This time each year in Vermont, we begin to catch ourselves humming the refrain of a certain George Harrison tune (btw, here’s a clip of George singing the song with Paul Simon on SNL in the mid 70s). So, it seems like the right time for Novothink to introduce its Solar Surge iPod and iPhone cases which double as photovoltaic chargers. As Mike Chino writes for Inhabitat, the Solar Surge is “touted as the first apple-certified solar iPod cases, [and are] capable of harnessing the sun’s rays to extend audio playback by 20 hours and 3G talk time by 4 hours.

Each case is fitted with a thin-film photovoltaic cell that’s capable of generating 30 minutes of 3G talk time after soaking up 2 hours of direct sunlight. Extra energy is stored in an integrated lithium ion battery, and a set of low-energy LEDs display the device’s charging status.

The question I have is how much sunbathing can my iPhone actually handle? But, I love the concept, so I’ll pick one up and report back.

Both cases are available now at $79.95 for the iPhone model and $69.95 for the iPod Touch model.

[Sources: Inhabitat, + Novothink]

As a Vermont-based blog, we’re always happy to promote a good Vermont idea, and, thankfully, this state boasts a lot them. From Seventh Generation to Gardener’s Supply, Burton Snowboards to Orvis, Ben & Jerry’s to Green Mountain Coffee, there are plenty of examples of great consumer brands that were built upon a foundation of better products and a commitment to social responsibility. True Body Products, which makes all-natural, eco-friendly soaps, is a newer addition to this landscape of thoughtful Vermont brands. The company was started by three friends who shared what they call “a commitment to useful products, happy people, strong community and a thriving planet supports the pursuit of a healthy bottom line.”

As their site explains, “the origins of True Body Products go back to a series of water-cooler sessions with a group of friends and colleagues at Seventh Generation in Burlington, Vermont. We dreamed and schemed of ways we could put a personal stamp on Seventh Generation’s challenge to make the world a better place. Fast forward to a cold morning in December 2006, when, over coffee, everything came together around an opportunity to make a good-quality natural product that would be accessible to more people. We formed True Body Products (originally known as Orange Mountain) to make True Body Soap: a 100% natural, environmentally-conscious product that’s priced significantly lower than other natural soaps.”

True Body Soap is an all-natural, basic, everyday bar of soap, made from only five ingredients—Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Vegetable Glycerine and Sodium Citrate. The minimal packaging is also eco-friendly.

We look forward to seeing True Body become another in the growing list of successful and responsible Vermont brands.

The World Cup kicks off in just over three months. For those of us who care- and, by the way, of the top ten most watched sporting events on the planet, the World Cup is #1 by a considerable margin, with the Super Bowl squeaking in at #10- the four year wait for South Africa 2010 is nearly up. Adding some eco-consciousness to the Cup’s drama, Nike has unveiled its 2010 World Cup uniforms which are made from discarded plastic bottles, plucked from landfills in Japan and Taiwan, melted down into yarn and then spun into fabric.

As Brit Liggett writes for Ecouterre, all of Nike’s national teams, which includes England, Brazil, Portugal, and the Netherlands, “will be wearing jerseys made from recycled polyester, which the sports-apparel giant is hailing as the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced kits in football history.”

Each shirt is made from up to eight recycled plastic bottles. Additionally, Nike claims to have diverted nearly 13 million plastic bottles from the landfill—enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.

Liggett explains, “if the recycled bottles used to produce the jerseys were laid end to end, according to Nike, they would span more than 3,000 kilometers (roughly 1,860 miles), a distance that exceeds the entire South African coastline. How do you say “amazing” in all the players’ languages?”

