The Anti-Advertising Agency needs your help. Send a SASE to:
Steve Lambert/Anti-Advertising Agency
c/o Eyebeam OpenLab
540 W.21st ST.
New York, NY 10011
You will receive a package full of “you don’t need it” stickers to plaster on ads in your community.
Via: fashionindie
Being an environmentalist on Earth Day is kind of like being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day (since I am both, I feel I can speak with some authority). I look at my environmentalism much as I do my national heritage – foundational elements of who I am. So, on Earth Day, I am happy to see others celebrate what is an important part of my identity. However, I think I may also harbor a tiny bit of resentment and even a tinge of animosity toward those individuals, the media, and corporate interests that co-opt the environmental issue for the sake of increasing ad revenue or pawning their newest eco-friendly wares. Is it fair for me to do so?
Welcome to Earth Day, crafters! Today, in honor of our one and only home, I’m taking a break from the Fabulous Fabrics series to address a serious dilemma.
If you’re like me, you have a decent sized fabric stash sitting around. In my case, it’s quilting cotton. Yards and yards and yards of it. If you’re like me, you also spend a lot of time thinking about how you can help avert ecological crisis. When the two collide, it can produce guilt about consumption of that much cotton - which uses a ton of water to produce - as well as dyes to make it pretty.
Don’t fret! While cotton is a thirsty crop, your stash can start to make up for its ecological footprint while it awaits that perfect project. Scientists here at Crafting A Green World Laboratories have been working diligently to evaluate all the possibilities and develop this list of the Top 5 ways your fabric stash can help save the earth. (We believe these tips are also applicable to other stash materials, such as yarn and possibly ribbon, but our research is still ongoing into these supplies.)
An introduction to how Earth Day 1970 got its start, and the framework of environmental policy it left in its wake [courtesy of Project Butterfly - running time is 4:41].
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/yMFILFijFb0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Following are the top international environmental news for during the week of April 13 - 20. See an archive of top international environmental news here.
Asia
Two “Extinct” Species Discovered
First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?
Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.
Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.
I came across some interesting bipartisan ads today. One featuring Newt Gingrich with Nancy Pelosi and the other featuring Al Sharpton with Pat Robertson. In the ads each of these “odd couples” sat together on a couch and presented a united front urging the public to embrace efforts for climate change. I loved it!
Then I discovered the ads were produced by the We Campaign which was started by The Alliance for Climate Protection. My heart almost stopped beating when I realized I absolutely loved something that has its roots in the efforts of Al Gore. Yes, I am a conservative, and I admittedly have a strong aversion to Al Gore. Nonetheless, I repeatedly returned to We and to the ads. I overcame my stubborn ideals (my first instinct was, I cannot promote this because it belongs to Al Gore) and decided to embrace the cause (my heart said, you are passionate about bi-partisan efforts in environmentalism and you must promote this).
Arguably, April 22, 2008 will pass as a non-event in Africa, because celebrating Earth Day on this day will be a celebration of the ecological disasters and sustainability failures of a continent believed to be the cradle of mankind.
As a dual citizen of both the Earth and Mother Africa, I am inclined to think that 2008 AD should have heralded a better world for every single human being. But, sadly, that is not so. Earth Day 2008 will be a celebration of the ugly in Africa.
For we cannot justify the fact that majority of the world’s poor are Africans, surviving on less that US$ 1 a day, living in gigantic slum neighborhoods awash with tons and tons of filth, without adequate clean water, and without access to basic health care. A great irony for a continent so richly endowed with natural resources.
There has been talk recently of boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics for any number of valid reasons. Whether it is for the freedom of Tibet, the atrocities in Darfur, or China’s environmental policies.
However, what would be achieved by boycotting the Olympics? Is China going to step back and say, “Whoa… the United States is right. We are all messed up and need to change.” Probably not.
And who are we to tell another country that they aren’t perfect? If the Olympics were here, who would be boycotting our games?
As a child I was led to believe that the Olympics were a coming together of different cultures and nations for the sake of sport and international cooperation. And in fact that WAS part of the basis for reinventing the Olympics in the first place. As the father of modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin once said,
“May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.”
Of course, I grew up and found that most of my dreams and fantasies taught to me by society were pure poppycock. But do all of our childhood misconceptions about the world have to be disproved? I mean, Santa Claus is a given, but what about the concept of peace on earth and goodwill towards man?
Some people are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to promote environmental alternatives, demonstrating just what is possible in a world that has long been reliant on fossil fuels.
I recently wrote of a Swiss family who are at the half way point of an epic round the world eco journey travelling only by foot, bicycle and wind power. During this journey they aim to cross seven seas and climb seven of the world’s highest mountains.
Now, a Swiss doctor is undertaking an adventure of similar proportions. Matrin Vosseler, in a bid to raise awareness on climate change has walked across much of Europe and the Middle East, sailed a solar powered boat across the Atlantic, and is now walking across the United States from West to East.
On April 25, 2008, designated the first World Malaria Day, 3,000 children or more in sub-Saharan Africa, majority of them under the age of five years, will die from malaria, one of the deadliest preventable diseases on the planet, global health data indicate.
Malaria, the dreaded and life-threatening disease continues to kill between 1 million and 3 million people each year, many of them pregnant women in Africa.
A two-month long 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) expedition on the Zambezi, one of Africa’s longest rivers, that begun on 29 March 2008 led by two adventurers, Helge Bendl, a journalist, and Andy Leemann, a boating enthusiast, partnering with the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, covering six nations in southern Africa aims to put a spotlight on the plight of malaria-stricken communities on the continent which contributes 90 percent of the global annual death toll.
British actress, Dame Judi Dench, who played Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, protests building an eco-town Stratford-on-Avon.
The 73 year old actress is furious over British government’s plans of a carbon-neutral village about six miles (9.65 kilometres) from Stratford upon-Avon.
Photo Courtesy Miramax Films
Subscribe to our RSS feed or newsletter
