Student-run group camps out for climate change legislation - The Boston Globe
"The group plans to walk into State House this morning and ask to address the Legislature, said Boston Media Coordinator Dan Abrams. They want to urge lawmakers to pass legislation requiring that Massachusetts be powered exclusively by clean energy by 2020."
Full article here.
Northeastern University student Alyssa Pandolfi crawled out of her tent on Boston Common yesterday. (Bill Greene/ Globe Staff)
by Alyssa Pandolfi, Second Nature Intern
I've come to realize that this No Impact stuff is a lot harder than I anticipated. Consumption proved to be pretty easy once I curbed my shopping habits. Taking the T everyday and walking to when possible were things that I already do. I buy organic, local food and I eat vegetarian, so that takes care of food. Outside of work, I spend countless "volunteer" hours working with my student group (Husky Energy Action Team - HEAT) to move towards our ultimate goal of climate neutrality for Northeastern University. However, when it came to yesterday's electricity challenge and today's water challenge, I am finding it a bit harder to lessen my impact. To start, writing this blog entry is requiring electricity. In order for our organization to function, we need to use electricity. To do work for my student group I NEED electricity. For Colin Beavan to publicize, promote, and further the significance of No Impact Week, he needed to use electricity. To me, it is important to conserve electricity whenever possible, but renewable energies are the things that we need the most.
This is an image from the movie Blue Gold: Water Wars of an ocean in Europe that is almost completely dried up.
by Ulli Klein, Operations Manager and Executive Assistant, Second Nature
At Second Nature we are very proud to employ Northeastern Co-op students. Now, I always like to say that I am extremely grateful for their presence, as they do the things that I don't want to do.
Come to find out. They are also way bold!
Yesterday, after some fairly intense preparation, our fantastic interns participated in a Flashmob as part of Massachusetts Powershift.
Now, it takes some guts to run out of a T-station with 60 other people and start dancing. Yours truly here would not be so brave.
Here we have one of our inters, Mr. Abrams, in action. He was wearing a Crimson shirt, which is a little bit of a misinterpretation, but frankly, in Boston we can pick and choose who we affiliate with.
And here we have someone else we know getting ready to get her dance on:
Of course, the entire team was all over watching this:
Alyssa getting her moves on. Personally, I know at least one song that they should have used and didn't, but let's not go there:
This one here - not dancing:
AAAAND they are done!
by Amy Hattan, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Second Nature
My participation in No Impact Week is a bit of a flip flop…I’m using the week to examine if my regular lifestyle fits within the concept of having “no impact”, rather than changing my habits for just one week.
For example, on the topic of food, I attended a screening of the documentary Food, Inc. this week, which was followed by a good discussion between the crowd and Gary Hirshberg of Stoneyfield Yogurt. Afterwards, I checked to see what I have in my fridge. I was glad to see that most of the foods I eat are natural or organic, low in corn syrup (corn is incidentally in almost every food you get in the supermarket), and low in antibiotics and hopefully E-Coli and all that other awful stuff that is in most factory-farmed meat. It also appears that I am keeping Stoneyfield Yogurt in business (again, see photo). The most memorable moments for me when watching Food, Inc. were seeing dead chickens lying among the live chickens in the chicken coops and cows covered from head to foot in their own feces. And we eat this! I learned that because we feed cows cheap corn and not grass, which is what they are supposed to eat, they get these diseases that get passed to us. I could do better and not eat out so much, because who knows where the food originates from that is served in a restaurant.
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Colin exchanges his SN paycheck for some delicious cranberry walnut bread!
Fresh, local food = Happiness
Brazilian eggplant? Look out Tony, it looks like Team Germany is recruiting some allies in the battle against Italians...
by Barbara Koneval, Program Associate for Education & Training, Second Nature
No impact week started on an unfortunate day, the day I flew back from California from Bioneers and a mini-vacation. After being inspired by the Bioneers conference, my sister and I drove to Yosemite for some inspiration from nature.
