The ForeFront Mission

ForeFront CSL is dedicated to helping communities and individuals work, play, and live in a more sustainable way, by sharing new technologies and initiatives, and developing innovative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle the materials we use on a daily basis; championing renewable energy resources, waste management and local production as methods for living in a more sustainable manner.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Pachamama Alliance; Changing Attitudes to Changes the World

On November 8th, I had the chance to attend the Pachamama Alliance Luncheon and Fundraiser. I was deeply moved and inspired by the commitment and energy demonstrated by the organizers and participants at the event. The movement sprang (in the 1990s) out of a simple, but profound idea: That in order for the Achuar (an indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest) to survive the onslaught of development and influence from the modern world, this small group of people would simply need to change the way the rest of the world thinks about our relationship to the earth and the preservation of the environment. In 1995, a group of people, including John Perkins, Bill Twist and Lynne Twist, traveled to the rainforest at the invitation of Achuar leaders to learn more. From this meeting, a global movement of enlightenment and action has grown, inspiring professionals, academics and people of all ages to make a new commitment to stewardship of our planet.

Working at a global, regional and local level, the Pachamama Alliance is generating a critical mass of Conscious Commitment. Empowered by their partnership with the Achuar people, The Pachamama Alliance inspires and galvanizes the human family to generate a critical mass of conscious commitment to a thriving, just and sustainable way of life on Earth. Consistent with this larger vision, they generate and engage people everywhere in transformational conversations and experiences that:
  •     Weave together indigenous and modern worldviews
  •     Connect human beings with their inherent dignity
  •     Reveal the magnificence and opportunity of this moment in human history
  •     Transform human relationships – with ourselves, with one another, and with the natural world.
I am committing myself and ForeFront CSL to follow the example set by the Pachamama Alliance. I look forward to finding ways to work with the Alliance and the related 4YG group, which is a campaign to shift humanity’s course toward a just, fulfilling and sustainable future by the end of 2014. I invite you to find out more about these powerful and proactive organizations:

The Pachamama Alliance: http://www.pachamama.org/
Four Years Go: http://www.fouryearsgo.org/

Monday, November 14, 2011

ELP Prepares Tomorrow’s World Leaders in Sustainable Environmental Management


The application period is now open for the 2012 Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) at the University of California, Berkeley. The program offers a unique learning opportunity for mid-career practitioners and decision-makers to broaden their knowledge and perspectives on environmental and natural resource science, policy, management, and leadership.   Through exposure to innovative sustainability approaches and dialogue, ELP participants develop the tools and skills necessary to meet environmental goals that also reduce poverty and social conflict.  Established in August 2000 with seed funding from UC Berkeley alumni Carolyn and Richard Beahrs,  the ELP offers an annual three week summer certificate course at UC Berkeley, and coordinates the Berkeley ELP Alumni Network with nearly 400 members from over 90 countries.  The ELP also supports post-training  conservation and sustainable development collaborative projects with alumni, their organizations and the UC Berkeley community of faculty, staff, and students.
ELP alumni have gone on to win awards, like the prestigious The Goldman Environmental Prize, and become key international players in projects and policies that are impacting environmental restoration and preservation efforts throughout the world. To find out more, visit the website for the program and download the application for the 2012 edition.