In reflecting upon my eight-day "carbon cleanse" and moving forward with incorporating what I have learned into my daily life, I keep thinking about what David Mamet wrote about in his essay "Race Driving School": Race car drivers are taught to look at the road if their car goes into a spin and they anticipate crashing - because we unconsciously steer in the direction we are looking.
I find this so inspiring. And, I want to keep on looking in the direction of sustainability.
This week was great. If you're curious about trying the experiment yourself, I highly recommend it! Thanks to Colin Beavan for starting the No Impact Project. Onward and upward...
4.27.2010
Sunday: Eco-Sabbath
Sunday's challenge was to "Take a break from everything. Ohm shanti."
I didn't anticipate it, but this was the crown jewel of the week for me. I went to a potluck brunch with the group I participated in the experiment with, and Julia Butterfly Hill paid us a beautifully inspiring visit. The rest of the day was about the simplest of creature comforts for me: curling up with my cats and a good book; napping; baking delicious banana blueberry muffins... It reminded me of how important it is to unplug from work and obligation and truly take time off, even if it's just one afternoon a week - not for the sake of entertainment or media absorption or to catch up on any number of other projects, but to just BE.
I didn't anticipate it, but this was the crown jewel of the week for me. I went to a potluck brunch with the group I participated in the experiment with, and Julia Butterfly Hill paid us a beautifully inspiring visit. The rest of the day was about the simplest of creature comforts for me: curling up with my cats and a good book; napping; baking delicious banana blueberry muffins... It reminded me of how important it is to unplug from work and obligation and truly take time off, even if it's just one afternoon a week - not for the sake of entertainment or media absorption or to catch up on any number of other projects, but to just BE.
Saturday: Giving back
Saturday's challenge was to "Pay it forward. Feel the benefits of service." This day of service was on my mind all week, both because of the planning it involved and because of my interest in actively exploring the connection between reducing my negative impact on the earth and increasing my positive impact on my community.
For this challenge, I participated in planning and executing a community project with seven friends. When we started discussing ideas for the project earlier this week, there was a lot of interest in doing something that contributed to the ultimate goal of ridding NYC of plastic bags. Our specific goals for this project were to raise community awareness of the impact of plastic bags on the environment, and to work on effecting change in this area one small business at a time. We decided that we would go into local retail shops and ask the owners/employees if they would be willing to pledge to either eliminate the use of plastic bags in their stores, or to at least promise to make it a policy to always ask customers if they need a bag before giving them one. We split up into pairs and set out along different retail routes in the East Village/NYU area.
When we set out, I was a little anxious about how people would respond to us and how open they would be to starting a dialogue about the plastic bag issue. Once we were on our way though, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. By simply being friendly and outgoing with these strangers, they were disarmed and I was able to connect with them as a neighbor. It was much more relaxed and fun than I had anticipated. It gave me a sense of possibility and also made me feel more invested in my neighborhood. It felt really good to be doing something so generous and positive with my afternoon, and to be living out my values in some active way. It was also a real reminder to me of the ripple effect, and of the ability to promote positive change in the world by simply doing something small. So as much as I gave back to my community, it also gave back to me. It is amazing how simple it is for any of us to do this at any time.
Although the No Impact Experiment is obviously about doing less harm, I have discovered that it is equally about balancing that with doing more good. Ultimately, it's less about limits and more about possibility. And by doing more good with the joined forces of others, relationships are built and strengthened. That was one of the most personally satisfying aspects of our project.
As Margaret Mead said, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." And as Edmund Burke said, "No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." Cheers to that.
For this challenge, I participated in planning and executing a community project with seven friends. When we started discussing ideas for the project earlier this week, there was a lot of interest in doing something that contributed to the ultimate goal of ridding NYC of plastic bags. Our specific goals for this project were to raise community awareness of the impact of plastic bags on the environment, and to work on effecting change in this area one small business at a time. We decided that we would go into local retail shops and ask the owners/employees if they would be willing to pledge to either eliminate the use of plastic bags in their stores, or to at least promise to make it a policy to always ask customers if they need a bag before giving them one. We split up into pairs and set out along different retail routes in the East Village/NYU area.
