Recently by Catherine Finn

Ecuador is the first nation in the world to give nature constitutional rights after approving a new constitution last month. The new constitution specifies that nature "has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution" and tasks the government to take "precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles."

These articles in Ecuador's new constitution are most likely in reaction to the many foreign companies that have exploited the nation's natural resources, perhaps polluted the environment, and harmed citizens in the process. Ecuador, of course, has the Galapagos Islands--as well as part of the Amazon and its rain forest--within its borders. There are a lot of important, individual ecosystems to protect within the country.

You may not realize this, but exercise gyms are not exactly a sustainable business: their lights are always on, the fans and air conditioning are turned up, the TVs are always on, and those machines are plugged in even when people aren't using them. Then there's the energy used to launder those complementary towels, not to mention the water used in showers and the energy to keep those steam rooms steamy.

While some gyms have tried to go "green" in small ways: such as using water-efficient toilets or using recycled products for their floors, one Portland, Oregon gym is going the extra mile. The Green Microgym has exercise machines that harness the energy their members burn off to help power the gym. The gym also uses solar energy; the owner estimates that about 40% of the energy the gym uses is produced by the gym itself. His goal is to ultimately make the gym self-sustainable, with all of the energy used produced by the gym itself.

Additionally, gym members are urged to turn the lights off when a room isn't in use, and all lights, fans, and TVs (as well as many exercise machines) are energy efficient. The gym doesn't have showers, asking their members to shower at home to reduce energy costs. And, not surprisingly, the majority of the gym is made out of recycled materials.

We are seeing the greening of nearly everything in this environmentally conscious time, but we are increasingly seeing "greenwashing" as well. It's refreshing to see businesses that are founded on eco-friendly principles and that are committed to innovate within their field.

Image: Michelle Hofstrand (Flickr)

It might sound like an oxymoron, but environmentalists, consumers, and landscapers are advocating for sustainable, "green" gardens and lawns. Between fertilizer and pesticides, the water required to keep up a garden or lawn, and the fact that most types of grass used aren't even native to North America, some US consumers are realizing that their yards aren't sustainable. Environmentalists in particular are decrying the American ideal of a perfectly maintained, lush green lawn that has become pervasive in suburban America.

The environmental damage traditional yards do is pretty astounding: a study estimates that 200 gallons, per person, per day are necessary to keep lawns throughout the US maintained. Additionally, all that fertilizer and pesticides being used to keep grass unnaturally green (that's right, most strains of grass used in the US aren't naturally that green) can be introduced into the country's drinking water through irrigation systems.

Some consumers have responded by forgoing the traditional yard for a "freedom lawn" - a lawn that is made up of whatever is native to the area, which can, and does include weeds (gasp!). You don't water the freedom lawn, nor do you add any pesticides or fertilizers, it may be mowed, but should only be done so infrequently.

It remains to be seen how many mainstream Americans will give up their perfectly manicured lawns, which for many has become indicative of the American dream--with a house in the suburbs and two cars in the garage--for something not as pretty, but more environmentally-friendly.

Image: Randen Pederson

A group of people in the Washington DC area are hoping to open the first crowdsourced restaurant in the world. The concept? Use the wisdom of the crowds to create a restaurant that people want, in this case a "raw food" style restaurant called Elements.

The online community creating the restaurant is nearly 400 strong. Participants include architects, chefs, servers, and a local nonprofit that promotes green businesses. Each have a vested interest in the business and many have donated money to fund the venture.

The hope is that Elements will be a success because it has so much customer input going into it from the beginning, as well as a built-in customer base from the online community. Restaurant industry insiders are optimistic about the concept, believing that it's a savvy way to succeed in an often cut-throat business.

One founding member of the community is starting a crowdsourcing business to foster other start-up businesses that could be crowdsourced. So, the next logical question is, what other kind of crowdsourcing businesses could be started? We've seen a crowdsourced encyclopedia, of course. What's next? A crowdsourced school, perhaps?

Image: buncheduptv (Flickr)

Some Social Technologies colleagues and I recently had the good fortune to attend Al Gore's speech in Washington, where he unveiled a new challenge to the US: be free of carbon-based energy in 10 years. His challenge calls for the US not only to be oil independent but also coal-free, relying only on renewable energy. Gore emphasized solar, wind, and geothermal energy as replacements to carbon-based fuels.

Gore also called for a unified national grid, plug-in electric cars, and a carbon emissions tax. He emphasized the need for the US to be the leader, as well as a major innovator, of renewable energy.

Acknowledging his detractors, Gore said, "Of course, there are those who will tell us that this can't be done. But even those who reap the profits of the carbon age have to recognize the inevitability of its demise. As one OPEC oil minister observed, 'The Stone Age didn't end because of a shortage of stones.'"

