Worldchanging

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Worldchanging.com screenshot (November 2006)
Worldchanging.com screenshot (November 2006)

Worldchanging is an American non-profit online magazine and blog about sustainability and social innovation.

The site has been critical acclaimed (and won many awards and honors) and was rated the second largest sustainability site on the web by Nielsen Online in 2008[1].

Worldchanging is also the title of a book by the same editors, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century,[2], a survey of best practices in sustainability and social innovation.

Contents

[edit] History and Organization

Worldchanging was launched in October, 2003 in San Francisco by Alex Steffen and Jamais Cascio, with a core of initial contributors, many of whom were part of the Viridian Design Movement and had intellectual ties to the Whole Earth Catalog. In 2005, Worldchanging moved its offices to Seattle, Washington. In early 2006, Cascio split off to form the more explicitly futurist site Open the Future and Worldchanging became a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation.

Worldchanging is now headquartered in Seattle and lead by Alex Steffen, the executive editor, with managing editor Julia Steinberger, contributing editors Jeremy Faludi and Sarah Rich, and associate editor Sarah Kuck. It relies extensively on an international network of writers and correspondents, see list below.

Worldchanging is overseen by a board of directors, lead by Worldchanging's chairman, the environmental photographer Edward Burtynsky. Worldchanging is supported by a mixture of grants, book sales, speaker fees and reader donations.

[edit] Content

Worldchanging practices "solutions-based journalism" [3], that is, the explicit goal of its work is to highlight the possible solutions to what the editorial team sees as the planet's most pressing problems, rather than to spread news of those problems or critiques of their causes[4]. Executive editor Alex Steffen was quoted in the Guardian [5] explaining the value of this approach by saying "Cynicism is often seen as a rebellious attitude in western popular culture, but in reality, our cynicism advances the desires of the powerful: cynicism is obedience."

In its manifesto[6], Worldchanging declares its mission this way:

"Worldchanging is a solutions-based online magazine that works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together. Informed by that premise, we do our best to bring you the most important and innovative new tools, models and ideas for building a bright green future. We don't do negative reviews – why waste your time with what doesn't work? We don't offer critiques or exposes, except to the extent that such information may be necessary for the general reader to apprehend the usefulness of a particular tool or resource. We don't generally offer links to resources which are about problems and not solutions, unless the resource is so insightful that its very existence is a step towards a solution. We pay special attention to tools, ideas and models that may have been overlooked in the mass media. We make a point of showing ways in which seemingly unconnected resources link together to form a toolkit for changing the world.

Worldchanging publishes a mix of essays and interviews; shorter original reviews, letters from the field (conference reports, lab visits, notes from correspondents' travels) and think-pieces; and blog posts "highlighting the best coverage of new ideas and innovations from around the Web." From time to time, the site posts radio-style podcasts as well.

Worldchanging's content is divided in to seven sections: stuff, shelter, cities, community, business, politics, and planet. This taxonomy is designed to parse solutions based on their proximity to the reader, so that one one extreme Stuff is mostly about innovations in product design, food, clothing, and other objects used directly by individual people, while on the other extreme Planet encompasses global environmental and social issues, scientific advances and new thinking about the future of humanity.

Worldchanging also maintains a network of local blogs in several U.S. cities and Canada.

[edit] Bright Green Approach

Critical to Worldchanging's editorial stance is the concept of bright green environmentalism. Bright green environmentalism aims for a sustainably prosperous society that relies on new technology and improved design to live within the planet's ecological limits while increasing the potential for economic growth, human social development and individual quality of life.

Like many other bright green environmentalists, the Worldchanging community expresses the belief that radical changes are needed in the economic and political operation of society in order to make it sustainable, but that better designs, new technologies and more widely distributed social innovations are the means to make those changes-- and that we can neither shop nor protest our way to sustainability[7]. They tend to focus extensively on the idea that through a combination of well-built compact communities, clean energy, green building, new technologies and sustainable living practices, quality of life can actually be improved even while ecological footprints shrink. "One-planet living" is a frequently heard buzz-phrase[8][9]. As Ross Robertson writes, "[B]right green environmentalism is less about the problems and limitations we need to overcome than the “tools, models, and ideas” that already exist for overcoming them. It forgoes the bleakness of protest and dissent for the energizing confidence of constructive solutions."[10].

