The Brighter Planet Blog

Each year, we think of ways to improve ourselves – we pledge to get in shape, spend more time with family and friends, or learn a new skill. Here at Brighter Planet, we’ve decided to make a New Year’s resolution of our own. In 2010, we will compost 100% of the food waste from our Middlebury, VT and San Francisco, CA offices.

Many of us already compost at home, make an effort to support our local food networks (which are thriving in both locations) and take the time to reduce our food impact in other ways. This year, we want to take this next step to be sure that none of the food waste we generate while at work ends up in a landfill.

We think this resolution suits us well, since we love thinking of new ways to reduce our impact and we know we can’t stay away from fresh local donuts… love you Dinky’s!

What’s your green resolution for 2010?

-Matt V

Last night my family and I turned the kitchen into a sweet-smelling, candy-making production zone. This is a family tradition that’s gone on for 35 years, before I was born. Surrounded by pots of sugar syrup boiling to 310 degrees Fahrenheit, baking sheets filled with powdered sugar, ten bottles of flavors like mango, blackberry and orange, and scissors in our hands at-the-ready, I couldn’t help but feel lucky we were all there, healthy, and doing something together. What I mean is that sitting in the same room staring at a TV screen isn’t my idea of quality family time, or taking advantage of the delights of the season. It strengthens your relationships to actively create memories together. In honor of the holiday spirit I’d like to encourage you all to do some interactive activities with your family (or with your roommate(s)/friends/loved ones/pets).

If you want some ideas, a simple Google search for “family activities” brings up millions of results. I found a site with ideas separated into three categories: food, indoors, and outdoors.

Over at Care2, there’s a post called Light Up the Holidays with ideas like getting friends and family together to have a candle-lit sing along or meal. I must agree, the warm glow gives an air of special magic to even the simplest food.

Are you surrounded by snow? How about making some snowmen, sledding, building a fort, tubing, or making snow angels? (You can tell I grew up in New England.) These ideas are also a great way to save energy by turning off lights and electronics and heading outdoors.

Families with purpose has community service, craft, and science experiment ideas. A simple one could be making a bird feeder out of a milk carton, a large water or soda bottle, or a pine cone. Different types of birds prefer different types of feeders and food, so it’s best to do a little research to pick the best feeder for the birds in your area.

I know from experience that it is usually difficult to get the whole family together. When you do find those rare moments, the best thing you can do is truly enjoy each others’ company by doing something out of the ordinary.

-Carolyn

We have a winner! We’re pleased to announce that Erin Coffey will receive $5,000 to fund her project Rethink Diné Power, supported by Focus the Nation. This program engages youth in the Navajo Nation to hold community events and art projects to mobilize support for an area renewable energy initiative. The Project Fund grant will allow this great work to expand by holding community events and art projects in Shiprock, NM and Window Rock, AZ.

10,569 votes were cast in December to support grassroots climate projects from across the US. Other top projects included Revolution Kids, a program sponsored by the city of Annapolis to teach bike safety and repair skills to at-risk teens, and an effort from Margaret Turnbill at the Global Science Institute to provide the resources to plant 500 trees and compensate a project coordinator in Antigo, WI.

While votes were being cast for December grants, recipients from October and November were busy at work fighting climate change. Andrew Munn is in Coal River Valley, WV working to educate local schools and organizations on the benefits of diversifying their economy to include renewable energy. To keep up with their progress, you can check out his update blog post. Thanks to the Project Fund and other supporters, the SustainUS team was on the ground at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to push for a strong international agreement. You can read dispatches from their youth delegation here.

-Matt V

Sometimes we really geek out with carbon emissions calculations at Brighter Planet. We crunch numbers down to the thousandth decimal in order to make recommendations about what is better to buy/do/eat in terms of one’s carbon footprint. In light of our Sustainable Cooking Contest (which runs two more weeks through December 31st!) and the stories we’ve received about reducing impact in the kitchen, we’re going to break down some fantastic holiday recipes from EatingWell for you.

Here are the general estimates for the carbon footprint of these recipes, measured in lbs. of CO2e.

Horseradish crusted beef tenderloin and Vermont Cheddar Mashed Yukon Golds:

Total- 56 lbs CO2e, or 7 lbs per serving.

Beef
kcal/serving- 220
servings- 8
lbs co2e- 34.5
lbs co2e/serving- 4.3

Potatoes
kcal/serving- 223
servings- 8
lbs co2e- 21.5
lbs co2e/serving- 2.7

Roasted Fall Vegetables in Cheddar Crust and Green and Yellow Beans with Wild Mushrooms:

Total- 38 lbs CO2e, or 4.6 lbs. per serving.

Vegetable Pie
kcal/serving- 378
servings- 8
lbs co2e- 29.8
lbs/serving- 3.7

Beans/Mushrooms
kcal/serving- 75
servings- 10
lbs co2e- 8.3
lbs/serving- 0.8

Choose the veggie-based dishes and you’ll have over 30% reduction in CO2e. This shows how replacing a few meaty holiday dishes with non-meat dishes, or choosing poultry and fish over red meats, can shave off a significant chunk of your “foodprint.” The other thing to keep in mind is that 11% of food emissions comes from transportation, so buying locally-sourced produce can decrease total food-miles from dirt to plate and reduce the total emissions.

If you want to do some more estimating and playing around with food emissions, check out the Food section of our Footprint Calculator.
-Carolyn

A gallon of gasoline burns. 20 pounds of CO2 are released into the atmosphere. I hardly notice.

The engine purrs; the heater blows; the dash glows green; and the orange arm of the fuel gauge droops a little; but the most I feel is a mild pang of annoyance. Gas is more expensive than it used to be.

I drive as though asleep in bed. I step on the gas. I daydream. I wake at my destination. It is a miracle of transportation, the automobile. It’s a miracle I survive the trip. I fill the tank up, whistling mindlessly. I close the cap and forget that under the hood, between the piston and cylinder walls there are countless gasoline explosions taking place. Over and over and over again explosions. 5,000 times a minute. In half an hour: 150,000 explosions: 20 pounds of co2.

Twenty pounds of something invisible, tasteless and odorless. It floats so it must be light, yet it weighs twenty pounds so it’s heavy somehow. It threatens the planet, but on a macro scale so large only the gods have the perspective to see it clearly.

I’m told that I am to blame for a great deal of the CO2 problem. Tons and tons of it are because of me. I’d like to change, but I’m not sure how, and anyway I’ve got to get to work. So I screw on the gas cap and crumple my receipt. I turn the key and go.

This video is an attempt to make myself more mindful of the trip.

-Daniel