rantlust

Posted by papi on January 27th 2008 in Art, Earth, Movies, Reviews, Science
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Saw this short movie today, and thought I’d share it. The full version is not available on youtube, but the first chapter is shown above, and you can catch the full movie in one piece at:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Some of the things shown are overly simplified, but then cramming even a broad explanation of a complex problem into a 20 minute short necessitates a certain amount of abbreviation. There are some little nuggets here that are revealing. Only 1% of the consumer goods purchased in the US is used 6 months after its purchase?? That’s a telling statistic! [see comments below]

On a related note, there’s a stunning documentary doing the rounds right now which I highly recommend. The movie is “Manufactured Landscapes” and it’s a documentary by Jennifer Baichwal, on the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. Baichwal follows Burtynsky on his travels as he photographs the impact of humans on the landscape. Some of the shots in the movie are scarcely believable, as the scope of industrialization in parts of our planet takes time sink in. The images will stay with you long after you’ve left the theatre. The opening tracking shot of a factory is worth the price of admission in itself. Watch, and wonder.

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Posted by Suman on December 12th 2007 in Earth, Environment, Government, Politics, Society, Technology
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As you may know, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an energy bill last week (H.R.6) that among many other things raises mpg standards for cars (to 35 mpg by 2020), extends and raises the tax credits for residential solar energy (thru 2014, and to $4k from $2k), and eliminates tax breaks for oil companies (currently $13.5 billion - that’s $13.5 thousand million, for our readers who speak U.K./European English).

The bill is currently being debated by the Senate, which may reject all or portions of it, and the President may also use his veto powers.  If you are a U.S. voter, please send a quick note to your elected representatives to let them know your views on the matter.

To write in support of H.R.6, click here.

To write in opposition to H.R. 6, click here.

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Posted by anupcs on July 09th 2007 in Earth, Entertainment, Environment, Music, Science, World
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Thanks to TiVo, I was able to watch a lot of footage of the Live Earth concerts on July 7. The gigs were held in all seven continents in nine cities (New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Hamburg, Sydney, Tokyo, and Adelaide Island in Antarctica) to highlight the inconvenient truths regarding global warming. A large number of music stars ranging from Metallica to Madonna and some newly revived oldies such as The Police and Genesis (sans Peter Gabriel) participated. Eco St. Gore appeared as well with his hybrid driving buddies Leo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz though there were no PowerPoint slides this time.

This is all good but as Ricky Gervais (of the British “The Office” fame) cynically hinted at Wembley while introducing an act, all these celebrities came to these concerts from all over the world, some of them with their entourages in private jets and is that a good message to convey when dealing with carbon offsets and the like? The BBC’s coverage of the concert ended with the following telling paragraph:

“Thousands of plastic cups were left on the Wembley Stadium floor at the end of the London concert, despite organisers urging the audience to put them into recycling bins provided.”

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