“New Media Landscape Discussion with Al Gore & Sean Parker”
By Marcie Barnes
This is a live blog post from the talk entitled ”New Media Landscape Discussion” at SXSW. Speakers are former Vice President Al Gore – who 
now spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project – and Sean Parker who is an entrepreneur with a record of launching genre-defining companies that reinvent ways to spread information online.
Gore: Our Democracy has been hacked – it no longer works for the best interest of the people. Television is a centralizing force. Average American watches TV 5 hours a day. Now it’s the central place where politics are discussed and creates a very different “public square” compared to those of the past. The news shows and debates are sponsored by coal, oil, banks, pharmaceutical companies. Wants to see “Internet Democracy.”
Parker: Is optimistic that the rise of new media can reverse the mentioned trend of corporate washing in politics. Most people have an online identity and are wired up in networks – so there is potential for new media to engage with the political process. Social networks have always been around, they just weren’t online. What changes need to happen? We need to start replicating the tools that campaigns, non-profits etc. use. Founded Causes, Votizen – very early tools but still trying to leverage the power of social media to activate people.
Gore: thanks those of us who were involved in the stop SOPA campaign. We need to protect this medium and protect it’s fantastic potential. The victory with SOPA, many similar examples of social media being used for important causes. “Need your help to solve the climate crisis” [applause].
Parker: Networks and tools available today initially have focused on rapid growth, viral, etc. Causes has been too focused on short-term goals and needs to look at more long-term goals…the system will not be transformed by government (Gore confirms) and new media will have a role in forming politics, can make it more efficient, less expensive to run for office.
Gore: on the role of money in politics has grown and grown and grown and the quality of Democratic discourse in our country has declined. It’s getting even worse – corporations are not people.
If corporations can just purchase legislative seats, the beneficiary of that is going to pay close attention. TV can be hypnotic, there is a massive audience sitting and watching TV – 75-80% of campaign budgets go to TV ad spending. They are mostly negative. The politicians that don’t have the cash have to beg. There was also an online campaign to stop debit card fees. How do we get people connected and hold those in charge accountable?
The real power of the people is truth vetted in some way – like, dislike, etc. When our country was ready to invade Iraq 3/4 of people in America believed Hussein was responsible for 911 attack – he had nothing to do with it. The senators weren’t in the chamber to discuss because they were out fundraising and at cocktail parties. “Occupy Democracy”.
Parker: We may have a window of opportunity to take back the system.
Gore: You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. TV megaphone blasting “clean coal clean coal” is an oxymoron. We have to get back to a time when logic and reason are in the forefront. Need to create new online tools to get people together in order to call out the truth.
Parker: Need to change the way these TV-run elections happen. People don’t know much about the candidates. Social media could rectify this.
Gore: Need to create a crowdsourced site like a wiki to lay out all the issues and truths. Citizens United decision should be repealed.
www.climatereality.com – we need urgent action to address climate change. 98% of climate scientists agree. Carbon polluters are hiring actors to pose as doctors and say it’s safe…we need to fight.
