1 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Rob: Hey everyone, thanks for being here and 2 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thanks for having me. 3 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Does this all sound good? Cool! 4 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's so awesome to be here. 5 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had met Urlinda in San Diego about two 6 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 years ago, and that's how ultimately I 7 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 ended up here. 8 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tonight I am hoping to inspire you to make 9 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 some positive changes when it comes to 10 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the environment and to the human race as a whole. 11 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I will give you a little bit of a 12 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 background on some of the things that, 13 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 some of the projects that I have been 14 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 working on and what I have been doing. 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I will give you a little bit of a 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disclaimer, although this room is 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 probably pretty full of radical people, so 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it is less needed, but I do a lot of very 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 extreme things, and the idea is to catch 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people's attention, get them to stop and 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 self reflect and think about things that 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they maybe have never thought about. 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The things that I do are often are very 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 extreme, but my message is actually one of 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 moderation, of treating people with 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 respect, treating the earth with respect, 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I just go about it in attention-grabbing 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 ways of doing it. 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of my project sis the Food Waste Fiasco. 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We waste about a third of all the food we 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 produce around the world, 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about half of the all the food we produce 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the United States where I live. 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of my campaigns I have dived into 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about 2,000 dumpsters across the United 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 States in about 29 states, and a handfull 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in other countries, like the UK, but 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mostly the United States. 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the idea is to create a visual that 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 helps people understand how much food is being wasted. 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is about 2 days of dumpster diving 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in Madison, Wisconsin. 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You might have seen one of my videos, it 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was called "People are Good", so I landed 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in Panama with just the clothes on my back 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and my passport, which was 7 countries 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 away from San Diego. 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I landed there with the sandals on my 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 feet, some shorts, a shirt, a jacket, a 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 hat, and my passport, and that is 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 literally everything I had. 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had to make it back to San Diego, and 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the idea was to put myself out there and 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by doing that, show that actually there 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is an incredible number of good people out 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there, and that if you put yourself out 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there, people will help. 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The mainstream media often portrays 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the world as this very dangerous, crime 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 ridden place, but the reality is that 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 generally, people are actually pretty good. 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So that was that, and that turned into a 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 television show that was on the Discovery 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Channel, I think it played here. 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But with that one I flew to Brazil and 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had to travel to Panama. 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of my most recent projects was "Trash Me". 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This one was inspired by Morgan Spurlock's 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Super Size Me", where he ate just 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 McDonalds for thirty days. 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I tried to look at some of the successful 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 campaigns out there and how I could apply 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that to environmental activism, so I 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thought "Okay, how can I do something 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that will really get people thinking about 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 how much trash they are creating," 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here, you do not create nearly as much 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trash as we do in the United States, but 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 still a fair amount, but no where near as much. 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the United States the average person 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 creates about 4.5 pounds of 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trash per day, about 2 kilograms. 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And we throw it in the garbage can and we 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 never think about it again, most people. 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They never think about it again. 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I wanted to create a visual that shows 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people how much it really adds up to. 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is me for thirty days just living 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like the average American. 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I ate, shopped. and consumed just like the 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 average American does. 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had an specially designed suit to hold 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every piece of trash that I created for entire month. 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This right here is actually about one 1/3 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 less trash than the average American 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 creates in a month, so that is the idea of that. 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then for the last 13 months I have 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 been traveling the United States and 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 parts of the world. 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is every single possession that I 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 own, so everything that I own is here with 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 me tonight in the car. 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Hopefully it is still there, because that is everything. 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Birth certificate, passport, all of that stuff. 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Every possession I own... so the things I 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do are often pretty extreme, but the idea 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of this is that the average person in the 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 United States and Europe has 10s of 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 1,000s of possessions, most that we never use. 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By owning just 110 possessions, it get 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people to stop and think about how much they have. 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Really, it is about getting people to 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 think about "Am I happy? Am I healthy? 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And are there things that I could do to 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 change my life to be happier, healthier, 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 more purposeful, more passionate, and live 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in a way that is better for the earth?" 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Those are a couple of my campaigns, and 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really my life is my campaign, just 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 leading by example and showing ways of doing things. 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I definitely have not always been an 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmentalist, and environmentally- 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 minded person, a conscious person. 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If we rewind about ten years, this is me 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here on the left. 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was a pretty drunk dude, I know Belgians 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 get pretty drunk, but I rivaled everyone in the room. 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This was a typical night, drinking cheap, 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 cheap beer out of plastic cups. 130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 During College I was very passionate about 131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 drinking, women, material possessions, money. 132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My goal was to be a millionaire by the 133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 time I was 30 years old. 134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was very focused on that. 135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My car, I would shine it for two hours 136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every Sunday, spotless. 137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had a part-time job which was basically 138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just going to the library and talking to 139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every girl in my path, telling her to come 140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to my parties. 141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's what I was doing during college, 142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is another typical night. 143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is what you call a "duck bong", I do 144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not know if it has made its way to Belgium. 145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 How it works is that it is like a beer 146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 bong, except you cut the beak, and the 147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 foot off of an ornamental lawn duck, which 148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is hallow, and you fill it up with beer, 149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that thing can fit like maybe 5 or 6 150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 beers, you fill it up with vodka as well 151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if you feel like it. 152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That was another typical night. 153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And as I said, I spent, you know, 20 or 30 154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 hours a week pursuing women, and I was not always successful. 155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On this particular night this was a 156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Christmas tree that crossed my path when 157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there was no women that wanted to come 158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 home with me that night. 159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have not always been very caring about the environment. 160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I did go to school for biology, with a chemistry minor. 161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Aquatic science was my concentration. 162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I actually always cared about the environment. 