A good commercial

I enjoy a good commercial. Especially one that speaks directly to its target audience and knows the insight about that audience to touch them on an emotional level.

The new commercial for the Nissan LEAF is the perfect example. Someone needs to buy that creative director a drink. He just earned himself at least one sale (of course, once the Honda dies).

There Will be Blood

I can't help but think of the greed and obsession that Upton Sinclair writes about in "Oil!" as I watch another day go by without any solution to the oil catastrophe in the Gulf. It's almost too much - my stomach hurts and I lose my appetite every time I see another headline about the BP spill - almost enough to make me callous to the whole situation.

But we can't be callous. Not when we're losing thousands of wildlife a day. Not when countless people are volunteering to try to clean up someone else's mess. Not when this catastrophe threatens to become bigger than it already is.

I already boycott Citgo because Chavez is a thug. Now you can add BP to the list of places I won't fill up at.

But herein lies the problem. While the bigger solution is to vote against legislation that calls for offshore drilling, that really implies an independence from oil. So...what do we do? Wind power would be optimal, but as we've seen with the controversy on Cape Cod, it brings its own set of problems. And solar power would be great, but it's costly and may not provide the magnitude of energy we need. It's no secret that we get the biggest bang out of oil...it's the most efficient of all the energy resources we have. But we've got to find another way.

Maybe this, then, is what makes my stomach hurt: that while this disaster makes us re-examine our choices and options, it may not ultimately make an impact on our behavior in the long run.

And that's scary, especially since we know history repeats itself.

I'd tap that

What did we do before bottled water?

The whole idea of bottled water seems silly to me. With the exception of Fiji water, it all tastes the same to me, and no different from tap water (and, in fact, some companies have admitted to just bottling local tap water). And not to even mention the environmental impact, which is atrocious. It's almost like we're polluting the earth for no real beneficial reason...and that's just wasteful.

Americans spend $16 billion dollars a year on bottled water. That's more money per year than we spend on the Iraq war. And, like the war, the effects of those bottles will hang around for years and years to come.

So I was amused and excited to see a new initiative taking place in NYC. It's called TapIt, and it's a network of cafe owners who sign up as partners and allow people to pop in and fill up their reusable water bottles for free. So you're able to have easy access to free tap water, on the go. It's a win-win-win for everyone involved - it cuts back on waste (good for the planet), gives water to people (good for thirsty people) and gives business and exposure to the cafes (good for capitalism).

You can find out more at TapIt.

Our tap water is among the cleanest in the world. And yet that's still not good enough for us. If we stop to appreciate what we have here and use it, then perhaps we'd make an impact on our world.

A bit of the macabre

Along with the whole "living green" trend comes the "dying green" trend. This is one that I've heard about for some years and I completely agree with. In fact, when I die, I don't want to be cremated or preserved forever in some coffin. Just stick me in a burlap sack and plant a tree on top of me. What better way to poetically demostrate the circle of life.

But it appears that, in recent years, the dying green trend has really boomed. Now you can be cremeated in a cardboard box, which reduces the harmful emissions into the atmosphere when burned. Or you can be formed into a new coral reef, where fish can live among you and loved ones can visit during scuba diving trips.

For those with no intention of dying just yet, you can still recycle and feed your quirkiness at the same time. Coffin Couches takes unused or damaged coffins and renovates them into couches. At $3,500 each, they are not for the faint of heart (or wallet), but can add that touch of class to a tatoo parlor or celebrity's house. I would consider purchasing one, but none of the ones showcased on the website quite go with my Pottery Barn-like decor. I can already see the gears rolling in some producers' heads for a new show on TLG or HGTV: Pimp My Coffin.

And with the green movement underway, what network can resist?

Oil Speculations...continued

In the New Yorker this month (I usually catch up on my issues during air travel), I read another article about oil speculation. This author also agrees that punishing the speculators isn't the answer to climbing oil prices, but he has a slightly different perspective.

SOS

In business school, Finance was never my strong point. There were concepts I found fascinating, but they seemed very nebulous to me, and lacked that concrete feel that you could wrap your brain around.