“Content As a Means for Social Change”
| March 12, 2012 | General Social Good |
By Marcie Barnes This is a live blog post from the talk entitled ”Content As a Means for Social Change” at SXSW. Speakers are Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter and The Obvious Corporation, which focuses on building systems that help people work together to improve the world) and Brian Sirgutz, SVP, Social Impact, AOL/Huffington Post. Sirgutz was motivated to do philanthropic work after helping volunteer after 9/11. Part of his introduction includes Biz’s passion for incorporating value into businesses before profit. Evan Williams (co-founder of Twitter) and Biz at one point were working on an idea to be “kings of podcasting” but realized that they didn’t really want to do that, wouldn’t make them happy. He was critiqued early by a lot of people who said twitter was not useful – and Even said “neither is ice cream, do we… more
“The Smart Grid Is Inseparable from the Internet”
| March 11, 2012 | Energy/Conservation |
By Marcie Barnes This is a live blog post from the talk entitled ”The Smart Grid Is Inseparable from the Internet” at SXSW. Speaker is Steven Collier VP Mktg & Business Dev Milsoft Utility Solutions Inc. and blogs at www.smartgridman.com History: The power grid began in late 1800s in New York City by Thomas Edison when he deployed Pearl Street Station. He invented the light bulb because he wanted to put the gas company out of business when they shut off his service. It’s been built over time to be “big” – capacity and redundancy (backup paths) have been the only tools. As electric consumption grew by leaps and bounds, power plants are being built bigger and bigger. Plants, transmission lines, and distribution centers are still the same with the smart grid – the only difference is the electric meter… more
“Paper or Plastic? Social Media Can Restore Earth”
| March 10, 2012 | Energy/Conservation, Entertainment |
By Marcie Barnes This is a live blog post from the talk entitled “Paper or Plastic? Social Media Can Restore Earth” at SXSW. Speaker is Michael Dungan Pres/CEO BeeDance. They are working to divert items from the waste stream esp. in the construction industry, and they are connecting the “waste makers” with artists, teachers etc. via project called Zero Landfill in 25 US cities. Biomimicry is an organizing principle as a design strategy – they looked at honeybees in order to learn how waste can be better managed/repurposed. Derived 30+ practices from honeybees and distilled them to 9 lessons: • they work on a hyper-local basis: location-based & proximity-based apps are helping us be more like bees in this way • they are motivated by the rules of attraction: they have finely tuned senses, they see strengths in nature • they… more
“Electric Car: Lessons Learned in a Global Movement”
| March 10, 2012 | Energy/Conservation, Transportation |
By Marcie Barnes This is a live blog post from the talk entitled “Electric Car: Lessons Learned in a Global Movement” at SXSW. Speaker is Benjamin Holland – Project Mgr, Project Get Ready, Rocky Mountain Institute. Stimulus to support the development of batteries, infrastructure, etc. by President Obama to get more electric cars on the road is a big goal, but still only accounts for 1% of total fleet in America. Prius is an “early adapter vehicle” but considered mainstream. Brief history: This is not a new technology – Edison & Ford collaborated to produce affordable electric vehicle. The discovery of abundances of oil accelerated the demand for the internal combustion engine. Model T’s release in 1908 marked little hope for electric vehicles at the time. Signaled growth, fueled economy but had negative consequences. During the… more
“Can Industrial Agriculture Feed The World?”
| February 28, 2012 | Energy/Conservation, Food, General Social Good |
By Marcie Barnes This is a live-blog post of Tom Philpott’s Keynote speech during Shared Tables – A Triangle, NC symposium on global and local food studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Tom Philpott is the cofounder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. He was formerly a columnist and editor for the online environmental site Grist and his work on food politics has appeared in Newsweek, Gastronomica, and the Guardian. He currently writes about Food and Ag for Mother Jones. ——– Typically the argument is framed around “can organic feed the world” and the conventional answer. can chemical-intensive, geographically concentrated/patented seeds feed the world? This kind of agriculture is promoted by the US government, foundations like the Gates Foundation, etc. People who promote it are so certain of it’s promise they are “cooking up” a… more
Lessons Learned in Social Entrepreneurship
| February 15, 2012 | General Social Good |
By Marcie Barnes This post was originally published on www.crowdbackers.com. Why am I a social entrepreneur? I see a possible future based on our current system, a future that encompasses happiness, sustainable business practices, and environmental responsibility. I see many non-profits struggling, while at the same time I see many non-profits with ties to big business, in the form of corporate sponsorship and partnerships who are thriving. I am happy to have the opportunity to share with you my experiences and thoughts on how it can be possible to make the world a better place within the framework of the current system – along with some other tips and advice on creating a sustainable, and profitable social venture. Things to consider when organizing your social venture, compared to a traditional business venture: I spent many months researching and pondering how… more
How To Eat Green
| November 23, 2011 | Energy/Conservation, Food |
By Marcie Barnes You’ve probably heard plenty about how eating local and organic as much as possible is healthy for you and the planet. And it’s true. Although many organic (and local) products get a bad rap for being more expensive, it’s almost always related to the fact that the government subsidizes oil and corn (among other things) which make mass-produced, carb-filled foods cheaper. So, if you’re not a fan of the government skewing the free-market system, don’t continue to buy the mainstream, big-ag controlled products. Just thought I’d throw that out there on this day before we all give thanks for our food and blessings… In that spirit, I’ve prepared a quick top five list of small things you can do in order to eat more green, be healthier, and support the health of Mother Earth: 5. Take… more
Are You Wiping with Rainforest Trees?
