Tiny Choices

Easy Peasy Tip: Squeeze ‘em Up!

tinychoices — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:50 +0000

Now, we are not experts in this, but at risk of seeming entirely too “woo woo” we have a hypothesis to share: that an appropriate hug now and then will change the world. There’s something about reaching out and making a connection with another person - for one, it’s a proven stress reducer, so maybe the next time you’re stressed about what type of Tiny Choice to make next, reach out and give your buddy a hug! Or even more practical: if you’ve got your heat turned way down to save energy this winter, warm up with an occasional hug. And never underestimate the power of a hug as gentle positive reinforcement of an eco-choice well made.

So let’s get out there and show them why we’re called treeHUGGERS!

[[photo from flickr user kalandrakas via creative commons license.]]

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Tiny Choices Survey: Can!

Jenn — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:39:46 +0000

Vital statistics (name, age, location)?
Can, 28, Brooklyn NY

How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)? Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I live in a Brooklyn loft with 2 other roommates. I think, me and my roommates were pretty lucky having ended up in a decent and fun loft. It was both a choice and a necessity considering the housing market in New York. We made a choice of going for building our own loft (bedrooms, walls etc..), the necessity dictated was rather financial - as usual.

How do you travel (transit, car, etc)? Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I always use public transit. I still find it extremely scary to bike in the city even though I biked for daily commute for years before moving to NY.

Tell us about a Tiny Choice you’ve made in your life.
I think going for vegan and choosing a rather simplistic life style free from chemicals and mainstream capitalism were the best ecological decisions I’ve made, and I do think that they are rather “tiny”. At first glance, they all looked rather scary. But, once I started, that was easy. Apart from that, I think buying and using second hand goods/clothes as much as possible is a recent tiny choice I’ve made. I have rather hard feelings for the fashion industry and the associated consumerism and all of its ecological consequences. Now, I feel extremely good when I put on the pair of jeans I recycled from a thrift-store.

What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?
I am a computer geek. As all the computers and electronics are one way or the other are associated with some weird mine that is usually obtained from poor and dictatorial countries in Africa (FYI: http://www.globalissues.org/article/442/guns-money-and-cell-phones); I try so hard not to renew my computers or cell phones [yes, I still avoid the iPhone!]. But after some stage when it becomes inevitable, I cannot resist anymore. I felt terrible for months after I purchased a cell phone last year after an almost one year break!

What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?
I try to be very gentle to my electronics and computers so that they can last longer. I also follow the Ethical Consumer magazine’s report on such manufacturers when I make a purchase.

What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you make that people question (in either a positive educational or a negative hassle way) you the most about?
Without question, being a herbivore! It is changing, but I am coming from a culture where animal flesh is considered as “the” food.

What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
I think consuming less would be my biggest wish for every single person to adopt. I’ve always believed that consumerism is a conseqeunce of selfishness which is such a big “crime” towards the ecological system. Meat-eating, CO2 emissions all are, in my opinion, immediate results of the same human(e) defect. I still do believe that it is a tiny choice, just a little shift to make.

Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
Sometimes, I do. Seeing all the people in this hedonistic city having “fun” caring about nothing, consuming so much, wasting so much, thinking less and talking more and loud; I often times feel like an outcast. But, I guess, this is not so unusual. My stand is, after all, a political decision. It will have some negative consequences for sure.

Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
It depends. I can’t say I am 100% optimistic or pessimistic. There are a lot of things that give me so much hope such as wind powered industries or radical ecological activism in Europe. However, at the same time, there are infinitely many things that make me deppressed. Yet, this is a rather psychological reaction, not a rational or political one and I think, I am fully aware of this fact.

Click here to read all of the Tiny Choices Surveys!
Take the Survey: email us your answers to the questions above, along with a photo!

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Tiny Lifestyle Tweaks Add Up!

Jenn — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:53 +0000

Just wanted to point ya’ll towards this Grist article, which basically backs up our whole reason for existing here at Tiny Choices:

“The United States could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of France’s total annual emissions by getting Americans to make simple lifestyle changes, like regularly maintaining their cars or insulating their attics, a study showed Monday.

If U.S. households took 17 easy-to-implement actions—like switching to a fuel-efficient vehicle, drying laundry on a clothesline instead of in a dryer, or turning down the thermostat—carbon emissions could be cut by 123 metric tons a year by the 10th year, the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found [PDF]…

…

“It is greater than reducing to zero all emissions in the United States from the petroleum-refining, iron and steel, and aluminum industries, each of which is among the largest emitters in the industrial sector,” the study said.

