Clean & Green
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[ Comments Off ]Posted on April 23, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green
Friday, April 23rd, 2010Because I’m taking the train. But is this really the greener thing to do?
You’ll rarely see me driving a car. In fact, people often ask me “why can’t you drive?”, which gets tiresome; I first drove a car when I was eight. I thought it was a pretty cool machine. It was bright yellow, and had a dash-mounted push-button transmission control. Depending on your age or knowledge of cars, you may think I’m referring to some toy car I had, but I am in fact referring to a 1964 Plymouth Valiant. My parents would let me start the cars and turn them around on winter mornings before they went to work. The first time I rolled a car, I was fourteen, and did it on purpose with a friend. It was a Hillman, for the record. By the time I was eighteen or so, I thought cars were pretty stupid, and still think so. They’re dirty, inefficient, and have far more to do with ego and prestige than moving around safely and intelligently. In spite of the fact that there are reasonable arguments that mass transit is no more efficient than cars, this position is usually heavily politicized or shortsighted, failing – either by choice or ignorance – to recognize the incredible paradigm shift that could occur if all the human and financial resources devoted to autos – manufacturing them, transporting them, advertising them, selling them via independent dealerships, building highways for them, fueling them, parking them, and later figuring out how to dispose of them and clean up the results of their runoff – were redirected to a pervasive and standardized mass transit system. Like 300 mile per hour, nearly silent trains. Apparently I’m not the only one who wants more public transportation, but what about you? If there were more and better options, would you use them? Or are you hopelessly attached to your petrol-guzzling, filth-spewing relic of the last century? Read the rest of this entry »
Bright Green Environmentalism?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on April 17, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green
Saturday, April 17th, 2010Bright green is the new black.
 The NGO I work with is pretty bright green. And even cheetahs know that bright green is the new black. |
So you think you’re pretty green. But are you dark green, bright green, or in between? We’ve asked how green you really are before, but this remains an interesting question in such a technology-driven society, because a lot of our choices have such far-reaching and difficult to trace consequences. The books vs. eBooks debate or drinking bottled water are classic examples. And then there’s that first question. You might not have even known the terms bright green and dark green existed. Yes, green is the new black; it’s hip to be environmentally conscious. But what then is your strategy? I’ve worked on media material for a non-profit called Amara Conservation since 2001. One topic that often comes up when working on press material in the non-profit world is positive vs. negative messaging. Do you strike terror in people by painting end-of-the-world scenarios, or simply focus on the positive work being done? It’s a tricky balance, because frankly, things are pretty bad in many sectors. In the case of Amara’s conservation and education work, you simply can’t overlook the fact that lion and elephant populations are dwindling at a shocking rate. But it’s a little ignorant to try to approach the problem strictly through laws and wildife management programs, it’s almost more important to help the people better understand how they win if wildlife thrives, and lose big time if wildlife fails to survive. And Amara is proof of how this works, doing education and conservation work with low financial overhead, and proven impact. Which is why I focus on the “bright green” side. I’ve always been a bit befuddled by the fact that, for instance, people have to be told that oil is running out, the world is flooding, and the fish we like to eat will all be gone in 50 years before they’re motivated to take action. Can’t a more efficient car, clean fresh air and simply managing resources be motive enough to use technology more intelligently? Bruce Sterling put it pretty well when he said “Nature is over. The twentieth century did it in… From now on, ‘Nature’ is under surveillance and on life-support. A 21st century avant-garde has to deal with those consequences and thrive in that world” I personally believe that future can be pretty bright, and that technology can be the solution rather than the problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Lend Hope A Hand – Volunteer With Amara Conservation
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on April 9, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green
Friday, April 9th, 2010The Kenya/US/UK non-profit is entering their tenth year of education and conservation work and is looking for volunteers.
You know those stories our grandfathers tell us about walking barefoot 10 miles to school every day? Well there are still kids today who actually do that, and are smiling when they get there because they’re ecstatic to have the chance to better themselves with education. Since 2001, I’ve been lucky enough to work with a non-profit called Amara Conservation that supports education and conservation projects in Kenya that help both children and adults learn how conserving the wildlife of Kenya not only benefits the animals, but benefits the economic future of the country itself. Amara works on a variety of projects with organizations like the Kenya Wildlife Service, the African Environmental Film Foundation , and RadioActive UK. As well as ongoing community education with a mobile film projection unit since 2002, Amara’s key strategy is to identify achievable and self-sustaining programs, and then coordinate with other Kenya NGO’s and agencies to facilitate and fund them. We’re entering our 10th year this year, and so far have three fund-raising events in the works; two in Ann Arbor, MI, and one in the UK in June. The Ann Arbor events include our 10th annual fundraiser dinner at the Earle restaurant May 23, and a more casual night of music at a local club (acts and venue TBA). We’re always looking for volunteers, so if you have a passion for supporting wildlife or education programs and live in Ann Arbor or Chicago, contact us either through Dissociated Press or through Amara’s web site. If you’re not interested in volunteering and still want to help out, you can always make a donation via Amara’s web site. Read the rest of this entry »
Bottled Water Battle Picks Up Steam
[ Comments Off ]Posted on March 29, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green
Monday, March 29th, 2010The bottled water industry is drunk on their profits, but if you still have a bottle in front of you, consider a frontal lobotomy.
America has a strange relationship with its beverages. Not too long ago I was at a business meeting, and on one side of me sat a woman drinking decaf coffee. On the other side, a man drinking ávitae caffeinated water
Earth Hour: Switch Off The Lights For A Brighter Future
[ Comments Off ]Posted on March 27, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green, Holidays
Saturday, March 27th, 2010If you’re still in the dark about Earth Hour, just stay that way ’til 9:30 tonight and you’re covered.
Now here’s a holiday that shouldn’t stress you out. It requires little or no preparation, and only takes an hour of your life. All you have to do to celebrate Earth Hour and make a stand against climate change is turn off your lights for one hour starting at 8:30pm tonight (your local time). Earth Hour began in 2007 in New Zealand as a project created by the World Wildlife Federation. That year, 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses participated, and the event has grown steadily since then; in 2008, an estimated 50 million participated worldwide, in 2009, hundreds of millions took part, and if things keep growing at the same rate, there may be more than a billion people taking part this year. Support is also being shown in a big way by governments and businesses around the globe, by turning out the lights on major landmarks including the Empire State Building in New York, the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the pyramids near Cairo, and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. So while it may not be as much fun as Global Orgasm Day, why not turn off your lights for an hour tonight to show your support. In the right circumstances, you might get the same results.