Doc Review: Fuel (2008)

In addition to my errands by bike this weekend, Josh Tickell’s documentary Fuel came up on my Netflix rotation and it was the perfect complement to a weekend where everyone wanted answers to what they could do about the Gulf oil spill. Made in 2008, there are some eerie statistics and images of Louisiana (did you know that an amount of crude oil the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill was released during Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area? No, that’s because no one reported it.) that seem quaint now compared to our current crisis. Tickell’s main sell is bio-diesel fuel, rather than ethanol or even gasoline-based hybrids. I got on board thinking ‘great let’s trade in the ‘brid and buy an old VW and get off oil dependency!’ but not so fast, Tickell puts the brakes on the positive side of biodiesel halway through the film by telling the audience that all the advances made to the biodiesel industry (the announcement that every single diesel engine in the country: buses, trucks, trains, could run on biodiesel today WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATION dropped my jaw) had all been shut down due to scientific studies and reports that biodiesel was not as clean and safe as everyone was led to believe. Definitely an interesting way to prove a point. In the final act, the documentary begins the uphill slog after these setbacks by giving updates on the biodiesel industry: companies that harvest used cooking oil, the planting of mega trees that have shorter growing spans and can be harvested for biomass fuel production, and the most intriguing: algae-based biodiesel farms which use waste water from other industries to grow algae quickly, cleanly and in a very small space. The film easily proves its tag line: change your fuel, change the world.

1,000 Mile Summer

So in lieu of attending the big cross country rally “Hands Across the Sand” yesterday to protest offshore oil drilling (to attend I would have had to drive approximately 60 miles round trip to stand at the beach for an hour), I decided to continue with my trying not to use my car and did all my errands by bike again. Still on that same tank of gas from May 17^th, though the ‘low fuel’ light is starting to pop on and off. (Great thing about a hybrid is that light can go on and off for 20-30 miles depending on your current gas mileage). But a new realization came to me while I was riding yesterday, that I am now officially addicted to not driving my car. The more I ride my bike, the more I want to ride my bike. I had one of the best rides yesterday and I am realizing that I can do pretty much all my errands using my bike or my feet. I can go to the library (I remember once carrying 10 books home in my CamelBack). I’ve carried a 6 pack of beer and a bag of chips home in that bag too (separate occasion, of course). And this week I rode my bike to work 4 days out of 5 with my brand new computer strapped to my back. It can be done! So during yesterday’s errands (pharmacy, bank, grocery store, 2 libraries) I devised a little challenge for myself: I am naming this the “1,000 mile Summer” to see if I can ride my bike at least 1,000 miles this summer. Including what I’ve ridden this month so far, I’m up to 96, but there are at least 10 weeks to go. The big challenge is that while I would ride my bike to work every day if I could, I have a job with hours that wildly fluctuate (sometimes I’m in as early as 7am, and out as late as midnight, sometimes 6 and 7 days a week), and the summer temps in LA get up over 90º. But that’s why they call it a challenge.

Simple Solutions: Helping the Gulf and Getting Back on Track

I've been out on the road for about 45 days now and while I'm the first to admit that I have slipped in my attempts to live the simplest life possible (my credit card statement is the smoking gun) I am trying to get back on track to living the life I truly believe in. News of the devastating oil spill in the Gulf region just crushed my heart this week, but in the midst of this tragedy I discovered an organization that has found an amazingly simple way to help. Matter Of Trust is an organization that has been using natural and man made surplus products in creative ways to solve ecological issues. What's so amazing about this organization is that they are collecting hair clippings (and wool and fur trimmings) to create 'hair bats' and 'hair mats' to help adsorb oil from the water. And while I don't personally have an excess of hair clippings, wool snippings or fur trimmings, there are 370,000 hair salons in the U.S. that average a pound of clippings a day. So I decided my mission this week (having a little down time here in Chicago), would be to take my daily walks armed with Hair Mat Oil Spill Program flyers and just stop by any hair salon or pet grooming place I passed. With my 20 second spiel, I let the flyer speak for itself. One salon I went to had even just been talking about the program before I walked in, and one of the pet groomers was by far the most excited about the idea. It was quite possibly the easiest and simplest environmental activism I've ever attempted.

Oopsie Poopsie...

