Promise 1: I pledge to designate a Green Office Advocate for my company to hold us accountable for our pledge.

Every effort needs a leader just like every body needs a head. Without heads there would be a lot of bodies wandering into traffic, walking into walls and generally screwing up anything requiring cognitive thought. In the same way plans for which no one has direct responsibility tend to self-destruct or fizzle out as time passes. At the very least, every effort needs someone to blame when things go wrong.

The Green Office Pledge, if taken seriously (which we encourage), is a complicated undertaking. The position of Green Office Advocate is vital to maintaining the momentum and focus needed to make progress in each of the other 29 promises to which you have agreed. The person chosen for this position should be considered carefully. Traits such as organization, leadership, communication skills and a drive to institute change are good indicators of an acceptable candidate. Though, in lieu of these, a simple will to do th job could suffice. It will be a thankless task at times and in many cases require more work with no remuneration. Thus, it is important that the person sees the result as its own reward.

The process of choosing a Green Office Advocate will vary in each organization. Some might hold an election, interview potential appointees, or if you have a small office (like ours) and the candidates are equally qualified (or not), you might resort to rock paper scissors as we did.

Postgreen Green Office Advocate Rock Paper Scissors Contest: Best of Three

We shall see whether rock paper scissors skills equate to Green Office Advocate ability. I am looking forward to the new role and the power and prestige that goes along with it.

Chad’s Green Office Tips

Some of the responsibilities and duties of the Green Office Advocate could include the following:

1. Dissemination of the Green Office Pledge to all employees
2. Periodic training for employees as need on green office initiatives
3. Tracking of Green Office measureables (utility bills, steps implemented…)
4. Monthly updates to the office on overall progress towards greening the office
5. Organizing green office work events to collectively green the office

Last week we received an email about the Green Office Pledge. This pledge, designed by a group of Philadelphia organizations, is a challenge to local businesses to green up their act. Basically, the hope is that each business will fill out the online web form to “sign” the pledge and then attempt to abide by thirty different promises. Naturally, we liked the idea behind this and quickly added our name to the growing list of pledges. Now we are going to take it one step further.

This intro is the first in a thirty-one (yes I said 31) part blog series which will look closely at each promise in the Green Office Pledge. We will discuss the merits of each promise and the ways in which one might seek to abide by the pledge. We will also probably engage in tangental rants, witty digressions and bizarre, semi-related antics. Hopefully, in the end, we will have a plethora of possible ways in which each of our businesses can positively impact the environment, or at least impact it less negatively.

This series, due to its daunting scope, will be a collabrative effort between all of us at postgreen (Chad and Nic). We will work together to fashion an educational, entertaining expansion of the pledge’s concepts. Well, maybe that is promising a bit much. Let’s say we will attempt to at least slog through all thirty promises and come out with one or two good ideas amidst the inevitable wanderings of my prose and Chad’s eclectic green geekdom.

Hopefully the input of our wonderful readers will fill the gaps in our efforts. We are all counting on you.

We are currently discussing the shape and direction of this blog, and this has turned out to be a great excuse for my inborn laziness. I feel no compunction to write posts that may be contrary to the eventual blogging strategy we develop, and therefore, I have resorted to silence during the planning process. Fortunately, the “Look at This” section seems likely to be an ongoing feature so you will not have to do without the benefit of my wanderings and wittisisms during our time of blog meditation. So while we argue the various blog focus options look at this . . .

• While my collection of plastic milk crate and cinder block furniture may or may not qualify, there are definitely some stylish recycled/reused products out there.
• You have no doubt heard the common warning about comparing apples to oranges unless of course you are the average real estate appraiser.
• Sub-Arctic Ice Volcanoes is not just the name of my new indy rock band, it is also the central arguement of yet another attempt to debunk global warming.
• Flip flops - You’ve put your feet in them. Now, put your feet on them.
• While researching that second link I left my apples and oranges out on the counter a little too long. Sure enough, the fruit flies showed up. Fortunately, I now have a solution for those pesky invaders.
• There has been a lot of talk around the office about getting some postgreen bikes. Could this be the answer?

Check out our first try at a new video format for our press releases. This is an attempt to communicate our press releases in a format that is both more informational and entertaining. Using YouTube means that our releases are free and when we have major releases, we can still use PRWeb to post a standard text release with the video attached. We hope you like it and go easy on us in the comments as it’s a work in progress.

Postgreen Hires Nic Darling to Head up Marketing and PR Operations

Philadelphia, PA June 26th, 2008

Contact:
Chad Ludeman, President
Postgreen
215.739.1578
http://www.postgreen.com

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Today marks my first day as an employee of postgreen, and Chad has made an effort to keep me too busy to write this post. Even now he is distracting me with ideas about the 100k House line. Dammit Chad, I’m trying to tell people about all the cool stuff I found on the Internet this week! Jeez.

Try to ignore him and look at this . . .

