Michael Trainer, 06/25/12

U.S. country director, Global Poverty Project

As the Rio 20 summit came to a close there was a mixture of sentiment in the air, none of which is excitement.

David A. Dana, 06/25/12

Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law

At least one thing is indisputable: fracking is going to continue to expand in the United States. There is simply too much money to be made -- and too strong a desire for a new domestic energy source -- for the federal or state governments to stop fracking.

Claire Tomkins, 06/25/12

Fellow, Advanced Energy and Sustainability Program, The Center for the Next Generation

It's in the context of changing attitudes in China that we can examine what we in the U.S. perhaps now take for granted: clean air and its importance for our health.

Lindsay Clinton, 06/24/12

Writer and Sustainability Strategist, SustainAbility

Many have decried the final Rio 20 outcome document as weak and watered down, but the news is not all bad. Amidst the negative sentiments, there are new areas of commitment that foster hope that we are making meaningful progress in moving the needle on the sustainability agenda.

Karin Kloosterman, 06/25/12

greenprophet.com founder & editor

While Israel has answers to drought such as desalinating water, researchers in Israel's Negev Desert look for more sustainable solutions that have been in use on the land since time immemorial.

Steven Cohen, 06/25/12

Executive Director, Columbia University's Earth Institute

Economic consumption will change in the sustainable and renewable resource-based economy, but it will not be reduced. In fact, the size of the sustainable but high throughput economy that we must develop will be larger than today's economy.

Lachie McKenzie, 06/24/12

International Relations Masters student and a contributor at Speak Your Mind

Will lawyers save the planet? As far as making ecocide an international crime, the case seems rather compelling.

Bob Keefe, 06/25/12

Senior press secretary, NRDC

No, the document that government officials produced after months of negotiation doesn't contain much that will make the planet a better place for me or my daughters. It lacks teeth. It ignores pressing issues like the need to expand renewable energy and protect ocean life on the high seas.

Debra Duneier, 06/24/12

Master Feng Shui Practitioner, LEED® Green Associate

Get your hands dirty and plant, trim, fertilize and reacquaint yourself with Mother Nature. Feng Shui teaches us that sheng chi or good energy can easily flow in places that are pleasing to look at, clean and maintained with care.

Kazuhiko Takemoto, 06/25/12

Senior Advisor to the Japanese Minister of the Environment and Programme Director and Senior Fellow at United Nations University

In order to improve the livelihood and well-being of all individuals and achieve a green economy, we need a radical transformation in our policies, technologies and patterns of production and consumption.

Peter Yeo, 06/25/12

Vice President, UN Foundation

As we sit in our cool homes and offices this week, it's a good time to tune into what's going on in Rio, and be mindful of the work our leaders are doing.

Robert Alvarez, 06/25/12

Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies

Given this well-documented history of deception, why is the government reducing nuclear emergency preparedness and claiming no harm from radiation exposure, right after a major nuclear power disaster?

Alexia Parks, 06/25/12

HARDWIRED, 10 Major Traits of Women that Can Save the World; Author, Speaker; Entrepreneur.

For those politicians running for political office this year who value the vote of this new swing voter, the anti-fracking voter, now might be time to put everything aside and take a look at the latest documentary by Josh Fox.

Francesca Koe, 06/25/12

Director of Special Projects, NRDC

Our oceans are the heart of this planet. They provide all of humanity with the very essentials necessary for life. Ranging from the food we eat to the air we breathe, we all depend on the oceans to generate what we need to simply survive.

Reverend Billy, 06/25/12

Spiritual Leader of the Church of Earthalujah

So you have two activist groups both opposing natural gas pipelines and they don't seem to know about each other. Ships passing in the night. Why?

Lane Hartill, 06/25/12

Director of Emergency Media and Communications, Save the Children

For women in Gao, water has become a nemesis. Without it, you can't bathe the kids, clean yourself after using the bathroom, or wash out the grit that settles into your hair. You can't slake your thirst -- a problem in a city where temperatures have been averaging over 105 degrees.

Cathy Herholdt, 06/25/12

Communications Officer, World Concern

Agriculture is the most sustainable form of income generation that can support large numbers of people. Putting early-maturing seeds in the hands of local farmers, teaching them techniques to irrigate and providing tools, such as plows and animals, are essential to improving food security.