Gorrillas…Polar Bears…and Garbage! OH MY!

When I walked through my door after a frustrating day, all I wanted was water. I wanted to strip my clothes and jump into some water. Swimming in the pool always brings in new thoughts, and swimming in the ocean, always brings in pure joy. So when I just stumbled upon this bummer of a picture of the waste that is in Hawaii’s waters…it struck home in a particuar way. It made me think of that huge spinning vortex in the middle of the ocean filled to the brim. Summer Raine Oaks explains it: “Head out to the center of the Pacific halfway between Hawaii and California, and you’ll see the thin, filmy island of floating trash that is estimated to be double the size of Texas. You don’t need to go that far, though, if you want to see trash, as the captain pointed out. It’s everywhere. Multiple paths of Ziploc baggies, bottle caps, balloons, pretzel bags, and other debris lead you to the swirling trash vortex like a trail of bread crumbs. In the most polluted areas, the plastic-to-plankton ratio is 48 to 1. It’s become part of the oceanic landscape. Net a piece of plastic, and you’ll find barnacles and small crabs clinging to it. Not a good thing for fish, birds, and mammals that mistake it for its natural food, such as eggs, jellyfish, or other sea creatures. Most of the plastic will eventually photo-degrade into small, dust-like particles to the point that it will be non-detectable to the human eye, but ingestible by sea mammals, birds, and fish—many of which we then consume ourselves.”

But here’s the great news. There are people out there addressing this issue in many ways. Good ‘ol Gavin Newsom (with a little from his friends) even created a ban against plastic bags in the city of San Francisco. But I also get inspired by people who address for me, an extremely frightening topic, in a fun way that makes it easier for me to get into helping solving the problem.

(Side Note: For ex: I see pictures of Polar Bears, and I can’t help it, I freak out. (I’m being dramatic). But I do. I turn away, close the page, and grab a chocolate bar. The loss of polar bears is something that could keep me up late at night if I thought about it too much. But I don’t. because it FREAKS ME OUT thinking about these amazing animals drowning in an ocean that was once their home.)

The idea of a swirling and whirling ocean typhoon of plastic bags could do the same thing to me, but Jay Golden and team reclaimed the story, and used it to inspire, motivate, and activate by making Gorilla in the Greenhouse: This short animated video is made for kids, but fun for all. It accompanies a website that is fun, informative, and is packed full of actions that the young and the young at heart can do to take care of our oceans. Go team!

Healthy Fast Food

Amanda’s is truly inspired healthy, cheap, and FAST food. (Have I mentioned how much I love living in Berkeley?) But it’s not just fast food, it’s conscience. When you step through the door way you know you aren’t in the Kansas of food consumption anymore. I will confess it felt a little weird eating a burger and fries knowing that everything in my meal was…healthy…and..good for me. In order to discard anything off of your tray, you have to decide if it’s compost or waste (and there are signs that will instruct you). Additional signs explain that they do not serve plastic…anywhere.

But it doesn’t stop there, Amanda understands the power of community, and hosts “Explore Berkeley” events, hikes, and even birthday’s with staff and customers.

“This is a dream made possible with the support of hundreds of community members including inspiring restaurateurs & entrepreneurs, professors, interns, and Berkeley students, residents, artists, entrepreneurs, academics, and civic leaders.

I understand the challenge in slowing our fast-paced lives to focus on eating well. Our quick meals and snacks are delicious, convenient, affordable, familiar, wholesome—and low-calorie. Amanda’s fresh, natural-meat burgers, our own real vegetable burger; fresh salads, baked fries, freshly made sodas, and other treats are made from the healthiest-possible ingredients.”

One word: yum.

12 Year Old Solar Genius

Blessed be the middle school science project!  I found the following post on Tree Hugger

William invented a novel solar panel that enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet light. in his project “A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light,”He designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to simulate and optimize the tower parameters. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than the cutting-edge, three dimensional solar cell.

Yuan is currently looking for a manufacturer for his new solar cell.

You can see an interview with William on a KATU TV news report and hear all about how Legos inspired him.

My Story of Stuff

I can’t stop obsessing about how we, more specifically I, consume. It started a few years back when I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the garbage that is thoughtlessly placed in landfills. But there are short films like The Story of Stuff and even reality shows on sustainable messages on consumption, so thankfully I skip that topic.

At this point I am more fascinated by the intersection about what we know and understand about consumption, vs. how we actually consume.

