The mind-blowing, world-changing technology that is coming of age today is ushering in what has been called the next industrial revolution. How can techies use this opportunity to correct the environmental impacts that resulted from the last industrial revolution? If you are going to or following SXSW, you don’t want to miss the panel that brings something for everyone. We have cleantech VCs, entrepreneurs, eco journalists, computer scientists who are working on projects as varied as saving forests, renewable energy, electric vehicles and ridding the world of waste. We hope you’ll bring all kinds of tough questions for our incredible panel focused on the intersection of environment and technology.
What, When & Where?
“Techies Can Save the World, So Why Aren’t They?”
Tuesday March 15th at 3:30 in Room 6AB, (South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas March 11 – 15)
http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_IAP7871
What’s up with the topic?
As a first time tech entrepreneur, with more experience in environmental business than tech, I was disappointed in my first SXSW experience last year. What a lost opportunity. “Green” sessions were preaching to the choir – telling the canteen carrying group how to clean up their act at home. The vast majority of attendees were way more interested in the latest apps and ways to leverage technology for finding the next party. So, my goal in putting together was to bring in people who are really leveraging technology, computer technology of the geekiest types, to impact the environment. It wasn’t easy to get these rock stars to all show up. So, I hope you will all show up loaded with tons of smart questions.
Who is on the Panel?
Rebecca Moore, computer scientist who started Google Earth Outreach
Jack Hidary, electric vehicle and all around rock star who Thomas Friedman calls out in Hot, Flat & Crowded
Joel Serface, renewable energy technology pioneer who has seriously done it all
Graham Hill, ecopreneur, new media journalist and successful founder of treehugger.com
(Oh, and me. Brooke Farrell. Co-founder of RecycleMatch)
You’ve got to read more about these amazing people.
More on Speakers
As a computer scientist working at Google, Rebecca Moore conceived and now manages the Google Earth Outreach program, which supports nonprofits, communities and indigenous peoples around the world in applying Google’s mapping tools to the world’s pressing problems in areas such as environmental conservation, human rights, cultural preservation and creating a sustainable society. Her personal work using Google Earth was recently instrumental in stopping a plan to log more than a thousand acres of redwoods in her Santa Cruz Mountain community. Rebecca earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University in Artificial Intelligence, Masters from Stanford in Cognitive Psychology and spent several years in the Stanford PhD program in Computer Science before taking leave to join a Silicon Valley startup. See: http://earth.google.com/outreach
Joel Serface will bring energy to the panel – both as a tireless leader, and as one of the most knowledgeable persons involved in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the world today. Joel has been a long-term leader in the cleantech community, having created or funded more than 20 cleantech companies, non-profits and policy organizations in the past decade. Joel’s work on policy, community development, technology commercialization and finance have all focused on massively scaling renewable energy and energy efficiency. Joel serves and/or has served on the boards of the Clean Economy Network Educational Foundation, CleanTX Foundation, Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, California Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology, California Nanosystems Institute, and is a Founding Member of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) and progenitor of the California Cleantech Open. Joel was the first Entrepreneur in Residence at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Joel previously headed renewable energy efforts at the Austin Clean Energy Incubator, Eastman Ventures, and Sierra Ventures, and founded Austin’s Pecan Street Project, the nation’s first SmartGrid 2.0 test implementation supported by the Department of Energy.
Graham Hill will bring the perspective of a treehugger. And of a successful entrepreneur who has mastered the art and science of new media. Graham founded treehugger.com, which was acquired by Discovery Channel in 2007. As the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream, Treehugger is the one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information online. Prior to starting Treehugger, Graham grew and later sold the web-developer, SiteWerks, to 60 people doing work for clients such as Microsoft. As a prolific traveler, Graham has been on planes, trains and automobiles. But the most interesting vehicle was the Plastiki, a boat made literally of plastic water bottles that traveled around the world to draw attention to the Pacific Gyre.
Jack D. Hidary brings a global perspective with an emphasis on hybrid transportation to our panel. And possibly a bit of jetlag as our only panelist flying in from Davos. Jack is a noted expert in renewable energy and clean technologies who has built a career as an entrepreneur in finance and technology. Jack sits on the board of the National Renewable Energy Lab and his work has recently been featured in Thomas Friedman’s new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Committed to community and philanthropic causes, Hidary has received several industry and community awards including the Einstein Technology Medal , and has been recognized as a Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum. Jack is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Clinton Global Initiative, and is a Young Leadership Fellow of the National Committee on China-US Relations. Jack previously was co-founder and Chairman of Vista Research (sold to Standard and Poors) and co-founder, President and CEO of EarthWeb (now Dice, Inc) which had a record breaking IPO and earned the Business Week Info Tech 100 award as the third fastest growing IT company.
Make it to the blog and ask your own questions. Or, tweet your questions in using hashtag #saveustechies.
You can look for a follow up blog from me on the panel. Or come and write one yourself. I think these panelists could offer enough fodder for 100 blogs at the intersection of environment and technology.