Workman, who served as an advisor shaping national and global policy under US Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Nelson Mandela, addresses this complex riddle in a dramatic and compelling multimedia lecture program.

Program Description

H2Ownership: A Fresh Approach to Unlocking the Three Paradoxes of Water

For all of the loud talk about “efficiency” and “conservation,” natural resource managers are confounded by three profound and deeply entrenched paradoxes when it comes to water: Value, Efficiency, and Monopoly.

Water is priceless in use, and yet worthless in exchange. The more efficiently we use water – drip irrigation, timed sprinklers, low-flush toilets, high-pressure nozzles – the more water we actually use.  And, ironically, saving water eats into utilities’ revenue, forcing them to ‘punish’ conservation by charging more per unit to recover costs.

In his lectures, Workman draws on a decade of experience with the last free Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, who inspired his award-winning book Heart of Dryness, and his new business that translates the Bushmen’s proven coping mechanisms into a Web 2.0, online exchange platform for earning, owning, accumulating and trading water efficiency credits, or EcoShares™.

The resilient Kalahari Bushmen have inspired a bold new approach that is unlocking a more responsible and egalitarian approach to water. H2Ownership replaces top-down rationing and restrictions with secure and equal incentives in which all metered customers can earn, track and exchange water efficiency credits, or EcoShares. This form of creative capitalism can motivate a widespread race to conserve and make today’s vulnerable cities increasingly ‘climate-proof.’

Workman has come to realize that “water scarcity” comes not from a shortage of supply but an excess of demand, and that the real “experts,” the only “water managers” who really matter, are the 6.8 billion untrained end users: the locals – i.e. all of us.

How this works, in practice

Workman anchors water security – and unlocks the paradoxes — via a new yet timeless concept: H2Ownership™. Families and firms no longer must depend on rent-controlled monopolies that unilaterally dictate who deserves how much water for which uses at what rates. Instead, each of us can ‘own’ a virtual and equitably defined and tradable ‘share’ of water. In this way water at last has value in exchange. Efficiency reduces overall use. And scarcity motivates all parties to eliminate waste in a widespread race to conserve.

In pilot demonstration projects in the West, AquaJust™ unlocks water conservation through equitable local ‘click’ markets within a utility’s natural ‘brick-and-mortar’ monopoly. Median accounts who consume all their EcoShares pay nothing; profligates over the threshold pay higher tiered rates. But frugal consumers now earn and accumulate unused shares, tracked on AquaJust, where they can save, donate or sell them to firms or families who want more. The approach replaces rationing and restrictions with fair and voluntary incentives in which all metered customers benefit from choices, conservation incentives, political momentum for raising rates, and AMI technology that can meet their growing demand for real time data and feedback.

Because when we reduce demand we erode revenues needed to improve our water supply. With no choice, competition or incentives to conserve, our ‘natural monopoly’ welcomes overuse yet punishes families and firms who save water. No politician promises voters he’ll deliver higher water, food or energy bills, so we ensure pipes leak and waste worsens. A vicious cycle hardens demand, escalates conflict and erodes trust. Democracy pits water utility vs. customers vs. nature.  This is a battle with no real winners.  A new, enlightened and collaborative solution must be put forward.  With Workman’s example, we may have finally found the answer.

Tom works with organizations that want to stimulate action and involvement. His high-intrigue, high-energy programs catalyze creativity and challenge constituents to open up their thinking. Let Tom Clynes give your audience something substantial to talk about—and move them forward with an enduring sense of expanded possibilities.

Program Descriptions

Can One Person Really Change the World?

Tom’s provocative and visually stunning presentation answers this question with dramatic and inspiring stories of real people who shaped once-ordinary lives into world-changing adventures. Discover how they did it, why they did it, and why the world needs us to pursue the goals we really care about. By artfully weaving the stories of your own “heroes” with the achievements of world-changing heroes, this program is designed to boost energy, involvement and enthusiasm.

The Art of Audacity

Audacity is the missing ingredient in far too many worthy endeavors. But some people seem to have it in abundance: The explorer whose jungle expedition led to the biggest African conservation victory in three decades…the “elephant whisperer” who rescued the animals in the Baghdad Zoo…the virus hunter whose ambitious plan to stop epidemics before they start is shifting the way the world confronts infectious diseases. Via astonishing stories and photos, this program challenges audiences to believe in their boldest dreams—and energizes your meeting with an anything-is-possible spirit.

