#41 Weekend reads - aspirational marketing has got to go

If you’ve been paying attention to the climate crisis, you’ll appreciate we’re in big trouble and have to make a lot of changes, fast. Aspirational marketing is definitely one of those changes. Yes, it is really hard to come to terms with this, but we are beyond time.

Here’s my environment 2020 wrap up and my 2021 has started as well if you’re interested in catching up.

Why talk about aspirational marketing? Today is my son’s 13^th birthday and Jax is so happy to be a teenager. Bless. Do you know what he wanted for his birthday? A new iPhone. Oh and new AirPods – Pro of course.

He got a new iPhone just over a year ago and he doesn’t need a new one. But he doesn’t want one because he needs it, he wants one so he can have the latest version, which means he can be cool at school. Even a school as sustainable and mindful as the one the boys go to, our kids are still lured by this marketing.

We’ve spent a lot of time speaking to both of our boys about excessive consumerism. We do it gently, but we do it consistently. We want them to understand and be conscious consumers.

With phones, the conversation focuses on three things.

We tell them about children suffering in mines to get the precious metals to make phones, computers and more. Our message – we have to use technology for longer and reject this idea of having the latest, because it is bad for earth. My husband and I are well into our third year with our current phones. We used to update our technology every two years. No more.

We talk to them about how we must not accept the global narrative which is ambivalent towards humans or nature suffering, just so we can have stuff. We must accept our role in other’s suffering and do what we can to reduce it. It’s not just companies at fault.

We also talk to them about the frightening growth in e-waste worldwide and it’s predicted exponential growth. This report predicts global e-waste – “discarded products with a battery or plug – will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost a doubling of e-waste in just 16 years.”

Only 20% of e-waste is actually recycled!

And we talk to them about the shocking lack of sustainability around technology, especially Apple’s AirPods. This is a product that lasts for 18 months, can not be broken down, can not be fixed and will not decompose for a millennium.

We are constantly talking to them about doing the right thing – for earth and for our fellow humans – and a huge part of that conversation is around the impact our consumerism has.

It’s a big conversation and the boys are fully aware of the risk their generation faces in the future (they cannot avoid the climate crisis in their future) BUT they often do not put two and two together at this age. They don’t see their latest phone or the desire for something fashionable as linked to future hardships. We keep gently talking to them. We’ll never stop. We want them to be ambassadors for all life on earth.

So Jax didn’t get a new iPhone or new AirPods, but he was happy with his birthday gifts. That’s good news.

Friends content

Check out my friend Carl Hinds. He is not only fabulous, he’s kept us entertained with his Sunday Soul Sessions since the pandemic began. He’s decided to capture all he has learnt on the journey and packaged it up into a half day course – How to Present from Home like a Pro – Technology Tips for Beginners. This will be valuable and fun.

I also wanted to share this article from The Phuket News about One Phuket. Since this crisis started, many people in Phuket have been giving their time and money to help those most in need. Phuket has been decimated by this crisis, but as the first year comes to an end, we need to come together stronger than ever to make sure no one is left behind. Please do this in your community and let’s help everyone get through this time together. It’s not a time to contract. Be generous is all the ways that matter.

Charity

And donation time!!! If you can donate, donate!!! If you can’t, give your time and share information on social media about organisations doing good, so they can get more support. My suggestions World Food Program., UN Refugee Program, PowerOf , Kiva.org, Soi Dog Foundation. If you can afford to be generous, now is the time to help your fellow human.

If you’re in business, please check out B1G1 – business for good.

Content to read

And here’s the content I’ve been reading this last week. Scan the headlines, read the ones that jump out at you, read or watch them all. Knowledge is power, and global knowledge is even more powerful.

Climate Crisis / 6^th Mass Extinction

Mark Carney: Climate crisis deaths ‘will be worse than Covid’ tks Richard Lowe

How might a food chain breakdown come about?

Hedge funds eye water markets that could net billions, as levels drop in Lake Powell

Shift to green energy ‘could cost oil states $13 trillion’ by 2040

New Mexico’s nuclear rush

The Lion, the Polygamist, and the Biofuel Scam

Charles de Gaulle: Plans for huge new airport terminal in Paris scrapped

Watch: Broken Glacier Causes Flooding, Heavy Damage To Rishi Ganga Tapovan Hydro Power Project In Chamoli, Uttarakhand tks Sophia Henri

This Climate Deal Is Good for Earth and the Economy

The end of a golden age for oil producers

Harvard study links fossil fuels to millions of ‘premature’ deaths

Nothing to sneeze at: Climate change has worsened, lengthened pollen season across the US

No more snakes to be released in Phuket

Can carbon capture make flying more sustainable?

