Architect, Shigeru Ban? Why trust him?

I wrote about the cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, created by Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban, as a "temporary replacement" for the one damaged during the earthquake of February 2011.

Want to know what Shigeru Ban did to gain confidence in the statutory authority involved to consider allowing him to use cardboard tubes as construction material for the Cathedral?  Just take a look at some of the past projects he shared during his talk at TED.

Playing with Earth

If you want to start something, you just have to make the first move and inspire others to join you.  Here is a video Derek Sivers shared to prove his point during his talk at TED.



I am inspired to start a conversation with you.  I am playing with letters picked out from the word "EARTH" and I realised that there is a story to share.

What do you see on "earth" as in your "heart"?
Lend a "ear"
"Hear" me
Feel the "heat"?
"Hate" that?

On "earth" there is "heart"
Be that "heart" for the "earth"
The "art" to loving is in your "heart"
"Rate" it!
See the "tear"?
Moved?

I hope I can move you to take similar action.  Just remember that we can play with words but not our EARTH.

Cardboard? Light it up.

Cardboard.  A great packing material.  Though can be recycled, usually discarded .  Left in the bin and damaged by rain. Can't anyone see the value in it?

Vicara did with the creation of Cartonado lamp.  See the light.

VICARA from VICARA on Vimeo.

Be inspired.

Batteries? Not required to light up.

Best kept warm to enlighten.  It's not me I am talking about.  It's the "Hollow Flashlight", an invention by a 15 years old Canadian high school student, Ann Makosinski, that lighted up by the warmth of  her hand holding it.

Here is a video of her talking about her submission of the "Hollow Flashlight" for the Google Science Fair.



No batteries required?  Definitely, the torchlight of the future to have.

Trash to play with

The kids of Cateura live in homes built on slum. So, how could they possibly consider starting an orchestra if they can't afford the musical instrument required? If you think that they are hopeless dreamers, then you ought to check out what they have achieved at Landfill Harmonic. They have created music with trash. What can you create with yours?

If roads can talk...

If roads can talk, I would expect them to hope that they could one day be like Cermak Road in Chicago. Why? See for yourself.  
Wake up! Road can't talk but we can. Let 's talk about seeing green streets in our country.

This presentation will give you an idea of what we can talk about.

Going Green Begins By Thinking Blue: Rainwater Strategies for Cermak Road from Center for Neighborhood Technology

Farming? Progressing vertically.

What can one grow commercially on a highly developed island covering an area of 704 sq km?  Looking upwards, lack of space for agricultural in Singapore, is no longer an issue.

Green Beings Shared Values.

Working on inspirations from tee shirt designs that say "Strength in Numbers" and "Birds of a Feather", let us work on shared values, visions, missions and directions for a better world, environmetally.

Green Beings Values

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: environment share)

Papa & Mama Gray. Who Did They Inspire?

Who Did They Inspire?

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: farmers environmental)

Karen's story:

My parents have had a "Green" Thumb in one way
or another all their lives. When I was younger they ran a gardening
business together for many years and basically lived and breathed
gardening their whole lives. Then when my mum got ill my dad decided
to semi retire early. He sold the business but just couldn't stay at
home and do nothing. He got involved with a group that carries out
reforestation projects in salt affected areas of Western Australia.
They work with farmers to plant native trees on their deforested
land. He's planted literally millions of trees in his time. The
group were having a hard time sourcing the trees so my Dad started his
own native plant nursery. Before he knew it he was getting orders for
trees and plant for all over the place - farmers, local councils.
mining groups much to my Mum's concern since she thought he had
retired. Then my Dad got fascinated with worms! "Oh no!" said Mum.
So then it was 10 years of breeding worms, selling the worms, worm
kits, and worm tailings as fertiliser. On top of that he gets invited
to speak at schools and community groups. They literally couldn't
keep up with demand. All this from their backyard - mind you they did
have a big back yard. Well I think my Dad had a good time although my
Mum was always wishing he would just take it a bit easier.

Then the government built a new highway just past their place and
overnight their property was worth three times what it was before.
Before long they had developer knocking at their door but Dad always
turned them away. But finally he had to admit he was in fact not a
young man anymore (he was still working 10 hours a day and 7 days a
week at the age of 75). So over a cup of tea he decided to sell and
buy a smaller place closer to my Mum's family. They made the decision
to sell on Sunday, engaged an agent on Monday, had three offers on
Tuesday, sold the place on Wednesday and bought a new place on
Thursday. (Needless to say when he makes a decision he doesn't mess
around)

Mum was ecstatic. The new house had her dream kitchen, french
windows, beautiful landscaped gardens, and a workshop and pretty vegie
garden for my dad (the man's got to have a shed). They had a nice sum
left over, They're not rich by any means - they mostly survive on the
pension with a little allowance from their investment. But you just
can't stop my Dad and he's been hard at work Greenifying their new
house. He's installed two rain water tanks, a new worm recycling area
for all their waste, replacing all the foreign plants with beautiful
natives and this week he has achieved his dream:

Their very own SOLAR POWER unit!

Only 1 kW but with plans to expand when they can afford it.

They are thrilled and we are all gathering to have an official ribbon
cutting ceremony. I like to share this story as it shows that little
people CAN achieve big things if they put their minds to it. My
parents never had very much money but they did what they could. I
hope others can gain some inspiration from this story.

Who is Rachel Louise Carson?

Rachel Louise Carson was named by Times as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. So, what did she do to get her there?

She was the writer of "Silent Spring" in 1962, which brought environmental concerns caused by synthetic pesticides to the American public. Her efforts led to the ban on DDT and other pesticides in USA and inspired the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

I came to know about Rachel Louise Carson because Thankachan was inspired to create a presentation about her and had it posted on SlideShare.

Rachel Carson

view presentation

Who is your inspiration for a green lifestyle?

Inspired? Seek creativity.

How long can one stay inspired? Inspiration dips as the memory of a conjured idea fades over time. How can one boost it up to push one into taking action to make an idea a reality?

I think the best way would be to capture the creativity of others who have acted upon their ideas. Read about how others think about them for taking that next step. Imagine how they must have felt to have their work recognised. Not a wasted effort, after all.

Need to find eco-friendly motivators? Then join me in my search for ideas and inspirations at Creativity Online