sustainability (general)

Kicking the Carbon Habit: How to Reduce Your Dependence on Oil and Other Fossil Fuels

In these times of unnatural disasters—such as BP’s oil-hemorrhaging drill “spill,” as well as extreme weather events caused by increasing climate volatility—more people are seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint: i.e., their consumption of fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, and natural gas). We are all essentially junkies—or oiloholics—who don’t know how to live without these substances.

Power plants (especially those that burn coal), transportation (particularly emissions from cars, trucks, and jets), and energy use for homes and buildings (e.g., for heating and cooling) are the primary sources of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane. [For detailed information on the percentage of emissions from different sectors, see the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Energy Consumption Data and Architecture 2030’s data analysis.]

Until government and industry help shift our infrastructure and economy away from dinosaur fuels and into clean, renewable energy sources, we’ll never be able to get really “clean”—so we should all be pushing for government to end the huge subsidies and tax breaks for dirty energy industries and to support cleaner energy sources (e.g., local solar, wind, tidal power, biomass, and some types of biofuels—a topic for a future post). But we can also do a lot right now, in our everyday lives, to start weaning ourselves off the junk.

In addition to the most obvious steps that can be taken to reduce our direct use of fossil fuels and electricity generated by fossil fuels — such as driving as little as possible and conserving energy and water at home/work/school— there are lots of other ways that each of us can lessen our dependence on filthy fuels. You can do so in every area of your life, from choices you make for your home and household and yard and garden, to your vehicle/transportation, travel, food, and other consumer choices. For example, plastics and many household products (such as common cleaning products and personal care products) contain petrochemicals, most of which are toxic to humans and other animals, so it’s best to choose alternatives to such products (e.g., glass instead of plastic bottles/containers, and natural rather than synthetic chemical ingredients for household/personal products).

I’ve compiled this compendium of several other online resources that list other specific ways that we can start tackling our individual and collective carbon addiction, to gain a decent measure of independence from dirty energy sources:

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July 6, 2010
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The Green Spotlight on Facebook

Take a look at The Green Spotlight’s official Facebook Page for more frequent postings of brief news blurbs and recommended links. And if you have a Facebook account, please consider connecting to the page by clicking on the “Like” button at the top. Feel free to share links, recommendations, or comments with The Green Spotlight community.

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July 6, 2010
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The BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: How to Help

Just a quick post to provide links to information on the BP oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and some of the key organizations and agencies that are working to minimize the impacts of it and provide emergency rescue and recovery assistance. The oil slick is shaping up to be far worse than BP originally said it could be, and probably even worse than the Exxon Valdez spill. It’s going to be devastating for the ecosystems and animals, as well as fishermen and other people who live in the region. These are a few groups you might want to support, as well as articles linking to other efforts:

Gulf Restoration Network (Donate. Volunteer. )

Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, MS

If you’re on the Gulf Coast, and you see marine mammals (e.g., dolphins, manatees) or sea turtles that have been affected by the spill, please call this hotline: 1-888-767-3657.

To report oiled birds or other wildlife, call this hotline: 1-866-557-1401.

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana: Volunteer registration

“Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impact: Get Involved“ article (w/ more links) from Huffington Post, posted on GlobalGreen.org

“Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: The What, When and Where…and How You Can Help” article (w/ more links) on Planet Green (Discovery)

For additional info on the spill, see these sites:

    And for an overview of BP’s previous accidents and the company’s controversial environmental record, take a look at this Wikipedia page.

    As for longer-term solutions to prevent this type of disaster from recurring, the best things that each of us can do are: 1) to demand that all of our governmental representatives support energy conservation and clean/renewable energy legislation, and 2) to decrease our own consumption of oil, gasoline, fossil-fuel-generated electricity, and petroleum-based products, including plastic. (Reducing our demand for oil will help to reduce the need for drilling and exploration to boost the oil supply.) Look for more details on these topics in later posts.

