File Under Irony: Environmentally Friendly Bullets

Don't know how I missed this story until now...

Arms manufacturer BAE Systems has developed a range of "environmentally friendly" weapons, including a lead-free bullet. An article in The Sunday Times quotes a BAE representative as saying:

"Weapons are going to be used and when they are, we try to make them as safe for the user as possible, to limit the collateral damage and to impact as little as possible on the environment."

Read the entire article here.

Recycled Coffin

From the UK comes the environmental friendly coffin: EcoPod. It's made of 100% recycled paper and is available in a range of colors and designs (including gold leaf!). The company also offers an acorn shaped recycled paper urn. Get the details here.

Charting The War

This succinct chart was recently published in the Christian Science Monitor.

That new car smell may be slowly killing you.

If you have to buy a car, be sure to find out how toxic they are first at HealthCar.org.

Happy yet?

The (Un)Happy Planet Index shows how efficiently countries turn environmental resources into human happiness. For the record the US is #150 out of 178 countries. And the top of the pile? Vanuatu, followed by Columbia and Costa Rica in that order. Get the details here.

File Under Irony: Dirty Soap

Anti-bacterial soap could actually be dangerous to your health!
From Newstarget.com:

Triclosan, widely used as an antibacterial ingredient in household hand sterilization products, breaks down rapidly when exposed to chlorinated water and produces toxic chemicals including chloroform, according to a study published on the Environmental Science & Technology research website As Soon As Publishable (ASAP), suggesting that many antibacterial products may not only be ineffective, but harmful.

Get the details here.

Via Organic Consumers Association

Shut it down at midnight tonight.

Just a few more hours until Shutdown Day. Can you survive the day without turning on your computer? I'm going to try (assuming I don't have to do any work!).

UPDATE:
In case you were wondering I did manage to stay off the computer for 24 hours and it was lovely. I might need to do that every weekend!

Thanks Yoshi!

Socially Conscious Design Grants

Sappi is once again accepting applications for its Ideas That Matter program.
Winning designers get a piece of a million dollars to create social/environmental related projects (the only catch is that you can't use the money to pay yourself). Entry deadline is May 21st. More information and applications can be found here.

Media Consolidation Visualization

Mother Jones magazine has created this lovely chart (PDF) showing the continued consolidation of the media over the last 25 years from multiple players to a mere 8 companies. It was included as part of a feature on newspaper deregulation: Breaking The News.

Soldier Alphabet

This disturbingly affecting alphabet made from plastic toy soldiers is the work of student artist/designer Oliver Munday.

The work is featured alongside an interview with him in a recent post on Speak Up.

Regulated Green

The book It's Easy Being Green includes this handy list of "green" terms to help consumers parse real environmental benefit from mere greenwashing on product lables:

Defined and Regulated
Green Seal
Animal Care Certified (eggs)**
Dolphin-safe
Free Farmed (dairy products, eggs, poultry, meat)
Organic --- Certified
NutriClean
Transitional (farm)
Green-e (re: energy/power)
Totally Chlorine-Free-Certified
Sustainable Forestry-Certified
Energy Star Rated
Wildcrafted or Wildharvested-Certified

Defined and Unregulated
Biodegradeable
Recyclable
Recycled
Cage Free
GMO Free or GE Free
No Antibiotics Used or Raised Without Antibiotics
Natural (meat and poultry)
CFC Free
Ozone Safe or Ozone Friendly
Recycled
CFC Free (personal-care products)
Low Emissions Vehicles

Undefined and Unregulated
Green
Natural
No Hormones Administered
Pesticide Free, No Pesticide Residue
rBGH Free or rBST Free (dairy)
Clean (re: energy/power)
Green ((re: energy/power)
Renewable (re: energy/power)
Chemical Free
Chlorine Free
No or Low VOCs
Nontoxic
Phosphate Free
Tree Free
Energy Efficient
Refurbished or Remanufactured
Recyclable
Fluoride Free
Recycled
Wildcrafted or Wildharvested -Uncertified
Fuel Efficient
Composite

Attribute
Reclaimed or recovered
Reusable
Used
Solar Powered
Biodiesel
Electric
Fuel Cell Powered
Hybrid
Reclaimed, Recovered or Salvaged

Pending
Free Range, Free Roaming or Pasture Raised (beef, pork)
Grass Fed
No Hormones Administered (beef)
LCD (Appliances, Home Electronics and Lighting)

Alert:
**Beware of "Animal Care Certified." This label is sponsored by the United Egg Producers, who allow hens to be caged in an area smaller than a sheet of copy paper for their entire lives.

via Care2, thanks Melinda!

Earth Friendly Banners

Just in time for this year's Earth Day events, the activist Beehive Design Collective is now offering extremely affordable banner printing on recycled plastic material (with no toxic PVC content). Get details and pricing on their site.

