No Impact Man

A sad observation I had on a mountain

See that picture? That's where I stayed last week for some quick R & R in the countryside. An incredibly beautiful place.

At lunch one day, I briefly met two women, sitting at the next table. While I was eating, I overheard one say to the other, "Do you think there will be enough shops in town to keep us occupied?"

Here we were, on a mountain. By a lake. With horses. And canoes. My new friends were only here for one day. But the only thing they could think to do was leave and go shopping.

I'm not judging. I just feel sad.

I think we tend to know what we're taught. And instead of being taught to enjoy our beautiful habitat, so many of us have been taught to shop, and by the associated resources use, contribute to its destruction.

If a mountain is reflected in a lake, and we're all too busy too notice, is it still beautiful?

Want to help get people engaged in the environment?

That's the goal of the new No Impact Project that we've launched. The mission is to engage citizens in lifestyle and social change that leads to both happier people and a happier planet (you can read a little about the No Impact Project here).

Anyway, in line with the No Impact philosophy of using resources effectively, we're looking for volunteers who might want to help out from around the country. We're really excited to be at the stage where we can start forming a community around this work.

Here are the type of skills we're looking for, though the list is not exclusive. We could probably find a way to put most anyone one to work!

• Research
• Copy-editing
• Community organizing
• Event planning and production
• General administrative skills
• Social media coordination
• Publicity
• Other ways you think you could help that we haven't thought of

Since we'll be having a events throughout the country and since we can all telecommute anywhere, we'd be glad to hear from folks everywhere.

Drop a line to Stephanie by clicking here.

Thanks so much!

So how do we feel about the cap and trade bill?

As you know, the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) bill narrowly passed in the house on Friday. Here's what the New York Times said about it:

The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which passed despite deep divisions among Democrats, could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

The bill’s passage, by 219 to 212, with 44 Democrats voting against it, also established a marker for the United States when international negotiations on a new climate change treaty begin later this year.

At the heart of the legislation is a cap-and-trade system that sets a limit on overall emissions of heat-trapping gases while allowing utilities, manufacturers and other emitters to trade pollution permits, or allowances, among themselves. The cap would grow tighter over the years, pushing up the price of emissions and presumably driving industry to find cleaner ways of making energy.

You may have read a post I wrote supporting the bill here.

But how do I feel now? Worried. We've notched one very small step forward on climate change, but the bill as it stands, has a lot of problems. In fact, Greenpeace even came out against it because it's so weak (read here). The job is far from over. We have a lot of work to do.

My question for you is, how do you feel about the passage of ACES? Do you feel pleased or worried? Where do you think we go from here? Please leave your comments here at the blog.

How climate change is already affecting us

The following is an excerpt from a New Yorker article about James Hansen, NASA's head climate scientist, by Elizabeth Kolbert:

During the past few years, researchers around the world have noticed a disturbing trend: the planet is changing faster than had been anticipated. Antarctica, for example, had not been expected to show a net loss of ice for another century, but recent studies indicate that the continent’s massive ice sheets are already shrinking. At the other end of the globe, the Arctic ice cap has been melt- ing at a shocking rate; the extent of the summer ice is now only a little more than half of what it was just forty years ago. Meanwhile, scientists have found that the arid zones that circle the globe north and south of the tropics have been expanding more rapidly than computer models had predicted. This expansion of the subtropics means that highly populated areas, including the American Southwest and the Mediterranean basin, are likely to suffer more and more frequent droughts. 

The point is that this is not something that will happen to our grandchildren. It is something that is happening to us.

Have a great weekend!

Taking Personal Responsibility for Climate Change

The following is a post by my friend Leslie Berliant. Leslie is a partner at BLU MOON Group, a cause marketing and communications firm. She writes the GoingGreen column for pnn.com and is also a contributing writer at SolveClimate.com, EnergyBoom.com, DesmogBlog.com, the LOHAS Journal and other online and print publications.

This weekend, I went to a gathering of 50 people interested in advocating for clean energy in the United States. I rode my bike there. At least a dozen people commented on what a “good girl” I was for doing so.  

We poured ourselves coffee and tea into paper cups. We ate our potluck lunch on paper plates with plastic forks. We grabbed our bottles of water. We wiped our mouths with paper napkins and we grabbed our packets of printed materials to talk about how we could help push the federal government into making clean energy a reality, starting with identifying ‘green’ businesses to be our allies in this campaign.  

I mean no disrespect to the good people that gave their time on a Saturday afternoon to talk about the importance of renewable energy. Nor to the folks that put together these house meetings. The idea of bringing people together around clean energy is a good one and long over due.

