Shaken, Not Stirred

By Christina McGregor

Publisher of "Green Me Up Scotty!" 

http://greeningme101.blogspot.com/

Shaken, not stirred

So it's blog action day. The subject this year ? Climate Change.

First and last, the purpose of Blog Action Day is to create a discussion. We ask bloggers to take a single day out of their schedule and focus it on an important issue.

I took a geology course in college that was dubbed 'rocks for jocks' because it was considered an easy credit. While I enjoyed the plate tectonics as such, it was learning about past climates that tweaked my interest on the subject. Climate Change, formerly known as Global Warming, is the latest media vernacular when reporting on all things green.

I find fear is the number one tactic used by environmental brain-trusts when trying to get their message across. If we don't do X now, we'll get Y later than eventually Z. (Oooh not Z). And Y not. Fear motivates a lot of human behavior - fear of failure - fear of dying - fear of flying - fear of work. I personally fear hummus. When someone puts a bowl of that stuff in front of me I have to leave the room. It's scary. I shudder just thinking about it. Fear as a tactic to fight Climate Change is one dimensional. Actionable yes but educational no. You don't conquer fears by not understanding them. (I'm getting therapy for the hummus btw). 

How does one conquer climate change exactly ? Don a toque when it's cold?

As we look to take action on Blog Action Day - let's try something other than fear as the motivator for change. 

So here's my offering. Climate Change for Christina is 2 fold. The first knowing Climate Change is about the earth's natural evolution over time. You know as we orbit around the sun, stuff happens, ummm, like the southern continents get warmer, I think, umm, yup they do this time of year cause, yah know, they're closer to the sun. Over longer periods of time, the earth's climate has a tendency to change drastically.

The second fold of Climate Change for Christina is mankind. Our nature as survivor & species taking up more of earth's real-estate as each year passes. Our ability to reproduce, adapt and evolve (ha ha) to the ever changing climate makes for some bad-ass mammals.

Making sense of the fact that population growth continues while the earth remains the same size is for the scientists to figure out. They've got a pretty good idea now. Yet it's increasingly become more complex and a problem we need to address sooner rather than later. So they say. Thus Climate Change as the subject de jour - and taking better care of the environment - the action. The solution is complex - improving how we re-produce renewable non-carbon-emitting-energy products for the masses. 

Quiz Time

Q: What generates emission free electricity, cools our nuclear tubes and makes for a refreshing beverage? Oil? no. Coal? no. Cow poop? No.

A: For Aqua. In the great white north, we have an abundance of the most important resource of all things life on the planet. The majority of Canada’s power production (just under 60%) comes from hydroelectricity. In Ontario, Nuclear and Hydro combined represent 75% of power production – all of which is non carbon emitting. (*Source: laforet.ca)

I'll leave this post with a question.

Q: If our greatest natural resource is the key to human survival, the planet's well being & provider of clean energy. Why we talkin' bout 'clean coal', building wind farms and solar panels when we're ignoring what's got us this far ?

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

Shaken, Not Stirred

Has Mom Been Teaching Me to Go Green?

By Wesley Cronk

Wesley Cronk is the Sustainability Director for the SEEC Foundation.  

SEEC is the Social Environmental Economic Concerns Foundation.

http://seecfoundation.org/

Has Mom Been Teaching Me to Go Green?

Writing a paper about sustainable development the other day, I reached the conclusion and needed one final sentence to tie everything together. Struggling to come up with something witty I was picking every last corner of my brain until out of leftfield an old piece of parental advice came to mind: treat others the way you want to be treated.

Actually using this phrase as the last line in my paper would have been a disaster so I left it out. Put in context it made absolutely no sense. This did give me the chance to stop and wonder for a while though. Could my parents have been giving me better advice than I had realized this whole time? Have they been giving me tips for being green this entire time?

After spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about this vague possibility, I realized that a lot of “momisms” are surprisingly applicable to living sustainably. Here are some of the better ones:

 

·      “Treat others the way you want to be treated”: Exact opposite of the “not in my backyard” mindset that Americans often possess, consciously or not. The perfect example of this is in China, where workers wearing little protection process 90% of the electronic waste that we produce. Laden with toxins and heavy metals, the recycling process is extremely hazardous. Mom would not like the way we are treating the developing world.

