How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World? One. And You’re Looking At It.

Over at FastCompany.com Charles Fishman wrote an insightful article about Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs and their growing acceptance. 

"For years, compact fluorescent bulbs have promised dramatic energy savings–yet they remain a mere curiosity. That’s about to change... For two decades, CFLs lacked precisely what we expect from lightbulbs: strong, unwavering light; quiet; not to mention shapes that actually fit in the places we use bulbs. Now every one of those problems has been conquered. The bulbs come on quickly; their light is bright, white, steady, and silent; and the old U-shaped tubes–they looked like bulbs from a World War II submarine–have mostly been replaced by the swirl. Since 1985, CFLs have changed as much as cell phones and portable music players."

Personally we have put CFLs in our house in all the places where they make sense, and it feels good to be getting decent light for less money.  It even makes us feel better about leaving the lights on for safety or comfort without feeling like we're being (as) wasteful.  So head on over and read about Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs .

Change the world 1 letter at a time

how to write letters that will influence people for improving the world.

On my computer’s file system and in my email program I’ve got a folder labeled “change the world” it reflects my attempts over the years to write letters to literally change the world for the better. My letters are not canned, they aren’t cut and pasted from some form on the Internet, they are “hand crafted” At times I’ve written them quite regularly at the pace of 1 per week, at other times I’ve forgotten this for months and years at a time. But I keep coming back to this because I’m convinced of a few things: I have a moral or ethical obligation to speak out when I see something that is wrong. That those who will recieve my letters actually care and will do their best to address my concerns. If everybody did this, the companies and governments receiving our mail would be overwhelmed, but folks tend not to exert effort they don’t have to, so my letters will by the nature of that fact, stand out and be noticed. I have no illusions about people “having to listen” to me, but I believe that people want to do the right thing and that when they are presented with an attainable way to improve things they will. I also know that many organizations operate reactively, and that by simply requesting something, the chances of receiving it increase dramatically.

I’ve written to city and provincial governments like Surrey and British Columbia to request improvements to the dangerous 160th and 104th street freeway interchange. Quite happily I see that every recommendation I made has been implemented and improved the traffic flow for the thousands of people who use that interchange each day.

I’ve written to the SOLO cup company to encourage them to “print” the appropriate recycling symbols on the bottom of their cups so that customers can recycle these plastic cups rather than throwing them in the garbage.

My tips:

Greet Well

Don’t use “to whom it may concern” how impersonal. Be cautions with “Dear ….” If it is a stranger, would you call them “Dear” if you met them on the street. If you have the suspicion that your correspondence will simply get a “standard” reply “Dear you, thanks for your letter, we have noted your concern. Keep using our products..The company” from a person who is powerless to provide a real response., then ask for more. Ask them to forward your letter to someone who has the authority to make changes, appologize for wasting their time if you have sent it to the wrong department etc. Let them be the expert in routing your letter.

Be Nice

The person reading your letter wasn’t the one who spilled oil in the ocean, or who designed a poor road. Recognize that and express yourself without beating up the reader. Avoid “YOU” and other more colourful words that would cause the reader to be defensive or resistant to your message.

ASK

Ask and you will recieve works when you are talking to God. The government and companies fall short, so Ask and you “might” receive fits here. Bear in mind the action you want them to take. Ask for a reassurance that they will discontinue using child labour in India. Ask for the name of the most appropriate person to talk to regarding unsafe driving in their corporate fleet. Ask what their plans are to improve fuel efficiency in support of the Kyoto accord. If you ask for nothing, you are likely to get that.

Provide and sell Solutions

Complaining is easy and almost everyone is willing to go that far. What stands out is the simple suggestion, and even more a suggestion that is simple, cost effective, which brings a benefit to the organization you are addressing. For a government to hear that your idea will reduce their exposure to legal liability this provides motivation. Put yourself in their shoes and sweeten the deal. Perhaps the improvment will allow them to make a marketting claim, or will improve their corporate image.

