Challenges to the environmental network

Earlier this month a group of environmental experts, activists and scientists gathered in Aspen, Colorado, for the 2011 Aspen Environment Forum. Solving – and communicating – the challenges facing the planet was top of the agenda, and I was invited to sit on a panel that focused on the use of social media.

There was increasing interest in social media given events this year in the Middle East. According to the forum website, “Recent social movements in North Africa and the Middle East have shown the power of social media and mobile devices to accelerate change at the grassroots level. What lessons does that experience hold for the environmental movement? Can Facebook and Twitter somehow catalyze an environmental revolution as well – and is it happening already?”

You can watch the one-hour discussion above. The panel was made up of:

Ken Banks, Founder of kiwanja.net/FrontlineSMS and a partner in Socialbrite

William Powers, prize-winning writer and author of the New York Times best-seller “Hamlets BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age”

Courtney Hight, Co-Director of Energy Action Coalition and Power Shift

Charles Porch, who heads up Facebook’s efforts to help non-profits use the platform

Ned Breslin, CEO of Water for the People

The 2011 Aspen Environment Forum is presented by the Aspen Institute in partnership with National Geographic and provides a critical framework for committed voices to address a significant milestone: a global population of 7 billion and how to reconcile Earth’s finite resources with its ability to sustain our expanding human needs. I hope you’ll pitch in your thoughts. Ken Banks is founder of kiwanja.net, a site that helps nonprofits use mobile technology to serve their communities’ information needs. See his profile page, visit his blog, contact Ken or leave a comment. Follow Ken on Twitter at @kiwanja.