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Cinema Verde Presents: Mighty Oak
Cinema Verde Presents: Mighty Oak

Past Presentation | "Mighty Oak" is a portrait of Dr. Oakleigh Thorne, II, an extraordinary environmental pioneer, transformative educator, joyful musician, and an effective, inspirational leader. The wonder and reverence that Oak sees in the natural world has been a guide through his life. Starting as a child he explored the wild woods of Long Island, often as a photographer or filmmaker. As a teenager he was mentored by a Native American cowboy at a ranch in Wyoming where they would travel on horseback to remote wilderness areas. The experience radically changed the course of his life. He moved on to create non-profit organizations such as Thorne Films, Thorne Ecological Institute, Thorne Nature Experience, and achieved successes in land preservation through community action across the country that preceded the EPA and much of the modern environmental movement. He has directly and immeasurably contributed to the environmental education of hundreds of thousands of youth. His enduring legacy is a significant contribution to the environmental movement and to those he has inspired along the way. This extraordinary 93 year old man continues to mentor young people and spread an environmental consciousness, and with his astounding musical skills, still plays the piano and arranges a cappella music for choral groups. The filmmakers who both have a personal friendship with Oak, followed him for several years as he spread wisdom and joy in his journey through life, whether it be with the music of a bird or the human voice.

GoGreenNation News: This Jordanian startup is creating water out of thin air—and training a new generation of entrepreneurs
GoGreenNation News: This Jordanian startup is creating water out of thin air—and training a new generation of entrepreneurs

Families in Jordan plan their day around water, scrambling to finish cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry before their water turns off. The unreliable water supply, which often flows for only 36 hours per week in urban areas, pushes Jordanians to purchase plastic tanks of water that they place on their roofs. Meanwhile, farmers resort to stealing water by digging illegal wells or siphoning water. All of this is part of a typical week in one of the world’s most water insecure countries. As water dries up in the region and the country gulps down its supply from rivers, aquifers, and rain, many communities across Jordan are subject to water rationing and government campaigns in the past two years have urged Jordanians to limit their water use. The country’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation estimates that less than 200 cubic meters are available to each person per year—a number that the World Health Organization warns can harm human health and impede economic development. To get water, people living in cities are increasingly turning to expensive sources like bottled mineral water or truck tankers. Amid the water shortages, Jordan’s population has risen precipitously over the past two decades—more than doubling between 2003 and 2021—and the influx of more than 1 million Syrians fleeing war is placing more strain on Jordan’s limited resources. “Our situation—with the lack of natural resources and water—puts us in a position where we have to do something,” says Tamer Al-Salah, managing director of BeyondCapital, a venture capital firm based in Jordan that has worked with several environmental companies. “Climate entrepreneurship is important and it’s growing.” Among the stable of companies looking to address Jordan’s water woes is Aquaporo, which has undertaken the challenge of developing an improved way to harvest potable water from the surrounding air while also helping foster a new generation of climate entrepreneurs. — Humans have been harvesting water from the atmosphere for centuries, whether through collecting dew or absorbing fog through certain types of plants. Newer technology includes advanced fog nets and dew plates. But these inventions typically only work in high-humidity regions like parts of Peru and Morocco and Jordan, though not as arid as other Middle Eastern nations, has an average annual relative humidity of roughly 50%. Aquaporo thinks it has found a solution tailor-made for Jordan’s climate. The company’s device pushes air through nanomaterials—small pieces of plastic that contain microscopic grooves and shapes on their interior that act like strainers, capturing water vapor from the air and filtering out pollutants to produce water that is purer than Nestle’s bottled water. Led by CEO Kyle Cordova