Iconowatch » Green

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Iconoculture — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:49:08 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

Dark green Control Freak^SM that I am, I appreciate that my utility bills show my home usage relative to past months and also my neighbors’ numbers. Each month, the bills raise questions from the mundane (did I leave a basement light on all month?) to the existential (do my neighbors, perhaps, enjoy a higher quality of life because they take longer showers?).

Green monitoring is going strong — sophisticated home calculation tools are proliferating as consumers seek cost control and conservation metrics. But measuring the effects of human action in planetary proportions is an exercise in imprecision. Experts estimate that 1.4 million to 4.2 million gallons of oil have infiltrated the Gulf of Mexico every day since April 22. That’s 89 million to 316 million gallons to date — a staggering total, though less resonant than images of poisonous sludge and helpless animals. Perhaps the numerical inexactness mirrors the unknowable extent of environmental damage and an uncertain future for the region.

In Iconoculture’s Quant Analyzer survey of U.S. consumer values, sustainability ranked in the top 10. Green counts — and businesses that translate eco-tinged math into personally relevant teachable moments become partners in empowerment.

Sam’s Club breezes past the competition, powers store with wind

Iconoculture — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:00:50 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

WHAT’S HAPPENING

For its next move as a green giant, Sam’s Club will be the first U.S. retailer to run a store with its own wind power. They’ll generate juice with 17 micro wind turbines mounted on light posts in a Palmdale, CA, store’s parking lot.
Sam’s picked a particularly windy plot for the pilot mini-wind farm. The installation in Palmdale is predicted to generate 76,000 kilowatt-hours annually for the store. That’s enough breezy power to keep 6 average-sized American homes buzzing for a year (TreeHugger.com 5.1.10).
A second wind turbine site is set for May 2010 in a Wal-Mart in Worchester, MA.
The turbine installations come on the heels of installation of solar power panels at 28 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

The big box brand’s green journey continues, leading the way for smaller retailers and consumers alike.
Smart wind power is local. Small turbine installations make a big difference for self-sufficiency, which is the most sustainable way to produce and use energy.

RESOURCES

Sam’s Club

BEST GRASS IN TOWN IS ON THE PRAIRIE

Iconoculture — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:30:49 +0000

by Rebecca Kolls

What is it with Americans and their lawns? As a group, we’re obsessed with perfecting our yard and its terrific turf. From broad expanses of green carpet stretching from curb to front door to those perfectly groomed checkerboard backyards, lawns are high art for some homeowners. We spend hours working, watering, and fertilizing, arming ourselves with an arsenal of chemicals to create this “green” landscape. But with every manicured patch of grass comes an increasingly nagging question: “How sustainable can something so green be?”

I’ve recently been talking more to homeowners about how to lose their lawns. I’ve even tried putting my own advice to use. I planted plugs of creeping thyme and encouraged creeping charlie. (Apparently, this is also the perfect way to get rid of creeping charlie.) “Steppable” ground covers might be just the ticket for postage-stamp-sized yards, but there’s hope, too, for bigger suburban yards. And it’s been under our collective nose for centuries: Buffalograss, a native grass, is short and slow-growing, and it’s found in the Great Plains. It was here long before us, evolving to survive any onslaught from Mother Nature. It’s drought-tolerant, disease-resistant, and doesn’t have to be artificially fed.

We can’t really fool Mother Nature, but we can learn from her. And maybe more consumers, as sustainability keeps creeping like charlie, are ready to do just that.

