By Josh DorfmanPublished: June 28, 2010Posted in: Home FeaturedTags:
Even though I was arguably the worst player in the country in Division One college football during my sophomore year season at the University of Pennsylvania, I still think of myself as an athlete.
I’m not making this up. In the early 90s, the New York Times ranked every team in D-1 college football by computer. Midway through the season, Florida State I think was ranked #1 and Penn I’m sure was ranked #216. Dead last. The only thing our head coach ever asked of me was to cut down signs before games that were hung by the fans of opposing teams. Yes, it was humiliating – I mean character-building – to jog in uniform with scissors in hand up to the bleachers only minutes before kick-off to cut down a “Go Bears” sign hung by college kids from Brown.
I was the third string wide receiver on a ridiculously terrible team that was 0-6 at the time of the Brown sign incident. Worst player on worst team equals worst player in D-1. A small claim to fame.
However, as an athlete, I enjoy pushing myself to accomplish new feats. Doing so in the name of protecting the planet is even more rewarding. Doing that with 150 other amazing people and a group of truly inspiring organizers is a life-changing experience and precisely what makes the Brita Climate Ride so unique and rewarding.
As spokesperson for Brita’s FilterForGood campaign, I participated in the first two years of the 5-Day, 300 mile Brita Climate Ride which went from New York City to Washington DC. Last year, I got to bunk one night with No Impact Man, Colin Beavan, who also participated in the ride. Neither one of us came close to being fastest cyclist in the group. I’m pretty sure that honor went to Denmark’s Ambassador to the U.S., Friis Arne Petersen.
Now the Brita Climate Ride is headed to the West Coast. On September 21st, 150 riders will depart San Francisco on a five-day adventure to raise both awareness and funds for protecting the planet. You could be one of them. Visit ClimateRide.org to learn how.
By Josh DorfmanPublished: June 16, 2010Posted in: VIDEOTags:
In 2008, I teamed up with Walmart to demonstrate how green choices are becoming more affordable, accessible, and appealing. The more quality green choices are available on the shelves of the stores where we already shop, the more likely we are to make them part of our lives.
My experience tells me that people will go green when the choices are easy, convenient, priced appropriately, and actually work. It’s so important to get this right because when a consumer has a good experience with a green product, he or she is much more likely to want to repeat it.
That kind of momentum accelerates the green economy. As the biggest retailer on the planet, Walmart has a huge opportunity to put this momentum to work toward its own bottom line and toward the planet’s benefit too.
By Josh DorfmanPublished: June 15, 2010Posted in: Home FeaturedTags:
When I was a kid, I knew that one day I would become a Dad. In my twenties, I still knew it and also knew that it wouldn’t happen for a long time. When Squeen got pregnant last summer, I knew definitively that I was on track, but nine months still seemed like an eternity.
When the day finally arrived this past March it was truly transformative. We named our boy Shepherd Greyhawk because naturally we want to set him up for greatness or at least uniqueness. Just watching him is awesome.
Not only am I a dad, but thanks to Polarn O. Pyret, the iconic Swedish eco-kids clothing brand, I am “Dad of the Year.” It’s an amazing honor to be associated with a brand that’s been doing so many things right for so long. Since 1976, the company has been outfitting kids in its very popular stripes. Shep and I got to wear them when the company visited us in Asheville for our photo shoot. Obviously I’m biased, but Shep looks absolutely dashing in the company’s organic cotton duds. He now has a closet full.
I’d like to extend a major Thank You to Jennifer Athanason of Polarn O. Pyret and her team here in the U.S. She’s made this first year with our first child even more special.
Here are some pics below. More are available along with my interview at Polarnopyret.com.
In this episode of The Lazy Environmentalist, I’m working with two jewelry designers in San Francisco whose jewelry lines are rapidly expanding. Customers are drawn to the exquisiteness of their pieces and their affordable price points. My task is to find beautiful and affordable green materials for them to easily integrate into their design process. I don’t want green to be too difficult for them or detract from their current business objectives because I know that success depends upon ensuring that they can go green in ways that maintain or increase sales and help build their brand image. Otherwise, they won’t do it, not because they don’t care about the environment but because they care more about creating beautiful designs and growing their business.
We know it’s Italian yet it’s more ubiquitous in the U.S. these days than baseball fields and apple pie. It’s pizza, and Americans love it. That’s why a company called Pizza Fusion can potentially have such a massive positive environmental impact not just in terms of feeding Americans organic food and educating them while in their restaurants about all kinds of green building materials and energy-saving technologies, but also because Pizza Fusion demonstrates that a food that America loves can be made in an eco-friendly way without sacrificing taste and without being cost prohibitive. If Americans love pizza, then I say give them delicious organic versions. It’s a fantastic way to reach the hundreds of millions of Americans who don’t identify as environmentalists and demonstrate that green choices can easily fit or better yet improve their lives.
In this video from Sundance Channel’s series “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” you’ll see the Pizza Fusion story. I provide expert commentary during the segment about what it takes for a company like Pizza Fusion to succeed.
In June, I bought a totally righteous Volkwsagen Jetta TDI. It’s fast, gets great gas mileage, handles extremely well on windy mountain roads, has ample storage capacity and cost me just over 25K, making it pretty reasonable for a family car. I love this car. To me, it represents the best kind of lazy environmentalist [...]
Even though I was arguably the worst player in the country in Division One college football during my sophomore year season at the University of Pennsylvania, I still think of myself as an athlete. I’m not making this up. In the early 90s, the New York Times ranked every team in D-1 college football by [...]
In 2008, I teamed up with Walmart to demonstrate how green choices are becoming more affordable, accessible, and appealing. The more quality green choices are available on the shelves of the stores where we already shop, the more likely we are to make them part of our lives. My experience tells me that people will [...]
