It's not the most revolutionary concept, but it's one that's been waiting in the wings for a long long time now. Considerations of ecological impact and sustainability have become a cultural flashpoint in recent months in ways that even the fuel crises of the 1970s could not accomplish. While traditional environmentalist buzzwords like recylcing and conservation remain part of the ambient social consciousness and issues of climate change have crept into movie theaters and water-cooler conversations thanks to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, the most remarkable developments are in the consumer sector, where people have embraced compassionate choices in unprecedented numbers.

For instance, the blogosphere is currently home to numerous ecologically-oriented blogs that stray far from environmental dogmatism in favor of market-oriented looks at the emergent eco-trend. Foremost among them are perennial friends-of-EMERGE PSFK, who have recently added eco.psfk.com to their stable of marketing and trend blogs, as well as Treehugger, which spotlights ecologically sound design objects and products.

EMERGE has been keeping an eye on these and other sources lately and what's coming to light is a fascinating shift in consumer attitudes and behaviors, from the growing popularity of hybrid automobiles to the adoption of organic agriculture by grocery giants like Walmart, and extensive coverage of additional ways to help the environment and avoid the squeeze at the gas pumps, be it articles on DIY conversions to bio-diesel or this article exploring a couple of alternatives to the fairly heinous looking Toyota Prius including cars running on hydrogen and natural gas fuels.

With ecological consciousness at an all time high and mainstream press outlets like England's Daily Mail reporting on a blooming eco-trend, how will brands distinguish themselves in the inevitable headlong rush to take part in this tremendous new growth sector of the compassionate economy?

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