Keynote Speaker

karl burkart

writer
Articles
49
Views
515,000
Location
Los Angeles
Member Since
Jun 2008
Combining a fascination with pop culture (especially emergent design and marketing trends) with all things eco, I'm striving to find ways of making green culturally relevant, taking it out of the domain of affluent soccer moms and baby boomers and into the hands of urban creatives. I used to be an architect of buildings, then an architect of websites and social media campaigns, and now just a plain old writer. Past projects include filmtvmarket.com, greenmatrix.net, evo.com, voozoo (facebook application), whocontrolstheworld.com.
Eco Superhero Comebacks
Eco Superhero Comebacks
Captain Planet Makes A Very Green Return From The 90s
Look out oil-drilling villains, there is one tough, green, mullet-wearing dude back in town, and his name is Captain Planet. From the mind of Ted Turner, Captain Planet and the Planeteers was a big hit… MORE
Post-Hipster Folk Musicians
Post-Hipster Folk Musicians
Sam Amidon
It seems there is a new heir to the American folk music throne previously occupied by Nick Drake. He is Sam Amidon.  I've been fascinated watching young artists strive to reclaim the true roots of American… MORE
Giant Plush Activists
Giant Plush Activists
The 'Treeless Squirrel' Fights for the Environment
With all the "be green" marketing that's out there, it is nice to know some people are getting more creative in communicating their environmental messages. The people at Flow Creative, came up with a super… MORE
Crisis-Induced Comedy
Crisis-Induced Comedy
The Bull vs. Bear Epic Economic Battle
Giant stuffed animal costumes are popping up everywhere.  Earlier this year there was the Treeless Squirrel, then the ”mother-humping moose” on SNL, protesting polar bears, and now two guys dressed in… MORE
Flourishing In Crisis
Flourishing In Crisis
Green Banks Thrive as Wall Street Collapses
According to a recent study by Javelin Strategy and Research, bank customers want green banking. 43% of customers polled said they would rather do business with a bank that seems more “green.” But many… MORE
Futuristic Hat Frenzy
Futuristic Hat Frenzy
Brian Lichtenberg's Show at Box Eight
I was one of the lucky few who made it through the gates of Box Eight during LA fashion week to see the much anticipated spring line by Brian Lichtenberg.  Lichtenberg is something of a wonderkid...barely… MORE
Second Skin Super Fabric
Second Skin Super Fabric
The ZGlove
I just saw the Zglove at a materials technology conference. It’s a new fabric called Mesh Dryflex that has a 4-way stretch, so it basically acts like a second skin.  But unlike your regular skin, this… MORE
DIY Interactive Tables
DIY Interactive Tables
Heat-Sensitive LEDs for Home Raves
The geniuses at Evil Mad Scientist have released an updated do-it-yourself kit to make your own interactive LED coffee tables. They give you a large pre-printed circuit board and a soldering kit. You then… MORE
Anti-Palin Alaskan Protests
Anti-Palin Alaskan Protests
Pun-Laden Political Slogans
The largest rally in Alaskan history took place last week, and surprisingly it was against Sarah Palin. Thousands of protesters gathered and were instructed to get creative in making their own slogans… MORE
Naked Protesting
Naked Protesting
Hot 'Chicks' Battle KFC in Australia
PETA has been leading the “naked” protesting” trend in a series of nonviolent (and eye-pleasing) protests involving hot women and men getting naked to draw public attention to pressing issues of animal… MORE
Green Mega-Corporations
Green Mega-Corporations
WWF Climate Saver Partners
Many of us have longed for the government to step in and regulate mega-corporations, to no avail. But now these giants are opting to step up to the plate, making enormous dents in our most pressing environmental… MORE
Amazing Cosmic Simulations
Amazing Cosmic Simulations
Astronomy Videos from The New Scientist
The New Scientist just released a bunch of amazing scientific simulations courtesy of NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde of a variety of cosmic events.  The video above shows how astronomers think light from a gamma-ray… MORE
Storm Inspired Haute Couture
Storm Inspired Haute Couture
Project Runway's Siriano Rocks Fashion Week
Christian Siriano took the world by storm with his jaw-droppingly beautiful Spring collection, inspired by the “fierce” and colorful drama of Mother Nature’s stormy sunset skies.  Siriano captured the… MORE
Storm Chasing Bloggers
Storm Chasing Bloggers
10 Killer Storm Photos
With three killer storms about to hit the southeast coast, Hurricane Hannah, Hurricane Ike, and Josefina, we are all reminded that times (and weather patterns) have changed.  These remarkable photos were… MORE
Pregnant Belly Casting
Pregnant Belly Casting
Decorated Bellies
Now you can memorialize your perfectly pregnant belly through Pregnancy Art. In researching the trend of self-made body art (see also male body casting) I found this amazing site that sells pregnant belly… MORE
Male Body Casting
Male Body Casting
Pecs & Posteriors for Posterity
Some guys work really hard on their bodies and know all too well that one day their Apollonian beauty will fade.  So a new cottage industry has emerged to preserve their perfect male torsos.  It’s called… MORE
Fake Naughty Photography
Fake Naughty Photography
Scandalously Edgy Fashion Photography
Fashion has always been about eroticism, but a new generation of fashion photographers are taking it a little farther - into the realm of extreme erotic fashion photography. I'm not talking about slightly… MORE
Gadgets That Save Gas
Gadgets That Save Gas
The Blade
It sounds too good to be true — the gas-saving Blade. It's a little device that screws onto the end of your tailpipe and in extensive testing, has shown anywhere from 16-34% savings on gas! That’s an average… MORE
Gun-Crazy Governors
Gun-Crazy Governors
Sarah Palin's Arial Safari and Gun Practice
Guns and Hot Women -- perhaps McCain's surprising selection of Sarah Palin as VP was motivated by the desire to appeal to a, uh, younger male demo? I thought originally it was to win over angry Hillary… MORE
Virally Cute Videos
Virally Cute Videos
Interspecies Love
"Interspecies Love" is one of the cornerstones of the viral pass-along phenomenon. A cousin to the overwhelmingly cute "Baby Animals" email so popular in the 90's, this imagery seems to have a profound… MORE
Human Neanderthal Mating
Human Neanderthal Mating
Was Planet of the Apes for Real?
