Introduction Opportunities to work in the food system, at many scales, are plentiful but, often, only for a select few. Greater diversity and inclusivity is needed to both educate a diverse …

Our Innate Need for Communion with Nature In 1984, biologist E.O. Wilson coined the term “biophilia.” According to Wilson, biophilia captures the idea that human beings, because of our …

Hannah Moloney, co-founder and co-director of Good Life Permaculture, was in the pursuit of a duck on the run when I arrived at her property on a fine summer evening. The duck had wandered into …

The problem Most African farmers often rely on guesswork in their farming practices. Many make decisions based on beliefs that have been passed from one generation to another, over centuries, …

What’s for dinner on your menu tonight? More so than ever before, it is becoming safe to assume there will be some fish or shellfish landing on your plate, as seafood consumption is on the rise. …

Public concerns around food safety have recently exploded in China, following a series of food safety incidents and scandals reported in the media since 2008. When it comes to food safety, …

Wouldn’t it be more effective if communities around the world could learn about HIV/AIDS or empowering women from entertaining radio and television shows, instead of pamphlets? Well, Equal Access …

Carson River, 2014. The Nature Conservancy’s River Fork Ranch Preserve, Minden, Nevada. 270 feet long. Woven and live-staked Coyote Willow harvested from the river. Photographer: Mary …

If environmental concerns found a wider audience in the last three decades, The Environmental Media Association (EMA) has played a significant role in it. Based in Beverly Hills, the nonprofit …

For many children escaping the Syrian war, the trauma of violence and loss lingers long after the journey away from home. In Sultanbeyli, a suburb of Istanbul with a burgeoning refugee …

This inaugural issue of Solutions marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long and fruitful dialogue across our global society. To help build a shared vision of where our society wants to …

Our urge to create graffiti has probably been around since the beginning of humankind. Certainly in Portugal, it has been around for tens of thousands of years. At the Prehistoric Rock Art Sites …

Key Concepts: Regenerative Development, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact, International Standards Organization, Social and Environmental Responsibility   …

In 2009, Rockstrom et al published an article titled ‘Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity’. This article introduced us to the idea of planetary boundaries. …

Carson River, 2014. The Nature Conservancy’s River Fork Ranch Preserve, Minden, Nevada. 270 feet long. Woven and live-staked Coyote Willow harvested from the river. Photographer: Mary …

Dubbed a ‘global center of marine biodiversity,’1 the waters around the Philippines have some of the highest concentrations of marine species in the world.2–4 However, the …

Wild populations of the world’s five rhino species have been in steady retreat for centuries in the face of expanding human populations that encroach upon their habitat and hunt them for …

Landmines are an old weapon that were used heavily in WWII and continue to pose a threat today in many developing countries. In Cambodia, landmines have claimed more than 64,000 casualties since …

Situated against the Rocky Mountains and connected to the western edge of the agricultural heartland of the U.S., Denver has long had a focus on the wise management of our natural resources. We …

Denver is a city in transition. Ranked as one of the best places to live in the country,1 Denver ‘s population is booming. Over the past five years, the city has averaged close to 2.1% annual …

Key Concepts: Regenerative Development, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact, International Standards Organization, Social and Environmental Responsibility   …

For the past century, most societies have adopted a narrow definition of economic growth as the route to development. Growth has become an end in itself, as a result of which, the true meaning of …

In a time when the “American Dream” tells us that bigger is better, people are downsizing their space to make more room in their lives. Tiny Houses are small homes, often built by …

Each year, billions of dollars in energy infrastructure are damaged or destroyed as a result of natural disasters, causing significant social and economic disruptions. Climate change and …

Entrepreneurial Challenges “Tom, I hate you.” These were Eric Marcoullier’s words to me on day three of our second ever 10.10.10 program – a 10 day program that brings 10 successful serial …

The adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 was a remarkable achievement. In the outcome document,1 heads of state, government, and high …

In 2010, while innocently sitting in my office in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University in the small mountain town of Boone, North …

In nearly every city and region there are threats to environmental quality and opportunities to improve environmental conditions. However, business as usual is often insufficient to effectively …

The Working Time Directive is one of the European Union’s cornerstone laws protecting workers’ rights. Passed in 2003, the law stipulates that workers employed by companies operating …

While humanity’s use of electronics is tainted with unpleasant aspects—ranging from the need for “suicide nets” under the windows of Chinese iPhone factories to the numerous …

The Resource Challenge: The Transition to a Circular Economy The concept of circular economy (‘CE’) emphasizes the necessity to move away from a linear economy based on a ‘take, make and dispose’ …

Book review Life After Carbon opens with Dean Stewart, an aboriginal guide, leading a tour along the Yarra River in the center of Melbourne, Australia. Stewart is instructing a group of urban …

Key Concepts: Regenerative Development, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact, International Standards Organization, Social and Environmental Responsibility   …

Context The unprecedented global economic growth witnessed since the middle of the 20th century resulted in major improvement in human wellbeing as witnessed in key human development indicators. …

Rotterdam, The Netherlands – How can a major seaport city thriftily bolster its defences against a growing onslaught of costly climate risks while reaping economic benefits and making itself more …

“Where Did All the Markets Go?”1 was a question prominent amongst environmental economists in the 1990s when they realized the lack of market-based approaches in environmental policy practice …

Al Gore is routinely identified as a leading environmentalist, the public face of the environmental movement.1 Some might even view him as a modern-day Rachel Carson. His efforts to “build up and …