163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I was growing up fishing and out 164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 playing in the ponds and things like that. 165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But the thing was, I always felt like I 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was actually living an environmentally 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 friendly life during this time because my 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mom had taught me the basic things like 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 recycling, shut off the water when you are 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not using it. 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I would occasionally get in a fight with 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 my roommates about leaving the water 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 running or the lights on. 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was doing some of those things, but what 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 happened was that I realized in about 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 2011 after I graduated from University and 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it was about two years later, I started to 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 watch a lot of documentaries and I would 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 read a lot of books and I realized that 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for the most part my life was actually 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 causing environmental and social destruction. 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was doing a couple of things that were 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sort of good for the environment, but the 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reality was that I realized by watching 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 these documentaries that the food I was 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 eating was coming from these factory 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 farms, the gasoline I was pumping into my 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 car, all of the trash that I was creating, 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 all of the cheap products that I was 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 buying at the big box markets, all of 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this stuff was causing environmental 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 destruction both in my community, but also 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because of globalization, all the way on 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the other side of the world, but also it 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was causing social destruction by the 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people working in really crappy condition 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so that I could have my $4 toaster and 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things like that. 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So at that point I really decided that I 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 wanted to change my life from drunk dude 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to someone that was living something beyond myself. 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A lot of people at this point feel at 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 total sense of doom and gloom, like "What 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can I do now?" 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At that point I was 25 years old, I had 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 been doing this whole way of life for 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 quite a while so it can be... you can have 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that feeling of "Well what can I possibly do?" 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But I actually at that point felt extremely empowered. 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The reason was that these documentaries 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I watched and these books that I was 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reading taught me how I could change my life. 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What I did was just make a long list of 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 all of the changes that I wanted to make, 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I hung it up in my kitchen in a 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really prominent place, and then I taped 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a pen next to it so that each week that 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pen would be there and my goal was to 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 check off 1 thing each week. 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Some examples of things that I did early 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on... I mean at that time I was shopping 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at Walmart, filling up my cart with 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everything, using plastic bags, all of 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that sort of stuff. 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was doing very little. 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the big changes that I made early 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on was going to local businesses. 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is a farmers market, just buying my 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 food locally from the local farmers 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 market or going to the local tool shop 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rather than the big Lowes, or Home Depot, 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Or Walmart, or things like that. 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I changed my... I realized the food I was 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 eating, changed my diet, started to eat 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 more whole foods, more unpackaged 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 processed stuff, I actually started to 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 look at the ingredients on things and see 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Whoa, this is not even really food that I am eating," 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I started to eat actual food, switched to 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a more plant-based diet. 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then the other thing when I really 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 started to unravel my life, I started to 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 realize that I had just been sold a whole 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 lot of things, sold this concept of what 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the human body needs to exist, what we 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 need to be successful or happy or healthy. 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "The Story of Stuff" was an early short 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 film that really inspired me. 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They had another one called "The Story of Cosmetics," 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I learned that all of these things that I 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was using, like all of the shampoo, the 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 conditioner, the face wash, the body wash, 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the deodorant, the Listerine mouthwash, 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the lip balm, all of these things, a lot 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 them were made with fossil fuel by- 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 products, petroleum by-products. 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was just putting all of this nasty stuff 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on to me and I just really started to 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 think, "Wow, human beings have existed 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for millions of years without this stuff, 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so it must be possible to live without it," 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I put it all on my curb and for the 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 most part stopped using most of those 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things but found natural alternatives for 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the things that I did want to continue to use. 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I got rid of plastics and things like that. 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I got rid of microwave so that I would 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually cook real food. 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I just continued making positive changes 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in my life for about two years, and what 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 happened was the more positive changes I 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 made, the more happy and healthy I became. 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A lot of it was not something that I would 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 necessarily realize, but there were all 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sorts of connections. 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example, when I got rid of my car and 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I no longer had a trunk, I was no longer 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 able to fill it up with stuff, which meant 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I bought less stuff. 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There are all of these ways that I did not 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 realize how one change would ripple into 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 other changes as well. 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 After a year and a half or so of doing all 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of that, I decided that I really wanted 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to take sustainable living and bring the 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 message out to people, and do it in a way 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that was kind of fun and would get people 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 excited and hopefully inspire people to 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 make positive changes as well. 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In 2013 I made my website for $100 online, 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and made a Facebook page and decided that 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was going to be an adventurer, doing 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 adventures for the environment. 294 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My first big adventure was called "Off the 295 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Grid Across America", and I biked across 296 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the United States on a bamboo bicycle, and 297 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the idea was to bike from west coast to 298 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 east coast having no environmental inpact 299 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whatsoever, no negative environmental 300 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 impact, while deeply immersing in 301 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sustainable living and learning myself. 302 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because they say that it takes 21 days to 303 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 form a habit so I thought if I do this for 304 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 104 days, which was how long the ride was, 305 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then I will really, deeply form this habit. 306 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I set rules for all of the basics of sustainable living. 307 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The key things of sustainable living that 308 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we deal with every single day: food, 309 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 water, energy, waste, transportation. 310 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These are things that every single one of 311 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 us in this room deals with basically every day. 312 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We eat everyday, we drink water every day, 313 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 usually we have transportation wherever 314 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we are going, we create waste everyday 315 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whether it is garbage or something out of 316 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 our body, and then energy, we are using 317 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 electricity pretty much every day. 318 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Diving into these key things that a lot 319 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of us... like for me in the past I never 320 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thought about in a given day. 321 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For food the rule was that I could only 322 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 eat local, organic, unpackaged foods. 323 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That meant food from whatever state I was crossing through. 