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Granby, Colorado, 2008  

Photograph by Vincent Laforet
Granby, Colorado, 2008
The stress of human activities on natural resources can manifest itself in ominous and indirect ways.  Vincent Laforet’s arial image, published in National Geographic in February, 2008, shows the result of warm winter temperatures Granby Colorado. Absent cold weather, mountain pine beetles have infested close to 90 percent of lodgepole pine forests across the state. 

From Robert Kunzig, “Drying of the West,” National Geographic, February 2008
     
 

Royalty-free Image, Getty Images
Increasing water demand in drying regions; a strong market for bio-fuels; and development pressure on suburban farmland are among the conflicts society faces in making choices about how to use resources for competing needs.  Relief may come in the form of innovation, such as reorganized regional food production systems, spurred by high transportation costs, effective government incentives, and a resurgent interest in local foods.

 

 

     
Bao Steel #8, Shanghai, 2005  

Photograph by Edward Burtynsky
Bao Steel #8, Shanghai, 2005
“China’s recent rise as a global steel power has been led by Shanghai Baosteel Group, a state-owned industrial showcase on the banks of the Yangtze River, north of downtown Shanghai, that is the country’s biggest, most modern steel manufacturer.”

Edward Burtynsky, 2005

 

Applying innovation to replace or clean up abundant but dirty resources represents an unprecedented opportunity for companies that can make it happen.

 
     
Container Yard and Mt. Rainier, Tacoma 2004  

Photograph by Chris Jordan
Container Yard and Mt. Rainier, Tacoma 2004

When logistics are optimized for both costs and environmental improvements, gains may be available on both fronts.  The historical advantages of a global supply chain may decline as the costs of fuel and environmental impacts increase, leading to unique pockets of advantage for both suppliers and corporations that reconfigure around these challenges. For more on this, see related article.
     
Wind Turbines in a Farm Field, Iowa, USA  

Royalty-free Image, Getty Images

Wind Turbines in a Farm Field, Iowa, USA

The advantages of renewable energy are both economic and environmental.  Perhaps nothing captures this concepts as succinctly as this image of turbines twirling in an Iowa farm field, putting kilowatts onto  the national grid and lease payments into the farmer’s pocket.

 

 
     
Shanghai City Panorama, Shanghai, 2004  

Photograph by Edward Burtynsky
Shanghai City Panorama, Shanghai, 2004
"During the 1960s and 1970s, China imposed very strict limits on migration as a way to maintain reasonable living standards in the cities. Today however, China is experiencing the largest country-to-city migration in history. Millions are leaving their farms for urban centers.”

Edward Burtynsky, 2004

 

Innovative environmental and economic development policies and systems can minimize our collective impacts and improve our lives.

 
     
Cell Phones #2, Atlanta, 2005   Photograph by Chris Jordan
Cell Phones #2, Atlanta, 2005
Recovery and reuse use of materials, such as those embodied in the discarded cell phones that school like fish in Chris Jordan’s photograph, is a premise of green design and essential for a sustainable future.  Managing streams of resources through a closed loop from cradle to cradle presents daunting challenges – and huge opportunities – for companies that can manage the flow of both materials and value.
     
 

Glacier Peak, Cascade Range, elevation 10,541’
Topo map from National Geographic Holdings, 2001

One of five active volcanoes in Washington State, Glacier Peak takes its name from more than a dozen glaciers gracing its flanks. The volcano has had six eruptive episodes in the past 15,000 years, most recently about 300 years ago.