economic Solution
Only a few weeks ago we were all in our offices hard at work, among other things promoting a clean energy future and stakeholder capitalism, and excited about our new relationship with the Montecito Journal. That shifted mid-March when it became clear that this novel Coronavirus had become a public health emergency here in California and around the world. […]
Academy Moves Forward on Nuclear Crisis Awareness
On March 11, 2011, there was a seismic catastrophe unrelated to greenhouse gas emissions that devastated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and placed a huge question mark on the claims of nuclear fission to be a “clean” and relatively benign source of energy. Revelations over the past year have brought alarming clarity to the […]
Advanced Community Energy (ACE): A Winning Hand for Local Energy Development
The increasing prevalence of wildfires (often sparked by utility wires) and other extreme weather events highlights the urgent need for DERs and local microgrid systems to provide true resiliency against climate-induced disruption and state authorized Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) that would preemptively deenergize transmission lines. Unfortunately, there are many hurdles to be cleared before […]
WATCH: Video of Global Citizens Club November 2019 Event “Designing Dreams from Derricks”
On November 6th, 2019 we concluded the Global Citizens Club 2019 conference series on “Greening our Infrastructure.” With the company of over 100 Santa Barbara community members and four key panelists, “Designing Dreams from Derricks” focused on the new discussion of the decommissioning of oil platforms off the coast of Santa Barbara. Panel Moderated by: Rinaldo […]
Designing Dreams from Derricks
Global Citizens Club Community Meeting Wednesday, November 6, 2019 5:00pm – 7:00pm Belmont El Encanto Hotel SANTA BARBARA, California – The future of the stranded oil derricks off of the Santa Barbara coastline will be the subject of a community meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the Belmond El Encanto Hotel & Spa. “Designing Dreams […]
Repurposing Offshore Oil Infrastructure to Save the Planet
By Robert Perry When most people think of climate change, they focus on the atmosphere. In truth, it is our oceans, lakes and other water resources that serve as the bulwark in preserving a livable climate and are closer to collapse than most realize. Indeed, acceleration of climate change will reach a whole new level […]
PSPS Outages Expected in Santa Barbara This Week (including Montecito)
Southern California Edison (SCE) has recently announced that a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) is possible for some Santa Barbara County areas starting Friday, due to high wind conditions. The length of the outages is currently unknown and depends on weather conditions. Santa Barbara county urges residents, for all PSPS events, to be prepared for […]