It was a lovely November day at the Wellbeing Economy Festival in Pretoria, South Africa when Lorenzo told our Solutions editorial team he had chosen to advise Italy’s Five Star Movement on …

Solutions is starting a new life in 2018.  After having originated in the United States and then moved to Australia, our journal has now decided to give more space to a variety of voices from …

With the number of displaced people exceeding 65.3 million around the world, one mobile tool offers to connect refugees to long-lost family members and friends. Already a success, REFUNITE was …

Why are some policies enacted quickly, while others are delayed or never enacted at all? One might argue that if the aggregate benefits of a policy exceed aggregate costs, the policy will be put …

As readers of Solutions, we are well aware of the large social, economic, and environmental challenges that face us. Einstein told us we will need to use new ways of thinking to solve these …

For more than 20 years, Iraqi-born Zainab Salbi founded and ran Women for Women International, a DC-based, global women’s rights organization. In 2008, she published a best-selling memoir, …

Key Concepts: Regenerative Development, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact, International Standards Organization, Social and Environmental Responsibility   …

Key concepts In Australia, as in many parts of the world, Indigenous teenage girls are more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to fall pregnant as teenagers. Teenage parenthood can …

In summer 2016, for three months I rolled from DC to Seattle and back in a Camry. As spring semester had ended, after six years of teaching college Geography, I felt it was time to take summer …

The practice of open waste dumping is a significant issue in Sri Lanka. Between 1999 and 2009, the amount of solid waste generated daily rose from an estimated 6,500 tons to 7,500 tonnes.1 Of …

The current world view is that economic growth is synonymous with human well-being and prosperity. This growth is measured using Gross Domestic Product (GDP). And for many years, the world has …

Carson River, 2014. The Nature Conservancy’s River Fork Ranch Preserve, Minden, Nevada. 270 feet long. Woven and live-staked Coyote Willow harvested from the river. Photographer: Mary …

  1. Introduction The number of armed conflicts is on the rise, with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region being particularly affected. According to World Bank President “By 2030, …

The complexity and scale of environmental challenges often exceed the capacities of individual organizations. Partnerships provide a strategy to marshal the needed resources, skills, and …

As their rickety boat approaches shore, sending ripples across the surface of the glossy river water, 17-year-old Filipe and a handful of his classmates hop off and head to class. Teachers are …

While humanity’s use of electronics is tainted with unpleasant aspects—ranging from the need for “suicide nets” under the windows of Chinese iPhone factories to the numerous …

Is a boycott of Israel an effective strategy for changing the government’s policy? Those in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement think so. BDS has seen several victories in …

In major western media headlines, we see the stereotypical refugee woman crying, donning a hijab, and holding an infant—the victims of the Syrian civil war. “Syria woman is one that is …

As I contemplate how I would discuss the “Solution” to the challenges of making a seven-square mile piece of land, formerly considered one of the most polluted places on the planet, accessible to …

The Problem The Gulf of Mexico set a record in 2017: it contained an area of water the size of New Jersey (22,729 km2) that could not support life. Aptly named the “Dead Zone”, the water near the …

Chances are, you would not pack up and move to a new home without first researching the neighborhood, reviewing your finances, and maybe investigating schools nearby. Similarly, you would not buy …

The Problem Freshwater management activities designed to mitigate salt water encroachment (SWE) for freshwater vegetation in Biscayne Bay coastal wetlands needs to be done at a level that could …

The Problem The freshwater faucet has been turned off to many coastal bays, estuaries, and wetlands to supply the voracious needs of humans. Freshwater extraction from rivers is increasing as …

Loss, Restoration and Multiple Values of Wetlands Where data exists, it has been shown that humans have destroyed 50-87% of the world’s original wetlands1, leaving about 12 million km2 of wetland …

How do you create a finer future where you live? The Regenerative Communities Network, founded by Capital Institute’s John Fullerton and Stuart Cowan has an answer. Hundreds of people and almost …

Book review According to the opening line in A Finer Future, “This book is a warning.” Subtitled creating an economy in service to life, this book is also an expansive vision-giver. What …

  Introduction: Bitcoin and ‘Proof of Work’ Blockchain Systems Cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology that underpins it have the potential to transform global commerce.1 Bitcoin and …

In 2007 a consultancy was born. A small team coalesced to tackle the pervasive problem that small businesses lag in implementing more sustainable practices. The purpose was clear and the team had …

“The decadent international but individualistic capitalism, in the hands which we found ourselves (…), is not a success. It is not intelligent, it is not beautiful, it is not just, it is not …

Our current economic systems have become addicted to “growth at all costs”, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [i]. They assume that GDP growth is synonymous with increasing wellbeing …

Quantifying the benefits humans derive from ecosystem services is important if they are to be taken into account in the current political climate. Such valuation provides an appreciation of the …

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment defines ecosystem services as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems.1 They are the multiple commodities that are supplied by ecosystems and constitute the …

South Africa is a commodity-based economy, with the mining sector not only a cornerstone of the economy but the very foundation on which the nation was built. Directly and indirectly, mining …

The sight of brown water running down farmland during heavy rains immediately brings to mind the question: how much soil is being lost through erosion? What is less obvious is that the top layer …

Climate change, water scarcity, and the limited availability of arable land while demand is on the continuous rise, make it clear that we need alternatives to conventional farming. With the …

Healthy landscapes and water systems are essential if we are to secure the livelihoods and well-being of future generations and our environment. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) …