Vienna Sex Change Signs

Vienna is replacing it's traditional pictorial signs with ones that challenge gender based stereotypes (showing men feeding and changing babies for example). A recent Christian Science Monitor article explains the reason for the change:

"The campaign shows familiar images in an unfamiliar way. We want the effect to be jarring in the best sense of the word," said Sonja Wehsely, the former city councilor for women's issues, at the campaign's press conference in December. "By playing with our expectations, the campaign encourages us to change the way we think, see, and act."

Read the entire article here.

Iraq War Memorial

In honor of the 4th anniversary of the start of the current Iraq war the Brave New Foundation, which helps people use the media to talk about social issues, has created the simple and powerful online Iraq Veterans Memorial...



Thanks Melinda.

You know you're a successful blogger when...

You know you're a successful blogger when...Microsoft writes asking for your help! I received an email (reprinted below) asking me to promote their new socially conscious initiative. Basically if you use their version of Instant Messenger with a special code, a donation will be made to a charity each time you use it. This kind of instant, feel good activism, associated with using a commercial product is really the lowest rung on the ladder of social consciousness (if it's on the ladder at all). At best it's money the company has already allocated to charity that they are using for marketing purposes; at worst it allows consumers to feel like they're off the hook, since they've already "done their part." Believe me, we can't chat ourselves into a better world courtesy of a corporation. If Microsoft wants my opinion (which clearly they do since I'm SO influential) they should just give the money to the charities and then engage customers in real social action that doesn't involve marketing their products. But of course that's not why they're in business, and that's the point: Don't use social action as a marketing tool! And while I appreciate the sentiment of the letter (and the flattery certainly helps), why don't I feel like I can trust them? So Microsft, here's the question for you, is any publicity still good publicity?

Dear Noah,

People like you are among the most influential voices in our culture, reaching millions of people who share your commitment to important social causes. Because of your unique ability to reach this socially conscious audience, we’d like to tell you about a new initiative just introduced by Microsoft and some of the world’s most effective organizations dedicated to social causes.

It’s called the i’m Initiative, and it’s a collaboration between Windows Live™ Messenger and nine organizations dedicated to some of the worlds most urgent social issues. Every time users start a conversation using Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft shares a portion of the program’s advertising revenue with one of these cause organizations.

Each organization is guaranteed a minimum of $100,000, but there’s no limit to the size of the total donation they can get. The more i’m conversations you start, the more money goes to the causes. The sky’s the limit.

Visit http://im.live.com and check out the “Get Involved” section, you’ll find all kinds of ways you can be a part of this exciting movement – messaging points, website modules/buttons and more.

Please help us spread the word and encourage others to join the program. Together, we can show the world that small talk can make a big difference.

Thanks for your interest and support.

For more information and specific questions please contact Karin Muskopf at makeadifference@live.com

The Chiditarod

On March 3, 2007, more than 200 people gathered in twenty-degree weather to celebrate the second annual Chiditarod - Chicago¹s urban shopping cart race pits human ingenuity against the elements, while collecting canned goods for donation. Central to the Chiditarod¹s philosophy is a "leave no trace" environmentally friendly orientation. This is the story of one man's editorial after embedding with the "Corporate Daliance" team who attempt to lie, cheat and steal their way to the top of the Chiditarod. Most of the people in attendance are in some way, shape or form affiliated with the regional Burning Man community, a movement that started in California in the mid-80¹s.

Better Thinking, the magazine.

The folks who brought you the perfect T-shirt, Better Thinking are now trying their hand at making the perfect magazine. The 1st online issue, with it's easily digestible stories on sustainable businesses and products is free so they're off to a good start. Read it here.

Polar Bear TV ad S.O.S.

The style is a bit over the top for me, but the cause is good, so if you want to help the NRDC get this commercial about saving the polar bears (and the environment) on TV, you can donate here.

Random Acts of Designess

Brandboggler has decided to do some Random Acts of Designess, giving free design services to needy folks he has found online. Rather than offer his services, he just takes on a job and hands over the results. The first completed project is a sticker for paper towel dispensers for the These Come From Trees project.

via Social Design Notes

True Colors Tour

Cyndi Lauper has partnered with the Human Rights Campaign and will be touring this summer in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) equality. The True Colors tour, which will also feature Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls and Margaret Cho will travel to 15 cities starting in June. Tickets will be on sale soon (HRC members & supporters will get early access).