The term "bright green" has been used with increased frequency due to the promulgation of its ideas though the Internet and recent coverage in the traditional media. For more on the differences between light green, dark green and bright green movements, see the bright green environmentalism entry.

[edit] Critical Reception, Audience and Impact

Worldchanging's content has won it much critical acclaim from major figures in environmentalism, technology, futurism and design. For instance, Wired columnist Bruce Sterling called Worldchanging "the most important website on the planet," while Pritzker Prize winner Richard Meier named it as his favorite site and praised it as "a wealth of information on sustainability"[11].

It has also won or been nominated for a number of prestigious awards and prizes:

  • 2005, won the Utne Independent Press Award.
  • 2006, finalist for a Webby for Best Blog.
  • 2007, finalist for a Webby for Best Magazine, as well as for Bloggie awards for Best Group Weblog and Best Writing for a Weblog; won the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature for its book; won Organic Design Award. Prix Ars Electronica nominee.
  • 2008, named a Webby Official Honoree.

Worldchanging has gained a large audience. It is, according to several sites, one of the largest blogs in the world[12]. In 2008, Nielsen rated it the second leading sustainability site in the world, after Treehugger.com, while Time Magazine named it one of the world's top 15 environmental websites.

In interviews, Worldchanging staff have described their readers as young, highly-educated and concentrated in green business, the design professions, NGOs, media organizations and academia[citation needed]. More than a third of these readers live outside North America, particularly in the U.K., the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. The site has a particularly strong following in Canada, and maintains a blog devoted especially to Canadian ideas and innovations[13].

[edit] Media

Worldchanging and its ideas have garnered widespread media coverage, including stories in the New York Times and New York Times Magazine, the Guardian, Time magazine, Der Spiegel, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Wired, US News and World Report, USA Today, the L.A. Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Times, Le Monde, the Independent, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Fast Company, SEED, ID, Dwell, ReadyMade, the Associated Press, the New York Review of Books, the International Herald Tribune, the Globe and Mail, the New Statesman, the Nation, New Scientist, Sierra magazine, Outside, Audubon, and the Sun.

Worldchanging is the subject of a CNN documentary and editors have appeared on the Today Show, LinkTV and several CBC television programs. Radio includes the CBC's the Current, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR's Living on Earth, Open Source and Morning Edition programs, as well as on Earth & Sky, Marketplace and a great many local NPR affiliate and talk radio programs.

[edit] Worldchanging (book)

Worldchanging published a survey of global innovation, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century with a foreword by Al Gore, design by Stefan Sagmeister and an introduction by Bruce Sterling. It has received wide praise (see below), was a winner of the Green Prize for sustainable literature, and is now seeing translation into French (under the title Change Le Monde[14]), German and several other languages.[citation needed] The book (in both hardcover and paperback editions) has also become a best-seller in the field[citation needed][clarify] since its first release in November 2006, was mentioned by BusinessWeek as one of the "Best Innovation and Design Books for 2006"[15] and received positive comments:

Gore, in his foreword to the book, calls it "vitally important," adding,

"Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century is a compendium of solutions, some little known but well proven, some innovative and new, some bold but as yet untried. This book not only shows what is already possible, but also helps all of us imagine what might be – in our own homes, in our communities, and for the planet as a whole. Taken together, these solutions present a picture of a future that is not dark or catastrophic, but one that is full of hope and within our grasp. To build that future, we need a generation of everyday heroes, people who – whatever their walks of life – have the courage to think in fresh ways and to act to meet this planetary crisis head-on. This book belongs in the library of every person who aspires to be part of that generation."

Bill McKibben in the New York Review of Books characterized the book as "The Whole Earth Catalog retooled for the iPod generation."

"It is precisely this question – how we might radically transform our daily lives – that is addressed by the cheerful proprietors of the WorldChanging website in their new book of the same name. This is one of the most professional and interesting websites that you could possibly bookmark on your browser; almost every day they describe a new technology or technique for environmentalists.... [Their book} is a compendium of everything a younger generation of environmental activists has to offer: creativity, digital dexterity, networking ability, an Internet-era optimism about the future, and a deep concern about not only green issues but related questions of human rights, poverty, and social justice. The book's pragmatism is refreshing: 'We can do this' is the constant message, and there are enough examples to leave little doubt that sheer cleverness is not what we're lacking as we approach our uncertain future. 'We need, in the next twenty-five years or so, to do something never before done. We need to consciously redesign the entire material basis of our civilization,' Alex Steffen writes in his editor's introduction. 'If we face an unprecedented planetary crisis, we also find ourselves in a moment of innovation unlike any that has come before.... We live in an era when the number of people working to make the world better is exploding.' He's right."

