James Glave, Green Guy Next Door
Author of 'Almost Green' on why DIY skills, dense communities, and maybe women, are kinder to the planet.
Glave: 'Baby steps are the answer.'
- Almost Green: How I Built an Eco-Shed, Ditched My SUV, Alienated the In-Laws and Changed My Life Forever
- Greystone Books (2008)
If anxieties about flood and famine make you want to stake out a piece of land up Bella Coola way and hunker down with your veggie patch and marijuana plants till climate change is over -- well, you're not alone.
But during these uncertain times, "dropping out of society is not an option," says Almost Green author James Glave. In fact, he argues, you're better off in a city.
Easy for him to say. When Glave, a freelance writer and former senior editor at Outside magazine, and his wife moved north from New Mexico five years ago, they were searching for their very own private green space.
They found it, within commuting distance from her big city job and walking distance from an organic market, on Bowen Island. Unable to afford to build the uber-sustainable home to match their rural, rainforested lot, Glave settled on a project called the Eco-Shed.
Shed sweet home
Initially imagined as a "deep-green' writing studio, the Eco-Shed has become a guesthouse complete with reclaimed timber, energy efficient fixtures, passive solar design features, fly-ash concrete -- and a complementary bottle of chilled local wine.
However, the sum is worth more than its parts, and Glave's memoir about building the shed serves as something of a call to arms for people, like himself, who are predisposed to care about their environmental footprint, but haven't yet made the transformational life changes that the gravity of our situation calls for.
It wasn't easy (as the subtitle of the book, 'How I Built an Eco-Shed, Ditched My SUV, Alienated the In-Laws and Changed My Life Forever' suggests).
And Glave isn't at all smug about his accomplishments (as the subtitle of the U.S. edition 'How I Saved 1/6th of a Billionth of the Planet' demonstrates).
But this new environmentalism, characterized by practical and tangible solutions that individuals can create, is made less onerous with the sharing of ideas, tools and resources says Glave -- hence his argument that a more densely populated environment is in fact a more advantageous place to live.
We can't shop our way out of climate change. But perhaps we can build, grow and downsize our way to a more sustainable world. In a recent conversation with The Tyee, here's what Glave had to say...
On DIY environmentalism
"People want to do something. I think what we're seeing is a lot more casual arrangement and sharing and pooling of resources and ideas on sort of an over-the-back-fence scale.
"The big enviro/NGO groups have done incredible work and continue to do incredible work but I think there's a complementary side that's emerging that is more about; "I'm going to do something myself, or do something small-scale that I can really see the tangible results of."
"That's an incredibly powerful driver and I think it's probably gaining popularity over the old write a cheque and send it off and put a checkmark in your conscience that you're making a difference."
On whether the market will give us the green products we need
"In my book I try to get some FSC [Forest Stewardship Council certified] lumber out of Home Depot and get nowhere fast, but maybe now that the book is out there and the idea is circulation... all of a sudden the phone is going to start ringing at Home Depot and they're going to think about carrying some of that product.
"I don't think the markets are going to change overnight -- it's a burrowing in process. Only through people knowing that those options are out there and demanding them will it start to respond.
"The greening of Wal-Mart is the perfect example. Some people would say that's an oxymoron but I say that's an in-between step. We're still dealing with this massive logistical supply chain and an Asian manufacturing base with Wal-Mart, but if it can shut down a coal plant by selling enough swirly lightbulbs... that's a difference."
On the role his wife, Elle, played in the Eco-Shed project and whether men and women take different approaches to reducing their carbon footprints
"In terms of how men and women green their lives, I can only talk about my own experiences and that is that we're both very driven, very goal-oriented. We've got action item lists for the weekend -- we're those kinds of people.
"I'm all about making stuff happen and creating things and putting them together and sorting out all of that dude energy. She's all about not pissing off the people that I'm working with. I sometimes get her to vet my e-mails to give them that human touch, because I can be sort of a socially illiterate or dysfunctional kind of guy.
"We're learning about micro-scale farming. Really, that's where her heart and soul are. I think we would have probably spent less energy on a studio and more energy on growing things if she had been in charge of the project and I had been the one commuting and paying for it."
