Fastest Cube!?

This is an interesting video the developments of the worlds fastest smart car which gets roughly 96 mpg. This car looks fun but is it practical? Certainly in Europe it is and why not here too. Check out the video below for more information on this little speed demon!

Further details on this little car that packs a punch can be seen at Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/93631839-famed-f1-designer-unveils-96-mpg-100-mph-smartcar.html

Ecological Foot Print Calculation

After recalculating my ecological footprint appears to have shrunk by 1.1 planets from the original 4.5 to a current 3.4 (see pictures below).

New Ecological Footprint

Old Ecological Footprint

At the start of this experiment I wasn't sure that my action steps would have a big impact. I committed to:

1. Eat meat at two meals per week.
2. Limit non-carpool driving trips to 15 miles per week.
3. Go two days a week with-out purchasing products that use packaging or purchasing only products that contain at-least 80% recycled materials.
4. Three nights a week actively pursue unplugging all unnecessary electronic devices when not in use. *New objective as of 4/26.

However by sticking to these commitments I made a lot of progress, as the recalculations display above. Going forward I do believe I will be able to maintain these practices because the whole process showed me that you really don't have to sacrifice much. Sticking to these actions just requires a little more thinking and planning. At times it was difficult to maintain my commitment, such as when presented with a free meal that contained meat after I had filled my quote. But because these little steps go a long way I plan to keep up my commitments. When circumstances call for me to break my commitments I will work to reverse any of the adverse effects and make sure to get back to my commitments as soon as possible. All in all I am rather impressed that reducing my meat consumption, focusing on car pooling, unplugging electronics, and reducing my consumption has had such a large effect on my ecological footprint.

Reinventing Fire

In this compelling Ted Talk Amory Lovins, Founder and Chief Scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, discusses how the United States can nearly eliminate its dependence on fossil fuels while increasing economic progress. Through a reworking of infrastructure, incentives for energy efficiency, and the end to subsides for producers of fossil fuels, Lovins argues the United States could save $5 trillion at net present value not accounting for the externalities which these fuels cost us. In addition to this such an energy structure would support economy that is 158% bigger. Bellow you will see that he outlines this energy plan in a clear, concise, and highly persuasive manner.

To pass up such a a plan would seem to be senseless, which may lead one to ask why is it so difficult for us to implement this or a similar plan? This inability to act on a wholly beneficial plan is largely due to our fear of departure from the status quo. In marketing we have the ability to shape the status quo and peoples perceptions of where the status quo should be. In simple terms reinventing fire will largely depend on marketers ability to engage and encourage the population to participate in and push for a more sustainable energy structure.