PROJECT EXPERIENCE

BEYOND THE DIVIDE — CONNECTING TO SPIRIT

Project objectives:

Beyond the divide that separates cultures and peoples, there is a common thread in which all peoples seek to protect the Earth and its spirits that nurture life. Those who are closer to the Earth, indigenous peoples, follow traditions to honor and protect the Earth, recognizing that our health depends on its health. Regardless of where in the world they live, or the details of the traditions they follow, indigenous people have a commonality of beliefs and values that they pass onto the next generations through storytelling in song and dance to connect to spirit. Beyond the divide, we are all one.

Beyond the Divide: Connecting to Spirit offers a way to move beyond the divide, and reawaken the connection to one another and deep core values that sustain us. It not only will aspire to bridge the gap between cultures but also between generations, as children from around the world seek answers from tribal elders about Earth’s ability to sustain life. The mission is to educate – to share and revitalize the deep lessons to be learned from traditional indigenous cultures and their values. The objectives are to raise awareness about the values and wisdom regarding sustainability shared by most indigenous peoples around the world, to educate about how to get beyond our cultural perspectives and barriers, and to contribute to important community development activities amongst Native American tribes.

Connecting to Spirit is a series of multi-media live performances and related documentary and art films combining the youth, musicality and universal appeal of the Vienna Boys Choir (VBC) and deep traditions of indigenous musicians and dancers storytelling through songs rooted in culture, values and spirituality. The performance’s design interweaves messages with songs that connect to spirit – in music, dance, instrumentation, depiction of life in tribal communities, and photographic and cinematic images. The performances will premier in Santa Fe, New Mexico in summer 2012, with predominantly Southwest Native American musicians, and will then tour to four or five other US locations before touring around the world.

The American concert series will celebrate the tribal songs and culture of the Native Americans, characterizing what it means to be American Indian, and will integrate other tribal musicians from elsewhere in the world through the use of on-stage screens. The screens will be used to bring into the stage performance tribal members from other locations and communities and environments that support the message of the performance. Live performers will interact with those on screen in a tightly integrated manner. Additionally, a symphonic piece will be composed for a symphony orchestra and voice that combines the musical threads from the Native American songs and will serve as an anthem for the concert series.

The program will introduce the songs from several distinctive tribes that connect to spirit to give thanks, healing, and facilitate and bless aspects of social life. It will follow themes that are important to many Indian tribes, including the Southwestern Indians on stage and those seen from around the world on screen. Starting with the symphonic anthem bringing together musical threads from all of the program’s music, the program will then trace a day in the life of an indigenous person and elements within that day: the rising sun; the elements of earth, wind, water, and fire and that which they nurture: vegetation and the harvest, animals and human life with its rituals and leaders; the setting sun, and nighttime, with its sounds and renewal. Incorporated into the musical traditions will be some ancient European music as well, which will work with the themes, and bring the traditions that are most attributed to the VBC to the stage as well. The boys of the VBC, with other Native children, will sit in a circle with elders, asking the elders of the tribes, both live and on screen, what they see for their future? What will become of the Earth? What are the solutions? The program will close with the singing of the anthem song by all of the tribes represented on stage and screen, each in their native tongue. A narrator will tell the story as the program progresses.

Both a Native musical director and Gerald Wirth of the VBC will arrange and orchestrate Native American music to blend VBC and Native American musicians. Choreography and regalia will further integrate all elements. A website will be created to present this project and be a platform to follow the process of development and production, with snippets from the whole process, research, rehearsals, and previews as a way to engage the audience. This will also be a platform where downloads, sheet music, research and educational materials would be made available. Further, this site could solicit input from musicians about their ideas and capabilities for consideration in the performances.

A portion of funds raised for these performances will go directly to the development of Native American community improvement projects. Candidate projects will be reviewed and selected by the Advisory Council composed of Native American leaders.

