Archive for Green Living 101
The 82nd Academy Awards, even Oscar is greener
Posted by: | CommentsSo did you watch the 82nd Academy Awards last night? Did you notice (when you weren’t grinning at images of George Clooney or Keira Knightley) that a number of the nominated films had an eco-theme to them? You probably spotted at least one as it was nominated for almost everything (9 nominations in all) including best picture but there were four films in total that had a semblance of green or environmental messages contained within.
Hollywood gathers every March to honour the most creative and talented movie-makers in the industry but last night marked the first Oscars ceremony that so many films which asked their respective audiences to consider matters green were all nominated. In years past the closest we tended to get to films with a global message about sustainability were typically apocalyptic in nature but last nights nominations asked questions both large and small about the way in which we live. So before I get started can you think of the four films that went before the Academy for consideration?
I’ll start with the most obvious, that being James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar. The film that has now broken all global box office records didn’t win the biggest prizes on offer for Best Picture or Director but in terms of influence you have to acknowledge the audience worldwide. In just 12 weeks the film has grossed some $2.6 billion and remarkably more than 70% of that is from markets outside the US making the film a record breaker in all markets. Has the green message of the film been lost on those who were captivated by the special effects? Research suggests no and that it was impossible to disregard the message in relation to the future of our planet - Cameron suggests the film was to be ‘motivational and ‘a cautionary tale’.
The second film you may have seen, as it received just the one nomination (best documentary feature) and also won it. The Cove was more than a film, it serves as a call to activism which you can certainly support via their website. I won’t give away everything as it’s a film that should be explored on a personal basis but the synopsis is as accurate as can be:
Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action.
Our third green Oscar nominated film was a documentary that I reviewed on the blog back in November, and like ‘The Cove’ I heartily recommend that you take the time to rent or download a copy of ‘Food Inc’. It’s a film that at best will change the way you consume food or at worst will make you suggest others watch the film. We have to review the way we gather, raise and process our food. It really is as simple as that.
Finally something a little lighter but no less pertinent. I’ll even give you a clue that it was created from the book by the wonderful (and marginally subversive) Roald Dahl. Dahl had an uncanny knack of combining children’s stories with messages that reflected just how much the adults have taken us away from our goals as a society. If that seems a lofty goal for a kid’s film its because you’ve yet to see the ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ which manages to combine both. The film, nominated for best animated feature film and best original score features Mr Fox leading a campaign against a collection of evil farmers. You need to see it!
So if you are hoping to see the Oscar nominated films one wet weekend, why not start with these four?
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Green Gazette (Issue 40) Eco-retailing, Plastiki and winning the lottery
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s March! How did that happen - I’m sure I was just adjusting to it being a new decade just a few weeks ago and suddenly January and February have both come and gone. Nevertheless I’ll move forward with the latest installment of the Green Gazette where we share with you all the green news and ideas that are fit to print (in an online sense).
This is giant retail news from the UK - I can’t think of a good equivalent in North America (perhaps Target?) but the British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced a green commitment that is beyond compare. You can read all about it via this link from the Environmental Leader but I’ll be happy to share the abbreviated version with you. M&S have made a statement that by 2020 every product that they sell must be able to boast of ‘at least one eco or ethical attribute’. Phase one is that 50% of suppliers have reached the threshold by 2015 and 100% by the end of the decade. It’s a fantastic step and part of the retailers huge ‘Plan A’ which calls for the company, by 2012, to become carbon neutral, send no waste to landfills and extend sustainable sourcing. The actual scope of the project is as ambitious as it is impacting, as the retailer currently carries some 36,000 product lines. Very exciting!
Plastiki
Do you remember Kon-Tiki, the (eco) boat/raft constructed by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl from limited parts to demonstrate his theory that the native people of South America had constructed a craft to traverse the South Pacific many hundreds of years prior to the European golden age of explorers? No? I had to read the book in school and while many of the details escape me all these years later the name of the boat certainly remains. Thus I found it novel that banking heir turned environmentalist David de Rothschild has named his vessel ‘Plas-tiki’ as a modern day homage to the sailing Dane. Plas-tiki is a remarkable boat also, made up of some 12,000 recycled 2 litre plastic bottles. His mission is of similar stature and involves sailing from California to the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The giant garbage patch is a huge soup of plastic waste and other man made sludge that circles in on itself in the middle of our largest ocean. Estimates on size range from 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) to more than 15,000,000 square kilometres (5,800,000 sq mi) (0.41% to 8.1% of the size of the Pacific Ocean), or up to “twice the size of the continental United States” The area may contain over 100 million tons of debris. His trip is aimed to bring attention to the growing area of the ocean that is essentially dying due to the poor water quality. If he sticks to his plans he’ll not be stuck in the patch and will continue onward to Australia. You can follow his eco-adventure via his blog. Incidentally Kon-Tiki was almost a success, read the book!
