America’s Addiction to Cars

A table is worth a thousand words. This one appeared in a short op-ed piece by Paul Krugman, in the New York Times. 

Boy, am I proud to be French sometimes!

Sex Talk With Worldwatch VP

Women all over the world have struggled for centuries with the fundamental need to control when they bear child. Even in developed countries as here in America, access to contraception is only relatively recent, and a right that is constantly being threatened under pretexts of religion and morality. As a woman, nothing pushes my buttons more than hearing patriarchal injunctions against proven contraception methods. The fact that family planning is hardly mentioned in all the sustainability discourse, including some of the most progressive blogs, is no coincidence.

When Gary Peters alerted me to the coming out of Robert Engelman’s new book, More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want, I thought, good, here is a man who’s finally got it. The great thing about Engelman’s work is that it is based on extensive research with women from all over the world, over a long period of more than 25 years:

“It makes sense that those who bear children and do most of the work in raising them should have the final say in when, and when not, to do so. By making their own decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their children, women ultimately bring about a global good that governments could never deliver through regulation or control: a population in balance with nature’s resources. . . what women want, is not more children, but more for their children, and we can be thankful for that.“ 

Seems simple enough. Next comes the question of, how come universal access  to contraception and family planning education are not at the forefront of top level discussions on climate change and sustainability? 

The Wisdom of a Green Dream

For years, I have been listening to my dreams. They are my internal compass, and a source of infallible wisdom.

Robert Redford visited me last night. I was back to being a jewelry artist and I was making a pair of chandelier earrings. Robert Redford was correcting my design. He was telling me to trim some of the pieces. Other parts needed to be moved around. The bottom strands with green beads, especially needed some attention, so that the overall design could be more harmonious.

Lately, I have been overwhelmed with too many projects. I need to focus, eliminate, rearrange, simplify so that I can be more effective at what I want to do. Despite my steadfast commitment to the green cause, I have allowed some distractions to take away precious time, and doubts to seep in, that cloud my vision.

I need to go back to how I felt after attending Robert Redford’s speech, when I emphatically declared, ‘Robert Redford grabs my heart and inspires my whole being to go further and to act.‘

Must Read Greendex International Study of Consumers and Sustainability

National Geographic and GlobeScan, just released a groundbreaking international study, that takes a comprehensive look at consumers’ progress towards environmentally sustainable consumption. What is especially valuable about the study, is the fact that it does not just look at attitudes, but also actual behaviors and material lifestyles actoss 14 countries. One could spend days digesting the results of the Consumer Choice and the Environment study. If you are going to pick one research study, this is the one. 

The above rankings are not flattering for the U.S. and should give decision makers a lot of food for thought. Key drivers in terms of consumers’ beliefs, give us some clues into why such disparities between the different countries, as well as ideas for possible remedial strategies:

Future environmental campaigns and policies should take these results into consideration and focus on supporting helpful beliefs, while also decreasing unhelpful beliefs. 

The following summary findings show that so called developed countries have a lot to learn from developing countries regarding many aspects of sustainability, such as environmental awareness and practices, food consumption, transportation patterns, housing choices, and community involvement:

• Consumers feel empowered as individuals and are willing to make changes in their consumption habits. 
• Consumers in developing countries feel more responsible for environmental problems than those in developed countries. 
• Environmental problems are hitting home in large developing countries. 
• Consumer choice in these countries is more limited than elsewhere, however, as people in less developed countries report lower levels of availability of green household products and foods. 
• Current material lifestyles in emerging markets are environmentally more sustainable than those of wealthy countries as overall per capita consumption is lower - for now. 
• The current pace of economic development in emerging markets and its implications for sustainability are reflected in the survey results. Citizens in large developing countries express a thirst for increased consumption, and many believe that people in all countries should have the same standard of living as those in the wealthiest countries do today. People in the developing world, however, are more willing to make environmentally friendly choices given the opportunity.
• The survey results identify global gaps in transportation patterns. Consumers in North America, Australia, and Western Europe are much more likely than others to own at least one car or truck, and they also drive alone in a car or truck much more frequently than others - most Chinese surveyed say they never do. Instead, consumers in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Russia frequently use public transportation, whereas North American, Australian, and European respondents rarely do so; American respondents are especially unlikely to use public transportation. The global outlook for sustainable transportation is challenging as the transportation gap between rich and poor countries is beginning to narrow.
• Consumer demand for organic and local foods is strong. The food consumption profiles of Japanese and Americans are the least sustainable of those surveyed.
• Consumer knowledge of environmental issues can be improved.

