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A year-round greenhouse production with farmer Will Allen. (Courtesy of Growing Power)

By Kara A. DiCamillo

Within the first month of the launch of FRESH, a movie about what we eat, the film received over 20,000 visitors to its website and hundreds of screenings have been organized to date. This documentary made its debut a few years back (2009), but if you haven’t seen it yet, you must. And now is the time. You can watch FRESH for free right on your desktop, but today is the last day! The filmmaker’s hope is that you’ll be inspired to share it and get your friends involved as well by hosting a screening party.

While this documentary by Ana Sofia Joanes has a similar theme as Food, Inc. and Fast Food Nation, Joanes focuses mostly on farmers and local food producers, and their positive relationship to our meals. “New thinking about what we’re eating” reads the documentary’s tagline. Many of us are familiar with what the problems are in our food systems (thanks to the aforementioned mentioned films), but Joanes takes a closer look at solutions. She shows the success of those who are producing their edibles differently, and the benefits of small-scale farming.

With interviews from food experts, authors, farmers, and small business owners, FRESH looks at the challenges that many face when shifting to farming more sustainably, and to farming for their local community.

FRESH wants all of us to join the grassroots movement, which is why they are offering 50% off the purchase of the DVD after watching the free screening online. You’ll receive an exclusive link to purchase it for $14.99. They want Sierra Club Green Home readers to share the story, host their own screenings, and even consider purchasing a copy for a gift so someone else can spread the word.

So head on over to the website and watch FRESH right now. Sierra Club Green Home is confident that, after seeing this movie, you’ll want to get involved in the local food revolution.

For related articles, see:
Community Supported Agriculture: Fresh, Green, Local
SCGH’s Healthy Eating Guide

© 2012 SCGH, LLC. All rights reserved.

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State level energy efficiency budgets for 2011. (Courtesy of The Edison Foundation)

By Debra Atlas

As the economy shows signs of moving in the right direction, so too does our personal and national energy consumption. A growing number of energy efficiency programs are noticeably increasing our energy savings and our usage efficiency.

According to a new report from The Institute for Electricity Efficiency (IEE), in 2010, our national energy programs saved enough electricity to power almost 10 million homes. Those 112 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity equaled a 21 percent increase over 2009 levels.

“The growth in electric utility expenditures for energy efficiency is the major reason behind [this growth],” said IEE Executive Director Lisa Wood.

Energy efficiency spending took a leap forward in 2010. Nationally we spent $2.8 billion, which was a 28 percent increase from the year before. And ten states which consume almost 22 percent of all the electricity in the United States and account for 74 percent of all U.S. electric efficiency budgets doubled their expenditures between 2009 and 2011. The fact that these states doubled their energy efficiency budgets has a wide impact on the long-term demand for electricity.

And the news looks brighter for this year, with Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C. more than doubling their 2010 surveyed budgets for energy efficiency expenditures. The brightest spot is that many of these states rely on coal as a primary source of energy. Increasing their energy efficiency budgets can help these states reduce their carbon footprints.

Thirty-seven states increased their 2011 energy efficiency budgets. The overall increase in 2011 state budgets relative to the year before was a 25 percent increase.

“We believe that total U.S. ratepayer-funded budgets for electric efficiency will easily exceed $12 billion by 2020,” said Wood.

There’s a growing range of options and incentives for consumers and for small and large businesses to save energy, ranging from the federal, state and local levels. Some of these stem from funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA / the economic stimulus bill). These include:

• Energy Star rated appliances, fixtures, etc.
• Energy audits offered for free by utilities
• Local, state and federal rebates
• Smart Meters
• Digital monitoring of energy consumption by utilities

A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) also advocates that we pay attention to large-scale energy savings that could cut overall U.S. energy consumption over 50 percent. This could save consumers more than $300 to $400 billion per year and add almost two million jobs by 2050.

At Sierra Club Green Home, we know it’s important to recognize our progress, and these figures are definitely encouraging. The more consumers and businesses opt-in to energy efficiency, the more energy savings and less CO2 we can all share.

For related article, see:
15 Tips to Save a Watt and a Buck 

Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.

© 2012 SCGH, LLC.

