The Story of Stuff

A quick and engaging overview about the state of the world, who profits from our destruction, and what we can do about it.

Why pay attention to the threat of climate change?

There's no debate among climatologists about whether or not global climate change is happening. It is. The only debate is between those who hope humans didn't cause it and those who hope humans can change it. That debate is meaningless. If we might be able to change it, we have to try, because it's our survival as a species that's at stake. The only smart thing to to is to try to curb the changes before life on Earth becomes difficult or impossible for humans.

We're the last generation of people who have a chance to try before it becomes too late, because the changes are not going to be gradual or incremental. Climate changes happen when conditions tip into a new dynamic and then become inevitable.

Don't let the wishful thinking of the anti-science people lull you into a false sense of security. Climate change is not something in the far future, it's something that will make our own lives and the lives of our children very different and difficult indeed. The earlier we act to curb human pollution the less expense and disastrous results we'll have.

The first step is to get everyone on board. Spread the word.

Thanks to Roger for the heads up on this video.

Berlin wall section secretly removed over Easter weekend

We can hope the officials are telling the truth and that it's being restored and preserved, but the secrecy is suspicious. The Berlin wall is important world history and important graffiti history. Even if it can't remain in Berlin for some reason, it needs to be preserved as possible.

The New york graffiti war (wtf?)

"...as the works of popular public artists rise in value, so do the neighbourhoods around them. The work of popular street artists, inadvertently or not, spurs processes of gentrification and urban renewal. In New York, the majority of chosen works have been in the Lower East Side, a neighbourhood akin to Montreal?s Plateau, where trendy bars, vintage clothing shops, and small boutiques reign. The street art is used as a selling point, helping to reconstruct the image of the neighbourhood into one of bohemian charm, art, and culture."

Who would have thought that people would drop the broken windows litany and start kvetching that unauthorized painting causes property values to rise? Or maybe it's only stickers and stencils that are good? So ... a balance of graffiti with the street art would maintain equilibrium? I'm having trouble following the logic, if any. Except, of course, someone with little going for them but no-style splashing and a manifesto has somehow gotten fame (again). Now that I do get.

It makes you wonder, though, whether graffiti and property value are actually related at all.

If so, I guess the vigilante has the situation well in hand. Buy the local art and your neighborhood value goes up. Destroy the local art and your neighborhood remains ugly but cheap for the art-destroyers.

Maybe we should just aim for one nice, even coating of outdoor art in all our neighborhoods and stop this game now.

Stardust blows up, Las Vegas Style

Check out the link above while it lasts, because it's the high-res version and it's a beautiful building implosion performance. The youtube version below shows the view from the back of the hotel, but the pixelation makes it look like the impressionist version.