324 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Organic just meant that I... it did not mean 325 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 necessarily that it was certified but that 326 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it just came from the farmer and I had 327 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 talked to them. 328 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Then lastly unpacked, so nothing wrapped in packaging. 329 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I knew that this was going to be really 330 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 hard because a lot of places, that food 331 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just does not exist. 332 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I made one exception, and that was that 333 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I could eat any food that was going to waste. 334 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The reason being is, of course if it is 335 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 already in the garbage, the dumpster... 336 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what do you call it over here? Bin. Yeah. 337 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Bins. Huh? WHAT WORD DID HE SAY 338 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I find your language quite funny. 339 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So if it is in the garbage, the 340 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmental impact has already happened 341 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so if it is in the garbage I figured "that 342 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sounds weird, but if it is in the garbage 343 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I might as well eat it," but that is what 344 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was doing. 345 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I found the first dumpster that I ever 346 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 looked into, I was crossing the Sierra, 347 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Nevada mountains, it was about 7 seven 348 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 days in, I looked in there, I was was 349 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really nervous at this time because I 350 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 still had a good sized ego at that time 351 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and for someone to know that I was eating 352 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 out of the trash would have damaged that 353 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 ego, but I had come up with this trip and 354 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had to do it. 355 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I looked inside the dumpster, and sure 356 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 enough it was filled with perfectly good food. 357 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In that particular dumpster, the first 358 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thing I ever ate was a still-frozen, half 359 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gallon of moose tracks icecream. 360 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was just melted a little bit around the 361 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 edges, I didn't have a spoon so I just 362 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 used the edge of my sunglasses and they 363 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were quite sticky for a week or two. 364 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Basically, for the rest of the trip 365 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 instead of going into the grocery store 366 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and asking "Do you have anything local?" 367 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the answer was "what do you mean?" 368 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Most of the time they just had no clue 369 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where the food was from. 370 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I got tired of that, so instead 70% of my 371 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 diet that summer ended up coming from the 372 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 dumpster. 373 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was about 3 pounds a day worth of food, 280 pounds. 374 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For water, the rule was that I could only 375 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 use natural bodies of water. 376 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For the entire summer I could not have 377 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 turned on a faucet, used a flushed toilet, 378 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 taken a shower, anyway that we use water 379 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in a given day in the house I was not able to do. 380 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Instead I had to use natural bodies of 381 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 water like lakes and rivers, purify the 382 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 water myself, go swimming, even in some 383 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pretty dirty ponds. 384 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But the exception again with that was that 385 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I could use water that was going to waste. 386 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is a fire hydrant in Brooklyn, the 387 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 leak is right here. 388 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I lived off of this fire hydrant for 5 389 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 days while I was in Brooklyn. 390 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I bathed in it, that is what I am doing 391 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here, I brushed.... I went over there to 392 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 brush my teeth, did my laundry in it, 393 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 used it for cooking, all of that. 394 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This one leak alone is... I timed it, and 395 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it was wasting two gallons of water a minute. 396 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is about 8 liters per minute. 397 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What that means is that it is 770 gallons 398 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of water per day, which is enough to meet 399 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the drinking needs of 1440 people, just 400 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 out of this one fire hydrant alone. 401 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Over the entire trip I only used 160 402 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gallons of water, which is what the 403 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 average person in the United States uses 404 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in about 2 days. 405 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For energy I could only use electricity 406 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I created myself for the entire summer. 407 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I would not have been able to give this 408 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 presentation, I would not have been able 409 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to touch this, or use any of this stuff. 410 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I could not turn on a light switch, or 411 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 use someone's refrigerator, or open an 412 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 electric garage door. 413 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Basically every say that electricity was 414 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 involved in life I had to stop and think about it. 415 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There was the challenging ones where for 416 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 example if I wanted to go into a store, 417 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and there was only automatic doors, I 418 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 would have to wait there until someone 419 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 goes through the automatic door and then go in. 420 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Or if I was biking and it was night and 421 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 an automatic light would go off, I would 422 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have to go over there and unscrew that 423 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 light bulb and hope that they would figure 424 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it out the next day why it was not going off. 425 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was really deep immersion, and what I 426 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 learned is that my life is totally 427 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 electrified at all points in my life 428 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 basically I was consuming electricity. 429 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 70% or more of electricity in the United 430 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 States is from fossil fuels, so I was 431 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 basically burning fossil fuels at most times. 432 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Only by really deeply immersing myself 433 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 into this was I really able to start 434 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 understanding it more. 435 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example, my exception with 436 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 electricity was that I had a computer and 437 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had a cell phone, and they were both 438 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 charged by the solar panels. 439 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My exception was that I could log on to 440 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the internet, and I knew that by doing 441 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I was probably using some 442 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 electricity via the router probably using 443 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a little more electricity. 444 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But what I did not know and that I learned 445 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on that trip, I visited a business called 446 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Renewable Choice Energy" in Boulder, 447 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Colorado, and their job is to get 448 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 companies like Facebook and Google to 449 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 switch over their servers. 450 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The servers are the places that host the 451 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 computers, where all of the data is stored. 452 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So their job is to get them to switch over 453 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 solar and wind powered farms to produce 454 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the electricity for that. 455 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What they taught me was that when we are 456 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 storing stuff on the cloud, what the 457 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 cloud really is is just someone else's 458 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 computer, somewhere else. 459 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What I learned is that every single time 460 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I uploaded a blog, or a youtube 461 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 video, or a picture or Facebook, that all 462 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of that was being stored somewhere else, 463 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so every second of my life, whether I was 464 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 asleep or I was awake, was actually burning electricity. 465 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Only by really deeply going into it was 466 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 able to understand more deeply my 467 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 interaction with the earth. 468 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For waste, the rule was I had to carry 469 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every piece of garbage that I created all 470 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the way across the country with me. 471 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If I had a candy bar in San Francisco, 472 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that wrapper was coming all the way over 473 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to Vermont with me. 474 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Anyone who bikes, which I am guessing a 475 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 lot of you do, or if you have done long 476 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 distance hiking, you know that a little 477 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 weight really adds up. 478 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I tried really hard to create as little 479 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trash as I could, and this is what I 480 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 created in 104 days. 481 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is 2 pounds, which is what the 482 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 average American creates by about 483 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one o'clock in the afternoon on any given day. 484 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then lastly, for transportation the 485 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rule of course was that I could either 486 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 bike or walk the entire way. 487 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Even on my off days I could not use public transportation. 