Author Archive
April 26th, 2010
Two weeks ago, a book that could change your life was released. Sound like a hefty claim? Not according to J. Kirk Boyd, author of 2048: Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together. Kirk’s claim, precisely, is that your life and the lives of every human being on the planet will change by the year 2048. This is the year that, according to the book, mankind will implement an International Bill of Human Rights, designed to fully realize the freedoms we are born with. And apparently, Kirk isn’t the only one who believes this is possible—far from it. Last week, 2048, Kirk’s debut book, climbed all the way to an impressive #2 on the San Francisco Chronicle’s NCIBA/IndieBound Bestseller List.
The exciting announcement comes on the heels of a weeklong tour through the Bay Area, during which Kirk conversed with attendees and sought input on the document he feels can be a reality by the year 2048, the 100th anniversary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a major inspiration behind the book. Through 2048, Kirk hopes to fulfill the dreams of Eleanor Roosevelt and many others who imagined a world in which human rights are globally protected.
Kirk recently returned from a mini-tour of Canada, and plans are in the works for an extensive East Coast tour in the fall. In the meantime, he encourages people to visit the website of the 2048 Project and contribute their insights and feedback on the current draft of the Bill. For Kirk, the key to successfully creating a more just society is the participation of as many people, from as many walks of life as possible.
We at ELISE extend our heartfelt congratulations to Kirk, who is changing the world one book at a time.
April 22nd, 2010
It’s Earth Day! In Philadelphia, even our Mayor is getting involved, with his pre-holiday announcement that he plans to make Philadelphia the nation’s greenest city by 2015. Mayor Nutter isn’t the only notable green mayor: San Francisco (where we spent some time last month) has Gavin Newsom; Phoenix has Phil Gordon; even New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been praised for his efforts to make the Big Apple more sustainable.
Increasingly, the efforts of these mayors, as well as the work of other, less political green advocates and innovators, are appearing in the mainstream press. But before “green” became a hot topic sure to sell magazines and newspapers, a handful of blogs were dedicating their resources to promoting energy efficiency, sustainable living, slow foods and other environmentally-friendly coverage. And even with sustainability now leading issues of Time Magazine and earning multi-page spreads in The New York Times, it’s really the bloggers who still lead the way in environmentally focused coverage. So we wanted to dedicate this year’s Earth Day blog post to these green bloggers: some have been around for years, some just a few months, but all are consistently ahead of the curve.
Planet Green/Treehugger
Both part of the Discovery television network, Planet Green and Treehugger have not only been very generous with their coverage of ELISE clients, but also have become two of our go-to outlets for resources about sustainable innovation; healthy, organic recipes; and tips for greening our households (who knew vinegar could work so much magic?) If you’ve never poked around Planet Green and Treehugger, we strongly suggest you go do it just as soon as you’re finished reading the rest of this post.
Inhabitat
Inhabitat’s tagline, “design will save the world,” does a better job of summing up their website than we ever could. Looking at technology and practices that can someday direct us towards a “smarter and more sustainable future,” the blog (where we have also secured coverage) isn’t just concerned with what’s green: it’s concerned with what’s green, designed well, and infinitely practical, whether in the developed or developing world. Plus, hey, lots of pretty pictures.
Dot Earth
Although Andrew C. Revkin is no longer regularly contributing to the New York Times‘ print edition, his popular, informative Dot Earth blog is still going strong. Concerned with the effect that the earth’s growing population will have on our shared natural resources, the Times blog is opinionated and informative, based as much on hard facts as deep convictions. We kind of love it.
Care2
Less a blog than a community portal, Care2 encourages visitors to not just educate themselves about being green, but also to get involved in green causes and to interact with others who might have similar interests. Send an e-card, sign a petition, or vote in a poll. The blog posts are still there, but Care2 uses its platform to be so much more.
NextBillion
NextBillion isn’t a green blog, per se, but the site, which focuses on the connection between development and enterprise, operates on the explicit understanding that sustainable technology is also, sometimes, the easiest and most affordable to disseminate in the developing world. And we’re not just saying that because NextBillion has covered our clients.
