media

The Five Biggest Green Wedding Cliches: Stop Saying That!

ckane — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0400

Speaking as someone who reads a lot about green weddings, I'd say we are beyond the saturation point of green websites, articles, issues, news reports, and TV shows. As Duran Duran might say in their comeback single, it's too much information. And after referring in a recent post to overused phrases in coverage of sustainable weddings, I decided to do a little research. By Googling the first five green wedding cliches that came to my mind, I present you with my very scientific list of the most overused phrases in eco-wedding coverage, from least to most.

1. My big fat green wedding.This phrase was my biggest disappointment a few months back--I thought I coined, it but did a quick search to make sure. Unfortunately, Google says about 129 writers thought the same thing.

2. It's a nice day for a green wedding. This Billy Idol reference hath wrought 583 results.

3. The bride wore green. Something like 970 articles use this phrase.

4. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something green. Maybe you're the editor of Supermarket Lady Magazine, you're planning your green issue, and you want to use this clever title for your wedding article. If you don't mind that somewhere in the neighborhood of 1330 other articles have used it already, go right ahead.

5. Green is the new white. Searching this term on Google gets you about 4,260 results! And backing up what I said above about general green information overload, when you just search "Green is the new" it yields around 297,000 results.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great trend. I'll be interested to see how the current rage of green weddings plays out over time; what sticks, what changes get incorporated even into mainstream weddings and event planning.

Can anyone suggest cliches I missed?

Zap Car Corp Called on the Carpet

khallgeisler — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

The latest issue of Wired magazine features an article about Zap Corporation, which has built or imported electric and fuel-efficient gasoline vehicles since the mid-1990s. Or, at least, has promised to build or import these cars. Turns out their track record might not be so great.

The article, "Hype Machine," is in Wired's April 2008 print issue. The gist of the story is that Zap has let down franchisees with inflated sales expectations while at the same time letting down consumers by not delivering the cars its PR department announced with such fanfare. Of the eight models Zap has said it would sell, including the Smart ForTwo, only two are currently available from the company. (The Smart deal went to the Penske Group last year.)

To be fair, the ZAP-X and Alias models listed by Wired were recent announcements; it would be a miracle for any company to churn out an electric SUV (like the ZAP-X) a year after making the idea public. Just ask Chevy and its Volt. Or ask Telsa, who announced the roadster in the summer of 2006 and, after much hubbub, finally fired up the factory this year on March 17, to the joy of speed and Earth lovers alike. As gas prices climb, any emerging-technology company would do well to learn Zap's lesson, via Wired, to not promise the sky then deliver dirt.

There are a few disgruntled dealers in Wired's article, and it seems they have every right to be, having complaints like vanishing profits after out-of-pocket battery upgrades to get the cars to deliver the speed and charge the company said they would. These dealers wanted to believe Zap was the way of the future as badly as Zap did.

On the other hand, I recently wrote an article for the New York Times on EV dealerships having to forge a market where previously none existed. I spoke with three EV dealerships for the piece, including the shop with the highest Zap sales in the country, Ecomotion of Portland, Oregon. None of the dealers that I spoke with had anything ill to say of Zap when I spoke with them, though it wasn't the focus of my article. All three dealerships sold Zap vehicles, but all three also had EVs by other manufacturers, like Zenn, Miles, and Myers, on the showroom floor.

Any business that lets people down regularly needs to be called on the carpet. The problem is if all EVs get painted with that same brush, a scenario brought up by several people in the article. Not all battery-powered cars are manufactured by squirrely, pie-in-the-sky outfits. But the personalities at the cutting edge of new markets are likely to be big talkers and risk takers. We can't let that make us afraid to let go of the gas pedal and embrace alternative fuels.

Me Tarzan, You Vegetarian

ckane — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:53:41 -0500

Folks, I think we have a micro-trend in the media coverage of this ever-greening world: Carnivore-Veg*n Love: Can it Work?

It started the day before Valentine's Day with an article in the New York Times called I Love You, But You Love Meat. And while some commenters declared the topic a non-issue and the story a non-story, in the two weeks since, it has gotten press from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, LAist, and University of Washington's The Daily.

As Lisa Romano, a vegan who broke up with her meat-grilling boyfriend noted in the Times piece, "I need someone who is ethically on the same page." But as one commenter on LAist opined, "These people seem unwilling to compromise, period. And since a relationship is all about compromise...they will remain alone for a bit longer."

The consensus among the articles seems to be that the reationships can work, but don't always. At any rate, the issue of meat-eaters pairing up with those who abstain was contentious enough to get well over 200 comments in the Times. And any kind of press means increasing awareness of the reasons behind dietary choices like vegetarianism and veganism (including environmental ones, some of which are found here).

Where is Captain Planet Now that We Need Him?

Marcus — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Last Friday night, in lieu of hitting the town, I decided to stay in and catch up on my Netflix. And, let me tell you, it was delightful; a much needed respite from the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps. My roommate Emily and I watched Robert Altman’s 1993 film “Short Cuts,” which is based on the stories of Raymond Carver. See that movie. It’s real good.

But really, that’s all irrelevant. The reason I bring up the movie is because, during one scene, there’s a shot of a child attentively watching “Captain Planet” in his living room. And then that got me thinking: what ever happened to Captain Planet? Where is he now? Because, the more I learn about the grave state of affairs that is global warming, the more I realize that this world may need Captain Planet now more than ever…

So I did a little research. It turns out the Captain was created by none other than media maverick and billionaire entrepreneur, Ted Turner, in 1990, and the television series lasted six seasons, wrapping up in ’96. 1990? Way to go, Ted Turner. Creating Captain Planet in ’90 seems more forward thinking to me than the decision to merge Time Warner and AOL. On top of that, the Captain’s merry band of ring-bearing comrades hailed from five different continents, giving the show an ethnic, global vibe. It’s important to note that this is long before anyone even knew what being “green” was, and Turner decides to create a blue-skinned superhero with an outrageous mullet who fights environmental villains alongside a posse of multicultural, socially conscious youth. This is progressive stuff. Thinking back on my childhood (I was pretty much the target demographic for the show), I don’t remember a lot about the specifics of the program, but I definitely recall thinking that Captain Planet was cool. I’m fairly certain that the Captain’s status as a hip dude was undisputed amongst my circle of friends. We didn’t even realize, transfixed as we were by his tight leotard and bold hairstyle, that the show could be deemed “educational.”

And then, he was gone. After the show ended in 1996, Captain Planet disappeared from the mainstream pop consciousness. Today, as the earth is ravaged by the effects of global warming, and the call to action to reduce carbon emissions grows more and more vital, Captain Planet’s message is perhaps more poignant than ever. Which is why I propose the following: why not bring him back? I’m not talking about the original series- no, the early nineties animation and clunky scripts laden with bad puns wouldn’t hold the attention of today’s kids who, constantly oversaturated with media as they are, have grown too savvy and discerning to appreciate the nostalgia associated with good, old-fashioned 2D cartoons. This modern reincarnation would not only have to look sick, it would also have to be a little darker, so that its young viewers could be tricked into learning about the perils associated with global warming while simultaneously being frightened by scary-ass bad guys. Maybe a live-action, Tim Burton-esque feature length film would work, set in the near future on a planet cloaked in smog, with a haunting Danny Elfman soundtrack providing the mood music for Captain Planet’s exploits. Ooh, I think I like the sound of that.

In any event, Captain Planet (and Ted Turner) was onto something in 1990 when he pledged to bring pollution down to zero. And I think it’s high time we followed suit.