Last week, I received an e-mail from 12 airline CEOs, asking me to pressure congress to Stop Oil Speculation (SOS). Their argument: speculators have put upward pressure on oil prices, thereby causing their operating costs, and costs to the everyday consumer, to skyrocket. At the time, I didn't pay it much mind and deleted the e-mail.

But I came across it again this week. And I wondered if they had a point. Then I had a chance to read the counterargument by Walter Williams and all those lectures in Finance class came back to me. His argument: speculation allows for the distribution of resources over time. While speculation may increase prices a bit now, curtailing speculation now may decrease supply available in the future, thereby increasing prices by a lot more.

I think I have to side with Williams on this point. Yes, increased gas costs suck right now, but those prices will (hopefully) cause us to decrease demand (consumption) for oil, thereby increasing supply available.

Williams goes on to say that by drilling for American oil, we will effectively decrease the price of foreign oil. Even if we aren't able to realize the efforts of that drilling for another 5-10 years, OPEC will see the writing on the wall: increased supply will decrease prices in the future, so it's better to sell now while the cost per barrel is high. I agree, but...

Now we throw the environment into the equation. I do think we need to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, but I don't know if that means drilling at home. The implications mean a continued dependence on oil and the destruction of our environment. But Williams' construct should still hold true if we invest and invent new ways of creating energy - wind, solar, bio, nuclear. Some of these new ways means changing our infrastructure - wind power grids, more hydrogen fuel stations, easier access to biofuel - which could be costly and time consuming at the front end. But, like speculation, we have to look towards the future. The upfront cost now means a much lower cost for energy all around, including oil, in the future.

So increasing regulation on speculation isn't our answer. It's looking for alternatives at home and changing our mindsets as consumers. The higher prices supposedly caused, in part, by oil speculation may be the best thing that happens to this country.

A new milestone reached

I stopped at the gas station today to fill up my tank, and saw that the inevitable milestone has finally come to Raleigh: gas is $4/gallon.

So this is the first time, that I can remember, that a gallon of gas is officially more expensive than a gallon of milk. I don't know whether I should say "It's about time" or "Holy monkeys."

If Ford's announcement this week means anything, then maybe this means smaller, less-polluting, more-efficient cars are finally in our consistent future.

Happy Earth Day!

Hopefully everyone will do one great thing to help the Earth today. Our firm encouraged everyone to work from home today, to help keep 40 cars off the road. So I'm sitting on my porch, typing out a report and reducing my carbon footprint, while enjoying the beautiful weather we're having here.

In honor of Earth Day, and in the spirit of bringing the Earth to the forefront of our everyday thoughts and actions, here are 10 Ways to Go Green!

Happy Earth Day!

Jigga what?

Raleigh is currently under voluntary water restrictions. Apparently, we only have 60 days of water left. After that 60th day, I'm not really sure what we're going to do, but Scott and I have been very conscious about the amount of water that we use. I've even gone so far as to save any excess water we have (the water that runs when you're waiting for the hot water to start) and using it to fill our toilets, so we don't use water when we flush! Extreme, I know. But it's actually kind of fun!

I went to Panera today to grab lunch and was greeted by this sign on their door. (My real-time thoughts are in italics).

Dear Valued Panera Guests, (that's me!)

As part of our ongoing water conservation (Awesome! Even Panera is conserving water. Love it), we have switched to disposable tableware. We apologize for the inconvenience. (Jigga what??)

So now they are substituting one evil with another? It's a tough call, I know. Save the water or save the landfills? How about we just come up with a more efficient way to clean dishes with less water?

I guess the only thing to do now is what our parents always told us: bring your lunch.

Lies, all lies!

I'm traveling again for work this week, spending time in good ol' Rockville, MD. In my hotel bathroom hangs the following sign:

Dear Guest,
Hilton Family of Brands is committed to conserving our country's natural resources. Every day, tons of detergent and millions of gallons of water are used to wash towels which have only been used once. Here's how you can help:

• A towel on the rack means "I'll use it again"
• A towel on the floor means "Please exchange"

Doing my part to "conserve our country's natural resources," (what about the planet's resources??) I hung my towel on said rack. That day, I found a brand new towel (and bath mat and washcloth) in my bathroom.

So I went to the front desk that night, explained the situation and said that I wanted to reuse my towels. They made a note to housekeeping.

