Connections: Earth Day 2008

Earth Day is a very important day globally. The number of individuals participating in the celebration is estimated at 500 Million from 175 countries, this year.

Saturday, I participated in the Clean Air Council Run, a 5k race on the backdrop of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, right by the Schuylkill river. This was my second year, and judging from the crowd, the run is growing in popularity. 

That is good. It's good that we have a date with our planet. Better yet, it's good when we make that date every day. I know many of you - of us - do. More car share, more office share, greater like-mindedness. We are connected in more than one way.

[image from New World Biomass Conference]

An Anniversary

Today is a special day for me. Today celebrates my twentieth (20th) anniversary in the US. I still remember it like it was yesterday. No, I did not come off the boat on Ellis Island, which I had the pleasure of seeing again with an intimate group of friends at Blogger Social - exactly twenty years after I saw it with a most special person, my mother. I got off an Alitalia flight. In my mind, I was down on my knees and kissing the earth I was standing on all the same.

Opportunity does not come knocking in a literal sense. You go find it. I found it here. In another language, in another culture, in another country. With me, I brought dreams, experience/education, ideas, what sits between the few inches that separate my ears, and that other piece, the one that sits slightly to the left inside my rib cage. To make those work, I rolled my sleeves way up and used my arms to do and to welcome new friends.

I've said it all along. It's nice to repeat it here. Thank you all. You know who you are. Those who have made it possible. Arms extended from Italy to Philadelphia and anywhere in between. When you see life as a journey, it all counts. It does.

A Launch

The official launch date for EcoTech Daily is today, and the site is already famous. It was quoted by Shel Israel last week, after discovering the site from the review of an interview Shel did with GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. EcoTech is the brainchild of my good friend Chris Baskind. We had a conversation here about an earlier project of his, Lighter Footstep, last year.

I reached out to Chris to get the scoop behind his new effort, which seems to bridge green tech and green business. Here's what he said:

Here we are, several years into what some are calling the Green Revolution, and we're still finding our way. But one of the really neat things that is happening is the nexus of clean technology and business, which is where EcoTech Daily will live. What I find particularly exciting about this area is that it has become non-political: it's all about what works, common interests, and finding new solutions to old problems. There's probably a wider lesson to be learned in all this.

A Connection

Well, more than one so far. I was reading about Ning's Infinite Ambition on Fast Company and suddenly realized that the Earth Day Network is built on Ning. It isn't just a site where users can build their own social networks -- Ning is a model of how to create a perpetual growth machine, says the article. If I recall correctly, the daughter of my good friend Roger von Oech, Athena, works at Ning.

The sidebar in the article talks about Virtuous Circles. Each white dot is a member, the starburst shows that member's invitations, the clusters represent the viral chain. This is a representation of connections. It is estimated that by New Year's Eve 2010, Ning will host 4 Million social networks serving up billions of page views daily.

It has not escaped my notice that Ning cofounder and CEO, Gina Bianchini, has a very Italian name.

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Connections make the world go 'round. It's because when something touches us closely, we pay attention to it, we see it, we take the time. Can connections save the earth?

Comments

[Christopher]

A big congratulations on 2 decades!

My partner is foreign-born (Japan). This marks his 10th year in the U.S. (in a row, he was an exchange student in high school) and our 7th year together. Although, unfortunately I am unable to sponsor him for immigration as we are not recognized as a family.

Unlike too many Americans, I have not forgotten that we are not only a nation of immigrants, but it's because we are a nation of immigrants that we are leaders in innovation. Innovation comes from cross-pollination and nothing cross-pollinates like a welcoming immigration system.

Some day soon, I hope that we pass the Uniting American Families Act, and LGBT families are treated with the same dignity that other binational families are. It would certainly provide a measure of stability to my home. But also to keep America competitive by welcoming too many of the creative class leaders in binational relationships that have or are considering other nations.

[Karen Swim]

Valeria, we're lucky to have you here. Happy Anniversary. Earth Day is nice but I love doing something every day that improves the planet, and my relationship with it and the people whom populate it. Earth Day to me is a great time to celebrate how far we've come while recognizing how far we have to go.

[Jim Lowe]

I had to wish every nature conscious peep a happy Earth Day. I was at the very first Earth Day in Philly at Fairmount Park when I was 17 years old. Sea Train played and there was Sunshine everywhere. Peace and Love to All.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Christopher - your story reminds me of how many others laws and regulations that have not kept up with the times. It's a balance between past and future we all need to keep, while we live in the present. Remembering we are a nation of immigrants, while we mash up cultures and ideas now so that we can continue to innovate for the future. Today, there are greater growth and opportunity in other nations. I see it with students who come here to learn and then go back to their countries where they can contribute more.

@Karen - like with everything else in life, doing something every day beats going for the major effort once in a while. Change is easier to take (and do) in small doses ;-) Taking a moment to contemplate success and meditate on what is next is very wise.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Thank you for the wishes, Jim. Fairmont Park is one of my favorite local haunts.

[NW Guy]

Valeria,

Happy Anniversary; America gained as much as you did from your immigration. Both sets of my grandparents were immigrants and it is fascinating to watch how families evolve.

I still believe that the US is a rich environment for innovation and growth but that overall living/property standards have evolved so that other countries can also enjoy the fruits of their people. Only by maintaining a free and open society will this continue.

Also, happy Earth Day. Mine was spent in the woods pulling ivy; giving native plants a fighting chance of regenerating.

Hope that your next 20 years are as much fun as the last 20!

[Christopher]

@Valeria I agree, I wonder how many of those students would stay here if they were welcomed? I know many people that went back home after art school, most of them, with reservations. They just couldn't find a way to stay in the U.S. And right now, the rest of the developed world is doing a better job at welcoming LGBT couples and artists and designers, unfortunately for us. Our competitiveness comes from our ability to be an international incubator, but incubation doesn't mean anything if people don't then put down roots.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Bruce - thank you for the kind words. What the world rarely sees in the public face of the US is the warmth and generosity of the people here. This is indeed a rich environment and hopefully it will go back to being more open and accepting. I have the privilege of meeting students from all over the world and I am impressed by their intelligence and the respect they radiate. My day was spent trying not to water bare soil so not to grow weeds (when you cut your budgets, the seeds, more water will not give you more flowers, just weeds).

@Christopher - I know that Philadelphia is working on becoming a city of choice for students to stay. We have lots of colleges and universities in the area... Last year I attended an event with Richard Florida about urban centers at the University of the Arts that was quite interesting. You make valid points!

[Toby]

Valeria - Echoing NW Guy .. it was a wonderful, lucky day when you arrived in the States. Happy anniversary!