Alex Steffen and WorldChanging.com

Wow!

I just got done watching a mind-blowing TED talk by Alex Steffen about mankind's transition to sustainability. It's very, very hopeful.



To distill: The Earth is too small and there are too many folks for us all to live as we currently do.

The solutions are many faceted, but boil down to two things: Bright Green Cities- We in the developed nations must work to make our cities as efficient, people-dense, and easy to get around as possible. Invest in infrastructure, low energy buildings, green roofs and a "sharing economy."

AND we must help the billions around the world leapfrog all old technologies and modernize with cheap and robust tech as quickly as possible. Set up community centers to teach computer literacy and programming.

Efficient at home and efficient abroad, everyone sharing and playing nicely together.

He spells it out well, I think.

It turns out that Mr. Steffen runs a site called WorldChanging.com which is like SuperForest's big, serious, older brother. You've got to see it.

Says Alex Steffen about his site: "(It's) a news service for the unimaginable future."

And yet, everything he proposes is very imaginable. What is totally unimaginable is the sort of societal transformation that would occur were everyone's basic necessities provided for using technology.

With everyone interconnected via the net, who can foretell the amazing hybrids and trends to come. As

We shall check in often with WorldChanging. And keeps our looky-balls peeled for Mr Steffen.

SuperForest goes to CES!

The words Las Vegas hold a powerful association for most people. The mere mention of the eponymous Nevada town tends to ignite images of the illicit in most of us. If New York is the city that never sleeps then Vegas is the town time forgot. Hopes run high 24-7 under the neon lights and dreams slide from the fingers of millions of migrants every day and every night, across every table-top in town.

Love it, or hate it... Sin City can be a polarizing place. But if there's one thing most people would be united on it's this... when you think of Las Vegas, sustainability is probably last thing that comes to mind.

Which is exactly what SuperForest went in search of -- throwing ourselves into our country's capital of consumption culture, into the heart of one of the world's largest conventions: The Consumer Electronics Show. CES for short.

Over the course of 72 intensive hours we scoured thousands upon thousands of exhibitor booths, miles upon miles of showroom floor, in search of the greenest gadgets, the coolest innovations for 2009.

We uncovered so much awesomeness, it's impossible to post all at once. Instead we'll be breaking it into categories stretched out over the course of this week. So if you're interested in best and future tech, green gadgets, and amazing innovations... stay tuned for SuperForest's top picks from CES.

Passive Solar Homes Go SuperNova!

(via treehugger)

(via trendir.com)

Folks is talking about Passive houses!

Using a mix of excellent insulation, high efficiency appliances, and an ingenious heat exchange system, passive solar homes use a fraction of the energy their normal counterparts use, and there is no sacrifice made in the looks department.

Thermogram of a Passivhaus building, with traditional building in background.

Here's a marvelously dry video tour of the Sustain-O-Casa of David and Harriet Borton.
The Borton's charming Troy, New York abode has been built with a number of design elements that keep its energy use in the ultra-low category.

Firstly, their house has huge windows on the southern facing side, allowing sunlight to heat the interior, while the northern side has very few tiny windows and is more heavily insulated.

As Mr. Borton helpfully explains, the 250 square feet of windows on the south side of his house generate approximately 60 million btus of heat, which is the equivalent of 500 gallons of heating oil. All for free, from the sun, just because he pointed his house in one direction. Amazing.

The Borton house is so efficient that the morning sunlight that comes through a window turns dishes on a rack into a radiator for the kitchen.

The video also includes a quick rundown of the Borton's three solar arrays, including a tiny little 25 year old chip of a panel that kept the family with a working fridge, telephones, and lights/t.v. at night when a snowstorm in the mid 1980's knocked out power for a week.



Here's the Passive house wiki.
Here's a US Passive house site.
A Passive house post from greenlineblog.
A wonderful piece in the Times about Passive houses around the world.

Thank you to David and Harriet Borton for allowing us the informative peek into their situation. The Grieco Brothers Christian and Christian for shooting the viddy, and to the Green Buildings Open House, for hiring the Grieco Brothers to shoot the viddy of the Bortons.

