CivilizedNation.com Blog

Many of my friends wash their dishes with the faucet running at full blast. It's like they're trying to put out a fire, even though all they're doing is washing a fork and a plate.

Sometimes, it drives me crazy.

However, I'm sure there are times when I do the same.

Since I'm originally from the desert (Palm Desert, CA) I always try to be water conscious, running the tap on low pressure when rinsing the dishes and then rinsing the soap off, and most of the time I even try to make sure to turn the water OFF while I'm scrubbing the dishes, but lately I've been wondering if there are better techniques for saving water while washing the dishes.

After all, I've read stories about how people in Africa are able to get by on less than a gallon of water a day. And that's for bathing, washing dishes, watering their crops, and a whole range of other activities. How do they do it?

Since I don't have a dishwasher in the house, what's the best and easiest technique for washing dishes to conserve the greatest amount of water while still making sure the dishes are all nice and clean?

I was thinking that one way to get people to be less wasteful with their water would be to install a digital measuring device on the mouth of the faucet (kind of like those Brita filters you can install on the mouth of the faucet), so that people could see in real time how many gallons they're actually using/wasting.

You could also put one on the shower as well. And another one on the toilet, so you can see how many gallons are going down the drain with each flush.

The device could also have weekly totals, so you can see how your water consumption habits change from one week to the next. And hopefully, with a little competitive spirit, people might even try to beat their weekly totals from one week to the next, in an effort to CONSERVE water.

I think it would be a great way to promote water conservation in many of the southern states that experience a lot of drought.

I think if people could SEE with their own eyes how much water they were using while they were actually using it, it MIGHT make them do things a little differently.

Does anyone know of any such programs currently taking place? Or how much it would cost to make a little digital measuring device that measures water usage?

There are some exciting new developments brewing at CivilizedNation.com/music.

We now have more than 400 songs of social significance available in our database, and what's more those songs are accessible by genre.

So if you're looking for a some songs of social significance, but only in the musical genre of hip-hop, you can narrow your search just by clicking on the "hip-hop" section.

The same holds true for more than a dozen other genres as well. Rock, alternative, soul, R&B, country, reggae, oldies, etc.

At the same time, we're currently working on categorizing the songs by social issue as well, so that soon you'll be able to cross-reference songs by artist, genre AND social issue.

So, in the near future, if you want to find songs about poverty sung only by country artists, you'll be able to find exactly what you're looking for.

As always, if you look through our list of artist and our list of songs and you find that we're missing a real gem that you think should be included, don't hesitate to e-mail us the artist's name, the song title and the song lyrics. We love receiving song submissions and a good portion of the list you see right now is the result of people's participation.

Send songs to: submissions@civilizednation.com

Any genre. Any artist. Any era.

Here are a few examples:

Songs about poverty.
Songs about racism.
Songs about homelessness.
Songs about war.
Songs about HIV/AIDS.
Songs about sexism.
Songs about environmental issues.
Songs about hope.
Songs about community.
Songs about work.
Songs about strength.
Songs about equality.
Songs about justice.
Songs about peace.

Here is a great campaign from Sukle Advertising & Design for Denver water, with the tagline "Use Only What You Need."

I love it when ads take on this minimalist approach, using the actual physical space as part of the commentary.

If you know of any other campaigns similar to this one, where the billboard/adspace itself has been deconstructed as part of the message, please let me know.

Well, it's taken us a couple months, but we've finally launched our new music page with a much longer list of "songs of social significance."

Part of the reason it's taken so long is because songs of social significance are kind of hard to come by. Basically, when we've asked people on the street, "Do you know any good songs of social siginificance" most people don't really know what that means.

So let me try to explain.

To us, songs of social significance are thought-provoking songs that touch on an important social issue. Issues such as homelessness, poverty, the cold war, domestic abuse, terrorism, racism, being a woman in modern society, and so on.