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EnergyGlass can be combined with security glass to withstand disasters like hurricanes, forced entry, bullets, bomb blasts and fires. (Ecstaticist, Flickr)

By Debra Atlas
January 8, 2012  

With the growing emphasis on alternative energy sources and solar power, rooftop solar arrays are springing up around the country. As useful and environmentally-friendly as photovoltaic panels are, they don’t exactly blend in aesthetically. What’s more, they can sometimes be difficult to integrate with other rooftop equipment, and can sustain damage from exposure to the elements.

Florida-based SAF-GLAS, which creates disaster-resistant and security-related glass products, recently introduced EnergyGlass at a solar seminar at GlassBuild America. This transparent glass incorporates inorganic nanoparticles into clear laminated glass. With its use of a proprietary polycarbonate interlayer and patented film, this turns a window into a 24-hour a day solar “farm.”

The first of its kind, EnergyGlass goes beyond the capabilities of traditional solar power panels, which depend on both placement and angling in direct sunlight. It’s able to collect light from natural, ambient and artificial light sources such as hotel or office lighting. Once collected, the light is transformed into electricity, then used or sent for storage to a backup battery system for power outages or other emergency situations.

Unlike other solar windows, EnergyGlass windows have no lines or mesh incorporated into them. You get a clear view of the outdoors, as with any standard window.

EnergyGlass can be fashioned to any size, shape or style and can be installed in a vertical or horizontal position. Each window is made of two clear glass panels with a solar laminate sandwiched between them, creating a single laminated solar pane. It can be tinted, insulated and can even incorporate Low E glass and other related products to create additional energy savings.

This glass has numerous other applications. By including additional laminating procedures, it can be used in combination with security glass to meet hurricane, typhoon, tornado, forced entry, bullet resistant, bomb blast, and fire protection levels.

These solar power glass windows do share some of the benefits of solar panels. The electricity they generate allows building owners to sell electricity back to the main electrical grid and generate income.

“The nanoparticles in the laminate magnify and redirect the light to the edges of the glass, and then into our proprietary window edge frames,” says SAF-GLAS co-founder Art Marino.

However, EnergyGlass won’t produce as much electricity as traditional photovoltaic (PV) panels.
“The glass only features thin strips of monocrystalline cells, located around the edge of the laminated glass panel,” says SAF-GLAS owner Patrick Smith.

“They took a product from the solar industry and married it with a relatively standard glazing industry product” says Steve Coonen, BIPV consultant and principal, PV Glassworks, Grass Valley, California.

EnergyGlass can be used for both new and retrofit applications. It qualifies for numerous local, state, and Federal government rebates, incentives and subsidies that can cover up to 70 percent of total facade project costs.

Currently the company is offering quotes on EnergyGlass installations and anticipates it will be available for sale on the market this first quarter 2012.

Check out more articles by Debra Atlas

For related article, see:
Triple Benefits of Solar-Powered EV Chargers

© 2012 SCGH, LLC.

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In the United States, overall consumption of organic fruits and vegetables is about 3 percent. (Courtesy of Kaiser Permanente)

By Kathleen Haley
January 7, 2012  

OAKLAND, CA — Healthy, sustainable food is proliferating hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area, thanks to The Regional Produce Sourcing Project.

The Regional Produce Sourcing Project is a joint effort between local food distributors and six hospital systems. Its main goals are to make sustainable food more available to hospital systems, and to create more demand for sustainable food.

“We’re trying to support farmers and farms that are currently engaged in sustainable production,” says Lucia Sayre, co-executive director of San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Sayre also cites the importance of supporting farmers who would like to leave traditional food production for organic methods, and of gaining local acreage for growing produce sustainably.

Dr. Preston Maring, a Kaiser Permanente physician, sees it this way: a healthy diet doesn’t just mean nutritious food. Eating healthily involves decisions about how food is grown and the working conditions of farm workers. It’s a step towards what he calls “total health.”

“Total health is not just treating sickness or doing operations or doing preventive care,” Maring says. “Total health is also trying to work within the broader community that the hospital serves to help with the overall health of the community.”

Community members, workers, and the environment all benefit from sustainable food that is grown and produced without toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers, Maring says. In working towards “total health,” forty farmers markets are run or sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.

