green technology

continuing on the threads of consumption and waste, PSFK's Piers Fawkes posted an inspiring and frank opinion on the Consumer Electronics Show's lack of true green hues. granted, CES is promoting and featuring products that are in no way green and in every way replaceable and wasteful. it's the electronics industry. some companies like Apple have gone greener after much pressure, but most companies and consumers have no idea how to stop the toxic consumption and more importantly, what to do with their products after they go kaput or are shelved for a newer product or advancement.

Fawkes makes a number of great points, the most relevent in my opinion is that greening the electronics industry is a cultural change. it's going to take a shift in development, production and usability before electronics will be green. i also think it's going to take consumers rising up and being a bit more realistic in their expectations of gadgets. sure, the new iPod Touch is hot and yes i want one and could muster the funds to buy it, but my iPod Classic has been wonderfully reliable and i don't need to replace it.

i believe the answer lies within design. a word and theory and even more powerful practice that i believe will define the moving forward of sustainable consumption and greener retail. how can we design products to live through new software versions? how can we produce less toxic gadgets while still ensuring function, durability and sexiness? how can we integrate recycling and waste reduction into the lifespan of these products?

on a brighter note, the EPA and a number of cell phone manufacturers and wireless providers have launched a new cell phone recycling program. more at npr.

Stuff

had an inspiring and busy weekend, enjoying the unseasonable weather in Kansas City by getting in some quality think time on mountain bike trail, in the dog park (my dog officially likes people more than his canine peers) and coffee shop porch. thought a lot about consumption and recycling and how Interwoven Threads is contributing - although positively as possible - to a consumption-based lifestyle. even more about Interwoven Threads can further its environmentally-conscious message. a buying moratorium is not in order, but being smarter and more discriminating about what you use, as it relates to what you waste, is good for everyone.

i get especially thoughtful about my own waste on Mondays, as it's trash day. so to mark trash day, here are a couple thought-provoking pieces all about stuff.

Katherine Hubbard's Private Life of Trash from Good Magazine.
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard.

Trashy gifts

not talking about the awkward uncle-gives-to-aunt-undies moment that might derail your family Christmas...i'm talking about the trash that is generated via our gifting. it may be too late to go green and local for your holiday gifts, but it's not too late to reduce the refuse that seems to pile as high as the tree post-gifting.

some families (like mine) participate in a all-out sprint to save a bow and bag - kudos - but if your family is more prone to filling lawn and leaf bags with your holiday memories, here are some tips.

1) don't wrap. many stores (especially boutique and local stores) will provide nice boxes for your goods. save the planet and the hassle of unwrapping by throwing a reused or reusable bow/ribbon on.
2) dip into your recycling. newspapers, printer error paper and my favorite: magazine pages make unique wrapping paper that easily heads right back into the recycling when you're done.
3) get a better bag. "wrap" your gift in a reusable canvas bag (and encourage the protest of plastic shopping sacks) or in the branded sack in which it came. by finding the right stores, i've purchased gifts this year that come in everything from popcorn boxes to dog food bags that were messed up during production. a strange sack will encourage your recipient reuses or regifts later.
4) make like a cheesy jewelry ad and present your gift without wrapping. "ta da - the necklace was baked into Santa's cookies!"
5) reduce. there's one in every family...the type that wraps gifts to look like a Macy's float. the only use for such excess is to take a picture of a present-buttressed tree or to cover up the fact that you got a lousy gift and by guilt covered up the fact with every spare ornament and leftover in the basement.
6) grab two bags: one for things to keep such as bows, ribbon, bags and boxes, and one to fill with actual trash. you'll be more intentional and might well freak yourself out over how much you're throwing away.
7) buy better gift wrap. do a google search and many such recycled paper manufacturers will come up. i dig PaperOrganics and Fish Lips more here at Ideal Bite.
8) slice up the discarded paper into squares and use it for notes. i do this with discarded white paper a lot.
9) call your local recycling center to find out if you can recycle wrapping paper. i can't find anything online right now...but it's worth looking into.
10) don't give a gift. give the act of giving. many online donation opportunities exist for all sorts of charities and causes. most will allow you to send an e-mail to the recipient for whom the gift was donated. this is also a great way to turn a last-minute gift into something truly meaningful.

merry Christmas, all.

Chris Jordan = talent

wow - i was forwarded artist Chris Jordan's latest work today and am loving it. he uses numbers and objects to chart (beautifully, though frightening) various statistics - from plastic bag waste to uninsured children.

Austin City Limits Fest goes green

I've always wanted to attend the ACL fest - now, after reading the steps the fest took to greenify the experience and lessen the impact, I'm darn tempted to up and trek down next month. Always the cultural and musical bar-setter, ACL is continuing its role as a force. Kudos.

recycling: the last resort

we all know recycling is good. recycling less, however, is even better. recycling less means you're consuming and disposing of less. that should, really, be the goal. i am trying to re-organize my recycling practices to increase the convenience to toss and collect various things, past just the common plastic and glass, etc. so i hopped on over to treehugger today to get some info and noticed a great selection: How to Green Your Recycling. Whaaa? isn't my recycling pretty darn green?

the tips, though, highlight how we can take our recycling to the next level...and really, it has nothing to do with recycling. it's all about the other two of the three "R's": reducing and reusing the material you consume. when you think of it this way, in a more holistic way, recycling should be the last resort in your efforts to green up your life.

lately, i've been trying to take some small steps to increase my reuse. here are a few you can easily adopt, which have made the biggest difference in my amount of waste and recycling:

• Eat, drink with reusable dishes.
• Take my reusable coffee mug to the coffee shop instead of wasting a paper cup.
• Think twice before packing lunch or goods:
  
• the simple act of using a lunchbox instead of a plastic or paper sack can cut down
• travel with my running and biking gear quite a bit, and used to often throw shoes/laundry/etc. into (again) paper or plastic sacks
  
• wrap or pack gifts in recycled or reusable goods - decorated shoe boxes, funky product bags or wrapping made of magazine pages not only help increase re-use, but can be a pleasant and differentiating surprise for the recipient.

what are your recycling/reuse/reduce tips?

