Entries Tagged 'sustainability' ↓

If you’ve read Orwell’s 1984 you know the importance of words - if you don’t have a word for something you can’t think or communicate about it.

Well, thanks to the work of an OCAD think tank, we’ve got a word for those who willfully damage the environment - depletist.

I can’t wait until spell check recognizes it.

In the meantime, here’s the link: http://tankofthinkers.wordpress.com/about/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line

Great entry on wikipedia about the concept of the Triple Bottom Line (or people, planet, profit)

Sunday, July 20

Gladstone Hotel

to register: http://www.spreadtheword.org or http://superpower.ning.com/

Registration is almost full, so if you’re coming, please register soon

http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=010f3aea

It’s easy to be cynical in and about the world of advertising. We are at least partially responsible for the rise in consumer culture.

But when powers are used for good, it should be recognized

Here’s a few shots of the process:

http://felipov.this.ro/2007/01/25/green-advertising/

Alright, I haven’t blogged in a while, but it’s more because nothing interesting has been happening. That, and I’m lazy. Well, mostly lazy.

Anyway, about three times a week I walk through the local industrial area by my house and over the past year or so I’ve been seeing these tiny electric vehicles parked outside an office. They look to be fully functioning city cars, with license plates and insurance and all that good stuff.

Today I finally googled them. Canadian made electric cars. Plug into a normal outlet. 200+ ‘MPG’.

And not for sale in Canada…

http://www.zenncars.com/

Beijing has promised the air will be clean and clear for this summer’s Olympic Games.

Am I the only one that finds this a bit troubling?

If I lived in Beijing (a Beijinger?) I’d be pretty pissed that the country is willing to let me live in such terrible pollution for my entire life, bar the 2 weeks of the Olympics. China isn’t even debating the air quality. They’re admitting it’s crap.

Why isn’t the carrot of the Olympics being used to affect necessary change? Already, the world record holder in the marathon, Haile Gebrselassie, is withdrawing and a number of teams are training outside of China. But, the damage that Chinese industry is causing affects us all.

We are losing a significant opportunity to make a real difference. The Olympics can have a huge and lasting impact on a city and country in terms of exposure, infrastructure and tourism. Why hasn’t there been the caveat that China can have the Olympics as long as it meets two conditions: clean up your human rights record and clean up your industry.

For more than two weeks.

Does anyone think about reduce and reuse?

I know that most of the time I don’t. I have a SIGG water bottle on my desk, but I never take it to the gym, relying on those stupid paper cones (why not Dixie cups? whatever happened to Dixie cups?).

Most days I get a salad from Milestones at lunch. That means a big plastic bag and a big plastic container for the salad, plus plastic knife and fork and a napkin and moist towelette…

Can’t they just give me the salad in some Tupperware and I’ll bring it back?

Who started Tupperware anyway? How far ahead of the curve were they? Why isn’t Tupperware absolutely huge now? Maybe Tupperware parties need to be coed. Maybe they get combined with another type of party. Foam and Tupperware sounds like a good mix.

Anyway, before you toss your newspaper into the recycling, try reusing it first. Even if it is just for a paper hat.

It’s amazing that a sport that has such an ‘interesting’ (redneck?) reputation is going to take the lead of major North American sports.

Regardless of your opinion of NASCAR, or motorsport as a whole, this has to be applauded.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2008/02/20/4862346-ap.html

If your employer had a voluntary scheme whereby a certain amount of your paycheck, in the form of a payroll deduction, went into some type of sustainability program, whether carbon offsets or keeva loans or what have you, would you pay it?

If the company matched it or the government didn’t tax it, would you be more encouraged?

Why isn’t this available? Why aren’t companies concerned with sustainability working at making this type of thing as easy as possible?

Every second Sunday I join up with a bunch of like-minded people to discuss sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility and the role the design community can play in making the world a better place.

I’m not an environmentalist, but I am a realist.

Imagine the change we could enact if we all started doing little things.  Turning out the lights when you leave a room doesn’t seem like a big thing, but imagine if all the people in Canada did this.

Remember when recycling was a ‘hippy’ thing? Remember when gas was 29 cents a litre?

Become an agent of change.

http://www.earthhour.org/