Further look into "Collaborative Consumption"

Collaborative Consumption is awesome, there is no doubt about it. It saves people money, it increases the value of products and services if they can be utilized by more people, it preserves resources that might be otherwise wasted, it reduces waste, etc. I was so excited about collaborative consumption after class yesterday that I immediately went online to find as many sharing websites as I could. When I got home, I told all of my friends about them and have already made plans for the future about using/doing as many of these ideas as possible! Just as with all business, people need to go about participating in collaborative consumption in an open and honest manner in order for it to be successful. I was curious if there were any "bad sides" of this idealistic concept, so I did some research and this is what I found:

Sharing is Caring:

Resources if you are interested:
10 Websites for Collaborative Consumption


From The Economist:
"All eyes on the sharing economy"

Collaborative Consumption:
"People are looking to buy services discretely when they need them, instead of owning an asset," (Jeff Miller, boss of Wheelz, a peer-to-peer car rental service in California).

Problems with collaborative consumption:

• Insurance questions
• Legal liability questions
• Services not meeting industry-specific regulations
• Tenants who sublet properties in violation of terms of leases.
• Tax collectors wonder if all income being declared from sharing.

*In mid-2011, a host found her apartment trashed and her valuables stolen. This prompted sharing companies to provide forms of insurance.

*Peer-to-peer car-rental services provide insurance as part of the deal which covers drivers during the rental. There is a question of if this car-owner's insurer is liable in the case of an accident.

*Apartment-sharing services have disobeyed zoning regulations.

*Many American cities ban rentals of less than 30 days in properties that have not been licensed and inspected.

*Airbnb and other similar sites are not exempt from the 15% hotel tax.

Despite all of this, "the fact that regulators, tax collectors and big companies are now sniffing around a model that has been embraced by millions of people is a measure of its value and growth potential."

Newsworthy: "World is NOT on track" to meet climate goals!

The 4-for-2 C Scenario:

1. Increase energy efficiency
2. Limit emissions from coal-fired power plants
3. Reduce leakage of methane from oil and gas production
4. Cut subsidies for fossil fuels

These four energy policies were selected by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that would reduce emissions significantly and "keep climate goals alive without harming economic growth."

There is a new record high for the amount of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions - 31.6 gigatonnes!! Due to the energy-related green house gas emissions, "projected temperature rise is approaching threshold where the consequences would be truly dire."

It has come to a point in time where the only viable option is to take action. It might be expensive, and it might be a step-by-step, slow process, but small steps towards this goal could make all the difference.

These four policies are a start. One problem that I see is that they are very broad. Not only should these be governmental policies but they should be policies put in place for the general public as well. There are many ways that individuals can increase energy efficiency - Puget Sound Energy provides a "go green" service, as we learned in class. Individuals need to take the small steps like replacing their light bulbs with LED, not leaving the TV or Radio on during dinner because they enjoy the "background noise," using recycled energy to power their homes and having any extra energy return to "the grid." These are only a few of many examples. 

Instead of limiting emissions from coal-fired power plants, we should get rid of coal-fired power plants altogether. I realize that this is an extremely unrealistic possibility and that limiting the emissions is the first step in the process. If this is the new policy, then the coal train should definitely be prohibited from coming through Bellingham, shouldn't it?

Sources:

Statement from Washington D.C. (from October 8, 2013)

4 Energy Policies: (from June 10, 2013)

Re-evaluation of my carbon footprint.

It has now been two weeks since I set the three goals to reduce my carbon footprint. I thought that they were pretty reasonable to strive for, but I had some difficulties.

As far as the first goal goes, I did not ride my bike to work last week at all because the weather was terrible. I work in a restaurant and it is pretty unprofessional to show up to work drenched from head to toe. The fact that I discovered a flat tire played a small role as well. I would have ridden the bus except that the restaurant where I work closes after midnight, which is around the time when I get off work, and the buses stop running well before this time. I rode my bike to work today in the beautiful, but freezing cold weather!

Another option I found: Continue riding my bike but adjust to the weather conditions!

I was only somewhat successful with this goal but I am going to keep this one as it is. I usually work at least one shift during the week that I am able to ride the bus to work for. I just need to have a stronger backbone and make sure I follow through with this goal. It's important.

For the second goal "unplug all of the electronic devices in my room if they are not in use," I only had partial success with as well. I have always been really good at turning off lights when I leave the room, but I sometimes leave my iHome plugged in even if I am not charging my iPod. These past two weeks, I tried to stay very aware of all of the electricity use in my house. I went around and turned off the lights in rooms where nobody was and stayed very conscious of the amount of time I spent in the shower. My number one focus for the goal was to turn off my computer and unplug it when I leave the house. I really do not like doing this because the battery for my computer is about to die so whenever I need to "Power on" my computer, it takes (what seems like) forever. To change this goal to be more influential on my life and the planet, I am going to purchase a power strip. I truly believe that if I just plug everything into the power strip and flip the off switch every morning before I leave the house, I will not think about my computer individually, that it will be okay to leave that plugged in if all my other electronics are shut off. Everything will be connected and I will have no choice but to turn them all off! I plan to purchase a power strip by the end of the weekend (10/14).

My power strip probably won't be THIS cool... but it will still do the trick! :)

The third goal of "sticking as close to the vegan diet as possible" needs to be more concrete and measurable, or changed altogether. I am altering this goal to be that I will eat strictly vegan four days out of the week. Of the three other days, I will still not eat meat or dairy. In addition to this, when I need to buy groceries, I will go to either The Co-op, The Market, or the farmer's market. I will bring along the re-usable bags that I have and will either carpool or take the bus.



I think adjusting these three goals in the ways that I have will be difficult but doable. They are reasonable changes to make and I need to stick to them.

KQED Climate Watch Survey

PAY ATTENTION:

If you would like to quiz yourself and find out what KQED (a public media group that serves Northern California - it is similar to NPR), thinks your attitude towards global climate change is, then use the following address to go to their website: uw.kqed.org/climatesurvey/

TAKE ACTION!
Based on my answers to the quiz, the results I received were that I am alarmed about global climate change and I need to take action. They can be found here:

http://uw.kqed.org/climatesurvey/index-kqed.php

In the Original Six Americas Study, over half of the respondents were at least cautious in regard to global climate change.

18% alarmed
33% concerned
19% cautious
12% disengaged
11% doubtful
7% dismissive

These numbers are outrageous. They should be skewed a lot more towards "Alarmed." This is where marketing can have a significant impact - maybe the reason people are not so alarmed is because they don't really know how they are affecting the planet.

**Side note**
I went to visit one of my best friends from High School in Dayton, Tennessee in the beginning of September. For those of you who are familiar with TN, just like any state or territory, there are parts that are very urban and parts that are very rural, and parts that are in between. Dayton, TN falls on the "more rural" spectrum. One night, we were driving to Chattanooga to have a fun karaoke singing night at a place called Sing it or Wing it. (I am hoping I don't get my door banged down by cops after admitting this, but we were drinking beers in the car on the drive down.) It is me, my friend from high school, and three of her other friends. When they finished their beers, they just rolled down the window and threw them out, laughing once they heard the shattering of glass on the freeway. I couldn't believe what I was seeing... but I just sat there in my flabbergasted state and let them continue. My friend turned to me and said, "Wow, this must be killing you," and responded assuring her that it was yet I still continued to sit there in my defeated silence.

Quite recently, I have been feeling that I am at a pivotal moment in my life where I have strong ideas about what I want to pursue and things I want to accomplish. Helping to make the planet more sustainable and helping people be more knowledgeable about their actions is VERY high on my list. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE AND PEOPLE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO IT.