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Another Fine Collection of Environmental, Water and Energy Links
BlueSky Blog is on the road for the next week. Here’s a collection of the more interesting stories on environment, water, and energy issues around the world. But first…
EARN KARMA POINTS (and free mediation)
A colleague and I would like to help people hone and develop their collaboration skills at SXSW Eco Conference in Austin, TX. SXSW Eco picks its panelists based on crowd voting. Vote for our submission and BlueSky Mediation & Law offers you 90 minutes of free mediation for any dispute (even non-enviro issues) anytime before October 2013. Please “Thumbs Up” our submission: http://panelpicker.
Pakistani Water Dispute Ends in Murder
Pakistani farmers slay another over he allegedly stole water from their irrigation canal.
Port Angeles, Washington: Border Dispute Leads to Bulldozing A House
A logger, a bulldozer, and a bad outcome.
US Congress Mixes It Up in Chatahoochee River Dispute
Congress hopes to pressure Florida, Alabama and Georgia governors to negotiate over decades old Lake Lanier water dispute. Maybe Congress should lead by example.
Egypt Takes The High Road: No Force Over Nile Controversy
Egypt says it won’t use force to resolve the dispute with Ethiopia on the disputed quota of Nile river water.
Praying it doesn’t melt
High Tibetan Ice Hotting Up?
When hell freezes over? How about when heaven melts? Tibet’s ice sheets are known by some as Asia’s water tower because there are 46,000 glaciers covering 100,000 square kilometres. If and how fast they melt could affect 1.5 billion people (and growing) in 12 countries.
Melting Down the US Utility Monopolies
Alliance of solar providers are taking on power utilities’ efforts to undercut their business model.
- Vote For Our SXSW Eco 2013 Submission!
- Dare to change corporate culture? Engage.
- Rob Williams Award
- The Marvel of Human Silk
- A Fine Collection of Environmental, Water and Energy Links
- BlueSky Springing On
- Civil Water Wars in the US
- Do We Need Climate Change Quixotes?
- Environmental, Water & Energy Links of Interest
- US Seeks A Mighty Large Umbrella
- A Water Vise Tightens Around California
- Obama Courts Controversy Along the Atlantic
- Whole Foods Feeds on Stakeholder Engagement
- Can Vulcan Adapt?
- Bench the Litigators
- Renewable Energy: Feed Me, See More.
- Links of Interest
- Fences and Footpaths
- Join Us for a Webinar on Ocean Energy and Adaptive Management
- Could a League of Rivals Cure California’s Bay Delta Policy Blues?
- Seeing the light? Government tells itself to collaborate and use mediators for environmental, water, and energy disputes
- Oregon’s Big Waves & Small Fish
- Stemming New Zealand’s Ocean Conflict
- California’s Bay Delta: Kaleidescope or Collideoscope?
- What’s Your Dam Perspective?
- Final Part: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 9: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 8: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 7: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 6: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 5: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 4: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 3: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Part 2: Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Tips to Improving Negotiations and Ending Litigation in Environmental Conflicts, Energy Disputes, and Water Wars
- Cross-Post: Carbon Market Architects
- The Fishy Cost of Water
- California’s Water Power Problem
- Cross-Post: Carbon Storage: Subterranean Homeland Green
- Water Pressure: How Businesses Can Reduce Water Risks
- Cross-Post: Putting Carbon in Its Place
- California’s Epic Water Knot Tightens
- Recent Renewable Energy Policy Shifts: Sparking Development or Resentment?
- Why Mediate Environmental Conflicts?