A big part of personal sustainability for me is making sure to reconnect to these areas, disconnect from my computer and get outside. The park was amazing and in addition to the physical rewards of hiking in Yosemite, the visual rewards were immense. Here are a couple of snapshots:
So I’m back in Portland and more in control of my choices for the rest of the week. And Wednesday is food day, yay! Lunch today was “The Democratic Republic of Peanut Chicken” soup made by my friend Jed who runs a soup delivery business, by bike. Soup Cycle was started in Portland as part of the growing bike delivery business, sourcing organic ingredients delivered only by human power. I get a weekly drop off of soup and luckily, Jed was delivering Monday night just as I got home from the airport. Score. As much as I like to grocery shop, after flight delays and plane travel I was not in a cooking mood.
Read moreby Michelle Dyer, Chief Operating Officer, Second Nature
Sunday was Consumption day. Our challenge: to live a fuller and happier life by buying less stuff. This one was fairly easy for me because I generally don't buy that much stuff anyway (between me and my eco-frugalisto husband we keep our total purchasing in check fairly well.) Anything I do purchase I always try for the item least impact, even if it means spending more. I admit that I did buy a ticket to the Ringlng Bros. Over the Top show that day, so I didn't go completely cold turkey. As an experience it didn't involve any physical stuff purchased on my part, though the sets, souvenirs, food for sale, etc. made it a mecca of consumption. As an amateur trapeze artist, I like to support the circus arts, and found it to be sufficient inspiration to keep me swinging through the long Massachusetts winter, so the $15 was worth the investment.
by Ulli Klein, Operations Manager and Executive Assistant, Second Nature
Wait.
Another day, another bag of delicious German licorice scolding by certain VP of our nonprofit after she tasted one of these heavenly creations... reminding me that something that was imported from Germany to a store in California, then sent to me by German friend in CA, is not appropriate to eat on a day like today.
FAIL on that front. Licorice has been safely secured out of mind sight.
Transportation yesterday wasn't as big of a challenge until I went out at night and totally blew it, because I helped someone move some furniture around, which required transportation. I am usually so GOOD, since I don't own a car and use almost exclusively public transportation.
Today...well...local food. I stocked up at the farmer's market, I continue collecting trash, trying to reduce the water I use, reusing things at home ect.
Just about that licorice....
Read moreby Alyssa Pandolfi, Second Nature Intern
Today's challenge is transportation, but it hasn't been too difficult for me. I've been walking to work as much as possible and taking the T at all other opportunities **Note: low carbon transportation works great when you don't have a car :)
I am a little nervous for the food activities tomorrow. I recently gave up veganism because I found that I was relying way too much on foods that had little nutritional value (bread, candy, pre-packaged meals). I love vegan food and the vegan lifestyle, but I no longer have the time or financial resources to keep up. So, rather than eating crappy pre-packaged things, I'm cutting myself some slack and eating cheese and eggs...Mainly indulging in the delicious cheese I've been forgoing for the past several months.
One of the problems I have with all of the food related lifestyles out there is the extreme variety of feedback. I always buy organic and locally when it is possible and within my budget, but then there's the added worry of buying vegetarian and vegan food. Then you have the group of Raw foodists telling you to eat only raw food. On top of that are freegans who go around and get wasted food from businesses at the closing of each day. Don't forget the 1600 calories/day diet. Eat only foods that aren't packaged to minimize waste. Low carb. Low fat. No fat. No sugar. Low sugar. Cool Cuisine--The global warming diet. Eat foods or meals with only 6 or less ingredients. Seriously?
Read moreby Alyssa Pandolfi, Second Nature Intern
Even though transportation day isn't until tomorrow, I started my walk to and from work commuting strategy today. I was overjoyed when I woke up and saw that it was 37 degrees outside. YAY.
37 degrees = GOOD MORNING BOSTON!
I encountered my first road block this morning when cut my toe on my umbrella, which I conveniently left next to my bed last night. So, how do you use a band-aide without producing waste? Not sure. I guess it's something I can look into for future umbrella battles.
Things have been going well in the office as far as waste saving. The only things I've seen so far in the trash are paper towels and food waste. Having seen all of the paper towels that have been produced here since 9 am, I think investing in more cloth towels for the bathroom and kitchen is something the Boston office should definitely consider. Also, in regards to food waste, perhaps we could go in on getting a composting system with some of the other organizations in the building? I've looked into it and the Sustainability Committee has talked about it as well, but now would be a great time to act on it!
Check out our trash:
Way too many paper towels
Oatmeal packet and towel paper in the kitchen.