But the lifestyle changes come with a much smaller price tag and no great change to the way Americans live.”

Some of the changes may be, depending on your income, cost-prohibitive– but others are free or inexpensive to implement. Hang your clothes up to dry. Caulk around window and doorframes. Insulate your attic. Inflate your tires. Combine trips. Install a low-flow showerhead. Wash in cold water. Wear a sweater.

Etc. You get the idea. As always, we tackle the ones we can, and take notes on the ones we hope to get to in the future, and look for ways to Repurpose Reduce Reuse Recycle everywhere we go.

What do you think about this study, and about tiny choices in general? Hopeful, hopeless, or somewhere in between?

[Image by baredreamer via Creative Commons]

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Favorite Green Places: Cooper Union!

Karina — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:00:52 +0000

I want to share with you one of my new favorite green places - it’s the new academic building at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art — which, incidentally, happens to be my alma mater. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cooper Union (and there are bunches of you!) it’s a small school in the East Village neighborhood of NYC that offers a full-tuition scholarship to every student, and has programs in art, architecture, and engineering.

Recently, Cooper Union found itself in need of updating it’s aging infrastructure. And to do so they went big and constructed a new academic building on the footprint of the former Hewett Building. What’s really cool about the building isn’t the neat structure (which has been at the center of a LOT of discussion about architecture in NYC), but how they were able to achieve LEED Platinum rating from the US Green Buildings Council.

While a lot of serious engineering and planning went into this building - LEED Platinum is the highest rating possible for a building, and requires consideration of sustainable materials choices to daylighting to efficient toilets with a solid and liquid waste option - the most arresting points that get a lot of attention are the large central staircase, and the skip-stop elevators which only land at every other floor (there is a separate elevator for those who are unable to take the stairs). I love this quote from Thom Maine, the architect [via treehugger]:

“I’m interested in shaping behavior,” says Mayne. “The stairs and skip-stop elevators “make people think and organize yourselves in a way. I couldn’t possibly be an architect if I thought I were a cake decorator.”

“Somehow architecture alters the way we think about the world and the way we behave. Any serious architecture, as a litmus test, has to be that.”

What a great illustration of using our everyday actions to modify behavior and guide people towards making Tiny Choices! Be it designing a building with a big staircase, only offering cloth napkins at a party, or giving people thoughtful gifts that will help others, the opportunities are there always to make Tiny Choices.

(I really should have written about this on Monday - that was the actual date of The Cooper Union opening its’ doors 150 years ago!)

More information about the new Cooper Union building here and here, and about The Cooper Union here.

Any Cooper alum out there reading? holla! AND, how do you feel about LEED buildings?

[[Photo from the NYTimes]]

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Winner: IceBreaker Wool Shirt!

Jenn — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:00:29 +0000

Thanks to everyone who entered our Tiny Choices Icebreaker merino wool shirt giveaway!

The winner is: Heather S.!

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Eco-DIY Home Improvements

Jenn — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:00:53 +0000

I’ve been making small improvements around my apartment lately; I think it’s kind of a nestling in preparation for the cold winter months ahead. Of course, my first priority is to have as little eco-impact as possible while I do this– just because I want things to look prettier doesn’t mean I need to cause pollution or send otherwise useful objects to the landfill.

First up: the TV stand which just never really worked in my living room. I bought it on Craigslist for $40 when I moved into my place 4 years ago. It was lovely– solid pine, on casters, modern Ikea style– but it was too big for a too-small space. So I found a replacement, also on Craigslist– it retailed new for $175 and I bought it for $40 (plus $20 to cab it home). Then I sold my first one, yes, on Craigslist, for $40. Total spent: $20 cab fare.

Next: my interior hallway doors which were all fingerprinty and gross. Upon closer inspection it turned out they had only ever been primed and not painted, so they needed a few coats of semi-gloss to cover the unscrubbableness. I went to Lowes and looked through the “Shelf of Mis-Mixed Paints”, and found a lovely golden wheat hue for $2/quart. By choosing a mix which the original customer didn’t buy, I rescued it from hitting the trash bin. I also saved a lot of money. It also helps me to have fewer color choices; when faced with a vast array of paint chips I usually end up leaving the paint store with nothing but metaphorical tears.