488 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What I learned during this time, which is 489 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a lesson that I am sure a lot of people 490 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here in Belgium know, you are far a head 491 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of us when it comes to cycling, but 492 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really I learned that cycling is for everyone. 493 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On that trip I met 60 and 70 year old 494 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 women cycling all the way across the United States. 495 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I met 10 year-olds cycling to school. 496 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I met people that were way larger than 497 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you ever would imagine would fit on a bike 498 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that were biking hundreds of miles, or 499 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were biking 30 miles back and forward between work. 500 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I really learned on that trip that cycling 501 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is something that is accessible to so many people. 502 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 After that adventure, I went back to 503 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 San Diego and I was in my apartment that I 504 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had still, and I still was... still at 505 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this time after a couple of years, still 506 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 picking up on ways that I was causing environmental destruction. 507 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example, when I got back to San Diego, 508 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had my money in a Chase bank account, 509 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 JP Morgan Chase, and I realized "Wow, 510 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what is going on with my money?" 511 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well, they invest in... largely in fossil 512 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fuel infrastructure projects. 513 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here I am trying not to use fossil fuels, 514 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but my money is being used to invest to 515 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 make fossil fuels more accessible. 516 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had to take my money out of the big 517 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 banks, I had to take my money out of any investments. 518 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I learned that my mutual funds were 519 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 invested in cigarettes and fossil fuels 520 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 among other things, so taking my money 521 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 out of those. 522 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By this time I was creating so little 523 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trash that I was able to take the garbage 524 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can out of my house. 525 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In 2015, in January, it was New Years Day, 526 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I decided that I wanted to move out of my 527 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 apartment and live in a tiny house so that 528 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I could live off the grid and not have 529 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 any bills or any debt to my name. 530 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I went onto Craigslist on New Years Day 531 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I was going to buy myself a little 532 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 camper so that I could live in that while 533 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 building a tiny house. 534 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I found this online, and it said it was 535 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 $950 and I thought "surely that must be a typo?" 536 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I mean, $950, that is like one months 537 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rent for a lot of people. 538 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I put $950 in my pocket... well actually 539 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a $1000 in my pocket, and I bike up to 540 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this guy's house, it was about 6 miles 541 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 away, and I said I was not going to buy 542 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it, but I do not know why I had the $1000 543 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in my pocket if I was not going to. 544 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But I realized why it was only $950, it 545 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as basically just a little wooden box on wheels. 546 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was 5 feet wide..... this is actually 547 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 larger, this screen right here is larger 548 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than the actual size of the house because 549 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 5 feet wide is substantially shorter than this. 550 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was about 5 feet tall, so I could not 551 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 quiet stand in it but I thought 552 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Okay, this is much smaller than I was 553 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 intending to live in," but I like to do 554 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 extreme things and one of the things that 555 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really stuck out to me is that in the 556 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 United States and in many parts of Europe, 557 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the average house size has actually 558 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 doubled in the last couple of decades. 559 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the States it has gone from 1,500 560 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 square feet, to 3,000 square feet. 561 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is where house sizes have been going. 562 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then at the same time, happiness and 563 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 health is just crashing. 564 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Trying to show that correlation between 565 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 having a larger house and actually being 566 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 healthier and happier, a lot of the times 567 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I see an opposite correlation with that. 568 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here, I practiced sustainable living, also 569 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to the extreme, to really, again, do 570 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things that would catch people's 571 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attention, get the news to come out and 572 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 report, and be able to bring this stuff to 573 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people that maybe have never thought 574 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about any of these things before. 575 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For food, I grew some of my own food. 576 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You hear in Belgium have plenty of rain I 577 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 am assuming, but San Diego was a desert 578 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it was in a mega drought, so it was 579 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not exactly easy living off of the grid 580 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and being completely dependent on rain 581 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 water and growing food. 582 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One way that I was able to do that, is 583 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there is something called "wicking bed 584 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gardens", and how it would work is you 585 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fill... you create a little reservoir on 586 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the bottom, and then you fill it through 587 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a pipe, and then the water wicks up 588 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 through the roots so that there is no 589 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 evaporation at the top. 590 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By using tricks like that I was able to 591 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 grow more food with less water. 592 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 While I was there, 100% came from 593 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 harvesting rain water. 594 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The average American uses about 80 to 100 595 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gallons of water per day. 596 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The average European uses about 50 597 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gallons of day, and the average African 598 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 uses about 2 to 5 gallons of water per day. 599 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was using 2 to 5 gallons of water, about 600 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the same as the average person in Africa. 601 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A lot of people would think that this... 602 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 most Americans would thing that this is 603 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really extreme using so little water, and 604 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one of the things that I really learned 605 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 over the last 5 years of really diving 606 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 into sustainability is that everything is 607 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 totally a matter of perspective. 608 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In this scenario for example, an American 609 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 would see that using just 2 to 5 gallons 610 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of water per day to be a really extreme 611 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thing, but if you took someone from Africa 612 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that has been doing that their whole life 613 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and you brought them to the United States, 614 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they saw that we were using 100 615 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gallons of water and are just pouring it 616 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 down the drain, to them that would be extreme. 617 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The more that I looked at all of these 618 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things, really everything is always a 619 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 matter of perspective, and when you change 620 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 your perspective you can totally change 621 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the world around you just simply by 622 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 changing your mindset. 623 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was able to live on 2 to 5 gallons a day 624 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by using it really wisely and really just 625 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not wasting any of it. 626 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For energy, the rule was... for 627 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 energy I was living just completely off 628 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of solar there. 629 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The reason I was able to do that was by 630 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 living pretty simply. 