Kaiser Permanente, a strong advocate for sustainable food, is funding and participating in the Regional Produce Sourcing Project. About 15 percent of Kaiser Permanente’s food budget currently is used to buy sustainable food. Which, considering that Kaiser Permanente has 8.9 million members and has facilities in nine states and the District of Columbia, equals a sizeable quantity of food.

So far, the Kaiser Permanente system has used about 190 tons of sustainable fruits and vegetables in its patient meals. Certified organic fruits and vegetables make up about 6 percent of the produce that Kaiser Permanente buys. In the United States as a whole, overall consumption of organic fruits and vegetables is about 3 percent.

The organization is making efforts to move away from food treated with pesticides, added chemicals, and hormones, says Jan Villarante, who directs nutrition services at Kaiser Permanente.

Many health and environmental organizations recommend avoiding dairy products from cows treated with hormones. Even cows injected with rBGH are more likely to face serious health problems than cows without the hormone, according to the organization Health Care Without Harm.

Vending machines and cafeterias in Kaiser Permanente hospitals and medical centers offer milk and yogurt without the rBGH growth hormone. Patient meals also come with yogurt and milk that do not include rBGH. In another example of Kaiser Permanente’s work to advance sustainable food, fair trade coffee and tea are offered in the organization’s vending machines. Obtaining cage-free shelled eggs is now a new area of focus for Kaiser Permanente.

Other hospital systems participating in the Regional Produce Sourcing Project include the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco VA Medical Center, and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.

Two organizations are overseeing the effort: the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

Read Dr. Preston Maring’s recipes for green and healthy meals here.

Kathleen Haley is a writer for Sierra Club Green Home and a communications associate at Kaiser Permanente.

© 2012 SCGH, LLC.

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Science shows that the biodiversity in Marine Protected Areas can be significantly higher than in nonprotected areas. (Development Alternatives Inc., flickr)

By Debra Atlas
January 1, 2012

LOS ANGELES — The California coast offers its visitors fishing, boating, public beaches, and other fun activities.

Today, throughout the southern California coastal area there will be a grand opening of a new series of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). A science-based network, the new MPAs were designed by local fishermen, conservationists, and business leaders to help protect California’s most productive ocean areas while still leaving nearly 90 percent of the coast open for fishing endeavors.

“January 1 is a real turning point for southern California’s ocean,” said Greg Helms of the Ocean Conservancy. “By protecting hot spots like South La Jolla, Point Dume and Laguna, we are charting a course towards greater sustainability, and that means better fishing, diving, kayaking, tidepooling, and birding for our children.”

According to a 2009 study, more than 90 percent of coastal recreation in southern California is considered “non-consumptive,” which includes activities such as scuba diving, whale watching, going to the beach, or surfing. California’s pristine beaches and ocean waves generate $22 billion in revenue and drive more than 350,000 jobs every year.

The California coast also is home to marine life, many of which are listed as threatened or endangered species. Consistent with California’s commitment to wildlife conservation, a growing network of underwater MPAs are being created as part of a statewide system that ultimately will run the length of California’s 1,100-mile coastline from Mendocino in the north down to the Mexican border.

Inspired and mandated by the groundbreaking Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) adopted in 1999, the purpose of these MPAs is to protect “the state’s marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems, and marine natural heritage.” The MPAs also serve to improve recreational, educational, and study opportunities provided by these ecosystems while ensuring minimal disturbance by humans.

Science has shown that that the biodivesity of MPAs can be significantly higher than areas outside the protected areas. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, created in 2002, is an excellent example of conservation in action. A five-year study shows that rockfish numbers in the Channel Islands sanctuary were up by 50 percent, that their size has increased by 80 percent, and that the distribution, abundance, and endurance of kelp beds have increased. See the marine life slideshow here, courtesy of CalOceans.

The majority of the new MPAs are located adjacent to public beaches and state parks, creating opportunities for education, research, and for recreation-based activities.

Several of the new protected areas—Kashtayit, just west of Santa Barbara, and Matlahuayl near San Diego—were designed to protect and showcase tribal cultural history that is based in the south coast region.