[Sources: Ecouterre, + World Cup,+ Nike]

Fast Company, infographic by Rob Vargas

Last week, Fast Company singled out the five top cities in the U.S. for ‘Green Jobs.’ As Maccabee Montondon explains, “the greening of American industry is in full bloom. Consider the numbers: From 1998 through 2007, the number of green U.S. jobs shot up 9.1%, while the rest of the workforce saw an increase of 3.7%. President Obama is certainly doing his part to make sure such progress continues apace: His stimulus bill dedicated $30 billion to exploring and expanding clean-energy technologies, and in January a $2.3 billion in tax credits went to companies developing new energy ideas and solutions.” The mag thinks New York, Boston, Portland OR, San Francisco and, surprisingly, Detroit are “making the most of this decidedly green moment in the economy.”

things change

With the United States Postal Service facing $7 billion in annual losses, the U.S. Postmaster General John Potter has recommended eliminating Saturday delivery as soon as next year. People are sending (and receiving) less mail anyway- the slumping economy means less junk mail from credit card companies and advertisers, and online communication and bill payment services have provided an easier/cheaper/quicker alternative to snail mail, with a drop from 213 billion items handled in 2006 to 177 billion last year.

Would we miss Saturday delivery? What gets sent through the mail these days anyway? Birthday cards? Wouldn’t we send those out a day earlier? Checks? All the more reason to opt for e-billing and direct deposits, to save time and paper waste. According to a study in the US, by the Electronic Payments Association and Javelin Strategy & Research, if every American household viewed and paid its bills online, it would reduce solid waste in U.S. landfills by more than 800,000 tons a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.1 million tons.

What would it save us? With the agency forecasting a $238 billion shortfall over the next decade, presumably cutting to five delivery days would help save on labor and transportation costs, not to mention related C02 emissions. And as the volume of items handled goes down and more people rely on electronic communication, would losing Saturday delivery really effect our lives?

I’ll admit, I’m sad to see the art of letter writing fade away- think of how important letters are to historians in piecing together the narratives of past generations? Instead of the long, descriptive, full-thought sentences between FDR and Churchill, or Jefferson and Adams, we’ll pour over the short, uncapitalized email blurbs of Obama and…who?…Oprah? And, it must be said, getting a letter from a friend or family member is always an endearing novelty. But, I also miss bench seats in cars, not having to take my shoes off to go through security, and Conan O’Brien in place of Jay Leno. But things, invariably, change. And wouldn’t it be good for us to take two days off from the realities of the week?

The downside, of course, would be 1) deep cutbacks in jobs, though arguably having a profitable (or close to it) USPS might ultimately save jobs. The agency was forced to cut 40,000 jobs last year alone. 2) Longer lines at the Post Office. And, man, do I hate those lines at the Post Office.

Still, I think we’ll barely notice losing Saturday mail delivery. Any thoughts?

[Sources: AP, SF Chronicle]

For those who haven’t seen this remarkable video, it’s worth a few minutes of your time. For my money, OK Go has cornered the market on innovative, low budget/high concept music videos. The above video along with that of their equally brilliant debut single are not just great examples of stretching marketing dollars as far as they can go to create a viral fascination and spark water cooler conversation. These videos also blur the line between product and packaging. What’s the real product here? The song? The video? We’re fans of the music, but the song is almost irrelevant here.

In this single shot video, the band makes a huge mess within the studio space, but it’s an irresistable example of how a good idea executed correctly can trump big production dollars and the inevitable waste those shoots create. Count us as big fans.

This comes via Core77, and we’ll chalk this up as another reason Nike gets it. Since 1990, Nike has been innovating new ways to recycle old sneakers, repurposing over 25 million pairs in that time. Nike Grind, the material that is derived from the recycling of the various parts of the shoes, has been used to create gym floors, running tracks, playground surfaces, courts, synthetic turf and more.

The above video shows how the city of Tempe, AZ has partnered with Nike to create new tennis courts. The city collects pallets of used shoes, sends them to Nike’s recycling facility in Oregon, and, in return, receives the materials to resurface the municipal tennis courts.

ambition, passion, innovation, talent, humility, mind-set- 'lessons from the half-pipe'

With the Olympics behind us, the analysis begins. What can Sochi learn from Vancouver? Has ice dancing jumped the shark entirely? Is Bob Costas turning into the little guy from Penn & Teller? Is there a crazier Olympic sport than skeleton? While we mull over these important questions, Vijay Govindarajan has already answered a terrific one- what can we all learn from Shaun White? In his piece for Harvard Business Review, Lessons From The Half-Pipe, Govindarajan writes, “when he won his well-deserved half-pipe gold in Vancouver under a blizzard of media coverage, even a sober academic like me was jumping up and down, watching the excitement on television. It strikes me now that the business and academic communities can learn powerful lessons from this young Olympian.”