631 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Another thing that I have really come 632 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 across a lot, is that a lot of people 633 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 think that sustainable living, 634 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmentally living is only something 635 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you can do if you are wealthy or 636 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 privileged to be able to do that. 637 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There are elements of that where I 638 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 understand where people are coming from, 639 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and some truth to that. 640 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But what I have learned is that the more 641 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that you simplify your life and live based 642 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on what you need rather than everything 643 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that you think you want, the more 644 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 accessible it becomes to everyone. 645 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 With solar, if I had a huge 646 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 refrigerator and a flat screened T.V. in 647 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every room, and a hair drier, and all of 648 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 these electrical items, then I would not 649 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have been able to afford to live off the 650 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 grid with just solar, because I would 651 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have needed a $10,000 or $15,000 system. 652 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By simplifying my needs I was able to live 653 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just off of solar. 654 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This.... this is funny, we are talking 655 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about poop for the second time tonight 656 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 after the first documentary, that is great. 657 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Did you plan that? No? Okay. 658 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is actually my favorite thing to 659 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 talk about, and I feel actually very much 660 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the same with the short film we just watched. 661 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the things that I really learned 662 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is that anytime something is easy, I have 663 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 learned to stop and think, "Why is this easy?" 664 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Where is the ease... basically what I have 665 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 learned is that every time something is 666 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 easy, what that typically means is that 667 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the burden is being placed elsewhere. 668 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 An easy example, for example everyone 669 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here has probably driven a car, and you 670 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 know that when you are driving a car, 671 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 imagine that this is your ankle, you are 672 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going zero miles per hour, and you just 673 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 move your ankle slightly forward and all 674 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of a sudden you are going 60 miles an hour. 675 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Very easy. 676 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Where as biking or walking, you actually 677 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have to use energy to do that. 678 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So where is the burden being placed? 679 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In that scenario, it is being placed on many things. 680 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The extraction of fossil fuels causing oil 681 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 spills... there are 10,000 oil spills per 682 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 year as an example. 683 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is climate change, it is the emissions 684 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of all if the green house gases. 685 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is the people that are getting sick 686 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 working in those conditions, the animals 687 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that are dealing with those sorts of things. 688 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is an example of how the burden is 689 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually being placed elsewhere. 690 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I started to think, "Flushing the toilet, 691 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 okay, where does it really go once I am 692 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 done with it, what actually happens to my 693 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 poop and pee?" 694 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The toilet is an example of one of those 695 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things that is really easy. 696 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You just hit that leaver, and then 697 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (whoosh sound) it is gone. 698 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I started to think about what really 699 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 happens to it and look into it. 700 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What I learned is that it is easy because 701 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the burden is being placed elsewhere. 702 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the example of the flushed toilet, you 703 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have all of the chemicals you have to 704 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 clean the water before you poop in it, and 705 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then all of the chemicals that are used to 706 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 clean the water again after you poop in it. 707 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You have all of the electricity that is used. 708 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So 20% of all electricity is used just to pump water. 709 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You are actually using electricity 710 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 indirectly just to flush the toilet. 711 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You have the pollution that happens from 712 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it because a lot of the time it overflows 713 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 into our lakes and rivers and oceans. 714 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 All of these things were happening, and 715 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then ultimately you have a waste product 716 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that you have to deal with, it is actually a problem. 717 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I learned about what we call 718 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 humanure", as in human manure, I realized 719 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that instead of waste becoming a problem, 720 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it actually is a resource. 721 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the sayings in permaculture is that 722 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Waste is just a resource out of place," 723 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Rather than using 1.6 gallons of water 724 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 each time, which I obviously did not 725 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have to flush, I was able to turn it into 726 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a valuable resource. 727 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is the compost pile. 728 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A lot of people would... who here has ever 729 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pooped in a 5 gallon bucket? A couple? 730 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Some back there? Yeah. 731 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For me, this was sort of the holy grail of 732 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sustainable living because it was taking 733 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 responsibility for all of my actions. 734 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A lot of people have social media and so 735 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on, there are a lot of people who have 736 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 said things like... well, first of all 737 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they would assume that I was going to die, 738 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and if I was not going to die then I was 739 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going to kill the entire city of San Diego. 740 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the things about composting, how it 741 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 works, is when you... a compost pile 742 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whether it is human waste or not, what you 743 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have is microorganisms like bacteria, and 744 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then you have macroorganisms like beetles 745 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and larvae and worms. 746 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What they do is they are eating all of the 747 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 contents in there, and one of the 748 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 biproducts from all of that is heat. 749 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A compost pile can heat up to 160 degrees. 750 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 All of the bacteria, and the pathogens 751 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that are in our body are designed to live 752 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at about body temperature. 753 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Once they are in the compost pile, the 754 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 heat that is created by all that movement 755 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the micro and macro organisms kills all 756 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of that off, so it is really safe. 757 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was at least able to tell people that, 758 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I am indeed not going to kill the 759 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 city of San Diego, but the thing that I 760 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 did not know at the time was that people 761 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 still would say "Ew, this guy is eating 762 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 food grown off of poop!" 763 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I was like "Yeah, but I do not have a 764 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 good response because I am assuming that 765 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you are not doing that," 766 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But then I read a book called "Wasteland" 767 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I was doing "Trash Me" this fall, and 768 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I finally really learned where our poop 769 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 goes as I looked into it deeper. 770 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Take New York City for example where I was at the time. 771 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What you have, is you have millions... 772 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 well 8 million people are still there, 773 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about 8 million poops a day, maybe more 774 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 depending on how people are doing. 775 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What is that? Anyway. 776 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What happens is that all of that goes 777 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 into the waste water treatment plants, but 778 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what you have going along with that, 779 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the average person in the United States 780 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 has 13 prescription meds total. 781 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Some people have zero, some people have 782 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 20, but it averages out to billions of 783 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 prescription medications, so you have all 784 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of that going along with it. 785 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But you also have all of the things like 786 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 bleach, and the Drano, and things like that. 787 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So all of that is getting mixed together. 788 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What you have is an extremely toxic 789 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "poop slurry", that ends up with 790 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 millions of poops mixed with all of these toxins. 791 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But then you also have companies that are 792 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 improperly disposing of things like motor 793 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 oil and things like that, that makes it 794 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 even more toxic. 