[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 102 (Tuesday, July 10, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S4816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING J. CARL GANTER AND CIRCLE OF BLUE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I extend a hearty congratulations to J. 
Carl Ganter, director and founder of Circle of Blue in Traverse City, 
MI, on receiving the 2012 Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Award. 
Innovation and collaboration are two components critical to solving the 
challenges we face as a State and as a nation. Organizations like 
Circle of Blue are leading the charge, helping to inform our 
discussions and to guide us on a path toward lasting, comprehensive 
solutions.
  Circle of Blue has focused its efforts on the global freshwater 
crisis for more than a decade and has successfully united an 
international network of leading journalists, scientists, and data 
experts to shed light on this issue and to illuminate a better path 
forward. This work has spurred meaningful, dynamic, and workable 
processes and information that are helping to solve real and pressing 
problems for communities in need.
  Through this effort, Circle of Blue has put forth enlightening 
reports on the nexus between water, food, and energy. Conducted both in 
China and the United States, this integrated, cross-cutting work 
demonstrates that current practices are not only environmentally 
unsustainable, but can be economically disruptive. In both instances, 
Circle of Blue has utilized this innovative approach to build broad 
collaborations and solutions-focused processes that are charting a 
course toward a brighter future.
  There is little doubt we live in a deeply interconnected world, and 
the fundamental economic, social, and environmental challenges we face 
are linked. Under Ganter's able leadership, Circle of Blue has built a 
breakthrough model of data collection, design, reporting, and convening 
that places an emphasis on these linkages holistically. By facilitating 
collaboration between policymakers, scientists, academics, businesses, 
and the general public, this organization is on the cutting edge of 
developing processes to creatively implement these solutions. As Mr. 
Ganter recently stated, ``We are listening better. We are becoming more 
nimble in how we work and collaborate. We are empowering people at all 
levels with better information to make better decisions.''
  By discerning emerging trends, highlighting solutions, and 
facilitating meaningful collaboration, Circle Of Blue is a powerful 
partner in a number of areas. The Rockefeller Foundation Innovation 
Award is a tremendous honor, one this organization richly deserves. 
What is most clear to me is that the best has yet to come, and I look 
forward to the fruits their work will surely bear in the future.

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