The ‘Flying Tomato’ might be the star of an industry frequently associated with slackers, but Govidarajan calls White “the embodiment of the American spirit: a restless spirit that seeks to create its own destiny, not by settling for “good enough,” but by being the best ever.” Those ‘lessons from the half-pipe,’ which should inspire each of us, are:

Ambition. Successful organizations sometimes become complacent, and, over time, they decay. Remember Polaroid? Shaun didn’t rest on his laurels after he won the gold. He set himself a nearly impossible goal — a perfect score — similar to JFK’s ambition to put a “man on the moon.” When White didn’t have to, he tried a double McTwist 1260. Why is a huge ambition important? Because the thought of climbing a mountain lifts us up in a way the idea of scaling a molehill does not. Does your organization have a huge ambition?

Passion. Obviously, Shaun loves what he does. When you love your work, excellence isn’t an afterthought, it is the only thought. Is your organization passionate about its purpose?

Results. Shaun’s obsession is based on results. He invests the time to create new moves that set a new standard. Does your organization focus on results and doing what it takes to create them?

Innovation. Shaun is an entrepreneur and innovator par excellence. He constantly pushes the boundary and invents new tricks. For him, innovation isn’t a luxury, it’s a way of life. Is innovation part of your organization’s DNA?

Talent. At an early age, Shaun’s talent was recognized by one of his sponsors. He turned pro at 13, before the Olympics even had a snowboarding event. Does your organization pursue talent, attract it and nurture it?

Humility. Even while soaring high on achievement and adulation, Shaun has kept himself grounded, surrounded by family and close friends. The more humble you are, the more you know what you don’t know; you seek to learn. Is yours a learning organization?

Mind-set. This is as important as ability. Shaun exemplifies this, as evidenced in his recent backstage interview on Oprah

…Politicians and business leaders, it’s your turn. Where is America’s double McTwist 1260?

Starwood Hotels has partnered with VingCard, a leading hospitality security provider, to create the first ever Smart Check-In Pilot Program for its Aloft Hotels brand. In the pilot program, Starwood Preferred Guest members (frequent travelers) will receive an enhanced Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) keycard. On the day of a planned stay, a text message is sent directly to the guest’s mobile device with the room number at the property. Upon arrival, guests can skip the check-in line and proceed straight to the room, where the RFID keycard will unlock the door.

In the future, VingCard explains, the keycard may function as an all-access pass to purchase cocktails and food throughout the hotel.

Sleek, convenient, and no more cards thrown away after each stay.

First Solar hopes to recycle 90% of obsolete panels

We’re excited to see solar energy becoming cheaper and more efficient. But we still have a long way to go before every Tom, Dick and Harriet is putting solar panels on their roof tops. Recent estimates suggest that solar energy will only account for 10 percent of electricity use in the U.S. by 2025. And as Trey Granger writes for Earth911, “like any other consumer product, solar panels have a limited shelf life and disposing of old panels will eventually come into play.”

Today’s panels should have a useful life expectancy of more than 25 years, so the issue of disposing of obsolete panels is quite a ways down stream, but some companies are already developing solutions- thinking about tomorrow today.

Granger explains,

First Solar operates solar module recycling plants in the U.S. and Europe. According to spokesperson Melanie Friedman, the company estimates that 90 percent of the material recovered from solar panels can be recycled into useful products.

For First Solar, this glass has value, as its modules are generated using sheets of glass instead of individual solar cells. Friedman adds that approximately 95 percent of its semiconductor films are recovered and reused in new modules.

But what about other consumer solar panel models? European organization PV CYCLE was founded in 2007 to develop a manufacturer-funded take-back program for panels and modules. PV CYCLE has recruited more than 70 percent of Europe’s solar manufacturers and is looking to have a collection and recycling program established by 2015.”