On the urge to run for the hills, stake a claim and ride out climate change
"There's definitely a myth, or preponderance of conversation, around the idea of a coming apocalypse that is, I think, creating a deep-seated anxiety for people who don't have a place to run to.
"I think that by packing people more closely together, you realize economies of scale that will make those environments more resilient; low carbon, neighborhood energy systems, for example... or tearing up the back lanes in the city and turning that into gardens.
"Certainly, the greenhouse gas footprint of somebody living in a city is a fraction of what it is living on woodsy Bowen Island -- what we're looking at here is vehicle-dependant rural sprawl.
"Do I really need my little house on a 10-acre lot with a super long driveway to feel safe? Because there's a city of a million people three miles across the channel. If you think 'we're going to find a little green spot to hunker down and ride this out,' guess what, if people get hungry they're gonna come over.
"It doesn't matter if you're living in this quasi-rural suburbia that we're in here, or if you're living downtown in a very high-density urban environment. If you make the effort to know your neighbors and what they have to give you, you will feel like you're taking greater control of your destiny and feel greater control as we head into these uncertain times."
On what he hopes even renters can take away from the book
"I say in the book that the baby steps are the answer, but since I wrote that a year ago I almost feel now that we're missing the boat with baby steps. We need to move past them and look at transformational changes, and that means bold moves and grand gestures and big statements.
"There's this whole social dynamic where your friends start apologizing for all the brown stuff that they're still doing; 'ooohh, you guys are the deep-green couple.' I think we need to find a way to break through those social norms that are perhaps holding us back.
"You don't have to build an eco-shed but I think that everybody that's already inclined or predisposed has a responsibility to turn up the volume a little more and really start living more deliberately. Start questioning the things that you do and see if you can find really creative and innovative ways to start changing for the better.
"Whatever that thing is for you, to take another look and to punch through the bubble of everyday life, that's what people really need to start doing."
Read an excerpt from James Glave's Almost Green also on The Tyee today.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
Bobby Peru
23-09-2008
Green Acres is the place to be?
Why doesn't Tyee show the slightest balance and feature an article by someone (that is the rest of us) who don't believe or care about global warming, who don't have the time to find special lumber and preach these radical enviro policies? Instead, you try to feed us a steady diet of people and lifestyles that many can't sustain or find uncomfortable.
Come on. I work long hours and don't have time to tend a garden. I have to stretch my budget so I won't pay extra for organic food unless I have some extra bucks. I need an SUV for the family because it can carry lots of stuff and a bigger car is safer on these dangerous roads. No way I'm riding a bicycle to work- I'm a manager and I can't show up to work or client meetings looking like I just did a marathon. And have you seen the carnage on the roads? No way I can feed my family if I am hit by a car and living the rest of my life like a shopping cart in adult diapers. I'll gladly burn more gas to be safe and sound. Why doesn't Tyee do an editorial on the carnage and danger of bicycling around Vancouver?
And public transit? Right, have you ever tried to make this work? Time is valuable to me and the extra hour or more wasted on public transport could be used productively at home or in my SUV. And I can't stand being around some of the drunks on public transit. Have you ever noticed how much it rains in Vancouver? I can't show up for client meetings and business late and drenched. At least this govt has the sense to recognize this and build more roads.
Wind power? Anyone with basic engineering can understand that it doesn't make sense given transmission, grid mgt, and storage issues. Yet, these enviro nuts preach on and on hoping that we will live their ascetic lifestyles.
And don't be so quick to knock Wal mart and their excellent, cheap Asian sourcing. Alot of us here in Vancouver don't want to pay more for consumer goods just to make purely political statements.
And please stop talking about global warming like it's indisputable. Any one knows that any scientific proposition is subject to challenge. At Tyee, global warming is more of a religion than a debatable topic.
ME2
23-09-2008
On greening up
Glaves is quite correct, his individual contribution is insignifican, only 1/6,000,000th. and living in the boonies does not improve anything.
But if enough people try to green up their lifestyle, they will be inclined to pressure the politicians, the only people who can effect REAL change.
snert
24-09-2008
Meaningless drivel.
If everybody did what Glave has done Bowen Island would be a disaster.