But the experience did get me thinking about climate change and personal responsibility. It has become very easy to say that we need sweeping institutional change since my changing of my light bulbs won’t have much of an impact. But if we look at global greenhouse gas emissions by sector, is that true?  

It is hard to find consistent information on emissions percentages by sector so let’s use the World Resources Institute data to see what percent of greenhouse gas emissions are within our personal control: 

13.5% of greenhouse gas emissions are transportation related, the majority of those are emissions on roads (9.9%). So, to cut those emissions, we have some personal choices we can make: 

• Choose a fuel efficient car
• Choose an alternative mode of transportation like bicycle, walking or public transportation
• Choose goods that are not shipped from overseas or out of state
• Travel less
  

24.6% of emissions are from electricity and heat. Of those, 9.9% are residential buildings, 6.3% are oil and gas extraction, refining and processing and 1.4% is coal mining. So, cutting some of those emissions is possible on a personal level: 

• Weatherize your home
• Use a programmable thermostat
• Turn down the heat and wear a sweater
• Turn off the air conditioning and open the windows
• Unplug unused appliances
• Use energy efficient appliances
• Use energy efficient lighting
• Use alternative energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal
• Purchase renewable energy credits to help fund more renewable energy sources
• Turn off lights when not in use
• Use solar outdoor lights
• Use cold water wash
• Line dry your clothes
• Run appliances like dishwashers in energy-saver mode
• Go manual instead of electric
• Keep your refrigerator full and use glass containers for storage. A full refrigerator stays colder as do glass containers

 

For the 10.4 % of emissions that are industry related and the 5.4% that are related to commercial buildings, we can also have an impact: 

• Choose to spend your money with businesses and industries that are fuel efficient and investing in renewable energy and LEED certified buildings, producing products sustainably and reducing use of packaging.
• Encourage local businesses to become more fuel efficient. Carrot Mob has a great ‘reverse boycott’ model for doing this; ask businesses to invest in efficiency and for those that are willing, reward them by organizing a large group to come and shop there on a set day at a set time.
• Ask your city council and county board of supervisors to set minimum LEED standards for new buildings.

 

Land use changes like deforestation account for 18.2% of emissions. That may seem out of our control if we don’t live in a forested area, but it’s not: 

• Stop buying paper products made from virgin wood; choose toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins and paper made from 100% post-consumer waste.
• Use cloth instead of paper for napkins and towels
• Eat less meat. Forests are being clear cut to raise cattle or their feed. If you choose to eat meat, find local sources of grass fed beef.
• Avoid products that contain palm oil
• If you choose to drink coffee and eat chocolate, find sources of sustainably grown beans.
• Use reusable bags instead of paper
• Always print double-sided on paper made from recycled materials
• Stop junk mail. This insidious industry destroys around 100 million trees a year. Use services like Catalogue Choice, Green Dimes and others let you opt out of all kinds of junk, including credit card offers.

Agricultural emissions are 13.5% of global totals. 6% of that is soil management using petroleum and nitrogen based fertilizers and pesticides, 5.1% is livestock and manure, and 1.5% is rice cultivation. For the most part, we can control what we eat: 

• Eat less animal products. Consider making 2 of 3 meals a day plant-based
• Buy produce grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides
• Plant your own organic garden as a source of fresh produce
• Buy rice that is sustainably cultivated
• Avoid products made with high fructose corn syrup, canola oil or soy unless they are organic
• Avoid foods like boxed cereal that take more energy to create and package than they produce

 

3.6% of emissions come from waste. Here, too, we can have an impact: 

• Buy fewer packaged goods
• Buy less in general
• Buy from the bulk bins
• Buy reusable instead of disposable
• Recycle
• Compost. Organic matter in landfills is a source of methane. Organic matter in your compost bin is a source of plant food.
• Ask your city council to ban plastic bags
• Use reusable bags for all of your shopping
• If you live in a country with potable water that comes out of the faucet, STOP BUYING BOTTLED WATER!

Yes, we need institutional change. We need to have government investment in clean, renewable energy sources and regulations that set higher CAFE and efficiency standards. We need to stop the development of new coal-fired power plants and oil exploration. Federal, state and local governments need to incentivize individual and corporate efficiency like weatherization, plug-in hybrids and efficiency retrofitting.  

The EPA is currently working on a report to inventory emissions sources and sinks in the U.S. Hopefully, this is to assess how the EPA can best regulate and reduce emissions. And while this is happening, there is much we can each do, as individuals, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Is "green business" personally satisfying?

I was at a conference that largely centered on green business last week. This was a gathering of wonderful people--social entrepreneurs--who cared about the environment and various social causes. They wanted to advance their values and express their care for the world through business.

