Doubling Up to Double Down

My path in environmental communication
continues with projects for Carbon
Washington and The Nature Conservancy.

I enjoyed my experience working on the campaign for Initiative 1631 so much that when election season ended, I looked for some new environmental-advocacy opportunities. One would have been great, but I ended up doubling my pleasure with work for both The Nature Conservancy and Carbon Washington.

In November, Carbon Washington put out a call for help with their communication team. Because of their work promoting action on carbon pollution (they had led the charge on Initiative 732 in 2016), I felt like helping them would allow me to continue addressing an issue of particular importance for me. After discussing it with them, I agreed to write content for their communication.

Near the end of December, The Nature Conservancy in Washington state announced that it was looking for volunteers to write for its City Habitats blog. Considering its focus on connecting people in cities with nature, I saw the blog as a wonderful opportunity to help develop the relationship between humans and the environment. My first post should appear in the next few weeks.

To have these two opportunities come up after the I-1631 campaign provided a good outlet for the environmental communication I still have in me. As my work with them continues, I'll post updates on this blog, so stay tuned for more information.

Two chances to work on environmental communication is definitely twice as nice.

A Place and Its Moment

Wind turbines churn out renewable
energy near Grayland, Washington.

American journalist Mignon McLaughlin wrote, "The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next."

The state of Washington needs that courage now from its legislators and from its people. We stand on the edge of a transition from one moment to another, and that move asks us to take a major step.

During the past five years, Washington has seen major impacts of global warming but no legislative action to address it. Consequently, that half-decade did not contain the fondest moments for Washington's environmentalists. In November 2012, voters elected Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat who has highlighted global warming as a key issue. That same year, two Democrats switched allegiance and began caucusing with Republicans, putting the state senate in GOP control. Every year since then, with major droughts, die-offs in sea life, and record-breaking fire seasons taking place, Inslee has called for climate legislation only to have Republicans block it.

Election results from a single race on Tuesday made possible a new and brighter moment in Washington government. Democrat Manka Dhingra won election to the senate in a district previously represented by a Republican, returning control of the chamber to Democrats. That means, no obstacles remain to prevent Inslee's desired legislation. As long as Democrats have the courage to make it happen, we can finally address this urgent issue.

This is the moment the state has waited for, and we must make the most of it. Our beloved region desperately needs action on global warming, and that work has to start at home. No excuses, no procrastinating. Whether the legislation comes in the form of a cap-and-trade system like the one Inslee proposed three years ago or a carbon tax like the one voters placed on the ballot in 2016, this legislation needs to get done, and needs to be done well.

Our moment is here, Washington, and we must be courageous. Contact your legislators and the governor, and tell them to seize this opportunity for a healthier planet.

Taking the Initiative on Carbon

Sometimes, you just have to take the planet into your own hands.

With conservatives in the state legislature repaying their energy-industry supporters by blocking Governor Jay Inslee's bold cap-and-trade plan, residents of Washington have launched an initiative to institute a state carbon tax. Carbon Washington, the group that created the initiative, is currently collecting signatures to put their plan on the ballot.

The proposed carbon initiative, which would place a $25-per-ton tax on carbon pollution while lowering existing state taxes (including a one-percent drop in the sales tax), isn't as elaborate as Inslee's cap-and-trade system. However, the results from British Columbia, which has a nearly identical carbon tax, show that carbon taxes are still very effective at reducing carbon pollution and help maintain a strong economy.

Washingtonians know it's time to put a price on carbon. Carbon Washington's plan does this and places pressure on legislators currently obstructing the proposed cap-and-trade system. When the initiative has enough signatures, it asks the legislature to pass the carbon tax. If the legislature fails to do that by the end of the 2016 legislative session, the initiative goes to the ballot for a public vote in November 2016. For more information about the carbon tax, click here.

Be on the lookout for Carbon Washington's signature gatherers, and let's put the planet in good hands.

The Maturity of Optimism

The environmental and political worlds are aflutter over the optimism of Washington state.

Although it's usually associated with children, fantasy, and naïve behavior, optimism is what allows us to grow. It brings with it the confidence to face major challenges, seek new ways of thinking, and do what is said to be impossible.

