It’s time for a recession special blog post–how can we help our wallets while saving the planet while making ourselves happier and healthier? During the No Impact project, we saved–and continue to save–a lot of money on everything from transportation to food. The combination of riding our bikes everywhere and only eating fresh local produce […]
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Green 2.0: Designing not for less bad but for more good
From a New York Times science section article by Henry Fountain: Concrete may seem an unlikely material for scientific advances. At its most basic, a block of concrete is something like a fruitcake, but even more leaden and often just as unloved. The fruit in the mix is coarse aggregate, usually crushed rock. Fine aggregate, […]
An invitation from 350.org to help wake up our world leaders
Dear World, This is an invitation to help build a movement–to take one day day and use it to stop the climate crisis. On October 24, we will stand together as one planet and call for a fair global climate treaty. United by a common call to action, we’ll make it clear: the world needs an international plan […]
A primer on what it would take to fix climate
We’ve all been seeing what Obama believes is necessary for the economic bailout, but what is needed for the climate bailout? Here are the five policies that, according to New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, the new CEO of ClimateWorks, Hal Harvey, says we need: First, building codes: “California’s energy-efficient building and appliance codes now […]
An artistic rendition of the No Impact Project
By my favorite seven-year-old artist, Jane Avery, daughter of Laura Gabbert, one of the incredible director/producers of No Impact Man the documentary. An explanation of the work by the artist herself: “No to cars, no to trash [represented by the tall skinny trash can] and yes to worms [used in composting]!”
A few of my brothers and sisters
My little girl Isabella is four and she is an only child. But when she goes to the playground and a stranger asks her if she has any brothers and sisters she says yes. She says she has one brother and one sister. Her sister is called Frankie and her brother is called Billy. “Are […]
Companies who make durable products could cheat the recession while saving the planet
In an article in Metropolis Magazine, writer John Hockenberry suggests that, in the present economy, the only way to coax money out of consumers’ wallets is to give us what we wanted all along: products that last and don’t go obsolete or break down in a year. In other words, the products should deliver real […]
A production process that improves its environment
On Saturday, I bought some cherry blossoms at the farmer’s market and put them in a vase. Soon we will have pink and white flowers on our table. Before I bought the blossoms, I asked the vendor if it hurt or damaged the trees to cut these branch tips from them. She said no. In […]