Eco-friendly is one thing, but how about cutting-edge? When it comes to being “green” it can seem like all the stories have been told, or that the new ideas are all coming from science and technology. As we surveyed these amazing ideas to watch in 2012 we discovered that green is more than a hip style, it’s a way of looking at the world that infiltrates art, culture, language, family and yes, science. Check out these promising ideas for a 360 degree view of how the environmental ethos is changing our lives for the better.
(The Creation Of Muppet. Image courtesy of James Hance)
INTERVENTION ART
Kitsch art isn’t a new idea. While sifting through tables of junk at a garage sale or a flea market, who hasn’t thought of purchasing that watercolor portrait of a little girl with a suspiciously pug-like face or that sailboat that seems to be coming at you from every perspective imaginable? You know, for the goof.
In 2012, however, those kitschy garage sale paintings will be taken to a new level. Welcome to Intervention Art – found paintings and advertisements altered with pop-culture references. Imagine grandma serving a platter of Colt 45s, the rabbit from Donnie Darko tinkering with a jet engine, and Willie Wonka fishing a corpse from a river that may or may not be made of chocolate.
Both hilarious and creepy, Intervention Art appeals to our current obsession for nostalgia and the recycling of old ideas and familiar faces to create something new. Be warned, however, that some of your favorite, cuddly characters from childhood will not be treated nicely.
URBAN PLANNING FOR A WARMER CLIMATE
As anyone who rides public transportation can tell you, it can take city planners awhile to adapt to changes happening right under their noses. From projects stuck in a permanent state of construction to buses and subways that head in every direction but the one that everyone needs, cities can be slow moving beasts when it comes to change.
Fortunately, progressive cities are finally taking a long, hard look into the future. Looking to Chicago as a guiding light and post-Katrina New Orleans as a cautionary tale, cities are starting to build, fund, and plan for a future that promises to be warmer, stormier, and directly affected by global warming.
So in 2012, expect to see some changes in your city. There will be less pavement, more parks and drought tolerant trees, and maybe one day you’ll get lost heading to work or school because your building is suddenly crawling with vegetation.
(Image courtesy of Yeo Valley)
BE MORE LIKE YOUR GRANDPARENTS
We get it. Farming is cool again. It seems like you can’t flip through the New York Times without coming across an earnest piece about America’s new generation of farmers. Old news, right?
But what about those countries with even grimmer economies than the United States? Take Greece, for example, where the young have been particularly hard hit by unemployment and a changing world economy. Many young Greeks are turning to a line of work traditionally held by their grandparents – you guessed it, farming.
With “new generations of farmers” popping up around the world, learn to further embrace farming in 2012. The next time you’re out on the town or at a dinner party, remember to pepper your conversation with the recently discovered traditional skills of a new generation. Armed with the knowledge of pickling, grafting, and animal husbandry, 2012 will be yours for the taking.
ROBOT FARMERS
Despite the current love for all things local and organic, it’s no secret that farmers aren’t a wealthy bunch. Land and labor are expensive, not to mention the unpredictable nature of, well, nature. There’s a reason farmers aren’t driving to farmers’ markets in Cadillac SUVs filled with heirloom tomatoes and dinosaur kale.
The answer to these financial concerns could be robot farmers. That’s right – robot farmers. Although the farming movement seems to be trending away from mechanization, some wonder if more mechanization is actually the key. Robots, in the long run, are cheaper and could be more efficient than the most adept of human farming crews.
2012 likely won’t be the year we see fields glimmering with robots as they merrily plant, water, and harvest, but the idea does add an interesting wrinkle to the agricultural debate. Food for thought, until of course the robots start thinking for us.
POP-UPS GET (EVEN MORE) CREATIVE
It’s no secret that pop-up stores have been rearing their heads in cities across the world. Their purpose is to revitalize neighborhoods and to give entrepreneurs and artists the opportunity to temporarily open a store they couldn’t otherwise afford. Despite some snark about their hipster trendiness, pop-up stores have been successful and are here to stay, although in 2012 they will continue to evolve and innovate.
In Oakland, California, recently ranked as the #5 place in the world to visit, pop-up businesses are appearing in all different shapes and sizes. From a fully equipped restaurant that is rented out to a different chef every two weeks to an entire block of pop-up stores, Oakland is attempting to shape a new retail model as traditional methods continue to struggle with the limping economy.
So pop in to a pop-up and enjoy some soda pop. Say that three times fast!