795 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That then is bio-digested in part, and 796 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then what is left was turned into fertilizer. 797 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Where that fertilizer went is it was 798 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 shipped down to Texas on rail, so 799 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this very still toxic fertilizer, and 800 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then that was used to grow the food that 801 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people that were commenting on Youtube 802 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and Facebook saying "Ew, this guy eats 803 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 food growing from poop" 804 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well, what I learned was that at least I 805 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was eating off of fairly clean... 806 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one person is not 1 million New Yorkers 807 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 toxic sludge poop. 808 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Onto the next thing, done with poop now. 809 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It might come up again though. 810 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For trash, I created a little more trash 811 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than I did on my bike ride. 812 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This would be about a normal 2 to 4 weeks 813 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of trash, it was a couple pounds a month usually. 814 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And for transportation, one of the things 815 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I learned is that the average person 816 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the states, it is similar over here in 817 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Europe, spends about $7,000 to $9,000 per 818 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 year on their vehicle. 819 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What that means is that the normal, kind 820 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the median income is about $52,000 a year. 821 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That means that the average person is 822 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 working January and February every single 823 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 year just to own their car. 824 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Imagine what you could do for January 825 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and February of every single year instead 826 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of owning a car, and that is the reason I 827 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 got rid of my car because growing up I 828 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thought that a car was freedom. 829 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was how to get away from the parents, 830 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 be able to go wherever you wanted. 831 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What I learned is that the car was 832 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually the thing that was holding me 833 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 back the most. 834 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is what tied me to having to work to 835 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pay the bills of the car. 836 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Getting rid of the car was actually one of 837 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the most freeing things I ever did. 838 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In San Diego there is something called 839 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Car to Go", which is an electric car 840 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sharing program, that made it easier for 841 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 me there, because when I did need a car, 842 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I could get one. 843 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But a lot of cities have things like 844 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Zip Car" and things like that. 845 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 How "Car to Go" works is there is a 846 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 little... you have your own little card 847 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here, and then you touch it up to the 848 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 window here, and then you get in, it lets 849 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you in, and you put in a code, and you 850 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 drive it away, and then when you are done 851 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you just park it in a parking spot and it 852 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just bills you by the amount of time that 853 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you are in there. 854 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For the most part I would ride my bike, 855 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the "Car to Go" was for mostly when I was feeling lazy. 856 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The whole idea of a lot of this stuff is 857 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to create visuals that help people to understand things. 858 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Talking about food waste, as I was 859 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 starting to dumpster dive, I had mentioned 860 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that early on I was pretty timid about 861 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 talking about that, not knowing what 862 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people would think about me and things 863 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like that, but the thing was, the more 864 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I did it, the more that I realized 865 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that this issue is far more important than me. 866 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I started to talk about it, and I was 867 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 amazed that after a short period of time 868 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I realized that generally, when you are 869 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 passionate about something and when you 870 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are authentic about something, what I 871 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 found is that you do not lose friends, you 872 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually gain more friends. 873 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The food waste ended up being something 874 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that I became really passionate about. 875 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I did not realize going into it how 876 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 important of an issue that it is, but I 877 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have learned that it is one of the most 878 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pressing environmental and social issues 879 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of our time. 880 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Worldwide, we throw away one third of all 881 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the food that we produce, while over a 882 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 billion people are in food poverty. 883 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We actually have enough food on earth to 884 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 feed every single person. 885 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Not all of it is healthy food, there is a 886 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 lot of Cheetos and things like that, but 887 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we have enough food to feed the entire world. 888 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the United States we produce enough 889 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 food to feed another entire American 890 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 population while 1 in 4 Americans are food insecure. 891 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is San Diego, California, I was 892 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trying to come up with a way to really 893 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 help people understand how much food was 894 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going to waste. 895 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the United States it is $165 billion of 896 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 food per year. 897 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 To put that into perspective, that is more 898 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than the budget for every national park, 899 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every public library, all of veterans 900 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 healthcare, all of the federal prisons, 901 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the FBI, and the FDA combined. 902 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is a massive number, but a lot of the 903 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 time it is still hard to wrap your head around numbers. 904 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is two days worth of dumpster diving 905 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in San Diego, California, and I mentioned 906 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 early on that I was very timid at the 907 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 idea of dumpster diving, and one of the 908 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reasons was this girl here. 909 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 4 years ago, and this was in 2013, I was 910 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 very much in love with her and she was 911 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 very much "get away from me Rob, I am not 912 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 interested in you right now". 913 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She was actually someone who told me "do 914 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not tell anybody that you are dumpster diving". 915 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I kind of listened to her advise. 916 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This was us 4 years later, she obviously came around. 917 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And what I learned is that you can eat 918 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 your trash and have the girlfriend too. 919 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This project was called "Trash Me", 920 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this is the one that I just finished up 921 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in September, and as I said, with so many 922 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of these things we just never think about 923 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it because the infrastructure is there, 924 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it takes things away and then we never 925 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have to think about it again. 926 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The average America creates 4.5 pounds of 927 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trash a day, throws it in the garbage can, 928 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then where does it really go? 929 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The idea of this visual was to just 930 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really help people to think about these 931 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things on a daily basis. 932 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You have the frozen pizza here. you have 933 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Starbucks cups, the red beer cups,and 934 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the packaging from buying stuff, the 935 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 batteries, the plastic bottles. 936 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The idea was to create that association in 937 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people's minds and help people to 938 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually think about that. 939 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The whole idea of all of this is to get 940 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people to self reflect and think about 941 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what positive changes that they can make 942 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in their life, and so these are some of 943 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the things that I have been making over 944 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the past 5 years that I have found to be really beneficial. 945 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These are some of the suggestions for 946 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 anyone who is inspired to make positive changes. 947 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I broke these down into the basic aspects 948 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of sustainable living: food, water, 949 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 energy. waste and transportation. 