Telepresence as a Driver for Presence

Last year, I gave a talk at a major design expo on the future of presence. I argued that we need to be keenly aware of the historical relationship between new communications technologies and long-distance travel. Right now, the coincidence of high-definition, immersive videoconferencing and high fuel prices has many people excited about the potential for substituting telepresence for travel.

Bioenergy Hubs for the 21st Century: The Latin Axis, From Sao Paulo to Havana

Joe Conason's recent piece in Salon makes a fairly compelling argument that normalizing relations with Cuba has become an immediate strategic priority, not because of Fidel's succession, but because it makes sense to secure a good supply of sugar cane for our ethanol needs before China makes an offer Raul can't refuse.

Creation Care: Evangelicals Embrace Environmentalism

The Sundance Channel aired an interesting new documentary last night called "The Great Warming". What's interesting about it is that it examines how people are coping with forecasts and realities of global warming around the world - in London, in Bangladesh, etc. It's not about polar bears dying off or the Earth in pain... it's about real people suffering and being scared out of their wits. Powerful stuff.

Get Ready for the Carbon Neutral Factories

MAS Holdings claims to have built the world's first carbon-neutral garment factory in Sri Lanka. The plant will make underwear for Marks & Spencer in the UK (they also make sexy lingerie for US-based Victoria's Secret).

While the plant cost 25% more to build than a traditional design (it would have been 15% without some frills due to being a showcase), with rising fuel prices it's expected to pay for the difference in less than five years.

Get ready for the carbon-neutral plants to pop up faster than garment factories after a Pearl River Delta rain.

Watch Your Carbon Footprint As You Go

Participatory web service Dopplr, which allows individuals to coordinate travel and inform colleagues about where they'll be, has now introduced a tool for calculating the carbon footprint of your journeys.

Dopplr co-founder Matt Jones describes its purpose this way:

Green Games

Jon Lebkowsky has a piece in the Austin Chronicle entitled "The Serious Play in Saving the World," building on the South-by-Southwest panel he ran in March. It's a strong piece on the state of green gaming, and both its potential and challenges.

Food vs. Fuel Heats Up

The food vs. fuel debate has really flared up in the last few weeks, with food riots in places like Haiti threatening major political disruption. This has been building up rapidly for the last year.

The New York Times reports today:

Read more >

Sustainability How-to: Green Business Digest

Anthony stumbled onto a great resource for information on green business trends: BusinessWeek's Green Business Newsletter. It's a monthly digest that pulls together the magazine's coverage of green issues and business trends. This month's topic is Green Design.

From BusinessWeek:

Cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger

I can't believe I have not written about this before now. IFTF Research Affiliate Jamais Cascio has analyzed the carbon footprint of the all-American cheeseburger!

Wal-Mart goes green

This is not really a new story, but I did want to flag the long article on MSN Money about Wal-Mart's efforts to re-invent itself as an "eco-hero." Wal-Mart has already made great strides with its own sustainability program; now, it also wants to cut its suppliers and customers' impact on the globe.