British Teabagging Wastes 33 Hours A Year (And Violence Abroad)

65% of Brits admit to overfilling their Kettle which means that"British households waste $114 million every year. UK energy needs are so desperate they are prepared to support terrorists and rebels in Syria (200,000 dead so far) so their Qatar friends gas pipelines can run through it and keep the old energy order in place.

“One day of extra energy use [from overfilling electric kettles] is enough to light all the streetlights in England for a night.”

“The average Brit spends 33 hours a year waiting for the kettle to boil.”

The Miito Kettle is not cheap so it takes a while to get the initial investment back, however it is a design classic and each purchase will contribute towards making economies of scale sufficiently competitive with standard kettles.

Guess Who's At The Top Of The Child Trafficking Pyramid

Ratzinger and Lizzie have both been served a summons by the  (non binding) International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS)  to appear this September on charges of complicity in child trafficking, genocide and crimes against humanity. Thailand specific information of border children who are being shipped to Vancouver and the West Coast of the United states is also available at allgirlsallowed.org (please note, it's a civilian summons and more about the gesture at this stage)

This story isn't going to go away. Local churches are breaking away from the Vatican as in during the last reformation. Lizzie owns fully a fifth of the surface of planet Earth and therefore if the planet is getting raped and the children are getting raped that maybe the oh-so-spesh blue blood is less part of our human and red bloodline.

Birdcage walk is becoming increasingly agitated. As are MI5, MI6 and all the other pimp agencies that swear loyalty to the crown. Don't expect to see the corporate media covering the story. It's just business.

Planet Empathy Is People Empathy

The video at the bottom of this post is unavoidably set to autoplay, so before I commence this post may I request you pay attention to the hired commercial messaging that the PR person is repeating from an earlier prepared script? He's telling you the 'water is clean'. Never mind about the damned millions of fish dead in the harbour. That's what commercialism does. Changes the subject....Now on to my post.

No software or pair of sneakers is going to enlighten the human spirit enough for us to elevate ourselves to a point where we can prevent the poisoning of the oceans that is now leading to whales and dolphins beaching themselves, fish turning up dead in their millions in harbours around the world and birds falling from the skies.

I have no personal issue with any of you who are locked in to a career of consumer materialism to pay bills and plan for the future. My argument is with consumer materialism and the stupidity of banking (planning?) on a future that isn't there. You may not be responsible for the system but until you break away from it the only important question to ask yourself is 'are you part of the problem or part of the solution?'.

And let's face it. Between you and I, even going out of your way to make an appallingly bad ad isn't going to make a damn bit of difference. That's how capitalism works. Triangulating forces by pitting workers against corporate executives, with capital calling all the shots. I'm all for empathy. But commercialised and selective empathy isn't working out.

Stunning Amazon Brand Infographics

Depressing story. Do we really need another social media plan for M&M's or [insert brand of your choice here]. It's not just the Amazon. It's all over the world the corporations are stripping Mother Earth bare. Madagascar looks to be having a particularly brutal time.

Terence McKenna - Earth Trust

Plastic Beach - Midway Atoll

There are a handful of lines in the Bible that stand out for me and this is one:

For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul - Matthew 16: 26.

One of the most depressing sights I've seen in Asia was the plastic bottles, shoes, rugby balls, pegs and what not I encountered on the isolated beaches of Lamma just over a year ago. Asians really are even worse than other parts of the planet for junking plastic in beautiful parts of nature and caring nothing about it. More on the plastic garbage pool killing off our wildlife over here.

Sweet

The Solowheel. I'm gobsmacked how negative the press is for this.

American Hero

I guess by now it's evident that I no longer view the United States as a leader power. It's not about the raw power. No country has invested more money in aggression and future aggressiveness than the United States. I think that will be born out in the future when the full extent of how much militarization of space is under way. 

On the Chinese dime. 

