Concern Economy - ArtOcrat's Journey Towards a Sustainable Future.

We are moving!

2009-08-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

For all the subsequent adventures of Studio ArtOcrat please visit our brand new blog - http://artocrat.blogspot.com/

:)

See you there!

ArtOcrat's "Flights of Fancy" series of bird prints

2009-07-24T19:33:00.001-07:00

For the past few months I have been working on my "Flights of Fancy" series of bird prints . This series is going to have 20 really colorful and vibrant bird prints. Below you can see the 6 I have completed already.

More prints will follow soon!!

2 Flamingo s

Blue Bird

Bird On a Branch

Summers Bird

Early Bird

Monday Morning Blues

A recently completed commissioned portrait project

2009-07-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

The client wanted a surprise birthday present for his lovely wife. He proposed that I make a really colorful portrait of her!! (I know, how very sweet!! ). I was working on a tight deadline of just 4 days. And instead of taking a print and sending it by mail, I was going to e mail him a soft copy.

This made the project quiet unique. Sending out a soft copy has serious disadvantages. Selling of multiple prints without my knowledge was the biggest one. But, it had the advantage of being totally eco friendly or green. No gas burnt for shipping! Yay!!

I'm going to explore this business model further, in the later posts.

So here is my process, with lots of pictures.

This is the lovely wife and my subject.

I chose shades of brown and green with a dash of blue and red for the portrait.
I just love a riot of colors!

After the hair I drew out the eyes.
I use Wacom's pen tablet to sketch directly on my mac. And I love it to death!

Then I filled out the rest of her face and the other side of hair.

And then the neck and shoulders.
By this time the blue and green had started bothering me a little bit.
So I experimented with a new mostly red color palette.

It didn't pop out as much as I would have liked it to.
So off to the drawing board again.

I went back to the original face. Changed the eyes to a less scary brown, and turned the hair red.
Now it had the pop I was looking for.

The client like the last version too and printed out a large 60cm X 60cm poster!

And here is the very happy wife with her very own custom portrait.
A very satisfying project indeed. :)

More about no shipping business model in the next post.

Achieving Sustainability The Etsy Way

2009-07-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Earrings and Cuff links upcyled from bottle caps from COOB Originals
Note - Gift boxes are hand crafted using upcycled cardboard too!

Glasses and coasters made from recycled glass bottles from YAVA Glass

Soap dishes and Business card holder made from recycled records albums by Retired Records

Really cute Robots and Sculpture made from recycled materials by Reclaim 2 fame

Purse and Accessories made from recycled juice pouch by I Luv MoJo

Dolls made from recycled and cast-off materials by Hasenpfeffer

Sculptures created by material from landfills by Pacific Artworks

Get Inspired!
Buy Sustainably!!

Another cool find - EcoUsable's Stainless Filtered Water Bottle

2009-07-02T14:31:00.001-07:00

I'm always on the look out for great products that help me reduce my ever increasing recycling and trash pile. And if I find something that is also good for the environment, made locally and mange to save me some money in the long term its jackpot!!

'Ech2o' - EcoUsable's new stainless water bottle with a built- in filter is one such really cool product. It is such a wonderful step toward eliminating single use plastic water bottles.

The bottle is made of food grade stainless steel, is non-leaching, BPA-free, reusable, lightweight, and taste-neutral. All parts are made of FDA approved materials and are environmentally safe.

The Ionic-Adsorption Micro-Filtration System is an entire water filtration plant within a portable bottle. The patented Ionic-Absorption Micro-Filtration reduces up to 99.99% of contamination.

For all the people out there who want to do their part to stop the plastic water bottle epidemic this bottle is a pretty attractive solution.

Another cool product - Conserve Cleaning Tablets

2009-07-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Baumgarten's Conserve has launched a new line of household cleaners sold in tablet form. It requires 75 percent less packaging and reduces the impact of shipping because the products have 85 percent less “water weight.”
Consumers purchase one bottle and a four-pack of tablets, and the tablets dissolve in water when ready to use. The available products include a glass cleaner, multi-surface, bathroom and odor eliminator.

By shipping cleaners without water, Conserve is able to save 7.5 pounds per bottle. By only including one bottle in a package that provides four uses, Conserve can also ship more cleaners in a single load.

The cleaners themselves only use ingredients approved by the EPA’s “Designed for the Environment” program.

Conserve claims that its products also save money, costing 40 percent less than the national brands of cleaners.

“We are able to achieve these cost-savings for consumers because our products have eliminated the heaviest ingredient in household cleaners: water,” says David Baumgarten, vice president of Baumgartens. “Conventional cleaner equivalents would require eight trucks versus just one for ours, not to mention all the equipment, time and energy needed to load and unload those trucks.”

Good 50×70 announces its 210 shortlisted posters for 2009

2009-05-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

There’s no one better at telling people a message and getting them to act on it than the communications industry. There’s nothing more instant form of communicating a message than a poster.

Good 50×70, an independent, non-profit initiative was created with the following aims:

- to promote the value of social communication in the creative community,
- to provide charities with a (free) database of communication tools,
- to inspire the public via graphic design.

Their focus is an annual contest to design posters confronting seven of the critical issues affecting today’s world. They chose posters as the media for the contest as they’re the most direct way to convey a message and can be easily translated to other media.

Here are some of my favorite shortlisted posters under all the 7 categories.Women Right Violation

'THEY ARE ALL READY CARRYING TOO MUCH'

Camila Jaimes

Bolivia

Women Right Violation
'Right to health'

Eva Chudomelova

Czech Republic

War on Terror

'Hope!'

