Neat Design Article

Interesting article from worldchanging about products that force people to act in sustainable ways.

Design Idea

In sustainability articles in the MSM one thing that doesn't get touched on much is efficiancy. It's more exciting to talk about new technology and projects than making existing things work better, however being efficient is a huge part of "the solution". Take packaging for example.

So it goes...

Today I'm declaring a day of blog silence to commemorate both a sad and a happy event.

The Pope (in the most Discordian sense of the word), Bruce Sterling, of the Viridian Design Movement has declared the movement a (qualified) success and as such has ended it.

Why should this matter to you? If you look around you, you may realize that Viridians have attained some important wins in their drive to create a sustainable culture. A certain brand of environmental aesthetic has become chic, the victory of Obama (and the people he brings with him) has brought Viridian allies to power in the US, and the massive increase of immaterial consumables was one of the most important goals and profound insights of the movement.

I do think this matters more to me (and a small number of philosophical technologists) more than the vast majority of people to might read this blog. However when I read the introductory manifesto (written in 1998, and yes it is meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, that's his style) and the final note (written today) I find it a moving mental bookend of the last 10 years.

The goals of the movement are nowhere near complete, but as Joseph Campbell might have said, we've managed to change the metaphor (btw I only include myself as a believer, I didn't actually do much of with anybody outside the people I've met personally) .

Cool Concept Car

Mazda has a neat new concept car focused around the idea of water.

Wow

Such a cool legal idea.

Futuristic sea "eco-rigs"

This article makes me think of that quote; "the future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed". Japan has been big leader technologically for a while and this is yet another example. This is the kind of project that I wish we were seeing seriously pursued in the US. I see projects all the time like this in the US and you know what the difference is? They're pipe dreams. Plans by architecture post-grads with good media connections, politicians or business moguls trying to get attention by announcing a "forum" or "committee-formation" to discuss some incredible idea that no one will actually pursue. This seems like it might actually have some resources behind it.

The road to zero emissions shipping

A great article from Wired about various technologies that people are working on with the goal of making international shipping a zero emissions business. I've posted about the resurgence of sails in shipping and here's more in that vein. I find this idea really interesting because one of the assumptions of many local food advocates is that international shipping will always be less environmentally friendly that buying local and I just think the situation is more complex than that. I'll be keeping an eye on this.

Totally pie-in-the-sky plan for the Sahara

I'm skeptical that this plan for using solar power to create greenhouses in the Sahara will come to reality (although some of the creators have had successes elsewhere), but it's still neat to think about. Very Dune in some ways.

Good Profile of Shai Agassi

One of the smoking hot leaders of environmental business. Shai Agassi's concept for an electric car system is generating tons of interest. Wired has a nice full detailed profile. Check it out

Energy saving software for your computer

I'll have to download this and give it a try.

The end of globalization?

A series of posts from Worldchanging, Gristmill, and NYT, all theorizing that increases in energy prices could reverse globalization. I'm pretty skeptical, globalization is a powerful trend. Thomas Barnett has another take here.

CNN covers an interesting trend in the increase of human generated electrical power.

Neat biomass energy tech development

So I've been following the development of algae based bio-energy for a while and this was a really clear and concise article that explains how it could be cool (watch the video that he links to, even if it is biased).

Interesting Idea

I wonder how this Canadian program for Green Bonds will work out. I've always liked the metaphor of WWII preparations to describe sustainability problems and I'm glad to see another item in this trend.

Apple missing a marketing opportunity? WTF

Nancy Scola makes the excellent point that apple seems to be missing many opportunities to score points for their environmental friendliness? Any thoughts as to why they're doing this?

I'm glad people are finally becoming more aware of greenwashing. Check out this CNN article (via Barkingshaman)

A good point

Ashley Lin over at Breakthrough Gen makes an excellent point; assorted politicians are advocating drilling for oil, wouldn't it make much more sense to advocate drilling for something renewable, say geothermal power.

Why The Apocalypse Won't Happen

First read this article

I find my self conflicted about this article. I do think that there are serious issues in the world that could cause an "Apocalypse" but I've increasingly come to believe that we are going to see a vast transition that will neither be as easy as some hope nor as catastrophic as some others fear. We'll see...

Interesting definition of future heros

I'll have to chew over this post from WorldChanging's Alex Steffen for a while. Basically he's talking about a kind of post-apocalyptic missionary. Huh (*mental gears start moving*), maybe I'll have something more interesting to say about this when I've thought about it more.

Solar Windows, Neat!

Interesting work from some people at MIT who are developing a way to make your standard everyday window collect solar energy.