| November 1, 2011 | Energy/Conservation |
By Marcie Barnes This is a guest post written for (and cross-posted at) www.thegoodhuman.com. You’ve probably heard of the the concerns that come along with the destruction of rainforests and other ancient swaths of virgin ecosystems. Among these include: loss of biodiversity (there is a long list of the things that are lost here), loss of carbon-sequestering trees and other plants, and loss of species that depend on those habitats. …more than 80 percent of the Earth’s natural forests already have been destroyed. Up to 90 percent of West Africa’s coastal rain forests have disappeared since 1900. Brazil and Indonesia, which contain the world’s two largest surviving regions of rain forest, are being stripped at an alarming rate by logging, fires, and land-clearing for agriculture and cattle-grazing. – National Geographic These are sobering statistics for any… more
Stop the Low-Fat Mantra, Already!
By Marcie Barnes
I’ve heard an advertisement on my local radio station a few times lately that can be described easily as corporate-marketing-fatwashing at best (I made that up, but I think #fatwashing is a term we should be talking about). It’s a skim milk product that I won’t name. In the ad, they are touting the benefits of a low-fat beverage that has lots of calcium, etc. etc. you’ve heard it before.
Photo credit goes to earl on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/earlg/
Although fat is the highest in terms of calorie count by weight, I don’t believe the body stores fat as fat. Instead, it uses fats for cell repair/regeneration, in particular in relation to our vital organs. That’s pretty important stuff. This is also why I think there is an epidemic of psychological disorders in Westernized nations (to include depression) – because of the “low fat” diets that have been so popular for years. To clarify: I said I don’t believe the body stores the fat you eat, it stores the unused carbohydrates you eat as fat. Why do you think farmers feed their pigs and cows grain in order to fatten them up as quickly as possible for slaughter? If the fat we consume turns to fat, why aren’t farmers feeding their livestock….fat? If you’re overweight, there’s a very good chance your diet consists of too much sugar and other refined white carbs like flour. Think about it.
I am a vegetarian [meatless greenetarian] (I do eat high-quality dairy – meaning milk products from organic, grass fed cows and eggs from local farms that let their chickens run wild and eat organic stuff) so I feel compelled to say that while I am essentially promoting a low-carb diet here, that doesn’t have to mean eating a lot of meat to compensate for the lack of carbs, either. My diet largely consists of vegetables, beans, nuts and whole grains. I always choose the full-fat version of dressing (or sour cream or whatnot) and use healthy oils such as olive and coconut liberally (yes, coconut oil is saturated – not all saturated fats are bad, either. Typically plant-based, non-processed fats and fats that come from animals that ate plants, or grass-fed, are healthy for you, and as discussed in my previous post, healthy for the planet as well). Plus, fats and oils help make you feel full in the same way meats and fiber do. And by the way, once you start eating this way on a regular basis, you won’t miss the other stuff after awhile, at least that’s been my experience. Try going cold turkey on the sugar, too – it can be as addictive as cocaine.
I’d like to also include a post by Tim Ferriss from a few years ago that gets into more backed-up detail about this important topic, mostly because I spent a long time looking for some nice, well-written links to include in this post (I found a few, and I hope you will take the time to enjoy them) however they were few and far-between. The proliferation of the “low-fat mantra” is widespread, and it was hard to find health articles that didn’t use the term “low-fat” or otherwise talk about fat with differentiating between the kinds that are good for you and the kinds that are not. What is annoying about this is that it is too easy to take that term at it’s base level (eat less fat) instead of considering that there are essential forms of fat that we need in our diet, and other more damaging ones that should be avoided.
So I’ll say it one more time (so I don’t become another one of those articles that leaves out the important part about which fats are good): plant-based, non-processed fats and fats that come from animals that ate plants, or grass-fed, are healthy for you, and the planet.
Corporate food marketing in America is currently fueled (literally) by government subsidies that make cheap carbs (mostly corn) way more attractive for them as profit-seeking machines. Conversely, high-quality ingredients such as un-processed plant-based fats are, well, too expensive for a society that is well-versed in spending their money on the cheapest food available along with the most expensive cars, houses, purses, shoes, etc, that they can find. Is junk food really cheaper? Please think about it, especially if you live in the nation with the highest health care costs in the world, and the highest proliferation of cheap food.