It's the loss of moral leadership that is most visible outside of the media cocoon that many US communities live within. However that's not to say I'm not a great admirer of the citizens who turn away from the malignancy of the system and in that respect Michael Reynolds the architect who creates sustainable living in New Mexico is exactly the kind of American I admire hugely for that big bold vision thing that trickles down into the lives of people and changes them for the better. This is both a great story and an informative pointer about why bureaucracy is first and foremost self preserving. Lots of good construction ideas in this. Free thinking, and rule breaking creativity. Not the prettiest of constructions but very much in harmony with the environment and the people who come together to build them.

Brand Karma

A few years back, one of the few people in Asia that I noticed was subject to a fair amount  opinion in the offices, bars, karaoke joints, award shows and massage parlours of advertising (maybe not the last one) was Craig Davies. A lot of people had a lot to say about Craig when he was Regional ECD for Asia and Africa.

But until he interviewed me as Global ECD for JWT in Knightsbridge back in 2007 I had no opinion. But I got lots now so listen up. First off it was a very tough interview. The questions got harder and harder not easier and I couldn't believe that he knew more than enough about my rapidly moving world to assess whether I was any good.  For example a  memorable question was 'what do you think of Andrew Keen?'. This was in the thick of all the social media Web 2.0 hype at the time that is pretty much mainstream now that Facebook is something most people can relate to.

Difficult to be moderate on that question. Well difficult for me as I can't stand Andrew Keen. I replied that he was more an opportunist peddling shallow arguments for a living than having conviction. 

Risky move. Craig was both reading his book and by any definition is not only a professional but probably one of the most senior and accomplished professionals too.

I didn't stop there (do I ever?). I said that the cult of the professional was responsible for millennia of disastrous decision making. That professionals were often intoxicated with their perceived talents and that  the ability to self produce, present or publish instantaneously and globally had shown that amateurs talents were astonishing us time and again.

Anyway, I walked out of that interview not knowing if I'd said the right thing or not but somewhat comfortable that at least I'd been myself. I got the job after a bunch of other interviews and then got to see both Craig and the Guy Murphy (the Global PD) in action , working  and collaborating together. In my experience a lot of the heavy hitters who get to the top of the agency business have eaten so much crow by the time they've shinned up the greasy pole, they have some of the most formidable political skills in any business period. But no longer really love great ideas or often don't know what a kick ass contemporary idea even is. 

That wasn't the case with JWT and one of the reasons why I have such strong faith in the agency is that I was lucky to see people like Guy and Craig who are quite understated, still quite young and really enjoying their work in action. Quite refreshing, and I like to think that JWT"s improved reputation and ongoing successes is something I spotted a little early on from reasonably close observation in London.

In any case, Craig has now relocated to his home country of Australia, and has started something that is both simple in it's aim, but is I believe an important idea. I wont say any more as there's an introductory video for you to watch. This ties directly into what I feel is a huge opportunity for brands (corporations) to shake off the lethargy of undifferentiated, link tested, politically correct but morally stultifying blandness and start to stand for something. Something I wrote about more at length over here. Watch the video and come join us on Brand Karma if it strikes a chord.

Buy Nothing

Do The Green Thing have been getting more and more creative recently on their blog and this latest attempt feels like they are getting close to both the attractive lure of senseless shopping with an idea of branded nothing. It's cute, it's fun, it's polished and I want one. They have a twitter presence here along with an online Doctor Will Powers in case the urge to consume for consumptions sake takes a hold there's immediate twitter advice like the Samaritans.

It's funny isn't it. I always think of Tuberculosis when I hear or read the word consumption. Like how it was described in Charles Dickens novels around the turn of the century. Incidentally a long time ago I used to live on Doughty Street in Bloomsbury where Dickens wrote a few of his books.

Working in advertising I can see how some readers would struggle to work out how I can reconcile marketing with my green credentials but it's something I've spent a lot of time working out if there is a role for marketing communications with sustainable living and there most certainly is. 

