There are two things before us in the Centre Region regarding water. Way more than that but just two for me today. I think you should pay attention to them too. They regard the proposed Toll Brothers development in Ferguson Township and proposed rezoning in College Township. On the Toll Brothers deal in Ferguson: You … More Toll Brothers Box Plan & College Township in a Bad Zone

I’ve just read an interview at Yale e360 with Aaron Mair, the new president of the Sierra Club. He’s the first African American leader of a national environmental organization. This marks the sea change at work in traditional environmentalism and one, I’d argue, that provides an opening for us to think about a two things: … More Race and New Leadership on Environment and Sustainability

Penn State’s conditional sale of land in Ferguson Township to the Toll Brothers has caused quite the dustup in the local community. And recently, people have called out Penn State’s Provost Nick Jones for greenwashing without using the term. Recently, Penn State’s Sustainability Institute posted Jones’s statement that sustainability will be an important part of … More Penn State STARS Performance: On Greenwashing Part 3

I’ve just read an incredible piece in The Guardian by Jan Zalaziewicz, a professor of paleobiology at Leicester University. A recent study conservatively estimates that over 450 vertebrates have gone extinct since 1900. If we state those numbers as an estimate versus a conservative rate of what nature does itself, that’s 10 to 100 times … More The Cresting wave of the sixth extinction

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Plato When Dylan Roof murdered Ethel Lee Lance, Tywanza Sanders, Cynthia Hurd, Rev. Depayne, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Susie Jackson, Myra Thompson, Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, and Sharonda Coleman-Singleton he clarified … More Will we see the light from Charleston?

The shooting in Charleston, SC brought up a lot of things today. So many. About the really nasty people I’ve known and those who’ve suffered and transcended to become people we want to be in this world. It’s reminded me of the sickness that lives in so many of us and how much we can … More We can be the better angels

Pope Francis released the sweeping encyclical, “Laudato Si” (“Praise by to You”), yesterday. As The New York Times reports, the document calls “for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, blending a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified … More Pope Francis calls on us to rise above ourselves

On my walk to work I was thinking a lot about the people behind our decisions. So I tweeted this: How do you reconcile your inner & outer world, the tension between what you hope for & what is? How do you work with others? #sustainability — Peter Buckland (@pdbuckland) June 15, 2015 I ask … More Intention and Reconciliation

The other day, I had said that I’d be posting on Penn State’s sustainability performance using the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), I will still do that. But given Terry Melton’s and Laura piece in the CDT, “Penn State land sale risks water quality,” I’m doing it later. Melton’s and Dininni’s view draws … More Melton and Dininni and Penn State as a Greenwash: Quick Thoughts (Part 2)

Is Penn State Greenwashed? Last week, Penn State Provost Nick Jones said, ““Penn State will lead in the creation of comprehensive solutions to the fundamental challenges of providing safe and abundant water, clean and accessible energy and plentiful and nutritious food, in an economical and sustainable manner that respects, protects and adapts to the environment … More Is Penn State Greenwashed? Part I