Here's the Green Buildings Open House affiliate site.

Sustainability can be fun!

Tom Friedman: Time to Reboot America

"The World is Flat" author Tom Friedman has a great opinion piece up on nytimes.com about the necessity for rebooting America, infrastructure first.

"That’s why we don’t just need a bailout. We need a reboot. We need a build out. We need a buildup. We need a national makeover. That is why the next few months are among the most important in U.S. history. Because of the financial crisis, Barack Obama has the bipartisan support to spend $1 trillion in stimulus. But we must make certain that every bailout dollar, which we’re borrowing from our kids’ future, is spent wisely.

It has to go into training teachers, educating scientists and engineers, paying for research and building the most productivity-enhancing infrastructure — without building white elephants. Generally, I’d like to see fewer government dollars shoveled out and more creative tax incentives to stimulate the private sector to catalyze new industries and new markets. If we allow this money to be spent on pork, it will be the end of us."

You're dropping pearls, Tom. You had us at "bipartisan support."

Here's the full article.

Thank you to Tom Friedman for so eloquently summing up.

EcoSystems - ION Salon NYC

The clever EcoSystems gents have done it again!

This time with the gorgeous sustainably-minded hair salon, ION, right here in NYC.

Check it out:

"At the TREE base on the lower level, the water runs along the 4 (four) back
washbasins, which are being complemented with “rocking” chairs, allowing the
clientele to sit back and relax, while looking up through interior skylights and
enjoying the sun light.

All the custom made furniture is bent wood, designed with soft rounded curves
giving ample comfort, and as well sinuosity all around the three main rooms,
poetically perceived as floating leaves coming from the tree.

Besides the nature of the line of products the salon implements (Davines), and
the clean energy resource that feeds the same (wind power), Ecosystems
material selection remarks the use of FSC certified wood, natural based coating
finishes, LED and compact fluorescent lighting, no VOC water base paints and
the optimizations of exposed existing natural materials on site.

Balancing a both sided strong effort, a strict timeline and an adjusted budget,
ION Salon was achieved under conscious and responsible guidelines to generate
what could be considered to become the first “Eco-Salon” in NYC."

-Pablo Souto

Yeah, sugar! If I had hair, I'd get it cut there!

EcoSystems is amazing.

Young, creative, and utterly dedicated to sustainability. If you need some furniture or interior design work done, and you don't mind on time and on budget, call EcoSystems, ask for SuperForester Matt, and tell 'em who sent ya!

Looky, EcoSystem dudes so cute:

Here are two more posts we've written about them: Bamba chair & Mini-Bamba.

Everywhere you look, it seems folks are getting down with sustainability. It makes for a good feeling in the wintry bones.

Love,

Jackson

(all images courtesey of Ricardo Parra. Danke Ricardo!)

Wine Bottle Package Upcycles into Gorgeous Lamp!

Hot on the heels of Julius's great upcycled pallet post comes this delectable morsel:

The wine box by the Spanish design firm Ciclus.

"After you've guzzled all the wine from the bottle contained within, the outer layer of its package turns into this swank-looking lamp. The package even includes the fixture and bulb you'll need to complete the illuminating metamorphosis."

-Charlie White @ dvice.com

Wow. So I get a delicious bottle of wine, an amazing lamp, AND the knowledge that I kept one less thing from being landfilled? That's a win/win/win! Triple win.

Amazing. Thank you Ciclus, Charlie White, and dvice.com.

Clean Coal vs. Canary!

I just got an email from the We campaign.

They have a new site and spot about the current state of clean coal technology, and boy is it a hoot.
Yes, I actually just wrote that.

Give the Clean Coal/This is Reality site a gander. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The site made me laugh out loud multiple times, and made me very hopeful.

If more environmental information was available in a format this agreeable, this charming, the world would be a sweeter smelling, more sustainable place.

Well done We campaign and well done This is Reality.

Michel Bayard - NYC's DIY Pinhole Camera Master Rediscovered!

With the above camera, Michel Bayard made these:





Good Morning SuperForest.

