Via utnereader:
In a move not usually linked with areas that have large expanses of open space and strong views on property rights, this central Texas city of about 125,000 is embracing innovative urban concepts. Waco is close to adopting a plan that includes mixed retail and residential downtown development, green construction and high-density, “walkable” communities that discourage driving.
“To begin with, black has class. It’s the best color. There is no other color that is better than black. There are many others that are appropriate and happy, but those colors belong on flowers. Black is a color that is man-made. It is really a projection of the brain. It is a mind color. It is intangible. It is practical. It works 24 hours a day.”
Via halfletterpress:
So juvenile, but yet so awesome.
Via murketing:
unconsumption: Why simply “feeling like part of the solution” matters
Probably, if you care about climate change and ecologically responsible consumer behavior, you’ve encountered articles that explain why this or that purchase or action is really not all that helpful. Possibly, you’ve encountered that very sentiment in writing by, um, me [Rob Walker]. Which might make you wonder what the point of Unconsumption really is — it would be easy to characterize this project as a “feel good” effort.
Well, I was listening today to an episode of a radio show with a focus on psychology and sociology, titled “Climate change and behavioral change: What Will It Take?” And while it included a number of rather discouraging moments explaining the problems of reconciling human nature with the sort of changes that need to happen, it also included a passage I want to share with you that will I hope explain the underpinnings of Unconsumption.
The host brings up the subject of carbon emissions, and one of her guests, Joseph Reser, who teaches psychology at Griffith University, muses on the tendency of research to discount the worth of any consumer behavior that doesn’t definitively impact carbon emissions:
To me as a psychologist that just seems a bit crazy. I think we should be talking about psychologically significant responses, psychologically significant behaviours. And the reality is they work together, if a person engages in a particular behaviour they not only feel good about it but it has other benefits. For example people think that the really meaningful behaviour is recycling but actually recycling doesn’t have that much of a consequence in terms of CO2 emissions. And so a person who thinks about environmentally significant behaviour would say, “Well look that’s just kind of self therapy, it doesn’t really help very much.” I’m of the view that any behaviours that are pro-environmental behaviours but that are psychologically meaningful are really important and all of those actions have real benefits.
One of the ways in which people cope with what they could well believe is an apocalyptic threat, and maybe that will be the reality, is that they want to do something about it, they need to do something about it. And I think it’s terribly important that they take some kind of action. And that action might not have a direct spin-off in terms of reducing carbon emissions, but it’s psychologically very important. It’s motivating, validating and they can feel they are part of the solution as well as part of the problem, so it’s a very important way of coping with climate change.
You can check out the entire show, or transcript, here. (Via Mindhacks.) But that basic spirit is part of what this project is, to me at least, all about.
It’s crucial to be aware of the ways that human nature — rational or no — gets in the way of solving the problem.
It’s also crucial to be aware of the ways that human nature — rational or no — can help us be part of the solution.
Christo vs. Colorado - WSJ.com
Art vs. impact (environmental, that is)
At what price art?
(WSJ page features a cool slideshow of Christo’s/Jeanne-Claude’s work.)
Reblogging my unconsumption post:
And speaking (on Twitter) of @BoxmanStudios:
This is an apt time to share information about Boxman Studios and its mobile venues: refurbished shipping containers that open, via solar power, in less than 20 minutes into 500 square feet of covered space that seats 26+ people. The company transports by truck the containers to each client’s site, placing them where they’re needed.
I must admit that I am a big fan of the idea of converting shipping containers into functional spaces — cargotecture(!) — that serve uses other than industrial cargo containment.
And as someone who’s planned and managed special (fund-raising) events for various non-profit organizations — including an annual seated dinner for 500 people held in a large, clear-span tent in a city park — I can say that Boxman Studios’ venue solution is much more efficient than the rental of tents, flooring, lighting, generators, tables, chairs, bar ware, etc., and the coordination with multiple vendors of delivery of all those rentals, plus the need to pay for labor to install the various items, all the while hoping wind and/or rain don’t affect … well, you get the picture.]
Boxman’s venues are currently available in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the company is based, with plans to provide services in other markets.
The Boxman Studios’ Web site sums up things tidily: “It’s Crossed Great Oceans and Traversed Massive Continents. It Can Handle Your Next Event.”
(Disclosure: As you probably can tell, I am a fan of Boxman’s; I also am a fan of Jim Mitchem’s, a personal friend who works with Boxman.)
Solar-Powered Party Box Way More Fun Than Regular Shipping Crate — from Gizmodo
For additional information and photos, visit BoxmanStudios.com.
*like* *like* *like*
