where there is will, there is a way

1. where there is will, there is a way

2. where there is will, there is a way Updated August 28, 2015 Photo by Melissa Dinwiddie and lifehack.org

3. DISCLAIMER: This summary is for general information and use only. By publishing this summary, I am not endorsing, supporting, representing or guaranteeing the truthfulness, accuracy or reliability of any of the included articles or news sources and do not endorse any opinions expressed in the articles presented. I expressly disclaim any and all liability and responsibility for any action or decision made in reliance on the information presented. Updated August 28, 2015. People all around the world invest themselves every day to create a sustainable way of life, no matter how daunting the challenge. It is so easy to miss the good news of their progress and achievements. This is for them.

4. "I have not met a single human being who's motivated by bad news. Not a single human being.“ ChristianaFigueres, Executive Secretary at UNFCCC. “The Weight of the World”, The New Yorker, Aug 24, 2015.

5. Eco system and public health are being restored in India as a result of the 2006 ban of diclofenac, a painkiller for cattle that causes rapid liver failure and death in vultures. In India, where cows are sacred, vultures are the undertakers of decaying cattle carcasses often left to decompose naturally. Vultures had declined 97% by the mid-90s. Sources: The Nature Conservancy; PBS; Bird Conservation International; zsl.org; countercurrents.org; newscientist.com; The Independent. REVIVING A MENACE Photo by ZSL Living Conservation READREAD WATCH

6. SOLAR-POWERED INDEPENDENCE About $100 billion of solar was installed around the world in 2012, the average project about 34 kW or $100K. That is roughly 1 million very local solar projects. Sources: Jigar Shah, Author of “Creating Climate Wealth”; John Farrell of The Institute of Self Reliance. Photo by solarbusinessfocus.com

7. SCALING LOW CARBON READ READ Big move towards low carbon world: The 2014 UN investment in new State Street Global Advisors and BlackRock ETFs tracking the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index. The investment is estimated at $165 million from the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund, in holdings producing 81% less carbon emissions relative to the standard ACWI Index. Sources: marketwatch.com, blogs.barrons.com, msci.com. READ Photo by flickr.com/photos/lifeexposed

8. WATCH READ READ THE CLEAN ENERGY CITY With the purchase of a 7.4 MW hydroelectric facility, ultra-liberal and free-thinking Burlington, VT, became the first American city to use 100% renewable electricity. The move also keeps electricity rates steady into the future. Sources: pbs.org, cleantechnica.com, benjerry.com. Photo by davidseaver.com

9. URBAN SPROUTS WATCH Growing produce closer to home is here: Brooklyn Grange is a 2.5-acre NYC rooftop farm that grows 50,000 lbs of produce/year for local restaurants, CSA members and weekly farmstands; BrightFarms helps grocers grow fresh produce onsite or nearby, with long-term deals in 8 cities; and, urban startup Lufa Farms locally distributes 190 metric tons of produce year-round for 10,000 people. The outcomes are fresher produce, less food waste, energy efficiency, better land-use. Sources: citiscope.org, lufa.com, washingtonpost.com, upstart.bizjournals.com, brooklyngrangefarm.com, brightfarms.com. Photo by Bob Wiebes and popupcity.net/apps-for-urban-farmers/ WATCH READ

10. THE GOVERNING OF FOOD WASTE In the U.S., the EPA’s “Food Recovery Challenge,” a government food donations program to reduce food waste, is taking aim at 30 million tons of food that go to landfills each year. Per an analysis by ResponsEcology, 99% of those donations feed people in need while preventing 13,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions — the same as not consuming 1.5 million gallonsof gasoline, 31,000 barrels of oil, or 57 rail cars of coal. Sources: epa.gov, foodforthoughtfulaction.com, responsecology.com. Photo by Laura Dunn and faowashington.org READREADWATCH READ

11. NIGHTLY SUNSHINE WATCH READ In 2013, renewable energy became available 24/7. That summer, after operating for two years, solar thermal plant Gemasolar owned by Torresol Energy produced energy 24 hours per day over 36 consecutive. Sources: torresolenergy.com, sener.es. Photo by torresolenergy.com

12. 1000X SOLAR POWER Researchers at MIT found that a stack of two one-molecule-thick materials, Graphene and molybdenum disulfide, could be used to make effective solar cells. Jeffrey Grossman, who led this work with the support of the MIT Energy Initiative, feels this new approach to producing super- thin solar cells "pushes towards the ultimate power conversion possible from a material.” While not as efficient in converting sunlight to electricity as standard silicon solar cells, overall power generation is projected to be far greater than conventional solar cells -- as much as 1,000 times more energy per pound. Sources: web.mit.edu/newsoffice (June 2013), sciencedaily.com. READ Photo by americanplainsartists.com

