William Kamkwamba

                                                                                          

Can films change the world? No, films can’t change the world. But the people who watch them can. 


What is Pangea Day?
Pangea Day was the world’s largest global film event that took place on May 10, 2008. The cities of Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro were all linked to produce a live 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.

Pangea Day was created as a worldwide cinema event with programming that highlighted the themes of unity, the common ties that bind us into a global culture. In a world where people are often divided, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that - to help people see themselves in others - through the power of film. Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion, uniting millions of people to build a better future. The goal is to invite the viewers of these films to join a global conversation about the issues that affect us all.

Pangea refers to the supercontinent from which all current continents eventually separated. It serves as a reminder of the "connectedness" or unitary nature of all people on Planet Earth.


I only got to watch a little over an hour of Pangea Day live on May 10th, and I have been watching the rest of the films and speakers a little each day. If you want to treat yourself to something special then take the time to watch this inspiring event on the internet.

If you only have time to watch one film, then watch the award winning and very inspiring film Moving Windmills. This is a very short film about a 14 year old boy, William Kamkwamba who lives in a remote rural village in Malawi where they have no electricity. William saw a picture of a windmill in a textbook and decided to build one to power his family's home. Using found materials and scrap yard parts such as a broken bicycle, tractor fan, melted plastic pipes, bamboo and used copper wires, he built a series of windmills which would change his and his family's life.

You can watch the full Pagean Day program HERE, or just watch the films HERE.

ABC News takes a look inside the Panea Day Festival.

Enjoy!  Be Inspired!  Be Enlightened!

With the savory scent of summer grilling in the air, here's how to pick the best meat, fish, fowl and veggies for your outdoor cooking. Article written by David Worthman, published on The Green Guide.

As the days grow longer and warmer, grillers across the country will be sizzling and flipping their way through millions of burgers, chicken pieces and fish fillets. Americans eat, on average, 67 pounds of beef and 59.2 pounds of chicken per person, per year, most of it from "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFOs). This year, the American Public Health Association has asked that state governments impose moratoriums on new CAFOs due to the pollution and health threats posed by factory farms. Our seafood consumption, which hovered at around 15 pounds per capita until 2000, is expected to rise 26 percent by 2020—provided that fisheries aren't depleted by overfishing.

READ MORE of David Worthman's artile
www.thegreenguide.com

 

The main environmental problem that Austin Green Art seeks to address is not EXACTLY environmental! To quote Bill McKibben, it is that “we believe too firmly that we, each of us as individuals, are the most important things on the earth.” This cultural programming is driving the destruction of the planet.

It is perhaps only art that can shape culture, and without a cultural change, environmental policy, green products and activism cannot stop the destruction of the planet. So, we call our mission The Sustainability Revolution, and we envision, inspire and manifest it.

We are promoting a sustainability education platform that places human existence in a context of interconnectedness with an ecosystem at a regional level. All of our projects seek to address facets of that interconnectedness and explore ways that can tweak OUR systems to become balanced in that OVERALL system. The process we use to do that exploration is collaborative design and artmaking, which provides a tangible experience of community activity that isn’t based on individual genius or global consumer culture. We are also pleased to be working with Bill McKibben on his new 350.org project. We've created Austin350, which connects local to global action!

Around April 22nd Austin Green Art hosted thousands of neighbors to our version of sustainable culture. We partnered with the Austin Farmers Market again this year to host Austin's Earth Day, and we had production assistance from Sustainable Waves, our amazing local solar-powered music provider. We had amazing community sponsorship support from companies that are legitimately making Austin more sustainable. Sixty non-profit organizatons and green businesses set up displays of incredible variety. We had green art displays, an algae-sequestration trailer demo and a green art kids area. We were joined during the day by Lloyd Doggett, our region's congressman, and had a dozen musical performances. See for yourself!

Earth Day activities culminated on Tuesday the 22nd in a SOLD OUT screening of The 11th Hour at Alamo Drafthouse, our amazing local theater provider. The screening was sponsored by Levelfield.com and provided Austin Green Art with substantial fundraising. I got the opportunity to talk about the film on our local radio station KGSR the morning before, and the local FOX affiliate host and I talked about it at length on Earth Day on the morning show.

As an arts group, we see our main role as provoking questions about these complex issues through creative expression of all kinds. We are not beholden to any group or platform, and we surprise a lot of "greens" by working with unconventional corporate partners at times. That said, we are extremely pleased to have The 11th Hour as a comprehensive resource to familiarize and challenge our community to the state of emergency that is the status quo.

We welcome opportunity to promote the film through our websites, our art projects and the media exposure that we drive. AGA is working on the finishing touches of its first big out-of-region project in Pittsburgh, PA next week. We aspire to scale our efforts internationally to engage local communities in our brand of communication and artmaking and community-building that directly addresses the heart of The 11th Hour message -- how do we shape a new, sustainable culture? We'd love to join you in your community to shape one of our unique projects.

On May 20th AGA is hosting a follow-up discussion at a local coffee shop in the evening to discuss the film.

Sustainably yours,

Randy Jewart

Director

Austin Green Art

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON - Americans rank last in a new National Geographic-sponsored survey released Wednesday that compares environmental-consumption habits in 14 countries.

Americans were least likely to choose the greener option in three out of four categories - housing, transportation and consumer goods, according to the assessment. In the fourth category, food, Americans ranked ahead of Japanese consumers, who eat more meat and seafood.