Grist
One of the oldest blogs on our list, Grist approaches its reporting on sustainability and the environment with a sense of humor, encouraging readers to “Laugh now—or the planet gets it.” Filled with original reporting and in-depth analysis on other outlets’ green stories, Grist explains their light-hearted tone in a way that would be less endearing if their content wasn’t so consistently informative: “At Grist, we take our work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Because of the many things this planet is running out of, sanctimonious tree-huggers ain’t one of them. ”
The GOOD Blog
Although GOOD produces a monthly print magazine, it’s their blog that we visit on a regular basis (and that a few of our clients have contributed to) for upbeat profiles of young green inventors and optimistic suggestions for people looking to trade Subaru for Schwinn. Like NextBillion.net, The GOOD Blog is not explicitly “green,” but emphasizes the idea that sustainability and responsibility help us all.
Green Is Sexy
Actress Rachel McAdams, who is pretty sexy herself, started this blog with two friends to spread the word that a handful of tiny lifestyle changes can make a big impact on the world around us. Filled with tips for everything from road trips to beauty tips, Green is Sexy is chock full of eco-minded suggestions that seem obvious, but you might not have thought of yourself.
Triple Pundit
For anyone who associates the green movement with “hippies,” Triple Pundit is here to prove you wrong, examining the business of green and a triple bottom line—people, planet, profit. This is not where to go for advice on a good, non-toxic toilet cleaner. Instead, check out posts on Deutsche Bank’s renovated German headquarters or BP shareholders.
World Changing
With contributors around the globe, World Changing is the closest thing we’ve seen to an independent, green-focused media conglomerate. The Seattle-based nonprofit posts content ranging from contaminated water in the third world to the effect of climage change on some of the world’s most developed cities, and is consistently rated as one of the top eco mags in the Nielsen Net Ratings system.
March 24th, 2010
Starting tomorrow, Team ELISE will be in San Francisco for the NCIIA’s annual March Madness for Mind, a showcase of collegiate invention and innovation held this year at the Exploratorium. During the event, Excellence and Entrepreneurship Teams (E-Teams)—collaborating groups of college students, faculty members and industry mentors who have received NCIIA grants—from all over the country will unveil their inventions to the public, many for the first time. This year, sixteen E-Teams from Brown (see above) to Stanford and all points in between will display their state-of-the-art medical, agricultural and environmental innovations during the exhibit.
The NCIIA has partnered with Inventors Digest, the nation’s longest running publication for the inventing culture, to host a video competition for participating E-Teams. Public voting ended last week, but the videos are still available on the Inventors Digest Web site. The winners of the competition will be announced at the event on Saturday March 27 after the top three videos are screened.
We’re excited to see which teams received the most votes and to get an up-close look at the work these dedicated and creative students and their professors have put in over the past year. More on our trip when we’re all back east!
February 23rd, 2010
At ELISE, we make it our business to stay on top of what is happening in the world. Whether it is local Philadelphia news or a larger, global issue, we feel it is important to be aware and engaged. Perhaps because we are currently an all female outfit, we are particularly attuned to issues that affect the lives of women, worldwide.
For this reason among others, we are very pleased to be collaborating on an event with Health & Development International (HDI) at The Carter Center.
HDI will host its second global meeting on the prevention of obstetric fistula, a problem that plagues millions of women in developing countries. The event is taking place on March 9 & 10 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, The Carter Center is committed to advancing human rights and creating a world in which every man, woman and child has the opportunity to live peacefully and enjoy good health.
HDI’s mission is to advance global public health and human dignity, particularly the health and socio-economic situation of under-served populations, which are especially vulnerable to and constrained by preventable, degrading disease.
In particular, HDI is devoted to the prevention of obstetric fistula, a humiliating, yet easily preventable complication of childbirth, that now exists almost only in the poorest developing countries. Â HDI started the world’s first community-based rapid obstetric fistula prevention program in Bankilare, Niger. As a result, new obstetric fistula cases are down markedly in the project area, and deaths from obstructed labor are down 100 percent. Â The once-silenced and shamed condition is now being addressed on the global stage. In his columns, as well as his new book, Half the Sky, Nicholas Kristof spotlights the unnecessary suffering of these women and advocates for initiatives to fund medical facilities and provide care so these women may be cured.
ELISE is honored to support the efforts of organizations that address such critical needs as the right to good health—needs that go un-met for far too many. Thanks to organizations such as HDI and other like-minded groups wrestling with how best to scale up their efforts, this is changing.
