"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."              -Muhammad Ali

It is hard for most people to imagine life without fossil fuels. They're present in almost all aspects of our daily lives. They facilitate nearly everything we do. Are we in love? » Read More

By Nicole Lederer of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) 
E2 is a 2014 Invoking the Pause Grant Partner.
This photo illustrates the remarkable impact of E2's ITP-sponsored retreat to Iowa.  Governor Branstad of Iowa has not been particularly focused on meeting with clean energy advocates, and many of our partner organizations had tried and failed to get in to his office.  But because we were able to rally a very compelling group of his own constituents, ... » Read More

Bob Keefe is the executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Bob reflects on their recent "pause" and entwines us in the tapestry created by the coming together of such diverse participants.

The farmer, the warrior, the football player, the former small-town mayor, the entrepreneurs and the rest of us came together from every part of the country to the middle of the nation's heartland. Over two days, the differences between us faded away like green in the summertime corn.

Thanks to Invoking the Pause, we were all able to set aside precious time and focus for just a moment in our lives on one of the most simple, most important but most ignored components of good communications: Effectively telling our own stories.

What we quickly realized was that whether we come from the left, the right or the center of our country, our individual stories are powerful tools for advocacy for action on climate change. » Read More

Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) was founded on a contrarian idea - that business people would make the most effective advocates for the environment. 

Back in 2000 the common belief that we had to choose between the health of the planet and our economic prosperity was as widely accepted as it was illogical.  Who better to refute that premise than those with economic credentials - people who run companies and create jobs?  » Read More

Though I’ve been a social activist for many years, shareholder advocacy is a new arena for me. With Invoking the Pause, I’ve worked to advance public awareness and engagement about climate change issues for years. We have used our funds to give artists and activists the ‘pause’ they need to complete their worthy work. I am a retired corporate lawyer, and have always believed that corporations have responsibility for their impact on the world and the environment. But before I was introduced to As You Sow last year, I didn’t completely realize how much power I had as a shareholder to affect the companies I own. (I was so impressed with their work I encouraged them to apply for a 2014 ITP grant, and our Advisory Committee selected them as one of the five Grant Partners this year.)

I was recently interviewed for their Donor Profile in the As You Sow Summer Newsletter.  Read the article here.

 At the recent Whole Earth Summit, ITP Grant Partner, author and activist Terry Tempest Williams, and ITP Advisory Committee guiding light and co-founder of Bioneers, Nina Simons, were both interviewed.  Hear their narratives about how they each aspire to affect change on this earth.  In an excerpt from that interview, Terry recalls her ITP grant, The Council of Pronghorn, and its life changing impact.

Terry Tempest Williams: "How do we pay attention to what projects we are working on? I feel it in my body and my body doesn’t lie. I also want to know - how does this project mirror the questions that keep me up at night? I think about - does it scare me?  I want to go where I’m afraid – that’s where my growth is and I also want to work with people that I love, trust, admire and respect.  I think more than anything – as Nina said – what are the serendipitous moments? What is the synchronicity that follows this? I do believe that our life work is about paying attention, even to the surprises.  My grandmother called it ‘following the golden thread’." » Read More

Join us for conversation with visiting activists from GAIA's global network, including: » Read More

"Farm folks, food folks, and friends near and far,

We couldn't be happier to announce the online release of THE ORGANIC LIFE, a one-of-a-kind farming documentary three years in the making. Set in Sonoma, California, the film highlights the sweat, blisters, sun, and rain as well as a passion for life, food, and the earth that goes hand-in-hand with farming and will have you thinking about your food and local farmers in a new way (...as well as craving carrots)."

Download it here today: http://bit.ly/1pEz1WG
» Read More

is thrilled to announce our Grant Partners for the 2014 grant cycle. We received a record number of applications this year, and definitely had our work cut out for us deciding how to allocate funds among a highly qualified pool of applicants. After a lively discussion and some tough decisions, our Advisory Committee selected five partners to receive Invoking the Pause grants:

•    A New Story to Heal the Earth: Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
•    Breaking Up with Fossil Fuels: As You Sow
•    Raising Our Voices: Convening for Key Environmental Messengers: Environmental Entrepreneurs
•    An Investigation of Fracking in California: Mark Hertsgaard and Holly Kernan 
•    Game for the Caribbean Climate: University of Miami   » Read More