Be Wise! Be Healthy!
Be in the know about Sustainable Living and Green Building, Products & Experts
|
May/June 2009 Issue
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Elaine Ireland
The Iroquois Confederation's Great Law goes something like this, "In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation," which has become a widely accepted definition of sustainability. Parents being the first line of creating the future, know all too well that sometimes addressing pressing issues in the present doesn't allow much bandwidth for consideration of the future. But as parents, that is our charge. So, how can we be here now and leave that legacy for tomorrow? (read on) |
|
|
|
|
"Mutter mit zwei Kindern"
Käthe-Kollwitz
One Sunday in May and one Sunday in June we celebrate Mothers and Fathers respectively, the stewards and caretakers of generations past, present and future
|
|
"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
(Proverbs 29:18)
|
|
 |
General Features |
|
|
|
|
|
by Alan S. Glassman
Welcome back Alan! To all of you who have expressed your concern for Alan and missed his articles, Alan has been on hiatus due to some very pressing family matters that necessitated much of his attention and travel. Here we now pick up where we left off for the Seventh Part of our popular series of Sacred Geometry articles. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Ken Belson
Some foundries are winning green labels because they use cleaner materials such as lead-free alloys and new machines and processes that have sharply reduced toxic waste. Take this foundry in New York for example. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| A n a waterfront industrial area in Connecticut, the trucks keep dumping trash and the school buses keep dumping children where they're met by the colorful, 3.7-metre "Trash-o-saurus" made out of junk. Sculptor, Leo Sewell, fashioned the piece out of 907 kilograms of old "no parking" signs, cell phones, shoes, licence plates, sunglasses, plastic toys and anything else he could get his hands on. It represents the average amount of garbage and recyclables each person in Connecticut discards each year. Designed with the goal of teaching how important recycling is, visitors are given a list of things to find on the dinosaur, and it's no easy feat. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops from the Union of Concerned Scientists
For years the biotechnology industry has trumpeted that it will feed the world, promising that its genetically engineered crops will produce higher yields. But, that promise has proven to be empty, according to this report by UCS expert Doug Gurian-Sherman. Despite 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase U.S. crop yields. Failure to Yield is the first report to closely evaluate the overall effect genetic engineering has had on crop yields in relation to other agricultural technologies. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some honeybees are making honey high in the city rooftops
By Katherine Harmon, Scientific American.
Cosmopolitan cities hardly conjure up the bucolic image of an ideal home for honeybees. But to millions of busy bees, they're just that. Whereas large-scale commercial beekeepers are busy trucking hives from state to state to pollinate crops, city-dwellers are learning a thing or two about home-raised honey. Bees are being cultivated on roofs everywhere from the Paris Opera House to Chicago's City Hall. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
Green Economics |
|
|
|
|
by Robert Pollin and Jeannette Wicks-Lim
Focused on six key strategies for attacking global warming and highlighting some of the major "green jobs" associated with each of these approaches, this report, sponsored in part by the Center for American Progress, provides a snapshot of what kinds of jobs are needed to build a green economy in the United States. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
by Hina Pendle
We recognize crisis more easily when it is an earthquake, a hurricane or flood. But, now we're all in a tsunami of economic meltdown. How do we overcome our immediate reactions to prepare when life as we know it is shifting like sand? (read on) |
|
|
Building & Construction |
|
|
|
|
Jason Pelletier and Robert Norris
Warren Buffett has an unsurpassed knack for picking good companies in strong industries. So its exciting to see that a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, Clayton Homes, has just launched a line of green prefab homes (called the i-house) that start at under $75,000. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
| In this green design case study, Cunningham Design, a "certified green" interior design firm, used the latest eco-finishes to create a dynamic, modern interior at LaBelle Day Spa. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
| While many people are cutting back on expenses in this economy, completing much needed renovations on your home may seem impossible to afford. But with the help of the Albert Lea Housing and Redevelopment Authority, 20 lucky homeowners will soon be able to fix-up their house for little or no cost. (read on) |
|
|
Global Warming, Energy & Outdoor Issues |
|
|
|
|
| On June 21st, the first day of summer, as we celebrate the first Solar Day across the nation, its a great time to give your home an energy audit so that you know how much energy you may be losing. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
Courtesy Irin News
Given that Senegal’s trees are disappearing, finding viable alternatives is a must. At least half of Senegal’s 13 million people rely on wood and charcoal for household fuel. An environmental NGO in northern Senegal is about to go to market with “green charcoal” – a household fuel produced from agricultural waste materials to replace wood and charcoal in cooking stoves. (read on) |
|
|
Toxins |
|
|
|
|
|
| Levels of flame-retardant compounds in wildlife are declining in northern countries, suggesting that curbs on the chemicals are working. Check out these two new studies. (read on) |
|
|
Green Products |
|
|
|
|
| Based around traditional materials and craftsmanship, these designers add a twist by focusing on technology in their fabrication techniques. With sustainability in mind, the lamp shade fits together to eliminate the need for any fasteners or adhesives. And, of course, the fixture accepts a compact fluorescent bulb. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Taking the dimensional strength of vertically cut wood, combining it into a reinforced SIP-type sandwich panel made from finish-grade plywood skins, vertical grain and wood fiber/rigid foam core, and binding it with non-toxic adhesives makes for a strong, sustainable panel suitable for many applications. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
| With the VersaPanel's unique "plug & light" capability utilizing three modular design elements, the VersaPanel® Showroom Display gives merchandisers the flexibility to easily change product out and create unique presentations. You can easily add modules or remove and refit them for another part of your store. (read on) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Henry Fountain
In the category of plastics that can't otherwise be easily recycled, a new thermoset plastic that, rather than decomposing, heals itself when heated — from the chemists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. (read on) |
|
|
|
Calendar of Events |
|
|
Dozens of Green Events Around the World to Participate in |
|
Where Every Issue is a Green Issue
