Renewistan, where is this hot new destination you may ask?
Well it is where you will land if you try imaginative ways to reduce your 'appetite for destruction' on the planet and switch slowly but surely from a consumed to a sustainable way of life?
Not many of us have the discipline and determined focus of Saul Griffith, the keynote speaker at the Greener Gadgets conference on Friday, February 27 in New York who created this new oasis of Renewistan.
Saul spent time measuring the energy use and environmental impact of his life at home and at work over a year.
To make it more palatable he calls it putting one's life in light bulbs.
He suggests that in order to bring our numbers down we should be making travel choices based on what matters and at work opt as often as possible for video conferencing and other modes of communications.
To help us do the same Saul Griffith created WattzOn…
Are we ready to move to a culture of repair and maintenance and ask for consumption facts on labels of all the products we consume?
I am not sure we are there yet.
After his powerful presentation, a panel explored 'Measuring your Hue of Green'.
From making products using less energy with the help of advisers such as Planet Metrics to considering our waste intake as much as our food intake to giving incentives for people to buy better products, there are a myriad ways to tackle these issues.
Putting a carbon tax on food products such as beef which produces a lot of emissions might prove quite controversial yet change entrenched habits.
There was also a mention of Natural Capitalism?
On a basic level, what matters is how we use our stuff and also that we start keeping them longer rather than trading for the new new thing constantly.
Unfortunately I had to leave the Greener Gadgets event after lunch (the call of duty).
As with all these public forums, there were a few sponsors showing their wares.
Fuji was there with a new line of batteries branded FUJI EnviroMAX .
They wear their Cadmium Free, Mercury Free, PVC Free badge proudly and state that they are landfill save.
The line will be available in the US in April 2009.
More than Gadgets on my mind for Green Day #67
Last Week: Build, Renovate, Live Green in New York at 'Green Depot' 1st Retail Outlet