13. READ SELF-CLEANING BUILDINGS READ In 1974, Professor Wilhelm Barthlott discovered that certain plants have a micro-roughness on leaf surfaces which causes water droplets to bead up and collect dirt. Known as the Lotus Effect, his work inspired paint which today enables self-cleaning buildings that help keep our air and water clean. Sources: Tom McKeag of BioDreamMachine, UC Berkeley; mother nature network, mnn.com; greenbiz.com; odewire.com. Photo by Claire Houck, flickr.com/photos/unforth

14. COUNT-ME-IN Two Massachusetts towns and Boston University signalcomposting momentum at all levels. Hamilton and Wenham, 7,764 and 4,875 residents, respectively, have a 90% curbside composting adoption rate while at BU, with 30,000 students, 85% said they would sort their trash into the appropriate bins, if given the option. Both towns report substantial cost savingsand waste reduction. In 2014, BU diverted 73% of waste from landfills at its GSU food court. Sources: bu.edu/dining, nerc.org, Manchester Cricket. READ READ WATCH Photo by notrashproject.com

15. In 2012, Guangzhou implemented license plate auctions and lotteries to put quality-of-life issues ahead of short-term economic growth. The ambition is a dramatic reduction in new cars on the streets, by roughly half. Most interesting is that Guangzhou is one of China’s largest cities and one of its biggest auto manufacturing centers. Sources: inhabitat.com, nytimes.com. OUTING CARS Photo by spfaust.wordpress.com

16. WHEN KIDS LOVE BEES Momentum towards sustainable living is exceptionally visible in the younger generation, thanks to parents, teachers and caregivers all over. By committing to their passions and beliefs, they raise the human spirit every day, like the young beekeeper who opened the world of his bees to his curious classmates by starting the Thacher Bee Club. READ READREADWATCH WATCH Photo by sowingbysea.com

17. CULTURAL POWER READ Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 2012 drilled eight 1,500 ft geothermal wells and installed ground source heat pumps with an efficiency of up to 300% . That means 3x the thermal energy put into the system will be used -- much more efficient than traditional heating and cooling sources. Great solve for maintaining the 65-70 needed to preserve the museum’s collections. Most interestingly, geothermal heat pumps have been around since the late 1940s. Sources: masscec.com, gardnermuseum.org, energy.gov. Photo by Eva Chan Photography READ

18. 100% GREEN TRAIN TRAVEL READ By 2018, the roughly 1.2 MM daily train trips operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) across Holland will be climate-neutral. To run the trains, Eneco’s wind farms, local and in Scandinavia and Belgium, will be providing electricity comparable to Amsterdam’s needs each year. Sources: energymatters.com.au. windpowermonthly.com. Photo by Dirk J. Ambtman, flickr.com/photos/dirk_jan READ

19. 12,000 cells powered Solar Impulse HB-SIA’s flight from San Francisco to NYC to provoke dialogue about CO2 reduction targets. With the wingspan of an Airbus A340, the aircraft accommodates enough photovoltaic cells to charge its batteries for flying through day and night without jet fuel. Sources: bbc.co.uk, solarimpulse.com. WATCHREAD Photo by Solar Impulse / Associated Press CLEAN FLYING

20. Re-usable totes for internally distributing chocolate annually save 800 tons of food waste, 660 tons of corrugate, $520,000 in costs, and, equally importantly, all those chocolates that no longer get crushed inside collapsing cardboard boxes. Sources: stopwaste.org, Ghirardelli. Photo by Dianne Faw READ READ CHOCOLATE S(H)AVINGS

21. From bike-only days to shared bicycle programs, two-wheeled non-motorized transport is on a dramatic rise. The Economist reports 10x growth since 2004. The Earth Policy Institute projects bike-sharing bicycles in America to quadruple to 37k in 2014. Best of all is that 43% of B-cycle members in Denver use the program’s bikes to replace car trips. Sources: economist.com (blogs, news), peopleforbikes.org, bmj.com. Photo by pentaxforums.com member Ikoflex READ READ READ PEDAL PUSHING10X

22. SOLAR ARTISTRY READ The Science of Light at Grass Valley Elementary School is making electricity from sunshine beautiful. At the Cathedral of the Holy Family, solar-stained glass is generating upwards of 2,500 KWH annually to offset energy costs. One stunning project at a time, Sarah Hall’s work is getting people excited about renewable energy. Sources: thebreakingfreeshow.com, solarenergy.com, sarahhallstudio.com. Photo by ecoartsofla.org WATCH

