Eco-Movies Worth Watching: "Tiny"

It's time to break out the popcorn. This week on the Green Life, we'll review some of our favorite new eco-movies.

Tiny (2013)                                          

In theaters now

Milestone birthdays can trigger the kind of big life decisions that make great fodder for movies. So, almost-30-year-old Christopher Smith stumbled into making a documentary about building a 130-square-foot home and the big-picture ethos behind the tiny house movement: Tiny.

Wrestling with those “Who do I want to be? How do I want to live?” questions on the cusp of his 30th spurred Smith’s impetuous purchase of a wide open space in Colorado. He just needed to put a house on it. In the pursuit of freedom, self-sufficiency, and in the interest of completing a DIY-home without any construction experience, he decided to build a tiny one.

As the project took shape, Smith’s girlfriend and co-builder Merete Mueller suggested they make a mini-movie about it. Two years and a successful Kickstarter campaign later, Tiny is now hitting the film-festival circuit as a full-length feature.

Tiny shows Smith starting and stumbling, learning to build his house from scratch — a smart phone playing an instructional video that directs him as he wires the house for electricity, a laptop playing an instructional video that directs him as he sews curtains for the windows.

6 Must-Have Resources for Cyclists

To continue our celebration of Bike to Work Week, we've collected a slew of info-packed articles to help you hit the road.

1.) How to Pick the Perfect Bike: We'll share six things you should know before buying a commuter bike.

2.) How to Deal with Bad Weather: If you're committed to year-round bike commuting, check out our tips for dealing with rain, snow, or cold weather.

3.) Tips for Female Cyclists: In the U.S., female cyclists are the minority on the road. Here's how we can change that.

4.) How to Become a Bike Commuter: Are you new to two-wheeled transport? Follow these seven steps to stay safe and comfortable on the road.

5.) How to Be More Productive: Research suggests that biking to work improves memory and the ability to multitask. Find out how much physical activity it takes to make an impact.

6.) Tips for Trail Biking: If you're not satisfied with weekday cycling, check out our advice for making the most of designated mountain trails.

--Image by istockphoto/olaser

Cats Facts: Green Jobs Mean Big Bucks

Cats, again! This week has been a good run for our favorite companion animals and their accompanying green tidings. (Feel free to debate "favorite" in the comments.) 

From a fluff ball and EVs to a lean kitty and big savings, to a tabby who doesn't give a shale about oil, we've carried the April Fools' fun through to the weekend.

A final word from our feline overlords:

 

Just the facts:

What could shifting funds to greener pastures look like? Instead of building and expanding roads, green jobs include building and expanding mass transit, and increasing existing buildings' energy efficiency. 

Cat Facts: Cycling Is a Lot Cheaper Than Driving

In keeping with Monday's April Fools'-ishness, this week we're sharing eco-facts paired with cats. Yesterday, we looked at oil shale and a tabby with an abundant belly.

Just the facts:

Cycling just makes sense, given the low overhead, the aerobic perks, and the fact that nearly half of all trips, cycling and otherwise, are made within two miles of home.

The thought of getting doored is scary, though, or perhaps you live near a version of Lombard Street and might as well leash your bike and give it a water bowl.  

Fortunately, bicycle commuting increased by 40 percent from 2000 to 2010. Investing in bike-friendly infrastructure, like separating cycling lanes from vehicular traffic with parked cars or posts, should maintain the trend.

Environmental impact aside, money talks. Portland recently spent close to $60 million on cycling infrastructure, the average cost of one mile of urban highway. According to this City of Portland Bureau of Transportation report: "The return on investment has been highest for bicycle transportation."

Green Careers: Urban Farming

For Green Lifers seeking to align their career compass, we've dedicated this week to profiling different eco-professions. Yesterday we learned about environmental journalism. If you took our quiz on Monday and scored mostly b's, then read below to learn more about urban farming, your green career fit.

Green Careers: Urban Farming

Urban farmers grow, process, and distribute food in or around a city, allowing its residents easy access to fresh, seasonal produce. Some farmers raise animals, such as chickens or fish. Often found on rooftops, patios, formerly vacant lots, and even indoors, urban farms can play a crucial role in improving food access and food security in underserved neighborhoods with few grocery stores. Farms also add greenery to stark cityscapes; reduce harmful runoff; and help counteract "urban heat islands" —  metropolitan areas that, due to human activity, are significantly warmer than nearby rural communities. Community farms can provide income and build job skills for disadvantaged, at-risk youth.

