Ideas are wonderful things. Open minds and creative thinkers are where meaningful, positive change comes from. And what an incredible tool the internet is to exchange ideas. But it’s also a powerful tool to change the terms of the debate.And that is exactly what Knute “Skip” Berger in Seattle is doing on the whole green building or sustainable development discussion. Skip is a native of the northwest, a committed environmentalist, and a superb journalist in print, in blog and on the radio.

Here’s Skip’s latest called Unsustainable Seattle. This battle on the myopia of the “green building” and “density trumps all” approach is just in its infancy. But informed, reasoned arguments such as those Skip is making will constitute the opening volleys. I’m pleased and flattered, of course, that I’ve been quoted. But far more important than that is the intellectual quality and commitment to the environment that writers like Skip and Lloyd Atler columnist forTreehugger.com are bringing to the debate. (You might want to take a look at Lloyd’s column on this issue and an interview I did with him. And if you’re still not sated with this issue my blog on the website of Heritage Strategies International.)

Berger is both so well respected and cogent in his writing that within hours of his posting on Crosscut, the environmental columnist for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Robert McClure wrote a very thoughtful blog about Berger’s blog.

Ideas are powerful things. And how lucky we are that there are electronic journalists such as Berger, Atler, and McClure to widely disperse them