Eiríkur Hrafnsson: Iceland’s start-up scene

Eiríkur Hrafnsson calls his new company, Green Qloud, the world’s first green cloud computing company, bucking a frightening trend. “It is not far-fetched to imagine that in 30 or 40 years, 50 percent of our energy will be spent on IT.”

Paul Needham: Owning electricity

Paul Needham’s organization, Simpa Networks, makes solar energy available to the poor. By using a pay-as-you-go pricing structure modeled after mobile phone cards, Simpa gives its customers ownership of the electricity. Once the initial cost of the equipment is paid off, the device belongs to the customer and their electricity is free.

John Thackara: The end of endless growth

Social critic John Thackara argues that the current human paradigm of endless growth is obviously unsustainable, so we should consider the brilliance of the Brazilian Jequitiba tree, which soaks up four tons of water a day. “I am a proper tree hugger, as well as a lichen hugger.”

Gulf Oil Spill: Michael Blum and The Trouble with Deepwater

What caused the BP oil spill almost a year ago? At PopTech 2010, Tulane ecology professor Michael Blum addressed the operational, organizational and technological failures that led to the accident.

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