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    May 3, 2010
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    2010 Goldman Prize Recipients Announced

    The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world’s largest award for grassroots environmentalists. This is the 21st year that the prize has been awarded. The winners are models of courage, and their stories are inspiring.

    This year’s prize recipients are: Lynn Henning of Michigan (USA); Randall Arauz of Costa Rica; Humberto Rios Labrada of Cuba; Malgorzata Gorska of Poland; Thuli Brilliance Makama of Swaziland; and Tuy Sereivathana of Cambodia. Click on the links to read about—or watch a brief video about—each of this year’s recipients.

    Last year’s recipient from the U.S. was Maria Gunnoe, who has fought to stop mountaintop-removal mining in West Virginia.

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    April 19, 2010
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    Words of the Wise: On Progress and Action

    Progress tends to take longer than we’d like. Change is almost always incremental: it happens through a series of steps (and sometimes it’s two-steps-forward, one-step-back), in part because many people are resistant to or fearful of change. However, small steps gradually lead to larger strides. Individual actions often have a ripple effect. And small changes made by growing numbers of people can add up to a big impact. We shouldn’t let ourselves get paralyzed into inaction or apathy because we feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of a problem or we think our actions won’t make a difference.

    Doing something constructive to address a problem is better than doing nothing. Wise thinkers throughout history—from Euripides to Lily Tomlin—have come to this conclusion, and they have articulated it in a variety of ways:

    [UPDATE: A few more quotations were added in July and September 2012.]

    “Slight not what’s near, when aiming at what’s far.” — Euripides

    “Nobody made a bigger mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke

    “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.” — Chinese proverb [click on link to see the quotation in graphic form]

    “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

    “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” — Voltaire

    “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” — Lao Tzu

    “Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.” — Jonathan Kozol

    “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” — Marian Wright Edelman

    “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” — Edward Everett Hale<strong

    “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James

    “The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” — Arnold Glasgow

    “The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change the world.” — James Baldwin

    “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

    “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” —Bette Reese

    “Big problems are rarely solved with commensurately big solutions. Instead, they are most often solved by a sequence of small solutions.” — Chip Heath and Dan Heath (This statement is excerpted from their book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.)

    “Discontent is the first necessity of progress.” — Thomas Edison

    “I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.” — Lily Tomlin

    For other words of wisdom, check out the Quotations page, and please feel free to add your own favorites in the Comments section.

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    March 12, 2010
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    New Books: Thriving Beyond Sustainability, and Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building

    I’d like to let everyone know about these important new books, which were written by a few of my esteemed colleagues. Please click on the links below for more information about each tome:

    Thriving Beyond Sustainability: Pathways to a Resilient Society, by Andres Edwards (New Society Publishers) — This book will be available in May (2010), but it can be pre-ordered now. Here’s an excerpt from the publisher’s description of the book: “Thriving Beyond Sustainability draws a collective map of individuals, organizations, and communities from around the world that are committed to building an alternative future—one that strives to restore ecological health; reinvent outmoded institutions; and rejuvenate our environmental, social, and economic systems. The projects and initiatives profiled are meeting the challenges of the day with optimism, hope, and results, leading the way in relocalization, green commerce, ecological design, environmental conservation, and social transformation.” Click here to read reviews of the book, the book’s Foreword (by Bill McKibben), Table of Contents, or an annotated bibliography.

    Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building, by Marian Keeler and Bill Burke (John Wiley & Sons, 2009)— This book serves as an in-depth textbook for design students and a comprehensive reference for practitioners. It presents the history, issues, principles, technologies, process, and practice of sustainable building design, as well as case studies of model projects. In addition, it promotes active learning by providing design problems, research exercises, study questions, and discussion topics.

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    February 25, 2010
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    Sustainable Neighborhoods and Communities: Certifications, developments, organizations, and websites

    Several certification programs have emerged to rate the sustainability of mixed-use, neighborhood and community-scale developments—addressing a wider range of issues than previous rating systems for individual buildings have addressed. These broader-scale certification programs include: LEED for Neighborhood Development, and the Living Building Challenge (Update: There is now also a Living Community Challenge program). The programs’ requirements can be used as planning and design guidelines for any project, even if official third-party certification is not the goal. There is also a non-certification framework called One Planet Communities.

