[As many long suffering reader of this list well know, I have long argued that moving to a zero carbon economy is one of the great fundamental opportunities of a generation for innovation and economic growth. Reducing our carbon footprint is not all about sacrifice and lowering our standard of living, but much more about new business opportunities, wealth creation and an entire new economic models. That is why I am not a big fan of carbon taxes. Taxes of any kind are an inefficient way of implementing public policy. They will hurt our consumers and reduce our competitiveness against nations who do not implement similar policies. We need to move a zero carbon economy as quickly as possible. That is where the real opportunities lie. Here is some relevant pointers on the topic. Thanks to Kevin Moss and Frank Coluccio on Gordon Cooks list for these pointers --BSA]
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/08/08/howard-climate-group-face-markets-cx_je_0808autofacescan01.html
....historians call “basic innovation”: fundamental changes in technology and organization that create new industries, transform existing ones, and, over time, reshape societies. Basic innovations — including electrification, the automobile, commercial air travel, digital computing, and, most recently, the Internet — involve not just a single new technology but a collection of new inventions, practices, distribution networks, businesses and business models, and shifts in personal and organizational thinking that combine to transform the way business is conducted, technology is deployed, and people are engaged.
...
Over the past few years, as the implications of global climate change have become clearer, a new wave of basic innovation has begun. Much of it is occurring in household-name companies.
...
Learning to live outside the industrial age bubble — will require basic innovations of a scale and speed never seen before.
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As in the original Industrial Revolution, business must play a critical role: Businesspeople can apply their skills in management, entrepreneurship, and economic acumen to galvanize a collective shift.
ICTs, Innovation and the Challenge of Climate Change
http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?id=973
Kevin Moss's excellent blog
http://mosske.blogspot.com/
Building a winner in a low carbon economy
http://www.wwf.se/source.php/1183710/identifying_the_1st_billion_tonnes_ict.pdf
SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age
http://www.theclimategroup.org/index.php/news_and_events/news_and_comment/smart2020pressrelease/
Dell Claims Carbon Neutrality 5 months ahead of schedule
http://greenmonk.net/dell-claims-carbon-neutrality-5-months-ahead-of-schedule/
Big business shows politicians how the planet can be saved
http://www.connectedurbandevelopment.org/blog/?p=13
Green IT/Broadband and Cyber-infrastructure Overview
One of the greatest threats to our future society and economy is global warming. It is estimated that the CO2 emissions of the ICT industry alone exceeds the carbon output of the entire aviation industry. The ICT industry and research community has a collective responsibility to help address this problem. Fortunately, as compared to the aviation industry, the ICT industry and research community has the tools at hand to reduce its direct CO2 output to zero and the additional capability of enabling other sectors of society to reduce their carbon footprint through "Carbon rewards" rather than unpopular "Carbon taxes". Governments around the world are wrestling with the challenge of how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The current preferred approaches are to impose “carbon” taxes and implement various forms of cap and trade or carbon offset systems. However another approach to help reduce carbon emission is to “reward” those who reduce their carbon footprint. It is estimated that consumers control or influence over 60% of all CO2 emissions. As such, one possible reward system of trading “bits and bandwidth for carbon”, or sometimes called "gCommerce" is to provide homeowners with free fiber to the home or free wireless products and other electronic services such as ebooks and eMovies if they agree to pay a premium on their energy consumption which will encourage them to reduce emissions by turning down the thermostat or using public transportation. Not only does the consumer benefit, but this business model also provides new revenue opportunities for network operators, optical equipment manufacturers, and eCommerce application providers.
Universities can also play a significant leadership role as cyber-infrastructure is one of the major producers of CO2 emissions at our universities. Although cyber-infrastructure is part of the problem, it can also be part of the solution. The beauty of cyber-infrastructure and ICT in general, is that thanks to high speed optical networks, this equipment can be located virtually anywhere. Relocating cyber-infrastructure computers, databases, instrumentation and laboratory equipment to remote renewable energy sites not only helps the environment but can also save the institution significant money in their energy bills. More importantly such a strategy also allows the university or researcher to earn valuable carbon offset dollars. A good example of this strategy is the PROMPT initiative "Next Generation Internet to Reduce Global Warming (G-NGI)" where researchers and institutions can earn valuable offset dollars for Internet technologies and process that reduce CO2 emissions. Universities can also encourage students and faculty to reduce their respective carbon footprint by also implementing a "gCommerce" reward system such as free eTextbooks, free downloads of video and music in exchange for students paying a premium on parking, travel and other related activities.
For more details please see
Free Fiber and High Speed Internet to the Home Initiative
http://free-fiber-to-the-home.blogspot.com/
ICT and Global Warming - opportunities for innovation and economic growth
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgbgjrct_2767dxpbdvcf
PROMPT Next Generation Internet to Reduce Global Warming
http://www.promptinc.org/documents/NGI_release_en_v2.pdf
Monday, September 22, 2008
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