What do the Supreme Court's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, the Arab Spring, and President Obama's recent speech at Georgetown University -- during which he addressed climate change perhaps more forcefully than any sitting U.S. president ever has -- have in common?

If you've seen "This Is The End," Seth Rogen's brat-pack take on the Book of Revelations, some of the scenes of hellfire and brimstone and earthquakes and general pandemonium might seem unsettlingly familiar.

While you may think that your brand has not changed much over the years, the environment in which it operates has. Today, brands "live" on an ever-increasing array of platforms online and offline, facing daily scrutiny from consumers and a variety of audiences. This fact alone makes it imperative for brands to stand for substance, and embody more than just a logo or market positioning. Demonstrating that they are caring about people, the planet as well as profit should be ingrained in the corporate culture to prove that their interests go beyond the bottom line. As Michael E. Porter of …

In my last post, I talked about the Climate Change Declaration, a statement signed by 40 large companies such as Intel and Starbucks, urging lawmakers to come together and tackle climate change. To be more accurate, I was kvetching that despite the fact that major corporations including GM had signed the Declaration, the news media was not reporting any of this.

It may sound like something Don Draper would say, but the most iconic brands speak to the heart and trigger an emotional reaction. According to a recent study by the firm Havas, it turns out that the brands that are considered more meaningful in our lives and communities also do better financially - outperforming the stock market by 120%.

As unbelievable as it might sound, in our lifetime, housing structures will be "printed" on the moon, using moondust as "ink."

Did you know that 40 very large global companies, including titans of American industry like GM, Intel, Levi's, Starbucks, Nike and eBay, signed a Climate Change Declaration that states that tackling climate change is one of our biggest economic opportunities - and the right thing to do? The reason you haven't heard about it is because there's been almost no media coverage of it.

Forget buying a lottery ticket, the future is looking green. As the United Nations' environmental agency (UNEP) reported this week, the global market for low-carbon and environmentally-friendly goods and services is projected to triple to $2.2 trillion by the year 2020. While "green trade" still only represents a fraction of the global market, the numbers don't lie: trade in certified products and environmental goods and services is on the rise.

Mobile spending is forecasted to increase across a range of industries as the year progresses. Retail marketers, especially, have already seen the value of mobile advertising and are using it as a platform to drive sales. However, for some areas of the hospitality industry, mobile has served a very different purpose. By infusing mobile into daily business practices, hotels and restaurants further their sustainability efforts while improving the overall experience for the consumer.

If climate change stays the course, we're looking at a future of bumpier flights and no wine. Which means that air travel is going to be decidedly more uncomfortable for anxious fliers and those folks who have to sit next to them. Start stockpiling your wine now, folks.