This study should be mandatory material for all policy-makers. I urge you to spread it throughout the blogosphere, and also to email it to all your friends. 

The Connection between SUV Sales and Gas Prices

If one had any remaining doubts regarding the power of money, recent news about SUVs and gas prices should take care of those. In America, since the rise in gas prices, SUV sales have dropped off dramatically, and people are switching to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Dealers don’t know what to do with their inventory.

In China, on the other hand, where gas prices are state regulated and fixed to $2.90 a gallon, SUVs are selling like hotcakes.

Money does talk.

Here Comes Manodo

It was featured in engadget, ecogeek, treehugger, and gizmodo. The Manodo Display comes to us from Sweden where it is currently in beta testing with fifteen households. What it is: a smart home device that keeps track of your green-ness in real time, down to the details of your CO2 emissions for each daily activity. The Manodo also gives information about the next train or bus near you.

And if you are good, you get a smiley!

On Credit Card And Surprises

Yesterday came my monthly credit card bill, in the mail. I know I should switch to online billing, but the power of habits has been stronger than my green conscience. That’s besides the point anyway. No, instead I want to share my surprise when I opened the dreaded envelope. If you are like most Americans, you will know what I mean. What was the four digit number in the ‘Amount to be paid‘ box? Was it a one, or a two, or a three, . . . I knew I had been good, had not been out to shop like I used to. Still the old fear was there, and with it the prospect of maybe having to transfer funds from my savings account into checking. Don’t you hate that feeling? Makes you wonder who is in charge?

The good news is, I got rewarded for my good behavior. With a bill, half of the usual amount. And the satisfaction of feeling in control, again.

It’s Not Easy Being a Citizen

All riled up from reading about the risk of the renewable energy production tax credit not being extended past the end of this year, I set out to see what I could do to help, as a citizen. I quickly found out, it is not easy, being a full-fledged citizen in America. I thought there would be one website for all citizen directed activism, a clearing house listing all the issues at stake, with a clearly outlined process for each, including petitions, automatic links to representatives in my district, model letters to send, and suggestions for other initiatives. What I found instead are some bits and pieces, here and there:

• On the Petition Site, part of Care2, you can sing a petition letter.
• On Neutral Existence you can access the contact info for your local representatives
• On We Can Solve It, you get tips on how to prepare for a visit with your representative

If you know of any other resources, please share them in your comments.

Playing the Money Game with Big Oil

I was catching up on my reading, going through last weekend’s Sunday New York Times, when the following ad caught my eye:

My mind still fresh from the recent media frenzy around rising gas prices, and still pondering what to do about James Hansen’s call to action, I was not about to let this one go. And went on the Energy Tomorrow’s website, for more. As I browsed through the site, I couldn’t help but think, boy these guys are good! The Big Oil guys are masters at twisting the truth, and washing their dirty secrets into bright green. That they are swimming in cash does not hurt either. Slick campaigns, slick website, great copy, seductive images, multimedia blitz, nothing is spared.

Of course, the first step is to expose their lies to as many people as possible, as in writing this post for instance. Next is to take concrete action, to get at them where it hurts the most, in this case the value of their companies. This is where it gets very interesting. Those tens of millions of Americans with a stake in the oil and natural gas industry, that the ad talks to, . . . imagine a campaign asking them to switch to ‘less risky stocks’, stocks that bank on the bright future of renewable energies for instance.

What do you think?

Green Porno Is Out!

A few months ago, I announced ‘Green Porno Is Making Waves On Sundance Channel‘. Little did I know, this would become the most popular post on La Marguerite . . .

Well, the 8 short video series is finally out:

Click here to view the whole series.