1. I'm disappointed in the Obama administration today. Why? Read this.

I get the argument, I really do, revealing this information would endanger the stability of people and countries that helped the US's rendition program.

But I still feel like saying...

"President Obama, we can do better than this".

2. Keep an eye on this trend, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Brooks has some good thoughts on it

3. Innovation the people doing it are so interesting, case in point.

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) .

Changing sound

Check out Reality Sandwich's (counterculture magazine that has some good stuff from time to time) article on how sound technology is changing. I'll be interested to see how some of this pans out.

Negative campaigning evolving?

Every since I've become politically engaged I've hated Negative Campaigning in politics. I think it lowers the level of public discourse. If I'm watching TV and a negative add comes on, I just switch off. So reading this article about how the internet can make negative campaigns back-fire makes me a bit hopeful.

This article doesn't help my mood

CNN runs this sort of article from time to time. They make me sooooo nervous. Bleh

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.

Interesting city law

LA wants to ban fast food restaurants in certain areas for health reasons. Seems a bit draconian to me, on the other hand health care costs to affect all of us. Also treating "food like cigarettes" would start an interesting legal trend. I haven't made up my mind about this.

New diseases

I remember in my college biology class my teacher talked about new forms of disease emerging has demographics changes. I don't think contagious cancer will be a problem for us soon, but imagine how horrible it would be if it came. I've been following the Tasmanian Devil face cancer for a while and it's always deeply disturbed me. Just sit back and imagine what would happen if something like this happened to humans? Now Hapers has an excellent article on the subject.

Microsoft Tries to catch up

I've been having the feeling for years that Microsoft is behind the technological trend. This news about how they're developing a different kind of OS, one that isn't tied to an individual PC, is interesting. I'll keep my eye on this.

Depressing statistic

About 1% of the US population is now in prison. Something is wrong...

Vertical Farming

Interesting video about vertical farming. I've linked to vertical farming articles before and I'll continue to until we hear more about it. It sounds like a real pie in the sky kind of idea but I think it'll be really important because as things stand cities have somewhat unsustainable supply chains. That will only get worse as more and more people move to the cities.

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

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.

A technology resurgent

I first thought about the potential revival of wind-powered ships years ago but it's interesting to see how it's becoming a reality.

The city rising

Check out this long, but interesting, article from TNR on how inner cities may be becoming gentrified. The rise of the city is something I've been keeping an eye since I started listening to Long Now seminars. I think the sustainable way of the future is the way of the city. There are increased dangers to be sure (terrorism, nuclear strikes, epidemics) but my sense is that the potential benefits outweigh them (increased efficiency, decreased transportation costs, increased connectedness). Your thoughts

Another disaster to prepare for, oh joy

From Sci-Am, who, along with Popular Science, occasionally publishes a scary article like this about some immanent disaster (during slow months I assume). Nonetheless a massive solar flare could really screw things up for our modern digital world.

Greenland....Ascendant?

Another chapter in the (mostly) unforeseen consequences of climate change; apparently Greenland is agitating for independence from Denmark, and probably will get it. Global warming makes many more resources available as the ice moves. Weird huh.

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?

This really scares me

I wish Scientific American would site their sources for this report (I'd love to learn more details) but assuming they know what they're talking about this is a really scary illustration of a worrying trend: the disappearing of freshwater resources worldwide.

Mental note: buy the hardcopy of the august edition of Sci-Am