boston
Boston is on a carbon diet
We just heard that Boston will receive $6.5 million in federal stimulus funds to help get “Renew Boston” off the ground. This is an effort to reduce the city’s carbon footprint, while creating jobs at the same time. See report from the Herald this morning.
Former Vice President Al Gore will team up with Mayor Thomas M. Menino today to announce that the city is receiving $6.5 million in federal stimulus funds to help kick-start “Renew Boston,” a program aimed at reducing the Hub’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The money will help create a program that will reduce energy consumption by weatherizing homes and retrofitting city-owned buildings. The money also will be used to spur the development of “shovel ready” municipal solar-electric, solar-thermal and wind-energy projects, according to the city.
Boston seems to be a very active town with engaged citizens and city workers. While organizing Pitch the City this year we were able to get an inside view and it was inspirational. Not only was the City of Boston open to the idea of gathering ideas from the public, they encouraged us to conduct the contest and help them make it happen. On top of that, we received over 100 ideas from citizens! We are looking forward to hearing the four finalists on Sunday at D2E and hope you can join us.
Don’t forget to come by the Hynes this weekend. We have a lot of great events going on. Check out our EVENTS page for details.
Pitch the City finalists announced!
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the City of Boston, in partnership with Down:2:Earth (D2E), have announced the Four Finalists in Pitch the City, an open contest seeking the public’s input on making Boston a greener city. The Four Finalists will give a 10-minute live pitch to a jury and Mayor Menino will be there to congratulate the winner.
When & Where: Down:2:Earth on April 5, 2009 at 2pm at the Hynes Convention Center. Main stage.
The four finalists and their ideas are:
Alexander Lee, Concord, NH: Get more people to hang out (their laundry). Lee, founder and executive director of Project Laundry List, proposes to make air-drying laundry acceptable and desirable as a simple and effective way to save energy. If everyone washed their clothes in cold water and hung them out to dry – you could save up to 15% of your monthly electricity bill. So, how can we get more people to hang out?
Jess Lerner, Brookline, MA: Get a Little Greener! Boston’s public awareness and action campaign Jess Lerner runs Green on the Inside, a green living consulting business in Brookline. What’s her idea for the city to get greener? Make thinking and acting green easy! Her awareness campaign is directed at the public and aims to make it simple for everyone to “Green a little. Change a lot.” She even has plans to get the Red Sox wearing green socks and asking, “What will YOU do today?” to make Boston a greener city.
John McCavanagh, Boston, MA: Reduce city waste by using reusable water bottles instead of single serving bottled water. McCavanagh’s plan is to purchase reusable Nalgene water bottles through the company’s “Refill Not Landfill Community Sustainability Program,” distribute them throughout the city, and educate residents on the importance of using them instead of disposable plastic bottles. Is this the simple change we need to make a big difference?
Alexandra Reilinger and Mikayla Colson Leaning, Jamaica Plain, MA: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Mural Project. Best friends and next-door neighbors, Alie (11) and Mimi (12) want to paint murals that will motivate people to practice the three R’s – reduce, reuse, and recycle – at T-stops, on Boston Public Schoolyard walls and on electrical boxes around Boston, with recycling bins placed nearby. They already have the support of Boston’s Youth Mural Crew. Can the power of public art change the way we act?
Back your favorite ideas for “PITCH THE CITY ONLINE” at changents.com.
D2E and the City of Boston invites the public to actively participate in “Pitch the City Online” through our partner changents.com, the storytelling and social networking platform that connects charismatic pioneers of social and environmental change – Change Agents – with a global network of “Backers” who want to help them in all kinds of ways. To engage with and throw your support behind Pitch the City participants visit www.changents.com/d2e.
Meet Shana Yansen: Jute & Jackfruit
“Ask, ‘How can this be done better?’ Then do it better.”
Jute and Jackfruit founder, Shana Yansen, once squeezed a scorpion to death with her bare hands. How could we not interview her?
Okay, first things first. The question we ask everyone: how would you explain your business to a five year old?
We sell clothing, jewelry and gifts that are good for the environment, but we also help the people around the world that make them. I also write two blogs.