On the other hand, it takes no real effort or talent to find reasons something cannot be done, especially when faced with difficult, complex issues. We've heard "can't" so many times on environmental issues that you'd think it were the name of some species or chemical compound. The combination of pessimism and cynicism that breeds (or yields) "can't" poisons our collective decision-making processes and clouds our lives. It certainly isn't inspirational, and it isn't productive either, meaning it's neither youthful nor mature.

This week, Governor Jay Inslee showed the possibility and productivity of optimism by proposing the Carbon Pollution Accountability Act, a cap-and-trade system that would make Washington the world leader in limiting carbon pollution, address costs for low-income families, contribute to public education, and provide funding for transit infrastructure that would reduce the need for cars. Simply put, it is the smartest, most exciting thing I've seen come to the political side of environmental issues. For a full recap and breakdown of Governor Inslee's proposed program, check out this article from the Sightline Institute.

The best part of knowing your limits is waving as you leave them behind.

Finnish-ing off Cars

Maybe my love of ideas, interest in environmental issues, and dislike of cars come from my genes.

Finland has made much news lately for its environmental initiatives. Last month, it committed to a binding 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions. Now, Helsinki, its capital city, makes a move to eliminate the need for individual citizens to own cars. All those plans have left me even more proud of my Finnish heritage.

Helsinki's initiative shows what happens when people commit to the development of ideas. The city plans to capitalize on the country's innovative approach to technology as it makes its public transportation highly responsive to individual needs. According to this article from The Guardian, by 2025, Helsinki residents will have the ability to coordinate, plan, and pay for all their public transportation use with a single smart-phone app.

The vision Helsinki has for its transportation system challenges the need for private car ownership. By making the necessary changes in its infrastructure and embracing the potential of new technologies, the city will trump the convenience of the car, reducing the environmental impacts associated with transportation.

As a Finn, I'm excited about the thriving, environmentally friendly community Helsinki intends to build, but the great thing about ideas like this is that we don't need DNA to pass them on; all it takes is a blog entry and some forward thinking.

Total Cost

Cost isn't just about money, but even if it were, the bill for global warming would be a big one.

Seeing the full impacts of global warming requires us to think on an uncommonly large scale. We might think of energy bills when we consider regulating carbon emissions. However, focusing on what we might save on those bills by not addressing emissions misses many of the costs associated with inaction. For example, health, food, and disaster costs are likely to rise with global temperatures.

For this year's 24 Hours of Reality, which begins on October 22, The Climate Reality Project is shining light on the true cost of global warming. Check out the video below:



When all the other factors of global warming are considered, we might start to see the value of taking action against carbon emissions.

Bye-Bye Love

We know lost loves can create pain that lasts a long time, so imagine that hurt tied to the consequences of losing something from our environment.

The Climate Reality Project (CRP) is giving people the opportunity to think about how global warming might impact the things they love, including sports, food, wine, wildlife, and places. CRP created What I Love, a Web site that allows individuals to choose the things that matter to them and learn how a warming planet threatens those thing. Take a look at the teaser video below:



Global warming is a large-scale issue that touches every aspect of our lives, and its influence will continue to grow if we don't reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By creating What I Love, the CRP gives us a better understanding of the big picture of today and the bigger picture of the future. To visit the site, click here.

Love is about connecting, and our link to the environment is our most fundamental bond. We should start to consider what we and the rest of the planet might lose if we crack that connection.

It Does a Planet Good

Chances are, if you've got milk, you've got a plastic or paper milk carton that you have to recycle when the milk is gone, but the spirit of the milkman's glass bottles lives on.

Burbach's Countryside Dairy, which is based in Nebraska, has a great program for selling milk to stores around its area. The dairy puts its milk in glass bottles, which the stores then sell. When the customer is done with the milk, the bottle can be taken back to the store, which returns it to the dairy to be used again. For more information about the dairy, click here.

This operation model deserves replication. Selling milk locally decreases the carbon footprint of transporting it, and reusing the bottles is better than even recycling.

If this kind of program were available in more places, I think we'd all have reason to smile with our milk mustaches.

