Last week sustainability + food was on my radar.  This week, it's happiness.  Maybe because of Coca Cola's massive Open Happiness campaign for the 2010 Games, maybe because spring has come early and the cherry blossams make everything cheery.  The Happiness Project recounts the author's daily adventures in pursuit of happiness, and a NY Times bestseller, while the Future Well is a new design firm specializing in health and happiness.  I'm thinking that the secret of happiness is simply discovering the things in the world that make us smile. For example this public poster series by the Dopludo Collective!  

 

 

 

Bill Gates TED talk is being called one of the most important speeches of the year. It is about climate change. Although we cannot see the talk yet online, Alex Steffan from World Changing has kindly summed it up for us, with some added critical analysis and links to supporting articles. Anyone interested in sustainability and climate change should read it and talk about what it means on a more local level with friends and family. To me, this is big news because the political has been removed. It's neither right nor left, conservative nor liberal. It's real. It's human.

Gates spoke about his commitment to using his massive philanthropic resources (the Gates Foundation is the world's largest) to make life better for people through public health and poverty alleviation ("vaccines and seeds" as he put it). Then he said something he's never said before: that is it because he's committed to improving life for the world's vulnerable people that he now believes that climate change is the most important challenge on the planet. 

On the consumer level, the solution to achieving zero emissions is through net zero buildings (buildings account for up to 30% of emissions).  NetZeroLiving.ca is a project that was recently launched by our friends at LightHouse. Ci was hired to come up with the creative concept and copy writing for the campaign – Make an Impression Without Leaving One. You can download the PDF brochure here, or visit the site to learn more – design principles, case studies and incentive programs surrounding net zero homes in British Columbia and Canada. 

With only two more days until the opening of the 2010 Olympic Games, Vancouver is an exciting place to be (so long as you are not in a car). The buzz, mounting as people flood into the pedestrian friendly streets full of art installations and photo opportunities. I think I am most excited about the people watching, to witness the city transform and of course all of the (free) cultural events. The world is here.

It was announced that the Olympics have won the bronze medal for their efforts in environmental sustainability efforts. The David Suzuki Foundation praised organizers for building energy-efficient venues, using clean-energy sources, relying on public transit during the Games, and offsetting part of the event's emissions. The first Olympics to take such an integrated approach. They fell short in communicating these efforts: To date the 2010 Olympic organisers haven't made the most of their opportunities to tell the story of their climate initiatives to Canadians and the world.

Riding past the Olympic Village is a beautiful feeling as I now sense the huge accomplishment felt by all those involved, thousands of workers poured their blood and sweat into the development. The Olympic Village represents so much of what is possible in the realm of building and community. So much was learned. Segue to The Challenge Series, an educational publication about the planning, designing and building of the Village. Broken into seven chapters that each cover a different topic, the narratives focus on the challenges we face in light of climate change and in pursuit of sustainability (including all pillars). It focuses not only the urban design strategies and technological innovations (eg. district energy, rain water catchment, radiant heating and cooling) but also on the people who were involved in the project.  

Of course more could have been done in terms of communicating all of the sustainability efforts, and it still can. Measuring or quantifying sustainability is like aiming at a moving target and is something that can only emerge over time. I am, like so many others, curious to see how the city recovers after all is said and done. These 12 short days have changed so much already.

On another note, not to be missed is work by Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer – Vectorial Elevation:  

Vectorial Elevation is an interactive artwork that allows participants to transform the sky over Vancouver, Canada. Using a three-dimensional interface, this web site lets you design huge light sculptures by directing 20 robotic searchlights located around English Bay. A web page is made for each participant with photos of their design from four cameras located around the city. 

Amazing photos of the interactive installation can be seen at vancouverisawesome.com, while the offical CODE live website where you can add your own design is here.

