25th
Current Projects and Defeating the Worm
I volunteer for WRIR’s local news collective, Homespun CSPAN. So far, I’ve recorded two events: an anti-war rally at the Richmond Times Dispatch, and a speech actor Kal Pen gave to young people and students working for the Obama campaign in Richmond. I even got an interview with Kal. I have yet to edit it down for the half-hour show. Unless I can get some tape of another campaign, it will probably be only a 15-minute spot.
I learned something about myself this summer that I should have learned in 5th grade when I took a time management class. Apparently I spent the class where we learned about scheduling your time effectively making paper airplanes with another girl and flying them rather accurately into peoples’ hair.
I need a schedule! If I don’t have a school/work schedule, I need to make myself a schedule and stick to it. Otherwise, I just turn into a worm… laze around on the floor like my cat Charlie who likes to show his belly.
Another couple of projects I’m working on at the moment - three 20-second PSAs for WRIR about climate change and steps you can take to reduce your energy consumption. The first PSA was researched with quotes from various insulation companies for the typical range of insulating expense for an apartment in Richmond. I then did a cost/benefit analysis and found that it only takes one year to pay back the cost of insulating a 3 bedroom apartment. One year! Anyway, I have the script written out, I’ve just yet to sit down in the studio and record it.
The second PSA will be an ‘into to Hypermiling’. It will include tips such as ‘pulse and glide’, 2-second minimum following distance to reduce braking time, and ‘high-potential parking’, among others. I might even mention that it’s very easy to equip your vehicle with a mpg meter, which you can use to learn how to drive more efficiently and safely.
I haven’t figured out the third PSA yet.
Another project I’m working on and hoping to finish next week is a set of stickers that contain the ingredients to Clorox brand Greenworks cleaner. First of all, I hate greenwash. Companies think that by putting green on their bottles and drawing nature and flowers everywhere that it means their product is better for the environment, and that people will even pay more for their products. This is true. Environmentally-concerned consumers are willing to pay more for products deemed to be good for the environment. The question I wanted to ask was “Would you be willing to spend more time, but pay less money, for an environmentally friendly and more sustainable option?”
The option is - make your own clorox greenworks. There’s nothing in that bottle that can’t be bought in bulk. Larger containers saves production waste and can be reused for different purposes (my old vinegar jugs are now homes to basil plants). Larger containers also save money! Anyway, the bottle contains vinegar, borax, isopropyl alcohol, a bit of soap, and the two cheapest essential oils from ellwood thompsons (sweet orange and lavender). I guess if you were really enthusiastic you could make your own oils with orange peel and fresh picked lavender, but for most people that’s going a bit far. You can even buy a more hardy bottle at a hardware store of your choice, because the sprayers on the clorox bottles are flimsy and need to be replaced after a bit. The sprayers you can buy separately are easy to repair and last longer. I include the recipe for the cleaner (tried and tested by my partner and me, it’s the best spray cleaner we’ve ever used.) and the projected yearly cost for homemade cleaner versus storebought. It turns out to be a yearly savings of about $50 if you usually buy a bottle of cleaner every month. Each bottle of homemade cleaner only costs 20 cents to make.
The goal of this project is to help people in Richmond think about cheaper ways to make quality goods, and to realized that going green doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg - it can be tons cheaper.
When I finish the stickers, which will be very soon I hope, I will make a video project of the process of going and putting them on the very expensive bottles of clorox greenworks and post it on vimeo, complete with soundtrack and voiceover. This will probably be my first project for the 31st.