[Source: Earth911]

Via Fast Company

The penny just got a face lift, apparently. The question is why. Do we really need a new look for the penny? Do we need the penny at all? In 2008, we dug into this issue, and pointed to David Owen’s piece in the New Yorker as an excellent overview of the economic and cultural debate. Put simply, the argument against the penny goes like this: at a cost of 1.7 cents a penny, the US Treasury runs an annual deficit of an estimated $50 million to produce this most annoying of coins. Add to this its relative buying power (or lack thereof), and we begin to really question the penny’s utility. But let’s consider the ecological backpack of those pennies in the jar on your dresser.

Most of the half trillion coins made during the last 30 years (the average lifespan of a coin) are pennies, but the US Mint estimates that less than 300 billion are currently in circulation. That means that billions of dollars are missing. Where are they, and do we really miss them? If we can avoid carrying around a penny we do. We horde them in jars, under the mats in our cars, between cushions. We don’t even bend over to pick them up on the sidewalk. As Owen puts it:

“A modern penny simply isn’t worth enough to worry about. In 1940, an average one-pound loaf of bread sold for eight cents…That means that a penny in those days bought enough bread to make a good-sized sandwich. These days, a penny doesn’t buy much more than a bit of crust. Accurately comparing monetary values (and bread loaves) across decades is impossible, but by almost any economic measure a 1940 penny had more purchasing power than a modern quarter does.”

Who would miss the penny? There are plenty examples of countries that have painlessly taken their small coins out of circulation. Sweden led the way in 1972, and Norway, Australia, Denmark, Israel, Hungary and others have followed suit. In fact, in 1857, the United States stopped making the ½ penny back when a ½ cent coin had considerably more buying power than a dime does today.

The debate will continue in the United States.  Does it make economic sense to hold onto the penny? Probably not. Does it make sense from a cultural standpoint? Unless you’re from Illinois or a numismatist, not really. A penny’s environmental impact is difficult to measure, but it’s certainly worth considering. We talk about conservation, but we should also consider what is NOT worth conserving.

Last March, we did a post on David de Rothschild’s ambitious plans to sail a boat made entirely of plastic bottles from San Francisco to Sydney Australia. The adventure is aimed at drawing attention to plastic waste- including the Texas-sized swirling mass of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean.

The boat, dubbed the Plastiki, is ready for its voyage. Here’s an update, via NY Times:

Topside, the layout is simple: an angular igloo provides the only shelter, with six thin bunks softened by six thin cushions. There’s a tiny galley with a sink (in which a bottle of Kombucha was sighted) and a two-burner stove. There’s a tiny desk with room for a laptop, a logbook and a G.P.S. unit. There’s — oddly — a skateboard, as well as several sailing tomes, like “The Log of the ‘Cutty Sark,’ ” by Basil Lubbock.

Power is provided by a small array of solar panels and windmills, and exercise is provided by a stationary bike. Asked how he and his five-member crew might entertain themselves for the planned three-month journey, Mr. de Rothschild said, “sunbathing.” (He later added chess, dominos and, yes, live blogging.)

The hulls’ bottles help absorb many blows from passing waves, but they also deprive the Plastiki of a certain new-boat smell, Mr. de Rothschild said.

“If you were on another boat, it smells of fuel and it smells of that horrible fiberglass and all those other things,” he said. “This doesn’t.”

For more, here’s the full article.

Researchers say their sugar-based polymer is safely degradable in your back yard or even inside your body. (Via: CNET)

Composting could be the next frontier in urban responsibility. No longer confined to hippy communes and country farms, composting could be a 21st century city thing. San Francisco, for example, has gone so far as to make it mandatory. Major brands are designing products with composting in mind- Pepsico recently rolled out a new Frito-Lay Sun Chips bag that is compostable. Now, a UK-based team of scientists has developed a new sugar-based polymer that could be used to make common food containers compostable.

Candace Lombardi explains for CNET, “scientists at the Imperial College London…have created a degradable material from sugars derived from the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass.” It’s not the first “biorenewable plastic,” but it seems to be the first that “can absorb water and breakdown quickly, leaving no harmful products in the soil or even in humans. In addition to having use for food packaging, the polymer was found to safely degrade in humans without harm, making it a candidate for use in stitches or as a vehicle for medicine delivery.” This type of breakthrough could radically change the way we make plastic containers of all kinds, given that an estimated 99% of plastics are derived from fossil fuels.

