In the ongoing human response to the dynamic challenges of climate change, it is imperative that our initiatives be synchronous with living systems.   In the spirit of minimizing our impacts to the biosphere, reconsidered land management practices are vital.

ITP sponsored two workshops in 2016, which sought to positively affect the carbon cycle through the processing of organic wastes into compost that can be applied as a source of regenerative nutrients to working lands.  The first workshop was held at the Presidio in San Francisco in May, the second in Sacramento in October.  Participants were members of a diverse and growing community of Californians who envision a series of critical systemic changes that converge towards a climate beneficial future. » Read More

As we come upon the end of the year, it seems natural to share our reflections on one of the highlights of the year – our annual Grant Partner Gathering that took place this past October at the beautiful Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma, CA.

About 45 people, including 14 current grant partners, former grant partners, and allies gathered “to pause” for three days.

As ITP’s hallmark creative “pause”, the gathering is now the second ‘pause’ grant partners are offered. The retreat welcomes allies from business, education and non-profit sectors to help our growing community share resources, learning, and networks. » Read More

Education and technology have been dating for quite some time, but recently a new aspect of their relationship has begun to surface: energy-efficiency. This evolving courtship is now leaving the classroom and making its way across the entire campus with the implementation of LED lighting, solar, and HVAC systems. But just as there always is with additional school needs, there is one big problem with this new expansion - many schools can’t afford the beneficial upgrades.

This problem is what my team and I set out to change on our pause for a handful of St. Louis schools. One week in the middle of nowhere, 4 school gymnasiums, and 100 LED light fixtures, all working to lower U.S. carbon emissions and create a better education for thousands of St. Louis children. 
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Rainforest Connection (RFCx) used their ITP "Seeding Possibilities" grant to help advance their new project in Ecuador as well as for strategic planning for the year.

One of the goals of the Ecuador project is to establish a local Ecuadorian rainforest as a laboratory and incubator for conservation technologies that can be used to protect endangered forests and eventually to perform endangered species accounting. » Read More

The Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP) is the initiative launched at the White House on 9/22 that the Sonoma County Climate Resilience Team was invited to that included Pepperwood Preserve.  ITP Advisory Committee member Lisa Micheli is the Executive Director of Pepperwood and helped design and finalize the PREP web platform.

For fact sheets and the links to the White House PREP site, including the Sonoma County Climate Resilience Dashboard, » Read More

The Bureau of Linguistical Reality is a public participatory art work established by Alicia Escott and Heidi Quante recognizing a collective loss for words to describe phenomena and emotions our species is experiencing as our world rapidly changes due to climate change and other anthropogenic changes and events. At The Bureau of Linguistical Reality we work with others to examine the disconnects that we are all experiencing as the world around us rapidly changes. The Mission of The Bureau is to create new words to understand and bridge these disconnects.

 We use the words we create through these conversations as points of connectivity to initiate or further conversations around topics that are currently difficult to discuss or even conceptualize— but essential to have as we move forward.

Join us at Bioneers or at the Invoking the Pause annual Grant Partner Gathering where will will set up our Mobile Field Office to work with you to explore the ways our language is failing to accurately describe the world around us and together create neologisms that seek to identify and correct these gaps.  

Please read about the passage of this important California climate bill.

On the final day of our Pause retreat, members of our SustainUS COP21 delegation took the time to write and then perform our visions for the future and our places within them. These are our #ZeroBy2050 stories: what does it actually look and feel like to reach a fully decarbonized global economy by 2050? We gathered the loving energies and powerful relationships that had been nurtured over days of dialogue and movement and shared our visions for a more equitable, sustainable, and just world. Below, you can find a diverse expression of these Visions for an alternative and better future.  » Read More

By 2016 ITP Grant Partner Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, California Institute for Rural Studies

Climate change can be a polarizing topic in California's San Joaquin Valley. This past summer, however, as San Joaquin Valley communities watched the U.S. Geological Survey drought map turn from ominous shades of "severe drought" orange to "exceptional drought" maroon, the Valley experienced what many believe was a taste of coming water shortages related to climate change. According to the USGS, the Central Valley is home to 75% of the irrigated land in California and 17% of irrigated land in the entire U.S. » Read More