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No Impact Man: "Think Enhancement, Not Sacrifice"
Tweet Share on Facebook September 11, 2009 Comment (2)Colin Beavan gave up lots of things during his year-long trial in urban asceticism, which resulted in the blog, book and recently-released movie "No Impact Man." And those things—like electricity, meat, carbon-based transportation and even toilet paper—are what have made the public and media continually fascinated with him, ever since his experiment in 2007. But to Beavan, it's not about what he gave up, it's about what he gained—and by that, he doesn't mean a book deal.
"What would be really great is if people don't talk about sacrifices. What we could talk about is enhancements to the quality of our life," said Beavan. "On a micro level, when we did the 'No Impact Man' project, we gave things up, but at the same time, we were your typical rush-around New York media people, stressed and anxious. We would get home, shovel take-out into our mouths while watching TV, and we'd wake up in the morning and do it all over again. When we got rid of the TV, and when we got rid of the take-out food and replaced it with local food, what happened was that we were sitting around a table, talking as a family, and before you knew it, friends started dropping by to eat with us. We ended up eating healthier food and having more friends and community."
Happiness through simpler, greener living is the aim of the No Impact Project, a new non-profit that Beavan has started as a companion to the book and film. One component, which will be making its debut later this fall, is a week-long No Impact experience for communities to try. The site will lead people through cutting back on waste, carbon-based transportation and meat, among other things, placing "a particular emphasis on monitoring how they feel," said Beavan, "so that at the end of the week they can say, 'I feel better, so I'll keep doing it.'"
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9 Green Things You Can Do on 9/9/09
Tweet Share on Facebook September 9, 2009 Comment (1)It's a good day to get married. Or play the lottery. Or boycott the prevalence of adorable cats on the internet. But whether or not you're a numerologist, today's unusual date can be the inspiration for some green acts. Here are 9 green things you can do today, compiled from across the web.
1. Recycle your old sneakers. Running shoes are among dozens of items that aren't obvious fare for recycling, but that doesn't mean they should head to the landfill. The Daily Green lists them here.
2. Start a community garden. If your neighborhood doesn't already have one, it may seem like a daunting task—especially for a city-dweller. But the Nation makes it easier, with a step-by-step guide to getting fresh produce from your block by next year.
3. If you aren't already paying your bills online, what are you waiting for? You'll save paper, money on postage, and your transactions will be secure. While you're de-papering your life, take it a step further and get off of the various junk mail and catalogue lists that deluge you with useless paper each day. The average household recieves more than 800 pieces of junk mail a year. The Do Not Mail Registry is one of several organizations that will stop the flow of paper junk.
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5 Ways to Green Your Fall Clothes Shopping
Tweet Share on Facebook September 3, 2009 Comment (5)Project Runway is back, Fashion Week is coming up, the weather is getting cooler, a documentary about the September issue of Vogue is in theaters, and there is an abundance of back-to school sales. All of these factors are conspiring against you to spend money, and lots of it, on clothing before the leaves even begin to turn. But the annual fall shopping spree is beginning to look as dated as an Ed Hardy t-shirt. Even the September Issue, filmed in more lucrative times, looks gauche to many critics (this year's September issue was 300 pages smaller than the 2007 issue featured in the film). Here's how to update your look, save money, and be mindful of the environment.
0. Despite being the greenest way to outfit yourself this fall, this is non-shopping advice: Consider not buying anything at all. For inspiration, look to Michelle Conlin, wife of Colin Beavan, a.k.a No Impact Man, in the upcoming movie of that name. If Prada and Marc Jacobs-wearing, commerce-obsessed Conlin can do it for a year, you can make it through one season. Here's how to get through it with a fresh look: Spend some time digging through your closet to pull out little-worn items that have gotten lost in the clutter, and vow to wear them more often. Play an adult game of dress-up with your own clothing, putting together combinations that you hadn't yet considered, to make an all-new outfit out of old stuff. Or, you could get a book from the library about how to transform old clothing into unique, new stuff, often without sewing.
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What Would You Do For a Low-Carbon Klondike Bar?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 25, 2009 Comment (1)The ice cream of the future won't be cryogenically-frozen beads (sorry, Dippin' Dots) or freeze-dried and chalky (thanks, but no thanks, for the astronaut ice cream). Rather, it will be melted—or never frozen at all.
