By Dayton Wilks
Feel bad yet? This page is full of enviro-superstars, and here you sit in your living room, 14 lights on throughout the house, TV on, microwave zapping some box-o-dinner you bought from Winn-Dixie. Hey, we understand – we feel bad too.
The dirty little secret of this “green” movement is that it takes work. You really have to change the way you think and act to make a difference – and for most of us, that’s just not easy. We’re busy. We’re tired. And sadly, while our hearts are in the right place, our actions just aren’t.
Everyone is not a tree-hugging fanatic. Some folks don’t want a compost pile in their backyard. And yes, it might be easier on the water supply to have a low-flow shower head … but hot, high-pressure showers freakin’ rule.
But there is good news: Making a difference isn’t as hard as you think. And every little bit really does help. What follows is a list of simple things that, over time, will add up.
Watch for vampires
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, as much as 20 percent of a typical American homeowner’s electric bill comes from appliances/chargers left plugged in that continue to slowly suck energy. The JEA calls these devices “vampires.”
Vampires are anything you leave plugged in that requires electricity: chargers for your cell phone and iPod; the energy brick for your laptop; power cables for your desktop; stereo equipment; TVs; small kitchen appliances like coffee makers; and electric razors and toothbrushes.
The simplest way to kill any possible vampire is to just unplug the stuff you aren’t using (and it doesn’t hurt to turn off the lights in rooms you aren’t in). For the lazy person, you could always just put all the things you need to plug in on a power strip, and then turn the power strip off whenever you don’t need them.
Double Ds – Donate and Drop off
Electronics move fast. You buy a nasty new computer … and two years later it sucks. Same thing with stereos, iPods and cell phones. Since we’re all in the constant search of an upgrade, we are constantly left with electronics we don’t want. They work, but our new ones are so much better.
Hey – don’t just throw away the old stuff. If it still works, be a good person and drop that stuff off at the nearest Goodwill, Salvation Army or thrift store. You’ll be shocked at how convenient it is, and how good it feels to know someone else who can’t afford constant upgrades will be benefitting from your generosity.
You also may have stuff like tires, batteries, oil, fluorescent bulbs and tubes and old bottles of household cleaners with toxic chemicals. Do NOT throw that stuff away. Yes, it’s annoying to take all that stuff to the Tillman Ridge Landfill. But sometimes you have to bite the bullet – we recommend announcing to your friends that you are making a run over there and have them give you their hazardous stuff too. That way, at least you’re going out of your way to make a huge deposit over there.
The Tillman Ridge Landfill is located at 3005 Allen Nease Road in Elkton, call 827-6980 for more info.
In the hizzy
There are tons of little things you can do around your house that will save energy (which means lower bills for you) and reduce your strain on the environment. Here are five no-brainers:
- Use only cold water for your laundry
- Change the air filter on your air conditioning every month
- Replace your regular light bulbs with the new energy saving ones
- Use cleaners with no ridiculous, toxic chemicals
- Fix your dripping faucets
Beyond that, there are few more things you can do around your house that take some more effort, but have big benefits.
Some folks recommend you put an extra layer of caulk around windows, doors, pipes and anywhere else that air could leak out. Another biggie is to make sure the air ducts from your air conditioning are sealed. Also, make sure the vents are going to the right place.
“Double check all that stuff,” said Peter Kaltenekker, co-owner of the Green Home Store. “I know a lot of people who were shocked to find their air conditioning was just blowing into their attics.”
Don’t be a dumbass
Be smart – recycle. Just make it a part of your usual routine. Even if you don’t have the weekly bins where you live, every grocery store has huge ones where you can throw all your plastics, metals and glass. Grocery stores also have bins where you can throw all the plastic bags you carry your groceries home in.
Newspaper and cardboard can all be recycled, too. Again, if you can’t do it weekly, just save that stuff into piles and then make a run once a month to recycle it all.
There are even littler things you can do. Instead of using a plastic water bottle once and then recycling it, why don’t you fill that bad boy up a few more times?
Even if that’s all you do to help this year, remember – it’s better than doing nothing.
Walking the talk: Some celebs are living green
DiCaprio, Daryl Hannah, others take environmental issues to the next level
By Michael VentreMSNBC contributor
updated 2:36 p.m. CT, Thurs., April. 10, 2008
Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, has been with the nonprofit environmental group in Southern California for almost 20 years. He has seen many celebrities come and go, and then come back again to stay. He has seen some show up once and disappear.