and engineering director Husam Almassad, Aquaporo started in Cordova’s research lab at Jordan’s Royal Scientific Society. Cordova worked with a group of student trainees, whose initial design looks like a chest freezer with rows of transparent shelves stacked on top. Nanomaterials blanket each shelf, resembling thin rows of monochrome sand. In contrast, the current model is sleeker and smaller, integrating seamlessly into water coolers that most Jordanian families already have in their homes. The air conditioner-sized machine can harvest up to 35 liters of water in 20% humidity in a single day. The Aquaporo device can produce more than double the amount of water compared with the best-performing water harvesting devices in desert climates. It also cuts down on end user costs by reducing power consumption. In a study published in Nature Communications last year, Cordova and Almassad found that the device achieved a 169% increase in water production while meeting national drinking standards. It works so well that Aquaporo’s first customer is Jordanian government, which has placed an initial order of 1,000 units, which it will provide for free to families across the country starting in January 2024. They are also in discussions with different development and aid agencies to help provide the devices to some of the most vulnerable families in Jordan and beyond. Manufacturing will begin in Jordan, though the team is considering other locales for the future. At scale, the team aims to manufacture devices that cost around $600 USD per unit to manufacture. With support from NGOs and the Jordanian government, the team hopes to distribute the first devices free of charge. The approach is designed to help some of Jordan’s most vulnerable residents get access to drinking water while also generating acceptance for the new technology. Aquaporo is targeting cities where water insecurity is acute, including Mafraq, Tafileh, and Zarqa. “This was a Jordanian invention, made for Jordan,” Cordova told Fast Company in his office, which is steps from the chemistry lab where students were peering through microscopes and using a computer program to mold their nanomaterials into new shapes. Cordova’s lab benefits from a steady flow of chemistry and engineering students like Almassad, who started out as an intern at the Royal Scientific Society in 2019. In a few short years, Almassad led the mechanical engineering aspects of the device and became the engineering director for the new company. “Since my childhood, I’ve always been obsessed with anything that has mechanical parts—toy cars, little gadgets, you name it,” Almassad told Fast Company from his office in Amman. “Now I’ve needed to change my mind from thinking like a scientist to thinking like a businessman.” According to Almassad and Cordova, this transition from innovation to commercialization is a hurdle for Jordanian innovators and students. Compared to other Arab countries, Jordan’s population is well educated, with nearly universal literacy rates. School enrollment is high, even among women. Most students in the natural sciences, medicine, dentistry, and pharmacology are women, whereas globally, they only represent about 30% of students in STEM-related fields. But even with its skilled population, Jordanian entrepreneurship has often failed to make headwind in addressing climate change. Further, lack of communication between the private sector and STEM educators contributes to high unemployment. “Much of Jordan’s startup ecosystem is based on digital products,” Cordova adds. “It’s because there’s not a lot of money here for capital expenditures.” Cordova’s lab operates with support from Jordan’s Princess Sumaya, whose funding helped the lab design the Aquaporo device. The lab helps students in engineering and chemistry to commercialize their ideas. Even as they built their fledgling company, Cordova and Almassad are continuing the chain of mentorship between students and scientists. The lab currently hosts 25 students, including undergraduates who learn the nuts and bolts of the Aquaporo device. The emphasis on sharing knowledge and building skills, often present in academic settings but not in private companies, sets Cordova’s lab apart. “Young people in Jordan have great ideas,” says Cordova. “My job is to show that research can make it out of the lab.” Al-Salah, the managing director of BeyondCapital, is eager to see more innovations from this type of entrepreneurship-via-lab approach that Aquaporo has pioneered. “If we want to encourage entrepreneurial thinking among students, we need to give them inspiration and role models,” says Al -Salah. “We need to encourage them to push their own limits.”

