Welcome to Open World Café

I have not written in almost two months. I have been thinking. And I have been reading.

I have been thinking about trees, and people, and our environment. I am now reading: “Collapse – How Societies Choose To Fail Or Survive”, by Jared Diamond. In his book the author provides a number of examples of present and past civilizations, some successful, others which have disappeared. Easter Island in the Pacific is one; long considered a mystery but now with clear signs of how this civilization faile… Continue

It's the last Saturday before Christmas and snowflakes are falling outside Open World Café while I watch the still ongoing plenary session of the COP15 Summit in Copenhagen. Delegates from 192 nations have been meeting without breaking since yesterday Friday December 18, officially the last day of the summit. Negotiations at lower levels have been ongoing for two years, and with delegates and ministers in Copenhagen for two intensive weeks.

I was in Copenhagen last Sunday and Monday together wi… Continue

As I sit in my room no. 1 of the quaint Pousada Dona Zilah, a family owned and run inn located in the trendy Jardim district of São Paulo, a two story building surrounded by 10 to 15 story apartment blocks.

It’s raining and about 17 degrees in the Brazilian high summer (with usually 30+ degrees). Two days ago it rained and six people died (and three are still missing), mostly in favelas, the shanty-towns that were washed away by the storm. In one hour it rained as much as usually in one month.… Continue

Replanting a Rainforest began in earnest three weeks ago on October 20th, after having received a generous donation from WeForest.com. And things started happening in a big way.

Almost immediately a group representing our local partners, Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) and the local NGO Grupo Ecológico Olho D’Agua, and neighbors with lands bordering on FAF, went to inspect and study more closely some of the areas which had been defined to be a part of the total project of almost 300 hectares;… Continue

October 24th will surely go down in history for the many events, actions, rallies, and meetings. It's United Nations Day and it's International Day of Climate Action (www.350.org). At Open World Café we are contributing by having an "Organic (Low Carbon) Food Day", one of more than 4500 actions in more than 180 countries (and we hope you join us, or any other 350.org event around the world)!

I would like this to go down in history as Awareness… Continue