Do you think a five year old would know what a blog is?
Depends on the five year old, but some are probably “tweeting” already.
What are your blogs about?
My company blog highlights the designers, products and the mission of Jute & Jackfruit. My other blog Green Cotton is focused on raising awareness about the importance of organic versus conventional agriculture, plus eco-fashion and organic textiles.
OK, before we move on, tell us about this scorpion and could it possibly have any relationship to Jute & Jackfruit?
Well, years ago while I was living in Honduras, I accidentally grabbed (and crushed) a scorpion in my hand. The scorpion happened to be hidden in the mosquito net I was folding. I will never forget that moment, nor the hours of sheer numbness that followed. However, I would also add that while there were many life-changing and memorable moments during my service in the Peace Corps in Honduras (including the scorpion!), that it was working with local women’s groups and artisans that impacted me the most, and that first led to the idea for Jute & Jackfruit.
So, you’re probably a little too familiar with all of the “green washing” out there. As a genuine eco-conscious business owner, what do you do to reduce Jute & Jackfruit’s global footprint?
At Jute & Jackfruit, we source organic and sustainable fabrics for our clothing, and we also place strict environmental (and fair trade) criteria on the jewelry and accessories we carry. For example, one of our core clothing designers is Indigenous, a pioneer in fair trade and certified organic cotton knits. A good environmentally sustainable example in our jewelry collection is AnnaBuilt, which is handmade by Brooklyn-based artist Anna Johansson from unique, recycled metals. We also have Nahui Ollin handbags made from factory over-run and misprinted candy wrappers.
Wow, candy wrappers? How does that work?
Using Mayan weaving techniques, the designer handbags are woven by Mexican artisans using wrappers that would otherwise be burned or sent to a landfill. We have some great photography on our Web site.
Speaking of wrappers, I know packaging is a big issue for eco-conscious retailers. How do you handle it?
We spent months trying to find eco-friendly packaging materials! Our postcards, clothing tags and other materials are all made on recycled paper, most of which are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. We also source recycled content gift-wrapping, such as tissue paper, boxes and ribbon. We use biodegradable plastic bags for garments (when additional bags are needed to protect from the elements) and recycle our boxes for shipping. We are also developing reusable fabric gift wrap for the holidays made from over-run and unused fabrics. In general, we are constantly looking into ways to reduce our impact. We are currently exploring carbon-offsetting for our shipping among other initiatives.
Impressive! Now, how about as an individual?
I started riding a bicycle last year and ride it almost everywhere now, including trips to the grocery store with my pannier bags. I also gave up water bottles and improved my recycling habits. For the last few years, my husband and I have participated in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). This year, we joined Picadilly Farm, a New Hampshire-based farm that has a local pick-up location. We really make a conscious effort to shop locally.
What habit was surprisingly easy to change … and what was the hardest?
The easiest to change was bringing my own bags to the grocery store and other places; the hardest was giving up water bottles. As someone who has always been an avid water drinker and is frequently on the go, I used to grab a disposable plastic bottle and go. With consistent and conscious effort, I gradually moved away from this practice. I stopped buying bottles and now bring a reusable Sigg or bicycle bottle with me.
I love my Sigg water bottle, too. In fact, I got it at D2E last year. Which segues nicely into our last question: why did you decide to participate in D2E?
My experience with similar green events is that they provide wonderful opportunities to strengthen the local eco-conscious community, and I believe D2E will do that for the Boston area. Plus, my impression is that D2E is going to be a fun-filled weekend with a remarkable line up of speakers, videos and events—including the eco-fashion shows, eco-living seminars, tasty organic marketplace and green-conscious exhibitors.
You are exactly right.
Interview by Anna Goldsmith of The Hired Pens
Dear Santa: Times are Tough
We all have a bit of Santa and misfit in us. Now the Post Office is giving us an opportunity to give or receive - depending on where we happen to land this year.
