| koyaanisqHOTsi ! |
[Aug. 24th, 2007|12:56 am] |
I get it! ...it's 'cause they're from iceland! Right??
i went to see Leo Di's new movie (Leo Leila & Nadia's movie; The 11th Hour. Pretty impressive. Lots of Bioneers doing what they do best -explaining the situation (or most of it- he doesn't go that deep into climate change), and examining the multi-causal planetary breakdown that is now starting to happen. And by the last third of the flick, it's peppered with solution on top of solution. And with 52 interviews, while everyone only gets a few moments here & there to push the -well structured- parts of the essay, it does present a cohesive argument for action and optimism. And it's full of archival imagery, and a total buzzclip intro (i guess if you know me, you'd know i dig that).
And cool music. At one poignant moment --a peaceful lull after a particularly tense earth-in-crisis montage, there was even some Sigur Rós with whom to fly-over ice-fields
i was thinking 'Wow Ágætis byrjun, what an odd choice'... but now i get it! they're from Iceland! And at the time, the visuals were these relaxed pan-o-rama ice shots from greenland. which is a land full of (that melting) ice... cute
And just like i like it, they really looked at as wide an angle as they perhaps felt they could (Meat was shockingly absent in this movie). Which is really the best way to deal with climate change, omnilateraly, right? But they are not just looking at climate change -thought it's a big part of it, but almost everything. Almost to the point like what i was accused of back in the day (getting chewed out by a documentary legend); that you can't try to solve all of the worlds problems in one movie. And i am sure some critics will accuse these Directors/Writer/Producers of just that (if they stop harping on his flight patterns). But fuck 'em Leo, personally I agree that that is the way the story ought to be told. This is about our evolution or sticking to a lifestyle that east its young till theres nothing left... why pussyfoot around that? Why deal with CO2s and NOXs when it goes so much deeper and people really have to "get it" if they're going to commit to it. At one point someone quotes someone else (sorry for being vague but with 52 interviews in 90 minutes its hard to remember who said what, i just remember he said it was a quote: After asking what we are really looking for with all this hyperconsumption: "One can never really be full, if they're filling themselves with things that they don't really want" or something like that. And that and climate change are in as much of a dance, as emissions or cows or hurricanes...
Their view of stuff like the rainforests was obviously different than mine as there's room for hope and optimism even there, but all in all, it is a moving eye opener for anyone who is somewhat aware, and especially the ones who aren't but will be compelled to go for Leo Di (or soon to be converts) or from the soon-to-be Leo Di army (mark my words. Leo Di army). And even for the choir who wants to be preached at, by the third part you will be happy to see so many green techs you know everyone and every kid in America ought to know exists (like the Tesla, living machines...). And you may just learn a new one or two (while i dig the Fungi Perfecti guy Paul Stamets a lot, and heard him talk about those mushrooms that eat up heavy metal spills an such, i never heard the words "mycofiltration" and "mycorestoration" before. Awesome!
And again i particularly like is that it even take that extra bold step, asking the question that really lies even at the heart of the entire climate change thing. What is it that is really happening deep at the core of us that is out of whack. Because it's not just about CO2, but about what our species has become... and where we are (very able and) headed
kudos to Leila Connors Peterson, Her Sister Nadia Connors and of course Mr. Leo DiCaprio (that's not him. That's Kenny Ausable founder of the Bioneers (and founder exCEO of Seeds of Change, and filmaker).
Oh heck. go see the movie when it hits your town! and in the meantime, the website they have is pretty good to see what it's all about, including everyone interviewed and much much more... go! |
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| and more and more... |
[Jul. 30th, 2006|04:01 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | climate adaptation, climatemodification, dinosaur fuels, evolution, extreme weather, food, greenfuture, i want one!!!, living machines, my happy place, prts | ] |
global warming is an existential threat that should affect our approach to just about every issue. To take it seriously, we would have to change the way we think about transportation, agriculture, development, water resources, natural disasters, foreign relations and more.
