Movie about earth by Yann Arthus-Bertrand - A hymn for the planet

Watch this movie on youtube - A hymn for the planet

I actually haven’t got a chance to view it myself but I intend to (therefore I put it on my blog). Please let me know what you think of the project =).  Some info:
HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth - our Earth - as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations”. Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)

Synopsis
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.

A People’s Project
By bringing us unique footage from the Earth and sharing with us his wonder and his concern, Yann Arthus-Bertrand lays a foundation stone for the world that, together, we must rebuild. The film HOME intends to shift people’s perceptions, to make us aware of the tectonic movements at work and to incite us to act.

We have a greater impact on the Earth than it can bear. We over-consume and are depleting the Earth’s resources. From the air, it is easy to see the Earth’s wounds. HOME simply sets out our current situation, while saying that a solution exists. The film’s subtitle could be “It’s Too Late To Be A Pessimist”. We have reached a crossroads; important decisions must be taken to change our world. Everybody knows about what the film says, but nobody wants to believe it. So HOME adds its weight to the argument of environmental organizations that we need a common sense approach to change our consumerist way of life.

Just for laughs - Eco tourism comics

How much is Local? Eco comics by Adrian Raeside. 

Déjà Poo: The Living Machine Sewage System

This eco infographic is great!  Better yet, this idea is being implemented! Published on Wired, they reported that the Port of Portland has incorporated the “Living Machine”, which uses soil and bacteria to filter out pathogens and turning wastewater into nonpotable water.  But the signature element of the system is the plant life that grows up and out of it—right into the lobby.  It’s awesome!

This is how it works:

1. toilet water goes into a septic/holding tank
2. the overflow gets pumped into “wetland” cells where water, pathogens, and biological content are absorbed by the plants
3. whatever that’s leftover is treated with UV light and sent to a storage tank
4. water in the storage tank is used in the toilet…..
5. repeat steps 1 to 4

Green Gift idea - Recycled Typewriter Cufflinks

I came across the green gift guide to father’s day on inhabitat.com, a blog with future designs/innovations including green products.  I went through the guide and am most attracted to the Recycle Typewriter Cufflinks! I like them because they’re personal and practical yet with a small environmental impact.  Do you like them?

Green Company - FROGBOX, the right way to move

If you were a student not living from home, you probably have moved several times during the duration that you’re a student.  I was personally in Kingston Ontario for about 6 years, which I moved 5 times. When I move, there are two types of moving boxes: cardboard boxes and plastic totes.  For cardboard boxes, we usually take some from grocery stores or collect used ones from the lab.  We moved so much that we know which types of boxes are sturdier than others!  Yes, those apple boxes =).  For certain items that may contain liquid (shampoo, sauces, cleaning products, …etc), we use plastic totes.  We reuse these cardboard boxes, give them away when other people need them, and we’ve recycled others when we don’t need them anymore.  We keep all plastic totes.

We try as hard as we can to not buy any boxes, and we’ve done quite well.  But wouldn’t it be nice to just rent some reusable boxes for the move?  Well, if you live in Vancouver, you’re lucky!  FROGBOX does exactly this! It’s an awesome idea and in an environmentally conscious and transient city like Vancouver, they could do quite well! The process is simple - they drop them off, you pack the boxes and move, and finally they pick up the boxes!  I would consider using it in my next move if I need more boxes!

What do you think?