Selcuk Ozis

United Kingdom

War on Terror
'Close Guantanamo Bay'

Anita Wasik

Poland

Nuclear Emergency
'THE SCREAM'

Malgorzata Bedowska

Poland

Nuclear Emergency
'Nuclear Evolution'

Handoko Tjung

Indonesia

HIV/AIDS
'Fight aids not people with aids'

Sara Gama

Portugal

HIV/AIDS
'Together'

Rémi Fouquet

France

Healthcare Deprivation
'you can't boil water and call it soup'

Daniele Politini

Italy

Healthcare Deprivation
'WE CAN HEAL US'

Khodabandeh Bizhan

United States

Climate Change
'Extinction'

Marco Valentini

Italy

Climate Change
'Global warming makes them disappear'

Ju-hwan Lee
Seung-hoon Nam

Korea (South)

Child Labor
'One in Six'

Ana Cristina Abreu Jesus

Portugal

Child Labor
'Labor Mobile'

Jude Landry

United States

Some really cool Recycling Stations

2009-05-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

We all have recycling stations in our homes. Some homes have dedicated bins or shelves for it. But if your home is anything like mine then you have a area (mostly a corner of your patio) piled up with recycling stuff and a too small bin underneath the pile.

So, are some cool products (via apartmenttherapy) to turn your unruly pile into a organized recycling corner.

Via - livingetc

Via williams sonoma

Via marthastewart

Via popularmechanics

Via downeastkitchens

Couple Generates Only 1 Bag of Trash in 2008!

2009-05-05T16:14:00.001-07:00

The couple Matthew and Waveney, live with their dog and two chickens in Christchurch, New Zealand and they challenged themselves to limit their yearly trash quota to one bag. And they did it!! To cap off their successful adventure, they hosted a party of 100 people and generated only 1 piece of plastic wrap from that huge celebration!

Check out what they have to say here.

CFL's poison workers - Hundreds of factory staff are being made ill by mercury used in bulbs.

2009-05-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

This disturbing article "Green' light bulbs poison workers" points out about a very disturbing aspect of our green movement and could be a big blow to our ongoing struggle towards sustainability.

We all know that one CLF bulb is as good as 9 regular bulbs and, some of us also know that each CFL Bulb contains up to 5 milligrams of mercury(Hg).

In China, a heavy environmental price is being paid for the production of CFL lightbulbs in cost-cutting factories.

Large numbers of Chinese workers have been poisoned by mercury, which forms part of the compact fluorescent lightbulbs. A surge in foreign demand, set off by a European Union directive making these bulbs compulsory within three years, has also led to the reopening of mercury mines that have ruined the environment.

This is a scary situation to be in. We will have to wait and see how China and Europe decide to deal with this. What measures will be taken to protect the factory and mine workers from the harmful effects of mercury and what happens to the prices of CFL bulbs once these measures are enforced.

And what we as consumers decide when the price rises.

‘Fan Cans’ Promote Recycling at Sports Stadiums

2009-05-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

The Fan Can is a new line of recycling receptacles aims to capitalize on sports fans’ enthusiasm for their teams.

It was first installed at the Washington Nationals sports complex, with 100 such cans being sponsored by Coca-Cola.

The Fan Can is designed to integrate corporate marketing messages, including recycling and sustainability, into the sporting scene.

Permutations of the Fan Can come with lids lids shaped like helmets used by baseball batters, football players and motor sports drivers. The cans are made of up to 50 percent post-consumer and industrial plastic, are highly-durable for expanded service life, and are 100 percent recyclable at the end of their life cycle, according to a press release.

"Fan Cans make it easy for sponsors to link their brand with the green movement, while also connecting with sports teams and their fans," explains Stephen Wolford, president of Fan Cans, LLC.

Zero Waste Station on Earth Day

2009-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, April 19, San Diego celebrated Earth day at Balboa Park. It was the largest fee annual environmental fair in the world and had around 70,000 visitors.

With 400 volunteers, The Earth Fair featured more than 400 exhibitors, special theme areas, a Food Pavilion, a special Kids’ Activity Area, three entertainment venues, the Children's Earth Parade, the eARTh Gallery art show, and the Cleaner Car Concourse.

The most interesting thing about San Diego Earth Fair was that it was working toward becoming a Zero Waste Event.

Earth Works in collaboration with EDCO and Urban Corp of San Diego, was behind this effort.

Recycling bins had been available since the beginning of Earth Day and this time bins to collect organic materials for composting were been added. The organics bins(green) along with recycle(blue) and trash (Black)bins comprised the "Zero waste station".

We(Tarun my hubby & me) along with hundreds of others volunteered at the zero waste station to make sure that the attendees use the appropriate bin.

We were there to guide, and used this opportunity to teach attendees how zero waste can eliminate the need for landfills and concepts such as “waste”.

We also educated attendees about the need for manufacturer redesign and responsibility, greenhouse gas emission reductions by recycling, and monetary value of resource management versus landfill reliance.

It was a extremely fulfilling and educating task. It was an extremely hot day but we had the time of our life!

And our efforts paid off.

About 2.33 tons of waste was sent for recycling, 1.28 tons for composting and .9 tons to the landfill. We achieved a total of 80% diversion rate!!

And this was in spite of some crazy lemonade people selling their stuff in Styrofoam containers.

This is how our trash(black) bin looked like. Mostly filled with Styrofoam. :( It was an exceptionally hot day and people drank lots of Lemonade.
Imagine celebrating earth day with Styrofoam! Some businesses just don't have any sense of right or wrong.

What to put in your compost bin and what not to?

2009-04-22T19:24:00.001-07:00

As a part of greening my art-studio ArtOcrat I had started composting scrap paper, used paper towels and occasional food scrap that gets used in my studio.

Will post pictures of my vermi-compost bin soon. But, in the mean time here is a visual list of things that go and not go in the home compost bins.

If you want larger sized images to put in your homes or workplaces just mail me and I will email them to you.

“Use Less Stuff” Logo Rewards Reductions in Product, Packaging and Energy

2009-04-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

On Earth Day, April 22, a new green certification program for products and packages will be launched reported PackWorld.

What it means is that companies can earn the “Use Less Stuff” certification if they deliver a 20-percent reduction in packaging, 20-percent reduction in energy consumption, or a 20-percent increase in efficiency.

And the good news is that these three products - Perfect Glacier IceWater from Park City Ice Water Company, Winston Company’s Doctor Drain septic tank treatment, and Safonique’s laundry detergent – have been ULS certified.

