We can only hope, after all the Grand-old-Torture Party just got thrown out in that country to the South, to be replaced by Torture-Party Lite admittedly, but it’s a start.

Actually, the Worldchanging to which I refer is the blog, book and book tour of the same name.

Worldchanging’s philosophy is probably well summed up by Alex Steffen, one of the blog’s co-founders, who says:

We find ourselves facing two futures, one unthinkable and the other currently unimaginable. My beat is looking for ways to create a future which is sustainable, dynamic, prosperous and fair — a future which is both bright and green.

Now that I can get behind. Tonight I saw Alex speak at the Toronto leg of the tour to launch the new Worldchanging book, and I was impressed. Inspired you might even say. Ed Burtynsky made a great co-presenter of the show, with a giant screen showing his genuinely awe inspiring photos of Chinese industry (and how often do we genuinely get our awe inspired?).

I have to admin I haven’t read the book yet, I would be halfway through already if I didn’t select the free-but-slow cheapskate deliver option on my order. If the book’s half as good as I hope though, everyone I know is getting a 600-page book shaped parcel this Christmas.

Here’s what the book says about itself:

From consumer consciousness to a new vision for industry; non-toxic homes to refugee shelters; microfinance to effective philanthropy; socially responsible investing to starting a green business; citizen media to human rights; ecological economics to climate change, this is the most comprehensive, cutting-edge overview to date of what’s possible in the near future — if we decide to make it so.

I expect to be thinking, and rambling in blog form, about this stuff more in the future. I can’t claim a great grasp on the environment or social justice or any related topic, but it seems to important not to try. I’m not alone in this thought either, here are a couple of locals that spring to mind BeSustainable and FreshBooks.