Introducing... Sustainable Life

There was such a positive reaction to the 'little things you can do' post I did for blog action day that it has motivated Michelle to finally launch her long planned and talked about "sustainable life" blog. And she's been busy. Check it out:

http://michellemckay.typepad.com/sustainablelife/

Stay going.

Blog Action Day: walking the talk

So, apparently, it's Blog Action Day. My sister, author of the infamous Flametree blog - which incidentally I just visited to get the link... and then I read her Blog Action Day post... and I really urge you to do the same.

Mine will not be as powerful, but it will be intimately related... So Blog Action Day calls on all bloggers to write a post about the environment. Writing a sustainability blog, I obviously do this quite a bit, though not specifically about the environment - more about the interplay of social and environmental systems. But I think that's what they mean. And this interplay is present every moment of everyday and every decision we make affects it.

On that note, I thought I'd go for a personal post about how we try to "walk the talk" with our every day choices, with a bit of a photo-log:

Here’s our back porch with the worm bin in the foreground - all of our kitchen scraps go in there and a crew of red wrigglers break 'em down in no time. It doesn't stink, unless it gets out of balance, which usually means there's too much moisture or "green" material. I throw in some saw dust, dried leaves, or shredded newspaper to get it back in harmony and we're good to go. In the background, a good ole fashioned clothes lines takes a big chunk out of our electricity budget, and some late-season leftovers of the veggies we grew on the porch - a cheap and fun way to get the good local organic grub.

Bringing it inside, we’ve got the living room with some good daylight. So many of the actions we take to reduce our impact are just incredibly simple behavior changes that don’t represent any kind of sacrifice in comfort or lifestyle – they’re mostly just becoming aware of and consciously working on changing old habits. It’s harder than it sounds – but just not flipping the light on when walking into the bathroom during the day can make a big difference (when added up with everything else!).

The bedding’s all organic cotton – it took quite a bit of research to find it all without breaking the bank, but it’s very cozy now that it’s all set up. I think we ended up getting it from Gaiam and Viva Terra.

The furniture we got lucky with – due to a concurrent move in my family, we basically inherited an apartment-full of beautiful old wooden furniture. But even without the helpful circumstances, furniture is a great thing to get used – you can go fancy antiques, or cheap second-hand shops, but it’s a great place to “reuse” to lighten the impact. Beyond that, for all of its big-boxiness, IKEA has a great sustainability program, working extensively for years with The Natural Step framework, which has driven a lot of their product innovation, including the development of low-mercury compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Speaking of… we’ve got CFLs in all of our fixtures. These things are a no brainer – they last forever, and use a forth of the energy – they’ve also come way down in price, and when you’re talking about something as cheap as light bulbs, the “upfront capital costs” really shouldn’t be a serious deterrent - spending a couple of bucks instead of a couple of quarters is well worth it. You may also be wondering why we’ve got two right next to each other – the fixture actually has spots for 4 bulbs, but we just use 2 – it’s pretty common, and usually you get plenty of light without filling all the spots – you don’t have to do it just because they’re there!

Other furniture options – build your own. For these I cut 2 boards in half with some funky curves, the off-cuts serve as the braces. The towels – have hand-me-downs, half fluffy new organic cotton.

Some more veggies on the inside – everyone loves house plants, why not go for the kind that produce food. We heat these spaces anyway, may as well experiment with cold climate indoor agriculture. At the very least, fresh herbs are easy and a total treat.

Speaking of space-heating, the first and most obvious is keeping an eye on the thermostat, and keeping it at 65-67 F when hanging out and down to 55-57 F at night.

Our building has oil heat, so go with Mass Biofuel – a blend of 10% soy-biodiesel, and 90% ultralow sulfur diesel. While the 10% isn’t a whole lot, it is something, and more importantly sends the signal to the market that there’s demand for the stuff and supports the development of the market.

On the topic of biodiesel we put it in our whip as well – we’ve got a Volkswagen Jetta TDI (turbo diesel injection). TDIs get 45-50 mpg, but aren’t sold in most states. We haven’t really figured out why this is. We had to get ours used from Ohio. But we’re very happy with her now that she’s a Sox fan.

The biodiesel scene for the wheels is much the same as it is for the heat – we usually get B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% regular diesel) especially in cold weather.

Some places only have B5, but quite a few have B100, which is great. www.biodiesel.org has a great map of filling stations that have biodiesel pumps. The one pictured here is in Chelsea, just a few blocks off 93.

Back to the homestead… we are not immune to the gadgetry inundation – all of these little electronics are a huge source of growth in electricity demand. Beyond rethinking what it is we really need, we plug everything into power strips, and try to (again, another habit) turn the switch off whenever we don’t need the juice flowing through it. All of those chargers and ‘standby’ lights eat up billions of dollars of electricity a year in the US – again, it doesn’t seem like much but with everything else it is huge. We’ve avoided altogether a couple of the biggest energy-hog gadgets: AC units and flatscreen TVs (bummer, I know).