We know this list is not exactly comprehensive and we know there are a lot of fantastic songs out there that we've missed, which is why we hope in the coming weeks and months, you'll visit www.CivilizedNation.com/music often and send us your suggestions.

Send us as many songs as you like. If there are new bands you know that are singing songs about important social issues, send them our way.

Whatever song you're thinking of, send it to:
submissions[at]civilizednation.com

Any genre. Any artist. Any era.

Just make sure the song isn't all about bringin' someone down or how much the world sucks, etc. Take a look at the list we've got so far and we're pretty sure you'll see a pattern.

If the singer has got a story to tell about an important social issue, we want to hear about it.

In the meantime, keep on writing and rockin' and talkin' and workin' and doin' whatever you can each and every day to make this world a better place.

We'll keep doing the best we can too.

Sincerely,

The Editors

It's been an exciting month for CivilizedNation.

In addition to retooling the books page and adding new features to our interactive maps,we have recently launched a brand new main page, which, in my personal opinion, looks about as professional as anything you'd see at CNN or the BBC (in fact, it's even better, since it's cleaner and less cluttered than those pages).

With the end of 2006 in sight, we decided it was time to give the main page a face lift, so that viewers who visited CivilizedNation.com through the main page would realize that CivilizedNation was so much more than a bunch of news stories.

The news stories are still there of course (just click on international news), and we love it when our readers submit inspirational success stories of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible practices from around the world, but with the new main page, we're equally proud of the what we've done with the music, movies, books and interactivity pages.

We also hope, with the new layout, that people will notice our CivilizedNation t-shirts, which touch on a variety of subjects, from education to bicycle advocacy.

They're not only great, fashionable items, but they're also a great way to support CivilizedNation.com, helping us improve the website even more.

In the beginning of 2007, we hope viewers will take notice of our Civilized Newsletter, which will bring the best of CivilizedNation.com straight to their e-mail box once a week.

More on that later, though.

Enjoy what we've done so far, and have a happy new year!

Here's an idea that just came to mind.

Why not use solar-powered school buildings as a place for guided tours so that curious residents and possibly even tourists could see first-hand how these systems actually work?

I think one of the things that is keeping people away from solar power (besides the cost) is the complete lack of knowledge people have for what goes into installing the system and how it works.

The key, of course, to building a reputation for these tours, is to make them consistent. Hence, the idea for "Solar Sundays." Offer people a nice atmosphere, a little food, a little entertainment, and let them take a nice leisurely tour of the facility with a cheerful, well-informed guide, who can answer all those "confusing" questions and give people an opportunity at the end to sign up for a newsletter which will then allow them to stay up to date on the latest developments, rebates, etc.

Yeah. Solar Sundays. It's got a nice ring to it.

Any takers?

I just posted a new story titled, Taiwan's World Games stadium to use solar and the question it naturally raises is, "Why isn't every sports stadium fitted with some kind of solar technology?"

During the times when the stadium is not in use, the energy from the solar panels could be used to power nearby homes, or be sold back to the grid.

Solar-powered stadiums could also be inviting tourist destinations for engineers interested in touring the facilities. The potential for synergy between stadiums, solar power production, and the city seems enormous.

If you know of other stadiums (from high school stadiums to professional stadiums) anywhere around the world incorporating solar panels into their design and function, please send the link to chris[at]civilizednation.com

If you have photos of the stadium, those would be great too. :-)

It's no doubt that sporting events have the potential to create enormous quantities of waste. But when you figure that a lot of that waste comes from beverage containers (beer cans, soda bottles, etc.), a lot of that waste could be recycled. I would love to see more stadiums and sporting events step up to the challenge and do what the Philadelphia Eagles have done, to at least TRY to get the message out there about recycling. If one out of every five ads around the stadium were about recycling, do you think it would sink in and have an effect on the behavior of people at that particular stadium, at least for the game? We'll never know unless we try.

