NATBOOK

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According to the World Health Organization, lower respiratory infections are the leading cause of death in low-income countries. In the world, it kills more people than HIV/AIDS. This film, "Black Inside- Three Women's Voices" by ROSCANA Film, sheds light on how smoke from cooking is one of the main causes of respiratory infections. 

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is an initiative led by The United Nations. They are working together to bring 100 million clean cookstoves to affected regions by 2020.

Share this short film, and/or see how you can get involved here.

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What have you built lately? 14-year-olds Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and 15-year-old Bello Eniola have created a urine powered generator.

All over Africa, young men and women have missioned across the country and arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. All they want to do is show off what they have made. Maker Faire Africa is more than your typical startup event: it actually shows off innovations, inventions, and initiatives that solve immediate challenges and problems, and then works to support and propagate them. Put another way, this isn’t just a bunch of rich people talking about how their apps are going to change the world.

Here's how it works:

Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which cracks the urea into nitrogen, water, and hydrogen.

The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder.

The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas.

This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator.

1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity.

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There are always opportunities in challenges. 

Completely self-taught, Kelvin Doe is an engineering prodigy from Sierra Leone, Africa. He's the youngest person ever to be invited to MIT's Visiting Practitioner's Program for international development.

If you liked Kelvin's DJing like I did, here is the link to the Bobby Fala track in the video on SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/Uf27Mg

Also, here is the link to their Crowdrise page: http://bit.ly/Whv8Gt

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Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and their Artists Against Fracking group have posted a large billboard in New York urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo not to rush a study on the natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing to meet a November 29th regulatory deadline. The billboard reads "Governor Cuomo: Imagine There’s No Fracking," and is situated on the Major Deegan Expressway, a route oven traveled by Cuomo. By missing the November 29th deadline, New York would be forced to draft new regulations, as well as reopen a window for public comment.

"Our message is simple: we want Gov. Cuomo to imagine and guarantee a New York free of the fracking threat to our water, air, beautiful landscapes and climate," Ono tells Rolling Stone. "Every time New Yorkers pass this billboard, we also want them to imagine a truly clean energy future, not fracking."

Read more: http://bit.ly/RHwCLC or click on photographs.

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If you're anything like me, we all have a pair of shoes in our closet with similar stories.

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Up-to-date Portfolio! Also available under the "work" tab, as well as on my profile Linkedin.

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Taken with Instagram

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Burning Man: More Relevant Than Ever - Wylie Overstreet

In the last three years over 150,000 people have made the pilgrimage to Black Rock Desert, and they’re a far cry from dirty hippies: retired high school teachers, marketing executives, Silicon Valley heavyweights, vinitors, CFOs, baristas and booksellers. 

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I read this post yesterday and thought it made a strong point about inclusivity. I believe inclusivity is where ideas can cross pollinate and it is important to the design process.

Adding to this theme of inclusivity, I spoke with man I met over the weekend who has lived in New York since the early 60's and said this one statement that stood out to me: "Before it was all about inclusivity. Overcoming exclusivity in our society and becoming inclusive is what will create innovation."

To give a brief idea of his creative background, he was a stylist for Yoko Ono, Whitney Houston, and Jackie Onassis. He has also shared the company of and friendships with others such as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, and Luther Vandross.

I understand that Burning Man has many other facets to it, however the point of being inclusive is what I am focusing on. Enjoy the article below:

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If you're in SP, Brazil this an event worth going to! Details

Summary: The Economist’s Ideas Economy: Brazil event will explore the most important issues affecting the social and economic future of Brazil, including the role of finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, human capital, infrastructure, design, culture, and policy.

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DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THIS FILM I MADE: PURPOSEFUL WASTE

What sacrifices have you made to fulfill your professional goals?  Watch this video displaying insights into sustainable lifestyles in NYC through their struggle to achieve their professional goals in one of the world's most competitive cities.

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Success in Rethinking How to Deliver a Service

Eight19 is a company that combines mobile phone technology and solar technology. Eight19 takes its name from the time it takes sunlight to reach the earth – eight minutes and nineteen seconds. 

Below, Simon Bransfield-Garth, the CEO of Eight19, describes their service:

Combining mobile phone technology and solar technology allows us to create what we call “pay-as-you-go solar.” So just in the same way as you buy a scratch-card for your mobile phone every so often, you buy a scratch-card which enables your solar power to work for a period of time – for example a week or month, whatever it may be. (Click on the title to read the whole interview)

Samuel used to light his home with a single kerosene lamp, which filled the rooms with smoke and poor-quality light and cost $3 a week. With his low income, Samuel could support his family, but he wasn’t able to make long-term investments in other systems to light his home. That is, until he became the first person in the world to use the IndiGo pay-as-you-go solar energy system. Samuel purchased the system for an affordable $10 and now activates it automatically with a $1 scratch-card each week. Through IndiGo, Samuel’s small home now has two bright lights providing eight hours of light each evening, which enables the kids to study in the living room whilst Mary prepares food in the kitchen. Instead of spending $0.20 to charge each of their three mobile phones at one of the many local kiosks he simply charges them at home, saving $1.50 per week in the process.

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Read more by clicking on the picture or title!

The best innovations occur when someone takes, what would seem as a major variable, out of the equation. Because by doing so, it makes one question the entire object and/or system. For this man displayed above it was, "My automobile needs energy to work, but why use fuel when there are so many other types of energy (that are free and sustainable), such as wind."

Another example is, what would you design if you didn't have a garbage bin? By questioning the object, it makes one rethink the whole system, and that's when systemic sustainable design becomes an opportunity.

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"Don't give [the audience] four; give them two plus two."

Filmmaker Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story," "WALL-E") shares what he knows about storytelling -- starting at the end and working back to the beginning.

Why not use these tips when when trying to address complex issues to a mass audience?

"Use what you know. Draw from it. Doesn't always mean plot or fact, it's about capturing a truth from your experience, expressing values you feel deep down to your core."

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Let's be creative when thinking about changing behaviour towards sustainability. How about this to start?

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In Africa and its diaspora, the mask transforms mortals into gods and makes a political point. For more than 20 years, photographer Phyllis Galembo has traveled Africa and Haiti documenting the art of the masquerade. See her photos in this gallery.

I'm inspired from learning what some communities choose to place emphasis on, collectively, and how they choose to visualize these components by embodying them.

Below are some examples of the descriptions that accompany her photos.

BENIN

This strange character, which appears at a yearly sacred festival in Agonli honoring women, is known as You Can’t Buy Wisdom at the Market. The mishmash garb may satirically make the point that enlightenment is never for sale, says scholar Babatunde Lawal—a message that is part of the sacred event.

SIERRA LEONE Frills and ruffles lend a feminine air to this dancing joker, called a jollay, in a Fullahtown parade. Despite the girlish garb, the actor is a man. Like Greek theater, African masquerades reflect male-dominated societies. Women are often excluded because masks are said to link the wearer to a dangerous spirit world. “Just putting one on,” says Borgatti, “is a charged event.”

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Kid's can teach us how to be creative with what we have.

Constraints with a dash of nothing-to-lose-spirit is a process to innovation I love!

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How do you creatively shift behaviors towards sustainability? Let's start with this one.