Food in the media is at the top of my radar these days. I've been cooking a lot of great recipes at home and with such mild weather, I am getting excited to start planting some seeds in the earth. I was most impressed to see Michael Pollan on Oprah a few days ago. Delighted and hopeful in thinking just how many people across North America were tuned in to his brilliance and concern. The average American eats fast food four times a day, he reports, while we have inversed our food to healthcare spending. No wonder organic food is not at the top of mind as a sustainability issue for most, according to The SHIFT Report. However we do know that 60% of North Americans have made changes for the better when it comes to food, and 20% plan to make some healthy changes.

A recent peer reviewed study demonstrates that there are indeed harmful pesticides found in everyday food products. Chensheng Lu, the principal author of the study writes: "Once you switch from conventional food to organic, the pesticides (malathion and chlorpyrifos) that we can measure. The level returns immediately when you go back to the conventional diets." The study is yet another wake up call for people to make more conscious choices related to food.

From Food Inc. raising questions about where our food comes from, Julia and Juliet bringing love back into the kitchen, to Chipotle changing the nature of fast food in the USA, to Pollan's new book Food Rules, to the rise of urban agriculture and people spending more time in their kitchens, signs are pointing to the fact that North Americans are waking up and asking the questions about what we are putting in our bodies and how it effects us.

Also noted:

Our friends at Spud! would be happy to know that they were featured on Trendcentral's daily feed – Farm To (Your) Table: Fresh, local fare can now be delivered as you like it.

And for those of us in Vancouver who read the New York Times, a very complimentary and flavourful review of our culinary offerings as the world comes to pay us a visit.  

Bon Apetit!

Part of the fun about Twitter, I’m finally discovering, is that you get to ‘follow’ people you only ever get to see on TED talks, or by reading their books and magazines.  John Maeda, President of Rhode Island School of Design, has an extremely refreshing and optimistic outlook on life which makes him that much more enjoyable to follow!  One of his latest tweets that caught my attention was a quote by author Palolo Coelho "Art and storytelling are the only bridges we have left in a world that is collapsing."  From Ci’s perspective, this is especially pertinent (in a strategic / romantic / Alchemist kind of way).
 
So what happens when our Vocal Globalists* are also Artists and Storytellers?  Good things.  For example: Challenge Your World 20/20 is a partnership between Challenge Your World and Motionographer. 20 video artists create 20 wild, whimsical, and unconventional machines that solve environmental issues. They believe “If we’re going to transform the world we have to push ourselves to think differently.” You can see the videos here. My favourite has to be Recycle Invaders by Thiago Maia!

* Vocal Globalists are passionate about social and environmental issues and make up 34 percent of the population. They are more concerned about Global Warming than any other group. They are very much connected with their community, talking amongst friends and writing blogs. They take the time to be aware of the issues, and are simultaneously anxious and confident about the future (SHIFT Report Sustainability Passion Index (SPI)).

Dr. Ron Burnett, President of Emily Carr University, and former teacher of mine shares his optimistic view of the Literate Future:

“The beauty of language is its flexibility and adaptability. The various modes of conversation to which we have become accustomed over centuries have a textured and rich quality that depends on our desire to communicate. That desire crosses nearly every cultural and political boundary on this shrinking earth. Rather than worry about whether text messaging will undermine literacy, we need to examine how to use all of the new modalities of communications now available to us to enhance the relationships we have with each other. That is the real challenge, quality of exchange, what we say and why and how all of that translates into modes of expression that can be understood and analyzed.”

What I take away from his closing paragraph is by simply having an open mind to our now multi modal existence, we may be able to better cherish and appreciate conversations, share knowledge and strengthen relationships; that the real challenge is to not waste our time and energy with mindless distraction.  After all, feeling connected to family, friends and communities is the top sustainability issue for North Americans.  Today, there have never been more ways to stay connected with one another.

I will be posting here more frequently, and am looking forward to it.  Garnering information from multiple channels – feeds, tweets, newspapers, blogs and the SHIFT Report findings – to record and support the cultural shift to sustainability.  It is happening, friends.

It's been too long since my last post.  Similarly, it's been too long since I've taken my bike out for a ride what with all the snow Vancouver received over the holidays.  It's all about to change...

