Efficiency Freak

efficiencyfreak.com tries to explore and explain environmental problems in a simple way.

The site was set up to try and document how efreak shifted to low-carbon, recycle-friendly, ethically-sound, pollution-lite, lightbulb-switching, holier-than-thou lifestyle. It also hoped to explain how individual actions and international environmental problems are connected. It aims to fill in the gap between the horror of what could happen and that fills your newspapers, and the relatively mundane things you can do to make a difference.

It started off focused on China’s struggle to deal with the fallout from rapid economic growth. But as efreak became more engaged in the issue (and also moved countries), it now aims to become more of a diary of what environmental issues I care about — covering both the battle for international agreements and my struggle to try and get my wormery working. And how the two are linked…

Clarifying green problems, and pinpointing how they directly threaten people’s health, wealth and happiness, is a crucial part of changing minds, one lazybones at a time. Working out how you can nudge people in the right direction and make them happier is a huge challenge. I am interested in the easiest, cheapest, most efficient solutions to big problems.

So if you like the blog, what can you do to help? Firstly, point it out to friends and tell them to read it. Then maybe post me a comment or even a question in the ‘Ask efreak’ section? If you are another blogger, set up a link and sure I would be happy to do the same — and efreak is completely open to write for other blogs and share postings.

Note: You can also contact me at guynewey@gmail.com. And if you are interested, I got the site’s name from a job interview. It included a session with a psychologist who had observed me in a group exercise. Her first question to me: “Are you an efficiency freak?” I guess I am…