Environment 2.0

The connections between the environment and information technology have never been more important. A key strand of this year’s Futuresonic festival in Manchester, looks at Environment 2.0.

There will be a range of speakers from different disciplines discussing throughout the Social Technologies Summit, as well as a number of fascinating mass participation projects.

Climate Bubbles is a bubble blowing game that “enables people across the city of Manchester to test air flow circulation, and by sharing the results online, enable the Met Office to get a snapshot of the Urban Heat Island phenomenon”, whilst Biotagging Manchester creates an opportunity “to discover and map the city’s urban wildlife in new ways.”

On Saturday 16^th May, an Environment 2.0 “unConference” provides an open forum for discussions and debates about the interface between environment and information technology.

One of the work packages on the PEPESEC project is concerned with how “intelligent systems” can help provide better information and better engagement around environmental and energy efficiency issues within cities. The Environment 2.0 strand at Futuresonic will give some useful and imaginative pointers to how Web 2.0 tools and techniques can help achieve a more energy efficient city.

The Futuresonic festival and conference runs from 13^th-16^th May, and even if you can’t attend, follow what’s going on via their website www.futuresonic.com or by searching for the Twitter hashtag #futr09