I’ve just finished reading The Lazy Environmentalist by Josh Dorfman. While not every chapter was for me (babies and children?!) the book contains a gigantic amount of information on how to make good, informed, green decisions. Without condescension or guilt trips, Dorfman lays down easy-to-digest information on how to live a cleaner greener life that isn’t a big pain in the ass.

We recently had a chance to talk to Josh about his book, which you can get at Amazon.com

EcoGeek: What is a Lazy Environmentalist?

Josh Dorfman: Lazy Environmentalists are people who want to be environmentally conscious, and will be, provided the choices are convenient and fit the way they want to live. Deep inside there’s probably a lazy environmentalist in just about all of us. After all, we live in the culture of convenience. The expectation of convenience seems like it has become hardwired into our DNA

EG: What do you say to the "America Can’t Buy Its Way to Sustainability" argument?

JD: I’d say that I agree. But that doesn’t mean we ought to disregard all the really cool green solutions presently available to us to get us moving in a significantly greener direction. To really solve climate change and other serious environmental challenges, we’re going to need a joint and massive effort from business, government, non-profit organizations, and consumer-citizens. We are all responsible for our situation, and we all have a role to play in achieving solutions.

EG: What, if anything, scares your pants off?

JD: The mindset that still thinks Hummers and McMansions are a good idea. That and snakes.

EG: What what gives you the energy to do this for a living?

JD: I like operating on the cutting-edge and "green" is where the action is. "Green" is where the most innovation is taking place across nearly every industry. "Green" is what’s going to determine whether the 21st century is peaceful or chaotic. And there’s no going back. We have to deal with what’s in front of us. That’s the great challenge for every generation alive. What could be more exciting?

EG: EcoGeek wasn’t listed in the "Electronics Information" resources section…WTF?

JD: A big mistake that’s being rectified immediately if not sooner.

EcoGeek of the Week is a syndicated column from EcoGeek.org. If you would like to syndicate the column, or know an EcoGeek that proffiling, email our editor at editor@ecogeek.org

The Lazy Environmentalist

These innovators make it easy for us to integrate environmental awareness into our lives. They understand that while so many of us are concerned about the environment, we don't always have the time, energy, or inclination to do something about it.

I only wish this was written in a less-than-serious voice. In my mind, if you don't have the "time, energy, or inclination" to do something about the environment, than you can hardly classify yourself as an environmentalist. You are looking to alleviate guilt for your conspicuous consumption, a culture of consumption that is devastating our planet. It's exactly the "culture of convenience" that's waging all-out war on our resources. Consider this passage from the chapter on cars:

There really is something for everyone–even those who drive Hummers, the most colossal of all urban assault vehicles…By offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions spewing from your car's tailpipe, TerraPass offers Hummer drivers eco-salvation.

Eco-salvation for Hummer drivers? A little too, oh, oxymoronic, for my tastes. Lazy is definitely geared towards a more high-end clientele, despite it's mention of Wal-Mart as an organic clothing retailer (Yeah, I know what you are thinking…I can't trust them quite yet, either).

Stepping off of my soapbox, for those of us who do have time, energy, and inclination to do something to lighten our footprint still have to buy goods and services, and Lazy provides a well-laid, well-written plan to finding greener versions of those goods and services. If you have to spend money, you might as well spend it on more sustainable products, right?

There are 22 chapters focusing on different products and services, from home furnishing to energy providers to media outlets (what, no shout out for Green Options?) Each chapter begins with a narrative insight into what practices these eco-companies are establishing to go green, then lists several companies, along with their websites and a brief description of what their business does or produces. Reading about different design innovations companies are using was fascinating (BraveSpace's hollow bamboo tables, anyone?), and I'll definitely check out many of the websites listed. If I'm going to save the planet, though, I've got better things to do.

Victoria E: In the beginning, Vivavi.com sold furniture and fashions; what prompted you to drop the fashions?

Josh Dorfman: Vivavi’s mission from the beginning has been to merge modern style with environmental awareness to help people easily green their lifestyles. We spent the first eighteen months testing various product categories to determine which would be the most viable from a business perspective. As a retailer, the business case turned out to be much stronger for furniture than for any other category. I felt that there was greater consistency of outstanding design coming from a broad group of furniture designers than from fashion designers.