The need for a regenerative approach “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein Most of today’s sustainability efforts, while …

In 2009, Rockstrom et al published an article titled ‘Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity’. This article introduced us to the idea of planetary boundaries. …

Despite my somewhat snarky title, which is based on my assessment that Half-Earth is missing a key strategic component, E. O. Wilson’s book is engaging and even inspiring. Wilson makes a …

Approximately two-thirds of India’s population of 833 million people resides in rural areas, with one-fourth of that population living below the poverty line. These individuals are forced …

Dubbed a ‘global center of marine biodiversity,’1 the waters around the Philippines have some of the highest concentrations of marine species in the world.2–4 However, the …

Once derided as a “trash fish,” a nuisance that was driven to extinction in parts of the country in order to make room for angler-favored “sportfish,” the huge, toothy …

In review Imagine earning points for the good you do everyday, then turning those points into great deals on healthy, organic and local food or to pay school expenses. That’s what’s …

Our Innate Need for Communion with Nature In 1984, biologist E.O. Wilson coined the term “biophilia.” According to Wilson, biophilia captures the idea that human beings, because of our …

Introduction Puerto Rico’s recovery after the catastrophic events caused by Hurricane Maria in September 2017 requires a sustained and large-scale strategy that engages multiple sectors, the …

In Brief More than ever before, scientists are under tremendous pressure to demonstrate the usefulness of their work. While millions of dollars are spent yearly to fund the production of various …

Key concepts In Australia, as in many parts of the world, Indigenous teenage girls are more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to fall pregnant as teenagers. Teenage parenthood can …

Between 2013 and 2014, an average of seven women were murdered in Mexico every day.1 According to the Amnesty International Report from 2015/16 on Mexico,2 violence (including killings, …

The Working Time Directive is one of the European Union’s cornerstone laws protecting workers’ rights. Passed in 2003, the law stipulates that workers employed by companies operating …

Working shorter hours may save the environment. This recommendation from the UN International Resource Panel’s most recent report, published on July 20, made headlines around the world. …

Of the 355 million menstruating women in India, only 12 percent of them use sanitary napkins, according to a study done by A.C. Nielsen. The vast majority simply cannot afford them, and so they …

Reviewing Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies by Erik …

To most in the social enterprise field, the Middle East is not known for social innovation. The region is consistently labeled as slow, stagnant, and inflexible—not exactly qualities that foster …

This inaugural issue of Solutions marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long and fruitful dialogue across our global society. To help build a shared vision of where our society wants to …

The goal Commercial and multifamily buildings are responsible for 57% of Denver’s greenhouse gas emissions. Investing an estimated $340 million in improving building energy efficiency could …

Introduction Cities around to world compete furiously to attract high-profile cutting-edge corporations. When cities place a high value on sustainability they are particularly interested in …

The Climate Crisis and Our Aging Energy Infrastructure What happens when you combine an aging electrical grid with the increased resilience demands of rapid climate change? You get longer, more …

Xcel Energy—Colorado and the City and County of Denver have entered into an innovative partnership model to achieve their ambitious goals for carbon-emission reduction and clean energy …

Rotterdam, The Netherlands – How can a major seaport city thriftily bolster its defences against a growing onslaught of costly climate risks while reaping economic benefits and making itself more …

Amsterdam has ambitious aspirations to slash its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), phase out fossil fuels, and usher in a clean energy future. The city’s sustainability vision is panoramic in …

Despite my somewhat snarky title, which is based on my assessment that Half-Earth is missing a key strategic component, E. O. Wilson’s book is engaging and even inspiring. Wilson makes a …

The Resource Challenge: The Transition to a Circular Economy The concept of circular economy (‘CE’) emphasizes the necessity to move away from a linear economy based on a ‘take, make and dispose’ …

The practice of open waste dumping is a significant issue in Sri Lanka. Between 1999 and 2009, the amount of solid waste generated daily rose from an estimated 6,500 tons to 7,500 tonnes.1 Of …

Al Gore is routinely identified as a leading environmentalist, the public face of the environmental movement.1 Some might even view him as a modern-day Rachel Carson. His efforts to “build up and …

In nearly every city and region there are threats to environmental quality and opportunities to improve environmental conditions. However, business as usual is often insufficient to effectively …

Approximately two-thirds of India’s population of 833 million people resides in rural areas, with one-fourth of that population living below the poverty line. These individuals are forced …

Poor villagers like Edith, Aminata, Rituu, and Juan don’t appear much on the nightly news.  You might never know they exist unless you stop and read your mail from some charity asking you to help …

Salama SHIELD Foundation (SSF) is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that has been present in the Lyantonde District of Uganda for over 27 years. By virtue of its participatory-action research …

China is waking up to the environmental challenge its rapid growth is creating. Development has come at the expense of our natural capital, an unsustainable relationship that’s now threatening to …

A quiet but radical transformation is changing student loan systems. Traditionally, loans made to borrowers deemed dependable are paid back at a set, prearranged time and amount. However, in …

Those familiar with the debate in the developed world about the virtues of private versus public education will not be surprised to find the same arguments raging when it comes to providing …

In state courts across the United States, corporate special interests are spending money to elect judges who interpret the law in a manner that benefits corporations, rather than citizens seeking …

Wildfires have always been part of living in the American West, but today they are bigger, burn longer, cause more damage, and kill more people than ever before. Much of this drama plays out on …

One of Australia’s greatest challenges is the persistent socioeconomic disadvantage faced by Aboriginal (Indigenous) people. This is particularly acute in the more remote regions of northern …