Waste reduction levels for these products range between 47 percent and 78 percent.

Manufacturing cap - Manufacture only as much as you recycle

2009-04-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Every second month comes the time when another Brita water purifier filter needs to be replaced. I am assailed by regrets, I don't want to throw it into the garbage nor do I want to incur additional expense to post it to Brita for recycling.

I collect these filters hoping that at some point in the future Brita will roll out a plan to collect all the used filters. May be they will tie up with the local Costco and set up a collection box.

Wishful thinking on my part? May be not... But my imagination takes another flight and I land into a future where there is a cap (like in cap and trade) on manufacturing. In this future Brita will only be able to produce as many filters as it recycles. So, if for the month of March Brita was able to collect 100,000 used filters, they can manufacture 100,000 filters for the month of April.

This cap will be in the form of a law that requires all manufacturers to call back their discarded products, recycle them judiciously and produce only the number of units that they collected and recycled a month before.

And the incentive to do that will be the proportionate increase of the manufacturing cap. I have seen time and again that the bottom line is the major influencing factor in any decision making. In Manufacturing cap we are creating an incentive to collect and recycle, not just leaving it to choice or personal discretion .

This Manufacturing cap will go a long way in reducing the stuff that goes to the landfills. It will help us in achieving sustainability in multiple ways.

1. Save valuable resources from ending up in landfills by mandating extraction of all the valuable materials from the used and discarded products.
2. Incentive to design Cradle to Cradle products. If the manufacturers are going to be responsible for the recycling of what they produce then they will design smart products with smarter materials that are easy to take apart and recycle.
3. Creating employment. Reuse of products is vital and substantially more resource efficient than recycling. Bunch of small businesses that repair and refurbishment products could grow under the wings of these recycling operations.

May be this dream will come true some day.

Closing The Loop

2009-04-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

A new report from the Green Electronics Council (GEC), "Closing the loop: Product Design to Enhance Reuse/Recycling Value,” identifies several research priorities to increase the cost effectiveness and resource efficiency of e-scrap recycling.

Electronics recyclers and refurbishers are recommending several key changes to manufacturers on how they design electronic products and the information they need to improve processing of used devices.

They point to several key changes to enhance end-of-life (EOL) value recovery and process efficiency, including enhanced communications tools, product design for greater durability and reuse, eliminating hazardous substances, and improvements in materials separation through design.

The report also recommends the development of a “Close the Loop Registry” — a Web-based centralized access point for product information about the attributes of particular products such as the location and number of screws and fasteners, location of hazardous substances, and information on identification and separation of plastics. This searchable database will help EOL managers more effectively and efficiently breakdown and recycle products without delays, according to the report.

Design for End of Life Final Report 090208

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Sears Adds Suits Made of Recycled Bottles

2009-04-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

In May, retailers Sears will begin selling men’s suits made of fabric blend of wool and polyester spun from recycled plastic soda bottles. This move is just in time for Father’s Day shopping.

Sold under the Covington Perfect brand, a complete suit will retail for about $250, according to Retuers.

And get this: This suit is machine washable and can be tossed in the dryer, eliminating the need for dry cleaning and upping the eco-friendly ante, Danser said.

Fun fact: It takes 25 plastic soda-pop bottles (2-liter size) to make enough polyester yarn to produce the fabric for one suit.

Earth Clock

2009-04-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Poodwaddle.com

Who is really really responsible for China's carbon footprint?

2009-03-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

I've been amidst many discussions where concerns about reducing worlds carbon foot print are discussed. One aspect of this concern is how focusing on reducing only our own foot print or that of United States is not going to be of much help if China and India don't reduce their foot print too.

All that while I am thinking that who is really responsible for China's foot print? Most parts of their footprints are due to producing stuff not for their own consumption but for the western worlds never ending wants. The left over part is their own but, when we see the per person carbon foot print for an average Asian and compare it to the west we understand the real picture.

Carbon dioxide emissions per capita.
(This is a list of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita from 1990 through 2004. All data were calculated by the US Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), mostly based on data collected from country agencies by the United Nations Statistics Division.)

Now the interesting question is who should pay for the carbon emissions of China? According to an article in The Guardian - China thinks, consuming nations should.

"Consuming nations should pay for carbon dioxide emissions, not manufacturing countries, says China" - Tuesday 17 March 2009

The article goes on to say - " Several recent academic papers have noted how European nations have outsourced emissions and other forms of pollution to developing nations instead of tackling emissions at home. According to Oslo's Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, a third of all Chinese emissions are linked to exports, with 9 per cent caused by exports to the US, and 6 per cent from producing goods for Europe."

Another article in New Scientist "33% of China's carbon footprint blamed on exports " says -

"International policy at the moment tends to penalize the country which produces goods rather than the one that consumes them.

"In some measure, it makes sense if people buy goods and become liable for the emissions generated when the goods are produced," says Benito Müller of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, UK. "They will certainly be more choosy about what they buy."

How to fairly apportion the liability for China's exported emissions "is the million-dollar question", says Weber."

Image courtesy - Guardian

I personally am totally convinced that the responsibility of neutralizing the emissions lie with the consumer of the goods. After all if we didn't buy another toy or coffee maker, no one would feel the need to produce newer, smaller or more complicated stuff.

Series - Exploring small and not so small 'Concerns' - Carbon Footprint

2009-03-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

Through this series I am setting out to explore some of the 'Concerns' that we have regarding the future of the environment we live in, conditions of our fellow human beings, our actions and in-actions, animals an our impact on their future and the subsequent vicious cycle.

I thought I will begin with Carbon Footprint- understanding it, calculating it and reducing it.

Carbon foot print is simply how much carbon is released into the atmosphere by a product, business, activity or a person. Here carbon means all the 7 green house gasses converted to carbon equivalent.

So, why is it important to consider carbon foot print?
Well, It's simple demand and supply. What's our demand on the earth's resources and what's the rate of replenishment of the earth's resources. And because the resources on this earth are finite we want to make sure that the supply never runs out.

In the calculations of carbon foot print we compare our current consumption and see how many earths ( resources) will we need if every one on this planet started living like us.