Apply Gentle Pressure

For a company to hear that you are uncomfortable continuing to buy their products if an idea isn’t implemented but that if it is, you will continue to recommend their products provides them with free marketting and the prospect of alienating not only you, but all the other people who didn’t write in who feel the same way. Don’t set ultimatums, but provide a clear concept of what the impact of their decision will be. “If you are unable to support the reduction of Canada’s emission of greenhouse gasses, I and my family will need to find a political candidate who has an environmentally responsible platform”

Have Hope

If you take an action, you set things in motion, in your life and in the lives of those who intercept your communication. Your letter will be read by someone, you caused the mail system or email system to carry your message hundreds of miles, you forced someone’s mind to come to a decision about the issue at hand. Your goal is to motivate, and sometimes it will take the collective weight of many individuals writing letters to communicate what is important to you and to assist those you address in coming to a better position. Your time spent in this way has the potential to benefit countless thousands of others. (consider my freeway example earlier).

Enjoy! And please write back to share what you are writing about, and any successes you can report.

Greg.

My response to the One Tonne Challenge

The government of Canada initiated the One Tonne challenge as an exercise to get Canadian’s thinking about how they would reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide by one tonne (1000 KG) per year.

My response: No more gas, Less wasted water, Less drafts

The government of Canada initiated the One Tonne challenge as an exercise to get Canadian’s thinking about how they would reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide by one tonne (1000 KG) per year.

No more gas

I moved into a house that is lit and heated with electricity rather than natural gas. We have our gas meter locked off. We plan to light and heat the house entirely with electricity. We have 85% of our electricity produced through green means here in British Columbia. Huge hydro electric dams capture our abundant rainfall yielding a huge benefit from that investment in this infrastructure that was made years ago. We need to keep thinking like this. Principles before profits. My friends warn me that electricity is more expensive, so I’m trying to soften the blow by making my house more energy efficient.

Less wasted water

When water is wasted there is less clean water for other uses. When hot water is wasted it contributes directly to global warming through the C02 released to heat the water. We have replaced faucets, and replaced faucet cartridges for 6 taps. We believe that this represents 22,000 litres of water saved per year. As you know it is usually the hot water taps that leak the worst. We’ve installed aerators (little metal screens) over the faucets to limit the peak water flow. 1.5 gpm (gallons per minute) for the bathroom sink 2.2 gpm for the kitchen 2.2 gpm for our low-flow shower head, 2.2 gpm for the ensuite bathroom. We have committed to only watering the lawn 1 time per week if it needs it since frequent watering encourages shallow root systems and the quick death of your lawn anyways. We have turned down our hot water tank to 50 degrees Celsius from 60 degrees Celsius. We have read that this is hot enough to discourage bacterial growth, and the reduction in temperature means that there is a lessened chance of our children being scalded with host water. I am also continuing my practice of always washing my hands with cold water, requiring no hot water heating and no water wasted by waiting for the tap to “warm up”.

Less drafts

We have installed a door sweep under our front door with brushes to keep bugs and drafts out. We have tightened the weather stripping on our 3 exterior doors so that no light is visible around the door frame when it is shut and locked. (yes we keep them locked). We have injected expanding latex foam under our door sills (lots of space for bugs there) into spaces around anything that penetrates our house’s ‘envelope’ (entry points for vents and wires). We have put drapes up over our largest windows which we close at night to reduce the transfer of heat through those windows.

Irony or tragedy?

In an ironic twist I read this on the “one tonne challenge” website:

The Government of Canada Climate Change site is currently unavailable.

We appreciate your interest in the important issue of climate change and suggest that you visit the following sites for more information:

• Visit Environment Canada’s Green LaneTM for weather and environmental information. The Green Lane helps connect Canadians, exchange information and share knowledge for environmental decision-making.


• Visit the Natural Resources Canada site to learn about the role this department is playing in helping shape the contributions of the natural resources sector to the Canadian economy, society and environment.

Now I know Canada has been getting a black eye for its “very slow movement” on the Kyoto accord and the obligations it made, but perhaps this black eye is deserved? <<Addendum>> Perhaps these comments are in appropriate. Canada has done much in the area of natural resources given its vast land area, while having to overcome the challenges of distances unknown to all other countries except perhaps Russia. We have to communicate and transport further to move resources from source to “market” we have to move resources further to move them from market to market. We have some challenges that no European country has. However, it would appear that Canadians are waiting for something. Waiting for the government to make the first move, waiting for the pollution free car to suddenly be produced by the car manufacturing corporations, waiting for the garbage they put in landfills to magically dissolve. Some Canadians deserve credit for taking initiative and reducing their negative impact on the natural environment, but others are waiting for it to magically become more convenient and less expensive to do the right thing. In this respect it would appear that our brothers and sisters in Europe have us beat as they consciously try to do the right thing at higher cost and higher inconvenience.

