Rob Walker had an excellent installment of his Consumed column for the New York Times Magazine yesterday on collective buying power strategies in regard to solar. Rob’s blog and book, Buying In, have become key reads for our generation of marketers, bloggers, and trend hunters.
In his recent column, Nicholas Kristof asks whether the Web, flooded with information and ideas as it is, can actually trigger new ways of thinking or whether it will only serve as a tool for filtering out dissenting view points. “There’s pretty good evidence,” he writes, “that we generally don’t truly want good information — but rather information that confirms our prejudices. We may believe intellectually in the clash of opinions, but in practice we like to embed ourselves in the reassuring womb of an echo chamber.”
Innovation, though, relies on diversity of thought. It needs the free-wheeling optimist and the brow-furrowed pragmatist, the pie-in-the-sky dreamer and the devil’s advocate. A multitude of voices. Piers Fawkes, of the always-compelling PSFK, reminded us recently of Linus Pauling’s great quote: “The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.” And it’s especially true in a conversation such as the one on sustainable design and green thinking, where political rhetoric and biases are everyday hurdles.
Activism too often devolves into a monologue, rather than a healthy and open dialogue. The driving philosophy of Love Tomorrow Today is the belief in the efficacy of ‘one degree of change.’ That’s not to say that we strive for half measures or that we turn away from bold thinking, just that we understand that real, lasting change is inclusive rather than exclusive.
Four years ago, Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger argued “that global warming was an unprecedented ecological challenge that would lead to the death of environmentalism.” That proposition sparked a heated debate, with many eco-activists quick to reject it as irresponsible and…well, wrong. But in an opinion piece in today’s SF Chronicle, the authors suggest that we are now living in a post-environmental era. The authors point to Obama’s recent “State of the Union address,” in which the president “called for the most far-reaching program ever proposed by an American president to remake America’s energy economy - with hardly a mention of the environment.” Check out the full article, it’s a fascinating read. Here’s a bit of their argument:
“today, environmental organizations have largely relegated images of polar bears and melting ice flows to the back pages of their magazines. Green jobs and clean energy investment are the eco-ideas of the moment.
It was never realistic to have expected pollution regulations and carbon taxes to drive a global energy modernization project of the scale necessary to transform the global energy economy. We did not invent the personal computer by placing a “market-based cap” on typewriters nor create the Internet by taxing telegraphs and fax machines. To the contrary, government investment was largely responsible for bringing these revolutionary technologies, and a raft of others, into our lives. This included not only funding research and development at universities and national laboratories but also directly procuring and deploying cutting-edge technologies that were not yet ready for broad commercialization.”
Today, there’s an estimated 1 billion cars on this planet. As Daniel Sperling explains in his book Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability, there’ll be roughly twice as many in 15 years, with that number expected to triple by 2050. You think there’s smog in Los Angeles now!?!
So, we welcome news of a joint international agency effort to produce a ‘roadmap towards greater global fuel economy’ that would halve greenhouse gas emissions from cars by 2050. The ‘50 by 50′ Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) attempts to show how annual savings of six billion barrels of oil and 2 gigatonnes of CO2 is achievable through an ambitious world wide program.
The campaign is the result of a partnership between the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), International Energy Agency (IEA) International Transport Forum (ITF) and FIA Foundation- a British nonprofit which promotes environmental protection, road safety and sustainable mobility.
Jack Short, Secretary General ITF said: “We already have the technology and the means to get us on the road to making our cars 50% more fuel efficient – all that is needed are coordinated efforts and actions from both industry and governments.”
David Ward, Director General FIA Foundation said: “This initiative can have a huge impact on the motoring public. Through tax incentives and information campaigns it would help encourage consumer demand for more fuel efficient cars. This is not an agenda for some point far off in the future. Our 50% fuel efficiency target requires us to change direction and take important actions right now.”
Some good quotes, but not a ton of specifics. We’ll keep an eye on whether ‘50 by 50′ can convince governments and car-makers, as well as drivers, to rally behind these measures (whatever they are, exactly).
Maybe you’ve read his book, Buyology: Truth And Lies About Why We Buy, an examination of the influences (many of them subconscious) that motivate us as consumers. Martin Lindstrom is a leading marketing guru, advising execs from some of the world’s biggest brands. We like this guy. Especially now that we’ve heard his accent. Here’s one of his videos from Ad Age that we found particularly interesting.
In the video, Lindstrom tackles the idea that eco-marketing through a recession might be on the decline. He points to the fact that there were no overt eco-messaging during the Super Bowl, the highest profile ad day of the year [I think the GE spot with the Tin Man had a clear environmental message] as proof that brands might be feeling now is not the time to be investing in and highlighting green initiatives. To that, he effectively says, ‘bad idea jeans!’
Eco-marketing- and, though we’re not sure he necessarily means this, we take that to mean putting forth a genuine message of sustainability- is key for three reasons. I’m paraphrasing here, so watch the video: 1) very few have the balls to do it right now, so make yours the lone voice. Your brand will stand out on the strength of that. 2) aligning yourself with an eco-message won’t hurt your brand, and if you can provoke a conversation you’ll gain positive recognition and 3) it’s the right thing to do, so you’ll establish your brand as an advocate of the earth, on the right side of history.