According to a 2005 study, our current total ecological footprint was estimated at 1.3 planet Earths - in other words, all of us together use ecological services 1.3 times faster than Earths can renew them.

Thus, our 'Concern' about sustainable lifestyle.

Following are some of the links to calculate your own carbon foot print.
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/
http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
http://www.terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator/

So, after knowing how large the foot print is, the next thing is to see how to reduce it.

No brainers first-
1. Turn stuff off when not in use. Lights, appliances, taps, heating (when not in the house) and more.
2. Turn things down a notch. Heating 1 or 2 degrees less, water heating a degree or so less and so on
3. Run stuff on full load. Washing machine, dishwasher etc.
4. Recycle everything. Paper,cardboard boxes, plastics bottles, glass containers, aluminum cans and the likes.
5.Use less. Paper, water, energy, everything.

Now the things that need some effort.
1. Buy fruits and vegetables grown locally.
2. Don't buy out of season foods. They are flown or shipped from far far places and have massive carbon foot prints.
3.Invest in a water filter to stop buying bottled water, its also shipped from far far away.
4. Invest in energy saving light bulbs and appliances. Look for energy star logo.
5. Insulate doors and windows. Losing warm and cool air waste energy and money.
6. Kill the vampire load. Unplug cellphone chargers, coffee machines etc that suck in energy even when not switched off.

The top four things that you need to be thinking are -
1. Energy efficiency - Electricity production mostly derived from coal-burning power plants is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions, and efficiency is the least expensive way to cut down on your carbon footprint.
2. Buy local - Less travel less CO2 in the atmosphere.
3. Transportation -Cut down your commute, take public transport, carpooling and walking go a long way in reducing your foot print.
4. G0 green- buy green power, organic foods, no/ low chemical stuff.

The basics of reducing our individual carbon footprints are to do what Henry David Thoreau once said: "Simplify, simplify."

LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS OF ELECTRIC HAND DRYER VS PAPER TOWELS

2009-03-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

In the pursuit of a sustainable life there is always the question of which is the better choice, environment wise, purse wise, or simply as a matter of personal preference. And weather there is a legitimate reason to choose one over the other.

Lately paper consumption in any form is one of those areas of constant contemplation - using paper towels or cotton towels in the kitchen, tissue or handkerchief for colds, paper towels or wiping hands on trousers in public washrooms.

I felt installing hand dryers in public washrooms could be a good choice because it is -

Good For The Environment - Paper towels cannot be recycled. Once they are used, they must go to the landfill, and we are all aware that America is facing a diminishing landfill issue. Converting to Hand Dryers is a great source reduction alternative. Many businesses and institutions are required by law to reduce non-recyclable waste.
Promotes Hygiene - The use of hand dryers allows washrooms to stay cleaner and more sanitary. Picking up and disposing of bacteria-laden paper towel waste is one of the custodians' least favorite tasks.
Labor Savings - Most Hand Dryers are virtually maintenance-free, except for a recommended annual cleaning. Paper towels, by comparison, require one hour of maintenance for each case of towels used.
Reduced Vandalism- Hand dryers eliminate the vandalism often present with paper towels. Towels clog toilets and sinks, can be set aflame, and are thrown, wet, onto walls and floors.
Always Ready For Use - Hand Dryers are ready to be used 24 hours a day. Say goodbye to customer complaints about empty or non-functioning paper towel dispensers.

So, in this study I set out to ascertain which of the two options – paper towels or third generation electric hand dryers, are better environmentally and economically.

I collected and analyzed consumption data from Company ABC Inc. (name changed), a San Diego based company with 800 employees.

Firstly, I calculated the total paper towel cost per year ($10,789) and total cost of hand dryer operation per year ($259). Then calculated the savings per year($10,530) and from the savings I subtracted the total hand dryer lease cost($10,530- $4320 = $5950). Thus, $5950 is net savings.

After this Net Present Value for both the hand dryer and paper towels was calculated.

Conclusion

The results of the analysis were a huge surprise. Third generation hand dryers, mainly Dyson and Xlerator win hand down. And the savings are huge. For ABC Inc it means making a gain of over $36,000 (NPV) as compared to over $66,000 (NPV) of loss over the next 10 years.

The switching costs are nil mainly because hand dryers are available on leases for a fixed monthly payment. The installation, maintenance, repair, and disposal are all taken care by the leasing agency without any extra cost.

And the number of trees saved because of the switch is unbelievable. One pine tree produces an average 80,500 sheets of photocopy paper¹. Assuming one photocopy paper equals two hand towels one tree yields 116,000 sheets of hand towels. It means ABC Inc saves 9 trees per year, and 90 trees in 10 years!

Carbon foot print wise switching to hand dryers leads to 3 tonnes less CO2 in the atmosphere².

For ABC Inc switching from paper towels to third generation hand dryers could be the very profitable low hanging fruit towards corporate sustainability.

Below are the spread sheets with detailed calculations. The first image is the Cost Analysis of both the options, and the annual savings realized by switching to electric hand dryers.

The second image is the NPV( Net Present Value analysis) of both the options, and the Net Present Savings realized by switching to electric hand dryers.
Any of you conducting similar analysis for your businesses or simply interested in details of the project can get in touch with me via email.

Big Belly: solar powered trash compactor

2009-03-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

Meet BigBelly , a very cool solar powered trash compaction unit. It looks like ordinary trash cans, but can hold up to 4 to 6 times as much trash as ordinary units and is highly flexible and can be placed almost anywhere, reducing waste collection and energy costs. The cost per-unit at $4,000, but cost savings occur from less frequent collection.

The Big Belly is the brainchild of Jim Poss, a self-described gadget-lover from Needham, Mass. Poss was working on making electric cars when inspiration struck.

"The idea hit me probably about six years ago, when I was walking down a busy street in Boston," he says, "and I noticed that all the garbage cans were overflowing with mounds of garbage. And it just hit me that there's a better way."

