Earth Promise “21 in 21″ Interview Series: Eric Mangol…The Viewpoint From Outside the Green World
Eric Mangol, CEO of Figment Media LLC Figment is an online music game where people can create and promote fake bands, from the album names, band names, genres and song titles. Great site. We decided to interview Eric to get the viewpoint of a person who does not work in the green world. We wanted to see what they thought about the issues at hand, how various groups of people are dealing with it, and what his plans are to green his life. Earth Promise: What changes, or Earth Promises as we call them, have you made in your lifestyle to be more green? Changes in home, travel, work, with your kids and community? Eric Mangol: Our family has tried focus on the little things. For instance, we try to keep the number of lights we have on to a minimum and always turn them off when we leave a room. We don’t let the water run when we wash the dishes; we try to use less aluminum and plastic bags in our kid’s lunches; and we try to regulate our heating/cooling more efficiently by putting in new double pane windows and better regulating our thermostat. We even gave the old windows away to a friend who used them to replace windows in his house so they wouldn’t go to waste. As far as travelling is concerned, we always try to set up a trip plan to minimize the amount of miles we put on the car, keep up with our maintenance, and always maintain tire pressure so that we don’t waste as much gas. We also recycle through our town’s recycling program and try to pass down old clothes, books, and toys to friend’s, family or charitable organizations so that they’ll be reused instead of ending up in a dump somewhere. All of these little things add up and make a difference as a whole. EP: Tell me a little about yourself. Where do you live? Family? Job? EM: I’m your classic suburban father. I’ve been married to my lovely wife Mary since 2000 and we have twin 7-year old daughters. We live in Northern New Jersey and despite the constant barrage of jokes from our friends in New York City, we love it!! Mary works in printing and I own a website called Figment (http://www.figment.cc). Figment is an online music game where people can take a shot at being a music mogul by creating and promoting fake bands. As they’re bands’ gain fans and sell fake albums they climb the charts and earn Lucre, our virtual currency, which can be used to buy prizes, etc. The challenge is that there’s no music involved, so you really have to use your imagination. Needless to say I had aspirations of being a rock star when I was growing up, but never possessed the talent! EP: So at Figment, what would be a good title for a fake band related to what is happening with the environment? EM: Wow, that’s a good question. How about Captain Organic and the Sustainables? EP: Nice! What would be the title track? EM: “Let’s Green It On!” EP: Do you think if your employer put requirement on you for being “green” at your job that you’d be more “green” in your everyday life? EM: Well, since I’m self-employed I’d have to say YES! One of the reasons we used a black background on all of our pages on Figment was because computer monitors consume less energy displaying a black screen than a white one. EP: Who do you think brings the most trusted message on being green – celebrities, companies, the government or your friends? What about the least trusted? EM: That’s hard to answer. I tend to trust my friends the most, because I see the things they are doing and therefore it has a more direct effect, but I think we all have a ways to go before we can really say we are “green”. I’m really encouraged to see the Obama administration making a concerted effort to promote “green initiatives”, but I think it’s going to take a partnership of government and corporate interests to really have an effect. Celebrities mean well, but I tend to trust those who actually live it, like Ed Begley Jr. rather than the ones who just talk about it. In the end, I think corporations have the most work to do because many have tended to pay lip service to the idea of going green versus actually investing in green technologies, etc. EP: What could they do to make the message clearer and lead to more people taking action to help the situation? EM: I think cooperation is the key to long term success. Government and corporate America have to be on the same page and partner in the investment it’s going to take to make real change a possibility. Right now there’s too much influence from lobbying groups that are averse to environmental programs because they are concerned about the short term effect they might have on the bottom lines of the companies they represent. Government has to create real incentives that will address some of their short term concerns while encouraging the private investment that’s necessary to effect real change and lead to long-term savings. Then also need to regulate more effectively and consistently. In return, corporations have to start investing in energy efficiency and more environmentally friendly ways of doing business. I think they’ll find that their efforts will be well rewarded in the form of better customer loyalty and appreciation. Finally, as citizens we need to educate ourselves on these issues and make our voices heard not only to our elected leaders but our employers as well. We also need to start making changes in the way we live our everyday lives in an effort to eliminate as many wasteful habits as we can. EP: Do you think the government is doing enough to help the environment and its problems? EM: No, but I do think that’s changing, and I certainly have more hope that the Obama administration is going to do everything in it’s power to begin the process of putting us on a more environmentally