When we set out, I was a little anxious about how people would respond to us and how open they would be to starting a dialogue about the plastic bag issue. Once we were on our way though, I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. By simply being friendly and outgoing with these strangers, they were disarmed and I was able to connect with them as a neighbor. It was much more relaxed and fun than I had anticipated. It gave me a sense of possibility and also made me feel more invested in my neighborhood. It felt really good to be doing something so generous and positive with my afternoon, and to be living out my values in some active way. It was also a real reminder to me of the ripple effect, and of the ability to promote positive change in the world by simply doing something small. So as much as I gave back to my community, it also gave back to me. It is amazing how simple it is for any of us to do this at any time.
Although the No Impact Experiment is obviously about doing less harm, I have discovered that it is equally about balancing that with doing more good. Ultimately, it's less about limits and more about possibility. And by doing more good with the joined forces of others, relationships are built and strengthened. That was one of the most personally satisfying aspects of our project.
As Margaret Mead said, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." And as Edmund Burke said, "No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." Cheers to that.
Friday: Water
Friday's challenge was to "Soak up the personal benefits of using less water!" The average American uses 1,189 gallons of water per day. Yikes. In looking at what goes into this water footprint, I realized how much I take for granted the mass amounts of water used to produce the goods and services I consume.
In watching my water usage habits throughout the day, I found that there were a lot of simple changes I could make. Now, I've started turning off the faucet while I lather my hands with soap. As I'm a big tea drinker, I've started to boil only the exact amount of water I need for each cup (this is related more to conserving energy). I am conscious now to limit my showers to 5-7 minutes (a timer helps). I've also started using a cup to rinse with after brushing my teeth, instead of running the faucet and using my hands. While washing dishes by hand, I'm not leaving the faucet running the entire time (the lazy way). I'm doing the same for washing vegetables. These changes take no added effort - only a conscious break with old habits - yet can make a significant difference over time.
Water conservation habits that I've already had in place are turning off the faucet while I brush my teeth, running the dishwasher only when it's completely full, using the same water glass and tea mug throughout the day, washing only full loads of laundry (and using high efficiency front-loading machines), not overfilling the bathtub (to where it starts draining out), and only taking water refills at restaurants if I'm going to drink them. I'm sorry to say that the plumbing in my pre-war apartment is not very well-equipped for water conservation - the biggest offender is probably the old-school toilet... Perhaps I'll talk to the owner about this.
Check out these 50 water saving tips! It's good to be reminded of this stuff :)
In watching my water usage habits throughout the day, I found that there were a lot of simple changes I could make. Now, I've started turning off the faucet while I lather my hands with soap. As I'm a big tea drinker, I've started to boil only the exact amount of water I need for each cup (this is related more to conserving energy). I am conscious now to limit my showers to 5-7 minutes (a timer helps). I've also started using a cup to rinse with after brushing my teeth, instead of running the faucet and using my hands. While washing dishes by hand, I'm not leaving the faucet running the entire time (the lazy way). I'm doing the same for washing vegetables. These changes take no added effort - only a conscious break with old habits - yet can make a significant difference over time.
Water conservation habits that I've already had in place are turning off the faucet while I brush my teeth, running the dishwasher only when it's completely full, using the same water glass and tea mug throughout the day, washing only full loads of laundry (and using high efficiency front-loading machines), not overfilling the bathtub (to where it starts draining out), and only taking water refills at restaurants if I'm going to drink them. I'm sorry to say that the plumbing in my pre-war apartment is not very well-equipped for water conservation - the biggest offender is probably the old-school toilet... Perhaps I'll talk to the owner about this.
Check out these 50 water saving tips! It's good to be reminded of this stuff :)
4.24.2010
Thursday: Energy
Thursday's challenge was to "Replace kilowatts with ingenuity - explore no-energy alternatives to accomplish your daily tasks." In assessing my energy use habits, I realize how much I take electricity for granted. I'm happy to say that I'm pretty good about reducing unnecessary use, but there's still room for improvement.
Things I do on a regular basis to conserve energy are unplugging phone and computer chargers, small appliances, hair dryers, etc. whenever I'm not using them so that they're not sucking up phantom power. The TV and DVD player are plugged into a power strip with an on/off switch. However, there is a fair amount of stuff that I leave plugged in - the refrigerator, microwave, modem, airport, cordless phone, printer, paper shredder, lamps, stereo, and my desktop computer. One thing I plan to do is get another on/off power strip for the printer and paper shredder - those have no use sucking up phantom power. The Energy Star website estimates that the electrical usage of all the devices we leave plugged in all the time - because they are all sipping power even when turned off - creates the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions to 3 million cars on the road. That's crazy!
