An Evening with the Surfrider Foundation, A History of the DC Bag Tax from an Insider View

As a member of the greater DC community, I’m sure you’re aware of the plastic bag tax.  Since its implementation at the beginning of this calendar year, bag use has dropped from 22.5 million per month to 3 million per month and individual stores have estimated a 60 – 80% drop in use, while raising $1 million for cleanup efforts on the Anacostia River.

The Surfrider Foundation was one of the major organizations that lobbied for this tax, and so far it has been a wild success.  They supported this initiative based on an early study done by a few volunteers, who walked up and down the Anacostia River and recorded every piece of trash that they found.  They discovered that 47% of the trash consisted of plastic bags on land, while 20% of the trash was plastic bags in the river.  The Surfrider Foundation was founded by surfers who advocate for access to beaches and waves, but also for clean water, a human right that many people don’t have access to.

The bag tax has been a major success, seeing a 66% drop in the number of bags being cleaned up since last year, but not without critics.  It’s important to note that the issue was never about raising money, so it wasn’t a tax in the traditional sense, but it was more of a tax to reduce the number of plastic bags clogging up our rivers.  (Think of a “sin tax.”)  The tax ended up passing with less resistance than expected, especially when you consider the fact that more environmentally aware/progressive cities and states have failed...

We Never Talk About Global Warming Anymore

Yesterday was “Blog Action Day” for climate change topics, whatever that means…

So in the spirit of yesterday, let’s talk about student activism on climate change. Over my three-plus years in college, I’ve witnessed immense progress in how students view their impact on our world. When I came to Georgetown in 2006, global warming was still considered “global warming” for the mainstream folk. This was an age where we actually needed Al Gore to stand in front of a powerpoint in order to even begin considering how our personal, political, and economic choices impact our world. But like I said, that was sooo 2006.


Today, our campus – and I think all campuses – are alive with the spirit of sustainability, all driven by the presence of global warming. The beauty of this movement lies not in what EcoAction has become, but rather in how environmental sustainability has begun to leach into every aspect of life. The speakers that come here are environmental leaders; we have green architecture; we have an energy competition going on (admittedly, it’s woefully underpublicized); the SFS is switching Map of the Modern World to be based around geography more than political lines; the Sustainability Committee continues to make practical improvements to campus footprint; and every b-school student is trying to figure out exactly how to capitalize on all of this energy.

Over this time period, EcoAction has exploded. The organization takes on campaigns from all ranges of the environmentalist landscape, from sustainable food and park cleanups – central tenets for any tree-hugger – to carbon auditing and lobbying. I always expected this of EcoAction. I mean, it’s what we do. We’re an environmental group. But the broader things happening on campuses around the country are more exciting; the mainstream has finally gets it. And here’s where we’re at in terms of climate change activism on college campuses: the point at which it’s hardly anything you need to remind people about. But we still do, and we’re not stopping!

In line with not stopping reminding people about climate change, here’s a cheap, dirty plug for the raddest youth climate change summit this side of the Potomac. Virginia Power Shift is here! It’s happening at George Mason (so I guess it’s not exactly on this side of the Potomac, unless I don’t understand our local geography…) on Oct. 23-25, and Georgetown is sending a big group. Be there!

Canvassing with the DC Project

Yesterday, Emily, Keely and I went over to Dupont Circle to meet up with The DC Project, a new non-profit organization. The DC Project aims to address social justice and climate change on a two-fold level.

They aim to create demand for green jobs by asking people to weatherize their homes. They also try to connect people with green job training so the demand is answered.

As of late, there's been a lot of emphasis on the new "green economy." Unfortunately, it's been a lot of marketing and less substance - it's been proven difficult to connect people who need jobs the most with the training that they need to work in green-collar jobs. This is what the DC Project tries to fix.

So the three of us went around DC going door-to-door to tell people about weatherization.

Weatherization is the process of making your home more energy efficient. The idea is that homeowners should insulate their homes so less heat escapes from the home - saving money and also requiring less heating and therefore reducing your carbon footprint.

Some examples of weatherization are: sealing gaps/holes, installing storm windows, sealing air ducts, and installing insulation.

We had a great time walking around and telling people about the DC Project and about weatherization. Overall people were really receptive- and we look forward to working with this group in the future.

Image from: http://www.capriverside.org/

Meeting Dr. Jane

If you want to know all of the details of what Jane Goodall said in her lecture, you can check it out on the Georgetown website. The audience absolutely adored her, and she spoke with wisdom, grace, compassion, inspiration,...(The list goes on.) Her messages of peace and conservation, of humility and compassion, were, in my opinion, in tune with the ethos of Georgetown University, something we should all remember.

