greenUPGRADER » Video

Tiny House Living Gets Mainstream Exposure [Video]

Timothy Hurst — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:20:32 +0000

I don't use Yahoo.com as my homepage, but when I find myself there, something usually catches my eye -- they're good like that. Today there was an image of a tiny wooden house accompanied by a headline reading, "Tiny house transforms mans life." Since I'm a bit of a tiny house/prefab fanboy I clicked on the link and watched a good short video about tiny house enthusiast, designer and resident, Jay Shafer.

It's good to see the relatively obscure world of tiny house living being given a chance to creep into the American public consciousness via a mainstream site like Yahoo. And knowing the kind of server-crashing traffic that being on Yahoo's front page can bring, there are a lot more people that know about tiny house living in the U.S. than there was yesterday. And that's a good thing.

Read more about living simply in micro-architecture at the Tiny House Blog.

Michael Pollan: Don’t Eat Anything Advertised on TV (Video)

Timothy Hurst — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:26:36 +0000

Author, activist and healthy eating advocate Michael Pollan, one of Ecopolitology's 10 Men Who Changed the Environmental Movement Forever, realizes that his warning to avoid eating things with more than five ingredients has spawned a brilliant reaction from savvy marketers -- a reaction that Pollan supersedes with an even tougher rule of thumb: don't eat anything advertised on TV.

Sunday Funnies: Bizarre Respect Nature Video

LiveOAK Staff — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:17:30 +0000

This video is the most bizarre way to say "respect nature" and "live and let live."

Personally I hate bugs, they creep me out. I realize this isn't rational and I respect nature so I generally suck it up and live with them. When it comes to particularly offensive looking spiders and wasps (I hate those the most) in my house I usually capture them and let them go outside. They probably come right back inside but at least I'm trying.

Now after watching this video, insects don't seem so bad. I wasn't swayed by the man with the long nipples reasoning, instead I this video put things in perspective because it is far creepier than any bug I've seen!

If you like this video, check out Kirsten Lepore and Garrett Davis, the creative minds behind it!

Sunday Funnies: An Inconvenient Poop

LiveOAK Staff — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:56:11 +0000

In other words, "Don't leave you sh!t for someone else to deal with! We are all contributing to climate change so we are the ones that need to do something about it."

This funny little short was created for Oxfam Climate Change Initiative and an entrant in the YouTube Cannes Young Lions Ad Contest. Check out the other videos and vote, there's one week left!

Croud Funded Ad to Combat the Oil Lobby

LiveOAK Staff — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:08:09 +0000

Avaaz.org has created this clever spoof of those Exxon Greenwashing commercials that have been running on TV for the last few months. The ad has the tone and look and feel of the Exxon campaign but the actor in the ad is urging people to stay complacent and allow them to derail any meaningful climate policy. Their goal is to raise $100,000 so they can air it on CNN during the Climate Summit in Washington this week. As I am writing this post they are up to $92,289, less than $8,000 to go!

I love this idea. Lots of small people coming together to collectively make a big point. The term "Special Interests" has a negative connotation because of who usually dominates that realm, but this special interest is something I can get behind. We all have a special interest in ensuring we invest in sustainable, renewable energy to protect our home and our future. Watch the video, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it, and if you are moved to, donate and join in to level the playing field.

Thanks to Mike from Organic Lifestyle Magazine for the tip!

Sunday Funnies: Old Appliences Rock

LiveOAK Staff — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:25:01 +0000

Aside from the angelic melodies, take note of the creative use of old kitchen appliances as percussion. The band is called Hurra Torpedo and they are known for their wild use of old appliances as instruments and their heavily accented droning 80s covers.

Obama’s Earth Day Speech

LiveOAK Staff — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:52:54 +0000

Just in case you missed it, here's President Obama's Earthday Address from Current_ Green.