Climate Comedy

Refreshing to see these attempts at green humor.

From Sydney Harris' 101 Funny Things about Global Warming, a recently released collection of cartoons:

Chime In on Green Computing: The Register Hosts

Check out the Register's open forum on Green Computing:

"On February 27, we'll host a four-hour online session which will include some brief opening remarks from Vance, a couple of analyst presentations and vendor sessions. We'll chat about issues such as improving the energy efficiency of data centers and cost savings through blade PC and thin client computing models."

Their goal: "to discover what goodness actually travels with the green computing bandwagon and what badness we can do without."

My take: It'd be nice to see some folks there who'll sniff out and expose any signs of greenwashing in this space. :)

It doesn't get much better than this: Heidi Fleiss to Open Eco-brothel for Women

Even if you're not planning on visiting Heidi's new joint, you gotta check out the pictures of her and her giant attacking parrot. :)

Narrative Indulgences and Evocative Abstractions: Fictional Products at Adobe Design Center

Allan Chochinov ponders the use and relevance of prototyping products that will never be produced. His analysis highlights an interesting distinction between design for production and design for consumption, in which the latter's distance from utility opens a space where "Form follows Art, where products can be ideas first and utility second."

IMO, design for consumption also signals some important implications for sustainability. In addition to Idealist (mentioned in the article), Instructables is a great example of a large collection of designs and inventions that prioritize ideas and place production in the hands of those who wish to execute them, possibly increasing the likelihood that they are locally-sourced. It also begs the question of whether or not the rise of "consuming through pixels" (especially in cases where products are not produced) obfuscates the necessity of having all those computers plugged in just to check out the ideas and pass them on to others. It would be interesting to calculate the carbon footprint of a successful 'virtual' viral design (server demand, estimated number of time on individual PC's during which people consider and forward it, etc.).

Jetson Green's Trendspotting for '08

Some interesting observations about where green building might be headed from Preston Koerner on his blog:

Green Rehabs
This one is pretty obvious, I think. With new house permits down and sales going slow, real estate transactions will involve already built structures. People with money will meet their needs with existing stock. And with a slew of green products in the market (or well on the way), green renovators will use (or have the option to) eco-friendly materials in lieu of non-green materials. People will want to do this, too, what with all the attention the media gives to the environment. Let's look for people to do more with what we have already. We may even see some cool examples of adaptive reuse.

Affordable Green
Similar to the first trend is the notion that green needs to be affordable. Again, the economy will be a little slow and people won't be able to tap the negative equity of their homes. Nevertheless, people are cognizant of the environment and will look for affordable ways to live/work comfortably. Everywhere you go, the conversation is the environment. Regardless of the economic demographic, rich or poor, everyone will make important changes. Executive jets can be expensive because rich people buy them (money is no object), but green stuff is different. Watch for people in the lower economic bracket to scream for more affordable, meaningful, eco-friendly products.

Green Skepticism
We've seen a lot of this with greenwashing talk in the second half of 2007, but watch for this to heat up. Consumers are getting tired of hearing their favorite celebrity say something like "if every person would change just one light bulb..." People are smarter now. They will force businesses to quit dumbing down the message. People want all the information. And businesses that are looking for a green angle should be wary. There is no green angle.

LEED Criticism
Everyone is doing it, as if it's the new black. Look for this to elevate and continue. Higher profile, relevant individuals will start to call out the program. LEED is the standard for green building certification, and that's good, but issues remain. Projects that are LEED registered may not get certified (although they will be built green anyway). The money involved in certification may become an issue in the future, too. Third party certification is valuable, but it shouldn't be break the bank on a project. If the USGBC can find a way to maintain quality and diminish costs/administrative burdens, people will be happier.

Product Competition
I'm seeing tons of green building products these days. Many of them are excellent. Businesses that are early to market will have pricing power, but that power will be subject to substitution by non-green products. With new green product competitors and product availability growing on both the east and west coasts, watch for some pricing competition. To the extent that products become popular, brands will be able to drop prices and sell more, too. The strong will survive in this economy, and this will be good for the consumer.

Some other trends I've been thinking about, but that I think may be early include the following: (1) clean tech on the micro level - at home, work, and for everyone in any geographic location, (2) LED lighting retrofits - it's expensive, but it's high quality and we'll need to watch the real estate market for this one, and (3) the all important energy audit - subject to the future of the real estate market, experts will be able to use audits to arbitrage waste and save money for owners.