Change the Margins

Water Bottle Debate: Steel vs. Plastic

You've finally realized the evils of the plastic water bottle and got yourself a stainless steel one. But is it really better? This piece in the Opinion section of The New York Times by Daniel Goleman and Gregory Norris breaks it down for ya via  a cool illustration and specific details on manufacturing and usage.

The bottom line: just how "green" a product is often comes down to where we get it, how we use it and how we dispose of it. The Goleman and Norris's final suggestion:

Then again, some old solutions we shouldn’t discount. Before stainless steel thermoses, before bottled water, we already had an eco-friendly method of getting water: drinking fountains.

5 Docs Online for Earth Day

Earth Day is approaching! If you're looking to get your green fix via video to prep for the event on 4/22, check out these eco-friendly films from Cinetic Rights Management. They'll become available over the next several days, and can be found on an assortment of download and streaming platforms. It's a great way to catch these docs wherever and whenever is most convenient for you!

"Cinetic wanted to celebrate Earth Day and green initiatives around the globe with a select group of titles on various platforms,” says CRM’s Matt Dentler in a statement.  “We're excited to make these films available in one of the most environmentally-friendly ways possible: online."

Here's what's playing:

THE GREEN CHAIN – ONLINE PREMIERE
The battle between loggers and environmentalists is defining, dividing and destroying communities in Canada and around the world. The Green Chain is a film about the conflicts between people on both sides of the battle who love trees -- and are willing to risk anything to protect their personal visions of the forest. (will be available on Dailymotion, Hulu and YouTube)

GREASY RIDER – ONLINE PREMIERE
Picture a cross-country road trip powered by vegetable oil in a 1981 Mercedes-Benz. Greasy Rider follows the two filmmakers, Joey Carey and JJ Beck, as they meet with fellow Greasecar drivers. Features Morgan Freeman, Noam Chomsky, and Yoko Ono. (will be available on Hulu and SnagFilms)

THE UNFORESEEN – ONLINE PREMIERE
The American dream of owning a house with a white picket fence goes head-to-head with environmental sustainability in this urgent documentary. When an ambitious real estate developer sets out to transform thousands of acres of pristine hill country around Austin, Texas into a suburban development, the community fights back. In the conflict that ensues, we see in miniature the struggle between development and preservation that today plays out in cities and towns across the country. The Unforeseen is a grand meditation on the destruction of the natural world in pursuit of an often fleeting dream. Produced by Robert Redford. (will be available on iTunes, and Amazon VOD)

BLIND SPOT – ONLINE PREMIERE
Blind Spot is a documentary film that illustrates the current oil and energy crisis that our world is facing. We have put ourselves at a crossroads, which offer two paths with dire consequences: if we continue to burn fossil fuels, we will choke the life out of the planet and, if we don’t, our way of life will collapse. (will be available on SnagFilms, Dailymotion and Joost)

GARBAGE! THE REVOLUTION STARTS AT HOME – ONLINE PREMIERE
A feature documentary about how the family household has become one of the most ferocious environmental predators of our time. Concerned for the future of his new baby boy Sebastian, writer and director Andrew Nisker takes an average urban family, the McDonalds, and asks them to keep every scrap of garbage that they create for three months. He then takes them on a journey to find out where it all goes and what it's doing to the world. (will be available on Amazon VOD).

 

Boeing's High Tech Toilets

I know that perhaps it seems like lately I'm obsessed with toilet news, but water issues are near and ear to me. Heard an interesting piece on NPR yesterday about Boeing's green efforts, including their attempts to deal with California's water shortage. The company has installed 400 dual-flush toilets in its Space and Intelligence Systems campus outside Los Angeles because not all bathroom activity requires the same amount of flushing power.

You can listen to the story here.

Great news from Connor Harron at Western Washington University. He's a Psychology and Environmental Studies major who recently found out about the Margins Movement. He and his partner Max Janicex decided to do a project on Change the Margins for a Campus Planning Studio class. Reports Harron in an e-mail:

Due to the findings of our project, all of the general university computers as well as one of Western's colleges will be switching to reduced default margins by summer quarter. Added up it will be a total of 970 computers which will be being switched to reduced default margins as a pilot program, which will hopefully lead to a complete adoption of reduced margins campus wide in the near future.

Harron sent me a report of their findings, and I'll be posting excerpts from it as I read it. I'm especially happy about their news because of the potential feedback that may become available from their pilot program. I've received several queries from representatives of companies who are interested in potentially implementing Margins, but want hard data about results before they do so. Unfortunately, so far this has not been available - the idea has been floating out there in the ether but no one's actually done a measured study of the results of Efficient Margin adoption. Perhaps Harron's efforts will change that, leading to more sustainable practices not just at Western Washington University, but at other colleges and companies around the country!

Soft Toilet Paper is Hard on the Environment

Remember those cute commercials where a little kid would ride a bike, have a sore butt, and stuff his/her pants with soft toilet paper to cushion the ride? Turns out that Americans' affection for cushy toilet paper is a serious offender to old growth forests.