Unilever—proprietor of such brands as Ben & Jerry's, Good Humor, Popsicle, and Klondike—recently announced that they are developing a low-carbon ice cream. Because the process of freezing and storing ice cream is very energy intensive, this means that the best way to make the sweet treat eco-friendly is to make and transport it at room temperature. Consumers would then freeze the "ambient" ice cream, as the company calls it, at home. But now everyone is wondering—will it be as delicious as the Cherry Garcia we all know and love? -
Philippe Cousteau, Jr.: 5 Green Things My Grandfather Would Have Wanted You to Do
Tweet Share on Facebook August 20, 2009 Comment (16)The grandson of famous explorer Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the heir to his deep-sea-diving family's throne, Philippe Cousteau, Jr. would like you to think before you shop—but not just about the oceans that three generations of his family have lovingly worked to protect. Think instead, he said, about yourself. "Bono said, 'Shopping is politics.' I wish I had come up with that," said Cousteau. "[Consumer issues are] one of the most important places we intersect with choices that make a difference—not just for the environment, but for our health, for our kids, and for our families."
Cousteau is upholding his family's legacy in research, conservation and exploration through his nonprofit foundation, EarthEcho International, and his work as a television host on Animal Planet and Planet Green. He and his sister are the hosts of Planet Green's month-long Blue August programming, which focuses on water conservation. But you don't have to have the last name Cousteau to protect our oceans. Philippe sat down with U.S. News to share five green things that his grandfather and father would have wanted everyday consumers to do to protect our oceans and planet.
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Bottled Water Demand Beginning to Empty Out
Tweet Share on Facebook August 13, 2009 Comment (8)Like an empty bottle in a recycling bin, demand for bottled water appears to have drained: Both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post are reporting that the country's largest seller of bottled water, Nestle, has reported a decline of almost 3 percent in its bottled water division (which includes Pellegrino, Poland Spring and Perrier and Deer Park) for the first half of the year. As usual, the recession is to blame.
But penny-pinching consumers who have discovered the money-saving benefits of reusable water bottles aren't the only source of the slowdown. Analysts also credit the decline to environmentalists' campaigns, such as Take Back the Tap and TapIt, to encourage consumers to avoid bottled water. Their encouragement has also led cities from Takoma Park, Md. to San Francisco to cut bottled water out of their budgets, to the tune of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just this week, the Guardian called out the BBC for spending more than $600,000 per year on bottled water.
If mainstream bottled water companies are struggling, that doesn't bode well for niche bottlers, who market pricier bottled waters as though they were rare vintages of wine (remember the water sommelier micro-trend? No?). Same goes for the opposite of the water sommelier, Tap'd NY, which bottles local New York City water straight from the tap.
Have you cut back on buying bottled water this year?
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Climate Inaction: It's All In Our Heads
Tweet Share on Facebook August 10, 2009 Comment (2)The biggest deterrent to going green is, for most people, a simple matter of habit: We're used to doing things a certain way, and it's hard to break the pattern. That fact is among the findings of an American Psychological Association study of the reasons Americans are resistant to changing their behavior to become more environmentally-friendly, despite recognizing that climate change is a serious issue. The APA's study examined the psychological impacts and barriers of climate change, and found that several factors were to blame. Among them:
- Uncertainty – Research has shown that uncertainty over climate change reduces the frequency of "green" behavior.
- Mistrust – Evidence shows that most people don't believe the risk messages of scientists or government officials.
- Denial – A substantial minority of people believe climate change is not occurring or that human activity has little or nothing to do with it, according to various polls.
- Undervaluing Risks – A study of more than 3,000 people in 18 countries showed that many people believe environmental conditions will worsen in 25 years. While this may be true, this thinking could lead people to believe that changes can be made later.
- Lack of Control – People believe their actions would be too small to make a difference and choose to do nothing.
- Habit – Ingrained behaviors are extremely resistant to permanent change while others change slowly. Habit is the most important obstacle to pro-environment behavior, according to the report.
