Baby Steps

DISCLAIMER- long post....


Maybe it was the nasally snores of my conked-out friend, resounding through the room, or the unwavering rush from shenanigans of earlier hours, but I just couldn't fall asleep last night.
Naturally my mind wandered to my project...

Why haven't you posted in the last 4 days...
Shoot you forgot to read the electric meter...
The Library doesn't have Eat Where You Live...
No Impact Man....
CFCs....
Garbage crisis....

Yes, it was a exuberant saturday night.



So there is a lot to say, and at the same time not much to say, and here's why--

I have not been following my two week plan, I will admit. By today I was hoping to have a small sampler of the footage I have taken, an interview set up, and a basic idea of what local foods are available.Unfortunately I have little to show for 5 days on the job.
However not all is lost, I have been doing work, but it has consisted mostly of research, and recording energy usage (see below for my annual environmental impact of living at my moms house)

I am in the process of reading these bad boys--

• Earth in the Balance     by none other than Al Gore. I'm not sure how useful this book will be for practicality, but philosophically it puts you in an environmental activist mindset. An enlightening, more articulate version of Inconvenient Truth.

• Sustainable America      a bit dry from the little I scanned, but there seem to be nuggets of helpful info

• Green Guide      put out by National Geographic, gets down to the nitty-gritty consumer choices (should I wear disposable diapers to school or the more retro cloth ones)

last but not least, and my favorite so far...

• The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices      written by scientists (they have Ph.Ds, they must be right)
  

 So far this book has corroborated a notion I already had-- that small personal changes, like not using disposable cups, napkins, or plastic bags, are not substantial enough to address the environmental problems we face. As Dominic Frongillo, the leader of Energy Independent Caroline, told me last week. "We are facing enormous challenges and enormous challenges require enormous changes" (not a direct quote, I'll upload the video interview sometime soon. The man knows is a genious)

It is silly, if not dangerous, to feel satisfied with mediocre shifts in consumerism and environmental policy. The answer does not lie in consuming less, but consuming more of  what we need (clean water, fresh healthy food, fun with friends and family) and less of what we want (on the go hamburgers, tank size SUVs), and doing so in a sustainable manner. It is not that consumers can't make a difference, the book cites the inspiring story of how consumers pioneered recycling and saved the ozone layer from destructive CFCs, but changes that alter our consumptious daily living-- buying only local as opposed to throwing away a spray can with CFC propellant---are much harder to make. We need to start demanding, and living, those harder changes.


To wrap this up (if you've read up to this point you're a trooper, give yourself a high-five) I would like to reflect upon the direction of my project->

Yesterday I watched No Impact Man, for those of you who haven't seen the film it's about a man, Colin Beavan, and his family of wife and kid, who try, to live a year without having an environmental impact. There is lots to be said about the film, but my general impression of the film was --

No Impact Man's project was a lot like mine, write a blog and make a documentary. He took radical steps, like not using a refrigerator in the scorching NY City summer heat, that were intended to raise awareness. And raise awareness he did, Colin has been featured on nearly every news show. However, I finished the film feeling enthused, but disappointed in the lack of reflection. There was very little discussion over the big picture. I saw trees, but not the forest.

And so My Revelation, which I always get after finishing a film, was:

He made a fine movie and he raised awareness, but if he wanted to do even more he shouldn't have asked "what can I do?", but "what can we do?" Towards the end of the film he talked about how we are loosing a sense of community and consequently a sense that our choices impact others. I wish he had concentrated more on this idea .
Community Impact Man 2?


Watching No Impact Man inspired me to get more involved in the community for my project- at Caroline Elementary, in local government, etc.

We will have to wait and see what direction I take. I now know it will be more than just what I can do.


By the way day one of no driving starts tomorrow. Yay!!



P.S this is what the environmental calculator (http://www.lowimpactliving.com/pages/impact-calculator/impact-calculator) has told me---





Annual Environmental Impact
Rough Estimate

Water

50,000 GAL

Energy

217 MBTU

Carbon Dioxide

35,000 LBS

Wastewater

49,800 GAL

Runoff

50,200 GAL

Trash

1,740 LBS