The ad shown here comes from the Collaborate San Francisco and is called 4.5 pounds of trash.

If anybody knows of other examples of stadiums or sporting events with innovative/creative recycling ad campaigns like this one, please send me the link at chris[at]civilizednation.com

The other night, I was watching a show called Relentless Enemies on the National Geographic Channel.

I understand the need to have conflict in a show, since conflict is at the heart of all drama, but I couldn't help but wonder why there isn't also a show on television called Synergy, which could demonstrate the ways in which certain animals and plants have co-evolved so as to depend on one another.

The idea of Relentless Enemies makes it seem as though as these animals truly hate each other, and have hated each other since the beginning of time. And perhaps they have.

But it would also be nice to see a show that demonstrates how there are animals out there that get along with one another in a synergistic relationship, that benefit from one another's existence.

Maybe then, we would see how the same holds true for us as well.

As a Teaching Assistant at UT Austin, I work with students who almost seem to be activated by the clock rather than the pursuit of knowledge.

This automaton-like response led me, the other day, to write something that I would love to say if it were my class and were I not just a T.A.

"This is supposed to be a school, a place of learning and enlightenment, but as you have no doubt already noticed, there are bells in this building, because this building was made in the age and spirit of factories, the bells acting as the prehistoric pterodactyl calls of management, coralling workers from station to station, herding them like cattle towards their final destination.

But you are not cattle or sheep or Pavlov's dogs. And in my class you will not be conditioned to close your notebooks and jump up at the sound of a bell. In fact, it is my hope that you will be so involved in what you are learning that you won't even hear the bell when it does ring. Because the act of learning cannot and should not be forced between artificial borders of time. The process of discovery is timeless and it is what keep our spirits forever young."

Anyone who has spent even a little time on Google Earth or Google Maps must note that the technology now exists to help people navigate their way to just about anywhere around the globe.

One might even say that getting from point A to point B has never been easier, especially if you have a car.

But what if you want to go somewhere by bike? What if you want to want to take a trip to the corner grocery store to get something, but you don't feel like driving?

One of the most common concerns people have when it comes to commuting somewhere by bicycle is that they're afraid of getting hit by cars. A very reasonable concern when you think about it.

So perhaps bicycle organizations around the country could team up with yahoo maps, for example, to create something called "Yahoo Bike Maps," where one could plan their trip for how to get from point A to point B based on such variables as:

1) hill incline--because some people might prefer a flatter route, even if it takes a little longer
2) availability of bike lanes--people are more likely to get on their bikes if they know there's a route that has continuous bike lanes
3) traffic conditions--whether there are bike lanes or not, people on bikes typically prefer to go where cars are less prevalent. It's safer and it reduces the amount of exhaust you have to breathe in while riding.

If this kind of information doesn't already exist, it could be quite easily found and documented by members of the varying bike organizations who, through their weekly or monthly rides, would undoubtedly know the best routes in the first place.

The point is that the technology exists for creating such a site. It's just a question of whether or not people are going to partner up and put it to use for the benefit of the community at large.

Schools are always looking for ways to fund their music programs, and for many years now, students and teachers have turned to the familiar car wash and bake sale events as a way of making that money to help pay for new instruments or special uniforms or field trips to one location or another.

And while these ideas aren't bad, we at CivilizedNation.com would like to propose an entirely new set of imaginative ideas for raising funds for school's music programs, while at the same time bolstering the town's entertainment offerings and sense of community pride.

The first idea would be to partner with organizations that are actually involved in the business of music, such as Napster, Yahoo Music, etc. With the proliferation of mp3 devices now available, and musical piracy at an all time high, an agreement could almost certainly be reached whereby organizations would agree to donate 10% of all earnings during a specified period of time towards schools across the country or to a specific school where students sold musical download cards (10 songs for $10) to members of the community. Besides raising funds for schools, such a program might also help lower the amount of musical piracy on the internet as people might be more encouraged to perform legitimate downloads since they would now know that a portion of their purchase amount would be going back to benefit their own community.

