One of the first lessons we teach kids is to share, so you’d think our grown-up society would be all about give and take. In our super-consumer culture though, we’re all convinced by companies that we each need our own versions of everything. But do we? Maybe sharing is one of the keys to saving our own personal economies- and the planet. Since one of the main tenets of the environmental movement is to consume less, sharing is one way to have it all without giving up quality of life.

When I look around in my neighborhood I see every family has their own mower, multiple cars, and washers, and while some folks probably use these frequently, many don’t. (Hey, I’m guilty as well. I only do laundry twice a month and drive only on the weekends and I use my mower for a few months in the summer three times a month, but I own a washer/dryer, car and mower). After reading about the modern sustainable communities that are springing up around the country I realized that most of them involve collective use of resources in some form or another, from clothes washing centers (with washers, dryers, irons, sinks, etc.) to tool libraries and parent’s centers.

But I live in a turn-of-the-century neighborhood on the Connecticut shore- so how can I incorporate the concept of sharing without moving?

Handbags. Several companies with punny names like Bag, Borrow, or Steal or From Bags to Riches rent or borrow designer handbags so you don’t have to toss another purse just because it’s last season’s look. (To be really environmentally responsible, buy a gorgeous bag in a timeless style that’s made sustainably, and will last for years to come. Buying one thing that will last for years is easier on your wallet and the planet.) But if you’re an inveterate trendmeister, or need a bag for a special event, this makes so much sense.

Office Space. The NY Times covered the newly popular phenomenon of sharing office space a couple months back. In Good Company is an office space that’s set up so that multiple businesses (in this case, women-owned and run) can claim an office, complete with conference rooms, phone lines and meeting areas. E.B. Moss, who rents space from In Good Company says, “It fits in with the green division of my company. I like to keep my footprint small.”

Your Soul. OK, so this one takes the concept of sharing out of the box. At Rentyoursoul you “rent” your soul for a period of time in order to benefit the cause of your choice (a $10 donation). While the concept of the soul might be ineffable, there are people willing to pay to rent yours, and what could be more of a gift than your spirit? Give it away (just for a bit) to do some good and when it comes back to you it will be worth even more.

Books, DVDs and CDs. I predict that CDs and DVDs for sure (and books may be) obsolete in a few years, and I welcome the change. Printing, shipping, and discs and books uses plenty of energy in the form of fossil fuels and after a few listens (or even 50) or a read through, most media ends up gathering dust on a shelf. Downloading music, movies and books is a low-impact solution, but for now, these formats are rife with usage and transferability (not to mention legal) issues.

Until downloading a book or album becomes simpler, check into media sharing sites like Neighborrow and Swaptree, where you can trade a book for a book, a CD for a movie, or any other combination with your neighbors, cutting your carbon footprint. And unlike a library, you can keep that ‘new to you’ album as long as you want before passing it on again. Freecycle and Craigslist are two other sites to find free or almost-free stuff or get rid of yours.

Cars. I understand the attachment to owning your own personal car, but with gas prices hitting $3.40 a gallon in my neighborhood (and that’s at the cheap place with the huge line!) my car days are numbered. I just can’t justify it, especially since I use the car so little, and I know there are plenty of people out there like me (though I know for some a car is a necessity). So, when I make my next move in a few months, I’m getting rid of my old Saab and will sign up for Zipcar, a car-sharing service now available in quite a few cities. I will still have the freedom of a roadtrip (or a vehicle for a huge grocery haul) when I need it, but I won’t have the responsibility or expense of my own ride (not to mention no more carwashing!) If you live in NYC, Chicago, London, check out RideAmigos, a taxi-sharing service.

Tools. When I lived in Berkeley, California in 2000, the city had sensibly put together a tool-sharing library. It’s still going strong, and these borrowing schemes have popped up around the country, in nearby Oakland, Grosse Pointe, Kansas City, Missoula, Buffalo, Rochester, Columbus, Portland, Burlington, and Seattle. Do you really need a garage full of electric clippers, mowers, leafblowers, chainsaws and weedwhackers that you only use a few times a year? If you don’t have one of these centers in your community, how about getting together with neighbors on your own?

What can you share in your life? I kept myself motivated during my exploration imagining all the fossil fuels and resources I would be saving- and the extra space I’ll have in my office/garage/life when I share instead of hoard.

There’s a really great article over at Body and Soul Magazine’s site about recycling and why it really does matter. It’s ideal fodder for when you find yourself arguing with someone who claims that recycling is pointless, and impetus to talk to your wayward neighbor about using their recycling bin (doesn’t it drive you crazy when you see, week after week, some families just not recycling at all?)

Ever wonder if recycling is worth the effort? After all, in the face of melting ice caps and epic hurricanes, it’s hard to see how a few less cans in the landfill will amount to environmental salvation. In fact, we’re recycling more now than ever before, and yet problems like shrinking forests, dwindling oil reserves, and climate change persist. Can the simple act of tossing a bottle in a blue bin really add up to anything significant for the planet?