Still to come:

My bedside brass swinging-arm lamp which I love, but which desperately needs a shade makeover (will post pics when I find the right paper for the job)
Kitchen cabinets about to be painted white and which I hope will defy all opinions that they should be replaced. They’re solid wood! And work fine! Not so pretty, sure, but they hold my dishes and spices remarkably well, which is all cabinets actually need to do.
A curtain rod for the living room, which I know I’ll find second-hand eventually. There have been approximately a billion curtain rods produced thus far in history, so my chances of finding one which works for the space are actually pretty good.

Have you tackled an eco-DIY home improvement lately? Tell us about it!

[Image by booleansplit via Creative Commons]

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Making things that are GOOD more FUN.

Karina — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:03 +0000

A good friend sent this to me with a note saying “this looks handmade for TinyChoices! And she was right!

The premise is that in order to encourage people to walk up the stairs instead of taking the escalator, a group of designers wired the stairs to look and sound like a piano. It’s a really neat idea, and it looks like it was really effective.

The opportunity was provided by Volkswagen, and it’s part of their “Fun Theory” competition. Check out the website for a couple of more cute videos, including the worlds deepest garbage can to encourage trash can usage and discourage litterers; and a video-game style bottle deposit station, to encourage recycling. And while this competition is 1. an excellent advertising vehicle for an auto manufacturer and 2. based in Sweden, it’s open to all, and it raises some really interesting questions about how we can incentivize environmental choices.

So how do we make Tiny Choices more exciting? Of course Jenn and I hope that by reading the Surveys on Fridays (of course, open to all! Please send one in if you haven’t!) making tiny choices and talking about them openly will become easier for each of us to do. I would say that having the perfect travel mug makes me a lot more likely to carrying a reusable cup, even though it would be greener to avoid purchasing anything. The same can be said for reusable shopping bags - if I didn’t have a tiny one to keep in my handbag I probably wouldn’t be as good about avoiding disposables.

I’d say marketing ploy or not, there’s definately something to this fun theory thing - besides the big prize. Maybe we should all enter? here’s a a chance to brainstorm:

What are some of your favorite ways to make being green more FUN?

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Easy Peasy Tip: Mulch!

Karina — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:00:44 +0000

It’s fall for many of us in the northern hemisphere, and in the northeast US the trees have nearly entirely lost their leaves. Guess that means it’s time for a good fall mulching! How about killing two birds with one stone (so to speak!): you’ve got a yard full of leaves, don’t worry about bagging them for the municipal trash or compost pick-up - instead, use them to mulch your gardens as you tuck everything in for its long winter rest:

Leaves are another readily available material to use as mulch. Leaf mold, or the decomposed remains of leaves, gives the forest floor its absorbent spongy structure. [oldhouseweb.com]

For more information check it out here.

By mulching in the fall, you’ll moderating the soil temperature to reduce freeze-thaw cycles that can damage plants above ground and heave the soil exposing roots below ground. Plus by using a good organic material to mulch, you will be amending your soil and improving it for the next years growing season - sort of like composting in place. And you won’t have to worry about where to put all those pretty leaves!

[[Photo from flickr user -snugg- via creative commons license ]]

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Tiny Choices Survey: Marisa!

tinychoices — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:50 +0000

Vital statistics (name, age, location)?
Marisa, 33, New York, NY

How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)? Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
Last year, my husband and I moved to a loft-like apartment in a building that used to be a parking garage downtown Manhattan because he has knee problems and needed an elevator, and I work from home, and we wanted space. We’ve discovered that it’s actually more space than we need…and requires more energy than we need. So, our next apartment will be smaller and hopefully in a neighborhood with more trees. In the meantime, our kitties are enjoying galloping up and down the apartment.

How do you travel (transit, car, etc)? Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I mostly walk or take the subway. I’ve tried biking but have been plagued with mechanical problems, bike theft, and an increasing fear of bike messengers who ride the wrong way on bike lanes. Since David’s knees went kablooey, my understanding around eco-friendly living and disability has changed. NYC is an ambulatory city, and it can be a real challenge for people who can’t walk everywhere. David missed being outside experiencing the city, so he bought a Vespa, and I ride with him sometimes. It’s nice that it uses much less energy than cabs and costs less than five bucks to fill the tank every few weeks.

Tell us about a Tiny Choice you’ve made in your life.
I love collecting my plant scraps for compost. I think it’s the German in me; Germans are obsessed with “Muelltrennung” (separating waste). My grandmother had a separate container for “Bio” waste and a compost pile in her backyard. I don’t really want to keep worm bins in our apartment, so I put my compostable material in tupperware containers in the freezer and schlep them to the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays, where Ingrid, the lovely Dutch woman who works for the Lower East Side Ecology Center, collects them for compost. Plus, it gives me an excuse to walk past my two favorite thrift stores on the way home.