In addition to the unsightly mess, Poss says he was also inspired by the diesel-devouring garbage trucks used to collect the trash: "They are the least efficient vehicles on the road…and they idle about 70 percent of the time.

BigBelly can be seen in some of these locations, Fenway Park , Boston's Faneuil Hall, Baltimore Inner Harbor, The Alamo in San Antonio Texas, Chicago Millennium Park, Harvard University and Walden Pond.

Giving Paper The Pink Slip

2009-02-26T12:55:00.001-08:00

My final project for "Environmental Economics: Evaluating the Impact of Sustainable Practices" from UCSD, is comparing the use of paper towels versus electronic hand dryer. The aim is to find out which of the two alternatives has a higher life cycle cost and subsequently which makes more long term economic and environmental sense.

There are various parts with attached values that will have to be considered in this project.

First from the towel side, things like number of paper towels consumed, cost of the towels, handling costs like cost of generating requisitions and purchase orders receiving, servicing towel dispensers, cost of trash cans and plastic liners, increased maintenance work resulting from messy paper towel usage, collecting and disposing of used towels etc.
And from the hand dryer side, number of hand drying, hours of hand dryer usage, cost of electricity, maintenance of the motors, cleaning filters and repair etc.

Most of the hand dryers fail in their primary function of drying hands, they either take 20-30 seconds to dry hand(which seems like an eternity because you have to stand in one spot for so long) or blasts with a little too warm air. Also there is a issue with blasting your hands with recirculated air from the bathrooms which is saturated with tiny particles of you-know-what.

On the other hand the paper cost a fortune, virgin or recycled both use resources that head straight to the landfill. The thought of using trees for wiping your hand is saddening too. Though hand dryers use energy, they automatically shut down and therefore don't waste energy. They eliminate the need of paper and keep paper out of the waste stream.

The climate conservancy in the article "PAPER TOWELS VS. ELECTRIC HAND DRYERS" conclude that about 0.123 pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions per paper-towel session (the researchers assumed that a hand-washer uses two towels to dry off). The range for hand dryers, by contrast, was between 0.02 pounds and 0.088 pounds, depending on wattage and drying time.

It does seem like a good choice to use hand dryers. Currently the two most recommended and energy efficient hand dryers are Xlerator which is Green Spec approves and helps qualify for LEED, and Dyson that dries in just 12 seconds.

All said and done most people still like using paper towels, so what is s agood environmental choice for them? Greenpeace recently released its latest "Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide". This guide will help you find the most green brands of paper towels and tissue.

To download it in a handy pocket size format click here.

11 Sustainable Design Principles - A Guide to Guilt Free Design.

2009-02-19T11:10:00.001-08:00

As design students or practitioners we have a grave responsibility towards the future. Winston Churchill famously said " We shape our buildings, and thereafter they shape us".

The products all around us are our responsibility. And all the products in the land fills are our doing.

We as designers have played a significant role in creating this mess we’re in. We manipulate fashion and style to fuel the desire for the next new thing. We help invent planned obsolescence. We promote unbridled consumerism. We sell our services to move more and more products off the shelves and then help push those products into our overflowing landfills by offering ever-present new and improved.

Now with the growing global concerns about environmental problems such as climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss and about social problems related to poverty, health, working circumstances, safety and inequity,designers need to think about their stand on design and sustainability.

The field of "Sustainable Design" focuses on reducing the environmental impact of a product during its manufacture, use and disposal or reuse. It uses strategies such as avoiding use of toxic substances during production, minimizing materials used, minimizing energy or water required during use, and designing for repair, reuse or disassemble and recycling.

Following is the simple sustainability checklist that can be used before and during the design process.

1. Question the premise of design

Is it really needed?
Can the utility be combined with something already available?
Ask if the need can be fulfilled in any creative way.

2. Select low impact materials

Clean materials with least or no hazardous chemicals.
Post or pre-consumer recycled material.
Renewable material
Easily recyclable material
Locally produced material
Material with lower carbon foot print.

3. Use less material

Reduce the overall weight
Reduce volume.

4. Reduce complexity

Simplify the design
Eliminate unnecessary fasteners or components.
Use less material variety - it makes recycling easier, efficient and more profitable.

5. Make it more useful

Think multi-use products like Swiss army knife.
Combine utilities that naturally occur together like dough maker, blender, food processor.

6. Design for durability

Long lasting high quality materials.
Easy upgrading - no planned in obsolesce please.

7. Easy maintenance and repair

Design the product with the possibilities of local service and maintenance companies in mind.
Ensure that maintaining and repairing the product becomes a pleasure for the consumer rather than a duty.
Develop new innovative service and repair centers.

8. Design for low energy & water use

During manufacturing of the product.
Consumption during the lifetime of the product.
Default power-down mode.
Stand-by functions and similar devices can be switched off by the user.
Fewer consumables during product lifetime like permanent filter in coffee makers instead of paper filters.
Use less ,clean or reusable packaging.

9. Optimize production process

low energy production
less production waste
safety and cleanliness of work place

10. Design for dismantling

Make it modular.
Can be economically & efficiently transported.
Easy to repair & refurbishing.

11. Design for end of life

Long lasting quality products get handed down for reuse.
As much as possible make every thing recyclable.
Offer to take the product back for environmental friendly disposal.

There definitely are many new skills to learn, sensibilities to develop and parameters to add to the design process. And this does increase the range of our responsibilities as designers and offers real and difficult challenges to business as usual. But if we want to design without guilt we just can't wish away the current mess, we as designers will have to design our way out.

Killing two birds with one stone!

2009-02-19T00:22:00.000-08:00

When I first thought about "Carbon Collecting and Storage" I wondered where all the collected carbon will go and what kind of catastrophe will all the stored carbon cause in the future. Later I speculated about turning that problem into opportunity.

In the same vein is this interesting article that talks about a device that is designed to convert CO2 into fuel. Killing two birds with one stone !!! In one single action this device will take care of two major problems energy and global warming. Talk about blessings!!

