Ralph Nader Runs for President! 24 February 2008

Just when you thought that democracy was absolutely DEAD in the United States (Clinton and Obama paying off superdelegates with millions of dollars in cash money = bye bye democracy, hello pay to play!), Ralph Nader comes along to remind people that ANYONE can actually run for President. Even someone with lofty ideals and concern for the wellbeing of the global citizenry.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the consumer advocate said great changes in U.S. history have come “through little parties that never won any national election.”

“Dissent is the mother of ascent,” he said. “And in that context I’ve decided to run for president.”

Of course, if you haven’t heard of Eugene Debs or how his candidacies brought us social security, child labor laws, some small level of corporate oversight, minimum wage and much more, you’re not that tapped into the history of U.S. politics and Nader’s words fall on deaf ears (fancy that, a U.S. citizenry that isn’t well-versed in U.S. history or the actions of their own parties!)
On how his candidacy impacts the Democrats: “If the Democrats can’t landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form.”

Of course, we all know the Dems are really, really good at handing elections to the Republicans (Remember that sad sap, Al Gore, who handed Bush victory? Why aren’t more people upset at him for the last 8 years?) so nobody should be surprised if Hillary somehow steals the nomination from Obama, then gets her ass handed to her by McCain.

Technorati Tags: obama, clinton, nader, president, election

SAVE POLAROID!

It has been a sad, sad month for me and thousands of others. Petters Group, the discount corporate raiders who scooped up a bankrupt Polaroid Corp a few years back, announced cessation of production of Polaroid film. Instead, the company will focus on licensing the logo to electronic gadget manufacturers. The genius of founder Dr. Edwin Land has now passed.

The world of photography will soon be left to computer-bound digital shooters. The uniquely beautiful world of in-camera photography has now come to an almost-total end. Early next year, I’ll no longer be able to procure so much as a pack of the beautifully fecund integral film that I’ve come to love so dearly. Truly, I’m quite upset.

What? You didn’t know of my Polaroid obsession?

Look here, at my other site, JUNETEN.COM.

Or this one: SPLITSECONDCOLLECTIVE.COM

Or here, at my Polaroid camera collection:

What can YOU do to help? I’m so glad you asked.

PLEASE VISIT WWW.SAVEPOLAROID.COM.

Sign the petitions, spread the word. The creative community can’t afford to lose yet another tactile, real-world means of artistic output.

Herman Miller Leads the Charge 19 February 2008

A very informative article from the Harvard Business Review. Full text is here.

The article itself details Herman Miller’s efforts to become truly sustainable by 2020, a goal which needs to be championed by ALL OF US or we’re in for serious hurt. While HM’s plans are to be applauded, it’s the exchange in the comments below that is the most informative. I won’t excerpt this time. Just take a moment to do some reading; it’s worth the effort.

Thanks to Jib Ellison at Blu Skye Sustainability Consulting (involved in the HM project) for sending the article along. Jib’s company is a global leader in bringing truly sustainable practices to clients small and large.

Save the Planet: CHUG FROM THE BOTTLE 13 February 2008

Every morning, over 90 million Americans wake up and drink a glass of milk.

Over 70 million Americans have a cup of coffee.

And over 200 million Americans drink a glass of water.

Right there, we have 360 million containers of liquid filled every day. Or, over 100 BILLION per year.

Now, what if instead of using paper/glass/ceramic for our drinks, we simply drank straight from the bottle/tap?

I’ll tell you what: As a nation, we’d save enough energy to POWER CALIFORNIA FOR SEVENTY-SEVEN YEARS!!
That’s right, just cutting out the water and energy wasted in washing dishes and manufacturing paper/plastic cups will go a long way to reducing our emissions.
So there you go. Just when you were running out of ideas on how to reduce your footprint, I’ve stepped in with a big one. You can thank me once the ice caps refreeze.

<—(I’m not suggesting we take it this far, but the reductions would be amazing.)

Chuck Little? WTF? 12 February 2008

This guy lives in Pasadena or El Segundo….and he’s for real.

GHOST BIKES 11 February 2008

A sad but amazing idea, this. From the site:

Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.

The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003, and they have since appeared in at least 30 cities throughout the world. For those who create and install the memorials, the death of a fellow bicyclist hits home. We all travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be any one of us. Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again — but we remain committed to making these memorials as long as they are needed.

Visit GHOSTBIKES.org.

I hopped there from Just Seeds, an art cooperative you don’t want to miss.

What You KNEED? 8 February 2008

<1> Couldn’t help but tip my hat to INXS with the title, however awkward.

<2> Apologies for reverting to ‘web harvester’ mode, like so many other eco-sites, but this is too good to pass up.

The Mechanical Electric Knee Brace Power Generator. I’m not sure what they call it, could be in the article, but it’s going to save the planet.

Indeed. One walks and powers one’s GPS/mobile phone/portable game system/DVD player/iPod in the process. No kidding. Is that nifty, or what? Anyone have any issues with free electricity?