• Now I dislike a wet newspaper as much as the next guy, but what is one to do with all that pesky plastic protecting our informative black and white from the summer storms. Well, now you can have your unsmeared ink and a gift for the special person in your life.
• Yes these ideas are crazy . . . crazy like a fox . . . if that fox were keen on saving the world from an impending climate disaster.
• George Carlin is dead, but his thoughts on meat leave on. Thanks interweb.
• And my fiancee said those pizza boxes I was saving in the basement wouldn’t be good for anything. Hello pepperoni scented recliner. That’ll teach her to question my absurd hoarding.

A little brief today, but what can I say. I need a post work beverage and a little down time.

Keeping up with the Joneses is a saying that originated in a comic from the early 1900’s, or at least that’s what Wikipedia would have me believe (just confirmed by Toonopedia). The Joneses are the unseen neighbors in the comic and are often referred to with some degree of envy by the strip’s main characters. While those characters and the strip in which they lived faded out of existence, the title remained as a popular saying, a saying which captured the motivation behind much of our consumption-minded culture.

Luxury, size and cost are all purchasing choices designed to help us “keep up with the Joneses.” We are trained to feel that we need a house, car and clothes consummate with the position we have achieved professionally or socially. Unfortunately, for most things, particularly houses, what we need always seems to be bigger and less practical. Prestige measured by the square foot.

Aside from the problems most Americans find themselves in financially after spending a few years chasing the illusive Joneses, the tendency for prosperity to be represented by size also isn’t exactly helping the old planet. We add rooms to houses that are already twice as large as we need. We base buying decisions on square-footage because that is what everyone will ask about at our first party (How many square feet you workin’ with here Bob?). McMansions are multiplying like huge, ungainly, under-insulated rabbits and all this means more energy, more furniture, more . . . everything.

We need to consume less, but as long as the Joneses are out there ahead of us, flaunting all that big stuff, that kind of change is difficult to make. As a culture we are so trained to measure ourselves against those around us that we will use any scale available. The most ready scale, to date, has been size, but perhaps that could change.

If it is going to change it has to change with the Joneses. It has to change with those who everyone is trying to stack up against. If a shift can be made in the thinking of the privileged, adjusting the way in which they broadcast their position, then we might see a change in the way everyone struts their stuff. Horse-power could be replaced with gas mileage. R-values (insulation) could be the new square footage. Solar panels instead of swimming pools, ten speeds instead of hummers, subtractions instead of additions . . . who knows.

According to the New York Times, this shift might be happening in housing. With the advent of modern design and the rising concern over global warming (even among the most impenetrable minds), green houses have become more attractive. Environmentally sound housing is no longer solely the province of patchouli scented hippies. Interesting architecture and the socially conscious appeal of a small carbon footprint open this type of houses to a broader audience with a sense of style to go along with their sense of responsibility.

Conspicuous non-consumption, as the Times article refers to it, may be hard for those used to losing their spouse and children somewhere in their 15,000 square foot castle, but it only takes a few adopters to begin the trickle down (no not Reaganomics style) of change. While there may be plenty of us who have cast off our need to chase the Joneses, the majority are still affected (if only unconsciously) by this race. A change in the measuring stick is key to a societal shift.

So instead of chasing the Joneses, let’s set out to change them. Design for style and efficiency. Make green cool and aim for a new demographic. And, if anyone from the Jones Family is listening, be sure to brag about your tankless water heater, the number of miles you bike and the efficiency of your windows at the next swanky party you attend. I am all for grass roots, but it helps to have a little assistance from the top of the mountain sometimes.

Nic Darling is not a Jones.

Searching for valuables in the flotsam and jetsam that washes ashore can be a tedious and potentially unrewarding task. It is much better to find an experienced beachcomber, follow them at a discreet distance and wait until they discover a treasure amidst the trash. When that happens a little blunt trauma to the back of said beachcomber’s head can make his treasure yours.

Well, consider me your beachcomber but instead of clubbing me with a conch shell, just look at this . . .

• Some people carry important papers in their briefcases, some carry small unmarked bills, but you could be the person transporting pure power in your sporty attache’.
• Alright, technically this isn’t “green” except in the way that it glorifies nature, but if you have ever seen cooler pictures of birds, I demand you explain why you have kept them from me. Well?
• For decades the citizens of Chicago believed their heritage was one of chilly discomfort, but it turns out they were merely overwhelmed with natural resources. One, big, blustery resource.
• The representatives of the South American Defense Council sit around a vast wooden table in the secret command bunker deep in the Amazon Basin. Despite the rules, a visibly shake Argentinean general lights a hand rolled cigarette. Nobody complains. A hopeless silence has decended on the proceedings. Despite days of debate and discussion, no one knows how to counter the devestating invasion of the mighty Chinook Salmon.
• There are good protest ideas and bad protest ideas. There are also activities that enhance ones enjoyment of the human form and ones that don’t. I’ll let you decide where naked biking falls in both those categories. Depending on where you work this might be one to save for the home computer.
• Well, we’ve broken the whole nudity barrier, so we might as well run with it. At least this commercial will probably be all right for work.
• Oh, and for those that may have missed it, look at me take it a bit over the top for the 100k House on the stage at Ignite Philly.

