Do I really want to quit my job?

This is brilliant.  The brilliance lies in the stark truth of what the ad is saying to me because... I was about to quit my job! (and I kid you not).  To save the world (I seriously kid you not).

How many of us are locked in the routine cycle of the corporate world, breathing in the mundane money-powered lifestyle and finally realising that there's something missing that's really bigger than our paycheck?  Either after being exposed to a one time pow-wow campaign (think KRONY) or incessant exposure to causes that pull our pity strings in all directions, that we decide to call it quits because we're (true to the following ad below) sad, angry, guilty for not doing what we can to save whatever we feel we should be saving.

Yup.  That's me.

But what if we're all meant to be play our part in this ecosystem of superheroes.  What if we all have different super powers?  There's only one of each in the Avengers.  So it wouldn't work if 80% of us quit to join the 20% Greenpeace advocates to stop the capitalistic world from misbehaving.  I mean, if 100% of us is on the other side fighting the cause, then logically speaking there's no one to fight against anyway, right?  Right.  That's one solution.

But here's another one, probably a better one given there're 80% of us scattered across the globe; Sit at your desk, do what you're skilled to do, live the life you're creating but make better smarter choices.  Maybe it's time for us to redeem our guilt by practising some self-compassion that we're not so bad after all.  We could choose a cuppa from free-trade versus a mugga that's not.  Maybe there is an easier way to do things.  And the easier way is presented here:  Enjoy.

What's with a plastic bag?

So we've been told again and again to stop using plastic bags when shopping, instead we should carry our own personal eco or canvas bag to carry our goods. Reducing the usage of plastic bags is a quick fix to our problem. But more important than educating the public to reduce usage is to find out what they are using it for. The obvious is to hold shopping goods, but what about the other usage?

In Malaysia, it is not uncommon for homes to re-use plastic shopping bags as rubbish bags, to be disposed daily. I think the more important step is to find an innovative solution to help homes to dispose rubbish that either does not need plastic bags or using biodegradable bags. Once we can replace the re-usage of plastic bags in such way, I believe we can reduce the need for it drastically. No? Hmm.

Global warming triggers earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes.

2009 and 2010, we were living in the green year. Every decent corporation is in the run to vie for an eco image in consumers' mind. For economic gain or for environmental gain, it didn't matter. Some companies speak louder than others. Some resorted to greenwashing just to be in the bandwagon. Some still not convinced it's time to run a campaign as part of its corporate social responsibility in public education for fear of unable to justify ROI.

Speaking as a person who is both a growing advocate of sustainability and an ad professional, I can tell you that we can run as many eco campaigns as we like, but the MOST cut-through campaign that gets the message right across is when nature decides to advertise itself, as witness by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan and the deadly tsunami that followed.

As hauntingly as it sounds, nothing tells the story of nature's great destruction more poetic than Hokusai's The Great Wave, more apt than now.

*****

Fire and Ice: Melting Glaciers Trigger Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Volcanos
Geologists Say Global Warming Expected to Cause Many New Seismic Events

Climatologists have been raising alarms about global warming for years, and now geologists are getting into the act, warning that melting glaciers will lead to an increasing number of earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in unexpected places.

People in northern climates who have been looking south and shaking their heads sadly over the plight of people living in the path of Atlantic hurricanes and Pacific tsunamis had better get ready for a few seismic events of their own, according to a growing number of prominent geologists.

Less Glacial Pressure, More Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions
Ice is extremely heavy—weighing about one ton per cubic meter—and glaciers are massive sheets of ice. When they are intact, glaciers exert enormous pressure on the portion of the Earth’s surface they cover. When glaciers begin to melt—as they are doing now at an increasingly rapid rate due to global warming—that pressure is reduced and eventually released.

Geologists say releasing that pressure on the Earth’s surface will cause all sorts of geologic reactions, such as earthquakes, tsunamis (caused by undersea earthquakes) and volcanic eruptions.

"What happens is the weight of this thick ice puts a lot of stress on the earth," said Patrick Wu, a geologist at the University of Alberta in Canada, in an interview with the Canadian Press. "The weight sort of suppresses the earthquakes, but when you melt the ice the earthquakes get triggered."

Global Warming Accelerating Geologic Rebound
Wu offered the analogy of pressing a thumb against a soccer ball. When the thumb is removed and the pressure released, the ball resumes its original shape. When the “ball” is a planet, the rebound happens slowly, but just as surely.

Wu said many of the earthquakes that occur in Canada today are related to the ongoing rebound effect that started with the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But with global warming accelerating climate changes and causing glaciers to melt more quickly, Wu said the inevitable rebound is expected to happen much faster this time around.

New Seismic Events Already Happening
Wu said melting ice in Antarctica is already triggering earthquakes and underwater landslides. These events aren’t getting much attention, but they are early warnings of the more serious events that scientists believe are coming. According to Wu, global warming will create “lots of earthquakes.”

Professor Wu is not alone in his assessment. Writing in magazine, Bill McGuire, professor of geological hazards at University College in London, said: "All over the world evidence is stacking up that changes in global climate can and do affect the frequencies of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and catastrophic sea-floor landslides. Not only has this happened several times throughout Earth's history, the evidence suggests it is happening again."

***

Now that you know. You know you have the power to do something. Do something.

Chris Jordan's stark truth about human and birds.

From Chris Jordan's website:

Midway - Message from the Gyre

These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent. ~cj, October 2009

--- end of message ---

We've seen a lot of gruesome photos unveiling new ways (every day) on how our inconsiderate thinking and actions have resulted to killings (in every way). Every day is a new story, every day comes with a new discovery. And we applaud individuals like Chris Jordan. We need 'researchers' such as them to reveal 'hidden' consequences such as these that we never thought of at all during point of action. Perhaps then, we learn to 'see' further than just momentarily gratifying our actions.

Can we drive an environmental car please?

Dubbed Honda OSM, this is the latest sports vehicle from the automaker that vowed to challenge current industry carbon emission standards.

Makes me wonder. All these great cars - the Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius and the great FCX Clarity which, listen to this, produce ZERO emission - heck, you can even drink from the tail pipe! Why on earth are they so groundbreakingly expensive in our country?! Not to mention, we don't even have half of the models mentioned above. And we're not even refering to the Beemer Hybrid. They say, we, (ahem, as in Malaysians) are not ready. Or are we? Who isn't ready? The majority? They never will! It's up to the minority to drive them. And if these earth-friendly machines are not here, then what drive are we talking about!?

I've got it all figured out. For really practical A to B people, they should drive a Puyo, for sports lovers, they should get something like the OSM model, for performance junkie then it has to be the X6 Hybrid (Beemer - can't think of one yet from Honda), for the practical and performance and stylish people with an extremely heavy conscience, they should ride on the FCX Clarity. And there. The world is immediately a cleaner, greener and happier place.

The Green Chronicles.

Just started on a new project with DU called The Green Chronicles. Not sure if that name is apt for the research but I think it should work fine for the blog that was set up to keep up with the reports, activities and archives.

It's gonna be a lot of work but I think there will be a lot of fun too. Great things to come, so follow us on our journey there.