Why Small Business is the Key to a Thriving Economy
April 2010
By Kelly Doody
Smack in the middle of another cold and dreary January in Calgary – a month where finding fresh produce and locally-grown greens takes sharp elbows and deep pockets, and following a year where staying afloat as a privately-owned boutique or independent business proved near impossible, community-conscious locals gathered downtown to hear the wise words of renowned American small business activist Michael Shuman.
It was thanks to a joint effort of REAP and Thrive – Calgary’s Community Economic Development Network that Shuman made the trek north to Cowtown – the city some would argue to
be the northern hemisphere’s hub of big box retail, industrial-sized
grocery stores and globalized business goals.
Teaching REAP Values: A Child’s Primer
February 2010
Book Review: The ABC Field Guide to Faeries
By Angus Macdonell
Are you a parent looking for ways to promote the concepts of sustainability, environmental awareness and respect for others to your kids? Setting a good example is the most obvious method but children also need to have their own realizations as they nurture a sense of global accountability and a broader perspective toward life. That’s where a good book can help.
Author Susanne Alexander-Heaton’s The ABC Field Guide to Faeries is an excellent resource that creatively instills your progeny with values that espouse a love for nature and the people with whom they share their planet. Written for ages six and up, it captures the innocence of children and the magic of
make-believe while providing meaningful messages to a
readership that will take them to heart as readily as they do milk
and cookies.
Quenching our Thirst for the Truth about Bottled Water
December 2008
By Margaret Chandler
In this three-part series, I’ll take an in-depth look at the bottled water industry: how water withdrawals impact local watersheds; the issues of water pricing; recent campaigns of the anti-bottled-water activists; health, waste, and energy considerations; quality of tap water versus bottled water; and the subtle and not so subtle marketing ploys of the Big Four. So buckle up, grab a glass of water, and enjoy the read!
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When you drink the water, remember the spring. Chinese proverb
Good heavens. Many people don’t even know the source of their tap water (in Calgary, if you live northside, it’s the Bow River; if you live southside, it’s the Glenmore Reservoir on the Elbow River), let alone where their bottled water comes from.
40 Hours a Week is Too Long
September 2008
By Craig Copeland
Search the archives of the New York Times and you’ll see the newspaper’s most recent article about the four-day workweek was published in 1993.
In September 2006, Macleans magazine published an article about how working 60 hours per week increases employee injury risk (wow, really?), but it didn’t mention the possibility of reducing the standard workweek to less than 40 hours.
Humanity’s Most Significant Accomplishment
August 2008
Bill McKibben is one of the world’s most influential
environmentalists.* His most recent public appearance was at the
Banff Centre. It was inspiring. In response to the impending climate-change disaster, he advocates a creative solution that just might save us all.
Yet McKibben’s presentation was also discouraging – not because his situation assessment gives the world a mere five to ten years to either mobilize or pray – but because he spoke to only a few hundred people. The theatre was full. The audience was rapt. But McKibben’s presentation is one everyone, particularly everyone in Alberta, needs to hear.
Making an Impact by Eating Local
May 2008
Book Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
By Joy Anderson
My sister-in-law gave me Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for my birthday. When she told me that it was “kind of like the Hundred Mile Diet”, my immediate thought was “ugh, the hundred mile diet was designed for people living on the west coast NOT in Calgary.”
In truth, I knew very little about the rationale behind the Hundred Mile Diet. For the past 10 years I have bought mostly organic and fair-trade products. And I believed that I was making the right choice for my health and the sustainability of our planet. Reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle gave me a new education and insight into my food choices.
Big ≠ great. Great ≠ big.
March 2008
Book Review: Small Giants
Pac-Man was a good video game but a lousy business philosophy.
Gobble your way to success? Sure, if your perspective is short term, and profit your only goal.
Yet many business leaders persist in their Pac-Man mentality as if they have framed portraits of the disembodied mouth sitting on their desks.
Anything That Exists is Possible
January 2008
Book Review: The Geography of Hope
By Stephanie Jackman
“Anything that exists is possible” was Chris Turner’s mantra while surveying sustainable solutions worldwide – solutions already in place – that will change the course of the next generation.
By introducing us to people, communities, companies and governments setting exciting examples all of us can emulate, The Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need proves it’s possible to live, even thrive, without negatively affecting our planet. And it strongly suggests our net impact can be positive.
