Surfing the Wave of Sustainability

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Surfing isn’t too popular on the south shore of Long Island.  Notwithstanding having to jump into frigid waters, the waves, or lack thereof, haven’t really helped beckon too many people in.  Despite this set of opinions however, surfers have also contributed to deleterious effects on the environment. Whether its polyurethane boards or neoprene suits, the industry runs afoul with hazardous environmental actions. However, Danny Hess, a former surf board shaper, is attempting to change the paradigm of surfing through his natural finished boards and organic resins. Having an interest in sustainability through his studies at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture, Hess has since shifted his attention from buildings to boards.

The surfing industry itself is stodgy and resistant to change. And while the idea of using wood boards is not novel, as indicating by their presence in the surfing world, the truth is polyurethane boards dominate because they are inexpensive, and surfers tend to throw them away after about two years of usage anyway. As the article indicates, polyurethane has an element called toluene diisocyanate (TDI) that when heated can cause extreme health complications including, “asthma, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, hearing and vision loss.”  Hess has attempted to produce socially responsible boards by handcrafting about 160 of them a year out of recycled goods, and waxing them using epoxies whose base ingredient is sap.

Hess’ story is an inspiration for entrepreneurs and headstrong people like myself. He is fighting a stodgy industry with his own stodgy beliefs in sustainability. Not only is he taking care into producing each and every one of his boards, but he is also constructing them using recycled and sustainable materials. As a result, the quality eminent in his product may entice surfers to keep their boards longer and reverse the trend of disposing of the boards after only two years time. It’s refreshing to know that ideas of sustainability are prevailing in even in the most stubborn of industries. In this way and others, Hess is helping to perpetuate a world where we all live green, and be green.

 

Ranking the Greenest Colleges

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Bloomberg Businessweek Rankings are used by prospective students as a way to gauge the overall quality of a school they may be interested in with respect to others. The site ranks both undergraduate and graduate institutions, and also analyzes individual programs and specialties. While past ranked disciplines range from teaching to agriculture, never has there been a ranking with respect to specifically green programs. However, as of August 14th 2012, the site is now beginning to rank such specialties in their “Green College Rankings.” According to the Bloomberg site, “The survey was conducted by the Sierra Club, the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and Princeton Review, which combined their separate sustainability rankings into one Businesswek ranking for the first time.

According to the survey, the greenest school in all the land is the University of California, Davis a result from pouring in resources both financially and in time into their sustainability initiatives.  Examples of their efforts include, “trash diversion, an initiative to keep garbage out of landfills by recycling, reusing, or composting it, the use of sustainable foods, and the promotion of bikes on campus (which amazingly resulted in over 20,000 bikes being used). Other schools who made the top five include the Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Washington, and the University of Connecticut,

 In short, these rankings are a tremendous boost to the green movement as well as for prospective students. This information was not available when I was looking into schools, and while the “green rankings” may not have ultimately been the main reason I would have gone to a particular school, it would have nonetheless planted a seed in my mind as to which universities were ahead of the curve, and who actually cared about a planet. This ranking also provides another criterion in which schools can stand out. Publishing yearly green rankings will provoke schools to think and act in terms of sustainability, and will provide them an incentive not only in saving the planet, but also in raising their overall ranking. The prospective student ultimately benefits from transparent data of a school’s sustainability initiatives within a ranking format, which may help that individual in making their decision on where to go to college. Overall, the green rankings have the ability to help both schools and students alike, and will aid in promoting a lifestyle in which we all live green, and be green.

source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-14/a-green-college-ranking-declares-a-winner

Singing Praise About Singapore

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Singapore has ambitious goals for achieving water sustainability as a nation, despite having few resources to clean drinking water. Currently, the nation is on pace with its agenda to achieve full water sustainability by the year 2061. This date is significant for Singapore as it will mark the end of the century long relationship with Malaysia whom they currently are in contract with to bring in the water.The group responsible for the nation’s sustainability goals is The National Water Agency (NWA). Via desalination and recycling plants, their efforts have enabled the country to produce 40% of the water used by the nation’s 5.2 million residents. In order to achieve these expectations, the NWA has invested between $600 and $800 million every year since 2006 to improve infrastructure and technologies that are required with a growing supply of water. 