950 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Each one of these is on m y website, 951 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there is a guide for all of these, so food 952 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or example is robgreenfield.org/food, and 953 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it goes more in depth there. 954 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So for food, some of the things are 955 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 eating as much local food as possible, 956 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 eating as much food that is grown in 957 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Belgium, or if not Belgium, more like 958 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Spain rather than New Zealand or Chile. 959 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Eating as much organic, natural food as possible. 960 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Stuff that is not sprayed with 961 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pesticides, unpackaged foods. 962 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Are there any grocery stores here that sell unpackaged? 963 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Una? Una! 964 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Going to stores like that where you can 965 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 buy foods where you bring your own 966 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 containers and full them up. 967 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Whole foods, so not the grocery store but 968 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 foods that look basically like they did 969 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when they came from the earth. 970 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example, apples rather than apple 971 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sauce, potatoes rather than potato chips. 972 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Growing your own food. 973 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is life changing, planting a seed and 974 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually seeing it turn into food, and 975 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then eating it, it can be a very life- changing experience. 976 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Eating seasonal, so stuff that is growing in season. 977 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If it is in the middle of January and you 978 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 see strawberries in the store, thinking 979 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Where are these strawberries actually from?" 980 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the simplest things we can do with 981 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 food is actually eat it. 982 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The average person wastes about 25% of 983 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 all of their food. 984 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Actually eating the food rather than 985 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 throwing it away. 986 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Another big one is eating a lot more 987 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, 988 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 grains, and a lot less meat. 989 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This actually is the one that causes the 990 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 most environmental impact, eating meat and animal products. 991 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That one actually should be more at the top. 992 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Which leads into the next one, which is water. 993 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The average.... sorry, to create 1 994 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 hamburger takes about 660 gallons or about 995 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 3,000 liters of water. 996 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 To put that in perspective, on my bike 997 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 ride across the country, I went 104 days without showering. 998 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Imagine 104 days without showering. 999 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Now image turning that into an entire 1000 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 year, which is what I did, and 1 year of 1001 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not showering, that was the equivalency 1002 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of 6 hamburgers worth of water. 1003 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 2 months of showering is the equivalent of 1004 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one hamburger, that is how much water it 1005 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 takes to produce meat, well, that is 1006 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 particularly beef that is the most water intensive. 1007 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Other things you can do, is flush the toilet less. 1008 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If it is yellow, let it mellow, if it is 1009 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 brown, flush it down. 1010 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do you have that saying here? 1011 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is new? I brought it to Belgium! 1012 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Take shower showers. 1013 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Every minute off of the shower is about 1014 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 2 gallons. 1015 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Grow food and not lawns. 1016 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is really one of the most enjoyable 1017 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things is rather than growing grass, 1018 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually just growing food instead. 1019 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Using that water to grow food instead of grass. 1020 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Harvesting rain water, some people make 1021 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 these things really complicated. 1022 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One thing about all of these things that 1023 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I am naming off is they are all designed 1024 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to decrease your environmental impact. but 1025 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the nice thing is that they do not 1026 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually cost you money, they are all 1027 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 designed to save you money, which means 1028 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you can work less and spend more time 1029 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 doing the things that you want. 1030 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then lastly, besides the fact that 1031 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 most of these make the earth healthier, 1032 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they also make you healthier, which is the 1033 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 nice thing about it. 1034 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Harvesting rain water, some people make 1035 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that really complicated and they get like 1036 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a $300 system, I did that when I first 1037 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 started to harvest rain water. but then I 1038 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 realized, you literally just have to 1039 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 stick a bucket under your gutter, and 1040 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 collect that water, it is as simple as that. 1041 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Installing efficient faucets, you can get 1042 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 little faucet heads that cost about $3, 1043 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they use 75% less water, so switching 1044 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 those things out takes a couple of minutes 1045 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then you are saving a gallon and a 1046 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 half for minute that you have it on. 1047 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Planting native, planting things that 1048 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 naturally grow in the area. 1049 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Installing greywater, another thing that 1050 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you can do really simple is for example 1051 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 put a 5 gallon bucket under your sink and 1052 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 unscrew the thing so that it goes out to 1053 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the bucket, and then that goes out to the garden. 1054 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is the simplest form of gray water. 1055 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Switching to CFL or LED bulbs. 1056 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 LED bulbs cost more, but after about 3 1057 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 months to a year they already have paid 1058 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for themselves in the amount of 1059 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 electricity that you are using. 1060 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Finding an electricity free alternatives, 1061 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for example getting a juice press that is 1062 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a hand juice press rather than an electric one. 1063 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Or investing in alternative energy, you 1064 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can put solar panels on your roof or you 1065 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can just invest in a energy COOP that uses 1066 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the COOP money from people to create... 1067 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 basically investing in an energy COOP. 1068 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then the last thing, nature, simply 1069 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 put, the more time that you are out in 1070 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 nature, the less time that you are burning energy. 1071 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then for waste, the 5 "Rs" are refuse, 1072 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. 1073 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the things that I never knew, even 1074 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the 3 "Rs" are reduce, reuse, recycle, 1075 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are actually in that order for a reason. 1076 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 First it is reduce, then it is reduce, and 1077 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then lastly recycle. 1078 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 People like Bea Johnson or Lauren Singer, 1079 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 some of the leaders in the zero waste 1080 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 movement and the people that are 1081 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 practicing zero waste, the idea is not 1082 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually recycle more, it is actually to 1083 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 recycle less, because recycling is 1084 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a very energy intensive process, that is 1085 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 why it is at the bottom. 1086 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Carrying a reusable water bottle, one of 1087 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the big ones is saying no to disposable items. 1088 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Anything that you look at and you would 1089 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 say "Will I use this just one time and 1090 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then throw it away", instead finding a 1091 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reusable alternative, instead carrying 1092 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 your own plate or bowl or utensils rather than disposables. 1093 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Buying unpackaged foods, buying used stuff. 1094 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What kinds of websites do you have around 1095 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here for buying used stuff? 1096 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They have Gumtree, Freecycle, Freegle in the UK. 1097 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do you have those here as well? Yeah? 1098 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Buying used stuff, which means no virgin 1099 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 materials are needed for you to have something. 1100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Repairing things, so when something is 1101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 broken or slightly functioning, fixing it 1102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rather than throwing it away and getting a new one. 1103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Donating stuff that you do not need 1104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 anymore. giving it to friends or a 1105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thriftshop rather than throwing it away. 1106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Buying high quality stuff that wont 1107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 break, and composting. 