From 'more ideas less stuff', to changing perceptions and behaviour along with encouraging clients to take a longer term view of profitability than the immediacy and insanity of the quarterly report, this blog and my work as a communication strategist will always find creative ways of encouraging people to love brands through responsible selling. Each client is different and can approach the issue in a different way but a dig though the archives will reveal some of the ways that we (I've stolen all the good ideas) have approached this problem solving in a creative manner.

There's also always the comments if anybody feels there's an issue that needs clarification or a position that doesn't make sense. I welcome any challenges as they invariably end up improving my thinking.

Plane Stupid

Via Katie Chatfield

Espresso

A few days back I noticed Grant McCracken tweeting a bit more than usual and took notice of his observations which are always top notch given he's one of the most authoritative (and through his blog) accessible anthropologists (Chief Culture Officer) on the planet. In a subsequent recent post that taps into the his latest idea  of the Culturematic, he talked about the train journey from Chicago to Detroit where he was doing the tweeting. It resonated on so many levels and so here goes in trying to explain.

Sad to say but I was a train spotter as a youth and although I enjoyed the linear and meticulous checking off train numbers (especially the diesel locomotives) I think it was the freedom of running around the UK with a legitimate reason and a bunch of friends who were into it as well. Even Slough Train station is slightly exotic to a 12 year old. I remember well the first air skirmish for the Falklands war was announced by one friend who in admirable news-trainspotting manner, was carrying a pocket radio with him.

I guess since then I've learned that flying is not so glamorous as people might believe. The last time I was living in Hong Kong a few years back I spent so much time in the air, mostly between Chek Lap Kok and Shanghai that I was eating airline food most of the time and didn't even know that the Island I'm now living on existed. I thought Hong Kong was all about the bustling metropolis when in fact, a lot of this wonderful island is well preserved from insatiable property developers and has delightful sleepy fishing villages that I talked about in my Sok Kwu Wan post. Here's some more pics.

Sleepy Hung Shin Ye Beach

Feet firmly on the ground at Pak Kok

Time on my side.

Sand, rock and sky.

Horizon where it should be.

Kit on the beach.

City in the distance.

Trekking pony at the ready.

Whichever way we wish to 'cut the data', it's a leisurely life that proceeds slower (we can't save time, only spend it) and I've long felt that train travel is a more civilised affair than the cattle prod bullying that takes place in the air. Of course some trips aren't possible without air flight, but if there is an alternative, the train is more human and humane.

I don't know about you but I'm not in a rush to be a pensioner. I've got all the time in the world.Is it an illusion of our times, that we need to achieve more and more, faster and faster. The present is being created and destroyed at the same time isn't it?

So do we need to be smarter instead of faster? Going slower saves time is a counter intuitive truism that the Kingdom of Thailand taught me. In Siam, rushing is seen as vulgar. Though I'm still a novice at keeping a relaxed pace. Because it takes awareness and discipline.

So you can delineate for yourselves the tension between slower train travel and the fastest 'regular' train service in the world where I suspect I may well have broken the land speed record for tweets (which is awesome and ironic) but I'll just leave that thought hanging as obscurity and ambiguity challenge us to think just that bit harder than certainty. Or so the 48 Laws of Power once informed me.

And so I break another law starting a sentence with and. Warren Buffet the arch investor of our time (who has mastered the art of folksy image yet ruthless investor) just recently plowed an awful lot of bread into 'America's future'. If you're not paying attention, then don't say you weren't warned. Here's a clip of what I was trying to convey last year at 204.43112224608285 Miles per Hour

And so slower, is slowly getting better. 

Believe.