UPDATE: I went with my girlfriend and we had an amazing time! However, I've gotten a few anonymous comments about the language use, and while I give less than no credence to anonymous posters (seriously if you have something to say, be willing to stand behind your words, otherwise I assume you're a shill), I don't mind addressing the points made. 1. I think that people in the US are ridiculously prude about language and need to get over it. Read Made In America and discover that our revered forefathers used much more crude language than we do now. 2. It's a rock show featuring bands that sing about sex and two well known comedians who use "adult" language. Both of those things should be clues that this is not going to be a "kid friendly" environment. A bit of research would have told you so. 3. When you're at an event focusing on sexual orientation, you should expect that frank discussion of and non-clinical words for sex may be used.

Black Coffee and Ethiopian Food

In a smart bit of cross marketing I received a postcard promoting a documentary about Ethiopian coffee with my bill at the Ethiopian restaurant I ate at last night. Black Gold is the story of how Ethiopian coffee makes its way from growers to drinkers and the profits (and losses) along the way. The film is part of the new trend in documentary activism and features a partnership with Oxfam to support international coffee growers. Watch the trailer here.

Virginia Peace Plate

If you drive a car in Virginia you now have the option of proclaiming your interest in "community peacebuilding" via a newly approved license plate. Once 350 orders have been collected the plate will actually go into production.

Charting Homelessness

The Western Regional Advocacy Project has released a new illustrated report on the cause of homelessness in the U.S. today:

The report, Without Housing: Decades of Federal Housing Cutbacks, Massive Homelessness and Policy Failures, documents the root cause of homelessness – the gutting of the federal housing budget – through art and words. The report is being distributed throughout the U.S. with the goal of changing the debate on homelessness from its current focus (the personal defects of “chronically homeless” people) to a focus on federal housing policy.

The report features many powerful charts and graphs, including four that have been illustrated by artists Art Hazelwood, Jos Sances, Claude Moller, and Ed Gould, all of which can be seen and downloaded in lo and hi-res formats, or purchased as prints.

You can also download the entire report here (PDF).

Thanks Judy from Graphic Witness!

ALR makes the GRADE

Two of ALR's works were featured in the Greater Richmond Awards for Design Excellence (GRADE) event, which was held last night in Richmond, VA. The event is a bi-annual judged exhibition and awards show created by the Richmond chapter of the AIGA (American Institue of Graphic Artists). The Red Flag Campaign and Think Small 3 poster were both given merit awards in the poster category.

Full details here.

Patriotic Shopping

These images are from the ongoing photo project "Copia"by Brian Ulrich. He started it in response to the post 9-11 suggestion by the government that we shop to help the economy. See more of his work here.

The project is also featured in the current issue of Mother Jones.

TV In The Sky

A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor debates the safety of the growing number of digital video screen billboards:

As billboard companies scurried to erect more [digital billboards] around the city, the Atlanta City Council in January enacted a temporary ban on the signs. It's one in a string of communities from Concord, N.H., to Eden Prairie, Minn., that has raised questions about the safety of TVs in the sky.

...

...critics say the very reason the signs appeal to advertisers is the reason they pose a danger on the roadways: The billboards are designed to distract. A study on driver behavior released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last April showed that distractions in which a driver spent more than two seconds looking elsewhere than the road contributed to 22 percent of overall accidents.

"People need to know these enormous TV sets are going to pop up along highways.... It's going to be a significant safety issue for the country," says Kevin Fry, president of Scenic America, a group in Washington that lobbies to keep highways clear of clutter.

Read the entire article here.

Stop The Clash of Civilizations

Avaaz.org has created this short film to promote understanding between Muslims and Americans and encourage people everywhere to sign a petition requiring "Real Middle East Peace Talks Now". Watch below and sign here.

Building Letters: Tsunami Edition

After many years in the works the third issue of Building Letters magazine is finally available. 100% of the proceeds of this ethical design publication go to help victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami. Previous issues raised funds for children in Africa and India.

The magazine also comes with a disc of 25 free fonts, created specifically for it, as well as tanother Tsunami fundraiser Fleurons of Hope (to which I contributed a design).

Get your copy here.

Douglas Adams' documentary of the future.

The brilliant (and rather prescient) 1990 "fantasy documentary" Hyperland by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide, etc.), about the future of media, can be seen for free on Google Video here.

Ads of Men

Children of Men instantly became one of my all time favorite films after I saw it. One of the many, many reasons I loved it was how realistic its vision of the future seemed to be, thanks in no small part to the detailed backgrounds. One key feature was the advertising and marketing that appeared on many surfaces. Foreign Office, which created those graphics, have put together a reel which allows you to see their clever handiwork in detail. Check it out here.

via Veer

Speak Up on Idocracy

Speak Up has a great article on the logos and marketing of the future as predicted in Idiocracy, the woefully under promoted film about America 500 years in the future, by Mike Judge (of Office Space and Beavis & Butthead fame):

Everything in America, as we know it, has deteriorated to its exaggerated (but nonetheless potentially realistic) possibilities in this dystopian movie: Costco is the size of a small village and sells livestock, Carl's Jr. is the sponsor of the government which is now run by a porn star, a faux Gatorade-like product has replaced water, and civilians (and the President of the U.S.A.) happily fire automatic weapons into the air in celebration — or to get someone's attention. What makes this movie so funny (and scary) is that we can imagine living in a world like this...