We’ll be tracking this story and composting’s urban creep.

[Source: CNET, LTT]

For all Boston’s great qualities- rich with historical treasures from Faneuil hall to Fenway- it has to be the worst city to drive in. Even my Garmin GPS moans as we drive east on the Mass turnpike. As the above video- courtesy of our friends at Inhabitat- explains, Boston also lays claim to the title of ‘worst city for bike-riding.’ Not just in the country, in the world! It boasts a sad 180 yards of bicycle lanes. The clip is an interview with Nicole Freedman, Boston’s Bike Czar, about her efforts to make Boston a more bike-friendly town. For the full interview and more information, visit www.inhabitat.com.

Green Mountain Coffee is one our favorite examples of a company who’s success is shaped by a commitment to responsible choices. Free trade is just the beginning, as the company works to “brew a better world,” with a range of initiatives such as its “Changing Climate Change” competition- four grants of $200K each to support work that reduces climate change- and the state’s largest solar array. The latest project is an online competition to find and help fund creative solutions for motivating local citizens to strengthen communities across New England and New York.

Green Mountain Coffee has teamed with Ashoka’s Changemakers, an organization with over three decades of finding, funding, and expanding the work of social entrepreneurs across the globe, to launch Revelation to Action. GMC explains the partnership on its site: “With its long history of supporting the work of social entrepreneurs, Ashoka is the perfect partner for Green Mountain Coffee as we explore and celebrate ways to strengthen communities across the Northeastern U.S.”

The “Revelation to Action Your Place. Your Idea. Your Change.” competition will “discover promising initiatives, explore fresh ideas, and encourage collaboration on the best ways to inspire community action. Ideas could include rallying a regional group to support a local food bank, helping a community address its carbon footprint, establishing a program to incentivize recycling, or mobilizing a neighborhood to do an annual river clean-up.”

Community members are invited to nominate individuals and organizations with community solutions, discuss and share ideas and success stories, comment on proposals, and vote for finalists. Winners will be judged on innovation, social impact, and long-term sustainability. The best innovations will be awarded prizes totaling $50,000.

more…

All eyes were fixed on Beijing two years ago as it hosted the Summer Olympics. The opening ceremony alone was enough to demonstrate that China was firing on all cylinders and reveling in the attention. Shanghai now takes center stage, as it prepares for the 2010 World Expo, set to begin on May 1st. This year’s theme, “Better City, Better Life,” will provide the context behind the backdrop of some remarkably innovative new buildings, the first of which was unveiled this week.

The Monaco Pavilion, designed by Naço Architectures, is a 2000 sq ft solar powered building wrapped in an illuminated wave of energy-effficient LED lights.  Naço Architectures describes the structure as “a rock surrounded by the dancing light of a perfect sea”. Inspired, curiously, by the waters of the Mediterranean, the entire building is surrounded by an “undulating high-tech facade” that projects ripples of LED light across its face. The facade is designed to soak up solar energy throughout the day and then burst into light as soon as the sun sets.

Stay tuned for other innovative pavilions expected to be unveiled ahead of the Expo.

[Source: Designboom via Inhabitat]

The medal winners in Vancouver are being presented upcycled medals. Coined by authors of Cradle To Cradle, ‘upcycling’- though it does sound a little like an Olympic sport- refers to the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value.

Cast out of materials salvaged from old circuit boards, the medals are designed by Canadian artists Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel. The medals have been etched with a design that evokes the undulating shape of Vancouver’s landscape.

Here in Vermont, we’re proud of our athletes at the Winter Games. So is Ben & Jerry’s, announcing yesterday that Gold Medalist (and Vermonter) Hannah Kearney will have her own flavor (following the likes of Jerry Garcia and Stephen Colbert). A spokesman for the company suggested it might be called “Kearney’s Java Jolt Bolt & Cookies.”

