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You reading these words right now can reduce your consumption of plastic and fossil fuels, probably by 90% without any decrease in your quality of life. More li

by spodek 9y ago

You reading these words right now can reduce your consumption of plastic and fossil fuels, probably by 90% without any decrease in your quality of life. More likely you'll improve it. On a personal level, my commitment to avoid packaged food 3 years ago means I last had to empty my landfill garbage June 4. I've emptied my recycling I think twice since then. Now that feels like way too much. The main result is that my diet is more delicious than ever, more varied, more convenient, and saves me money. I'm in my third year of not flying too. I began by saying I would avoid flying for one year. It improved my life so much I kept going. These two changes sounded scary and impossible when I committed to them but experience showed me that living by my values improves my life. It took a while to let go of mainstream values that I couldn't stomach but had lived by for decades. Once I did, things got better and better. I'm not special. You can almost certainly cut your plastic use, fossil fuel use, pollution, and so on by a lot. I bet you'll find it improves your life.

spraak 9y ago
Your experience reminds me of the book and movie "No Impact Man", which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and watching. Thanks for sharing! I feel more motivated to reduce my trash. Have you shared any of this on e.g. a blog?
- spodek 9y ago
  I've shared a ton on my blog, Inc. column, and my podcast, Leadership and the Environment. At the risk of flooding you: Avoiding food packaging: http://joshuaspodek.com/js_blogseries/avoiding-food-packaging http://joshuaspodek.com/js_blogseries/avoiding-food-packagin... (the table of contents on the right is clickable) Not flying: https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/365-days-without-flying.html https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/365-days-without-flying.ht... Podcast: http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast or https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-and-the-environment/id1320141457 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-and-the-envir... Picking up garbage: https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/a-millennial-making-america-clean-again.html https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/a-millennial-making-americ... Plenty more if you click "related posts" at the bottom of blog posts and in my Inc. profile: http://www.inc.com/author/joshua-spodek http://www.inc.com/author/joshua-spodek.
esturk 9y ago
I applaud your effort and results. However, how do you cop with a Significant other that doesn't share this view? I mean its great to do the things that you do, but if you're dating or married to someone that doesn't share your view or someone that loves to travel as often as they can, then it becomes difficult.
- spodek 9y ago
  From being asked this question in various forms many times, I've found the answer is in the process, not my specific actions, which are tuned to my life and circumstances. The answer is that you start with what you can. Do. Act. Experience. Iterate. Learn. Same as with entrepreneurial and business success. The worst thing to do is analyze, plan, and point out how your case is special without acting. Listen to my podcast and you'll hear guest after guest taking on challenges, learning from the experience, and finding the next thing easier and more rewarding. You're not alone. > then it becomes difficult When did I say it was easy for me? I don't see why you would think it was. For all you know, your case is easier than mine. It probably is. In any case, you get to the hard things by tackling the easy things, applying what you learned, and advancing. Feel the reward of getting something done and expect bigger reward for the next thing. You can't do difficult when you're hung up on easy. If you don't do easy because you think it's not worth it, you'll never get anywhere.
ensiferum 9y ago
Can you elaborate how and where you buy your food then? Sadly most of the stuff is wrapped in plastic one way or another and as much as I would like to buy non-plastic wrapped food it's mostly just not an option.
- spodek 9y ago
  The world isn't so static that you have to accept things as they are. People are behind every decision and you can talk to those people. That's why my podcast is leadership first. Yes, it's hard to change a system and easier to go with the flow, but if you don't like where it leads, you either have to choose to live by your values or accept that your comfort and convenience comes at the cost and health of others. I chose the latter for most of my life and it ate me up inside. Now I act on my values and my life keeps getting better. Maybe yours will get worse for living by your values, but I doubt it. I'll share my answers with the caveat that they work for my life, not yours. If I lived in your situation I'd solve it differently, but I would solve it. Many people look for differences and conclude their case is impossible, which is hogwash. Mine looked impossible until I acted too. I talk about my food in various times on my podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast but the main thing are my CSAs (summer/fall: https://westvillagecsa.wixsite.com/wvcsa https://westvillagecsa.wixsite.com/wvcsa, winter/spring: http://www.washingtonsquarecsa.com/description http://www.washingtonsquarecsa.com/description), where I pick up vegetables from a drop-off point in my neighborhood (actually, I walk about a mile each way to the winter/spring one), and the farmers market when the CSA is. There are many stores near me with the problem you describe. I stop going there in favor of places without the problem. Some shop owners know me as the guy who asks for things without packaging. A short conversation and they're happy to oblige. I bring bags and containers with me. If I forget to bring them, I buy less stuff that time. One of my podcast guests took on the challenge of buying meat without packaging. I don't remember the details, but mainly she talked to the butcher and created a relationship. Same with a guy who stopped using disposable coffee cups. He developed relationships with the baristas.
  - ensiferum 9y ago
    Ok thanks for that. Unfortunately I live in a country where I don't speak the local language so the conversation part is not possible. Theres an organic store which has most items without plastic packagin and provide paper bags for vegetables etc. Its nice but the price is also double compared to the cheaper store :/
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

