World Bioneers
Consider the minutiae of your daily life: What you eat, what you wear, where you shop, even the cup of coffee you drank at breakfast this morning.
Where did this food come from? Who made your clothes? How clean is your water? What happens when you get in your car to drive to work?
Our simple, everyday acts have a lasting impact – not just on our families and those around us, but also on the planet and often on people living in other parts of the world.
As Americans and others become more aware of climate change, energy resource depletion and other global crises, a growing number of people in the region are taking steps to incorporate sustainable practices and reduce their impact on the planet.
Next weekend, some of their ideas and innovations will be showcased during the first ever Spokane Beaming Bioneers Conference – a three-day gathering featuring fresh and local food, a film festival and workshops on a variety of topics including green building, fair trade, youth activism, alternative media, wheat and wild salmon. The event at Spokane Falls Community College also will have a live satellite downlink of the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, Calif., where speakers include Paul Anastas, the driving force behind “green chemistry,” a philosophy that encourages the design of products that reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances; award-winning playwright and women’s activist Eve Ensler; and Native American activist and environmentalist Winona LaDuke.
“The whole context of Bioneers is about sustaining the planet,” explained Patty Gates of the New Priorities Foundation, a local organization that supports environmental projects and the conference’s organizer. “Bioneers is really about a movement – it’s about doing and being every day of your life, every minute of your life.”
That’s why the conference focuses on innovators from all walks of life – from science and sociology to people who work with youth as well as those active in issues affecting women or indigenous cultures.
Those who have attended previous Bioneers conferences describe the gatherings as a life-changing experience.
“I would sit with tears running down my face from the sheer gratitude of being with people who were so inspiring,” said Susanne Croft of Spokane, who has attended the annual Bioneers conference for the last three years. “They made the problems seem less hopeless and the solutions within reach.”
As a result of her exposure to Bioneers – thanks to sponsorship from the New Priorities Foundation – Croft has devoted much of her spare time researching and promoting sustainable ways to support the local economy. Her focus in recent months has been establishing the Sustainable Local Investments Partnership, a non-profit that will enable investors to make money by loaning it to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable businesses in the area.
“The idea is to create a way to keep money local while supporting local businesses,” said Croft, whose background is in economic development and urban planning. Once launched, SLIP will allow people to earn interest on their investments while supporting local companies that minimize environmental impact and provide health care, a living wage and other benefits to employees.
Croft hopes some of these start-ups will address Spokane’s needs, especially as gas prices continue to rise and energy shortages make it too expensive to bring goods and produce from thousands of miles away.
“I wanted to make sure that Spokane can survive in the future,” she said. “This is a way for people to be locally involved by strengthening the local economy.”
Reach reporter Virginia de Leon at (509) 459-5312 or virginiad@spokesman.com.