Two of my favorite examples:

1. There is a shortage in gasoline. I know that when I drive, I pollute the air and water systems. My county fight to own these ever increasing disappearing natural resource, causing wars and killing men who might have become my future husband. I still have a car and drive (mind you, I car pool most of the time).
2. Sugar. It’s bad. Evil. Horrible. I’m going to dedicate a full posting on the various ways sugar is bad, that’s how bad it is. I know it’s bad. I still eat it.

I’m a smart girl capable of making intelligent decisions. So for this very reason it seemed worthy to stop and pause and just write it out. I am more obsessed with consumption than ever before (this is also known as, “I moved to California”).

For many, many, many, years things didn’t matter to me. Clothes, cars, houses, all of it. I am sure I received some of this sentimentality from my family, half of which has never put much value or weight on “things”, some of it came from a high school teacher, who introduced me to the environmental movement, part of it came from my college, where there was a culture of cool around being grungy and understated. A lot of it came from spending seven years as a wilderness guide, where the emphasis on material things was placed on the quality of my gear and the functionality of my clothes. And somewhere in the mix of influences I came to think that less is…not just more, but better. Righteously better.

And believe me, it is better to have less stuff when you’re driving around the country with everything you own in your car. But then things changed, I went to graduate school, where my outdoor girl look didn’t get me any dates (I swear, it used to), and then I entered the workforce, but really, I still never cared about stuff. It was all for function, not for fun. A car was supposed to be practical, clothes were supposed to make me not look bad, and as for the things in my house, you needed a bed to sleep in, a table to eat on, shelves to put books on, and so the cheapest thing at the local thrift store always served well.

But then something happened. As I mentioned, I moved to California. People dress here. I finally got honest that people really and truly do judge you based on what you are wearing (I know, I’m late to the party). And for the first time, I wanted stuff. I wanted clothes, and..for the first time in my life, I wanted furniture, and come to think of it, maybe a new car. A sporty red car.

I realize that many people would attribute this shift something most people refer to as, “growing up”, or becoming “materialistic”, but for me, it was part of a spiritual awakening.

It started out with pure guilt. I would purchase an expensive new piece of clothing, and would immediately feel horrible. (I am sure there are myriad of psychological explanations for this but I’m sticking to the purpose of my story.) I thought of the badge of pride that I wore for years, that I always, intentionally, purchased all of my clothes from second hand stores. I felt like I was selling out, that my activist friends would shun me, and that I could feel the toil and sweat of disempowered men and women everywhere in the threads of my clothes. And it didn’t feel good. But it sure did look good.

I had a conversation with a beloved friend about my new turmoil, this desire to look and be fashionable, but having these old standing beliefs about less being more, and the vanity and materialism our country shoves down our throats.

My friend turned to me and asked, “Do we ask a flower to apologize for being beautiful? No. We depend on it. You are a woman. Be unapologetically beautiful.”

And for the first time, the essence of lack that had led my thinking and behavior as an “environmentalist” right down to the way that I dressed became painfully clear, and I saw what was wrong with the entire movement. Here we are preaching to people that they need to help make a better world. Buy less, have less, be less material, look less. Their role models were these dap and dull looking people that couldn;t compete with the greater more sucesful message of our society. Last I checked, people want to be movie stars ‘cause they’re hot. And then this too was a critical shifting point, I wanted to live in a beautiful, peaceful, healthy world, so it was time to be beautiful, peaceful and healthy (Jesus, I really am drinking the California cool aid).

So blah blah blah. This is just my little story as a way to introduce myself. The movement has made leaps and bounds, and there’s the Green Festival leading the charge on the sustainability market place, enough eco-chic blogs to shake a stick at, and a new green sustainable restaurant popping up on every street corner (ok, I do live in Berkeley), but sustainability practices are integrating into small towns and big cities all over the country (and already have been all over the world).

But for me, I turned around when I realized that I could fall in love with the things I purchase with the same love that I loved the planet. That when I cherrish the things I surround myself with, the places they come from, the people who made them, when I purchase a few fabulous things that bring joy to my life, that I am in turn, cherrishing the very earth they came from.

They say in order to make a lot of money, you need to really and truly love money. For me, this was almost a new way of refalling in love with the earth. My home used to be canyons, deserts, and beaches. But now, those elements are coming into my home through the things I decorate with.

