As a committed environmentalist, I have often pondered the tension that exists between technology and global climate change. The frenetic pace in which new technologies are produced, consumed, and then discarded contribute to the exhaustion of the earth’s resources. The pollution and social justice problems associated with e-waste are well documented. Our server rooms become more and more crowded, consuming more and more power. Cloud computing simply moves the responsibility for unbridled technology consumption off-campus, where  “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” thinking may come into play.

And yet I recognize that technology also lies at the heart of many innovative solutions that can help address the energy crisis, lead to greater efficiencies, and create a more sustainable planet. Our children, perhaps the first generation in America in which there will be more scarcity of products and resources than in the past, and who certainly are inheriting a mountains of debt, and mountains stripped of their forests, minerals, and snow pack, must learn to use not only use new technologies but to invent them.

Living in the heart of Silicon Valley one is awash in the exultation regarding the latest Web 2.0 technology, server virtualization, and perhaps most of all, the optimism about a future in which technology can and will help us solve the most pressing issues of our time.

Thus it is that within this framework that I wonder if the current economic recession and its resulting slowdown in technology dollars and spending might cause all of us to become more thoughtful about our technology acquisitions. We’ll want to stretch out the useful life of existing equipment. We won’t necessarily go for the next software upgrade which consumes more CPU cycles and RAM than the last one. Perhaps we’ll even come to some understanding of that something does not have to be perfect to be good enough.

Slowing down. Becoming more thoughtful stewards of technology. Questioning “bigger, faster, stronger.” Perhaps this is not such a bad thing. And if it’s taken a recession to get us this point, then perhaps there’s something good amongst this otherwise awful news.

I’m worried that I may be getting addicted to iPhone apps. I am on to my fourth screen, and while I regularly delete ones I don’t use, there seems to be enough good ones coming along each week that the net effect is an ever expanding list of installed apps.

Two applications recently added voice functionality to my phone that I really like. Google now supports voice search. When it’s bad, it can be quite amusing, and when it’s good, you just think “wow!” The other application is Say Who, which brings voice dialing to the iPhone. I’ve used it to dial a couple of people in my contact list and it was perfect. Time will tell how well it works and if it retains a spot on my phone.

Two other favorites are really text oriented. The first is the New York Times, which is saving me from shelling our $5.00 every weekend for the Sunday Times. I’m mostly interested in the Time’s opinion columns and technology coverage. I do miss the Times Sunday magazine, but it’s a tough economy and sacrifices must be made. The other, yet to be fully tested on a plane ride, is Stanza. Stanza allows you to download copyright free books. If you’re in to classics with expired copyrights (not to mention expired authors) you’re all set. I’m currently reading Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, and it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Diverting when there’s nothing else hand to read and you’re not into iPhone games.

The last app I find myself using with frequency is i.TV. It will download TV and movie information for your area. Since my local cable TV station did away with its channel guide (I’m not a digital TV user), I find this to be useful when I’m looking for something worthwhile to watch and don’t want to waste time channel surfing.