by spodek 9y ago

spraak 9y ago

Your experience reminds me of the book and movie "No Impact Man", which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and watching. Thanks for sharing! I feel more motivated to reduce my trash. Have you shared any of this on e.g. a blog?

spodek 9y ago
I've shared a ton on my blog, Inc. column, and my podcast, Leadership and the Environment. At the risk of flooding you: Avoiding food packaging: http://joshuaspodek.com/js_blogseries/avoiding-food-packaging http://joshuaspodek.com/js_blogseries/avoiding-food-packagin... (the table of contents on the right is clickable) Not flying: https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/365-days-without-flying.html https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/365-days-without-flying.ht... Podcast: http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast or https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-and-the-environment/id1320141457 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-and-the-envir... Picking up garbage: https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/a-millennial-making-america-clean-again.html https://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/a-millennial-making-americ... Plenty more if you click "related posts" at the bottom of blog posts and in my Inc. profile: http://www.inc.com/author/joshua-spodek http://www.inc.com/author/joshua-spodek.

esturk 9y ago

I applaud your effort and results. However, how do you cop with a Significant other that doesn't share this view? I mean its great to do the things that you do, but if you're dating or married to someone that doesn't share your view or someone that loves to travel as often as they can, then it becomes difficult.

spodek 9y ago
From being asked this question in various forms many times, I've found the answer is in the process, not my specific actions, which are tuned to my life and circumstances. The answer is that you start with what you can. Do. Act. Experience. Iterate. Learn. Same as with entrepreneurial and business success. The worst thing to do is analyze, plan, and point out how your case is special without acting. Listen to my podcast and you'll hear guest after guest taking on challenges, learning from the experience, and finding the next thing easier and more rewarding. You're not alone. > then it becomes difficult When did I say it was easy for me? I don't see why you would think it was. For all you know, your case is easier than mine. It probably is. In any case, you get to the hard things by tackling the easy things, applying what you learned, and advancing. Feel the reward of getting something done and expect bigger reward for the next thing. You can't do difficult when you're hung up on easy. If you don't do easy because you think it's not worth it, you'll never get anywhere.

ensiferum 9y ago

Can you elaborate how and where you buy your food then? Sadly most of the stuff is wrapped in plastic one way or another and as much as I would like to buy non-plastic wrapped food it's mostly just not an option.

spodek 9y ago
The world isn't so static that you have to accept things as they are. People are behind every decision and you can talk to those people. That's why my podcast is leadership first. Yes, it's hard to change a system and easier to go with the flow, but if you don't like where it leads, you either have to choose to live by your values or accept that your comfort and convenience comes at the cost and health of others. I chose the latter for most of my life and it ate me up inside. Now I act on my values and my life keeps getting better. Maybe yours will get worse for living by your values, but I doubt it. I'll share my answers with the caveat that they work for my life, not yours. If I lived in your situation I'd solve it differently, but I would solve it. Many people look for differences and conclude their case is impossible, which is hogwash. Mine looked impossible until I acted too. I talk about my food in various times on my podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast but the main thing are my CSAs (summer/fall: https://westvillagecsa.wixsite.com/wvcsa https://westvillagecsa.wixsite.com/wvcsa, winter/spring: http://www.washingtonsquarecsa.com/description http://www.washingtonsquarecsa.com/description), where I pick up vegetables from a drop-off point in my neighborhood (actually, I walk about a mile each way to the winter/spring one), and the farmers market when the CSA is. There are many stores near me with the problem you describe. I stop going there in favor of places without the problem. Some shop owners know me as the guy who asks for things without packaging. A short conversation and they're happy to oblige. I bring bags and containers with me. If I forget to bring them, I buy less stuff that time. One of my podcast guests took on the challenge of buying meat without packaging. I don't remember the details, but mainly she talked to the butcher and created a relationship. Same with a guy who stopped using disposable coffee cups. He developed relationships with the baristas.
- ensiferum 9y ago
  Ok thanks for that. Unfortunately I live in a country where I don't speak the local language so the conversation part is not possible. Theres an organic store which has most items without plastic packagin and provide paper bags for vegetables etc. Its nice but the price is also double compared to the cheaper store :/

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]