Jul 24, 08
Al Gore, Clean Energy and A Better Nation
Normally, I try to think in planetary terms and avoid parochial nationalism, so it's somewhat ironic that today a global perspective actually leads me to believe that what happens in America over the next 18 months is the most important global uncertainty we face. As we choose how to confront...
Can Our Allocation of Energy Represent Our Values?
By Carey King Moving toward a sustainable, or renewable energy-based economy, stresses the views of how people value their time and exertion. Our system of economics puts value on products and services that allow people to spend less time and/or exertion while performing a task. This value system is exactly why fossil fuels have been the driving factor for increases in accumulation of material goods and leisure time over the course of the industrial revolution. Historically, fossil fuels have had such high energy density (and energy return on that invested to mine them) that we haven't worried too much about how to allocate the energy invested. When a barrel of oil is refined or a cubic foot of natural gas is burned, it has been obvious that we can...
Human Ingenuity at the World Wind Energy Summit
By Kathryn Cooper Whether at the local, national or global level, the plan for a switch to renewable energy involves two crucial pieces: policy and technology. As I discussed in my previous post, many of the discussions at last month's 7th Annual World Wind Energy Conference focused on the need – and best-practice strategies -- for firm political policy. Certainly, without effective policy, even the best technologies may not reach their potential. But policy relies on an infrastructure of effective tools to get the job done. A technology geek at heart, I spent a good bit of the conference searching out those tools in the exhibits area, where ingenuity was bursting from entrepreneurs young and old alike. I found it incredibly inspiring to witness the ingenuity of individuals; their drive...
Game Politics: A New Web Community Takes New Zealand’s Political Pulse
Pulse of the Nation is a new web based initiative to get New Zealand voters engaged in the build up to this year’s general election, through the development of an active online political community. “We really want to lift the taboo on talking about politics in a way that doesn’t necessarily involve having to say who you choose to vote for” says the game’s producer and ‘virtual electoral officer’ Craig Neilson. Pulse of the Nation is the brainchild of Jimungo, a New Zealand company specialising in game design for the web. The new website is based on a game platform where communities of players are asked to predict the outcomes of sporting events. Players compete against friends, family and other community members and can win prizes. Pulse of the Nation...
Bike, Meet the City. City, This is the Bike.
By Mary Catherine O’Connor What will bike-friendly cities look like ten years from now? As citizens around the world raise the demand for human-powered transportation infrastructure, major cities are starting to re-imagine their car-centric transportation models. Are more American residents bike-commuting as a regular practice? You betcha. According to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), bike commuting increased 30 percent in the past year. And this seems to be a national trend. It grew 75 percent in New York City since 2000, doubled in Portland, Ore., in the last five years, and the number of cyclists on Washington, D.C. streets surged a full 100 percent between 2004 and 2006. What does this look like on a city level? On Thursday, May 8, 2008, from 8 am to 9...
Do Gas Taxes Cover the Costs of Roads?
The Texas highway department says no. I thought this was interesting. The Texas highway department – Texas, no less! -- says that roads simply don’t pay for themselves...
Looking at the US as a “Patchwork Nation”
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports a huge range of journalistic programs, ranging from experimental efforts in community journalism to massive players in the media ecosystem...
Yet Another Greenhouse Gas
Should we add one more gas to the Kyoto list? Time to head back into my pillow fort: Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) can be called the missing greenhouse gas: It is...
The Ongoing Debate on the Digital Future of Journalism
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports a huge range of journalistic programs, ranging from experimental efforts in community journalism to massive players in the media ecosystem like...
Headlines from Worldchanging Seattle
As we've mentioned, we are working on the upcoming launch of our new locally focused blog, Worldchanging Seattle. Though we know you read Worldchanging from all around the globe...
Cool Lego Wind Turbine
Check out this cool Lego wind turbine, for your budding bright green boy or girl! via
The 10,000 Year Gallery
Readers in San Francisco have the opportunity tomorrow to hear Worldchanging Chairman Ed Burtynsky deliver a Long Now Seminar. Ed will be talking about his ideas for long-term intergenerational...
Notes on Nau's Relaunch
By Janette Crawford In late June, less than two months after we lamented its closing, clothing manufacturer Nau announced its re-birth. It had been purchased by a socially progressive outdoors...
Resources: U.S. Impacts of Climate Change, Human Development
Two new reports offer useful tools for thinking about the future, both focused on the United States and both needed. The first report, Analyses of the Effects of Global Change...
Reader Survey: Last Chance
A quick note to anybody who's online today or checking their RSS feeds: if you've been meaning to take our survey, but haven't had a chance, now's the moment. We're...
Kill Your Lawn!
One of the house projects we've been working on at home is replacing as much of our lawn with garden beds as makes sense. We do want a little bit...
The Right Wind Turbine for You
As gas prices climb and electricity prices follow, people looking for alternatives are turning to the wind. The popularity of wind energy is growing, but the turbines themselves are...
Aviation X Prize
A couple years ago, I wrote a piece Why We Need An X Prize for Eco-Friendly Air Travel, encouraging a competitive approach towards innovating a way to slash air travel...
Reader Report From the World Cities Summit
By Zufan* Editor's Note: We encourage "Reader Reports" -- submissions from members of Worldchanging's global audience who volunteer to write up their notes from conferences, workshops and other worldchanging...
U.S. Environmentalists Finally Have a Leader
by Ben Block and Christopher Flavin On Thursday, politician-turned-activist Al Gore called for the United States to rely 100 percent on zero-carbon sources of electricity by 2018. Regardless of the...
Walk Score: Every Big-City Neighborhood in America
40 cities, 2,058 neighboords, and one Walk Score to rule them all. By Eric De Place It's here! The biggest 40 cities in America ranked by their walkability. Plus, every...
Ontario to Protect Northern Boreal Forest
Monday, Primer Dalton McGuinty announced that Ontario will set aside 55 million acres of Northern Boreal Forest for permanent protection from development. The area, one of the world's largest...
San Francisco Goes Wireless and Real-Time to Reduce Traffic
Check your smartphone to find a parking meter. By Adam Stein When I last wrote about San Francisco’s innovative plan to reduce congestion through market-based pricing of parking spots, I...
Crunching Some Numbers on Paris Bike-Sharing Program
Bike-sharing offers modest emissions reductions, and no reason to complain. By Adam Stein On the first anniversary of Vélib, the Times dishes up some stats on Paris’ popular bike-sharing program...
A Prophetic Approach to Energy Efficiency
by Eric de Place Taking a three-day weekend for the planet. From the Beehive State, a gratifying way to reduce energy use (and carbon emissions): taking Fridays off. And it's...
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