The Nonprofit Marketing Ideas Blog

Nine or ten years ago the government of Abu Dhabi started planning a zero-waste community of the future called Masdar City. A scaled-down, low-waste version of the original vision exists now, but the full plan appears to have been scrapped. Anyway, the appeal of prestige projects like a zero-energy city for 200,000 people might suit the needs or resources of your little corner of the world, but there are still reasons to reflect on projects like Masdar City. Such reflection might lead to other "prestige projects" that do make sense or to smaller-scale projects that are more realistic. Let's look at each of those options in some depth, beginning with the big projects. Vertical farms, that is a farm in a multi-level structure, are a thing these days. Maybe there needs to be a 1,000 foot vertical farm with airponics or hydroponics growing 100 levels of mixed fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts. A prestige project in the area of ecological restoration might be to create a...

The nuclear negotiations with Iran and recent events in Ukraine tie together in a way that might be far from obvious to most people. The connection? Renewable energy can be a tool for solving problems in both countries. Iran is what got me thinking this way, so let's start there. The current biggest issue in relations between Iran and the West would have to be Iran's controversial plans for nuclear power. For purposes of this blog post, I will assume their intentions are peaceful. So here is the idea, in brief: Iran gives up nuclear power plans, and we free up their assets ONLY for the purpose of buying renewable energy technology and related technical assistance. The exchange could cover any country, so Iranian resources could be used to buy solar panels from China or wind turbines from Norway, but I would prefer to see American companies get most of the business. It seems like there would be far more winners than losers in this equation. Specifically, there would be lot...