Finally a story of good luck and what a lucky couple then did with it. Winning a lottery of over £56 million in the UK (over $82 million) an
Lottery Winners Eco-Farm
English couple did what many winners would do and moved into a new home. After giving their old home to their cleaner (they had a cleaner) Nigel Page and Justine Laycock purchased a 400-year-old dairy farm. Where’s the green in that you might wonder? The farm was restored by developer Paul Lavelle, who spent £2 million transforming it into an eco-friendly home. It features a ’solar park’ where 20 panels captured the (occasional) heat of the sun and store it in rocks in the ground and later distributed to the home. The house uses just 10% of the energy required to run a normal household. The farm is almost 100 per cent carbon neutral, you can read more about it in the Daily Mail.
That’s all for now!
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Green Gazette (Issue 39) Eco-mice, horses and a great way to green your music
Posted by: | CommentsHello again, like many others I have the occasional weakness for ‘gadgets’ although I’m more tempted to just say ‘that’s pretty cool’ as opposed to purchasing one it doesn’t change the fact that I admire the innovation. On the other hand we have gadget consumers, those of us who live to purchase new tools and ideas that change the way we do things and hopefully make life that tiny bit more efficient. Today I thought I’d look at some fairly simple but certainly innovative gadgets that have a legitimate green benefit - each of which has yet to be released on the market. Off we go!
Wireless mouse - you can’t beat a wireless mouse once you’ve made the transition from the more common garden variety of mouse with a cord. It does make me wonder though is it still a ‘mouse’ when it no longer has a tail? At that point isn’t it more like a chipmunk or a marmot. However, if you love your wireless mouse but tire of replacing the batteries every 3 months or so there is now a green option. Meet Corky - he/she is made entirely of recycled cork and doesn’t need batteries. The kinetic energy caused by normal use when scrolling and clicking provides the energy source of our keyboard accomplice. No more batteries and plastics needed - what a great idea.
Discarded car tires/tyres - a blight of rubber wastage and something you rarely see any innovation attached to. This sounds like a bet an 
inventor took and won as he created the Automan 500 - which is an ottoman speaker (subwoofer) made from a standard automobile tire. In addition to being very eco friendly in design it apparently does the task assigned to it very well:
Designers Carolyn Butts and Hans Honegger say that the circular/cylindrical shape allows the subwoofer to have a better sound quality, and its unique construction helps it to emit all the bass notes.
The non audio components include a car tire, bicycle tire and wheat straw fiber board. This ranks as one of the more unlikely gadgets I’ve seen and when did you last see a round speaker?
Finally how about something a little different for the children which will serve a dual purpose by being eco-friendly while helping educate the kids about green issues and clean energy. You can accomplish both at once if you meetIf you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Green Gazette (Issue 31) The Decade dissolves, so now what?
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New Year's Eve in Sydney
Hello again - welcome to the last gazette of the month, the year and the decade! Who knew ten years ago how much the importance of environmental issues would be moving front and centre, for governments, for businesses and most importantly for every individual? It seemed that (for some) the 1990’s were about the last years of pure excess and waste and although people were conscious that the planet was being impacted it was but a quiet hum in the background for far too many. This decade has seen society raise its collective head above the parapet and invest in education and awareness. I think it would be accurate to say that the average person is much more informed now about reducing energy use wherever possible and making sustainable choices than they were a decade earlier.
So I would in summary call this the education decade in terms of the environment. The internet has revolutionised the way we learn information, our ability to explore the news at our leisure and seeks both points and counterpoints has enabled us to delve as deep into our interests as our hearts desire. There have been a rash of eco-documentaries (many rather good), we have more choice in terms of purchasing/buying than ever before and finally (FINALLY) North American car makers are beginning to understand that miles per gallon might be more important than the number of cupholders a vehicle has. We now look to our friends and family to follow our green leads - its not a ‘quaint’ or a ‘radical’ position to take now by announcing that you are concerned about the future of the planet and the generations to come. The companies we work for are understanding that eco-best practices are a corporate concern that can’t be ignored. In an economy that is lurching like a tired old man leaving the bar in the wee hours, one of the few areas of real growth is the green economy. I now see 95% of my neigbours in this street filling their recycling bins every Thursday. I’m seeing more economical cars being driven every time I head out the door and I hear the media bringing green issues to the top of the broadcast every night. So this is an exciting time - this is a time to invest in change - but if this was the decade of education we must heed the words of Socrates from many generations ago
“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think” Socrates
So perhaps that has been accomplished in the last ten years which certainly helps me pinpoint what needs to happen in the decade that starts in just a few hours. This is no longer the time to think - this is the time to do. We’ll never (ever) have a better opportunity, the time to defer, confer and delay has long since passed us by. We are collectively responsible for the current condition of the planet and equally attached and invested in the future of it. If it means purchasing a stainless steel water bottle, switching off a light, car pooling, reducing plastic usage, adjusting the thermostat - whatever it takes. There are no small gestures now, we have over 6 billion participants holding a stake in getting this right over the next decade. Discuss these matters with your friends, they in turn will do the same. The world is smaller than ever with modern technology, share your ideas and thoughts. Plus our governments should be looking to get things changed based on how badly they all perform. This isn’t East vs West or G7 vs the World, this is about the planet that we all live on. The questions are all established so this decade we’re leaping into must be all about providing the answers.
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