Climate activist Laurie David raved that the book is "The seminal resource guide for anyone concerned about today and the future." while Earth Day founder Denis Hayes proclaimed, "'Worldchanging' might well be the most complete, compelling articulation of the possible look and feel and actual operation of a sustainable society ever written." Other reviews have been similarly positive:

"(Worldchanging) is a comprehensive, cohesive vision for sustainability that feels perfectly in sync with the times. Out with the muumuus, Bucky domes and brown rice; in with the Hug Shirt, renovated factory lofts and New Rice for Africa. If Worldchanging is any indicator, the new green movement is globally aware, technically savvy, design conscious and, above all, optimistic." – Jenn Shreve, Wired

"The enormous guidebook offers a Whole Earth Catalog-style compendium of ecofriendly objects, books, foundations, products, designers, movements and more. Shop less, shop right, and the story your things tell about you will be happy." – Penelope Green, The New York Times

"Worldchanging is more than a road map of lifestyle choices; it is an innovative look at today’s environmental and social justice issues, offering 600 pages of practical, real-world solutions, including green building and “giving well.” If you’re looking for pragmatic ways to make the Earth a better place, Worldchanging does more than champion changing light bulbs and recycling—it challenges us to change the world." - Scott Edward Anderson, the Nature Conservancy Magazine

The staff plans to eventually release the book as a free Creative Commons-licensed online resource. As of Spring 2008, they are said to be at work on a second major book on the future of sustainability[citation needed].

[edit] Contributors and Correspondents

Worldchanging is run by a core team of 5, and relies extensively on an international network of writers and correspondents:

[edit] Public Speaking

In addition to its editorial work, Worldchanging frequently presents its ideas in speeches and other public appearances, especially by editor Alex Steffen and contributing editors Sarah Rich and Jeremy Falludi. From time to time, it takes on interesting and mission-related consulting work.

Steffen does most of the organization's public appearances, and has spoken at (often keynoted) conferences like TED, Poptech, Design Indaba, Amsterdam's PicNic and New Delhi's Doors of Perception as well as major industry events like the AIGA and IDSA national conferences, O'Reilly's Emerging Technologies (eTech), FOO Camp and South by Southwest Interactive (SxSW). He frequently speaks for academic and cultural audiences at institutions like Barcelona's CCCB, Stanford, Harvard, the University of Washington and the Art Center College of Design. He has spoken at or consulted to a number of major companies and government agencies including Nike, Carrier, Arup, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, Weiden + Kennedy, Charles Schwab, Nau, IDEO, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the World Travel and Tourism Council, the sustainability green capital ResourcePoint, the Government of British Columbia and the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers' Association. He is represented by the Lavin Agency.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nielsen BuzzMetrics :: The Global Measurement Standard in Consumer-Generated Media
  2. ^ Steffen, Alex (2006). Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.. ISBN 0810930951. 
  3. ^ worldchanging | NetSquared, a project of TechSoup.org
  4. ^ WorldChanging: Award-Winning Solutions Journalism
  5. ^ Go bright green | Review | Guardian Unlimited Books
  6. ^ WorldChanging: Award-Winning Solutions Journalism
  7. ^ WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Don't Just Be the Change, Mass-Produce It
  8. ^ Bright Green Living wiki mission statement
  9. ^ "On Earth Day", Alex Steffen — Worldchanging website
  10. ^ A Brighter Shade of Green: Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21st Century, by Ross Robertson
  11. ^ VF Daily: My Sites: Architect Richard Meier: Online Only: vanityfair.com
  12. ^ BlogPulse Tools | Profiles Overview
  13. ^ WorldChanging Canada
  14. ^ WorldChanging Canada: Changer le monde!
  15. ^ Bruce Nussbaum: Best Innovation and Design Books for 2006. We looked past obvious titles to compile a list of books that will inform the thinking about innovation beyond this year BusinessWeek.com, December 6, 2006

[edit] External links