Sustain Our Earth

While programs to aid and encourage large firms to reduce their energy consumption have been popular and helped to keep electricity consumption in check over the last few years in the state, small businesses have had difficulty accessing the programs due to financial and time constraints, Wrice said.

"You can't keep doing the Pratt & Whitneys of the world," she said. "At some point, you have to target these smaller businesses. Otherwise you're going to have ... boarded up main streets."

"Financial-market reform has fallen far short of securing the sector’s resilience, let alone driving investment in the technology, energy systems, infrastructure, and business models needed to develop a sustainable world economy."

Good article in Project Syndicate by sustainability expert Simon Zadek on the need to tackle the financial sector.

"This new study explores the implications of a major financial crisis for the supply-chains that feed us, keep production running and maintain our critical infrastructure. I use a scenario involving the collapse of the Eurozone to show that increasing socio-economic complexity could rapidly spread irretrievable supply-chain failure across the world."

Excellent new report from Irish think tank Feasta on the interconnectness between global energy insecurity, economic supply chains and the financial system. Worth reading full report.