So an eco-confession to make… despite all my attempts to make the adventure cat into the eco-cat, I have begun to realize that I've made a pretty big oops. He's been eating his organic cat food since he was a mere furball, he's been using the post-consumer pine pellet cat litter and I was putting the used litter sawdust (non-feces) in the green waste recycling bin until I got the cease and desist from the city… then the sawdust was going in the worm bin. The poops, I was always dropping right into the toilet and flushing away. Unfortunately, I'm finding out now (after 10 years of reading environmental books, magazines, blogs etc…) is that flushing cat feces is actually illegal in California and probably should never enter the municipal sewer system anywhere. The issue is a parasite called Toxoplasma Gondii that many (but not all) cats carry and it can lead to Toxoplasmosis Gondii, the main reason pregnant women are told not to be the one change the litter box. There's no way to treat for the parasite's eggs at waste treatment plants and when that water heads back into the ocean, the parasite goes with it. The parasite is blamed for a high number of deaths of sea lion and sea otters.

Now from what I've read, it seems that if you have a septic system and don't live near a water body, you should be okay to flush cat poop, but if you're on the city's sewer system sadly, the only safe way to dispose of cat waste is to wrap it in plastic and send it off to the land fill. It can ONLY be composted in a pile that has temperatures over 160º or below zero, as those are the only temperatures that will kill the organisms (and NEVER use the composted material on plants that you eat). The internets are surprisingly mum on ideas on how to face this problem ecologically-there are special composting bins for dog feces but the parasites in cat feces are neglected. If some creative and scientific mind (I really have to get myself an MIT intern) could get on a solution to this problem I bet the owners of the 90 million U.S. cats would sit up and start to listen.

Why we need simplicity, now more than ever

I awoke to the news of the second catastrophic earthquake to hit the western hemisphere within two months. Photos of collapsed buildings, bridges and roads are a sobering reminder of just how powerful nature can be. And earthquakes suck. A lot. There is no warning and there is almost little you can do to completely prepare for them. We are always looking for someone to blame when catastrophe strikes, but it is hard to point the finger at an enemy when an earthquake hits (though most start with construction that fails and those responsible for help that is slow in response time).
What is most frightening is the fact that both earthquakes hit in areas that had not had a major quake for centuries. It makes people wonder, 'where next'? There is most likely going to be fatigue in donations after the big push for Haiti, and with hope, I pray that the loss of life will be infinitely smaller than Haiti.

Living simply can give us the ability to prepare for the occasion when disaster strikes-conserving your money and your energy for when you may truly need it or, when it is needed to help others who cannot help themselves.  You could live your life in constant fear, or you can live your life aware that it is finite and beautiful. Simplicity helps you accept that possessions are just “things”, so that if they are lost, it can be of lesser consequence. Use less resources, keep the environment clean, and pace yourself, for life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Help get “The Simplicity Connection” into the Los Angeles Public Library!

Go to this link, http://www.lapl.org/forms/purchase.html and fill in the blanks (the answers are The Simplicity Connection, C.B. Davis, Trafford Publishing 2009, ISBN: 978-1-4251-4998-7) you don't even have to be a card holder to suggest a purchase. Thanks!

Reading List: Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days (Vanessa Farquharson)

I picked this one up based on its title and cover, and decided to give it a fair chance because these days, I pretty much will ready anything with the word 'green' on it. The title is pretty gimmicky, most likely aimed at urban 20-somethings like Vanessa who love their designer purses and trendy cocktails but can't seem to silence the voice that reminds them of their childhood diet of environmental education. She gets kudos for taking on some big issues that I personally can't convince myself to do (giving up the car, shutting off the cable, and unplugging the fridge) but with a goal of 366 environmental challenges (the project fell on a leap year), the list is quite a bit uneven in places (like: 68. Using a natural bronzer, 250. Not using any toothpicks, 356. Going skinny dipping, and 363. Deleting all spam and stale emails from my Gmail inbox)

The highlight for me was when she got No Impact Man Colin Bevan to admit how exactly he and his family gave up using toilet paper for their own year-long challenge-information that was not included in Bevan's book or  documentary and answers he would give to interviewers were always curt and left the question unanswered. She did write one of my favorite new quotes about: “the compost hitting the wind turbine”.

If you're looking for solutions, it is worth a scan only if you are new to the challenge of being more environmental but if you've been around the eco-block a time or two, the list will leave you thinking you've heard it all before. (or you can just head to her blog, which she's since stopped updating, the full list of 366 changes is: http://greenasathistle.com/green-listed/)

Go 'dils!

Well it may be February, but spring has definitely sprung here in southern California. The daffodils have been in bloom since late January, but today was the first day over 70º and you could feel the city just breathe a sigh that the cold rains are seemingly gone. I found it a great day to pull down the curtains and run them through the wash to get rid of the winter grime. The sun gave me a new creative energy that's propelled me through the day.