JAJAH - The Difference - The Benefits

Jajah lets you make phone calls for free...

• There is no download and no software


• You don’t need a headset


• You don’t need a broadband connection


• You are using your existing phone (landline or mobile) and so is the person you are calling


• You are not stuck to your computer


• You can call your friends for free - no matter if they are online or not

JAJAH is all about simplicity! Enter the phone number you want to call at www.jajah.com, press call: Your phone will ring - your friend’s phone will ring - start talking! It’s what you’re used to, it’s simple, it’s free and it just works!

I think that is a simple and convincing explanation. I’ll add an explanation that if you want to call anyone who is not “registered”, you pay them $0.025 per minute (much like Skype) When you sign up they give you $3.75 credit. They don’t want your credit card or any other payment until you use up your credit and want to make a call that costs. If you call someone else who is registered, there is no charge.

Clearly this could be the same method Skype is using (with more limitations) give free calls to build up a clientelle, then introduce nominal fees.

What I like about this approach is the freedom from software. There is nothing to go wrong on your PC, just use your browser, use your phone, you are done.

Every now and then there is poor quality, just hang up and try again. The quality is normally equal to that of a conventional phone line (nobody knows the difference)

I’ve suspected that Skype,Jajah and others are able to purchase Voip services from somewhere and I’m determined to find out how this works, so I can buy at wholesale and not retail. I see that voip-info.org has lots of information, that asteriks is a free pbx, that trixbox is a linux distribution to run your own PBX, that most ADSL internet providers offer “naked DSL” (no phone service, only ADSL), that les.net is highly recommended and acanac.ca seems to have an echo on the line for everyone I talk to.

Saving Water

Some simple tips for water conservation.

• Wash your hands with cold water, this saves waiting for warm water to arrive at the faucet


• Turn off the tap while you are soaping up your hands while washing.


• If you prefer chilled water, keep a jug of water in the fridge so you don’t have to run your tap while waiting for cool water.


• Use a bucket to wash your car, using the hose only for rinsing.


• Use a container (like a 4Litre milk jug) filled with water to water plants by poking a small pin hole in the bottom, rather than running a house continually.


• Fill kitchen pots with cold water and allow stove to heat. (this is still somewhat up for debate in terms of the energy used)


• Water lawn in evening or morning when there is no direct sun to evaporate your water


• Do not water lawn daily, water once per week allowing a good soaking, do not allow water to fall on hard surfaces, or to drain from lawn to hard surfaces.


• Allow your lawn to grow longer in summer (3-4 inches) so it can stay healthy in dry summer conditions.


• Consider using a “rain barrel” to store water (rain water is especially good for plants) rather than allowing it to get drained off via your house’s drainage system.


• Don’t allow your sprinkler to water the driveway, sidewalk, or street. This water evaporates quickly so it is wasted. Also stop watering if your lawn or garden starts allowing water to run out of it onto the street. it means your land is saturated and should not be watered further.


• Set a timer to remember to turn off your sprinkler.


• Turn off your hose at the faucet on your house, rather than leaving the hose under pressure, where it can leak through couplings or nozzles which are rarely 100% water tight.


• Turn off the tap while you are brushing your teeth.


• Skip a bath or shower.. I’m serious, chances are there is one day a week when you don’t have to smell like a rose. You are getting up, going to chop firewood, and then heading out for a hike. Instead of showering first thing in the morning, save it for evening before you go to bed. When you rise in the morning, you will have just barely had your shower the night before and you can avoid wasting multi-gallons of clean water. Note this won’t always work, and some people need their showers more than others.


• Put a brick in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush.


• Fix tap leaks by replacing washers or cartridges. http://www.slowtheflow.com/repairing-faucet-leaks.html It’s easy unless you have a major plumbing problems.


• Fix toilet leaks http://www.slowtheflow.com/repairing-toilet-leaks.html (even silent ones you don’t know you have) Remember the water where you are doing the repair is the fresh water that comes in from your water supply. Relatively speaking it is much cleaner to work on that end.  They provide a handy (albeit general) pdf brochure for fixing toilet leaks.


• Choose a property with trees that shade your yard, providing better conservation of water.