Green fashion design is fine but there are still very few lines that are exceptional. That’s not the case with green furniture design where often the most conscious designers are producing the most exciting furniture. I also personally have a much better eye for great furniture design than I do for fashion design, and since I consider every product we offer to be an extension of our brand, I feel much more confident in the decisions I make when selecting furniture collections.

VE: Finding affordable and functional eco-items is becoming more complex for us average consumers; how does Vivavi.com help with that?

JD: I agree, affordability is a key issue when you’re talking about having a broad impact. We’ve been working with some of our furniture designers to steer them toward strong manufacturing partners who can help bring down the cost of products. In some instances we’ve seen success, but it’s a challenge. Many green consumers seek affordable furniture that’s also made in the United States. That’s a double challenge.

It’s extremely difficult for furniture designers just starting out to locate manufacturers in the U.S. who are willing to work with them. Most manufacturers want to produce hundreds of products at once and will give low priority to furniture lines that need time to grow. I think it’s short-sighted considering how much furniture manufacturing and jobs are moving to China and Southeast Asia, but the reality is that it’s very challenging to locate manufacturers who will take a longer point of view which is what’s necessary. So making the transition from handcrafting products, which keeps prices high, to manufacturing products, which obviously helps lower prices is a significant hurdle.

This is one of the major barriers holding the market back, holding Vivavi back, from being able to offer more accessibly priced products. Granted, our products will likely never compete on price with Ikea, one, because our design is arguably better and that always carries a premium and, two, because our quality is better – we offer products that will last a very long time and are made with great attention to materials and craftsmanship.

VE: What inspired you to start ModernGreenLiving.com?

JD: I get really excited and inspired when we can help people easily make great decisions that are better for their lives and better for the planet. What could be easier when you think about greening your lifestyle than moving into a home that’s already green in terms of construction, finishes, and energy efficiency? There are currently about 100 green apartment towers, condo developments, and residential housing communities throughout the U.S. that conform to green guidelines. There are more than 3000 builders in the U.S. who have already built EnergyStar rated homes. And it’s just the beginning. We are moving toward the tipping point in green residential real estate.

Moderngreenliving.com puts this information directly in front of homeowners and renters so they can find green real estate and professionals in their area. We also list green architects, interior designers, realtors and other green building professionals who can help people green their homes. It’s an incredibly exciting resource to develop and it also strategically complements Vivavi. After all, if you live in a green home, you’ll probably want to furnish it with green furniture.

VE: ModernGreenLiving.com seems to be growing nicely - how do you find companies to list on the site? Do you have plans to make it an extensive, national directory?

JD: We definitely have big plans for ModernGreenLiving.com. We do a lot of research to identify companies that fit well with our focus. On the green professional side we search for green builders, for example, who understand both the principles of green building and how to market and appeal to interested but wary homeowners who still think treehugging is somehow either Communist or an esoteric form of Chinese martial arts. Basically, we look for professionals and companies that have the hard skills and commercial savvy to sell green to the mainstream and deliver. It’s really about expanding the demand and market for green residential real estate. Our plans for 2007 are to make ModernGreenLiving.com an extensive national directory. Our plans for 2008 and beyond are to make it an extensive global directory.

VE: Your radio program, the Lazy Environmentalist, has grown a lot since it first began, now available on Sirius radio and Lime.com. What service do you see your program providing to listeners?

JD: The Lazy Environmentalist extends the conversation we have with Vivavi and Moderngreenliving.com through almost every aspect of lifestyle. I want to communicate to people that realistic green options are available right now that will fit and often improve their lifestyles. Whether it is baby furniture from Argington or Oeuf or newcomer Celery Furniture, solar power from companies like Ready Solar or CitizenRE, or toilets from Water Saver Technologies or Camona, there are quite literally hundreds of companies that are putting outstanding green products and services into the marketplace right now. We bring on the leaders of these companies to hear from them in their own words about what they’re doing and why. It’s both informative and inspiring. I want to help these kinds of companies capture market share by giving them “on air” exposure so they can grow their sales and hire more people into meaningful jobs working for mission-based companies.