Here at Social Technologies, we are interested in seeing the actual plan that will implement these changes, since the speech was vague in that regard. In my opinion, it is a lofty, yet admirable goal. Dear readers, what do you think?

Image: cplbasilisk (Flickr)

Watch out if you're overweight in Japan: the government is starting a new initiative to measure their citizen's waistlines in order to combat obesity. The government will be measuring all Japanese between the ages of 40 and 74, and, believe it or not, actually now has state-legislated guidelines on how large your waist should be. For men, it's 33.5 inches, for women, 35.4 inches.

What happens if your waist isn't as slim as the government wants? The individual recriminations are mild: dieting guidance and health classes. However, Japan is making employers responsible for their employee's health, and businesses will face financial penalties if their employees' waists don't measure up.

This is all in an effort to reduce Japan's obese population by 10% in the next four years and 25% in the next seven years. It all seems a bit much, no? Japan's population is already much less obese than other World 1 countries--only 3.2% of Japanese are considered obese.

Image: Omid Tavallai (Flickr)

Apparently, some old gas pumps are confused: they were never designed to have gas priced over $3.99/gallon. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, the manufacturers could never imagine that prices could go beyond $3.99, so they didn't bother to make the gas gauge go higher.

Oops.

This little anecdote reminded us at S)T how people limit their concept of the future: clearly, back in the 50s it was unimaginable that gas prices would ever be higher than $3.99/gallon.

The bottom line? The improbable can and does happen. That's why we futurists set out to consider all possibilities, and urge our clients to think about the consequences of even the improbable.

Image: Jonny Hunter (Flickr)

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Italy’s love for life? Apparently, it's gone. Italians are now the least happy people in Western Europe.

Italians are older, poorer, and more in debt, contributing to their unhappiness. Italians' average age is 42, and they’re not having kids (there is a 0% growth rate). This year, Italy dropped three places to 20^th on the Human Development Index. The unemployment rate (7%) is high for a World 1 country. Italians have 106% public debt in proportion to their GDP (the sixth highest in the world). Even Italian staples aren’t selling well: sales of pasta and bread were down in 2007.

The Italian economy has relied on small, family-owned businesses that use cheap labor and produce high-quality products. But with competition from countries like China, these firms aren’t prospering in a globalized economy.

The nation seems angst-ridden and unsure how or whether to change. One Italian has devoted his entire blog to his country’s demise. At one level, it seems like Italy is just in a funk, but will it be able to get out? And, more importantly, is this what is going to happen to all aging World 1 countries? Or is Italy an outlier, while most of World 1 will adapt to new global realities?

Image: José Goulão (Flickr)

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Color me old--though I get made fun of here at Social Technologies because I’m the youngest employee--but I was shocked to see this recent Pew Internet and American Life survey that shows Internet-speak is creeping into teens’ school assignments.

The survey revealed that in school assignments:

• 64% of teens have used “informal” chat-style writing
• 50% of teens don’t use proper capitalization and punctuation
• 38% use common Internet-speak abbreviations such as “LOL” and “OMG”
• 25% have used emoticons--yes, emoticons, those annoying symbols to denote mood :(
  

What?! In school assignments? These statistics do seem ridiculous. But, assuming they’re relatively accurate, imagine what the future of writing, grammar, and communication will be. What scares me is that the majority of my generation seem to find it acceptable to write "formally" in this manner. Will correct spelling and grammar vanish, replaced by LOLCat speak?

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Iran’s online world is more vibrant than you might expect. While Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran’s press as the fourth least-free in the world, its blogosphere is full of lively conversation and rife with political dissent, as revealed in a new Berkman Center for Internet and Society (full disclosure: my former employer before I came to Social Technologies)  report on the state of the Internet, the blogosphere, and its affect on democracy in conservative, religious Iran.

 The report found that:

• Iran's blogosphere is male-dominated and incredibly diverse in content, and often features heated discussions about politics, religion, and pop culture.
• While the Iranian government vigorously censors the Internet and has arrested bloggers for expressing dissenting opinions, the report found a significantly smaller percentage of blogs being blocked than they expected: only about 15% of what the report deemed “reformist” (anti-government) blogs were blocked.
• Women are a significant minority in the Iranian blogosphere, except in poetry-themed blogs. (Poetry is a very popular form of expression for Iranians.)
• Even with the threat of arrest, Iranian bloggers don't write anonymously nearly as much as expected: for instance, the majority of "reformist" bloggers wrote under their own name, while the majority of "conservative" bloggers wrote anonymously.
• Young Iranian bloggers tend to be conservative and religious, while older bloggers tend to be reformist and secular.

What has emerged is a portrayal of an engaged, lively online community in Iran, a country where freedom of expression isn’t exactly valued. It's fascinating to see how a somewhat open Internet can change the way the citizens of an authoritarian regime are able to express themselves. It is also clear that while the Iranian government has attempted to block the most contentious blogs online, it lacks the resources to get all of them. And while it might be overly optimistic, the fact that this kind of honest and open dialogue can exist (with limits, of course) gives many the hope that the Internet can foster change in Iran, beyond just expression of personal opinions.

