Blog Action Day – It’s all about WATER

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event to bring people worldwide together to post about a worthy cause. This year, the invite is to debate, brainstorm and raise awareness around the issue of clean water.

Given that I’m not an expert, I’d like to take this opportunity to do my small part to simply raise awareness on the issue with family, friends, colleagues and the 5 people that know about my blog…

Water is the lifeblood of our planet – and us humans are just part of the system that needs to address sustainability for the environment and all living creatures. This is a global issue requiring a global conversation. Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water (an estimated 1 in 8 people). Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases.

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

I’ve included just a short list of topics below that change.org has assembled on the question of Why Water? Take just 5 minutes to read up on one or two items that interest you:

• In July, to address the water crisis, the United Nations declared access to clean water and sanitation a human right over. But we are far from implementing solutions to secure basic access to safe drinking water. Read More »
• Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions.Read More »
• That cotton t-shirt you’re wearing right now took 1,514 liters of water to produce, and your jeans required an extra 6,813 liters. Read More »
• The US, Mexico and China lead the world in bottled water consumption, with people in the US drinking an average of 200 bottles of water per person each year. Over 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture those water bottles, 86% of which will never be recycled. Read More »
• Death and disease caused by polluted coastal waters costs the global economy $12.8 billion a year. Read More »
• Communities around the world are taking steps to reduce water bottle waste by eliminating bottled water. Read More »
• Students in developing countries lose 443 million school days each year due to diseases associated with the lack of water, sanitation and hygiene. Repeated episodes of diarrhea and worm infestations diminish a child’s ability to learn and impair cognitive development. Read More »

I, myself, started with the topic I found most accessible: bottled water. When I followed the link on the topic, I found an article about Annie Leonard, who I recalled was behind The Story Of Stuff, a popular short film on consumerism and the manufacturing lifecycle, also well worth checking out. Here is The Story of Bottled Water:

And to be fair (sort of), here is an entertaining counterpoint video (supposedly) by The International Bottled Water Association, The Real Story of Bottled Water:

Of course we’re all going to drink bottled water now and then as a convenience, but perhaps you can decide, as my family did years ago, to drink filtered tap water and fill containers when you’re on the go. Make your own judgement about bottled water based on the water quality in your area.

As mentioned, the above are just a few topics in the larger discussion of clean water worldwide, dive deeper at change.org – Blog Action Day: Why Water?

The topic of water is also quite hot in the technology and clean energy space. If you happen to be in the Bay Area, the Stanford/MIT VLAB will be hosting a talk in just a few days on October 19, 2010: Blue Tech: Is Water’s Dry Spell Over? moderated by Susan Leal, Harvard University, Senior Fellow; Co-author of Running out of Water.

The talk by 4 Panelists will explore the following topics:

* Why are there so few VC investments in water given the demonstrated need for new solutions?
* Are there opportunities for IT to play a bigger role in water?
* Where and what are the biggest opportunities in water for entrepreneurs?
* What can cleantech entrepreneurs learn from water start-ups?

Digital Graffiti – To What End?

Graffiti or “street art” has been around for a long time, but seems to come in and out of mainstream cultural awareness. In recent years, work by artists such as Shepard Fairey who inadvertently went commercial by creating the now-iconic and (somewhat controversial) Obama print,

Shepard Fairey Obama Print

Banksy, who has a documentary “Exit Through The Gift Shop” now screening (recently covered in a Dipdive DailyDip),

Banksy Street Art

and Mr. Brainwash (who may or may not actually be an alter ego of Banksy, according to Fairey) has been on the rise in more widespread public exposure.

Mr. Brainwash "Life is Beautiful"

Now, graffiti artist Phetus says he is bringing the art form to the digital realm in the form of an iPhone/iPod/iPad app.

Graffiti Spray Can App

Phetus concludes in a video interview stating that he has been painting since 1988 and putting his logo as many places as he can… in less than a week, he’s gotten further with his career with the iTunes store [exposure via his new Graffiti Spray Can app, which has a free version and an upcoming paid version with more features].

Pop Cuture Author, Alissa Quart, comments that Phetus is walking the fine line between commercializing his talent and celebrating the art form.

I think it’s great that Phetus can gain much broader exposure via digital marketing for the work he has put in over many years, but it does put him in a different category from Artists like Banksy, whose work itself carries a message simply by his remaining (publicly) anonymous.

In the end, I’ll check out his free app and look forward to the seeing features in the upcoming paid version, which looks to include some social networking components and mini-games!

For what it’s worth, I had not known of Phetus, but like his work, especially because he’s done a vinyl figure!

Fatcap Series 2: Phetus by Phetus

Props to Mashable for their post and video interview:

Human + Household Object = Superhero!

Aha, the key to Stan Lee’s superhero creation process unveiled (yea, I know Bob Kane created Batman…):

Human + Household Object = Superhero!

Yup, I’d buy this T-Shirt from Threadless!

Speaking of Stan “the Man” Lee, you can see him interviewed about his role in Iron Man 2 and other Marvel cameos in this DailyDips episode from Dipdive:

Fast Company – 100 Most Creative People in Business 2010

Always an interesting read: Fast Company published their annual list of the most creative people in business for 2010. Being that we’re nearly halfway through the year, their list presents some level of anticipation towards how the year will play out.

