The Breaking - More Martha Stewart or Road Warrior?

Posted on March 30th, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Systems of the World, Industry.

We are beholden to tentative social systems like never before in human history.

Usually when that idea pops into my head, I am freaking out about the coming Oil crisis. Oil dictates so incredibly much of my world, it is crazy. The success of Reware for example is utterly and completely dictated by fossil based fuels. We build Solar Bags in which, let’s say for argument sake, 80-90%% of our process is dependent on Oil – The photovoltaics include materials refined using fossil based energy, they are then sealed in a special plastic coating (all plastics are petroleum based), they are then shipped (Using diesel fired trucks, trains, and planes) to a factory whose machines, heat, lights, and arriving workers are all powered by fossil energy. They cut rolls of various Nylon Fabrics (and if you own nylon, you own a nice little piece of woven oil my friend) into bags that incorporate the solar. Bags are then shipped to a warehouse, and then shipped to your doorstep. Let’s see, is there any step that isn’t totally dependent on the oil economy for us? Nope.

Think Oil price fluctuations matter?
And we are not special, you can take apart any industry and see the exact thing.

The systemic use of Oil in the world is astounding and we have two brand spanking new industrial behemoths developing in India and China. There is no question that there will be some shortage in availability will effect the cost of doing business AT EVERY SINGLE STEP for us, and the US economy at large.

Not convinced? Talk to Matt Simmons – a former Bush energy advisor - about what he thinks about the Oil that exists in the oilfields of the Middle East, or what he anticipates the growing demand to do to our own national security. Or how about James Woolsey, former CIA head under Clinton. Or Amory Lovins, who has forgotten more about this issue than I will ever know.

All of them will tell you that the coming Oil shock is a big deal. Interestingly though, it is not the only system we hang onto by a thread. There are other examples; among others Food Distribution, Clean Water Access, hell Traffic Volume - are all systems that stand precarious if you start to analyze them.

Imagine for a second all communications stopped on the planet. It is not that hard to spin a scenario where all satellite communications were knocked out, and not just from a rogue missile system Take this story about a coming solar storm.

Oh yeah, you read that right, Solar Storms! As if we didn’t have enough to worry about right? But I don’t bring this up in a doomsday mood – we’ll leave the killer asteroid we should worry about for another time. No, it looks like this storm won’t disrupt much, but it served as a mechanism to think about how critically important global communications are to the world we live in, and are only getting more so.

The question I find myself asking is what would be the impact of this. Seriously this is what I am wondering – what happens when the systems of the world come to a grinding halt? The easy answer is that I need to start buying leather chaps and spiked collars for my posse of punked out 80’s style post-apocalyptic warriors. We could drive around in dune buggies looking for trouble.

As exciting as that vision is, it seems like there might be a more nuanced answer. Will it be Road Warrior, or Martha Stewart, this world where systems break down. Is there good in system breakage? A rise in local economies, a subsistence workday, a return to natural fibers and a lessening of mass produced goods anyone? Any takers?

I don’t have all the answers, but I am curious. I can’t help but think that with all the doomsday projections, there are some serious unrealized positives. And I don’t call me a Luddite, I am just spinning the question. The Amish live a decent lifestyle, with happiness, family, and healthy economy. Is it unreasonable to look at that and wonder what would become of us should the systems we rely on so heavily disappear?

My current lifestyle personally would come to a grinding halt, especially workwise. I count myself as pretty handy, but the reality is I like the creature comforts of our systems. I don’t want to work in the fields dawn til dusk. I am a product of the digital age. I don’t remember what it was like before email – partly because it has become so ingrained in the business and personal world, and partly because I never worked in the pre-digital age. I have some vague recollection about how you do research without the internet, but sourcing materials for Juice Bags?

Now how would I go about that exactly? No really.

Update 4.5.07: It appears the Solar Storm will screw up systems. GPS and general global navigation may feel the heat. Sorry about the pun.

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Puppies and Orphans - Leo and Big Al need a little adjustment

Posted on March 22nd, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Sustainability, Pop-Culture.

Big Al was back on Capitol Hill yesterday testifying on the environmental changes we need to start thinking about - or that we should have started planning for 20 years ago. And true to form, Senator Inhofe stuck his head in the sand and pretended that everyone else around him was lying. Love that guy - denial is a wonderful thing.

I’d really be interested to hear Malcolm Gladwell’s take on “An Inconvenient Truth”, from where I sit that movie has fundamentally shifted the debate on the environment. Obviously this doesn’t lead directly to changes for the better, but it is huge push. What made it so effective, was that the concepts were broken down into clear concise pieces. Seems like all of us who work in renewable energy, environmental issues, and sustainability should take a lesson from this thing:

Make. It. Personal.
Make it matter to the everyday lives that we all live.

In 2004 I helped advise a couple of different groups on making the environment an issue for voters. In the places we were successful (and we had mixed results), I think it came down to one thing - The Environment was not an issue itself, it is a component of everything else we do in life. When taken as a whole, the issues seem huge, scary, and disheartening. But when added to the issue of National Security, or combined into a Jobs Creation Bill, Riverside cleanup, School Health, etc. The evironment gets its due.

In everything we do with Reluminati, we say that it doesn’t matter why people came to the table, just that they came. Environmentalism belongs to all of us across the political spectrum. It exists in every facet of of our lives.

Grist recently ran an interview with Frank Luntz who, in my opinion, has done more for the Inhofes of this world than is healthy. That is what hired guns do, they go where the money is. Say what you want, Luntz is good at messaging and his style of encapsulating messages certainly got this Bush elected - And let me say right now that if you can get this crew elected, you are very good at your job. Enviro’s may not want to hear from Luntz, but he is on point in the piece. In a nutshell - Enviro’s usually come off as holier than thou, and everybody loves Polar Bears.

