Body of War

Body of War is a new documentary about what happens to a soldier who returns home paralyzed after fighting in Iraq...




Thanks Melinda!

News Roundup

Some more recent articles worth reading in the Christian Science Monitor:

New Alternative Fuel: Chocolate!

Is Bioplastic a Viable Alternative to "Paper or Plastic"?

Person-To-Person Lending: Internet Based Microloans Helping Internationally.

Good Copy Bad Copy

Good Copy Bad Copy is an excellent new documentary from Denmark that reviews the current state of copyright law and its relationship to creative culture, using a range of international interviews. Watch the entire hour long film below (also worth checking out is the work in progress Copyright Criminals)...



Thanks Kit!

Michael Pollan in NYT on "Sustainability"

A recent New York Times article by Michael Pollan (author of The Ominivore's Dilemma) questions the sustainability of our current agriculture system and even the definition of the word itself:

The word “sustainability” has gotten such a workout lately that the whole concept is in danger of floating away on a sea of inoffensiveness. Everybody, it seems, is for it whatever “it” means. On a recent visit to a land-grant university’s spanking-new sustainability institute, I asked my host how many of the school’s faculty members were involved. She beamed: When letters went out asking who on campus was doing research that might fit under that rubric, virtually everyone replied in the affirmative. What a nice surprise, she suggested. But really, what soul working in agricultural science today (or for that matter in any other field of endeavor) would stand up and be counted as against sustainability? When pesticide makers and genetic engineers cloak themselves in the term, you have to wonder if we haven’t succeeded in defining sustainability down, to paraphrase the late Senator Moynihan, and if it will soon possess all the conceptual force of a word like “natural” or “green” or “nice.”

Read the entire article HERE.

via Treehugger
Thanks Scott!

Design Rebels 2007: RISE-NOW

Students in my Fall 2007 Design Rebels class on socially conscious design created two terrific community based projects as their final assignments.

The first is RISE-NOW a poster/web campaign to educate on the issues of sexual assault and domestic violence. Read more about it in my article on Osocio HERE.

I'll post about the 2nd project CHOMP, a healthy living program for middle school students, when the finished version is online.

Theater of Democracy

One of my clients, The Foundry Theatre, is producing an intriguing experimental play about democracy and consumerism titled Democracy In America (a reference to the classic de Tocqueville work). Since November 26th they've been allowing the public to determine every aspect of the show (from lighting cues to plotlines) by purchasing them. The market closes on February 14th after which they will create a show from what they've been given and present it starting April 1st, 2008 at P.S.122 in NYC. Find out more about the show (or take part) at BuyDemocracy.com.

My Favorite Pen

I teach a class on socially conscious design and as a way of demonstrating the power of design to explain complicated issues I use a pen as a prop. It's not just any pen though, it's one designed by Stefan Sagmeister for the community action group TrueMajority.org as a means of demonstrating the disproportionate spending on the U.S. military in comparison to our "enemies". The reverse shows how a fraction of that budget could be used to fully support several other government programs that have continual underfunding problems. To buy your own pens and other well designed politically minded goodies check out the TrueMajorityShop.

Word of the Year: Locavore

The Oxford American Dictionary recently announced "Locavore" as its Word of The Year for 2007. By way of explanation the Oxford University Press blog notes:

The past year saw the popularization of a trend in using locally grown ingredients, taking advantage of seasonally available foodstuffs that can be bought and prepared without the need for extra preservatives.

The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation.

Find out the runners-up HERE.

Thanks Mim!
via NYT LEDE blog

Parsons Opens Socially Conscious Game Lab

Parsons The New School for Design in New York City has just launched a new research lab focused on creating video games centered around educating on social issues. The New School of Design PETlab is a partnership with the non-profit Games for Change. From their press release:

The initiative was made possible by a $450,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as part of the foundation’s digital media and learning initiative established in 2006 to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life.

In its first year, PETLab will work with Microsoft’s Xbox development platform and MTV’s Think.MTV.com youth-focused online activist community on the development of both learning tools and digital games that explore social issues.

Read more in the AP article.

Spotted In Hawaii part II: Protect The Cute Fish

I've seen warnings about dumping spray painted over sewer drains in several cities, but I've never seen one etched in stone! Kudos to the folks in Honolulu's Chinatown for going the extra mile to protect the ocean.

Spotted In Hawaii part I: Bike Rack

I spotted these satisfying bike racks all over downtown Honolulu. I love their elegant marriage of form and function. Even when there are no bike riders around they still suggest a pleasant alternative to driving a car.

How To Make Books

My friend Esther, from the lovely little artists' letterpress Purgatory Pie Press, has a new book out that is definitely worth picking up. Chock full of easy instructions with clear illustrations How To Make Books is a handy resource for crafters, zinesters, designers, recyclers, and artists alike. I especially like the suggestions for making books out of recycled paper, envelopes, postcards, and even cake boxes! Plus the whole thing is beautifully designed and would make a lovely conversation piece on your coffee table. Look for it at your local independent bookseller!

