Hub → Racism

I also want to highlight that Portland has been a very we have a very racist, white dominant history as a city. And we're as a community working to dismantle that racism that's been institutionalized and internalized in most of us. And how can we do that? Utilizing The Redd facility and creating access for opportunity and shifting power to folks who have been marginalized out of the system. And what does that look like and how can we create a platform for it, with the infrastructure that we have and the gathering spaces. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/19070-building-a-sustainable-and-just-food-system-with-emma-sharer-ecotrust-investments [more]

Hub → Food production

Also I think another huge layer to this community benefits the collaborative piece, right? So there's, sometimes a hundred businesses onsite at once doing, not in the COVID era, but pre COVID doing their business and whether it's producing or warehousing or whatnot. And then they're collaborating with each other. And I feel like in our very broken sort of commodity size food world, that doesn't exist. So finding that is really important. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/19070-building-a-sustainable-and-just-food-system-with-emma-sharer-ecotrust-investments [more]

Hub → Food distribution 
Hub → Food Industry 
Hub → Food

So I think what is truly valuable from a food business perspective is you typically start with your warehouse somewhere, your kitchen, somewhere, your buyer, somewhere, and The Redd. Not that everything has to be in one spot, but is a really nice spawning ground. So to speak. Or a food business to start. And that's because you can make your product in one of the kitchens, you can store your product with beeline. One of our tenants who manages the warehouse and then have it delivered by beeline. And, or be connected to the local grocery market in town, new seasons, for example, which is a big partner of ours in The Redd ecosystem. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/19070-building-a-sustainable-and-just-food-system-with-emma-sharer-ecotrust-investments [more]

Food production → Sustainability 
Hub → Food

Our program team at Ecotrust on the food side, did this study to understand where the gaps were in getting locally sourced produced, raised meats, produce seafood into the hands of people and our community. And what came out of that study was cold storage, dry storage, kitchen, production, space ,events, community gathering spots. And that is what The Redd is now. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/19070-building-a-sustainable-and-just-food-system-with-emma-sharer-ecotrust-investments [more]

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Katherine Camp from P4G partnerships discusses the importance and impact of the 2030 sustainability goals.

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We interview Michelle Eger, Co-Founder and CEO at BIOMILQ on how her company is solving for infant malnutrition, breastfeeding and more through innovations in  food technology .

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Linda Hodo interviews Kimberli Jeter, Founder River Wolf Group on creating a purpose driven organization.

Some highlights:

Experimenting → Businesses

You're not going to get everything right the first time. And that's okay. And that's what being an authentic, person and a corporation is all about, right? It's our learning journey and our growth. So really that, that focus on evaluation and learning, and then being able to pivot when needed is important. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15345-creating-a-purpose-driven-organization-with-kimberli-jeter-founder-river-wolf-group [more]

Purpose → Businesses

Purpose driven organizations are known to grow three times faster than organizations of similar size. There's demonstrated impact that employees and purpose-driven organizations 90% of them say they're willing to go the extra mile for their organization. And we know employee engagement is a problem across the board. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15345-creating-a-purpose-driven-organization-with-kimberli-jeter-founder-river-wolf-group [more]

Diversity → Supply Chain

And looking for that external lens is being able to take a look at our supply chain. So now I said our people, we're good. We're working on our diversity here. What are we doing about our supply chain is our supply chain diverse? Have we even looked at and considered diversifying our supply chain? http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15345-creating-a-purpose-driven-organization-with-kimberli-jeter-founder-river-wolf-group [more]

Diversity → Businesses

I think right now, one of the first steps to really look at, in terms of authenticity is around diversity inclusion. There have been $46 billion in commitments around diversity inclusion. So I think that's the first part to check is how are we treating our people? What is our diversity look like from our frontline employees all the way up to the board? How are we distributed? How are we paying our employees? Are we paying equitably across gender, across ethnicities and really using the data within the organization to do that first self-check. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15345-creating-a-purpose-driven-organization-with-kimberli-jeter-founder-river-wolf-group [more]

Authenticity → Businesses

The first step is really about authenticity and having an organization be true to, why it was started, how it was created and really live that purpose, but incorporated into its DNA and have it drive the decisions and have it drive the impact it wants to have in the community. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15345-creating-a-purpose-driven-organization-with-kimberli-jeter-founder-river-wolf-group [more]

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Karrah Krakovyak interviews Illah Nourbakhsh Professor at Carnegie Mellon University & Director of the CREATE Lab. They discuss creating meaningful change by employing historical data and explorable imagery in online resources such as EarthTime.