·      “Money doesn’t grow on trees”: Mom’s way of condemning deforestation? Sounds like it to me.

·      “Close the door behind you, we don’t live in a barn”: Sometimes accompanied by the “we aren’t air conditioning the neighborhood” line, Mom was teaching me energy efficiency before I knew what energy was. My parents being serious about weatherization could explain why we had so much caulk in the garage.

·      “I’m not your personal taxi service”: Mom was apparently preparing for climate change before Al Gore. Explains why I rode a bike so many places when I was younger.

·      “I brought you into this world and I can take you out”: This was less motherly advice than it was a reality check for when I acted up. Regardless, it holds true on the largest scale. Earth has nurtured humanity to this point and has the ability to wipe us out. Lucky for me my Mom couldn’t punish me with climate change.

 

I admit that the entire concept of this post is a bit of a stretch but I wanted to follow through with it because I did come to some realizations during this exercise. American society has developed an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude that has let us stray from some fundamentals. Would you be upset with China dumping their toxic waste in the park near your house? I’m sure they aren’t happy with us when they get cancer from ours.

 

Mom was right about more than I want to admit. If you are ever trying to think of a way that you can live ‘greener’ try going back to the basics and consider that motherly advice you stored away in the archives of your mind. Just don’t tell your Mom that she was right or you will get a momism that you don’t want: “I told you so.” 

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

Has Mom Been Teaching Me to Go Green?

New York's First Ever Green Fashion Show Sports "Green" Hair

By Samantha Green

The first-ever GreenShows during New York Fashion Week!  Hair for the 7 acclaimed, eco-conscious designers - Bodkin, Bahar Shahpar, Izzy Lane, House of Organic, Lara Miller, Mr. Larkin and STUDY by Tara St. James was done by the original John Masters, pioneer of "green" hair!

   

"Whether it was something as simple as a slicked back pony or as fierce as a fishbone braid, we saw women become [eco-] super heros. It was inspiring to see great, runway hair that was not acheived by using a toxic cocktail of chemical styling products."  - John Masters, Founder/Owner - John Masters Organics

STUDY by Tara St. James
"Attack of the Clones" was the theme for hair. All models wore high pony tails. If the hair wasn't long enough, it was worn slicked back.

Bahar Shahpar
"Warrior Princess" was the inspiration.  The models wore fishbone braids or multiple ponytials to achieve a Mohawk effect which was then finished with a connecting French Braid.

Bodkin
"Super simple" was the directive here.

Lara Miller
"Nick of time" where the models wore high, slick pony tails.

House of Organics
"A Run Through Nature." The designer intended the models to look like children who had just come in from a run through nature.

Mr. Larkin
The "morning after" was the look achieved. Think waking up the morning after the prom - the hairpins are still in place but the hair isn't.

Izzy Lane
Back to the 60's. Think style icons Brigitte Bardot and Twiggy.

All looks achieved using John Masters newest styling product suite.

---

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

New York's First Ever Green Fashion Show Sports "Green" Hair

ECO-YOGA MAT De Jour

By: Darrah Le Montre

 

Yogamatic.com is gaining a lot of attention these days as the only customize-able, eco-yoga mat out there!  Featured on Extra, The Ellen Show, E! and in leading magazines, Yogamatic.com allows people the opportunity to design their own custom one-of-a-kind yoga mat!  By uploading photos onto their website, a truly unique experience is born!  Nobody else in the gym or at the resort will have YOUR eco-mat!  Plus, in addition to being able to make your own mat, you can also choose from over 200 designs in their online Gallery.  Wicked!  And the images range from the Dalai Lama to Barack Obama's inaugural speech, foraying into pop art and even more irreverent images.  Made from sustainable and compost-able materials, the mats are printed using water-soluble ink, so they are non-toxic.  There are no toxins, lead, phthalates or chemicals.  Ever.  You can collect different mats and gift them this holiday season!  Active in philanthropy, the Santa Monica-based company got a boost when Donna Karan and Calvin Klein created exclusive mats whereas 100% of proceeds benefit "Fashion Targets Breast Cancer."  And now Alice+Olivia designer du jour, Stacey Bendet, has two mats with her classic neon flavor, sold in her Malibu Lumber Yard and Beverly Hills stores.  5% of proceeds on all mats purchased from YM benefit the leading environmental charity Global Green.

