Joel Makower is Executive Editor of GreenBiz.com, author of the new book Strategies for the Green Economy, and writes the “Two Steps Forward” blog on green business practices and clean technology.

How do you eco?

I’ve helped companies for the last 20+ years integrate an environmental thinking into their operations that aligns with being more profitable. I wrote a monthly environmental newsletter for 15 years, then started GreenBiz.com and related websites, reports, conferences and services based on the same concepts. I’ve worked with the world’s largest companies through GreenOrder and leading clean-tech venture fund, VantagePoint Venture Partners. These fun and stimulating projects and partnerships keeps me on the move.

My biggest impact is far and away air travel, for which I buy offsets. That’s hardly an adequate substitute for the environmental impacts of flying, but it’s the best I can do.

Why did you go eco?

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in a family that routinely celebrated the great outdoors, by enjoying them in the form of camping and hiking as well as supporting environmental activities. My parents joined the Sierra Club back in the 1950s. Growing up, my father made us turn out the lights when we left the room and avoid being wasteful.

I’ve always strived to do things professionally that combined with my passions and values. I started writing about environmental issues in the 1970s. I wrote a book called “The Green Consumer,” which was published just before Earth Day 1990. That began a trajectory that hasn’t yet peaked, a career for which I feel extraordinarily lucky.

What’s your favorite eco tip?

People ask me whether I practice what I preach. I tell them that I try not to preach — it’s not an effective means of change. I argue that we should do what we can reasonably do, and not feel guilty about the rest. I think companies as well as individuals — get paralyzed when pondering all of the many things one needs to do to be green. I think it’s better to find one or two things you can do that will make a difference, then build from there. Guilt will never get us to green.

EcoLinks

• GreenBiz
• Two Steps Forward
• Joel Makower
• WorkEco Websites
• ClimateBiz
• Green Computing
• Greener Buildings
• Greener Design
• Clean Edge
• Green Order

John Francis’ “I walk the Earth” TED Talk is a beautiful story about not talking for 17 years and what he learned along the way.

Christopher Gavigan, Chief Executive Officer of Healthy Child Healthy World, has dedicated himself to improving the lives of children and families. Christopher believes Eco progress with from steady steps and not necessarily a big leap.

How do you eco?

When it comes to eco-consciousness, no one can do everything but everyone can do something. Going green isn’t about changing your whole lifestyle in the shortest time possible. Its a step by step learning process, you’ll drive yourself crazy if you try to become eco-fied overnight. Banish plastic water bottles for a stainless steel canteen, purchase organic meat over conventional, opening windows daily to circulate and freshen indoor air, using a resuable canvas tote at the grocery store instead of paper bags, and vote for representatives who champion environmental concerns.

Why did you go eco?

I’ve always considered myself an environmentalist, but my shade of green has grown significantly darker since my son was born. I was filled with the hope and excitement of a new parent, and the overwhelming desire to protect and nurture him. I was ready to make any and every change possible to ensure he was growing and maturing in a healthy environment, and that eco-conscious would be instilled from the beginning. So it would be a given for him, not a lightbulb moment as it is for many of us.

I soon realized that the often unsafe and chemical laden world he would grow up in doesn’t prioritize the protection of his health. It must be parents who protect their child from harmful environmental exposures. I embraced whole-heartedly the responsibility of creating a truly green and healthy, nontoxic environment for him, one where he could flourish, and then I could quit worrying!

What’s your favorite eco tips?

Take your shoes off at the door. 85% of the dirt in homes is brought in from the outside. The US EPA’s “Doormat Study” revealed virtually all lead dust inside homes is caused by lead-contaminated soil from outside. Wiping shoes on a straw mat and leaving them at the door reduces lead dust by 60%. You also protect your floors, especially carpeting, from invisible enemies on your shoe soles - dirt, chemicals, bacteria, feces, lead dust, pesticides, animal dander and other pollutants. And less cleaning, who doesn’t love that?

