The other day, Rich and I took advantage of a sunny day in Brooklyn (rare in the last few weeks!) to go see the cherry blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It was breathtaking—dozens of trees in full flower, so pink they practically glowed. The ground was covered with a thick layer of petals, and every time the wind blew, a delicate pink rain came drifting down. I could have stayed there on the ground looking up through the branches all day.

Cherry blossoms are prized in Japanese culture as a symbol of the beautiful transience of life. To me, they are also a reminder of the kind of culture we must build—one in which everything we do as humans, from sleeping to eating to chasing our dreams—contributes positively to the biosphere. Nature’s economy is based on each organism giving fully of itself, freely, without expectation of reciprocation, and this is reflected in the way cherry trees burst into life in the spring. They don’t need to know what the price of cherries are to motivate themselves to produce. Nor do they need to be admired for their beauty. They simply create as much as they can and contribute all of it to all of us, providing homes for birds, delicious fruit, and the incredible gorgeousness you can see in this short video.

How can we change ourselves and change our world so that we operate in the same way? That’s the question we’re tackling here on The Sunny Way, and we’re so grateful that you are part of the inquiry.

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This is the second part of my recap of the 350 Conference at Columbia on Saturday, May 2nd. Read Part 1.

The afternoon of the 350 conference started out with a panel presentation on Climate Law, Policy, and Economics. First up was Michael Gerrard, an environmental lawyer and director of the Center for Climate Law at Columbia. His speech centered on legislative and regulatory responses to climate change. His view differed from Dr. Hansen’s in that he thinks that neither a carbon tax nor a cap and trade scheme are enough—both can be easily made porous, and both leave out large segments of the economy.

He supports massive regulation to close the holes that will inevitably open up in carbon taxing or cap and trade: technology standards, efficiency standards for appliances and other machinery, utility regulation, road use pricing, a floor price for gasoline, land use regulations to end sprawl, agricultural regulation to end soil-degrading practices, and, most controversially, regulation on advertising that encourages high levels of consumption. We have limits on advertising for harmful things like cigarettes and liquor, he said, so why not put limitations on ads for big cars, cheap imported stuff, and other environmentally harmful products? He showed this famous image and suggested that the U.S. Government put together a program to promote thrift and efficiency.

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image by Sugar Sweet Sunshine

Last Saturday, I attended the 350 Conference at Columbia University with Sarah and Rich. Organized by students in the Masters Program in Climate and Society, the speakers looked into climate change from many different angles. Most were scientists, focused on the facts.

NASA’s James Hansen—the outspoken climate change researcher who the Bush administration famously tried to silence—started off the day with an overview of the data that led him to the conclusion that we need to keep CO2 levels at or below 350 parts per million in order to preserve the climate in which we evolved. This is a far lower goal than many suggested levels, but Hansen’s research shows that around 450 ppm, ice melts and cannot refreeze, leading to a sharp rise in sea level and massive catastrophe around the world. He argues for a simple carbon tax—about $1 a gallon, with all the proceeds to be rebated to the American people—to change behaviors and get us off fossil fuels.

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image by The Sly Gentleman

There are lots of great tips on the web and in books about things you can do to save money and reduce your impact on the environment, but today, sitting around in the lovely May sunshine I’ve been thinking about the wonderful side effects of laziness.

There are so many worthwhile things I could do today other than sit around in my pajamas reading a book I borrowed from a friend, napping and working on my writing, things that on other days hold real appeal to me, but not today.

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image by √oхέƒx™

A few months ago I started to observe the moon every night as part of an assignment for a science education class. The instructions were to watch the moon daily, at the same time, from the same location for about 5 weeks and record all observations in a journal. This seemed straightforward enough, fine, let’s see how it goes. I decided to set my cell phone alarm to 11:30 p.m., because I knew I would forget.

At first, it was hard to pull myself away from my computer or get home a little earlier just to observe the moon. I wanted to stay inside, writing emails or reading. It was too cold—why bother watching it? I can just look up the phase online, I thought.

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Happy Friday everyone! Sarah, Rich, and I are gearing up to attend the 350 conference at Columbia tomorrow—I’m particularly excited to hear from James Hansen and Majora Carter. And of course we’ll tell you all about it.

In the meantime, here’s what happened this week on The Sunny Way ...

• Monday, I expounded on Uli’s pieces on the Economy of Consciousness from last week. It’s really thrilling to think about how much we can grow from within!
• Tuesday, we featured a project from one of our readers, Amy, on toddler and baby literacy. Fill out the survey and tell us about something you’re working on!
• Wednesday, Uli gathered together some of the month’s best news into a Good News Newsreel.
• Thursday, Stella shared the supercute projects she’s been working on to turn stuff from around the house into new stuff she and her family will actually use.

Today I want to share a video that Ali Cotteril, producer/director extraordinaire, put together for Current.com about the Carrotmob event we threw in Brooklyn last December. She did a great job capturing the day!

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