happy earth day

twenty-one years ago, we celebrated the rebirth of earth day -- at that time, the 20th anniversary of the original event held in 1970. more than forty years of environmental efforts and we have incrementally made progress towards a greener, cleaner planet and society. back in the early '90's, i was just beginning my journey towards awareness about our planet, people, habitats and ecosystems. intuitively, i felt connected to the earth with a desire to reduce human impacts and was eager to learn the science behind doing so. since that time, i have moved from simply a personal advocate to working professionally in the field for local and state government, for a national environmental non-profit, with companies and other organizations, to make our world more sustainable. in essence, i was able to realize my dream through a passion for doing what i believed was right -- for this generation and those to come after me. and, i sit here more than two decades later, on earth day, feeling just as driven and hopeful, still learning of ways that our planet has been damaged and ways that we can be a force in the healing. i've been so privileged to work to help clean and preserve our water resources, on efforts to improve air quality and increase energy efficiency, on greening building and deconstruction, on transportation issues, on land and waste management challenges, and towards building more sustainable, healthier food systems. yes, i live my dream each and every day, believing that one person doing one single positive act can make a positive difference. on this earth day, i invite you to do the same!

indianapolis moving towards sustainability....

did you know that the city of indianapolis has moved into the 21st century and striving to lead the way on environmental sustainability in the midwest? since mayor ballard announced two years ago that he was developing an office of sustainability, many may be wondering what that office is up to. the truth is that the leadership and staff of that office are up to a lot of things that are good for our people, habitats and environment in indy.

when i moved to indianapolis about 24 years ago, there were no bike trails, no food co-ops, no urban garden programs, no green buildings. but, the current political environment is leading to a better natural environment. we still have a ways to go, but as an life long environmentalist who has worked all over the country on sustainability issues, it's great to see this city finally sitting up and taking notice of the benefits of treading more lightly on our earth!