It was wonderful and inspiring. But here's the funny thing. I had so many conversations with people from whom I sensed a yearning for meaning. It was paradoxical. Here were a bunch of people trying to do business meaningfully but still, some of them, feeling as the meaning wasn't there.

I think I might have a clue about the problem. Everybody was frenetically networking and Blackberrying and iPhoning just as they would at any business conference. Everyone was tired. Increased revenue--at least for many--seemed to be the measure of success.

The difference between a regular business conference and this one was that the sense that something was out of kilter was palpable. Observing the conferences, a Martian might have decided that conventional businesses--where people aren't angsting about fulfillment--makes people happier.

Of course, the great thing about the conference I was at is that people were actually looking for something better. They just hadn't quite found it.

So-called "green business" probably is not going to offer people the satisfaction and meaning we all crave. Keeping the live-to-work paradigm while manufacturing everything with "sustainable" materials is not going to give us time to spend with the people we love for example. It's a good thing, but it's not going to offer real human satisfaction.

In the end, truly green business is not going to give soul satisfaction if it merely about doing everything the same with more renewable materials. For business to be truly green--meaning life sustaining--the advancement of genuine human values--things that do more good for human quality of life rather than simply doing less harm--will have to be embodied in the businesses themselves.

Look at the picture above. That's my little girl Isabella playing in the Washington Square fountain. That's where I get real satisfaction. That's where I feel at home in my life. And I'm not saying that everyone should have a kid and live the way I do.

I'm simply saying that if we are looking for meaning and satisfaction in green business, we are going to have to take it much further than sustainable materials. We are going to have to figure out what actually improves quality of life for ourselves and those around us and start propagating that.

An economy based on pushing more stuff--greenly made or not--probably isn't going to do the trick.

PS I can't resist letting you know what Isabella made us do after the fountain. She made us watch this sparrow take a bath in the puddle.

Remembering My Mom's Lessons About Waste

As you may know, Japan has lower per capita carbon emissions than any Western European country. For that reason, I asked my friend, Sean Sakamoto, who recently moved to Japan and who blogs at I'd Rather Be In Japan, to check in with us every so often. I thought we might be able to learn a little something about "happier planet, happlier people" lifestyles from Sean's experience there.

Here is Sean's latest dispatch:

If you've ever studied a second language, you know that one of the most interesting aspects is seeing how culture is reflected in the words that are used. One of the first words I learned in Japan is a great example.

My first day at work, I was writing something on a piece of paper and I made a mistake. I reached for a new piece to start over, and my coworker suggested I just cross out my mistake and keep using the same piece.

"Mottainai," he said. I cocked my head in my standard look of "I don't know what that means" and he explained that "mottainai" means "don't waste." It became a word I heard many times, in many situations.

In the past year, I've learned that "mottainai" does in fact mean 'don't waste' but it also means more than that. There is the sense that it is a genuine shame to waste something. This concept is not entirely new to me.

When I was a kid, growing up in the '70s in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I was scolded if I ever wasted something. I remember that throwing something out that still had use was wasteful, but it was also just plain wrong.

We used a cloth to clean the table instead of tearing off sheets of paper towel. We never ate off paper plates. One obvious reason for this was because we didn't have the money to waste on disposable items or brand new stuff all the time. But it went beyond saving money. It was simply wrong to be wasteful.

When my sneakers got old and faded, my mom died the outside to make them look new again. My mom even bought me pants that were too long, sewed cuffs into them, and then let them down as I grew. It saved money, but I had white circles where the creases has been. There were two sides to this, of course. I also got teased at school for having 'creased pants.' Not everyone thought it was so great to not waste and save money.

When I got a family of my own, I forgot some of what my mother taught me about not wasting. I got used to the convenience of using something once and tossing it out. My values shifted. It started to feel cleaner, more hygenic, and more modern, to use disposable products. I wanted the latest, and newest, of everything.

Now I'm living in rural Japan on a much smaller salary than I had when I lived in New York. The emphasis on not being wasteful is nostalgic, and it's also practical.

Now, when I hear the words, "mottainai" I feel a sense of nostalgia. It's like I have an old friend back, this value I grew up with, that it's good to make something last longer, to get more use of the things I have, and to be more creative. I like being frugal again. I like it that reusing stuff and saying 'mottainai' is the trump card in most situations. I'm glad my son is learning this too. That said, I won't be creasing his pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new No Impact Project

Hey Folks, I thought you'd like to hear from the Associate Director of the new No Impact Project, which will promote citizen engagement in our environmental and lifestyle crises. Her name is Stephanie Bleyer and, by the way, she's looking for interns.

