Alex Steffen
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Alex Steffen (born 1968) is an American
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...
who writes and speaks about
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
and the future of the planet. He emphasizes the importance of imagining persuasive, positive possible futures: "It's literally true that we can't build what we can't imagine,... The fact that we haven't compellingly imagined a thriving, dynamic, sustainable world is a major reason we don't already live in one."


Biography

From 2003 to 2010, Steffen was executive editor at the website ''
Worldchanging Worldchanging was a nonprofit online publisher that operated from 2003 to 2010. Its strapline was ''A bright green future''. It published newsletters and books about sustainability, bright green environmentalism, futurism and social innovation. ...
''. ''Worldchanging'' practiced "solutions-based journalism". The non-profit organization announced that the goal of its work was to highlight new solutions to what the editorial team saw as the planet's most pressing problems, rather than to spread news of those problems or critiques of their causes. The site won or was nominated for a number of awards and prizes, including winning the
Utne Utne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern end of the Folgefonn Peninsula, at the confluence of the Sørfjorden and Hardangerfjorden. The village is t ...
Independent Press Award (2005), finalist for a Webby for Best Blog (2006), finalist for a Webby for Best Magazine and Bloggie awards for Best Group Weblog and Best Writing for a Weblog (2007), won the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature for its book, won Organic Design Award, Prix Ars Electronica nominee, and in 2008 was named a Webby Official Honoree. In November 2006, Steffen published a survey of global innovation, '' Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st century'' (), with a foreword by
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, design by
Stefan Sagmeister Stefan Sagmeister (born August 6, 1962) is an Austrian graphic designer, storyteller, and typographer based in New York City. In 1993, Sagmeister founded his company, Sagmeister Inc., to create designs for the music industry. He has designed alb ...
and with an introduction by
Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...
. A new, updated edition, with a foreword by
Van Jones Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer. He is the co-founder of several non-profit organizations, a three-time ''New York Times'' bestselling author, a CNN host and c ...
and an introduction by
Bill McKibben William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...
, was published in 2011. In 2012, Steffen released ''Carbon Zero: Imagining Cities That Can Save the Planet'', a book which explored the innovations and policy changes that a North American city would need to make to become carbon neutral. In 2013, he became "Planetary Futurist in Residence" at the design company
IDEO IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environ ...
. In 2016, Steffen successfully ran a crowd-funding campaign for ''The Heroic Future'', a three-part series of documentaries on how we might imagine a sustainable future. The theme was "you cannot build what you cannot imagine". The series was filmed in front of a live audience over three nights in September 2016 at the Marines' Memorial Theatre in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. In 2017, following the election of
President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, Steffen modified his style to a form of "anticipatory journalism", taking the same themes as ''The Heroic Future'' and setting them in the near future, post-Trump. This series of newsletters are titled ''The Nearly Now''.


Public speaking

Steffen is a frequent public speaker and has spoken at
TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...
, Poptech,
Design Indaba Design Indaba is a trademark and brand founded and run by Interactive Africa in 1995 with a focus on design and under the slogan "A better world through creativity". Consisting of an online publication and a series of events and creative projects, ...
, Amsterdam's PicNic, The Royal Geographical Society and New Delhi's Doors of Perception. As well as keynote addresses at industry events like the AIGA and IDSA national conferences, O'Reilly's Emerging Technologies (eTech), FOO Camp and the Business Expo Bright Green held during the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Steffen has given keynote speeches at three different South by Southwest conferences (SxSW). He has also spoken at universities including Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Stanford and the London School of Economics.
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See also

*
Worldchanging Worldchanging was a nonprofit online publisher that operated from 2003 to 2010. Its strapline was ''A bright green future''. It published newsletters and books about sustainability, bright green environmentalism, futurism and social innovation. ...
*
Viridian design movement The Viridian Design Movement was an aesthetic movement focused on concepts from bright green environmentalism. The name was chosen to refer to a shade of green that does not quite look natural, indicating that the movement was about innovative des ...
*
Bright green environmentalism Bright green environmentalism is an ideology based on the belief that the convergence of technological change and social innovation provides the most successful path to sustainable development. Origin and evolution of bright green thinking The te ...


References


External links


Alex Steffen's website


* *
"The shareable future of cities"
TEDGlobal 2011 *
"The route to a sustainable future"
TEDGlobal 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Steffen, Alex 1968 births Living people Futurologists Futurist writers American environmentalists Sustainability advocates Allegheny College alumni Green thinkers Environmental bloggers American male writers Male bloggers