All over the world, people are using technology to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, protect endangered species, and help businesses operate more efficiently.

To promote the sharing of information on this topic, Microsoft has invited environmental and business leaders to contribute their individual opinions on how technology can help the global community achieve environmental sustainability in the 21st Century.

The authors' views are shared through the Microsoft Environment site, under a section entitled Perspectives.

• Current authors featured include Carl Pope (Sierra Club Executive Director), Marc Gunther (Senior writer at FORTUNE magazine), and Mindy Lubber (President of Ceres).
• In addition, the section features a link to “The Carbon Productivity Challenge: Curb Climate Change & Sustain Economic Growth” from the McKinsey Global Institute.

Alongside these prominent global and regional leaders, the section also highlights the perspectives of local leaders.

This quarter, the section showcases the Hawaiian Islands; featuring Jeffrey Mikulina (Director of the Sierra Club, Hawai‘i Chapter), Brian Kealoha (Senior Vice President for Energy Industries), Paul E. Stevens (President & CEO Marine Resources Group), Hannah Bernard (Hawai’i Wildlife Fund), and other writers from Hawai'i.

If you are interested in what these local business and NGO leaders have to say about how technology can help their island state combat the effects of climate change, please take a moment to read their opinions and keep in mind, "A'ohe hana nui ka alu'ia." (Hawaiian: "No task is too big when done together.")

Please note: Contributions to the Perspectives section represent the opinion of the author. The section exists to encourage discourse on the topic of climate change and the potential of technology to enable the global community to take action and sustain the environment in the 21st Century. The section therefore encourages a diversity of opinions to be shared.