YW Interview: Adria Vasil

Becoming an Ecoholic Interview with Adria Vasil: Author of Ecoholic — a book about making the planet a greener place. YW: What is an ecoholic? Vasil: We define ecoholic as being addicted to the planet—but really, it’s anyone on this earth. We need air to breathe and grow crops; so technically, we’re in a relationship with the earth that cannot be broken, as much as we are out of touch with that. An ecoholic is someone who cares to make the planet a greener place. Then you can be an ecoholic without having to be a hardcore environmentalist, chaining yourself to trees? Definitely. I think I ride that line. I try to hand people a welcoming approach and say, “We’re all environmentalists.” I think people would rather be part of a less judgmental, gentler group. In fact, 80% of all Canadians now call themselves environmentalists. I was a little surprised by that originally. I think Canadians want to have a role; they’re worried about the state of the air near them, the water near them, the climate long-term, and they manifest that in different ways. It could just be that they are reaching for a phosphate-free detergent, or that they want to take one step further and volunteer. Are people actually doing the small things that you’re suggesting? There’s definitely a gap between talk and action. Unfortunately, all the polls keep saying that. There are people that definitely care; it’s a matter of showing them that the changes they can make don’t have to involve throwing their entire lifestyle and routine out the window. It’s about starting with small steps. Obviously, it’s better not to drive, but if you are going to drive, then carpool. And if you can’t carpool, than make sure you’re not driving aggressively. I try to meet people where they’re at. If you tell someone who drives every day to give up driving entirely, there’s no way they’re going to want to green their life at all. But if you say, “let’s do it one step at a time; let’s see how you like taking the train one day, or see how you like carpooling for a while,” then you’ll see that people are more receptive. So we can still maintain our privileged lifestyle and be green? It’s true that western society, by consuming so much, has created this enormous footprint, and that you’d need six planets for one Canadian if everyone lived like the average Canadian lives. It won’t do us any good to tell people they have to give up their life. Maybe, in fifty years, they’ll have no choice, and the government will mandate it. In England, right now, they’re talking about bringing in a carbon credit card by 2013, where everyone will have a carbon credit of five tonnes of greenhouse gas per year to use. If they go over that, they’ll have to pay a fine. That’s something that has to be brought in at a legislated level. The Brits are ready for it. Canadians are not. Do you think that it might take a catastrophe on our own land to spur Canadians into changing? Definitely. When major events start happening close to home, we’ll see Canadians wanting to change their behaviour to make it greener. When we had that really warm winter last year, we saw more Canadian’s greening than we did this year, when we had more of a typical cold Canadian winter. Are you satisfied with the pace of change being so slow? No, I think we have to pick it up. But you don’t want to scare people. You have to be careful about creating environmental depression, environmental anxiety, and environmental backlash. I talk to people who say, “If we’re all going to die, and the planet is doomed, then why should I care, and why can’t I just continue doing what I am going to do?” I’ve heard this, again and again. That’s why I really try not to come out with apocalyptic messages of gloom and doom. I do believe in our power to change. I just think that we’re moving a little slower at the beginning and, as we start realizing that the situation is more dire than we thought, then we will change our behaviour accordingly, especially when the government steps in. What is the role of government? How much actual government intervention would you like to see? I think it’s definitely the government’s job to create an even playing field for everyone. They should regulate what is recyclable and biodegradable. It’s important to know when you see the word ‘eco-friendly’ that it actually means something. Otherwise, we’re going to start seeing a backlash, and, instead, people will think, “Well, green products, they’re bogus; what’s the point of spending an extra $5 on them, since they’re all just marketing hype?” It’s very important for the government to take a strong role in regulating, and actually enforce those regulations. That’s another problem in the environmental world: you might have some strong regulations in certain areas, but there is a definite lack of enforcement and lack of budget for the green sectors. We need more of those. In the late eighties, green was all the rage, and it fizzled. Why are we more ready to change, albeit slowly, now? The skyrocketing price of oil is making us realize that financial conservation and environmental conservation are often one and the same. It affects our pocketbook when the price of gas is so high. That’s why Walmart started to green its fleet in 2005. What would you want a green workplace to look like? It has to be a multi-pronged approach. You can’t just have one section go green; you want to see every element go green. Generally, it can’t all happen at the same time, but must be a strategy that filters all of our decisions through environmental lenses. Make sure there are recycling bins at every station, so that you’re facilitating the action of recycling. You need paper reduction strategies, strategies about printing on both sides of the paper and not printing emails, all mixed with more holistic ideas like improving air quality in the building and lighting. If you’re building a new office, and there are more windows, you will use less electricity, and activity goes up, because when workers are exposed to more daylight, it feeds their serotonin levels. Make sure the desks you bring in are not off-gassing formaldehyde, because that creates more headaches. What kinds of desks do that? Particleboard. Ikea is as close as you can get to formaldehyde-free, so Ikea is actually a pretty good company. They’re Swedish, so they’ve had government pressures a lot sooner than here. If you’re going to buy small office furniture, Ikea is not a bad option, but if you’re getting it in bulk, then the cheap stuff is off-gassing. To absorb some of that formaldehyde, make sure you have a lot plants, like ivy or spider, because they absorb the glutens in the air. What would your ideal world be like? One where every government took seriously the concerns about global warming and brought in the kind of reductions we need to see, like 80% reductions by 2058. One where everyone was receptive to making the changes we need to make. One where we can actually drink from our lakes, breathe clean air, and be able to plant in our backyards without having to worry about lead contamination emitted from neighbourhood factories 20 years ago. A world without pollution; that would be my dream world. You mentioned Environmental Choice, and Ecomap earlier. What are some other resources to learn more about greening? I’m a big fan of ewg.org (environmental working group dot org). They have a database of 27,000 beauty care products, rating them on a scale of 1 to 10 for greenness. Not only that, they have dozens of categories about pesticides in food, and which ones are the worst. Can the average person actually make substantial changes, given how busy most of us are? Start small; that’s the secret. You have to, because the moment you feel overwhelmed, you just don’t do anything. How green do you have to be to call yourself an environmentalist? If you want to call yourself an environmentalist, I’m happy to welcome you into the club. Even if you’re just starting, it’s all a process, a journey towards getting to a greener world.

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