Ever wondered at night “what if Sony were a boyscout?” Nope, I have not. But for those of you that have, I have news that will fry your display: Sony, probably seeking to gain some good publicity, melt the hearts of those of us that are still waiting for the PS3 to get cheaper or just because it cares about mother nature, having decided to support the Forest Guard team's idea regarding the prevention of forest fires.

I'm pretty sure you're thinking “Isn’t Forest Guard a bit of a childish name?” Of course, seeing how the group is comprised of children, who won a competition sponsored by Sony and called the Children's Climate Call. Their idea? Using solar-powered CCTV cameras and web-based citizen fire watch-towers in order to stop the spread of fires across Northern California.

Let's see what Morgan David, Divisional Director, Research and Development at Sony, had to say about it, “We were really impressed by this innovative idea and feel we are in the perfect position to bring our knowledge of technology and engineering to the project and help them make it into a reality. To help solve problems to climate change through technology is at the heart of Sony’s philosophy.”

Heidi Buck, coach of the Forest Guard team, couldn't restrain her delight and commented on the issue, “The fact that this little idea, hatched in a small room in the foothills of our home town in California, is going to be made real with Sony is unbelievable, it still hasn’t sunk in yet! It’s a bit like a fairy tale for all of us. It has been an amazing journey to come to Copenhagen and win this prize, the team have done a fantastic job and now we close that door and start the next part of the journey.”

Well, even if it’s more “publicity stunt” than good intent, I like it when companies invest in something that really matters. And try writing better speeches for your directors, OK? “To help solve problems to climate change through technology is at the heart of Sony’s philosophy” sounds nice, even though up until now Sony has only helped us empty our credit cards.


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