NOSE-TO-TAIL DINING AND MOONSHINE
Nose-to-tail dining is exactly what it sounds like – nothing, absolutely nothing, of a butchered animal should go to waste. So don’t be surprised if everything that might turn your stomach, from tongue to internal organs to bone marrow, ends up on your plate in 2012. Sorry, vegetarians.
If this seems tough to swallow, another culinary trend of 2012 will help you wash down your pig’s feet and tripe – moonshine. That’s right, we’re talking about the elixir of the backwoods and grizzly mountain which, if legally made, is known as “white dog” or “white whiskey.”
So in 2012, be prepared to be adventurous and bold with your food and drink. At the very least, just close your eyes, take a bite and a swig, and ask questions later.
(Image courtesy of AirBnB)
STAYING WITH STRANGERS WHILE ON VACATION
Tourists often get a bad rap. Armed with cameras and good walking shoes, they descend upon cities, monuments, and natural wonders in groups and gaggles, often isolating themselves amongst their fellow tourist. Aside from tour guides, front desk receptionists, and bartenders, there often isn’t much interaction with the local population.
But what if there was another way? Cue the growing trend of staying with strangers while on vacation. With a sudden abundance in safe and reliable websites such as wimdu.com, homeaway.com, and airbnb.com, travelers can now stay comfortably with locals at affordable prices. These websites not only provide an opportunity to have a more local experience, but they also give tourists a chance to put their hard earned dollars in the hands of real people instead of a multinational hotel chain.
It’s a new way to travel! Good walking shoes and cameras, however, are still encouraged.
THE WORLD WON’T END, BUT….
We think it’s pretty safe to say that the world won’t end in 2012, but that doesn’t mean that all this apocalypse talk won’t have an impact. From strenuously debating the “best” Hollywood inspired, post-apocalyptic scenario to planning apocalypse parties of both the smug, “I-told-you-nothing-would-happen” and the pious, “four-horsemen-are-sure-to-come” variety, the rapture will be on our minds this year.
Silliness, sarcasm, and righteousness aside, there could be a positive side to this complete misrepresentation of the Mayan calendar. Perhaps all this buzz about the end of the world will help us pull our collective heads out of the sand and realize that, no matter who we are or what we believe, our time on this planet is limited and we should live our lives to the fullest. It’s time to act, live, have an adventure, and at the very least, attend some pretty kick ass rapture parties in 2012.
(Image courtesy of Pantone)
DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN TANGERINE TANGO
Clean out your closet, throw away your place mats, and buy a new paint scraper because we have a winner: tangerine tango.
According to Pantone, the expert of all things color, tangerine tango will be the shade of the year. Imagine the reddish-orange color in your Crayola set and you’ll get the idea. Heralded as spirited, sophisticated, dramatic, and seductive, tangerine tango is setting us up for a complex year. If 2011 tuckered us out, 2012’s color provides an adrenaline rush, an energy boost, and “a magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”
Although this news may disappoint those of you who finally redesigned your home and wardrobe in honeysuckle, Pantone’s 2011 color of the year, have no fear – there’s nothing, of course, that a fresh coat of paint or a new brightly colored shirt can’t fix.
ROBOT ETHICS
Our technology is getting smarter and maybe even funnier, but can our robot friends distinguish between right and wrong? As almost every aspect of our lives becomes increasingly dependent on gadgets of every shape and size, 2012 could become the year of robot morality.
Take, for example, a military drone that goes astray and bombs a civilian target. Who is responsible? The company that made the drone, the drone’s operator, a military general, or as our technology becomes increasingly complex, the drone itself?
It’s time to sit up and take notice of the robot world around us. As even Siri has stumbled her way into the abortion debate, we should take note of the choices made by our robot friends. And perhaps it was no accident that the Roomba buzzing around your apartment inhaled that $20 bill – could it be hoarding cash for its own greedy, little purposes?
BATTLING FOR CONTROL OF THE INTERNET
We’ve grown accustomed to the Internet being our own digital, wild, wild west. Pirated music, blogs from your cat’s perspective, free episodes of Mad Men, and copyright infringing mashups of Louis Armstrong and Boyz II Men over a scene from the original Planet of the Apes are all at your fingertips.
In 2012, all of this could change. With big business, telecommunication giants, and Congress taking long, hard looks at the Internet, the days of free speech, unlimited bandwidth, and uncopyrighted mayhem could come to an end. As even YouTube, one of the most popular saloons in the whole wide west, attempts a much maligned redesign in anticipation of sweeping changes to the web, we may all have to adapt to a wildly different Internet. So saddle up, pardner, and enjoy the ride while it lasts.