Rare Nasa photos reveal Amazon ‘gold rivers’

Join the world’s largest network for the climate

Investigation: Dutch, Japanese pension funds pay for Amazon deforestation

Uttarakhand dam disaster: Race to rescue 150 people missing in India

Storm Darcy: Netherlands hit by ‘first major snowstorm in decade’

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

Uttarakhand glacier burst: Dozens missing after India dam collapses tks Damian Corbet

6 Roof and Pavement Tiles from Plastic Waste – tks Gary Crause

COVID19

Hotel worker confirmed to have UK coronavirus strain as Victoria records no new local cases

WHO says ‘extremely unlikely’ virus leaked from lab in China

Even With COVID-19 Vaccinations, Analysts Warn International Travel Could be Years Away

Shop owner at Chinatown Complex and son who have Covid-19 didn’t see doctor or use TraceTogether token or app tks Joe Augustin

Take a deep breath, Victoria. The trauma of past lockdowns is still there, but so is our bravery

Victoria to enter lockdown with fans barred from Australian Open

Why Australia’s ‘world-class’ quarantine system has seen breaches

As Covid-19 Vaccines Raise Hope, Cold Reality Dawns That Illness Is Likely Here to Stay

Virus Variant First Found in Britain Now Spreading Rapidly in U.S.

Massive blow to Victoria’s economy of new lockdown

Global Politics

‘Truth is truth’: GOP congresswoman who voted for Trump reveals why her faith also led her to vote to impeach him

Senate says trial is constitutional and can go ahead

Capitol riots: Five takeaways from the arrests

Capitol riots timeline: The evidence presented against Trump

Insurrection incitement charge a ‘monstrous lie’

TJ Ducklo: White House suspends aide for ‘threatening reporter’

Why Chuck Schumer Is Cozying Up to the A.O.C. Wing of His Party

Piers Morgan clashes with Sarah Palin over ‘absolutely bonkers’ claim that ‘dead people voted’ in US election

Business and Technology

If You Use LinkedIn, This Is the Dark Side of the Platform tks Joanne Flinn

Jeep’s Super Bowl Ad Urged Us to Find the Common Ground of Christian Nationalism

Why Four Seasons Landscaping — of Trump Press Conference Fame — Is in a Super Bowl Ad tks Siobhan Aalders

The Thumb Stopper: 3 Traits of Highly Engaging B2B Creative

Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse tks Rodrigo Canelas

Crown CEO Ken Barton bows to pressure and agrees to resign

UK suffers biggest drop in economic output in 300 years tks James Taylor

Salesforce shifts away from in-person work: ‘The 9-to-5 workday is dead’

AI is Only Going to Get Smarter tks Frank Roberts

Getting practical about the future of work

Social issues (#BlackLivesMatter) and humanity

I am so sick of being asked if I regret not having children

Pakistan Designer’s Anti-Dowry Campaign Is The Most Powerful Portrayal Of Regressive Culture tks Priscilla Joseph

Pope Francis appoints first woman to the Synod of Bishops

Iraq’s Yazidi community buries 104 victims of IS massacre

27% of White Evangelicals Think QAnon is Real

Britney Spears’ father loses bid to retain control of delegating her investments

The culture war between Gen Z and millennials is on. The first battle? Side partings

The betrayal of Britney Spears: how pop culture failed a superstar

Online bullying: ‘I’ve blocked nearly 10,000 abusive accounts’

How Society Has Turned Its Back on Mothers

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Walk

‘I spent nothing on myself for 5 years’: Rights group urges slashing of recruitment fees that burden migrant workers tks Cheryl Tan

Driver captures deadly 100-vehicle Texas pile-up – BBC News

Passion, humour, history

‘Gorilla Glue Girl’ considers lawsuit after spraying hair with adhesive (reports) tks Joyce Ano

Eddie McGuire Resigns Due To Toxic Culture Of Discrimination: “I’ve Been Constantly Targeted And Harassed”

Texas lawyer, trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat

Seen this lady? ‘Woman With Books’ just wants Singapore to smile tks Eugene Seah

Village submerged by red water after flood hits batik factory

Cat Zoom: Lawyer Rod Ponton surprised to become internet star

Let me know if anything jumped out at you?

Cheers

Andrea

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I believe it’s time for all of us to embrace our voice and embrace the future. We do this by working and living ‘out loud’ with meaning, intention, integrity and by being true to ourselves. If you own your voice, you own your future.