I use CFL light bulbs (which I then drop off for recycling at Home Depot so that they won't sit in a landfill leaking mercury into the ground). Luckily, there are so many options for CFL bulbs now that it's easy to find ones that give off the same quality of light as incandescent bulbs. When I buy new appliances I make sure they are Energy Star, and I also try not to buy devices that use disposable batteries. And of course, one of the most basic things I do is turn off lights when I leave a room... I guess I learned that habit young.
I am going to look into whether I can buy green power where I live, because if so I would be contributing to the development and proliferation of renewable energy, rather than the unsustainable reliance on limited fossil fuels. Too bad I don't own a house and can't go all solar. Some day... :)
P.S. For tips on saving energy in the kitchen go here, and for saving energy with appliances go here.
Things I do on a regular basis to conserve energy are unplugging phone and computer chargers, small appliances, hair dryers, etc. whenever I'm not using them so that they're not sucking up phantom power. The TV and DVD player are plugged into a power strip with an on/off switch. However, there is a fair amount of stuff that I leave plugged in - the refrigerator, microwave, modem, airport, cordless phone, printer, paper shredder, lamps, stereo, and my desktop computer. One thing I plan to do is get another on/off power strip for the printer and paper shredder - those have no use sucking up phantom power. The Energy Star website estimates that the electrical usage of all the devices we leave plugged in all the time - because they are all sipping power even when turned off - creates the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions to 3 million cars on the road. That's crazy!
I use CFL light bulbs (which I then drop off for recycling at Home Depot so that they won't sit in a landfill leaking mercury into the ground). Luckily, there are so many options for CFL bulbs now that it's easy to find ones that give off the same quality of light as incandescent bulbs. When I buy new appliances I make sure they are Energy Star, and I also try not to buy devices that use disposable batteries. And of course, one of the most basic things I do is turn off lights when I leave a room... I guess I learned that habit young.
I am going to look into whether I can buy green power where I live, because if so I would be contributing to the development and proliferation of renewable energy, rather than the unsustainable reliance on limited fossil fuels. Too bad I don't own a house and can't go all solar. Some day... :)
P.S. For tips on saving energy in the kitchen go here, and for saving energy with appliances go here.
4.21.2010
Wednesday: Food
Today's challenge: "Healthy eating can also lessen your foodprint." Although healthy eating comes naturally to me (and I am a vegetarian), I know that a lot of what I eat still travels a very long way to get to my plate. You can look at your own foodprint here.
With the challenges of eating all local, organic, seasonal, unpackaged food, this was a hard day. It's almost impossible to find all four of those characteristics in any one food product. I've been shopping solely at the farmer's market so far this week, but not everything there is organic (or even unpackaged). The choice often becomes to buy local-but-non-organic or go across the street to Whole Foods and buy organic-but-non-local. Of course I prefer organic food, but that could very likely mean buying something that was flown from Peru to get to me.
Knowing how obsessive I can get, I don't want to let myself get too carried away with these endless choices, because there are a million of them and I have to deal with food every day. And with the goal of not creating unnecessary trash, food decisions can become pretty stressful with a busy life in NYC. Ah, how intricately everything is connected... So I've decided that what I can realistically commit to right now is to only buy food that was grown in the U.S., and for it to be organic whenever possible. And when my schedule calms down a bit and I have more time to cook at home, I'd also like to join a CSA :)
P.S. The Eat Well Guide is also a nice resource for finding good food anywhere...
With the challenges of eating all local, organic, seasonal, unpackaged food, this was a hard day. It's almost impossible to find all four of those characteristics in any one food product. I've been shopping solely at the farmer's market so far this week, but not everything there is organic (or even unpackaged). The choice often becomes to buy local-but-non-organic or go across the street to Whole Foods and buy organic-but-non-local. Of course I prefer organic food, but that could very likely mean buying something that was flown from Peru to get to me.