EcoLinks

• Healthy Child Healthy World
• Healthy Child Healthy World The Book
• Baby and Kids
• Environmental Advocacy

Nancy Massotto is executive director of the Holistic Moms Network, a non-profit support and resource organization connecting parents interested in holistic health and green living. Founded by a handful of moms yearning for the support and friendship of others outside the mainstream. Today the group has 120+ chapters across the U.S. and Canada.

How do you eco?

The Holistic Moms Network is a non-profit, grassroots community-building network for parents interested in holistic health and green living. We connect parents who are passionate about natural parenting options from breastfeeding and cloth diapering, to non-toxic/green cleaning and supporting local farmers. As an organization, we Eco by educating parents about ways that they can live sustainably and by helping them to locate local resources to support their choices.

Why did you go eco?

For many of us, becoming a parent opened up a new world of awareness about sustainability. In parenthood, we become conscious of the impact of our choices including how and what we eat and its relationship to our health and well-being, the products we purchase and how they will affect our families, and the options we have to create a healthy future for our children. Understanding how these choices are connected inspires us to make informed decisions.

What’s your favorite eco tip?

Living sustainably is a journey. Start with one small step – seek out organic, locally grown food, replace one cleaning product in your home with a natural solution, change a personal care item to one that is natural, or find a way to reduce your consumption. Each step creates a brighter future.

• Holistic Moms Network
• Chief Eco Officers
• HomeEco websites

Andrea Donsky is co-founder of Naturally Savvy, a site all about living a naturally healthy lifestyle using natural and organic products. A registered holistic nutritionist and mom of two, Andrea finds easy ways to use eco-friendly products in everyday life.

How do you eco?

I try and do as much as I can such as eating organic food, recycling, unplugging my appliances and turning off lights. I also Eco by teaching my children to respect their environment by turning off the water when they brush their teeth, recycle and re-use (especially with arts & crafts). We’re most proud of our recent green home renovation project. My husband and I completely renovated our main floor and basement and did it in a non-toxic, eco-friendly way. Everything from the wall insulation to the kitchen cabinets are eco-friendly.

Why did you go eco?

Because I want my children and their children to live in a healthy world. Although the Eco policies of large companies and countries like China and India will have a larger impact, I am an optimist and believe every little bit counts. I also Eco because I want to inspire my children to do the same. As we know, children learn by example so what kind of role model would I be if I didn’t show them how it’s done.

What’s your favorite Eco tip?

Eat as much natural and organic as possible. Use non-toxic, environmentally-friendly cleaning products and stop spraying our lawns with pesticides!

EcoLinks

• Naturally Savvy
• HomeEco websites

Laura Allen lives in the San Franciso Bay Area and is an active gardener, elementary school teacher and aspiring inventor. She teaches urban gardening, creek restoration and sustainable technologies. Co-author of the notorious Guerrilla Greywater Girls Guide to Water, she has been scheming and constructing greywater systems for years. Favorite activities include smashing concrete, hanging out in wetlands, visiting people’s eco toilets, and drinking tea.

How do you eco?

We work towards creating a sustainable water future for all through presentations and workshops about greywater reuse and ecological sanitation. In our workshops participants learn the concepts of greywater use and practical hands-on skills. We also published Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground, that highlights water struggles and solutions from around the globe.

Why did you go eco?

I do this work because water is crucial to all life. Clean water is a basic human right, and clean rivers and healthy aquatic ecosystems are vital for the earth and all living creatures. Our society has created an unsustainable water infrastructure; damming rivers, transporting water far from its source, supporting wasteful habits and allowing people to “flush and forget” their sewage. It damages rivers, fish and cultures who depend on healthy rivers, as well as all the people who have their water piped to them and don’t know what’s behind the tap. Society views the water we’ve used once as “waste”, and the nutrients we excrete from our bodies each day also as “waste”, but it doesn’t have to be that way. When I realized this I started taking small steps to reconnect to my water cycle. Now I live in a house where we have a urine-diverting composting toilet using no water and returning nutrients we excrete to the land. We recycle all the greywater from our showers, sinks, and the washing machine to the yard to irrigate fruit trees and other beautiful plants.