However, you can watch her (Mr. H, peace dove, and all) at the link above. What you can't watch is the student reception.

A group of us from the EcoAction board were able to attend the student reception for the lecture. Also at the event were contingents from GW and American as well as students from the Center for the Environment and Lecture Fund.

Dr. Jane (as those around her seem to call her) befittingly requested that the receptions be vegetarian. Her work with animals has inspired a love and compassion for them, and the reception should follow suit. We were able to indulge in an array of hummus dips (regular, black bean, and one other) with toasted pita corners, a variety of fruits, vegetables, and cheeses, and much more. I know I ate too much afterward, but it was all healthful food, so I don't have to feel too guilty.

After lots of mingling among the students, Dr. Jane finally walked in. When she entered the room, a silence fell over the room. All noise stopped. Tripti accurately described her entrance as "regal." She had an air of serenity and wisdom in the way she carried herself and, as we soon found out, in the way she spoke with us.

It was a bit intimidating to speak with Jane Goodall (that's right, THE Jane Goodall) when she finally got to our group while doing rounds. However, she was very welcoming; in the moments of silence around her, one feels that she is contemplative and compassionate. We spoke with her about the connection of business and law to social responsibility and of her work with youth from across the globe. She emphasized her message of an inspirational environmentalism. When speaking with students, she would often encounter many who had become depressed or indifferent, feeling that their future had been compromised by those before them. However, she seeks to inspire today's youth to take action in their communities, finding the steps (whether big or small) that can benefit people, animals, and the environment. She encouraged us to stay positive, stay focused, and stay active.

I had not had the opportunity to buy her book at that point (I did so just before the lecture), but I was able to get her to sign the back of a Roots & Shoots flyer that I later pasted into the book.

I have not yet read her book, but I am looking forward to doing so soon; the lecture gives a taste of the stories in her book--of the hope for the future that she sees around her. The only surefire way to lose a fight is to give up.

America, the Beautiful?

The other day, when I was thinking about July 4th, the well-known song "America the Beautiful" (by Katharine Lee Bates) came to mind. I thought today would be a good time to reflect on the lyrics of the song:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain
America! America!
God shed your grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

When the emissions from our cars, our factories, our burning fuels threaten the spacious skies,
and the chemical fertilizers and pesticides threaten the amber waves of grain,
and strip mining threatens the purple mountains' majesties,
and the shining sea faces oil spills and toxic waste,
then where is the grace, the good, the brotherhood?

So, take this July 4th to reflect not only on the past and the present of the good ole US of A but, even more importantly, of its future--of the promise that awaits with the right steps forward. With the right voices, the right actions, and the right enthusiasm, progress is possible.

"Never underestimate the power of a small but committed group of people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead

Image from finartamerica.com

Acing Aces (and other bills): How to Organize Over the Summer

Bill Scher of ourfuture.org wrote an article on Huffington Post earlier today about his disappointment with the lack of grassroots activism around the climate bill. As we know, the bill got passed by a tight margin--only with the work of a lot of last minute deals (and 300 pages worth of amendments).

Reading this made me reflect on the role of activism over the summer. Obviously, as a college environmental group, we have a much easier time rallying support during the academic year. We can go out to Red Square and hold call-ins, we can expect that our members are regularly checking emails, and everyone tends to be very engaged and politically active. Over the summer, people disperse, get busy with work, or get distracted with leisure.

What lies ahead, then, when the bill goes to the Senate?

One thing that I would recommend for everyone to do is to follow 1Sky on twitter. Some of you have twitter accounts, and some don't, but I truly appreciated the value of twitter last Friday. I was walking home during a lot of the debate on the House floor, but that didn't stop me from knowing exactly what was going on. 1Sky was tweeting the comments that each Rep was making, and better still, they provided a link to a site where you could send an email to the Reps who did not support the bill to tell them why their arguments were wrong. During the 45 minute walk back, I was hooked.

Back on the main point, I know our google group is not the best tool for the instant dissemination of messages because messages can be received in a weekly digest. Facebook messages can easily be ignored--since the amass too quickly. Facebook events also don't get immediate response.

Blogging can be valuable if you have a constant readership.

So, here is my question to all of you eco-active Hoyas: What do you think is the best way to organize in such a climate (that of dispersion/summer) for the sake of the climate?