Green Lens Media

Tag: green living

  • Lean, Mean, Green Machine: Support the Cause for Tesla Motors

    As much as possible, I use public transport to get around.

    But the thing about Massachusetts is that, a lot of the time, there just aren’t enough trains and buses that go where I want to go. And that’s when I just have to bite the bullet, hail a taxi or get in a car to get somewhere. But it’s hard to enjoy the ride when all I can think about is the criminal waste of energy I’m participating in, not to mention the air pollution. Given a choice, I’d rather deal with the sweaty armpits and rambunctious Sox fans on the T than the looming prospect of a depleted ozone layer or energy scarcity.

    Enter Tesla Motors.

    In 2010, we worked with Renew America Roadtrip and its Tesla Roadster at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) BuildingEnergy conference. We spoke with Michael Craner, co-founder of Renew America Roadtrip, about the ways in which the electrically powered Tesla Roadster helps people save energy, cut costs and enjoy a guilt-free ride. Not only does a Tesla car afford its driver the opportunity to save the environment and a large amount of money, it’s sleek, sporty design makes it a good-looking car worth bragging about.

    Amazed? We were too. Check out our video below:

    This is a great effort, and it will obviously make a difference for the environment.

    So what’s the catch?

    A new technology as well-researched and effective as Tesla’s stands as a threat to the outdated auto dealership model currently in place in most of the United States.

    According to Tesla’s website, they have a few galleries scattered across the United States but none of these galleries are authorized to initiate a sales transaction unless the customer goes through a substantial pile of paperwork and contacts their California office for sales and delivery.

    It seems unfair that the red tape and political buzz surrounding Tesla’s sales should restrict access to clean transportation for environmentally conscious consumers all over the country. There are in fact thousands of EV charging stations all over the country, and MSNBC predicts millions by 2020. A few of such charge stops recently sprouted up in our neighborhood of Porter Square in the parking lot by the Porter T Station. Basically, there’s no reason to allow an obsolete auto sales model to be an impediment in the path to a cleaner, greener America.

    There’s no reason to be stuck in the past when technology is rushing towards the future.

    You can change the status quo, and you can change it as soon as Friday. All you have to do is add your name to this petition. Deadline is Friday, June 5th, 2013, and 100,000 signatures are needed. Help us reach the tipping point—it’s so close!

  • Coalition of the Willing: Inspired Work, Inspiring Work

    I have a complicated relationship with film.

    For the most part, I love it. I love that it can inspire, empower and liberate people. As a medium, it is limitless – it can tell stories previously untold, tap emotions previously untapped and explore parts of the world previously unexplored.

    But here’s my problem: commercial film rarely ever does.

    Yes, Ryan Gosling is stunning. And so is Emma Stone. Alright, I get it.

    But why are we making a movie about it? That part, I don’t get.

    With all the fandoms, poster boys, Jennifer, and plotless excuses for movies popping up everywhere, I can’t help but feel disillusioned by film. But every once in a while, a movie comes along to remind me that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone haven’t completely taken over. On one of my many afternoons spent idly browsing Vimeo for inspiration, I stumbled upon a film by Knife Party that reinstated my faith in the wonders of the medium.

    Coalition of the Willing, is, as the title suggests, the collective brainchild of a brilliant coalition. The film addresses an issue burning with actuality (pun intended!) – the issue of global warming. And yet…there are no pie charts, bar graphs or visuals of receding ice caps viewed from outer space.

    That’s the beautiful thing about this film. It succeeds not despite but because of the lack of statistics and infographics in its storytelling. Because when you really think about it, global warming isn’t an issue that’s as far away and distant as the statistics and satellite images often used to represent it.

    It’s personal. It’s a choice.

    Throughout the film, the visuals follow man and mankind. Our evolution, our changing times, our history, our politics, our sociology. Visually, it is absolutely stunning. I felt myself being increasingly drawn into the world of the film – our world – and it wasn’t difficult to understand why the movie walked away with the Best Short Award at the 2012 San Francisco Green Film Festival.

    The stunning animation and smooth flow of the film transports the viewer back in time, employing the memorable image of a ’50s businessman turning into a hippie to chronicle the radical individualism of the ’60s. As the colours get brighter and the backdrops increasingly complex, the individualism fades into consumerism and the whole movement eventually culminates in a lack of regard for the world around us. The status quo.

    Although humanity took a turn for the worse, the film isn’t pessimistic about it. Not in the least. There is a palpable vibrance in its visuals, a quirky hopefulness in its scoring and an awareness of the power of individual efforts. It connects the past with the present, muses about the many changes that humanity has undergone, and, above all, provides hope for the future. Its look, feel and message work together to do what film fundamentally ought to do: awaken and stimulate the minds absorbing it. The film brings the concept of coalition to life and itself stands a testament to the wonders achievable through creative minds coming together.