Building a Bright Green Future (Alex Steffan) – ETech08

Alex Steffen – CEO WorldChanging
Not using the planet well but the situation is pretty clear now in the public. We risk losing sight of the larger crisis if we only look at climate change (pollution, collapsing ecosystems, deforestation). Solving climate change is necessary but insufficient on its own.

Best measure of impact is our ecological footprint. We are using more than the earth can regenerate year over year. We are using more as individuals and there are more individuals. Must bring our use back under the planet’s biocapacity by 2050 or we will not recover from the crash. Global Somalia (Jared Diamond).

Most impact comes from US & Europe. Developing world is climbing out of poverty and modeling their ambitions on us. How can we push forward a new model of living? Low impact, high prosperity.

Empowering women: educated women have fewer children. We could see peak population in our lifetimes.

Geeks are very important. Application of intelligence to difficult & complex systems. Can’t just swap dirty energy for clean energy. Consumption curve is too sharp. We simply use too much energy. Need systemic solutions. Driving/inventing better cars is not a solution for impact of current transport models. Need to reduce the time people spend in them. Density, info, good urban design. Growing Cooler study. Building livable compact communities.

Sustainable companies: Nau, CityCargo, BioPAK, Bicing. Huge ecological savings.

Info & place. Proximity. Junk-tagging. Knowing where things are & who has them. Car sharing. Producer take-back of products after use. Use & re-use. Feedback of usage changes behavior. Ex: energy meters in home, car mpg meters. Wired together, green elements can create sustainable infrastructures. Ultimately need to confront our relationship to stuff. Pursue the type of prosperity that enables true happiness. Need an activism of the imagination to create a realizable prosperity.