We do have a regular TV but are diligent about interpreting everything that it throws at us, and we do mix it up with the books – obviously good on its own, but what’s in the library that speaks to the sustainability attributes – a partial list can be found in the column to the right down under “reading list.”

To keep it all clean we go with the natural, biodegradable, organic products as much as possible. This is getting easier and easier with all of the good stuff coming on the market. It works just as well or better, it’s cost competitive, and it’s just another no-brainer.

Also in the no-brainer category for us is local, organic food. Again, the market is growing, and it’s easier and easier to get. With all of the horrendous impacts of industrial agriculture it’s also one of the more important things we can do. As for the question: which is more important, organic or local? I don’t think it’s a great way to look at the issue – for many things it should be both, and when it’s not available in ‘both’, ask for it. We also keep the seasons in mind and try to eat appropriately, and just changing our expectations slightly to realize we don’t need to be gorging on strawberries in February.

And of course, all the while remembering why we’re doing it all – to live happy healthy lives – a huge part of which for most humans is getting outside and enjoying a little nature. This one’s from a walk this afternoon in the arboretum in our neighborhood. Of course most of us in the US could live happy lives without worrying about the impacts of every little action, but the trick is not to do it at the expense of others, or future generations. Our emissions, land-use patterns, and production and consumption practices impact everyone – even those pastoral families in Kenya my sister wrote about. Hopefully some of these actions inspire you to evaluate your everyday activities or gives you some cool ideas if you’re already all over it. Another great resource to take it a step further and start spreading the action around, check out the Cool Communities Campaign and the Low Carbon Diet book – an innovative, old-fashioned neighborly approach to social change. So kudos to the Blog Action Day people, and stay going…

Kyoto2

A quick interesting report from PointCarbon:

KYOTO COUNTRIES DISCUSS GHG REDUCTIONS OF 25-40 PER CENT BY 2020
Countries that have ratified the Kyoto protocol are this evening in Vienna
discussing setting "indicative" targets for rich countries to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25-40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020


This is out of a preliminary meeting ahead of the next COP (conference of the parties) which is in November. Kyoto is sometimes criticized for not being stringent or meaningful enough, missing the bigger picture that it is merely a first step to set up the system, get on the same page, and get going with a target of ~5% below 1990 emissions by 2012. Now they're finally talking about the next steps, and cranking down the cap. This range seems about right to keep us on track for 80% reductions by 2050. Just having some sense of the numbers after 2012 should give governments and companies a better sense of what's in store, and help make better investment decisions. Once the constraints are set, and uncertainty reduced, the full power of our creativity can be deployed, and we'll be able to achieve much faster and more economic GHG emission reductions - a situation that will be amplified when the US joins and adds its weight, which will in turn prompt China and India to do the same...

Here's to staying positive. On that note, the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment is up to 356 signatories, and gearing up for the new school year. Fall is starting to creep into the air in New England, the Sox are still in 1st (despite the travesty that was their series this week against the Yanks - ouch), and it's Labor Day weekend... stay going.

Presidential greenery

I think it's pretty absurd how early the presidential campaign stuff has gotten underway, and because sustainability is apolitical, I don't get into it much here, but Grist has a good series of interviews with candidates getting right into the green issues. They're starting off with the Dems but will be moving on to the Republicans soon.

I got a huge kick out of Mike Gravel's interview - he doesn't pull any punches - and his no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach is refreshing.





Stay informed, stay going...

RMI’s 25th, and Amory Lovins’ Clarity

Natural Capitalism was a highly influential book for me. Throughout high-school I struggled on my own to makes sense of the complexity surrounding our market economy, and why it was failing us. As I discovered solutions-based, proactive means for addressing the social and ecological unsustainability we face, like organic agriculture and green building – better ways of doing things that made economic sense when done properly – I knew there had to be a way to scale them up. When I got my permaculture certification, and engaged in systems thinking in an intentional way for the first time, I was closer to being able to articulate how this could be done – the solutions were there and were so elegant with smart design of the systems we use to meet our needs. I felt like I was on the cusp of figuring something out, when I read Natural Capitalism and discovered that it had already been done – and far from a theoretical fantasy, the whole book is case studies of effective, profitable, solutions-based activities that result from taking a whole-system approach to design (of buildings, cities, water systems, products, etc…)

I reminisce because this year is the 25^th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Grist just ran a great article with Amory Lovins. I highly encourage you to read the whole thing:

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/07/26/lovins/index.html?source=weekly

Some highlights:

On the economics of nuclear vs. micropower:

We see this now in the electricity business. A sixth of the world's electricity and a third of the world's new electricity comes from micropower* -- that is, combined heat and power (also called cogeneration) and distributed renewables. Micropower provides anywhere from a sixth to over half of all electricity in most of the industrial countries. This is not a minor activity anymore; it's well over $100 billion a year in assets. And it's essentially all private risk capital.

