The 11th Hour movie trailer. This is part deux to An Inconvenient Truth and is compelling and inspiring.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I watched the 11th Hour movie tonight and was inspired to write something about it. The top messages and takeaways I got from the film were:
1. Sustainability is possible and it can create jobs and help the economy in ways we forget to consider.
2. Everyone can vote- regardless of our age. We vote everyday with our wallets and the green we give. When we buy products we are saying "yes, we support the manufacturing of this product and how it is being used and consumed".
3. Exxon oil company is dangerously profitable and makes more money than most of the car companies put together. This money drives the politics and policies for our slow rate of change.
4. Technology and the Industrial Revolution created the machanisms for rapid growth, the population explosion and abuse of nonrenewable resources, but technology can also be the answer to solving our persistent waste issues.
5. Our generation has the opportunity to make big changes if we decide to cease the moment.
6. Buildings today represent 40% of the world’s energy demand, a third of that resulting from commercial buildings.
This last point got me on a tangent thinking about building green for commercial/residential spaces and sustainable designs, which I have always found to be facinating. Here are some resources by which my Google searches led me.
With such a big impact on the environment and our daily lives, the first big step should come from commercial developers and the business sector. Here are some action steps businesses can easily take. "Corporations and business are powerful agents for change. By greening your production practices, and reducing waste in your business, by becoming efficient, you can greatly reduce the impact of human civilization on the planet's resources. Take Action will point you to resources that will help you green your business."
Commercial Building Tax Incentive- It makes financially green sense for businesses to go green.
Plans for a vertical farm in Seattle on top of mixed use building.
Even the Vatican is environmentally conscious by installing solar panels and planting trees to help with carbon emissions.
Massive Change- An ambitious, multi-venue exhibition on the possibilities of design culture. Massive Change is also a book, an online forum, an education model as well as a Visionaries Symposium.
1. Sustainability is possible and it can create jobs and help the economy in ways we forget to consider.
2. Everyone can vote- regardless of our age. We vote everyday with our wallets and the green we give. When we buy products we are saying "yes, we support the manufacturing of this product and how it is being used and consumed".
3. Exxon oil company is dangerously profitable and makes more money than most of the car companies put together. This money drives the politics and policies for our slow rate of change.
4. Technology and the Industrial Revolution created the machanisms for rapid growth, the population explosion and abuse of nonrenewable resources, but technology can also be the answer to solving our persistent waste issues.
5. Our generation has the opportunity to make big changes if we decide to cease the moment.
6. Buildings today represent 40% of the world’s energy demand, a third of that resulting from commercial buildings.
This last point got me on a tangent thinking about building green for commercial/residential spaces and sustainable designs, which I have always found to be facinating. Here are some resources by which my Google searches led me.
With such a big impact on the environment and our daily lives, the first big step should come from commercial developers and the business sector. Here are some action steps businesses can easily take. "Corporations and business are powerful agents for change. By greening your production practices, and reducing waste in your business, by becoming efficient, you can greatly reduce the impact of human civilization on the planet's resources. Take Action will point you to resources that will help you green your business."
Commercial Building Tax Incentive- It makes financially green sense for businesses to go green.
Plans for a vertical farm in Seattle on top of mixed use building.
Even the Vatican is environmentally conscious by installing solar panels and planting trees to help with carbon emissions.
Massive Change- An ambitious, multi-venue exhibition on the possibilities of design culture. Massive Change is also a book, an online forum, an education model as well as a Visionaries Symposium.
Monday, July 16, 2007
If life was run like a post office station....
1. We would all be wearing protective, safety glass helmet on our heads. This protects us from our inconsiderations and the frusterations we stir up in others.
2. We would panic when we see people waiting and run for a lunch and coffee break during rush hour.
3. We would attract people who complain about lines and waiting then get to the counter and proceed to act like a 5-year old asking "why is the sky blue?" and "why is my stamp green?" and "Are we there yet?" "How long will it take to get there?"
4. Our answers would come out something to the effect of "well priority is blue and it doesn't gaurantee anything but you have to use it since you used the label".
5. We would dole out money in partial payments of 5 stamps, 2 dollars and the remaining $3.47 on credit card.
6. We talk amonst ourselves to avoid the eye contact and aggrivated looks we've caused on others.
7. We'd say things like "I can't handle you more than once. It's my policy."
8. You are 3 seconds past the hour, so "sorry, step back, we're closed".
9. We would have our managers walk around staring at the meandering line then leave and lock the door so no one could come in or out.
10. We would be left with no paper, pens or labels.
11. We would not be told about strict guidelines on wrapping packages so that later we would be publically humiliated and insulted because we didn't follow the rules.
12. We play hide and seek in the back room-- and camouflage ourselves among the other packages.
1. We would all be wearing protective, safety glass helmet on our heads. This protects us from our inconsiderations and the frusterations we stir up in others.
