Standing evenly spaced
in line, at attention.
Sporting gnarled crew cuts,
unruliness untolerated
and boundaries maintained.
The trees were deprived of soul,
strength,
and self-confidence.
Sitting high atop one,
a collection of carefully placed branches,
Stubborn to the shouting wind.
Signs of life that would be had
if the birds were back
to spread like lice
from tree to tree
and crew cut to crew cut.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Updated article on Conspicuous Sustainability
Conspicuous Sustainability
...or how I learned to stop worrying and love the trend.
Sustainability is a very popular catchphrase nowadays. Companies work hard to let their companies know that their practices are environmentally friendly and that their products are green. Celebrities have begun voice their opinions on the matter. Their demand for clothes and toys that fit their new cool and trendy lifestyle is eagerly supported by environmentalists, who needs the money and attention, and by their fans, who labour to imitate them.
It is getting to the point where it is difficult to differentiate between those that are madly passionate about saving the world and the knowledgeable early trend adopters. Luckily, there still exists the type of people that wear their hearts on their sleeves, so to speak.
These people practice conspicuous sustainability. I hesitate to use the word “greenwashing” as it explicitly refers to something else and carries with it a strong negative connotation. Instead, a page is taken out of Veblen’s book.
There is a positive and negative side to conspicuous consumption. The negative side is obvious to those that have studied Veblen: wasteful consumption, compulsive spending, etc. However, the positives are not so obvious. These people tended to be the early adopters of new technology and tastes/styles and were not afraid to spend the money to get it. You may have heard of the 20/80 rule, where 20 percent of one's customers provide 80 percent of one's revenue. Since these early adopters demanded innovation and were providing the bulk of profit, businesses were motivated to provide newer and better things, resulting in the lifestyle and consumer/producer model we enjoy today as well as giving the economy a big boost.
Similarly, there is a positive and negative side to conspicuous sustainability. The negative side includes sustainability falling out of fashion and greenwashing, which involves companies highlighting certain “green” elements of products while keeping the non-environmentally friendly aspects hidden. The big positive, however, is the amount of attention and awareness being brought to the topic of sustainability. Because of this attention, I believe that it would be impossible for this trend to ever go away. The social enigma of being a tree-hugger has been removed and in its place are litterbugs and eco-villains. Green has become the norm and standard. It is quickly reaching the point where non-green actions are considered faux pas, similar to how wearing fur coats would net you dirty looks.
This brings us to an interesting conclusion: whether people are genuinely practicing green activities, or if they are just trying to be trendy, in the end, they are still doing the world a favour in preserving it. For that reason, I am content to put aside my cynicism and focus it on other things, like American elections.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
M&M Part 1
Another busy week as I rush to complete a bunch of stuff by Friday. I hope you'll forgive me as I indulge in some nostalgia.
Time seems to fly sometimes. To me, my high school graduation always seems to be just last summer. When I stop to think about it, however, I know that it's been 5 years and my university graduation is just looming ahead.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like, to meet this younger version of myself. How would I see my future self. There is a lot to think about and reflect upon.
I present today, a blast from the past. A comic that I did with my best friend, Mike. We worked on it during the last year of high school but it didn't go very far. In my first year at my high school, I wrote a letter to my 18 year old self that the counsellor kept. When I opened it again, I found that the letter came with a long joke that I found hilarious at the time. Looking at the comic now, I feel the same way I felt when I re-read that long joke, some parts are still funny while others makes me cringe a bit. I could understand why I found it funny but I could also see myself patronizing my younger, immature self as well. In either case, enjoy the first few! I'll whip out some more later on.
Time seems to fly sometimes. To me, my high school graduation always seems to be just last summer. When I stop to think about it, however, I know that it's been 5 years and my university graduation is just looming ahead.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like, to meet this younger version of myself. How would I see my future self. There is a lot to think about and reflect upon.
I present today, a blast from the past. A comic that I did with my best friend, Mike. We worked on it during the last year of high school but it didn't go very far. In my first year at my high school, I wrote a letter to my 18 year old self that the counsellor kept. When I opened it again, I found that the letter came with a long joke that I found hilarious at the time. Looking at the comic now, I feel the same way I felt when I re-read that long joke, some parts are still funny while others makes me cringe a bit. I could understand why I found it funny but I could also see myself patronizing my younger, immature self as well. In either case, enjoy the first few! I'll whip out some more later on.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Conspicuous Sustainability
...or how I learned to stop worrying and love the hype.
Note: I've redone this article for a school publication. The new article utilizes the correct definition of "greenwashing". I will post the new article at a later time.
I had this topic in mind ever since Boxing Day. I was shopping with my girlfriend in Off the Wall at Metrotown when I noticed a bag hanging off a wall rack. It was one of those grocery shopping/library bags, you know the kind that is ugly-durable and can be reused until the end of time. My mom and grandma had a bunch of them way back when, as a demonstration of their uncoolness, before the bags were popularized for their reusable/sustainable ways.
Anyways, what made this bag stand out to me (aside from its gaudier than gaudy quality that considerably made it worse than any of the other gaudy things in the store) was the line that was printed (in a gaudy fashion, no less) on the face of the bag. It read "This bag is made with 100% recycled cotton"
It came across to me that it was not enough to simply popularize the bag as reusable and better than plastic. Instead, all the exemplary qualities of the bag must be thrust into the face of all passing by. It was, in fact, an exceptional example of what I call conspicuous sustainability.
Conspicuous sustainability is related to greenwashing, but is also category unto itself. Greenwashing refers to how companies and corporations try to cover every facet of their business with sustainable practices and then market the hell out of it. Well, without my negative connotation. The fact that the practices are sustainable are usually a side benefit for these businesses. More often than not, these practices are adopted because they are cost effective. That is, it's cheaper to produce more waste or to use less energy. That way you don't have to pay for trash removal or shipping energy from elsewhere. However, since it is sustainable, businesses also like to advertise the fact in order to gain even more benefit from their new policy and actions, drawing in more conscious minded customers.
