I am in San Francisco this week at the ad:tech show meeting some fabulously interesting and forward-thinking people.
I grabbed this episode on my portable Sanyo Xacti just before the awards ceremony began. Doron Wesly has a heart of gold and Susan Bratton shares an amazing accomplishment; both have some inspiring words to share with us. If you’re interested in the topic of plastic water bottles, check out Beach Walk 495.
Hawaiian word:
Ä€hewa: blame
Be in Touch!
- Subscribe in iTunes so you won’t miss a single episode! Please leave a comment while you’re there!
- Call the Conch line via skype:roxannedarling or 1-949-544-1456 and share your thoughts.
- Like us on Facebook and join the Beach Walks community.
- Our wonderful theme music is from The Ukulele Experiment
Rox, I’m so glad you shared this conversation with us. Doron and Susan bring up many great points and in essence, leaves even myself to continue to take notice in making environmental adjustments at a variety of levels in my life. Although each person may begin with small steps, the point is to *start* and collectively the difference can be huge! Having dialogue with others on such topics is a part of what continues to inspire people into action…that grass roots level.
So many thanks to you, Doron and Susan for inspiring new actions taken by many today….this Susan included!
I’m trying to recall…didn’t the whole “bottled” water start as a thing about Perrier water (in the little green bottles) imported from France? Then other brands appeared and the questioning of how “pure” local water was here and there just made it take off.
This all to the happiness of the soda industry that learned they didn’t have to add much to water to “sell” it?!
Business plan: buy disposable bottles, fill them, sell them to people who need hydrating and wanting to “look good” doing it.
Funny, companies like old Rubbermaid “made” refillable bottles too, but they had all the status of a prospectors canteen.
The main thing I took away was when Susan said, “It’s the one little thing that I’m focused on this year.”
I tend to think I have to make huge, sweeping changes in order to make a difference. And making huge, sweeping changes is difficult to do and even more difficult to maintain.
So, like Susan, if I just focus on one small thing, until it becomes a habit, basically muscle memory, then that one little thing no longer needs to be managed. It becomes just part of my life. Then I can work on the next small thing.
Seems to me, after a few years, it would be possible to have indeed made some huge, sweeping changes. The difference being I now don’t need to manage them. They’ve just become part of my routine.
So, if I have changed out the incandescent bulbs for florescent ones in the apartment (which I intend to change back when I leave, thank you) I get a small check mark?
BTW the apartment is now charging all a percentage (based on apt. size) for all utilities that used to be an overhead item for the management – it got written into all the leases/renewals first. So that is encouraging shorter showers for everyone, I suppose. 🙂
So some choices are conscious and others imposed. (The billing company out of Denver also has individual metering equipment available for apt. owners but I don’t think our management went that route but it is using technology to collect/xmit the usage, so Rox’s statement about tech applies there, already.)
Seems you really can’t win on the environmental front…now Nalgene is pulling some of its hard plastic water bottles off store shelves due to concerns about bisphenol A, which is a chemical used in the manufacture of certain Nalgene bottles. Also, while it seems a great energy saving idea to replace incandescent bulbs with the ‘squiggly’ fluorescent ones…most people don’t realize that the fluorescent bulbs contain small amounts of mercury and require special handling for disposal. Here’s a vote for candles and solar power!
P.S. My wife and I are looking forward to our first ever trip to Oahu for our 25th anniversary at the end of May…maybe we’ll get to appear on Beach Walks!
Yes the issues are rarely cut and dried, black and white. I’ve replaced my Nalgene with a metal bottle, and I’ve down-sized it too – realizing I can fill it more often with tap water so I don’t have to lug around a large volume.
@Rick – please do be in touch, we would love to meet you and have you join us on a show. Have you joined The Reef? It is a great place to do some vacation planning.
Hi Roxanne,
Loved listening to “our show” with Suz and myself while sitting in my hotel in Canada far away from home on this holiday weekend.
Thank you for the fun memories.
XO