I field a lot of inquiries from cities and those looking at complex challenges. Five minutes into the call, I often get the feeling that the Decision Theater might be coming across as some Magic Kingdom, which holds a proprietary crystal ball.

Instead of the crystal ball consider the DT as the Rosetta Stone, that uncovers what ASU’s President Michael Crow once described as ‘the underlying algorithm.’

We do engage a systems-based mindset to look at the long view of disease management, education, urban planning, and national security. So in this first week of 2009, here’s my take on what’s beyond the river bend:

• Passive Houses — a way to build heat recovery, insulation and passive solar gain into the structure

• Energy harvesting – a way to grab interior light as store it in photovoltaic cells

• Corporate hybrid fleets –will become mandatory, instead of fashionable

• CleanTech –there will be a big push to innovate and  “redesign our relationship with nature and energy,” as Nicholas Parker, chairman of the Cleantech Group observed.

• “Food Miles” –the concept could make its way into labeling and marketing

• Water-Energy issues. Nine out of ten of the fastest states are in the West, where there is abundant sun. Future energy resources will need more water. Future water supplies will draw on more energy.

• Sustainable Cities – new cities will set these standards and pressurize those that are unsustainable to retrofit their ‘operating system’

• ZEB – remember these three letters. They stand for Zero Energy Buildings. Many growth decisions (for business and government) could be influenced by a new set of metrics and tools.