Archive for May, 2008
We just came across a very noble feat. 3 runners crossed the Sahara Desert for 110 days, running close to 2 marathons a day, in a journey for charity that’s been captured on film for a documentary called “Running the Sahara”.
All of us working at Laneo love the way outdoor activity brings us all closer to nature, especially when it mobilizes “commercial forces” to help restore and protect it.
One of the adventure’s goals was to help establish clean water wells for desert villagers the runners met along the way. The project was run under the umbrella of the “H2O Africa Foundation”, a charity and two major sponsors; Magellan and National Geographic. Alongside, a documentary film under the same name “Running the Sahara”, was shot and directed by James Moll, and produced and narrated by Matt Damon (Co-Founder of the H20 Foundation) which provided some very needed additional coverage.
We dug around for some additional information on the results of this quest and found the usual tidbits; if you find anything really interesting, please ping us at Laneo and we’ll publish it!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: films, society, news, environment
Degrading a protected site, polluting with waste, will soon be liable in the European Union to criminal sanctions, under a law passed by parliament yesterday.
“After eight years of negotiation, the European Parliament has reached an agreement with member states on legislation that will force national governments to apply criminal sanctions to those causing deliberate or negligent damage to the environment.”
With all the great initiatives currently happening on and offline (Laneo included) to promote a collective, citizen based, sense of urgency, a law like this could almost close the circle on improving the “management of our planet”; all that’s left is applying all these good resolutions…
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: society, news, environment
If you want to get involved in a really great initiative and you’re near or visiting the French Alps, then go and check out our friends MOUNTAIN RIDERS and their annual Cleanup Weekend Website here.
This is another great team made up of Skiers, Snowboarders, Mountain Bikers, Climbers and generally passionate outdoor enthusiasts that have been extremely successful at animating a tremendous range of Eco-initiatives from School Classes, Publications, Partnerships (see previous post on the “Defi pour la Terre”) and Guide Books; you can practically not visit the Alp Region without seeing something from this Association !
Probably the favorite moment of the year for us at Laneo is their series of cleanups that they organize with a growing number of local associations and communities. These events draw big crowds of people that are always astonished to see the extent of the mess left behind after the snow thaws – and we guarantee that once you see it, you can’t forget it !
It’s happening this weekend, May 24th & 25th and there are an unimaginable number of ski stations that are involved (and others all throughout the summer), so there must be one near you – Laneo hopes to see you there !!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, society, events
Wired Magazine’s June issue “Inconvenient Truths: Get Ready to Rethink What It Means to Be Green”, will certainly raise a few eyebrows when it comes out next month.
This highly admired magazine has always taken the “out of the box” angle on a tremendous variety of subjects but this time, it’s journalists are tackling one of humanities current hot topics; the Planet.
Their point is that we should embrace change and actually “slaughter some of environmentalism’s sacred cows” such as a) accept genetic engineering, b) embrace nuclear power, c) A/C is ok and others in order to win the war on global warming.
We’re impatiently awaiting the issue to hit our news stands in Paris but whatever we read, we’ll continue to take our bikes to work, each local grown food and prefer sustainable products.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, society, documentation, news, environment
Apparently TYR Sport has filed a federal lawsuit against Speedo (both are makers of great swimwear), on the grounds that their new record-breaking “LZR Racer” suit has created chaos amongst top athletes engagements with it’s competitors and might stifle competition on the eve of the Olympic Summer Games.
Since February when the LZR Racer’s was launched, swimmers wearing the suit have set 37 world records and this has launched a fierce debate on the role this new technology has in competitive swimming. Additionally, many of the worlds swimming governing bodies have been plagued with attacks on the legality of Speedo’s design. These new suits claim to improve performance by 2 percent, which is a phenomenal boost in a sport where 1st and 2nd place are often decided by hundredths of a second.
This isn’t the first time that technology has provoked uproar but once again it’s the poor athletes that are in the pools for 3-6 hours everyday that are getting the “heat”.
But then again, didn’t Mark Spitz win all those Gold Medals in baggy swim trunks ?!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: technology, brands, sports
Climate Counts, a collaborative non-profit organization based in the USA, has just published its new Annual Scorecard that represents how serious companies are about stopping climate change – and how they compare to their sector competitors.
This annually updated scorecard reflects the self-reported efforts of companies to address climate change – or avoid it altogether.
This year in the “Apparel / Accessories” category, NIKE placed 1st with an overall score of 82/100. You can read more about their results (and even download the full report) here. What’s more important, you should raise your voice by sending a message to those companies that participate, via the online form that Climate Counts provides.
Nice to see citizen-based initiatives such as Climate Counts build greater awareness that when consumers take action and raise their voices on issues that matter to them, businesses pay attention.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: brands, environment
I just read some sad news; NAU is closing shop.
For those that don’t know the brand, NAU was a specialty retailer of extraordinary outdoor clothes with an exceptional community backdrop.
They’re description of themselves was “We are a small group of people, committed to the power of business as a force for change. We’re not just looking to make some new clothes. We’re aiming to redefine what it means to be successful.”
From their launch, which was about the same time as LANEO, I felt we had a great deal in common and I was moved to read their farewell note (which you can and should read on their homepage here); you can’t be more sincere and transparent than they have.
If you want to show you’re support, do as I did and purchase something quickly; you’ll be getting a great a product from a courageous company and on top of that, it’ll be a collectors item.
I hope to see these guys comeback very soon.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: brands
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