Green Patriot Bus adverts

Designer: Michael Bierut, Pentagram

About the campaign: Michael Bierut made these designs for 70 busses in Cleveland. The campaign launched Green Patriot Posters [photos of the busses in action coming soon]. Here is what Michael had to say about the designs:

Americans have a great ability to pull together in times of crisis. Each day brings headlines that make it clear that global warming and dependence on costly and scarce foreign oil will demand the same kind of resilience, self-sacrifice and ingenuity that we’ve exhibited in the past: in short, that special American brand of patriotism. Back in the 30s and 40s, folksinger Woody Guthrie had a slogan on his guitar: “This machine kills fascists.” I was looking for a similar kind of statement to turn every bus ride into a blow for the environment.

In coming up with themes that would resonate in Cleveland, The Canary Project and Michael consulted with the GreenCityBlueLake Institute at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is currently running an exhibition of Canary Project photographs by Susannah Sayler.

The Bus campaign in Cleveland was made possible by support from The George Gund Foundation, Timberland and Earthkeepers powered by Changents!

Related Links to this campaign: Bierut’s designs call attention to two ways to fight climate change: take mass transit and support green jobs. Action and information on these issues as follows:

1. Mass Transit: US reliance on foreign oil would decrease by forty percent if one in ten Americans used public transportation daily. (source: American Public Transportation Association). Less car traffic also means less carbon emissions. Check out bus and train schedules in your area. Here is more information on mass transit in Cleveland. If you feel like your needs are not being met by the RTA, then go to this website to find out how to make your voice heard.
2. Green Jobs: One of the most interesting partnerships to come out of the fight to stop global warming is the Blue Green Alliance between the United Steel Workers Union and the Sierra Club. The Blue-Green Alliance and notable others, such as the Apollo Alliance, are telling us that so-called green jobs can have a major impact on our economy and do a lot to put muscle back into the our domestic manufacturing sector.
3. What exactly is a Green Job? Definitions vary. Essentially it is any job that contributes to the new, sustainable, non-oil addicted economy. Or as a recent Time magazine article put it “a green-collar job can be anything that helps put America on the path to a cleaner, more energy efficient future. That means jobs in the public transit sector, jobs in green building, jobs in energy efficiency — even traditional, blue-collar manufacturing jobs, provided what you're making is more or less green.” See article.

Support incentives for Green Jobs

Learn more on what the impact on Green Jobs could be in states like Ohio as well as Nationwide