Sustainability Concierge

Dear @gavinnewsom This letter is in your inbox. Sincerely,... @californiareusecollective Friday Apaliski, Molly De Vries @nondisposablelife , Stèphanie Regni @fillgood.co , Eva Holman and Carolynn Box @goodsholdingcompany , Maia Tekle and Lindsey Hoell @dispatch_goods , Heather Itzla and Nicole Kozlowski @wisdomsupply.co

10.5 Million REGISTERED voters, who identify as super environmentalists did NOT vote in 2016. They simply didn’t show up. This podcast might be my favorite of the year. It blew my mind but also left me feeling optimistic. There are a zillion great sound bites in there so I really encourage you all to listen, even/especially if you are not a self-identifying environmentalist. Here are a few of my take-aways:... We don’t need to change minds - we just need to change habits.. The large majority of Americans know climate change is real and want something done about it. (I’ve heard this before and always assumed it was political money that made for inaction. Well you know what they say about assuming... it’s true!) There are all kinds of ways to get people to vote. I was fascinated by the tactics. Discussed. But on a personal note - I have been a poll worker for many elections now and I can tell you that A LOT of registered voters don’t show up. Voting is power. This is truth. It is the ultimate power. Use it! Use it this year at a time when so much feels out of our control. THIS is not. #vote

Sunday is for pajamas. Last week I told you about Flame Retardant chemicals in foam... now I want you to make sure they are not in your kid's pajamas. That big yellow tag is what you WANT to see on all new pajamas.... If you are looking at #secondhandfirst (which I always recommend) you can check the tag. (swipe for example) See more

Small but Mighty That’s the faucet aerator. It costs $3-7 dollars and it cuts down your water usage without you even having to think about it. You don't need any fancy tools. Just unscrew the end of your faucet, pop out the aerator, and replace it with one that is 1.25 gallon per minute or less.... Voilà! You have done something today to #conservewater #conserveenergy get some #goodkarma and hug #motherearth. See more

Today’s reason to change to LED light bulbs... heat! During this #heatwave reducing extra heat in your house is a must. Incandescent bulbs are hot to touch, and they heat up your house. But LED bulbs *do not get hot*... I am an expert in choosing the right LEDs for your home. If you want help making this change, DM me. [image description: Did you know that LED bulbs will last the average family 20 years? Save money. Save time. Save energy. Save the planet.]

It’s HOT This is the temp at 5:30pm in SF But I’m hanging out in a cool house What?!? Air Conditioning in SF?!?... Yes. The same machine that provides me with the most efficient, least expensive, greenest heat is ALSO an air conditioner. I spend every day helping my clients make their homes as green as possible. If you want to help fight climate change and also feel guiltless about AC on the hot days ahead (cause there are many more to come), DM me. Let’s work together.

I had a great time with @lucybiggers talking about light bulbs. Please check out this short video and tell me about which light bulbs you are going to change to LED I am now an LED lightbulb BELIEVER! ... On this episode of One Small Step, I learned from Friday Apaliski aka @sustainability_concierge that LEDs come in all the shades of light you need and have huge energy savings. Seriously, LED’s last decades longer than incandescent lights while also using 1/10th the energy check out the full video link in my bio and highlights and be prepared to be an LED convert as well! See more

Challenge Accepted Women are phenomenal. I didn’t fully realize the power of #womensupportingwomen until I started my own business, and I’ll tell you this experience has made me the fiercest feminist. Countless women have gone out of their way to help me, to lift me, to listen to me, to support me. And in turn, I’m inspired to do the same. This is (just part) of why women are phenomenal. Thank you to the women who challenged me @sharonamyphotography @ready.set.moms @julesjoyful @bellhummel Thank you to the women who challenge and support me. Thank you to the women who listen and love and move and shake and laugh and learn and inspire me. I see you all. I appreciate you all. I love you all.

Don’t let anyone call you crazy for doing what you can to help fight climate change. I hear clients lament all the time that they are ostracized or looked down upon by their friends and family for trying to do better for the environment. Let me be the one to tell you - keep up the great work!! Find your people and keep on pushing.... Let this photo serve as inspiration: My family took a little summer break in Tahoe, where there is no curbside food waste collection, and the presence of bears means backyard composting is at-your-own-risk. I couldn’t stand the idea of putting food scraps in the landfill, so we collected them all (two weeks worth!) in this air tight container and drove them all the way back to San Francisco were they were collected for composting. My family is pretty used to my demands by this point, but even they were ready to give up. They rolled their eyes at me. But we did it! #everyactioncounts

I had such a good conversation with @jamytarr and @zelmarose on their podcast @biasedcuts . This conversation was not only fun, but also nuanced. Fashion and sustainability are complicated and I’m SO thankful for women like Lisa and J’Amy who are leading the way and opening up this topic and conversation to all. Please take a listen. The link is in my bio.

Sustainable choices are the foundation of environmental justice. I will use this platform to help inform you on how to make better choices, to use our voices to push for progressive, positive policy that eliminates these toxic situations at the source. This is how environmental justice shows up for black lives matter. You might be familiar with some of these statistics below, you might have missed some. What doesn’t change is we should not stop talking about them until we see... positive change. Hard to read? Sure. Imagine how much harder it is to live. Push any fragility to the side and buckle up, lives depend on this. Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on BIPOC. In the US, Black People are: - 3x more likely to die from pollution-related disease than White people - 1.5x more likely to be exposed to particulate matter like pollutants than White people - 79% more likely to live in neighborhoods with toxic industrial pollution than White people - POC are exposed to 38% higher levels of nitrogen dioxide than White people . . . Sources: New England Journal of Medicine, The Atlantic, Robert Bullard via The Intercept, The Washington Post @ San Francisco, California

This is a time for listening. Racism is built into the climate crisis. We will talk more about how your sustainable choices are part of environmental justice. But right now we need to pause and listen and show support. BlackOutTuesday

It’s Friday!!! Also, it’s Friday on Friday and #mygirlfriday and #FriYAY Ok enough of that Two weeks ago my dear friend Joel gave me a sourdough starter and told me how to feed it. (anyone with starter will gladly share with you)... The first few days I thought it was super fun. Then I started cursing him for signing me up for all this crazy maintenance. But now I’m thankful. LOOK. AT. THIS. BREAD It is SO good. And I am so proud. And I remembered that this is what it feels like to try something new, change a habit, and overcome it. It feels GOOD. So, since many many of you asked for my recipe (which is mostly Joel’s, with a little Friday simplification). Here it is: Ingredients: 3 cups flour 1 1/4 cup warm water 1 Tablespoon honey 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup sourdough starter (one time I added about a teaspoon of chopped dried rosemary and it was delightful - permission to get creative!) Put all the ingredients together in one bowl. Stir until just mixed. Rest for 15 minutes. Kneed for 10 minutes by hand (this is what I do), or 5 minutes using an electric mixer with hook attachment. Cover and let rise for 5 hours minimum. 12 hours maximum Set the oven to 500 Put your cast iron pot into the oven to heat up (you can use a Dutch Oven, enameled or not) When everything is at temperature, remove the pot and put the dough in Put a lid on the pot and cook the bread for 18 minutes (note - the handle on my Le Cruset pot exploded in the hot oven, so beware. I am sticking with old school cast iron) Then remove the lid and cook for an additional 18 minutes Then EAT IT ALL UP! @ San Francisco, California