23. In 2013, Lockheed Martin announced its deal with Concord Blue USA “to offer an advanced waste conversion system to address waste disposal, energy security and climate control issues.” With 2012 net sales of $47.2 billion, this public commitment to advanced waste conversion is a major vote of confidence for this emerging technology.Sources: waste-management-world.com, lockheedmartin.com. Photo by RAF Crown READ GREENING GREEN BIRDS

24. small living BEATS DRIVING Steve Sauer’s Pico Dwelling is an 11'3" x 16'2" x 10'4" storage room turned full-featured Seattle living for two people. With an area of roughly 182 sq ft and inside 1900 cubic feet, it is a cool achievement and example of small, high-quality, supplemental urban living that could become an efficient alternative to spending hours in traffic between office and home each day. Sources: oixio.com, Kirsten Dirksen, tinyhousedesign.com, realestate.aol.com. WATCH READ Photo by Steve Sauer READ READ

25. READ SUN BARRIER READ Marine cloud brightening explores if seeding clouds with moisture from seawater sprays can increase howmuch heat fromthe sun they can reflect back into space while reducing global warming caused by CO2 emissions. Sources: scientificamerican.com, Jonathan Latham, sciencedaily.com,youtube.com/ChemTruthers. Photo by plantsciences.ucdavis.edu WATCH

26. SWITCH(GRASS) TO PLASTIC Metabolix patents point to reducing our reliance on petroleum for plastics. The company’s goal is genetically engineered Switchgrass to make a biodegradable polymer that can be extracted directly from the plant. One outcome would be lowering the cost of biodegradable, plastic shopping bags since the new plant-based process would use crops grown on marginal lands and require less equipment. Sources: metabolix.com, technologyreview.com. READ WATCH Photo by fieldbioinohio.blogspot.com

27. Photo by Boon Edam Inc. GREEN REVOLVER The “door without draft of air,” invented in 1888 by Theophilus Van Kannel and known as the revolving door, dramatically reduces air exchange compared to traditional swing doors. In 2006, MIT students demonstrated that increasing the usage of a revolving door from 50% to 100% can cut energy consumption by 75% and prevent CO2 emission close to 5x. With 64% of participants in that MIT study choosing traditional swing doors, the revolving door – unfortunately and fortunately – is a big idea in sustainability with potential that is yet to be realized. Sources: greenovateboston.org; slate.com; “Modifying Habits Towards Sustainability (MIT Revolving Door Usage) Study”, web.mit.edu; www.good.is. READREAD

28. The ambitious outcome of ITER is commercial reactors that generate more than 10x the power they consume and that use the overabundant fuel source hydrogen. “Terawatts of power with no carbon, virtually no pollution and scant radioactive waste”. Now in its 29th year, ITER is a pursuit to solve the world’s energy problems for millions of years. It may be humanity’s greatest sustainability endeavor -- ever. Sources: iter.org; Raffi Khatchadourian, The New Yorker; ecofriend.com. Photo by ITER Organization, April 2013 WATCHREAD INNOVATING THE RETURN ON POWER

29. HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE The Cleveland Browns braved a big home game to show how they reclaim food scraps for conversion to renewable methane gas versus sending it to a landfill. Replicated across the NFL, Grind2Energy or similar systems would annually divert about 620 tons of food scraps, reduce CO2 emissions by 465,000 pounds and create over 80,000 pounds of natural fertilizer. Best, fans would be buzzing about renewable energy. Sources: T. Casey, TriplePundit; Cleveland.com; rewmag.com. Photo by Chris Brown, flickr.com/people/zoonabar/ READ READ

30. LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL WATCHREAD Photo by enfinitycorp.com 16,000 photovoltaic panels installed on 164,000ft2 of roof of a 2.1 mile rail tunnel between Paris and Amsterdam are expected to generate 3.3 GWh and cut CO2 emissions by 2,400 tons yearly. The panels have an expected life span of 30 to 40 years and are projected to reduce the cost to run the trains by about 30%. Sources: enfinitycorp.com, examiner.com, gizmag.com.

31. In Vienna, old-fashioned technology is being used to run shiny new electric buses by making it possible to recharge their batteries using the older trams’ overhead power lines. That integration of new technology and existing infrastructure is making it achievable and financially feasible for the city to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 300 tons a year. Sources: ec.europa.eu, nytimes.com. NEW OLD TECH READ Photo by Siemens

32. WATERING OUR WORLD Simple solar-powered hand pumps are improving the supply of water to villagers in India and Africa. The impact is remarkable. From more reliable, uninterrupted water to better sanitation and hygiene to higher quality standard of living to greater opportunities, especially for women and children. Sources: grundfos.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com READ WATCH

