My primary interest is how to live sustainably in cities. Yes, that covers the whole spectrum of "greenness". I have a hard time compartmentalizing green philosophy because to me the essence of change is understanding the connections between our lives and the natural world at every scale. For every interaction there is a network of connections. Being green is considering them all. To me a green city is an eco-topian oasis, full of abundance and life and healthy people. There are manifestations of this vision all around and I'm taking notes. My writing aims to document and share (green) city living solutions whether they be individual, organizational, or municipal in scope. I like to learn, be challenged, and to raise the bar.
Visit my blog Montage of the Present for more fun!
California Healthy is a new guide book written by Patricia Hamilton, a native Californian. The book claims to be "The adventurer’s guide to local delicacies, fine wine, great walks and the good life." While it doesn’t do all that it purports, it certainly is a useful tool in some regards. As a native to the state myself, I was impressed with some of [...]
Photo credit Scott Beale
Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson are an example of the new media- independent, grassroots reporters and news. The couple runs Ryan is Hungry, a videoblog that interviews and features green gurus, tips, and information. They look for “stories that don’t get covered in the mainstream media worlds of television and newspapers,” and they bring that news to us.
Their medium, video, is powerful [...]
A movement of underground restaurants has taken off in recent years, with private dinner parties among strangers being hosted world wide. This phenomena is surely the result of online communication, the same world-changing action that has made the environmental and social justice movements advance with unprecedented momentum in the last decade. Cook the Vote unites the community building of a private supper club with what is, or should be, on most [...]
Roast Carrots with Gremolata: Image credit Chili Und Cibatta, a German food blog. To make this dish, substitute potatoes for carrots in recipe below and adjust cooking time. Thanks to technology cooking is easy. I am not referring to microwave ovens and prepared foods from the [...]
Image credit Scotch Print DeustchlandMcDonald's, United Kingdom announced last week that it will begin producing biodiesel from its own used vegetable oil, to power its fleet of 150 freight trucks. While the idea of McDonald's being green is in some respects preposterous, the move is, at the very least, noteworthy. Clearly, McDonald's is nowhere near being a “sustainable” business, and the idea of it being so is [...]
Solar Field: Represents the latest in solar technology. Artists rendition by Sandia National Laboratories Is the solar energy revolution upon us? Solar Energy: Saved By the Sun, a PBS NOVA show first aired in Spring 2007, asks that question and presents a battery of solar related arguments. While light on science, the program provides a solid, [...]
Container architecture is a way of up-cycling one of the waste products of international shipping. Over 7 million shipping containers enter U.S. ports each year, and only 2 million leave. A reflection of imbalanced international trade, the result is an excess of containers, dotting the landscape across the country. In the spirit of resourcefulness, however, that is changing as shipping containers are becoming inexpensive or less-expensive green alternatives to standard construction. [...]
The Heineken World Bottle was designed with multiple functions. Image courtesy of hyperexperience.comIf we really want to be sustainable when it comes to our brew, we will consider the package. Let's take a look beyond recycling into the future and back to the past of the bottle. Zero waste designers tell us that the function of an object is more valuable than the [...]
William McDonough and Michael Braungart: Cradle to Cradle designers teach us that waste is a design flaw.
When we follow nature's rules, growth is good. The question before us is not growth versus no growth, It is: what would good growth look like? And this is a question of intent, of design. What if we grow health instead of sickness, home ownership
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Art by Chris Jordan depicting the 2 million single use bottles used in the U.S. every five minutes. Though it's unusual for someone living in the US, as a general rule, I don't buy foods that come packaged. That includes drinks packaged in recyclable bottles. Even though bottles can be recycled, the thought of [...]
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