What’s for dinner on your menu tonight? More so than ever before, it is becoming safe to assume there will be some fish or shellfish landing on your plate, as seafood consumption is on the rise. …

Over the past 40 years, the number of recorded marine species has decreased by around 39 percent, according to the World Wildlife Fund. This extreme extinction rate is, in many ways, due to …

Once derided as a “trash fish,” a nuisance that was driven to extinction in parts of the country in order to make room for angler-favored “sportfish,” the huge, toothy …

The first animals we domesticated for food were sheep, around 9000 years ago, followed soon after by goats, cows, and pigs, and then, as recent as 2000 years ago, chickens. As human population …

An overfishing and overconsumption crisis has resulted in global declines of marine fish stocks. So while global population is increasing, the ability of our oceans to support that population …

Imagine a fish farmer in a developing country, with poor literacy and minimal capital, having to comply with international sustainability standards in order to sell their fish. Then, imagine they …

What’s for dinner on your menu tonight? More so than ever before, it is becoming safe to assume there will be some fish or shellfish landing on your plate, as seafood consumption is on the rise. …

Public concerns around food safety have recently exploded in China, following a series of food safety incidents and scandals reported in the media since 2008. When it comes to food safety, …

The first animals we domesticated for food were sheep, around 9000 years ago, followed soon after by goats, cows, and pigs, and then, as recent as 2000 years ago, chickens. As human population …

Let’s plan for a short trip back in time, shall we? Jump in your favorite time machine, check the gauges and spin the dial. Destination: the Mediterranean basin in the Stone Age, the …

What follows is a hypothetical executive summary from an imagined Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report on the state of the world’s food systems, written from the perspective of the …

Inuit, the Indigenous People inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the Russian Far East, have adapted to living in the harsh Arctic conditions for thousands of years. In …

As the American biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson said, “the worst part of ongoing planetary despoliation is biodiversity loss.”1 The term biodiversity refers to the variety of …

Amazon deforestation is a consequence of global demand for food.1 Forests get cleared mostly to graze livestock, but some get cleared to grow soybeans, as soy is a more profitable crop. Brazilian …

After Decades of Failure… During the second half of the twentieth century, the deforestation of the tropics became a global concern. Young people everywhere learned at an early age that “saving …

Until 2007, forests were the orphan of climate change concerns. They had been largely left out of the Clean Development Mechanism, a carbon-offsets program that emerged from the 1997 Kyoto …

The temperate rainforests that hug the coasts of Oregon and Washington are some of the most productive forests in the world.1 Temperate rainforests sequester more carbon per hectare than any …

The oil bubbling beneath the 4,000-square-mile Yasuni National Park along the eastern border of Ecuador has long been a source of tension between environmentalists and those eager for economic …

The adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 was a remarkable achievement. In the outcome document,1 heads of state, government, and high …

Poor villagers like Edith, Aminata, Rituu, and Juan don’t appear much on the nightly news.  You might never know they exist unless you stop and read your mail from some charity asking you to help …

Over the past 40 years, the number of recorded marine species has decreased by around 39 percent, according to the World Wildlife Fund. This extreme extinction rate is, in many ways, due to …

An overfishing and overconsumption crisis has resulted in global declines of marine fish stocks. So while global population is increasing, the ability of our oceans to support that population …

We are educating students to engage with a future that will be very different to the era in which most universities were established. Global change is accelerating in every sphere of society. As …

Guido Schmidt-Traub works on the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change. He is Executive Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and member of the Future Earth …

The Resource Challenge: The Transition to a Circular Economy The concept of circular economy (‘CE’) emphasizes the necessity to move away from a linear economy based on a ‘take, make and dispose’ …

The adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 was a remarkable achievement. In the outcome document,1 heads of state, government, and high …

Amsterdam has ambitious aspirations to slash its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), phase out fossil fuels, and usher in a clean energy future. The city’s sustainability vision is panoramic in …

The widespread image of a pastoralist is an uncultivated person living in a remote area, absolutely ignorant of modernity, who can easily turn into someone in need of food aid as soon as the next …

Finding ways to reduce cities’ greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) is vital to global efforts to mitigate climate change. Cities account for around 70 percent of global GHGs and a large growing …

By nature, economic growth is a continual exercise of ‘scaling up.’ It is a premise that drives the pursuit of greater material output at lower costs—a pursuit that leads to the …

Sport is, for the most part, an enjoyable experience drawing billions of people to games, events, televisions, bars, and other venues to watch athletes, from children to highly talented …

Scientists dealt a new blow to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by developing a USB stick that can measure if and how much HIV exists in a person’s blood in under 30 minutes. The …

In November 2016, The Lancet published a three-part series on women and cancer with renewed estimates about the expected number of diagnoses in the next 15 years. According to the researchers, …

A new startup in Pakistan aims to kill two big birds with one stone. The health platform, called doctHERs, connects female doctors with poor communities. On the one hand, it reintegrates female …

It may take two to tango, but governments, religious leaders, and health officials seem to feel that containing Zika is a one-person dance. The beginning of 2016 brought with it a flood of global …

From the rising to the setting of the sun in a Ugandan village, the rural Ugandan mother’s life is impacted by water. She wakes up thinking about fetching water from the nearest borehole, …

Personal hygiene is the practice of keeping your body clean, including your hands. Hygiene has aesthetic and moral (purity) dimensions in addition to health dimensions.1 Dating back to biblical …