-in today's San Jose Mercury News "High energy prices compelling Americans to care about climate" |
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| CUNY Bronx Campus to be greenest yet! and gets a living machine!! |
[May. 13th, 2006|12:49 pm] |
The $60 million, 55,000-sq.-ft. CUNY science building at Herbert H. Lehman College in the Bronx will focus on plant science and ecology. "At Lehman, we are shooting for LEED silver certification," said Eduardo Del Valle, director of design and construction management for CUNY, adding that some of the planned features could include the installation of wind turbines (!) and a living machine (!!!) The Lehman facility is under design by Perkins + Will of New York and is slated to have construction begin in June 2008. |
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| the whole organic cheese company is a "Living Machine" |
[Feb. 20th, 2006|01:58 pm] |
the leader of the pack in Wisconsin......
  
...from WisBusiness.com: "At Cedar Grove Cheese, the entire process of making organic cheese, down to how wash-water is treated, is part of a “living machine.” Owner Bob Wills and his staff of 32 produce more than 3.5 million pounds of cheese per year, making Cedar Grove one of the largest, if not the largest, producers of organic and rBGH-free cheese in the country."
Sure organic cheese is exciting and all, but what the real kewl part is that Wills is the first guy to clean up his wastewater with a Living Machine!! Now that's exciting! Not only does he filter out 99% of the waste from his operation but he even gets an added profit. The machine makes soil so he is going to start selling potting soil made from the microbes eating up his cheese waste.... Nice! |
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| Toto, I think we are in kansas still |
[Jan. 25th, 2006|01:27 pm] |
In Lawrence Kansas, Plans for a $75 million sewer plant considered crucial for future community growth may be delayed while city leaders learn all about living machines
“I think it would be easier on the river and the environment,” said Tom Bracciano, a member of the Public Advisory Committee and facilities planning director for the Lawrence school district. “Anytime you can use a natural approach, that’s good.” they are actually going ahead with this! Makes me so happy! |
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| ..advanced generation of living machines |
[Jan. 17th, 2006|08:36 am] |
...from designer microbes, to the waste eating kind...
..the news today is that the Living Design Group has launched a new generation of Living Machines. Now, even more simple to operate, cost effective and aesthetically pleasant! As opposed to the first generation of (greenhouse enclosed) Living Machines, this Advanced Generation of Living Machine systems require no environmental enclosure in moderate climates, and can be integrated seamlessly into the working green space of a variety of project types and scales. In addition, they do not produce bio-solids (sludge) and can withstand large variations of loadings associated with seasonal uses.
Just to back up a little, Living Machines, invented by Dr. John Todd, use plants and microbes to clean water instead of chemicals. They can handle household waste, and easily tackle industrial wastes, turning 600 to 750,000 gallons of waste per day into hyacinths and snails... Dr. Todd (a student of Bucky Fuller BTW), has been working with Living Machines for decades has found that there are certain plants or small animals that love certain kinds of waste. What he does is let the water run through a series of cisterns with different plants in each. What one plant likes to eat, it turns into other forms of waste, so in the next cistern he has the plant that considers that waste food. By the time the water comes out, it's 5 times cleaner than traditional waste water treatment.
For communities, Living Machine systems are an alternative to dependence on municipal wastewater treatment facilities and provide a cost effective and smart growth alternative to extending existing municipal sewer lines. In addition, they can be designed and expanded in a modular fashion so that wastewater treatment is consistent with the needs of a growing community.
the LDG is based in Taos NM (what a wild place!!) and while Dr. Todd is not actively involved in the Group (he teaches at UVM, it's a little far) he is in their hearts, that's for sure... they (LDG) also do have a pretty active blog, so you can follow the advancements of this technology, sure to spread around the globe to anywhere where.. where we can use clean water! |
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| My Own Private Livingwall...... |
[Jan. 6th, 2006|10:02 am] |
Scalability brings natural brilliance down to the homefront
Living walls are awesome! There's no question to that. Sure they're gorgeous, like vertical rainforests, but the truly innovative part of these biofilters are their capacity to break down hundreds of different kinds of contaminants found in indoor air. Thanks to the action of microbes that live on the plant roots, common pollutants such as formaldehyde, toluene, carbon monoxide, and benzene are transformed into water and air. Not only that, but as you can imagine, on a cold grey winters day, These walls become havens.
Traditionally these walls have been built into office towers and malls, but now they have been scaled down (just as efficient) and are available for individuals and families!
( Read more... ) |
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