Our two most common ways of trying to address our toughest social challenges are the extreme ones: aggressive war and  submissive peace. Neither of these ways works. We can try, using our guns or money or votes, to push through what we want, regardless of what others want—but inevitably the others push back. Or we can try not to push anything on anyone—but that leaves our situation just as it is. These extreme ways are extremely common, on all scales. One
on one, we can be pushy or confl ict averse. At work, we can be bossy or “go along to get along.” In our communities, we can set things up so that they are the way we want them to be, or we can abdicate. In national aff airs, we can make deals to get our way, or we can let others have their way. In international relations—whether the challenge is climate change or trade rules or peace in the Middle East—we can try to impose our solutions on everyone else, or we can negotiate endlessly. Read more »

Karen Heller: Camphill School 'an amazing blessing'
 
Oh, the glory! This weekend marks the music recital at Camphill School in Chester County, a remarkable holistic school for children with pronounced cognitive and developmental disabilities.
 
The recital, under the supervision of cotton-haired Elsbeth Sunstein, is so popular and vast that it lasts two days, involving almost half the students. There's "Chopsticks," and also Kathleen Rahling's accomplished take on Mozart's "Rondo."
 
Located on 80 verdant acres with custom-built cottages, Camphill resembles a retreat or utopian community more than a boarding school for special-needs children. One hundred students are taught by an international staff of 150, many of whom live in group houses with their charges.
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From http://nytimes.com.
 
The practice of retrofitting buildings with simple, environmentally friendly technology like more-efficient boilers and better-quality windows has been around for years, but there is little research on how much energy these changes actually save — and by extension, how much money they can save landlords and lenders.
 
In an effort to supply that information, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the German bank, is financing the creation of a public database of several hundred retrofitted buildings in New York City and a companion report to determine the savings from such moves.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/realestate/commercial/02deutsche.html?... Read more »