EcoIcons: Reading Colin Beavan's "No Impact Man"

Happy Earth Day everyone!

I recently finished reading No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. I suspect you've heard of it? Just in case... a few years ago it was "kind of a big deal." A writer from NYC (and his wife and baby) spends a year trying a myriad of ways for his family to live with zero net environmental impact. He made national news. He made the talk shows. There was a documentary. But the heart of the project was that he wanted to write a book on what he learned.

I watched the documentary a while back. It was interesting/good. Maybe that is one of the reasons I was lackadaisical about getting around to reading the book? (I already knew the plot, I felt.) Well. I should have read it sooner.  It's not very long and it flows well to make a quick and interesting read. For me, the book is a solid home run. I wish I'd read it sooner. In some ways, it was not at all what I expected.

I expected the bits about why we should try to do better for the environment. I expected the parts where he talks about what measures he undertook, and the parts where we find out if those measures were difficult or enjoyable. I did not expect intensely personal storytelling. I did not expect such deep, philosophical speculation.

In the end, I learned a little bit. But I thought a lot. And I felt more inspired than I anticipated.

At work, I like to keep a few special books. These books serve a purpose for me. If I am feeling uninspired and selfish, or even bored; when I don't want to work or have trouble focusing, I pick these books up, flip to a random page, and read just a little bit. When I do that, I am hoping that these books remind me of my priorities and my values. I am hoping they remind me that I didn't come to work to entertain myself, but to accomplish Something Good. I am hoping they keep me grounded and focused. These books are thoughtful and quotable and give my brain something to chew on, in little bits. No Impact Man is going on that book shelf. I might buy a second one to have as a loaner.

So here's a little quote for you to chew on this Earth Day, one which the author decided was the moral of the story:

"I got too paralyzed by this question of whether I was the type of person who could make a difference. Finally, during the year of the project, I realized that's the wrong question. The real question is whether I'm the type of person who wants to try."

How Do You Do It

I purposely stay ambiguous about the exact nature of my employment here, other than the fact that I work in the environmental arena. I'm going to continue to skirt around the subject, out of respect for my employers and the occasionally sensitive issues we deal with. Despite that, I will try to be understandable here. 

Last week I had the good fortune to attend a work-related conference. I really love conferences on environmental stuffs... aside from being interesting and informative, they are sometimes inspiring, and they almost always bring together people from all levels of work: private industry, corporations, nonprofits of various flavors, students and academia, as well as different levels and branches of government. I feel this is ever so important. It is sometimes far too easy to overlook the human face of other groups in the environmental field, to forget that for the most part we all have the same end goals. I try to keep in touch with this notion and to remind others when they need it... but even I slip now and then. Events like this remind us that we're really one big community.

During social time I was speaking with someone that is on a different "side" of the field. She asked me, "How do you work in this field and do what you do? It seems like it would be so frustrating and depressing." I hadn't ever thought of my job this way... but when I sit down and think about it, any job in the environmental field could be viewed like this. I'm not that singularly special.

I feel the answer is easy. You concentrate on the small victories, and the small positives, because these things do matter. You hold onto the things that really inspire you. And remember that if you keep learning, and keep working, maybe someday you will be in the right position at the right time, with the knowledge and skill to make a significant change.  That is my answer. When I gave it, she blinked at me, and said, but of course; that's the only correct answer!

But it is also very important to remember that change is slow. Change is hard. Especially large scale change, or change against the powers that be (and much of the eco movement is very large scale - face it folks, you can't create cultural change in a week). People fight it. Some of them with more money or power than you or I may ever have. And most environmentalists feel so strongly about things that we all want everything to happen NOW. Some of us may even feel like the world will end if NOW becomes later, even though all anyone can do is their best. Still...

Know your expertise. Know your ability and sphere of influence.  Do what you can with what you have, and feel proud of that. And you can always learn to do better.

Moving Planet Report

Moving Planet went off well this morning! It was an absolute beautiful day for a walk. Jenny had been itching to go, but I left her at home so I could walk with my husband (who has no bicycle to ride). I'm sure she understands!