Another idea for raising funds for music programs would be to form smaller bands (from within the school band) and have them perform at local restaurants on weekends, announcing that all tips/donations would be for this field trip or these uniforms, etc. This would benefit both the restaurant in terms of entertainment and it wold benefit the students themselves, teaching them a greater sense of responsibility while putting their musical talents to work.

Still yet another idea would be to reach an agreement with local music stores, creating a special events month where a percentage of all purchases could be donated to the local high school's music program. Students could play music in varying locations around town promoting the store while at the same time promoting their cause.

The point to these ideas is that students and schools that are in need of funds for their programs have numerous opportunities all around them. Rather than selling candy or brownies (and aiding in what is quickly becoming a national pandemic of diabetes), students can form partnerships with local businesses, making the situation music to everyone's ears.

Whether we like it or not, just about every holiday or "special" day in America has been commercialized.

For Valentine's Day, it's chocolates and roses and lingerie.
For Easter, it's chocolate rabbits and easter eggs and color dye.
For Memorial Day, it's flags and images of eagles, and anything else associated with national pride.

So maybe it's time for the sustainability movement to figure out which holiday it can turn into one of its own. After all, beer companies have, for a long time, attached themselves to a number of holidays with clever ad campaigns to sell more beer.

If greenies are smart, they'll learn to take advantage of such famous days as St. Patrick's Day, linking their cause with a celebration that's already in place.

St. Patrick's Day, with a concerted effort, can become synonymous with solar power, recycling, and conservation. Instead of drinking green beer, people can have a hearty glass of wheat grass juice to promote healthy living. Leprechauns can educate people about a wide variety of green activities in a family friendly way. The possibilities are endless.

The point is, every holiday can be viewed through a green lens, encouraging people to celebrate with sustainability in mind, so that we may all keep on celebrating for many generations to come.

One of the great things about music is that it has not only has the power to uplift, but it also has the ability to make you stop what you're doing and reflect on the world. Your foot may still be tapping, but the lyrics end up take you down a trail you might not otherwise have followed.

At CivilizedNation.com we're constantly trying to find songs of social significance.

These may include, but are generally different from protest songs, labor union songs, anti-war songs, etc.

Because songs of social significance are found in every genre of music. Rap, hip-hop, rock n roll, country, folk, you name it. Different artists from every genre have at one time or another sung at least one song dealing with social issues.

Paul Simon's song, "Boy in the Bubble" is a perfect example of this. He's not trying to "stick it to the man" with his words, but the things he's singing about give us plenty of material to contemplate.

It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art, think of
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry

So if you know of any songs out there that really cause you to think and wonder and dream, please let us know, because we're actively looking for them, and we want to help give them a collaborative home here at CivilizedNation.com, where we believe that songs of social significance from every genre and ever corner of the globe have the ability to inspire and the potential to change the world.

At one point, Starbucks was just one little coffee shop, McDonalds was one little hamburger stand, and Whole Foods was one little co-op grocery store.

But now, here they are, decades after their inception, with hundreds of stores, thousands of employees, and millions of dollars.

So how did they do it?

And how can non-profits and other organizations, working for environmentally sustainable and socially responsible causes, learn from these for-profit businesses?

These are the questions that are asked, and in part, answered in a book called Branded Nation which analyzes the success of varying organizations and their branding efforts.

Obviously, the challenges that face non-profits are in many ways more complex than their for-profit counterparts (when it comes to communicating brand message) but many of the basics remain the same: consistency of communication, attention to detail, superior customer service, adherence to the mission statement.

If NGOs and non-profits are serious about being successful in fulfilling their goals, this book would be a great place to start.

And if anyone else out there knows of similar literature demonstrating successful techniques of other organizations, we here at CivilizedNation.com are all ears.

Let us LEARN from each other.