Monday, December 10, 2007

 
posted by Sarah Krasley @ 3:12 AM
Every year I look forward to the New York Times Magazine's Annual Year In Ideas issue. I've been reading the results since its inception, and have gleefully watched green innovations creep onto the list. As you can imagine, this year there were quite a few great green ideas.

Here are some of my favorites (with some musical accompaniment thrown in by yours truly):

1. Airborne Wind Turbines
Song: Blowin' In The Wind by Bob Dylan

2. Biodegradable Coffins
Song: Push Th' Little Daisies by Ween

3. Honeycomb Vase, The
Song: Bee by Moore Brothers

4. Smog-Eating Cement
Song: Smog LA by Charles Mingus

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did. I think my favorite was the biodegradable coffin. What was your favorite?

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Comments:
great tunes! :)
 
ummmm biodegradable coffin... that just seems wrong! lol love the songs! lol
 
Hi, my name is Faith. I am trying to get online support for my new non-profit website, which has a section focusing on environmental issues.

Our blog is located at http://someonewhocares88.blogspot.com/ and our website is at http://www.someonewhocares-web.org

I saw that we share similar political viewpoints, and was wondering if you would either blog about our site, or do a link exchange with us - if you link to our blog we will link to yours.

I have already marked your blog on our social bookmarking site.

Faith Autumn Reign
Someone Who Cares Founder
 
biodegradable coffins was my favorite, and the fact that you chose that song makes it so much better. My mom actually introduced me to Ween with that song. Good work.
 
i like it.. with glow... jenny
 
I like the Honeycomb vases best because of the ingenuity involved in thinking up such a wacky design. For practicality I'm stuck between the airborne wind turbines and the pollution-eating cement. They're all a bit weird, though.
 
can u link this blog comedymedia.blogspot.com it needs as many support as he can gets
thanks
 
Interesting blog!
 
cool blog...i like it green.
Have a good day!
 
great tunes
 
I like the biodegradeable coffin, but have long been interested in the airborne wind turbines. there was a great article in wired about them.
 
Hm. Interesting stuff, but biodegradable coffins lined with feathers? Feathers?? I suppose it could work as long as the body isn't embalmed, but wouldn't the ground cave in as the pod degrades leaving unstable support and open space? I've sometimes wondered if a significant amount of pollution would be created by cremation vs the typical burial procedures.

The smog eating cement, however, is an excellent idea. If it works I hope all new cement in major metropolitan areas will be made of this.
 
an interesting point about creating unstable land with the biodegradable coffin. we have lots of sinkholes here in California... If we are to use something like that, we may need to look at 'shrink wrapped' options???
 
Hahaha! Shrink wrap! Excellent.
Actually, I there are already biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable shrink wrap is probably already available. Although, if you're going to go in that direction you could just use any natural fiber cloth.
But on the other hand, if you haven't been eating 'no preservatives' foods, you're not going to rot anyway. (ew!!)
 
The Bee and the Industrial Revolution
By Orlando Martinez, IWA

American bee keepers are disturbed by the loss of the bee population, bees have not been returning to their hives and that is affecting the American honey bee pollinating industry. Is it an unparalleled natural rhythmic ebb in the honey bee population? or a portentous prophetic warning of a failing ecosystem? If the bees continue to disappear American agriculture will come to a disastrous end because the crops and trees must be pollinated by bees before they can produce fruit and vegetables.
Song birds, crickets, butterflies and ants are disappearing at an alarming rate. if is widely believe that the main causes of their disappearance is automobile emissions and the production of electricity by coal fueled energy plants and other chemical emissions that are used to manufacture consumer goods. Al Gore’s "Planetary Emergency' began with Britons 1790 First Industrial Revolution i.e. the mass production of manufactured goods for profit, and then spread to the rest of the world.
The reduction in automobile emissions, the recycling program and the low flush toilet are paltry efforts when compare with what will really be needed to save the earth. There will have to be other very serious reductions in the consumption habit.
Here are some of the regulations and principles, that will eventually, by necessity, be made into laws that the nations of the world, especially the capitalist consumer countries of the West, will have too collectively enforce.
The hard fact is that a true reduction of emissions means a reduction in consumption. This means the curtailing the manufacturing of consumer "want" goods if they do not pass the criteria of the "needs" rule.

"Wants" are the desire to collect possessions for the egos own sake and because money is available to indulge in this kind of self serving.
"Needs" are the possession of only the things-home, food and clothing- that are essential for the survival of human beings and serve the needs of the world community.

The world can no longer afford the "wants' of the consumer society that was created by capitalism merely for profit and the need of possesses.
A new value system must be created. Other incentives, besides profit and personal power, must be developed. The "New Man's Theory'- a Communist-Marxist theory-developed by Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Fidel Castro which was basically that Cubans should no longer work for personal benefits, but for the good of everybody in the society could be the answer to the question "How a can we save ourselves, families, nation and our world. This knowledge was not developed by Communism but was the ancient tribal rules that assured the survival of native people in hard times.
In this last fight to the finnish unity must prevail. International cooperation is a given. War is a no no. The war between Islam and Christianity must end. International cooperation was the goal of the 180 nations who met in Bali on December 13, 2007 to discuss what must be done about global warming. Corporations must have other incentives besides the bottom line.
Eva Morales said. "We cannot continue as we are or we will encounter our own destruction. Only recently, Gorbachev observed: we need a new civilization model because the present one has reached its end and has exhausted its possibilities; we have to reach a consensus on new values, or in 30 or 40 years the Earth may exist without us."
A new value system must be created. Other incentives, besides profit and personal power and possession, must be developed. The "New Man's Theory'- a Communist-Marxist theory-developed by Chi Guevara and Fidel Castro which was basically that Cubans should no longer work for "personal benefits but for the good of everybody in the society." The New Mans Theory is the answer to the question "How can we save ourselves, our families, our nation and our world.
The theologian Leonardo Boff, the founder of Liberation Theology, writes in his Earthcharter Commission essay Sustainable Retreat: " We are comforted by the maxim of the German poet, Hölderin: "When the danger is great, great is also the salvation. "When, within a few years, we reach the heart of the crisis and everything is at risk, then will be apparent the value of our ancestral wisdom and the origins of Christianity: "in case of extreme necessity all becomes common. Capital, knowledge and wealth will be shared by all to save all.  And we will save ourselves, together with the Earth."
The first step towards survival is to read and put into practice the Earth Charter: the most important document of our times, and the Sustainable Retreat by theologian Leonardo Boff member of the Earthcharter Commission. And the Progessive Utilization Theory (PROUT), the Ideology of and features on holistic, value-oriented socio-economics promoting economic democracy, cultural renaissance, and integrated view on human character and an theory which will replace Capitalism. www.proutworld.org The others are also on the internet.

Then each must take action by talking about global warming (the crisis)with your neighbor and then ask the question "What actions can we take to save ourselves and the world." The crisis must be the subject of discussion on the agenda of every organization and the subject of school classes. Do not wait for others to start. Send this essay to your Emial addresses and tell them to pass it on.
Preamble to The Earth Charter:
We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.
Through our united effort we can save our lovely mother earth but we must start now
 
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