Digital media can help communicate sustainability issues and engage people in individual and collective solutions. How? Through mobile games on emissions reduction, landscape visualizations for regional growth choices, virtual reality decision-making tools for conservation and Facebook applications for public commitments of energy reduction. These and other examples were recently featured at the March 12 Demonstration Session on Digital Media and Sustainability hosted by GRAND and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) at the University of British Columbia.

Photos by Raul P and Olaf

Vancouver's leading developers and researchers had the opportunity to present and display their proven and emerging digital media applications to an audience of international researchers, leading BC academics, policy-makers, expert practitioners on social mobilization and students. The Demo Session concluded a two day workshop on climate change communications, behaviour change and social mobilization hosted by PICS and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies.

The range of digital media applications is limitless and powerful. Here's a sampling of visualizations, tools, games and apps and those who presented them:

Visualizations/Tools:

•    SFU West House, Sustainable Laneway Home - Lynn Bartrum
•    Pulse, Real-Time Energy Intelligence for Buildings - David Helliwell
•    Ocean Summit, Fisheries Management Visualization - Sherman Lai
•    MetroQuest, Scenario Exploration for Regional Futures - Dave Biggs
•    Visualization of Scenarios in a 3D Game Engine -  Steve Bohus 
•    Precipice, Interactive Simulation of Climate Change Futures - Ryan Nadel
•    3D Visualization of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Scenarios in GoogleEarth for Kimberley, BC - Olaf Schroth
•    Spacial Interface Research Lab, Augmented Reality Programs - Nick Hedley
•    Social Mobilisation and Visualization on Alberta Oil Sands - Petr Cizek
•    3D Visualization of the CIRS Building - Nick Sinkewicz
•    Interface Design and Usability Studies for 3D Landscape Visualization - Jon Salter

Games/Apps

•    Futura, Children’s Tangible Games - Alissa Antel
•    Carbon Chaos,  iPhone Game for Transit-Oriented Carbon Reduction - Dhruv Vinodrai Adhia
•    Social Signal, ‘Power the Games’ BC Hydro Facebook App - Rob Cottingam
•    Mobile Muse, Community-Oriented Mobile Content and Service – David Vogt