Every year, around the world, almost one trillion dollars of subsidies is handed out to help the fossil fuel industry. Who came up with the crazy idea that the fossil fuel industry deserves our hard-earned money, no less in economic times of such harsh human consequence? We fire teachers, police and firemen in drastic budget cuts and yet, the fossil fuel industry can laugh all the way to the bank......read more
There's a saying in Portuguese, one of the few that I know: Mais ou Menos. It means more or less. Brazilians often use the phrase when you ask them how they’re doing. Mais ou Menos: Good, more or less. Looking back, with the road to Rio+20 now behind us, the expression seems to be a fitting way to sum up the successfulness of the Earth Summit. Mais ou Menos. No, the document that......read more
Earth Day is coming, and with it, hours and hours of “green†television programming and print media coverage. People who hardly give the environment a thought all year will be “Green Watching†programs – and advertisements – about how to be more environmentally responsible. In the past, I always thought of this heightened awareness as a good thing. The added......read more
With the Earth Day launch of B-cycle, Denver, Colorado adds itself to the growing list of U.S. cities taking bike sharing for a ride. Touted as the country's first citywide bike share program, B-cycle opens with 500 bikes and 50 stations dotted around the city. A collaboration between Humana Insurance, Trek Bicycle, and ad house Cripsin Porter + Bogusky, B-cycle adds a green alternative to......read more
On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Actress Sigourney Weaver testified before the Senate, warning that without climate legislation limiting CO2 emissions, the impacts on our oceans will be monumental. “The oceans are 30 percent more acidic than they were during pre-industrial times and if we continue burning fossil fuels as we are now, we will double the ocean’s acidity by the end......read more
Environmental advocates and allies have achieved plenty since the first Earth Day forty years ago: the creation of the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, are just a few of the legislative highlights that come to mind. But, as John Kerry warned today, the U.S. has yet to confront the biggest environmental problem of today: climate change. In......read more
SHFT compadre and Honey Brothers member Ari Gold (no not the Entourage one) just sent over this moving bit of video based on an idea that came to him in a dream. While sleeping, Ari's unconscious mind offered up the idea of combining the harmonious pop of Beach Boys with the classical avant-garde of Philip Glass. Inspiration in hand, Ari mashed up the 1962 Beach Boys ballad "The Lonely Sea" with......read more
Another year, another Earth Day. Yay. Not to be cynical, but the annual celebration of eco-awareness doesn't mean a lot to the converted. Since its humble beginnings (NYTimes PDF) as a grassroots educational movement, the annual celebration has become more of a media and marketing opportunity than anything else. Like Valentine's Day. That's fine. We're part of it too. It's nice that the Earth......read more
SHFT, Vimeo, and Abramorama are proud to present PLANETARY, a feature documentary launching on April 22nd in select theaters and on Vimeo. From the Filmmakers: We are in the midst of a global crisis of perspective. We have forgotten the undeniable truth that everything is connected. PLANETARY is a poetic and humbling reminder that it's time to shift our perspective.......read more
Last week a group of cyclists dumped 13 gallons of paint on the road at Berlin’s busy Rosenthaler Platz, creating a series of colourful lines as cars drove through.The various colours of paint were dumped onto the road in large puddles at different locations throughout the intersection. As traffic drove through, the paint was spread around creating lots of colourful lines. The whole action......read more