Now, typically I avoid politics as a topic unless I am writing for an overtly political publication. I don’t discuss individual politicians, candidates or policies and I’m not going to start now. I am, however, interested in the structure of our government and the influence its members have on the various policies that effect the things we care about. For this particular blog, I am curious as to what sort of power our elected politicians and their appointees have over environmental policy, particularly in terms of green building and conservation incentives.

So, my question is this:

How important is the environmental stance of the future president and why? How much power does the future president have to effect the course of our environmental destiny and is this power granted by law, tradition or some other, less concrete type of influence?

Please avoid a discussion of particular candidates for public office and try to stick to a simple discussion of the position itself. I know many people have strong feelings on candidates, but I can hear about those anywhere (whether I want to or not). I am more curious in your thoughts about the structure of the government and its effect on environmental concerns.

As with all editions of Educate Nic, I could have found more information on my own with a little research but I am lazy more interested in your thoughts on the issue. So, let me know what you think in the comments.

Wow, so many exciting green links have been ignored in favor of focusing on and recovering from Ignite Philly. Rather than the normal hump-day (that’s Wednesday and shame on anyone who thought otherwise), Look at This has been pushed all the way back until Friday. An embarrassing lack of consistency? Maybe, but we had a hell of a presentation on the 100k house instead, so you’ll have to forgive us. Don’t worry, I will definitely post somelinks to the video of the event when it becomes available, and you can judge. For now though, look at this:

• I’ve been a big fan of beverages in bags ever since I ripped open my first box of wine and enjoyed the novelty and increased portability of the silver sack inside. Now, apparently, I can get milk in a bag as well. Convenient, greenish and somewhat pleasantly udder-like . . . too much?
• As a kid I remember using bamboo for lots of things like swords, clubs and lightsabers. Admittedly, there is a sort of theme here, but still the stuff is pretty versitile. I just never realized how versitile.
• I enjoy cooking, and I hate plastic cutting boards. Turns out that for once my hate is properly directed.
• One of my greatest downfalls as an artist is my inability to draw a true circle. My stick figures lack the same expressive power when their heads are shaped like kidney beans. Well, apparently art doesn’t always require excellent drawing skills, and the world occasionally provides the circles for you. Tin cans, for instance, have a very pleasing circular shape, and tin can art is much more attractive than it sounds.
• This is about painting dead squirrels. Having once done an art film involving roadkill, I couldn’t resist pointing this one out.

That’s it for now, but I promise some more original thought fodder in the next couple of days.

It has been hot in Philly. Not the kind of hot where you slip on some shorts and sandals and make your way into the long absent sun after a cold, cloudy winter (love that kind of hot). No, this is the kind of hot where you stay as still as possible for fear of bursting into a terminal sweat. It is the kind of hot that feels like a damp, grizzly bear, fresh from some kind of long, sweaty, ursine 10k, is hugging you tightly for 24 hours a day. It is the kind of thick, wet hot that makes a walk to the store feel like 20 breaststroke laps in a bowl of steaming gravy.

Sure, some of you Southerners will claim that I don’t know hot, but I’ve been down South, and at least there you get an afternoon rain, a torrential cooling. Or, if you are reporting in from the desert, at least your heat is dry. Sure, it may be a cliche’ but dry heat is more comfortable. The air in Philly feels like rain that has boiled just before it hit the ground. It feels like a neck deep swamp.

But, I am not here to brag about Philly’s extremes of discomfort. This post is not meant to be a competitive statement. I am simply hoping to frame a question in the appropriate sticky, stinky, sweaty context.

This heat, similar (I imagine) to being inside a beached whale in Death Valley, leads Philadelphians to that predictable technological response . . . air conditioning. The hum of AC units becomes a part of the summer sound-scape, blending perfectly with the constant whining of those caught outside and the gentle sizzle of pigeons cooking on the blacktop. The light drizzle from thousands of window units falls gently on the pedestrians in the streets, and each store front doorway blasts welcoming cold on passerbys. Interior climate control is the sweet breath of modern civilization, but at what cost?

Air conditioning is definitely a significant sucker of electricity and it seems to be used with a kind of reckless abandon. It flows out open doors and windows. It runs 24 hours a day. Despite the increasingly prohibitive cost, nearly everyone seems to use it and use it and use it. Is this caused by  a loss of climate acclimation? Have we forgotten how to exist in the heat? Is it made worse by a lack of alternatives? How did we stay cool before AC and what will we do when the environmental cost of its use becomes too heavy to pay?

Chad is working on some alternatives for the 100k house, and I thought we would try to get a discussion started here as well. How much energy do we waste conditioning our air? What are the alternatives to AC? Is it possible to survive in Philly (or elsewhere) without it? If so, is it possible to be comfortable?

Talk it up in the comments.

Nic Darling actually enjoys this hot, stick weather. He is obviously a witch and will be burned accordingly.