Emerging Issues
Communicating “Green”
The EFC has the advantage of being affiliated with national environmental organizations with the personality of a grassroots organization. We work side-by-side with the people we serve and with the government, providing useful policy recommendations.
Serving both levels works strategically to our—and your—advantage. We can gain useful insights into how the government and citizens interact.
How we talk about environmental issues impacts, to a great deal, how we think about them and how we act on them. The EFC doesn’t just do research and lectures—we help our communities identify with the whole discussions surrounding environmental affairs.
Understanding “Green” Rules, Regulations and Ordinances
Do you know that your own municipality may already be making some big policy changes that affect our environment? At the EFC, we are at the forefront of understanding new rules and regulations and putting them to work for you. Whether you’re looking to expand your business, or want to know what grants and scholarships are available for your next big green project, the EFC is continuously focused on how government can work better to those ends.
Preserving Water Resources-- The Next Big Crisis after Oil
As the EFC advances green infrastructure, works to build our communities stronger, and reinvents energy systems, we never loose sight of the real impending crisis: water. As an organization that is tuned to the future, we see the immediate need to invest in clean water, to protect water resources, and to build water efficient communities.
Environmental Communications
The green revolution is not just about doing things differently, it’s also about seeing things differently. Our rhetoric reflects our values and our understanding of the world. What if there was a whole field focused just on this study? Well, there is! It’s called “Environmental Communications.” It’s about learning the subtle implications of the world of language. These days it seems like everyone is “going green.” But “green” is spoken in many different languages. A very important emerging issue is to understand, at a critical level, how people are talking about environmental issues. There’s a lot to learn about our society, our habits, and our future by concentrating on how we communicate with one another and what values are reflected in our language.
Urban water management
Coming soon!
Green Cities
Cities are much more than blocks of cement, large buildings with howling air-conditioning dripping from the fifth floor and noisy people crowding the streets while cars and trucks take priority over the roads. Indeed, some of the most progressive, and believe it or not, “green” places in the world are in the hearts of our cities.
At the EFC, we see cities as one of our greatest assets—having the opportunity to become future “green” centers for people to live, work, and play. And this is already happening from Portland to Seattle, to New York to Boston.
Cities, once the metaphor for an environmentalist’s worst nightmare, are becoming the green icons of the future; a commingled universe of parks, walkways, businesses, and eternal culture.
Hope for a sustainable future lies, undeniably, in our urban centers.