[This is a repost from Oct, in honor of some great gold medal performances yesterday]

We love the concept of harnessing energy that would otherwise be wasted- devices that capture wave and wind power, kinetic road plates that harness the energy of passing cars, “personal energy generators” (PEGs) that power personal devices as you walk or run…- because these ideas represent the low-hanging fruit of lifestyle tweaks. Imagine, for example, if Los Angeles installed kinetic road plates on the 405? Once installed, commuters would probably not even notice that the energy (weight, speed) of their morning drive was being captured and used to help power, say, the city’s metro? Imagine if we installed PEGs in our sneakers? After that evening run, you could plug your iPhone into the heel to recharge.

Another example that recently caught our eye was the Empower Chair, designed by Ryan Klinger, and one of the 18 finalists for this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition. Created with airports in mind, the Empower chair harnesses kinetic energy as the chair rocks. Between flights, recharge while you rock and talk.

Click here for some more pics.

[Via Trendhunter, Inhabitat]

In his recent piece for The Atlantic, Joshua Green suggests that The Grateful Dead just may be the fathers of modern social networks. Say what? Well, hang on, he might be onto something. Last year, the band donated its copious archive—“four decades’ worth of commercial recordings and videotapes, press clippings, stage sets, business records, and a mountain of correspondence encompassing everything from elaborately decorated fan letters to a thank-you note for a fund-raising performance handwritten on White House stationery by President Barack Obama“—to the University of California at Santa Cruz. As ethnomusicologists, sociologists, historians and literary scholars prepare to dig in, Green argues “the biggest beneficiaries may prove to be business scholars and management theorists, who are discovering that the Dead were visionary geniuses in the way they created ‘customer value,’ promoted social networking, and did strategic business planning.”

more…

What’s greener? Buying a new hybrid/EV or picking up an old used car? The answer isn’t quite as straight-forward as you might expect. Of course, in the long-term, replacing fossil fuel-burning, carbon-emitting cars with a fleet of cleaner, greener cars should be our aspiration. But, in the short-term, as Cliff Kuang explains in Fast Company, the “most eco-friendly move of all is to simply use what you have, as long as you can.” In his article, ‘Why Can’t Buildings Changes Clothes, Just Like You Do?,” Kuang is talking about the ‘green building boom,’ but many of the same rules (and question marks) apply.

Kuang suggests, “it really doesn’t make sense to build a brand-new green building, if you can simple retrofit one with a high-performance ’skin.’” And while “new buildings still command all the headlines,” a new trend is emerging, one that recognizes the value (and economy) of minimal interventions.

The music industry has always been about excesses. The myth of rock stardom is built upon the license to do whatever you want, consume whatever you want, wear whatever you want. Cameron Crowe nailed it in Almost Famous, especially when Billy Crudup’s Russell yells “I am a golden god!” from a rooftop. While social consciousness has always been part of the fabric of music (think Pete Seeger, Dylan, Springsteen, Bono), it’s really mostly about the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll.

So it’s refreshing to see some of pop music’s biggest stars come together for The Green Music Group, a coalition of musicians, so-called “industry leaders” and fans that aims to make the music industry green from the inside out.

Founded by environmental nonprofit Reverb, the group is a coalition of Founding Artists (Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raiit, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5, Jack Johnson, The Roots and others), music venues, record labels, publishing groups and non-profit partners that “has officially come together to green the music community.” According to the Green Music Group Web site, actions will include:

1. Creating an engaging online community of musicians, music industry leaders, and music fans all committed to addressing our greatest environmental concerns.

2. Facilitating large-scale greening of the music community through touring, venue, and label standards, resource development, green grants mentoring, and viral video and public service campaigns.

3. Providing environmental nonprofits with a megaphone for their cause, allowing them to expand their reach and support base.

4. Creating a sustainable green music guild to support and inform the efforts of the music community and position leaders in the music industry as voices for change, working to shine a light on the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

Green Music Group is the first organization to harness the collective power of the entire music community to affect millions of individual actions, bringing about measurable global environmental change. Green Music Group is not simply green in name – we are committed to a sustainable future both on and off-stage.

[Source: Green Music Group via Fast Company]

Let’s take a moment to recognize the Super Bowl champs. We at LTT, like 106.5 million others- the largest TV audience in U.S. history- enjoyed watching the Saints and Colts last Sunday. But before quarterback Drew Brees out-dueled Peyton Manning, he joined the crew of TV’s “Sport Science” to test the science behind his remarkable passing accuracy. At almost 71% completion average, Brees leads the NFL in quarterback accuracy, but how would he fare against, say, Olympic archers? And what makes his passes so dead on? And how can science provide those answers?

