As seen on Magnesium Photography.
The major problems facing the human race are massive as ever and show no sign of abating anytime soon. Resource wars are becoming the norm. The environment needs a breath of fresh air. American obesity is getting serious (picture a muumuu-clad Homer Simpson when his fingers were too fat to dial the phone). Despite the overwhelming negativity slowing most forward-thinking legislative bodies, there seems to be a palpable worldwide trend toward cleaner living. Maybe it’s the economic recession talking or perhaps people are finally getting the …

For those in the Tokyo community who don’t know her, know of her or haven’t attended one of her celebrated Parties For Peace DJ soirees, Peace Boat International Coordinator and activist Emilie McGlone is motivated and charismatic, a deadly combination when it comes to getting what she wants. Luckily her wish list is not laden with the many luxuries lining Ginza boutiques but rather consists of the altruistic desire to help people. That and party. Party positively, of course. It’s a long story, but an interesting one, …

An Open Eye Media U.K. production. (International sales: the Works Intl., London.) Produced by Rachel Wexler. Directed by Oliver Hodge.
With: Michael Reynolds.
Mike Reynolds is a true garbage warrior. For more than thirty years he has been pioneering the field of architecture by introducing a new method of self-sustainable building called “Earthship Biotecture.” Before it was cool, responsible or even common knowledge Reynolds was advancing the cause of recycling materials for use in building homes in bold and original ways. Taking old aluminum cans and glass bottles to make walls, packing …

An Alliance Atlantis release (in Canada) of a Sharkwater Prods. presentation of a Diatribe production. (International sales: Cinetic Media, New York.) Produced, directed, written by Rob Stewart. Executive producers, Brian Stewart, Sandra Campbell, Alexandra Stewart.
In his article Infodiction, Malik Robinson talks about orienting response (OR). He says, “The OR is a survival mechanism, shared by all mammals, that alerts us to unusual visual and aural information. Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov was the first to explain how it worked…Ancient behaviors tend to be rigid and indiscriminate, and the OR is no …

A Purple Turtle Films production. (International sales: Purple Turtle, Irvine, Calif.) Produced by Sam Bozzo. Executive producers, Mark Achbar, Si Litvinoff. Directed, written, edited by Sam Bozzo, based on the book “Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water” by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke.
Blue Gold: World Water Wars asks the questions, “Where does your drinking water come from? Where does your waste water go?
In the documentary by Sam Bozzo based on the 2003 book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of …

Japan is most widely known for islands of the geological sort, but unfortunately the country is also the world’s premier spot for a completely different sort of island: Urban Heat Islands. Even if you’ve never heard of an Urban Heat Island, chances are you live on one if you reside in Japan. Technically known as the “Urban Heat Island effect,” the term describes how temperatures in inner city cores are abnormally higher than temperatures in surrounding, less densely developed areas. The underlying mechanisms behind Heat Island formation are rather complex, …

When hunger hits the community, children suffer the most. For those children tormented by empty stomachs, it is not going to school that is important, but eating. At present, there are between 350 and 400 million children in the world who are suffering from hunger. Among those who have reached elementary school age, 115 million are not attending. Eradicating the hunger of children who support the future of nations and further educating them is essential for poor countries to escape from poverty and hunger.
Poor families generally do not have enough …

We introduce someone who has continued to make remarkable strides in the world’s poorest regions and in countries caught in conflict. His job in the context of conflict resolution through community activism consists of helping others transcend their many differences so that they may establish ties. It is a professional undertaking of reinstituting social connections. Heso Magazine sat down with this individual- Mr. Isezaki Kenji- to ask about his work to the present and his hopes for the future.
HESO Magazine: As someone who studied architecture in graduate school, what prompted …

I love coffee. I usually roll into a Starbucks, grab a tall sized fair-trade coffee and add some milk and brown sugar, making the whole beverage even more addictive than what is usually reasonable. At that first sip, a new day dawns, fawns and baby doves are born, and humans are allowed to talk to me. You might feel the same way in the morning, but chances are you didn’t know that Starbucks serves fair trade coffee. More to the point, you probably don’t know what that is.
Think of fair …

The Japanese love fish: catching it, inspecting its quality, auctioning it, and above all, savoring the taste of its smooth, oceany richness. But in recent years, growing global demand for fisheries products has begun to outstrip supply, threatening to silence the sushi bars and auction houses. Some of the species that are closest to the hearts (and stomachs) of the Japanese are facing such intense harvest pressure that they are on the brink of collapse.
How did we get here?
Japan was the first country to take fishing and fish consumption global. …

Tsurunen Marutei, a naturalized Japanese citizen of Finnish heritage, is the first non-Asian, non-native-born member of the Japanese Diet. With demographics changing rapidly in Japan, he will probably not be the only politician of his kind for much longer. Heso Magazine joined him at his office to discuss the problematic present, and his vision for a brighter future.
HESO Magazine: You first came to Japan as a Lutheran minister. Why did you turn to politics?
Tsurunen Marutei: I was thinking about how I could contribute to society differently and realized that if …