The Seven Habits of World-Changers

People who succeed in changing the world are not born—they’re self-made. In this enlightening—and surprising—presentation, you’ll discover the intriguing life lessons behind the success of people who dared to challenge and change the status quo. Expect to be entertained, provoked, and wowed by these spectacular images and stories.

Ends of the Earth

Expect to question your own personal and cultural truths during this rollicking tour of the Earth’s natural and cultural extremes. From Thailand’s Vegetarian Banquet for Monkeys, to the man who risked his life to rescue the animals in the Baghdad Zoo, to the world’s roughest sport, Tom is your guide to the world at its most thrilling, open, colorful, and alive. Audiences will be entertained, provoked, and wowed by these spectacular images and stories.

Bio

For the past decade, Tom Clynes has been a contributing editor and photographer at National Geographic Adventure, covering environmental issues, science, and adventure travel. He also contributes to Popular Science, Men’s Journal, The New York Times, GQ, and other publications, and is the author of the book “Wild Planet.” Tom’s magazine stories often appear in Houghton-Mifflin’s “Best American” series of magazine-writing anthologies.

In his lectures, Dr. Ali uses his wide-ranging experience of traveling and researching on six continents to provide real-world examples of how communities and corporations are dealing with the growing problem of resource scarcity, and he provides solutions for reconciling this reality with the equally urgent need for environmental conservation — advocating a practical approach focusing on global development, poverty alleviation and a sustainable future.

Program Descriptions

Constructive Consumption: Greening a Poor Planet

Would the world be a better place if we curbed our desires for material goods? Basing his analysis on the examples laid out in his book, Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future, Dr. Ali’s nuanced conclusion respects the human desire for material goods, but makes the forceful argument for a more ecologically driven economic and social system that helps to reduce global poverty.  Forbes profiled Dr. Ali’s thesis in a special feature.

Eco-peace: Using Environmental Issues to Resolve Global Conflicts

Can environmental issues resolve intractable conflicts?  Dr. Ali’s wide-ranging efforts at peace-building, and his professional training as a mediator at the international level, enables him to outline specific examples of how ecological factors have been able to promote peace, with good leadership, among seemingly irresolvable territorial conflicts. Dr. Ali’s work in this domain has been endorsed by famed ecologist E.O. Wilson and Nobel laureate and founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus.

Building Peace in the Muslim World

Dr. Ali provides a personal account of his experiences of growing up in both Pakistan and the United States, and how that has provided him with insights into resolving the conflicts between Islam and the West. He also discusses his research on madrassahs (Islamic religious schools) in Pakistan where he has been trying to promote an environmental education curriculum. Dr. Ali’s work on madrassahs has been profiled by the Brookings Institution.

The Science of Stuff: From the Basics of Environmental Science to a Smaller Chemical Footprint

Explaining the basics of environmental science — focusing on how materials flow through our economy and our dependence on “the elements of the earth” — Dr. Ali’s enlightening and entertaining lecture takes audiences through basic chemical processes, then looks at the challenges of developing materials that can have a minimal impact on the environment while meeting societal needs.

Bio

Saleem H. Ali is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and on the adjunct faculty of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. Author of the book Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future, Dr. Ali’s research focuses on the causes and consequences of environmental conflicts and how ecological factors can promote peace. He is on the visiting faculty for the United Nations mandated University for Peace (Costa Rica), where he teaches a course on Indigenous Environment and Development Conflicts.  He is also the editor of the widely acclaimed volume Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution.

Dr. Ali has also been involved in promoting environmental education in madrassahs (Islamic religious schools) and using techniques from environmental planning to study the rise of these institutions in his ethnic homeland of Pakistan.  His book, Islam and Education: Conflict and Conformity in Pakistan’s Madrassahs, grew out of these experiences.  A member of the World Commission on Protected Areas and the IUCN Taskforce on Transboundary Conservation, some of his current research on environmental health perception in mining areas and social responsibility in the mining sector is supported by the Tiffany & Co. Foundation.