Green Is Green

I was taking an early morning swim yesterday. It's a good time for me to think, and as ever when I'm surrounded by the sun, the sea and the sand I'm reminded how beautiful nature is and that we're really confronted by a logic bomb when considering how the system we all conspire to take part in, points at the asymmetry of global finite resources and our wasteful production (most products don't exist within six months of their manufacture) and of course our decadent disposable lifestyles. There's a way out of this and advertising or communications has a powerful and wealth creating role to contribute towards a virtuous solution but I've written about that extensively elsewhere (and here) although intend to probably recap on some of John Grant's The Green Marketing Manifesto at some point because many of those issues were thrashed out then.

In any case, I can quickly highlight that the behavioural changes required to make a sustainable lifestyle are largely a marketing problem and where there's a marketing problem there's a business solution if supply side economics are given the credence we already do.

Anyway I was dipping a few toes into the sea and I suddenly recalled that JWT's future trends watcher Marian Salzman was predicting back in 1988 that Blue was the new Green. That we'd be seeing the environment issue as a blue one where it was once green. A lot of us didn't like it at the time because many people from the consumption classes (I use that term deliberately) are still confused as to the extent of change needed and the last thing the communication classes should be doing is confusing them with bogus rebranding efforts. Anyway, Marian was wrong as most future trend watchers are. I've enjoyed some of her work in the past but frankly I think it's time that these charlatans should put their hands up and admit their error rather than just concentrating on their successes. Don't you?

You can read how common sense and Green won the day over here, here, here and here.

Cool Bananas

I just got back from another stunning bike ride round the island I'm living on. I'm very conscious these days that as oil prices spike and the threat of hyperinflation from printing money in the United States and the United Kingdom leaves us potentially looking at an impending breakdown in the food distribution system. It leaves city dwellers with enough food for two days as explained in this TED video I blogged about a week or so ago and so any opportunity to reconnect with nature is fascinating me at the moment and I"m slowly researching what kind of foods I could grow on the island as well as what is available in the wild such as these bananas. Even if my instinct is wrong and my views are alarmist, I just think it makes good frugal sense to see what can be relied upon and so I'm usually taking a bunch of these home with me for the return cycle journey. 

It's very satisfying and strangely I seem to be leaning towards a vegetarian diet or at least one with a 100 or so grammes of meat a week. I also understand from a tweet earlier that a vegan in a Hummer has a lower carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius because of the intensive farming required to breed cows for food.

I'd like to raise chickens here but after the last round of avian flu the government has put strict rules in place to prevent this. I'm sure that will be ignored if events take over legislation. In any case it's very rewarding as these bike rides for wild growing bananas take me through some of the steepest inclines on the south side of the island and I'm in better shape than I have been for at least five years when I last visited the Gym regularly. I look a bit like a Frenchman sometimes when I come home on the KLEIN bearing bananas instead of onions. Tropical living my friends ;)

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

LG

Way back here in my ChungKing Express post, when talking about the duplication culture of China and Asia excluding Japan, I tried to imply that while not seeing evidence of real innovation there was definitely an emergence of what I now see more clearly as a technology remix culture as evidenced by the solar panel and telescopic lens that came with my mobile phone now languishing in Bangkok storage until my next move is more clear.

Today I see that LG have taken this great idea of solar panel charged batteries and run with it for the launch of the LG GD510 phone which you can read more about over at the Pattaya Rag Blogspot. I knew what I was trying to convey at the time of my own post which was both critical of duplication culture (or copying if you will) but seeing the LG post has crystallized my thinking and I believe that Asia is emerging as a centre of technological remix culture which in this instance is both a smart idea and one that scores well on sustainable living metrics. Although since my own phone was stolen recently (yes, again) I've suffered from inaccessibility for work related communications but also lapped up the peacefulness and lack of interruptions which tucks nicely into my previous post.

I'm also trying to see the cops tomorrow for the identity parade for my stolen life, but the last time I spoke to the investigating team about it they hung up on me. Which is why I'm writing it here. So now we're clear.

Hong Kong Electric

The Hong Kong Electric logo is mostly used alone when I see it out and about, and it kicks ass. But best of all they've got CCTV at the top of their wind generator which is a scientific experiment to propel Hong Kong's energy needs into the future tapping into Typhoon power and erm where my last phone, mobile, keys etc were swiped from the KLEIN.