One small issue I can see being raised: These things are awfully complicated with lots of advanced engineering and manufacturing required to produce. In a world where these see heavy adoption rates, is it not likely that all the power used to create the device would far outweigh any power it would generate in its lifetime? What’s more, is the problem not that we need to charge the plethora of electronic devices with which we daily arm ourselves, but that we need to reduce our addiction to such nonessentials? One cannot really be concerned with climate change AND continue acquiring all the latest electronic gadgetry, am I right? Just food for thought. What do you think?

[source Discovery News article here]

apple, ipod, power

Lester Brown: Obama & 12 Years 7 February 2008

Last night, I hopped in the gas-guzzler and made my way down to San Francisco, where Earth Policy Institute founder, Lester Brown, gave a riveting talk at the World Affairs Council. The talk was part of his book tour for the recently released “most important book on the planet,” Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. If you care about the future and you haven’t read the book, you need to correct that mistake pronto. I cannot possibly urge you more strongly. Please. Read it for yourself and for those whom you care about.

I can’t say it LOUD ENOUGH!

READ THIS BOOK.
I won’t summarize a one-hour talk that summarized a book you will be reading shortly. In fact, you can read it for FREE, online, RIGHT HERE. What matters most is that we’ve twelve years (until 2020), to reduce our carbon footprint by 80%, or we’re absolutely cooked. Will the will to achieve this achievable goal manifest? I’m not betting on it, not when I look around and within. Around me I see the majority of people, even the “Treehuggers” who aren’t ready to really commit to the changes required. Aren’t ready to do more than buy a Prius and some carbon offset passes. Within me I see a person who can rail at the lack of will in others yet who does so out of frustration that he isn’t likely to make those changes either. Oh, I’ll try, but 80% in little more than a decade? It’s going to take more than incremental baby steps.

Some of you know that I refuse to come out for any of the current presidential hopefuls. I don’t see any of them as qualified, untainted, or possessing the fortitude to do what is right for not only our country, but the world. That said, hearing one of my true heroes come out in support of Obama, gave me pause. Brown sees Obama’s message as more forceful than a handful of proffered solutions to the topical (my word, not Les’) problems that fascinate us (war, economy, health). He finds Barack to be a leader whose VISION will offer new solutions to many problems, including environmental. He sees Obama as the only candidate that will bring about the environment in which bold solutions will be not only dreamed up but executed. What’s more, Brown finds hope in the millions of youth who are whole-heartedly adopting Obama’s “Yes, we can!” message.

I don’t know that I flat out disagree with Les, but I’m not as hopeful. I saw millions of youth getting behind Clinton. I was one of them. We helped put him in office. And once he was there, we all sat back down. We held his feet to the flames not one time. And he got away with murder during the next eight years, putting into action not one of his liberal promises. Instead, he allied himself with big oil, with Monsanto, with the Bush family…he betrayed us in the worst way and oversaw/endoresed environmental transgressions of the worst kind. No, Obama isn’t Clinton. But I’ll tell you what, I’m gun shy as hell about the Democrats and their ‘promises’.

If Obama will press charges against Bush/Cheney, bring Edwards aboard as V.P., AND provide solid details about the people he will put into cabinet positions, he will earn my note. Otherwise, it will be my first (and likely not last) None of the Above vote. Sorry, Les. I want to agree with you, but I can’t. Yet.

Earth Policy Update: ICE MELT ACCELERATES 6 February 2008

Eco-Economy Indicator — ICE MELT

February 4, 2008

Eco-Economy Indicators are the twelve trends the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. Ice melting is one of the most visible indicators of climate change.

ICE MELT ACCELERATES AROUND THE WORLD
Frances C. Moore

With atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at new record highs and global average temperature now some 0.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the frozen regions of the earth are showing us just how rapidly climate change can take effect. Recent years have seen ice melt accelerate and spread to new, previously unaffected regions. In many areas, the pace of melting has surprised even the scientists studying it most closely, providing a strong early indication that the consequences of climate change could come faster and be more severe than previously believed.

The most dramatic loss of ice in recent years has been the decline of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Between 1953 and 2006, the area covered by sea ice in September shrunk by 7.8 percent per decade, more than three times as fast as the average rate simulated by climate models. Researchers were further stunned in the summer of 2007 when Arctic sea ice extent plummeted to the lowest level ever measured, more than 20 percent below the 2005 record…

For entire text see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Ice/2008.htm
For data see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Ice/2008_data.htm

For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Ice Melt see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Ice/index.htm

And for more information on the effects of rising temperature and how to stabilize climate, you may be interested in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester R. Brown (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), posted at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.

Technorati Tags: lester brown, earth policy institute

Instant Hybrid: ANY CAR 1 February 2008

 

I came up with a revolutionary method of maximizing MPG. No longer are you bound to that godawfullyugly Prius! Hoorah!