So it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to write about The Cove, the now Oscar-nominated documentary about dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. When first released last August, it didn't make much of a splash (no pun intended), in that it stayed mainly in the art houses and the reviews I read didn't even inspire me to drop the ten bucks to seek it out. But now, hopefully since its release on DVD and the press it will receive from award season, more people will give it a chance. I expected another activist/eco-documentary, but what I didn't expect was how affected I would be by the story. Called “Ocean's Eleven-meets-Flipper”, it follows a team of marine biologists, adrenaline junkies, high-tech filmmakers and animal activists on a journey to expose the horrific slaughter of 23,000 dolphins each year in a small inlet in Japan. The true reason for why this community feels the need to exterminate so many dolphins so brutally is not really made clear (is it because their culture depends on dolphin meat for food? Because the fishing industry fears that dolphins eat too many fish? Is it that protecting dolphins under International Whaling Commission guidelines would call more attention to Japan's whaling industry? And if any of these are actually the reason, why are they treating the cove as such a dirty little secret?)
The cast, with their movie-star good looks and top-of-the-line equipment (courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic, George Lucas' company that most notably created all those Star Wars movies and creatures) lead a covert operation to capture on video what hides behind the stone walls of the cove and expose to the world the truth about the slaughter. The music was beautifully done, the narrative so suspenseful it gave the plight of these animals even more urgency. I would have liked to seen more interviews with Taiji locals, surely more than just the 2 councilmen featured (and the angry fishermen who threaten the filmmakers' and cover their cameras) had some insight into why their community was a part of this practice. There is some highly graphic footage contained in the movie, but by the time you reach this part of the story, you are so drawn in by the suspense of learning the secret of the cove that can't look away. And hopefully, the world won't turn away until the slaughter stops.

Learn more about the movie
Take action
 Buy the DVD at amazon.com

Jumping in the Freecycle Pool

Well, I've taken the plunge and joined the other free-cyclers in my neighborhood and I have to say what a great way to both get rid of something you don't use and also try to find something you truly will use all without spending a cent. I lurked on the message boards for a few weeks before trying to decide what it was I wanted to ask for (a battery operated pump for my balance ball-still no offers though) but after seeing a WANTED post for a Roomba and realizing mine was just sitting in the utility closet collecting dust, I figured why not pass it on to someone who could appreciate it. Most freecyclers arrange time and place to make their exchanges, but the cheapest and easiest way for all parties I figured was to just leave the item on the porch and the WANTER could just pick it up at their convenience. No fuss, no muss. And no hard feelings if or when the item breaks because it's all for the low low price of FREE! And even better there's no obligation—say you really need a new blender, what do you have to lose by posting a request? If you find one, you've saved yourself the money (and the manufacture of a new product), if you don't find one, you're no worse for trying. To find a group in your area: www.freecycle.org
And Freecycle's not the only place Care2 ran a list of 5 other online free or trade sites.

Okay, I think I'm back on track here... off for errands yesterday and despite driving to Pasadena, I managed to stumble upon everything I needed to do on my to-do list. Started the morning with a little YMCA yoga (my teacher remarked she was excited that she for once knew the teams in the Super Bowl but didn't know whether to root for the Ponies or the Angels...refilled the printer in cartridges at Cartridge World... got some organic (relatively local) fruit from Whole Foods (farmer's market most likely was canceled due to rain)... stopped at the Glendale Library to feed my addiction of eco-themed books (Cheap by Ellen Ruppel and Two Billion Cars by Daniel Sperling & Deborah Gordon)...and found a giant Salvation Army thrift store having a 50% off Saturday with which to test my new theory: "Ugly Sweater, Pretty Yarn" (so stay tuned to see if I can actually create something attractive by unraveling and re-knitting). Impact was relatively minimal, I'd say probably an 85% on the simplicity scale, best yet, it was an enjoyable way to spend a drizzly Saturday morning, which I believe is what simplicity is truly about.

I’ve been feeling a little lost in my practice lately—things that I would have easily been able to handle, now they seem like a chore, or worse yet, I don’t even second guess taking the easy way out. Errands to do on my only day off, and I’m in the car driving all over the city even though it’s a beautiful sunny 65º day and everything is an easy bike ride away. I’m feeling very uninspired in my simple life and stuck with moving my book forward to the masses…I hit IKEA yesterday and came out with a bag full of stuff that I know I don’t truly need (though I can try to defend it all only closer examination 36 hours later, it really is all just disposable superfluous crap)—I can’t even blame any of it on the winter doldrums (though I suspect too many carbs and not enough exercise are partially to blame). So what to do when creativity hits the wall? Turn to those who know the challenge first hand: tonight’s viewing of No Impact Man (the documentary) sparked some embers: it’s time to get back to the farmer’s market on Saturday for local fruit. It’s time to get back to local environmental activism and volunteer. It’s time to stop taking the easy way out by cranking the heat when I’m chilly and sitting in front of the computer all day refreshing my Facebook page. It’s time to try a new motto on for size: [NOTHING NEW] and to use it as a guiding principle in moving forward. There’s big new projects on the horizon and I’m going to need all the help, guidance, and inspiration I can get.