January 27th, 2010
The recent earthquake in Haiti directed the world’s attention to the needs and suffering of a country that has long experienced dire poverty. Fortunately, there are organizations on the ground in Haiti and elsewhere that work daily to solve the world’s most pressing problems. At ELISE, we support clients who do just that. Through social innovation, education and entrepreneurship, our clients make the world a better place.
Today we continue that theme as we welcome the newest member of the ELISE family—SNV Netherlands Development Organization, an international development organization of Dutch origin currently at work in 32 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Balkans.
SNV works to implement local solutions to social and economic development challenges by supporting national and local actors within government, civil and private sectors. By providing support for local organizations, SNV sets the framework for the poor to strengthen their capacities and bring themselves out of poverty.
Its strategy is to alleviate poverty by focusing on increasing people’s income and employment opportunities in specific productive sectors, as well as improving access to basic services including water and sanitation, education and renewable energy. Above all, SNV is dedicated to a society in which all people enjoy freedom to pursue their own sustainable development.
Stay tuned to our blog for more information and updates on SNV. We are very excited to be working with an organization that shares our commitment to innovation and positive change.
January 5th, 2010
Happy New Year! We hope all of you are as excited for 2010 as we are here at ELISE. This is proving to be a fantastic year, chock-full of many new events and experiences. Over the next few months ELISE will be on the go, East Coast to West Coast and everywhere in between.
Here is just a sampling of some of our exciting work to come:
February 11-13, 2010: Tech4Society, an Ashoka-Lemelson celebration, will be held in Hyderabad, India. Tech4Society is a three-day conference that is expected to draw over 250 social entrepreneurs, innovators, business leaders and movers and shakers who will explore how technology can drive social change.
March 5, 2010: Opening of the Marvels and Ciphers exhibit at the museum at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Old City, Philadelphia. The world premiere exhibition examines the dichotomy that exists between scientist and citizen: the first group trying to understand the universe, and the second trying to understand the scientist.
March 8, 2010: Richard Holmes will be hosting a lecture and reading at CHF. Holmes is a biographer, whose latest book, The Age of Wonder (2008), was recently named the best nonfiction book of 2009 by TIME. The Age of Wonder focuses on the life and work of the Romantic-age scientists who laid the foundation for modern science.
March 25-27, 2010: NCIIA’s annual March Madness for the Mind 2010 will be held at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California. The event showcases the nation’s top “E-Teams”—collaborating groups of college students, faculty and industry mentors who have received NCIIA grants—unveiling their inventions to the public, many for the first time.
Week of April 12, 2010: Launch of Kirk Boyd’s book, 2048: Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together, in San Francisco, California. The University of California, Berkeley Law Professor’s book focuses on an enforceable international agreement that will create a social order based upon human rights.
We are looking forward to all that 2010 has to offer. Let us know if we will see you at any of these events and be sure to visit us on this blog and our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.
December 18th, 2009
Christmas at the Macy’s in Center City, Philadelphia
The ELISE communications headquarters is winding down now, so that we can all take time to spend the holiday season with our friends and family and get some respite for what will be a busy spring in 2010. If you need to reach any of us, you’ll still be able to get us via e-mail and cell—but the blog won’t be updated until after the holidays.
Until then, happy holidays to you and yours. We’re very thankful for a productive year at ELISE and are just now welcoming several new clients to our growing list! We’ll be back in two weeks with more updates on our clients; thoughts on the changing face of journalism; and PR and social media best practices. Can’t take the suspense? You can always peruse our archives (on your left).
Thanks to our friends and clients for a fantastic 2009, against all odds. We’ll see you next year!*
*In the meanwhile, have a little extra holiday cheer here.
December 10th, 2009
At ELISE, we are proud to work with clients who do their part to support social innovation, entrepreneurship and education. And, just in time for Human Rights Day, we are excited to announce our new client, author Kirk Boyd and his book, 2048: Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together (April 2010; Berrett-Koehler Publishers).
The book furthers the ongoing international social movement started by Eleanor Roosevelt and others with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by explaining how the rights in this document can be made actionable in the courts of all countries. The plan in the book is supported by the 2048 Project at the U.C. Berkeley Law School. The Project—an affiliation of educational institutions, human rights centers, non-governmental organizations, businesses and foundations—is collaborating to educate students and the public about the evolution of human rights. If it sounds very much like the familiar saying “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” that would make sense because Boyd, the Executive Director of the 2048 Project and a Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, has been inspired by Thomas Jefferson, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and more recently, the author of Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson.