So in 2005, micropower added 11 times as much capacity and four times as much output as nuclear worldwide, and not a single new nuclear project on the planet is funded by private risk capital. What does this tell you? I think it tells you that nuclear, and indeed other central power stations, have associated costs and financial risks that make them unattractive to private investors. Even when our government approved new subsidies on top of the old ones in August 2005 -- roughly equal to the entire capital costs of the next-gen nuclear plants -- Standard & Poor's reaction in two reports was that it wouldn't materially improve the builders' credit ratings, because the risks private capital markets are concerned about are still there.

On the competiveness of liquid coal:

I think a good way to smoke out corporate socialists in free-marketeers' clothing is to ask whether they agree that all ways to save or produce energy should be allowed to compete fairly at honest prices, regardless of which kind they are, what technology they use, where they are, how big they are, or who owns them. I can tell you who won't be in favor of it: the incumbent monopolists, monopsonists, and oligarchs who don't like competition and new market entrants. But whether they like it or not, competition happens. It's particularly keen on the demand side.

On the relative (in)effectiveness of government:

People will vote with their wallets as well as their ballots, in a way that will affect the political system and even more the private sector, which is quite good at selling what you want and not selling what you don't buy. The interplay between business and civil society is even more important than between business and government, and that is where I want to continue to focus most of my effort. I admire those who try to reform public policy, but I don't spend much time doing that myself. In a tripolar world of business, civil society, and government, why would you want to focus on the least effective of that triad?

On the absurdity of the level of the biofuels “debate”:

You're treating biofuels as generic and I don't think that's appropriate. There are much smarter and much dumber approaches to biofuels, and biofuels do not need to have the problems you refer to.

Stay going…

GoodSearch for StratLeade

A request: if you’ve gotten any value out of this blog, and/or want to support education for strategic sustainable development, please start using GoodSearch for your internet searches and designate Stratleade as the charity you support – about 1 cent will go to Stratleade every time you search using www.goodsearch.com.

Go to www.goodsearch.com and enter “Stratleade” in the second field where it says “Who do you GoodSearch for?” in the field should appear: “Stratleade Sustainability Education (Jamaica Plain, MA)” – and then use this whenever you search the internet. It uses the same technology as Yahoo and gives great results (if you can’t get off Google, at least use this for basic stuff!). Also download the toolbar (it takes 2 seconds) if you use that feature on your browser.

For those of you who haven’t heard, or forget, Stratleade is a not-for-profit that raises money to support programs and activities that deliver education for Strategic Sustainable Development. It is a close partner of the MSLS program at BTH and plans to provide funds to support staff, scholarships, visiting lectures, internships and program activities. See www.stratleade.org for more.

This could raise a lot of money for the program, so please take the second to set Stratleade as your cause, use it whenever you search and spread the word!! Put it on your blogs, encourage family & friends to use it – it’s a great way to help the program without having to reach into your own pockets (although it would be great if you did that too! paypal donations accepted at www.stratleade.org).

Skål, tack så mycket, and stay going.

Manufactured Landscapes

We went to see Manufactured Landscapes this afternoon - a powerful documentary about Edward Burtynksy's photography of industrial landscapes. His work in this area started off with photos of mines, landfills in the like in North America, but most of the work lately has been in China. It is a great illustration of what we all know, but often forget, and can rarely truly grasp: the scale of China's growth, which is being driven in large part by our consumerism.















The film does a great job of communicating one of the key characteristics of they system "global society within the biosphere": interdependence. The film does a nice job of showing this in a such a way that it is not obtuse.

It's often hard to think about China's development, following in our footsteps, and not get depressed. The issue is complex, as clearly this development is also benefiting hundreds of millions of people in certain ways. It is not easy to say "don't develop like we did" - especially when all of the corporations are licking their chops waiting for the Chinese market to mature to the point where they can consume like us. To help understand it all, I find the Threshold Hypothesis to be very useful. The jist of it is as follows:

“For every society there seems to be a period in which economic growth–conventionally understood and measured-brings about an improvement in the quality of life, but only up to a point-the threshold point-beyond which, if there is more economic growth, quality of life may begin to deteriorate.” (Max-Neef, Ecological Economics, 1995).

Clearly, China's going through that first period (though on an unprecedented scale) - and it's quite clear that we are in the second stage, although we are slow in realizing that and adapting accordingly. Still, more and more people are waking up to this reality, stepping back and asking themselves why a few times, with regard to our careers, plans, dreams, life in general. To paraphrase Janine Benyus, more and more we're creating eddies along side the massive river of unsustainable growth, reflecting and looking for ways to create a steady-state, circular, sustainable global economy.

An incredible recent example of this is the Tallberg Forum going on in Sweden right now - that link will bring you to great videos of each day's events - very inspiring. On the China front, an Chinese interviewee from day 2 gives some great hope with a simple statement picking up on JFK vibe: it's time to stop asking what the world can do for China and start asking what China can do for the world. Great question for all of us, especially here in the US, as we come into my favorite holiday of the year, meant to celebrate the principles upon which this great country was based, and from which we unfortunately often drift too far. Stay going.

The film's website: http://www.mercuryfilms.ca/ML_intro.html

Edward Burtynsky's photography: http://www.edwardburtynsky.com