Alex Steffen (* 1968) is an American writer, blogger, editor and futurist most noted for his bright green ideas.
Steffen edits the online magazine
WorldchangingWorldchanging is an American non-profit online magazine and blog about sustainability and social innovation.The site has earned positive reviews and was rated the second largest sustainability site on the web by Nielsen Online in 2008.Worldchanging is also the title of a book by the same editors,...
, and is the site's Executive Editor and CEO. He also edited the book
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century and has written for magazines and newspapers including Business Week and Wired .
Biography
Alex Steffen attended
Oberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked liberal arts college with a top-ranked conservatory...
before earning his B.A. from
Allegheny CollegeAllegheny College is an old and established private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. It is notable for its strong emphasis on the liberal arts.-Early history:...
in 1990, and, interwoven with his career as a futurist, writer and editor, pursued graduate studies at
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. UW is the largest university in the northwestern United States and one of the oldest public universities on the west coast. The university has three campuses, with its flagship campus...
’s Jackson School of International Studies.
Previously, he was president of the Seattle urban livability group
Allied ArtsAllied Arts of Seattle is a non-profit organization in Seattle, Washington, USA. The organization advocates for public funding of the arts, better urban planning and architecture, and other civic improvements...
, started
Steelhead magazine, and founded the now-defunct Fuse Foundation. Steffen guest-edited the final, unreleased issue of the
Whole Earth ReviewWhole Earth was a magazine which was founded in January 1985 after the merger of The Whole Earth Software Review and the CoEvolution Quarterly...
. He also consulted to many environmental groups and political campaigns.
He spends much of his time in Northern California, but lives in Seattle with his girlfriend,
Stranger-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991. The paper is distributed to local businesses, newsstands, and newspaper boxes free of charge every Thursday...
columnist Erica C. Barnett.
Worldchanging
Worldchanging.com is a non-profit online magazine and
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
about
sustainabilitySustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time...
and
social innovationSocial innovation refers to new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that meet social needs of all kinds - from working conditions and education to community development and health - and that extend and strengthen civil society....
.
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:
stuffStuff is a collection or group of frogs, hampsters, or shrimp. Stuff may also refer to:*Stuff , a type of cloth or fabric used to fill pillows and other items*Stuffing, a substance which is often placed in cavities of food items...
,
shelterShelter is a basic structure or building that provides cover.- Protection from the weather :*Dugout — a primitive house made by digging a hole in the ground*Public transport stops, such as:**Bus shelter**Tram stop**Railway platform...
, cities,
communityIn biological terms, a community is a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment.In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of...
,
businessA business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself...
,
politicsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
, and
planetEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
. 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.
The site has won or been nominated for the following awards and prizes:
- 2005, won the Utne
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
Independent Press Award.
- 2006, finalist for a Webby
Webby may refer to:*Webby Awards*Webby Vanderquack*Mariama Elaiza Webby...
for Best Blog.
- 2007, finalist for a Webby
Webby may refer to:*Webby Awards*Webby Vanderquack*Mariama Elaiza 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
Webby may refer to:*Webby Awards*Webby Vanderquack*Mariama Elaiza Webby...
Official Honoree.
Worldchanging is, according to several sites, one of the most popular blogs in the world, and was rated the second largest sustainability site on the web by
Nielsen OnlineNielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, provides measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising, video, consumer-generated media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer behavior. Previously a majority investor in both companies, Nielsen purchased NetRatings and BuzzMetrics in the...
in 2008 as well as being named one of the world's top 15 environmental websites by Time Magazine.
Books
In November 2006, Steffen published a survey of global innovation,
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century with a foreword by
Al GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an American environmental activist and former politician who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He is an author, businessperson, former U.S. Senator and former journalist...
, design by
Stefan SagmeisterStefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic designer and typographer currently living in Bali, Indonesia. He has his own design firm, Sagmeister Inc in New York City...
and an introduction by
Bruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his seminal work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
. 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), German, Spanish, Korean and several other languages. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., the publisher of the hardcover edition, listed it among their 50 best selling titles in July 2008. It was mentioned by
BusinessWeekBusinessWeek is a business magazine published by McGraw-Hill. It was first published in 1929 under the direction of Malcolm Muir, who was serving as president of the McGraw-Hill Publishing company at the time. BusinessWeek is a business magazine published by McGraw-Hill. It was first published...
as one of the "Best Innovation and Design Books for 2006".
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 CatalogThe Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog that granted "Access to Tools" published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. Apple Inc...
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."
