Sometimes the simple things...

My super team at One Change has been working on a water campaign for about a year. We've got energy nailed (or screwed) with bulbs as the catalyst action. Like the light bulb is to the house, the tire gauge is the car, the simplest first action. The sound the tire gauge makes (Psst!) is the call to action of fuel efficiency. That works well.

But then there's water.

I thought we had the scoop on water a year ago when, with great fanfare, I flew to Alberta to present an idea to the Alberta government. Minister Renner's a great guy, and when I showed him the vinyl toilet tank bag we were promoting as the first action of water conservation, he smiled very politely but said he would be afraid of being known as the sh*t minister when toilets across Alberta overflowed.

That idea got flushed.

Tonight, on a train from Montreal, I pulled out a notebook and turned to my capable colleague Chris and said, "Ok, let's figure this out." Within 30 minutes we came up with a new idea and simple action that will generate an immediate return on investment 4x the cost of the campaign. It's never been done before and it's so simple anyone can do it.

No shit.

Walden

I'm having powerful cabin dreams. Usually this doesn't happen until February/March. I decided years ago that this annual phenomenon indicates that I've been away from Walden for too many months -- that I need to get back to the woods. But this year, the dream is different. I'm moving stuff around. I'm discovering new rooms or whole new floors that I didn't know were there. Sometimes the world around is blanketed by melting snow. Like always, Dad makes an appearance. He's been gone for 9 years but he's there in the woods. Usually he talks to me in the dreams. This year he's just watching as I explore.