Read the entire article here.

Free Melting Globe

The folks at Johnson Banks, a UK marketing firm, are giving away usage of this melting globe image. Just tell em what it's for and it's yours (and yours, and yours too!).

via Veer

BUY (LESS)!

I couldn't agree more with the anti-shopping LESS campaign, which suggests donating directly to charities rather than just buying junk from corporations who only donate a small portion of their product's profits.

via idUnited

Printable Cold Sores!

Simple, clever bit of anti-adverting activism. Get yours today.

via Houtlust

Spotted in Boone, NC: Graphic Design Door

StoryCorps Mobile Tour

I had the wonderful opportunity this week to participate in StoryCorps, a national oral history recording project. The project has set up StoryBooths in NYC and is also traveling across the country in MobileBooths, to record stories of everyday people who interview one another. The stories are then preserved on disk at the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress and also broadcast on NPR stations. One of the MobileBooths is spending a time here in Richmond, VA, where I was able to secure a one hour slot, which I used to interview my mother about her father.

Go on StoryCorps.net to listen to selected stories or sign up to tell your own stories.

Kudos pt. III

Thanks to our friend Joriel for the kind mention of Another Limited Rebellion in her socially conscious Balsy Blog!

Thanks also to fellow Richmonder John Sarvay for several mentions of ALR in his politically charged Buttermilk & Molasses blog!

Public Radio Idol!

Taking a cue from American Idol the Coporation for Public Broadcasting and The Public Radio Exchange have created: Public Radio Talent Quest. There are cash prizes and an ultimate goal of finding 3 new public radio hosts:

Basically anyone can enter by submitting a two-minute audio piece in the First Round (April 16-May 14) introducing yourself.

After the public votes and our judges deliberate, we'll announce 10 semi-finalists who get a cash prize and advance to the Second Round and are assigned a Challenge that tests their "Hostiness".

After that there are three more rounds, more Challenges, and more prizes until we've selected the Three Finalists - each of whom gets $16,000 ($10k cash and $6k towards a producer/mentor) to produce a pilot show for public radio.

When all is said and done, we'll present the final three hosts and their pilots to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for potential further funding as a radio series.

The competition officially starts April 16th.

Thanks Jen!

AT&T & Verizon customers say no to NSA Spying

The ACLU has set up a page for shareholders, customers, and concerned citizens to express their dismay at the fact that AT&T and Verizon not only "have been voluntarily granting the NSA direct, mass access to their customers' calling records" but also that they have been blocking attempts by shareholders to make resolutions that address this issue. You can make your voice heard on this civil liberties issue here.

A Short Walk in London

Students from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design have created the Shortwalk blog to promote a radical idea: Walking. They have even created a map of Central London showing walking distances between Tube stations to discourage unnecessary subway riding (though according to my friend Sarah in London, some of their times are more jogs than walks).

Thanks Sarah!

Save The Date: A28

April 28th is the scheduled day for a nationwide protest for impeachment.

Find out more and get involved at A28.org.

Repressed II: Works on Paper

Repressed II, an exhibition of politically and socially conscious paper works opened last night and is running now through March 24th at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA.

The show features works by Chaz Maviyane-Davies, Mark Price, Bruce New, Nmo Designs, Helvetica Jones, Deborah Lawrence, Katy McDaniel and more. In addition workshops for stencil graffiti, puppetmaking, silkscreening, and lithography are being held at the gallery throughout the month.

I also participated by contributing the image "Happy?" (shown left) which is included on panels covered in wheatpasted images throughout the space.

In the spirit of the exhibition I'm providing a downloadable print ready PDF of the image here which you are welcome to print and use as you see fit under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. If you use it please send me a photo of the result.

Tattered Ribbon

Another sharp take on the yellow ribbon from Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist Clay Bennett for the Christian Science Monitor.

See also: Infinite Ribbon

ALR on tour Boone, NC - Richmond, VA

I gave three talks this week about my company and the concept of socially conscious design (and how to make a living doing it!).

Two of them took place in the lovely little town of Boone, North Carolina. Thanks to Megan Urban, Marilyn Smith and the Boone student AIGA for bringing me down to speak at Appalachian State University. I met some incredibly enthusiastic students (shown left) and ate at some great local restaurants, serving vegetarian and organic food, while I was there.


I also spoke with students in Living Simply, Living Justly [!], an honors class at Virginia Commonwealth University (where I also teach the socially conscious design course Design Rebels). Thanks to Kathleen Kenney for inviting me.