Green jobs and do-better employment

I had a conversation with a friend last night on jobs, companies and marrying the two to an employee's ethics...much of what I covered in this post. Browsing TreeHugger this morning, I noticed their job board. Check it out if you're interested in a diverse selection of "green" jobs. Also, idealist.org is another great resource for volunteer and employment opportunities in the U.S. and abroad.

Employment always stumps me...we humans seek out friends with which we have commonalities. Significant others who share our passions and beliefs. Places of worship that speak to personal theology. Even brands that seem in line with our moral fiber. But many of us do not seek to continue those standards into the jobs we do. And maybe that's because of, simply, the word job. It's a means to an end. A necessary evil. A have to. But it doesn't have to be like that. And maybe, as the attention on green moves ahead and the public conversation on social awareness increases, so will (as I posted before) the demand for a better work experience.

The bottom line is we human folk do better doing what we enjoy. Moreover we do better doing something that resonates on a level higher than ego, salary, fame and status. It's never too late to seek such an opportunity. Start by volunteering. Or by exploring the little gut feelings you might frequently ignore. You never know...that dread of skydiving one day may result in a dream career.

Also from TreeHugger, some tips to green your workplace. Even if you don't love your 9-5, you could love the impact (or lack thereof) your office has on the environment. This would be a nice link to send your boss. Or your HR dept.

the problem with water

while on vacation in Angel Fire, NM this week, i was able to catch up on some reading, including this month's Fast Company. in addition to an engaging feature on Al Gore (and his many pursuits), the magazine has a great article on the bottled water industry. you can access it in its entirety, as well as a few great blog posts/conversation threads associated. it's worth a read for anyone concerned about the origin of their beverages, environmental impact and social inequities related to such a simple product.

and while water is essential to life, and considered by most to be a right not deserving a second though, water - and bottled water in particular - is at the center of some of our world's biggest problems. the good news is, some simple life-change steps can make a big impact not just in your corner of the world, but our larger planet. so what's so bad about water?
1) increased consumption of bottled water has increased the threat of waste and pollution within the environment.
2) water continues to be one of the most poignant social inequities. while many of us waste water like it's our job, much of the world goes without clean (or available) water on a daily basis (one in six, actually). Fiji water's own backyard contains more than half a million Fijians who do not have clean water to drink.

what can you do? here are some very simple steps toward a better beverage:
1) carry a reusable bottle. i prefer my creatively-stickered Nalgene bottle and my dented Sigg bottle I've had for years. carrying a reusable bottle not only helps you avoid purchasing single bottles (and possibly discarding them in the trash), but it encourages increased water consumption - your body will love you!
2) drink tap water. i'm at fault for this one..but i'm coming around. across the US and most major international cities, tap water is highly tested (oftentimes more so than bottled) and even contains minerals that some filtered water strips away. one of the best ways to get into this habit is to fill a reusable jug or pitcher with tap water and throw it into the fridge for future use. it's refreshingly cold, and tricks your mind a bit.
3) recycle. if you're going to use PET bottles, just toss them into the recycling bin, instead of the trash. almost 80 percent of plastic bottles end up in the landfill. that's a scary-high number, and one that takes little effort to reduce through simple responsibility.
4) avoid buying major-brand water. your local grocery store has refillable water kiosks, brimming with local filtered water. buying bulk can save the amount of waste, but it also helps you avoid being part of corporations that conduct business with little to no responsibility.

i'm the first to admit i have a long way to go in being more responsible with my water consumption, but i'm taking steps. Nalgene's "Refill Not Ladfill" campaign has some great ways to take that first step and good links for finding out more about this issue.

back to my vacation (because i just can't seem to re-acclimate myself yet)...water was a major part of our week. from providing refreshment to our almost continous outdoor activities to being the centerpiece of beauty during hikes and sightseeing, i left New Mexico wanting to do a better job of conserving consumable and natural water. here are a few pictures from our hike up Wheeler Peak, NM's tallest mountain. if these don't make you want to advocate for our environment...



as we took a lakeside break before the final approach to the summit, i sat next to the clear water and remembered a statement from Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard, in which he told of always drinking straight from the streams and lakes he fished/hiked/played around and thought about how sad it is that we're so far from that opportunity now. and i was thankful that my CamelBak and multiple bottles were filled with the water i required to get through the hike.

happy Friday, all. raise your reusable bottles in a toast to the weekend.

cheers.

Guide to greener electronics

Greenpeace released its fourth edition Guide to Greener Electronics yesterday. The guide not only ranks electronics makers in green-ness, but judges the companies on manufacturing and disposal practices. One thing I found especially notable was Apple's rise from last place to 10th in one year's time, thanks in large part to Greenpeace's great "Green My Apple" campaign.

Wondering where to recycle your electronics? The E-Cycling Central site is a great resource.