Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ron Sims inspires us to be innovative and committed to change in a talk he gave in Portland, Oregon on April 22, 2010, EarthDay. He talked about what Sustainability means to him; the importance of changing who we are; and how the grand experiment we call the United States of America is one of opportunity, fairness and justice. More information on his accomplishment can be found on his Website.

This public talk by the Deputy Secretary is part of the The 8th Annual Regional Livability Summit sponsored by the Coalition for a Livable Future.

Jacqueline Novogratz brings us a series of insightful stories and unforgettable characters — from women dancing in a Nairobi slum, to unwed mothers starting a bakery, to courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, to entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds. Her book, The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who has spent her life on a quest to understand global poverty and to find powerful new ways of tackling it.

Part 2 of 2 Rob Bennett is the founding executive director of the Portland Sustainability Institute (PoSI). PoSI was founded in 2009 to systematically bring together business, higher education, nonprofit and municipal leaders to drive a set of next generation urban sustainability initiatives for the Portland metro region.

Rob talks about the concept of EcoDistricts and how the challenge is to blend pieces into a whole and cleaer strategy. He believes that positive change can only come from attacking challenges with enthusiasm for inspiring tangible, sustainable solutions at the local level. He ontinues to work at the intersection of the environment, community social justice, and built form.  For more videos on Portland's sustainability progress, visit Portland Sustainability Leadership channel on YouTube.

China Program Manager at the Worldwatch Institute, Yingling Liu discusses Chinese energy and environmental issues.

Satish Kumar introduces his book, Spiritual Compass: The Three Qaulities of Life. Author and spiritual ecologist Satish Kumar explains the concepts which are found in his book; he believes that spirituality must be a part of our ordinary, everyday existence and in this interview he talks about your choices in the food you eat. Satish explains that there is no dualism between spirit and matter—all matter is imbued with spirit, and spirit manifests through matter. This integrated worldview forms the core of his book.
See www.greenbooks.co.uk

Greg Horn is an advocate of practical solutions for bringing personal health and environmental sustainability into people’s lives.
He is a health and wellness professional and author (Living Green) advocating everyone do just one thing...Visit their site to view more videos created as part of a contest sponsored by June One Thing.

The Nouvelle Vie Youth Corps will be a group of 50 trained Haitian young adults (ages 18-30) dedicated to serving their country for 2 years to: implement mass-scale mental health interventions and community-based sustainable solutions for food, water, sanitation, and construction systems (Permaculture).

The Nouvelle Vie Youth Corps is the International Association for Human Value's response to the Haitian Earthquake. It is born out of IAHV's pre-earthquake programs in Haiti. Since October 2007, IAHV has impacted 350 Haitian youth in: youth leadership, sustainable agriculture, and small business development.