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The McGill Daily » The future of (un)consumption

Interview with Lauren Anderson: Collaboration Movement | Jelly

“I got triggered by the philosophy, that is quite similar to what we at Jelly say about coworking. Sharing. A few days after I read the article and after some research, I dropped Rachel and her team a few lines in order to have an interview. Lauren Anderson from the Collaborative Consumption team, and  Enterprise Hub Coordinator at Vibewire Youth Inc., a coworking space, answered all our questions about Collaborative Consumption, sharing, coworking etc. Enjoy the following interview that the  Jelly.gr’s team got with Lauren.”

Interview at Jelly.gr

How to Help Your Neighbors Go Solar

Fitting your house out with a solar panel system can save money on future energy bills and contribute to reducing carbon emissions. Unfortunately, however, the initial cost of installing panels is still a major deterrent in people making the switch to alternative energy. 1 Block Off the Grid (1BOG) is helping people like Michael Martinez use group purchasing power to reduce these costs, assisting neighborhoods all across the US to band together and go solar.

Name: Michael Martinez

Age: 47

City: New Orleans, LA

Career: Michael works as an accountant and is a CPA

The story: With a State Government that offers a 50% rebate to switch to solar power, on top of the Federal Government’s existing 30 percent rebate, the state of Louisiana has some of the best solar incentives across the United States. Nevertheless, choosing to install solar panels is a daunting task and still requires financing and knowledge that can be beyond the reach of many citizens.

Passionate about the benefits of “going green,” Michael had always been interested in exploring a solar panel installation for his home. But the upfront costs required to install such a system meant that it stayed on the “nice to have” list, instead of becoming an achievable priority; as Michael explained, “The price was too high as an individual with no bargaining power.” When Michael heard about 1 Block Off the Grid’s campaign to help people gain an extra 15 percent discount on top of government rebates through a bulk purchase of solar panels, it was the opportunity he had been waiting for. Not only was the reduction in the installation price hugely valuable in itself, but “1BOG also found the best company to install the solar panels instead of me getting multiple quotes from multiple companies.”

Part of 1BOG’s first New Orleans campaign, Michael’s 6.9kW system of 30 solar panels was activated in December 2009, with Michael recently receiving his first electricity bill in nine months – for $18.51. “For the past nine months I have had credit on my electricity bill. My solar system is forecast to run about 90 percent of my yearly electric expense,” he explains. Having already received the government rebates for his system installation, it will only take Michael 5-7 years to completely recoup the remaining 20 percent of the installation costs through his electricity savings.

With 1BOG enabling communities across the United States to make solar power a priority by bringing neighbors together for a collective purchase, the cumulative benefit of these economic and environmental savings is almost immeasurable.

The motivation: While the initial benefits of utilizing 1BOG to arrange a solar panel installation are more individual in nature, the sense of community built around the group purchasing of solar panel installation is a critical factor. “I have slowly noticed solar panels being installed across the New Orleans area,” observes Michael, as 1BOG launches into its second New Orleans campaign. “1BOG helps to get the word out in the area about going green,” and as a proud 1BOG member, Michael helps to spread that message.

While achieving great price savings for its community, the other aspect of 1BOG’s success is their education and advocacy around solar power, helping their members through the installation process. “They educated me on the process of going solar and answered my many questions patiently until I was satisfied.” Performing research and brokering deals on the client’s behalf has seen more than 1000 homes across the United States become equipped with solar panel systems. It is this groundswell that Michael believes is most important in achieving environmental sustainability. “The more people talk about going green, like 1BOG, the better.”

A shared future? The notion of joining collectively with other community members to achieve common benefits was a relatively new one for Michael and his neighbors, but is something he would definitely be prepared to explore further. Beyond the realms of the solar industry, groups such as the Carrot Mob are harnessing the power of group purchasing to encourage and support socially responsible decision-making in business.

An individual consumer can often feel powerless to make the right choices when it comes to responsible brands, environmentally friendly products and even whether or not to go solar. Organizations like 1BOG help consumers band together to not only facilitate individual choices but to enable collective action that supports the wider community.

This article was first published on Shareable.net on 30 September 2010

OurGoods: BARTER REPORT from Caroline Woolard: material (leather) for skills (leather bag making)

ourgoods:

I met Will Lisak at Trade School in February. He said he found Trade School online and was excited to connect to people who respect craft in NYC. The summer passed before I ran into him (this time at Brooklyn Kitchen). I remembered the leather bags, and that I had a stack of leather from Build it…

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co-loco | It's fun to work around

My new project, along with Josh, Adriaan and Mei: for co-workers and desk-owners alike!

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Shareable: A School Without Money

Trade School in session. Credit: Dan Phiffer

On New York’s Lower East Side, there is a creative community working hard to turn skills into a source of community, through a unique “school” where students barter for lessons.

Name: Christopher Robbins

Age: Christopher is in his 30s

City: New York

Career: Christopher’s work oscillates between public art and community development, and has taken him to communities as far afield as Serbia, the Fiji Islands and Europe, as well as across America. He also runs a community-driven government works program, and a “developing world” think-tank.

Spanish class at Trade School. Credit: Our Goods

The story: For  35 days in February 2010, over 800 students congregated at Trade School on the Lower East Side to learn skills as diverse as composting, portrait photography and felt-making. Instead of paying money for these classes, students offered teachers material and non-material items like 4 ounces of tea, a used non-fiction book, and beginner lessons in French and German. This bartering connected people with expertise to share to people with a desire to learn new skills.