There's been a lot of talk in Vancouver lately about sustainable transportation, bike safey, etc.  One idea that is sparking debate in the local papers is whether or not the City should delegate a lane each way on the Burrard Bridge to cyclists and inline skaters.  I like the idea of course, but wouldn't it be amazing if at all times, cyclists had their own identified boundries that cars could see and mind on every street?  Enter Light Lane.  Light Lane projects, with lasers, your own personal bike lane complete with bike icon behind you which follows you along your journey.  Unfortunately this amazing idea is still in its conceptual state but I and many other cyclists are intrigued.  I like it so much, I'm thinking of ways to make it myself!  Or.. maybe someone already has on Instructables.com... I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[via:bikehugger]  

I've just come back from a 'serious play' long weekend, sailing around the San Juan Islands in Washington (video footage here).  It was a regatta called Round the County that spanned 2 days, saw 64 boats participate, 46 knots of wind the first day and basically none the next day.  We placed 3rd in our division and 8th overall.  Sailing to me is one of the best examples of serious play.  We're all out there giving 110% because we love it and at the same time there is a lot at stake.  Overcoming fears and inihibitions, placing ourselves in unknown territory, pushing the limits of our bodies and designs, because in the end it makes everything seem easier and more alive.  

Tim Brown's Ted Talk on Serious Play came into my inbox this morning.  It's 30 minutes long but it sure is great.  He covers a lot of ground explaining how adults can overcome inhibitions surrounding play, learning from children, breaking habits, defering judgement and the absolute importance of creative experimentation.  

Seriously good stuff!

 

Have you ever wondered what happened after the tortoise beat the hare in that famous race? I hadn't ever really stop to think about what might happen the next time (or times).  While jamming on some ideas for stickers to give away for a bike safety station my friend was organizing, I did a quick search for images of the tortoise and the hare. We wanted the caption to say: "Are you really in a hurry?". On my search I found a speculative epilogue to one of my favourite children's stories.  I won't recap the story because it's quite short and a great read, but suffice to say, there are a few new morals that present themselves - learning from our mistakes, never giving up, and yes - collaboration.  Oops, did I just give it away?

This is not the end of my blog today.

In the context of slow and steady... an article today in Time Magazine caught my attention about social networking platforms, and the race to critical critical mass.

While MySpace got to critical mass first and Facebook became the poster child for the social-network generation, LinkedIn has always been the tortoise in this race. 

Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn in 2003. I have not joined this network but after reading this article and given my intense interest in the Slow Movement, this platform is said to be focussed not on quantity but - quality. You mean I won't get invitations for Vampire, Werewolf, Mummy, and Lil' Green Patch applications? Great. That's not to say they won't be adding applications as they have just signed some deals with Google and Amazon, but they will be very mindful so as to not clutter the user experience - that they will actually be useful in fostering intelligent social connections between professional people.

The main point of this article is that LinkedIn continues to thrive in the midst of these unsettling economic times and it has a lot to do with Hoffmans' strategic, long term planning approach. The author of the article writes:

That's the kind of counter-conventional wisdom and smart strategy that Hoffman is known for. He was one of those guys who obsessively played military board games as a youth. (He once told me he never lost.) Over a year ago, Hoffman starting looking for funding to ensure that LinkedIn would be able to thrive during what he then described as the coming nuclear winter. (He figured a reserve of cash would help LinkedIn buy up companies during the downturn.) All in all, the company has raised $100 million, boasts a $1 billion valuation, and last week signed up its 30 millionth member. (A spokesman told me the sign-up rate has escalated of late and now includes one new member per second.)

Counter conventional wisdom... I like the sounds of that. Perhaps I will be the next new member of the second. Or perhaps I'll take my time to join into yet another. social. media. platform.  After lunch.

My friend Sobey introduced me to the City Repair Project a while back. I remember being blown away with optimism by the stories and videos I saw on the website. Just today, I was inspired to revisit the site because of an exciting project we are working on here. I believe more people should know about this project!  