We turned to environmentalists and experts on the inside tracks of recycling and waste-and crunched a lot of numbers-to find out. Bottom line: Recycling has everything to do with climate protection. The process reduces heat-trapping emissions at every stage-and there’s no better time than the present to step up the effort. For many of us, recycling is an event that ends at the curb. But as you’ll find out, that’s just the beginning.

I took a week long excursion out to California and part of the excitement involved a test drive with this little car. Holy $hit man, does this Tango go fast!

There are only two Tangos in existence right now and three more are on the way (Sergey, Larry and Eric each ordered one). Hopefully after the Google Boys gets theirs, we’ll be seeing more on the streets in 5-10 years.

Some interesting tidbits on Chicks N’ Cars. We may have known this already, but girls wear the pants in the household when it comes to car buying. That means we hold a heck of a lot of sway in the automotive industry when it comes to what we want to see on the road.

- Edmund’s reports that women influence over 85% of all car buying decisions.

- According to the survey by Good Housekeeping and J.D. Power and Associates, 82 percent of women think that environmentally friendly vehicles are “extremely important” or “somewhat important” compared to 72.3 percent of men.

So c’mon girls, let’s head out on the highway, turn on our headlights, and show the car companies what we’re looking for.

Recently I’ve been noticing a lot of great new environmentally-oriented blogs popping up that are local in focus, a trend that I think is really important for creating change. It’s all fine and good to know what’s going on in the world, but just as we’ve all learned about supporting your farmer-neighbors, your home turf is the place where you can make choices that directly affect you and those crazy people next door. Community-building around environmental issues is also a great way to get folks who aren’t on the green wavelength thinking about these issues. Word-of-mouth people….

Here are some of my favorites I’ve found- I’m sure there are more out there, so please leave links in the comment box about those I’ve missed. Kudos to the hardworking bloggers behind these sites!

NYC-Based

The Flatbush Gardener
Xris covers all that is arboreal and growing in Queens, NY, as well as other great green garden news from all over the world.

Upper Green Side The Upper East Side of Manhattan is known for being a haven of moneyed businesspeople and Republicans. Here’s showing that stereotypes exist to be flouted!

Miami

Greener Miami
I have to say, when I think Miami, I think Nip/Tuck, not Green, but Rebecca Carter has reformed my ignorance since I’ve checked out her site (she also co-founded Ecorazzi, one of my fave places to go when I need my green gossip fix.) Carter is a one-woman blogging phenom, which I love to see!

Los Angeles

Green LA Girl
Widely-read and loved, LA Green Girl is LA-focused, but also covers lots of other topics, especially coffee!

London

The Times
The Times’ has a great blog run by Anna Shepherd, who also writes for Body&Soul. She tackles eco-issues from a light-hearted point of view, covering clever eco-arguements between couples, how greenies are actually happier than regular folks, and comments on whacking President Bush (with a report, not a hit man). Funny AND enlightening!

Australia (OK, I know Australia is a whole country and continent, but it’s population is the same as the NYC-metro area, so I think this blog counts as ‘local’. As a half-Aussie, I would attest, it’s a pretty small country, socially!)

Oikos
Blogger and environmental lawyer David Jeffrey writes Oikos, which means:

“Both the words ecology and economics come from the Greek word oikos, meaning “home” or “a place to live”. This blog is about environmental and economic issues.”

Last, but not least, check out Worldchanging, now with local editions. They have a host of new city-specific blogs, including Austin, Chicago, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, the Twin Cities, Portland, San Francisco, DC, and Canada. (disclaimer: I’m writing for the NYC blog)

Ever embarked on a home project, but didn’t have the tools needed or the money/space to buy and store them? Like most renters, buying a huge stash of tools isn’t feasible for me anytime soon. That’s why there are resources like the Berkeley tool library. One of the first libraries to lend hardware to local residents (with a library card), Berkeley Tool Lending Library was started in 1979 with a $30,000 federal community block grant. Since then, the budget has grown more than three-fold, and borrowers number in the thousands. Gardening tools (including lawn mowers), carpentry tools, electrical tools, plumbing tools, power tools, and ladders are among the many categories of tools that Berkeley residents can borrow.

Although tool libraries aren’t yet as common as book lending libraries, there are currently additional tool lending libraries in Oakland, Grosse Pointe, Kansas City, Missoula, Buffalo, Rochester, Columbus, Portland, Burlington, and Seattle. Tool libraries are a great way for communities to share resources!

I’ve been enjoying the well-written and funny-as-hell GardenRant blog of late, and Susan Harris, who runs the site jointly with two other women, is guest-posting about why she wanted to start a blog that focuses on ecologically intelligent gardening. Check it out!

