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10 Questions —
Gay Browne

Gay Browne is a personal environmental health advisor deeply committed to healing people and the planet through toxic-free living.

The moment when I became an environmentalist happened one summer while I was canoeing in Canada as a kid. I remember the national park warden saying, ‘you can’t drink the water in the lake because there’s been acid rain’. My first thought was, ‘how dare you destroy our water!’ I made a pact with myself then: I’m going to fight until the day I die to preserve this beauty for generations to come.

Three more things happened around 1992 to really set me on my green journey. The first was I met a man and fell in love. That man had a home with a leaky roof, so I ended up helping him rebuild his house. As a lifetime sufferer of asthma, it was important to me to create a healthy home for myself and my family – especially with all of LA’s pollution and smog. I hired a building biologist and we created the first green house in LA. Second, I quit my job – running one of the advertising departments at the LA Times – to look after my son. At the time, he was struggling at school. We had a homeopathic pediatrician test him and found his heavy metal levels were off the charts. That moment really brought home to me how prominent the relationship between environment and personal health is. And finally, I met a guy named John Adams, who was head of the NRDC. He was the first one to explain climate change to me. And that solidified my journey to make the world a healthier place.

Every one of us has the power to make an individual difference, to make small sustainable changes to our lives. It’s an easy thing to do but change is always slightly scary. That’s why I say, start with baby steps. This week stop using single-use plastic water bottles. Next week, buy organic eggs. These things add up. It’s like being in a relationship. Leading a healthy life begins with making a commitment to yourself – to respect your body, understand how it responds to the environment and find the best ways to take care of both. Because what’s good for you is going to be good for the planet. Sustainability is personal. It’s up to us as individuals to take responsibility for our health so that change can begin happening on a larger scale.

Aside from setting an intention to make a new green deal with yourself, I would say, limit the amount of plastic in your life. There are some things you can’t avoid but reduce where you can. Plastic is an insidious thing and we’ve gotten used to the convenience. But there’s no reason you can’t fill up your own water bottle. Also, speak to whoever you live with and get support from your family. Create a buddy system and hold each other accountable. If I were to give a second tip, it would be to limit meat consumption. You don’t need to be a vegetarian, but we eat way too much meat.

You face your own mortality when you think about the environment. Really, it’s about death, and people have a hard time thinking about that. But that’s the reality. The thought we should be having is, ‘What can I do today to make the planet a little better?’ I truly believe that if we all had that thought every morning, the world would become a better place faster. We could die tomorrow – why waste today? As I get older, I’m more drawn to writing about environmental psychology so I can help people face this reality.

As a country, New Zealand. I love the wellbeing approach prime minister Jacinda Ardern is taking by creating ‘The Living Standards’ treasury framework. As for cities, any of the Swiss or German cities have a great reputation. Paris is doing a great job too. Recently, I read that the mayor of Paris is trying to create a fifteen-minute city where you can buy everything you need within a 10-block radius. That’s really how we should live. Having said all that, I’ve never been to a city and said wow, this is such a green city, I’m so happy. I want to live here. At least, not yet. I think the best green cities are those that are trying to incorporate more parks, trees, walking and bike paths. These cities are transforming themselves, and that’s where it’s at. That’s what I’m most interested in.

I do think so, yes. I’m hugely optimistic about putting a woman in the White House. I think it will change the way things are done. In terms of the future of the planet, I’m super optimistic because of the next generation. I think our society was so plentiful and prodigal in the 80s and 90s with the rise of the Wall Street economy that the environment got brushed under the table. And that made environmentalists angry and resentful. Although they were doing a great job of warning the public about the hazards of environment degradation, some of the tactics they used were polarising and turned the movement into an ‘us versus them’ situation. Today, the newer wave of environmentalists recognises that only through our collective efforts can we stop climate change. As Plato said, necessity is the mother of invention. For the first time in my 60 years, I’m hopeful. Now that we’re all focussed, we can work together.

I’ve been getting into classical music. I actually just put together my first playlist. I’ve also been exploring vegetarian cooking more. I’ve been making family dinners all my life, but I’ve never really cooked for myself. I’m curious about doing things that bring me more personal pleasure. I’ve worked really hard in life and have been very goal-oriented, but I haven’t had as much fun. When you give yourself the space to just be without any specific focus – to just play – you’re at your most creative. I’m curious to see what it will bring.

I think it’s a brilliant concept. I like the thought of living around intellectually and creatively inspired people. I think THE EMBASSIES is filling a niche that doesn’t exist. Plus, as we get older, we should have a smaller footprint, and that’s what they’re doing. I like their perspective on living.

I want to work until the day I die because I love what I do. Currently, I’m working on developing a community platform for green living with access to good information and a way to track how your daily life affects you and the health of the planet. It will also help mums navigate a healthier and more affordable way to take care of their families and include a green awards programme with multi-generational awardees. I want to spotlight those individuals, communities and corporations that are doing groundbreaking things to make the world a safer and healthier place to live. To me, the most powerful thing you can do is create connections and co-create. My creative way of living is to find and bring together people doing interesting things to make a larger impact.

On a more personal level, I’d also like to do more creative writing. I’m working on a screenplay and looking to write a novel. There hasn’t been much written about middle-aged women… I’ve also always wanted to climb Mt Kilimanjaro and go to Antarctica to see the penguins.

I will still be doing yoga, meditating and hiking. My goal is to be in good health so that I can enjoy my life partner and my family. I would like to be able to show my grandchildren how to do a handstand in the middle of the room. The elements of yoga are the pillars of my life. Keeping your inner and outer body flexible is key as you get older. It’s a way of maintaining physical and mental flexibility – and a good sense of humour. I am learning the importance of that quality just now, after 60!