What’s Hot & Cool Now

Observations at the intersection of modern environmentalism and everything else.

The Bear Is The Best

Just when I thought I couldn’t love The Bear any more, in season 2 they mention climate change AND food waste! This is exactly what modern environmentalism looks like – it’s still enjoying the things you love (excellent content) but with a nod to the environmental realities that touch our world (in this case throwing in a climate comment in casual conversation and noting a desire to use as much of a food item while cooking as possible). If you haven’t already, watch The Bear! And look out for the environmental mentions:

🐻 S2 E4 Honeydew: 5 min mark, Marcus’s friend Chester is talking about air conditioning in the winter, “I mean ya never know, global warming is poppin off”

🐻 S2 E5 Pop: under 1 min mark, Sydney is talking about a dish she’s creating and mentions how she really wants to be conscious of waste and describes some ways she could use more of the food she’s cooking with

Our Hero

And now, some recent Al Gore quotes:

“We can stop the temperatures going up worldwide with as little as a three-year time lag by reaching net zero,” he said. “And if we stay at true net zero, we’ll see half of the human-caused CO2 coming out of the atmosphere in as little as 30 years.”

“Fossil fuel companies are desperately trying to use their political and economic networks and their successful capture of policy in too many countries to slow down this transition,” he said. “They don’t disclose their emissions. They don’t have any phase-out plan. They’re not committed to a real net zero pathway. They’re greenwashing. They’re performing anti-climate plotting.”

No Such Thing As Carbon Neutrality

Some good things are happening in the land of corporate climate responsibility. Nestle is the latest company to announce that they will stop purchasing carbon offsets to appear ‘carbon neutral’ and instead focus on – wait for it – reducing their actual emissions(!) in order to reach their net zero goals. In reading their corporate site outlining their ‘net zero roadmap‘, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies, as they do leave room for offset-y activities to be included in the mix (like tree planting), but they seem to position them as an add-ons after first prioritizing absolute reductions. Still, it’s a big deal that corporations are voluntarily rejecting offsets and instead choosing to do the work that’s necessary to stop contributing to atmospheric greenhouse gases. Hoping to see many more companies follow and put an end to the greenwashing now rampant on websites and product packaging, making false claims of carbon neutrality.

Green Surfing

Surfing is getting greener as some companies making surfboards, wetsuits, and surfing accessories are eliminating materials derived from fossil fuels, and instead opting for recycled and non-toxic materials. Surf shops are also raising awareness and creating programs to help their communities be more environmentally-friendly by installing electric car chargers in their parking lots and offering club memberships to store surfboards and encourage walking or biking to the beach. Surfing is made possible by the wonders of nature. We can honor this fun activity by making more environmentally-friendly choices. Read more on the sustainable surf movement here.

Sun’s Poppin’

This is nothing new, but for the first time I tried BjornQorn (popcorn). I liked the illustration on the back of the bag of a barn with solar panels, so I visited their website to find out they use 100% solar energy to pop their corn and run all operations. They have a fun graphic on their site that says “100% Committed, 100% Renewable, 100% Doable”, and they state that “We believe it’s important to build energy independence and environmental awareness into the foundation of any business.” Yup, very Gen E approved. Now, do I wish they didn’t use plastic packaging? Of course. They do acknowledge this, and at least they use a very thin bag, which likely uses the minimal amount of plastic possible. They say they’re working with some zero waste places, which is good because that is absolutely a solution…just one that will likely not scale for a long time. Still, this company has heart for the environment and that’s what we love to see.