Why Gardening Matters 

by Susan Harris of GardenRant
When uppity women come together to create a website, the first thing they do is tell the world who they are. So EcoChicks have their Raison D’Etre and the women of GardenRant have a Manifesto, which declares that We Are:
In love with real, rambling, chaotic, dirty, bug-ridden gardens.
Appalled by chemical warfare in the garden.
Gardening our asses off.
And so on. But first on the list is “Convinced that gardening MATTERS” and we’re on a Rant to tell everyone why. Conveniently, examples abound from the our own rants and raves and comments by our community of opinionated gardeners and friends. Consider a few.

It’s about using our land to grow food. Here and here.
It’s about switching from turfgrass to a diversity of wildlife-attracting, water-absorbing, soul-enriching plants. Here and here.
It’s about changing our cities. Here, here and here.
It’s about what Home Depot and Scotts Miracle-Gro are doing to independent nurseries. Here, and here.
It’s about plant immigration – are you for it or against it? Here, and here.
It’s about guerrilla gardening breaking out everywhere. Here and here.
It’s about getting MUCH smarter about how we use our water. Here, and here.
It’s about quacks on PBS hawking their toxic homemade concoctions. Here.
As GardenRanter Amy Stewart once wrote: This isn’t needlepoint, people!

Although I live in a community whose recycling program accepts 99% of the junk mail I receive, it still amazes me just how much waste I get in the mail each day. Recently, many companies have given consumers the option to receive “paperless” bills via email or web, which is a great step in the right direction. I recently discovered (via Body & Soul magazine) a few sites that can help reduce the amount of junk mail you receive: The Direct Marketing Association, The Consumers Credit Reporting Industry, and Native Forest.

The Curious George soundtrack was recently released, and Jack Johnson sings all of the songs on the movie’s soundtrack. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I noticed this awesome song while I was checking it out. It’s called the 3R’s.

Three thats the magic number
yes it is, its a magic number
Two times three is six
and three times six is eighteen
and the eighteenth letter in the alphabet is R
There’s three Rs we’re going to be talking about today

You gotta learn to Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle

If you’re going to the market to buy some juice
bring your own bags and you’ll learn to reduce your waste
Gotta reduce your waste

And if your brother or your sisters got some cool clothes
try them on before you buy some of those
reuse
you gotta learn to reuse

And if the first two Rs dont work out
and you gotta make some trash, dont throw it out
Recycle
You gotta learn to recycle

You gotta learn to Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle

’cause three, thats the magic number
yes it is, its a magic number

Jack is an avid surfer and environmentalist, so it’s not surprising that he would cover this song (originally from Schoolhouse Rock; and De La Soul also sampled the top lines for a song called “The Magic Number”). You can hear a few song clips on his MySpace page. You can hear a clip of the 3R’s here, but be careful, it’s catchy! 

I had the best time at the Hudson River Clearwater Revival this weekend! It is one of the oldest environmental summer festivals in the country (over 35 years!) and still going strong! In fact I think there were more people this year than I’ve seen in awhile. I attended this gathering as a kid (when I wasn’t away at camp) and it has always bookended my summers- Clearwater Revival as summer starts, and the Garrison Art Center’s Arts & Crafts Fair towards the end. Clearwater is more that just having fun though. The price of admission goes towards educating people about the importance of the Hudson River from the Clearwater sloop.

All proceeds go directly to support Clearwater’s environmental research, education and advocacy to help preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as communities in the river valley.

The Clearwater has quite a history, a true story of locally-based action eventually having a national impact.

Back in the mid-sixties, after centuries of accumulated sewage pollution and industrial dumping of toxic chemicals, the Hudson River was deemed “dead”. The river’s fragile ecological system was devastated. Not a single fish was found in many areas; the level of commercial fishery dropped dramatically and the once-thriving oyster harvesting industry became almost nonexistent. Recognizing this incredible social and environmental tragedy, Pete Seeger, a popular musician and respected activist, decided “to build a boat to save the river”. Holding small, fundraising river concerts throughout the Hudson River Valley, he literally passed his banjo among the crowd, collecting contributions to build the elegant tall ship that would become a symbol of environmental advocacy, the flagship of the American Environmental Movement, the Sloop Clearwater.

Later, Pete Seeger and the Clearwater org helped pass the original Clean Water Act and more recently forced GE to clean up the PCB’s they had dumped in the river.

I helped out at the E Magazine table, ate vegan soul food at Nyota’s Ting, listened to more music than I could keep track of (the stage was solar powered), caught some rays on the grass next to my beloved Hudson River, talked to lots of folks about tomorrow night’s POMED event in NYC, went shopping for some great new clothes (I’ll be highlighting some of the great stuff I found in future posts), signed petitions (one was to close Indian Point) and generally chilled out and appreciated the day.

The weather was beautiful, and the company was excellent. If you’d like to see more photos from the day, go to Remy C’s site.