Real Costs

by Michael Mandiberg
http://therealcosts.com

Real Costs is a Firefox plug-in that inserts emissions data into travel related e-commerce websites. The first version adds CO₂ emissions information to airplane ticket websites. It tells you how much carbon each flight will produce. Following versions will work with car directions, car rental, and shipping websites. Think of it like the nutritional information labeling on the back of food... except for emissions.

The objective of the Real Costs is to increase awareness of the environmental impact of certain day-to-day choices in the life of the Internet user. By presenting this environmental impact information in the place where decisions are being made, it will hopefully create an impact on the viewer, encourage a sense of individual agency, and provide a set of alternatives and immediate actions. In the process the user/viewer might even be transformed from passive consumer to engaged citizen.

Bio
Michael Mandiberg is a conceptual artist, computer programmer and rogue economist who uses the Internet, video and performance to explore subjectivity, labor, and commerce. His current work delves into creative appropriations of outsourcing, artistic uses of open API web platforms, and the global dependence on oil. He recently launched Oil Standard, a plug-in for the firefox browser that converts all prices on any webpage into barrels of oil with a live price feed from the New York Mercantile Exchange. In 2001 he distributed perfect copies of copies on AfterSherrieLevine.com, and put all of his possessions up for sale on Shop Mandiberg. His work has been exhibited at such venues as the New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York City; Ars Electronica Linz, Austria; and the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany. Michael is an Assistant Professor at The College of Staten Island/CUNY.