David Beers
24-09-2008
Bobby Peru - Yep, we're biased
Re your comment above -- you're right, we who edit The Tyee do not believe the status quo is sustainable in the long run (and perhaps even in the short run of a few decades). Nor to do we believe human-caused climate change is a myth. We'll continue to run pieces from a variety of points of view that address the very real concern among most of our readers that environmental solutions -- personal and structural -- are needed, and that corporate media doesn't publish enough about them.
In the article, Glave says:
"You don't have to build an eco-shed but I think that everybody that's already inclined or predisposed has a responsibility to turn up the volume a little more and really start living more deliberately. Start questioning the things that you do and see if you can find really creative and innovative ways to start changing for the better."
If you find this to be "radical" ravings of an environmental "nut" maybe you're on the wrong web site?
freebear
24-09-2008
So why visit the Tyee Bobby Peru?
Laughable that you are complaining!
I supppose I should write Car and Driver magazine and complain that there are no bicycling articles!
Keep a record of your excuses, your grandchildren will be so grateful!
When the s<*t hits the fan we will have to support ourselves locally. Yes, there is resiliency and strength with a community.
And yes, be prepared for marauders!
But until enough people want to change their ways, we continue on the unsustainable path (some with SUVs!).
The 'correction' is coming soon (just staved off for now with taxpayer bailouts of the finance industry!)!
Booker
24-09-2008
Balance
BP wrote:
"Balance" is not achieved by giving space to nonsense. When discussing science, should the media give equal time to biologists and creationists? Or to people who don't accept heliocentrism? Or to people who think the earth is 6,000 years old? No. The media should balance well-researched arguments with opposing well-researched arguments, not with the postulations of some professional crank.
shmendrick
24-09-2008
o bobby
I ride a bicycle daily and can't say I've seen this 'carnage'. If you value your time, it is a great way to stay in shape and get to work at the same time. I hope you don't waste your valuable time at the gym! Your kids and the taxpayer will thank you when your cardiovascular system holds out till you get nice and old.
Yah transit's not much fun is it? If you wonder why that might be, have a look at the space you take up on the road next time you are driving your SUV around.
And about that SUV, you say it is safer, but you might want to look into the statistics on that. Some of them are less safe than passenger cars. As well, if you are safer, it is because you are much more likely to kill someone else's kids, who could not afford the SUV, maybe similar to you not being able to afford organic foods?
I have an SUV too. I use it to get me into the mountains. On the few days I do drive to work, I have a hard time understanding how people do that daily and willingly... My bike gets me across town much faster, and much more freely. I'm betting up to 20km a bike is faster or a very similar time as a car in rushhour.
I can't afford organic either. I joined a CSA to get the good stuff much cheaper. It has been a long time since I've had veggies that tasty and numerous.
You write like you have no choice, but you've just made a list of your personal choices. Many of your choices make your life easier, but someone else pays. Life isn't supposed to be easy, or comfortable.
And science, yes it can be challenged... Remember, gravity is just a theory! Whatever your personal global warming religion, burning oil poisons the air your kids are breathing.
AS beers mentions, the article is about personal responsibility. I'm all for it.
jglave
24-09-2008
Anger
Bobby, you sound pretty pissed off. I totally hear you. We often get fed a line that the "greener life" is easy and breezy and fun. And you know what? Some of it is. But a lot of it is still complicated and messy and sometimes expensive and makes me feel totally frustrated and resentful. My father in law doesn't want to visit us much anymore, because I tore down the $17K carport he had built for us, and sold the SUV he gave us to park inside it. That really sucks.
But the thing is, there *isn't* a debate anymore. The science is crystal-clear. And the fact is, we do need to make some changes. A bunch of people out there now feel that it's time to take a stand, and do the right thing, consequences and costs be damned. And I think that's cool. Because they are basically rebels bucking a system that is engineered to preserve a status quo that isn't helping us one bit. some big interests are fighting tooth and nail backstage, to tip the scales and shape the market, making things look cheap when they really aren't.... frankly, it's a cluster.
This is an in-between time. We know in our hearts what we need to do, but we cant always follow through for a variety of reasons. The way forward is messy and tricky, and it pisses me off all the time. I'm not so good at the relentless optimism thing.