    1. LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND): LEED ND was developed as a collaboration between the U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. LEED ND integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into neighborhood design. It aims to promote walkable, livable communities that reduce urban sprawl, decrease automobile dependence, provide housing close to jobs and services, and benefit environmental and public health. LEED ND credits are organized into the following categories: Smart Location and Linkage; Neighborhood Pattern and Design; Green Infrastructure and Buildings; Innovation and Design Process; and Regional issues.

    LEED ND can be applied to developments of all sizes, and it can be applied to new developments or redevelopment projects. The first official, post-pilot version of the rating system was released at the end of 2009. A project can be recognized at any or all of the following stages, depending on where it is in the development process:

    • Stage 1: Conditional approval of a LEED-ND plan, prior to entitlement. (This can help projects get support from the local government and community.)
    • Stage 2: Pre-certification of a LEED-ND plan for fully-entitled projects. (This can help projects secure financing, expedited permitting, or tenants.)
    • Stage 3: Certification of a project once construction has been completed.

    LEED ND pilot developments that have been constructed include: Solea Condominiums in Washington DC (Stage 3 Gold certified); Eliot Tower in Portland, OR (Stage 3 Silver certified); Excelsior and Grand in St. Louis Park, MN (Stage 3 Certified); Whistler Crossing in Riverdale (Chicago area), IL (Stage 3 Certified); and Celadon in Charlotte, NC (Stage 3 Certified). And a couple of notable LEED ND pilot projects that are well underway are: Dockside Green in Victoria, British Columbia (Stage 2 Platinum certified plan), and Tassafaronga Village in Oakland, CA (Stage 2 Gold certified plan).

    2. Living Building Challenge: Like One Planet Communities, this is an international program that has developed deep-green standards that go beyond LEED requirements. This certification system can be applied to projects of any scale: from an individual building to a neighborhood or community design project. (Update: A Living Community Challenge program has now been created, as well.)

    3. One Planet Communities: This is an international program that is part of the One Planet Living program developed by BioRegional, a UK-based environmental organization. The One Planet Living program is based on 10 principles in the following categories: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, local and sustainable materials, local and sustainable food, sustainable water, natural habitats and wildlife, culture and heritage, equity and fair trade, and health and happiness.  The first North American project to be endorsed by One Planet Communities is the 200-acre Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park, California. Sonoma Mountain Village is also registered as a LEED ND project. [Newer post, July ’15: One Planet Communities: Greener Villages and Developments]

    In addition to these programs, many organizations are working to advance the sustainability of neighborhoods and communities in a variety of ways. Two active organizations that are focused primarily on planning, design, and development include: Partnership for Sustainable Communities (for whom I recently did some research and writing) and Urban Re:Vision. A number of local, grassroots initiatives for community sustainability, resiliency, and energy independence—such as Transition initiatives—are also gaining steam around the country and the world. Update (added 4/21/10): For a searchable database of “ecovillages” around the U.S. and the world, see the Global Ecovillage Network website.

    Click here to download a more comprehensive listing of organizations and websites focused on sustainable communities (4-page, 80 KB PDF file – updated June 2010). The listing includes national, California-based, and San Francisco Bay Area resources.

    For other good info on sustainable communities, smart growth, and green neighborhood design and development, check out Kaid Benfield’s NRDC blog.

    In a later post, I’ll be covering larger-scale, municipal-level sustainable planning initiatives for entire cities and regions. Stay tuned.

    Related Post: LEED ND Developments in the U.S., Canada, and China [August 2010]

    NEW Post: One Planet Communities: Greener Villages and Developments [July 2015]

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    February 22, 2010
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    Recommended Film: The Cove

    If you haven’t seen it already, I’d recommend watching The Cove.  I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a good film. It has won dozens of film awards, and it was recently nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary. (You can get it on Netflix, iTunes, or On Demand cable, or buy the DVD.)