In the mid 19th century, many Americans began to fear that modern civilization might not be sustainable. They were not worried about climate change or nuclear war or species loss. Instead, they …

Personal hygiene is the practice of keeping your body clean, including your hands. Hygiene has aesthetic and moral (purity) dimensions in addition to health dimensions.1 Dating back to biblical …

Let’s plan for a short trip back in time, shall we? Jump in your favorite time machine, check the gauges and spin the dial. Destination: the Mediterranean basin in the Stone Age, the …

Women do not get a lot of airtime in history textbooks, but there is a new effort to change that. The founder of Feminist Frequency, Anita Sarkeesian, announced that her website has launched a …

Environmental history is the study of how humans have shaped environments in the past, as well as how environments and environmental changes have shaped us, and how people have regulated their …

As the United States National Parks Service marks its centennial anniversary, a global group of artists have lent their creative minds to the celebration. In 2014, the Creative Action Network …

Between 2013 and 2014, an average of seven women were murdered in Mexico every day.1 According to the Amnesty International Report from 2015/16 on Mexico,2 violence (including killings, …

In major western media headlines, we see the stereotypical refugee woman crying, donning a hijab, and holding an infant—the victims of the Syrian civil war. “Syria woman is one that is …

Women and girls tend to experience and manage access—and the lack of access—to water and sanitation differently from men and boys. The traditional role of women in society, particularly with …

Ivan Tibenkana is a graduate of the Save the Mothers (STM) Masters in Public Health Leadership program at Uganda Christian University. As the former Chairman of Budondo subcounty, he has …

In January of this year, a collection of 1,128 Turkish citizens, 90 of whom were members of Turkish universities, unitarily stood in protest to the Turkish government through a petition entitled, …

We are educating students to engage with a future that will be very different to the era in which most universities were established. Global change is accelerating in every sphere of society. As …

Between 2013 and 2014, an average of seven women were murdered in Mexico every day.1 According to the Amnesty International Report from 2015/16 on Mexico,2 violence (including killings, …

In Australia, two in five people released from prison will end up back behind bars within ten years.1 For Indigenous people—who have an incarceration rate 15 times that of the general …

Poor villagers like Edith, Aminata, Rituu, and Juan don’t appear much on the nightly news.  You might never know they exist unless you stop and read your mail from some charity asking you to help …

The widespread image of a pastoralist is an uncultivated person living in a remote area, absolutely ignorant of modernity, who can easily turn into someone in need of food aid as soon as the next …

On August 9, 1961, President John F. Kennedy wrote to the Seneca Nation of Indians to reject their calls for halting construction of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. Kennedy …

Approximately two-thirds of India’s population of 833 million people resides in rural areas, with one-fourth of that population living below the poverty line. These individuals are forced …

The government decentralization process in Indonesia has resulted in the creation of almost 350 water authorities under local government control. Very few of them are large enough to be …

Societies, like individuals, can get trapped in patterns of behavior called social traps, or “societal addictions,” that provide short-term rewards but are detrimental and …

A former school teacher from South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has served as the Head of UN Women since 2013. Prior to that, she was deputy president to Thabo Mbeki and the most senior female …

Can a small amount of no-strings-attached cash prevent homelessness? Yes, according to a new study by University of Notre Dame’s James Sullivan and William N. Evans. The study, published in …

In 1949, conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote that no important change in our ethical appreciation of nature could ever be accomplished “without an internal change in our intellectual …

This December, Saudi Arabia will have its third round of elections in the history of its Kingdom and the first where women will be allowed to participate. Hundreds of thousands of Saudis are …

“I will soon go berry-picking and I will take my language with me.” So I was told some years ago by Marta Kongaraeva, one of the last fluent speakers of a language of a unique group …

When Jessie Little Doe Baird began the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, there was only one other example of reviving an extinct language: ancient Hebrew. But where Israel made restoring the …

Reviewing The Public Professor by M.V. Lee Badgett, NYU Press, 2016 The United States has allowed very few Syrian refugees to enter the country. The Republicans argue that they all pose a …

I am honored today, October 24, 2030, to be chosen as storyteller by the Smithsonian Institution’s Council of American Peoples at the opening of the Geno Baroni Center for Democracy, a …

Civil society organizations (CSOs) are groups such as developmental and environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, women’s organizations, faith-based organizations, …

What do the wormwood moonshiner beetle, the black scabbardfish and the elegant earthstar all have in common? Other than their fairy-tale names, these three species, along with another 97, have …

At one of Raziq Fahim’s first Youth Forums in Baluchistan, Pakistan, a young man sat in the audience, planning to detonate a suicide bomb. But as he engaged in the conversation that was taking …

Dubbed a ‘global center of marine biodiversity,’1 the waters around the Philippines have some of the highest concentrations of marine species in the world.2–4 However, the …

An estimated 4.8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter our oceans each year—that’s 13,000 metric tons per day. As plastics don’t biodegrade, this mass of artificial junk is …

Many natural resource management and biodiversity conservation problems are so-called wicked problems.1 Such problems involve multiple stakeholders with differing objectives and for whom the …

The Great Barrier Reef is arguably Australia’s most famous natural icon. Yet, the ecological health of the reef has declined over the last 150 years following intense development.1 In …

The secret is out: New York City has been quietly dumping its retired and decrepit subway cars into the ocean for years. But before you accuse the city of gross environmental crimes and …