- Inspiration
A colleague and I just submitted to present at South-by-Southwest Eco Conference in Austin, TX. Our proposal is to help folks hone and develop their collaboration skills for environment and energy issues. SXSW Eco picks its panelists based (partly) on … Continue reading
If one’s mission is changing corporate culture so it treats the environment more holistically, is litigation a useful tool for causing that change? Continue reading
I am joyful and honored to learn I will be awarded the 2013 Rob Williams Award for an emerging practitioner and leader in the field of environmental and public policy dispute resolution. Thank you to the ACR EPP section for … Continue reading
Spiders generate their own silk to spin their bed, build a home, lay a lure for the opposite sex, and create a trap for prey. They have a conjurer’s ability to create something amazing, complex, and multi-purpose from seemingly nothing. … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog (that is, me) is (and has been) on the road for 2 weeks. Here’s a collection of the more interesting stories on environment, water, and energy issues around the world. Have you signed up for BlueSky Updates? If … Continue reading
Nearly a year has passed since BlueSky Mediation & Law opened. I have made strides, met many new and wonderful people, and am just now starting to feel like I am attracting the work I set out to do. Gaining … Continue reading
That states battle over borderland waterways may not surprise readers of BlueSky Blog. But Georgia and Tennessee are disputing the actual location of their border along the Tennessee River. Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute, wrote about this conflict at Huffington … Continue reading
I went to a meeting last week of San Francisco Bay Area organizations collaborating to prepare for climate change. At least two speakers casually linked catastrophic weather events to “Climate Change.” One speaker, a scientist, showed slide after slide of … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog (that is, me) is in full-on volunteer mode for the San Francisco Wisdom 2.0 conference through the weekend. So I thought I would collate a few of the most interesting stories on environment, water, and energy issues around the world. … Continue reading
The federal government is in the market for the world’s largest umbrella insurance policy. The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), a non-partisan agency, announced that the federal government is facing high financial risk related to climate change. Deloitte, a … Continue reading
Last week I had the pleasure of touring NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Ann Clarke, Assistant Director of Operations, generously showed me around the property explaining everything from their enormous wind tunnel (care to test a 747?) to a mock-up … Continue reading
When Obama spoke about climate change squarely in the middle of his second inaugural speech he invoked the US Constitution’s preamble: “We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. … Continue reading
Harvard Business Review recently interviewed Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on why and how he believes a corporation can and should ground itself in an ethical framework that respects stakeholders. Mackey contends that when the roots of capitalism sprouted they did so in … Continue reading
Vulcan, so the myth goes, was the main architect and builder of Olympus. He presumably did so with Jupiter’s permission and didn’t have to worry much about the other gods, deities, and nymphs. Outside of autocratic countries, large-scale developers don’t have it … Continue reading
Twelve environmental lawyers and staff gather for a catered lunch meeting to discuss their strategy for an upcoming trial. They are fighting over who pays to clean a small, contaminated lot in heavily industrialized Los Angeles. The case started nearly a … Continue reading
With Obama’s reelection comes more federal support for renewable energy than I (safely) think would have been the case had Romney won. The support starts with the Department of Defense (DOD), which is continuing its efforts to increase renewable energy … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog (that is, me) is going offline through December 10th. So I thought I would collate a few of the most interesting stories on marine, water, and energy issues around the world. I look forward to returning to regularly … Continue reading
All man-made law, all positive injunction Is broken everyday without compunction For love. – Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales Since before the Middle Ages people have tussled between enjoining behavior and avoiding those injunctions. For Chaucer’s Knight, love was the reason … Continue reading
I am honored to co-host a webinar on Thursday, November 15 at 1pm Eastern Time (updated!) with the Maine-based Ocean Renewable Power Corporation, the first company to send electricity from any type of ocean or offshore wind-power to the United … Continue reading
Edit: Eugene Kim over at Groupaya correctly pointed out my mistake that Delta Dialogues are not an alternative to BDCP, but a complimentary process. I’ve edited the post to reflect this. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin called President Lincoln’s cabinet a … Continue reading
Hallelujah! The federal government shows its innovative, cost-conscious side by issuing a memo that directs all federal agencies involved in disputes around environmental, water, energy, or transportation to use third-party neutrals. It strengthens an earlier memo by by explicitly encouraging … Continue reading
Tall, dark cliffs with deep evergreen trees flank one of northern Oregon’s most popular surf spots. Last weekend large waves pounded their way into this bay leaving many of the hopeful surfers frustrated at not penetrating past the walls of … Continue reading