1108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then for transportation, which is the last one. 1109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the huge ones is going car free, 1110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not owning a car. 1111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Joining a car share program if you still 1112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 need to drive a car. 1113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Driving less is a simple one if you are 1114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going to own a car still, just simply 1115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 driving less makes a huge difference. 1116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you ride a bike, which there is no 1117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 point in even talking about this here, I 1118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 saw like a million bikes. 1119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is just unique for me to see... 1120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 actually when I got here, when I got into 1121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the train station, that was the most bikes 1122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have seen in my entire life. 1123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the United States if there is like 6 1124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 bikes in the same space, it is like "Whoa, bikers!" 1125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is pretty cool to see what is going on here. 1126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I will take the lesson from you on that 1127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one and be quiet about the biking. 1128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Public transportation, which I think is 1129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pretty good in Belgium, when you are 1130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 complaining about transportation just 1131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 imagine being in the United States for a 1132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 little while, because it sucks over there, 1133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and think about it that way. 1134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Living near the places that you spend 1135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 your time, so that you spend less time 1136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 banging your head or being depressed in 1137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the car and in public transportation, 1138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 being closer to places. 1139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And then simply walking. 1140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the last ones is supporting 1141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmental organizations, supporting 1142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmental non-profits. 1143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As far as philanthropy goes, only 3% of 1144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 all philanthropic donations go to 1145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmental nonprofits, 97% goes elsewhere. 1146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Donating to nonprofits that are working 1147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on environmental issues goes a huge way. 1148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The other thing is just volunteering with 1149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 them, just getting involved. 1150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A lot of the time that is much... that can 1151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 be much more beneficial than money to 1152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 them, just getting involved and volunteering. 1153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There is a really awesome nonprofit 1154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which was started by Patagonia, the 1155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 clothing company, about 10 years ago. 1156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you own a business, you can join 1157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "1% for the Planet", and your company 1158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gives 1% of all of the revenue to 1159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 environmental nonprofits. 1160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You donate directly to the nonprofits, not 1161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to1%, and they certify it, like "Rainforest Alliance". 1162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But just a month ago they started that 1163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or individuals, so now we can donate 1% to different nonprofits. 1164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And again, it does not go to them, they 1165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 just certify you as a "1% for the Planet" donor. 1166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Just supporting environmental nonprofits 1167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by volunteering or donating. 1168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is everything, and we have plenty of 1169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 time for questions, right? 1170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Who has questions? 1171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Forwarding? On, voting. 1172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The question is, is there a reason why I 1173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do not put voting in the things that you can do? 1174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 No, I think that voting is one tool in 1175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the arsenal of making positive changes, 1176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but it is definitely not my focus by any means. 1177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think especially on the local level 1178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 voting can be extremely effective. 1179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I do not know what the political 1180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 situation is like here, but I know that 1181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 voting at the local level is where often 1182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it can be the most beneficial for your community. 1183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I did not... enough people vote and are 1184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not doing these things, so I focus on 1185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 these things too. 1186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yeah? 1187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Actually, the biggest thing that any of us 1188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can do to make the largest environmental 1189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 impact is to eat a lot less meat, and eat 1190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a lot more fruits and vegetables, a lot more plants. 1191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One thing as I have said many times, I do 1192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a lot of very extreme things, but when it 1193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 comes to all of this, my message is very much moderation. 1194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is not go 100% zero waste, maybe it is 1195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not be 100% vegan, maybe it is not 100% 1196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 never get into a car, but it is do things more moderately. 1197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Eating a lot more plant-based, is the 1198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 largest thing that we can do environmentally, really. 1199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That would be the biggest one. 1200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Plus, often most people eat way too much 1201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of it and they become a lot healthier 1202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 without it, and so you start to feel better too. 1203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yeah? 1204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Everything has been a transitional process. 1205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Back in 2011 I started a marketing 1206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 company, I was at that time still fairly money oriented. 1207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My first campaign, the bike ride across 1208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the country, I had money from running a marketing company. 1209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My earlier projects cost more money, 1210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the more you have, the more you spend. 1211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But during this whole time I have been 1212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 transitioning away from having a lot of money. 1213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So currently, my yearly annual salary cap 1214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is $5,000 a year to keep myself as 1215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 minimally involved with money. 1216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Now, my adventures are funded by being 1217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really simple adventures. 1218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You can bike across the country, living 1219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 simply without spending a penny doing that. 1220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example, dumpster diving for a lot of my food. 1221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Wherever I stay, I always just stay with 1222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 friends or family. 1223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I carry a tent so I can camp outside, 1224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 never staying in hotels. 1225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By focusing on the very basic needs in 1226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 life, like this year I am doing a project 1227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where I am not buying anything new, or 1228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 being given anything new for an entire year. 1229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The less you need, the easier, so now with 1230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 my campaigns, they are mostly about how 1231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you can live more simply. 1232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As I have learned, early on I had that 1233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 money from the marketing company, but 1234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 overtime it has become less and less 1235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 necessary to have money. 1236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And also, largely by living a life that is about relationships. 1237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because the more... the thing is that 1238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everyone in this room, if we work 1239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 together, we can meet most every single 1240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one of each others needs. 1241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By sharing stuff, sharing resources, 1242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sharing time, sharing skills, there is so 1243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 much more that we can accomplish. 1244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example with my videos, a lot of times 1245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I work with videographers who want to make 1246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a positive difference through their film, 1247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I am able to do something where they 1248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are going to get good viewership on it 1249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and feel good about it. 1250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Does that kind of answer the question? Cool. 1251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I still fly. 1252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I try to minimize my flying, I have flown 1253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 twice in the last 12 months or so, maybe 3 times. 1254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What I am doing now is... for me 1255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 personally, I find the more that I give to 1256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 others, the more that I live in the 1257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 service of others. often the more my basic 1258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 needs are met. 1259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Which has been one of the really positive 1260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things in life, is seeing that when you 1261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 put yourself out there and you help 1262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 others, that they are more likely to help 1263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you as well. 1264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So as far as flying, m