The 2048 Project emphasizes our shared humanity, and looks to provide a process to draft an optimal international framework for enacting human rights that can be in place by the year 2048, the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Welcome, Boyd, to ELISE and thank you for providing us with a guidebook on how we can participate in creating a more just society.
December 1st, 2009
Image Credit: Flickr user Jayel Aheram
For many of us, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are spent in true holiday style. We sing Christmas carols; we brave the over-crowded malls (or we don’t, and we buy everything on Amazon.com); we spend time with our loved ones. Even for those of us who are not religious, the holiday season is a happy time of year that really gives us the opportunity to sit back and be grateful for all that we have—at least in the developed world.
It’s perhaps for that reason that World AIDS day falls right in the middle of the holiday season. The World AIDS Campaign began this annual December 1 tradition in 1988—at a time when AIDS and HIV were greatly misunderstood—to promote education and understanding about the disease. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, World AIDS Day reminds us that there are others out there who are not so fortunate nor as carefree as we. When everything around is decked out in red and green, World AIDS Day asks us to focus, just a little, on the red.
The World AIDS Campaign is not an ELISE client, nor do we work with any AIDS-focused charities. But many of our clients support technology that could help reduce the spread of the virus, and facilitate its diagnosis, in the developing world. The Lemelson Foundation, for instance, granted funds to PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) to continue their work in developing a female condom that could not only protect women in the developing world from unwanted pregnancies, but also reduce these women’s risks of contracting HIV or another sexually-transmitted disease. A few months ago, the NCIIA awarded top honors at their annual BMEidea competition to NanoLab (formerly Lab-on-a-Stick), a portable diagnostic tool that could allow for early diagnoses of diseases, such as HIV and AIDS, in remote or developing areas that did not have diagnostic lab facilities. And over the summer, the Games for Health Conference in Boston hosted a presentation on Pamoja Mtanni, a videogame about HIV prevention for Kenyan youth.
We are proud to help these amazing projects, and others, gain the notoriety they deserve—on World AIDS Day and every other day of the year.
October 15th, 2009
Change.org’s Blog Action Day “is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day,” with the “aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion” on a different theme every year. This year’s theme is “Climate Change.” While still a controversial topic, more and more people are acknowledging that climate change—popularly referred to as “global warming“—is a real problem, and are looking for solutions.
ELISE client The Lemelson Foundation supports a number of energy-efficient technologies, most notably the programs included in their InventingGreen(tm) portfolio of projects. The organizations included in InventingGreen are working on clean energy technology that can reduce carbon emissions or dependence on petroleum-based fuels—two things that are widely thought to contribute to global warming—with an added bonus: they are also helping to grow and strengthen the local economies where their technologies are being used. These projects are Envirofit International’s two-stroke retrofit kits for motorcycle taxis, which can reduce carbon emissions 75-90% and increase fuel efficiency by 30-50%; affordable solar energy systems designed by IDEAAS that could bring electricity to 3,000 families; Lifelights, the Freeplay Foundation’s safe and sustainable alternative to kerosene lanterns; and off-grid renewable energy fueled by biowaste, engineered by Emergence Bioenergy, Inc.
The Lemelson Foundation is also co-sponsoring Andrew C. Revkin’s visit to Portland State University next month, in conjunction with EcoTrust. Revkin, who maintains The New York Times‘ Dot Earth blog, has written extensively about climate change and will be discussing how to restore certain environmental conditions as the earth’s population continues to grow.
At ELISE, we’re glad to see our clients support proactive work that can and likely will affect climate change for the better, and it’s something we try to do on a smaller scale, too. From our very large recycling bin, to or recent acquisition of real plates and glasses (instead of disposable), to the scrap paper pile that ensures that we re-use paper as much and as often as possible, to our timed thermostat that makes sure we aren’t using extra energy to heat and cool the office when it’s not needed, we’re doing our part to keep the conversation about environmental responsibility going, even when it’s not Blog Action Day.
For more on Blog Action Day, and to see how you can get involved in the global conversation, follow @blogactionday or #bad09 on Twitter.
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