The next morning, I once again hung my towel on said rack. Once again, my towel (and bath mat and washcloth) were replaced with new ones.

I guess that's about all you can expect from the family that produced Paris Hilton.

Taking care of business

Everyday, most of us do something to take care of our health. Maybe we choose the salad over the burger. Or we walk up a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator. Perhaps it's as simple as taking a multi-vitamin every morning. Whatever it is, most of us have our health on our minds and take steps - however small - to keep our bodies healthy.

We should the do the same for the environment. Everyday, we should all take steps to preserve our planet and make the world a healthier place to live in. They can be big steps, like taking public transportation to work everyday. Or small steps, like recycling glass and plastic. If, everyday, every one of us took steps to save the environment, the impact on the planet could be huge.

Scientists are in dispute as to whether the Earth's rising temperatures are a natural, cyclical event or man-made. Few things in life are black and white, and I believe that, while there may be some natural event going on here, it has, at the very least, been exacerbated by man. (Have you seen the pollution put out by China every second? There's a reason most of us had problems literally breathing in that country). As people who know and understand what we're doing to our environment - with or without the help of nature - we have a personal responsibility to take care of our planet. A personal responsibility.

Today, I walked to and from the grocery store, bringing my own bags. The total environmental impact of my trip was 2 plastic meat bags, to keep the meat from leaking. I could probably do even better. But it feels good to know that I didn't burn natural resources (gas), I didn't emit excess CO2 into the air, and I didn't add plastic bags to the landfill. And I got exercise! A small step, but if I could do that every time I go to the grocery store, think how many bags, how much gas and CO2 I would save over the course of a year.

We have a personal responsibility to take care of our bodies. We have a personal responsibility to take care of our planet. Maybe it's recycling glass, paper and plastic. Or grouping errands together to reduce car trips. Perhaps it's as simple as reusing a shopping bag as a garbage bag. Whatever it is, most of us should have the environment on our minds everyday and take steps - however small - to take care of our planet.

Save the Turtles

Like many states, North Carolina allows motorists to choose special-issue license plates. Perhaps you'd like to proudly display you're a Purple Heart recipient. North Carolina has a license plate for you. Or maybe you're a proud UNC-Chapel Hill fan. For a mere $49.95 a year, you can wear a tar heel on your license plate. (Yuck).

I came across one just the other day - Save the Turtles. While thinking about this great cause and what I could do to help save the turtles, I thought back to some international friends that went to school with me. Among the many cultural quirks they experienced in America, one of the most amusing to them was the obsession Americans have with their causes. We seem to have an organization for anything you can think of - Race for the Cure (breast cancer), March of Dimes (premature births), PETA (anti-fur), Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, Greenpeace, Cropwalk, Autism Speaks...the list can go on and on. So why so many causes and why does this appear to be somewhat unique to us Americans?

Perhaps having passion for a cause, and rallying others around it, is part of the human condition. How that manifests itself may be more a factor of environment. The Taliban has passion for a cause and rallies others around this cause. In history, the same was true for the Crusades. Maybe in America, where the government is stable, people have disposable resources and people are relatively happy, we find other causes to get involved in. We could rally around religion or politics, as you find in other countries, but since we are relatively happy in our current state, we don't want to tip the balance too far. So we get more granular. More, well, frivilous. And our passion and causes get more and more segmented.

Which brings us back to the turtles.

I would like to save the turtles. I really would. But how can I save the turtles? And what am I saving them from? And why stop at turtles? I would like to save the dolphins, the oceans. The air, the unborn babies (yes, I said it. So what? I'm a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n roll), the rainforests, the poor. Basically, I would like to save the world. Can I get that on my North Carolina license plate?

I suspect we're saving the world from one another, from ourselves. If that's the case, then our cause seems fruitless and much too large for any one person (or even a big group of us) to tackle. Maybe that's why we segment: if we can find a group of people that feels passionately about turtles, then maybe we can help save just one piece of our planet. Maybe it's more than just belonging to a group, giving money, and getting others to believe in your cause. Maybe it starts with each one of us, for us to save the turtles, the babies, the world, from ourselves. Little things we could do everyday to make a small difference. Between a campaign of one and a campaign of many, perhaps we can save the world.

That would be a cool license plate.