Become What You Dream

Just saw this for the first time a few minutes ago. I’m really happy to be part of Adventure Film. The event is different from most other film festivals, especially in the way that those who attend the festival often leave feeling empowered and inspired. It’s not about the deepest powder snow or the most exposed first ascents – it’s about the journey, the process, and most importantly - it’s about soul.

When starting Bulumu less than a year ago, our goal was to create a company that would inspire and educate through creating products that promote healthy and active lifestyles, while also being a steward of our community and be as environmentally conscious as possible in our practices. Lofty goals, but they are our soul.

Those goals have not changed, and while there are certainly things we can continue to improve upon, we are happy with the progress we’ve made by staying true to our original intention.

The reality is that the world doesn’t need more of anything, the world needs better everything.

It’s a pretty strange feeling to see the Bulumu logo in this trailer for with iconic brands such as Patagonia, but that too was part of our dream in the first place.

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Space Required to Transport 60 People

Came across this on a friends Facebook page. The small print on the bottom says this image is a poster in the City of Muenster Planning Office in Munster, Germany (yes – the spellings appear different).

Although many of us only need to sit in rush-hour traffic to realize nearly every car is only carrying one person, this is a great reminder of the relationship(s) between population density, transportation, and environmental impact. The solutions to these problems are quite clearly linked to better efficiency of movement, not more vehicles.

Thinking in terms of energy and resources used to build and fuel 6 cars vs. 1 bus vs. 60 bikes is huge. Not to mention the waste created over the lifespan of these products.

Glad to know that a city planning office somewhere in the world is taking these factors into consideration.

 

 

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Spend your Soul

Hard to believe I’ve spent nearly a year creating something from nothing. A year ago, Bulumu was just a concept born from a feeling of boredom and a notion that we could do better – better for people, community, and the environment. Pretty ambitious to say the least.

The journey has been nothing short of challenging, but also very fulfilling and rewarding. In the past year, we have been recognized for our commitment to a healthy lifestyle on all levels from product to community involvement to social giving,  our product has been sent around the world on location with film crews, and have fueled numerous adventures.

All this is good, but what’s the cost?

A spent soul. How can I support, promote, and inspire healthy and conscious lifestyles if I’ve stopped being healthy and active myself? I can’t. It’s not authentic. After all, that’s why I started my own business. It’s not about making money, or being famous – it’s about living. It’s about being better. It’s about lighting my soul on fire and making a difference.

Strange as it might sound, changing my approach during a change in seasons seems like a perfect time to re-ignite that fire. To start doing the things that had me thinking and dreaming about building a business in the first place.

Despite being a lifelong athlete, I’ve discovered that can I learn a lot about myself on a mountain bike. Patience, persistence, pleasure, pain, humility, fear, commitment and courage (among others).

Weaving though fallen yellow Aspen leaves earlier this week, my mind wandered and I began thinking and dreaming, then I realized I am right where I want to be.

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Charlie Sheen Doesn’t Matter. Food Prices Do.

As political unrest continues throughout Northern Africa and food price indexes reach record highs, expect to see more unrest in other parts of the world as prices on commodidties continue to rise.

As read in this article, gasoline prices have hit a two-and-a-half year high, which means the cost of harvesting, transporting, and processing goods will rise. These costs are then passed on to end buyers/ consumers (ie. Us).

So if you think the unrest in Africa is far away and/ or doesn’t apply to you and therefore doesn’t matter – than you’re wrong. The interconnectedness of the world – from social media and collective collaboration/ consumption to government protests – we are impacted every time we go to the gas pump or the grocery store.

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Moore on Wasteful Design

I can’t remember when I first saw one of these Story of Stuff videos on the interwebs, but I was reminded of them last night by Jeff Oeth during his presentation on The Intersection of Design and Sustainability.

As a follow-up to my last post, here is further argument that design created our current system and design can get us out.

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The System is Broken. Need Conscious Consumers.