I recently looked around my house and realized that I hadn’t actually selected one piece of furniture. I acquired the bulk when a friend moved to New Zealand, more when my brother left town, and then more that was already in the house when I moved in. So I’m redesigning my house. Just today, I gave away my couch, and sold the book case and the dresser I hated. I got rid of everything I didn’t like even though I haven’t found their replacements. I walk about listening to the echoes in the room wondering if I am just returning to an old place of lack. But instead, there is a new space to bring forth what I most want, and it is all around me.

Urban Air Trees

Here we are again…in the future. Complete with Urban Air Trees, and Urban Eco-System Architects. A truly amazing example when art and science combine. I just came across this short video on Current.com. Blew my mind.

Stephanie invented a new way to go…

A despised daily habit of consumption is at the coffee stand. I can’t tell you had frustrated I feel by the idea of reaching for a piece of wood that a tree was cut down for, that will be used to mix the sugar into my coffee, only to be discarded within moments. I usually ask others to let me use theirs when they are done. But If I was carrying around To-Go wares utensils, things might feel differently….

Stephanie Bernstein is just a bad ass (but she wouldn’t tell you that herself). She visioned and founded To-Go Ware while still in college. Not only does it address a need, but it also supports indigineous workers, provides women economic freedom in developing countries, and saves the landfill countless pounds of trash. I have been carrying around her traveling silverware set for awhile now (well, truth be told I think they have been mixed in with my silverware, time to put them back in my bag), and can’t wait to get one of the to-go containers.

Here’s the mission of To-Go ware in her own words:

The story of To-Go Ware began back in 1997 over a dish of ice cream in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“To-Go Ware’s founder, Stephanie Bernstein, was then a college student at the University of Michigan, watching as “to-go” culture began to emerge and find its way into the practices of local businesses. After enjoying some ice-cream “for-here” with her sister, she found it disturbing that even though she had not left the establishment, she had still been served in “to-go” plastic, and was expected to throw away her dish and spoon. Inspired by the college students who diligently carried their reusable coffee mugs around with them, she believed you could encourage people to expand this practice and use more durable, reusable methods for food as well as beverage, allowing for on-the-go convenience while remaining responsible citizens of planet Earth.

Stephanie began envisioning ways to promote these products and tools, trying to determine what designs would provide the utmost functionality and ease. She spent years in the Natural Products industry, food service and wellness fields and all informed the development of To-Go Ware. Now, years later, watching these products and concepts come to fruition has never seemed more urgent, as we are all needing tools to become Solutionaries as our world faces many challenges ecologically.

The Challenge

Today, at 12:07 am on September 19th, that I am officially declaring that I am using this blog to track everything I consume. You can read more about why I am doing this on the about page. I most obsessed with how you feel when you consume. I was heavily influenced by my a few things while growing up: a high school teacher who taught me about the environmental movement and took me camping (in her back yard mind you) for the first time, a family that had no interest in material things, another family that did, years of travelling with everything I needed in the world in the backpack on my back, and now most recently, living in California.

I look forward to talking about how each of these critical moments influenced the way I think about consumption. The tricky thing is, I am in the midst of doing a little make over. Lets scratch that, and overhaul, to both what’s in my house, and what’s in my closet.

In this challenge: I will not purchase anything new unless it was hand made, and/or made in a way that supports my values.

So me and craigslist are like this (see my fingers crossed).

Trash Man

Ari Derfel wanted to raise awareness that there is no such place as, “away”. His answer was to save his garbage fr an entire year. Where did it go? To an artist of course! An excerpt from the SF Chronicle story can be found below.

When we throw something away, what does ‘away’ mean?” said Derfel. “There’s no such thing as ‘away.’ “

Rather, the trash bin is simply one stop in the life cycle of each item, Derfel says. Each thing we throw away has been produced somewhere, shipped to a store, entered the home, and then is sent somewhere else – using up water, oil and land.

Though recycling and composting are on the rise nationwide, our growing economy and population base mean the United States is still generating hundreds of millions of tons of waste each year – the majority of which ends up in landfills. And those items we do recycle are often sent across the globe before ending back on store shelves here, according to experts.

The waste cycle is only gaining more traction as consumers, scientists and policymakers battle to curb waste, lessen dependence on fossil fuels and put the brakes on climate change.

“This is just a small piece. There’s a whole history, a lineage of trash that you don’t see,” Derfel says. “When you eliminate trash, it links all the way back to manufacturing, transportation costs, energy.”