For those of us unable to attend the recent VIP fest known as the World Economic Forum, there are serviceable summaries of the sessions. Among those worth noting:

• Global Risks 2006: Environment and the Bottom Line, in which "participants sought to tackle concern for the environment as a bottom-line issue."

• How Much Water Do We "Eat"?, focusing on "one of the world's largest sources of potential conflict."

• The State of the World - Climate Change, on the goal of becoming "'carbon-neutral' in the way the world lives."

• Energy 2006: A New Nuclear Calculus, on nuclear energy growing clout around the world as a viable and affordable source of energy

• Breakthrough Ideas for 2006: China as a Green Lab, on China's potential to tip the scales toward, or against, a greener world.

Included in these terse but well-written summaries are the voices of a rich lode of notables, including many well-known in the sustainable-business arena: Worldwatch founder Lester Brown, Yale professor Dan Esty, primatologist Jane Goodall, RMI's Amory Lovins, architect Bill McDonough, New Yorker writer James Surowiecki, UNEP's Klaus Töpfer, and many others.