Richly diverse in background, the four guests on this week's ENN Radio program address a common theme: The importance of community, communication, and collaboration as a foundation for success.
ENN Radio: March 27, 2006
Richly diverse in background, the four guests on this week's ENN Radio program address a common theme: The importance of community, communication, and collaboration as a foundation for success.
First, ENN's Jerry Kay speaks with David Ford, President and CEO of Metafore. A non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, Metafore helps businesses align their practices to achieve positive environmental outcomes.
Having spent two decades in the forest products business, Ford noticed a troubling disconnect between business and environmental interests. Metafore was created in 1997 on the basis of his conviction that each group could achieve its own goals better and more efficiently if it communicated with the other.
Metafore produces the annual Forest Leadership Forum scheduled this year for May 3 ”“ 6 in Portland, Oregon. The forum is designed to provide an opportunity for businesses to come together and discuss ways to improve the bottom line and the environment, with the goal of putting those ideas into action. Find out more on the Forest Leadership Forum website.
From David Ford's message of how powerful a vehicle collaboration can be for environmental change, Jerry Kay turns to Jean-Michel Cousteau for an entirely different perspective on the significance of connections.
Son of famous ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau ”“ and an accomplished explorer in his own right ”“ Jean-Michel heads the Ocean Futures Society, a non-profit marine conservation organization. Like his father before him, Cousteau uses film as a medium for educating the public about the marine environment. His most recent film project, a PBS series entitled "Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures," sheds new light on the natural phenomena that lie deep beneath the ocean.
An important aspect of his job as Cousteau sees it is connecting people with the environment, since it's human nature to protect what we know and love. As he tells Jerry Kay, these days, dialogue between citizens and decision-makers has the power to transform in ways that were impossible 20 years ago. And as we begin to mend the disconnect between people and the environment, he suggests, both people and nature will benefit.
Next, Kay speaks with John Peterson, subject of a new docudrama, "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." Spanning more than five decades, the film explores the evolution of Peterson's connection to his family's land, culminating in his reinvention of the farm as a community interest. Find out more about his fascinating story on the film's web site: The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
For those of us in the business of environmental communication, Kay's final guest, Adam Cohen, has some words of wisdom derived from his experience writing a book about Internet powerhouse eBay.
In Cohen's opinion, much of eBay's success can be attributed to the sense of community it offers its users. By using a variety of mechanisms for community-building, from the comfortable, anti-corporate design to the ever-popular feedback forum, eBay achieved an unbeatable model. With those lessons at hand, Kay suggests, environmental sites, too, can build accessible, trustworthy online communities with unlimited potential for prompting positive action.
Tune in to ENN Radio for more.
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