All the buzz about Big Foot got me thinking about the possibility of Human Neanderthal interbreeding. Half-man, half-ape, Bigfoot begs the question: just how CLOSELY were we related? It turns out, well,… MORE
Cell Phones to Map Environmental Pollutants
Cell Phones to Map Environmental Pollutants
PEIR by UCLA
The 3.5 billion mobile devices on the planet are seen by many scientists as the world’s largest decentralized computer, capable of linking up trillions of pieces of data in an instant. Researcher’s at… MORE
Online Pledges to Save the Planet (and Money)
Online Pledges to Save the Planet (and Money)
Creative Citizen
The internet is fast becoming a place to display your personal values and track your social standing among your peers.  Now their is a way to track your own Greenness as well as the combined positive impact… MORE
Anti-Bush Games
Anti-Bush Games
Bush Whacking and More
As it seems impeachment is now off the table, a bunch of get-back-at-Bush toys and games have hit the market. It all started off with Bush's own PR team who came up with the original, hilarious and incredibly… MORE
Consumer Directed Philanthropy
Consumer Directed Philanthropy
The Amex Members Project
Usually marketing trends do very little to inspire hope in humanity, but the macro-trend of cause marketing is one that is really making a difference. American Express has been particularly brilliant… MORE
Googling for Drugs
Googling for Drugs
Pot Locator Using Google Maps for Weed
Unless you’re a follower of the hit show Weeds, it probably comes as a surprise to learn that marijuana is perfectly legal in California as long as the vendor’s are licensed to dispense the herbal drug… MORE
Documentaries on Election Fraud
Documentaries on Election Fraud
4 Shocking Truths
Democracy's last chance might just be the medium of documentary film. A wave of new documentary films are coming out that tell the horrifying truth about election fraud in the United States. I just… MORE
Iranian Rocker Hair
Iranian Rocker Hair
Kids Fight to Keep Their Hair Styles
The Rocker Hair trend has invaded the Middle East, where it is being met with much less enthusiasm than here in the States. Rebellious rocker teens in Iran are sporting faux hawks, spikes and pompadours,… MORE
Science Dolls
Science Dolls
Particle Physics Gets all Cute and Fuzzy
From the mind of artist and “particle zoologist” Julie Peasley comes the cutest, fuzziest pack of critters to come out of a particle accelerator this side of the Atlantic.  PhD physicist Derek van Westrum… MORE
Buddhist Activists Protest China Online
Buddhist Activists Protest China Online
Digital Dharma
A new film company called Digital Dharma, whose motto in "Illuminating Justice, Invoking Compassion" just launched a challenge tonight to friends and YouTubers to watch a provocative short film called… MORE
Activist Shark Documentaries
Activist Shark Documentaries
Sharkwater
Thanks to decades of bloody B movies, sharks have a gruesomely bad rap. While most people think of them as the “demons of the deep,” sharks have actually been put at great risk in many parts of the… MORE
Strange Global Detox Techniques
Strange Global Detox Techniques
Kinoki Cleansing Foot Pads
There are certainly a variety of ways to clean out your body. The Italians eat dandelion greens in the spring. The Indians fast on white rice and yogurt. And Californians have their colonic machines… MORE
Deadly Food Shockers
Deadly Food Shockers
Popcorn that Kills
Oh, the woes of modern civilization. It seems that we humans find a way to screw up just about everything, even the simplest of life's pleasures, even...popcorn! Yes, the popcorn industry was hit with… MORE
Stripping on Highways
Stripping on Highways
Sexy Levi's 501 Billboard
Living in LA, the land of billboards, it's pretty rare to find a media buy that is so cool and attention-grabbing, that it could cause an accident. But this morning on my way to get coffee, I saw the… MORE
Contortionist Dancers For Dual Mode Cell Phones
Contortionist Dancers For Dual Mode Cell Phones
Motorola MotoRokr E8 Ad
This ad for the new Motorola MotoRokr E8 has good potential for going viral. I've never seen any human creature move like the man in the video. It's amazing, and a good idea for demonstrating the dual… MORE
Mega Wind Turbines
Mega Wind Turbines