Knowing how obsessive I can get, I don't want to let myself get too carried away with these endless choices, because there are a million of them and I have to deal with food every day. And with the goal of not creating unnecessary trash, food decisions can become pretty stressful with a busy life in NYC. Ah, how intricately everything is connected... So I've decided that what I can realistically commit to right now is to only buy food that was grown in the U.S., and for it to be organic whenever possible. And when my schedule calms down a bit and I have more time to cook at home, I'd also like to join a CSA :)
P.S. The Eat Well Guide is also a nice resource for finding good food anywhere...
4.20.2010
Tuesday: Transportation
Today's challenge was to "Burn calories, not fossil fuels." Since I live in NYC and don't own a car, I am generally a very low-impact traveler on a day-to-day basis. I walk most places, or I take the subway if it's too far to walk, and I like to bike when it's nice out. However, my one commitment this week is no taxis. Since I only take taxis when I'm running late, I have to make it a priority to run more on time. This is something that fluctuates for me, and currently I'm in a cycle of running slightly late. So as I've been working on correcting this anyway, the no taxi challenge falls right in line with that...
In the bigger scheme of things, there's air travel. As travel is one of life's great pleasures, this is hard. I have made the commitment to fly nonstop to my destination whenever humanly possible, as the most gas is burned and the most CO2 emissions are emitted during takeoff and landing. But that doesn't quite assuage my guilt...
In the bigger scheme of things, there's air travel. As travel is one of life's great pleasures, this is hard. I have made the commitment to fly nonstop to my destination whenever humanly possible, as the most gas is burned and the most CO2 emissions are emitted during takeoff and landing. But that doesn't quite assuage my guilt...
Monday: Trash
Monday's challenge was to "Find out if wasting less improves your life." The first part of this challenge was to stop making trash. The second part is to keep the trash I make by mistake or necessity throughout the week - by stockpiling trash, I can see how much (and of what) I actually generate.
This challenge to stop making trash is hard. It has gotten me thinking about all the small things that accumulate into my trash daily. Looking at the trash I've collected since Sunday, I see that a lot of it is organic waste. Ideally I would compost this, but as I live in an apartment without any outdoor space, that is hard to do. I know that the LES Ecology Center collects compost at the farmer's market in Union Square, but that would mean lugging it over there every week - and compost is super heavy. At this point in time, I don't think that is feasible for me. The rest of my trash consists of tissues, the occasional paper towel, and packaging waste (a lot of which goes into recycling). I suppose I could phase out paper towels, but I'm just not ready to resort to a handkerchief instead of tissues... The packaging waste really bothers me. So much food comes in boxes, plastic containers, cans and plastic bags. And then there are shampoo and other toiletry bottles, vitamin and prescription bottles, etc. Although a lot can be recycled, that's not really an excuse.
It's almost impossible to buy anything without packaging these days, even while shopping at places like Whole Foods or my neighborhood natural foods store. I feel good about buying most of the products that I do buy from companies that I think are trying to do the right thing ethically and environmentally... but my new challenge is to take it a step further and try to cut my packaging waste in half. This means buying more in bulk, shopping more at the farmer's market, ordering less takeout food or drinks (which means cooking more at home, and carrying around a reusable drinking container), learning to make more of my own household cleaning products and toiletries, and ordering less online.
And then there are the perpetual problems of receipts and junk mail... It seems impossible to be truly put on a "do not mail" list. Although I always call and cancel unwanted catalogs, I still get other junk mail. Aside from continuing to call distributors to have my name removed from their lists, I've decided to use more of this junk mail as well as the backs of receipts as scrap paper. I know that the less waste I create, the less guilt I feel, so I guess that is improving my life :)
This challenge to stop making trash is hard. It has gotten me thinking about all the small things that accumulate into my trash daily. Looking at the trash I've collected since Sunday, I see that a lot of it is organic waste. Ideally I would compost this, but as I live in an apartment without any outdoor space, that is hard to do. I know that the LES Ecology Center collects compost at the farmer's market in Union Square, but that would mean lugging it over there every week - and compost is super heavy. At this point in time, I don't think that is feasible for me. The rest of my trash consists of tissues, the occasional paper towel, and packaging waste (a lot of which goes into recycling). I suppose I could phase out paper towels, but I'm just not ready to resort to a handkerchief instead of tissues... The packaging waste really bothers me. So much food comes in boxes, plastic containers, cans and plastic bags. And then there are shampoo and other toiletry bottles, vitamin and prescription bottles, etc. Although a lot can be recycled, that's not really an excuse.