Data Visualization to Climate Change

When they see the earth being warm. It's one thing when they see the rate at which the earth is warming now, compared to 20 years ago, a hundred years ago, they become almost panicky and they become convinced that we have to do something about it now. And that sense of urgency. That's really important in that kind of rhetorical communication that you're trying to do to get somebody to care, not just enough to agree with you, but enough to decide they need to actually set aside some time to help you get the job done http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15342-data-visualization-for-meaningful-change-with-illah-nourbakhsh-carnegie-mellon-university-director-of-the-create-lab 

Data Visualization to Housing Discrimination (United States)

But we have maps that show demography of eviction, demography of home ownership, the number of people by race, by color of skin who are denied mortgages by mortgage application. And we can show their salary level. So we can show that make enough money for the mortgage, but they just don't get the mortgage. And so by showing historical red lining and then superimposing that with these kinds of demographies, we've got the entire Pennsylvania housing commission now working on new mortgage vehicles. So that African-Americans and vulnerable populations can get mortgages because then you have much lower cost of living relatively speaking than rental, especially in a city like Pittsburgh. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15342-data-visualization-for-meaningful-change-with-illah-nourbakhsh-carnegie-mellon-university-director-of-the-create-lab 

Data Visualization to Solar Power

Our maps have certainly been used for example, to look at solar panel policy changes along the East coast because we can show every installation of every solar panel on the East coast over time. And so you can see glaring changes in States like Delaware, where they don't have good subsidies, right next door to states like Massachusetts, where they have fantastic subsidies. And the difference is basically stunning. So you've seen that kind of policy at the national level where people drive policy decisions http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15342-data-visualization-for-meaningful-change-with-illah-nourbakhsh-carnegie-mellon-university-director-of-the-create-lab 

Data Visualization to Nonpartisan

We're doing that because we believe a more informed populace is able to make more rational decisions and have common ground with each other so that we don't have as much divisiveness in society. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15342-data-visualization-for-meaningful-change-with-illah-nourbakhsh-carnegie-mellon-university-director-of-the-create-lab 

Data Visualization to Deforestation

And we sit them on stools and give them a deep dive image show of this and you should see their expressions because we can show the trees falling and then the Amazon, and then we can zoom out until you see both the East and West coasts of South American continent. And now you understand the vastnes

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Andrew Fanara interviews Doug Gatlin, CEO of Green Seal, on the impact of of cleaning products on human health in the workplace.

"The pandemic is a backdrop to help increase awareness of the overuse of cleaning chemicals....using the right kinds of chemicals can do a lot towards your sustainability and your human health goals."

"Fragrances are one of the most common sources of allergy attacks and asthma attacks. And the fragrance is very interesting. It's funny how you can buy a product that's considered to be fragrance-free and then there's actually still fragrances in it to make it fragrance-free. So it's with some of our neurology, the stuff that affects sense and smell and everything. We screened for chemicals, which are known to cause asthma, as well as some of those which are known to cause cancer or be endocrine disruptors."

"We had commercials on TV that were showing these guys in these Tyvec suits. That, it looked like they were going after some kind of a. Bio hazards on the moon or something. And that's understandable because it was the most visible, but radically overuse of cleaning chemicals can actually cause harm. It builds up there. There's an accretion and dosing a space in hazardous chemicals isn't necessarily going to do anything to stop spread the spread of COVID-19, but it can enhance led to some health consequences"

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Sarmed Rashid, former Opioid Epidemic Manager at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks about the opioid epidemic. From mental health to the impact of Covid-19, Sarmed provides a comprehensive breakdown of some of the causes of the epidemic as well as potential solutions.

SolveCaster™
Morten Seja
Economic Growth Adviser
More about Morten Seja

Inequality to Covid-19

We've seen that the COVID-19 epidemic or pandemic has especially affected them some of the most vulnerable populations. So homeless populations and criminal justice populations, especially. And these are also populations that are more predisposed to deal with substance abuse issues. The COVID-19 pandemic has just exacerbated a lot of the underlying conditions of the opioid epidemic. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15292-opioid-epidemic-tackling-community-decay-and-loneliness-with-sarmed-rashid [more]

Telehealth to Opioid Epidemic

Just as workplaces have shifted to a more virtual a more virtual set up, what we've seen is like tele-health taking off in ways that it hadn't before. The government has relaxed a lot of laws that prevent prescript prescribers from fully using telehealth to, for example, prescribing medicine. So like actions like that have helped increased access to treatment for a lot of folks. Same thing with virtual recovery support services. So what we've seen right now is a lot, is that a lot of these virtual recovery groups have turned to zoom and Skype to help hold some of the sessions. And it may not be as effective as in-person, it's still significantly better than not having anything at all. htt... [more]

CPR to Opioid Epidemic

A lot of people talk about Naloxone, which is this kind of miracle drug that can revive someone who's having an opioid addiction. But you don't necessarily need to have this drug in order to save a life. Someone who has overdosed can be revived with chest compressions and rescue breaths. And I just generally encourage everyone to get CPR training. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15292-opioid-epidemic-tackling-community-decay-and-loneliness-with-sarmed-rashid [more]

Stigma to Opioid Epidemic

Understanding the role that stigma can play... personal stigma, institutional stigma in preventing people from getting treatment and then maintaining their recovery. I think being knowledgeable about the kind of larger context that gave rise to addiction can help undermine the belief that some people might have that this is a personal failing and also being aware of our language. There's been a significant amount of research that using certain words over others may make it more difficult for policymakers to pass legislation that deals with this or makes it more difficult for doctors and other healthcare providers to treat those with addiction. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15292-... [more]

Unemployment rate to Opioid Epidemic

We've also seen a lot of research that talks about the effects o

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How can we use technology to empower citizens to engage and take action to improve air quality? We speak to Matt Mehalik, Executive Director for The Breathe Project and adjunct faculty at the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University about solving for air pollution using a suite of technology tools in partnership with an engaged community.

