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Sunday
Sustainable Design: A Critical Guide
Friday
March 31st 8:30 pm - The Lights Go Off!
Earth Hour Global Slideshow - Click HERE
More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour last year alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.
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Wednesday
Your Good(-smelling) Deed For Earth Day
Want to get a jump on Earth Day this year? Here's your chance to do something good for the children of Bolivia and Ghana - and smell good doing so!
For the second year in a row, Armani's Acqua di Gio will give 100 liters of potable water to needy children in Bolivia and Ghana for any perfume sold between March 19 and 25th in the Acqua di Gio line by Alberto Morillas. Here's your chance to try the line's newest fragrance: Essenza.
All set for perfume at present? Not to worry. Simply by going to the line's FB page, and clicking on "Like," they will sponsor 50liters of potable water for needy children.
Sunday
NU Green – Organic, Co-ed And Just Right For Spring
Green mint leaves; tarragon; white cedar; East Indian white musk… These are the fresh scents in Honore’ des Pres newest scent and it’s just perfect for Spring.
Designed to be worn by both men and women who each adore organic scents, the Verrine NU Green is shaped like a globe and made out of glass to better preserve the perfume’s scents and its aromatic powers of seduction.
A great little treat to celebrate Springing the clocks Forward this weekend! (In the U.S. anyway… Europe will have to wait just a couple more weeks for its Spring time!)
Available at EcoCentric, 50 ml. 56Euros. Musky, Woody, Fresh Herbal, Green, Spicy.
Friday
World's Largest Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling Plant, Riverside CA
carbonLITE’s new 220,000 sq-ft plant receives support from California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld among others
RIVERSIDE, CA California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the official grand opening of the world’s largest bottle-to-bottle plastic recycling plant. Located in Riverside, Ca., the 220,000 sq-ft plant has already created over 100 green jobs and will recover more than two billion plastic PET bottles annually from California’s Curbside and Redemption Value programs.
“carbonLITE is using high-tech innovations to bring used plastic back to food grade quality,” said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for EPA’s Pacific Southwest. “By recycling two billion PET bottles (12 fl oz) every year, this cutting-edge facility is helping America save 48 million gallons of gas. This is a model of resource recovery and economic development.”
Photos courtesy: Sayeh Video and Photography
Photo 1: California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. accompanies carbonLITE Chairman Leon Farahnik and President Neville Browne
Photos 2 and 3: California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. speaks at the grand opening celebration of carbonLITE’s new 220,000 sq-ft bottle-to-bottle recycling plant.
Photo 4: Jared Blumenfeld, Administrator for EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region, speaks at the grand opening celebration of carbonLITE’s new 220,000 sq-ft bottle-to-bottle recycling plant.
Photo 5: Exterior shot of carbonLITE’s new 220,000 sq-ft bottle-to-bottle recycling plant
Photo 6: Inside look at carbonLITE’s new 220,000 sq-ft bottle-to-bottle recycling plant
Previously, most plastic bottles collected in California were exported to China and downcycled into polyester fiber. carbonLITE is changing that, and bringing both this valuable resource and jobs back to the State. carbonLITE is able to do this with the support of their customers like PepsiCo and Nestlé Waters while helping both companies achieve their sustainability goals.
Products made using PET resin are recyclable and highly sustainable. PET can be recycled numerous times, turning bottles back into bottles. The PET resin offered by carbonLITE will have been processed using a method that has received an LNO (letter of non-objection) from the FDA, allowing it to be used at levels up to 100 percent recycled content in the manufacture of PET bottles.
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Gov. Brown Issues Poem In Honor of Arbor Day Proclamation
Gold, Green
Let it be
On a day in March
California;
When the grass is green
On the rolling hills
And the snow
Is deep in the mountains –
Let it be
On a day like this
That we plant a tree
California
For the years to come
For the little ones
and the lakes
Will be pure in the mountains –
Let it be gold and green
California;
That we touch the ground
That we heal the land
From the mountains to the sea.
—Gary Snyder
This poem was written in honor of Arbor Day which has traditionally been set aside as a day designated for the planting of trees. Trees provide shelter for us and for birds and wildlife. They give us shade and conserve our soil. We harvest fruit from trees and at the same time enjoy their beauty.
