Change Agents

Why does one person feel compelled to do their part to lessen their footprint while another does not? The answer represents something of a holy grail to the environmental movement as a whole (myself included). The developing field of “conservation psychology” is devoted to it exclusively. Trying to get others to change their behavior – whether the dynamic is parent/child, boss/subordinate, teacher/student, or peer/peer – is a fascinating process all around (to me anyway).

“Change agent” is a popular term nowadays in the world of corporate-speak. It describes someone who is leading the charge to literally change behavior whether it is at the team, division, company, or industry level. Most often, the change is necessary – the result of some sort of burning platform – with the end result leading to significant improvements in performance.

For our topic of interest, I like to think of the change agent as a thing and not necessarily a person (unless you’re Al Gore, of course). That “thing” is slightly different for each person with the resulting change in behavior varying in intensity. You have your “light greens” installing a CFL bulb or using a reusable bag to your “deep greens” who are taking a hard look at how to fundamentally alter every aspect of their day-to-day.

The following stories offer some insight into these different drivers of change and the resulting shades of green:


• Kill-Two-Birds-With-One-Stone Green – “Atlanta Family Slashes Carbon Footprint” (NPR)

• Mainstream Green – “Shopping to (literally) help save the world” (MSNBC)

• Armageddon Green – “Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare” (AP/Yahoo)


I like to think that here in Sakonnet our change agents are the patches of woods, the little streams, the beaches, the ponds, the neighborhoods, the farms, the conservation land, and all those other elements of our local environment that make our home so special.

So, what gets your green motor running? What shade are you?

Grow a Row, Save Some Dough

On the heels of the “Save a Dime, Hang a Line” post, I couldn’t help but through out another cheeky title. But the fact is, it’s true. Then, I saw this pic on the left from the Kitchen Gardeners International site and it was a done deal.

Until this year, my family has done the basic home vegetable garden – couple tomatoes here, a little squash there, and round it all out with your run-of-the-mill herbs. But this year, we’ve gone all out. Four new 4x8 raised beds, a new berry bed, and in the coming weeks, melon and pumpkin patch. The peas are up and trellised, lettuce and spinach being harvested already; today we’re transplanting a variety of seedlings that we started a couple months ago. Everything will be done organically – no chemicals and lots (and lots) of homegrown compost.

Why? Originally, it was grow more of our food under the guise of getting more local with our diet, as well as to help teach the kids where their food comes from. In recent weeks, the notion of saving money has creeped into the picture. Between fuel costs at the pump and what you are laying out at the grocery stores these days, it just makes sense to be a tad bit more self-sufficient.

I’m inspired by stories such as this one about yet another successful urban farming experience. Suburbia provides most of us with at least a little patch of sunny yard. These folks are reclaiming empty lots and transforming them into a productive local food sources, all the while doing a heck of a job at bringing their community together. Then there is the Dervaes family and their Path to Freedom "project". They are redefining what suburban homesteading is all about. Absolutely amazing.

We’ve talked about the benefits of local food a lot here. Everything from helping the local economy to limiting the impact that transporting food hundreds, if not thousands, of miles wreaks on the environment. Yes, growing some of your own food takes some time and effort. With the former seemingly in short supply for most people, it is difficult to hop on this bandwagon. As with all things, there are options.

Can’t grow your own row? Eat off someone else’s. Sign up for a CSA plot or just go out and support your local farmers market. (The new Sakonnet Growers Market starts up the first week of July.) If you can’t seem to deviate from the normal grocery store path, try to buy fruits and produce that are grown locally. Many stores now list the town/state/country of origin. Lee’s in Westport does a great job of this. If you don’t see a sign, ask.

I’m out to the garden now. Talk to you soon.

Clothesline Saves $20 in One Month

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since the last post. Things have been extremely busy with the warmer weather and school. The former can be summed up in one word: GARDEN. More on that in the next few days as I take a mini-vacation.

But to kick things off, I just had to pass this along. In the posts about getting a clothesline up and running I mentioned that I’d report back on the electricity savings. Well, the NationalGrid bill came today and lo’ and behold, it’s almost $21 less than last month! Granted, the days are a bit longer so we’re using less lighting, but compared to the same time period last year (that grid on the back of the first page of your bill), we’re down 159 kilowatt hours. A quick carbon calculation shows that we saved 179 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Small amount, yes, but imagine if 100, 1000, or 1,000,000 more homes strung up a line.

Now, we used the clothesline about 75 percent of the time due to the rain we’ve had in past weeks. Our outlay in hardware and rope was about $25, so we’re just shy of realizing a full 100 percent return on our investment (ROI) in one month. With the savings had from here on out, that’s just money in our pocket (and less carbon hitting the atmosphere).

Here’s what I’ve learned through this “experiment”: Small changes in behavior can lead to substantial savings, both in terms of money and environmental impact. We should sweat the small stuff – it REALLY does matter.

I hope to see more clotheslines up over the coming months. Feel free to shoot a comment over if you’ve realized any savings yourself. Now, I’m off to pull some clothes off the line before the rain…

Sakonnet Voices: KELLY KITTEL

Happy Earth Day. This just sounds funny to me. With everything going on around us, I no longer think “Earth Day” is just a day anymore. Green is everywhere. News, TV, radio, big government, small government, schools, kitchen tables, and everywhere in-between. While more reactive than proactive at this point, we are still witnessing the changing of an ethic all around us.

