What are you reading?

I bounce around a lot. I love books like Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" and this book called "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath — it's interesting what ingredients make things resonate with people or fall flat. Right now, I'm reading Ian McEwan's novel "Saturday." I really enjoy his other books, too, "Atonement" and "Amsterdam." I like his style. He's an incredible writer.

What stands out about it?

I'm only halfway through, but he's so descriptive and like any good fiction it just totally takes you someplace else — to another time and in people's heads. He's so good because you feel like you're completely inside these people, and it's a riveting story, too. He's artful in his ability to capture one day and tell that story — it's not just a plot-driven take on adventure. The mark of any good author is to take the mundane and make it something more.

Are you drawn to it because you also take everyday issues and make them more accessible — like the Sierra Club's environmental beer nights and dubbing the Finding Nemo Bill?

That's funny, because I just blurted that out at a meeting. Activists explain the bill, which is pretty complex — giving the state permission to do marine inspections and make sure you're not collecting too many aquarium species or ones the wrong size. It's big business selling these kind of small creatures. There's a certain pleasure when you hear a legislator or news reporter refer to it with a straight face as the Finding Nemo Bill. That's our biggest challenge. People here, by and large, love the environment, but getting down to the behavioral or political change we need to do to be sustainable — that requires capturing people's attention long enough to make things happen.