What’s your favorite eco tips?

1. Catch greywater with a 5 gallon bucket! It’s cheap and easy and you can do it most anywhere. Put a bucket under the shower while you wait for it to heat up. This water is actually “clear water” not dirty at all. You can use it to water plants or flush the toilet (pour it into the bowl of the toilet quickly and the toilet will flush).

2. Catch greywater with a bucket under the bathroom sink. Detach the drain from the sink (leave the curved “P-trap” in place), put a bucket under the drain. Details

3. Look into a washing machine greywater system to have your greywater automatically and irrigate outside plants, my favorite is the drumless laundry.

EcoLinks

• Greywater Guerrillas
• Environmental Advocacy
• Greywater Systems

Jill Buck is founder & executive director of the Go Green Initiative, a comprehensive environmental education program operating in 50 states, Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe and Mexico. Jill, a former Naval Officer and proud mother of three, argues that even after 200 years, Ben Franklin is still the man when we think about what an eco-friendly existence means.

How do you eco?

I like to think of ‘green’ as who I am, not what I do. I’d like to think that I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t knowingly waste anything, and so I try to act accordingly. And I wouldn’t knowingly introduce toxins into my children’s world, and so I try to make sure I don’t. I “eco” by trying to think through the ramifications of my action (or inaction), and when I reach the point when I don’t know the effect of my actions, I try to find out.

Sometimes when my kids make a mistake, they will say, “I didn’t mean to.” And I say, “I believe you, but did you mean not to?” And that question always gets them thinking a little bit harder about what they can do to avoid making the same mistake again.

I think that’s how I “eco”, as well. It’s not good enough to say we didn’t mean to pollute the Earth. What we need to ask is…did we mean not to? And if we “mean not to” then we can be purposeful, thoughtful and determined in each decision we make

Why did you go eco?

My kids. Plain and simple. I love them so much!

Clean air, clean water and clean soil to grow their food in…ample clean energy…these are the foundations of the high standard of living we hope to pass on to our children. We do so much to ensure they have healthy, prosperous future like save for their college education, take them to the doctor for well-child check ups, and make sure they eat healthy food. If we do all these things, but do not also leave them clean water or reliable access to energy…what good have we done?

What’s your favorite eco tip?

I think Benjamin Franklin had it right…waste not, want not.

If we do not waste natural resources today, our children will not want for them in the future.

My favorite eco tip…don’t waste anything.

EcoLinks

• Go Green Initiative
• StopWaste.Org
• Environmental Advocacy
• Children’s Education
• Chief Eco Officers

Megan Gerst, founder of Sustainable Motherhood blog, writes for parents looking to live lighter while balancing parenthood, career, and community. Once a city mouse who grew up in New York City, Megan recently became a country mouse after moving upstate. She’s involved in the local sustainable community and runs an event management company.

How do you eco?

My family went from eco-criminal to eco-conscious, but we’re not yet eco-crusaders. We practice the four R’s - Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle. We grow some of our own vegetables and buy the rest local or organic. We reduced the amount of meat we eat and have eliminated heavily processed foods. Much to my husband’s chagrin we often eat leftovers. We use fluorescent bulbs; shut off the lights when we leave a room and the water while we brush. We use reusable grocery bags, water bottles and coffee cups. We limit our use of plastic and use single serving portions in reusable containers for school lunches. We think before we buy and before we throw away.

Why did you go eco?

I grew up in New York City, a very easy place to ignore your environmental impact. When we moved to the country, I realized how our choices and actions impact the environment and the local community. It started with pocket book issues, as we looked at where we wasted money. After watching Inconvenient Truth and reading Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma things really started to connect. I realized that I worked long hours and spent time away from my son so we could buy things we really didn’t need, were wasteful and sometimes unsafe. So after doing eye-opening research on toy standards, I began to live lighter and greener in pursuit of what I call “sustainable motherhood.” Which I define as a balance between your personal well being, parenting, professional achievement, and giving back to your local and global community.

