Biology, the Millennials, and Possibilities

What a week! So much to reflect on. There’s the official launch of the Conscious Business Alliance, the evolution of the 2010 Peace Through Commerce conference, some profound opportunities to practice the skills of Working for Good to make it through challenging passages – personal and professional, returning to the ocean for body surfing, and much more. But as I look back, the experience that seems to hold the most energy for me right now is a brief meeting and conversation with Ian Davidson of BioLogic Systems and Caleb Summers of Soil and Life Systems. I met Caleb in April when I participated as a Change Agent in Residence at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, where he is a student. In short, they are in the soil and compost business. But this is much more than a pile of food scraps and leaves. They are employing leading edge microbial and soil science, and patent-pending processing and delivery systems, to generate and regenerate healthy, productive soil that quickly stabilize landscapes, enhance plant growth and productivity, and reduce water use. Ian showed me a slide deck of an application of two inches of microbe-rich soil being applied to a very steep, rock-hard road bank. The day after the application a tropical storm dropped five inches of pouring rain on it and two days later another seven inches. The soil stayed in place (because the microbes had been working before the application and build a web of slime in the soil that held it together and to the ground. Amazing! After a year, the fully vegetated bank had required no irrigation because the microbes worked their way into the rocks below and cleared paths for the plant roots to reach moisture. While I may be getting some of the details wrong or missing some relevant ones, you get the idea. What this represents to me–as a specific technology and an example of other biologically-based technologies–is the very real opportunities and possibilities for transforming our toxic, petro-chemically based food system which a biologically-based one, with profound implications for the environment and health. It also represents the power of entrepreneurial innovation and initiative to address pressing social and environmental problems. And it represents the incredible idealism, creativity, and passion of the Millennial generation, coupled with their practice, action-orientation. I am truly blessed to be around so many Millennial movers. In addition to Ian and Caleb, this week I continued exploration with Sam Rosen, of Thoughtlead–a digital business consultancy, exchanged supportive web postings and on-line introductions with ethical social media marketing maven George Kao, and shared inspiring vision that is driving program development with Ted and Chris Robb of InHouse Creative Studios, to name a few. The combination of connecting in creativity and creating collaborative community through the internet, stretching the boundaries of applied biological science to regenerate the environment, recreate our food system, and establish a new foundation for health, and the passion, purpose, and practicality of the Millennials feeds my idealism and optimism, and makes meeting every day that much more inspiring and hopeful. If you need some inspiration, check them out! They are all around us, and they are driving profound positive change. Yours in Working for Good, Jeff