GoGreenNation News: Meet the 13 brands elevating everyday tasks, from washing dishes to banking
GoGreenNation News: Meet the 13 brands elevating everyday tasks, from washing dishes to banking

Washing the dishes, cooking a meal, catching a flight, doing some banking, at a glance, the tasks and routines of our everyday life can appear as a collection of mundane and uninspiring experiences. However, there are brands working to avoid that appearance, and make these routines more meaningful in a variety of ways. Our Place turns a single kitchen pan into a stylish statement against unnecessary waste and carbon neutrality. Blueland uses dish soap and body wash to address plastic waste, and a more efficient supply chain, while Pinterest finds unexpected and inclusive ways to add more joy and utility to the daily scroll. Here are the brands elevating our everyday: Alaska Airlines Since its founding, Alaska Airlines has been defined by its West Coast roots—and routes. In its nascent days, it provided bush planes for isolated communities in its namesake state, and still crisscrosses California and the Pacific Northwest, where wildfires and water scarcity are big issues. “Growing up in those places instilled in us an ethos of real consciousness around place,” says Diana Birkett Rakow, the company’s SVP of public affairs and sustainability. That awareness has inspired a sustainability focus; its five-point plan to reach net-zero by 2040 includes a switch to sustainable aviation fuel, proposed electric-propulsion jets by the end of decade, and carbon offsets. With the clock ticking on other goals, like getting from 1% to 10% sustainable fuel by 2030, the airline is bolstering its efforts with both internal and external support. From the CEO down, 10% of every employee’s bonus opportunity is based on the airline’s performance in meeting its goals. Alaska has also found partners for its efforts initiatives, which include replacing plastic water bottles with Boxed Water cartons in flight, investing in manufacturer ZeroAvia to develop a hydroelectric power train, and even starting a venture fund to identify promising environmental startups. “We can’t change the system on our own,” Birkett Rakow says. “But we can bring partners together and take actions that help create a positive flywheel.” —Talib Visram Avocado Green Brands The bulk of discourse around mattresses in recent years has been whether it came from a store or a box, but Avocado has made its name as one of the first Climate Neutral-certified brands, offsetting more than the sum of its scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and advocating for legislation that will help fight the climate crisis through its partnership with CERES and the American Sustainable Business Network. The brand in 2021 produced an eight-part podcast called A Little Green, that follows one of its execs, Christina Thompson, as she explores her impact on the environment, and how we can challenge the status quo and become climate leaders in our own communities. Sleep on that. Cloud Paper The bamboo-based toilet paper and paper towel brand is taking aim at global deforestation one wipe at a time. Backed by an impressive list of backers, including Marc Benioff, Mark Cuban, Ashton Kutcher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Oseary, Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, NFL star Russell Wilson, and Ciara, the brand celebrated Earth Day 2021 with a fake campaign for a brand called Flush that told you which old growth forest you were wiping with. Dawn The P&G-owned brand has worked to design products to help people use less water and energy, but also be more accessible. Its Powerwash Dish Spray was designed to work on contact, without running the tap to create suds, helping households save up to 120 gallons of water per week, while the brand’s EZ-Squeeze bottle—one of Dawn’s most researched and tested products ever—is designed to dispense dishwashing liquid accurately with only one hand. Dawn also this year committed ​​to help protect and care for a million birds and marine mammals by 2030 through its partnerships with International Bird Rescue and the Marine Mammal Center. Greenwood When Greenwood launched in 2020, it drew attention for being the first digital bank with all Black founders—Ryan Glover, civil rights icon and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, and rapper Killer Mike. Since then, the bank has focused on addressing racial inequities in the financial system. Greenwood acquired the Gathering Spot, which operates Black-focused networking and work space clubs in three cities. Glover says it has made Greenwood the country’s largest combined fintech and community platform for Black and minority consumers, reaching one million people. Greenwood is also building a content arm with digital shows, podcasts, and even name, image, and likeness deals. Indeed More than a job board, Indeed has made itself into a complete platform to better serve both job seekers and employers. Over the past year, the brand has launched Interview Days: Restaurant Jobs with OpenTable, a U.S. hiring initiative aimed to accelerate the recovery