Here is the link to the article.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16621-sunpowered-device-converts-co2-into-fuel.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=climate-change

Understanding Recycling

2009-02-18T12:06:00.000-08:00

Recycling is one of the easiest ways in which we can reduce our impact on the earth(carbon foot print). It makes sense on multiple counts like

1. Saves money - Throwing trash away is expensive. First, we need a place to put our garbage (a landfill) and then we need to pay to store it there forever.

2. Saves energy - Recycled materials compared to virgin materials saves a lot of energy, for example, it takes 95% less energy to make an aluminum can from recycled aluminum than it does from virgin aluminum.

3. Prevents pollution - Recycling also reduces climate change emissions from incinerators and landfills. (According to the EPA, recycling provides an annual benefit of 49.7 million metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions reduced, comparable to removing 39.4 million passenger cars from the road each year.). Also by using recycled materials, the manufacturer creates fewer greenhouse gases.

4. Prevents resource destruction - Recycling enables returning back discarded products to manufacturers for use in new products which prevents the pollution and destruction that occurs when virgin materials—like trees and precious metals—are extracted
from the earth.

5. Creates jobs - For every one job at a landfill, there are ten jobs in recycling processing and 25 jobs in recycling-based manufacturers. The recycling industry employs more workers than the auto industry.

6. Creates a just and sustainable society - It is estimated that we are currently consuming at a rate of 123%, using 23% more resources than the Earth can sustain. This means we are jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. And as populations continue to increase and seek the affluence and consumerism of the Western culture, there will be increasing conflict over our limited supply of resources, everything from precious metals to clean water.

Like many of you I recycle diligently and hope the stuff I put in the blue bin is creating value and not going waste. That said the recycling business model always raised many questions. I was always curious to understand the complete recycling process. How bottles, cans, newspapers, egg cartons and junk mail are separated and turned into new materials and products. And how in spite of incurring expenditure in collecting, transporting and sorting they still managed to make profits.

The following video helps to find the answer to many questions related to recycling.

7 Steps Towards Sustainable Purchasing.

2009-02-18T10:27:00.001-08:00

As society demands more transparency and responsible behavior from the business sector, many companies are taking action to improve their competitive advantage by embracing Sustainable Business Practices as a core business strategy.

The following 9 point guideline gives a basic idea of things that need to be looked at when thinking of Sustainable Business Practices.

1. Energy conservation and efficiency
2. Energy efficient equipment & lighting replacements
3. Water conservation and water purity
4. Improving indoor air quality
5. Creating a toxic-free workplace
6. Recycling and waste reduction strategies
7. Sustainable purchasing strategies, including electricity from renewable sources
8. Sustainable travel and transportation options
9. Tax credits, rebates and other financial incentives

One of the things that has a major impact is Sustainable Purchasing. The next three slides talk about 7 things that a business can do to purchase sustainably.

7 Steps Towards Suatainable Purchasing

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Step that each of us could take today to make our world more sustainable

2009-02-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

Thinking about everything that is wrong with the world makes me feel sad and helpless. I wonder what, if anything a bunch of people can do to correct it. Things like global warming are way to big for any of us to deal by ourselves. It overwhelms me.

Most people I interact with to feel strongly about climate change, conservation and sustainability and want to do things to make a difference. Here are a list of ideas with which each of us can contribute individually.

1. SAVE ENERGY & WATER

Change your light bulbs from incandescent to CFL or LED. This one thing is going to reduce your energy bills drastically. This is not only good for the environment but good for your pocket.
Turn the lights off when you leave the room.
Use energy efficient appliances. Look for the blue energy star logo.
Wash your clothes in warm water instead of hot.
Air dry the clothes if you can.
Set the thermostat a couple of degrees less.
Caulk and weatherstrip all your doors and windows. Insulate your walls and ceilings.
Use the dishwasher only when it's full.
Install low-flow shower heads.
Turn down the thermostat on the water heater.
If possible, install solar panels.
Adjust your computer’s settings to shut down after being idle for a certain amount of time.
Turn off unused electronics like coffee maker.
Car pool if you can or use public transport.

2. RECYCLE & REUSE & REDUCE

Use double-sided printing.
Print rough drafts and informal memos on the unused side of paper that would otherwise be thrown out (draft paper.
Load laser printer paper trays with draft paper.
Reuse draft and computer paper for notes and scrap paper.
Use digital signatures on documents.
Buy products made from recycled paper, plastic etc.
View and pay your bills online.
Say no to plastic bags.

3. BUY LOCAL

Buy wine from a nearby vineyard or beer from a neighborhood brewery.
Cake from a local bakery.
Use seasonal flowers.
Grocery from farmers market or food co-ops in your area.

4. Use organic personal care products.
5. Compost
6. Plant a tree

Plastic Bags

2009-02-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Sometime last month Tarun and decided to totally cut down our use of plastic bags, and I'm proud to say that its been a month and we haven't used any!!! We carry our cloth bag with us all the time, and when we forget we just carry stuff in our arms. Needless to say its a great feeling.

Few days back I received this inserting compilation of facts about plastic bags. Might like to check it out here.

Hopes it make you think and make some changes too!!

The World keeps getting better

2009-02-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Built in obsolescence in every thing around me is trying my patience. How many of you out there remember when a toaster lasted 20 years, a kettle 30? How did we manage to go from 30 to 3?

Its pretty commonsensical that longer lifespans for stuff would mean a huge reduction to world-wide landfills, not to mention a reduction of manufacturing emissions and the valuable materials, energy and effort that go into manufacturing them.

So discovering Hand-Me-Downs a range of jackets and bags that have been designed specifically to last 10 or more years from a UK clothing brand Howies is super news!!

Discarded clothing problem is what Hand-me-downs are designed to solve.

By using high quality components like rust-proof aluminum zips & hardware and organic tweed and ventile (an extremely tightly woven cotton fabric that's inherently water-resistant and uses 30 percent more yarn than conventional fabrics) they make very sturdy bags and jackets that have an extended life. Calling the product hand-me-down clearly drives the message of donating once your own use is over.

A great idea to learn from and emulate in other products as well.