    The Cove is suspenseful and riveting—reminiscent of a spy flick like Ocean’s Eleven—but it’s a documentary about real events: the authorized but carefully concealed killing of more than 20,000 dolphins (each year) in Taiji, a small town in Japan. The film has a brief segment of disturbing footage, but it is not overdone; and there’s beautiful and humorous footage, as well, to balance out the drama and tension.  For more information about the dolphin slaughter, or to take action against this practice, go to TakePart.com/TheCove. (Note: Mass dolphin killings also happen in Denmark’s Faeroe Islands.)

    The film also tells the compelling story of the personal, moral transformation of Ric O’Barry, the man who captured and trained the dolphins who were featured in the 1960s TV show Flipper, the popularity of which spurred the more widespread capture of dolphins to be used for human amusement and entertainment. After recognizing the folly and tragedy of these practices, O’Barry has dedicated his life to saving dolphins and releasing them from captivity.  For information on the captivity of dolphins for marine parks and swimming-with-dolphins programs, check out this Humane Society webpage.  And click here to see a funny and relevant cartoon from The New Yorker.

    A third important issue—an environmental issue—comes up in the film, as well: the high levels of mercury that are found in dolphins and in some types of fish, such as tuna. Mercury exposure can cause severe neurological impairment (EPA mercury webpage).  For more information on mercury contamination in seafood, marine life, humans, and the environment at large, go to this NRDC webpage or GotMercury.org.

    Towards the end, the film briefly touches on the issue of overfishing, which turns out to be one of the primary causes of the dolphin slaughter tragedy that the film has exposed. According to O’Barry, the dolphin-killing fishermen say they consider dolphins “pests” that are eating all of “our” fish. The fishermen use this to justify the slaughter, when in fact it is humans’ fishing practices (such as industrial-scale trawling operations), our high levels of fish consumption, and water pollution—as well as the damming of rivers, in the case of certain species of salmon—that are responsible for the steep decline and imminent collapse of many fishery stocks. For information on which types of seafood to avoid buying (due to overfishing and/or contamination issues), see the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch site and download their Pocket Guide.

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    February 11, 2010
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    Green Business: Key trends, websites, books, companies, and organizations

    SEE NEWER POST (added February 2012): Sustainable Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Finance, and Sustainable Economies

     

    While the majority of businesses still have a long way to go to be environmentally sustainable, it’s clear that interest in greening the business world is on the rise. One of the many signs of this is the growing number of Sustainable MBA programs cropping up around the country (e.g., the Presidio Graduate School’s MBA in Sustainable Management, Dominican University’s Green MBA, and at least 20 others). Another indicator is the gradual greening of massive companies like Walmart, which recently developed a Sustainability Index to assess the sustainability of its supplier companies. We’re also seeing the emergence of “green” banks, such as New Resource Bank. And some cities and counties have established Green Business certification programs for local businesses.

    Given the significant environmental, social, economic, and health impacts (as well as the political influence) that many companies have, it’s critically important that we support and create businesses that implement responsible and sustainable policies and practices—businesses that reflect our values and whose practices and products aren’t compromising the length or quality our lives.

    Among U.S. companies, a few that have shown early and exceptional leadership in sustainability are: Patagonia (the recreation/outdoors outfitter), Interface (the commercial carpet company), Seventh Generation (household products), and Straus Family Creamery (organic dairy).

    Two of the many recent books on green business are:

    And a seminal book on green business is:

    These are some of the major online hubs for news and information on green business:

    Also, author and consultant Andrew Winston has a good green business blog.

    And last but not least, the following are some of the most prominent groups and networks that help companies improve their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts and their environmental performance:

     

    SEE NEWER POST (added February 2012): Sustainable Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Finance, and Sustainable Economies

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    January 29, 2010
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