Yogamatic.com is turning stereotypes about Yoga upside down.  Their new web-series "POSERS: Yogastyles of the Movers and Shakers" is an edgy "Yogamentary" capturing a wide array of vibrant Los Angeles personalities; Actors, Musicians, Captains of Industry, and Celebrity Instructors who offer their take on Yoga and how it has impacted and transformed their daily life.  Including Academy Award nominated actress Mariel Hemingway, Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, Celebrity Instructor Mandy Ingber, "Skinny Bitch" bestselling author Rory Freedman, Yoga Works' Vinnie Marino, who was recently hailed "L.A.'s Yoga King" by New York Times and many more!  Check out POSERS here: www.youtube.com/customyogamats

Darrah Le Montre is a yoga enthusiast and green professional.

http://www.yogamatic.com/

Twitter: @yogamatic

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

ECO-YOGA MAT De Jour

Bio Plastics - Gettin' The Skinny

By Elizabeth Rickard Shah

The new age – Bio Plastics (sustainable design) 

In the l967 movie The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman's character was advised to go into "Plastics!" if he wanted a promising career and a prosperous future.  Since then we truly entered into the Age of Plastics. 

100 million tons of Plastic are produced every year.  We use plastic in and for about everything we consume. From a Design perspective this great invention is doing a fantastic job. It is going to be a challenging to replace it.

Yet unless we re think our approach to manufacturing, design and invention, this AGE OF PLASTIC is here to stay.

Nether the less, this revolutionary material that has had such a huge purpose in our consumer driven lives, is actually damaging our very existence.  

As a designer myself, I believe that our roles as designers/creators/inventors, is to use our creativity and ideas to introduce new innovations as well as improve on what already exists. And as designer who believes in protecting our environment, I believe if we can do our job whilst incorporating sustainability and understanding nature’s cycle, we can and should help reshape our future.

I recently had the opportunity to explore and research bio plastics.  This research opened a world to me that in my opinion is not only innovating, but co –exists with today's economic environment. Further more it is part social, part green business, part design and part re-invention of human industry and it is one of our best hopes for a future of sustaining prosperity whilst still respecting nature.

However this emerging Industry, although around sine the 1900’s still has to prove its way. There is little if any consumer awareness. Leading understandably to skepticism. 

Are they really what they say they are and how do we know?

Bio plastics are polymers that are generated from renewable natural sources,

They can be produced by biological systems (i.e. micro-organisms, plants and animals), or chemically synthesized from biological starting materials (e.g. sugars, starch, natural fats or oils, etc.). 

Bio plastics have enhanced environmental properties. The most important being that they are biodegradable and compostable.

But what does this mean?

Biodegradability is the natural process by which organic matter decomposes. Composting is the common process.

Four factors play a role

1. Moisture
2. Oxygen
3. Temperature
4. Micro-organisms

It is important that the three stages of process occur.

1. Fragmentation. The matter breaks down into Fragments which are invisible to the human eye but still present in the environment
2. Bio – assimilation. Micro organisms in the ground digest fragments
3. Mineralization. Elements which can be absorbed by plants

It is important to add that waste produced by biodegradation must not pose a toxic hazard for the environment.

Biodegradation can occur in a controlled environment – composting.Or in natural environment. 

There are very high standard certification processes involved, which need to adhere to all of the above before one can claim to have a bio plastic.

The most important tests at present are

ASTM D6400 Test to certify if a product can be composted

ASTM D6868 Test to determine if a biodegradable plastic is truly biodegradable

EN 13432 European Test to determine biodegradability and compostability of plastics

In fact consumers should be demanding that biodegradable products on the market demonstrate either one of these standards if they do not already.

Other reliable symbols to look out for are

   

In Italy where I live there is a Bio plastics company called Novamont that produce a biopolymer Mater-Bi. Please visit their website. www.mater-bi.com.

Novament exemplifies the continual research required and necessary to bring the Future to us

My local supermarket FIRENZE COOP replaced all of their classic petroleum made shopping bags with a compostable substitute made from Mater-bi ., the biopolymer produced by Novamont.

They appear to have been a huge success. I myself composted one of the bags and indeed it biodegraded within weeks.

However I do understand all the concerns surrounding bio-plastic. Although there has been an incredible step forward, there are still underlying issues.

In fact most plastic bags that claim to be biodegradable are in fact partially destroyed fragmentation and not comply with the standard EN 13432 (the strictest of all standards)

For more information visit. www.greenplastic.com

Further more, It is important that consumers are concerned about whether or not the natural sources are GMO enhanced, or if increasing production of corn affects the food chain.  Where the raw material comes from, and what types of pesticides are used.  There is at least five other blogs that could be written in defense of or put argument to, all of the above.

There is a wealth of information on all the bio plastic producers websites, which can answer many concerns, however there is often not enough on the end usage or finished product.

Here are some useful website that are both informative and helpful

www.bioplastics24.com

www.sustainablebusiness.com

www.bpiworld.org

www.bpsweb.net

www.biothinking.com

www.biolymers.net

The widespread use of Bio plastics will depend on how successful they can be in the marketplace. To do that we all need to understand and trust them. This will depend on how strongly we are committed to, environmental preservation, and sustainable technologies, as well as realizing also it is a work in progress. There are growing signs that people indeed want to live in greater harmony with nature and leave future generations a healthy planet. If so, bio plastics will help bring us into a NEW AGE. 
 
Elizabeth Rickard Shah is the co-founder of PURE, a chrome-free leather goods manufacture and design company based in Italy, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

Bio Plastics - Gettin' The Skinny

Greening Hollywood: Green Warriors

Green Warriors is a book published by The Rand Corporation,
commissioned by the United States Army.

"Prompted by the growing importance of environmental considerations in
military operations, the Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI) asked
RAND to examine how the Army approaches this issue in overseas
contingency operations...".

The book's 228 pages are full of statistics and operational objectives
of the U.S. Army focused primarily on mitigating environmental impacts
of overseas operations, here the focus is mostly on Iraq, and also
addresses some of the challenges that the Army faces in its environmental
objectives such as when barracks are classified as temporary and yet
remain servicing troops for several years.

To classify such installations as semi-permanent would allow for greater
environmental program objectives to be installed and carried out.  So the book,
on many points, strives to be candid not only about achieved objectives but
also on what needs to be addressed to better carry out these objectives.

In Addison D. Davis IV's article, "Beyond An Inconvenient Truth: The
Army's March Toward Operational Sustainability," he underlines the
army's motto of a "triple bottom line."  The Triple Bottom Line consists
of mission, environment and community. Davis is Deputy Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health. 
He writes, "the contributions of the military community can have a profound
effect on the environment, through recycling of household and commercial
waste, reduction of consumables, carpooling and other initiatives that
reduce unnecessary use of materials."

Green Warriors notes, and illustrates with graphs and surveys, that
consistently the #1 environmental issue of concern for Iraqis is clean
drinking water. 

Book has a glossary and index.  For example, the definition of Black Water: 
Water that has been mixed with waste from the toilet.

Interesting that such a prominent Security Firm in overseas operations
would have taken that as its, now infamous, company name.

I wonder what the young Hollywood set, as in Paris and Brittany, might
have to say about Black Water and the importance of clean water as
a U.S. environmental policy?

Green Warriors can be downloaded from this site: http://www.aepi.army.mil/

It has prompted me to want to read how the U.S. Army and other branches of
our military are ensuring safe, clean drinking water for our citizens domestically.

Read More:  The Green Blog Network   http://greenblognetwork.blogspot.com

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

Greening Hollywood: Green Warriors

Greening Hollywood: Social Justice 4 Kids

By Paige Donner

School lunches are a social justice issue for children in our country today. Sugar is our nation’s biggest addiction, after oil.

And sugar, coupled with poor nutrition, is just as debilitating. A poor diet, one that is preservative rich and nutrient poor, causes kids to feel sluggish, perform poorly and addles their brains. This is referred to as the "achievement gap" because it generally affects children of lower-income households.

So while everyone is talking about healthcare reform, let's talk a little about growing a healthy next generation so we won't need so much healthcare. It's called preventative medicine. Anyone ever hear of it?

On Harry Shearer’s most recent Le Show, he cited stories from Australia where the number of children who are getting “lap bands” and gastro-intestinal surgery as YOUNG AS AGE 12 doubled in the past year. Go ahead. Read that again...at age 12 they're starting

U.S. stats aren’t far behind:

32 % of U.S. teens are overweight or obese.

30.5 million children areserved free or reduced price lunches in the U.S. This number is expected to rise due to recent economic woes.

A typical school lunch costs: $2.57 A healthy school lunch costs: $3.50

National estimated cost of obesity: $147 Billion.

Chef Ann Cooper, known as the Renegade Lunch Lady, says, “There is an achievement gap and a life expectancy gap between the rich and the poor. When you feed kids a diet high in sugar and corn syrup they just can’t think, and if you’re not well nourished you can’t excel,” she adds that, “We have kindergarteners entering school with Type 2 diabetes, 10- to 14-year olds with clogged arteries. We have a moral imperative to turn this around.” Read more from Chef Ann at www.schoolfoodpolicy.com

Want to get involved? First, go to your kid’s school and eat what they’re eating for lunch. Then do the homework: go to www.schoolwellnesspolicies.org the website run by the Local School Wellness Policy Act which promotes healthful eating for our kids at school.

Eating healthy and organic doesn’t have to cost more. It’s just a question of informing yourself. The Environmental Working Group issued this list of the Good and Bad organics this past year. They call it their Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15.

The Dirty Dozen (Always try to buy organic. They have very high levels of toxic pesticides.)

Peaches, Kale

Apples, Lettuce

Bell peppers, Grapes (imported)

Celery, Carrots

Nectarines, Pears

Strawberries, Cherries

The Clean 15 (These test lowest for pesticide residues.)

Onion, Cabbage

Avocado, Eggplant

Sweet Corn, Papaya

Pineapple, Watermelon

Mango, Broccoli

Asparagus, Tomato

Sweet Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Kiwi

Are pesticides as scary as they're made out to be? Yes!

The Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) says that pesticides such as Atrazine, banned in France, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden BUT the second most widely used pesticide in the U.S., and Dursban, banned by the EPA for “nonagricultural uses”only, are associated with serious health issues such as neurological damage, birth defects, developmental and behavioral issues (autism, ADHD), and some cancers.

“One recent study showed that birth defects such as spina bifida, cleft lip, clubfoot, and Down’s Syndrome are most common in children conceived during the spring and summer, when agricultural pesticide use is at its peak. Read more at Environmental Health Perspectives.

The magazine Delicious Living has a solid breakdown on basic USDA organic standards. Try searching USDA Organic at www.deliciousliving.com.

Also check out Ann Cooper’s website and Nonprofit, F3: Food, Family, Farming. www.foodfamilyfarming.org. Search for the site’s interactive tool, The Lunch Box where you can design a blueprint for starting a healthy lunch program at your kids’ school.

Read more at: http://greeninghollywood.blogspot.com
And at            http://greenblognetwork.blogspot.com
                       http://greenblognetwork.wordpress.com

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

Greening Hollywood: Social Justice 4 Kids

Greening Hollywood: Green Graywater Gardens

Dawn of A New Era
A revolution occurred in California on August 4th led by Santa Barbara-based graywater advocate, Art Ludwig, and an army of passionate stakeholders from throughout the state. The revolution was the historic graywater code adoption that took place in Sacramento at the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Graywater is the wastewater that drains out of washing machines, sinks, bathtubs and showers. It can be treated for indoor use and may be used untreated in some landscape applications.
SB 1258 required HCD, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, to develop standards for the construction, installation and alteration of graywater systems for indoor and outdoor uses.
As of August 4th, 2009, “Californians can legally install simple laundry and single fixture systems without a permit. For the first time, licensed professionals can legally help with the 1.7 million existing graywater systems in the state.” -Art Ludwig, graywater Researcher and Educator


"Water Messaging In Media" Dinner presented by Greening Hollywood
and Environment Now at the Dorothy Green Home in Westwood
Typically, a three-bedroom home generates 160 gallons of graywater per day or 58,400 gallons per year. With the new standards, a family of four could potentially divert nearly 22,000 gallons of water per year by using graywater from the laundry system alone. Great news for water conservation advocates.


The all-day Sacramento hearing was described as “a rollercoaster” where “passionate stakeholders” spoke for and against the adoption of the new standards and where a “collision of world views” was on full display as the meeting drew to its “historic” conclusion.
Another historic outcome from the meeting is that the HCD, who has asked the California Building Standards Commission (www.bsc.ca.gov) to revise California’s Green Building Standards, shifted – significantly – to taking into account off-site and future impacts of a building’s systems as opposed to only considering occupant safety.
Why this matters?
More than half of all carbon emissions, those nasty greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, are from buildings. Buildings built to California’s current codes are sucking the groundwater out from under California. Under the new codes, graywater permits would allow people to – legally – redirect their laundry water runoff to irrigate their backyard organic vegetable gardens, for example.
Watch the YouTube Instructional video here:
Abundance In Balance by Devin Slavin

And Art Ludwig's video here:

http://oasisdesign.net/greywater/laundry/video/
Art Ludwig periodically holds City of Santa Barbara-sponsored workshops on engineering Laundry to Landscape systems, for free. Santa Barbara started the graywater regulation revolution in 1989.

On California’s graywater revolution, Ludwig’s office, Oasis Design, said, “The commissioners are to be congratulated for their leadership. It is always more work to set up a new system than to fit into an existing one. It would have been a lot easier to stand aside as legal buildings continue to waste resources and pollute the environment. However, in the face of deeply entrenched, powerful opposition, the commission [California Building Standards Commission] is rising to the challenge of revising all of California’s building codes to allow/require better building systems.”
In the California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 24, California Plumbing Code, Part 5, Appendix G where you can find the existing graywater standards, you will see that they are antiquated. The revised standards allow for the installation of graywater systems for the purpose of water conservation. The intent is to encourage new ideas and technology related to water reuse.


The disputed point, at present, seems to be whether these state-level revisions now supersede local and municipal regulations. For example, must someone in Culver City wishing to implement a graywater system for their newly constructed building comply with the City’s code if it departs from the newer California state code?
Water activists such as Conner Everts of Environment Now says that the California State code now has precedence. Wesley Roe of Oasis Design confers. However, Jennifer Sweeney, Communications Director for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, says,

"The code provides guidance to inform the user about minimum health and safety requirements and then allows a system to be designed...at a scale that is appropriate...This can range from the simplest of low technology (a drain to a mulch basin) to the most complex...system.
Typically, small systems are very simple and adding the cost of building permits and professional design/engineering quickly becomes too expensive and burdensome to be practical. This problem has been addressed in the new graywater regulations by not requiring a construction permit for the installation of a clothes washer or single fixture system.
Homeowners would still have to check with their local authority to be sure graywater systems are allowed in their jurisdiction, therefore these regulations do not supersede any local code. Additionally, the systems would still have to be built to the requirements specified in the state Building Code. More complex systems will still require a construction permit and any system will still be regulated."

At the August 28th Greening Hollywood presents “Water Messaging in Media” dinner at the Dorothy Green Home in Westwood, California, these issues and the topic of how to present complex issues of water to the states’ stakeholders, i.e., every California resident and business owner, were discussed.
Co-host Conner Everts of Environment Now, a longtime water activist and friend of the Green family, focused the dinner table discussion on the peripheral dam issue. He cited Timothy F. Brick’s recent editorial HERE in the L.A. Times Op-Ed section as a position he takes issue with.
Water H20 3G
Since many of the dinner attendees, including Stephanie Molen from Sen. Pavley’s office, Frances Anderton, Producer of Warren Olney’s To The Point on NPR, and Catherine Geanuracos of LiveEarth have extensive experience in presenting information in digestible form to large audiences, we steered the conversation toward Water Messaging in Media and the question of which issues to focus on right now.

Susan Munves, Santa Monica Green Building
Water Conservation and Clean Water were two topics at the fore. One of the dinner guests, perhaps it was Edward Headington who counts Breathe L.A., hosts of the Green Salon Series, as one of his clients, or maybe it was Josh Green, the late Dorothy Green’s son, or maybe it was Susan Munves from the city of Santa Monica Green Buildings Program – or, likely it was all three - who said we need to keep the message short, sweet and simple. The message needs to be represented by a one-punch image that will resonate with the Facebook crowd. Something like Water “H203G.” Stay tuned…


Dinner was generously provided by Chef Simon Dolinky of Palomar’s Blvd. 16 who runs a kitchen stocked fully with organic and sustainably farmed ingredients. His platters of roast pork smothered in fresh roasted vegetables and his seafood platter of fresh shrimp, mussels and chubby scallops were all heaven-sent.
Jen Mullen of Jam Gourmet provided us with a fig and gorgonzola pizza – wonderful combination of savory and sweet – and a romaine salad with paper thin-sliced crisp peaches, red onions, pine nuts and feta. Mendocino Farms, the fully sustainable downtown eatery who is opening up their second location in L.A. on 5th and Flower, provided us with Chef Judy's Seasonal Farmer's Market Salad with Arnett Farms Fuji apples, parmesan cheese and honey roasted almonds on organic farmer's market greens with a sherry vinaigrette.


The Green Family’s Otelia, who was first brought into the family 41 years ago by Dorothy, helped with the fluidity of the dinner. Indeed, it appeared that she was delighted by the home being used, once again, as a hub of activity for the water tribe.

Water...for the Next Generation...
Read More on Greening Hollywood.
And also here:

Greening Hollywood: Green Graywater Gardens

Greening Hollywood: Green Graywater Gardens

Greening Hollywood: L.A.'s Downtown Fashion

By Paige Donner

[First published on The Huffington Post, March 2009]

The key words to this year's L.A. Fashion Week were "City of L.A., Vintage and (yeah!)...Eco." CoLA FW, City of L.A. Fashion Week, set the bar with their Friday and Saturday night closing weekend shows at downtown's Lady Liberty Building.


Fashionista Scenesters at CoLA FW, Photo by Paige Donner

"CoLA is about encouraging and supporting this city's talent. Our desire is to set a standard of sophistication that will invite fashion moguls and originals back to the West Coast," said Dani Michelle, CoLA FW Founding Principle. Team CoLA, including Executive Producer Shannon Leggett, staged two nights of back to back runway shows - flawlessly. Their Brian Lichtenberg theatrics was, by fashionista decree, the epicenter of our city's Fashion Week this year. Other labels that walked the runway were Fremont, Eksempel, B. Son, Joyrich and COA (a secret show).


What set CoLA FW apart was that it was so seamlessly organized. We're talkin' "flow." The building's second floor was devoted to party space sponsored, in part by TyKu Asian Liquor. Runway shows were held exclusively on the 5th Floor of this loft space. The drama and theatre of the runway show collections were heightened by having their own devoted space. It was also clear that these were "industry events, not consumer events." Read more from Whatswear's N.Y. Editor, Joseph Ungoco, also in attendance. Some images from the collections:


Fremont collection, Photo by Paige Donner


Fremont designer Brittany Pham noted that her collection was "Depression Era - inspired." She went for basic classics that hold to them the nostalgia of Hollywood Glam.




 
 CoLA FW featured Designer, Brian Lichtenberg Collection, Photo by Paige Donner



 
Fremont collection by Brittany Pham, shown at CoLA FW, Photo by Paige Donner



 
CoLA FW, backstage with models, Photo by Paige Donner



 
Model and CoLA FW attendees, Photo by Paige Donner

Downtown L.A. Fashion Week's Vintage: Classy, Timeless and Eco



 
Rachel Griffiths, co-host of DLAFW, wearing Ferdinando Sarmi Vintage; according to Cameron Silver, co-host, it was the only vintage maternity dress in his Decades boutique. Photo by Paige Donner
"I'm enthusiastic about fashion week taking place at the epicenter of the city's garment district," said Cameron Silver, owner of Decades Inc., L.A.'s starring vintage fashion boutique, who was curator of Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week's show staged at the MOCA in downtown L.A.'s Little Tokyo.