What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?
Travel–no question. I’m a total travel junkie–a culture vulture, a touring tart, a jet fuel-guzzling Jezebel. The more remote and exotic the location, the better. Two of my favorite vacations involved being mock-charged by a silverback gorilla and being locked up in a cage with a groggy cheetah who was recovering from surgery. (Cheetahs are not as soft as they look–just FYI.)

What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?
I can take less frequent but longer vacations with fewer mini-destinations in-between.

What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you make that people question (in either a positive educational or a negative hassle way) you the most about?
Definitely the vegan thing. Vegans don’t even have to bring it up. All you have to do is eat with people, and someone will want to talk about it.

What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
I’d like everyone to adopt a more plant-based diet. The science on the devastating environmental impacts of animal agriculture is getting stronger and stronger every year. Just this week, a report called “Livestock and Climate Change” by the WorldWatch Institute came out saying that when you factor in previously overlooked contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock industry such as cow respiration (methane!) and the energy-intensive fishing industry, animal agriculture accounts for a startling 51% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. More leaders in the environmental movement and in the media are declaring the need for us to adopt a more plant-based diet. I try to help folks move in this direction through Kind Green Planet’s free online email coaching program called Vegan at Heart, which is directed towards people who consider themselves vegans at heart but not necessarily in practice. It empowers people with practical tips and resources (and no preaching involved!) But if you’re looking to be persuaded, feel free to check out the preliminary trailer for the vegan documentary we’re working on, Glass Walls.

Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
I feel that you really do have the choice of looking at them either as sacrifices or as life-affirming gifts that protect the planet and its inhabitants. As much as I can, I try to perceive them as the latter. It makes me feel like a superhero.

Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
It depends on the day, on what I’ve just read, what I’ve just seen. When I’m in my bubble of eco-conscious friends, I feel like things are just getting better and better. But when I leave my bubble, it can be pretty crushing. I think more people generally care about the environment, and it’s definitely more present in the media than ever before, but I haven’t seen much proof that it’s translating into real change. Not that there isn’t proof; it would just be nice to see it sometimes. Can I just say that I’m optimistically neutral?

Editor’s Note: Jenn has mentioned Marisa’s project “Kind Green Planet” twice before on TC: here and here.

Click here to read all of the Tiny Choices Surveys!
Take the Survey: email us your answers to the questions above, along with a photo!

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Coffee Ramblings

Jenn — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:06 +0000

So I seemed to have recently jumped back on the coffee bandwagon. After about 7 years as a dedicated tea drinker I’m again drinking the mud. Delicious delicious mud, how I missed you!

I had given it up because I just knew, felt in my body and my mind, that it wasn’t any good for me. I feel that again, but am trying to limit the quantity and timing of my intake– we’ll see how the experiment goes, and if I’ll need to institute another complete ban in the near future.

In the meantime, while I’m imbibing away, I’d like to make my mugfull as environmentally friendly as possible– so I’ve been buying only organic, fair-trade, and shade grown beans.

My first batch came from Whole Foods, and was packaged in a “100% Compostable” paper bag. One side of the bag reads, “After removing the tin tie closure at the top of this bag, the remaining materials are 100% PAPER and can be recycled or composted.” Well YAY for this tiny choice! By removing the plastic inner liner from the ubiquitous coffee bag, Whole Foods has taken a big step towards more sustainable packaging. Of course, the greenest option would be to bring this bag back for refill– and I’ll do that, if I continue to drink it.

This morning I stopped by a new (mostly vegan but not fully) coffee shop in my ‘hood, which serves Stumptown (yay!). I asked for soymilk in my brew, and received a response which stunned me. I’m pretty used to almost every cafe stocking soymilk at this point– and most certainly a vegan-friendly one– but this place doesn’t offer it. Instead, they proffer different milk-alternatives which they feel are healthier: oat, almond, hazelnut, and rice. While I can’t exactly imagine (watery) rice milk in my coffee, the other options work just fine, and it’s a nice alternative for those with soy allergies or just trying to limit their intake.

After all of this, I do realize the the greenest option of all would be to not drink the stuff in the first place; after factoring in production, processing, shipping, and packaging of these magic beans– and it’s safe to say that coffee isn’t exactly local to me here in Brooklyn– this is a drink with a bit of a heavy footprint. But, well, we here at Team Tiny Choices never claimed to be perfect (though I do think Karina is closer to it than I am).

[Image by Annia316 via Creative Commons]

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