EKOS Communications, Inc.

I am deeply inspired having just finished reading "The Google Story" by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed. The Updated Edition done for Google's 10th Birthday. What a force to be reckoned with on the digital landscape! And in such a short time. One of the most powerful segments of the book, for me, detailed the spine-tingling moment in 2003 when Bill Gates suddenly realized the extent of the threat that Google posed for Microsoft. Over the next five years, he and Microsoft attempted to sabotage Google several times. Each time, however, Google outmanuevered its larger, but more clumsy opponent, and used the experience to grow stronger still.

Here is a company founded with the motto "Don't Be Evil" by two guys who have very strong progressive leanings with regard to corporate responsibility and sustainability. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying they are perfect; I know they are not. But, they are using the tremendous power that they have tapped into to accomplish a lot of good in the world. The book reveals massive investments and donations for a wide-range of social and environmental causes within the States and around the world.

From the very beginning, the purpose behind Google has been to create the world's best search engine. They have achieved the enviable position of being able to recruit the brightest and most committed people and to provide them with the resources and tools needed to keep the company innovative and on the leading-edge. Their success is undeniable.

What can be learned from the story of Google and its founders that could be applied to the advancement of ecological literacy and sustainability? We need something like a Google within the environmental education and communication field. An entity capable of rapidly engaging people and winning them over. Perhaps Google.org, the charitable foundation, is already at work filling this need. Whether it is or not, there is clearly more work than even Google could handle. We face a perfect storm of our creation. We need all hands on deck to keep our tiny blue ship "Planet Earth" from being engulfed.

And so, I turn now to the projects that EKOS Communications is currently developing: a public education and social marketing campaign aimed at reducing conflicts between large carnivores an humans), and the centennial celebrations for BC Parks and Parks Canada in 2011. We are also providing support for the production of a video celebrating the 100th of the warden service within Canada's national parks. With each project, there is the potential for wide-spread engagement, education and empowerment, resulting in greater ecological consciousness and responsibility. Very exciting.