Christopher Robbins was one of the teachers, as well as a student. He taught classes in Participatory Learning & Action – a method draws on the varied perspectives of people in a community, rather than relying on the views of those who already have an “official” voice. Sharing insights with students on how to get a foothold in new communities, Chris’s classes try to prepare students to take part in the Work Projects Administration (WPA), “a smal-scale, community-driven” public works program.

“The goal is to get people using the techniques I am teaching to start their own community actions,” says Chris of his hopes for his students. In exchange for lessons, he looks for ways to put the theory into practice. “I try to use these sessions as jumping-off points to community action, so I ask people to bring their ideas for needed public works in their neighborhoods.”

While teaching at Trade School, Chris also took the opportunity to learn some new skills for himself, such as learning how to make fake rocks from an Exhibition Producer at the Museum of Natural History. “It was great to give myself license to attend workshops I wouldn’t have paid for,” he says. “Trade School helps match wants to haves, and provides some grease for the sometimes awkward social machine we live in.”

The motivation: The big idea behind Trade School is that the act of bartering fosters new relationships between teachers and students. They are doing more than just sharing knowledge; they are also building an alternative economy.

For Chris, the importance of strengthening and encouraging this alternative commerce lies in protecting those things that the money-based economy ignores or damages. “Our over-reliance on the capital market system is destroying a lot of what is important in life – education, art and health care do not thrive in a strict market system and need alternative systems to flourish equitably.”

Seeing the value it has created in his own work and projects, Chris regards Trade School as an important step in the process of exploring alternative approaches. “Trade School provided me with a new set of skills in return (for my classes)”, he says of his determination to contribute to making the currency-less school and network thrive.

Credit: Our Goods

A shared future? Through his work at Trade School, Chris has also become more aware of the excesses of the modern world, and how more often than not there is a viable alternative to buying something new, be it swapping, gifting, or bartering. “With a little investigation, a barter can often replace a purchase – much of the construction gear used in the WPA project was donated or bartered in this way.”

The boundaries of this swapping behavior extend beyond the walls of Trade School; in fact, Chris believes the impetus to barter could be one of the most lasting lessons taught at the school. Opening up to the possibilities of bartering means that these exchanges start to occur in the most unlikely of places – including a hardware store. “I had just purchased the last post-hole digger when a man came in stressed out because he needed one,” says Chris. “So we split the price, he used it for his projects and then dropped it off for me to use for my projects!

It seems the potential for these exchanges is only just starting to be realized, with Chris hoping that in the future we will see an eBay for bartering and other partnerships that increase the opportunity for skill swaps. As for Trade School, a recently successful Kickstarter campaign means it will be launching again this fall, further building and enriching a community that is redefining our idea of value and values.

Original story published on Shareable.net 09.09.2010

BJ Fogg's Behavior Grid

therecognitioneffect:

“My grid describes 15 ways behavior can change. The purpose is to help people (including myself) think more clearly about behavior change.”

This could help you communicate and define your objectives — and therefore the interactions you design — more clearly. I can see this being tremendously helpful when talking with clients; something like this puts everyone on the same page when you’re talking about nebulously useless concepts like conversion rates, engagement, etc.

[via @leisa]

Peter Martin: What the independents want

TO JULIA GILLARD and TONY ABBOTT

Requests for information

1. We seek access to information under the ‘caretaker conventions’ to economic advice from the Secretary of the Treasury Ken Henry and Secretary of Finance David Tune, including the costings and impacts of Government and Opposition election promises and policies on the budget.

2. We seek briefings from the following Secretaries of Departments:

1. Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
2. Health and Ageing
3. Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
4. Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
5. Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
6. Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water
7. Defence
8. Resources, Energy and Tourism

3. We seek briefings from caretaker Ministers and Shadow Ministers in the above portfolio areas to discuss their program for the next three years.

4. We seek advice as soon as possible on their plans to work with the Clerks of the Parliament to improve the status and authority of all 150 local MP’s within parliamentary procedures and structures. In particular, we seek advice on timelines and actions for increasing the authority of the Committee system, private members business and private members bills, matters of public importance, 90 second statements, adjournment debates, and question time.

5. We seek a commitment to explore all options from both sides in regard “consensus options” for the next three years, and a willingness to at least explore all options to reach a majority greater than 76 for the next three years. Included in these considerations is advice on how relationships between the House of Representatives and the Senate can be improved, and a proposed timetable for this to happen.

6. We seek a commitment in writing as soon as possible that if negotiations are to take place on how to form Government, that each of these leaders, their Coalition partners, and all their affiliated MP’s, will negotiate in good faith and with the national interest as the only interest. In this same letter of comfort, we seek a written commitment that whoever forms majority Government will commit to a full three year term, and for an explanation in writing in this same letter as to how this commitment to a full term will be fulfilled, either by enabling legislation or other means.

7. We seek advice as soon as possible on a timetable and reform plan for political donations, electoral funding, and truth in advertising reform, and a timetable for how this reform plan will be achieved in co-operation with the support of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The three non-aligned MP’s will now be heading home to families, electorate duties, and a long-standing appointment with the Governor-General (unrelated to this political deadlock). We have agreed to be back in Canberra on Monday for the full week of meetings in relation to the above.

We expect all the above information to be made available through best endeavours as soon as possible, so that formal negotiations with all stakeholders can begin by Friday 3rd September – if, based on final counts, negotiations are indeed needed at all.

Request for Info