World's Largest Windmills to be Made in the USA
Despite the best efforts of the current US administration, the green economy is still taking off. Where the US government failed (and failed miserably) the venture firms saw a great opportunity and so… MORE

Featured Ideas

Graffiti Wall Awards
Graffiti Wall Awards
Guerrilla PR for Bamboo
The guys at Guerilla PR came up with this cool idea to run a contest on Graffiti Wall via Facebook for Bamboo Magazine. A lot of pretty talented artists created work on the player which was then recorded… MORE
Second Skin Super Fabric
Second Skin Super Fabric
The ZGlove
I just saw the Zglove at a materials technology conference. It’s a new fabric called Mesh Dryflex that has a 4-way stretch, so it basically acts like a second skin.  But unlike your regular skin, this… MORE
Deadly Food Shockers
Deadly Food Shockers
Popcorn that Kills
Oh, the woes of modern civilization. It seems that we humans find a way to screw up just about everything, even the simplest of life's pleasures, even...popcorn! Yes, the popcorn industry was hit with… MORE
Disgusting World Records
Disgusting World Records
Loudest Female Burp in History
Normally I would never post anything like this, but I found it fascinating that the Guinness Book of World Records actually developed protocols for measuring the volume of someone burping! Surprisingly,… MORE
Cell Phones to Map Environmental Pollutants
Cell Phones to Map Environmental Pollutants
PEIR by UCLA
The 3.5 billion mobile devices on the planet are seen by many scientists as the world’s largest decentralized computer, capable of linking up trillions of pieces of data in an instant. Researcher’s at… MORE
Giant Plush Activists
Giant Plush Activists
The 'Treeless Squirrel' Fights for the Environment
With all the "be green" marketing that's out there, it is nice to know some people are getting more creative in communicating their environmental messages. The people at Flow Creative, came up with a super… MORE
Eco Superhero Comebacks
Eco Superhero Comebacks
Captain Planet Makes A Very Green Return From The 90s
Look out oil-drilling villains, there is one tough, green, mullet-wearing dude back in town, and his name is Captain Planet. From the mind of Ted Turner, Captain Planet and the Planeteers was a big hit… MORE
Contortionist Dancers For Dual Mode Cell Phones
Contortionist Dancers For Dual Mode Cell Phones
Motorola MotoRokr E8 Ad
This ad for the new Motorola MotoRokr E8 has good potential for going viral. I've never seen any human creature move like the man in the video. It's amazing, and a good idea for demonstrating the dual… MORE
Viral Peace Initiatives
Viral Peace Initiatives
The Dalai Lama Handshake Revolution
There are so many mixed feelings about the Beijing Olympics. China's record on human rights issues has been deplorable, but the spirit of international camaraderie that the Olympics brings to the world… MORE
Activist Shark Documentaries
Activist Shark Documentaries
Sharkwater
Thanks to decades of bloody B movies, sharks have a gruesomely bad rap. While most people think of them as the “demons of the deep,” sharks have actually been put at great risk in many parts of the… MORE
Hand-Drawn Animations of John Lennon
Hand-Drawn Animations of John Lennon
Penwork by James Braitwaite
Almost as a rebuttal to the over-saturation of computer animation in everything from TV to advertising to film, a trend is emerging for beautifully executed hand-drawn animation. Whether it's the work… MORE
Gadgets That Save Gas
Gadgets That Save Gas
The Blade
It sounds too good to be true — the gas-saving Blade. It's a little device that screws onto the end of your tailpipe and in extensive testing, has shown anywhere from 16-34% savings on gas! That’s an average… MORE
Iranian Rocker Hair
Iranian Rocker Hair
Kids Fight to Keep Their Hair Styles
The Rocker Hair trend has invaded the Middle East, where it is being met with much less enthusiasm than here in the States. Rebellious rocker teens in Iran are sporting faux hawks, spikes and pompadours,… MORE
Virally Cute Videos
Virally Cute Videos
Interspecies Love
"Interspecies Love" is one of the cornerstones of the viral pass-along phenomenon. A cousin to the overwhelmingly cute "Baby Animals" email so popular in the 90's, this imagery seems to have a profound… MORE