According to the Human Development Index (HDI) which measures, in general terms, how advanced a nation is, Singapore is actually more developed than any of its South Pacific neighbors, including Malaysia whom it currently gets its water from. That being said, the nations ambitions to achieve full water sustainability within the next 50 years bespeaks to new heightened sense of national pride to produce everything in-house. The country’s goals have primed the nation to be entrenched in a position of sustainable dominance and will ultimately allow them to operate more efficiently. Whether their goals are motivated by business efficiency, through national pride, or through a genuine sense that sustainability is truly the right thing to do is a matter of debate for another time. The noteworthy item to take away from all of this is that nations all over the world are beginning to emphasize green initiatives on their agendas. Collectively, this will allow residents of that nation, and people all over the world to both live green, and be green as a global community.

source: http://www.equities.com/news/news-headline-story?dt=2012-08-10&val=367493&d=1&cat=headline

Majoring in Sustainability

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Here at Live Green, Be Green we are always advocating for younger generations to get involved in the Green Movement, especially those studying in colleges and universities. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we wrote about changing the way curriculum is taught in these locales to involve sustainability. So it comes with great delight to see that the University of Utah is implementing such changes within their coursework. Now students at the university have the opportunity to earn an Integrated Certificate in Sustainability as a degree. Students who choose this discipline are required to complete a 23 credit-hour program with one required introductory course and upper level courses located outside of the main campus. 

The discipline will be available with the commencement of the upcoming academic year and will allow freshman to be fully engaged in matters of sustainability immediately. As stated in our previous article, the green movement needs to infiltrate colleges and universities to incite others to not only spread the ideals of the movement, but to lead using values of social responsibility and sustainability. It is refreshing to see a university place such value on sustainability in that they not only have placed it within the coursework, but have also carved out a specific degree tailored to the green movement. Such initiatives are sure to catch on, especially at this stage in the game, as universities are always looking to differentiate themselves in order to bring in a diverse student body. As evident from the news, green initiatives are rising to the forefront on college agendas, and these initiatives will help to lay a great foundation of knowledge to be passed on to the next generation of leaders. Hopefully, this will help to promote a lifestyle in which we all live green, and be green. 

Here at Live Gr…

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Here at Live Green, Be Green we are always advocating for younger generations to get involved in the Green Movement, especially those studying in colleges and universities. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we wrote about changing the way curriculum is taught in these locales to involve sustainability. So it comes with great delight to see that the University of Utah is implementing such changes within their coursework. Now students at the university have the opportunity to earn an Integrated Certificate in Sustainability as a degree. Students who choose this discipline are required to complete a 23 credit-hour program with one required introductory course and upper level courses located outside of the main campus. 

The discipline will be available with the commencement of the upcoming academic year and will allow freshman to be fully engaged in matters of sustainability immediately. As stated in our previous article, the green movement needs to infiltrate colleges and universities to incite others to not only spread the ideals of the movement, but to lead using values of social responsibility and sustainability. It is refreshing to see a university place such value on sustainability in that they not only have placed it within the coursework, but have also carved out a specific degree tailored to the green movement. Such initiatives are sure to catch on, especially at this stage in the game as universities are always looking to differentiate themselves and bring in a diverse student body.

will.i.am “Just Can’t Get Enough” of the Green Movement

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Nowadays, musical artist will.i.am is always in the spotlight. (Dare I say it he “Just Can’t Get Enough”). Besides performing at the Superbowl halftime show alongside the “Black Eyed Peas” he has also turned himself into quite the actor, where he has appeared in films such as Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Date Night. However, this entertainment cameleon’s most important contribution to society occurred yesterday when he teamed up with Coca-Cola to launch a green business known as “Ekocycle.”

The new brand will offer high quality products generated from recycled goods. In starting the company, will.i.am is focusing on generating buzz and popularity within the mainstream around sustainable, yet visually-stimulating products. In a recent interview the artist stated that the current market for recycled products are not “cool” and stressed, “You have to bring some art and fashion sensibility into this technology that turns a bottle into something cool.” The company will offer an assortment of goods including Dr. Dre’s “Beats” headphones and a clothing line, all made from recycled goods.

Ekocycle’s other founding partner, Coca-Cola, has been a pioneer in recycling efforts through its “Give It Back” and “Recyclebank” programs. (For more info check out the link below). In order to promote the sustainability movement, the company has vowed to donate a portion of its licensing products (a minimum of $1 million) to charities involved in recycle and community engagement. Such a partnership is a win-win for the green movement as the high-quality and aesthetics of the Ekocycle brand will draw consumers in and engage them in the movement. In addition, having will.i.am as not only a spokesman but founding partner will engage the youth in a movement which requires energy and influence. Despite not being a favorite artist of mine, the key in will.i.am’s  involvement is that he can draw in an audience that is poised to make a difference in the world. His popularity among the youth will inspire others to commit to the green movement via the Ekocycle brand. A celebrity advocate such as will.i.am is a necessary cog in achieving global sustainability, and will help draw the movement closer to a day where we can all live green, and be green.

http://www.livepositively.com/en_us/recycling/#/recycling

 

An Olympic Effort in Sustainability

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With the start of the 2012 London Olympics already underway, we here at the Live Green, Be Green Blog would like to turn our attention to the potential environmental ramifications an Olympic competition will have on an already bustling city such as London. Heading into these games, a huge cause for concern for the Olympic Committee in selecting London as a host city was the potential disastrous impact it could have on the environment. 