For more information, please visit BeyondtheDivide.org or contact Beth Beloff, Executive Producer. Beth is best known as a thought leader in the field of sustainable development, and she will apply lessons learned from both modern science and engineering and indigenous traditions to educate about and incite sustainability.

Results: Beyond the Divide is BB&A's primary ongoing project at this time. We are assembling the production team and raising funds. Production will start in summer 2012. For more information about the project, please contact us.

NANOMATERIALS RISK ASSESSMENT

Project objectives: BRIDGES to Sustainability, in collaboration with Rice University, was engaged in a project for the United States Environmental Protection Agency to perform a risk assessment on the manufacture and use of nanomaterials with near-term applications. A number of risks areas were considered, including risks to human health, to the environment, to security, and of public backlash. However, much uncertainty remained regarding the fate of nanomaterials in the environment, exposure to humans and other organisms, and the effects of the exposure. Thus, the Project primarily focused on risks in the manufacturing of nanomaterials and in the application of nanomaterials for industrial uses. Five nanomaterials were selected for this analysis, based on their current or near term potential for large-scale production and commercialization: single walled carbon nanotubes, bucky balls (C60), one variety of quantum dots, alumoxane nanoparticles, and nano-titanium dioxide. A representative synthesis method was selected for each nanomaterial based on its potential for scale-up. A list of input materials, output materials, and waste streams for each step of fabrication was developed and entered into a database that included key process characteristics such as temperature and pressure. The physical-chemical properties and quantities of the inventoried materials were used to assess relative risk based on factors such as volatility, carcinogenicity, flammability, toxicity, and persistence. These factors were combined using an actuarial protocol developed by the insurance industry. This protocol ranks three categories of risk relative to a 100 point scale (where 100 represents maximum risk): Incident Risk, Normal Operations Risk, and Latent Contamination Risk.

Results: Results from this analysis determined that relative environmental risk from manufacturing each of these five materials was comparatively low in relation to other common industrial manufacturing processes. In the production of ceramic membranes, where nanomaterials are used for another industrial process, alumoxane nanoparticles reduce the time and energy required and eliminate the use of organic solvents in the fabrication of ceramic membranes. Thus, the use of alumoxane nanoparticle in the manufacture of ceramic membranes reduces the relative risk scores in all categories in comparison with conventional alternatives.

THE METRICS NAVIGATOR

Project objectives: BB&A team members co-developed with the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), a consortium of approximately 40 major companies, a strategic sustainability metrics roadmap. The tool, called the GEMI Metrics Navigator™, assists companies in identifying triple bottom-line issues and metrics that are relevant and material to their business and to stakeholder concerns, and use them effectively to drive performance improvement and organizational change. The roadmap was developed through close consultation with the GEMI members. To maximize the value of the tool to a broad spectrum of businesses, the team organized a stakeholder engagement process to inform the project with the experiences and opinions from key thought leaders and pertinent non-governmental organizations. Three external advisory group meetings were held in the United States and Europe. The meetings brought together over 30 business, academic, community, and government representatives.

Results: The tool includes worksheets for identifying material issues; developing key performance indicators, metrics and targets; implementing the metrics system; and evaluating its effectiveness. More than a dozen business case studies were developed to illustrate best practices in sustainability performance measurement and the various steps in the development and implementation of sustainability metrics.

"In working with GEMI on the Metrics Navigator™, I was impressed by the depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise Beth provided, and the ease with which she could shift gears to converse at the practitioner or board room level as needed. She was masterful at facilitating the multi-sector business approach, listening to our diverse needs and incorporating them into a logical flow of process steps. Unlike many sustainability tools encumbered by jargon, the result was a final workbook with a highly pragmatic approach to metrics that can be easily understood by and applied across any business discipline."

— Leslie Montgomery, Environmental Stewardship Program Manager, Southern Company, and Co-Chair GEMI Sustainability Metrics Work Group

Navigation