The New Contraband: 8 Doomed Items in the New Green World

I stumbled across this post with an awesome slide show.  It is such an interesting concept that there are seemingly innocuous items that the pursuit of environmental concern is going to obliterate.  Many of them are iconic.  I didn’t know what to expect but I was not expecting the yellow pages to be the first on the list.  After the initial impact, I recalled the last interaction I had with The Yellow Pages.  I picked it off the front doorstep and said “why do they bother giving us one of these” to my wife.  “I mean who actually looks inside one of these anymore?” I continued chuntering for the next ten minutes or so…

In many respects the world has changed dramatically in my brief lifetime.  It is only ten years since I was at university and signed up for my first mobile phone.  Now I have a mobile communication device that can also be used as a phone.  In fact, it being a phone is largely irrelevant.  However, what it does do is connect to Yell.com.  There’s an app for that.

I try to live in as much of a paperless office as I can.  Everything is done electronically.  I try to be as environmentally conscious as possible.  However, you don’t realise the endangered species that this is creating.  I didn’t realise that I was pushing the yellow pages to the brink of extinction. 

As we move closer to the realm of the Starship Enterprise we are moving into a different world of environmentalism.  There are huge advances being made in all fields of technology.  The coal-fired power stations of my youth have disappeared and we’re exploring tidal power, wind power, solar power….  The emissions of vehicles are tightly controlled.  The kindle is taking over from the printed word.  With this there will no doubt come a new set of environmental challenges.

I wonder what else the future holds.  I wonder what other cultural icons will go the way of the dodo.

Yellow pages, may you rest in peace.

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Worship Idea – 7 Billion Video

I just had this video link sent to me.  I am staggered.

Thanks to @madeupstats for the occasional real one.

2010 – Carbon Emissions

I have recently been inspired by spring springing up around me unannounced.  There has been so much snow this year that it has come as a bit of a shock.  This lent, wife and I have decided not to give up something trivial but actually strive to give up a bit more carbon footprint.

I was alerted to this campaign called 1010.  The basic premise is that we all give up 10% of our carbon footprint this year.  If you notice it actually has a specific challenge to “the church”.   

So can you do something to reduce your carbon emissions in 2010?

new Dress new Bag new Shoes new Phone new Man and still not Happy.

Check out this great new video from Do The Green Thing.

We were just discussing whether our freshly expressed churches were fostering disciples or breeding consumers….

The Environment

Prince Charles has a great initiative looking at combating climate change.

Check out the youtube channel.

Make do and Mend

Less than 12 hrs after posting about Do the Green Thing, BBC news is telling me about how Grannies are going into school to show children how to “Make do and Mend” as a way of being All Consuming.  Apparantly there is a load of stuff on youtube too but I haven’t had time to look.

Green Thing

“Do The Green Thing” is making its way through the month by producing a video from the comedienne Josie Long who is using everything she has!!

All Consuming

Do The Green Thing have set another challenge this month.  Can you be all consuming?  Even the manky stuff?

From their email:

Josie Long is moving so Green Thing set her a preposterous All-Consuming challenge – to use up everything from her old flat, even the manky stuff. Amazingly she agreed. We’ll update you on her progress in a fortnight.

Do the Green Thing

Do the Green Thing is web site that uses celebrity endorsement to come up with fun ways of being more environmentally friendly.  I first heard about it a few months ago through Justin Hawkins blog on Myspace.  He produced a song for the site called ‘Do it in the Dark’ – a truly ingenious way of saving and using energy all at the same time 😕

Go along and have a look.  Sign up to their email newsletter and start saving the world!!

Looking after Creation

Here is an interesting idea for social action.  A methodist church is giving energy monitors to each member of their congregation.  The monitor gives an ongoing price rating of how much electricity it being used per minute.  An interesting way of encouraging faith to be lived out.