A Quote: The Vice of Capitalism

"Socialism collapsed because it did not allow prices to tell the economic truth. Capitalism may collapse because it does not allow prices to tell the ecological truth."

— Oystein Dahle, retired VP of Esso Norway

Zero Waste for San Francisco

"San Francisco is the first jurisdiction in the country to adopt the ambitious goals of 75% landfill diversion by 2010 and zero waste by 2020. To accomplish these goals we must promote producer and consumer responsibility to prevent waste and take full advantage of our nation-leading recycling and composting programs." - Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco

San Francisco is not alone. Many cities around the world are committing to zero waste. Wal-Mart is even working to achieve zero waste. Yes, Wal-Mart.

San Francisco's environment department and its waste contractor, a $500-million year employee-owned company called Norcal Waste Systems, is using a three-bin system to collect refuse from homes and businesses. Garbage goes in a black bin. Traditional recyclables, including bottles, cans and paper, go in a blue bin. Food waste and yard trimmings go into a green bin.

The food and yard waste of the green bin are trucked to a factory 50 miles away in Vacaville, turned into a rich compost called "Four Course Compost" and sold to Napa Valley wineries and farms, among other uses.

In order to make urban composting more manageable and more pleasant, there are mini compost bins that can make all the difference in getting people to actually use the bigger city-supplied green bin. These mini-compost collectors live in your kitchen and allow a once-a-day "dump" to the bigger, official green bins provided by Norcal Waste Systems. They also minimize any smells! Although simple, this little stepping stone could allow the mass adoption and use of urban composting.

You still have to buy these bins, but they are a nice green addition to your kitchen. Spread the word. You can buy them here:

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/ceramic-compost-crock.html

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=187529

Alternatively, if you live outside of the city or have more open space, you can start your own worm composting factory!!! It's addictive to see your worms break down your food waste into rich soil for your garden!

To make one:

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

To buy one:

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/worcomverbin.html

Edible Education - A Reader Responds!

A strong community grows one person at a time, one family at a time. Sometimes all it takes is a reminder of the values that people grew up cherishing, but have forgotten in the busy-ness of life. Here's one reader's response to my previous post about edible education (teaching kids to grow and cook their own food at school):

Your blog about the sustainable gardens has come to fruit. My wife got wind of it when I told her about your blog so she started a sustainable garden at her Pre-School. We are starting with tomatoes, summer squash, and watermelons. The little ones get to help with every step. We can already see the different sprouts starting to break through at each row. We taught the little kids that they have to water with a watering can that gives out just a soft easy supply of water to the new plants. They can't wait to be able to harvest their vegetables that we will use for snack time. The parents are also excited about this project. We have encouraged them to start gardens at their homes.

This is a great family thing to do. I remember my Dad teaching us these same things when I was a kid back in the 50's. Back then everyone in the neighborhood had a garden (and plenty of fruit tress). I loved every minute of it when I was a kid. Especially the part about eating what we grew or sharing it with other neighbors. My Mom made the best Rubarb pie. It also seemed like all of it tasted so much better. I think the big part of it was that all of the family was involved and so were all of our neighbors. Here in the 21st century (2008) it just might take off again.

I just talked to my neighbor who has two little girls about starting a garden. She is actually clearing an area and borrowed my rake to get out all of the rocks. It's so cute to see her little girls so excited about having a garden. Who's next?

Indeed, who's next? This is an idea that can spread like wildfire if we only give it a chance. Many thanks to Chuck H. of Fairfax, California for sharing his thoughts and experiences with us!

Going Local is a Matter of Life and Death

In Memory of my sister, Jessica Brigida Stevens.

When my sister died last summer suddenly, I was struck by the most amazing realization. She had lived in Alaska with her family, my brother lives in Sydney, Australia with his family, and the rest of the family lives here in San Francisco. It seemed ridiculous to be so spread out as a family. How could the most important people in your life be the ones that you saw the least?

Asian cultures view the family differently. It is not uncommon to support your parents in China, for example. Actually, many people don't have a choice. But, in our western culture with everything at our fingertips and supposedly little free time, how did we separate so much from our families and friends?

