recommended resources

-- Recommended Resources -- 

Theme of the day - Finance / Economy...

A new year begins and we are faced with new opportunities to make a difference with both our investments and our charitable donations... among other actions we can take. 

I'd like to start our day off with a discussion presented by Audrey Choi re: Investing in the change you want to see in our future: sustainable, community-minded, environmentally savvy policies, etc.

http://www.ted.com/talks/audrey_choi_how_to_make_a_profit_while_making_a_difference

There are a lot of issues out there, locally and globally, that present themselves to us on any given day - yet as an individual, we find ourselves forced to make difficult decisions as to what we can get involved in. Well, the same difficult decisions are being faced by larger business officials, organization management staff and our governments as well. Here is one resource that may ease the decision making process for all of us:

http://www.ted.com/talks/bjorn_lomborg_sets_global_priorities

Now, I found this talk quite interesting – the speaker, Bjorn Lomborg (who looks an awful lot like Chef Ramsey. …like a younger brother, don’t you think?) presents a list of the world’s greatest problems and with teams of economists and experts, they prioritize the list according to the greatest good per dollar spent. I have to say that Climate Change and Education were on my priority list, but now I see that if we tackle things like malnutrition, disease and poverty – we can do the greatest good. Most experts agree that poverty is a huge contributor to climate change. By bringing people out of poverty and illness, they become contributing global citizens and this will free up even more finances because the people in these unfortunate circumstances will no longer be draining the system. Stats show that these people will not only be paying taxes and starting businesses, they will also become more inclined to volunteer, donate and get involved in other ways. Part of poverty eradication, however, is job creation and here I think we could also address climate change in the form of “green” job opportunities.

I hope these two resources inspire exciting and challenging discussions, and help us all make more informed decisions on where we can have the most impact with what we have.

http://www.facebook.com/lillian.brummet 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbrummet

http://www.consciousdiscussions.blogspot.com