http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo_250X250.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Background_1024X576.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Banner_686X60.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Half-Banner_234X60.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo_250X250 http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo-Watermark_250X250.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Background_1024X576.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Half-Banner-ALT_234X60.jpg Bigthink - User Ideas Feed Bigthink http://www.bigthink.com/feed/rss/user/793 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:21:26 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 A lasting legacy for a green 'fad' http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/the-environment/7433 What will happen when advertizers skip promoting green and move on to whatever sells stuff next? I think this depends on how long particular green issues can stay in the public mind. Overall, I'm not too worried about a 'backlash' against the current greening of the economy world provided some current trends actually last long enough to become the new norm.

Most people never used to think about the 'green' properties (low energy use, sustainable sourcing, recyclable) of what they bought. Now many do. So the question becomes whether the support for 'green' is becoming sufficient to make such considerations a default part of product development, even when the actual marketing has moved on to other things. If so, then even if selecting a green product is no longer trendy, it doesn't have to become actively uncool, but merely normal. Green factors, even when not be top of the list for purchase choices or marketing, can still be influential if customers expect 'green' and so penalize companies/products that fall below their new (higher) standards. 

With green behaviors of products there is a long lifecycle to reach widespread adoption; crazy ideas become cool, then normal. For things like organic food or wind and solar power, few early adopters were often decades ahead of everyone else (and characterized not as cool folk, but as crazy hippies). Some  environmental ideas break out of this hippie ghetto and gain a wider but still minority acceptance, thereby becoming trendy or rather cutting edge. Eventually, a few products or ideas become popular enough that they can no longer be seen as trendy but instead are commonplace. There are a few green choices that reach the 'normal' level yet, but recycling has become widespread enough to be normal in many areas. Low energy use products stand a good chance of taking hold, I think, as there is a personal economic advantage along with the global benefits.       

Young people in particular express a strong desire to 'save the planet', so the prospects of more green choices increasingly becoming normal are good. A danger is the desire to cash in on this youthful goodwill. There is lots of greenwash out there (products overselling limited or dubious environmental benefits). There is thus a danger that they will taint the whole green movement as people tire of false green claims and disregard the behaviors (and even products) that can deliver real environmental benefits. With so much commerical mis-information and so many everyday choices to make the public can only make sensible informed decisions if there are reliable and measurable standards of 'greenness'. Vigilant denouncing of greenwash can also keep corporations honest. Current high public and commerical support for 'green' choices can yield lasting change if those choices provide real envirnomental benefits and become common enough to take hold. Indeed, no longer being a fad can be a good outcome.


]]>
Bigthink Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:26:50 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/the-environment/7433
Re: The humble fence: most important technological development in human history? http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/7426 There are lots of well known candidates (fire, the wheel, gunpowder) but I'm going to break with the pack and suggest the Fence (and it's closely related cousin, the Wall). While it seems everyday and obvious now, it is worth recognizing how different the world became once humans recognized the protective value of enclosing land with a fence or wall. Other animals just don't do this (as far as I am aware). The invention of fences spurred agriculture as our ancestors could protect crops from animals, and livestock from predators. Fences took the hassle out of protecting the food supply, freeing up people for other tasks. As fences came to denote boundaries and ownership they have continued to play an important role in our relationships with each other. Traditional uses of fences have endured (a ring of thorny bushes to protect cattle in Africa) and new ones constantly emerge (like 'protecting' the southern US border from immigrants).   

The Wall is often used much like the fence, but can also be paired with the Roof to make a shelter. Its a big step from using natural shelters, like trees and caves, to building walls to make a home. While other animals build shelfters such as nests and dens once humans had developed the concept of the wall they were able to adapt the idea to whatever local materials were at hand (rocks, mud, wood, snow, etc ). People were no longer tied to natural shelters or one kind of environment. Wall (and roof) buliding let humans spread across the globe.

]]>
Bigthink Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:10:51 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/7426
Replace 'opt in' schemes with 'opt out' http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/6637 Making donation the 'default option' is a powerful force and should propbably be a goal. There are many organ donor schemes (with a driver's licence, for example) but all have a default setting of not donating and require that someone choosing to donate organs must make a special effort like obtaining two witness signatures. This is not as trivial as it sounds - a spouse might be one witness, but then who else do you want to discuss this with. Many people might donate but haven't made those extra steps. We could start by making the existing process easier (Why do we need two witnessses? Why isn't my signature alone enough to indicate my wishes?), but to really get effective donation rates I think we need to be more radical. I sugest we push to reverse the default choice and make the burden of extra effort fall on those who don't wish to donate (so everyone is a donor unless they choose not to be). This naturally requires that opting out be very easy indeed (just checking a box perhaps).   

]]>
Bigthink Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:16:16 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/6637
Re: The gap between information and understanding http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/5982 The amount of information in a 'personal genome' overwhelms our ability to interpret it (and can be expected to do so for some time). I think this 'understanding gap' creates some ethical pitfalls for those providing genomic information and for those using it.

What responsibility do test providers in conveying genomic information? In an ideal world genetic counsellors would help patients understand what their genomes might predict, but few people have the specialist training required. Even so, it is important to avoid  just sending anonymous computer-generated report that tells them they have an incurable genetic disorder. People don't generally handle probabilities very well, and may fear extreme but rare events more than things that are much more likley to affect them. When people are making life changing decisions based on genetic data who will be there to help them?

Knowledge changes over time, so it is worth considering whether information providers have a responsibility to update thier analysis (to correct mistaken predictions for example). It is certainly necessary to ensure that any genome information is in a portable format, so patients are not tied to one company for answers and can seek second/updated opinions.

How do we ensure information is 'fair and balanced'. Researchers often focus on defining genetic elements that confer increased risk of disease susceptibility far more than on decreased risk, so there is a real danger that this biases any personal genome report to be just a collection of bad news (the good news may not be recognized). Any links between data providers and those selling treatments also raise concerns about what information is highlighted.

]]>
Bigthink Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:38:30 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/5982
Exploring the oceans http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/5705 Bigthink Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:38:29 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/5705 Re: Are development and environmentalism incomaptible? http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/the-environment/2736 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:02:20 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/the-environment/2736 Re: Globally, what should we be doing? http://www.bigthink.com/philanthropy/2728 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:26:41 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/philanthropy/2728 Re: Anti-intellectual America http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/education/2714 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:11:15 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/education/2714 Re: Do the rich have a responsibility to the poor? http://www.bigthink.com/philanthropy/2692 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:10:02 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/philanthropy/2692 Re: How has science shaped humanity? http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/2648 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:15:20 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/2648 Re: Are two parties enough? http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/2632 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:26:24 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/2632 Re: Will future generations hate us? http://www.bigthink.com/wisdom/2622 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:24:46 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/wisdom/2622 Should organic food be 'mass produced?' http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/the-environment/2608 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:32:41 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/the-environment/2608 Re: What is the state of global medicine today? http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/2596 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:13:33 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/2596 Re: What is the future of cancer research? http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/2567 Bigthink Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:58:02 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/science-technology/medicine-biology/2567