Aaron Antrim’s blog

On September 6th, I posted a report on The Cultural Creatives, a book I read about an emerging group of people who defy many conventional political descriptions, and who, the authors claim, are changing the United States for the better.

Yesterday, my friend Chris Rall followed up on my Cultural Creatives report when he forwarded a column by the conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks, “The Era of What’s Next”. Brooks essentially says the same thing that the authors of the Cultural Creatives say, that the old political winds are waning, and we’re entering a new era.

How interesting and exciting that both “conservative” and “liberal” thinkers agree we’re entering a new era.  There are bound to be many opportunities for social and political change, and even business ventures.  The times they are a changin’.

aaron :: Oct.29.2006 :: U.S. Politics, Sustainability :: No Comments »

Dear Arcata Eye Editor,

Even though my name already appears on the Green Wheels election endorsements letter this week, I would like to offer a broader, more detailed and personal testimony of why I will be be voting for Michael Winkler on November 7th.

I have grown to trust Michael to represent me in city government by witnessing his nearly selfless dedication to the moral principles that drive him. Michael has invested the time, energy and money in his professional, academic, and personal life to walk his talk like few others have. Knowing what his practical action-oriented approach has already achieved with HSU administration and programs, I honestly can’t wait to see what it will achieve at the city level.

Michael is a candidate to break barriers and build bridges. Too often, there is a divide between the technical and political worlds, where engineers who create and implement technologies do not take into account their environmental and social ramifications, and where politicians make policy decisions about technical issues they do not understand. Michael’s whole professional and civic life run counter to this frequent tendency. As an engineer concerned about the social and environmental ramifications of technology, he left his high-paying job in Silicon Valley to work in the Schatz Energy Research Center at HSU and earn a degree in environmental engineering. His sense of social and environmental responsibility has inspired him to create new programs and policies at HSU, including the Humboldt Energy Independence Program to make HSU energy independent by 2043 with student-designed educational projects, and the 100% Recycled Paper Policy, which “will save annually the equivalent of 1,200 mature trees; 349,000 gallons of water; 204,000 kilowatt hours of electricity; 3,000 lbs. of air pollution; and 104,485 lbs. of greenhouse gases” (Executive Memorandum for 100% recycled paper). His home is a model of sustainability, giving back more energy to the grid than it uses, and producing one can of trash per year.

Not only is Michael the candidate to connect the technical sciences and policy arenas, he is the best candidate to build bridges between HSU and Arcata. Creating bridges between HSU and Arcata has been a constant theme in the campaigns of all the main council contenders this election, but other candidates’ proposals and goals are vague and undefined. In the debate on KEET, the non-ponytailed incumbent candidate illustrated one of his primary platform goals, to engage HSU and create and enhance symbiotic relationships between the university and the city, by mentioning only one campus organization specifically, Green Wheels, which I have been a major part of. Green Wheels has worked to coordinate transportation efforts between the city and university by presenting at council meetings and study sessions. The incumbent council member of which I am speaking has always been very complimentary of Green Wheels, but, unlike several other current council members and candidates, he has never returned emails addressed to the council, or made an attempt to attend one of our meetings and actively engage our organization. Therefore, his mention of Green Wheels, while flattering, took me somewhat by surprise, and brought me to question whether he is actually ready or able to engage the university campus as he promises to do.

Michael, on the other hand, has an extensive network of university contacts, including President Richmond. His experience implementing successful programs and as a CCAT steering committee member gives him a tremendous advantage in navigating the university’s decision-making structure. His current work at Schatz and recent work in other projects on campus gives him a window into current university programs and opportunities that no other candidate shares.

Michael’s successful track record is not limited to HSU. A six-plus year planning commission member, he he has demonstrated his effectiveness at working with others, his respect for process, and his commitment to long-term planning.

A dedicated listener, Michael is determined to personally meet as many citizens of the Arcata community as is humanly possible to hear their concerns. As I write this, he has reached almost 90% of Arcata’s doorsteps, something no other candidate has achieved, and he plans to cover all of Arcata’s doorsteps by November 7th. With the combination of his listening skills and effective problem-solving approach, Michael is able to break down problems to create effective, implementable solutions. Let’s put this consensus-building, problem-solving, bridge-building listener to work for us in city government on November 7th.

Aaron Antrim

aaron :: Oct.27.2006 :: Arcata, Sustainability :: No Comments »

My friend Ajay sent me a link to the post on the Google blog about their corporate campus going 30% solar-powered. The blog post says that not only is it a moral imperative that business, organizations, and individuals reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, but makes the point that its simply good business sense to reduce costs into the future and be prepared for a world in which energy shortages will become more common.

Google is a truly awsome company. The routinely exceed my expectations in delivering excellent products and serving their customers needs with truly generous services and feature sets. Many of the services and features they offer customers don’t even know they need yet, but soon realize afterwards what the Google difference is (free POP access for gmail, labels with gmail, etc.) Anyway, before I go to overboard in my praise for Google, I should mention the video Epic 2014, the original flash online movie made by Robin Sloan for the Museum of Media History which coined the word Googlezon. That’s all I’ll say at this point…

Here at Humboldt State University, we’re working to go solar, too. The Humboldt Energy Independence Fund, the project to put solar panels on our buildings and make HSU energy independed by 2040, just had a benefit concert at the Arcata Bike Library this weekend. Too bad even though 85% of students supported this new fee, Chancelor Reed of the CSU system has has refused to sign off on the project. Just like Google, as a higher education institution, we need to be leading the way towards clean energy and to be prepared for an uncertain energy feature. And the same benefits Google benefits from in terms of public relations are benefits HSU will get too — notice from bloggers like me, and from big, recognized news sources. Sustainable business is profitable business, for higher academia as well as Google!

aaron :: Oct.23.2006 :: Information tech, Business, Sustainability :: No Comments »

To all who own, use, or have thought about buying a Mac,

Consuming and using electronics, I’m convinced, is probably one of my most environmentally destructive activities. And it doesn’t help that I’m using a Mac (which I love), because Apple is one of the more environmentally irresponsible manufacturers. It takes two seconds to visit this clever Greenpeace site at greenmyapple.org and send a message to Steve Jobs. The Greenpeace campaign is awesome — hard-hitting, but with truly excellent business and marketing advice. If Apple changes their practices, it will be a huge victory, because the rest of the industry is bound to follow. And apparently, some of this is getting through, because I read Steve Jobs addressed environmental concerns for the first time ever in a keynote last week — but unfortunately this was only the shallowest of p.r. moves, and Apple has done nothing to institute real change.
If you’re interested in a more complete report, ranking various electronics companies on their environmental practices, see “Your Guide to Green Electronics” on the Greenpeace site.

aaron :: Oct.02.2006 :: Information tech, Sustainability :: 1 Comment »