“The ocean is more than just a source of fish,” says Diane Castaneda of WILDCOAST. “It’s a vital piece of our shared natural and cultural heritage. Our community has been overwhelmingly supportive of marine protected areas and is excited to help spread the word and study their results.”

To help further the celebration of the opening of these new MPAs, on January 21 aquariums across southern California will host an Underwater Parks Day, featuring special exhibits of the newly created MPAs. These exhibits will include maps and contact information for those who wish to get involved or visit these special marine areas.

Check out more articles Debra Atlas.

© 2012 SCGH, LLC.

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Coal-burning power plants are one of the largest source of dangerous emissions. (Rennett Stowe, Flickr)

By Janice Zaltman

These standards put pollution controls on the 40 percent of coal-burning plants that are currently running without regulation. Coal-burning power plants are the largest source of dangerous emissions which poison our air and water, including mercury, arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide.

Naturally, the public health benefits of the Mercury and Air Toxic National Standards will be enormous. The EPA estimates that the new standards will prevent as many as 4,700 heart attacks each year, as well as over 130,000 cases of childhood asthma and 6,500 cases of acute bronchitis among children. It also can prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths.

Another benefit from the Mercury and Air Toxic National Standard is new jobs. The EPA estimates that it will create approximately 46,000 short-term construction jobs and 8,000 long-term utility jobs. The economic and health benefits are projected to be $90 billion annually. Usually it takes three years before the EPA can ensure compliance with new regulations, but some of the economic benefits may appear sooner than that.

Environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, helped propel this regulation forward by submitting nearly a thousand public comments in its favor.

Here’s to cleaner air and water, Sierra Club Green Home can toast to that!

For related story: 
EPA to Ban Breathing?

© 2011 SCGH, LLC. 

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A view of Zion National Park, one of the national parks where there are water filling stations instead of bottled water for sale. (Zanus Tungare, Flickr)

By Debra Atlas

One culprit is causing nearly a third of the waste in our national parks. It’s something you might grab for a long hike, or camping, or washing down a meal cooked over the campfire. It comes in a convenient yet remarkably wasteful package, and it’s become an unlikely source of controversy. That culprit is bottled water, Sierra Club Green Home was surprised to learn.

Shawn Norton, who works on climate change and sustainability issues for the National Park Service, says in a January 2010 internal memo that banning disposable bottles would reduce waste, cut recycling costs, and save electricity. In fact, if just 15 parks (including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Death Valley and Grand Teton) banned bottled water, the savings could be 18 million kilowatt hours per year!

So using alternatives to disposable water bottles should be a no-brainer for an organization preserving natural spaces, like the National Park Service, right?

Wrong. Despite the waste these bottles generate, and the threat discarded plastic poses to wildlife, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis has balked at any change.

Grand Canyon National Park was about to institute a plastic water bottle ban last year when Jarvis nixed it at the last minute. This caused quite an uproar, especially after Jarvis stated in an email obtained by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility through a Freedom of Information Act request that while he supported the ban, “there are going to be consequences, since Coke is a major sponsor of our recycling efforts.”

Shortly after this email was exposed, 5 Gyres organized a petition through Change.org, and more than 94,000 people signed on in support of a ban. Jarvis, however, seems to have only become more obstinate.

This week he announced that any national park trying to implement a disposable bottle ban must comply with a detailed checklist and provide written reports showing the amount of waste to be eliminated, and how concessionaires’ revenues will be affected. Parks considering a ban must also consult with the park service’s public health office.

“A ban could pose challenges for diabetics and others with health issues who come to a park expecting bottled water to be readily available,” says Jarvis.

As per this new policy, parks which are considering a ban will have to provide “an impact analysis that includes an assessment of the effects on visitor health and safety; submit a request in writing to their regional director and receive the approval of their regional director.”

The Grand Canyon Park already encourages park visitors to quit the disposable bottle habit and fill up at any of its dozen water stations instead. The water stations were installed at a cost of more than $300,000. The park hasn’t yet compiled data as to the success of this program.

Several parks already have plastic bottle bans in place, including Zion and Hawaii Volcanoes national parks. During 2009-2010, the ban reduced Zion National Park’s waste stream by roughly 5,000 pounds and cut energy used at the visitor center by 10 percent. However, the park’s concessionaire, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, lost $25,000 in 2009-2010.