This morning I read a touching story in the Globe by David Filipov and I have to share. Apparently, each year the Post Office gets letters addressed to Santa in the North Pole and they actually read them. They take the ones that are asking for necessities like shoes and coats and they put them in a separate pile. Then they open up the Secret Santa Office so that people who can provide the basics for their family will have the opportunity to share their wealth. Below is the address for the Secret Santa Office and the times that it is open. When you arrive, you can choose a letter to sponsor. So if you can only afford to buy an extra coat, choose a letter that only asks for a coat. If you can afford more, it looks like there are some detailed letters for families with multiple kids.
Starting Monday, the Secret Santa Office will be open in the lobby of Fort Point Station in the General Mail Facility at 25 Dorchester Ave. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday until Dec. 24. The phone number is 617-654-5776. Sponsors need to bring a photo ID.
I’m thankful for conscious fashion
Deborah Lindquist, available at Suneri in Davis Square.
On the week of thanksgiving one might consider it odd to blog about fashion. But I have learned through life that fashion is about more than being trendy. Fashion is an important aspect of our culture. Fashion helps define us as individuals and as a community. Fashion matters.
This past week I attended a fashion show at Simmons College that was titled Fashion with Impact. The theme was sustainability and I loved that they talked about entrepreneurship as well. We can’t expect change to just happen, we have to be a part of it. Each person can figure out what that means to them, but it is important for all of us to be engaged. The simple act of choosing only to buy from responsible companies, to shop locally as much as possible and to be thoughtful about purchases makes a difference.
On a personal note, while in college I did not put any thought into what I wore. I was so concerned with my studies, that I did not want to spend an inkling of time contemplating my wardrobe. I did not see the value in caring about my appearance. That seemed shallow to me. What mattered was what was inside of me.
That all changed when I studied developing countries and I learned about Ghandi. One of the lessons I took directly from Ghandi’s book is the importance of our outward appearance. The morning after I read that passage I decided to wake up a bit early, wash my hair and wear something other than work-out clothes. Since that day I have found that feeling good about my appearance helps me in other aspects of my life. I began to feel more confident socially and this helped me significantly when it came time to look for work in the “real world”. Now fashion is a way for me to cultivate my image as a small business owner, and an individual. I chose styles that reflect my creativity while choosing fabrics and brands that reflect my values.
So on this Thanksgiving holiday I am thankful to Ghandi for setting me straight. When he said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” he was not just talking about voting and volunteering. The daily decisions we make about the clothes on our back and the food we eat are just as important.
Shannon Glasheen, a local designer, makes the old new again.
Policies for our future
Sometimes we have to be told what to do. As stated in earlier posts, we are learning how important policy is to our future. And though responsible businesses are taking the lead, we need policy to make everyone play nice in the sandbox.
Since it is difficult for the normal person, busy trying to make a living, to keep up with what is going on in our local governments, D2E is working to organize a panel discussion on policy. We want to create a forum for citizens to listen to and speak with their policy makers. The goal is to shed light on how our government can help us move faster towards a more sustainable world. Town, city, state, national and international policy makers have to step up to the plate and help us move forward. What have we done? What are we in the process of doing? And what should we do? Unfortunately the US is behind the game compared with other developed countries, but I have faith that we can catch up.
In today’s Globe I read an article by Erin Ailworth:
Under an ordinance set to be considered by Boston city councilors today, commercial waste haulers could lose their licenses if they don’t offer recycling services to customers. …. “If there’s an area that we can improve in, it would be recycling,” said City Councilor Michael P. Ross, who drafted the proposal.
Go Michael! I love hearing that elected officials are taking their responsibilities seriously. This is great news. Our cities have to make these rules, otherwise it might never happen.
My Sweet 16 Bicycle
Isn’t she a beauty. My parents gave me this bike on my sixteenth birthday. It was by far, the best bike I had ever owned. I realized immediately that I would have to enter some races and go on some long distance rides. It would be a shame not to. It is a Schwinn Superior with Campy parts – 12 speeds – super light – I love it. I declared then that I would never get rid of this bike. It would be a family heirloom.
This past summer a friend gave my old bike a new purpose. I needed a good commuter bike so we put on new pedals, handle bars and a seat. I have been riding an old 3 speed to work – from Arlington to the Back Bay. On the old bike, it would take me 1.25 hours to get to work. This past Friday I made it to work in 45 minutes. So 23 years after receiving this bike, I’m back on it and loving life.
