TED Community » Brent Norris

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Moving sustainability-thinking towards abundance consciousness. Abundance model building and cultural integrity.

An idea worth spreading

Aloha as a primary of sustainable design.

Talk to me about

Creating awareness and understanding among all things which help bring people closer together.

People don't know that I'm good at

Taking short cuts through trees and over cliffs on a snowboard or bike. Hosting like-minded folks at the treehouse through couchsurfing.com.

My TED Story

Started off in the Green Jobs movement in 2006. The Hawaii Island Sustainability Forum was our first event in 2009. The format was 10 Presentations on 10 Key Topics related to our Island's sustainability efforts. We open-sourced the event and have since helped others organize events. When we learned of licensing opportunities with TED it was a natural for us to start leveraging the TED brand to increase awareness and organize our efforts at TEDx events.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +3260.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Talk: Don Norman: 3 ways good design makes you happy

  Mar 12 2012: Definitely recommend, "The Design of Everyday Things." Had a profound affect on my design career back in the nineties.
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Garth Lenz: The true cost of oil

  Feb 20 2012: A solid, passionate, talk by Mr. Lenz. It's key that we have folks like Mr. Lenz on our team. More perspectives are better. Thanks for Mr. Lenz and others shouldering the environmental front. I don't think anyone believes oil is the future of energy any longer.
  
  I also like to see solutions in context of the challenges we face. Simply raising awareness is of course valuable. As someone that tries hard to stay focused on solutions I'm left wondering how I can take personally take action. I could become a lobbyist, photographer or advocate. Or I could focus on what I can control, which is my own self-reliance in a non-destructive or non-invasive lifestyle. That's something we can each do, right now. Has anyone here weened themselves off oil entirely?
  
  Should we bash oil companies and buy their products or products made from their products? Should we bash environmentalists without living in the environments they help protect?
  
  I've only been in BC and Alberta but WOW, what a gorgeous place! What awesome people! I sure hope all Canadiens realize how much we love you up there!
  
  Socially, politically, we have to abandon the fear and ignorance to build bridges to the technical solutions that lie ahead. Part of what makes TED.com great.
  
  More Energy Talks: http://www.ted.com/search?q=energy

• A reply on Conversation: Space Exploration really Needed?

  Jun 15 2011: Great point Thomas. Governments do have a role for sure.
  For example, where a lack of incentive exists for saving the world from asteroids.
  
  Might also help to prevent a private company operating via decentralized network from taking over and controlling low Earth orbit? Muhaaahahaha!

• A reply on Conversation: Space Exploration really Needed?

  Jun 15 2011: Some really smart folks are working on this: JUSTSAP and PIECES http://justsap.org/pisces
  
  Although I don't actually agree with the morals and ethics of the programs with respect to local cultural issues, I do agree that this is the future of space exploration, space-based energy and the commercialization of space.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: What makes you feel ALIVE?

  Jun 14 2011: dropping into a big wave, off a steep cliff, bumping into a sea turtle underwater or seeing a shark nearby. Seeing Ah-hah moments in the eyes of students and above all else, love -giving and receiving. I hope I'm still on topic. got a little carried away... just my two cents. aloha

• A comment on Conversation: how would the world be like if Google was never invented?

  Jun 14 2011: We got lucky with Larry and Sergey for sure. They may have set an example for others like Matt Mullenweg and Mark Zuckerberg -all principled leaders coming from something more than just replacement software.
  
  If we have to wait for AltaVista to keep improving, Microsoft may have taken over search. Not saying that would have been bad. I'm only saying that Google provided way more than an algorithm. Just my humble opinion. (Disclosure: I earn a portion of my income from reselling Google Apps)

• A comment on Conversation: Are politicians having a positive influence on a younger voting audience by their increased use of social media sites?

  Jun 14 2011: Historically, in the U.S. turnout estimates among 18-to 29-year-olds range between 20 and 30 percent and turnout among those 30 and older ranges between 50 and 60 percent of the eligible population according to this report:
  http://www.civicyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/The-CPS-youth-vote-2010-FS-FINAL1.pdf
  
  I agree with the comments above. It's about the message, not the medium. However, now that everything is being recorded, we'll soon be able to reconcile the message with performance. This changes everything as social media will provide a way to give cred to politicians that actually do what we want them to do instead of just talk about it with a louder voice. Just my humble opinion.

• A comment on Conversation: Space Exploration really Needed?

  Jun 14 2011: Yes, but it should be privatized to be sure it's affordable. The U.S. Government for example is incapable of determining what is affordable on it's own. Just my humble opinion...

• A comment on Conversation: The American Empire Is on the verge of collapse. If so will we see a new empire emerge after its collapse?

  Jun 14 2011: eh, that collapsing sound you hear is just the federal government eating itself. When they get full or sicker, they'll stop. The states can run without it. Heck, we'll run with just county governance if need be. Many of us would like it that way anyway.
  
  The new empire is already the fourth largest form of democracy, facebook.com. The word "empire" will let you down though. As empires of the future will only last years instead of centuries. Although I suspect the word "empire" goes away entirely in this context. Just my humble opinion. I'm not much of a debater.

• A comment on Conversation: Awareness of Water Scarcity

  Jun 14 2011: There's great opportunity to overcome all scarcity. Unfortunately, right now, too much emphasis seems to be on energy and not on water. I understand that an unlimited energy supply could desalinize water but even if we started that today, too many people will die before it gets to them. So I agree Khobar, water scarcity is a huge problem. I cannot stereotype others but personally, I've dedicated a portion of my time to raising awareness on water scarcity issues on our island.