Going Nowhere

The "Forward" movement Barack Obama emphasized in his reelection campaign apparently comes from fossil fuels.

Continuing the trend he began in his first term, the president seems ready to ignore key environmental issues like global warming. In this article, TreeHugger reports that Obama has already declined an agreement with the European Union that would have required airlines based in the United States to pay a carbon fee. The article goes on to reveal that the administration is auctioning off to oil companies 20 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.

Together, these decisions mean no movement on carbon emissions and a strengthening commitment to oil.

Just a month before the president's second term, two things shine crystal clear: Obama's way forward does not include the environment, and our way forward on the environment does not include him.

Getting to the Line First

The United States just completed its latest election cycle, and the country has some excitement over the progress that might be made in the coming years. However, four years ago, we had even more excitement, and environmentally, it got us very little.

During the last four years, few elected officials have prioritized environment issues, and President Barack Obama has declined to throw the weight of the White House behind issues like carbon emissions, often maintaining a silence about global warming.

After seeing this unfold since 2008, I did not share in the excitement from four days ago. However, I like what the group 350.org is planning to do.

The group has decided to bring its protest of the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline back to Washington, DC, on November 18. (I wrote about last year's protests here and here.) The 2011 protests were effective in delaying the pipeline, but the president will have to make a final decision soon. Rather than waiting to see if Obama will take a strong stand on the issue when his second term begins, 350.org is getting out in front and making sure the environment becomes a priority.

Go to the 350.org Web site by clicking here. To sign up to be part of the protest, click here.

Last Stop

After making my last post about how Finland plans to stop using coal by 2025, I found the following article from the National Wildlife Federation quite a contrast.

The article talks about how coal companies in the United States are looking for ways to ship coal to Asia. I had known about this for some time because the primary train routes chosen by those companies go through the Pacific Northwest. Although I'm glad that my region has stood up to the health and environmental threat this plan represents, it is discouraging to see that the coal companies are finding routes through places that are more willing to take on these risks.

Interestingly, as Finland strategizes on how to do away with coal and replace it with renewable energy, the United States looks for ways to keep spreading the impact of coal. Continuing to use coal keeps us from taking important steps to improving our lives, our society, and our environment, and giving coal a wider footprint by shipping it around the world only makes the situation worse.

One has to wonder if we intend to ever move from the old approaches that have depleted resources and damaged our environment.

It's Mine

As promised way back in June, I am going to share the experience I had upgrading my computer.

First, to give you a little background information, I purchased my Macbook laptop four years ago from Apple. However, it was not new when I got it. Instead, Apple had refurbished it (Apple sells refurbished computers at discounted prices on its online store). Along with saving me some money, buying a refurbished computer meant that I was essentially reusing something that already existed.

The computer has served me well from the beginning, but within six months, I began to make some changes. First, I added more memory, which I purchased from a great company called Other World Computing. Memory improves a computer's performance, and OWC sells memory that meets or exceeds Apple's standards for considerably less than Apple sells its memory. I also bought an external hard drive from OWC, giving me a reliable place to back up my information.

For the next few years, I didn't make many changes to the computer. Then, this spring, I had to buy a replacement for my power adapter. I got a used one in good condition from OWC for considerably less than the ones Apple was selling.

The next decision I made about the computer was a pivotal one. At almost four years old, the computer's software was a bit out-of-date, and I was getting low on hard drive space, so I realized I would soon have to either get something new or update what I had. I decided on the latter option.

Upgrading the computer involved getting a new hard drive (actually a solid state drive) from OWC and a new operating system plus additional software. I also decided to invest in protecting the hardware with a keyboard cover, screen protector (both from OWC), and a shell case for the exterior. (Since I was making a commitment to keep my computer around for a while, I figured I should protect it as best I could.)

All the updates were successful (it was actually pretty easy), and my computer is running faster than it ever did. Also, with the help of a kit I got from OWC when I ordered the solid state drive, I was able to turn my old hard drive into another backup device.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I found out I needed to replace the computer's battery. Again, I turned to OWC for a less expensive, more powerful version of what Apple was selling.