I hereby proclaim March 7th as Arbor Day in order that all Californians may be reminded of the multitude of benefits we reap daily from this precious resource. I hope the day will be dedicated to the planting of trees not only for the benefit of this generation but as our gift to posterity.
Recycle, Reuse, Rejoice!
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Saturday
Gov. Kitzhaber of Oregon To Speak at Globe 2012 Vancouver
Kitzhaber, who is currently serving his third term as governor, will lend his insights on the topic of innovation and collaboration in advancing the clean economy.
“Innovation will be one of the most important drivers of a greener economy,” says John Wiebe, President and CEO of the GLOBE Foundation and Opening Plenary moderator. “Governor Kitzhaber is recognized for his refreshingly innovative approach to policymaking and we’re looking forward to the perspective that he will bring to this critical discussion.”
GLOBE 2012 Opening Plenary confirmed speakers:
· Jim Weigand, President, DuPont Sustainable Solutions, USA
· Steve Williams, President & Chief Operating Officer, Suncor Energy Inc., Canada
· John Kitzhaber, Governor, State of Oregon, USA
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Friday
Academy Awards Red Carpet Inspires Eco-Fashion For Designers And Movie Stars
The carpet may have been red at the 84th Academy Awards, but if fashion designers have anything to do with it, future star-stilted award ceremonies will soon be filled with a lot more green in the coming months— Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent are just some of the few designers who are rumored to have been inspired by the stunning eco-friendly dresses seen at last Sunday's award ceremony.
Star: Livia Firth
Italian movie producer and environmental advocate Livia Firth wore this lavish, bright red custom-made couture Valentino gown, which according to the "fashion police" was beautiful enough to dub her as one of the best dressed. What many didn't know however was that the fabric was a hybrid of polyester derived from recycled plastic bottles and Valentino's house silk. She also wore diamond earrings from Celleija, a sustainable jeweler. Hubby Colin Firth did his part to sustain the planet too—he recycled the Tom Ford suit he wore to the Academy Awards the year before.
Star: Missi Pyle
Latina fashion design student Valentina Delfino created this gown for Missi Pyle, star of the silent film and Best Picture winner The Artist. The carillion, off-the-shoulder gown is made of silk "peace" chiffon, a cruelty-free fabric that does not kill worms when retrieving the silk. The silk chiffon was also dyed with a natural mineral dye, which is OSHA approved. Delfino also chose to line the gown with recycled polyester and used a sustainable zipper.
Designer: Jeanne Lanvin
Star: Meryl Streep
Who would've known that Streep's lovely full-length gold gown would foreshadow the Oscar she'd win only a few short hours later? The statuesque gown was actually comprised of Eco Certified Fabric sourced with help from the GCC. It marked the first eco custom-made gown created from Lanvin's team. Designer: Ermenegildo Zegna
Stars: Kenneth Branagh and Demian Bichir
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Mediterranean-Climate Cities to Converge On Los Angeles
[Press Release]
LOS ANGELES, CA (February 16, 2012 ) —How is your city prepaing to deal with the impacts of climate change? That is the question being framed at 2012’s The Mediterranean City: A Conference on Climate Change Adaptation, to be held June 27 in Downtown Los Angeles. Leaders from the five Mediterranean regions of the world will come together to focus specifically on adaptation, which seeks to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems to the effects climate change.
The conference will initiate an ongoing collaboration of Mediterranean cities working together to solve the mutual problem of adapting to an uncertain climate. In addition, the conference aims to create new and strengthen existing ties among the decision-makers, thought-leaders and academics, building bridges across disciplines.
“Our climate is changing and so it is more important than ever that cities work together around this common cause,” said Executive Director, Dr. Nancy Steele. “By coming together, conference participants will share resources and knowledge across regional and national boundaries to build effective solutions. We are excited to host this first ever convening of all the Mediterranean-climate regions around the world.”
Cities of the Future author Paul Brown will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Other invited speakers include: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, United State Representative Lois Capps, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, Yarqon River Authority (Israel) Executive Director David Pargament, Pacific Institute President Peter Gleick, and many more.
On June 25 and 26, an invited group of regional experts will come together for The Mediterranean City Consortium. During this time, small working groups of invited scientists, planners, engineers, resource managers, and policy makers will work collaboratively toward sharing solutions and suggest collaborative steps forward. The pre-conference working group activities will heavily shape the agenda of the The Mediterranean City Conference, which will be open to the public and present a forum for the working groups to present their shared findings and ideas for the future.
Conference Themes
Water: Resilient Water Management Strategies for a Changing Climate
Water is among the most basic of human needs and is necessary for economic vitality and food security. In the Mediterranean City, water is harnessed for consumption, industry, and waste management, while flood control systems seek to move water away from cities as efficiently as possible. Degradation of water quality occurs from urban practice and single purpose policy. As water scarcity increases with climate change, and as demand continues to outpace sustainable supplies, human and natural communities of the City and of the water-supply-shed are threatened at the most basic levels.
Energy: Transitioning to an Energy Efficient and Low Carbon Future
With a natural supply of abundant solar energy and the potential for tidal and off-shore wind and wave-to-energy power, the Mediterranean climate zones have great potential to harness renewable energy supplies. However, as urban populations in Mediterranean Cities continue to grow, renewable resource demand may outstrip renewable resource availability. Needs and costs of production must be better understood and affordable to move forward in producing green energy.
Biodiversity and Open Space: Building an Ecological City
Mediterranean ecosystems have nutrient−poor soils and are seasonally climate−limited, yet have evolved species−rich ecosystems with a great deal of endemism. Healthy ecosystems provide nature’s services to urban centers, cleaning air and water; providing spaces of beauty to refresh the soul and encourage recreation; producing food, fiber, and fuel; and mitigating natural disasters (e.g., drought and flood) while cleaning of polluted urban runoff.
The Built Environment: Designing Healthier Communities
In the face of rapid development and population growth, cities are under increasing threat of loss of functionality and ability to meet the needs to their residents. By redefining the built environment to require or incentivize green building design, ecologically-functional streets, transit-oriented communities, and open spaces, cities can become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. By becoming more compact, for example, cities can promote the preservation of regionally-unique habitats while also combating urban sprawl. Smart building and landscape designs can also effectively reduce the energy footprint of buildings while contributing to the overall energy portfolio of cities.
Public Health: Preparing People for Their Future
A healthy ecosystem - dependent on clean air and water, natural hydrogeologic processes, and biological diversity - nurtures a healthy human population, which in turn must respect and tend those resources through conservation. Human systems too must reorient towards healthier outcomes for natural and human populations through changed practices in sanitation, food provisioning, and ecosystem services management. Planning for greener cities that conserve these Mediterranean resources will also provide avenues for improving public health.
Governance: Rethinking Boundaries
Cities are now the engines of the world economy and social structure and must, therefore, work as a network across sectors and national boundaries to bring more resources and knowledge to building solutions. To bring resiliency to the city and to the network of information sharing, new forms of governance and public-private partnerships must be examined for their efficacy in supporting an open exchange and transfer of ideas and technology.
Conference Organizer: Council for Watershed Health: The Council for Watershed Health supports healthy watersheds for the region by serving as a robust center for the generation of objective research and analysis. The Council has established a platform for meaningful collaboration among governmental organizations, academic institutions, businesses and other nonprofit organizations with a vested interest in clean water, reliable water supplies, ample parks and open spaces, revitalized rivers, and vibrant communities.
Founded in 1996 by leading environmental activist Dorothy Green and others, the Council produces continuing research programs that examine water usage and quality as well as create and enhance preservation and conservation tactics. The trustworthy expertise and analysis that comes from the Council’s ongoing programs connects a diverse set of groups with overlapping missions in an effort to drive polices that will continually improve watershed quality.
The Mediterranean City Conference on Climate Change Adaptation is made possible thanks to the support CDM SMITH, the Department of Energy, the City of Los Angeles, The Nature Conservancy, UCLA, the Long Beach Water Department and more than 20 endorsing organizations.
For more information and to register to attend the conference, please visit the event website at www.medcityconference.org.
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Sunday
Global Colding
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