Final 3p UNEP Blogging Entries - Vote to Send a 3p Writer to Brazil in June

This is the second installment of the UNEP/TreeHugger blogging competition. The writer with the most votes will win a trip to cover World Environment Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012.

Three TriplePundit writers have made the finals of the competition. Here are their final posts. If you'd like to send a 3p author to Brazil, vote for these blog posts on the UNEP website before midnight on April 30. If you haven't already, you can vote for their first posts, as well.

Topic: Rio+20 - It's a Bit Quiet Out There! Mobilizing the Masses to Make June a Big Deal

Mobilizing the Masses by Nurturing Your Niche
By Jonathan Mariano

If you want to mobilize* the  masses not just for Rio+20, but beyond, it would be apt to nurture your niche  in the context of sustainability.  It is  your niche, so you have in depth and tacit knowledge of niche concepts and  niche reactions.

By touching and nurturing each  of our niche’s, respectively, we will be able to cover and mobilize the  masses.  I bet there is a person  interested in sustainability in nearly every niche we can name.  (As a side note, remember, the masses also  include people who do not necessarily agree with sustainability principals.  If we are not inclusive of the opposition, we  are not inclusive of the masses.)  How is  Rio+20 and sustainability related to your niche?  How can your niche move sustainability  forward?

To read the rest and vote for Jonathan, go to the UNEP website.

Those Who Don't Care About Rio+20 By Now, Probably Won't By June, Either By Andrea Newell

Instead of hyping people outside green circles for a single  event, we need to focus on long-term systemic change. Yes, environmental events  educate people, but they don’t guarantee fundamental, ongoing change. Many show  interest, talk the talk for the day, resolve to do better and walk the walk for  a week, and simply revert to previous behavior. Change comes when it impacts  those people on a personal level in some way, and when children take up the  cause.

...sustainability must be integrated into core beliefs (both business and  personal). As the next generation grows up armed with this knowledge and  sustainable behaviors become ingrained, I believe we will see positive,  long-term change. Will it be immediate and dramatic? Systemic change rarely is.  However, if Rio+20 is successful, that would go a long way toward inspiring  people.

To read the rest and vote for Andrea, go to the UNEP website.

Urban Design with a Jab of Asian Medicine Can Inspire the World, Beginning with Rio+20 By Leon Kaye

Can grassroots green design with a dose of ancient Asian medicine  save our world’s cities? Urban  acupuncture, the idea that views cities as living organisms with  pinpointed locations that could use some repair, can help cities cope with  overcrowding, changing climate and strain on local infrastructure. Rio+20  organizers and attendees could give sustainable development a huge shot in the  arm this summer if they lead by example, take a break from their meetings and  symposia, grab shovels and gardening gloves, and then clean and green public  spaces in Rio de Janeiro. A diversion from the usual meetings and negotiations  would be a huge help to some neighborhoods in Rio. In turn similar projects  could unfold worldwide, and therefore prove that our leaders will match words  with deeds this June and inspire similar activity throughout the world.

Talking about sustainable development is hardly enough to motivate  the world’s seven billion people about an event occurring many time zones away.  Urban acupuncture, an often spontaneous movement that traces its origins in Curitiba,  Brazil, is a way to both embed sustainable thinking throughout communities and  inspire citizens to transform their neighborhoods into areas that are more  breathable, livable and resilient.

To read the rest and vote for Leon, go to the UNEP website.

Thanks for your support!