Image: Sander (Flickr)

A superhero Vishnu fighting bad guys on city streets? Monkey god Hanuman reincarnated as a soccer playing, evil-fighting youngster? It’s the latest craze in Indian entertainment: “mytho-cartoons,” cartoons that borrow from Hindu mythology to entertain as well as teach Indian youth about Hinduism.

There is an unusual cultural exchange present in Indian mytho-cartoons: Indian animators are borrowing from Western entertainment to tell centuries old Hindu myths in a new and innovative way. Many popular mytho-cartoons use the concept of the modern comic book superhero to portray Hindu gods to Indian kids. Mytho-cartoons are becoming so popular that production companies, such as Percept Picture Company, which produces the popular “Hanuman” films, have plans to release their films and TV shows in the US and Europe, completing a cyclical cultural exchange of ideas and beliefs.

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College students are constantly connected. Image: Nic McPhee (Flickr) I recently spoke with a reporter about how technology has changed the lives of college students over the past fifteen years. As a recent college grad, I knew about the present, but I needed something with which to compare my own experience, so I asked my Gen X and Baby Boomer colleagues. A lively email discussion ensued and it was interesting to see what my colleagues had to say:

• There was the obvious: as little as 15 years ago, mobile phones, Internet access, and laptops were rare, and therefore phenomena such as social networking sites, instant messaging services, and text messages—which college students today can't live without—didn’t exist.
• The more subtle: technology has changed the way information is conveyed and how relationships are formed and maintained. Back in the day, college students went to dining centers and the quad to make friends. It seems as though college students were a lot more friendly too; I can't imagine this happening on the campus of my alma mater, George Washington. Also, information about who was dating whom was spread through word of mouth, not text messages or Facebook.
• Tech was communal: When technologies were first developed (and much more expensive), they weren't individually owned, but shared: telephones, computers, printers, boom boxes, etc. were communally owned by students, or the university itself. Now a college student owns their own tech devices: mobile phones, laptops, iPods, etc., all of which make them more mobile and independent of those around them. In decades past, it seems like the lack of individual tech devices fostered a stronger sense of community.
• Nerds were nerds: And, for some, perhaps a bit of nostaligia for a time when everyone at college knew the pecking order: "Dorks were dorks. Now, they can be online celebrities and geniuses" (a quote from one of my 30-something colleagues).

So after this discussion, the question begs to be asked: what about the future?

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Image: Seth Anderson (Flickr)Over a month's worth of unread New Yorker magazines are sitting on my coffee table at home. I try to make the effort to read the weekly periodical, but I can never seem to keep up with the seemingly unending flow. I've even begun to cringe when I open my mailbox and see yet another New Yorker, mocking my lack of time or energy to read each issue cover to cover.

Fortunately, Brijit has the answer to my New Yorker problem, as their website offers 100-word synopses of articles in publications such as The Atlantic, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, Harvard Business Review, Playboy (gee thanks, I knew someone subscribed to it for the articles!) and yes, the New Yorker.

And, unlike the magazines it summarizes, Brijit is free.

This is another manifestation of the time pressure felt across World 1. Now, a simple pleasure such as sitting down to read one's favorite magazine, newspaper, or book may not seem feasible while also working, commuting, caring for children, exercising, and socializing. As we wrote in GL-2005-44: Top 20 Trend--Time Pressure, this sense of time deficit will affect more and more consumers around the globe as incomes rise and scheduled lives become a necessity. We suggested that tools to help us more effectively manage our time will proliferate, and so we have Brijit and myriad other services popping up.

Will I be using Brijit to speed up my New Yorker processing? Probably not. Even though I may be a month behind, I still prefer doing my own reading.

Couldn't find the pricetag for Radiohead's newest album, In Rainbow? You're not alone. On October 10, the popular British band bypassed its record label, released the album on its own website, and is allowing fans to set their own price. Which means, of course, that the album is basically being offered for free.

After Radiohead came out with the digital download last week, big acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Oasis, and Jamiroquai announced plans to do the same. Granted, getting free music on the Internet is not a novel thing: illegal filesharing has been around for years and up-and-coming new artists often offer free downloads to get their name out. However, Radiohead's move marks the first time a big-name artist has released an entire album for free and exclusively on the Internet.

It's a revolutionary idea in the music business. The model, for decades, has involved artists signing with record labels while record labels distribute and promote the artist's music, therefore wielding creative control over the artist. Radiohead has completely bypassed the traditional system. If enough artists follow suit, Radiohead's new distribution model could be a complete game changer within the music industry, making record labels essentially obsolete.

Image: Brady Wood (Flickr)