An urban farmer’s day usually begins early in the morning and could include feeding animals, delivering food to restaurants and caterers, selling food at farmers’ markets, bookkeeping, marketing to potential clients — and of course, watering seedlings, fertilizing, weeding, planting, and harvesting. Some urban farmers are involved in local food justice advocacy and policy, which might involve planning and participating in meetings.

Q&A: Kemba Shakur on Urban Reforestation

When Kemba Shakur moved to Oakland, California, in 1990, there was not one tree on her block. So she began to plant them herself. Now her organization, Urban Releaf, has planted over 15,000 trees throughout East Bay communities, working to improve the quality of life in ecologically disadvantaged neighborhoods and enhance community involvement and employment, especially among at-risk youth. Sierra Magazine sat down with Shakur, locally known as “Tree Lady,” at her quaint neighborhood office in Oakland. 

When you first started planting trees on your block in Oakland, did community members think you were crazy?

When I first told people that I wanted to plant trees, I don’t think they realized the power of trees. But we kept planting. Now since there has been a new awareness of the environment, people are beginning to see the benefits of trees — air quality, water quality, energy.

What motivated you to start this program and invest your time in the reforestation of Oakland?

When I first moved to this city, I moved to 30^th and San Pablo and there were no trees — not one on my block. It was very bleak, concrete, not a lot of vegetation or greenery. You could see that there were issues of unemployment and young people being idle. I wanted to do something to green the environment but at the same time invest in the young people within that environment. Although volunteerism is an awesome thing, you need to invest in the people in that community — to solve their problems and to give them a voice in their solutions.

I called the city and was like, “Hey! We don’t have any trees.” And they said it would take a year. So I called Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco — I remember being like eight years old and watching them plant a magnolia tree in front of my grandmother’s house. So when I called and spoke with Milton Marks, he said “just do it yourself.” And it was those words, “just do it,” that made this happen.    

Crowd-Sourced App Rates Walkability of Streets

The free Web- and Android-friendly Walkonomics app ostensibly scores streets in eight categories — including how pretty, how steep, how dangerous, and even whether a sidewalk exists — based on open data from governments and ratings by app users.

Essentially, though, Walkonomics’s mobile, crowd-sourced cartography recognizes walking as a means and an end.

The streets between our Point As and Bs make up small stories written as we go, where wearing high heels or holding hands with a toddler, not just distance, can inform the journey. Tourists might look for the easily navigable streets; for joggers, streets with crosswalks; for everyone, streets with restaurants, parks, or stores.

Quiz: What's Your Eco Personality Type?

From exploration to activism, to innovation, there are many ways to show your love for the planet. The question is, which cause inspires you the most? Take our short quiz, and you might find your answer. 

What's Your Eco Personality Type?

1.) When hiking are you more likely to:

a. Scribble notes on my experiences and surroundings. 

b. Snap photo after photo of the surrounding landscape.

c. Marvel over the lakes and streams and how they connect to the ocean waters.

d. Ponder how to bring nature back to our big cities. 

e. Find inspiration for my next invention.

Global Warming Fries Housing Values

The increased severity of wildfires, heat waves, hurricanes, and floods are all negative consequences of climate change. But at the same time, they can seem distant and vague, occurring "somewhere" to "someone" who isn't you, until suddenly it is. However, there is a way that the increased cost of natural disasters inflicts a cost on everyone, and that is through insurance.

Housing insurance premiums have been going up as the climate does, and a new study by Movoto Real Estate found that for every .25 degrees Fahrenheit (.14 degrees Celsius) that the temperature climbs, insurance premium rates rise in turn by 1 percent. That leaves less money to buy the house, and causes housing values to drop. So, even with an extremely mild .25°F heating, the entire country loses $18.7 billion worth of real estate, about $250 per house. But the IPCC estimates for future climate change are much greater than that. Even in their lowest-emission scenario, temperatures may rise at least 1.9°F (1.1°C). That's over 130 billion dollars lost in housing values alone, not counting the cost of damage to public works and agriculture that are bound to ride along with rising temperatures.

The Changing Façade of Urban Architecture

Big city, smaller footprint: Our friends at EcoSalon explore a trend that's blurring the line between landscape design and modern architecture. 

The trend of vertical gardening is up, as is the rise of the jolly green skyscraper. Easy on the eyes and easier on the planet, the trend ofupward greenery is transforming our concrete jungles into ivied oases.

The Musee du Quai Branly in Paris is one such example, with some 8,600 vertical square footage dedicated to more than 170 different species of plants.