Alex Steffen
Alex Steffen | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Writer, editor, public speaker, sustainability advocate |
Alex Steffen is an award-winning writer, editor and futurist, part of the group of bright green environmentalists influenced by the Whole Earth Catalog and Bruce Sterling's Viridian movement. He is considered to be one of the world's leading emerging thinkers about environmental sustainability, technological innovation and social reform. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The usage he coined of the words "worldchanging" and "bright green" to describe innovative, future-focused sustainability work has entered the common parlance. He co-founded the popular and award-winning environmental weblog Worldchanging, and is currently the site's Executive Editor and CEO.
Steffen practices what he describes as solutions-based journalism [7], that is, the explicit goal of his work at Worldchanging 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 [8]. He was quoted in the Guardian [9] as 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."
Steffen was profiled by the New York Times Magazine in May 2007.
Alex Steffen earned his B.A. from Alleghany College in 1990, and, interwoven with his career as a futurist, writer and editor, pursued graduate studies at University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies.
Steffen lives in Seattle.
Career
Steffen has a long history of involvement in innovative future-forward sustainability and design projects. Previously, he ran the Seattle urban planning group Allied Arts, started Steelhead magazine, and founded the now-defunct Fuse Foundation. Steffen edited the final, unreleased issue of the Whole Earth Review. He also consulted to many environmental groups and political campaigns, according to his biography on Worldchanging.com.
Steffen speaks frequently at major conferences, including TED, Pop!Tech, South by Southwest, Design Indaba, The Vine Doors of Perception, and the Balaton Group. Media reports state he has spoken to companies including Google, Nike, Amazon, Yahoo!, IDEO, ARUP and Global Business Network, as well as to various philanthropic institutions and groups.
In late 2006, his compendium of sustainability solutions, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century was published, with a foreword by Al Gore and an introduction by Bruce Sterling. It has received wide praise (see below). It has remained a best-seller in its category, and is now seeing translation into French, German and other languages.
WorldChanging (book)
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."
Steffen's ideas are not without their critics, especially among American conservative thinkers. The biggest criticism is that Steffen's ideas, and the ideas of his colleagues, are overly idealistic and could lead to governmental abuses of power in restraint of free enterprise. That said, some conservative media outlets have praised Worldchanging's non-ideological approach to social change, including the Wall Street Journal.
BusinessWeek ran a review that stated the book "reads like a smart, hip mini-encyclopedia of what's new and what's next in green technologies and earth-conscious ideas." This endorsement in a a bastion of no-nonsense commerce complements a comment by climate champion Laurie David, who called it "The seminal resource guide for anyone concerned about today and the future."
Earth Day founder Denis Hayes says, "WorldChanging might well be the most complete, compelling articulation of the possible look and feel and actual operation of a sustainable society ever written."