Our first eco-video is ready!

Hi friends,

At long last, our first video from our cross-country eco-video series is ready and uploaded to Youtube for your enjoyment:



This first video is an interview with Jeff Cresswell at Klean Kanteen, a company in Chico, CA that makes stainless steel water bottles. Jeff talked to Carrick about the benefits of using stainless steel water bottles over the disposable plastic ones. This is a really interesting topic with lots of angles, but we are focusing on the question of sustainability.

We have a handful of Klean Kanteen bottles at home and use them constantly, so I can attest first-hand that they are very durable and convenient. We also have several SIGG bottles, which are aluminum and haven’t held up quite as well. We got a recall notice lately from SIGG, saying that their bottles have an inside lining that contains BPA (Bisphenol A), a controversial ingredient in some plastic that is thought to be potentially hazardous, so we sent the old ones back and we are getting new ones without the BPA lining (gee, I feel so much safer). Klean Kanteen, on the other hand, is made from stainless steel and has no lining – it’s an inert material that doesn’t need a lining. I’m seeing metal water bottles pop up all over the place in catalogs and stores now, so you may want to look closely before you buy to see what kind of metal the bottle is made from. If you see a big metal water bottle for $1.99, be aware of what you’re buying.

I recently read Daniel Goleman’s book, ‘Ecological Intelligence’ which talks about life cycle analysis of different products, and what products are really “green” and what is “green-washing”. He talks about stainless steel water bottles and isn’t so enthusiastic – he claims that because of the energy needed to produce a stainless steel water bottle and transport it to the store, it would need to be used 70 times before having a lower eco-impact as disposable plastic water bottles. There are lots of variables that go into that analysis so I take it with a grain of salt. We’ve used our Klean Kanteens hundreds of times and they keep right on going. One of the major benefits of the stainless steel water bottles is that they are 100% TRULY recyclable, meaning they can be melted down and reused again and again to make new stainless steel water bottles, not downcycled like plastic bottles. If the bottles were made from recycled steel and made in the U.S., that statistic of using the bottle 70 times would be very different.

One thing I really wanted to make sure we covered in this video is drinking water from the tap and public drinking fountains. I’ve seen many times people advocate tap water instead of buying plastic water bottles, but nobody seems to acknowledge that in so many parts of the country the water tastes awful! I know – we drove it! One of the first things I did when we got home to Sutton was drink several glasses of water – I take for granted that our wonderful home well-water just comes in endless supply for us to drink. Fortunately, different kinds of water filters for the whole house, sink, or a water filter pitcher are easy ways to make tap water taste much better in places where it’s not good.

Another issue is convenience – buying a bottle of cold water on a hot day is a relief! The bottled water companies don’t hesitate to point that out, and they’re right. If bone-chilling cold water is what you want then it’s a lot less convenient to bring your own bottle. It’s also interesting to consider that most of what convenience stores sell for drinks, like soda, juice, iced tea, etc is really bottled or canned water, with flavoring and sugar added.

As a side note, many companies that sell disposable plastic water bottles officially recommend NOT reusing their bottles. That’s not just because they would rather keep selling you new bottles; disposable plastic bottles are not designed to be reused. They were never meant to be refilled and used again. There’s a lot of media online about plastic from bottles leaching into the water. Personally, I find that water in plastic bottles usually tastes like….plastic water. I don’t need studies to tell me it’s leaching, I can taste it.

In the interview at Klean Kanteen, Jeff also talked about how the company got started – it was interesting but I ended up leaving it out of the video. It began as a response to reusable plastic water bottles, such as Nalgene bottles, that were a big trend 5-10 years ago but became a big controversy with…our old friend, Bisphenol A again. You may remember hearing about BPA found in plastic baby bottles and that caused a big stir in the media. Klean Kanteen was started to offer stainless steel as an alternative and was marketed more to the sports enthusiasts at stores like REI. As disposable plastic water bottles became more of an environmental concern, Klean Kanteen has been getting more recognition from the green movement.

So, I hope you enjoy our first video from the trip. Now that I have the basics of using the video editing program, Final Cut, things should move much more quickly and we should be putting the videos out regularly. The Klean Kanteen video is also on the OurRenewableNation.org website, embedded from www.GoGreenTube.com instead of YouTube so that all you teachers can access it in schools (schools generally block websites like YouTube).

Thanks again for all your support in making this eco-video series happen! Please send this email to friends and family who you think would enjoy our video, and encourage them to sign up for our email list so they can get the videos as soon as they go online, just like you!

Be well,
Colin
--
Our Renewable Nation, A Cross-Country Eco-Video Adventure
www.OurRenewableNation.org

A Busy Day in Chico

Hi friends,

Our day in Chico, CA was one packed day! We filmed four interviews and were interviewed as well, plus our hosts threw a great party with friends from the green community in Chico.

Our first stop for the day was at Chico Bag, a company that makes reusable shopping bags. Their unique twist is to make durable bags that stuff down into a tiny pouch that is easy to carry, making them very convenient. Carrick interviewed Andy Keller, president and inventor of Chico Bag - Andy was inspired to create the Chico Bag after a visit to the landfill, where he saw disposable plastic bags everywhere. Part of the Chico Bag fun is the Plastic Bag Monster, a crazy costume of 500 plastic bags, which is the amount of plastic bags an American uses each year on average. The Plastic Bag Monster made an appearance in our video, in a face-off with the world debut of the Paper Bag Monster! We got the exclusive!

Carrick and I then went over to visit Dori and Val of the podcast 'More Hip Than Hippie', which is a great weekly eco-funny show. I've been listening to their podcast for the last 3 years and have always had fun listening to their interviews and green discussions - they have a great time and are two funny ladies! They always encourage listeners to do what they can, making baby steps to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. They invited us to be on their fourth anniversary show, which was a big honor! Once our interview was done we turned the tables and interviewed them for our project. You can visit their website at www.MoreHipThanHippie.com, or look for them on ITunes.

Val is also the founder and president of Greenfeet, an online green retailer that was recently voted in the Top 10 green businesses in the U.S. Val and her husband Rob started Greenfeet 10 years ago and they've built a model green business from the products they sell to all the info on their website, and their packaging and shipping. We interviewed Val about running a green business and about some of the products they sell. Greenfeet is one of the sponsors for our eco-video series, and we appreciate their support for our work! Check out Greenfeet's website at www.Greenfeet.com.

From Greenfeet we went over to visit Klean Kanteen, a company in Chico that makes stainless steel water bottles. Billions of plastic water bottles are thrown out every year and only a small number of those are recycled. We've been using Klean Kanteens for the last 2 years, filling them up at home and taking them with us wherever we go (including cross-country). Klean Kanteens were originally created as an alternative to reusable plastic water bottles on the market, many of which were found to have dangerous chemicals in the plastic. Stainless steel bottles like Klean Kanteens are safe and durable, a great alternative! We visited Klean Kanteen HQ, to find out about how the company got started and get some stats on disposable plastic water bottles. Check them out at www.KleanKanteen.com.

After all-day interviews, we had a great time at a party put on by our hosts, who invited some of Chico's green notables. Dori and Val were there, plus other friends! It was a fun way to end a busy day!

Be well,
Colin
www.OurRenewableNation.org