Month: February 2016

Feeling inspired after the first client challenge for the Zero waste market I stumbled across an interesting article on the Internet about a small town in Japan – Kamikatsu. With a population of just over 1,500, the town is on a mission to become the country’s first ‘zero-waste’ community by 2020. Before 2003, the town was dumping trash and burning it in an open land fill, but it’s citizens were worried about the negative environmental and human impact that it was having. Now the town recycles about 80% of its trash, with the other 20% going towards a landfill.

 

What amazes me the most is that it is each resident’s responsibility to wash, sort, and bring their trash to the recycling center, the small town doesn’t even have a garbage truck or a collection system. This just goes to show the commitment and willingness of these citizens to make a change and some times it’s all it takes.

Fascinated by the system, I looked into the Japanese garbage collecting system and it is much more complicated than what we do here in Canada. Instead of the 3 categories (Recyclables, Compost and, waste) we have in Canada, in Japan there are at lease 6 categories.

Confused yet?

I guess the take away and conclusion is that there needs to be a combination of government policies, along with the avid support from citizens in order to make changes happen. What is truly motivating about this example is that we can see that zero waste can be achieved, we just need to have faith and take action.

This is ridiculous! 1 in 4 Americans are solidly skeptical of Global Warming, are you kidding me! As John Oliver said “You don’t need an opinion on a fact!” This just goes to show how ignorant and oblivious people are!

Time magazine said: “Despite the fact that more people now acknowledge that climate change represents a significant threat to human well-being, this has yet to translate into any meaningful action” The psychology behind this kind of thinking or not doing is mainly that it’s too big or abstract, or since others are already doing it, I don’t need to contribute. It seems like now we are so consumed with enjoying the now, without thinking about the future.

Last term in my consumer behavior class my professor showed us a video called “The Story Of Stuff” The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It talks about the cycle of the product we use from production, usage and disposal – the materials of economy.

For those who want to know more about a REAL ISSUE that is happening and HURTING the ONLY planet we live on. Please watch this fun and informative video where Bill Nye explains what GLOBAL WARMING is!

 

Last year Google launched Project Sunroof in 3 states, since it’s launch it currently covers 9 states in America.

So how does it work? Project Sunroof allows homeowners to find their rooftops on the map and determine if they’re suitable for solar panels. Essentially, it is using the same high-resolution aerial imagery by Google Earth to help calculate a roof’s solar energy potential.

Once the potential customer finds their home, the program can figures out how much sunlight hits that rooftop throughout the year, taking into account factors like shade, roof orientation and local weather patterns. Potential customers can also enter the amount of their typical electric bill for more customized results.

All of this information is combined to create an estimate for how much a given household could potentially save by going solar. The site also helps customers connect with local solar providers.

This is not only a smart way to capitalize on the untapped solar market in America, but it’s also a fun and visual way to attract more consumers and drive purchases of solar panels. Although it has only been launched for roughly 6 months, it would be interesting to see if there are any changes in purchase behaviour of solar powered panels in those states.