Doc Review: Garbage Warrior (2007)

All I can say is-wow what a week. Working on the “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon was truly both the most surreal and the most rewarding experience of my alter ego's career. (I mean it's not every day one gets to work side-by-side with George Clooney) And to top it all off, we were able to raise a lot of money for relief and recovery. Spent the weekend recovering from the emotional and exhausting roller coaster ride of live production and finally had the chance to finish watching Garbage Warrior, the 2007 documentary about Michael Reynolds, the New Mexican architect who has been creating “Earthship Biotechture” (Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills. Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.)-otherwise known as houses made of cement, used tires, and empty beverage containers. Reynolds found much resistance to his creative solution for home building from the NM legislature, but in 2004 after the Southeastern Asian tsunami, he and his crew headed to the devastated Andaman Islands where he taught locals a quick, cheap and sturdy way to build new homes. One can only hope he's already bought his ticket to Haiti and is plotting how his skills can help create new homes there as well.

Take that Swiffer!™

I'll be the first to admit that my kitchen floor is pretty disgusting. The linoleum is probably at least 20 years old and no matter how clean the bottom of my shoes are, it always seems to attract dirt and grime. So early on, I gave up even trying to keep it clean, just seemed simpler to let nature take it's course. And don't think I wasn't slightly jealous when I watched my friends using their fancy new Swiffer-type mops with built in cleaner in the handle. I thought, 'At last, here could be the solution to the issue at hand.' These fancy cleaning tools only run about $20 for the hardware and then $6 or $7 for the refill wipes, but before I succumbed to the temptation of just letting corporate/chemical America fix it, I decided to see what a little ingenuity (with a big dose of inspiration from the hard working Props team of AGT) would get me. The simple solution? Take an old mop (one of those rectangular sponge types), 2 rubber bands and an old terry cloth towel. Rubber band the towel to the mop head, and use a spray bottle of vinegar to hit the spots you need to clean. No rinsing, no toxic fumes, no fuss, no muss. Voila, in your face, Procter & Gamble! With this simple (and practically free) solution, now I'm at least 14% more likely to clean my kitchen floor more than once a year.

Resolving to Resolve

Wow, a whole new year, a whole new decade. Wonder where that came from? I’m not really big on making resolutions on January 1… probably because I’m so busy making them the rest of the year. I mean I have list after list of things I want to accomplish (I even spent yesterday’s flu-ish day on the couch reading a book about To-Do lists. And proud of it. Sasha Cagen’s To-Do List, good read so far.) I have weekly to do lists, I have monthly to do lists, I have daily to do lists. I have list after list of things that need to get done, things I keep putting off and things I put on there just so I’ll cross them off quickly and think that I’m accomplishing something. But if I were asked to make a resolution for this year, I’m going to go with a bad habit or two—stopping my disposable plastic habit. No more take away silverware, or throwaway cups. If I’m eating out, I’m eating in and asking for it unwrapped, and bringing my own cup. I’ve failed miserably at this attempt in the past, but I think with the right amount of preparation, I can get it ingrained enough to be like bringing my own reusable bags. It’s just a matter of having the right tools on hand when you need them. So happy first day of 20-10, y’all.

A Little Holiday Recycling

I'm always looking for new ways to creatively recycle or reuse things that I would normally end up throwing away and I came across this tip (from the always excellent Sierra Club Magazine's The Green Life series) St. Jude's Ranch (3 centers for abused and neglected children in Nevada and Texas) has created a recycled greeting card program. From now until February 28, 2010, you can mail your used cards (any occasion: Christmas, birthday, thank you, etc…) and they will turn the “old” cards into new—removing the front of the card and replacing the back with a new blank card. Children at the center also assist in the recycling process. A great way to give new use to something that most people throw into the trash bin once the holiday season has wound down.

You can mail your donations to:
St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude's Street
Boulder City, NV 89005
877-977-SJRC (7572)

Skipping Christmas

A few years ago, John Grisham wrote a crappy little book called “Skipping Christmas”-in it, a couple of empty-nesters decide to 'skip Christmas' because their college-age daughter isn't coming home that year. Instead they decide to take a cruise, leave the decorations in the attic, and avoid the malls. (It was made into an even crappier movie starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis called Christmas with the Kranks.) In theory, their self-imposed ban on the holiday seemed like a nice peaceful way to celebrate… but their obnoxious neighbors belittle and berate them for their choice. They manage to hold out until (spoiler alert), the daughter announces she really is coming home. Then mayhem ensues as the couple spins out of control trying to recreate their usual standard of holiday festivities, decorations and gift giving in less than a day. See the comedy? Sigh.