Quality = Longevity
To LEED or not to LEED
We at D2E have been fans of the Forbes Loft project for a while now, so it was great to see this article in the Globe today by Erin Ailworth. Besides outlining all of the innovative features that will help Forbes be a great example of sustainable living, the article also bring up an interesting point about the LEED certification. Though this certification was created to avoid greenwashing and to help consumers identify a real green building from one that just markets itself to be one, Forbes is not going to seek LEED certification. They have decided that they would rather put that money and time into the building and let it speak for itself. Like any new venture in life, there are kinks to be worked out and it seems that LEED has some growing up to do.
“This is, in part, why LEED even exists today,” Hicks said. “If you look back in the early ’90s, there were all these buildings being built that were saying they were green and all they had were photovoltaics on the roof. And that’s not a green building. Green buildings are more comprehensive than that.” – Tom Hicks quoted in the Globe article
On the other hand…
Galinsky said the Forbes Park team is “not anti-LEED,” but he doesn’t believe the project needs the certification. The LEED process can be “slow, confusing, and frustrating,” he said, adding costs to a project’s bottom line. Galinsky said he would rather use that money on conservation and renewable-energy efforts.
Take a look at this article on Grist.org by Auden Schendler.
We’re concerned that LEED has become costly, slow, brutal, confusing, and unwieldy, a death march for applicants administered by a soviet-style bureaucracy that makes green building more difficult than it needs to be, yet has everyone genuflecting at the door to prove their credentials. The result: mediocre “green” buildings where certification, not environmental responsibility, is the primary goal; a few super-high-level eco-structures built by ultra-motivated (and wealthy) owners that stand like the Taj Mahal as beacons of impossibility; an explosion of LEED-accredited architects and engineers chasing lots of money but designing few buildings; and a discouraged cadre of professionals who want to build green, but can’t afford to certify their buildings. A growing number of LEED veterans have, or soon will, throw in the towel. LEED is broken. This article explores what went wrong, and begins a discussion of how to fix it.
We are not architects here at D2E. We are critical consumers trying to navigate this gray zone – looking for ways that we can live a more sustainable life. So the complications with LEED certification just make it harder for us. We’d like to think that if a building is deserving of a LEED stamp of approval, it would be easy to aquire. It is unfortunate that this is not the case and this is more reason for us to host D2E. We research each exhibitor and they have to pass our criteria before we allow them to participate. We do the homework for other critical consumers that are busy with their families and jobs, as they should be.
When old is new again
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Sometimes it is a clever designer finding a new use for an old thing – other times it is curb-side shopping, and other times it is passing on your old stuff to organizations that can redistribute it. It’s all good.
One of the great things about this blog is that it keeps us actively looking for sustainable businesses, products, organizations, events and news around town. We learn something new each day at D2E and we love sharing it.
Since finding new owners for old goods is clearly sustainable, today we wanted to feature More Than Words. This is a student-run organization that sells donated books. It’s simple: you have some old books that are cluttering your home, they can sell them to raise money. High school students learning how to run a business.
Beauty in simplicity.
Boston Bikes & Builds Green
What a beautiful August morning in Boston! I met up with the Bike Friday convoy and biked with the crowd all the way to City Hall Plaza. The weather was perfect, I met lots of other bike enthusiasts and I enjoyed a free bagel, banana and coffee. My convoy started in Lexington and picked up people along the way. We were the largest convoy so we each won a T-shirt. What more could a girl ask for? Well, a photo with the Mayor of course.
Lorelei from D2E with Mayor Menino. I love this guy. Besides all the great work he is doing with Boston Bikes, he is working to make the urban affordable housing green as well. This guy is the real deal.
Erin Ailworth reports in today’s Globe:
“The mayor is the leading mayor in the country in the creation of affordable housing,” O’Connell said. “And now he has become the leading mayor in the country in the greening of affordable housing.”
A big congrats to Nicole Freedman who is heading up Boston Bikes. She organized the event and we had a great turnout this morning. I’m still all pumped up on adrenalin and ready to conquer the work day.
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