Founder and editor of worldchanging.com, Alex Steffen is one of the world's leading thinkers about “bright green” environmentalism. That's something that he calls sustainable, dynamic, prosperous, and fair. Steffen spoke in at Town Hall in Seattle about some of the actions that we can take that will have impacts that will last long into the future. First, let's clarify what he means by "bright green." According to Steffen:

What is bright green? In its simplest form, bright green environmentalism is a belief that sustainable innovation is the best path to lasting prosperity, and that any vision of sustainability which does not offer prosperity and well-being will not succeed. In short, it's the belief that for the future to be green, it must also be bright. Bright green environmentalism is a call to use innovation, design, urban revitalization and entrepreneurial zeal to transform the systems that support our lives.

Some of the points he made in his presentation:

• We need to create ways that wealth can grow without using more resources.
• We need to design societies that have less than zero impact.
• We are looking for climate-neutral, non-toxic, closed-loop, and ecologically restorative product development.
• We need to push the boundaries of zero waste systems and closed-loop manufacturing.

For those of us in the paper, printing and publishing industry, we have the opportunity to focus particularly on zero waste and closed-loop manufacturing. Your thoughts?