A professional mediator, Dr. Ali has conducted workshops on consensus-building for private and public interests, as well as peer review of research publications for the World Bank, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, The Woodrow Wilson Center, the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, the Natural Resources Forum and Yale University Press.  Dr.  Ali received his doctorate in Environmental Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.E.S. in environmental law and policy from Yale University, and his Bachelors in Chemistry from Tufts University (summa cum laude).

Michael writes and lectures on political and national security issues, ranging from the war in Afghanistan, the rise of private military contractors and reforming the national security bureaucracy.  He is an expert on counter-insurgency and the growing influence and impact of non-state actors in global affairs.

In addition, Michael writes and speaks frequently on political affairs, with a particular focus on the role of speechwriting in the political process (the subject of his first book).  His January, 2010 Newsweek piece examining the question of whether America is “ungovernable” was picked up by numerous news outlets and is typical of his insightful political analysis.

A regular blogger at democracyarsenal.org where he pens the influential “Afghanistan Mission Creep Watch,” Michael also writes a regular column for AOL News. He is a frequent contributor to Politico, the New York Daily News, Newsweek and a host of foreign policy blogs and periodicals. During the 2008 presidential campaign he was the main contributor to the New York Times “Campaign Stops” blog.

Michael also served in the U.S. Department of State as chief speechwriter for U.S. Representative to the United Nations Bill Richardson and Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat. He was also a chief speechwriter for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and previously was a Senior Research Fellow at New America Foundation. Michael serves on the board of the National Security Network and has taught at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Here is a clip of Michael discussing Blackwater and private contractors on Al Jazeera English’s “Inside Story”.  He first appears at around the 5:00 mark.

Bio

A frequent commentator on politics and international affairs Michael’s work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, the St. Petersburg Times, the World Policy Journal, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the New York Daily News, Forbes.com, Courier de la Planete, Talkingpointsmemo.com, Politico, Worth Magazine. He has also been featured on ABC News, Fox News, BBC TV and radio, South African television, Al Jazeera, Air America and XM Radio’s “Potus ’08”.  Michael serves on the board of the National Security Network and has taught at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.  Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

Program Description

In her lectures, Kayla not only discusses her experiences negotiating the changing demands on today’s military, but she addresses the changing role of women in society.  She expounds on the notion that as society changes, the military must necessarily change along with it – but, as we’ve seen with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military is often slow to accept and reflect the evolving views of society.  And, unfortunately, many of the issues that women face in the military are not exclusive to the military or to war.

In her role as an interpreter, Kayla was able to garner a deeper understanding of the Iraqi culture, and reinforce her view that it is crucial to the health of our society to embrace diversity and uphold the doctrines of basic human rights.  Kayla is able to help audiences better understand that their own challenges, navigating a society with ingrained gender roles and cultural preconceptions, are equally valid.

Kayla’s experiences in Iraq, and her struggle to reintegrate into civilian society upon her return home, enable her to relate to many different types of audiences.  She vividly describes the sometimes harrowing and heartrending challenges of being both a soldier/veteran and a wife, and how difficult it is sometimes to reconcile the two roles – this audio interview at NotAlone.com is a lucid encapsulation of Kayla’s experience.  Also, she is able to relay a first-hand perspective on the questionable treatment of Iraqi prisoners (she witnessed soldiers cross the line between interrogation and torture), the stress of combat, and the effects of physical injury and PTSD — her husband (also a veteran) suffered a serious brain injury sustained in combat.

One of Kayla’s overarching messages is that we MUST take care of our veterans.  We all have a role in the war effort, regardless of personal politics, and it is crucial that our returning soldiers get what they need in order to become contributing members of civilian society once again.  She recently addressed United States House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on this issue.  Her remarks, entitled “The Growing Needs of Women Veterans: Is the VA Ready?” can be found here.

Bio

Kayla is a member of the Board of Directors of Grace After Fire, a senior adviser of VoteVets.org and she regularly blogs at The Huffington Post and VetVoice.com.  She has appeared on numerous media outlets including CNN, Fox, NPR and HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and elsewhere, to discuss the challenges faced by women serving in the armed forces and the additional challenges they face re-adjusting to civilian life as veterans.  She recently earned a Masters degree in International Affairs with a focus on the Middle East from American University, and continues to work on issues related to U.S. policy and the treatment of veterans.