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff, created by folks at Free Range Studios, is an entertaining 20 minute lecture on consumption by Annie Leonard, who spent 10 years studying where stuff comes from and where it goes. Leonard explains the problems of a linear production system in clear language with simple graphics that make the issues easy to understand, now if only it reaches beyond the already informed audiences that will most likely encounter it first. Watch or download it from the resource filled website created by HERE.

Buy Daryl Hannah's Biodiesel El Camino

Apparently Daryl Hannah is selling her biodiesel car (along with a pump & station!) via her website, details to come on December 20th. While you wait you can watch her show about sustainable living: Love Life.

Thanks Xtine!

10 Miles Per Hour

Trailer for the documentary 10 MPH about riding a Segway scooter across America. The filmmakers are letting folks download the entire 92 minute film for free...

Climate Changed Spain

Greenpeace Spain has released a new book aimed at encouraging action on climate change. Photoclima by Pedro Armestre and Mario Gómez shows images of Spanish locations as they might look affected by extreme weather changes.

via The Guardian
Thanks Phil!

Miss Landmine 2008

The Miss Landmine competition in Angola is a simultaneous protest against the use of deadly landmines and a celebration of a broader view of beauty. Created by Norwegian artist Morten Traavik the competition will culminate in a live event on April, 4 2008. You can read about the candidates and vote for a winner on the Miss Landmine site.

via Boing Boing

Iraqi Journalist Killed

I was extremely saddened to hear of the death of Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi, an Iraqi correspondent for Alive in Baghdad. Alive in Baghdad is one of the only outlets for Iraqi journalists to give a real view of daily life in their country via weekly videos. Ali Shafeya was killed in his home by Iraqi National Guard force. Get more details and find out how to help Ali's family HERE.

Istanbul Biennial: Optimism in the time of Global War

My friend Sarah was able to visit this year's Istanbul Bienale, whose theme was "Not Only Possible, But Also Necessary: Optimism in the Age of Global War". She sent some photos of the excellent installation "The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist" by Michael Rakowitz which consisted of recreations of treasures stolen from the National Museum of Iraq made entirely out of Middle Eastern food packaging and newspapers.

No More Paper Catalogs!

Catalog Choice is a free service that helps you get rid of unwanted catalogs in your mail. By utilizing customer codes that are printed on catalogs you can even get rid of ones that come in someone else's name to your address! Find out more and sign up HERE.

Free Wayfinding Graphics

I recently discovered that the classic wayfinding graphics, seen in most American airports and other transportation hubs, are available as free vector art from the AIGA.

The icons were developed by the AIGA in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation and were originally released in 1974 and added to in 1979. The entire set of symbols are Copyright Free(!) and can be downloaded HERE.

The link between low self-esteem and materialism.

A recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research finds a direct relationship between self-esteem and materialism in children and adolescents. From a recent Science Daily article:

Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Deborah Roedder John (University of Minnesota) show that the relationship appears to more than just a correlation, but a causal relationship -- low self esteem causes increased materialism and raising self esteem decreases materialism.

They found that even a simple gesture to raise self esteem dramatically decreased materialism, which provides a way to cope with insecurity: "By the time children reach early adolescence, and experience a decline in self-esteem, the stage is set for the use of material possessions as a coping strategy for feelings of low self-worth," they write.

Read more HERE.

Thanks Stephanie!

The best social advertising blog returns!

After a long wait the excellent Houtlust blog has returned as Osocio. As in the past the site collects the best of advertising/marketing for social issues/non-profits from across the globe, but the new incarnation includes extra features like news feeds, non-profit profiles, and a dictionary of terminology. Probably the biggest change is that Marc van Gurp, who ran Houtlust solo has added several new editors to the site from around the world (including yours truly!).

Osocio is a truly indispensable resource for anyone interested in the intersection of marketing and social good.

News Roundup

Sorry for the long quiet from me, I've got a bunch to post and hope to be updating more frequently in the coming weeks. First off some news clippings I've been collecting...

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Ethiopians tradmarking coffee to ensure Fair Trade.

Eating "green" at environmentally friendly restaurants.

Study finds White House manipulated climate science.

Africa begins banning plastic bags.

Raise a glass to raising sea levels

Here is a very interesting use of temperature sensitive inks from the Dentsu agency of China in association with the NRDC (Natural Resources Defence Council). The external face of the mug is a scene of an iceberg seen at a distance, which slowly disappears as the sea level rises, ironically activated by the addition of warm water to the mug itself. An immediate and effective way to illustrate the effects of planetary reheating of the environment, and in particular the effect of melting glacial waters.

Using the power of the sun to hock convertibles

Another ironic use of natural resources to save on artificial ones. Volkswagon of Germany is using a system of solar shades to project their advertising onto consumer spaces. An innovative and intelligent way of creating interest without the use of electric backlighting. Ironically, this piece is used to hock the VW Eos convertible under the tag “Perfeketes wetter für eine probefahrt” (Perfect weather for a test run).

Target Goes Thrifty

Sometimes a step forward is a step back.
After seeing that many used electronics were returned to their stores in "perfect working order", Target retailers decided to start selling used electronics through their website. (Reuters - Link)

The 'Pre-Owned' page on Target.com currently offers a variety of iPods as well as big ticket items like rear-projection TVs and plasma screens.

Looks like just the thing for this frugal holiday season!