The ultimate purpose of business is not, or should not be, to simply make money. Of course a business needs to make money to exist, but the real purpose of any business should be “to increase the well-being of humankind through service, creative invention, and ethical action”. The sole pursuit of profits has created industries that plunder natural resources at an alarming rate and create waste by-products with no use. Not only does this type of system lead to environmental problems and health problems from an ever increasing and persistent amount of toxins in our food, air, and water – but this type of system is inefficient.

click to enlarge

Commonly referred to as the “triple bottom line”, companies must be aware of their impact on people, the planet, and their profit. Such “conscious companies” combine good stories with good products and good design, but why should a company or corporation even care about anything other than profit and increased share-holder value? Consumers must demand more from the companies and brands whose products they buy and the places they buy them.

Conscious consumers lead to conscious companies.
“Some common themes emerge from these slightly whimsical suggestions.  One is that buying new, real, branded premium products at full price from chain-store retailers is the last refuge of the unimaginable consumer, and it should be your last option.  It offers low narrative value — no stories to tell about interesting people, places, and events associated with the product’s design, provenance, acquisition, or use.  It reveals nothing about you except your spending capacity and your gullibility, conformism, and unconsciousness as a consumer.” Geoffrey Miller’s Spent.

Design is the problem… and the answer.
In the post depression era consumers were taught to throw away their stuff. A system of disposability designed, marketing plans implemented, and people learned to throw away their stuff. The goal of creating an economy that would grow and create wealth was achieved, but this disposable form of consumption has also produced unprecedented amount to waste. This is just the way the system has been designed. What needs to happen to begin shifts in consumer behavior, while keeping the economy going and maintaining high standards of living, will require a redesign of our current system.

We are all designers (whether we realize it or not) and have the ability to help change the current system of disposability. Jobs are scarce and people are having trouble affording new stuff. It’s time to innovate and find new uses for our waste.

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GM-No’s

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bioterrorism Act of 2002 is meant to protect the national food system from “intentional contamination” (quotations mine), yet Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) – which are registered as patented pesticides – are determined safe for consumption in the United States by the FDA.

GMO’s are registered as pesticides because at the molecular level they have been engineered (in a lab) is to make GMO products resistant to pesticides such as Round-up. This is done by inserting the gene structure of a plant with a “Round-up Ready” gene that will make the plant resistant to pesticides. Now – the basic genetic make-up of that Genetically Modified Organism contains a pesticide.

Lobbyist from American food and chemical companies argue that plants and animals naturally produce carcinogens so this is not any different or any less safe. A few keys here: American companies and naturally produce.

America! F*** yeah!

America is the only country where consumers are fed GMO products in staggering amounts. Corn, Soy, Canola, and Cotton are the big four genetically engineered foods (Alfalfa will so be GE as well). Pick up any product in the grocery store. It will most certainly contain a corn, soy, or canola ingredients or derivative. But it doesn’t say it’s genetically modified? That’s because unlike Europe, Genetically Modified ingredients do not need to be labeled in the US.

The US actually has a back-stock of GM Corn because we give tax-payer subsidies to farmers to grow corn over other crops and no one else wants it. We can’t export the stuff because other countries don’t see US corn as fit for human consumption. The result is we have huge corn mountains scattered across the corn growing regions and have started to invent new industries from GM corn. Ethanol gasolines? GM corn. Compostable utensils, plates, cups, etc.? GM Corn.

Don’t forget much of this cheap registered pesticide corn is also feed to American livestock, along with a whole bunch of antibiotics (thankfully, RbGH – bovine growth hormone – seems on the decline thanks to places like Walmart for eliminating RbGH dairy products from their aisles).

Nothing about these products is natural.

Rising Health Care

Much attention has been given to the rising health care costs in the US (in fact, the United States has the highest health care cost in the world). Most people point to easy targets such as smoking or an aging baby boomer generation, but what about the rising costs associated with obesity and related problems? What about the rise in cancer rates over the last 30 years? What about a rise in food allergies in children?

Thankfully, soda fountains and candy has been pulled from many schools – public and private. Some states even charge a higher sales tax on sodas and candy. Personal choice is important, but the market needs to be reworked so that the items that ultimately cost society more will cost more at the checkout counter too.

The Conscious Consumer – Demand More

Better American health care starts with healthier Americans. Healthier Americans begin with better food and making better choices.

Unfortunately, we are led to believe that the FDA would be more vigilant in protecting the national food system from “intentional contamination”, but unless we – as consumers – begin to demand more from the the brands we buy and the places we buy from there is not likely to be much change.

Vote to change the system with your wallet every day, not just in a booth every four years.

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