Cooling My Corner of the Planet

I remember the moment vividly.  The moment that changed me permanently. Doing nothing was no longer an option. I had to take action. As a non-confrontational and private person, taking action didn’t sound or feel good. And frankly, talking about it here on this platform already feels uncomfortable and rather vulnerable. Plus, an upfront warning that this post is more personal and less leadership than usual. But… doing nothing is no longer an option.

It was around 10 am one evening, about a year ago. I was in bed already, and scrolling through my Facebook feed. (Yes, yes, I know. An awful thing to do before bed, for multiple valid reasons. But a guilty pleasure nonetheless). I watched a video of someone swimming in a beautiful turquoise ocean. I could almost sense the calm, the balmy water, sea salt on the air and the feel of sunshine of my back. But as I breathed in paradise, I watched in horror as the swimmer moved through increasing volumes of plastic trash, bobbing endlessly around him in the water. It wasn’t the first time I had seen it. I am sure, like me, you have also been traumatized by scenes of beached whales with pounds of plastic in their guts, turtles penetrated by plastic straws, starving polar bears and walruses plummeting to their death down once snow-covered bare rocks. But somehow this time was different. It landed.

I knew I wasn’t the only one concerned. These stories already abounded in the press. Around this time, National Geographic published their magazine with this now unforgettable,  iconic and horrific cover.

The World Wildlife Fund puts it this way: “It’s pretty terrifying to realize that we are ‘the first generation that knows we are destroying the world, and could be the last that can do anything about it.'”

My soul kept crying “Dear God! What have we done to our beautiful planet? And now that we cannot ignore it, what must we do?” While the plastic in the oceans emerged as my tipping point, I was then and remain far more concerned about climate change.  But it was my personal tipping point. It started a personal journey to learn what my contributions were to this mess. I have learned much, implemented some of it, and am working on implementing a whole lot more.

I know many (hopefully all) of my readers are on a similar journey. I would LOVE to know what you are doing, and what ideas you can contribute to my list. I am still trying to lighten my environmental impact and contribute my assistance to this issue as best as I can. I learn every day.

Possibly the most helpful and hopeful thing I did was to read the book Project Drawdown, from the organization by the same name. Project Drawdown is a research and communication organization which serves as a non-partisan, non-commercial, highly-trusted source of solutions to reverse global warming.  It identified and analyzed the top 100 solutions to climate change. Drawdown refers to the moment at which carbon dioxide actually starts reducing, or drawing down.

My biggest realizations were:

• There is definitely hope. There are many solutions. We don’t need new inventions. We do need change and action. Now.
• There is no silver bullet. Waiting for the governments and non-profits of the world is a mistake. Every one of us needs to take personal action.
• I believe most people are deeply concerned about climate change. We feel helpless and powerless because we simply don’t know what to do. And because there is a lot of anger and fear mongering.  This also causes the denial that is so prevalent in the USA, although thankfully not elsewhere.
• Time is not on our side. Action is necessary.
• We are all going to have to make a lot of adjustments. Luckily, many of them are small and relatively easy.

Here are Project Drawdown’s Top 10 Solutions, by Rank

 

 

My Behavior Changes

Here are my changes and adjustments.

Some in progress, some fully implemented. I don’t pretend that any of them are rocket science or revolutionary. They represent my attempts to take positive action in a changing world. They are baby steps. Please share your changes and ideas with me – I would love to hear them.

 

1. No More Plastic Straws

I will never accept or use a plastic straw again and usually push back kindly to the establishment offering them.

2. No More Plastics Bags

I have entirely stopped using plastic bags. This was so easy I am embarrassed – the only hard part was remembering to take my reusable bags in with me. I got this right by “punishing” myself when I forgot by having the store load up all my purchases into the cart with no bags at all when I forgot. That was a quick teacher.  I love my reusable bags because they fold up so tiny that I can keep one in my purse and all the others in my car in a neat, unobtrusive way. Now, I sometimes entertain fantasies of going up to all the other shoppers using plastic bags and having it out with them. Seriously Krogers, Safeway, etc – JUST STOP SUPPLYING PLASTIC BAGS. The world won’t end. Your clients will figure this out within a week.

3. No More Disposal Drink Containers

I love my java! Rethinking my designer coffee was a big change for me. I always carry a reusable coffee cup and water bottle with me. If for any reason I forget, I forego the drink, unless they have a compostable option on site, and I check that they do actually compost too. I won’t accept the plastic or unrecyclable cups anymore. Bonus – I find I drink much more water when I have my reusable water bottle with me.

4. No More Cling Wrap

Gone! I no longer keep it in the house. I have totally fallen in love with the beeswax wraps. They just work better for so many foods, are fully reusable and easier to handle. Don’t cheap out, I have bought some cheap beeswax wrap that was very inadequate. But the good stuff is really good.

