Is Our Future For The Birds?

A Murmuration of Starlings...stars of an amazing video.

I was just cruising through my tweets when I came upon a very interesting and mesmerizing video.

It’s a viral ad for a book called Macrowikinomics–Rebooting Business And The World by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, the title of which is kind of self explanatory. A lot of people out there are taking a good hard look at our world and what we need to do to get things back on track.

The video itself is fascinating and one of the YouTube comments sums it up quote nicely. It’s from someone who signed, justorace.

“This video consolidates the one single theme that we, as humans, are faced with the capacity & enormous opportunity to connect and make changes and dynamically over come any political agenda and better yet to make the changes that we need to survive for another millennium!”

The video and the thesis presented by the video’s narrator are well worth paying attention to. For those of us who are making some sort of effort to change the world for the better, and more importantly for those who are looking for a place to start.

Being in advertising, I’ve developed a bit of an immunity to persuasion. But I think I’m going to go out and buy this book.

View the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLLz5Cdrjo8

Find out more about the book at http://www.macrowikinomics.com/

Thanks to Context Creative for hipping me to this info.

National Geographic. The Gold Standard In Conservation Information

National Geographic is one of those institutions that seems to have been around forever. And regardless of their original motives, they have grown into  one of the most powerful pro-conservationist organizations in the world.

They tell amazing stories of the people and creatures that populate our planet and they have done more to inform the world of the fragility of the ecosystem that connects us all to each other and the earth.

Through their highly rated TV specials, IMAX movies, video sales and to a lesser extent, their monthly magazines, they are able to reach millions and millions of people around the world with what is a very positive message. They are truly an important part of the solution.

Their web site, like everything else they do, is strictly first class. Simple, elegant and straightforward and one of the sites I actually enjoy visiting on a regular basis. Because it makes me feel more connected to the world at large.

For anyone who wants to stay informed about the world and all the truly important things that are going on it it, this site is a weekly must-visit.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com

The Answer My Friend Is Blowin’ In The Wind (Bob Dylan)

Wind energy today is a booming worldwide industry.

This technology has truly come of age, with higher quality, more reliable machinery and a greater understanding of how and where wind power can be practically applied–from the independent home to a grid-connected utility-wide perspective.

Heightened concerns about our environment mean that this resurgence of interest in wind–a natural and widespread power source–is here to stay.

Wind Power is the completely revised and expanded edition of Paul Gipe’s definitive 1993 book, Wind Power for Home and Business. In addition to expanded sections on gauging wind resources and siting wind turbines, this edition includes new examples and case studies of successful wind systems, international sources for new and used equipment, and hundreds of color photographs and illustrations.

Over the course of his career, Paul Gipe has been a proponent, participant, observer, and critic of the wind industry. His experience with wind power has given rise to two previous books on the subject, Wind Energy Basics and Wind Power for Home and Business, which have sold over 50,000 copies. Wind Power for Home and Business has become a staple for both homeowners and professionals interested in the subject, and now, with energy prices soaring, interest in wind power is hitting an all-time high.

(Adapted from the Amazon.com synopsis, where you can purchase this fine book) http://amzn.to/a9sIzv

You can find out more about this amazing book at http://bit.ly/9ks3np

All The (Green) News That’s Fit to Print (Post)

One of my principal sources for ideas for this blog come from twitter. I have three twitters that I keep going. These include:
http://twitter.com/OurGreenDirctry
http://twitter.com/BuyGreenTO

These two are for tweets related directed to Our Green Directory.

But I have another personal Twitter account (http://twitter.com/JMsJournal) that for some reason also manages to attract fair number of green organizations. Not sure why because most of the tweets I do from this location have to do with sports and entertainment.

Anyway, one of the most interesting green sites on personal twitter is called Green Energy News.

This  site is kind of, but not exclusively geared towards people who are interested in investing in green technology or products and covers off a number of popular areas of the green business world.

I’d encourage you to check out the site and follow them on Twitter. You can find them at:

http://www.renewable-energy-news.info

The Solar Energy Picture Just Gets Brighter & Brighter.

It would appear that the corporate world is finally waking up to the reality that solar energy is going to play a big part in our future. Granted these are corporations who make any or all of the components to make solar energy happen but hey. The Solar world is one that doesn’t involve the utility companies. And that’s just fine with…well everybody.

One of the better sites for information on the progress of the solar revolution is Greentech Solar, which is a part of the Greentech Media Empire. (Nice to have an empire that starts with Green). http://www.greentechmedia.com/channel/solar

Their blog has lots of really good info on solar energy. Getting familiar with solar is the first step in one of the big changes we all have to make in terms of energy consumption. And the more you learn about alternative energy the more you start to see that the world really is changing and that change is being led by corporations from all sectors. Sure, there’s a profit motive involved, but there’s also an overriding, and it would appear genuine, concern for the future of our planet.

Here’s a link to a recent solar article on Greentech’s blog: http://bit.ly/a4VUis

Designer Creates Fake Rocks That Help Save Water

The whole thing about being green, someone once told me, is bring able to make substantial environmental changes with out making drastic changes in behaviour. Knowing that behavioural changes are always difficult, I always tend to gravitate to the simple things.

That’s why this idea, which I saw at Treehugger.com appeals to me. It’s simple and effective and something everybody can do. Well everybody who takes baths regularly. For shower people, well that’s a whole other matter.

I encourage you to check out this article and bookmark the Treehugger site.
http://bit.ly/a2R9dm

Green Can Be Fun at Environmentteam.com

One of the best thing about Twitter is getting introduced to people and web sites that you probably wouldn’t stumble upon on your own, by reason of the fact that there are way too many sites out there. So imagine my delight when I saw a tweet from http://www.environmentteam.com.

This site isn’t big on preaching the environmental mantra, but instead operates on the adage that a picture is words a thousand words, maybe more. This site will show you all the coolest new green gadgets, tell you cool green factiods, and connect you to a blog that will allow you to delve deeper into all of the aforementioned and more.

Environment Team is an extremely interesting site, especially if you’re interested in what’s out there on the cutting edge of green technology and where to find it.