Ggids

The need for what she called a moral imagination was articulated by Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder of Acumen and pioneer in social impact investing during a recent interview with the Financial Times. “What’s needed is the moral imagination; if we’re going to build systems that include the people who’ve been overlooked and underestimated, we can’t be so distant from them.” She’s after investments and investors to participate in solving big problems like poverty. The CEOs she talks with express a sense of responsibility which ought to make the tasks possible, but it will still require finding new ways to create solutions.  Through her organization, she has proven that it can be profitable.  Acumen is partnering with banks, foundations, corporations and getting results. Nevertheless, she admits that our focus on profits needs to be balanced with our desire to find answers. The new generations she says already know that capitalism as we know it won’t solve issues like climate change and inequality. But using a moral imagination could help in creating the social impact that would help us all. It’s a great phrase and a great thought and let’s hope it provides the sought after  inspiration.

A first happened in Industry, Maine not long ago:  Mark Ancker was buried in a mushroom casket. It was entirely made of mycelium, the intricate root system of fungi. Such caskets take a week to make and are wholly biodegradable, disintegrating in about 45 days. It’s all part of what is called a quiet revolution in burials. Green burials are in demand, and alternatives are being sought. This alternative, the Loop Living Cocoon, is made by a Dutch company Loop Biotech. They’ve done about 2500 such burials in Europe, but the one in rural Maine was the first for the United States. So far, The Green Burial Council has certified about 250 providers and has recorded over 400 green cemeteries over the US and Canada thus highlighting the growing interest in green burials. The emphasis on alternates to traditional burials seeks to be kind to the earth, give back in a way, show that even with our burial we can still contribute to ecology.  

Even for those not ready for a mushroom casket, just recognizing the idea as viable is itself a step to finding better ways than what we do at present.   

There’s a contest going on in the UK: Choosing a tree of the year. I’m sharing that this contest is happening because the idea is rather magnetic and I believe we ought to imitate it and have our own.  From 40 trees ten have made the short list and people will vote on which one ought to be tree of the year. The trees are as different as can be. One is small and skinny, a couple are twisted and more wide than tall, some have beautiful trunks, for others it is the foliage that stand out, whether in shape or size or both. The Woodland Trust sponsors this contest yearly; it is national and the trees on the list come from different parts of the UK.

 I Love trees and in that am far from unique and join numerous others. We owe so much to trees and take them for granted. This contest reminds us of what they contribute and stand for. And that’s exactly what the Woodland Trust aims to do, to help us appreciate how vital trees are to our landscape and to our lives.