Jackson here.
A few years back I was walking through the city and I passed a man selling photos. What instantly caught my eye was that each photo was exactly the size of one frame of film, no enlargements, a one to one transfer.

I stopped and had a gander at the works, speaking in vague pleasantries with the vendor. The work was really good! I asked the guy: "What did you use to shoot these?"

And he replied: "This" taking a small plastic film container out of his pocket.

He had cut a chunk out of the side of the film canister, taped a small sliver of soda can over the hole, and pushed a teeny tiny pinhole through the sliver. He had made a pinhole camera.

I asked him how much he wanted for a piece, and he replied "Twenty dollars."

I cannot remember what happened next. I had no money, I chickened out, I was hit by a moving van. For some reason I walked away without a piece of this man's work.

I have spent every moment since looking for him.

Many were the nights I spent searching, kicking myself for not jumping at the chance to possess something that moved and interested me.

Yesterday, I found him!

Michel Bayard is an extraordinary New York photographer. His pinhole pieces are treasures. And when I saw him in Union Square this Saturday, I flipped out.
I got all fan boy. Trying to tell him how happy I was to find him while he was on the phone with someone...

He hung up the phone, gave me a smile and a handshake, and told me magical things...

He told me about using Altoids boxes to make cameras. He showed me how to position a pinhole camera to produce a variety of visual effects, bridges that twist and wobble, buildings that stretch skyward... He told me of his secret techniques for getting those that have not asked to cease photographing his works.

I did not get any of his back story, but I have his email, and I will approach him about doing an interview. His document of this modern city using an ancient method is utterly charming.

Michel has no official site, but many admirers:

apartmenttherapy.com - Michel Bayard: Pinhole Photographer
usefilm.com - Michel Bayard
fotolog.com - mbayard

Here's Michel's flickr set.
And here is Michel on an episode of BikeTV.

Most amazing is that Michel is clever and crafty enough to pack his entire display...

Onto this bicycle...

Amazing!

Michel, you are a SuperForest Hero. For your contribution to the cultural growth of the citizens of New York, E Pluribus Unum, your steadfast dedication to documenting this astouding urban environment, and for your awesome self-reliant, carbon-negative, bicycling ways, SuperForest is proud to award you... the Good Person Award!

After we had our lovely chat, Michel was kind enough to sell me this:

It cost $20.00, and I will treasure it for the remainder of my life.

Keep an eye out for Michel. The man is a living treasure.
He's sometimes in Union Square on weekends.

Love to All,

Jackson

Zeitgeist: Addendum

SuperForesters around the world!

Good morning.

This film has been making the rounds. It must be seen to be believed.

You do not have to agree with it, but you must see it.
Zeitgeist: Addendum will be one of the major talking points of the next decade.

Your homework is to watch it, that we may collectively discuss the ideas put forth.

Here's the link: Zeitgeist: Addendum

Love to All,

Jackson and Team SuperForest

Clothe yourselves!

When you think of environmentally conscious clothing, does a hessian sack for a dress come to mind? London-based Fashion-Conscience.com has set about sourcing clothes that fall into one of five categories: organic, fair trade, sustainable, recycled or vegan. If you're wondering what "ethical" clothing really means, and why it's important, read on:

Organic Although organic cotton is more expensive, you are supporting the environmental and ethical approach to growing the world's biggest fabric fibre. Choosing organic cotton sends a clear message that we don't want chemicals in our clothes and allows growers to take precautions against pollution in their own environments.

Fair trade Many companies exploit workers by paying them below official wage rates, making them work excessive hours, they may use underage workers, use "sweatshops", treat workers poorly in poor conditions, don't invest in their workers' skills or communities. Buying fair trade clothes means you won't abide by this kind of treatment.

Sustainable Choosing sustainable designs means you are sending out a clear message about how you'd prefer your clothing to have minimal impact on the environment, as well as potentially reduce the fabric and discarded clothes mountains already in existence. Plus, sustainable clothes encourage developments in biodegradable materials.

Recycled This prevents the waste of useful materials and reduces the consumption of fresh raw materials and their associated energy and consumption.

Vegan This relates to clothing that has not been made using meat by-products or any animal or animal-tested by-products.

