Denver Colorado, star date 2011. Intelligence and rational thought discovered. Among the bricks of a preserved historic warehouse lies a collaboration of socially and environmentally responsible organizations all working to advance sustainability throughout Colorado.... and beyond.

        I met Tom Prugh on the fourth floor of the Alliance Center in downtown Denver. Tom is a Senior Researcher at the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, a non-profit whose mission is to advance sustainability through collaboration among non-profits, business, government and education. The Center Building itself was renovated to not only inspire collaboration between the 33 non-profit tenants but also as a high performance, LEED Certified structure. As Tom explained, much thought was put into the design of the community spaces where members from all the various organizations interact on a daily basis in hopes of inspiring productive initiatives that embrace sustainability.

      Our conversation touched on a variety of topics but what was most encouraging was the legislative results the Alliance has been successful in advancing through the Colorado State government. Many of the Center's initiatives focus on conservation of energy and water, namely in State funded building projects. At a time where special interest groups, oil and gas lobbies, and career politicians have made it clear that sustainability is not a core focus of US policy, it is more important then ever for groups like Tom's to interject ecological realities into the otherwise morally barren political environs (at least this is what I gather from recent news reels). I can't help but think that if groups such as the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado united across the US, their combined constituency would have more influence than the pocket lining corporate interests. That said, until the greater populous decide that the environmental heath of our communal ecosystem is more important then short term material gain, it's highly unlikely that what we have accepted as the status quo of our capital's bipartisan political disfunction will ever change.

      One thing we can do when we consider supporting a business, whether it be local, global, or national, is their bottom line... or lines. Recently I have been hearing more about the triple bottom line concept. A business that is based on the triple bottom line puts equal importance on people, planet, and profits. That is to say that they are equally concerned about profits as they are in whether their products cause environmental harm or health problems. I feel that these mission based, triple bottom line businesses would have the advantage in the long run because they would build customer loyalty without compromising the well being of our natural environment. Just think, if every business in the world put value on preserving the health of our ecosystems, what a major difference that would make!

    Here is some link to the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. Also a link to AmericansElect.org, a new concept for presidential nominations.