Here’s a few similarities between two subjects close to my heart:
The Environment & Football (Soccer).
Sim1: The Planet is ball shaped!
Sim2: A football gets kicked around! The Planet is taking a kicking too!
Sim3: Supporters go through a faith crisis!

Here’s why I think Sim3 fits in:
Being an Englishman I know all about a faith crisis when England play a match. There are two groups of Englishmen: those that actively give their support and in return expect England to win every game and every tournament (anything else is a disaster) and the majority that are actively critical & pessimistic whilst still expecting England to win everything.
It‘s obvious even to a Millwall supporter that a team’s winning chances are greatly improved with the public’s cheers not jeers. It’s where they tip the scale by becoming match participants (1966 Wembley: home team won the World cup).

Compare that soccer feeling of hope & despair with how we view our planet’s prospects. We all know the challenge we face but we’re still not one team yet, we’re three: The Despairers, The Hopers and The Heroes (I hope there are heroes in Copenhagen today).
Unfortunately the Hero players remain in the minority whilst The Hopers cheer when things go well, but not too loud since it draws attention to there own inactions & The Depairers: critical of the whole business but inwardly as expectant as The Hopers.

To me we must realise that we need to become one team with one strategy to win the environmental challange. That we need to take every save as a warning to attack harder; every goal against us as a sign to defend harder and every goal we score as a motivation to score more. This way we can lift the teams that are doing their best and inspire teams that time waste into action.

This sums up what TCO Development has been achieving with ICT manufacturers since 1992. We are dedicated to helping the environment and I hope that our efforts inspire you to be a hero. If not so far, then I hope you make some changes in your green tactics by the time England beat Germany in the final of the 2010 world cup.

A final similarity between football and saving the environment is that spectator participation is encouraged, as long as you don’t kick the ball!

Stephen Fuller

Feel free to send in your own football & environment sims.