GreenSmart Notebook - Tom Larsen

The Big Green Bus Came to Grass Valley

This was the week. GreenSmart has sponsored the bus trips for three years now, but, we've never actually been able to be on hand for an event, or meet the people. Not having any insight as to how this crew gets along or what they are personally all about, we agreed to host these folks for two nights at our home.

That all changed on Wednesday. The bus pulled into our business park and a lively group hopped off and saw our humble offices. But, looking at offices is pretty boring, so we headed up to the house. A houseful of college students sounds pretty fun to me, but, to some, it's a bit of a stretch.

We went for a short walk at the end of which we could look over the spectacle of the mid-Sierra Nevada foothills from the gold discovery site to the peaks that trapped the Donner Party. The vista, in my view, helps put perspective on what doing good by "the planet" is all about.

Returning we found a house in upswing. The barbecue reception we had included friends and family and even the family of a busser. The bussers mingled, gave private tours to the guests and made themselves very approachable. I know plenty of college kids and this is not a typical trait. This was clearly going to be special.

Thursday, they went off to a concert venue in the Valley to setup and work their magic with the concert-goers. Up and out of the house by 6:30 am in their bus, which looked great parked amongst our trees. They returned at 11:30 pm or so. They were quiet as mice and hung out in our back yard watching the Perseid Meteor Shower. Remarkably dark next to any urban stays they said.

On Friday by 7am four have already been out for a run. By 9 everyone is up and getting loaded up. By 10 we're doing a drive through tour of Nevada City and Grass Valley. I really enjoyed the looks the huge logo bus got from locals in the 19th Century Historic main streets of both towns. I should have setup photos.

As we roll into BriarPatch, the crew comes to life, each quietly taking on the prep work necessary for their rolling "open house". Ten minutes tops and they're pretty much ready. Good thing, a bus is a billboard and appears to attract kids. The bussers are ready and the event begins.

The event has been promoted by GreenSmart and the BriarPatch and a steady stream of interested folks traipse through the bussers world; see the bus, see the story, move someone along a stream of eco-consciousness. The BriarPatch food received high praise. We've all been on road trips, so well cooked, fresh ingredients are always appreciated. And BriarPatch does a particularly fine job. They also picked up the tab.

Bill Hunter, our GreenSmart logistics and purchasing guru (and my cousin) setup a tour at Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico for later in the afternoon, which I'm hopeful they enjoyed. And by 2:00 that was it. Good byes in the parking lot and they were off to Chico.

What had been many weeks in planning, a total unknown for both the students and for us, was as ephemeral as the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. And with all the planning, all the logistics, all the hopes, it all collapses without the incredible people actually on the Big Green Bus. Without their spirit, their camaraderie and their gracious demeanor, the whole concept fails.

We had a great time with these young people. They are wonderful representatives of Dartmouth and also the budding eco-concerned youth. They have helped to inspire an already Green Company (us) and help us stay in touch with a core audience for GreenSmart. We're richer for the experience.

And, I hope, have become our friends. The house wasn't the same last night, and it certainly isn't the same this morning. A world of good was left in Grass Valley by the bussers on the Big Green Bus, the lasting value of which is incalculable. It was an honor to meet you.

Oil spills, seat belts, Title 24 and "at what cost?"

There is a second oil spill cleanup going on in Michigan that hasn't made quite the same splash as the BP gusher in the Gulf. The culprit is a pipeline owned by Enbridge of Canada that specializes in oil and natural gas pipelines and the victim is, are you ready, the people of Michigan and the environment.

Enbridge has insurance in place which means that the cleanup of a million or so gallons of oil that leaked into Talmadge Creek which feeds the Kalamazoo River will likely not be paid for by Enbridge or its shareholders.

As recently as January Enbridge was notified by a Federal Agency that it may have a corrosion problem. I bet there was a corrosion problem, don't you?

I don't know a darn thing about running a pipeline, but, it seems to me, even if one leaks, there should be some way to be able to stop the flow of oil before a million gallons of it get away. That is, after all, a retail value of about $3 million, so it's not something to waste knowingly. I'm sure the cleanup will be considerably more expensive than $3 million, so the lost revenue and cleanup are calculable. But, what about the fouled water supply of the homeowners who have been told not to drink ground water. What is the lifetime, or event cost to make them whole? What is the cost to the 35 miles of waterways now fouled with oil?

I'm as sympathetic to accidents as the next business owner and only share this story to address an ongoing perspective that needs to shift. We've got to be more open to talking about all of the aspects of commercial activity. I've got two contrasting "stories" that I'll offer to pose the question I'm still wondering how will be answered almost 30 years after studying just this subject at Berkeley.

Seat belts were invented in 1911. Yep. Congress passed the law requiring seat belts in cars in 1958. Granted a few companies offered them as options prior, but, the seminal research and presentation was offered by Dr. C. Hunter Shelden in 1955 which covered the consequences of humans flying around the inside of a vehicle in a collision. The car companies didn't want to increase the costs of their vehicles, despite evidence that consumers would be safer, for fear consumers would not pay for the safety. Dr. Shelden also advocated airbags and other safety features, by the way.

It took the auto industry and congress 40 years and countless deaths and disfigurements to finally enact the first step toward greater safety in cars, seat belts, because everyone was afraid of "the cost". Not the cost in lives lost and families ruined, in dollars and cents. In many states, maybe all of them, we've even had to mandate that the safety belts actually be used, because even when presented with option, we consumers can't be trusted to make the smarter decision! How many lives have been saved as a result of these "costs"?

In 1978 California enacted Title 24 building energy guidelines. This set of building codes created a new approach to looking at energy consumption of a building before it was built. The building community, developers and the building community looked at this as "added cost" to their construction.

Now, some 40 years later, California boasts a 40% lower than national average per capita energy consumption. Match that with all of the power plants that have not been built (coal, nuclear, oil or solar) and you have a strong story about the upfront costs that produce long term gains and savings.

Build buildings more energy efficient and save energy. Save the utilities from building more capacity. Save the costs in dollars and cents and to air quality, transportation, resource extraction, etc., and the savings will far outweigh the costs.

Add seat belts and other restraints (but, we may need to require people to wear them) and we'll save lives, saving emergency room visits, long term care of those incapacitated and all the associated costs in dollars and cents.

What cost are Michinganders going to pay for how long for Enbridge's oversight? What cost are we all willing to pay for whatever we need or want, that may be fouling up some other place or some other lives somewhere else? Safety is safety. Fouled up waterways and air quality are fouled up. How long will we continue to argue about "at what cost"? I certainly don't have the answer and am not sure there even is AN ANSWER. But, I know this; it all starts with an ongoing open dialogue about what's possible. I just don't know where that dialogue is being held. If you do, let me know. I'd like to think it is public.