Over at Slate’s excellent Green Lantern column, I read about yet another of those tiny debates that green-minded people have (you may recall my razor question a while back) about which products are the most product choices:
As a new middle-school teacher, I’m facing a challenge I never thought about before: assigning a list of school supplies for my students. My colleagues tell me that there’s a real downside to wooden pencils, since it gives students an excuse to get up every few minutes and use the pencil sharpener. But am I being environmentally irresponsible by asking parents to buy plastic mechanical pencils?
This seems profoundly trivial for the average person, but I suppose a teacher generates a lot of pencil-related consumption over their career.
On a CBC podcast last week, I heard about Solar Taxi. This Swiss dude named Louis Palmer is, with the help of academics and experts, driving a solar-powered vehicle around the world:
On 3 July 2007 I set off on my first journey around the world with a solar powered vehicle. Admittedly, as a regular citizen I cannot change the world but I can demonstrate to the world just how dire the global climate situation has become and how many sophisticated solutions to lower the greenhouse gases already exist, which bring with them many other advantages. So that we can have a better world and a more secure future. The solar taxi should rekindle hope and a zest for life, set an example to counteract resignation and stimulate reflection. And show that every single one of us can take a step towards preserving our planet.
Check out his route. Thus far he’s gone 34,644 km, with a goal of over 50,000.
He sounded really charming on the CBC, and his great videos bear that charm out:
Hang dry. I also do this because I’m obsessed with my clothes not shrinking.
Go vegetarian once a week.
Telecommute.
Abandon your answering machine. Apparently if everybody switched to voice mail, “the annual energy savings would total nearly two billion kilowatt-hours”.
Pay bills online.
These changes aren’t going to save the planet from environmental Armageddon, but they’re a good start.
I agree with every point in the list–they all jibe with our experience. None of his ideas are earth-shattering, but they’re definitely useful:
If there is a true community around your site, then members will overlook a lot of faults. On ObamaCycle, campaign materials are “listed” in discussion forum format, but the formatting sucks and it’s hard to find stuff. Despite that a lot of people have and continue to use the site.
Of course, Furqan benefited from having an eager real-world community to connect with, but it sounds like he did lots of stuff right.
I liked it so much, I submitted it to Digg and Reddit.
She’s been spending the last year making one environmentally-friendly change to her life each day. She’s been blogging about her experience, writing a column in the National Post, and has a forthcoming book.
On a related note, the CBC opted not to specify that Ms. Farquharson was a journalist. For some inexplicable reason, that felt ingenuine (screw you, I’m using it).
Mach 3 or Plugged In?
I was shaving yesterday, and thinking about green choices. Staring at my razor blade, I wondered which was the greener option: an electric razor or one with disposable blades?
To compare, we need to think about all the factors that contribute to the manufacturing, shipping, usage and disposal of each technology.
For the average Gilette Mach 3, we need to consider:
The environmental costs and energy usage of manufacturing the razor shafts, disposable razors and shaving cream. I use a shaving brush, too.
The fuel consumed during shipping to stores.
The waste generated in packaging.
The water used during shaving. I probably shave 300 days out of the year, and use, maybe, 750 ml of water each time. If I shave for, say, 65 years, that’s 91 oil drums of water. Or, if you like, 15 hot tubs worth of water. Just on shaving. That’s depressing.
The energy used to heat the water.
Cost of disposal, including the fuel consumed to transport the discarded razors and shaving cream containers. More importantly, how long will the plastic bits hang around?
There’s a similar, though shorter list for an electric razor:
Manufacturing the razor.
Shipping it to the store.
Electricity used in powering the razor over its lifetime.
Disposal of the razor.
Which is the greener option? I have no idea. It’s an easy thought experiment, but practically speaking, a remarkably difficult thing to figure out. Environmental impact is measured in lots of ways: energy consumed, ecosystems impacted, pollution, and so forth. The first problem that I can see is that there’s no common currency for all of these factors.
Thinking about this stuff is, admittedly, one of those things that white people like to do. Still, I can imagine a good blog entitled “What’s Greener” that asks and answers these questions about small, everyday items like razors.
For the record, the greenest shaving option is to just let that mofo grow. The next greenest is to use an old school straight-razor (no ivory handle, thanks very much). I’ve never had the pleasure–are they difficult to use?
UPDATE: Elijah points out in the comments that there’s already a blog by Grist on this very subject. Handy.
Just a quick note to pimp two events in which I’m participating:
Tuesday, March 25, 2008, 5:30pm – NetTuesday’s An Evening of “Green” Web 2.0! – Stories from the Edge on Using the Web to Save Our Planet and Foster More Sustainable Communities. Whew, long title. I’m one of three speakers, and I’m going to be discussing “DeSmogBlog.com, and how they’ve used social media and web marketing over the past two years to increase their traffic (by 300%!) and influence. From old school email newsletters to Flickr contests and Twitter, DeSmogBlog offers an excellent case study in how to build a following using social media.” See also the event on Facebook.
Saturday, March 29, 2008 – Bridging Media – I’ll be on a panel entitled “Buzz Builders: Using Multi-platforms To Build A Buzz and An Audience Around Your Project”. Wow, I get all the long titles. Here’s the blurb on that panel: “From film to television to the internet, defining your audience is an integral portion in the conceptualizing stage of a project. Are you using the accessible channels of communication to speak to your audience, draw a crowd and create buzz around your work? This panel will focus on, and show examples of, the use of various mediums and technologies to build a community and get your project to your audience.” I’ll be speaking alongside many of the usual suspects.
With the Power House kit you can build a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse, and desalination system. You can build and operate an electric train, windmill, solar cooker, solar hot water tank, hygrometer, electric motor, power hoist, sail car, and more! Plant watercress, prepare sauerkraut, and make chewing gum. Learn how plants convert sunlight into energy for your body and your engines.
Plant watercress! Prepare sauerkraut! Here’s a, uh, artist’s rendering. If it hasn’t been yet, this badboy ought to be featured on Geekdad.
I was doing a bunch of online research yesterday, and encountered a bunch of heretofore-unknown blogs. These five intrigued me for one reason or another:
Full Bodied – Nice (wine) rack! Keep abreast of vintner trends! The A, B, Cs and double-Ds of wine culture! “Two hot fat chicks on wine and other good things in life.” Features reviews and photos of wine nestled in cleavage. I don’t drink, and I kind of think the wine industry is a big scam, but I’m sure plenty of others will dig the wine plus boobs strategy. Thanks to The Vancouverite for the find.
Green as a Thistle – Vanessa is a journalist at the National Post, and is spending “an entire calendar year, doing one thing that betters the environment.”
Kitchen Witch – This looks like a popular and witty blog. I like any blogger who frets over the gender of her chickens: “Pepper is still gender-indeterminate. Curses. Looks slightly different from Liquorice, but then it’s not as if they’re identical twin chickens, now is it? I continue to think henly thoughts, pushing all roosterish inclinations from my mind.” Mostly, I liked the total absence of a header graphic. The first blog post starts at the very top of the page–quite unusual.
