Ecology summit
Encyclopedia
In March, 2008, led by green entrepreneur, Richard Stromback
, and Virgin group owner, Richard Branson
, some of the biggest names in the world of business and science decided to get together to find a way to resolve the persistent problem of climate change and global warming. It was Richard Stromback who came up with the concept of the summit to bring together moguls of the corporate world to address the threat of the corporate world on the environment.
With a number of participants already investing heavily into "green" technologies, the summit received the attention of the media from all countries across the globe.
raising the overall temperature of the surface of Earth, the need for a push towards cleaner, greener fuel, amongst other aspects, was the prime concern for Stromback, who decided to share his view with the top business tycoons on the planet.
With the planet heading slowly towards a meltdown, the increase in disease-spreading insects, frequency and intensity of hurricanes, droughts and heat waves, melting polar ice caps and the consequences that come with it, all are scheduled to cause havoc as they arrive in due time.
, CEO of Ecology Coatings and an avid investor in clean technology, decided to call a gathering of some of the biggest business minds on the planet to find a solution to tackle the imminent threat of global warming. Along with the co-host for the weekend gathering, Richard Branson
, owner of the vast Virgin group, Stromback decided upon Necker Island
as the venue for the Ecology Summit.
With the goal of addressing the problem of rising global warming, these great minds put their heads together at the Caribbean island resort, looking to find a solution towards tackling climate change and greenhouse gas emission.
, founder of Google
, flew in from Silicon Valley but were environment-conscious enough to share the private jet with other invitees. The Medusa, Paul Allen
’s 60-ft yacht, lay moored off shore, but the co-founder of Microsoft
never came ashore.
The topic of discussion was primarily based around electric cars, alternative fuels, green technology, soaring oil prices and overall rise in the Earth’s temperature.
The congregation mainly gathered in Branson’s newest addition to the complex, an open-air yoga pavilion.
The contestants also discussed the importance for countries to work together towards a common goal, the most common road-block that they all agreed upon. Shai Agassi
, founder of Better PLC, suggested the introduction of carbon insurance, a kind of risk that insurance agencies can add to their portfolios.
The likes of William McDonough
showed off their latest project’s images depicting a building in Abu Dhabi with solar panels for windows and an energy-friendly grass roof over a Wal-Mart distribution center. Larry Page
also discussed the problems for Google when trying to get a permit for solar energy.
It was not all business though as Branson took the gang to nearby Mosquito Island, also owned by him, for a party. While the entire gang headed out on catamarans, Page decided to Kite-Surf his way over, heading out alone. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair
’s security personnel followed behind on a motorboat.
The participants included:
Tony Blair announced that the United States of America would emulating the European Union by adopting the cap-and-trade system for carbon emission, a plan that has worked, not entirely convincingly though, in Europe.
Suggestions that these millionaires were just trying to invest in “green” technology to make more millions over the coming years were widespread and the overall view was that “its a nice thought but the threat is remote and there isn’t anything we can do anyway”. With such great minds getting together to find new business opportunities, there was speculation that the Ecology Summit may be just a way to enjoy the weather for these yacht- & Learjet-using strata of society.
Richard Stromback
Richard Stromback is a former professional hockey player , Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur. In 1997 he founded Web Group, a technology staffing and search firm and served as its CEO and President until 2003. During this time Web Group ranked 189th on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the 500...
, and Virgin group owner, Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, some of the biggest names in the world of business and science decided to get together to find a way to resolve the persistent problem of climate change and global warming. It was Richard Stromback who came up with the concept of the summit to bring together moguls of the corporate world to address the threat of the corporate world on the environment.
With a number of participants already investing heavily into "green" technologies, the summit received the attention of the media from all countries across the globe.
Climate Crisis
With an imminent threat of global warmingGlobal warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
raising the overall temperature of the surface of Earth, the need for a push towards cleaner, greener fuel, amongst other aspects, was the prime concern for Stromback, who decided to share his view with the top business tycoons on the planet.
With the planet heading slowly towards a meltdown, the increase in disease-spreading insects, frequency and intensity of hurricanes, droughts and heat waves, melting polar ice caps and the consequences that come with it, all are scheduled to cause havoc as they arrive in due time.
Calling of the Summit
Richard StrombackRichard Stromback
Richard Stromback is a former professional hockey player , Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur. In 1997 he founded Web Group, a technology staffing and search firm and served as its CEO and President until 2003. During this time Web Group ranked 189th on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the 500...
