Just when the world was looking bleak…Iraq is neverending, Wall Street is ending, both Presidential hopefuls are mum on how to fix the mess we’re in, gas is on the rise yet again, the Jets were less than pitiful tonight…you get the idea…

…I happen across a post from a colleague, Dan Herman, and am thrilled with the opportunities which can be created when we choose to do what we should instead of only what we can.  For example, many companies sit on patents whether or not they are actually using them, simply because they “own” them and they can.  The innovative Eco-Patent Commons is about Big Business releasing some of these unused, yet potentially viable and environmentally responsible, patents into the public domain in the hopes that someone out there in the cloud will figure out how to make it work for the greater good. Something which should be done as a matter of course, one would think.

This idea started with IBM’s Global Innovation Outlook Conference and grew quickly to Nokia, PitneyBowes and Sony.  The list of member companies seems to be growing, too!  This month Bosch, Dupont and Xerox have joined.

Perhaps someone will find the silver linings buried in this fortuitous trove, and in our lifetimes we will see the Earth breathe as freely as before humans sullied her face…