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Patagonia has a footprint tool on their site to help you understand the environmental impacts of some of their products. Not a bad visualization of the manufacturing process.

Thanks to Allison Woodruff for the link.

Here’s a handy little data source, probably fun for webscraping and visualizations: http://www.worldometers.info/. Thanks to Kristin O’Friel for the link.

A few people have asked what I thought of the Greener Gadgets conference. The short answer is: had a good time, glad I went, it provoked some good thinking for me. The long answer is over on core77’s site. Thanks to Marc Alt for the chance to go, and Allan Chochinov for the opportunity to write about it.

Shaping Things Bruce Sterling, Boston, MIT Press, ©2005, ISBN 0-2626-9326-7.
Bruce Sterling’s take on a plausible future in which everything made has a network address, and therefore a documented and documentable history. He takes this vision to its extreme, showing how it changes everything from design to manufacturing to consumption to disposal of material goods. An inspiring read if you’re interested in networks, material or information design, or sustainability.

Technorati Tags: design, environment, law, networked objects, networks, pcomp, philosophy, physical computing, RFID, sociology, sustainability

Shawn Frayne’s windbelt is a neat idea. It’s bassically a membrane that vibrates when wind passes across it, causing it to move a pair of magnets in a coil, which then generates electricity. Though it doesn’t generate a lot of power, it could be used effectively to power remote sensors or small indicators that currently run on battery power, relatively cheaply.

Technorati Tags: electronics, power

Marianne Petit sent me these pictures of public recycling bins in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. They’re eye-catching, but I wonder how many people understand that they’re specifically recycling bins. I guess there’s a trade-off there — they may generate more mistakes, but if they collect more recyclable goods, the error is worthwhile. I like the fact that the opening is designed for can and bottle-sized things.

Technorati Tags: art, environment, interfaces, sketching

Megan MacMurray’s off on a bus tour of the US with Conscious Goods Alliance, to talk to people across the nation about alternative fuels, but consumerism, product labeling, agricultural practices, sustainable materials, and the products that are sponsoring the tour. She’ll be making video blogs of the whole trip, online at Official Bufanda (I am still confused as to what a bufanda is and how one becomes official).

She’s looking in particular to interview experts in biodiesel, auto-mechanics, wind power, solar power, hydropower, organic/local/sustainable agriculture, corporate agriculture, GMO’s, hybridization and building materials - focusing on the value of unbiased but informed opinions. So if you’ve got any leads, contact her through the bufanda.

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, environment, sustainability

Johanna Brewer sent this to me. Looks like a fun workshop, I wish I could go.

A Public Inconvenience
The 3rd workshop in the in-between-ness series.

Subterranean, ceramic-tiled bathrooms, plastic temporary urinals or compact, metallic washrooms in transit spaces; public toilets are an often-overlooked space in our urban environment. Technologies designed for the city often try to abstract away from the inconvenient necessities which our bodies require; or, when they are designed explicitly for public toilets, the focus is on supporting the cultural values of hygiene and privacy. What do we miss by ignoring the fact that public toilets are also the site for a variety of social practices?

‘A Public Inconvenience’ will explore the experience and affect of public toilets in an urban environment, in this case Amsterdam. Through observation and engagement we will consider how public toilets are shaped by, and themselves shape, cultural practices, values, and attitudes. And further, how this essential part of the urban fabric contributes to the everyday experience we have of our cities.

‘A Public Inconvenience’ is the third in a series of workshops exploring in-between-ness in urban environments. That is, the places and times that are often on the periphery of everyday life - the journey to work or the time spent queuing in a shop.

To be considered for participation, researchers and practitioners are invited to send us a compelling public toilet story (see The Stories section of the website for inspiration), an optional toilet photograph, a brief biography, and a short rationale outlining your interest in the workshop. This document should not exceed two pages.

Submissions:
Send to karen.martin@ucl.ac.uk by 21st September 2007
Acceptance Notification is 28th September 2007

Further Information:
http://www.inbetweeness.org/apublicinconvenience/

Place and Time:
26th & 27th October 2007
Waag Society, Amsterdam

Organisers:
Arianna Bassoli (The London School of Economics)
Johanna Brewer (University of California, Irvine)
Karen Martin (Bartlett School of Graduate Studies)
Valentina Nisi (Fattoria Mediale)
Martine Posthuma de Boer (Fattoria Mediale)

Technorati Tags: cities, conferences & workshops, design, environment

There’s a new report out from the Social Science Research Council’s Information Technology and International Cooperation program, “Civil Technologies: The Values of Nonprofit ICT Use,” by Ken Jordan and Mark Surman with funding from the Ford Foundation. This report is the last in a series of three major reports on the Internet, governance and civil society that were published by the ITIC program.

The report “explores exemplary instances of nonprofit ICT adoption by civil society groups from around the world, and draws attention to ways the values of civil society are reinforced and extended through their use of digital tools. It is informed by eleven interviews exploring the specific ICT implementations that had a significant, positive impact on the operations of civil society groups. These include: Advocacy Project eHomemakers.net (Malaysia), Fantsuam Foundation (Nigeria), Front Line Defenders (Ireland), Brian Fitzgerald, Greenpeace, Interfaith Project, The Center for a New American Dream, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Planned Parenthood, Ruckus Society, St. Christopher House (Canada). The report is available for download at the Social Science Research Council site.

Technorati Tags: cities, design, environment, infrastructures, networks, sociology

The Environmental Leadership Program is an organization dedicated to the development of new leadership talent in environmental research and development. They “nurture a new generation of environmental leadership characterized by diversity, innovation, collaboration, and effective communications. ELP addresses the needs of relatively new environmental activists and professionals by:

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