I have been reading a blog over the past month or so called Treehugger. With all this renewed talk in global warming and the big splash, no pun intended, that An Inconvenient Truth made, I felt it was necessary to at least start reading more about how to “save the Earth”. I’ve always done my part to recycle because I felt like it was the right thing to do. After paying more attention to it over the past month, though, I feel that my personal efforts need to step up. Plus, my eye has become more sensitive to just how much gets wasted in the United States. We use useless shopping bags handed out at stores. We buy knick knacks and novelty items that serve no purpose and eventually become landfill. We print out emails. We throw away items that might have no use to us anymore, but could serve a purpose for someone else. I know I am not perfect (it is extremely difficult to be perfect in a society that prefers waste), but I’m at least trying to make an effort and be aware of my ecological footprint. I’ve started taking the train and bus to work and run errands. I try to keep things in a digital format instead of printing them out. I do my best to recycle whenever it is necessary. I don’t know if I would consider myself an environmentalist, but I want to do my part.
In turn, I have added a new category to my blog…green living. And, one of the first things I want to do is avoid buying bottled water. It always felt like a major scam to me, and I’m glad some people are starting to revolt against the use of bottled water. Check out what this food critic in the UK is doing. Now, you can call me a tree hugger.
The Future of Ideas
Thanks to my bus and train rides recently, I just finished up The Future of Ideas by Lawrence Lessig. As the back of the book says:
Lessig has a cynical, but realistic, viewpoint of where innovation and the Internet are headed. Large companies want to have control over everything. Although Lessig argues that this is not inherently an evil position to take, I think it is. In terms of the continual boom of the Internet and technology, it only makes sense that these companies would want to continually protect their investments and any possible future endeavors. At the inception of the Internet, though, Lessig points out that it was an open system. Ideas, innovations, and information moved freely in those early days. As the years have gone by, though, companies that have invested their money and resources in the Internet are trying to get more control of it through patent protection, copyright protection, and Congressional bills. They are trying to make a buck out of what was once an open system. In turn, the “old” regime is protecting itself against the “new” by cutting off the road toward innovation. If new innovators have trouble making inroads through the Internet, then these new voices and innovators are silenced. These behemoth companies then do not have to innovate as much because they have control.
Unfortunately, this book was written over 4 years ago. And, I feel that some of what Lessig fears have not come to fruition. I only have to point to the explosion of Web 2.0 applications, MySpace, and YouTube. Although, a part of me still worries that it is possible. I love all of the innovations on the Internet, but I feel that it will end some day. As we get closer and closer to having our computers become complete media centers that house not only our information, but also our entertainment, I wonder how everything will pan out. Will these companies demand even more control of what was once an open system? Will they get it? It is funny, right after I finished this book, I came across this article about the First Net Neutrality Bill Hitting Congress. I’m glad we have people still fighting for the freedom of the Internet.