WORD OUT! The Blog to Build a New Society

Vogue is not a magazine I usually read, unless waiting for an appointment, but photographer Steve Meisel sure got my attention this time with his photo shoot in Vogue Italia this month.

Models, likened to oil covered birds, are shown languishing on the shore. Tyler Grey of Fast Company may not like this but for anyone who feels kinship to the animals and birds of the poisoned sea, these vivid images capture the tragedy that is our modern world.

Here is a behind the scenes video of the photo shoot.

How about lobbying your local senator? The Energy Action Coalition; The Hub of the Youth Climate Movement, is calling on young people across the country to speak to senators in their states about the US Senate decision last week not to act on climate protection legislation. The reason for this decision, according to the Energy Action Coalition, is because "Big Oil and Dirty Coal are funding their political campaigns." What are your thoughts about this?

Arielle Klagsburn, a student from St. Louis, Missouri, asked her senator about her reasons for that decision. Her experience is captured in the Youtube video below.

Political activism is not for the faint of heart, but if you have the stomach for it, you could have a very interesting August. Let us know if you’ve had a chance to speak to your senator and what they had to say in our feedback section below.

The latest video from the folks at The Story of Stuff Project takes on the environmental toxins lurking in our homes - specifically in our personal care products. With her signature style of clear, accessible explanations and gentle humor, host Annie Leonard looks at how the $50 billion beauty industry puts dangerous, untested and carcinogenic chemicals into the products in YOUR bathroom cabinet. Shocked? You should be.

To learn more about how to protect yourself and your family, check out Not Just a Pretty Face by Stacy Malkan. 15 percent of the purchase price of each book sold through December 31, 2012 benefits the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, who also partnered with The Story of Stuff to produce this video.

Our blog and Facebook postings have been a bit thin as of late (ok actually they've been as skinny as a Calvin Klein underwear model), and now they're about to grind to a temporary halt. The annual July one-two knockout punch of real-world publishing deadlines and commitments and impending (sorely needed) vacation time is upon us yet again.

Until we get back, here's a couple of things that I've been really wanting to write about but haven't had the chance to:

1. Keeping Deepwater Horizon on our horizon - It's been two and a half MONTHS since the spill started, and despite the fact that many thousands of barrels a day are still pouring into the Gulf, it seems like the disaster is beginning to fade from the collective consciousness. Just like Haiti. Just like the tarsands. Just like any massive event once it's reached media saturation. But we have to keep this one front and centre. We can't afford not to. The only question is how.
2. The G8/G20 protests - I feel particularly badly for not having blogged this, given that the summits were in Canada, but if you were following the action at all, then I really, really suggest that you check out Starhawk's Webs of Power - many consider it to be the defining book of the anti-globalization movement - well worth your time.
3. Also for some positive ideas, check out the Buckminster Fuller Challenge - so, so cool!
4. Oh, and this - up-cycling anyone?

See you all in a couple of weeks!

Anthony Perl, co-author with Richard Gilbert of Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight Without Oil, recently debated Rich Moskowitz, of the American Trucking Association on the CNBC show "Street Signs". Interviewer Erin Burnett reports that the CEO's of both DHL America and FedEx have been recently interviewed on her show and stated that less than 5% of their fleet use alternative energy. She wants to know, "What are two things we can do right now to start moving in the direction of renewable energy in trucking?" Anthony recommends electric powered trucks for local distribution within a 100 mile radius of major metropolitan cities as the place to start. You can view the entire interview here.

As usual, it is the economic feasibility argument that takes the fore. When asked if he thinks America really has the will to get off of oil, Anthony Perl calmly replies, "They will have to in a short period of time so I am expecting there will be some big changes coming."

To find out more about what those changes might be, read Transport Revolutions: