Monthly Archives: January 2009
Fuel the Film
| January 24, 2009 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under film |
I had the opportunity to see Fuel yesterday at the Go Green Expo. Afterward there was a panel discussion with Director Josh Tickell, Peter Fonda, Mariel Hemmingway and Tony Tracy. Getting their insight was invaluable as each of them have had a different path and mission in creating a greener, more conscious world.
The film is is both devastatingly real and incredibly optimistic. The work and passion that has gone into creating it inspired me to do a lot more than I have been doing. As Mariel mentioned during the panel, it’s about “showing up” in your own life and affecting others from there.
Please check out the website www.theFUELfilm.com – watch the trailer and find out where you can go see the film. I guarantee that it is worth every second of your time.
flushing the competition
| January 22, 2009 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under Design |
I do realize that it’s a little bit odd to start out by featuring a toilet (is that some kind of symbolism? Or maybe just a sick sense of humor.) Actually, this product just doesn’t get near the attention it deserves. As a designer I am fairly attuned to things that are well designed- or not- and this one is a winner in my book.
This is a dual flush toilet by Caroma. I think by now most of us realize the concept of the two-flushes, but just for fun I’m going to spell it out. Flush one is for liquid waste and flush two is for what we lovingly refer to as ‘a number two.’ Get it? Thought so.
An average toilet in this day and age uses anywhere from 1.6 gallons to 5 gallons (depending on when and where the toilet was installed) of water per flush. That is a little crazy, especially going back to the ‘number one’ use. So it seems like a good area to invest some time in creating new technology.
And so it is that Caroma, along with many other toilet manufacturers now, has come up with the concept of having a dual flush system, which uses only about .8 gallons on the one flush and 1.6 for the regular one. And the true design genious here is that they are virtually un-cloggable! Seriously, I tried this at a showroom. It’s oh so un-eco, but we shoved wads of (recycled) paper towels in there without any problems. And I kid you not, we flushed a potato. I’m talking Idaho potatoes, not the little ones. It just sucked it right down. Amazing.
So to Caroma and friends, my hat is off to you. Thank you for making a great product that contributes to a solution rather than adding to the problem.
Cameron Sinclair at the TED Conference 2006
| January 22, 2009 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under videos |
Okay, so I know this video is a little bit old but it’s one of my favorites. Cameron is such a genius and a really nice guy. I’ve only actually talked to him for about a minute in my entire life, but it was long enough to form a bit of a crush really. It’s people like him that restore my faith in humanity, because sometimes it’s just really hard…please watch.
Welcome, Thank You and Goodnight
| January 20, 2009 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under Uncategorized |
‘Greening the Orange‘
This is a fun little catch-phrase coined by…well, I’m not sure who exactly. But the message is quite clear that we do, in fact, have a community of people who want to see some green in Orange County. I happen to be one of those folks.
My interest in eco-consciousness has no real starting point. I did not have an epiphany after working for the oil industry or seeing the effects of global warming in a video. I was actually just taught as a child that the earth is a nice place and it would be, well, rude of us to do things to harm it. Like littering, or killing animals, or throwing things away that could be recycled. In the Midwest, where I am originally from, we had city recycling programs since the late eighties (gasp! no way!) Not that the general area of the nation is necessarily ‘green’ but they did have that fundamental down pat pretty early on.
I was not brought up a hippie treehugger by any means and we sure did eat our share of meat and potatoes, but I learned a respect and awe of the environment then that has carried through to today. So now that I am a hippie treehugger I can honestly say that, yes, I love Mama Earth and I always have.
So welcome to my blog. My goal here is to expand my network of local greenies and also to teach what I know about Green Design. I am an Interior Designer by trade and have discovered a wealth of information and resources over the years. I think it’s important that we constantly share information with anyone who is interested and willing to learn. I’m pretty sure it’s what Mother Nature would want…
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