The Quest for Sustainability #1

This is my first blogging experience.  While I have facility with technology, and I read political blogs, I have never felt compelled to share my thoughts out on the world-wide web as a younger generation does. However, I am excited that I am tip-toeing into the blogging world in the context of the activities of the Development Marketplace.  This is an exciting window that the World Bank (with several partners) has established over the last several years to support innovation in hundreds of places around the world.  I am happy that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is associated with this effort.  From my perspective, the problem of global commons presents an interesting challenge for humanity.  We still have millions of fellow human beings who do not have the basic necessities to lead a decent life.  How can we go about creating goods and services to improve the quality of life of the poor without increasing the pressure on our local, regional and global environments?  How do we begin to create a disconnect between increasing provision of goods and services and the natural resource base? This quest for sustainability, while theoretically elegant, is still practically very difficult.  I see glimpses of hope in the proposals that have been considered over the years by the Development Marketplace.  While not all of them could be funded, they are evidence of the bee-hives of innovation around the world.