November/December 2008 Issue

Greens Gone Wild

Who says skivvies, sex, and booze can’t factor into the sustainability equation?

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gadget

Enviro-bras

Condom Couture

Party Power

Moto Ouzo

Earth Mamas

the deal

Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan has developed a bra that generates power for on-the-go iPod charging, and another that doubles as a shopping bag.

Condoms have been woven into wedding gowns, swimsuits, and hats for fashion shows promoting safe sex in China, Thailand, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Dancing generates 60 percent of the energy that runs London’s Bar Surya club; the piezoelectric floor uses quartz crystals and ceramics to transform busted moves into electricity.

The ultraefficient two-stroke Lotus Omnivore will come with a variable compression ratio system, which means it will run on just about any fuel, including liquor.

Contestants in the Philippines-based Miss Earth Beauty Pageant, one of the world’s largest, plant trees and make “it their mission to be Mother Earth’s guardians.”

real?

The solar bra must see daylight to work; still waiting for the bounce-powered kinetic-energy bra, an idea convincingly proposed by writer Adrienne So in Slate.

Artists use quality-rejected condoms that otherwise would have been incinerated; rubber fashions sold in boutiques and galleries.

Netherlands-based environmental lab Enviu, which helped develop the technology, is pushing for sustainable dance clubs across the globe. Next up: toddler-powered day care centers?

A prototype is due early next year. But Jack, Jim, and José are even pricier than gas; time to crank up the still.

Entrants must “possess beauty of face” and cannot have given birth; “knowledge of her country’s culture and environment” required.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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