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What is a Sustainable Community?

Written on January 21, 2011 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Energy, stewardship, sustainability

Many times I find myself in discussions around what a “sustainable” community is, and how it is different from a “normal” community.

There really should be no difference when you think it through. What we mean when we say “sustainable” is that we are setting the goal of something being self-sustaining, which is virtually unattainable. This means that everything (and I do mean everything) that is consumed is produced within the community. In today’s world we know it is not practical to have everything produced and consumed locally, so in reality when we say “sustainable community” we mean that what is produced has a very low impact footprint on the resources used.

The idea is not to take away more from the earth than what we put back, in the form of renewable or recyclable materials. Ultimately, what also matters is how we live and exist in our communities – from the basics like water, energy, gas, food and garbage to the more subtle ideas of livability indexes that measure quality of life and “net user” — and consider our role as “net-giver-back” to the environment or Earth. We need to pay attention to the materials used in homes, buildings, and infrastructure of the community and strive to have them be renewable or recycled whenever possible.

Creating sustainable thriving communities is essential to having a robust economic engine. A sustainable town or village at its best can only support 15-25% of the jobs needed. This is good in the sense that today’s suburbs probably only support less than 5% of the jobs in the community.

In creating sustainable communities, we are going to have to ask not only what can be more economically produced or serviced locally (because that answer is very limited,) but also what is the total cost to the environment or population of any given product or service. No where is this more obvious than in the local food equation, but it also applies to a host of other products and services, such as medical services (every town needs doctors to care for its people.)

The article in The San Francisco Chronicle “Small-town emergency” is a classic tale of economic optimization which does not take into consideration the overall cost to the community. There are many such examples. We have to think differently about the entire cost of living and how we as people want to live. The more services or products that can be produced in a community, the more integrated it becomes and usually the happier and more interconnected the commmunity is.

To solve the bigger equation of employment, every community needs an economic engine that drives it. We can use the example of a company town; one where many people find employment at the local company plant. That has many benefits to the community, but we have also seen the downside when that company ceases to operate. The more dependent a town is on one industry the more vulnerable it becomes. We have seen many towns in the east, mid-west, and west go bust as the industry that helped launch the town died.

The key to community survivability and sustainability is diversification of economic engines or the adaptability of the community and this we can discuss in future posts.

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Exploring the Concept of Shared Value

Written on January 3, 2011 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, investing, stewardship

This month, Harvard Business Review’s cover article is titled, “The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value”. This is a great article. The concept of Shared Value is on the right track and trying to define a needed new paradigm, but it has to reach further to accomplish the bigger objective of stewardship of the land, environment and community.

The real issue is scarcity of resources, environmental and social consideration. We live on a fixed ball in space and need to think about the implications of everything we do holistically and systemically. This of course is very hard to do on a global scale, so then we must push to approach it from as large scale as possible, yet with a local view as possible.

BioLogical Capital, a Denver-based company, for instance looks at the issue from land sizes from 20 thousand acre to greater than 100 thousand acres it will manage. They become the steward of the land; to own and optimize with the community for all services and businesses that can co-exist with the natural habitat. Without this vision for man, nature and the total environment; people will suffer in long term.

So how do you shift this framework to a more global perspective? If you think in as big of scale as possible (space and land); can you optimize the solution for the biggest benefit for the environment and the people while building sustainable businesses. Here is the catch; if each business is self optimized, then by definition whole is not. Enter Regulation to control manage and set rules and standards, which is brought up in the article, yet as mentioned, this never solves this problem, although it tries. So how is this problem solvable? What Porter is trying to do is give a path to a better outcome. To take the best Capitalism has and marry this with the notions of real costs and consequences for people and environment; and in addition, you must take a very long term view. To use a simple example; if you produce food, but your minor toxic run-off that is creeping into the water table is killing your customers over decades; you will eventually put yourself out of business. This piece is the beginning of a bigger framework that needs to be built for the planet and people to succeed.

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The Conflict of Growth and Sustainability – Part 1

Written on November 20, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Uncategorized, investing, marketing, stewardship, sustainability

The big issue facing the US economy is financial. We have an over levered, bloated government which merely reflects its consumers. The solution that is being pursued is one of “inflate and grow” our way out of trouble. Can a very mature, leveraged society grow without a fundamental engine (reason) to grow? We can’t possibly offer the consumer more at this point. We have everything in the world that anyone would desire. So where and how do we go from here?

Best advice for the Consumer: Quality over Quantity

As my mother used to say, when you buy something you want or need, first ask yourself if you really need it and then buy the highest quality. It will perform better and last longer. That is the voice of someone who lived in Europe for part of its depression and World War II. She always had the most beautiful clothes. Very few but beautiful. She had great classic furniture and art. Again few, but the best she could afford. We ate only good food, never junk. We went only sparingly to eat out, but when we did, it was the finest we could afford, not McDonald’s. These are the values that create long term survival.

Patagonia, has a program that carries a very key mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle. This is the essence of a sustainable society. Yes, we need to do more and yes, it seems in conflict with our government’s ideas about growth of the consumer to carry us out, but these values will be the ones that maintain us and force manufacturers to build lasting high quality products. We may pay a premium at the cash register, but the long term value for ourselves and society far out weigh any short term savings.

The other conflict we all face is the media, glamour and fashion society we live in. The value of the brand and what we are identified with has become more important than who we are. If you spend the time to recollect about the people who influenced you to think differently or impressed you — the people you saw as having substance and values that made you sit up and pay attention — Do you remember anything of what they wore or what they drove or how they lived? You probably don’t unless it was incredibly modest. This is because what really matters is the person, the ideals, beliefs, love and passion that drives them, not what they own. It is never is about the trappings, the brand, or their consumption, which are all ephemeral. Think about the necessity and then the quality of what you need before you buy. If you clearly consider the value you place in that item and that purchase, your consumption will go down and the value and enjoyment to you will go up tremendously. Our true value is in who we are and what we believe and how we act.

My next entry will be about how corporations can thrive and still have impact. Finally, I’ll address the most difficult one: The government and what can be done there.

Corporations have a responsibility to be conscious of consumption. Unilever is now embarking on a big sustainable campaign. It is thoughtful and right. There is a conflict of growth versus sustainability. If we build a better consumer company with the right objects and environmental impact, it should be able to take market share and win business because it is doing it right. The more value and impact you can produce the more successful you will be, if the consumer (i.e. all of us) cares and buys the quality product.

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Water is the Key to Life in India (and everywhere else)

Written on November 12, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Organic, agriculture, sustainability, waste water

“We don’t have a water problem now, we had a good Monsoon.” Yes, that is as long range as most people think. After a drought for 4 years, and water tables falling further then any where in recorded history and well beyond where people believe it has ever been, yet the issue is not in the forefront of peoples minds now. So why worry?

So lets go back in history. It is fascinating is to see how well designed the forts and palaces of the 15^th and 16^th Centuries were. Two of the most beautiful are the Amber Fort in Jaipur and Fatehpur Sikri on the way to Agra. They were both built around the same time as the Taj Mahal. Water was harvested from the entire complex. Every drop of rain water flowed to catch basins around the palace/fort, which was usually a beautiful and very deep stone pool. Water was drawn up by a system of ascending ox driven, rotating wheels with buckets and aqueducts on the buildings ending up in the water holds on top.

Then water was used to its fullest and most beautiful potential. High pressure, gravity fed water fountains were used for entertainment and tranquility. Innovative air conditioning systems cooled the royalty. Cloth hung over dripping pipes atop open breezeways and chilled the air. Lastly, the water was used for drink and bathing. All this water was filtered and channeled back to a lower catch basin only to be used again. Some of the wastewater was also filtered and channeled to the gardens and fields if possible.

Some of the first damning was done in India, to capture more of the run off and rain from the Monsoons. This enabled cities to thrive where before it was barely possible to exist. All this innovation was dramatic back then. Today, India is at the point it will need a new set of innovative ideas to collect, store and distribute the water that comes but one season a year.

Water is an issue that potentially could bring the country to a standstill. This will require long term planning with corporate drivers and government policy in alignment.

As I continue my travels across India, I am constantly impressed and amazed at this country. It moves increasingly forward in its chaotic and frenetic way, a way that defies logic. Yet it works, things get done. Through the frenzy, problems are solved and results delivered. “Anything for profit,” gets addressed sooner or later. The government is like any other: Good intentions but difficult in delivering the results. But I fully expect that India will figure this out and come through with some very creative solutions.

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India Bound…

Written on November 4, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Economics, Energy Efficiency, Organic, agriculture, stewardship, sustainability, waste water

I am heading over to India to understand and learn more of its culture, business, opportunities and challenges. As we all know, India is a vibrant economy that drives and thrives with chaos. It is an amazing country of wild entrepreneurs that see no limit to what they can do and that push the impossible through.

Their issues are many as India grows at 9% per year and pushes any conceivable obstacle out of its way. The predominately young population now thinks the sky is the limit. The good life is ahead. The middle class is exploding, the under classes are striving. Education is so highly sought after that kids travel hours everyday to learn.

But the scariest thing I just saw was in my partner’s recent presentation on the state of conditions in India — He is from there, and he pointed out that the biggest issue he sees for India is scarcity of water and power.

Wow! Power is scarce. Every building and every hotel needs its own diesel-powered generator because every week (many times a week) the power is shut off. Residences live without power for up to 8 hours a day. Their grid is immature and their power generation is a decade behind the growth. They are building power generation plants and unfortunately, many coal fired ones.

Water is much scarier issue. India is running out of water. The aquifers have been drained to the point where there is less then one year’s supply of water now (after the monsoon) and at one point they had less then 150 days of water left.

China is building its dams up in the Himalayas and diverting any water they can to themselves. India is building dams to divert water from Pakistan. Conflict is looming and everyone is scared. No one wants to face the hard facts. Even the power of the growing monsoons that flood the cities and countryside for months are no help. Monsoon water isn’t caught stored, filtered or used well.

These issues will cause mayhem in India. But don’t count them out! A rethinking of these systems is needed and new types of infrastructure need to be built. But, as is classically Indian, it will not be done in the methodical Chinese way but rather in the helter skelter approach that India is famous for.

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Going Local is Good for the Economy and Well Being

Written on October 29, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Organic, marketing, sustainability

A lot has been written about what has happened to America’s Main Street? Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Costco moved in.

If you drive around the country you will see many of our downtown Main Streets are empty. The independent retailers are gone; they couldn’t compete. The simple reason: Why would consumers pay 10% more to shop downtown? Go to the big box store and save. But did you really save anything? Never mind the fact you bought three times as much as you needed. Have you spent your money wisely? Maybe, but are you better off?

Those great little shops on Main Street are gone, and so are the people you knew who ran them. The job loss hurts the local economy, housing market, etc., but worst of all you lost part of your community and that cozy feeling of walking down the street and knowing the people who run the shops and others that walk there, too. That great feeling you get when you stop in a store, say, “hello” and then stop for a cup of coffee because you just happen to be there getting things done.

Buying local has many meanings, but keeping your neighborhood shops in business is probably the closest to home. In this era of convenience what could be more convenient then knowing the people you buy from? Who will look out for you, advise you and find what you need? Relish and cherish your community — and that starts downtown.

The real discussion that we need to have is: What is the economic optimization for any community, whether it be a town, city county, state or country? We need to rethink the idea of lost cost producer.

Wal-Mart is now going to buy locally more often. Why? To reduce its supply chain costs. Measured not only by the dollars but the negative externalities, such as the packing, the refrigeration, the trucks and gas used to bring product in, etc. But what they are really doing is looking at the total cost equation and then realizing that they are helping the local economy. Many big box vendors are looking at sourcing locally, as well. Sears announced it is now giving the local manager ability to procure local products that people want in their market. Good idea.

However, this will not help Main Street, although it does begin to help the local economy. Economist Robert Shoemaker wrote about these ideas in “Small is Beautiful,” promoting the idea small working farms with less mechanization, which employed more people and made for a better society overall. Paul Hawken wrote “The Next Economy” and talked of a new way to look at economies: The real issue is we have think about the entire systems and the impact that we seek.

What do you most value and what are you willing to do to create that environment that you want to live in?

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Why Aren’t Our Homes… Better?

Written on October 22, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Organic, global warming, investing, stewardship, sustainability

I came across a set of pictures the other day comparing the home building industry to a couple others. The first two pictures compared the framing and building of a house in 1910 and one in 2010. What is shocking is that they looked the same! Now, side-by-side stood two other sets of pictures that were great examples of the progress of two other industries. One in transportation, which showed the horse and buggy opposite a beautiful BMW 750; and one in the communications industry, which had a photo of a candlestick phone opposite an iPhone. Doesn’t that just say it all? We have not evolved our most basic of industries: Housing.

In fact, one might argue that we have gone backwards. From the nice villages, built from the center out, where every resource was shared to one of wasted suburban sprawl. I don’t need to cover the issue of environmental design here, but I really want to address the building and construction aspect of housing.

In the US, we have not begun to use the technology that is available today. From basics such as how a foundation is created, to how houses are framed, to wall construction, to electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, as a country we are positively backwards with our old school view. For a good lesson in the next generation materials, components, modular fabrication, electrical, plumbing, etc, visit Japan or Europe and see first hand how homes are built. You will see that not only are they very functional and practical, but incredibly beautiful as well. There are few design limitations in today’s state of the art solutions.

These new homes overseas are energy, heat, water, and light efficient. And you don’t feel as if you are in outer space. A new home can use less material, less electricity, less water. It is all in the design and layout, the materials, and the systems that you install.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Energy efficient home in the Wine Country” describes how one home owner had to invest over $1.2M to make her 2000 sq. ft. home “passive.” Come on really, passive? A log cabin or a stone house can be passive although probably not very comfortable. At BioLogical Capital, we studied a new development in the South East of the US and looked at the best housing solutions. It turned out the ideal design was based on the old slave homes. Those homes maximized airflow and minimized sun exposure during the summer and reversed that in the winter months. This is not the modern definition of today’s passive homes but this worked well.

But really this is the future for the US, and it has been elsewhere for the past 20 or 30 years. It is all about energy and resource efficiency, which is critical. If our homes and offices could reduce power consumption by 50% or more and reduce water consumption by over 50% in this country, think of the savings and environmental impact.

A very energy efficient home, or passive, home can be done with careful design and forethought to minimize expense and time. Simply put, the passive house is a well insulated house built almost air tight and employs a simple heater exchanger to allow for cooling or heating and air flow. This wasn’t really advisable for the past several decades as the materials in an air tight house can make you sick. Careful attention to furniture, floor coatings, carpets and the like are critical. It will also require great insulation and windows. The systems that are required are: A solar water heater couple with on demand heating elements, appliances from Europe or Japan, passive and LED lighting and smart power management for electronics, grey water and rainwater catch and recycle systems for all but potable water. It is also essential to pay attention to the materials. Are we still using sheetrock for instance and the poor insulation materials from Home Depot? What type of sustainable woods, metals, installation, etc. is used? To close the loop we need to think about the recyclability of the house. Everything should be able to deconstructed and be reused. This is a completely thought out designed solution.

Everything that I am wrtiting here has been done before. For thousands of years, building a home has been hard and expensive and when it is no longer needed or wanted the materials have been reused in the next home. There was little waste because materials came at great expense. Today is a very different scenario. Let’s stop taking our material world for granted and minimize impact all-round.

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How Can I Help?

Written on October 15, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, agriculture, global warming, stewardship, sustainability

People often wonder, “Am I doing enough to help our world, our environment?” Some wonder why they should even try because what impact could they possibly have. My wife, on the other hand, has a more challenging question: “Do you expect people to go back to ‘old ways’ to sustain the earth?” And then she gets tough… “People worked for centuries to get off the farm, and you want to send people back?”

The concept of civilization fosters the idea of the pursuit of intellectual endeavors and those of leisure, not hard, back-braking work. What are we advocating? Then, she sends me a list to “help the environment,” (see below) and asks if I expect her to do all these things?

Now, my wife is as progressive a person as I know, and really is thinking about these big issues. However, she is pragmatic and understands how people think and behave.

So here is my simple answer: “No!” You don’t have to go backwards, you don’t need to do all these things. It is impractical — as it is foolish — to think people will really do this entire list. If we’re lucky, maybe people will do 10 or 20 of them. The list ranges from suggestions that read like your homeowner “to do list,” to some that are really impractical to others that you just want to say, “get real.”

The bigger issue surrounds the kinds of things are we advocating, to use the latest techniques, methodologies, and technologies to create best in class solutions to our mounting issues. Many of the existing key infrastructure sectors, water, energy, agriculture, real estate etc, are rooted in a very antiquated paradigm that has not evolved to keep up with what we now know to be awful solutions. They were never bad when designed but they have not evolved because they worked well enough. We have taken the evolutionary path of lowest cost solution to the extreme and siloed everything. We have gone beyond the optimal economic, environmental, social solution to our way of live. It looked like the best economic solution, but now, it is clearly not.

A new economic view reveals what needs to be provided, made, produced, or grown. For example: Local food taken to the extreme is crazy. The goal is not “buy everything local,” but buy what is economic locally. The complete cost of brought in food has never really been understood. If I can employ the land, the people and produce the right crops that have a better economic total value to the local economy then it makes complete sense. This new thinking is due mostly to the fact that we are now living in a world of scarcity and limited growth capacity. This changes a lot of thinking.

Our political, community and business leaders need to rethink how the systems we have put in place can service us better.

But just for fun, go ahead and see how many on this list you can actually do:

Skills for an Eco-Friendly Do-It-Yourself Lifestyle: Go green one skill at a time

Honing your green skills is part of growing and learning to walk softly on the earth. How many things do you really know how to do in order to increase your green and decrease your carbon footprint? Here is a list of 99 skills to try in order to become a more green do-it-yourself-er.

Food Skills
1. Read and understand product labels
2. Bake bread
3. Make your own bread starter and keep it going
4. Make cheese, yogurt, and kefir from local milk
5. Preserve food by canning
6. Preserve food by drying
7. Forage for local wild foods safely
8. Raise a couple of backyard chickens
9. Make your own tofu, tempeh, and soy milk
10. Eat locally and in season
11. Grind your own flour
12. Grow your own produce
13. Grow your own herbs
14. Grow your own sprouts
15. Blend your own herbal tea
16. Have a repertoire of vegetarian recipes you can use for various occasions
17. Fish or hunt responsibly, if you eat meat
18. Make homemade pastas and other pantry basics
19. Cook a variety of foods well
20. Utilize a menu to minimize food waste
21. Throw a party without compromising your green values
22. Make your own vanilla extract
23. Sharpen kitchen knives so they last
24. Make homemade granola bars, granola, waffles, and other breakfast items
25. Make baked goods “from scratch”
26. Understand terms like, “organic,” “Fair Trade,” “all natural,” and “GMO”

Household Skills
27. Sew well enough to repair clothing
28. Sew well enough to make your own clothing and reusable shopping bags
29. Sew fitted cloth diapers for your baby
30. Knit or crochet dishcloths
31. Know how to reupholster a chair
32. Make your own laundry soap
33. Make your own dishwasher detergent
34. Make your own house cleaning supplies
35. Use diatomaceous earth, bay leaves, and other “eco-friendly” natural pest deterrents

Home Maintenance and Repair Skills
36. Use non-electric appliances rather than electric
37. Know where to find non-electric appliances
38. Program a thermostat
39. Tile a counter top
40. Use 0 VOC paint
41. Repair a screen
42. Use caulk
43. Make simple appliance repairs such as replacing belts
44. Find what you need by bartering, or using CraigsList, eBay, and thrift stores
45. Repair a leaky toilet
46. Repair a leaky faucet
47. Replace a faucet
48. Check your home for energy leaks using incense, a candle, or a device that is created for that purpose
49. Unclog a drain without using Drano or harmful chemicals
50. Insulate an attic with eco-friendly insulation