What’s your favorite eco tip?

My favorite thing by far is shopping locally at the farmers market. The vegetables and produce are so much better than than what you find at the grocery store and it is such a great way to support local community agriculture.

EcoLinks

• Sustainable Motherhood
• Chief Eco Officers
• Sustainable Warwick
• Harvest at Greenwood Lake
• Warwick Farmer’s Market
• Z recommends
• Eco Childs Play
• Safe Mama
• My Green Conscience
• Earth First
• Dianes Big Green Purse

Michelle Kaufmann, founder and chairman of Michelle Kaufmann Designs, is happy everyday to just play with blocks. Her blocks though are five eco principles, modular technology and prepackaged green solutions her firm uses for architectural projects.

How do you eco?

My mission is to make thoughtful, sustainable design more accessible and to make is easier for people to live greener lifestyles. No one should ever feel that it’s too expensive, too complicated, or just too difficult to go green.

My design/build architecture firm uses off-site modular technology and prepackaged green solutions as a means to create beautiful, eco-friendly homes and communities. We design each one so that it incorporates our 5 EcoPrinciples: Smart Design, Eco Materials, Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation, and Healthy Environment.

I also want to connect with people beyond the world of traditional architecture. That is why we take part in museum exhibits, like the upcoming Smart Home: Green + Wired at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It’s why I started my blog. I’m always looking for new ways to reach out and educate people about how to go green in their everyday lives.

Why did you go eco?

Growing up in Iowa where people’s lives are so tied to the land, I developed a deep understanding of the relationship between humankind and the environment and an appreciation for the need to balance our demands on this planet. I think I was green before I even knew what it meant!

In 2002, when my husband and I relocated to Northern California, we looked for a house in which we could live a healthier, more sustainable life together. We instead found a sad lack of affordable green houses. So we built our own green home. Soon friends and colleagues were asking if I could also design a green home for them. I then decided to start my own architecture firm to fill the need for more affordable green homes.

What’s your favorite Eco tip?

Oh but how to choose just one? I post new green tips to my blog every week.

EcoLinks

• Michelle Kaufmann Designs
• Michelle Kaufmann Blog
• Smart Home: Green + Wired
• Architects

Anna Hackman, writer of the Green Talk blog, believes if you build it green, they will come. Anna first focused on green building products and now has expanded to green living tips, recycling and gardening.

How do you eco?

When we started building a new house five years ago, we wanted to incorporate green building products into the construction process. Our goal was to make the house as nontoxic and energy efficient as possible. The learning curve was huge. I worked as the assistant general contractor in charge of green building products. My legal background came in handy as I researched every product we used. We are still working on this house! It is never ending.

I started the blog to focus on green building products. It has now expanded into green products, green living tips, recycling and gardening. I try to approach most situations with humor since otherwise my own compulsive, overanalyzing behavior would make me crazy. I am amazed at some of the responses that I receive and have learned much from my readers. I started a green building consultancy business that uses my own personal experiences to help others.

Why did you go eco?

I have four children who all have learning issues and allergies. I am convinced that the products used in our past homes contributed to their issues. This is one of the reasons we built our new house with as many nontoxic products as possible.

Another reason is to preserve Mother Earth. Spending time in my garden watching the bees buzz and the butterflies flutter, it easy to see why Mother Earth is so important. It never ceases to amaze me how humans can impact the Earth.

We need to teach our children by example since they will inherit the earth. I remind them to always turn off the lights, recycle and don’t waste anything. I hope it will stick as they become adults.

What’s your favorite eco tip?

Take your shoes off when you come into your house. You’ll avoid tracking in pesticides and other
toxic materials into your home.

EcoLinks

• Green Talk
• Chief Eco Officers
• HomeEco
• PlayEco