Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: AlbySpace

California’s Proposition 8 is wrong.

While I am a big proponent that this Website remains nonpartisan, I feel strongly about that first sentence, and more strongly that it has nothing to do with partisan politics whatsoever.

At the end of the day, Proposition 8 added Section 7.5 to Article I of the California Constitution, which states:  “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

The Bill of Rights refers to our nation’s first ten Constitutional amendments.  Seventeen more came into existence thereafter.  If there is a common theme among all, it is the protection and granting of individual rights in defense of possible tyranny by a federal sovereignty.  After passing a series of articles establishing a nation, the Bill of Rights provided some sort of guarantee that this new nation would not usurp individual rights.

So it naturally follows that the 27 Constitutional Amendments — with the one obvious exception (prohibition, which was later repealed) — give rather than take.  The First Amendment grants the individual right to speak freely.  The Second lets you own a gun.  The Third provides some protection in the home.  The Fourth protects against unlawful searches and seizures.  Five ensures protection from an unlawful “taking” by the federal government.  Six, Seven and Eight were crafted to ensure that our justice system afforded the necessary safeguards for those accused, and convicted, of a crime.

The actual right established by an amendment is more obvious in some instances than others, such as 13, 14, 15, 19 and 26 (abolishing slavery and granting citizenship rights, and also establishing voting rights for most men and women over the age of 18).  While some amendments may be construed as taking rights away (e.g., 16 (income taxes) and 27 (limiting Congressional pay increases)), a deeper analysis reveals that this was not the intent.  Only 18 (prohibition) “took away”, but that was later repealed by 21.

When working properly, these amendments should provide inspiration for all that our nation exists with unlimited potential. But sometimes this is not the case.  Proposition 8 establishes no rights upon anyone whatsoever.  While proponents may have argued that Proposition 8 provided both moral and practical protections to certain parts of society, a simple reading of its text does nothing more than eliminate one specific option for one specific group in society.

So I voted against Proposition 8 for these reasons. I didn’t even get to the other more substantive and contemplative issues.  Does this cross the line of separating the church from the state?  Does it take away from the notion of traditional “family values”?  Should we make a fundamental distinction between same sex marriages and opposite sex marriages?

What Prop 8 reveals is how antiquated and dangerous the system of propositions in California is.  Under Article 16 of the California Constitution, decisions of public finance require agreement by two-thirds of the California legislature.  Since that rarely happens, propositions are the only other mechanism for deciding decisions of public finance.

If the legislature is not able to make these important decisions, then I question whether California has simply outgrown its operating instructions.

That’s probably a larger discussion for another website, perhaps the same website that can figure out how a state as large as California can elect a governor, then un-elect him a couple of years later, and then elect another governor who is virtually powerless to do anything given California’s political infrastructure.

So what does this have to do with energy conservation?  Not much.  But it has everything to do with sustainability, and if California — our nation’s most populous state — is ever going to be able to sustain itself on all fronts, it needs to rethink the instruction manual under which it operates.  The definition of sustainability is very broad and covers everything from the environment to healthcare to individual rights.  It is going to take a lot of work for California to get where it needs to be.  But much like the discussions contained within this website, it starts with creating an environment that fosters change.

Turmoil in the financial markets, declining consumer confidence, and a renewed interest in the environment have created a perfect storm for conservation. Suddenly, it’s chic to be cheap.

As the Wall Street Journal reports: “Retail and manufacturing clients are seeing almost an aversion to consumption,” says Todd Lavieri, chief executive of Archstone Consulting, which tracks retail spending patterns. “In previous downturns [such as in 1991 and 2001], we have often seen shopping as therapy.” Now, with credit conditions so tight, Mr. Lavieri says, “people aren’t shopping to feel better. They actually are not shopping to feel better.”

To aid in the catharsis, the new website Spendster.org invites consumers to record their former profligate ways and post videos to share. For anybody who has ever regretted purchase (that’s pretty much everybody), the site is a humorous relief. Take a walk through users’ homes and you’ll see closets bulging with seldom-worn purses and hats and never-used appliances–electric can openers, anyone?–and other next-to-useless items likely found in your home, too.

The idea, of course, is to be mindful of one’s purchases. Though Spendster focuses on the financial benefits of buying less, it’s easy to see the environmental benefits as well.

More:
“Luxury Consumers Scrimp for the Sake of the Planet, and Because It’s Cheaper,” Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2008:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122575617614495083.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

“Shoppers Turn to Consignment Stores,” Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2008: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122576228664895683.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Join these CTC members in their Cheap Is Chic goals:
Buy Less Stuff
Buy All My Clothes at Secondhand Stores
Create Less Waste
Have a “Green” Christmas
Purchase More Bulk Items = Less Packaging Waste

As founder and CEO of Compete to Conserve, I’d like to welcome you to our new and improved beta site. We’re not quite done—like conservation efforts, there’s always room for improvement—but we hope you find our latest updates useful and fun.