The size of the problem equals the size of the opportunity

2009-02-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

In my last post I was worried about the impacts of carbon storing on the environment and was questioning the consequences of playing with mother nature. Later in the night a thought jumped out at me "The size of the problem equals the size of the opportunity".

And suddenly as if all the pieces of the puzzle started falling in place. Imagine if all the collected carbon can be turned into diamonds!!

As a concept it is a very engaging one. Turning a big problem into a most desired product. There can be a slew of opportunities for ventures that turn the carbon into usable commodities. Recycle or composting business model does exactly that, imagine the possibilities !!!

Is any solution a problem in disguise?

2009-02-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

We all have been hearing about the concept Carbon Capturing since a while now, the idea and its premise seems plausible enough. Along with cutting down emissions, capturing what is already out there seems a logical step forward. Though the long term ramifications are not clear yet.

Going against what would naturally happen is always a scary situation. What if the environment is inversely affected by this? What if this one choice makes the future worst off?

It makes me wonder if in the process of creating solutions we are only setting off new problems in motion. Is any solution a problem in disguise?

McKinsley Quarterly has a new interactive exhibit "What is carbon capture and storage?" that provides a background for further discussion.

Disneyland Powers Steam Trains With Recycled Cooking Oil

2009-02-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

As part of its ongoing commitment to the environment, Disneyland Resort announced that it has begun using recycled cooking oil to power its Disneyland Railroad steam trains.

The oil used to cook French Fries and other foods is processed to power the Disneyland Railroad and Mark Twain Riverboat. This move allows the Resort to save approximately 200,000 gallons of petroleum diesel per year.

"These initiatives demonstrate Disneyland Resort's ongoing commitment to balancing environmental stewardship throughout our operations," said Michael O'Grattan, senior vice president of resort operations. "These are just a few steps in our ongoing journey to reduce Disneyland Resort's environmental footprint."

All major businesses are increasingly showing concern with reducing their footprints, and it gives me hope that the future will see more clean technologies, less dependence on non renewable resources and a cleaner environment.

Wal-Mart Pushes Green Outside U.S. Borders

2009-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

Wal-Mart announced this week goals to reduce phosphates in products in the Americas region by 70 percent by 2011. The move is part of a larger environmental plan for the region, which will also include more sustainable packaging.

“Our reach around the world puts us in a unique position to drive sustainable change across national boundaries and into the global supply chain,” said Craig Herkert, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Americas.

Story of stuff

2009-02-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

PS. I am reminded of the 20 min video"The story of stuff" by Annie Leonard. A must watch if one is concerned about our impact on the earth.

Purchasing in the Concern Economy

2009-02-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Concern Economy is a way of looking at the world that recognizes that a thriving & healthy world is standing on three pillars - a strong economy, a healthy environment and social well-being. It means that we make sure that the choices we make are not only economically wise but also environmentally and socially responsible.

A lot of the decisions that we make are through every day purchasing. What to buy, from were, how much are the kinds of decisions that a business or a household makes everyday. Cost and quality are important factors but there are other things too worth considering for a positive impact on the business and society.

We begin by looking at what products are made of, where they come from, how they were made and how they will be disposed. It is also imperative to consider whether a purchase needs to be made at all.

The basic idea behind Concern Purchasing is to shift purchasing dollars away from goods that negatively impact the society and environment to those that are more environmentally sound and socially beneficial.

But the fundamental question remains.
What are the benefits, both qualitative and quantitative?

Saving money (conserving resources like energy, fuel, water)and local development seem to be the most obvious ones. Employee moral and retention, enhanced brand image, compliance (environmental, health, safety regulations) and risk avoidance, competitive advantage are the other reasons to switch to Concerned Purchasing.

And of course by doing all this you are helping to preserve the earth and its resources for your children and their children's children.

Best Buy Electronics Recycling Program Launches Feb. 15 in All U.S. Stores

2009-01-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

Looking at the bleak picture in the last post this news makes me ecstatic.

Under pressure to help dispose some of the electronic waste it helped create, Best Buy Co. is beginning a program from Feb. 15, 2009 that will offer consumers a convenient way to ensure millions of obsolescent TVs, old computers and other unwanted gadgets don’t poison the nation’s dumps.

“We know the need is there and the waste stream is there. We think everyone needs to bear some responsibility for this — consumers, retailers and manufacturers.” said Best Buy spokeswoman Kelly Groehler.

Here is the full story from centredaily.com

http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/1077707.html
(might have to copy paste this link in your browser if clicking does not work)

Reality behind the eco-friendly disposal of e waste

2009-01-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

Only yesterday I was talking about why designers, engineers and businessmen don't think when designing products. And today I came across this 60 minutes video that scares the daylights out of me.

Every few years we throw out old electronic products and buy new ones. Some of us feel less bad about it by turning it in to a company that promises to recycle it in a Eco-friendly manner. Here is a reality behind one such company.

60 Minutes Follows America's Toxic Electronic Waste As It Is Illegally Shipped To Become China's Dirty Secret.

2009-01-22T17:27:00.001-08:00

PS. The major razor companies want the blades to be disposed of quickly as the blades are the consumables that they rely on for recurring income. That is why shaving is a multi-billion dollar industry.

Designed for landfills

2009-01-22T12:14:00.000-08:00

Did you know each year nearly 246 million tons of waste from our homes and communities goes to the landfills?
And to bury this waste there are about 3,091 active landfills and over 10,000 old municipal landfills.

Just thinking about so much garbage make shivers run down my spine.

What were the designers thinking when they designed all these products? Carpets, diapers, furniture, clothes, shoes, TV, laptops, toys... the list is endless. Just on my table I can see dozens of such things: picture frame, lamp, bulb, glass, mug, books, laptop, tissue.

Ever heard of the printer, microwave or any machine coming with a note saying " Please mail us back this machine for Eco-friendly disposal". And why not? Shouldn't they be taking onus of what they started in the first place?

Design should not be against or in spite of nature. Design should be inspired from nature. And design should eliminate the concept of waste completely. Things should be created for long term use. We are easily capable of producing stuff that is durable, reliable, useful and lasting enough to give years of great service.