Over the years, he has changed his opinion of that last group.
“When I was younger in my career, it did bug me a lot,” he admitted. “I said, ‘Why can’t they be there for us all the time?’ Over the years, I’ve changed that opinion completely. Now I’m very grateful for any help we can get in that arena.”
In Hollywood these days, green does not refer only to box-office totals, but to the environmental movement and its celebrity component. In politics, celebrities can have a toxic effect. (Remember Whoopi Goldberg’s lewd riff on President Bush in 2004?)
But in a less polarizing climate, in which the process of getting the word out on issues relevant to everyone is crucial, a celebrity name can have as profound an effect on the drafting of a bill in the state legislature or on fundraising as it can on the marquee of a multiplex.
And in the green world, as in life, some are more committed than others.
Going above and beyond
“We really look for people who have demonstrated a commitment personally to the issue,” said Ruben Aronin, director of communications for Global Green USA, a national environmental organization. “We want people who care about the environmental crisis and want to use their celebrity visibility to shine a light on the issues. We’ve had a great track record.”
Two of the most respected actors in Hollywood — Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton — are members of Global Green’s board of directors. The two have been involved in everything from lobbying Gov. Schwarzenegger and the California state legislature on behalf of green-friendly, to low-income housing to participating in fund-raising events to arriving at the Academy Awards in energy-efficient vehicles, said Aronin.
Other celebs who have lent support to Global Green include Salma Hayak and Jake Gyllenhaal, who were members of a delegation to the Arctic Circle on Earth Day to create awareness about the effects of climate change; Josh Lucas, who has served as a presenter at awards shows; and Cameron Diaz and Toby Maguire, who have participated in fund-raising events.
Of course, not every celebrity who lends his or her name to the environmental movement has the same level of involvement. “The challenge to be honest is found where their schedules are beyond their control,” Aronin said. “They’re straight with us in terms of saying, ‘I’ll be there for you if I can.’”
Living the life
Two celebrities in particular represent the old guard and the young turks of Hollywood’s gang green. Ed Begley Jr., 58, is the granddaddy of all celebrities involved in environmental causes. Amy Smart, 32, has been participating since she was a high-school student volunteer for Heal the Bay, helping to clean the beaches in Southern California.
“Ed is amazing,” said Debbie Levin, president of the Environmental Media Association, a group that specializes in serving as a liaison between the entertainment community and the environmental movement. Begley is a board member, as are such Hollywood notables as Smart, Darryl Hannah, Norman Lear, Paul Haggis, Laura Dern and Blythe Danner, among others.
Hannah, like Begley, lives the life. “She lives more rustically than Ed,” Levin said. “She’s been off the grid for years. She has a small home in Colorado and a place in the mountains of Malibu. Her shower is outside. Her living room is outside. It’s a small cabin. She’s 100 percent organic. She grows her own food.
“But she’s not nuts. She gets dressed up, goes out, travels and doesn’t fly private unless she absolutely has to.”
Norton also works with EMA on its solar energy program. “He just finished shooting ‘The Incredible Hulk,’” Levin said. “I got an e-mail from him months ago when he was working on a rewrite of the film. He said, ‘We want to make this the greenest Hulk ever.”
‘All citizens have a responsibility’
Naturally, there is a recruitment function to all celebrity involvement. Smart said that many are eager and willing, but for those who are not, she takes it in stride.
“I have talked to some young celebrity environmentalists,” she said via e-mail, “and I’ve actually been so surprised to hear of all the ways they are participating in walking their talk. Solar panels on their houses, composting, hybrids, canvas bags at the store, eco-friendly cleaning products, compact florescent lightbulbs and lots of other ways.
“Occasionally, I do find some people who are half-hearted and, in that case, I try to inspire them to do it for the fun of it. To me, it’s like a domino effect.”
Begley sounded a cautionary note about celebrity involvement, however. “I think all citizens have a responsibility to get involved, but with celebrity, you have an added responsibility,” he said via e-mail. “You need to seek out the best science and get your facts straight before you ever approach a mic or a camera.”
In that category — doing homework before going public as a celebrity in the spotlight on environmental issues — Julia Louis-Dreyfus is either at or near the top of the class. The former “Seinfeld” star and current star of “The New Adventures of Old Christine” has been a prominent force in Heal the Bay’s efforts for more than a decade, going beyond the expected.