But then I know we don't really have a choice but to roll up our sleeves and get started. So I keep at it and I keep coming back for more, because when I do register a small victory of some kind -- even 1/6th of a billionth of a victory -- well, to be honest, it feels fucking great.
Anyway, your mileage will vary.
-James Glave
ps that reminds me, my family of four fits in our tiny honda fit along our groceries and all our crap and we road tripped to california in the thing and it was awesome!
Bailey
24-09-2008
Either/or
Aw, come on! Why are so many people so critical of other people's accomplishments?
Bobby Peru in the first post seems quite annoyed at the idea of this very sweet effort by a local family with sufficient wherewithal and time and ability to make a praiseworthy gesture. I grant your point that not everybody could do this kind of thing, but you shouldn't denigrate the gestures of others.
Some gestures can be an inspiration to others, and one can never predict where inspiration might lead.
Or does your cynical view not allow the possibility that change can be achieved? Positive examples are a very good way to drive change.
Why not try a little gesture of your own? I wouldn't ask you to sell your car or give up your job or anything drastic like that, but what about something smaller? Something more comfortable and less threatening than a move to the country and a recycled house.
I'll bet if you sat down with your family and talked about it, you might find some enthusiasm for the idea, and your kids would probably have some suggestions that would be doable without up-heaving your beliefs or your safety too much.
Frank
24-09-2008
jglave
$17k?!? I know there's a statement there but you dumped on your father-in-law? I'm trying to think of how I would react if my son-in-law did that... Obviously I wouldn't feel welcome and I'd never send Xmas presents.
Bobby Peru
25-09-2008
The Green Inquisition
To ADMIN: I was wondering when you would invite me out of your website in a fit of fear and hypocrisy. First you say you value a variety of opinions that are an alternative to corporate media then when you get one that questions your editorial you become testy. Look, I'm not trolling or making insults, but challenging your views. And sure, all good editorials should be biased, all good investigative journalism should be evangelistic. But, it should also have barely enough room for dissenting views. If you want to make a difference against 'corporate' media then don't become what you are supposedly fighting against- cynical and exclusionary and prejudiced. It's your very attitude that fosters the unproductive and polarized political situation that cripples this province. The 'either you're on our side or their side' doctrines don't leave room for average, working BC people who are conservative in some ways, but liberal in others.
Like when it comes to environmental radicalism that could reduce our standard of living. Firstly, even the studies of the global warming advocates show that even if every single human being follows their advice the reduced temperature globally is insignificant. Nature will do its thing regardless of man's intervention.
When I hear people say the science of global warming is proven I already shiver with the fear that a political rather than a truly scientific motivation is behind it.
Everything this writer demands points to reducing my standard of living. I work in a very non-green industry and there's no way I will get a green job that can support my family in the same way. Ultimately, conservation doesn't make much difference. Technology will create the means for truly alternative energy for the masses and cleaner emissions. And this will only happen under a strong economy and healthy corporate earnings.
For example, look at all the automotive innovations that have made cars much cleaner today than 20 years ago. Everything from catalytic converters to fuel injection are inventions only possible with large corporate investments. Simply legislating green behaviour is of little value in the long run.
Or nuclear power. Why doesn't Tyee feature an editorial with someone advocating nuclear power in BC as the great green solution? Even noted environmentalists have come out in support of nuclear power. Of course, your patron saint David Suzuki is vehemently against it for the same old, obsolete reasons, but again, from what I read in a Tyee article, he lives in a nice house in Point Grey, having made a handsome living off govt grants while real people like me may have to suffer from his proposals to green the economy.
And to the guy who decimated his carport and aggravated his in-laws with his green attitude- you have truly drank the enviro-Kool Aid.
David Beers
27-09-2008
Bobby Peru
I don't understand your post. Mine did not invite you out of this website. I provided a straightforward response to the first paragraph of your first post, in which you pose a question wanting an answer.
You wrote:
"Why doesn't Tyee show the slightest balance and feature an article by someone (that is the rest of us) who don't believe or care about global warming, who don't have the time to find special lumber and preach these radical enviro policies?"
I tried to answer that. And, rather than try and send you away, I simply made the point that you might not find what you are looking for here.