Check out the video above for the full demonstration.

It’s being called the “Toyotapocalypse.” Toyota has announced a massive global recall of 437,000 of its 2010 flagship Prius- a mess of brake issues, software glitches, power steering pressure hoses. An additional 40,000 or so of other models are also being recalled. The most popular car brand on the planet is reeling from a major PR body blow. While some industry observers are quick to point out that recalls are nothing new for car makers, why does this feel like the world gone mad? It speaks to the sky high expectations a brand like Toyota has been able to set. Does a brand so synonymous with innovation and discipline fall harder and further when it falters? Can it rebound faster?

One poll we saw suggested that 63% of consumers wouldn’t let this recall put them off buying a Toyota. But 26% of those polled said it would dissuade them from considering Toyota in the future. Extrapolated in a global sense, that could spell a significant number of lost sales. But those people are crazy. Toyota is a fantastic brand that has been challenged. There will be some short term gains for other companies (Ford, Honda, Hyundai) during the scandal, but fantastic brands don’t die easily. We suggest Toyota checks into a sex rehab facility for six weeks. Short of that, we suggest it continue boldy charting a course of innovation and quality and putting its PR department on notice. The cost of dithering- especially in the age of Twitter and the hyper drive of the 24-hr news cycle- is always greater than the cost of acting fast.

While some in Japan view the scandal as a US-media driven news story aimed at fueling sales of American-made cars, our collective dismay has more to do with how much Toyota has succeeded in making us believe its brand message, ‘moving forward.’

Innovation is by definition a step forward- new technologies, new ways of doing, seeing, thinking and so on. But sometimes a creative re-imagining of something old makes us love taking a step back. Exhibit A, Il-Gu Cha’s ‘Trace of Time‘ clock- part clock, part zen work of art.  The clock [shown in the above video and pictured left] is made primarily of glass and functions like a dynamic, deadline-conscious dry-erase board. The earlier iteration (as seen in the video) was made of laminated white board. Il-Gu Cha explains (in slightly broken english),

This clock’s basic function is not only to tell the time but also so the user can make a note on the face of the clock. A hand of the clock erase the written messages automatically by using the eraser which is behind the hand. The analog clock shows remaining time to the appointed time more intuitively compared to a digital clock. That is one of the reason why the analog clock exists until today although the digital clock advents.

[Source: ilgucha, via: Engadget]

A few facts you might find interesting: the Earth’s population has doubled since the mid 1970s. Though the rate of population growth has almost halved since its peak (2.2%) in 1963, it still averaged a robust 220,988 new Earthlings every day in 2009. China and India account for nearly 40% of the world’s population- compare that to the U.S. which is about 4.5%, and Europe about 12%. Nearly a third of the world’s population is under the age of fifteen. Projections differ greatly, but some experts predict that we’ll hover between 9 and 10 billion by mid century.

In what Thomas Friedman calls an increasingly hot, crowded and flat world, population and innovation are closely linked. Where will 21st century’s world-changing innovation come from? And in what form? Some predict that nations will matter less than cities, regional hegemony far less than global collaboration. Ideas now travel at the speed of light, and access to information and technology grows by leaps and bounds.

Andrew Revkin writes in his recent post on NY Times Dot Earth,

As the human population heads toward nine billion and simultaneously becomes ever more interlaced via mobility, commerce and communication links, the potential to shape the human journey — for better or worse — through the sharing of ideas and experiences has never been greater. (My own sense is that the upside will dominate.) From Darwin through Havel, there’s been a vision of breaking down tribal and other barriers and enveloping the planet in what some have called noosphere.

While some old tools for disseminating information, the nightly newscast and morning front page, are suffering, it’s clear that the thirst for community and communication is stronger than ever.

But language remains a barrier to having a truly global conversation, or perhaps I should cast that in the past tense now.

As some of you certainly already know, and I’ve just learned, that future is already sketched out, in the form of Skype Translate, MeGlobe and similar experiments in instantly translated text chats.

Apture™