To illustrate how beautiful and wonderfully funky such clothing can be, I've pasted a few pieces below.

Go With the Flow

Word from our sources at HIFF (the Hawaii International Film Festival) is that we must all go see FLOW -- a new documentary about the importance of protecting our global water supply.

I know growing up with plentiful pure water I often take for granted the fact that many people in many places on Earth do not share such luxury.  In trying to keep up with innovations in our efforts to lead and promote sustainable living, it's easy to forget about one of the main requirements for life:  Water!  Clean, fresh, wonderful life. 

Just watching the trailer for FLOW reminds me that we can all do more to raise water awareness, to help protect and preserve this valuable resource in our daily lives, and to promote and provide water to those in need.

A great way to do that now, is to DONATE to organizations like watercharity.org, or charitywater.org, that actively build wells and bring water to global villages in developing nations around the world.  It's amazing but just $20 can go a long way.

And of course, conserve personally and think outside the bottle to help spread the word. If you want to learn more, Flowthefilm's take action page is a great resource with links to mucho info.

Always merry and bright,

jordan

Green Pork - Mmmmmmm!!!

Nummy num tummy!
Sign us right up for a big ol' helping of green pork!

What is "green pork?"

From wired.com:

"Clean technology companies of all sorts are cheering the green pork that legislators added to the $700-billion Wall Street bailout bill that passed Congress last week.

Extensions to tax credits for wind and solar power producers finally got their long-awaited passage, but a slate of more obscure provisions could help drive new interest in a diverse array of green businesses, including geothermal, solar thermal, tidal, and wave power, plug-in hybrid cars, and energy efficiency aids."

Alright! So in the midst of the general free-for-all that the markets have become, somehow, near-miraculously, a bill got attached to Bail Out bill that renewed tax incentives, funding, and support to a huge range of sustainable-energy programs. Things like wind, solar and biofuels.

Excellent!

Annie Carmichael at Vote Solar sent this wildly encouraging email to some lucky folks, and we were fortunate enough to get cc'd:

"Dear Friends:

It is finally time to celebrate. Congress just passed a long-term extension of the solar investment tax credit. An 8-year extension of both the commercial solar tax credit and the residential solar tax credit (with removal of the monetary cap), passed the Senate (74-24) on Thursday and the House (263-171) this afternoon. The President is set to sign the bill into law shortly.

It's been a long road and we want to thank each of you for adding your voice to this campaign; the consistent public pressure saved this credit. We also want to give props to the hard working folks at the Solar Energy Industry Association who walked the halls of Congress day in and day out for two years rallying support for this vital tax credit. Thanks to all of you over 440,000 jobs will be created in the solar field in the next 8 years, and over $232 billion of investment will be pumped into our economy. Now that's economic stimulus."

So, the dark clouds have come with serious silver linings! Or green linings! Whichever color you prefer, the linings mean further steps toward clean, renewable, decentralized energy for us all.

News worth celebrating. Congratulations to us all!

(Disclaimer: The above image is not Porky Pig. Porky Pig is pink and has a much smaller nose. If Hambone resembles Porky Pig in any way it is simply because all cartoon pigs look alike, no? Either that, or it's a parody. You choose.)

The Trash Collector

I just found this on newsreview.com, and it takes recycling to a whole new level:

Emmy Winning Los Angeles cameraman Dave Chameides (or "Sustainable Dave", as he's deemed himself) decided last year to reduce his environmental footprint by keeping his garbage for a year... in his basement! Dave's goal, in his own words: "

"I came to the realization that if we were all accountable for our waste, if we couldn’t simply make it disappear, we’d have to deal with some pretty ugly truths about the way we live. And in so doing, it would cause us to start making better decisions about what we buy, where we buy, and what’s left over."

It's a very simple, but powerful idea, literally putting yourself face-to-face with your own waste and impact on the planet. And while Dave's may seem a radical statement or lifestyle, imagine if everyone in the world were forced to be fully responsible for their own waste. How would the visual and tactile realities of our own self-landfills, change the way we interact with our world? I know just looking at my overflowing plastic bin is tremendous personal motivation to both get off my lazy bum and recycle, as well as to reuse or reduce my waste.

