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You give every day. You give time to keeping up your health and appearance. You give support to friends who need comfort or attention. You give money to merchants who rely on your business. There are many ways to give, and they’re all good.

When it comes to community giving, the story is the same. Money, time, counsel, clothes, food, education, and solidarity: these are all ways of giving. We should never hoist one way over another – to write a check and to feed a child are equally noble and worthy.

But here we are in 2008, and there are nearly 2 billion people in poverty and AIDS ravages Africa and one estimate says that half of all health problems in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water and our natural resources are hitting their limits and climate change is a nice way of saying our time on Earth is limited – and we’re speeding toward the deadline.

Wow. (Deep breath.) We’ve heard it all before, and it’s overwhelming.
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Is there a more important question? For me, this has been the driving force behind the formation of Invested Citizens. To create the world that I want for my children. [click to continue…]

Tagged as: children, discussion, future, grandchildren, Questions

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Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to three brilliant thinkers discuss the question, Can We Save the World Economy? They shared a lot worth remembering, but what I liked hearing from everyone, especially Jeffery Sachs, was that it’s time we did what is right. And what’s right and what’s best for us, for America, and the world, is difficult and unpopular.

We need to change the way we produce and consume everything, especially energy. We need to rebuild infrastructure. We need to make massive investments in education, foreign aid, and eliminating poverty. The myth that we can keep going like we’ve been going and have all we want is just that: a myth. People are going to need to sacrifice, to make changes, and we need to do it sooner rather than later.

We have been nurtured on a lie the last 28 years. That we can pay no taxes, spend more, and have it all: a safe country, clean air, and good public education. IT’S JUST NOT TRUE.

So, what I’ve been wondering for quite a while is who will take a stand, say what’s unpopular, and lead us where we need to go? To do what is right and to do what we need to do is not going to be easy. It is going to be hard. But we must do it. We have no other choice. Will our next president be that person? Is there another man or woman with the moral authority to hold the world’s attention and show us where we need to go? I certainly hope so.

It’s harder than ever with the demands of a 24/7 media, but Professor Sachs left us with some words of encouragement:

“You’re a lucky generation: in 25 years you can end poverty and save the planet. It’s only a matter of focus… and it won’t break the bank - it’s all within a few points of GNP [and] it’ll save the world.”

Tagged as: earth institute, future, good, jeffrey sachs, moral, president, right, unpopular

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Many updates are coming to the site this week. We’re glad you’ve found us and we appreciate your patience as we develop. If you have any questions or comments, please write us using the contact form.

Tagged as: construction, progress, update

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3:10pm I’m sitting inside Miller Theater at Columbia University. The Earth Institute is hosting a panel with the ominous title: Can We Save The World Economy? I’ll be offering my running thoughts for the next 90 minutes or until my phone battery runs out.

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Tagged as: columbia, earth institute, economy, financial crisis, george soros, global economy, jeffrey sachs, recession, sachs, soros

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Saturday Night Live’s return from the comic abyss is one of many reminders: in just two weeks the polls will open and (hopefully) you will vote.

Voting once every four years in the presidential elections is probably what most Americans would consider their greatest act of citizenship. You make your choice, cast a ballot, and it’s affirmed: ours is a participative democracy. Unlike tax season – which visits us yearly – election day is a rare time to feel good about citizenship.
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Tagged as: barack obama, election, invested citizens, john mccain, money, november 4th, vote

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I’ll be in New York next Monday to hear a talk at the Earth Institute with Jeffrey Sachs, George Soros, and Nouriel Roubini: Can We Save the World Economy? I hope the answer is yes, but regardless it should be a fascinating discussion with some of the world’s top minds.  [click to continue…]

Tagged as: columbia, crowded planet, earth institute, economy, george soros, globalization, jeffrey sachs, new york

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At the end of the day, you, too, have seen the glazed and be-nutted loaves gazing out from bakery and coffee shop display cases like overlooked puppies at the animal shelter and thought:

This bread should feed someone’s stomach, not the trash.

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Tagged as: Boston University, food chain, hunger, interdependent, values

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Opening speaker Raj Melville (Ambient Engines) wasn’t being grandiose when he told the crowd gathered in the 4th-floor executive dining room of the Boston University School of Management to ask ourselves:

What is the problem that I’d like to solve in my lifetime?

Sponsors and attendees from the Desphande Foundation to TiE to Ashoka and other global organizations stand as testament that we live in a time when solutions are possible.
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Tagged as: Boston University, Conferences, social entrepreneur, Solutions

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