Update: This is one of my most popular posts please take a look at this post.

Car Logic

This piece of film is possibly as good as it gets in being controversial, inspirational and compelling.

It's via Faris and it's awesome. Will it do the trick? That's up to us not the corporations. It's about personal decisions to run, walk, cycle or take public transport if the car or more accurately the internal combustion engine is ever to be sidelined as the single most extravagant commitment to our own demise in the history of history and remainder of future.

What is Honda doing about this? They're making provocative film, which is to be applauded because it does at least encourage people to reframe their relationship with 20th century technology that is mostly stationery (parked) and then when being used is mostly empty.

So we're stealing from our children. But they may not have anything to look back at and moan about if that pricks your conscience.

I don't know if we have 80 years because the whole point of the Long now project is we stopped dreaming about the future as we may have tipped the carbon scales against us while snorting the fossil ones that are evidently so addictive.

But I tend towards optimism. 

In any case like I wrote back here, we built our cities around cars instead of around people and it seems like Honda have recognised that's a bad thing although they could start by mentioning the Toyota Winglet if they weren't so self obsessed. No doubt Toyota would be just as solipsistic. It's how greed works.

But I'm also somewhat pessimistic  when it comes to specifically car culture because even though there are clearly some awesome dudes in this piece of film (the Alpha male? - you rock) the best way Honda et al could change the world would be for the automobile manufacturers to collectively lobby government in a self imposed manner and clip their wings by imposing HUGE penalties unless they make standard, low emission, tax incentivised hybrid plus NPD mobility. 

But that's a bit like the collective self determination of many Japanese males (XX Generation) recognising that the future of the salary man was a bit of an intellectual con job that largely fostered a culture of bullying against women. XX Generation decided to disappoint their fathers and now still live with their longer living mums and wear lipstick for reasons that seem related to their rejection of getting laid. I've made that up of course. Or have I?

It's a collective decision for the better in that example, (and historically not exceptional). Yet any cretin can see that the corporation is all about those fathers, maximising the quarterly report for ever quicker and larger earnings velocity without really addressing the urgent and pressing issue that it only hastens us faster and faster and faster towards our own demise. (There is a role for socialised communications in all this by the way)

Top of mind as a throw away solution for a disposable society is slowing down the Corporations quarterly report to a bi-annual one. I'm sure you can think of better one's, but the greedy guys at the top aren't going to dig that are they? They're too busy digging our own graves.

So anyway, even though the environment singularity (where nature teaches us a big lesson) is tumbling ever closer and ever quicker than the insanely quick technological one, demanding we need tomorrows consumption today; we're still kind of relying on the stone age equivalent of fossil fuel combustion to be moved around, which I can't help but think is about rubbing two sticks together while surrounded by powerwindows, a sense of empowerment through acceleration and some decent subwoofers to drown out the drone of other cars ouside, because it isn't noisy kids that anymore and that's not because of the paedophiles but because of the car.

All that pace of change and we're stuck with corporate Cro-Magnon. You should watch this movie, but if you rely on Honda to get it right in 80 years time you might as well be honest and sphyxiate your children now.

You probably are if you're dropping them off at school.

Break The Silence

Sam who came and stayed with me in Bangkok not so long back did this and I think it's good enough to reblog. I urge you to take a look and consider lending your vote for the Cannes Young Lions by reading the full story over here.

Zaproot & T. Boone Pickens

While in the States recently T. Boone Pickens (say it like you're wearing a Stetson) was buying an awful lot of mind share in the media with his plan to shift the U.S. economy off oil. A noble effort  considering he'd made his fortune by sucking the finite resource out of the ground all his life, but better late than never I thought. Zaproot's Jessica Wlliamson presents an alternative case by pressing different buttons. Make your own mind up. 

Via Paul McEnany