As most intelligent people like to read, how does an intelligent, but green-thinking person rationalize the cutting down of 20 million trees per year for American book production? The Amazon Kindle is a great product, but I think it is still a few years away from being perfect. The public library is great, but they only get one or two copies of every new book and the waiting lists can be brutal. Book Swim is Netflix for books. Read it, return it in their 100% recycled plastic bag, and someone else can read it without cutting down another tree. Simple but brilliant.
While Florida is not usually considered a hot-bed for green development, Miami's Tri-Rail Trains have announced that they will be operating on a 99% biodiesel blend. Evidently South Florida is one of the few places that can run on such a pure blend of fuel due to the temperate climate. Public transportation is one of the easiest ways for someone to live green.
The brains behind RecycleBank prove that you don't have to be an expert or have a PHD to impact the environment in a positive way. They have developed a plan that rewards you for recycling. For every pound you recycle, you earn points that can be redeemed for discounts at green-friendly businesses. This article explains the process and how it has been rolled out in 13 states already, or visit RecycleBank's website. This is a win-win-win in that more people will recycle, the businesses that donate discounts get more business and good publicity, and the cities pay less to dump garbage.
These are all simple ideas that translate to huge environmental rewards. I think that simple is a big part of the future of Green.
Simple Green
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3 comments:
Personally I rarely buy a book, because I'm cheap. I can always get a book from the library or a friend by being flexible and not tied to an exact title. I do like the Book Swim idea, but I wonder if the gain in saved paper is negated by the fuel used in transportation.
Good to see Florida taking steps towards green. I think the state should capitalize on it's motto "The Sunshine State" and lead the nation in solar power.
Wow I had not heard about RecycleBank. What a great and capitalistic way to get people to recycle.
Finally, you are spot on that simple is key. The masses are not going to go green unless its simple. What will really work is if green can make people's lives even easier than they already are. Then it will be inevitable due to the law of "paths of least resistance."
Trev, great stuff! Book Swim sounds excellent, although I'm with Buki on wondering about the trade-offs. We need hard data. Mass-transit IS the way to go, and it simplifies our lives: no car payment, no insurance payment, no maintenance, no road rage, etc. RecycleBank is awesome! I love it. It's the essence of what The Greeniuses is all about: finding solutions that make sense ecologically and economically.
By the way, I'm with ya'll on the simplicity thing...sort of. In my Lean studies, I've heard the word 'elegant' defined as "simplicity on the far side of complexity." It's a sliding scale, with 'simple' on the left-hand side, 'complex' in the middle, and 'elegant' on the right-hand side. The best solutions are those that are distilled to the point where the complexity is invisible to the end-user. Green solutions need to be elegant solutions.
with Bookswim, there are no additional transit costs or usage. It's SIMPLE-- the books are sent via the postal service, which already comes to your house everyday. It may make the postman's bag heavier but has no material carbon impact.
-George Burke
Founder, BookSwim.com
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