PORT TOWNSEND — He lives a near-zero waste lifestyle and donates 100 percent of his media income to grass-roots environmental nonprofits.
Who is this dude?
Rob Greenfield, the author of “Dude Making a Difference.”
He will speak at the Port Townsend Library, 1220 Lawrence St., from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, narrating his first-person adventures in “radical sustainability” — cycling across the U.S. on a bamboo bicycle, dumpster diving, displaying thousands of dollars’ worth of wasted food in artful mandalas and wearing 30 days’ collection of trash.
Greenfield pedaled coast to coast in 3½ months, creating just 2 pounds of trash, using 160 gallons of water and eating 284 pounds of food from grocery store dumpsters.
Library Director Melody Sky Eisler met Greenfield at a library conference in early August where he was the keynote speaker.
“He walked into the conference barefoot and with a big smile, and left the crowd with goosebumps of inspiration as he spoke about his work to raise awareness about how we can all live a more sustainable life,” Eisler said.
“I knew instantly that he needed to speak in Port Townsend and get to know our amazing community.”
Greenfield agreed.
“I’d like to spend a week in Port Townsend and get involved in some of the wonderful things going on there,” Greenfield said, according to a news release.
“I’d also be happy to plant a bunch of fruit trees while there, too.”
In 2011, Greenfield moved from his native Wisconsin to San Diego, Calif., where he founded The Greenfield Group, an environmentally active marketing company.
He started with small changes such as shopping local, reducing the amount of trash he created, eating a more plant-based diet, removing chemical products from his life and using reusable bags and water bottles. In 2014, he canceled his last bill and since then has been living completely bill-, debt- and credit card-free, according to his website at robgreenfield.tv.
He lived off the grid in a 50-square-foot tiny home in San Diego for a year, then auctioned off his tiny house and raised enough money — $10,000 — to build 10 tiny houses for homeless San Diegans, his website said.
Proceeds from the sale of “Dude Making a Difference” will be donated to 1%For The Planet (www.one percentfortheplanet.org).
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsula dailynews.com.
