Articles by Chris Schults

“A bicycle is a toy. A car is a weapon of mass destruction.” — Critical Mass participant

So Todd thinks people don't understand the Critical Mass movement, at least not the NYT Magazine and the NYPD.

If you agree, here's your chance to give Critical Mass some television exposure, to help set the record straight. Head over to Current TV and greenlight the four minute video short titled Critical Mass, which was produced by James Barff. If enough people give it the thumbs up, maybe Current TV producers will decide to air it. (Hey, they produced their own report on climate change in Alaska, so there's hope.)

Granted, Current TV has a limited reach, but it would be better than nothing. Right?

Ironweed: Films for the curious

Do you like movies, but are dissatisfied with the selection from the likes of Blockbuster and Netflix? Then perhaps Ironweed might interest you:

Ironweed is more than a monthly film club...

...it's a growing movement of people like you championing independent filmmakers who tell engaging, important, human stories.

Extraordinary films are produced each year that never get beyond film festivals in coastal cities and high mountain ski resorts. With you as our partner, Ironweed scours the festival scene and brings the best new films to your home each month. As a subscriber, your membership fees help support filmmakers and our non-profit partners.

Act Now Productions, which was founded by Adam Werbach and has been producing and distributing socially-conscious media since 1997, is the organization behind Ironweed.

The first DVD should be available sometime in November and will include a documentary about immigrants traveling from Nicaragua to America and two video shorts (one on NYC watering holes and the other on Iraqis and the future of their country).

Coming soon to Ironweed, and what might be particularly of interest to enviros, is Power Trip, "the tragicomic film that follows an American company that buys the energy system in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and then sends two bungling Americans to make the Georgians pay for power." You can watch the trailer for Power Trip here.

Accidental invention points to end of light bulbs

Regular readers of Treehugger know that they go all ga-ga over LED lighting. So I was surprised not to find a post about this:

An accidental discovery announced this week has taken LED lighting to a new level, suggesting it could soon offer a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to the traditional light bulb. The miniature breakthrough adds to a growing trend that is likely to eventually make Thomas Edison's bright invention obsolete.

Read the short article over at LiveScience.com to learn about the science behind the accident. On why this is of interest to enviros:

LEDs produce twice as much light as a regular 60 watt bulb and burn for over 50,000 hours. The Department of Energy estimates LED lighting could reduce U.S. energy consumption for lighting by 29 percent by 2025. LEDs don't emit heat, so they're also more energy efficient. And they're much harder to break.

Cameron, how do you do it?

Looks like Cameron Diaz has had a busy week (but don't all celebs?). After winning an Environmental Media Award for her show Trippin', she surprised a class at Stanford University when she helped lead a lecture on environmentally friendly design with enviro celebrity William McDonough.

Her appearance is part of mtvU's "Stand-In: Who's Coming To Your Class?" which will be premiering on mtvU Uber on Nov. 1st.

What is mtvU Uber you ask? Like Current TV and Participate.net, members of the mtvU community can help shape news and other content by submitting videos online:

"With today's announcement, we are handing over an entire channel online to college students and everyone who wants new music," said Stephen Friedman, GM, mtvU. "mtvU Uber gives them the power to create and program their own channel, and will remain in perpetual beta mode as they experiment and pioneer the digital future."

If you thought Cameron Diaz leading a class on eco-friendly design sounds a little odd, just imagine Marilyn Manson teaching little Johnny and Suzie Arts in Society!