Oceans cover almost three-quarters of the planet, hold 97 percent of its water, produce more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere, and absorb the most carbon. We evolved from the oceans and …

Hannah Moloney, co-founder and co-director of Good Life Permaculture, was in the pursuit of a duck on the run when I arrived at her property on a fine summer evening. The duck had wandered into …

Reviewing The Public Professor by M.V. Lee Badgett, NYU Press, 2016 The United States has allowed very few Syrian refugees to enter the country. The Republicans argue that they all pose a …

As a country, Uganda has strived over the years to ensure that it has a gender-sensitive approach towards development. In 1997, the Ugandan government developed its first Uganda Gender Policy …

In January of this year, a collection of 1,128 Turkish citizens, 90 of whom were members of Turkish universities, unitarily stood in protest to the Turkish government through a petition entitled, …

This inaugural issue of Solutions marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long and fruitful dialogue across our global society. To help build a shared vision of where our society wants to …

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) atrocities against women have provoked worldwide outrage, generating increased support for U.S. action in the region and hundreds of airstrikes …

Communities, countries, and the planet as a whole need to articulate shared goals, and create ways to track progress in meeting them. This is the essence of the Sustainable Development Goals …

By nature, economic growth is a continual exercise of ‘scaling up.’ It is a premise that drives the pursuit of greater material output at lower costs—a pursuit that leads to the …

Societies, like individuals, can get trapped in patterns of behavior called social traps, or “societal addictions,” that provide short-term rewards but are detrimental and …

Trading jokes with his housemates as the sun sets over downtown Rosario, Argentina, nursing student Miguel Suarez drags a hose across the courtyard of the Medical Student House to water a leafy …

Most women who give birth in the United States do so surrounded by a variety of health professionals, including doctors or midwives, nurses and doulas. The combined expertise in the room ensures …

No challenge facing humanity is broader in scope and importance than achieving a sustainable future. Every dimension of our lives is affected, and every discipline and sector of society must be …

Americans face a unique challenge in solving the climate crisis. Unlike other Western countries and Japan, where population is projected to be relatively constant, the U.S. population is set to …

Although Mozambique has a fairly strong national legislation that protects the land-use rights of rural populations, the law is used poorly—privileging leases to agro-investors at the expense of …

The many times I arrived at Bole airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, there was always a sign that said “Welcome Home.” Its meaning never registered until an official from the Ministry …

Honduras is a very small, but highly biodiverse Latin American nation whose natural resources are worth preserving. Almost half of the country’s surface is still covered by forests and a …

Until 2007, forests were the orphan of climate change concerns. They had been largely left out of the Clean Development Mechanism, a carbon-offsets program that emerged from the 1997 Kyoto …

In the summer of 2009, we were treated to a bicoastal spectacle of conflicts over water in the western and southeastern United States. Farmers in California were on television, complaining about …

Two decades of research into the management of what economists call common-pool resources suggests that, under the right conditions, local communities can manage shared resources sustainably and …

On the occasion of the Wellbeing Economy Festival, which took place in Pretoria on 27-30 November 2017, we spoke to the former deputy regional director for Africa of the United Nations …

Hannah Moloney, co-founder and co-director of Good Life Permaculture, was in the pursuit of a duck on the run when I arrived at her property on a fine summer evening. The duck had wandered into …

The current world view is that economic growth is synonymous with human well-being and prosperity. This growth is measured using Gross Domestic Product (GDP). And for many years, the world has …

The average person spends between one and three hours a day on “private activities” unrelated to work, according to a 2013 study by Roland Paulsen of Lund University. This might not …

The Guardian recently announced that it will devote an entire section to positive news stories to offer a glimpse at the lives and works of people offering solutions to many of the world’s …

Without action, rapid global environmental change in the 21st century risks undermining, and even reversing, the gains in public health and human development made in the 20th century.1 The world …

With the number of displaced people exceeding 65.3 million around the world, one mobile tool offers to connect refugees to long-lost family members and friends. Already a success, REFUNITE was …

An unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world are currently displaced, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. More than half of these people live in urban areas. Others are jammed …

For many children escaping the Syrian war, the trauma of violence and loss lingers long after the journey away from home. In Sultanbeyli, a suburb of Istanbul with a burgeoning refugee …

In the center of Berlin, just beyond the trendy Kreuzberg neighborhood, is one of the city’s most beloved public spaces, the Tempelhof Airport. After closing in 2008, the airfield and large …

Oumo, from sub-Saharan Africa, was forced to trade sex twice for a fake passport and passage to Turkey on her way to Greece. Noor, a pregnant mother of two, was freezing and in severe pain as she …

In 2000 an Afghan family paid a trafficker to take them over the border into Pakistan and then on to Denmark or Sweden. But when the trafficker arrived, there was only one spot in the van. The …

For more than 20 years, Iraqi-born Zainab Salbi founded and ran Women for Women International, a DC-based, global women’s rights organization. In 2008, she published a best-selling memoir, …

In 1949, conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote that no important change in our ethical appreciation of nature could ever be accomplished “without an internal change in our intellectual …

The amount of space afforded to women in Islam has long been a topic of debate. Traditionally, men lead prayers at home and outside. Men raise the call to prayer, preach during sermons, and take …

Iraq has a long history of contributing to scientific discovery, however as religious leaders increasingly take control of the war-torn nation, that tradition is under threat. Once a hub for …

“We’re not that kind of Muslim!” ends the opening credits to Aasif Mandvi’s Halal in the Family, a new web series battling anti-Muslim prejudice in the United States. The …