Importantly, I feel like my computer is truly my own now. I was able to participate in the creation process that made it what it is today (it's probably as much an OWC computer as it is an Apple). Above all, I was able to get what amounted to a new computer without discarding my old one. This helps conserve resources, making me even happier and more proud about my upgrade.

To check out what is available at OWC (they also have equipment for PCs), click here. The company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, receiving an A+ ranking. Also, it offsets all its carbon emissions and makes its solid state drives in the United States, further cutting down on the carbon footprint when it ships to customers in the US.

Hourly Reminder

Just a reminder: Earth Hour is tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. wherever you are. People will be switching off their lights when the clock strikes 8:30 in their respective time zones.

My plans to go "beyond the hour" include unplugging my computer and keeping it off for the whole day and turning my lights off from 8:30 through the rest of the night.

I plan to spend my somewhat-off-the-grid day catching up on chores, reading, jogging, and doing a little bird-watching.

Please consider participating in Earth Hour and maybe even going beyond the hour.

Hour by Hour

This year's Earth Hour event is just 10 days away. On March 31 at 8:30 p.m. local time, people will turn off their lights to bring attention to the need for addressing global warming.

Since it began in 2007, Earth Hour has become a worldwide event, so by turning your lights off at 8:30, you'll be joining millions of people around the planet. Also, if you can, think of ways to go "beyond the hour." For instance, I am planning to keep my computer off and unplugged for the entire day.

For more information, click here. You can also check out the video for Earth Hour below:

Another Part of Reality

I thought I would single out one more piece of Al Gore's 24 Hours of Reality. This one looks at the efforts to question the science that studies global warming. Such efforts have eerie similarities to the campaign that sought to reassure the public that cigarettes pose no threat to human health.

 Watch:


DOUBT from The Climate Reality Project on Vimeo.

Parts of Reality

As I already blogged about, Al Gore's 24 Hours of Reality took place last week. I don't expect you to consume all 24 hours of the coverage, but if you didn't get a chance to watch it a week ago, you can check out a few pieces below. And for more pieces of the coverage, click here.

Here is the introduction to the coverage. It is done by Bill Nye, aka the Science Guy, and offers a great overview of global warming:


CLIMATE 101 from The Climate Reality Project on Vimeo.


Also, here are the highlights from Hour 2, which featured a presentation from Boulder, Colorado, and a panel discussion that included Gore and actor Mark Ruffalo:

Solar Decathlon

Tomorrow, the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon begins in Washington, DC.

The decathlon challenges college students to design and build energy-efficient homes that can be used right now. You can get more information about the event by clicking here, and you can watch a video about it below:

Remember Big Moves

Two months ago, I talked about two big events planned for late September. Today, I am just posting a reminder that September 22 is World Carfree Day and September 24 is the day for Moving Planet.

If you can, make plans not to use a car for transportation on those days, and if you feel like it, participate in a Moving Planet event near you.

Right now, a lot of efforts (like Al Gore's 24 Hours of Reality, which wraps up today) are being made to push for better environmental policies and practices, so it's a great time to get involved and help maintain the momentum.

Reality Reminder

Just a reminder: As I blogged about in July, September 14 is the beginning of Al Gore's "24 Hours of Reality."

Larry Schweiger, the president of the National Wildlife Federation, is one of the presenters. Check out his pre-presentation interview by clicking here. For more information about the event in general, click here.

Toyota Gives a Plug to the Hybrid

As I have done before, I will state that what you are about to read does not constitute an endorsement of a product. The following discussion is my attempt to spread news and offer my interpretation of it.

In 2012, Toyota will have a limited release of a plug-in version of its Prius. It's an encouraging step.

The car will only be available to people in fifteen states, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Additionally, most of these cars available in 2012 can only be obtained through preregistration, which has already closed. Toyota promises wider availability in 2013.

The limited release and the fact that this car still uses gas are downsides, but according to Toyota, the car has the potential to give drivers up to 475 miles per tank of gas. Together with the release of cars like Nissan's leaf, which I blogged about in June, this new Prius indicates that carmakers might be getting serious about fuel issues and carbon emissions. If that's true, it's good news for those who need cars and decent news for the planet.

Watch a video of the plug-in Prius below: