Occupation: musician, producer, court jester
First job: little caesar’s pizza. that lasted about two weeks.
My shift of habit is: i think of shifting my habits like a video game. i progress a little more each day, and all of sudden i’m fighting the blue dragon for control of the universe. or i’m helping to save water and reduce waste. in any case, this is how it goes for me:
FIRST STAGE:NOVICE LEVEL
i started off with the small things that we all learned about in grade school. turn off the lights when you leave the room. turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth. separate your trash and recycle where possible.
SECOND STAGE: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
i soon began thinking about other things i could do around the house to reduce my consumption. i leave our outdoor lights on all night for security, so i replaced the lights with fluorescent long-lasting bulbs, and put them on a timer. i installed a water filter to stop our drinking bottled water. during the hot days of summer, i open the doors and windows to let the breeze through, and leave the air conditioner off. i buy all my music on itunes, saving the drive to the store, and the plastic cd and case. we started using old towels as cleaning rags, instead of paper towels. when i shave, i get the water hot, then turn it back on only to rinse the blade.
THIRD STAGE: EXPERT LEVEL
we re-did our yard with drought-resistant succulents, reducing our landscape water usage by 50-75%, as well as cutting the landscaping maintenance costs in half, as the plants need less work and upkeep. also, the succulents look way cooler and more unique than set the pool filter timer down to 3 hours a day, and reduced the heater 5 degrees. instead of washing my car myself in the driveway, i take it to a car wash once a month. it only costs $15 and instead of a hose wasting water running down my driveway and into the gutter, they recycle their water. when we go shopping, we try and remember to bring reusable canvas bags. (this one is hit or miss for us. we do what we can). buy and use biodegradable cleaning products, and organic produce and groceries. less chemicals in cleansers and food equal less chemicals in the ground and water.
BOSS LEVEL-THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE
this is the level i find myself at today, and what seemed ridiculous a few months ago is somehow exciting and challenging now. for instance, when waiting for water from the faucet to warm up, i sometimes collect it in a watering can to water the houseplants. we live in LA, so every gallon counts. furthermore, and this to me is the ULTIMATE ULTIMATE, i’ve started the move where you turn on the shower, get yourself all wet, then turn off the water, lather and clean up, then turn the water back on to rinse off. SPOILER ALERT: sometimes nothing beats a hot shower. i don’t deny myself a nice hot shower when i need it, but when i’m hurrying to get ready for the studio, i use as little water as possible.
FUTURE PLANS:
install solar panels on the roof. put in tankless water heaters.
THINGS I WILL NEVER DO:
i will never let it mellow if it’s yellow. nope. no way. gross. if anyone uses the toilet, it is getting flushed. EVERY. TIME. but we do have low-flow toilets. also, composting. i just don’t understand it. maybe someday, but right now, no. the thought of churning my rotting trash seems a bit beyond my skill set.
If you can ask everyone in the world to shift one habit it would be: stop overwatering your yard. especially in southern california. this place is naturally a desert. the water has to come from somewhere. think about it.
*Shift you’ve made in your work is: SPOILER ALERT-i drive a mercedes g-wagon. the damn thing only gets 15 mpg, but i love it. to fight this horrible gas mileage, i carpool as much as possible. blink-182 rehearses about an hour away from where i live, so every time we practice, i carpool with our engineer, thus doubling my effective gas mileage. it still sucks, but i do what i can.
Biggest Challenge: none of this is a big challenge, just small baby steps. i don’t feel like we’ve changed our lifestyle at all, and then i look at how much we’ve SLOWLY changed over time, and am proud to be a small part of the solution. we still live our lives as want to, we just make choices where can to try and help the larger cause. no big deal, we just shift our habits here and there.
Proudest Moment: the first time i won a Grammy. oh wait, that’s never happened. well, then i guess i’ll go with the time i found a quarter on the ground. it was just laying there, and i found it. FREE QUARTER!!! oh yeah, and the day my son was born. but the quarter thing was pretty cool.
Wildest Dream: going back in time and watching the beatles record.
My perfect planet is: this one. good old mother earth. i like our planet. it’s fun. there’s a lot to see, and a lot of cool people to meet. i wanna stay right here.
