I recently had the honor of participating as one of 12 judges for the 2011 Biomimicry Student Design Challenge that was hosted by the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute (formerly The Biomimicry Institute). The Student Design Challenge was launched in September 2011 and was open to students from around the world who worked together on collaborative, local teams to develop a [...]

Have you ever noticed that there always seems to be a dearth of one commodity in particular? It’s intangible yet the most precious thing we have. TIME. During my recent cycling trip across 4 states ( Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota , and Minnesota) to raise money for the students of MCAD’s Sustainable Design Online Program , the luxury of having time for sustainability became readily [...]

What is left after you’ve peeled off the eco-groovy labels and unwrapped the post-consumer recycled-content packaging? Will the product underneath stand the test of time? Will the business you run survive the next recession? In a word, are they resilient? Resiliency is all about being able to take the heat, stress, impact, pressure, market changes, etc., and [...]

Deadwood, South Dakota, is the final resting place for Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, and has more buried residents than unburied ones, yet it is unearthing new ways to breathe life into its sustainability efforts. Deadwood was founded in 1870 (illegally) to host the onslaught of gold miners that flocked to work in the thriving [...]

Ever since my first dispatch from the road I have been mentioning (complaining?) about the weight of the stuff I’ve been hauling over mountain passes, through canyons, and to places that are in the middle of nowhere . I decided I would throw a bone to the cyclists in the crowd as the question I most frequently asked to [...]

After 25 miles of grinding my way through the Black Hills region, I stopped off at 120-year old store in Aladdin, Wyoming (Pop. 15). I wandered around the jam-packed mercantile that felt more like an attic than a store, with everything from snacks to antique milk glass dinnerware and, as a hand-written sign boasted, a mixed beverage [...]

About 150 miles south of Miles City lies a place, “conveniently located in the middle of no place.” It’s called Alazada, Montana, and is home to the Stoneville Saloon and not much else (there is also a convenience store and post office). The Saloon is a place that one must really visit in person to get the real [...]

When beginning to build my Ride the Talk campaign for need-based scholarships for the students of MCAD’s Sustainable Design program , I stumbled upon a cool Kickstarter campaign for the Backcountry Boiler . Devin Montgomery, a young designer turned entrepreneur, raised three times his Kickstarter fundraising goal with the help of over 500 backers to turn his sustainable design concept into reality. [...]

After a chaotic boarding at Missoula’s Greyhound Station, I was finally on my way to Miles City (~480 miles East of Missoula), the place where I would begin to Ride the Talk . My seat buddy, an exhausted mom, had already been on several buses for the past 24 hours when she made her transfer in Missoula with her [...]

They keep coming out of the woodwork. Appearing when most needed and least expected. Amazing individuals that are willing to go the extra mile, unprompted and unrecognized. These are my unsung heroes. Who are the heroes in your life? Everyday Heroes My list of heroes has been growing exponentially over the past few weeks of my Ride the Talk [...]

Only two weeks until blast off: two major deadlines on the same day. September 1st is looming. What was I thinking? I’ve been parallel planning for two epic adventures. The first being my 1000 mile bicycle commute from Montana to Minnesota to raise funds for need-based student scholarships for the program I direct. (To discover more about [...]

Who knew that old adage “it takes a village” could be so darned true? I am encountering this over and over in my work and personal life, regardless of the size of endeavor. Now that I am a convert, I see a village everywhere I look. Need help? Ask your community . Have too much? Give it to [...]

Do you ever wonder, “what if”? I love the expression about taking a leap— no, not “take a flying leap,” but “leap, and the net will appear.” Why? Because it is so incredibly true. Time and time again, I have seen that this is nature’s way. Things work out, they always do (eventually!). Why? I’m not completely [...]

Consider it decided. I’m committed. The ball’s rolling. This fall, in early September (only a little over a month from now) I will ride 1000+ miles from Montana to Minnesota as an effort to raise need-based scholarship money for the fully online Sustainable Design program that I direct at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) as well as to [...]

If the word sustainable reminds you of brown paper wrappers and clunky design, competitors are leaving you in the dust! They see the advantage of an approach that inspires staff, reduces costs, and increases market share — and are running with it. Where do these advantages come from? Almost any designer will do a better job when working [...]