ShetkaStone Revisited
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.11.06
A wonderful byproduct of an increasing environmental awareness is that more information is reaching an ever expanding number of ears and eyes. And hopefully then impacting more hearts and minds. A consequence of this enthusiasm for spreading eco-knowledge is that many similarly focused media will trip over each other in delivering the good oil. Not that this matters. The widest audience that can be reached, the better for the planet as a whole. But one such story that caught our eye recently, and brought on a chuckle, was a product called ShetkaStone. Our compadres over at inhabitat picked it up and posted a piece, under the heading ‘new material’. It was subsequently run as a story by Transstudio. All the while Treehugger had a near identical post patiently sitting in our archives dated way back to 2 Dec 2004. 14 months ago. A timely reminder, that as Treehugger approaches the 5,000 post milestone, there are plenty of good news stories out there, and we’ll continue do our darndest to get them to you, in as timely manner as we can. And of course, we’ll continue to reference the sites of our esteemed brethren, for the other scoops they get to before us. The more the merrier. ~:^) ::Shetkastone
PS. Shetkastone is a material with many of the properties of wood, but made from recycled paper.
Well since the invitation has been extended, we couldn't help but offer a response from Inhabitat...
It's true what you say, Warren, that the spread of eco-consciousness is a thrill to witness and participate in. One of the greatest things about the blogosphere is that we can enjoy a true spirit of mutual support without the competition that comes with print magazines and other limited-issue media.
We only benefit by sending our readers to each other and sharing the wealth of knowledge and interest that is out there and ever-growing. Since our founding in spring 2005, we've been pleased to see that Treehugger very frequently picks up articles from Inhabitat and rebroadcasts them for TH fans. So often, in fact, it's hard to keep track!
When I saw this post, I skimmed past it assuming it was another instance of THIH love, since I wasn't a reader of TH in December 2004, and therefore hadn't seen the original post (nor, I presume, had most of the readers this week). But then someone pointed out to me that it was in fact a public Treehugger chuckle at Inhabitat's expense. Ironic, given how frequently this scenario is reversed!
We're in the midst of the fast and furious growth of two worlds: the blogosphere and the sustainability movement. As momentum carries us forward, I think it'd be great to maintain the spirit that brought us all here in the first place: a desire to bring sustainability and style together and to push today's culture into a new incarnation that is as hip and sexy as it is responsible and green. The only way to do it is to welcome people on board as they arrive, and to collaborate and support one another as we go.
As much as I enjoy the treehuggers posts (or should I say links because I never really read the writing) I have noticed a parisitic effect and not in the direction mentioned in Warren from Sydney's little dis. All too often you guys rip off Mocoloco or Inhabitat or Reluct and call it your own. The difference is that the sites i just mentioned offer the reader (someone who reads) more than just links. They write articulate articles that people can spend time with. This practice allows them to pull from all sources for their details, even a link borrowed from the almighty tree. In closing, if I need to know about the latest organic, free range, potato chip suplement i will check tree hugger. If i want to read an article I will continue to check the others! Warren check out some organic sunblock, the hole in the ozone layer is getting to you mate.
Seems my post was misconstrued. Thought I was saying, "Isn't it great there's so much positive news out there, but don't expect all sources to arrive it at the same time." And that while Treehugger does have a huge archive of posts, we, just like any other news point, will obviously get to many stories both before, and AFTER others. And TH will continue to link to those sites who noted stories ahead of us. But it would seem we are either doing too much linking, or not enough.
As for sun protection, I've decided to take the advice offered, and try some Soleo. May this be the remedy to any unintended overheating.