This does not mean that profits will inevitably suffer after a ban. The concessionaire association that used to sell disposable water bottles at Hawaii Volcano National Park sold reusable bottles instead, and raked in $80,000 and a net profit.

While the right choice for the environment is clear, the issue of throw away bottles has become bogged down in bureaucracy and politics. Grab your reusable water bottle the next time you explore the outdoors, and let’s hope that the national park system can keep up with you!

Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

(By Casa Laguna Inn, courtesy of Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau)

Blog post by Gustavo Grad
December 20, 2011

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — It may feel small, but I learned from reading the Laguna Beach Independent newspaper that “all of Laguna Beach’s hotel and lodging properties have agreed to recycle hygiene products to benefit children and families in need through the nonprofit Clean the World Global. They have committed to saving lives and protecting our planet. Hospitality partners here will collect and recycle hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and gels to help fight the global spread of preventable diseases, the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau announced.

When one looks at what the numbers could add up to and the impact, this effort to recycle is not insignificant in the least, even for a little seaside town.

Eighteen hotels with 20 rooms or more and four smaller properties in Laguna have joined the partnership to recycle, for a total of about 1,200 rooms. These hotels include Aliso Creek Inn, Art Hotel, Best Western, Capri Laguna, Carriage House, Casa Laguna Inn, Crescent Bay Inn, Holiday Inn, Hotel Laguna, Inn at Laguna, La Casa del Camino, Laguna Beach Inn, Laguna Cliffs Inn, Laguna Riviera, Montage, Pacific Edge Hotel, Seacliff Laguna Inn, Sunset Cove Villas, Surf & Sand Resort and Spa, The Tides, The Retreat, and Travelodge.

Clean the World says it has hospitality partnerships to recycle with more than 1,200 hotel properties throughout North America, including 143 partners in California. Since the organization’s founding in 2009, Clean the World’s California hospitality partners have contributed more than 70,00 pounds of soap and nearly 68,000 pounds of bottled amenities. At 3 ounces apiece, that equates to 375,088 bars of soap—enough to provide more than 75,000 children with a month’s supply of soap, Clean the World estimates.

Laguna Beach, California, is a resort and artist community in Orange County, with a population of only about 24,000. This embrace of loving kindness from all these hotels going green to make a difference may seem small, but each day 9,000 children worldwide die from diseases that can be prevented by washing with bar soap.

“Laguna Beach is Southern California’s premiere seaside destination, and a city deserving of praise for its promotion of sustainability and social responsibility,” says Shawn Seipler, CEO and co-founder of Clean the World.

Think globally, act locally.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

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REC Solar and General Electric (GE) are working together to create more of GE’s WattStations. (Courtesy of GE.com)

By Erika F. Washington
December 19, 2011

With the interest steadily growing for alternative fuel options for vehicles, more and more consumers are turning to flex fuel or electric-powered vehicles (EV). Issues still remain, however, with purchasing an EV. Some areas have few, if any, spaces for drivers to plug and recharge their cars.

REC Solar and General Electric (GE) are working together to create more of GE’s WattStations to make the transition easier for consumers ready to purchase an EV.

“With expectations of one million EVs entering America’s roadways by 2016, the need to establish a sustainable EV infrastructure is here today,” says Lee Johnson, CEO of REC Solar.

Besides adding economic benefits to owning an EV, solar-powered charging offers environmental and energy-saving benefits.

GE designed its WattStation to help accelerate the adoption of plug-in EVs by significantly decreasing the time needed for charging. It delivers a full charge in only four to eight hours, while standard overnight charging can take 12 to 14 hours, a negative for many would-be EV purchasers. Its smart, grid-enabled technology also could help utility companies manage the impact of EVs on the local and regional grids.

As a distributor of the GE WattStation, REC Solar will make it easier for its thousands of commercial, government, and residential customers to incorporate EV charging capabilities. REC Solar specializes in state-of-the-art solar technology with a vision to make solar electricity a part of the mainstream energy supply.

REC Solar and GE also are looking at a future transportation system free of fossil fuels. The partners  seek to create an end-to-end solar EV charging system that will enable cars to run literally on sunshine.