But what does really happen around us? Constantly we are bombarded with messages that tell us what we have currently is not good enough. We need the new and improved with added features and more options. Old is out, new is in!!!. This cycle consumes energy, resources and a chunk of our money on its brief trip from factory to landfill.

Razor blades are a classic example. It seems that for most men with average facial hair one blade gives 10-15 shaves per blade and then the blade goes to the trash. One would think that razor companies like Gillette would find ways to elongate the life of the blade. But what they end up doing is increasing the number of blades and recommend changing blades frequently for a better shave!!!

For crying out loud did they ever hear about landfills?

Like the Hippocratic oath taken by physicians (pertaining to the ethical practice of medicine) all designers should be made to take an oath: To honor the earth and its systems, to abstain from making anything that in any way harms or endangers the present or the future, to be aware of any short term or long term consequences of any of their activities, to never forget the interdependence of humans on the natural world, to be always mindful of the finiteness of resources and pledge never to waste any.

Green minded paper and Eco font

2009-01-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

Was reading the book Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart and was pleasantly surprised to find that these guys actually practice what they preach.
The book, as they say "is not a tree". It is printed on synthetic paper that can be recycled over and over again.

Paper always seemed such a waste of magnificent trees anyways. I welcome all ideas that let me cut my use of paper. Synthetic paper has a catch too(i guess there is always a catch). It is essentially made from petroleum-based plastic.

May be it does not reduce or eliminate the environmental damage caused by our dependency on oil but, because synthetic paper is entirely inorganic, it eliminates the use of trees in manufacturing.

No ozone layer-threatening emissions and nearly no waste byproducts are produced during the manufacturing of synthetic paper. Scraps are recycled within the production line and reused. The overall manufacturing process also consumes significantly less energy than a comparably sized traditional paper mill, and the production requires no bleach, chlorine, peroxide or halogens to achieve its brilliant whiteness.

What's even more sustainable than synthetic paper when it comes to printing? An Eco font, of course.

A Dutch creative agency Spranq has developed this new font that will increase the life of your cartridge by using 20% less ink than normal fonts. And how they do it is by punching holes in the base font Vera Sans but still maintaining readability.

Our ever increasing need to have bigger, newer, faster!!

2009-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

Since my last post I've been thinking about the fundamental reason behind the unsustainable choices we have made and are going to be continuously making.

There could be a couple of reasons behind that. Survival (as in evolutionary terms) is the first that seems to be the most probable. Resources were and still are scarce thus, there is a race for consumption. The more one consumes the chances of survival increase. It was true for food in the past and its true for products and services now.

This greed for bigger, newer and faster is making us a threat to the planet and animals. We (i blame evolution again) have pronounced ourselves that masters of the planet second to none. Animals, plants and earth's resource are there only to serve us, to enable a better life for us.

Sustainability experts predict that we will mend our ways. We will start respecting the earth and its resources. However much I want to believe these forecasts one thing is stares right back to me. The 1 billion people who live below the poverty line.

When we haven't found a way to respect our fellow humans (assuming that we will be more empathetic toward humans) how much hope do we have for the earth and its resources?

Unsustainable Businesses - Keurig and its K-cup

2009-01-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

Last week I began the first two classes for Sustainable Business Practices.
The first one I'm taking is-Environmental Economics : Evaluating the impact of sustainable business practices.
And the second one is - Introduction to sustainability

While talking about sustainability in the class various various issues were of concern to people. From ever increasing consumption to the dependability on oil and our ever need to have bigger, newer, faster.

It brings a very interesting issues to forefront. What is the real cost of a product?
What escapes out of the factory exhaust, what is discharged in the water bodies, what is dumped in the landfills. Who bears these costs?

Should there be a land fill tax? Take the coffee machine company Keurig (http://www.keurig.com). They make single serving coffee cup called K-cup. Every little plastic cup is thrown after one cup is brewed.

To have a business model based on "use and throw" of non biodegradable resources like plastic should be a sin. Companies like these should be charged landfill taxes to make business decisions more sustainability friendly.

Keurig should also encourage consumers to empty out the leftover coffee and put the cups for recycle. Figuring out how to monitor the number of cups get recycled and how many end up in land fills another problem to chew on.

We need changes that are lasting and that can be possible only when at both individual and corporate level we think sustainably.

What is Concern Economy?

2008-12-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

Lets begin from the basic.

Concern means - Care, anxiety, solicitude, interest, engage, regard, affect, worry, bother.

Economy means - Wealth, (financial) resources; financial system, financial management.

Thus, the Concern Economy is a realm where economic activities like buying, selling, manufacturing, consuming are all driven by very specific concerns. These concerns are more than profit maximization.Corporate Social Responsibility embraces this concept partially but as an after thought.

The Concern Economy is fundamentally based on welfare and sustenance of natural resources, animals and humans. (which I believe should be called the real triple bottom line.)

The embracing of Green movement by all of us bears testimony to fact that concerns that regular people like you and me feel have potential to become substantial parts of the economy.

People all over are talking about global warming, our carbon footprints, imbalances in our ecosystem, fair labor, buying choices and good living. To a large extent we are merely talking. But I see a bunch of people going ahead and walking the talk.

In my dissertation I have discussed a some of these individuals and their efforts. Needless to say the success lies in the silent participants who buy the concern products.

Concern Economy

2008-12-04T14:39:00.000-08:00

Concern Economy and its manifestations was the topic if my final dissertation (submitted in Oct. 2008) as a conclusion to Masters in Strategic Design Management.

It was mostly a theoretical framework developed to make sense of what I was seeing happening around me. Currently you could see it falling in Corporate Social Responsibility arena but it could mean a lot more in the future.

I would encourage anyone interested in Green businesses, Social entrepreneurship, Charity models, Sustainability, Fairtrade, Handmade or Business trends to read the pdf of my dissertation.

I will put up the PDF as soon as I figure out how.
:)

Here is the PDF. I welcome discussions, questions or feedback from any of you.
Happy reading!!!
Concern Economy and Its Manifestations-Pragya Kothari

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