Q&A with Dave Greene of Clean Currents

Have you ever gotten the sinking feeling that being green is just no fun? Sure, we environmentalists do cool planet-saving stuff and hang out in nature when we can, but the super-scariness of the big environmental problems facing us these days is hard to laugh about.

To help us take a light-hearted view of what ails us, today we’d like to welcome guest blogger Dave Greene to the Green Philly Blog. This is the first sponsored post in the series that comes to us from Clean Currents, your friendly neighborhood green energy company.

Welcome Dave! For starters, tell us a little bit about who you are and where you came from.

First of all, let’s get one thing straight: I’m not a real person. I’m the brainchild, if you will, of Clean Currents, an awesome, revolutionary green energy company that’s fighting the good fight against climate change.

Clean Currents is more than just an energy company, they want to be a trusted part of the communities they serve, and offer help to customers who want to live a more sustainable life. Clean Currents does that in many ways, through staff volunteer work and projects like Lots of Power here in Philly, and by offering certified wind energy and other resources to get your green on. That’s where I come in.

Interesting. So you’re kind of like the Geico Gecko…only more sustainable and just for Philly?

Yeah! Except I don’t have a really cool British accent like he does, and I’m not just trying to save you money on car insurance. But I am trying to help by sharing the joys and challenges of living green (and some funny stories along the way).
Well, we can forgive you for not having a British accent. You’re a Philly guy after all.

Exactly, Philly is my home, and I’m here to share all the exciting green stuff going on in the community served by Clean Currents. From community gardens to new bike paths and exciting new locavore restaurants, Philly has so much sustainable stuff going on!

So tell me something: are you really the greenest guy on the block?

Hahaha…well no. I think his name’s Paul and he lives a couple houses down from me. My big thing is I try really hard to be as green as humanly possible! I definitely don’t always succeed like that jerk Paul (you should see this guy’s tomatoes. I swear he’s sneaking MiracleGro in there. So jealous. Ugh.). But I have to keep trying. And I try everything. So if you’re curious about trying something like fermenting your own sauerkraut or biking to work or doing easy DIY stuff around your house to reduce your electric bill—chances are I’ve already attempted it…and possibly failed. So learn from my mistakes and revel in my victories!

That’s what my guest blog posts are going to be. “It’s Not Easy Being (Dave) Greene: Misadventures On the Path to Sustainability”

By the way, if anyone knows the greenest girl on the block, message me!

Ah, I see. So if I’m feeling intimidated by all the fancy, pretentious, eco-chic everything out there, you’re kind of an antidote to that. A down-to-earth voice saying, hey, I get it, it’s not actually easy to live a totally green life. But you still encourage folks to keep trying.

EXACTLY. Oh my god you totally get it. I think it’s really sad when people are too intimidated to try something new and good for them. I am definitely happy to be the comic relief if it gets folks past the fear of failure.

What’s next on your list of green projects to try?

Since winter is right around the corner, I definitely want to try to weather-proof my house a little bit more. I might even try to put in some of that cool spray foam insulation I read about in my LEED for Homes textbook!

Uh, Dave…I think you need a professional to do something like that.

Really? I don’t know, it sounds pretty easy…but then again that’s always how I get myself into trouble. Rush into a project and then find out once it’s too late that I can’t really do it myself.

Oh Dave, you’ll learn. Meanwhile, welcome to the blog! Can’t wait to read about your wacky green adventures.

Thanks! Glad to be here!