With a cost around $2,000, EV owners can have a WattStation installed in their garage.

“Actual installation only takes a couple hours, but the big advantage is that it significantly cuts your charge time—basically in half,” says REC’s Cary Hayes.

The ultra-sustainable intersection of solar and EV industries means greater reduction of greenhouse gases and independence from fossil fuels. At the same time, the marriage of the two delivers economic benefits to drivers. The cost of driving a solar-charged EV may be 66 percent less than a gas-powered car, according to a recent study by Green Tech Media Research, an online media company.

GE says it is dedicated to innovations in energy, health, transportation, and infrastructure. With operations in more than 100 countries, the company’s goal is to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry, including renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas, as well as other alternative fuels and new grid modernization technologies to meet 21st century energy needs.

Incorporating solar energy into EV use will help to ease the demand on electrical grids by a sharp increase of EV chargers. And solar energy itself contributes to a cleaner environment.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

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Last year, the United States created 250 million tons of trash, a large part of which ended up in landfills. (Courtesy of Diana Fuller)

By E.Q. Lam
December 11, 2011

For more than a year, filmmakers have been laying the groundwork for Racing to Zero, a documentary on how Americans can reduce their waste to almost nothing. They have researched the issues as well as solutions. They have recruited experts, including a “garbologist.” They have produced a trailer capturing what the film is about. And now, they are ready to start full production in January.

A Kickstarter campaign to raise initial funds has achieved nearly $7,000 in pledges, with 26 days remaining to reach its $8,000 goal. Producer Diana Fuller says she is confident the 60-day campaign will be a success. The project will be funded only if it achieves $8,000 in pledges by January 6.

“What is really exciting are the people coming to help,” Fuller says.

She says people are contributing not only money but also their comments about the subject. By involving supporters of the documentary in the process, they develop a vested interest and consciousness about the issues, Fuller says. That is part of her vision to create a “wave” of cumulative action against waste.

“This is not about making a film; this is about a consuming passion,” Fuller says. “… I think it’s wonderful this project involves as many people as possible.”

Film Focus on Solutions

Last year, the United States created 250 million tons of trash, a large part of which ended up in landfills, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. As the trash decomposes in landfills, it emits methane gas, a toxic greenhouse gas that causes 23 times more environmental damage than carbon dioxide (CO₂). See what happens to trash in the film’s trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Films dealing with trash have focused on the sheer magnitude of the problem of disposing of unwanted things. Racing to Zero will look beyond that to solutions by tracking efforts (for example, at the city level) to reduce garbage. The original intention of the film, then called Trash24, was to show what happens to garbage in a 24-hour day. Thus, renaming the project Racing to Zero presents a broader artistic canvas to work with, Fuller says. To her, “racing to zero” means diverting as much as possible from landfills through strategies such as inventive repurposing, recycling, and composting.

For Fuller, an arts administrator, this film is a way to present all kinds of information in a directed way. “The thing that came to me was that there’s so much. It’s such a huge thing, and people tend to think, ‘Oh well, what can I do about it?’ … It seemed to me an awful lot of people—including myself—didn’t know the answers,” she says.

The film will educate viewers about where the trash comes from and where it goes—what Fuller envisions as “a tale of revelation, hope, understanding, and responsibility.” The challenge for the artists involved in making Racing to Zero is to present the issues and solutions in an attractive way for viewers to take to heart.

“We want every person to get something out of this, to make a change,” says Fuller, who hopes the film will help change the culture of waste by opening people’s eyes. “People in this country have never really broached the subject of ‘When did I start leaving a trail of waste? Why did the minute I get out of bed did I start leaving a trail of waste?’”

The Value of Garbage

Racing to Zero seeks to inform people in a new way about their relationship to trash.

“I thought I knew all about recycling. … I started realizing I don’t know,” says Christopher Beaver, the film’s director, who has documented other environmental issues. “If you think you know about recycling or garbage, think again.”

One fact which caught Beaver’s attention in research for the film is that some 50 million Americans suffer from food insecurity that could be remedied simply with the edible food that Americans throw away.