friendly track going forward. EP: Thinking about say a year ago and then thinking about today, how have your green habits changed? EM: We are more aware of how much we consume in the way of energy, food, etc. We started a household budget a few months ago and it has really pinpointed some areas where we needed to make some changes – like the amount of electricity we were using, etc. That would probably be the biggest change. The great thing about being more environmentally conscious is that going green is also a great way to save money and in this economic climate that’s something we should all be trying to do. EP: And then thinking about a year from now, what are your goals for other green changes to help the environment? EM: I’d like to continue to improve the energy efficiency of our home. We are slowly but surely phasing out our older appliances and making the move to more energy efficient “energy star” models. Of course we’ll recycle the old ones. I’m also trying to reduce the amount of “phantom power” that our appliances use. I don’t think a lot of people realize how much power some appliances drain even when they’re not being used. I’d also like to continue to make my children more aware of the environment and their effect on it. Consumption seems to be a cornerstone of our society these days and having been raised by parents who were very conscious of wasting as little as possible I think it’s very important to pass that down to my children as well. Plus it’s kind of fun hearing myself say “Were you born in a barn?” when my kids leave the door open, déjà vu to say the least. EP: Are you seeing a positive trend around you with regard to care for the environment, whether in your neighborhood, or with friends, or just simply in general? EM: Definitely, I think everyone is more aware of the environmental issues that we as a society face, and thankfully the majority of the people I know are making changes in their lifestyles in an effort to do their part. I’m also thrilled to see my community taking an active role. Whether it’s our annual environmental fair, the town’s recycling program or even simple programs like “Walk to School” Wednesdays, it’s good to see the community and local government working together to make a difference. EP: You mentioned you have two children. How aware are they of the environment and the problems? If so, do you take steps to teach them about how we can help? EM: I’m amazed at how aware my kids are already. Thankfully, I was raised by parents who instilled the idea of conservation on me at an early age and I hope to be able to do the same with my kids. We talk to them every day about what they can do to help the environment and nothing makes me happier than when they remind me in return. After all, we can all use a little help can’t we? EP: What are some ways our children can get inspired to take steps to help the environment? EM: I think involving your kids in some of the things you do around the house is the logical place to start. Kids love to be involved in anything you’re doing and the earlier you get them involved the better. I also think schools are doing a better job of inspiring kids to be more environmentally conscious these days. I know my kids have gotten involved in all kinds of projects that emphasize protecting our environment. Lastly, I’m pleased to see kids’ entertainment focusing a bit on these issues as well. Every day I see more TV shows, magazines, books, etc. that discuss environmental issues from a kid’s perspective and I think that also helps to inspire kids. EP: Were you “green” as a child? EM: Yes. My parents, as I said before, we’re always pretty environmentally friendly. I have a feeling a lot of it had to do with saving money, but conservation is conservation. A lot of the things I’m trying to pass on to my children were taught to me by my parents and I think that’s going to be an important part of changing attitudes going forward, passing it down to our kids. To this day, I hear my mom and dad reminding me to turn off a light when I leave a room, and as a result I do. EP: What was your first, ah ha! Green moment? EM: I remember working on the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day in 1990 and seeing a huge crowd on the Mall in Washington, DC celebrating the idea of protecting the earth we all live on. That was a pretty good ah ha moment, but I’d also have to put buying our first home towards the top of the list too. I think that was when I suddenly became more aware of my energy consumption and began actively looking into ways to reduce it. EP: What do you think is the most vital message people need to hear that will make them take action to help the environment? EM: The first message is that any action, no matter how small has an effect for the positive. Don’t dismiss it because you think it won’t make a difference. If we all do that it WILL have an effect. That’s why I love Earth Promise, because it helps you realize what you can do, organize it into specific actions and then remind yourself to actually carry it through. EP: What is the one Earth Promise you are going to make in the future that you have not done yet? EM: I really need to start bringing reusable shopping bags to the grocery store when I go. I always forget them! Plastic bags are a scourge on all of us. It’s just one more way I can do my part. EP: Thanks Eric. Greatly appreciated. Tags: 21 in 21, carbon footprint, change, changes, children, climate change, conservation, earth, earth day, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-friendly, education, energy, energy efficient, environment, environmental, eric mangol, fake bands, figment, global warming, green, green changes, green interviews, green living, green practice, green practices, green tips, music |
