INSPIRED BY THE SEA

Photo of a waterfall found deep in the sea.

An incredible deep water photo by extreme diver Norbert Wus.  This was taken in the Antartic underworld.

Another beautiful shot by Norbert Wu.  If you've dove in waters with similar beauty, you can not deny the horror felt by myself and so many others about the oil spill in the Gulf.  I heard an amazing interview on NPR today and one caller asked an important question.  What do we do if we are 2 and 3 thousand miles away? The answer is this.  We stop using plastic.  Plastic = oil. We drive energy efficient cars and carpool and drive less. This is a wake up call.  And I'm listening.

The two above pictures, diving with my sister, Jill, in Caye Caulker Belize.

Lance Armstrong Foundation: A Beautiful Workplace and LEED Certified Too

Just reading Architectural Digest and excited to see that the Lance Armstrong Foundation's new headquartners are LEED Certified and fully on board as a green workplace.  95% of the renovation wastes went back into the build out.  The work environment encourages commuting with showers in place ... it's an open work environment with remnants of its history in a modern environment.

KITCHEN RECYCLING: IT'S A GOOD THING

 

Today is a great day.  I recycled a kitchen with Green Demolitions, a nonprofit organization that supports the outreach programs of all Addicts Anonymous programs.  They then sell the items in their retail stores.  The owner receives tax paperwork upon the sale.  We recycled the cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, and appliances. They, a crew of about 6 people, came early, took out the cabinetry and fixtures in an hour and left the space clean and ready for the next crew.  We had a dishwasher line that was leaking, they resolved the problem immediately as they had the skills to solve the issue and the right tools and supplies on hand to repair it.  I can not say enough how gracious each and every one of them were to me and the owner. We kept saying, "this is incredible ... they are so nice, they are so clean."  Thank you, Green Demolitions for a wonderful day, for the phenomenal customer service, and professional team, who obviously has bright futures ahead of them (Steve Feldman, you've got a good thing going ... thank you).

It is an amazing feeling to donate to such a worthy cause ... that our renovation demo materials are not headed towards the landfill (at least not the bulk of them).  If you are approaching a kitchen renovation, please check into this.  A quick call and then a quick site visit can set the ball in motion.

To contact Green Demoltions:

Call (888) 887-5211

http://www.greendemolitions.org/

TAKE THE CLINTON CLIMATE QUIZ AND SEND SOLAR FLASHLIGHTS TO HAITI

Take the Clinton Foundation quiz and $2 will be donated towards sending 20,000 solar flashlights to the people in camps in Haiti.  The foundation is asking for 100,000 participants to make this happen, so please forward this to your friends and associates.  There are 10 questions with follow up answers as well as additional information to stay informed, participate in a local event and online forum if interested.  I learned that one of the initiatives is to make the Empire State Building more energy efficient which will result in a $4.4 million dollar savings per year.  This is a simple act that one can take today to become more informed and active and put a solar flashlight in someone's hands who really needs one.

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/earthday/quiz.php?gclid=CLal5Zmoi6ECFcN05Qod4SWvNg

Green Online Retail Resources

Next time, when shopping for wooden hangers, choose bamboo.  Who wants the horrible plastic ones, anyway, and this time it is an eco, sustainable choice.

http://www.priscillawoolworth.com/Bamboo-Hanger-p/bh188.htm

http://www.priscillawoolworth.com/