William Rathje, an anthropologist and archaeologist, can provide even more insight into how Americans handle waste. Rathje, currently a consulting professor at Stanford University, has studied trash since 1973 and pioneered the academic discipline of “garbology,” which looks at trash as telling remnants of society. He is one of the experts who will be featured in the film.

“One of the most important reasons for Racing to Zero is a goal: It sets a goal for people,” Rathje says. “The problem is that once you recycle, you lose the goal, because recycling is the goal and you’re doing that, and that’s the end of that. And you don’t think about doing more and more and more. And the concept of the documentary Racing to Zero is to alert people to the fact that there’s a particular goal … . What they’re doing is great, but there’s a lot more to be done. The goal is to recycle and reduce and reuse everything to the point that there’s no garbage.”

Through decades of study, Rathje has observed consumer behavior which he calls the Fast Lane Syndrome: People eat what is quick and easy (prepackaged fast food), leaving fresh food untouched to spoil.

“When people go shopping, most people know what’s good for them, and so they buy fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, etcetera,” Rathje says. “But they also know what their lifestyle is, so they buy frozen dinners, etcetera. By the end of the week, the frozen dinner trays and head of lettuce are in the garbage.”

Rathje’s first principle of waste is to do what one does on a regular basis: “It’s very important for people to follow their normal pattern of behavior,” he says.

As examples, he recounts studies in the 1970s, when beef and sugar shortages propelled people to stock up on related products. But people did not know how to store or use them properly, or they would buy specialty items such as hot dog buns for barbecues or paint for home improvement projects and not use all of them—resulting in more waste as the items were thrown out, Rathje explains.

“If I’ve cooked something I’ve cooked a dozen times before, I have no problems. Stick with your normal behavior and you’ll waste a lot less,” he says.

Another nugget of knowledge Rathje offers is that while aluminum makes up only one or two percent of recycling programs, its value can pay for 40 to 60 percent of the programs. “Aluminum is one of the few recyclables where you get the money back,” Rathje says, explaining that bauxite is expensive to turn into aluminum. “Aluminum is really the workhorse of recycling in America.”

Calling for Change

Racing to Zero’s filmmakers are adamant that the film be personal and present solutions that any ordinary person can immediately implement. “I think education is incredibly important to all of us to be able to change,” Fuller says. “We have to know that we each create 4.3 pounds a day of garbage. … Industry itself has to be made to—if it doesn’t want to—understand the threat to the consumer that it makes through irresponsible manufacturing. … But it also is in our hands to start changing these patterns.”

Fuller says she hopes that the film will make consumers more aware at the point of purchase, in the store. The amount of packaging around a product creates more waste than the product itself.

“Think carefully about what we might not use in both food and other things,” Fuller says. “The packaging alone is going to last longer than the product. That’s what’s nuts.”

Rathje adds, “When you buy things at the store, you need to be a bit aware of whether it’s recyclable or reusable, or you’re buying a package that reduces the amount of garbage that is generated by your purchase.”

He gives the example of buying concentrated orange juice, which comes in a relatively small package, rather than the big plastic or glass containers of orange juice.

Unlike other environmental issues, garbage is at the doorstep of every individual, says Beaver, but so are the solutions. One person can have a “huge impact” on recycling or waste management, he says.

“If everybody would pull as much responsibility as they could for themselves, that would [help] the racing toward zero. Recycling is one of those places where you can make a difference,” Beaver says. “In terms of recycling, there is a lot that an individual can do. … And then that will lead to other things. People will say, ‘I wonder what else I’m wasting.’”

Fuller echoes the stance that, with regard to waste management, people can have an immediate effect on the solution. “Every person can make a little bit of difference,” she says. “… That becomes the collective reparation. But you can’t change till you understand. You can’t prepare if you don’t know what you’re preparing for. It is a real puzzle: We [Americans] consume more than any other place on earth, … so what are we going to do with it? It has to go both ways—the government, institutional side—right down to the individual, the collective, the block-by-block count.”

For Fuller, the process of producing the film is as important as the end product, if people are engaged. For Beaver, the possibilities do not end with completion of the film: “I hope it’s going to ignite the imagination of anybody who sees it to go further, … to come up with more and better solutions.”

To back this project by pledging at least $1, go to its Kickstarter campaign page.

Check out more articles by E.Q. Lam.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.