In other words, even though 75 percent to 80 percent of respondents in a Pew poll said that climate change is an important issue, indecision and shortsightedness are among the reasons that respondents ranked it last in a list of 20 important issues. But habit is deceptive—it seems to be the easiest to change, but may be the hardest. That's why there are campaigns designed to help people remember their reusable bottles in lieu of buying bottled water, as well as the entrepreneurs behind Bagnesia, a system of reminders to bring reusable bags to the store.
One classic way to break a bad habit is to provide an incentive. Saving money is one major motivation, and the design of various smart meters, which tell people how much they're spending on utilities as they go, has been successful in encouraging people to turn down the thermostat. Competition is also a powerful incentive, and other utility companies have pitted neighbors against one another in energy efficiency, with positive results. How would you break a bad environmental habit? -
Will Cash for Clunkers Exceed Environmental Expectations?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 4, 2009 Comment (4)The program was once derided as "Handouts for Hummers" by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Susan Collins, who argued for stricter fuel-efficiency standards for the trade-ins. But Cash for Clunkers, the nickname for the Car Allowance Rebate System, has proved to be extremely popular, necessitating a $2 billion boost from Congress. And while some Democrats may have objected to the less stringent environmental rules, their fears may be assuaged. Says the New York Times:
The Transportation Department reported that of 120,000 rebate applications processed so far, the average gas mileage of cars being bought was 28.3 miles per gallon, for SUV’s 21.9 miles per gallon, and for trucks, 16.3 miles per gallon, all significantly higher than required to get a rebate.
“The statistics are much better than anybody dreamt they would be,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who, with Senator Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine, was the author of an early version of a “cash for clunkers” bill that would have required bigger improvements. The actual mileage gain seen so far, she said was not due to the details of the law but “the good judgment of the American people.”
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10 Unexpected Uses for Common Items
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2009 Comment (8)Here's a brand-new website that combines good financial and environmental sense: AltUse, a social-media-inspired repository of home remedies and household tips that are all-natural, and can also save you money. Many home uses are handed down from previous generations, before we could buy products to solve all of our household needs. Back then, if we had puffy eyes, people wouldn't head for the beauty counter - they'd put tea bags or cucumbers on them. Dirty kitchen surfaces weren't cleaned with a multitude of chemicals - they were scrubbed down with vinegar and some elbow grease. Users can turn to the site for natural alternatives to traditional cleaning and household care solutions, many of which will save them money, or for quick help when they're in a bind with a certain type of stain. The site isn't just useful for housekeeping, though - you can learn lifehacks for pet care, beauty and fitness, as well.
Since the site is brand-new, the design is a little clunky, but the idea is solid: Allow anyone to submit their home remedies, and rate others'. That way, only the most effective alt-uses will get a mark of approval from the site.
Check out 10 unexpected uses for common household items submitted by users, below. Think you have a better one? Sign up for the site and rate the solutions, or add your own. -
The Myth of the Green Cigarette
Tweet Share on Facebook July 28, 2009 Comment (17)Cigarettes are the most-polluted item in the world, so needless to say, smoking is not very green. Considering that only 10 percent of cigarettes are disposed of properly, any effort to reduce the amount of waste caused by smokers is a good thing, right? That's the thinking behind makers of several brands of e-cigarettes - a trendy new smoking alternative that dispenses nicotine through vapor, rather than smoke, in a reusable, odorless cigarette-like device. E-cigarette users can "smoke" indoors without affecting others. They never need a lighter, and prevent hundreds of butts from being stubbed out on the pavement, since the device uses rechargeable batteries and refillable cartridges.
Totally green smoking is too good to be true. Turns out, the electronic smokes - which are marketed on several websites as healthier than real cigarettes - can be as harmful as traditional kind. According to an FDA press release:Because these products have not been submitted to the FDA for evaluation or approval, at this time the agency has no way of knowing, except for the limited testing it has performed, the levels of nicotine or the amounts or kinds of other chemicals that the various brands of these products deliver to the user.
The FDA’s Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis analyzed the ingredients in a small sample of cartridges from two leading brands of electronic cigarettes. In one sample, the FDA’s analyses detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans, and in several other samples, the FDA analyses detected carcinogens, including nitrosamines. These tests indicate that these products contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could potentially be exposed.
