websites

Media Shower: Environmental film

If you watched the Oscars on Sunday night and were paying close attention, you may have noticed that climate change made a small appearance. Missed it? It was right there in the middle of the "issues" montage. If you don't believe me, head on over to Oscar.com and take a look at item number ten. See it? Day After Tomorrow. (For those of you not familiar with the movie, IMDb can help. May I also suggest this and this.)

As I mentioned last week, this year's Academy Awards presented a variety of green tinted films, including Syriana and March of the Penguins, which both won Oscars. But you don't need to depend on Hollywood for great environmental filmmaking. A whole host of green films are being created by independent filmmakers everywhere, and are featured at environmental film festivals around the U.S. Two of the most prominent are taking place this month.

Treehugger TV has arrived

We've all encountered comments like "television rots your brain." Generally speaking, I don't believe technology is inherently bad. What we should evaluate is its application and use, not technology itself. Which is why I advocate that enviros utilize traditional and emerging media to their advantage instead of abandoning it altogether.

With television, I think most of us would agree that environmental issues and innovative green products and ideas do not get the coverage they deserve. Which is why I'm very interested in projects like Current TV, where you can help make television by creating your own news and/or helping to decide what gets aired.

So, I'm excited to see that our friends over at Treehugger have launched Treehugger TV, which plans to feature a new video each week. So far, they have two:

01: Trike Taxi
The men from Trike Taxi take us through their plans for a eco-friendly electric powered pedicab.

02: Swaporamarama
Swaporamarama developer Wendy Tremayne discusses the community event she has been organizing since 2002. An alternative to knee jerk consumerism, 'The Swap' is a creative happening that bonds people, fashion and ideas.

Good luck guys -- I look forward to future episodes.

Media Shower: The inauguration

What do you get when a significant number of your posts are about the same topic? You're asked to write a weekly column! Thus, I introduce "Media Shower," whereby I'll shower you (ha ha) with musings on the intersection of media and the environment. While I'll focus on television, film, video games, and the internets, no medium will be off-limits. Specifically, I'll be exploring ways that TV shows, movies, etc. are being used to help the cause. To that end, I give you Jeff Skoll.

GarbageScout

Freegans and Freecycle fans might enjoy the latest Google mashup: GarbageScout. Think Google maps, mobile phones, and free stuff in the garbage.

Here's the skinny:

New York City's streets are full of interesting and potentially useful things that have been thrown out.

If you see something good, snap a picture of it with your camera phone, and email it to GarbageScout. It will go up on the home page and others can go and get it.

This will reduce landfill, save people money, and clean up the streets.

(Via WC)

Google Transit

I was going to write something about the just-debuted Google Transit -- a very cool new tool from Google that aspires eventually to have all the nation's local transit information in one easy-to-use tool -- but Jeremy Faludi went and did it for me. So go read that.

Forests Forever

Ok, it's Friday, so give yourself a little break and head on over to what I've found to be one of the most spectacular photo essays on the web. Forests Forever combines stunning photography, serene music, and Flash animation to create a fascinating virtual tour of some of our planet's most beautiful forests. Each photo gallery is accompanied by supplemental educational information and a photographer profile.

I haven't watched them all yet, but my favorite thus far is the one about the forests in Baobab Avenue, Madagascar. Additionally, there is a cool interactive piece titled "Consciousness," which provides a history of plant life on the planet, a review of the different types of vegetation, and more.

Seriously, after you've read Daily Grist, head directly to www.forests-forever.com, which was developed by Fujifilm.

Former Google chef plans to launch sustainable cafe in Cali

Regular web searching was not enough. Neither were searches for images, news stories, and things for sale. Our own computers were becoming a web of their own, so there is desktop search to help keep us organized. And who can keep up with the ever-evolving blogosphere? But don't worry, there is now a search for that too. And the world is apparently not enough for Google.

In addition to niche searches, Google also provides a number of services, such as email, photo management, text and voice messaging, and web page translation. And there is even a rumor that Google wants to get in on the Wi-Fi bandwagon.

So what could possible be the next Google gift to the world? How about sustainable cafes? That's right; Charlie Ayers, former Google chef, has cashed in his shares and wants to launch a health-conscious and sustainably farmed cafe in Palo Alto, Calif.

Could there be an environmental version of the new food pyramid?

The new USDA food pyramid has arrived. In a very ownership-society type of way, the pyramid has been transformed into ... MyPyramid. The website is super-slow thus far -- I haven't been able to really dig around yet -- but the arrival of this new-fangled pyramid has made me wonder if some genius, marketing-savvy environmentalist might be able to fashion a clear graphical illustration of environmental do's and don'ts for individuals. Relatively insignificant no-nos (say, acquiring yet one more nasty plastic bag) would be weighted appropriately against much more significant evildoings (say, purchasing a clothes dryer or embarking on yet one more cross-continental flight).

I'm not talking about exercises like the Ecological Footprint, which I find utterly demoralizing and disempowering. (Yes, if everyone lived like me, humanity would need 9 gazillion planets to make do, rather than our single orb.) I'm looking instead for a clear representation of what can be done about the problems facing us and how I (we do live in a me, me, me world) can take part. Of course, continuing in the me-me vein, the American public may latch onto MyPyramid because it ostensibly provides guidance for individual improvement (lose those pounds), while the benefits that came from following the wise advice of the as-of-yet undiscovered green graphic would accrue more to society. But, hey, I'm just trying to riff on something topical!

In closing, let me repeat this exceptionally moving (contain yourself) "Tip of the Week" from the USDA site:

MyPyramid: Do it for you. Make one small change each day for a healthier you.

OK, maybe these folks (on loan, by the way, for a steep price from the food-industry world) aren't such smarties after all.

Even more Verdopolis

The very bestest Verdopolis coverage in the whole galaxy is, of course, ours. However, should you want to sample what else the web has to offer, there's more over on Treehugger, covering a speech (delivered via DVD!?) by the justly legendary Bill McDonough.