5. Rethinking Plastic Containers

I really try an avoid these at all costs. While some are sort of recyclable – the best plan for plastic is to never buy it in the first place. Our planet has more than enough plastic already!  Much better to buy your milk and juice in recyclable cartons than plastic cartons. I try to go for glass and cardboard products.

6. Using Mesh and Cloth Bags

This is new for me, and I am still trying to make it a habit. But I am trying to buy all my dry goods like flour, quinoa, nuts, rice, etc from the bulk goods aisle, in my own reusable bag thing I bring from home. I have cute little bags in all sizes, made from old flour bags.  I use mesh bags or nothing at all for produce.  To make sure I always have them with me, they live in the trunk of my car permanently after each use, along with my reusable shopping bags (see 2. above)

7. Driving Smarter

I drive a hybrid. Hey, it is a start… I am kind of a car girl.  And I have become much more conscious of limiting my miles and where I buy my gas. All gas companies are NOT created equal. Sunoco and BP are amongst the best choices from an environmental standpoint, although no gas company can really be a friend of the planet.

8. Changing My Diet

I have been a meat and potatoes girl all my life. However, my daughter has spent many years farming, and I have had my eyes opened through her about our food sources. As I have learned more about unethical animal treatment in factory farms and the health effects of chemicals, herbicides, and insecticides, this is an area where I have made substantial changes! I am happy to report that:

• My diet these days is mostly plant-based
• We buy 90% of our produce from a local, organic, biodynamic farm. Yes, it is more expensive. Yes, it is the right thing to do. The veggies are in season, and actually look and taste amazing, I love supporting the local farm financially and increasingly, I feel so damn good about my food.
• When we eat meat, maybe once or twice a week, it will be organic, pasture raised and usually grass-fed.
• I am not sure if it is related – but I am at my lightest weight in a very long time. Nothing drastic, but a good 5 or so pounds lighter.

 

My Energy Usage

1. I am delighted with how Xcel, my local energy company, is stepping up to meet the renewable energy challenge. They are one of the biggest utilities in the US, committed to going completely carbon-free by 2050 (and 80 percent carbon-free by 2030). Smart business move Xcel.
2. I have been able to sign up to be 100% wind energy for my house and business on the Xcel website. So glad I can do this. I feel GREAT about the very modest extra fee – about $16/month.
3. I am especially proud to work with clients who are doing work with solar energy.
4. I am trying hard to be less wimpy about using air-conditioning and heating. Instead of living permanently with my home at 70F, I am accepting the ebb and flow of the season and the day. My first resort now is to open windows when it is hot and put on a sweater when it is cold.  If I have to heat the house, I try heating the area I spend the most time in (my office) with a portable heater, rather than heating the whole house. It has actually made a measurable impact on my gas and electricity bill too, about a 15-20% reduction.
5. The only lights on in the house are the ones we are using. This has also been a big adjustment, I had no idea I left them on all the time.

 

 

 

Becoming a Healthy Soil Advocate

I have learned that just refraining from putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is not enough. We need to take it out, too (i.e. sequester the carbon)! The most practical method on earth that I can find is to look after our soils. Healthy soils have been sequestering carbon naturally for millennia. They know how to do this. All we have to do for healthy soil is STOP killing all our soil microbes with pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. It really is that simple!

So now, I dig my dandelions out by hand. I admit it doesn’t work that well, that is a pretty tenacious root system. Oh well – I can live with that. It is so much better than killing my soil and local pollinators though!

I am in the early stages of starting a pollinator district where I live.  Not surprisingly, pollinators, butterflies and bees need exactly what healthy soils need… No pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. Oh, and some flowering plants, which really isn’t a hardship for anyone to deal with.

I am fascinated with what this non-profit is doing because every one of us can help do this! Check out The Carbon Underground.

 

 

 

 

 

Dealing With My Trash

One of the big Project Drawdown solutions to climate change was to change our food system. Both in how we grow, distribute food and deal with the excess and wastage. I realized I have been very mindless about my trash. I threw anything I didn’t want in the trash can and never gave it another thought. Now, I have made radical changes to how I process waste.  I have learned a lot!

I recently visited my local recycling plant. Here is the story of what I learned at Boulder’s Eco-Cycle facility.

• I recycle much better as a result of this visit; I did lots of things wrong before.
• I have gotten serious about composting. Much of my city, Boulder, Colorado has curbside composting, which is really forward thinking. Most cities in the USA do not. However, my HOA chooses not to, so this takes a little more effort to get stuff to a composting facility.  I have found that investing in compostable bags and a pretty container for the kitchen has helped make this more palatable for me.
• We have a worm bin for some compost scraps. I confess I am grossed out by the squirmy red wrigglers and this task falls to my daughter.
• Our recycling seriousness has actually reduced our waste. Buying so much more in reusable containers reduces the need to throw things away.

