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Sustainability

  • No gimmicks, please!

    Want to boost your team’s productivity? Here’s an amazing list of strategies that I’ve been incorporating during the last 2 years.

    – Incentives to increase commuting by bike: Encourage cycling to work. It’s not just good for the environment, but those endorphins from exercise can elevate mood and improve focus. 🌿🚴‍♂️

    – Longer lunch times for a quick walk: Allow your team to enjoy a walk after lunch. This reduces the insulin spike and helps maintain energy levels throughout the afternoon. 🍃🏃‍♀️

    – Nature time: Promote spending time outdoors. Being in nature reduces stress and boosts creativity, leading to more innovative problem-solving. 🌳✨

    There are no gimmicks, gamification, or digital tools that will do better than that.

    Today, I had the pleasure of participating in #BikeToWhateverDay, and it was a powerful reminder of how these elements can significantly enhance our mental and physical well-being.

    A big thank you to Bike East Bay for organizing this event and to the fantastic team I met along the way: GU Energy Labs, Backroads, and Sustainable Contra Costa. Your dedication made this experience unforgettable and impactful. 🙌🚴‍♂️

    Let’s incorporate more outdoor activities into our routines to foster a happier, healthier, and more productive work environment. Together, we can pedal towards a sustainable and successful future! 🌍💚

  • World powered by women

    Last month, Nadine Hammer and I organized a series of free sustainability workshops around the city.

    Can you guess the gender ratio of the RSVPs and attendees?

    **99% women, from diverse ages and ethnic backgrounds.**

    Some thoughts:

    • 1. Research indicates that women often express greater environmental concern and feel more responsible for fostering sustainable practices. This situation invites a deeper look into how environmental awareness and activism are influenced by gender roles.
    • 2. Are we conditioning women to assume ‘nurturing’ roles, including environmental caretaking, while men may not view it as their responsibility? This observation challenges us to rethink societal norms and the distribution of environmental duties across genders.
    • 3. What implications does this gender imbalance have for creating effective environmental policies? If one gender is largely missing from these discussions, can our policies truly be representative or effective? This disparity prompts policymakers to explore new ways to engage all demographics in sustainability efforts. Or is it just a matter of electing more women?
    • 4. Could the gender uniformity in workshop attendance lead to an echo chamber where only the perspectives of one demographic are heard and amplified? This situation raises concerns about potential narrow representation in activist movements and the blind spots it might introduce in tackling complex issues like climate change.

  • Bicycle use now exceeds car use

    Not in the US, sorry, it was in Paris.

    Still, should we continue prioritizing the present comfort of our cars, electric or otherwise, over simpler, healthier alternatives like biking, which also safeguard our future physical and mental health and the planet’s well-being?

    This shift not only challenges the notion that EVs are the ultimate solution for urban sustainability but also prompts us to rethink our reliance on technology. As bicycles surpass cars in usage, it’s time to evaluate whether simpler solutions might better serve our cities and us.

    Another good stuff, one of the biggest urban cycling trends in 2024 is children-focused initiatives: the bike bus and school streets.

    “The future of cities belongs to its children, and this new movement just might prove to be a vital tipping point where they are finally considered and involved in the planning process.” – Chris Bruntlett, Dutch Cycling Embassy

  • How I flooded Florianópolis (On a map, relax)

    Recently, I discovered how fascinating topographic maps are, and, well, I got a little obsessed. Those elevation lines? They look like art. Beautiful, intricate, mesmerizing.

    So, on one of those weekends where stepping outside felt like a bad idea—thanks to wildfire smoke making the air unbreathable, COVID still lurking, and a general 2020-apocalypse vibe—I got inspired. I decided to create a projection of what Florianópolis would look like if the sea level rose by 15 meters. Spoiler: it’s a vibe, but not the good kind.

    With some help from the crew (Lê, Manu, Jordane, and Augusto), I gave the newly-formed islands and regions their own names. It was oddly fun, considering the grim premise.

    I used a site called FloodMap to make the projection. It’s pretty basic—doesn’t account for things like currents, erosion, wind, or the inevitable chaos we humans will add to the mix. Even so, it was fascinating to see the island split in two. Maybe, just maybe, that’s the perfect excuse to finally shed the “Floriano” legacy. (Locals, you get it.)

    This little exercise got me thinking: in 500 years, the world will look wildly different. Technologies for housing and transportation could make life surprisingly livable, even in a scenario like this. Think vertical farms, floating neighborhoods, maybe even underwater condos. Humans are pretty good at adapting when we’re not busy messing things up.

    Anyway, here’s the link to the high-resolution map. Use it, edit it, have fun with it. Or don’t. I’m not your boss.