There are alway so many notable characters on the list. Below are 10 that I, personally, find refreshing to be recognized.

Read more about each and see the complete list at: http://www.fastcompany.com/100/2010

#1 Lady Gaga – Pop Artist
It is undeniable that Lady Gaga has built an enormous brand in a short amount of time. Her music alone is an amazing accomplishment. She recently garnered the most awards at the 2010 World Music Awards in Monaco. Many know about her collaborations with Monster (Heartbeats headphones) and HP (Envy Beats Limited Edition laptop), but less know about her appointment as an honorary “Creative Director” for Polaroid. I don’t consider myself a “Little Monster”, but I can sure appreciate her business acumen.
Website: http://www.ladygaga.com

#2 EDDY CUE – VP of Internet Services, Apple
I didn’t know Mr. Cue by name, but I’m glad I do now. I don’t claim to be an Apple Fan Boy… but am unapologetic that I do use many Apple products. At the heart of them all is iTunes and the App Store, run by Eddy Cue. As Fast Company states, this combination is arguably the most disruptive of 21st century web business. There’s no argument.
Website: http://www.apple.com

#7 Chris Anderson – Curator, TED Conferences
If you don’t know about TED, you should. What started out as an annual conference of multidisciplinary futurists has evolved into one of the most significant resources of information on a dizzying array of topics that make you think. I can’t say much more, just go browse around their video library.
Website: http://www.ted.com/

#9 James Cameron – Filmmaker, Lightstorm Entertainment
What else can you say to James Cameron, except thank you. Was Avatar perfect? Maybe not, but it was still an amazing technical feat that set a new bar – as Terminator, Aliens and Titanic did before. Of course, Avatar became the highest-grossing film in history (nearly $2.7 billion worldwide). I hope that Cameron continues to shape the world of film.

#14 Igor Pusenjak – iPhone App Developer, Lima Sky

Pusenjak has developed one of the most downloaded iPhone apps of all time: the game Doodle Jump. Not much more to say except that I was addicted for 5 minutes and my kids still play it on their iPods. The game is also on Android, BlackBerry and Windows mobile with one for iPad on the way. I look forward to seeing what Pusenjak does next!
Website: http://www.limasky.com/

#16 HAIPING ZHAO – Senior Software Engineer, Facebook

Not surprising to find Facebook represented on the list, but nice to see an engineer recognized. Even thought Facebook has been under fire as of late due to changes in privacy features – you can’t deny that they are shaping the social industry. Zhao – “Writing a piece of code,” he says, “is crafting a piece of art in my mind.”

Website: http://www.facebook.com

#30 Naveen Selvadurai – Cofounder, Foursquare

I haven’t jumped on this addictive location based social networking novelty, but have noticed how real-world business have picked up and are starting to build upon the craze. I just heard that Starbucks may give a regular discount to whomever is the current “Mayor” of each store…
Website: http://naveenium.com/

#38 YUGO NAKAMURA – Designer, Founder, Tha

Nakamura states that he’s simply “looking for a good balance between digital and creative work.” I’ve been following Nakamura’s work for years as an admirer, never knowing him by name! His user interface visualization experiments have been widely followed by interactive Flash developers. Seeing his experiments, there is no surprise that Nakamura is a student of architecture, engineering and landscape design. Even less of a surprise that he was hired to design the home page experience for MoMA’s Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition.
Website: http://yugop.com/

#41 41 Jesse Dylan -Director, Form; Founder, Freeform

I’d be remiss to mention that Jesse Dylan is the son of musician Bob Dylan, but that’s not what he’s known for. Jesse Dylan is a filmmaker who has worked on everything from music videos to smart commercials to feature films. I’d like to think that I have “one degree of separation”, given that Dylan collaborated with will.i.am on the Barack Obama homage video, “Yes We Can” in 2008.
Website: http://www.madebyfreeform.com/

#92 – ANNIE LEONARD – Environmental Activist, The Story of Stuff Project

I can honestly say that not only do I remember when her first Flash animation about consumption of “stuff” and the inevitable environmental impact was released back in 2007, I also watched how Leonard evolved and expanded upon the concept as her audience grew over the years. The concept is more relevant each year and serves as an excellent learning tool for the masses.
Website: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

A NEW Oldest “Human” Skeleton Found; Said to Disprove “Missing Link” Theory

Scientists today announced the discovery of the oldest fossil skeleton of a human ancestor. The find reveals that our forebears underwent a previously unknown stage of evolution more than a million years before Lucy, the iconic early human ancestor specimen that walked the Earth 3.2 million years ago (interactive time line: how the new discovery changes human evolutionary theory).

What happened to the Lemur Missing Link concept from just a few months ago?!

Read more on this new discovery at National Geographic.

Missing Link Found!? A Lemur?

Wow, this is really kind of cool… In a new book, documentary, and promotional website, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil, suggests “Ida” (the name given to the discover) is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution.

I definitely plan on checking out the video that will be broadcast soon!

Check out this National Geographic Article.