Kelly Kittel, co-founder of Step It Up Aquidneck Island, captures this nicely:

Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22, and I am wondering if we could all pause for a moment to think about this silently spinning orb we call home. Every day is Earth Day for the residents of this planet, all 6.6 billion of us, a staggering number and one that is taxing the carrying capacity of our planet in many ways. Have you thought much about it? Have you thought about the footprint you are leaving? How do you think our planet is doing, overall? Are we taking good care of it? I think the evidence is all around us that we have not been very good stewards. We have major issues facing us like global warming, resource exhaustion, endangered species, crop failure, and lack of clean drinking water to name a few. I keep looking and listening for the good news and am not hearing much in return. So, fellow earthlings, time to wake up and do some house cleaning.

There are many simple things we can do to help the planet and ourselves. Let’s start by making this island we inhabit 100% compact fluorescent. We can encourage our towns to change the traffic lights to LED which last for years instead of months. Look around your house. Have you had a home energy audit? Time to check that off the list. With heating oil prices rising every month none of us can afford to heat the outside. Take inventory of how many things you have plugged into the wall and try to eliminate one or two. Can you live without that hand lotion warmer? nd what is your room temperature? Could you put on another layer and lower the thermostat or open the windows and let the breeze blow through in the summer instead of shutting yourself inside with your air conditioner? How about your appliances? Are they all energy star rated?

Look around you. Is there a sunny spot in your yard where you could grow a tomato or some strawberries? Gardening is a wonderful activity to teach your kids and for your wallet, health and soul! Do you have a place to put a clothesline? The dryer is not only one of the biggest energy users in your house, all that lint you throw away is actually bits of your clothes wearing out. Do you really have a pest problem and is your lawn really not green enough or could you live without adding those chemicals to your house and lawn and, ultimately, the ocean. Are you doing as much as you can to reduce the waste you create, reuse what you can, and recycle what you can not? How much time do you spend outside listening to the birds and observing nature? The average American spends 20 minutes a day, including time spent in a car! Do the kids go out and play? Do you?

These are just some of the many things we can do to become better stewards of our home, the planet Earth. There isn’t another one we can move to when we’ve finished with this one. Remember, we did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. What legacy are you leaving?

National Hanging Out Day

Well, what do you know? The earlier post on clotheslines drew some great comments from a few readers. Since then, I've had more conversation about the benefits of clotheslines than I can shake a stick at. Some reveled in nostalgia; some planted a seed of interest; still yet others expounded on all those reasons why you couldn't hang one.
On this, National Hanging Out Day, I'm pleased to say that we've finally taken the plunge into the world of clotheslines. My wife and kids surprised me this week with not one, but two -- one for the kids and one for mom and dad. I tell you, it doesn't take much to bring a smile to my face and these things did. Especially when it's something else we can do as a family.


According to Project Laundry List, the sponsor of the Hanging Out Day, clothes dryers are responsible for 6-10% of home energy consumption. So, I'm going to start monitoring the monthly bill and let everyone know what kind of difference I see. It's just another example of a small step we can all take to lessen our footprint AND save some money in the process. What a great win-win.

Happy Hanging.

Small Business Recycling is Needed, But How?

A few weeks ago, the ProJo featured an article about the RI DEM finally practicing what it preaches and hopping on board the recycling bandwagon at their offices. While that’s somewhat humorous, the article does go on to give an update on the state’s renewed effort to get businesses to comply with current recycling laws.

That got me thinking: How does a small business here in Sakonnet actually go about complying with that law? If I’m looking at the right one (and I might not be), all businesses regardless of their total number of employees are required to separate out their recyclables from their trash. The kicker comes if you have 50 or more employees – then you are required to submit a yearly source reduction and recycling plan to the state.

According to the article, 60 percent of the 700,000 tons of waste that go to the Central Landfill each year is generated by businesses. That’s a lot. And I’m willing to bet that a good chunk of that could be recycled in one way, shape, or form. From office paper to bottles/cans to toner to e-waste, there is quite a bit that could find new life via the recycling bin.

But the challenge is making it easy and economically feasible to actually recycle. Larger business might have more resources to throw into making this happen, but small businesses are maxed out with multi-tasking and budget squeezing as it is. I grew up in my family’s small business and can speak first hand to that. Even nowadays, I know people who bring home paper or cans or bottles from their offices to throw in their home bins because they can’t stand to see the stuff stay in the trash.

But as with many things in business, there are both hard and soft benefits to any action. And when the two can find middle ground, it usually indicates a win-win situation.

Take for instance recycling: If given a cost-effective solution for recycling those items typically found in the workplace, the benefits of reducing your trash removal costs could be justified. Now, once you make that part of your business’ M.O., you can tack on the ability to market yourself as an eco-friendly business. As more and more consumers align their values with the purchase behaviors, this begins to bode well for your shop as you can leverage it to boost traffic and sales.

Back to my original question, though. How do you make it viable for small businesses to recycle? Taking a queue from the insurance industry, one business alone may not be able to get the best rate from a recycling vendor, but a group of businesses under the guise of a small business association might drive a more attractive rate. So, does anyone know if we have any kind of small business association here in Sakonnet?

Any small business owners out there willing to share their stories about trying to make recycling work for them?

If all else fails, I guess there is the potential bottle-bill-as-recycling-catalyst to fall back on…

Media Beef: Newport Daily News

Sorry, this is more of a rant than anything else. Can anyone tell me why the Newport Daily News continues to deny free access to its archives? In a world where most other newspaper websites (maybe except for The Washington Post) I have occasion to visit offer free and unfettered access to past stories, this practice is archaic. You can't even access stories a couple of days old without paying.

I've written them before to inquire about this and have never heard back. Big surprise there...