On June 18, 2015 Pope Francis released Laudato Si, the first encyclical in the history of the Catholic Church on ecology. An encyclical is the highest-level teaching document in Catholicism. …

The problem Most African farmers often rely on guesswork in their farming practices. Many make decisions based on beliefs that have been passed from one generation to another, over centuries, …

Rotterdam, The Netherlands – How can a major seaport city thriftily bolster its defences against a growing onslaught of costly climate risks while reaping economic benefits and making itself more …

The focus on urban resilience has grown considerably in the past decade. From its roots in ecology and system dynamics particularly, the notion of resilience is now used in disaster management, …

Poor villagers like Edith, Aminata, Rituu, and Juan don’t appear much on the nightly news.  You might never know they exist unless you stop and read your mail from some charity asking you to help …

The widespread image of a pastoralist is an uncultivated person living in a remote area, absolutely ignorant of modernity, who can easily turn into someone in need of food aid as soon as the next …

This is an abbreviated version of the multimedia “Ecopolis” theatre show performed in the spring of 2016 by author Jeff Biggers and the Awful Purdies musical group in the historic Old …

The United Nations (UN) has said that the World Food Program faces today its worst challenge since WWII, with five top-level humanitarian crises to attempt to address. Jim Morris served as …

Food security is a top priority for the United States and countries around the world. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food security as “…access by all people at all times to enough …

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) atrocities against women have provoked worldwide outrage, generating increased support for U.S. action in the region and hundreds of airstrikes …

Maude Barlow, the author of Blue Planet, is the chair of the board of Food and Water Watch, founder of the Blue Planet Project, a much honored and tireless human rights activist, and a recipient …

For 25 years, Tim Phillips has worked to promote peace and reconciliation in Central America and Northern Ireland, among many other regions and countries, and helped the new leaders of …

As terrorist attacks and natural disasters become more frequent and costly, the U.S. Office of the President is initiating a national push to create a more resilient society1-3 that can recover …

Barry Schwartz, a professor of psychology who has taught at Swarthmore College for nearly 45 years, is the author of numerous books synthesizing research in the social sciences, including …

For the past century, most societies have adopted a narrow definition of economic growth as the route to development. Growth has become an end in itself, as a result of which, the true meaning of …

For non-profit organizations focused on advancing their causes, communicating their work to the public may not be a priority. A media organization led by the granddaughter of French marine …

“I will soon go berry-picking and I will take my language with me.” So I was told some years ago by Marta Kongaraeva, one of the last fluent speakers of a language of a unique group …

The fight against the Keystone XL pipeline has been one of the most publicized environmental controversies in the United States over the past decade. The proposed pipeline would bring oil derived …

Since the Industrial Revolution, two main motivations have driven the movement for work-time reduction. Free time away from the job improves individual well-being, while reducing work hours can …

Context The unprecedented global economic growth witnessed since the middle of the 20th century resulted in major improvement in human wellbeing as witnessed in key human development indicators. …

Reviewing Land Restoration: Reclaiming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future, edited by Ilan Chabay, Martin Frick, and Jennifer Helgeson, Academic Press, 2016   “Everything we have ever …

As the American biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson said, “the worst part of ongoing planetary despoliation is biodiversity loss.”1 The term biodiversity refers to the variety of …

California’s hydraulic infrastructure has vaulted the state’s development forward, creating a thriving agricultural economy and supporting a population that now exceeds 38 million. …

Associate Guest Editor for the Resilience Issue Resilience Practice ably picks up where Resilience Thinking (2010) left off. The book lays out examples of how people around the globe have put …

Robert Goodland was the first ecologist hired by the World Bank and worked hard for 30 years to improve that institution’s environmental and human rights practices. He was the first winner of the …

This is a story of a resource poor city that, faced with fast-paced growth and looming implications of rapid climate change, banded together to act. It is a story of community commitment to …

Introduction A frequently heard cliché in the airport industry is that “an airport is like a small city.” Denver International Airport (DEN), the fifth-busiest airport in the United States, is …

Background Municipal government officials and local academics often work in separate worlds. Local officials often spend much of their time ensuring that the daily needs of local residents are …

Growing up in Denver, I didn’t think about sustainability – at least not in the way we think about it today. I never heard about “sustainable development goals.” I didn’t know what “the …

I.INTRODUCTION: Conceptual Framework By 2050, almost 66 per cent of the world’s population will live in urban areas. According to the aforementioned UN figures, urban settlements are becoming the …

Context The unprecedented global economic growth witnessed since the middle of the 20th century resulted in major improvement in human wellbeing as witnessed in key human development indicators. …

Nanotechnologies are fast becoming one of the most ubiquitous of the emerging technologies to have a commercial and economic impact. Along with artificial intelligence systems and …

High schoolers are aware of the Earth’s rapidly warming climate, but may not be as familiar with the skills and tools they’ll need to be part of the solution. Solar Rollers, a Colorado …

“For some, the development of systems thinking is crucial for the survival of humanity.” – John Sterman   “The light begins to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon …

The problem Most African farmers often rely on guesswork in their farming practices. Many make decisions based on beliefs that have been passed from one generation to another, over centuries, …

Amsterdam has ambitious aspirations to slash its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), phase out fossil fuels, and usher in a clean energy future. The city’s sustainability vision is panoramic in …

What’s for dinner on your menu tonight? More so than ever before, it is becoming safe to assume there will be some fish or shellfish landing on your plate, as seafood consumption is on the rise. …