 

 

Conscious Consumerism

1. Used Clothing

I buy high-end used clothing from designer consignment stores. The clothes are awesome. When I am done, I donate them. Actually, I have done this for years already, perhaps I am too cheap.  I have only recently discovered that this is very green and sustainable.  Yay me! ( I am trying not to buy new clothes very often, but I make an exception for shoes because I am a little squeamish.

2. Spending Consciously

Increasingly, I hate spending my hard earned money with businesses that are more about profit than purpose. Especially when they are ruining our planet in the process. This is new for me, and I have a lot to learn.

A client of mine gave me this little book – it is invaluable and fits in your purse and helps you figure out the right places to spend your money. I have changed where I shop because of it. An organization called the Better World Shopper created it. The website is excellent and so is the little book.  Take a peek, I bet you change where you shop too! I plan to add one to all my holiday gifts this year. I don’t want to spend my money on products from the bad guys anymore.

I prefer to spend my money with B-Corporations where possible. These are businesses committed to using their business as a force for good. I love this form of capitalism so much it has become a major thrust of my consulting work too. It is what capitalism should always have been. It is the right thing to do. If you run a company and want help with your sustainability strategy – smart move. Clients and employees are passionate about these topics and respond surprisingly favorably to companies that care. Let’s talk!
 

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Environmental Philanthropy

All my giving is now to planet based non-profit. While I care deeply about many social causes, child abuse and mental health, in particular, it seems to me that if we have no dramatic change in planet health soon, nothing else really matters. Curiously, of all philanthropy and giving on earth, only 3% is environmental. This makes no sense to me, given our pressing issues.

I am a huge supporter and believer in 1% For The Planet – where businesses commit to giving 1% of their revenue to an environmental non-profit annually.

 

Advocacy and Activism

• I have reluctantly become somewhat of an activist. I dislike confrontation and loudmouths. But complacency is not the right solution here. I have begun to politely and kindly pressure the people I touch who are doing stupid things (like my ex-dry-cleaner who didn’t provide his clients a way to recycle their dry cleaning plastic and didn’t want to forego the plastic either).
• I have joined some non-profits as a board member to serve on causes I believe in.

 

 

 

Future Endeavors I am Planning

B-Corp Certification

I am in the process of becoming a B-Corp. In fact, I lead a number of business owners in a mastermind called “The Road to B” where we are all getting B-Corp certified so we have proof that we use our business as a source for good.  In order to get this certification, I will need to actively monitor and reduce my waste (along with about 100 other improvements in my sustainability, transparency and business ethics).  Really? Am I going to be weighing my trash now?  I aim to be zero waste though, if at all possible. So yes – more to come.

 

1. Greener Travel

• My next car will be electric. Just putting that into the universe right now. I am kind of a car girl. Not very excited about driving a Leaf or paying for a Tesla. Any suggestions?
• I plan to offset my carbon for all future travel. See the next point for details.

2. Offsetting My Carbon

I want to offset my carbon output from business, person, and travel fully. It is surprisingly affordable and feels really good. Etsy now does this on ALL its shipping. Yay Etsy – so inspiring. It is coming, people! For those that are new to this, basically, you calculate how much carbon dioxide you are putting into the atmosphere (there are ways to do this) and then invest in something that will remove an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide, like some rain forest. It is the ultimate “leave nothing but footprints” move.  If you want to examine how to do this, here are a few legit places that can help you get started:

• Climate Neutral is pioneering making it easy for businesses to calculate or offset their carbon footprint.
• Trees For The Future will help you calculate your carbon offsets and allow you to donate to their cause, which plants trees. Great for individuals and small businesses.
• Certified B Corp TripZero can help you with travel and events. In support of a regenerative economy, when you book your hotel with TripZero, they calculate the carbon produced by your trip and offset the total by funding reforestation and renewable energy projects.

 

3. Launching A Pollinator District In Full Force

I am actually excited about this. I have already partnered with the Butterfly Pavilion and some other groups that are further down the road than I am. I love flowers, especially natives, and I am looking forward to getting this going as a community give-back.

 

4. Shopping, Spending and Investing More Consciously

I want to move more of my investments into socially responsible investment (SRI) funds, especially those that are planet friendly.

 

Imagine the power if EVERY WOMAN ON EARTH was making the small changes that they could?

How about  EVERY MAN? EVERY BUSINESS?

I think our planet would be cool again!

What are you doing? Please add your smarts. Please share! Leave your comments below.