green of the day: no impact man

This is a re-post from triplepundit.com. Because I’m lazy. Can’t wait to watch this, though. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a modern-day, urban cavewoman/hunter-gatherer. yeah, really. i really have.

There is No Impact Man the blog. There is No Impact Man the book.

And coming soon to a theater near you, there is No Impact Man the documentary, the chronicles of an “extreme” one-year experiment to answer the question, “Is it possible to have a good life without wasting so much?”

Colin Beavan, a writer for Business Week, decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year.

The No Impact Project means eating vegetarian, buying only local food and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, buses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption and no garbage.

Hard enough for one single person, but complicated by the fact that he and his family live in Manhattan.

A review in Grist explains, “While Beavan gets all the attention and the superhero nickname, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter, Isabella, are dragged along for the un-motorized ride. That’s a good thing for the film, because Conlin (his wife) emerges as the most vivid character for the simple reason that she struggles to make such drastic changes in her life.

Watch the clip and keep your eye out for the movie. If you are in the Bay Area, Beavan has several speaking engagements scheduled in mid-September.

green of the day: bamboo taxis in the philippines

In an effort to provide “low-cost, fuel-efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly” public transportation for his city, Rustico Balderian, the mayor of Tabontabon, Leyte commissioned the construction of two taxis made of 90% bamboo, using 100% coconut biodiesel fuel. Bamboo, an indigenous and rapidly renewable material in the Philippines has a tensile strength greater than that of steel, making it an exceptionally sustainable material to use for Tabontabon’s taxis.

An alternative to the more dangerous motorcylce, these taxis currently come in two models: the TOTI (Tabontabon Organic Transport Industry) ECO 1 and ECO 2. The ECO 1 seats 20 people while the ECO 2 seats 8 people and includes a stereo system! Both models run on one gallon of biofuel for 8 hours and are covered in banig, woven mats made of palm, pandan, or seagrass leaves. Both vehicles are operating today and are constructed by Tabontabon’s out-of-school youth.

in your face, metal cars.

(via inhabitat)

Green of the Day: SF says, “Compost, Bitches.”

It’s the Law.

Yesterday, the City of San Francisco signed into effect the nation’s first law mandating residents and businesses to separate their recycling and compostables from regular trash. The measure takes effect this fall. While San Francisco is known for its already impressive recycling program and participation rates, currently diverting 72% of its trash from landfills, the city hopes to divert 90% of trash under this new mandate. Ultimately, the city’s goal is to have ZERO waste by 2020. San Francisco, you’re my hero.

How is SF going to get people to participate? Well, noncompliance will result in fines, but only after repeat notices and phone calls and only in extreme cases [read: the potential of fines should be enough to scare people into composting]. Fines will not be imposed until 2011. Businesses and Residences who are unable to comply with the new ordinance must write the city a note explaining why composting is unfeasible.

Yes, I know, composting is slightly on the inconvenient side, but its definitely doable. For example: Though officially a San Mateo County resident, I’m still a proud composter who gathers up her food scraps and soiled paper and drops them off in her boss’s (an SF resident’s) green bin every week, making sure it all gets to the right place. See? Not that hard, right? So let’s all jump on board!

Don’t know where to start?

1) Download a free Compostable Items PDF flier here to find out what’s compostable and what isn’t.

2) Keep a separate waste bin and line it with a biodegradable/compostable bag. I like biobags, which are available at walgreens, amazon.com, and other accessible retailers. Or for a smaller counter top compost bin (good for fruit/vegetable peels, apple cores, and other smaller items), use an empty ice cream tub, milk carton, or other unlined waxed cardboard container.

3) Instead of throwing all those food scraps, used napkins, and pizza boxes away, start composting!

4) This is the hardest part: Figure out what to do with your gathered up compostables. If you have a backyard, learn more about backyard composting. If you’re like me (you’re renting in a city that doesn’t have an official compost program), you can do what i do and drive your compost to SF (ha!, you say), or you can find a local nursery, a neighbor who loves gardening, or composting center that might accept municipal organic wastes.

Composting is for lovers.

Green of the Day: White House Edible Garden

Following Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1940’s Victory Garden example, Michelle Obama announced last week that she, along with 23 fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School, will begin digging up the soil and planting a 1,100 square foot Edible Garden on the White House Lawn. Her foremost hope is to educate children and families about eating healthier, locally grown produce at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.

The new garden will contain a diverse selection of fruits & vegetables, as chosen by the White House kitchen staff, including: tomatoes, cilantro, various lettuces, spinach, collards, kale, arugula, berries, and a variety of herbs. There will also be two beehives for honey and a compost pile. Beets didn’t make the cut because President Obama doesn’t like them. Gosh, he and I have so much in common: Left-handed, Check. Leo, Check. Dislikes beets, Check…hmmm. I’m starting to think I’ve got a shot at the presidency. Hurley Sashimi 2020? I digress. The food grown in the garden will be served for private family dinners and other state and official events.

The following video is part of the “Eat the View” Campaign to plant high-impact gardens in high profile places. They’d been circulating petitions for quite some time for the Obama’s to replant the First Garden. It’s cute. And educational. Watch it.

(via Inhabitat, New York Times, and Eat the View)

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