Natural Capitalism Solutions is honored to combine our economic development material with the community mobilization work of Gwendolyn Hallsmith of Global Community Initiatives.

NatCap's Christopher Juniper and Hunter Lovins traveled with Gwendolyn through the darkness and spent 18 - 24 December in Serbia getting home at the stroke of Midnight Christmas Eve. Sponsored by America's Development Foundation, we trained over 40 Serbian community mobilization specialists in economic development. The Serbians eagerly learned about Natural Capitalism, entrepreneurship, taking local action, conflict resolution and the global situation in which their economy finds itself. We also covered such basics of community economic development as how to support existing businesses and grow new, sustainable ones: eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, resource-efficient small manufacturing and renewable and efficient energy use.

The trip enabled us to formalize this work as "LASER: Local Action for Sustainable Economic Renewal." Soon to be embodied in a manual, LASER combines Hunter's Economic Renewal work of the last 20 years, Christopher Juniper's work in economic development and Gwendolyn's life's work in community mobilization.

[Click Here] (soon!) to read Hunter's personal blog from the trip.

[Click Here] to read about CGI.

Gwendolyn Hallsmith
of CGI, Hunter Lovins and Christopher Juniper, working together in Serbia

Natural Capitalism at the Montreal Climate Meeting

Hunter journeyed to Canada as a delegate to the 11^th Conference of Parties of the signatories to the international agreement to limit emissions of gasses that are contributing to climate change. She joined the thousands of activists there to pressure the world’s governments to take stronger action. Hunter gave media interviews, helped Chicago Climate Exchange host a reception for diplomats, industrialists and activists, networked with colleagues from around the globe, met with corporate executives and helped the NGO caucus.

Despite the U.S. Administration’s efforts to scuttle the Kyoto Protocol, the summit ended with an even stronger global commitment to combat global warming. Even in the U.S., almost 200 cities have "ratified" the Kyoto protocol and are implementing programs to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

[Click Here] to read Hunter's personal blogs from the trip.

(www.DriveNeutral.org)

Did you know that your car emits, on average, about 5 tons of climate-changing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year? That’s about 70 times the weight of an average driver.

Now you can do your part to forestall climate change by neutralizing your car’s emissions. When you buy a DriveNeutral certification decal, the non-profit enterprise purchases and then retires, on your behalf, carbon emissions credits through the Chicago Climate Exchange of which the school and Natural Capitalism are associate members. Retiring the credit limits the supply and drives up the price--encouraging more companies to undertake "clean energy" initiatives.

For less than the cost of a tank of gas DriveNeutral will neutralize your emissions for an entire year.

To join in the fight against global warming, here's what YOU can do:

1. Visit www.driveneutral.org.

2. Calculate your emissions based on the kind of car you own and the number of miles you drive.

3. Order your DriveNeutral certification.

4. Display the decal on your vehicle to let others know you have paid your climate dues.

[Click Here] to see a segment on DriveNeutral on ABC

The DriveNeutral program was created by enterprising MBA students, with board oversight, at the Presidio School of Management. The program grew out of a class project that Hunter assigned in which students crafted an argument why the school should join the Chicago Climate Exchange. The students presented their case to the Board of Directors, which approved the membership. With that success, the students and a Board member proposed the creation of the DriveNeutral venture, as a way to increase carbon offsets and to create publicity for the school. This, Hunter says, is the power of real education.

Personal note from Hunter: Thank you, each and every one of you who donated in 2005! Your support means so very much to me. It is what makes possible the work of the Natural Capitalism team. It is what gives me the personal strength to continue going down the road. I appreciate your support more than you can know.

It's not too late! Make your credit card donation by midnight 31 December, or date your check and mail it to us and get a tax deduction for 2005!

[Click Here] to read about upcoming Nat Cap Events in Colorado, South Carolina, California, Canada and on the World Wide Web.

Ongoing in 2006:
Nat Cap looks forward to our continued relationships with the U.S. Army's Ft. Carson Post in Colorado, PortionPac of Illinois and Clif Bar of California.

23 January 2006:
Council for Excellence in Government (Denver, CO)

19 February 2006:
National Textiles Center (Hilton Head, SC)

23 February 2006:
CORE Conference (Boulder, CO)

28 February 2006:
Innovative Educators (Online)
Finding the Competitive Edge: Increasing Institutional Value and Sustainability
Register today!

30 March 2006:
GLOBE Conference (Vancouver, Canada)

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