PLANETWORK
Global Ecology and Information Technology
A Conference at the Presidio in San Francisco
May 12 - 14, 2000

The global ecological situation is critical. The Earth is experiencing a rate of species extinction not seen since the end of the dinosaurs. Humanity alone is now using almost 50% of the biological output of the planet. If current trends continue we will exceed the carrying capacity of the biosphere in a matter of decades.

Yet, there is another unprecedented phenomenon emerging in the world today, one whose scope and rate of growth approach that of the impending crisis: The Internet and global information technology. Many fear that the Internet will simply intensify business as usual. However, as a planet-wide system of communication and interrelationship, the Net could offer real solutions, providing a new global framework for the social transformations we need. Many of our most pressing difficulties may be understood as the failure of our existing system to foresee, recognize, and respond to the real problems we face - all tasks that information technology may be ideally positioned to address.

PLANETWORK will explore the ways that information technology can contribute to creating a sustainable future. Beyond the obvious role of information networks in accelerating communication among environmentalists, how might the Internet help to adaptively transform human culture and deepen individual awareness of both environmental problems and ecological solutions? What can we learn from the intimate connection between cybernetic systems and ecology? Can computer modeling help lend the planet a voice? Are there innovative changes in the design of the Net which might allow it to serve as an effective feedback loop in modifying our environmental behavior? Might the Internet demonstrate that humanity is greater than the sum of its parts - great enough to rise to the most dire challenge we have ever faced?

We are inviting innovators from across a wide spectrum of disparate fields, from information technology to the arts to environmental activism, to come together to share their visions, and to do the practical hands-on work of initiating a new network phenomenon together. Our goal is to create an intensive forum for wrestling with and envisioning answers to pressing questions. PLANETWORK will strive to forge alliances across a range of individuals and organizations, from the environmental movement to high tech industry.

We invite you to come participate in this most challenging adventure.