I was finally able to see the awesome art display inside the Womb Gallery (I had gone by several times but it was never open!). We enjoyed some donated fruit, lunch from Quizno's and Coop Ale Works (Thank you, JD Merryweather and crew) while listening to a band. Saw some nice displays and acquired some more seed for the fall garden...

Alien Mind Girl...

is about to watch the Climate Reality Project!
But not all of it. Because I cannot humanly watch anything for 24 hours... but it's a neat idea, no? A different show about climate change as it affects different time zones, one for every hour? With all the new things we have learned? How exciting!

And although I thought An Inconvenient Truth had it's pros and cons (and likewise that Man Bear Pig is hilarious), I'm eager to see Gore's progress as an informed environmental activist since then. Climate science in and of itself has grown, and so have I; of course I expect nothing less of Gore.

Moving Planet Oklahoma

So a quick rewind to last year... I had the great good fortune to attend this conference, one of the best (and most tiring) that I've been to. At this conference, another stroke of fantastic coolness, I was able to hear inspiring presentations by representatives from some unique activist organizations, 350.org and Carrotmob, and have been following them since. This year, 350.org has declared Sept. 24 to be Moving Planet Day! A day to bring fun and peaceful awareness to moving away from fossil fuels. 

350.org is an interesting NPO in that, rather than doing all the work themselves, they reach out to people all over the world, offering education on issues and acting as facilitators to help guide others on organizing their own grassroots campaigns. Acting in this way, they've been able to pull off some creative large-scale efforts and global demonstrations...  like this one, where people in different countries created huge works of art that were photographed from space! But I digress. That's just a little background on the parent organization for this event, and why these events are both locally sponsored and part of a global initiative.

Oklahoma currently has two registered Moving Planet Day events, one in Oklahoma City and one in Norman. The OKC event looks pretty fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing more details on it. For this one, they ask that you sign up if you are participating in the walk/run/bike/skate part of the event and sign in at 9:30. At 10:30, everyone gathered will travel from the coolness that is Womb Art Gallery (approximately NW 9th and Broadway) to City Hall (2 miles distance). After this, there is a festival in Automobile Alley featuring free beer, not-free food, bicycle workshops, and music. The Norman event starts at ten (no sign-up necessary) and moves from the OU Energy Center to the Severe Storms Laboratory.

I think it sounds like a fun way to show your support for clean transportation and whatever other eco-agenda you have, as well as a good way to enjoy a Saturday morning outdoors!  Watch the promo video for Moving Planet below. And if you are outside of Oklahoma, you can find your nearest Moving Planet event here, and if there are none near you and you feel inspired, you can start your own event here.

Keystone XL - What's the Big?

You may have heard of this protest that started yesterday at the White House. Basically: Pipeline being built from Alberta to Texas. Protesters are protesting! Getting arrested! It's crazy, like the sixties/seventies, except for... except the media seems to be portraying the protesters are liberalist idiots. 

Ok. Actually, I wasn't alive during the early days of the environmental movement, so I don't know what it was like. I can only *assume* that the media covered the issues in an informative manner, since the movement actually Got Stuff Done. I do know that the news stories I've seen only say that they are protesting a pipeline, and then they interview a protester who says that America is addicted to oil and we shouldn't import anymore oil! Which makes it sound like the point of the protest is stop all petroleum imports.

Well, that's not the story. And the story actually affects Oklahoma, so listen up. I did some background reading. The pipeline has its pros and cons, like anything does. To delve into all of them... well, that would take more patience than either of us has right now. But you can guess the benefits... jobs, national security, the typicals. And you can even guess some of the usual cons, such as, oil exploitation is detrimental to habitats, extracting what is called tar sands oil is energy intensive and there are better, cleaner options. But this is not the typical scenario, for a number of reasons. So I have pared it down to what I think are the important points: 

 1) It passes through central Oklahoma on its way to Texas 
 
 2) It passes through the Ogallala aquifer, which stretches through several 
states including Oklahoma's panhandle. This is one of the largest supplies of 
water in the country; millions of people use it for drinking water and crop 
irrigation. 
 
 3) Studies (some done by the company building the pipeline, some by univeristies) 

predict that the pipeline will have 11-50 significant 
spills within the first few years of operation. They EXPECT these spills. Note that it 
takes only a very small amount of oil to contaminate a very large amount of water. 
 