This year I decided quietly that I was going to truly 'skip Christmas'. Aside from the 'avoid the malls', no decorating, no holiday cards, I wanted no pressure to be anywhere, to do anything… just be. And when you step back, you see how overbearing Christmas has become. It's now a cliché to say “we've forgotten the true meaning of the holidays” because the “true meaning” still involves commitments and traditions that can easily spiral into too much to do, not enough time to do it and not worth the stress in the long run. So this year, I said 'no' to Christmas and 'yes' to peace and simplicity instead.

Cobblers Live!: Resole America

Everyone's got a favorite old pair of shoes that they love so much that they won't get rid of until you can see right through the sole to the street below, but shoes are so cheap and easy to buy that resoling is a lost art. Scan the Yellow Pages for cobblers and you're not likely to find many listings. Now though, an online service called Resole America is setting out to change all that. Using their website, you can search for your brand and request a mailer. Ship your shoes out and they agree to have them back to you in 8-10 business days. Currently there's not a huge selection of shoes listed, and the prices range between 1/3 and 1/2 the cost of a new pair, but this is a great way to give your favorite pair of shoes an extended life.

A Simple Saturday in the Big City

What a great day today-spent it walking all over Georgetown (I mean that's one benefit of global warming, enjoying a 60º day in November walking around D.C…. maybe?) Needed a formal dress for the big gala in a few weeks and literally tripped (those Georgetown streets are very rocky) over a Second Time Around consignment shop and was able to find something to wear. Opted out of the beautiful brand new red satin Ralph Lauren cocktail dress (original retail: $450, here: $72) in favor of a simple black Jones NY number. (Even simplists have a fashion gene!) Total cost to me? $19.08. Did a quick climb up the 'Exorcist' stairs (oh you think you're gonna make it without losing your breath, but once you're up there you realize how winded you really are! Then despite browsing at the Georgetown Public library, (no national library cards… yet!) headed over to Books for America, a great local used book store that not only sells used books but also used the profits to make donations to local schools, shelters, correctional facilities, etc. etc. Four books in almost as new condition, cost to me? $12.72. Some days the gods of simplicity just shine down and show you the way.

Book Review: No Impact Man

No Impact Man (The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes about Himself and our way of life in the process) by Colin Beavan

I'm a sucker for any book that poses a year-long eco-challenge to itself (See my reviews for: Plenty, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Not Buying It (okay I meant to review this one, but it slipped through the cracks), A Year Without 'Made in China') but what makes Beavan's book unique, is that he combines all of the challenges posed by these other books and tries them all at once. While living in New York City. With a toddler. A grand undertaking indeed. Now I realize there are people out there thinking “what a presumptuous jerk! There are people who live like that every day, not because they want a challenge, but because they have to.” But the issue is that so many people do not want to consider live as he does—eating locally, not driving or taking mass transit, not using electricity (!!), (there was also some note about also not using toilet paper but it wasn't revealed how exactly they went about this). With the title of the book 'No Impact', it's pretty big boast, but on only page 22 he admits that having 'no impact' is actually impossible, but what you learn slowly is that he can lessen his impact so much that he can make up for what waste and destruction he does create with simple actions like picking up litter along the riverfront. He won me over by not only talking the talk but walking the walk. Shutting off the electricity? That's a pretty bold maneuver. Sure I've got the worm bin chewing up my scraps and I can make less than a plastic grocery bag full of trash a month, but this guy washed his own clothes in the bathtub and read by candlelight for months. And that's pretty cool. He's a minor celebrity now, with his blog and his documentary but I'm happy to support anyone who preaches the gospel of needing to simplify your life no matter where you live and finding creative solutions to do so.

Look, I like to consider myself a fairly environmentally sound person (in the grand scheme of things) but I also don't pretend that I'm something I'm not: we all have our vices and that's a great thing about simplicity-it's not about deprivation. It's about being conscious of your actions and not allowing those vices to get out of hand. I love In-n-Out Burger, and I don't want to imagine giving it up, so instead, I use it as a treat, a reward. I also try to keep learning about creating less waste and lowering consumption and staying mindful about my actions. I also am working on my strength as an activist, so that someday I'll convince those In-n-Out folks organic meat and vegetables are the way to go, or to recycle their paper waste, or to have non-plastic options for eat in service.