2. We would panic when we see people waiting and run for a lunch and coffee break during rush hour.
3. We would attract people who complain about lines and waiting then get to the counter and proceed to act like a 5-year old asking "why is the sky blue?" and "why is my stamp green?" and "Are we there yet?" "How long will it take to get there?"
4. Our answers would come out something to the effect of "well priority is blue and it doesn't gaurantee anything but you have to use it since you used the label".
5. We would dole out money in partial payments of 5 stamps, 2 dollars and the remaining $3.47 on credit card.
6. We talk amonst ourselves to avoid the eye contact and aggrivated looks we've caused on others.
7. We'd say things like "I can't handle you more than once. It's my policy."
8. You are 3 seconds past the hour, so "sorry, step back, we're closed".
9. We would have our managers walk around staring at the meandering line then leave and lock the door so no one could come in or out.
10. We would be left with no paper, pens or labels.
11. We would not be told about strict guidelines on wrapping packages so that later we would be publically humiliated and insulted because we didn't follow the rules.
12. We play hide and seek in the back room-- and camouflage ourselves among the other packages.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Traveling makes you realize how much you've grown, changed and how different your bubble world is. In the past month, I have driven to LA and flown to San Diego from San Francisco and realize that the way I live and see the world is much different than others.
For instance, I was in line at the airport gift/sucker shop paying $3.50 for a bottle of dangerous liquid when I see an elderly couple in front of me. The wife pays for the items and turns around when pop! the man's briefcase unlatches. I look down and notice the briefcase for the first time. I stand it utter amusement at the antique relic of the black square suitcase resurrected from the early 1960s. It reminds me of my grandfather- a hard-working traveling salesman. I bend down to see if I can help this man, but his wife tries and he waves her off, so I dare not attempt.
Instead I glance a little longer- noticing that he has a dress shirt and slacks inside the suitecase. Could he really fit his weekend supply of clothes in the suitecase? Wrapped around the suitcase was a black dress belt that he had been using to help keep the briefcase closed. Evidently it pops open frequently. His daughter comes by to try to help but didn't have much luck as he grumbles and waves her away stubborn to close the case with his own willpower. Was this his luggage? Was he too proud to retire his briefcase and the idea that he wasn't as much the productive, working man he once was?
As painful as it was to watch this man struggling and as silly as the traveling case seemed to me, it reminded me of my hand-clinched security blankets and how out of date and closely I hold them but may not use them. It seems we all have these issues and how hard it is sometimes to just let go. I think it's important to practice the art of letting go and changing your habits or routines monthly or even weekly by trying something new and different. It may not be a big hit or quick fix, but it's important to try. This is definately a way to embrace technology and the web. What's the worse that could happen-- F12 key compresses your life?! With enough coffee and Red Bull, I'll be able to evolve as fast personally and professionally.
*Side note: Wouldn't it be great if you could log your personal maturity level and web usage on a technology timeline? Age 65, church-goer, banner ad clicker, email spam collector and reader, briefcase traveler. Also known as DOS computer or Pong game.
For instance, I was in line at the airport gift/sucker shop paying $3.50 for a bottle of dangerous liquid when I see an elderly couple in front of me. The wife pays for the items and turns around when pop! the man's briefcase unlatches. I look down and notice the briefcase for the first time. I stand it utter amusement at the antique relic of the black square suitcase resurrected from the early 1960s. It reminds me of my grandfather- a hard-working traveling salesman. I bend down to see if I can help this man, but his wife tries and he waves her off, so I dare not attempt.
Instead I glance a little longer- noticing that he has a dress shirt and slacks inside the suitecase. Could he really fit his weekend supply of clothes in the suitecase? Wrapped around the suitcase was a black dress belt that he had been using to help keep the briefcase closed. Evidently it pops open frequently. His daughter comes by to try to help but didn't have much luck as he grumbles and waves her away stubborn to close the case with his own willpower. Was this his luggage? Was he too proud to retire his briefcase and the idea that he wasn't as much the productive, working man he once was?
As painful as it was to watch this man struggling and as silly as the traveling case seemed to me, it reminded me of my hand-clinched security blankets and how out of date and closely I hold them but may not use them. It seems we all have these issues and how hard it is sometimes to just let go. I think it's important to practice the art of letting go and changing your habits or routines monthly or even weekly by trying something new and different. It may not be a big hit or quick fix, but it's important to try. This is definately a way to embrace technology and the web. What's the worse that could happen-- F12 key compresses your life?! With enough coffee and Red Bull, I'll be able to evolve as fast personally and professionally.
*Side note: Wouldn't it be great if you could log your personal maturity level and web usage on a technology timeline? Age 65, church-goer, banner ad clicker, email spam collector and reader, briefcase traveler. Also known as DOS computer or Pong game.
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