So I’ve committed much of my education, long term goals, and professional life to being an environmentally sympathetic designer: I studied sustainability while at school, I continuously read books on green technologies and theories, I worked for a company that has the most LEED registered projects in the state [among other green achievements], and I plan to create a truly sustainable design firm. But is that enough? I have seen plenty of people talk sustainability, design a LEED certified building, and then get in their ridiculously over-priced, imported gas guzzler of an SUV and drive to their over-sized home in the exclusive [and by exclusive, I mean excluded from the rest of the town, as in, far away] community in the sprawl laden suburbs. They consume and pollute as much as anyone else, but think that since their work is less harmful than others they are safe. I believe in practicing what you preach. Over the past 2 years of living on my own, I’ve tried to make a concerted effort at going ‘green.’ This year, I want to make an even greater effort to reduce my carbon footprint and to consider products that are friendlier to the environment. This is the only planet we’ve got and if everyone kicked in just a little bit, it would help delay climate change—which may buy us the time we need to find out how to turn it around.
So far, in my commitment to the planet I’ve switched nearly all the bulbs in my apartment to low-wattage compact fluorescents or LEDs; I’ve switched from normal household cleaners to naturally-derived, biodegradable, never tested on animals, phosphate-free cleaners; I’ve switched to phosphate-free, biodegradable dish-washer soap; I buy organic foods as much as possible [another discussion to come about organic vs. not]; I’ve reduced the amount of meat [particularly beef] I eat per week; I try to be energy-wise; what energy I do use comes completely from solar power; I buy carbon offsets through my energy provider to offset 50% of my footprint—that was ALL of my driving when I was commuting plus 10% of my home usage; I’ve switched to naturally derived, biodegradable fabric softener; I use preservative-free, paraben-free, naturally-derived, phthalate-free, dye-free, never tested on animals skin care products; I keep the thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer; I rarely buy bottled water; I consider products that are produced and packaged with the planet in mind; when I fly, I buy carbon offsets to cover my miles traveled; I try to combine my driving trips into one; and I have even emphasized this statement by printing my design portfolio on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
Now, that may sound like a lot to do but if you are considering a greener future, these are some of the things I suggest you try [they are easy to do]. I would say the biggest way to reduce your footprint is to reduce the amount of energy you use. I won’t bother you with methods for doing so, as there are a million websites available that will be more thorough than I could ever be. For example: http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/index.html is not a bad place to start. Talk to your energy provider and see if they have green power available. I know that SMUD has several programs available for cheap: I pay a premium of $6 a month to buy carbon offsets for 50% of my calculated footprint [they have a nifty calculator online] which automatically enrolls me in their green energy program, providing me with 100% renewable energy. Phasing into new products can be an ordeal, trust me, I know. I am one of those people that is very particular the products I use, especially when it comes to scent. The reason I haven’t started using friendlier laundry detergent is because I love the scent of my clothes and can’t seem to let that go--petty, I know. Same goes for the body wash. I use mass-produced Old Spice because of the scent [Pure Sport]. But it was easy to try out the new cleaners. I use products from Method and find them to clean marvelously, plus they have enjoyable scents that smell more like air fresheners than cleaning products. The fabric softener I use is from Full-Circle, one of the companies that provide organic foods to my local grocer. Now, I don’t want to get into a discussion about the possible health benefits of eating organic foods [which has not been proven either way], but I will say that because of strict regulation, organic foods are produced with fewer harmful fertilizers, fewer herbicides and pesticides, and tend to taste better. It’s a matter of the amount and type of flavonoids that I will get into at a later date. Granted, organic foods and some of these more earth-friendly products are slightly more expensive these days, but it’s a matter of supply and demand. When these products are the main-stream, the price will go down. Either way, I’m currently unemployed and living off of less than half what I was making before and I still manage to live this way, so I don’t want to hear it. Switching lights bulbs is also a very easy thing to do that costs little and won’t affect your lifestyle at all.
There are a few things I wish I did that I don’t. I do not recycle enough, if at all [yes, gasp away]. The recycling program at my apartment complex is touch and go, if at all existent [I’m still not convinced]. This year I will make more of an effort to buy recycled products, use less, and even move to midtown where the car is practically unnecessary. I plan to get a bike and ride it for short trips to the coffee shop, liquor store, or deli. I am also considering simple things like getting my drinks without ice. I found a calculator online that says the average commercial ice machine produces 500 lbs of ice per day, at a cost of 5.5 kWh per 100 lbs. Granted, I won’t be going through 500 lbs of ice, but if you consider how many drinks you have with ice [I figure a 20 oz fountain soda’s worth of ice is about 8-10 oz, which weighs approx 0.5 lbs]. If you eat fast food just once a week, getting that soda with 8-10 oz of ice, that’s about 4 lbs of ice per year, or about 1/3 lb of carbon. Big whoop you say? Given that Americans, on average eat 159 fast food meals per year, that’s 1 lb of CO2 per person, per year, or 300 million pounds of CO2 per year. That adds up. A bit. Okay, so that may be a lost cause, but the point is that I’m going to try to make a little bit of a difference any way I can, without being a snob about it. I try not to lecture people on the impact they are having because I know I hate it when people do it to me. I don’t even like to advertise it. I am not some earth-loving hippie that thinks mother Gaia is crying when we shower. I am a very modern urbanite that realizes we have a problem facing us and also have the power to fix it. I will try to help you, if you are interested. So this is me, helping.
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