Everything can change in an instant. I know that when I came into close proximity with death, my priorities changed. My whole outlook changed, actually. I wanted to be close to family and friends. I wanted to get more involved in the community and build something special right where I lived.

The Future of Electricity: The "Smart Grid"

Imagine a utility grid that is smart, distributed and more localized. What does that mean? Well, think electricity combined with the technology and structure of the Internet.

In our current electricity grid, the electrons flow from huge, centralized power plants, sometimes quite a distance from the end user, and simply go one way; picture thousands of one-way streets that branch off of a freeway. It hasn’t changed fundamentally for more than a hundred years, except for the capacity of the grid, that is, an increase in the number of power plants. But, the grid is outdated and in need of an update.

There are fundamentally two major problems with the existing grid:

1. Current transmission lines are incapable of transmitting electrons very long distances. For example, we cannot get our electricity in California from a wind farm in Texas.

2. Inaccuracy of the real-time usage data which makes it hard to predict patterns and troubleshoot.

The loss of electrons in transmission is something that only a technological breakthrough will be able to fix. We will have to wait and see on this one. But this is a long way off considering that the transmission lines will have to be replaced.

Now, what if the intelligence and structure of the Internet was a model for our electricity grid? Well, suddenly power companies would be able to track with accuracy, how much power was being used and where. Currently, much of this data is vague and inaccurate. For example, when there is a downed power line, the utility must wait for a blackout or for someone to call it in to diagnose the problem. What’s more, thousands of homes can go out when there is just one problem on the line. In the new grid, troubleshooting would not be a problem.

This new “smart-grid” would be controlled by thousands of wireless transmitters that could “talk” to each other and give the utility accurate data on real-time energy usage. This has many added benefits including:

• Empowering the customers and utility with real-time data.
• Better troubleshooting.
• More efficient use of the power load.
• Less prone to storms and terrorist attacks.

With this accurate information, the utility could begin to more efficiently handle the power loads during peak times. For example, the new smart-grid would be able to turn up the thermostats in thousands of homes by one degree in the middle of summer. Collectively this would make a huge difference in power needs, but on a user-level this would hardly be noticeable. One of the more interesting areas is the “smart appliances” that would be able to power on and off according to the power needs of the grid. Think of a washing machine that turned off on-demand by the power companies if you weren’t using it.

It is amazing that the grid has not changed much since the times of Thomas Edison. This is a huge growth area and very exciting when you consider that much of this will be powered by renewable energy and distributed. Traditionally, the electricity industry is very slow to change, considering the infrastructure changes that are required. However, the “smart grid” will soon be a common household phrase.

A Gold Medal for Banning Plastic Bags?

China is often perceived as a major polluter on the world stage, sacrificing the environment for rapid economic growth. This perception is often buttressed by images of polluted rivers and smog-infested landscapes.

In some ways, however, China is way ahead of the ball in protecting the environment. One prime example: China just placed a nationwide ban on plastic bags. The move is designed to prevent litter and save millions of barrels of oil each year. In a country where up to 3 billion plastic bags are used each day, the significance of this legislation is huge.

By comparison, the U.S. is still struggling to move away from plastic bags. San Francisco banned plastic bags last year, and last month Los Angeles became the second city in the U.S. to enact a plastic bag ban.

Certainly, change can sometimes be easier accomplished when dictated by an authoritarian government such as China's. The beauty of our democracy, and the reason most of us would prefer to live in the U.S. than China, is that we can all play a part in making change. Frustratingly, though, this can all too often lead to political gridlock, or the hijacking of our future by narrow business interests.

The challenge is on. Let's show the world that our democracy can bring about the changes that are needed for a sustainable future.

The spark that started in SF and LA needs to move across the country. Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about ways to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags. Express your opinion in your local newspaper, and persuade your city council or state legislature that this change is needed. Our future depends on it.

Water vs. Global Warming

"Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and of our children's lifetime. The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land."
-Luna Leopold, hydrologist and professor, UC Berkeley

Global warming is getting all the attention right now and for good reason. Water is an equally important issue, but much less on the radar for the masses, especially in terms of conservation. Think about it the next time you turn on the tap.