Beyond market share, I also want to capture mindshare. I want to reach people and get them thinking about “green” while they’re commuting in their cars or listening at home or at work. The environmental movement has achieved significant successes in terms of influencing law and policy. However, it’s done an abysmal job from a marketing/branding perspective. I want to help re-brand the environmental movement as the innovation movement, attracting people to it instead of repelling them and putting them continually on the defensive through guilt-trips and pleas to save polar bears. It’s noble but it doesn’t sway the masses. And we need the masses swayed if we’re truly going to solve the global environmental challenges we face. And since much of the most exciting innovation taking place across the economy today relates to green technologies that can bring our civilization into greater balance with the earth’s capabilities to sustain it, The Lazy Environmentalist is a media outlet dedicated to communicating these cutting-edge developments and drawing connections to how they directly relate to each of our lives.

VE: Who would you love to have on your radio show that you haven't had a chance to bring on yet? Are there any particular topics that you desperately want to cover?

JD: The radio show is going live every weekday starting March 12th, so this year we’re going to interview hundreds of remarkable green innovators and visionaries. At the top of my list is Governor Schwarzenegger. While our national politicians in Washington DC, on both sides of the aisle, refrain from providing significant leadership on the environment, Schwarzenegger signed legislation to create 1 million solar powered homes in California. It’s the largest solar initiative in the U.S. and the second largest in the world behind only Germany. I have great respect for people who back up their talk with action and he’s doing it.

I’d also love to have Richard Branson on the show. I think the man is a brilliant and visionary entrepreneur who also possesses fantastic conviction. He’s allocating $3 billion toward developing alternative fuel sources. It’s tremendous.

I’d also love to have on some of the former Pennsylvania-based steelworkers who are now working in local wind turbine factories for a Spanish wind energy company called Gamesa. This story provides a glimpse into a possible future for America in the 21st century. Wind power and other renewable energy technologies present an opportunity to transform 20th century jobs into 21st century jobs and simultaneously strengthen our national economy, improve our national security, and chart a course toward enlightened American global leadership.

The foundations are being laid. Lots of people are working on it like the team at the Apollo Alliance. I’d love to see our nationally elected leaders frame environmental issues in terms of jobs and national security. It’s the best way to sell it to the American people. I digress, but I just get extremely excited and passionate about the opportunity before us.

VE: The radio show has gotten so popular that you have a book of the same name coming out this spring. What will be find inside?

JD: Yup, my book, The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living , will be released in June by Stewart, Tabori & Chang. Readers will find the most cutting-edge comprehensive conversation yet about all the green innovation underway that is making green lifestyles increasingly viable and attractive. Chapters cover topics like fashion, outdoor gear, alternative energy, automobiles, green homes, education, and even death. It’s sort of like Wired Magazine meets Zagat’s Guides. Each chapter is meant to be a quick read highlighting what’s going on and who’s doing it and then is followed by extensive lists of resources for companies, products, and services with accompanying websites so readers can quickly access further information and plug in to the green economy.

VE: How did the book project get started? Did you come up with the idea or were you approached by the publisher?

JD: The book proposal got started about the same time the radio show moved to the Lime Channel on Sirius in January 2006. Before then I was hosting The Lazy Environmentalist live from inside my bedroom closet for an internet radio station, not the most auspicious of beginnings.

My research for the book, however, dates back to 2001. At the time I was collecting resources on globalization because I was about to enter a Ph.D. program at George Washington University where I planned to study the interrelationship between markets, politics and the environment in an age of globalization. Two things happened as a result of all that research. First, I realized that being informed is great but what’s really important is what you do once you’re informed and armed with knowledge, which is what led me to start looking for eco-friendly products and services as a strategy for taking environmental action. Second, I realized that I didn’t want to be in a Ph.D. program. So I quit, wrote a business plan for Vivavi, and began the work I do today.

I thought of writing a book because I wanted to make information about green living accessible to a broad audience in a medium outside of the internet. There are several outstanding blogs providing cutting-edge information about green products and services and strategies for going green. I’m particularly excited about the radio show and the book because it enables to me leverage different media distribution platforms to bring this kind of information to those who aren’t necessarily searching for it online.

So, I wrote a book proposal and was fortunate to be introduced to an agent who immediately loved it and had an outstanding track record of selling books. A few months later we sold it to Stewart, Tabori & Chang, a division of Harry N. Abrams. At the time, Abrams was preparing to publish the Worldchanging book, so they were particularly keen on bringing another environmentally themed book to market and really doing it right. The Lazy Environmentalist is being printed on recycled paper and energy associated with production of the book is being offset by wind energy credits donated by Renewable Choice Energy.

VE: What are some of your favorite sustainable furniture designers on the market today? Who should we be watching and wanting in our homes?