JET STREAM POWER
Wind turbines are so 2002. Stuck to the ground with unsightly poles and rising a mere 100 feet or so, they’re starting to look like slow-moving dinosaurs stumbling across our landscape.
In 2012, the world of wind power has much loftier goals. Using tethered kites, balloons, and winged machines, innovative companies are researching tapping power from high-altitude winds in the jet stream. Proponents believe the jet stream could provide 100 times the energy needed to power the world. That’s a lot of power.
Before you roll your eyes and imagine mad scientists clinging to kites miles above their unruly manes of hair, consider this: Google, with an eye towards minimizing its carbon footprint, has invested $20 million in a Bay Area company that deals in this very industry. For $15 million, perhaps it’s time for you to unravel a kite of your own.
(Image courtesy of REUTERS / Bobby Yip)
HOW AND WHERE ARE YOUR GADGETS MADE?
Remember how exposes in the late-90’s and early 2000’s made everyone suddenly sit up and notice that their GAP sweatshirt and Nike shoes weren’t made under humane conditions? Well, the same tide of awareness may be about to hit the tech industry, specifically in regard to all of our favorite gadgets.
With This American Life’s recent show on inhumane conditions at an iPhone and iPad factory in Shenzhen, China, 2012 may be the year that consumers begin to question their devotion to all things smart and mobile. Performer Mike Daisey, whose well-received one man show “21 Dog Years: Doing Time at Amazon.com” illuminated some of the down sides of our dependence on technology, traveled to Apple’s factory in China, where he discovered cramped living quarters, exposure to toxic chemicals, union busting, child labor, and other inhumane working conditions that would be illegal in much of the Western world.
Will such stories curb the consumer’s appetite for mobile devices? Likely not, but if joined together, outraged consumer voices can be loud, strong, and persuasive.
CONSTRUCTION SITE DUMPSTER DIVING
Dumpster diving is an art. An art that many find somewhat icky, but an art nonetheless. There are some dumpsters, however, that need some more diving – those massive green bins at construction sites. Most of that plaster, drywall, piping, and wood usually ends up in landfills.
2012 may be the year that people start to rethink construction waste. With innovative green businesses such as Philadelphia’s Revolution Recovery leading the way, there is a new interest in recycling and reusing scrap building materials. Everyone from urban farmers to new home owners to artists can reuse these materials that would otherwise go to waste. So why shouldn’t a local business such as Revolution Recovery round up these scrap pieces and resell them at a discounted price?
INVISIBILITY
They say there are two kinds of people in this world. If given a choice of superpowers, there are those who would choose the ability to fly and those who would be more partial to invisibility. For half the world, then, 2012 could be quite an exciting year.
Tapping into the process in our brains that creates desert mirages, researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have made tentative steps towards creating an invisibility cloak. Made with “nanotubes” that are as dense as air and as strong as steel, the cloak manipulates temperature and light in the same shimmering manner that one would see while thirstily crawling across the desert.
STOPPING THE ENCROACHING DESERT
Who knew that deserts can grow? Spreading across the landscape in Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia, deserts are a menace to an increasing world population that needs farm land and water. Fortunately, there are scientists, farmers, and entrepreneurs tackling this problem with gusto.
In Africa, for example, there’s an attempt to construct a Great Green Wall of Sahara-stopping trees and to spark a farmer led “Green Revolution” that aims to halt the creeping sands with good farming practices. Although there’s some bickering as to which solution is more practical, local and global awareness is increasing and a little competition could help find a solution more quickly.
(Image courtesy of Mariya Pylayev / thatpaper.wordpress.com)
OCCUPY JOURNALISM
Occupy Wall Street is a movement like no other. With no visible leaders and a laundry list of things to protest, Occupy Wall Street has received flack from the mainstream media, who finds it difficult to pin the movement down. As a result, occupiers and sympathizers alike have decided to write their very own accounts.
Grandiose titles aside, in 2012 these books could lead the way in the changing world of journalism and publishing. Written by unidentified groups of “Writers for the 99%,” the books have been edited, written, and funded by collectives using file sharing sites such as Google Docs and Dropbox. With print publishers struggling to stay afloat and online publishers struggling to make a buck, the Occupy writers may have found a solution – be collaborative, tech-savvy, and written directly by the man on the street.
Occupy Journalism could be here to stay.
-Mike Irvine is a researcher and writer at MYOO
