From Our Founder

 

When I was about 8 years old, I asked my mother where all the trash goes. I had five siblings, so our household clearly disproportionately contributed to what had to be an immense problem. We lived in a nice suburb of Philadelphia, which meant for most people that the trash they generated was out of sight, out of mind. I was to learn over time the scope of the problem, as seen here.

 

As time went by, I felt a need to try to do something significant to address our environmental crisis and unsustainable way of life. In May 2019 I launched Earth's Call Fund with a three day conference on the Aspen Institute campus. I brought in 700 environmentalists from around the world and had sessions exploring extinction of species, water degradation, social injustice, regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, population control, etc. A year later I merged ECF and One Earth to form One Earth Philanthropy. Now, thanks to Chancellor Schwartz's focus on sustainability we have the Center for Sustainability Education at CU, which will make CU a leader in the field and inform the entire student body about the need to change our ways.

 

If we are to survive and thrive as a species, we must move as quickly as possible to a circular, closed-loop economy and away from our propensity to waste finite resources with abandon. It's understandable to feel somewhat helpless in the face of such a mammoth transition, but it's helpful to consider the wisdom of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”