Philadelphia and local businesses to reward residents for recycling

Iconoculture — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:47:04 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Philadelphia’s Fresh Grocer chain teamed up with the city’s Streets Department and RecycleBank to support a recycling incentive partnership that earns residents points that are redeemable at local retailers and restaurants (ProgressiveGrocer.com 2.7.10).
Over the first six months of 2010, the Recycle Rewards program will roll out by neighborhood. Residents get stickers for their curbside bins with bar codes that link to an online personalized points bank.
Points are deposited based on the community’s recycling efforts, while individual accounts earn credits by reducing their overall household waste. The points work like coupons at local spots and national chains like Bed Bath and Beyond, Ruby Tuesday, Dick’s Sporting Goods and others.
RecycleBank is also linked to the city’s Green Schools Program, where consumers can donate their points.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

Consumers are looking for help on their green journey — partnerships that pair local businesses with municipal programs may be just the ticket.
More cities are stepping up to help consumers curb curbside waste. We think this incentive program will win over more people than San Francisco’s fee-based punitive plan, but making recycling super simple is still the best way to gain recycling momentum.

RESOURCES

RecycleBank

TILL GREEN DO US PART?

Iconoculture — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:14:05 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

What’s good for the earth isn’t always fun for your dinner party — hosting green friends can sometimes feel more like a guilt trip than a pleasure cruise. And the pressure from the environmentally sensitive Joneses is well documented. But now greener-than-thou tension is moving from interpersonal to intimate with reports of a green-fueled gap growing in some couples.

“The danger arises when one partner undergoes an environmental ‘waking up’ process way before the other, leaving a new values gap between them,” says marriage and family therapist Linda Buzzell (New York Times 1.17.10). This values gap may lead to a behavior gap, with partners having different standards for being “green enough.” The position of the thermostat has long been fodder for disagreement among housemates, and we’ve seen green-values shifts turn bickering over bills into a sustainability argument of planetary proportions. We’ve also seen several new tools for monitoring home energy use come to market this winter — from a Smart Grid-connected videogame to a whole-house monitor that pairs electricity-consumption tracking with weather reports and a Facebook app.

At Iconoculture, we talk about green as a journey — for many consumers, the focus is on becoming greener, not on being perfect. After all, there’s no such thing as the ideal environmentalist or the perfect partner. But if your better half is green enough, it just may come down to “It’s me or the Prius.”

Best of 2009: Doomers do dinner parties with what’s already in the fridge

Iconoculture — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:01:25 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

WHAT’S HAPPENING

For most dinner party hosts, the evening requires a trip (or three) to the grocery store. But for Doomer Dinner Parties there’s no shopping required — actually, it’s forbidden. The entire meal must be prepared from what’s on hand in the host’s fridge, pantry or garden.
Doomers (a.k.a. peakniks) say society is entering the last days of oil (and, of course, other things). Doomer dinner parties evolved from “Prep Practice,” where families shut off their home breakers and live as if no gas is available (PeakOilHausFrau.blogspot.com 3.11.09).
One part peak oil awareness, one part eat local challenge, a dash of whimsy: One green blogger, Crunchy Chicken, took the Doomer challenge on without telling guests what they were in for, and she was surprised by the relatively easy and delicious outcome (TheCrunchyChicken.com 3.23.09).

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

Cause Consumption is about more than corporate accountability. Local Beehiving^SM is especially popular in the food space as locavore buzz is mainstreaming and seasonal farmers’ markets are open for business.
These days it’s not just the extreme-green quotient who are interested in making the most of pantry storage. Recession Stew is on the dinner table for many consumers as they look to make do with what they have to stretch every dollar.

RESOURCES

Doomers forum

Grow, tannenbaum: West Coast residents have options for living Christmas trees

Iconoculture — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:17:32 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