A very wise friend of mine who used to craft legislation on the Hill once told me that when trying to get bipartisan support for something - “Nobody votes against Puppies and Orphans”. What he meant I think is that every change has to pull the heart strings of its audience. It has to affect them on a personal level. He also meant that when trying to make governmental change, voting against the bill has to look like a bad P.R. hit, but I suppose that’s a personal effect as well.

Point is that Luntz’s Drowning Polar Bears are a messaging tool, a tangible example of the melting of the icecaps. They are a small, personal mechanism for getting a larger agenda out into the world. Also importantly they are not steeped in an “I am better than you” dialog.

I consider myself an Enviro, and even I hate much of the messaging out there on this stuff - one of my personal peeves are holier than thou people and it never really matters after that what they are holier than me about. I just hate it, I find it snobby and self important, and I find it happens a lot in the Enviro world.

Gore’s movie is effective because it both avoids “the holier than thou” approach, and it makes the issue seem very personal. It works as a messaging tool, and works well.

A personal side note - We did a trade show recently where a guy came up to the booth and angrily demanded to know whether we donated all of our profits to solar research. We gave him the nice speech about how we did not do that, but how we try and support different efforts in the field. He looked at us in disgust and said he didn’t have any use for our products and stomped away. Now I probably have some views about what should be done with energy production in this country that are similar to that guy, but I tell you in my younger more impetuous days I would have beaten that guy senseless with his own woven sandal.

I am older now though and recognize this as facet of the issues that truly matter to me. This is one of the dark sides of environmentalism. It is an important road block to make things better in this country. It is a stereotype that is an effective tool for people who want to dismiss Environmental concerns. The Holier-than-thou Jackass that barely lived through our encounter impacts my world.

After the Green Oscars this year, and after “An Inconvenient Truth” won, the anti-messaging became very cohesive. It was constructed around the image of that Jackass at the trade show. The image of Leonardo DiCaprio and Gore as big Hollywood and DC claiming to be better than everyone else. It works fairly well as a message I think, partly because much of the world thinks that about Hollywood and DC types in general.

It also works because of a phenomenon that I have never quite understood: The idea that if you try and be green, but are not perfect at it, or do not have all the solutions in place, you will absolutely get killed in the media - a fascinating concept and one that probably deserves its own post.

But Leo and Al have to adjust to this stuff, as do we all. Those two doing are good things - things that matter to the health of of our society, and their messages have been effective in changing perception. I think the adjustment is somewhere in this concept:

We all have impact on the environment - Hollywood Stars, DC Politicians, Investment Bankers, Farmers, Soccer Mom’s, Schoolkids - all of our actions are part of the problem, but also part of the solution. No one has all the answers, or is perfect, and so we all have to work together to solve this crisis. Al Gore’s house might be too big, Leonardo might have taken a private plane once. I have a set of friends who own SUV’s that get terrible gas mileage. My friend Josh Dorfman over at The Lazy Environmentalist once confided to the world that he absolutely hates recycling.

Me? I like to ski, I travel by plane a ton, I sometimes take excessively long showers that use way too much water, among probably a million other things. None of us are perfect and we are not exempt from the problem, but that doesn’t prohibit us from caring what happens to our communities, to our country, and to our planet.

Some of the things that need changing are within our grasp, but we need direction for those changes:
How do I make my kitchen less impactful and healthy for my kids?

See what I did there?

I wrapped environmentalism into children’s health.

God am I clever.

Some of the issues are larger than us, more systemic:
How can I, as one person, affect carbon emissions? It is so much bigger than me. I don’t want my morning commute to be effecting the Polar Bears, but I have to drive to work.

See what I did there?

I really am quite a genius.

So these might be weak examples, but you get the point -

Make it simple.
Make it about the community.
Make it about problem AND solution
Make it personal.

Puppies and Orphans.

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Hello world - Take 3.

Posted on March 18th, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: General.

So TDP has been gone for a minute, but now we’re back - call it the third generation.

A little background:

For those of you who have tracked our evolution through the years may remember that we started as a small group in San Francisco in 1999. While the mission changed fundamentally a couple of years ago, we have always tried to keep true to the original concept - A little edgy, a little irreverent, avoid myopia as much as possible.

When we refocused in 2003, we really wanted to talk about the rising “Green Economy”. At that point the frenetic energy around renewable energy and sustainability had yet to rise to its current heights. Credit Al Gore, Rising Oil Costs, whatever you wish - the point is “Green” is everywhere you turn, and by this I mean The Oscars, WalMart, G freaking E! You can’t get more disparate than that. It is an exciting time, and there are a set of news sites that will come up on this blog again and again in the coming years: Grist, Treehugger, Renewable Energy Access, Greenwire. We love these sites, and we felt like didn’t need to compete for attention when they are all doing such good job representing the space.

Additionally, it felt like sustainability and the green revolution, was just one piece of a larger shift going. It was something we could see going on everywhere, in every facet of life. Yet I seem to struggle framing the whole picture for myself.

And with that we begin. I don’t have answers, just a gut feeling that something big is on the horizon. Bigger than any of us can even imagine. Treehugger and Grist, GE and WalMart, these are tangible examples of the shift. Friedman touches upon it, as does Gladwell. Add in Jared Diamond into the mix.

Architecture, Global Trade, Rising Population, the changing strategy of messaging around the environment, Pop-Culture - the shift is everywhere.

And all of it fits together somehow, I just am not sure how yet.

It is my hope that I can use this site to help explain this shift for myself, maybe bounce some ideas off people I respect and start to build a framework of the new order of things in the world - what is coming and what is here.

Thanks for checking in.

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