If you’ve been anywhere near a bus stop or a subway station recently you’ve seen these provocative Gossip Girl ads. After the success of their spring ‘OMFG!’ campaign, The CW is cutting right to the chase by flaunting the show’s criticism in an appeal to our more rebellious and primal sides.

Since mass transit is a Beanstockd term of employment, we have seen said ads and we have a message for all the clever "subway artists" out there. QUIT DEFACING THESE ADS! We don’t know who put you in charge of the subway beautification committee, but we’re old school green and we say littering and vandalizing are gateway climate changers. What’s next, a bonfire at the tire factory? Giving Blake Lively a Hitler-stache is not funny. Giving Chace Crawford extra nipples: not funny. An erect phallus with "Drink My Love Juice" written on it pointed at Chuck Bass’ mouth…okay, that one was funny.

Bacon Bits

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The 2008 Summer Olympics are only 2 weeks away and the forecast is: smoggy skies and algae-covered seas. Beijing has begun a widespread shutdown of factories, construction sites, power stations, traffic lanes; taking drastic measures to clean the carbon heavy skies before the games begin. And the whole world will be watching. . .

Zoom in on the Bird Cage (Bird’s Nest)—the (ultra cool/ postmodern creepy) National Stadium that will hold all Olympic track and field events, and the opening and closing ceremonies. Next stop, the National Theater—an alien looking dome with an underground entrance, probably the most controversial building in new Beijing. “A modern building in an existing place is disturbing. That is a fact,” reported the project’s French architect, Paul Andreu, to NPR.

All the construction of said megastructures in an already congested city makes for a whole lotta pollution. And what happens when polluted run-off water reaches the sea? A big mess of green algae to clean-up before the sailing events start.

The modern paradox of progress leading to pollution; we’re curious to see how it will be played on tv screens and in the blogosphere (Bloggers be warned: Google’s a little different over there. In certain spots you are guaranteed to encounter the Great Firewall of China)

What of the sustainability of these innovative advancements in modern China? Most of the construction is still fueled by oil or coal; meanwhile there is a mess of biomass just floating around, waiting to be converted into biofuel. Will the national government continue to finance projects that pollute but look pretty, or turn to productive cleantech opportunities? The future (and the sky) is still hazy.

Sharona

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The notoriously annoying, obnoxious, and utterly wasteful "junk mail" industry is (sort of) reconsidering its practices of flooding mailboxes—even of people that have long passed from this blue planet—with marketing materials. Not many of us actually use the conventional mailing method these days, but those darned companies know we’re still checking for checks, zines . . . and that’s about it.

Many businesses are switching to paperless billing, promotions, catalog opt-outs; recognizing the will of the consumers, especially the latest up and comers; the increasingly eco-conscious MTV generation—probably the greatest consumers of them all! Give it to us digitized!

Although spam is even more maddening (mysterious member-enhancers? Ok, maybe we got a little curious when they offered us libido gum, but. . .) at least you can’t hear the trees scream from your inbox. Some solutions these direct mail companies are utilizing as cited in the NYTimes coverage: using recycled paper, encouraging the unfortunate recipients to recycle, and taking the deceased off of the lists. Yeah, good call.

To those of you breathing and internet-able, check out these sites. Sign the petition (Like Leo says). Forward it to your friends and neighbors. (Try the libido gum. Or not.)

Sharona

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