 4) The EPA has *not* approved this project. The company building the pipeline 
submitted its Environmental Impact Statement twice, and BOTH times EPA found it 
lacking. The first time EPA rated the EIS as inadequate. The second time  

(read EPA comments here) EPA said that the company had 
insufficient information on the environmental affects of the project, 
insufficient emergency plans for leaks, and that the pipeline was not 
technologically equipped for the detection of smaller leaks. This means that it 
could be leaking for years before detection, possibly into the invaluable Ogallala. 
 
This is not simply a knee-jerk or "Not in my backyard" reaction; this appears to 

genuinely be a bad idea that the company seems ill-prepared to handle 
responsibly; a project which, if flubbed (or even if one of their predicted leaks occurs in

 a bad location), could put the public health and water supply of people in many 
states at risk, as well as jeapordizing crop irrigation for America's breadbasket region. 
Cleaning up groundwater contamination is one of the hardest types of 
environmental clean-ups; it literally takes years, and is sometimes impossible. 
 
There are benefits to this pipeline, but there are also alternatives to it, and 
the benefits are not worth the risk. If you agree and are feeling froggy, you 

could head over and sign the petition or use the White House website to shoot

 an email to Obama. This is actually one of the rare issues that he can handle 

on his own, as he is the only person who can approve the permit to build the pipeline. 

But. He is in a sticky spot, and I don't envy him. 

This is not a simple issue, so if you'd like to be fully informed you should Google 

it and do your own background research. If you want a start, here is a story from National Geographic with an interesting perspective that actually suggests the pipeline would not make any strides towards national security, and here is an overview from CBS that discusses a little more of the benefits.  

Your city? Take ownership! ... Be heard at PlanOKC

Over the past few months I have been privileged enough to attend PlanOKC public meetings and plunder the documents at www.PlanOKC.org and www.PlanOKC.com, all of which I have found to be fascinating and exciting. PlanOKC is Oklahoma City’s effort at creating a new long-range comprehensive plan for the city’s growth. This will be one of only four such plans in the history of the city, so this exciting opportunity to design and peek into the city’s future does not come around often.

The comprehensive plan will cover eight main topics: City services, Transportation, Sustainability, Environment, Building community, Culture, Economy, and Recreation. If you choose to scout out the websites above, you will see that there are stakeholder groups for each of these subjects. This means that if you work or live in OKC, you are invited to show up, here what is being said, and throw in your two cents. If you don’t want to go, you can still attend virtually… pull up the meeting minutes, read the documents, and submit comments via email. Of course, you will have to wait until meetings start again. We have been promised that this will happen after Labor Day. For now you can go and read the results of the last round of meetings, which consist of a list of issues statements.

I cannot say strongly enough how impressed I am with the city’s efforts to involve the public on this plan. They don’t have to do this! They are just being super nice. And super effective. This project is a tremendous undertaking, and anytime public comment is involved in planning the process becomes more complicated for the planners. I have always felt that public involvement is very important-no small group of people can be completely knowledgeable about everything that goes on within a city or a state- and if the decisions affect everyone, everyone should have a right to speak up. However, the process of trying to reach a consensus between scores or hundreds of people? Good grief, my family can’t even decide what to eat for dinner! Yet somehow the city has managed to organize all these topics, aggressively solicit input from as many people as possible, patiently listen to every comment, and organize the results. It’s really incredible.

Even if all you do is read the web content and watch the subject from afar, you may learn a lot. I have.

This is an exciting time for Oklahoma City. We were cushioned a bit during the recent economic fall-out (not entirely, I know, but other places were much worse off), and all I have seen in the last few years is change, change, change and crazy growth in all sorts of directions, with no sign of slowing. If you want to stay apprised of some of the more grand efforts, of course, you know of MAPS3. There is also Project180, which is the current reason many of the downtown streets are torn up. I’m weary of the construction, but I am rather excited about the promise of the improvements it will create, such as bicycle lanes and better-timed pedestrian lights (Here downtown, we have joked that the pedestrian lights have two meanings: ‘don’t walk’ and ‘run’; thankfully the motorists are usually aware of this).