So way to go Dave, raising sustainabilty awareness by boldly going where few other humans (or even eco-activists), dare to go!

And check out his blog: 365daysoftrash for great ideas and solutions for how to lower your own waste footprint. Dave started Dec 31st, 2007 and is currently on Day 274 (for the record, that's not Dave in the picture)

The Superforest Book Club

Speaking of books and Kinship with all life...


This novel is essentially a running dialogue between a (yes, I'm saying this correctly) telepathic gorilla, and an Average Joe Schmoe. If you can get past that odd premise (and it took me a minute to do so), you'll find yourself thrust into an engaging, challenging discourse on the evolution and mythology of mankind and the resultant course we've set for ourselves and our planet.

As silly as it sounds, it's surprisingly refreshing to find yourself put on the spot by a 600 lb gorilla, even if he is fictional.



This book was certainly a mind-opener for me, and for several of the high school students I taught. Even those who disliked seem affected (or at least engaged) by the resulting lively debates. Now I invite you to buy it, read it, and discuss amongst yourself (or here in the comment boards on Superforest!)

Find it here at Amazon. And enjoy!

Always merry and bright!
-jordan

LUNAR - Designer's Field Guide to Sustainability

As beautiful as it is practical, and you can download your very own for free.

Thank you, LUNAR!

Green Crude - Total Petroleum Replacement with Algae!

At last we can eat our soybeans and corn!

SuperForester Jesse just sent us a link to a company called Green Crude.
Green Crude is working on a perfect replacement for petroleum using algae.

Why perfect? Because fuels made from algae can be produced, refined, transported and distributed using our existing infrastructure. The fuel produced using algae is called biopetroleum.

Now, food crops can be eaten and not tapped to make biofuels. Now we can use sugarcane to make sugar instead of ethanol.

Algae can be produced just about anywhere, and the system is totally scalable. Meaning it can be as big or as petite as is convenient.


Here's how it's done:

Algae is grown in a tank, using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and undrinkable water.
The algae is strained out and the fats contained within are used to create biopetroleum.

There are one or two steps we've not gone into, but that's pretty much it.

This is the one, folks.

The future is about electric and algaefuels.

Electricity from sustainable sources, and algaefuels courtesy of the sun.

What a wonderful world that will be!

Right now there are a few companies working the biopetroleum angle.



Here's a list from Earth2Energy that outlines quite a few of them:

GreenFuel Technologies.

Solazyme.

Blue Marble Energy.

Inventure Chemical.

Solena.

Live Fuels.

Solix Biofuels.

Aurora Biofuels.

Aquaflow Binomics.

Petro Sun.

Bionavitas.

Seambiotic.

Check these guys out.

This tech is going to be huge.

The amazing Mr. Donnachadh McCarthy

This is Mr. Donnachadh McCarthy. A citizen of London who is engaged with the environment. Not just for a bit. McCarthy wrote multiple books on how you can be more sustainable yourself and related topics.

Now, I fancy architectural projects that feature houses that are sustainable, make their own energy and such. Which is good obviously, but what do we do with all those old unsustainable, energy consuming houses dating from the 19th century or maybe even earlier?

This is where McCarthy comes in. He lives in a house built in the 1840's down in the South of London. And as an awesome SmartPlanet feature illustrates he managed to make it fully sustainable! McCarthy did this in multiple ways. He for example burns wood for heating which he uses for his home but also to boil water in a kettle he got on eBay.

My favorite green application used in McCarthy's home is the rain barrel he's got on his roof. Thanks to the force of gravity the rain that's collected in it directly fills the sink of his toilet after every flush. And as a bonus the barrel is also connected to a small tap inside his home. Where you can tap fresh rain water (not to drink of course) but for purposes like watering plants.

Donnachadh McCarthy is an admirable man which could be an example for all of us. Check here for a comprehensive overview of the things he did to make his house greener.

-jdh

What is SuperForest?

(photo via flickr user MoonpieGirl)

If sustainability has cheerleaders, then SuperForest is their megaphone.

Love,

Team SuperForest