, CEO of Ecology Coatings and an avid investor in clean technology, decided to call a gathering of some of the biggest business minds on the planet to find a solution to tackle the imminent threat of global warming. Along with the co-host for the weekend gathering, Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, owner of the vast Virgin group, Stromback decided upon Necker Island
Necker Island
Necker Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean, north of the Tropic of Cancer, located at . It is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located northwest of Nihoa and northwest of Honolulu, and is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge within the Northwestern Hawaiian...
as the venue for the Ecology Summit.
With the goal of addressing the problem of rising global warming, these great minds put their heads together at the Caribbean island resort, looking to find a solution towards tackling climate change and greenhouse gas emission.
The Summit Itself
The Ecology Summit saw people from all over the world come in for the weekend. The likes of Larry PageLarry Page
Lawrence "Larry" Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. As of April 4, 2011, he is also the chief executive of Google, as announced on January 20, 2011...
, founder of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, flew in from Silicon Valley but were environment-conscious enough to share the private jet with other invitees. The Medusa, Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
’s 60-ft yacht, lay moored off shore, but the co-founder of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
never came ashore.
The topic of discussion was primarily based around electric cars, alternative fuels, green technology, soaring oil prices and overall rise in the Earth’s temperature.
The congregation mainly gathered in Branson’s newest addition to the complex, an open-air yoga pavilion.
The contestants also discussed the importance for countries to work together towards a common goal, the most common road-block that they all agreed upon. Shai Agassi
Shai Agassi
Shai Agassi is an Israeli entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Better Place, which has developed a model and infrastructure for employing electric cars as an alternative to fossil fuel technology. Agassi was President of the Products and Technology Group at SAP AG...
, founder of Better PLC, suggested the introduction of carbon insurance, a kind of risk that insurance agencies can add to their portfolios.
The likes of William McDonough
William McDonough
William Andrews McDonough is an American architect, founding principal of , co-founder of with German chemist Michael Braungart as well as co-author of also with Braungart...
showed off their latest project’s images depicting a building in Abu Dhabi with solar panels for windows and an energy-friendly grass roof over a Wal-Mart distribution center. Larry Page
Larry Page
Lawrence "Larry" Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. As of April 4, 2011, he is also the chief executive of Google, as announced on January 20, 2011...
also discussed the problems for Google when trying to get a permit for solar energy.
It was not all business though as Branson took the gang to nearby Mosquito Island, also owned by him, for a party. While the entire gang headed out on catamarans, Page decided to Kite-Surf his way over, heading out alone. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
’s security personnel followed behind on a motorboat.
Participants
The Ecology Summit saw the coming together of some of the greatest business minds in a bid to find a path towards attaining environmental stability. Almost all invitees at the summit have had a brush with green technology at some level within their organizations.The participants included:
- Richard Branson (Host)
- Richard Stromback (Co-Host)
- Tony Blair
- Larry Page
- Shai Agassi
- Vinod KhoslaVinod KhoslaVinod Khosla is an Indian-born American venture capitalist and an influential personality in Silicon Valley....
- Paul AllenPaul AllenPaul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
- Idan Ofer
- Stanley FinkStanley FinkStanley Fink was an American Lawyer and politician.-Life:...
- Jimmy WalesJimmy WalesJimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
- Elon MuskElon MuskElon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
- Bill McDonough
- Andrew Ross SorkinAndrew Ross SorkinAndrew Ross Sorkin is a Gerald Loeb Award-winning American journalist, author and television personality. He is a financial columnist for The New York Times and a co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk Box. He is also the founder and editor of DealBook, a financial news service published by The New York Times...
- Doug Stromback
- Steve HowardSteve HowardSteven John "Steve" Howard is a Scottish-English footballer currently playing for Championship side Leicester City.Howard is renowned for his aerial strength...
Outcomes
While the Ecology Summit failed to bring out any concrete steps towards slowing down climate change, there was an understanding that there is need for global cooperation for this task to be achieved. The content of the agreement that nations must make was debated without any specific outcome.Tony Blair announced that the United States of America would emulating the European Union by adopting the cap-and-trade system for carbon emission, a plan that has worked, not entirely convincingly though, in Europe.
Controversy
A lot of attention towards the cause of the summit was taken away primarily due to the location, atmosphere and setting of the Ecology Summit. Rich businessmen meeting on a private island with parties, food, wine and women is more “Wild Caribbean Party” than “Ecology Summit”.Suggestions that these millionaires were just trying to invest in “green” technology to make more millions over the coming years were widespread and the overall view was that “its a nice thought but the threat is remote and there isn’t anything we can do anyway”. With such great minds getting together to find new business opportunities, there was speculation that the Ecology Summit may be just a way to enjoy the weather for these yacht- & Learjet-using strata of society.
External links
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/business/worldbusiness/20iht-deal.4.11293401.html?_r=4 article in New York Times