Earth Day founder
Denis HayesDenis Hayes is an environmental activist and proponent of solar power. He rose to prominence in 1970 as the coordinator for the first Earth Day.-Biography:...
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."
Steffen is at work on a second book, as of July, 2008.
Themes
Steffen's work addresses themes of bright green sustainability, public foresight and social innovation. In particular, he says, he's interested in looking at ways in which the planet's most pressing problems can be met with innovative solutions in order to produce not only benefit to those alive today, but a long-term increase in options and opportunities for the human race. Steffen says that the key to meeting present desires without compromising future needs is a clearer understanding of the things that really make us happy - friends, family, a high quality of life, meaningful work, a reasonable amount of security and lots of fun - and how to deliver them most directly, without waste or stupidity. We'll only save the planet, he suggests, if sustainability is designed to be more fun and more deeply satisfying than over-consumption of "crap".
Solutions-Based Journalism
Steffen practices what he describes as solutions-based journalism , that is, the explicit goal of his work at
WorldchangingWorldchanging is an American non-profit online magazine and blog about sustainability and social innovation.The site has earned positive reviews and was rated the second largest sustainability site on the web by Nielsen Online in 2008.Worldchanging is also the title of a book by the same editors,...
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. He was quoted in the Guardian 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 summed up what he sees as the benefit of this approach in an essay called
The Politics of Optimism in which he wrote, "We can freely acknowledge the tremendous struggle ahead of us, and yet choose to remain decidedly optimistic, and to work from a fundamental belief in the possibilities of the future. ... Every time we explain how a better future might be built, we redraw the boundaries of the possible."
Public Speaking
Steffen has spoken at
TEDTED may refer to:* TED , an annual multidisciplinary conference.* TED spread, the yield spread between U.S...
,
PoptechPoptech is a nonprofit organization mostly known for its annual mass media and technology conference that takes place in Camden, Maine...
, 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, CompostModern 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 green venture capital retreat ResourcePoint, the Government of British Columbia, the Alliance for Innovation and the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers' Association. He is represented by the Lavin Agency..
Media Coverage and Response
In a cover story, WIE Magazine called Steffen "a pioneering thinker on global sustainability." Rotman magazine (the alumni magazine of
Rotman School of ManagementThe Rotman School of Management is the University of Toronto'sbusiness school. It has jumped significantly in international prominence under the leadership of its dean, Roger Martin....
) described him as "an award-winning writer... engaged in innovative, future-forward sustainability work", while local newspaper
Seattle WeeklySeattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
called him one "of the world's leading green futurists".
He was chosen by
The New York Times Magazine as one of six leading innovators in its "Ecotecture" issue, and is the subject of a CNN documentary.
Steffen's ideas have been covered in stories in
The New York Times and
New York Times Magazine,
The Guardian,
Time magazine,
Der Spiegel,
Business Week,
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. Steffen has also appeared on the Today Show, LinkTV and several
CBCCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Overview:CBC Television provides a complete 24-hour network schedule of news, sports, entertainment and children's programming, in most cases feeding the same programming at the same local times...
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 many local NPR affiliate and talk radio programs.
Steffen's ideas are not without critics, especially among older American conservatives. Their biggest criticism is that Steffen's bright green 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.
External links
- Alex Steffen bio on Worldchanging
- Alex Steffen's profile at Lavin Agency
- Interview on Grist Magazine
- Can Design Change the World?, BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek is a business magazine published by McGraw-Hill. It was first published in 1929 under the direction of Malcolm Muir, who was serving as president of the McGraw-Hill Publishing company at the time. BusinessWeek is a business magazine published by McGraw-Hill. It was first published...
interview, October 26, 2006
- Keynote speech at South by Southwest
- Profile in San Francisco Chronicle
- Video of Steffen's talk at the TED conference
- Biography and interview with Alex Steffen. CNN, May 2007
- "Go Bright Green" -- review in the Guardian
- Alex Steffen: The Next Green Revolution Wired
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since March 1993, that reports on how technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
14.05, May 2006
- A Brighter Shade of Green: Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21st Century
- Ethan Zuckerman
Ethan Zuckerman was a co-founder of Tripod.com, a web hosting enterprise, and later founder of Geekcorps. He currently serves as a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. His work at the Berkman Center has included research into , and the co-founding of Global Voices Online in...
: Alex Steffen’s Bright Green Future Blog entry, October 19, 2006
- Prosperous and Ecological Blog of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology
Center for Responsible Nanotechnology is a non-profit research and advocacy organization with a focus on molecular manufacturing and its possible effects, both positive and negative...
, August 31, 2005