City Repair Project is almost an entirely volunteer-run social-profit (non-profit) organization based out of Portland, Oregon but has spread to other communities across the US. What they do really well is engage with people where they live. In other words, they physically go to specific neighbourhoods, bringing with them the necessary tools, equipment and enthusiasm, and invite local residents to take part in a transformation of ordinary space to meaningful place. This could be in an intersection road painting, landscaping round-a-bouts, block parties and even the construction of shaded gathering places. The very process of bringing people together, outside, induces a sense of ownership of the place and from that ensues pride and collectivity.

City Repair Project volunteers are active in their own disciplines, which adds to the diversity and collective intelligence at each event – architecture, planning, permaculture, arts, builders, musicians, etc. all take part and contribute what they can.

The other fascinating thing about this project (you can hear it in this video) is that they did not have permission originally to carry out their vision. What happened when they went ahead anyway was an actual shift in beurocratic thought around the nature of public space in neighbourhoods.

More of that, please.

A little closer to home in Vancouver, there is a group here banding together to promote cultural vibrancy – to end Vancouver’s reputation as No Fun City. Their strategy is to engage with policy makers in order to alleviate the barriers in place for cultural organizers such as performance spaces, galleries and clubs. You can read their manifesto here > www.profuncity.com. Perhaps there is something to learn from City Repair Project.  

Ci traveled to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada this week to facilitate a sustainability workshop with a major live entertainment event. They are scheduled to start touring North America early next year so soon we will be able to say more and let you all know when it comes to your city! What I can say though is that everyone present learned a great deal about an expanded view of sustainability and social responsibility. More than a recycling workshop (which is what they thought they were getting), we worked with them to ensure every category and touch point was put through our filter of the 4 pillars of sustainability (personal, social, spiritual and environmental) and the 4 barriers to conscious consumption (price, time, knowledge, pressure).  

After two days of solid work, we had the evening free to explore the strip and take in a show. Cirque de Soleil was truly mind blowing. I can hardly believe what human beings are capable of doing when given the opportunity. After stepping back out into the Casino floor, the experience felt entirely like a dream. Did that really happen?  

We did of course laugh at the irony of why we were there, in the city of over consumption and excess. I can see though, why so many conferences and off-sites happen in Vegas. It is a city where everything seems possible, even if it is somewhat of an illusion.

A few other highlights of the trip were conversations we had with people living in Vegas – taxi drivers and neighbors at the restaurant table talking about changes they are seeing and have seen recently – things like how the economic situation in the states has been effecting the city and also what kinds of sustainability initiatives they are seeing spurt up. To sum it up, what goes up must eventually come down, and then back up again.

May we live in interesting times.

This morning, Kierstin and I went to the Vancouver South Transfer Station, Recycling Depot & Yard Trimmings Drop-off also known as 'the dump' located at 377 West Kent Avenue North in Vancouver.  Let me first say that I am a big fan of field trips.  Even the bus trip down Cambie was enjoyable because the bus driver really liked his job.  He said it was a piece of paradise compared to the 15 years he spent at a plastics recycling plant.  We met quite a few people along the way who were more than helpful to share their deep knowledge of the city's industrial metabolism with us.  Not only that, they carried so many ideas for improvement, and recognized that these things take time to implement.  Patience.  

 

These 2 chairs were on their way to the landfill but someone scooped them up recognizing that they don't yet belong there.  Perfectly good stuff.  If you ever get a chance, take a 1/2 day field trip to your city dump and recycling centre and just take a look at the stuff people are throwing away, and what is being recycled / reused / repurposed.  

It's mind boggling! 

 

I can't stop here.  Over in the recycling depot, it was a little more optimistic and future friendly.  But still an enormous amount of perfectly good stuff being sent to the shredders.  

 

Definitely though, the highlight was when our gracious tour guide showed us they're garden made entirely of refuse. This image makes me think how hopeful I am when I see plants growing out of old objects.

 

 

Where the hell is Matt? And what is his carbon footprint?!  