 
Designer Louis Verdad, at MOCA Geffen Contemporary, showing his Louver Collection, Photo by Paige Donner


 
Panoramic view of DLAFW held at MOCA Contemporary Museum, Little Tokyo L.A., 
Photo by Paige Donner
 
Thursday's "Evening of 20th Century Glamour" happened by the graces and sheer creative innovation of museum's Vanessa Gonzales and her team of "crazy fun" accomplices, including forward thinking DLAFW Executive Producer Leanna Lewis of Leanna Lewis Events. Silver, co-host of the evening along with actress Rachel Griffiths, said that the Geffen Center at MOCA was an exciting venue to stage a runway show and sees L.A. as being the attractive fashion debut destination for both N.Y. and Pan-Asian designers.

"L.A. Fashion Week can really position itself well because everyone I want to dress is already here," added Silver, referencing some of the actors and celebs who showed up for the MOCA DLAFW event including Nicole Richie, Marisa Tomei, Rose McGowan and Nicki Hilton. "We need to import designers to L.A. rather than export our talent to N.Y.," said Silver.


Vintage designers shown on the runway included the show hit, "Iconic Mermaid Coctail Dress - Red," by Norell. This number "stopped the show" and garnered the model, Monique, applause from the crowd. Other dresses included: YSL, Valentino, Azzaro, Dior, Givenchy, Mugler and De La Renta.
DLAFW Founder, Lewis, feels that one of the most effective ways to be environmentally conscious is to re-use old(er) things. She also incorporated EcoNouveau into the DLAFW line up of event sponsors. She's a believer in putting L.A. on the fashion world's map. "I think there is a tremendous amount of talent in this city and it's my mission to expose it the right way, L.A. style. Fashion, art and music fused together. The success of the event last week is the beginning of the future of fashion here in LA and will initiate the credibility Los Angeles deserves."



 
Louver Collection '09, Featured at DFWLA at the MOCA Contemporary Museum, 
Photo by Paige Donner

Speculation by the crowd was that this year was "fashion freer." Freer in the sense that the corporate underwriting was no longer there [by Mercedes Benz, anyway] and that this therefore allowed the designers to "go a little crazy creatively" said some. Comparison of Louver's new collection with last year's reveals that he certainly showed a different side to his design spectrum. Co-host of DLAFW Cameron Silver commented that he has always been a huge fan of Louis Verdad and that "he was really the first designer to explore the 40's in a modern way. I was excited to see his collection on display at MOCA for the evening. He's a really, really talented designer."
Battalion showed at the Los Angeles Theater the first weekend of Fashion Week as part of BoxEight's Fashion Weekend. Its Native American themed collection had the crowd raving. This is an eco line that says Lights, Camera, Eco-Action...with Style! Battalion Collection PHOTOS of collection.


Lobby of Los Angeles Theater, National Historical Building, in Downtown L.A. where Eco-Line Battalion showed and also Society For Rational Dress along with Sahaaj, Photo by Paige Donner


L.A. Fashion Week attendees were enthusiastic about the downtown venues where the shows were held. A particular hit was the Los Angeles Theater where GenArt and BoxEight staged their shows. Theater's rich history includes that its grand opening was attended by Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein. Women loved the roomy bathrooms which feature marble floors and an ornate, gilded makeup room.
See LA Pretty for more Fashion Week L.A. coverage.



 
CoLA FW's Eksempel show, Photo by Paige Donner



 
GenArt's Society for Rational Dress, Photo by Paige Donner

Read MORE on The Green Blog Network   http://greenblognetwork.blogspot.com

And on  
http://greenblognetwork.wordpress.com

Greening Hollywood: L.A.'s Downtown Fashion

Age of Stupid Film Trailer

<p><a href="">Ed Miliband</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/ageofstupid">Age of Stupid</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Posted via email from greenblognetwork's posterous

Age of Stupid Film Trailer