Arriving early one morning at Denver Union Station, the city’s passenger rail terminal and local transportation hub, I was greeted by a disappointingly long chain of open railcars brimming with …

What are basic human needs? How do we currently meet them? How does nature meet similar needs? How are pioneering innovators emulating natures’ strategies to meet human needs in a sustainable …

Finding ways to reduce cities’ greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) is vital to global efforts to mitigate climate change. Cities account for around 70 percent of global GHGs and a large growing …

As the world’s most bicycle-friendly city, Copenhagen has just broken a new record: as of September 2016, more bikes enter the city each day than cars. This year, there are 35,080 more …

Germany’s ambitions aren’t small when it comes to combating the threat of climate change. By 2050, the European country hopes to cut up to 95 percent of its current CO2 emissions, and …

Increasingly, Americans are waking up and realizing that climate change is a huge problem and that it is not going away. However, it is so big that many people think that there is not much that …

Rotterdam, The Netherlands – How can a major seaport city thriftily bolster its defences against a growing onslaught of costly climate risks while reaping economic benefits and making itself more …

Amsterdam has ambitious aspirations to slash its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), phase out fossil fuels, and usher in a clean energy future. The city’s sustainability vision is panoramic in …

Finding ways to reduce cities’ greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) is vital to global efforts to mitigate climate change. Cities account for around 70 percent of global GHGs and a large growing …

By nature, economic growth is a continual exercise of ‘scaling up.’ It is a premise that drives the pursuit of greater material output at lower costs—a pursuit that leads to the …

In the mid 19th century, many Americans began to fear that modern civilization might not be sustainable. They were not worried about climate change or nuclear war or species loss. Instead, they …

Climate change has consequences for both natural and human systems.1 Adjusting these systems in order to moderate potential harm or exploit opportunities is called adaptation.2 This is …

  1. Introduction The number of armed conflicts is on the rise, with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region being particularly affected. According to World Bank President “By 2030, …

Between 2013 and 2014, an average of seven women were murdered in Mexico every day.1 According to the Amnesty International Report from 2015/16 on Mexico,2 violence (including killings, …

As their rickety boat approaches shore, sending ripples across the surface of the glossy river water, 17-year-old Filipe and a handful of his classmates hop off and head to class. Teachers are …

While humanity’s use of electronics is tainted with unpleasant aspects—ranging from the need for “suicide nets” under the windows of Chinese iPhone factories to the numerous …

A former school teacher from South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has served as the Head of UN Women since 2013. Prior to that, she was deputy president to Thabo Mbeki and the most senior female …

The public spotlight on the killings of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner at the hands of police officers in the United States has shifted the issue of police brutality against black …

Background Currently, approximately 4 billion people live in water-scarce and -stressed regions, with nearly 1 billion people lacking access to safe drinking water and almost 1 million deaths per …

The State of Colorado was one of the last areas in the United States settled by Europeans. Denver, its largest city, had but a handful of permanent residents as recently as the 1850’s. In …

On August 9, 1961, President John F. Kennedy wrote to the Seneca Nation of Indians to reject their calls for halting construction of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. Kennedy …

In 2010, while innocently sitting in my office in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment at Appalachian State University in the small mountain town of Boone, North …

The government decentralization process in Indonesia has resulted in the creation of almost 350 water authorities under local government control. Very few of them are large enough to be …

Issues around water as a resource consistently top the list of environmental concerns in the United States, especially when they relate to water supply and quality. However, the large-scale …

Stare into Infinity and notice you are insignificant. Then, stare into It again and realize you are Important… -Vulpe Introduction Mainstream American society mistakes happiness with consumption …

Sitting in the dirt on the outskirts of the capital city of Bissau—with someone’s screaming pet baboon tied to a branch above my head, two teenage girls plaiting a third friend’s hair behind me, …

Investing in girls’ education is the obvious solution to improving women’s equality around the world. Now, a new study demonstrates that it could also be the solution to reducing …

A new startup in Pakistan aims to kill two big birds with one stone. The health platform, called doctHERs, connects female doctors with poor communities. On the one hand, it reintegrates female …

It may take two to tango, but governments, religious leaders, and health officials seem to feel that containing Zika is a one-person dance. The beginning of 2016 brought with it a flood of global …

A former school teacher from South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has served as the Head of UN Women since 2013. Prior to that, she was deputy president to Thabo Mbeki and the most senior female …

The Earth is said to be a woman. In this way it is understood that woman preceded man on the Earth. She is called Mother Earth because from Her come all living things. Water is Her life blood. It …

As their rickety boat approaches shore, sending ripples across the surface of the glossy river water, 17-year-old Filipe and a handful of his classmates hop off and head to class. Teachers are …

In 2015, 663 million people lacked improved drinking water sources and 2.4 billion lacked access to appropriate sanitation facilities.1 A recent UNICEF study showed that global access to water in …

For many children escaping the Syrian war, the trauma of violence and loss lingers long after the journey away from home. In Sultanbeyli, a suburb of Istanbul with a burgeoning refugee …

Agriculture is the backbone of the African economy. According to the World Bank,1 two out of every three Africans are employed in the agriculture sector, producing about a third of the …

We are educating students to engage with a future that will be very different to the era in which most universities were established. Global change is accelerating in every sphere of society. As …

Even nearly 15 years after the fall of the Taliban, issues of safety, a lack of female teachers, and cultural pressures combine to prevent girls from getting an education.   “The …