However, contrary to conventional wisdom, the city has been superb in limiting its carbon footprint. According to Michael McCarthy’s report over at Independent, these Olympic games are, to date, the greenest in its history. Renewable energy has constituted 11% of all the energy supplied at the games. In addition, when comparing the cities carbon footprint at the games with respect to 2009 estimates for the event, the city has beaten the estimates by around 20%. Such ambitious goals enabled the city to host the Olympic games, and is truly a testament to how the Olympic Committee and the city of London have put the event’s environmental impact near the tops of its agendas. Such actions speak to the impact we all can make as individuals as we all seek to live green and be green.

Hydroculture for Green Houseplants

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I just saw an interesting news video on hydroculture, a system for growing plants that incorporates expanded clay as a growing medium rather than soil.  Hydroculture has been around for years.  Unfortunately, while very popular in Europe, it has not caught on in the United States.  In fact, all of the materials needed for hydroculture are produced in Europe.  One company is trying to change that.  Greenspacers, a green technology company in Columbia, Maryland, is “dedicated to growing fresh air through the production and installation of soil-free plants”. 

The basis of Greenspacers’ mission lies in the hypothesis that plants can remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air.  These compounds consist of the chemicals produced from household items, such as paint, glues and cleaning supplies that can cause adverse health effects. 

In addition to removing targeted VOCs, hydroculture plants, do not harbor microbes, and  do not release bio-aerosols.   The plant system starts with a growing medium of lightweight expanded clay (LECA).  The clay pebbles are fired in a kiln, causing them to expand with formation of air pockets within the individual pellets.  These air pockets retain moisture and allow maximum moisture to flow to the plant roots.  The plant systems use a slow-growth fertilizer and contain a water indicator which, when used properly, prevents over-watering that drowns the roots. 

Greenspacers now contracts with green-minded businesses to provide “green” planting systems on their premises, including Children’s Hospital, National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.  The company’s goal is to also provide services to consumers.  More information can be found at http://www.greenspacers.com.

 With research and innovation, “green” companies are discovering ways to help us make sure our homes and businesses are healthy.  Our support of these companies’ efforts to live green, and be green is vital to the environment.

Leading Through Sustainability

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Colleges and Universities are, at their core, geared toward cultivating and transforming young individuals into tomorrow’s leaders. What is frequently glossed over however is that once these men and women are in a position of power, how will they use it? Business Schools in particular focus too much on bottom lines and balance sheets rather than the growing trend of Corporate Social Responsibility. While leaders are being cultivated, they are not necessarily being provoked to think in terms of sustainability and the green movement.

A transformation needs to occur so that students are not only cultivated to lead, but lead in areas of and in thoughts of sustainability. The benefits of provoking individuals to make decisions with sustainability in mind have far reaching effects beyond the environment as young people have the ability to reach a massive audience quickly. The sustainability movement was fostered with the environment as its focus, but it does not mean students with other interests cannot benefit. For example, entrepreneurial students looking to start a restaurant can use ideas of sustainability to grow their own herbs and use waste leftover from uneaten food as compost to aid the soil in which the herbs grow. The key is to provoke students to make decisions, in whatever field they may be interested in, with sustainability in mind. Taking this step to integrate thoughts of sustainability within the curriculum will allow our generation, and future generations to not only live green, but be green.

Climate Change Impacts Native Way of Life

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There has been an ongoing debate regarding the negative impact of climate change versus natural occurrences.  Environmentalists point to the damaging actions of mankind as the source of a climate change problem while many conservatives totally dismiss this as a silly notion.  This week Native American and Alaskan leaders testified in Washington, D.C. on the need for Congress to address the serious issues of environmental changes in their communities.  In their testimony, they told of their villages being underwater because of coastal erosion and droughts.  Alaskan leaders noted the change in venue of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race because of lack of snowfall.  Mike Williams, Chief of the Yupit Nation in Akiak, Alaska emphasized that his community always has lived off of the land and waters, but now their survival is threatened by today’s climate changes.  Native communities are disproportionately impacted by harsh climate changes because they rely on nature rather than technology for food, sacred sites and cultural ceremonies.

To foster discussion and give attention to the problem of climate change and its negative impact on tribal communities, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian is hosting a symposium this week.  Entitled First Steward, this gathering of tribal leaders, scientists and individuals negatively impacted by climate change provides an opportunity to learn first hand about indigenous populations who have lived off the land and waters and continue to so but now are finding to difficult to maintain their lifestyles.  These communities do not have access to technology that exists in large urban centers.  As a result, their very existence now is compromised, and they need help. Mr. Williams advised that any plan to address climate change should take into consideration native practices and traditional knowledge.

It is important to realize that climate change exists and is happening now.  While we argue about its cause and how to balance the costs of climate change, some communities are melting away.  Let’s all become stewards of the environment.  Live green, be green.