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xviii G r e e n I Tr e e n I T
We have been in doubt, if not in blind denial, since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution. We as a culture often find great discomfort with any portrayal of the intimate
dependency we have upon nature, for our science and technology can overcome any
limitation not to our liking…or so we think, despite evidence to the contrary. However, we
now obviously have IT systems that will no longer allow us to casually dismiss it as some
left-wing politically charged, flower waving, drug-crazed rock and roll, free love conspiracy.
Did I forget to blame the hippies and environmentalists?
Seriously, we need to get our heads out of that most uncomfortable of positions and get
to work. That is what this book is about.
We now realize that regardless of global issue one wishes to address in personal and
professional life, it is only at the community level that the rubber really meets the road for
sustainability. It is only at the local community level that fossil fuel dependence, climate
change, food shortage, water quality, species extinction, much less the varieties of socio-
economic disparity and despair can ever be solved as a result of individual and collective
conscience, unless of course, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock show up pretty soon to carry us
off to the hinterlands of the universe. For us, the opportunity is in the crisis. It appears in
fact to be one of those moments in history from which could emerge modern day scenarios
of Mad Max, or bucolic scenes from the Garden of Eden, or nirvana if you like.
The breadth and depth of the issues are of such complexity and scale that sustainable
community development can only be realized through a holistic, systems-thinking
approach (such as The Natural Step), with IT at its core as a systemic tool and infrastructure.
Whether it is simple provision of email and blogs that vicariously connect each of us to the
6.5 billion other souls and 30 plus million other species in this test-tube, or the gigabytes of
raw science data, the Geographic Information System databases of sustainability indicators,
the mind-bending public relations media of corporate America having come home to green,
or simply a paperless documentation of every moment of our existence; without IT, we are
sunk. Yes, the Amish would take issue with such a statement, and rightfully so, but we now
need every tool at our disposal for the sake of the common good.
There are over seventy published definitions for sustainability. The most common is from
the Brundtland Commission in 1987 where sustainability was defined as “…development that
meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.” It certainly sets the ethical foundation, but says little about the principles
and best practices. However, make no mistake, the ubiquitous nature of sustainability and its
application in personal, professional, and civic life, much less government and industry, is now
an assumed responsibility with unprecedented momentum. The data and trend analysis now
clearly indicate that sustainability is not a matter of choice. I would suggest the definition is
now “leadership in the attempt to avoid un-sustainability.”
The ubiquitous nature of sustainability is by itself overwhelming. When tied to the
ubiquitous nature of information and the technology that immerses us in a sensual overload
of the reality of the human condition almost too rich to comprehend, there is little doubt
why many, including the captains, choose to ignore they are clinging to a rudderless ship
drifting toward the Bermuda Triangle. Green IT is simply the book that sets a powerful new
standard for leadership in the field. It will obviously not be the final word, nor should it be.
More importantly, however, it forces the conversation to a level that is long overdue.