We’ve made it easier to see when other Compete to Conserve members have posted and made it easier to connect with people in the community. We encourage you to try our improved features: follow interesting members to see what they’re up to, add a goal and post your thoughts or progress, and challenge others to do the same.

Make a Difference, Not a Statement

We believe that you don’t have to be an environmentalist or an expert to conserve resources. Compete to Conserve is designed so you can make small everyday changes that add up to create real impact.

In the fall of 2007, cofounder Tim Barkow and I hatched the idea for a nonpartisan online community that inspires changes in the way we consume natural resources. After countless hours of work and the addition of six more team members, we launched July 22, 2008.

Since then, all of us have made significant adjustments in our lives as a result of what we have learned from our community. We take a practical, realistic approach as leaders in our online community. We do not publicly endorse candidates, and if possible, we present “both sides” to an argument. We want to learn how much energy CFLs will save and how to clean them up if they accidentally break on the carpet at home. We struggle to understand the balance between the growth of the GDP in our nation and worldwide while still promoting conservation.

Jump Right In

We are very proud of what we have accomplished. Our community has grown, and we continue to emphasize our focus on people helping other people learn more and discover solutions to their consumer- and energy-related lives. We may argue about the impact, but few disagree that we create a lot of waste. So jump in and tell us what’s working for you and what’s not. To make things easy for you, here’s a link where you can provide some feedback. http://getsatisfaction.com/competetoconserve.  We’re ready to make a difference, not a statement.

–Craig Garner

Winter in Juneau, Alaska

Winter is here (or almost here) for many people across the United States.  While it doesn’t quite feel like it in sunny Los Angeles, it’s pretty hard to ignore, having just returned from a icy vacation in Alaska where I witnessed the first snow of the season. 

This week, we’ve gathered eco-friendly tips across the web to help you cope through the impending chilly season:

• The Daily Green posted a slide show, highlighting natural remedies for 12 Winter Aches and Chills.
• VegNews shared some chic earth-friendly fabric ideas to keep you feeling toasty throughout the season.
• Yahoo! Green revealed a few helpful home tips for saving heat during those cold, blustery nights.
• TreeHugger outlined ways to get better gas mileage under these cold conditions that overwork your vehicle.
• Care2 unveiled a a natural remedy for dry winter skin, as recommended by health expert for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Dr. Brent  - goat milk soap.  Who knew?!?!

photo credit: otisarchives3

Hospitals use a lot of energy, and not surprisingly the healthcare sector ranks second in energy intensity.  Hospitals use 836 trillion BTUs of energy annually (over 2.5 times the energy intensity and CO2 emissions of commercial office buildings), produce 28.575 million tons of CO2 and over 30 lbs of CO2 emissions per square foot on an annual basis.  It would logically follow that Hospitals have at their disposal myriad resources to make a change toward sustainability.  Regrettably, this is not the case.

While my approach in trying to make a difference and improve our environment has been deliberately non-partisan, at some point it is necessary to take a definitive stand on something, even if that “something” is mired in controversy.  Working in hospital administration these past six years, I fear that the healthcare system in California today is so dysfunctional that it borders on the edge of cataclysmic failure.  Surprisingly, this systemic problem has not received the necessary attention a crisis of such magnitude should mandate. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Compost Your Jack-o-Lantern
You can also save, wash, and roast the pumpkin seeds for a treat.

photo credit: tanakawho

2. Buy a Second-Hand Costume (and Donate It or Use It Next Year)
You can pick up high quality next-to-new costumes at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other second-hand stores for less than $5. Sure beats paying $40, and you’ll conserve resources in the process. Don’t let your costumes’ lifecycle end there: pass them to a friend next year or donate to a retail charity and use your donation as a tax deduction.

3. Buy Less Individually Wrapped Candy
Let’s face facts: are you really going to get 400 trick-or-treaters? If you’re buying candy to satisfy your own sweet tooth, skip the small individually wrapped candies and opt for something with less packaging.

4. Turn Out the Lights
It adds ambiance to the night and saves energy, too.

5. Look for Any Opportunity to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Be mindful of your consumption during holidays when our desire to celebrate often leads to falling off the conservation bandwagon. Reuse costumes and decorations where you can. Recycle plastic cups, use compostable utensils, or use your regular flatware. Question whether you really need the Halloween merchandise that’s pushed at us each year. And just because something’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make a difference–I’ve even recycled tiny cardboard candy boxes from the kids’ treat bags.

