Last word

Everything is connected!

Always remember a wonderful BBC TVseries – probably before your time, dear reader – when James Burke explored inventions and conventions of the scientific and technological kind (circa 1978, with sequels in 1994 and 1997), showing how everything’s connected.

Same feeling experienced when I went about my work over the last six weeks or so -  attending conferences, speaking engagements, writing articles, getting chapters written for the next book, networking, communicating, meeting creatures and people great and small – that everything’s connected.

I was thinking about all this when I met with various people in the past few weeks who are all doing good in related fields, wearing different hats, but remarkably connected. Working in unison for the sake of the planet and us all. In different ways. Sometimes not even known to each other. 

When speaking about climate change and energy at a couple of workshops in the last week, I reminded the audience/fellow participants of what the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies came up with in 2005 in their landmark study Americans and Climate Change( www.environment.yale.edu) described  “the perfect problem”. Climate change was just that because it couldn’t be pidgeon-holed or put in one discipline or even two. It implicated all the sciences and practices you could think off,  because again, everything was connected.

Weather, climate, energy, environment, food, water.

All the elements and all the outcomes – a perfect problem with no perfect answer.

This nexus came to light and was enunciated very clearly at the last Singapore International Water Week two years ago. It went beyond water issues  and opportunities to “connect the dots” with clean energy, waste management, recycling, clean air – nothing is left out and all’s included.

Which makes the problem all the harder to describe and prescribe solutions. We are so used to going to the doctor or specialist for a prescription, for something to heal us, cure us.  But if we are honest there are no specialists for the climate change, those best able to help us understand are generalists, good communicators, those who bridge disciplines and understand .

They are creative thinkers or they are engineers who think outside the box. Scientists like Ian Lowe and Peter Doherty, environmentalists like David Suzuki or advocates like Jonathon Porritt. Or even an economist like Nicholas Stern or a paleontologist like Tim Flannery or an engineer like David Hood.

I was thinking about all this when I met with various people in the past few weeks who are all doing good in related fields, wearing different hats, but remarkably connected. Working in unison for the sake of the planet and us all. In different ways. Sometimes not even known to each other. 

There’s Andrew Affleck who set up Armstrong Asset Management to raise enough money to fund clean energy projects in South East Asia. An enterprising private sector initiative which was successful in amassing US$164 million to do the job. In the process winning an award from Asian Investor magazine for the best infrastructure fund launch. www.armstrongam.com

And my old friend Martin Blake has been back in Singapore after a very successful time in Australia where he brought together – with a little help from our friends – an amazing collection of like-minded people to form Blue Australasia, which offers a unique business model that assists organisations to maximise efficiency and to unlock resources and opportunities that are presently being overlooked. Spread the word. www.blueaus.com

David Hunt, is one of those very capable Australians in the Blue team and he knows Asia well too. In Singapore we met to see how we can work together to both raise funds to support clean energy and clean tech projects in the region, and effectively promote the good work that is going on. He takes charge of BE Intermediary services. www.imperiuminvestment.com

John O’Brien, who runs Australian Clean Tech, was back in Singapore speaking at the Sentosa conference on clean tech. He has done an amazing job promoting clean tech businesses and establishing indexes for Australia and China. Maybe Singapore and South East Asia could be next. He connects the  dots and shows what the private sector can do. www.auscleantech.com.au

I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Jeff Obbard the other week at National University of Singapore for a special Asian student’s workshop looking at climate change and sustainability. He describes himself as more than an engineer – he’s an ecologist. And his bias towards the environment and clean energy is obvious. He was telling me about what he’s come up with. AiRazor Technologies Ltd – a university spin-off company dedicated to the invention and supply of indoor air quality control devices. Best to get hold of Jeff through LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jeff-obbard-ph-d/23/18/635

So you don’t think I am totally favouring Westerners, let me draw attention to the wonderful work of Eugene Tay in Singapore. Besides being one of the city-state’s most active activists on all things green – he also went to Taiwan with me in March to participate in the Asia Productivity Organisation event – he has organised a series of workshops on Sustainable Singapore, to get maximum input from community organisations and the private sector to advise Government. www.greenfutures.org

Then there’s no forgetting Rob Cawthorne, Carbon Reduction Institute and Syntech International.  He is one of the survivors in the carbon space (in Australia) and when visiting Singapore he told me he’s keen to spread the net and get involved in developing his business in Asia. We’re here to help of course. He’s also a Blue Australasia supporter. www.noco2.com.au

And just while you’re thinking they’re an all-male lot, we introduce four of the other gender. The very creative sorts:

Laura Allen runs an outfit called Gone Adventurin’. We met at the Hall and Partners event. She’s doing wonderful work to not only highlight important issues – like water pollution – but effectively brings the private sector on board with “authentic stories and sustainable brands”. www.goneadventurin.com

Lekha Patmanathan and I met at Eugene’s Sustainable Singapore workshop and she’s keen to promote solar as the clean energy of the future. She’s a successful and savvy lady in the recruitment business, but keen to demonstrate her enthusiasm for all things sustainable.

Andrea Hessmo is an enthusiastic writer who is keen to turn her hand to promoting the good things in life and what’s good for the planet. While we are working together to get some attention for a Singapore start up, we’re also keen to promote opportunities for other writers.

And lastly, I promise, Andrea introduced me to Camilla Hall, who is not only an enthusiastic follower of Ashok Khosla and Gunter Pauli – which puts her very much in the blue and sustainable territory –  but she probably has even more hats than I have! And all of them for the good of us all. Swedish water included!

So I could go on about more wonderful people and events, and issues and opportunities, explored in the past few weeks. There’s more to tell about Crowdsourcing and our plans for “Writers of the World Unite”. But we’ll restrain ourselves or there won’t be anything to talk about next time.

Meantime, keep in touch through our LinkedIn Group – Sustain Ability Showcase Asia (SASA) – or other means of communication. And if you haven’t made it to our “honours list” this time, maybe I’m just saving you up for something better next time.

- Ken Hickson

Source: www.sustain-ability-showcase.com