Behavior, Energy and Climate Change

I made this graphic after attending the Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change (BECC) conference in Sacramento. I think the five criteria (fun, interactive, personal, easy, local) apply to more than just energy efficiency and should be adopted by any organization working on climate change. If we want our communities to take effective action about climate change, the actions have to be suggested effectively as well.

Carbon Neutral Architects

http://www.gras-arquitectos.com/

GRAS won a contest to create a city development in Riojas, Spain relying heavily on clean tech to power its city. They say carbon neutral, but I imagine they mean close to carbon neutral, unless they're somehow offsetting the footprint of their production materials.

Rendering from GRAS website.
Click on image for the full story.

Call for Climate Change Documentaries

The World Bank Social Development Department is sponsoring a contest for mini-documentaries about the social impacts of climate change. Dust off your cameras and make something happen. I don't even know how I stumbled across this, but I bet that there are plenty of awesome ideas out there that are worth 2-5 minutes.

The deadline for submission is Oct 24, 2008. Do it!

Keep bailing!

Privatized Profits and Socialized Losses
Great analysis by Michael Greenberger on NPR
It's a little long, but it's a good explanation.

And for the visually inclined, a great stick-figure powerpoint

Freeriding

I was talking with strangers about climbing up buildings with toilet plungers tonight, and coincidentally stumbled on this variety of the same idea from designer Robert Nightingale:


...and they say hopping trains is risky...


Posted on Yanko Design

LIGHT GRAFFITI

I think I'm in love.
Click on the pictures to see the sites.

And these guys turned them in to movies:


So my roommate and I made these:we're still learning

Doing Something: Climate Change

http://www.gridalternatives.org/ Solar Installation for low-income homes

Designing for a future

My primary interest for the last two years has been looking for designers and design focused on climate change. Not just sustainability, or green-ness but actually designing stuff to mitigate CO2Eq's both in production and consumer use. Unfortunately interests and priorities aren't always aligned perfectly, so I'm still searching to hash out this "scene." I know they're out there, and they aren't just making green roofs or gentle cleaning products. So I'm going to try to devote this entry (along with updates) to gathering who's out there and putting them all together here.
I think my symbol animal just may be a squirrel...

Inhabitat is a blog/site devoted to just these things, although their push is sustainability. Their articles rock, so that's close enough for me.

Highlights:
An article on <--- really hot ethanol car, the Mazda Furai. Who needs a tumbler when these already exist? Holy bagasse Batman!

Info on Park(ing) Day, on September 19th, where you take over public car spaces and turn them into a mini park for the day. Who doesn't like to have fun while causing well-intentioned trouble? I know I do. Plus people who participate actually get to DO SOMETHING with their beliefs and opinions, hallelujah. I'm super excited for this. I'm definitely into cars, but Boston could do without half of them, and the other half should not emit CO2

This is a must-read site.

Community Art Links

Silence the Violence using positive action to address violence in communities

Artists for Humanity -------> Employs and trains youth in paid visual arts internships at their extensive studio facility

Van Jones out of Oakland, CA pushing green opportunity for all

Youth Uprising organizes free community events to provide access to activities and new skills

Art in Action youth camp to promote creative arts and youth leadership

How do these organizations use art and community to make positive changes to their neighborhoods?

Who gets it?

Mercedes launched this site:



Which looks surprisingly like the amazing work done by the photographer, Alexandre Duret-Lutz, entitled "Wee Planets":




The similarity between the two styles is striking. So this lead me to try to understand the creative commons alternative copyright license that Alexandre chose for his artwork. This alternative copyright allows others to reproduce or make derivatives of your artwork, even for commercial purposes. From what I can understand, the "share alike" option selected by Alexandre for his images entails that "You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work." Somehow I don't see Mercedes, and the company they hired for the site, Syzygy AG, being too happy about other people using their work in the same way they used Alexandre's.

So, the question I posit today: If an artist falls into the market and no one hears is name, does anyone know he landed? Or does the market just steal his paycheck and run away?

Alternatively, there's Michael Jackson's take on the situation: "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal." I'd argue that Alexandre did it better the first time.