of the food and beverage industry by providing free hiring tools to help businesses and restaurateurs source, screen and host interviews. The Indeed Hiring Platform launched in 2022, and allows employers to manage and accelerate the hiring process—from posting through interview—directly on Indeed, with no additional software, all aiming to enable faster, more efficient access to a diverse pool of job seekers looking for the perfect fit. Kahoot Learning should be fun, and education platform Kahoot does just that with 40 million monthly participants, with a combination of content partners like Disney, NASA, and the World Health Organization. Last December, over 3,500 students participated in the European Interschool Kahoot, learning about the refugee and migrant experience and fostering inclusivity. And in April, Indiana-based teacher Stephen Auslander hosted the Kahoot! Cup, with more than 3,200 students from over 50 countries playing with the overall message, “We’re more alike than we’re different.” Lifewtr The brand wrapped its bottles in culture for its 2021 Life Unseen campaign, which worked with actor, writer and producer Issa Rae, who invited 20 diverse filmmakers, musicians, artists, and fashion designers to showcase their work on Lifwtr’s bottle labels. As part of the campaign, the brand also published an interactive tool that reveals the representation gaps that exist across the creative industry for women, the LGBTQ community, people of color, and people with disabilities. Mastercard The act of paying for something can be incredibly simple, but Mastercard has worked to expand that this past year with its new Touch Card for blind and partially sighted people, setting a new global standard for payment card design that enables people to tell, with a touch, which card they are holding. That inclusive product design builds on its work with True Name (to ensure the name on a person’s Mastercard reflects their true identity) which was also expanded globally to 30 European markets. Our Place While traditional kitchenware brands and stores feature hundreds of products, Our Place focuses on fewer, well-made products to minimize waste. Its Always Pan, for example, is designed to replace eight pieces of cookware. The immigrant- and female-founded brand reached full carbon neutrality this year. Pinterest In an effort to become a more inclusive platform, Pinterest spent the past year expanding its search capabilities in the beauty space for users with textured hair, and reining in ad content that could be harmful to users’ body image. Last August, Pinterest’s visual search team added a search mechanism to filter hair inspiration images based on pattern—including curly and coiled—and protective styles, like twists and braids. Similar to the skin tone search feature that the company released in 2018, this new AI-powered search tool can pinpoint and recognize hair patterns and surface the appropriate Pins. In the little more than a year since the feature launched, Pinterest has seen a significant increase in texture-specific search requests, including  “naturally wavy hair cuts with layers” and “protective hairstyles braids.” Pinterest also expanded its body neutrality initiative, amending its ad policy in July 2021 to ban all mentions of body mass index and weight loss, building on an earlier ban on ads for diet products, or featuring before-and-after imagery. One year later, the company self-reported a 20% decrease in “weight loss” searches and a trend away from activity related to diets. —Rachel Kim Raczka Plantega Bodegas are a way of life in New York City, and Plantega is a brand bringing plant-based food options to a much broader audience through the city’s network of shops. In 2021, it launched in 14 locations across four NYC boroughs, from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to Jamaica, Queens, with a goal to bridge the gap between plant-based food manufacturers and independent corner stores, while helping spark a shift toward more sustainable eating. Vital Farms This is a brand that prides itself on the cruelty-free treatment of its hens to the sustainability of its supply chain, but also manages to turn those ideals into fun, compelling content. Its traceability initiative allows you to see a 360-degree video of the farm and the hens that laid your eggs, and in 2021, they took it a step further. Vital Farms built a custom, hen-friendly camera into a pasture where hens that lay the company’s eggs wander, to get a firsthand look at their daily life. The camera features a pressure-sensor platform that, when pecked or stepped on by a hen, sets off the shutter, producing black-and-white images of the hens’ surroundings, including vast pastures, their flock, and the family farmers who care for them. The photos were then featured in a national billboard campaign, as well as online and in a limited-edition coffee-table book. This article is part of Fast Company’s 2022 Brands That Matter awards. Explore the full list of brands whose success has come from embodying their purpose in a way that resonates with their customers.

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