These days, knee-jerk emotional responses often trump evidence when it comes to debating environmental issues. Fortunately for the rational among us, Lester R. Brown’s Plan B 3.0 (Free PDF Download) is chock full of hard data. The book summarizes the critical environmental challenges facing humankind, and gives plans on how to address them. If you don’t like FREE downloads, or reading on your computer you can also buy it on amazon.

Also, I went to the San Francisco Zoo a few weeks back. Since there were no longer any tigers around to taunt, I capped on the Capybara for a while. As a gesture of good will to Capybara everywhere, we added this Plant a Tree Widget from the Nature Conservancy. Donate and help plant a billion trees in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

Last night, the Green Rapper crew saw a screening of the documentary Thirst, Fighting the Corporate Theft of our Water, Thirst tells the story of citizens’ fight for public control of water in California, Bolivia, and India. As the title might imply, the arguments put forth are fairly one-sided and the movie runs a bit long, but overall the film is informative and well-done.

The film opens with footage of civil strife in Bolivia after the privatization of water resources in Bolivia, but is mostly centered around activists in Stockton California and their fight to keep the local water resources from being controlled by a multinational. The town caved into the outside interests, but later overturned the decision to privatize water.

The most compelling story is that of Rajendra Singh and his work in Alwar, Rajasthan in India. His NGO helped to empower villagers to take control of water management due to the government’s slow progress. This story probably hit home for me because it was what I would have loved to see happen in the in Oviedo.

Growing up in Western Michigan, I bagged groceries and pushed carts at a store called Miejer Thrifty Acres. In this part of Michigan, thriftiness wasn’t just a virtue, it was a way of life. For me, the personal frugality that I grew up with and my interest in conservation go hand in hand. Jeff Yeager is a long-time manager of non-profits and has a wealth of experience operating on a shoestring budget. His new book, The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches, makes a strong case for being cheap. Instead of giving tips on how to increase personal riches, Yeager suggests that we can live happier, more fulfilling lives by spending less rather than making more. He frames his argument within the larger context of environmental issues and dwindling natural resources. Jeff has even put his money where his mouth is by forgoing a typical book tour and riding his bike from town to town, staying with strangers that he meets along the way. Instead of purchasing hotel rooms and renting cars, Jeff has donated the book tour budget to local libraries. Maybe you can borrow a copy from one of your generous high-rolling friends.

In this episode, the Green Rapper cuts through the hype surrounding BioDiesel with Laura and Hakan, two ordinary citizens that have truly converted to a carbon neutral form of transportation. With a nominal startup fee (<$250 for storage tank and fuel pump) and zero mechanical modifications to their VW Golf TDI and Chevy Diesel Van, they use BioDiesel from KF3 BioDiesel Production to fuel their rides (at a slightly cheaper cost than regular diesel)! Find out how they safely store their alternate fuel and fill up from the comfort of their garage. To get started on your conversion, visit the National Biodiesel Board’s Website.

This week, I’ve been involved with Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford University. Along with lots of lectures, panels, and events, there was a big innovation challenge in which students from around the globe participated. The students were given an everyday object and then asked to create as much value as they could by innovating around it. Value could be defined and measured monetarily, socially and even environmentally. Students had to produce a video on Youtube to document their project and what impact it had. This year, the object was a rubber band and while there were a lot of interesting projects, I was most interested in those that dealt with the environment. Some of my favorite went on to be recognized:

Rubber Band Resistance
In this video, students used rubber bands to force faucets in university bathrooms to shut off when pressure was not being applied. I thought it was an effective use of a pretty difficult object that tackled a very timely subject. One of the judges (Jeff Hawkins, inventor of the Palm Pilot) didn’t like the fact that they made people work (bad user interface design I guess). Isn’t solving environmental problems going to be slightly painful (I thought to myself)? Techie geniuses are great at making our lives easier, but will solving environmental crises be an easy task? Later, I was comforted to see Jeff ride away from our building on a bike… probably not the primary means of transportation for every Silicon Valley big shot.

Use the rubber!
Another great video (albeit non-environmental) with a social message that touches on rubber bands, cooking and sex:

I just finished watching the DVD of The Real Dirt On Farmer John. It’s a touching story of an eccentric Midwest farmer’s struggle to save his family farm from development and economic recession. He eventually converts to an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model and his farm survives and thrives. Plus, the DVD features include a music video with a girl dressed in a bee suit ala Blind Melon. Check out the preview:

My buddy Justin just sent me a DVD of the film Ecosutra, a Russel Berns documentary about issues like permaculture, sustainability, and renewable energy. I don’t know if this guy is related to Ken Burns or not, but the preview on youtube looks pretty cool.