Here’s a neat TED Talk that examines how western culture treats the idea of success by Alain de Bolton. He ultimately believes that we need to look into ourselves to figure out what we want and define our success from there; this is contrary to the dominant idea of success based on material wealth.
culture
Denmark Blogs About Bikes
On the official blog of Denmark (yes you read that right, the country has an official blog!) they have a nice post on the facts of the bike culture in Denmark.
7. The busiest bike stretch in the nation is Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen. 35,000 cyclists use the street each day.
8. The average speed of cyclists in Copenhagen is 15,3 km/h.
9. Danes cycle just over 1000 km a year per capita. The Dutch occupy second place, just under 1000 km.
10. There are 1.7 million people in Copenhagen and 1.7 million bicycles.
11. Only 40% of Copenhageners own a car.
12. 36% of Copenhageners ride a bicycle, 35% take public transport and the rest drive or walk.
ArtCamp Vancouver
Here in Vancouver they got themselves a pretty groovy idea called ArtCamp
based off of other “unconferences”. An unconference is a conference that is organized by the participants and this proves to be no exception (well, if we ignore the funding they’re getting).
From their wiki’s About page:
ArtCamp 07 follows on ArtCamp 06 ArtCamp06, the World’s First Un-Conference on Art, was a groundbreaking day-long event co-produced by New Forms Festival and Upgrade! Vancouver in September, 2006, which was attended by over a hundred artists, designers, programmers, critics, theorists, curators and practitioners from all fields who presented over 30 workshops, talks and hybrid events throughout a single inspiration-filled day.
By the way, I’m sorry about the irregular posting while I’m in Vancouver. If you’re in Vancouver you should come out to Manhunt Vancouver tonight to get inspired for ArtCamp!
Happy Planet Index
The Happy Planet Index is an innovative way to track the state of the planet. The HPI lists the GDP to show that wealth doesn’t equal happiness. This is a great project, even though as a planet we have a lot of room for improvement in terms of happiness.
“The message, simply put, is that when we measure the efficiency with which countries enable the fundamental inputs of natural resources to be turned into the ultimate ends of long and happy lives, all can do better. This conclusion is less surprising in the light of our argument that governments have been concentrating on the wrong indicators for too long. If you have the wrong map, you are unlikely to reach your destination.”
It’s a good thing they have a guide to make the planet happier.
The happiest countries on the planet are:
Vanuatu
Colombia
Costa Rica
You can even calculate your own HPI
Pearl Jam Jams Carbon Emissions
The band Pearl Jam are some environmental do-gooders! They are not only continuing their program of offsetting their carbon emissions from touring, they are expanding it!
“This year we expanded their program to encompass a broader range of clean air solutions. In addition to the Carbon Portfolio Strategy, we are working to offset carbon emissions from their 2006 US tour by using B100 – pure bio-diesel – in all production trucks and in our tour buses. B100 reduces emissions of carbon monoxide by approximately 50% and carbon dioxide by 78% on a net lifecycle basis. In contrast to fossil fuels, which release new carbon previously sequestered in the earth’s crust, the carbon in B100 emissions is recycled from carbon already present in the atmosphere.”
Pearl Jam does a lot of good for the environment and the world as a whole, you can find out more on their activism on their website.