This week Awesome Stories brings you healthy community, clean energy, feeding the hungry, and passion.
Healthy Community 
Margaret Wheatley explores some interesting perspectives on the paradox of community. She believes a healthy community must embrace our opposing needs for both individual freedom and connection to others. Both needs seem hardwired into our genetics and require a gentle embrace to create communities with enough freedom to allow individual expression. Margaret believes we need to focus on the shared purpose that brings us together rather than the structure in order to keep both needs vibrantly alive. Most communities and organizations create an excess of structure that stifles creativity and discourages diversity. Whereas, a healthy community has only enough structure to create a shared purpose while embracing a broad diversity of people, ideas, and processes.
Clean Energy
China seems to be on a course to become the leader in clean energy generation. Due to China’s huge need for energy to run its development and the negative effects from burning coal, China has woken up to the need for immediate, bold action to create clean energy and help mitigate the effects of burning fossil fuels. China is already the largest producer of clean energy and moving ahead with the kind of commitment and policy that we need in the US. Besides massive investment in solar, wind, biomass, and hydro energy generation, China is adding nuclear reactors faster than any country in the world and plans to create the world’s largest nuclear industry. Ironically, China is moving ahead with nuclear technology that the US invented and then scrapped. There are many new nuclear designs that are smaller, safer, run on alternate fuels like thorium, and can even burn current nuclear waste materials. Here is some perspective on how nuclear might help solve the world’s energy and emission challenges. Kudos to China for their leadership and vision.
Feeding the Hungry
Feeding the hungry is one of the key global problems needing to be addressed. Sadly, in the US and many developed countries, we currently throw away about 40% of the food produced. Tons of food sits in warehouses, spoils in stores, and is thrown away at grocery stores and restaurants, or never even harvested due to lack of need for the food. We have a distribution problem rather than a food shortage. Here in Arkansas, 1 in 5 people are food insecure, while in many developing countries that figure is 1 in 3. It breaks my heart to see the amount of food thrown away, including at the two businesses where I work. We can do better. Thankfully, there are many organizations working to reduce food waste with food sharing.
Designing with Soul
Miti Desai has found her path by integrating many passions. She started in industrial design but found the corporate focus on profit too stifling. After two years, she quit to return to India and pursue her passion for being a dancer. A decade later, Miti is a masterful dancer, teaching and performing around the world. The evolution of her consciousness has been the path of integration, allowing dance to be both an inner and outer journey. Recently, Miti has returned to her design career with a beautiful range that explores many facets of design including communication, education, social, and business, helping people design their lives in an integrated way.
May your week be full of integration, feeding your body, mind, and spirit on the path to loving community.
writing to freedom 
Great post again Brad! The stigma of nuclear energy will be difficult to overcome here in the states, but I hope that as China sets an example for the world to follow safely, we will begin transitioning to more efficient and cleaner fuels.
And re: food waste. I love hearing/reading stories about organizations that share leftovers! While backpacking, I gained a whole new appreciation for food (and food waste). If I had to carry it for several days, and dozens of miles, there was no way I would throw it away.
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Thank you Gabe. I’m hopeful about China and nuclear. Our competitiveness might create movement. 🙂 I’m glad you found a deeper appreciation for food & waste while backpacking. Kudos.
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Tasty stuff this week! Allowing us to feed and nurture ourselves completely. 🙂
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Bon Appetit! XD
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Inspiring stories Brad, which do seem to have that common theme of a common purpose. I still have reservations about nuclear but I’m very pleased that China is investing so much in alternative technologies so that hopefully others will follow suit.
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Thanks for keeping an open mind Andrea. I was afraid of nuclear until I read more about the new technologies and the actual risks versus the common fears.
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Reblogged this on Anything is Possible! and commented:
In this week’s Awesome Stories from Brad, I’m intrigued by the potential for safer? safe-ish? nuclear power, something I would not have thought likely and that makes me wary. But I have to admit that anything is possible, and we need clean energy.
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Thanks for keeping an open mind JoAnna! I was skeptical about nuclear until I researched the actual risks, safety record, environmental impact, and new tech that address the biggest concerns like waste and melt-downs.
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That’s real progress!
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Thanks. It helps to have a friend who is passionate and informed about nuclear. 🙂
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Always great stories and these are always my favorite posts. They remind me that there really is so much good going on in the world. Thank you for being the “awesome stories” reporter in our lives. 🙂
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I’m glad you enjoy and find value in these stories Cynthia. We all can share more of the good in our lives. 🙂
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Lovely post, Brad! I really got into the segment of food sharing. Currently 13 million (million!) kids go hungry right here in the US, while 40% of the food prepared goes to waste. Makes me wonder what’s wrong with this picture.
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Exactly Helen. We have a distribution problem, not a lack of food. We need to encourage the food producers, groceries and restaurants to do better about sharing food that isn’t sold. Thankfully, this area has many agencies working on this issue.
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Another enlightening post Brad…all articles food for thought! Keep up the good work, Sir!!
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Thanks Kirt!
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Its amazing that someone is at least considerate about something like this…
We just need to create the intention and willingness coz one ppl pick up a harmonious and healthy community as their personal choice, we will be half way through from achieving it.
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Agreed. Community can start with one person, and how we treat ourselves, our friends, family, and strangers. I hope to see the day we live as one-world-family. blessings, Brad
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Very good thoughtful post addressing important topics. Food waste being one of them that makes no sense. The volume of food thrown away just for being imperfect is astounding! The more we can all practice a model of growing our own produce whenever possible and supporting local organic farmers.Yes, community is key!
Peta
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Thanks again Peta. I agree that food waste is ripe for reform. 🙂 And it takes caring community to address most of our social and environmental challenges. Hopefully, we rise to the challenges.
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