SACRAMENTO, CA-

For awhile I thought of myself as an environmentalist of sorts.

I mean, I’m not some crazy hippie, living in a co-op, wearing only hemp clothing and eating nothing but vegetables from my own garden.

But I do the basic save the Earth type stuff. I drive as little as possible. I recycle. I eat less red meat. I take cloth bags to the grocery store. I give to Goodwill instead of adding to landfills. I turn off the water when I brush my teeth. You know, the little things.

I thought all this stuff was making a difference. It does make a difference…doesn’t it?

Well, apparently it doesn’t mean anything to the hard-core enviro-nazis.

I used to be close friends with one of these fanatics, who, no matter how hard I tried, belittled me for not doing ENOUGH.

Last year when I saw An Inconvenient Truth, I wrote a blog about the show, along with some tips on how to help reduce global warming.

And you know what her comment was?

“I don’t know how anybody who eats meat can CLAIM to be an environmentalist.” (emphasis added).

I was really put out by it, and a little bit pissed off, to be perfectly honest.

Does it really have to be all or nothing when we’re trying to do our part to help the environment?

I say no.

It is perfectly OK to opt out on some things. Not everybody likes the idea of having a compost pile in their backyard (and, in many cases, you may not even have a backyard).

It’s OK because at least people today are thinking about it.

We think before we just chuck another plastic bottle into the garbage. Instead we may hold on to it until we find a recycling bin. Or we may reuse it.

And thinking green is becoming more persistent in our culture, but it’s not because of the enviro-nazis. It’s because of people like Heather Stephenson and Jennifer Boulden, founders of Ideal Bite, a Web site that encourages taking baby steps toward a friendlier eco-attitude.

Their idea came from the fact that the gloom-and-doom attitude of other environmentalists just wasn’t working. So they decided to take a different approach.  They put together The Daily Bite, which gives their readers suggestions and tips to allow them to make better choices. And you decide whether you want to follow through without feeling guilty.

So I tracked these two ladies down and asked them a few questions (via email).

Here’s what they had to say:

On your Web site you talk about people not wanting to be told what’s wrong without being told how they can help. How does this philosophy drive the way suggestions are formulated in your daily newsletter?

Easy.  We never suggest things like, “turn down your heat and wear a scratchy sweater,” or, “bike to work, even though it is snowing.”  So instead in order for the idea to qualify as a tip topic, it has be both good for the environment and pleasurable to the person.

Is all organic really as good as they say it is or is it a marketing gimmick? How can people know if what they are buying is actually having a positive impact?

In terms of organic being a marketing gimmick - in the US, we have strict regulations for organic labeling, so companies can’t call a product organic unless it’s met certain requirements. It’s hard to argue with the concept behind organic - less pesticide, less insecticide, encouragement of biodiversity, it’s safer for agricultural workers, and so on.

Of course, we should also consider the amount of energy it takes to transport that organic produce to your door. If you’re buying organic lettuce grown in Mexico, vs. non-organic lettuce grown on a local farm in your community, then the energy associated with the transport of the organic lettuce counter-acts the benefits of organic, on the macro-level. Also, with most crops, organic yields are lower. So, in effect, organic produce requires more land to farm the same amount of food. However, the land is better preserved using organic methods, meaning that in the long run, the soil will be healthier and more productive than soil that’s being constantly showered with pesticides, and whose crops aren’t being rotated. Moral of story? Go local, local, local whenever possible, even if it’s not organic.

In one of your recent bites you talked about organic alcohol. I’ve never actually seen this in the store, but I’m curious about whether it’s as good as the real thing. Did you ladies get to try it and what did you think?

Yes, as founders we dictate who gets to try what, and so we get the oh-so-terrible task of trying out the chocolate, sex toys and liquor.  We didn’t take a salary for the first year of the business, so perks are important!  We’re both big fans of Square One vodka, but typically we stick to organic beer and wine, which are widely available at places like Whole Foods and Wild Oats. Also, Anheuser-Busch recently came out with a couple different organic brews, so expect to see them everywhere soon.

