Living Smart and Sustainably

UMKC alumni working in environmental law offer ways to live smart and sustainably at work or home.

Ted Weiss (J.D. '12)

As an environmental law attorney, Ted Weiss (J.D. '12) says it only makes sense that if you're going to talk the talk about environmental law, you should also walk the walk.

"If you're helping clients comply with environmental issues, then you should be doing the same," says Weiss, who practices at BakerHostetler in Los Angeles, California. "It's good business to practice what you preach."

Weiss is currently working with a business that has to meet stormwater regulations to manage runoff pollution, and it has made him consider how to reduce potential stormwater exposures at his own home.

Leslie Humphrey (J.D. '84)

Leslie Humphrey (J.D. '84), deputy regional counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 in Kansas City, Missouri, understands better than anyone that there is a professional responsibility involved in living sustainably. When she remembers how the EPA was created in the midst of smog health hazards, oxygen-deprived lakes and unchecked auto emissions, she says it's remarkable how far environmentally conscious practices have progressed.

"We can't imagine some of these conditions occurring in our nation," Humphrey says. "The results are astounding and inspire me, and I hope others, to want to do my part in making the world a cleaner, safer place for all."

Both Weiss and Humphrey also see that living sustainably doesn't have to be a chore.

"You don't have to be involved in a big movement," Weiss says. "You can have your own movement at home, even with your family or at work."

At Work

Once Weiss worked sustainability into his life, everyday green decisions started happening on a subconscious level.

"It's about making simple, smart decisions. Thinking, 'Do I need to print all of the pages of this contract?'" Weiss says. "Using the natural light from my office window instead of turning on the lights also helps conserve energy. If everyone made similar, small contributions throughout their day, we would save a lot of resources."

Keeping electronic documents is an easy way to be more sustainable. Many businesses use cloud file storage services like Dropbox Professional, Box or Carbonite.

Recycling services are also often offered as part of trash service. The EPA regional office where Humphrey works goes even further, reducing food waste by using an office composting system.

The key to going green, Humphrey says, is being mindful of the environment in the choices we make, both big and small.

"We can all make conscious choices about the cars we drive, the products we use, and the amount of energy we consume," she says.

Other ideas for including sustainability at work:

• Bring your own coffee mug or water bottle to eliminate the use of plastic straws and single-use cups.
• Use public transit, walk, bike or carpool instead of driving solo.
• Purchase energy-conserving light bulbs.
• Buy Energy Star-certified equipment and appliances.
• Encourage colleagues to turn off the lights when they leave a room.
• Move to a digital file system.
• Recycle old paper documents. (If they're sensitive, shred them first.)
• Recycle old office equipment or donate it to a charity that will sell or reuse it.
• Select office plants that naturally purify the air.

At Home

Meg McCollister (J.D. '11)

Meg McCollister (J.D. '11) joined the fight against climate change after an internship with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, who shared his experiences and emphasized his concerns about global climate change.

After law school, McCollister and her husband moved to Sonoma County in California, where she served on the Board of Directors for the Sonoma County Conservation Action and worked on environmental campaigns and in local government. Living in California, she says, gave her a greater perspective on what it means to be environmentally friendly. McCollister lived in a town where plastic bags were banned and reusable grocery bags were a must.

"We had to think about our water usage too," she says, "including drought landscaping and even simple things like turning off your water while brushing your teeth."

While McCollister is now back in Kansas City, Missouri, her perspective on living sustainably hasn't changed.

"Recycling is the easiest thing you can do...It's about being mindful about not being wasteful." —Meg McCollister (J.D. '11)

One area McCollister views as wasteful: our culture's obsession with accumulating stuff and buying in bulk.

"You can do something as simple as not buying that extra pound of meat that is going to waste in your freezer or excess supplies for your office," she says. "We don't need to put more things into the universe. It all has to end up somewhere."

Likewise, Humphrey says her family is intentional about buying vintage furniture, which is usually better quality and costs less than buying new. They also use reusable containers and bags and choose low-toxin paints and green cleaning products.

Living green is important to Humphrey, and she's also aware of the example she is setting for those around her.

"I'm always mindful of the fact that I am modeling my behavior for my children," Humphrey says.

Here are a few more eco-friendly tips for home:

• Reusable shopping bags — make it a habit! Keep them in your car.
• Buy foods that are locally grown or have less packaging.
• Only shop for what you need to reduce food waste.
• Start a compost bin. (Look into your city's rules.)
• Opt for washable cleaning cloths and napkins over paper towels and repurpose old t-shirts for cleaning rags.
• Wash clothes with cold water. (Nearly 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.)
• Borrow instead of buying (rent books, movies, etc.) and buy used instead of new.

While the idea of creating a more sustainable lifestyle at home and work may initially seem like a challenge, UMKC Law Professor John Ragsdale points out that even small changes can have a big impact.

"You're responsible for the power you have," says Ragsdale, who teaches environmental law courses. "How you employ that power is significant. it's all a balance."

Calculating Your Impact

It's hard to stick with any lifestyle change when you don't understand the impact of your actions. Below are examples of how slight modifications in your everyday life can add up to make a dramatic difference in the way we take care of our communities and our planet's natural resources.

Limit your plastic use:

• Americans use over 380 billion plastic bags and wraps yearly, requiring 12 million barrels of oil to create.
• 500 million plastic straws are used every day in America. That's enough to circle the Earth twice.
• There is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way.

Save energy and save money:

• Switching to entirely LED lights over the next two decades could save the U.S. $250 billion in energy costs, reduce electricity consumption for lighting by nearly 50 percent and avoid 1,800 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

Recycling benefits everyone:

• Recycling one aluminum beverage saves enough energy to run a 14-watt CFL bulb (60-watt incandescent equivalent) for 20 hours, a computer for three hours or a TV for two hours.
• Recycling just one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 6,953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,077 Kilowatt-hours of energy.

By Alyssa Baker | From Res Ipsa, UMKC School of Law Alumni Magazine | Spring 2018

Sources: United Nations, EPA, Earth Policy Institute, U.S. Department of Energy, Be Straw Free

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the interviewees' personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the EPA or the U.S. government.