Thanks to the Daily Show- a phrase I find myself saying a lot- I have a good book to read on my travels through California this week. Daniel Sperling, a Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciene and Policy at University of California, Davis and Director of the university’s Institute of Transportation Studies, joined Jon Stewart last week to discuss his new book, Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability. As the above video shows, Sperling spent a few good-natured moments trying to provide some serious answers to some typically irreverent questions. In the book, authors Sperling and Deborah Gordon describe a future, 15 years from now, when the world will have close to 2 billion cars. Given that greenhouse gases are already creating havoc with our climate with an estimated 1 billion cars, the set up for very troubling consequences is obvious.
Sperling and Gordon describe the challenges that we (as a country, the leading emissions culprit, and as a planet) face and the solutions that are most likely to work. The authors reveal our greatest obstacles- “the resistant auto-industry, dysfunctional oil markets, short-sighted government policies, and unmotivated consumers.” The authors look at solutions (mix of advanced bio-fuels, electric vehicles, fuel-cell hybrids), expose some fool’s gold (corn-based ethanol), and point to the role of government as a necessary component- they single out California’s leadership in promoting aggressive emissions standards.
You read us- thanks, by the way- but who do we read? Quick answer- everyone! Perhaps a few grains of sand slip through our fingers, but we track hundreds of industry sites, press releases, trend watchers, blogs and newspapers, with a goal of aggregating a broad and interesting range of examples of how companies and individuals are activating simple and sustainable change. We follow the ways in which big brands are incorporating eco-thinking in their core business (from companies you’d expect, like Whole Foods, Patagonia and REI, to ones you might not, like Wal-Mart, Pepsi, even Pepperidge Farm) and how newer players (like Better Place and GEM) are pushing that innovation.
As a company, Love Tomorrow Today looks to develop products and ideas that make it easier to activate simple change in our daily lives. As a blog, we try to stay out in front of the tsunami, tracking the swells of exciting innovation and the changing landscape of sustainability. We value your feedback and your efforts to spread the word!
Here’s a widget of this blog that you can grab (for your iGoogle page, your blog…).
Sustainability 2.0, perhaps. A new trend gaining momentum in the sustainability movement is the so-called ‘Cradle-to-cradle’ approach to design and manufacturing. In her enlightening post on GreenerDesign, Sarah Fister Gale suggests that while manufacturers have spent millions investing in greener practices and products, that’s not enough. Unless a product’s full life-cycle is considered, “landfills will continue to overflow with these ’sustainably-designed’ products whose usefulness have come to an end.”
William McDonaugh and Michael Braungart popularized the concept in their book, Cradle To Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, in which they argue for a “transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.” It’s sometimes surprising to see which industries are more effectively making that transformation.
The auto industry, for example, has embraced elements of this approach. Gale points out, “Ford has strict requirements for recyclability in vehicle designs,” with the ultimate goal of dismantling, sorting and repurposing “up to 95 percent of any vehicle at the end of life.”
Paradoxically, manufacturers of some renewable energy technologies, like solar panels, wrestle with sustainability issues upstream (manufacturing process) and downstream (repurposing process).
In his new book, The Green Collar Economy, Van Jones makes a case for a new ‘green stimulus package’ of $350 billion to fix what he calls “our two biggest problems,” the deepening economic crisis and global climate change. The solution, he argues, is to “retrofit and reboot America,” by creating a green New Deal. Developing green infrastructure, investing in renewable energies and “unleashing” the creative entrepreneurial spirit of America towards clean green solutions, he suggests, would create millions of new jobs. But much of the work doesn’t rely on new and future technologies, he insists. “The low-hanging fruit is a massive program to retrofit America, to weatherize millions and millions of American buildings to leak less energy…that’s using the caulk gun.” Echoing writers like Tom Friedman, Jones acknowledges that while private enterprise and entrepreneurship will solve global warming, the “market works according to rules,” and the government can help by creating incentives and conditions that stimulate a robust green economy.
In his previous book, The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman focused on the forces that are shaping the new world economy and the leveling the playing field of global business and competition. His newest work, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - And How it Can Renew America, is an impassioned call to action to his own country. Friedman proposes a bold new national strategy—which he calls “Geo-Greenism”— which, he argues, will not only save the planet from overheating but is essential in making America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure.
The book’s main thesis is that a ‘perfect storm’ of recent events and trends (9/11, Katrina, the Iraq War, the convergence of global warming, the rise of middle classes all over the world and global crowding) has thrust the issues of energy and climate onto Main Street, creating a new era in history (the Energy-Climate era). Our relevance on the world stage, our role in the development of 21st century technology and our very security rely on the US taking a leadership role through this era. In other words, instead of chanting ‘Drill Baby Drill’ and focusing on 19th century techonology-fossil fuels, both politcal parties should be committing us to leading the way towards 21st century technology- renewable energy.
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