Gardening Skills
51. Build a compost system
52. Use compost to enrich your soil
53. Plan a garden for your climate
54. Understand xeriscaping
55. Plant a multi-seasonal vegetable garden
56. Build a simple cold frame for salad all year
57. Build frames for raised bed gardens
58. Make a rainwater catching system
59. Use a manual reel mower
60. Use companion planting methods to control pests
61. Build a bat house to encourage bats and decrease mosquitoes
62. Use predator insects like praying mantis to control garden pests
63. Know what heirloom seeds are and why you should use them
64. Learn how to plant open pollinated vegetables for best yields
65. Learn how to save seeds from your own produce
66. Plant trees and bushes to cut your energy bills
67. Use soaker hoses to conserve water
68. Sharpen and maintain tools

Health Skills
69. Know how to use herbs and natural remedies to treat common illnesses
70. Make your own soap
71. Make your own skin care products
72. Use essential oils for health and cleaning
73. Make your own deodorant

Transportation Skills
74. Tune up a bicycle and make repairs
75. Do simple maintenance on your car
76. Arrange or locate a carpool
77. Learn to use hypermiling techniques
78. Plan eco-friendly air travel

Energy Skills
79. Install exterior solar lighting
80. Install a solar panel
81. Know where to find the most eco-friendly, green power source available to you
82. Connect home electronics to power strips for easy shut off
83. Check the wattage of an appliance
84. Calculate annual kilowatt usage

Conservation Skills
85. Use e-mail rather than conventional mail
86. Switch to a paperless office
87. Locate the local library and use it rather than buying books, DVDs, and tapes
88. Adjust your computer settings to make it more energy efficient
89. Use Skype and other technology to limit the need for travel to conferences
90. Learn to plan eco-friendly vacations, such as camping (and leave no trace)
91. Replace a hobby with an environmentally friendly hobby
92. Locate and use recreational green spaces such as hiking trails, parks, and public gardens
93. Understand and be able to explain what cradle-to-cradle means
94. Understand and be able to explain what carbon emissions are
95. Understand and be able to calculate a carbon footprint as well as explain what it is
96. Know where to recycle technological items like computers, microwaves, televisions, etc.
97. Identify and sort a variety of recyclable materials
98. Know where reusable items can be substituted for disposables
99. Understand and be able to explain cap-and-trade
100. What would you add?

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That Community Feeling

Written on October 5, 2010 by Roland Van der Meer in Community, Uncategorized, stewardship, sustainability

I live in the suburbs, like a lot of people, The question is can we fix them? Many ask, “What is wrong?” The sense of belonging, happiness, loneliness and also the waste factor. If your downtown is 5-10 minute drive away, you are car bound and miss out on the many opportunities for that happiness and community engagement.

The book “Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zone Way” by Dan Buettner, is trying to point a way to happiness by making life simpler and easier. He points to Mexico, Singapore, Denmark, and San Luis Obispo, CA. His first book The Blue Zone” covers many more countries and shows that the simpler the lifestyle, the happier people tend to be. In happy countries people ride bikes more, eat simpler native foods, sleep more, and are more family oriented. Something Americans are just now rediscovering. “During the past 35 years, while Americans have worked to increase our income by 70 percent and the size of our houses have doubled, we’ve become no happier as a nation.”

Parade Magazine did a nice job of highlighting what is good in San Luis Obispo in the article “You’ll wish you were here.”

So if we take the key parameters apart and understand that many communities could do similar things. It doesn’t take extraordinary measures, but mainly a desire to go do it.

On an individual level, one can focus himself on those things in his control; trying to take more time with family and friends, enjoy and eat real food (not fast food) with family, reduce your debt, take walks in your community, bike more, drive less. When you buy something make sure you need it and buy high qualify so it lasts a long time.

Within the community we can rethink downtown; close off a street or two to create a plaza or walking areas, frequent the interesting local stores and shops and restaurants, set up modest local public transportation, drive the adoption or development of mixed use buildings with parking, retail, restaurants, and residential living, begin to foster green space and parks, gardens sports fields around town inside and on the perimeter of town. And begin to look at the basic services that are offered by the town for the community and for true environmental impact. Also a careful look at the utilities and how the town can help reduce energy and improve water, waste water, and storm water usage. This is not an individual’s effort; this is for the town political leaders, land and building owners, and the residents at large. There is so much that can be done and the net effect will be a happier, healthier and more prosperous town.

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