Frances Beinecke's Blog
Confessions of an Environmentalist
February 20, 2008
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably
Last week, the New Times Style Section had a great article on the steps that suburbanites are taking to adopt green power, get kids to walk or ride their bikes to school safely, and reduce the impact of those perfect green lawns. It got me to thinking of what I have been able to do to become greener in my own life and how far I have to go. A few years ago, my daughter had to put yellow Post-It notes above our light switches to remind us all to turn off the lights when we left the room. They are still there! A decade ago, my family drove an SUV--at the time, it seemed like the best way to haul around our family of five, the dogs, and the carpool. When I am traveling, I confess I occasionally buy water in plastic bottles. I’m happy that I can take the train to work--no need to drive in New York City, but I’d hate to tell you how much I fly. It never sits right with me when I realize that my actions--even small ones--have a negative impact on the Earth. But in the 35 years I have been working to protect the environment, I have come to believe that the first step for all of us is participation. It’s the idea that small steps taken by many people can have an enormous impact. If we limited our movement to those who lived off the grid and exploited the least amount of natural resources possible, it would be a small movement indeed. People often ask me what they can do to protect the Earth. Being a policy wonk, my first recommendation is to use the power of your vote to push for stronger safeguards for our air, water, atmosphere, and wildlands. But there are also many Earth friendly choices we can all make in our own lives. Whether it is bringing a cloth bag to the grocery store or persuading our children’s school to pass a no-idling rule during drop off, we can begin walking down a path that leads to deep environmental commitment. I’m fascinated at how quickly the news about the waste caused by plastic water bottles has caught on, or how about those plastic bags from the grocery store. That tells me how receptive people are to making change, once they know what the impacts of one action is over another. When people ask me what I do in my own life to approach a greener life style, here are three things I mention.- I bought a Prius when it first came out. I have never felt this way about a car before, but I absolutely love it. I know that every time I drive down the street, I am an advertisement for efficiency, clean energy, and global warming solutions. The other day, I took out my tire gauge and found out my tires were 15 pounds fatter than they should be. When I adjusted them, I got 7 more miles to the gallon. It’s my very own demonstration project.
- I switched to compact florescent light bulbs, first in the lamps, then in the overheads--one step at a time. These bulbs use about 80 percent less electricity than classic incandescents, and they last as long as 10 years. Now if I forget to turn off the lights, at least I know my lamps are using minimal amounts of energy.
- I buy local produce whenever I can. And if not local, then organic. I am lucky. My office is around the corner from one of the finest farmers’ markets in the nation: the Union Square Green Market. It is open four days a week and offers great choices throughout the year. I can’t always make my purchases here, but I know when I do, I am using my consumer power to say no to harmful pesticides and yes to local agriculture that doesn’t burn loads of greenhouse gases on its way to my table. Find out how you can eat local here.
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Comments
Jim Bullis — Feb 20 2008 06:28 PM
If everyone in the USA drove a Prius, it would make a difference in CO2 emissions from this country. We need everyone in the world to do likewise, as they advance to our standard of living.
The first important question is, "Is this something that can happen?" Well, $26,000 is not the most expensive car, but it is not the $2500 car now being made in India. American industry seems to be pretending to follow the lead of the Prius, but their idea of a hybrid falls seriously short of that economic example.
The second important question is, "Would the outcome actually be good?" As far as India is concerned, I don't see how we can expect them to do things differently, but these inexpensive cars could be the worst possible environmental disaster.
Then the question is, "Would this be enough?" NRDC is a powerful force. I wish you would think on a bigger scale than lightbulbs, or even Prius cars. Coming anywhere close to the generally acknowledged goals for co2 reduction, require more like a 90% reduction in personal car fuel usage and a similar reduction in electric power generation emissions. 90% reduction in car fuel use corresponds to 200 MPG.
As I have discussed elsewhere, GM does not seem to be leading in the search for a real answer. Look in particular at p12 of http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/PDF/presentation-sm.pdf to see where GM is really headed. The X PRIZE is trying, though they did not set their standards high enough.
If only for an example of a solution that could be sufficient, I encourage you to look at http://www.miastrada.com. (I hope it is not inappropriate to link to my site. No one seems to mind links to GM's.)
The Miastrada car meets mobility requirements for modern life styles, while still providing for motorist self esteem. (That is, of course, after people get over their notions of how a car should look.)
John Three — Feb 25 2008 05:43 PM
I remember when you nuts were running around in 1983 screaming about the depleting Ozone layer and how we were all going to be fried chicken in twenty years. The global ice fields are as large as ever you brainless goats! Gore filmed those bears in August, you fruitcakes! Why is the temperature of Mars increasing? Are the Marians driving SUVs? Christ is the answer people. If you want to know how the world ends read, the final book of the Bible. The world is going to continue to worsen, because the evil prince is running the show. You Obama-lovers are going to burn unless you repent and find Christ!