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Architecture Week was first established one year ago as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects. This year, for the second Architecture Week, there are three big programs the organization is promoting. But sustainability gets only a passing mention in one of them, and seems not to be part of the focus anywhere in the program.
While the AIA has another program it also began last year titled “Walk the Walk” that offers a good number of resources on sustainability both for architectural clients and the general public, as well as for architects and other building professionals, the topic is not highlighted in the Architecture Week program in any significant way.
When doing research for another post, I discovered David Gershon’s Journey for the Planet: A Kid’s Five Week Adventure to Create an Earth-friendly Life. I wondered what children would be encouraged to do and how this compared to other books providing “eco tips” for young people. This book is unique, as it creates a game for the children to play alone or in teams as they implement actions as part of the climate change solution.
You are about to go on an amazing journey-one that will help you and the planet. It will be fun, challenging, and exciting. Over a five week period you will learn how to take action to use our Earth’s precious and limited natural resources with greater care.
By Lee Welles •
March 31, 2008
My mother just turned 65 and, wise woman that she is, requested no presents. She did however, request that we all go down to the Starlight Lounge and dance our fool butts off! She is a woman who has her priorities straight: people are fun, stuff is…well, it’s just stuff.
This past week, I went into a Wal-Mart for the first time in about two years and I thought my head was going to explode just from the sheer volume of stuff and the incessant beeping of the registers! As I looked around all I could see was next year’s landfill! I was pretty close; in The Story of Stuff you will find the shocking statistic that 99% of the stuff we buy, we toss out.
Like any other bad behavior that is perpetuated generationally, we adults not only have to be come aware of, and change, our own habits, but find effective means to help our children not repeat our mistakes.
Older kids, 12 and up, may enjoy the Story of Stuff and be thoughtful about the implications. Younger children may just end up feeling helpless. I’ve mentioned Eco-phobia before and feel it necessary to reiterate that we risk making children numb to issues if they get too much bad news too soon. I thought it was great the the Story of Stuff blog links to kid-produced You Tube responses!
The reality is, $15 BILLION dollars is spent by marketers to turn your child into a good consumer.
By Jennifer Lance •
March 26, 2008
By Gavin Hudson •
March 26, 2008
For those with an appetite for cultural exchange, Seoul offers all the trappings of a cosmopolitan city: Starbucks, the ubiquitous Irish pubs, and, of course, the real gem of international cities–Mexican restaurants.
But hold on. You’re the type who wants to help make the world a better place. Frappuccinos, Guinness, and burritos are not the be all and end all of cultural exchange. Then you’ll be happy to know that environmental values are making their way into Korea as well.
Many Koreans are taking note of the global environmental movement, which is already in full swing in much of the world, with increasing interest.
By Jennifer Lance •
March 24, 2008
It’s official: There’s a full fledge Great Copy Machine Epidemic in our children’s schools. American schools are asked to help combat the epidemic by joining a national day of action to stop global warming on April 17th. To participate, schools need to put their school photocopiers under quarantine and pledge not to make or use any photocopies on that day. To participate:
1. Put together a team of the most creative, fun-loving, eco-conscious students and friends that you can find.
2. Perform a proper medical inspection to “diagnose” your copy machine and determine what disease you believe is making it chew up paper at such an enormous rate. Unfortunately, creating paper uses lots of energy, so it creates lots of CO2 that’s contributing to global warming and making the planet sick.
3. Send an email to the copy crisis team at copycrisisteam (@) gmail (dot) com confirming that your school photocopier has been struck by the disease, and include the name of your school, town, state, and the number of teachers and students who are being affected by it.
By Ali Benjamin •
March 19, 2008
This post reflects on the fourth week of my seven-part “Healthy Children, Healthy Planet” curriculum, a fantastic discussion group by the Northwest Earth Institute.
So far, our Healthy Children, Healthy Planet discussion group has tackled family dinners, consumer-free holidays, the over-programming of children’s activities, advertisements, and whether parents deserve a Bill of Rights, and what kind of moments can be used to pass down values. This week, the conversation turns to everyone’s favorite enemy: junk food.
Ah, junk food. It’s true what they say: we have become a junk food nation. We are a nation of processed food, of food in boxes, of omnipresent vending machines, of gas stations that stop selling gas, because the real money is in snacks.
By Jennifer Lance •
March 17, 2008
When I taught grades K-8 in a one-room schoolhouse, we began each morning with the sun salutation, only I called it the “good morning” stretch in order to not freak out some right wing parents.
We would go to the grassy field, form a circle, and flow through this vinyasa each morning. On rainy days, we modified this practice in the classroom. I’ve recently come across several articles about yoga in the classroom and the benefits to children.
By Jennifer Lance •
March 13, 2008
Update 3-19-08: Rumors of an outbreak now spreading to schools in Florida and Maine. Visit Treehugger for the latest news on this crisis!
Recently, schools across the country have been experiencing increased absences due to a nasty strain of the flu. It appears that children and teachers aren’t the only ones falling ill, but school office equipment has succumb to a different, common disease.
By Lee Welles •
March 12, 2008
About two weeks ago, I noticed that the soundscape here in the Northeast is changing. My ears seemed to be calling my eyes liars.
The crocus and hyacinth have not pushed through the still frozen ground. No migratory birds were bouncing around my still-brown lawn. Spring has not shown her face. So I asked Greg Budney, curator of the Macaulay Library at Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology, if I was crazy. Was something really different?
He alerted me to the fact that many year-round residential birds were now going into a song-mode of reclaiming territory. For example, the female cardinals will now be doing their version of the male’s song. (To hear this, click here and type 49063 into the “advanced search” box) He also pointed out that this is exactly why so many birds sing…you don’t have to see ‘em to know they’re there!
By Ali Benjamin •
March 10, 2008
This post reflects on the third week of my seven-part “Healthy Children, Healthy Planet” curriculum, a fantastic discussion group by the Northwest Earth Institute.
40,000 television commercials a year. That’s what the average American child sees. That’s around 100 ads for every 4 hours of television.
What’s that, you say? No TV in your house? Oh, but your kids will still see plenty of ads. There’s online adver-gaming. There are ads on school buses. Ads in the classroom. There’s product placement in movies. Not to mention billboards, posters, textbook covers, …it’s all fair game.
Week 3 of the Healthy Children, Healthy Planet series, the 7-part parenting discussion course from the Northwest Earth Institute, was all about ads. Namely, the pervasiveness of ads in our children’s lives, and whether it is even possible to create ad-free spaces in their lives.
What’s clear is that advertising is different in both quantity and quality than it’s ever been before. The amount of money spent on marketing to children — $2 billion annually — is close to 10 times greater than it was even in 1990. And the nature of it has changed, too — mostly, because there’s no place safe from it. Not schools. Not movies. Not even your daughter’s sleepover party.
