Whole Life Times: Conscious Business

April 2005

Conscious Business

Conservation According to Jeffrey

Twenty-nine episodes, 16 writers and nearly 300,000 sheets of paper lost to script revisions. Executive producer for the popular ABC comedy According to Jim, Jeffrey Hodes knows funny—and he didn’t see the humor in the third season’s numbers. So he started the entertainment industry’s “Tablet PC Paperless Initiative.” Today the show is in its fourth season, Tablet PCs have replaced mounds of discarded script drafts, and LA enviros have taken notice. Last November, the Environmental Media Association awarded According to Jim the prestigious 2004 Green Seal Award during their 14th Annual EMA Awards.

“I was very proud that the show won,” Hodes says. “I was also delighted because the award is made out of pressed soy, so, in the event of a natural disaster, I have something on my wall to eat.”

Fit from yoga and comfortable in his own skin, Hodes is refreshingly honest about his newfound passion for preservation. “It was completely by accident,” he says. “When the first Toyota Prius came out, it was pure gadget lust. I had to have it. Then I started meeting likeminded people and getting ideas for other things I could do, like taking a canvas bag to the supermarket. You have to do something, otherwise you’re just another loser on a street corner,” he jokes.

Hodes and his wife, Nastaran Dibai, also an executive producer on the show, live in suburban LA with their nine-year-old daughter who loves their sleek and silent Prius. “There is a moving bar graph display on the dash that shows your gas mileage per trip. I use it to teach her about math,” Hodes says.

A self-described “proactive problem solver,” Hodes first envisioned the Tablet PC Paperless Initiative as a solution to the daily massive paper waste he saw being created at the show’s offices. He met with Microsoft, Intel and Motion Computing, and convinced them to donate $70,000 worth of tablets, docking stations, keyboards and legally licensed software. Now that the initiative has proven successful, these companies are well positioned for a new market niche. Tablet PCs are ideally suited for scriptwriting, as writers can handwrite on the digital screen and save their notes. By adding the benefit of a wireless network, notes and scripts can be shared immediately with every writer.

Even when producers fund the technology out of their own pockets, Hodes says, their investment will be offset by increased productivity. “Every time I get an instantaneous script on my tablet, I save 10 to 20 minutes,” he notes.

In his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, Hodes encouraged producers with financially solvent television shows to visit his office to see how writers have stepped up productivity and cut paper use in half. So far, animators from Walt Disney Studios and staff from the UCLA Anderson School of Management have responded. Hodes’ ultimate goal for the initiative is to see the industry convert to wireless, one show at a time.

Hodes believes we can all make changes not just in our personal lives, but in the workplace too. “It’s great to practice yoga and eat organic food, but it’s also important to put your money where your mouth is,” he says. “If you run a business, you can put conservation into action.”

To find out more about the Environmental Media Awards, or if you are in the industry and want to see how the Environmental Media Association can help “green” your set before or behind the camera, visit ema-online.org. According to Jim airs Tuesday nights on ABC. — Katie Winchell

Katie Winchell is a freelance writer who enjoys walks on the beach, romantic dinners and environmentally sustainable television programming.

Finding Balance on Your Mat

Specially designed (patent-pending) by two intrepid Santa Monica-based yogis looking for a slip-free alternative to the standard sticky yoga mat, Shama Yoga Rugs prevent sliding during even the hottest yoga practice. Individually hand woven, in rust or olive, the Shama Rug looks as good in your living room as it does under your downward-facing-dog. Available at yoga studios and retailers nationwide or online at shamaliving.com.

Help for Victims of Human Trafficking

In a country where legal penalties for enslaving humans are often less severe than those for drug smuggling, human trafficking turns out to be a lucrative business, particularly in coastal cities. Venice Family Clinic (VFC) has initiated a program to assist at least some of the estimated 17,500 people brought to the US every year under false pretenses and forced to work as prostitutes, laborers or indentured servants. Their Victims of Trafficking Program is our nation’s first.

Victims will receive medical and psychiatric care, as well as legal counsel, ESL and vocational training in coordination with the non-profit Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST). CAST recently opened a first of its kind shelter for trafficking victims.

For appointments, call the clinic at 310.392.8636, or for more information on the VFC Victims of Trafficking Program contact 310.664.7918 or [click to e-mail].

Surviving Sun Worship

With sun protection equivalent to SPF 30, Physician Endorsed hats let you look stylish without sweating suntan lotion into your eyes. Available at shops nationwide, as well as several online retailers. For more info, visit Physicianendorsed.com.

Spiritual Classics Reborn

Ever wonder about the books that changed the lives of souls like Louise Hay or Neale Donald Walsch? Author Gay Hendricks did.

“I was at Jack Canfield’s house and there happened to be a bunch of transformational leaders at the gathering. The subject of ‘books that had changed our lives’ came up. Everyone had one. One after another, their eyes would light up as they relived the experience,” Hendricks said. “I hadn’t heard of most of these books,” he continued. “I quickly went out and bought them. And I started collecting stories.”

Hendricks is now organizing a book club dedicated to republishing these unique titles. Beginning this June, the Transformational Book Circle will forward a new book each month, along with stories from leading spiritual authors whose lives were transformed by the book. An accompanying audio CD will include exercises intended to further illuminate the text.

Neale Donald Walsch, for example, credits the James Allen classic As a Man Thinketh for opening his heart and preparing his soul for his bestselling Conversations With God.

Some of the older texts will be revised into modern language. Hay House will republish many of the selected works as special editions for the book circle. “Many years ago I read an author who opened my eyes and my heart,” says publisher and bestselling author Louise Hay. “Her work is not easy to find today.”

“I’m interested in creating communities of people who believe that personal and global transformation is possible,” said Hendricks, who is also a co-founder of the home delivery DVD club, the Spiritual Cinema Circle (featured in “Finding God on the Silver Screen,” Jan. ’05).

For more information, see transformationalbookcircle.com.

Free Talk That Isn’t Cheap

The Healthy Life Network, an all-positive talk radio station streaming live health and wellness info online at healthylife.net, has announced the birth of its newest talk program, the Visionary Celebrity Series. Hosted by author and lecturer Guy Finley, the series will offer practical answers on self-realization, spirituality and personal growth.

Finley is on the air to answer listener’s questions on the third Tuesday of every month from 9-10am Pacific Time. Guiding people with his common sense, humor and sound spiritual tongue, he’ll offer toll-free tips to a more peaceful life. 800.555.5453.

Vegan Chic

Earth Shoes has introduced a brand new, 100% vegan line of shoes and boots, certified by the Vegan Society. Utilizing Earth Shoes’ one-of-a-kind “Negative Heel Technology” to promote natural posture, the Vegan Collection features several of Earth Shoes’ most popular styles as well as some fun new designs, so you can wear your values without sacrificing your style. Check them out online at earthvegan.us.

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