In the The New York Times article "Mr. Whipple Left It Out: Soft is Rough on Forests," Leslie Kaufman looks at how our toilet paper habits are a pain in the butt (pun intended) for the environment.

Fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada. Although toilet tissue can be made at similar cost from recycled material, it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give it that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them.

Greenpeace has come out with a recycled tissue and toilet paper guide, which rates facial tissues, toilet paper, paper towels and paper napkins according to environmental friendliness. Brands Green Forest and 365 are at the top of their list for toilet paper. Click on the widget below for more info.

For paper napkins, I'd recommend going one step further. My husband and I have been using cloth napkins for the past two years instead of paper. It makes us feel fancy and saves a few trees in the process. Something to remember is that even if a product isn't made from old growth trees, the manufacturing process uses energy and creates waste.

Friedman on the Federal Gas Tax

Thomas L. Friedman has a piece in today's New York Times about the necessity of imposing a gas tax if we really and truly want to stimulate a green economy.

There has to be a system that permanently changes consumer demand, which would permanently change what Detroit makes, which would attract more investment in battery technology to make electric cars, which would hugely help the expansion of the wind and solar industries — where the biggest drawback is the lack of batteries to store electrons when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. A higher gas tax would drive all these systemic benefits.

While the thought of more taxes has my wallet running for cover, I am in complete agreement with Friedman. Personally, I loved seeing prices come down at the pump, knowing that it would now take less than $50 to fill the tank on my zippy little Toyota. But there was also a part of me that got very, very nervous when I saw gas prices decreasing. 

I'd love to believe that the green movement over the last couple of years is something more than a fad, but I'm cynical. Unfortunately Friedman, who has been through this cycle more times than myself, seems to confirm this. While I believe that a small minority of Americans will maintain their commitment to a more sustainable future, I believe that most need to be economically stimulated. We'll see if the new administration agrees. 

Read the full piece here.

Google & Warner Bros. Head Honchos on CA's AB 32

I stumbled across this piece on The Huffington Post today from Eric Schmidt (CEO, Google) and Alan Horn (President & COO, Warner Bros. Entertainment). The two encourage the California state air resources board to implement the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act, known as AB 32. The measure calls on Californians to reduce our global warming pollution to 1990 levels over the next 12 years through a variety of tactics.

Energy efficiency is the cheapest and fastest way to reduce global warming emissions from burning fossil fuels, but we can also benefit economically by developing our capacity to generate clean power. California is blessed by its natural resources, including prodigious amounts of wind, sun and geothermal energy. It's nature's gift to us, but so far we've squandered most of it. Why not capture that free energy and simultaneously become the market leader in designing and manufacturing clean power technology for the rest of the world?

I'm proud to live in a state that has often been on the leading edge of change. President-elect Obama has stated many times that a clean energy economy is a priority. I'm hoping that once again, CA will act as an example of how important goals such as this can be accomplished.

Use Both Sides

Wanted to give a shout out to USE BOTH SIDES, another grassroots campaign aimed at saving paper. This initiative out of the UK has a simple goal, as stated on their website:

To give paper another chance.
We hope to convince everyone that we can - and should - use both sides of the paper.

There's a nifty intro video, as well as several different poster designs. They've also started a Facebook group.

Thanks to Michael Leddy, both for leading me to the Use Both Sides campaign and for posting a link to Margins on his blog Orange Crate Art.

Poster for USE BOTH SIDES

Broadway Goes Green

Two usually disparate parts of my life -- acting and eco-activism -- merged today with the announcement of BROADWAY GOES GREEN, an industry-wide initiative to green up the Great White Way. If I were a character in a musical, I'd be bursting out in song right about now about how thrilling this is to me! 

The project is a collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and includes efforts to work more eco-friendly practices into all aspects of Broadway production, from theatre venue operations to the day-to-day running of shows to the creation process. They've started a website www.greenbroadway.com to help people stay informed about the initiative.

Current changes already in progress include replacing marquee lights with more efficient lighting, washing costumes in cold water whenever possible and using re-chargeable batteries in sound equipment.

One of the things that excites me so much about this initiative is that it's another example of how small change enacted on a large scale can make a real difference. Changing the type of batteries used in one wireless mic may not seem like a lot, but multiply that by all the cast members in all the shows, and suddenly that one action has a much larger impact. 

I'd love it if Broadway Goes Green could adopt efficient margins for printing scripts, both during the development and production process. If anyone reading this has a contact at the NRDC or to a higher-up on the Broadway production food chain, please forward them this post. Many thanks!

For more info, you can read the full press release here.

A Great Relationship With My Brother

As many of you know, I recently got a new printer. Today I hit the first li'l maintenance check - replacing the toner cartridge. I'm happy to report that Brother makes it super-easy (and free!) to responsibly dispose of your old cartridges. Just go to their website and print out a pre-paid label, box up your old cartridge and pop it in the mail.

According to the verbiage on Brother's site:

Brother currently has a recycling program in place for used Brother branded consumable items. Some of the select components that are returned to us will be remanufactured. Others are broken down so that all of the appropriate metal and plastic components can be recycled.