33. SOCIAL PLASTIC WATCHREAD Plastic waste that washes up in 3rd World countries may soon help reduce poverty. Still early in its development, The Plastic Bank sees value in plastic waste that can be harvested for free and by anyone in exchange for credits to acquire new objects. Those new objects could be anything from small household items to toys, and would be made from recycled plastic pellets using new 3D printing technology. The start-up is on a mission to “turn waste into a life and ecosystem-changing currency called social plastic.” Sources: kalev.com, plasticbank.org. Photo by plasticbank.org

34. CLIMATE PROOF Proving that we can move beyond blame, government and community came together in Copenhagen to address climate change. No matter the cause of the dramatic changes in our environment, the city now has countless proactive design solutions in one master plan, potentially making it the first climate proof, attractive and green capital in the world. Source: designtoimprovelife.dk. WATCHREAD Photo by inhabitat.com

35. EARTH BREW Sierra Nevada diverts 99.8% of its waste from landfillsand incineration. In 2012, 261 tons of the brewers’ organic waste were composted for fields and gardens. Sierra Nevada also captures, recycles and then reuses 95% of CO2 from fermentation. Sources: Mike Hower, TriplePundit; USZWBC. READ Photo by Rob Hill @TWMBeer, blog.totalwine.com WATCH

36. Photo by Robert Heazlewood READ WATCH Shipbuilder Incat Tasmania in July 2013 delivered the world’s fastest ship. Equipped with two 22MW GE LM2500 gas turbines operating on liquid natural gas (LNG), the ship travels at speeds of up to 58 knots or 107 km per hour and has cargo capacity of over 1,000 passengers and 150 cars. Sources: incat.com.au, shipbuildingtribune.com. GREEN OCEAN FLYING

37. THREE SUNS In this story, renewable energy is only 1 of 3 big wins for the sun. The other two are reducing energy poverty and empowering women in rural Africa. Through non-profit Solar Sister, women entrepreneurs in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan receive a ‘business in a bag’ -- including tools, training and networking -- for selling solar-powered lamps. The impact of teaching and supporting these entrepreneurs to switch out kerosene lamps for clean energy is staggering. Every $1 that is invested in a Solar Sister Entrepreneur results in $46 of economic impact. Sources: solarsister.org, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. WATCHWATCHREAD Photo by UNFCCC

38. One of the pioneers and drivers of cloud computing, Salesforce, is stepping up to transform the cloud to a beautiful green by committing to become fully powered by renewable energy. It is a great signal from a prominent IT leader that rising demand for electricity to support cloud computing must be addressed with renewable sources. Facebook and Google recently made similar commitments. Sources: sustainablebrands.com, salesforce.com. GREEN CLOUD READ Photo by twitter.com/heatherface

39. CAR CULTURE 2.0 Many years in the making, Tesla’s Model S is now the best-selling U.S. electric car despite costing more than $70,000. It has a 265 mile range, zero emissions and goes from 0 to 60 in a mere 5.4 seconds. Tesla’s momentum continues through the second half of 2014. Still more buyers than cars, and a stock price up +84% over the past year. Sources: teslamotors.com, techcrunch.com, reuters.com, bloomberg.com, technologyreview.com, ibtimes.com. READ WATCH

40. WATCHREAD WIND ON DEMAND When Duke Energy installed a 36-megawatt (MW) battery alongside its 153-MW Notrees wind farm, it began to answer a key question for renewable energy. What happens when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing? By storing energy and managing the flow of power to the grid with the biggest battery connected to a wind farm ever, the Notrees project is answering that question. And, it is increasing the value of the renewable energy it provides, which for the people of Ector and Winkler is like to wind energy on demand. Sources: duke-energy.com, nytimes.com. 1 MW unit similar to systems at Notrees Photo by americanplainsartists.com

41. WATCHREAD This green roof mitigates urban island effect -- when hard surfaces joined together result in higher temperatures than green areas. Since it decreases heat absorption, Chicago’s City Hall keeps cooler in the summer and requires less energy for air conditioning. The garden also absorbs up to 75% of a 1-inch rainfall before storm water runs off. Non-profit Green Roofs for Healthy Cities recorded 982 projects like this in 2012, or 5.6 million sq. ft. of new green roofs, up +24% over 2011. Sources: greenroofs.org, cityofchicago.org. Photo by greenroofs.com ROOF ENVY

42. Earth Hour in 2014 took place in over 7000 cities and towns, 162 countries and territories across all 7 continents. It is considered the world's largest voluntary action for the environment. Iconic landmarks, entire skylines and millionsof homes went dark as the hour moved around the globe and brought energy consumption, sustainability and climate issues into our individual lives. Sources: earthhour.org, theatlantic.com, worldwildlife.org,minnesota.cbslocal.com. ALL DARK READ Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images (2013)

43. show someone else the way

where there is will, there is a way

Tilly Pick

where there is will, there is a way