The rankings, called "Greendex," are the first to compare the lifestyles and behaviors of consumers in multiple countries, according to the National Geographic Society.

It plans to conduct the 100-plus-question survey annually and considers trends more important than yearly scores, said Terry Garcia, executive vice president of National Geographic's mission programs.

"This is not just a one-time snapshot," Garcia said. "Some of the most important information may yet be revealed."
India and Brazil tied for the highest score: 60 points out of 100. U.S. consumers scored 44.9.

In between, China scored 56.1, Mexico 54.2, Hungary 53.2, Russia 52.4, Great Britain 50.2, Germany 50.2, Australia 50.2, Spain 50, Japan 49.1, France 48.7 and Canada 48.5.

Results are based on 1,000 online respondents per country interviewed in January and February by GlobeScan, an international polling firm.

To see how you score, take an abbreviated version of the survey at National Geographic Greendex

How Americans ranked among 14 nations in eco-friendly choices.
Transportation: 14th Place
Housing: 14th Place
Consumer Goods: 14th Place
Food: 13th Place

Source: McClatchy Newspapers
Above article printed in Arizona Republic

A new film festival is offering free screenings of Leonardo DiCaprio's ecological documentary The 11th Hour to encourage UK cinemagoers to recycle.

While top names in Hollywood will soon be assembling on the Cote d'Azur for the Cannes film festival, British movie fans can attend the 'Can Film Festival' in London, Glasgow and Manchester for a chance to see the Titanic star's acclaimed effort to build environmental awareness.

READ MORE to view screening times and additional information

For anyone who has ever asked, “What can I do to help the environment?” Zola: The Art of Living Green (www.zolagoods.com) provides an opportunity to share an empowering message and initiate change in homes across the United States, while also offering the chance to earn a supplemental income.

 

Embracing a grassroots approach, Zola recruits impassioned individuals to throw Eco Home Parties in their communities. Zola’s product line is carefully determined using the triple bottom line value system that focuses on People, Planet, and Profit. Featured are some of the best eco-friendly products on the market including, energy and water saving devices, reusable bags, recycled paper goods and soy candles. In addition to environmental benefits, many of these products will also save you money.

(Beth Remmes)

With interesting, and sometimes startling facts, a Zola Coordinator takes guests through the life of an average American consumer and demonstrates how to make small changes to improve their lives and surrounding environment. Responses from Zola customers have ranged from “Thank you! I have wanted to make changes, but didn’t know where to start. You did all the work for me,” to “You made it so easy to make these changes, and I didn’t feel like I was being judged.”

Tony Kvale, of Kvale Good Natured Games LLC (www.kvalegames.com) remarks, “Zola is a direct-selling model that is focused on products and principles, rather than pure profit motivation. Zola’s message is a long-awaited breath of fresh air!”

Zola, of Italian origin, means “piece of earth.” By making small changes, each of us can heal our own piece of earth and together create an abundant future for our planet.

“Planners have granted permission to build Sherford, a brand new town for 12,000 people, in South Devon that is billed as Britain’s greenest settlement. Work is expected to begin later this year to transform rolling countryside near Plymouth into the experimental new town with 5,500 homes. In Sherford, cars will be banned from some parts and 390ft wind turbines will loom over a 400-acre car park on the outskirts.”

Half the power needs for the new town will come from renewable sources — with all home sporting solar panels. Additionally, most of the materials to build the town will be sourced from a 50-mile radius! The business section — which will provides jobs for about 7,000 people — will be covered in either green roofs or “covered in a thin layer of rubble to attract insects and birds.” Everything about the town will be organized to encourage walking; not to mention all waste including water and sewage will be recycled to cut CO2 emissions. All of this, and Charles intends to give it a traditional English charm — with the theme being modeled on the Wiltshire market town of Marlborough.

READ MORE

Article provided By: www.http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Xerox Corp. is working on a green technique that's as plain as the stack of papers on your desk. Scientists at Xerox can make the print on documents appear -- then disappear in time, allowing paper to be reused. The goal is to produce an erasable paper that costs two to three times the price of regular paper but can be used hundreds of times. 

Using a molecular compound similar to the one on tinted eyeglasses, which darken or lighten depending on the amount of ultraviolet (UV) light in the environment, Xerox labs have developed paper that changes color when exposed to UV light. Unlike tinted glasses, however, which change color instantly upon walking outside or into a building, the print on Xerox's paper fades gradually over 16 to 24 hours, or it can be erased instantly by heating the paper.

READ MORE

Site provided by: www.thegreenreporter.com

A young Canadian inventor named Ben Gulak has created an innovative new electric motorbike that takes some of the lessons learned from the Segway device, but implements them in cooler package. The bike, called the Uno, looks from its profile like a strange powered unicycle but actually employs two wheels side-by-side. Riders lean forward to accelerate -- a feature used by the Segway, and can hit a top speed of 25 mph in its current configuration. The Uno also makes use of a set of gyros to enhance ease of balance, and the wheels are independently operated making turning much more precise.

READ MORE
Site provided by www.treehugger.com

TreeHugger reports that train travel in the UK has reached an all-time high.

Brit's are taking trains in greater numbers than any other time since World War 2. New figures revealed that the number of miles travelled on the rail network reached a record-breaking high of 30.1 billion during 2007. Passenger numbers have been increasing every year for the past thirteen.

READ MORE
Site provided by www.treehugger.com