If you haven’t met Matt online or in your country, Google “Matt” and this one individual will show up at the top of your query. Very impressive. Matt, born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1976, spends his time traveling the world and dancing with local people – a moving post card if you will. He then uploads the videos to YouTube where millions of people watch and wonder.

The FAQ’s on the website share a lot about his process and motivations for his documented adventures and also answer a few broader questions – like ‘why is the world so screwed up?’ This leads me to believe that Matt is a vocal globalist from our Sustainability Passion Index findings.

On the one hand, the videos are hilarious and offer a psycho-geographic break from our personal worlds. On the other, I have to ask how much energy is this one person using in his global quest to own the name ‘Matt’ and to show the world his… sweet dance moves, and to show us... the world. A vocal globalist, with a gift of connecting cultures, who happens to carry with him a very large carbon footprint.  C'mon Matt, offset that!

“Every design is, in essence, a critique of the context in which it has been produced. Every day I struggle with this thought: do we really need more? Because I am an optimist, the answer is yes. What we need is beauty, original thought, creativity, and awareness.”

I wrote this almost 5 years ago for my 'design philosophy' statement that was mounted beside my grad project on display in Carleton University's Art Gallery. For whatever reason today I am reminded of this statement, while also feeling quite weighed down by my 'latest news headlines' RSS feed, and compounded by the noise of traffic in the rain. What is it that makes something beautiful? As the cliché goes ~ beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Considering how many eyes there are out there - about 13 billion and counting... that's a lot of potential for beauty. Of course beauty has many different definitions and dimensions. It's appropriation by it's own commercialization and fantasization in the media is not so desirable. But beauty is also one of those mindset shifters. A very powerful thing to experience, especially when shared.

We have come so far in the last 5 years in terms of sustainable design, development and communication. And this is still the beginning of a (hopefully) long road.  Sustainable Minds is a relatively new company who recently bought the rights to Okala Ecological Design Curriculum which was written in part by my thesis supervisor Louise St. Pierre. This course was my starting point into the world of sustainable design and is now available to designers everywhere, not just in schools.  Whether you choose to dive into Sustainable Minds, or simply go outside and witness the slow transition of summer to fall, turn on your beauty filter and things may start feel a bit lighter and brighter, even in the rain.

It’s hard to guage sustainable progress vs. more green wash. Perhaps the most prevalent occurance of green wash going on right now is in Beijing and Hong Kong as the world gears up to the 2008 Olympics.

An article in Financial Times today articulates how Chinese leaders “have failed to recognise the extreme seriousness of the country’s air pollution and have favoured the appearance of progress over the difficult actions required to make progress real”. Not to be mistaken as ‘haze’ as officials would like to have us believe, the city of Hong Kong is is apparently suffering the worst pollution levels on record as it prepares to host the equestrian events of the Olympics.

From what I am reading, there appears to be a lot riding on the effect of the wind to clear away the dense smog that is currently looming heavily before the great Olymipic expectations.

Billions of dollars have been invested in the ‘greening’ of the Chinese Olympics but the fact that construction work has been halted, factories are closed and vehicle traffic restrictions (odd/even license plate scheme) demonstrates the severity and immediacy of the environmental crisis afflicting modern China. What a grand experiment, to see how major reduction in emmisions effect air quality in the very short term.

Ask a Chinese Anything is a fabulous blog on devlopment in China.

Back to wind and possibilities. I have always tried to imagine what wind powered freight would look like, while sailing around the massive vessels in English Bay every week. I think about tall ships, kite assisted freighters, and I try to imagine what is inside each container. Yesterday, I came across a post on the NY Times freakonomics blog about the return of the tall ship and wind powered freight. Enjoy it here. Also, a company called SkySails is 'turning wind into profit' with their Beluga kites made for regular freighters to reduce the amount of fuel needed to cross the ocean - up to 35% annually and up to 50% on trips with perfect wind conditions.

In the words of Paul Hawken, "Sustainability means re-imagining the world in such a way that we can stay here."