JD: First, let’s be clear about what we mean by sustainable. To me sustainable furniture design means that a product is being made with environmentally responsible materials and non-toxic adhesives and finishes and that it is intentionally designed for ease of recycling at the end of its useful life. There’s a third consideration which is the amount and type of energy required to create a product. A factory running on solar power, for example, is doing a tremendous job of limiting the environmental impact associated with the products it produces.

Since very few designers are at that level in terms of energy, I’ll focus on those that satisfy the first two criteria. Two sustainable designers that immediately come to mind are Acronym Designs and PIE (Project Import Export). Acronym creates sleek, contemporary indoor/outdoor benches, chairs, and tables from the excess wood slabs created during the production of reclaimed hardwood flooring. In other words, they are using twice reclaimed wood. This spring the company is releasing a streamlined chaise lounge for which I’d give my left arm.

PIE creates some of the most unique and intricate furniture on the market using vines and plants like water hyacinth that are considered an environmental nuisance for clogging waterways both in Florida where the company has its headquarters and in Thailand where it manufactures its products. PIE weaves these materials into stunning organic contemporary shapes like its Sushi Daybed. Taking things further, inside the Daybed is an aluminum frame that can be reconfigured by PIE in order to create a new furniture shape. This means that when you’re ready for a new product, you can return your PIE furniture to the company and they’ll use the same exact materials to create a new seating product for you. It’s remarkably innovative and at the same time completely logical. It makes you think, “Wow, that’s so cool. And why the hell isn’t anyone else doing it?”

VE: As a man running an eco business, how do you balance your goals of helping to change/save the world and making a profit?

JD: There’s a lot of ways for me to answer this question. With our business, profits and environmental change are directly aligned with each other because the more our business grows the more positive environmental change we effect by virtue of what we’re selling. If our products and services weren’t better for the environment than the conventional choices available today, I’d shut down the business and go work for someone else.

The entire point of what we’re doing is to demonstrate that business can be an extremely viable and powerful tool for change. When I think about balance, for me it really has more do to with my personal life. I’m entirely committed to seeing our ventures succeed, and at a core level I’m deeply concerned that our society is not moving nearly fast enough to address the environmental challenges we face. So I’m always working, and yet I know that in order to be most effective it’s important for me to have greater balance in my life and still enjoy a great cheeseburger and some powder days on the slopes now and then.

VE: What do you say to the folks that still believe global warming is just a myth?

JD: I don’t really say anything. Anyone who holds that position today is living in a place of tremendous fear. I’ve met enough of them to recognize that these are people who are afraid of change and afraid that if they acknowledge reality then the congruence of their lives starts to unravel. It’s very hard to have a dialogue with people who are so afraid that they can’t entertain evidence that points to the contrary of their worldview. I don’t really blame them because we’ve yet to have leaders emerge who can say to those who deny Global Warming, “It is okay to acknowledge the reality of Global Warming. Here’s the plan for addressing the problems. Here’s how we’re going to keep you safe and prosperous. Here’s how we’re going to solve the challenges we face.”

It’s very hard to acknowledge something as threatening as Global Warming if you have no idea what to do about it. So I would say to those who recognize the reality of Global Warming, create a real comprehensive framework for addressing Global Warming on both a local and global level. Make it inclusive so that even those living in fear and denial could participate and then watch what happens.

VE: Do you have any other nifty, secret projects in the works that you could hint at?

JD: I have lots that I’d like to share but our investors would be dismayed. I’ll tell you about one because I’d love to see this happen whether or not I’m involved. I had a meeting last week with a finance guy from J.P. Morgan to discuss the viability of creating a renewable energy utility that would build the largest solar power plant in the world. To raise funds, we would issue 1 million shares valued at $100 each. Each share would pay something like a 4% dividend per year. Here’s the kicker: each investor would be limited to one share each. The idea would be to get 1 million Americans to buy one share to participate in a project that would be great for America, great for the environment and provide a mechanism for real action that cuts across socioeconomic levels. College students could buy a share as could media moguls. And here’s the double kicker. Our first shareholder meeting would be an absolutely killer rock concert to celebrate what these 1 million Americans accomplished together. But of course the only way to get into the concert is to be a shareholder since it’s also the shareholder meeting so it would provide a little extra incentive to participate. Again, it comes back to leveraging the power of business and appealing to people’s enlightened self-interest in order to effect change.