WHAT’S HAPPENING

As an alternative to felled foliage, some West Coast consumers are renting live, potted Christmas trees. The service started in Portland, OR, by the aptly named Original Living Christmas Tree Co. Eighty bucks brings a tree home with delivery and pick-up via Zipcars (LATimesBlogs.LATimes.com 11.30.09).
Last year we told you about the city of San Francisco’s partnership with nonprofit Friends of the Urban Forest, offering first-come residents potted trees at City Hall. No evergreens with this program — the $95 rental is for nontraditionals like Magnolias and Strawberry Trees.
For $89-110, Adopt a Christmas Tree in San Diego has singing and dancing elves deliver Pine or Cedar trees, which are later donated to families whose homes have been damaged by fires.
Fast-furniture monolith Ikea hosts a program for Seattle residents to rent a Douglas Fir for $20. When the tree is returned to the store (to be mulched), customers are given a $10 Ikea gift certificate.
Founded this year for L.A.-area residents, the Living Christmas Co. offers 5 potted varieties ranging from 2- to 8-feet tall. For an extra-sustainable spin, there’s an adoption option for the same tree to be delivered each Christmas. Bar codes tag the chosen tree, and families watch it grow over the years.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

Living Christmas trees offer a double-green bonus: the trees go cradle to cradle (or in this case, soil to soil) without the oft-paid premium price for sustainable goods.
Aluminum trees have fallen out of fashion with dark greens who are savvy to the source and have opted out of non-recyclable materials made in China.

RESOURCES

Adopt A Christmas Tree in San Diego, CA
Friends of the Urban Forest for San Francisco residents
Ikea Seattle
The Living Christmas Co. in the Los Angeles area
The Original Living Christmas Tree Co. in Portland, OR

OF NOTE: Polar bears rejoice! U.N. climate change conference underway (12.15.09)

Iconoculture — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:33:42 +0000

-A self-proclaimed overly simplified—but admittedly welcome—cheat sheet for the climate conference.

-Yesterday’s news from the U.N.’s official site.

-Interactive tools: Google Earth shows climate change scenarios and “tours” the world; CNN and YouTube launched the COP15 channel taking questions from around the globe for a panel in Copenhagen to answer live today.

-President Obama has announced a nonbinding commitment to reduce U.S. carbon emissions 17% from 2005 levels by 2020. A handy conversion tool puts emission reduction targets in perspective. [Treehugger]

Calculating wind energy is a breeze with new Mariah Power iPhone app

Iconoculture — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:29:30 +0000

by Sarah Fazio

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Consumers wondering how much power is blowing in the wind now have an iPhone app from Mariah Power, maker of the Windspire turbine.

Users simply hold the phone skyward and the app measures wind speed and calculates how much CO2 could be offset if a small wind turbine were installed on that particular plot of land (AlternativeConsumer.org 10.23.09).

Though the company says the app is accurate within 1.5 mph, they admit the app is more hype-full than helpful and that before they’d install a turbine, professionals would collect more (and more reliable) data on site (GreenInc.Blogs.NYTimes.com 10.22.09).

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

Green monitoring — for home energy use, a car’s average miles per gallon, wind power potential — empowers consumers with the metrics to determine whether sustainable decisions are worth the investment.
Even green’s gone mobile. When it comes to sustainability, they have an app for that.

RESOURCES

Mariah Power

San Francisco to citizens: Recycle and compost or else

Iconoculture — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:00:19 +0000

by Lisa Leonard

WHAT’S HAPPENING

In June 2009, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a proposal for the most comprehensive mandatory recycling and composting law in the nation — part of the city’s effort to achieve zero waste by 2020 (SFGate.com 6.10.09).
Beginning in fall 2009, every household and business must sort refuse into recycling, compost and garbage using three color-coded bins.
City leaders insist they want to make recycling and composting as easy as possible, but those who don’t comply will be fined $100 (individuals) to $500 (businesses) … after receiving and ignoring several warnings.
Some consumers have pushed back, calling the law heavy-handed. Others complain that it’s not heavy enough: Without enforcement (which supporters admit will be difficult), why comply?

WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS

One person’s trash is another person’s … landfill, carbon emissions and climate change. “Every man for himself” doesn’t cut it anymore.
When it comes to living green, some consumers will do the right thing even if it costs more. Some will do it only if it costs them not to.

RESOURCES

Confused consumers can visit San Francisco Environment Department for easy-interface how-to’s.