Blocks(TM) in this podcast:

Hurricanes to Air Pollution

There are so many Chemical plants that exist in the Houston area. They're very active. As hurricane Harvey did such damage in Houston and the aftermath of documenting how all those plants released huge amounts of pollution into the air because their operations were disrupted by a hurricane. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15273-civilian-scientists-air-quality-tech-innovation-with-matt-mehalik [more]

Manufacturing Industry to Air Pollution

And so we can zero in on the need to regulate and enforce what happens with a few key facilities. Most of them are old steelmaking facilities and Coke making facilities...It has technology that dates back to the 1970s. So it's 50 years old and the company hasn't been investing in, improving it. In fact, what US Steel has done over this past year is take the money that it's made and invested in new facilities in Arkansas and Alabama, and not doing anything to repair the problems in Southwestern, Pennsylvania, which is where that company started, by the way. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15273-civilian-scientists-air-quality-tech-innovation-with-matt-mehalik [more]

Communication to Air Pollution

So for decades, a lot of these communities have been ignored despite and during truly awful air quality conditions with high incidents of families being disrupted by disease directly attributable to air emissions. So it's at its core it's an environmental justice issue. The many of these communities are finding their voice by creating a space where people can feel like they can voice their concerns, participate by recording. http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15273-civilian-scientists-air-quality-tech-innovation-with-matt-mehalik #50 #air-pollution [more]

Smartphones to Air Pollution

And on any given day, the map, we can map out where the bad smells are flowing through the atmosphere around Pittsburgh. And those data points correlate with what we see on monitors. And so it helps us detect, so human smell is very sensitive. And the It's a good monitoring technique too, to tune into when something smells bad. And it's one data point that can be combined with what the monitors are showing, what the cameras were showing. We've seen many incidents where some people in a community will smell something. They'll report it on Twitter and recorded on the smell Pittsburgh app that will prompt us to go and look at cameras. And lo and behold, many times we see. Two hours before that... [more]

Camera to Air Pollution

One of the challenges of air quality work is that unless you see visible pollution, smoke plumes coming out and settling in over communities, which unfortunately continues to happen in

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http://www.solvecast.com/articles/detail/15258-sustainable-design-resilience-planning-with-ariane-laxo

We speak to Ariane Laxo, Sustainability Director and associate Vice President of design firm HGA. Our discussion today covers the intersection between sustainable initiatives and the world of architecture and design. To Ariane, addressing the climate crisis is of paramount importance. She says that from a scientific standpoint “we know that the next ten years are critical to counteract climate change.”

So what can architecture and design do to proactively face down this crisis? And what actually constitutes a sustainable built environment? Ariane poses these questions to herself at each design juncture. To her, a sustainable building comes down to one encompassing question: “How can we design in ways that help people thrive and don’t negatively impact human health?”

To address these questions, Ariane first outlines her industry’s overall carbon impact. The building industry itself produces a huge amount of global CO2 emissions, in fact, according to Ariane, about 28 percent yearly. Construction materials are another 11 percent on top of that. Including transportation industries (which are closely tied to the built environment), about half of global CO2 emissions originate in Ariane’s industry. 

So, these things considered, how has the architecture and design industry gone about solving for a decrease in carbon output? Ariane points to a number of global initiatives beyond her own organization. Architecture 2030 has spearheaded change by proposing a goal of net zero emissions for participating architecture firms by the year 2030. She also mentions the International Living Future Institute and their Living Building Challenge, as well as the International WELL Building Institute as leaders in industry sustainability initiatives. She says that though there is competition in the industry, that when it comes to sustainability there exists a desire to share knowledge and information to help everybody solve for sustainability.

Ariane says any truly sustainable approach must be a comprehensive strategy, taking into account the ways in which the built environment impacts not just those who dwell within those environments, but must reach all the way to those who initially create construction materials. Too often these materials can cause chemical harm (from “chemicals of concern” in industry lingo) in the creation process, so sustainable thinking aims to put human health at the forefront, from materials to finished product. In short, “human health is non-negotiable.”

HGA’s end-goal is for each project to incorporate “regenerative design,” which Ariane describes as “projects [that aim to] give more back than we take.” Presently such an outcome isn’t yet feasible with each project, but HGA is on course to get closer to this aim as time goes on. 

For HGA and Ariane, what solving for climate change in architecture really boils down to is a reduction in carbon. But for Ariane personally, she asks herself this question: “How can I help educate and inspire the people who have the power to make decisions, to make these choices for this collective good? … How can we help folk

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