Speaking of trying stuff, do you actually try out everything you post on the daily bite?

We actually do, or someone on The Bite’s staff (or extended staff) does. Heather’s nephew, Quinn, typically tries out all of the baby stuff, and my dog, Cricket, is known to our Biters as the principal tester of all things canine.

For years environmentalists have been spouting on about death and destruction (well maybe not to that extreme) without major changes. Your Web site makes small changes seem like they’ll be just as powerful. Do small changes really help in the long run?

Yes. We have about 75,000 daily readers, and if you have even half of those people making changes in their daily lives, that’s going to add up. For example, at least 9,978 Biters kept their tires properly inflated during the last 10 months, saving enough gasoline to send a Prius around the entire Earth exactly once.

And beyond the small things making a big difference for the environment, we are shifting people’s behaviors which businesses definitely take note of. The smart ones will offer better, greener products and services in order to stay competitive and capture more market share.

There seems to be a pretty strong stereotype of environmentalists as hippies who go all natural when it comes to everything. You two don’t seem to fit that stereotype and it makes me wonder if the face of environmentalism is changing. What types of people are buying into this type of thinking?

It’s true - we don’t fit that uber-crunchy mold. We call our form of environmentalism “light green.”  Living light green means that you don’t need to be perfect, but just give a few things a try. Our subscribers are light green like us, driving their SUVs to Whole Foods, voting for Schwarzenegger and Kerry, and polishing off a bottle of organic wine after yoga.

How many people do you reach every day with your Daily Tip? And, do you think it’s working?

We have about 75,000 Daily Tip readers, and many more people who access the tips through our online Tip Library. We get a lot of great feedback from readers who write in, excited, that we’ve exposed them to a new organic wine or as something as simple as, “I never realized I could recycle yogurt cups.” So that, combined with the research we’ve done polling the Biters on the changes they have made, have definitely lead us to believe that our model is working.

What has been your favorite tip so far?

My favorite tip so far would have to be “And Then He Licked Me.” Not just for the title - it’s all about how adopting a rescue animal can actually improve your health. My own dog, Cricket, is living proof.

If you could suggest ONE thing for someone to change today to help the environment, what would it be?

Anything? I’d have to say to try going veggie one day per week. Meat takes a lot more resources to produce and of course we all know about the way that animals are treated in factory farms. (And if you don’t, I suggest watching the entertaining video cartoon, The Meatrix.)

I love the “personally speaking” part of the daily bite. It makes you just as human as we are and shows us that not everyone can give up  everything, especially in a consumer society. Can you remember any tips  that convinced you to change something in your daily life? If so, why?

Thanks. We’re not perfect, and we’re not going to pretend that we are. We do a lot of tips on why going local is one of the best ways to help  the earth, so every time we do one of those type of tips it’s a good reminder as to why I need re- join the CSA (community supported agricultural group) every growing season, and shop at the co-op. Also, I’m renovating my house to be as green as possible, so in researching many of our home tips I’ve been exposed to some of the great products that are out there, like marmoleum, which is a natural type of linoleum. Lastly, our tips on wedding invites and conflict-free diamonds that we’ve done have definitely changed the way I think about the big day - when that day comes!

Would you consider yourselves “environmentalists” and how do you define one?

An environmentalist is someone who’s consciously making choices in order to improve our earth’s destiny for the better, and I’m proud to put us in that ever-expanding global group of enlightened individuals ;-).

So I say, “Rock on with your Light Green selves. Not everyone was born to be an enviro-nazi (thank God).”

The planet thanks you anyway.

Until recently Rebecca Adler was working as a newspaper reporter. Now she poses as a photographer at night, taking pictures in bars and clubs around Sacramento, and she hopes to begin a successful freelance writing career. Meanwhile she’s dreaming of moving back to Paris where she hopes to teach improper English to French businessmen. She can be reached on myspace or on the comment board.

Technorati Profile

This entry was posted on Monday, March 19th, 2007 at 11:41 pm and is filed under Environment, Interviews, Philosophy, Politics, Pollution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.