I’m thrilled to have been named the Associate Director of the No Impact Project, an outgrowth of this blog and the No Impact Man book and film coming out in September. The goal of our project is to inspire, engage and propel citizen action in the environmental movement. But before I go into that, I thought I'd tell you a little something about how I come to the No Impact Project--and strangely, it has something to do with falling in love with my legs.

It was somewhere between Boseman, Montana and Minneapolis, Minnesota that I fell completely in love with them. Other people had always said that my gams were gorgeous enough to stop traffic. Someone even blamed a car accident in Nairobi, when I was crossing the road, on the fact that I was wearing a mini.

But for myself, I didn't think they were any great shakes until I used them to bicycle 3,600 miles across the United States. That's when I developed a deep and profound appreciation for them, an enduring admiration that still takes my breath away. In the summer of 2000, my legs took me over the Rockies, across the Great Plains, through one-horse towns and along endless rows of corn stalks and soybeans.

Through the long days on my saddle, I would often look down on the ground at the shadow of my legs pedaling away and marvel: If I can propel myself across this country, I can change the world.  
 
Bike Aid was a project of Just Act: Youth Action for Global Justice. Along with 17 new friends, I spent nine weeks bicycling from Seattle to Washington, D.C. to raise money and awareness about social justice issues while participating in service projects in small communities along the way. I was making a documentary about this adventure for Oxygen, the television network, hoping that showing snippets from the road could inspire others to turn off the TV, get on a bicycle and change their communities.
 
This was my own personal “no impact” project.
 
It was my bold and audacious action, which I hoped would create a ripple effect across the country. And it is one of the experiences that makes me especially fond of the No Impact Man project. Of course, I've had a lot of other non-profit experience since then. But what Colin and I both learned firsthand from our personal experiences is that when you go to extremes--and when your actions accord deeply with your values--people pay attention.

From Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to Muncie, Indiana, every time I stopped pedaling I would inevitably meet a local person, tell them what I was doing, engage them in dialogue about issues and hopefully inspire them to step outside their boundaries and make change. One by one, mile by mile.

I think it's been like that for Colin with No Impact Man, and I think it will be the same for the non-profit he has hired me to run--the No Impact Project.
 
It’s a simple message we'll be promoting: lower your environmental impact and increase your social impact to improve the quality of your life and those around you while saving the earth. To help carry it off the page of Colin's book and out of the theatres where the No Impact Man documentary will be showing, we are busy planning an exciting social action campaign that will engage people both online and off.

I hope those of you who read the blog will help, and the time will come when I'll ask. But if you have a particular interest right now, we're looking for interns (see below). And if you have other ways you think you might like to join us for the ride, shoot me an email at StephanieATnoimpactproject.org (replace the AT with an @, of course).

Here's the intern job description, which is also posted on Idealist.Org:

Project
The national launch of the not-for-profit No Impact Project will coincide with the Fall release of the No Impact Man documentary and book. The Project will leverage the publicity surrounding these releases to encourage citizen engagement in finding solutions to our culture’s environmental and lifestyle crises. The mission is to engage the public in creating a new paradigm in which low-impact living and high-impact citizenship improves quality of life and the environment.

Overview
No Impact Project is looking for a talented and motivated intern to work in close partnership with the Associate Director to ensure the successful execution of a multi-pronged programming and fundraising agenda. This Intern will be vital in helping us build capacity in our fledgling organization.  Areas of responsibility will include: 

•    Program related research, development and execution
•    Grant proposal research and writing
•    Launch preparation
•    Social media and technology project development
•    Communications and marketing
•    Administrative duties

Time Commitment
20 hours/week in the office and/or telecommuting.

Start Date: June 15
End Date: September 15 (the internship can be extended through the fall)

Payment
None.  Academic credit only (if applicable).  Letter of reference from Executive Director upon completion of internship.

Qualifications
•    Excellent writing and research skills.
•    Previous experience working for a small non-profit.
•    Interest in environmental issues.
•    Ability to work independently and take initiative.
•    Confident, good sense of humor, creative thinker (all requirements!)

Application
Please send a brief cover letter and resume (2 page max) to Stephanie at noimpactproject@gmail.com.  Applications with grammatical errors will not be considered.

A personal favor to No Impact Man?

Hey, as a personal favor to me, would you watch this video and spread to your friends? Then, if you're moved, you can join me and many others on October 24. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean.

True success Part 2

Yesterday we pondered the meaning of real success. Thank you Julie for leaving this in the comments:

Success

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

--Ralph Waldo Emmerson