Thank you to PERC Reports for publishing my article, “Stemming New Zealand’s Ocean Conflict.” Here’s how it begins…click on quote or link below for full article. Rugged, enchanting, and powerful coastlines surround New Zealand. The coastlines are powerful not just in … Continue reading
My wife and I drove the blue highways to Silver Lake in the El Dorado National Forest this past weekend. Because we drive a Volkswagen Vanagon, our pace is suited to byways. Plus it gave us a chance to cross … Continue reading
I spent a glorious weekend fly-fishing in the Sierra Mountains. Hatching flies emerged from flowing water as the sun burned off morning dew and again as dusk shadows grew long. Shiny golden trout rose from watery depths to suck down … Continue reading
Increasing Mutual Gains for All Parties Negotiated settlements allow parties to directly craft a plan to resolve their environmental conflict, energy disputes, or water war with each other. Litigation, on the other hand, means parties can not talk to each … Continue reading
How Your Legal Counsel Helps In negotiated settlements the parties can take a direct role in crafting the outcome with each other. By comparison, litigation requires the lawyers to lead discussions, make strategic decisions, and know what the other parties … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog is featuring questions and strategies to improve environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving the time, money, and uncertainty of litigation. To get the full e-guide subscribe now. Direct and Indirect Incentives Matter Incentives matter … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog is featuring questions and strategies to improve environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving the time, money, and uncertainty of litigation. To get the full e-guide subscribe now. End of Litigation (Legal Or Financial … Continue reading
Relationships, Interactions, and Business Beyond Environmental, Energy, and Water Disputes BlueSky Blog is featuring two entries per week offering questions and strategies that people, organizations, companies, and agencies can use to help improve their environmental, energy, and water negotiations with … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog is featuring two entries per week offering questions and strategies that people, organizations, companies, and agencies can use to help improve their environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving the time, money, and uncertainty of … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog is featuring two entries per week offering questions and strategies that people, organizations, companies, and agencies can use to help improve their environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving the time, money, and effort in … Continue reading
BlueSky Blog is featuring two entries per week offering questions and strategies that people, organizations, companies, and agencies can use to help improve their environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving the time, money, and effort in … Continue reading
Over the next five weeks BlueSky Blog will feature two entries per week offering questions and strategies people, organizations, companies, and agencies can use to help improve their environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving the time, … Continue reading
Over the next five weeks BlueSky Blog will feature two entries per week offering questions and strategies people, organizations, companies, and agencies can use to help improve their environmental, energy, and water negotiations with an eye toward saving time, money, … Continue reading
My money is on C12 Energy and similar entreprenuers making it work because waiting for policy to shift is like hoping climate change isn’t happening. Continue reading
As freshwater quality and quantity diminishes, the dispersed, unquantified costs of common management increases. Wouldn’t it be better to know the true cost of water? Continue reading
California’s epic plumbing project makes the role of power in water use a juicy topic. In fact, nineteen percent of all energy consumed in California goes to water-related uses, according to agency and news sources. Continue reading
I am continuing to write for Sense and Sustainability about how an obscure legal trend in America’s heartland might be encouraging long-term carbon storage by shifting liability to state governments. For the market to blossom the usual cast of characters … Continue reading
With the quantity and quality of water diminishing globally. For global manufacturers that means increased environmental risks. Continue reading
The United States heartland is passing laws that could spark a national carbon market. Continue reading
California’s water allocation, distribution and policies form a liquid Gordian Knot. That’s not unexpected considering the powers that be manage 49 km3 of water per year (or nearly 13 trillion gallons) for interests ranging from ranchers and farmers to semi-arid cities … Continue reading
Complaints abound about the US not increasing its supply of renewable energy quickly enough. Many reasons account for this from market forces for less expensive fuels such as natural gas to risk aversion from environmentalists and neighbors who fear impacts on their surroundings. Continue reading
Why mediate environmental conflicts? There are as many answers to this question as parties and mediators in the world. For those who are bogged down in environmental conflict, four reasons explain why conflict resolution is worth considering. Continue reading
Opening BlueSky Mediation & Law is the culimination of all my professional inspiration. When I start anything new it means something inspired me. That inspiration can come from within, such as training for and running a marathon, for example. Or external events also inspire me. Continue reading