Acadia Partners Blog

Acadia Partners’ business is conservation. Sure, we have a special niche to fill in the world of conservation, supporting the scientific research that the Park needs and promoting related science education,  But, in the grand scheme of things, we’re conservationists. 

Here’s the rub:  People don’t conserve when they are living on the economic edge — instead, they use whatever is at hand, ignoring the ecological costs. In an earlier article I have written about the need for a conservation ethic — a sense of obligation to the land in place of the conviction that nature is there for us to use.  But we also know that such a reciprocal relationship between people and land — that sense of obligation and connection to place — can emerge only when people are meeting their own needs.

Put simply, conservation emerges out of economic stability.

That’s why Thomas Friedman’s most recent best selling book, The World is Flat,  is required reading for conservationists.  It is also required reading for anyone concerned about the future of scientific research.  I’ll go one step farther.  It is required reading for anyone thinking hard about the future of the United States.

Responding to a blog posting by Jon Udell, Bill Zoellick takes on the question of why we don’t see more businesses and non-profit organizations using blogs as a way to reach customers and supporters. Bill makes some suggestions about what might be the root of the problem, and guarantees you at least one reader.

Every once in a while my ties to the world of high tech swing me around so that I can see something new about our local economy. An article in last week’s Financial Times, coupled with some conversations with friends who follow the changing landscape of technology business, got me to thinking about how we do business and solve problems here on the downeast coast.

Something known as “Web 2.0″ is emerging in the world of Internet business. It is a new way of building products, financing a business, and working together. It is a big enough deal to make Microsoft worry about its future. Meanwhile, a lot of us here back home are still trying to get something better than dial-up when we want to get our email. But, all the same, there are some things about Web 2.0 that are worthwhile for us to pay attention to.