Greenwashing is a play on the word whitewashing, but instead of covering things or cleaning up things so that they're white and spotless, greenwashing ensures that a company is entirely green and environmentally friendly. Conspicuous sustainability, on the other hand, refers to the term conspicuous consumption, which was first coined by Veblen in 1899. Veblen, in regarding to the leisure class, noted how people tended to purchase things for the sole purpose of showing it off. Often, these products or services would help to denote their social class and worth. In the modern day, almost everything can be considered conspicuous as the postmodern person often purchase products and services for the hedonic, or pleasurable, experience. What this means is that the function and practicality of the product is often put off to the sideline or ignored completely.
However, conspicuous consumption is not entirely a bad thing. While appealing to a more sinister side of human behaviour, that is pride and egotism, conspicuous consumption has allowed for tremendous boosts in the economy. If it weren't for the upper classes spending their cash on frivolous things, there would be little cash flow in the economy. That is, if all people did was save save save, then a lot of people would be out of a job.
These people tended to be the early adopters of new technology and tastes/styles and were not afraid to spend the money to get it. You may have heard of the 20/80 rule, where 20 percent of one's customers provide 80 percent of one's revenue. Since these early adopters demanded innovation and were providing the bulk of profit, businesses were motivated to provide newer and better things, resulting in the lifestyle and consumer/producer model we enjoy today.
Similarly, I believe greenwashing and conspicuous sustainability to have long lasting positive outcome, wherein people are more aware and more proactive in preserving the environment. This is regardless of their intention. They could be doing it because it is trendy (or it may become a faux pas to not be green, similar to how fur coats are now looked down upon) or they could be doing it because they genuinely care. In either case, there will be a general motion towards green activity and this will become mainstay and the norm, which is a great thing. So, though other may be cynical of greenwashing and sneer at those practicing conspicuous sustainability (such as celebrities or Off the Wall customers), in the end it all goes towards something positive and that outcome will be reached, with or without intent.
Note: I've redone this article for a school publication. The new article utilizes the correct definition of "greenwashing". I will post the new article at a later time.
I had this topic in mind ever since Boxing Day. I was shopping with my girlfriend in Off the Wall at Metrotown when I noticed a bag hanging off a wall rack. It was one of those grocery shopping/library bags, you know the kind that is ugly-durable and can be reused until the end of time. My mom and grandma had a bunch of them way back when, as a demonstration of their uncoolness, before the bags were popularized for their reusable/sustainable ways.
Anyways, what made this bag stand out to me (aside from its gaudier than gaudy quality that considerably made it worse than any of the other gaudy things in the store) was the line that was printed (in a gaudy fashion, no less) on the face of the bag. It read "This bag is made with 100% recycled cotton"
It came across to me that it was not enough to simply popularize the bag as reusable and better than plastic. Instead, all the exemplary qualities of the bag must be thrust into the face of all passing by. It was, in fact, an exceptional example of what I call conspicuous sustainability.
Conspicuous sustainability is related to greenwashing, but is also category unto itself. Greenwashing refers to how companies and corporations try to cover every facet of their business with sustainable practices and then market the hell out of it. Well, without my negative connotation. The fact that the practices are sustainable are usually a side benefit for these businesses. More often than not, these practices are adopted because they are cost effective. That is, it's cheaper to produce more waste or to use less energy. That way you don't have to pay for trash removal or shipping energy from elsewhere. However, since it is sustainable, businesses also like to advertise the fact in order to gain even more benefit from their new policy and actions, drawing in more conscious minded customers.
Greenwashing is a play on the word whitewashing, but instead of covering things or cleaning up things so that they're white and spotless, greenwashing ensures that a company is entirely green and environmentally friendly. Conspicuous sustainability, on the other hand, refers to the term conspicuous consumption, which was first coined by Veblen in 1899. Veblen, in regarding to the leisure class, noted how people tended to purchase things for the sole purpose of showing it off. Often, these products or services would help to denote their social class and worth. In the modern day, almost everything can be considered conspicuous as the postmodern person often purchase products and services for the hedonic, or pleasurable, experience. What this means is that the function and practicality of the product is often put off to the sideline or ignored completely.
However, conspicuous consumption is not entirely a bad thing. While appealing to a more sinister side of human behaviour, that is pride and egotism, conspicuous consumption has allowed for tremendous boosts in the economy. If it weren't for the upper classes spending their cash on frivolous things, there would be little cash flow in the economy. That is, if all people did was save save save, then a lot of people would be out of a job.
These people tended to be the early adopters of new technology and tastes/styles and were not afraid to spend the money to get it. You may have heard of the 20/80 rule, where 20 percent of one's customers provide 80 percent of one's revenue. Since these early adopters demanded innovation and were providing the bulk of profit, businesses were motivated to provide newer and better things, resulting in the lifestyle and consumer/producer model we enjoy today.
Similarly, I believe greenwashing and conspicuous sustainability to have long lasting positive outcome, wherein people are more aware and more proactive in preserving the environment. This is regardless of their intention. They could be doing it because it is trendy (or it may become a faux pas to not be green, similar to how fur coats are now looked down upon) or they could be doing it because they genuinely care. In either case, there will be a general motion towards green activity and this will become mainstay and the norm, which is a great thing. So, though other may be cynical of greenwashing and sneer at those practicing conspicuous sustainability (such as celebrities or Off the Wall customers), in the end it all goes towards something positive and that outcome will be reached, with or without intent.
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