More conservation ideas for Halloween from some of our favorite bloggers:

“Turning Halloween into Zero Waste Hallo-green,” My Zero Waste, October 16, 2008:
http://myzerowaste.com/2008/10/turning-halloween-into-a-zero-waste-hallo-green/

“Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Oh My!” Low Impact Home, September 30, 2008: http://lowimpacthome.org/2008/09/30/halloween-thanksgiving-christmasoh-my/

This week, I am blogging from Juneau, Alaska with a special round-up/aggregate of news and videos petaining to the environment on this side of the planet:

• TreeHugger.com reported on the legal settlement between the Secretary of the Interior, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace, and the NRDC to designate “critical habitat” for the endangered polar bear by March 31, 2010.

photo credit: jessicafm

• Ecopreneurist.com introduced Toby Foster’s organic vodka, made from locally grown Alaska potatoes and glacier water, marketed under the name Permafrost vodka.
• Yahoo!Green re-posted this time-lapse video from The New York Times’ Dot Earth blog, which documents the erosion of the Alaskan coastline from late June to late July of 2008.

• The Beluga whale was recently added to the list of endangered species in Alaska.  Check out these adorable creatures in a video posted by GreenDaily.com.

photo credit: Harris Graber

It’s come to our attention that a growing number of parents throw out their children’s trick-or-treat bounty when the kids aren’t looking. (Thanks to One Mom’s Musings for tipping us off.)

It’s a troublesome over-consumption paradox. Parents and neighbors buy lots and lots of candy. Children are encouraged to gather as much candy as they can. And then parents throw it out? That’s an enormous waste and a significant addition to overcrowded landfills. At least unwanted Christmas gifts can be returned to the store or schlepped off to Goodwill for reuse.

As a nation, it’s time for us to ask: Won’t somebody please think of the children? And the landfill?

This Halloween, if your children collect more candy than you think they should eat in a year, follow the lead of our forebearers: eat the candy yourself. Or bring it to the office to share with coworkers. It’s the responsible thing to do.

photo credit: Mannequin-

In the spirit of the fast-approaching Election Day 2008, here are a few links to recent election/political chatter across the environmental blogosphere - non-partisan, yet informative - just how we like it!

• TreeHugger highlights Obama and McCain’s discussion on environmental issues from an exclusive interview in Backpacker Magazine.
• Plenty reminds us of the good news that both presidential candidates support science, despite their differing environmental policies.
• Red Green and Blue links to the WWF’s environmental mandate to our candidates entitled, “Greenprint.” Topics covered include Climate Change, Agriculture, Foreign Policy and Conservation, Water and Food.
• The Christian Science Monitor’s “Bright Green Blog” posted an interesting article on “clean coal.”  Just what exactly is it?
• And last, on a lighter note, Planet Green listed “10 Ways to Get Green Tax Breaks.”  Hopefully there will be even more incentives for people to save the planet no matter who gets elected in two weeks!

Endangered by factors such as global warming and pollution (see Sunscreens Killing the Coral Reef, posted on July 5^th), coral reefs are also the victims of another modern plague: rampant consumerism.

photo credit: robertpaulyoung

The United States is the biggest offender, importing about 80% or 400,000 pieces of coral yearly—much of which is used for jewelry and home décor. Indeed, the high demand for, and increasing rarity of, precious red and pink coral is such that jewelry and art pieces made from these corals can sell for as little as $20, or as much as $20,000.

According to a recent report in the journal Science, if the onslaught on coral reefs continues unimpeded, over 98% of the world’s coral reefs could be destroyed by 2050. This would pose a bleak future for the myriad of aquatic life and people who depend on them for their livelihood.

To increase people’s awareness about the need to protect these beleaguered creatures, the ocean conservation organization SeaWeb launched the Too Precious to Wear campaign this past January. The campaign’s launch also marked the start of the 2008 International Year of the Reef—a year-long series of programs and events focusing on coral conservation.

Too Precious to Wear advocates stricter control of the global coral trade, emphasizing the importance of industry and consumer responsibility. The campaign represents a collaboration of scientists, industry leaders, fashion and home designers, as well as celebrities. Tiffany & Co., which hasn’t used real coral in its jewelry for the last six years, voiced its support of the campaign with CEO Michael J. Kowalski declaring “there are much better alternatives that celebrate the beauty of the ocean.” The company’s line of jewelry with a coral-branch motif is one option. Other alternatives include environmentally friendly home décor items such as Pottery Barn’s resin-sculpted coral candle-holders and home designer Michael Aram’s Coral Reef Collection, available in select department stores nationwide.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, founding partner of the Too Precious campaign, argues that “it is up to each of us to make sure corals are protected. If we take good care of the ocean, the ocean will take care of us.” To find out more how you can do this, see

Too Precious to Wear:

http://www.tooprecioustowear.org/_science/overview.html

2008 International Year of the Reef:

http://www.iyor.org/