It's almost impossible to buy anything without packaging these days, even while shopping at places like Whole Foods or my neighborhood natural foods store. I feel good about buying most of the products that I do buy from companies that I think are trying to do the right thing ethically and environmentally... but my new challenge is to take it a step further and try to cut my packaging waste in half. This means buying more in bulk, shopping more at the farmer's market, ordering less takeout food or drinks (which means cooking more at home, and carrying around a reusable drinking container), learning to make more of my own household cleaning products and toiletries, and ordering less online.
And then there are the perpetual problems of receipts and junk mail... It seems impossible to be truly put on a "do not mail" list. Although I always call and cancel unwanted catalogs, I still get other junk mail. Aside from continuing to call distributors to have my name removed from their lists, I've decided to use more of this junk mail as well as the backs of receipts as scrap paper. I know that the less waste I create, the less guilt I feel, so I guess that is improving my life :)
4.18.2010
Sunday: Consumption
Today's challenge was to "Live a fuller and happier life by buying less stuff." In other words, stop consuming new goods (except food). This wasn't hard for me today and I don't anticipate it being hard for the week ahead, as I'm not generally a big collector of products I don't actually need. However, I do have a staple collection of products that I regularly rely on, such as face and body products, which all come in some sort of packaging... which gets me thinking about tomorrow's challenge, trash... But back to TODAY. The real challenge is to look more closely at my consumer habits. If I must buy something, I can think about whether I can buy it used, borrow it, or make it myself. Perhaps as a longer-term challenge I will learn how to make my own body products :)
I watched Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff video today and it got me thinking a lot more about the consumer treadmill. Ninety-nine percent of consumer goods are trashed within 6 months! This is largely the result of planned obsolescence, where products are designed to break or become obsolete as quickly as possible (especially obvious with computers and electronics), but not so quickly that the consumer loses faith in the product and won't go buy another one; and perceived obsolescence, where consumers are convinced that they need to throw away products that are still perfectly useful (especially obvious with fashion and design) and buy new ones. Very very interesting.
I watched Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff video today and it got me thinking a lot more about the consumer treadmill. Ninety-nine percent of consumer goods are trashed within 6 months! This is largely the result of planned obsolescence, where products are designed to break or become obsolete as quickly as possible (especially obvious with computers and electronics), but not so quickly that the consumer loses faith in the product and won't go buy another one; and perceived obsolescence, where consumers are convinced that they need to throw away products that are still perfectly useful (especially obvious with fashion and design) and buy new ones. Very very interesting.
The No Impact Experiment
Starting today, I am embarking on the No Impact Experiment, an eight-day "carbon cleanse," a challenge designed to reduce my carbon footprint and see how it affects my quality of life and well-being in the process. I am joined by a small group of friends and community members who will be meeting throughout the week for camaraderie and inspiration. With each day comes a new added personal challenge:
Today, ceasing to buy anything new (except food) for the week
Monday, making no new trash (and collecting any trash made by mistake or necessity throughout the week)
Tuesday, no or low impact transportation
Wednesday, eating only locally and organically
Thursday, reducing energy use
Friday, reducing water use
Saturday, giving back to your community
Sunday, observing an eco-sabbath (you and the environment take a break)
I think I'll learn a lot this week! I know there are ways in which I can be a better steward of my resources. This project addresses pretty much all of our daily living habits in a short eight days, but I look forward to walking away with new insights and ideas for positive long-term change.
Today, ceasing to buy anything new (except food) for the week
Monday, making no new trash (and collecting any trash made by mistake or necessity throughout the week)
Tuesday, no or low impact transportation
Wednesday, eating only locally and organically
Thursday, reducing energy use
Friday, reducing water use
Saturday, giving back to your community
Sunday, observing an eco-sabbath (you and the environment take a break)
I think I'll learn a lot this week! I know there are ways in which I can be a better steward of my resources. This project addresses pretty much all of our daily living habits in a short eight days, but I look forward to walking away with new insights and ideas for positive long-term change.
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