heliumballoon

Satunesday

2009-11-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

Relator
Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson
The Break-Up

One of my favorites, Pete Yorn, has a new partner in Scarlett Johansson. Her throaty voice is a perfect accompaniment to Yorn's dreamy lyrics. Yorn envisioned this album to be a series of male-female duets inspired by the late-1960s recordings of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. The result is their new record, Break Up.

Listen to an interview with Pete and Scarlett here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-11-07T07:59:00.002-05:00

Happy 27th to the most wonderful friend in the world!

Is your cell phone green?

2009-11-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

The Top 500 Greenest

2009-11-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last month, Newsweek released its “inaugural” Top 500 Greenest companies in the United States.

Newsweek spent more than a year working with three environmental research firms to produce the list which grades companies on their Environmental Impact score, Green Policies score, and Reputation score, which were then used to compute an overall Green Score.

The Environmental Impact score is based on more than 700 metrics, including greenhouse gas emission, water use, and solid waste disposal.

The Policies score is based on the projects, initiatives, guidelines, and rules that a company has on paper.

And, the Reputation score is based on surveys from 808 experts inside and outside the U.S.

I must say, the list shocked me, I mean Hewlett-Packard and a number of other technology companies are in the top ten?? My first thought was, does this list take into account how large the company is and organize their data accordingly? And, after a little research I found out that the 500 companies included in Newsweek’s ranking are the largest U.S. companies as measured by revenue, market capitalization, and number of employees.

The list:

Hewlett-Packard Company
Dell Inc.
Johnson & Johnson
Intel Corporation
IBM
State Street Corporation
NIKE, Inc.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Applied Materials, Inc.
Starbucks Corporation

Several of these companies have made their mark when it comes to recycling and waste reduction. Last year, Nike introduced its Trash Talk shoe line made with recycled waste from factory floors. The company also offers a recycling program for old sneakers.

Dell partnered with Goodwill to collect and recycle electronics nationwide, while also monitoring the use of mercury in its newer models.

Meanwhile, Starbucks has been exploring the recyclability of its cups, and launched a recycling program in New York earlier this month.

Newsweek devoted 12 pages to the results of its report, packed with interviews with CEOs and corporate sustainability officers.

On the Newsweek Web site, you can also search companies by industry and size to compare green ratings. Very interesting stuff.

Valentina Ramos

2009-11-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

Graphic designer Valentina Ramos should fit into the "Quote Sunday's" category, but I thought she deserved a weekly post, too.

Her inspirational prints and drawings make me smile, plus, most of them will run you about $15 each!

Buy them at Etsy.

Here are a few of my favs-

The Gift of Green

2009-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Want to gift something good to your favorite runner this year? Here are a few options that will make many people smile:

$1.50 will cover the import tax on a pair of second hand running shoes sent to Kenya

$5 buys 3 gallons of bleach to wash 300 pairs of shoes

$10 gets a package of socks for members of a local high school cross country team

$50 buys one box of basic equipment for Girls on the Run Coaches

$110 gives six months of education for a child at Martin Lel Secondary School in Kenya

$500 helps starts a scholarship fund for student athletes at your local high school

$1,000 will cover registration, travel, and hotel costs for one amputee athlete to compete in the NYC Marathon as part of the Achilles Track Club's Freedom of Wounded Veterans Program.

$2,100 covers one year of housing, education and employment assistance for one member of the Back on My Feet running program.

$3,500 will fund the cost of a hand-cycle wheelchair for an athlete and get your name on a plaque on the back of a chair.

The Onion Cracks Me Up!

2009-11-02T17:38:00.001-05:00

China Celebrates Its Status As World’s Number One Air Polluter

You can have your own FLW

2009-11-02T08:00:00.006-05:00

Frank Llyod Wright be stills my beating heart. And now, it's just about stopped.

Thanks to Design Within Reach, we have the first FLW inspired furniture collection.

Drool.

Wright believed that the interior furnishings of a home should be visually unified with the surrounding architecture, and since he was preoccupied with geometric forms and intersecting planes, he got to creating furniture in a similar style.

I can't wait to have my own place (and tens of thousand of dollars) to spend on his furniture!

Fall Back

2009-11-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

Don't forget!

Daylight-savings time comes to an end this Sunday, November 1st at 2AM and we all get an extra hour of SLEEP!

Read some history and facts here!

Quote Sundays

2009-11-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

-Buddha

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Thriller (Remastered) @ Yahoo! Video

Energy Savers for the Home

2009-10-30T08:00:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Real Simple- here are some quick energy savers for your home.

Laundry:

Line-dry clothes whenever possible. An average household does seven loads of laundry a week; a dryer load costs about 34 cents in energy. So, according to these figures from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), if you line-dry all your laundry, you could save $10 or so a month, depending on where you live.

Electronics:

Unplug items like TVs and chargers for cell phones and PDAs (which draw small amounts of energy 24-7) when you’re not using them. Studies by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory show that standby power accounts for 5 to 10 percent of home energy use, so unplugging can cut that amount from your bill. (Consolidate several standby plugs on a power strip.)

Air Vents:

Moving furniture and drapes away from vents may amount to only $20 or so in annual savings, says Charlie Szoradi, founder of Greenandsave.com, a home-efficiency consultancy in Philadelphia. “But improving airflow,” he adds, “makes incremental improvements to the whole heating and cooling system.”

Computer:

Set yours to enter sleep mode after 30 to 60 minutes of inactivity and your monitor after 10 to 20 minutes, suggests Bruce Nordman of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Most computers less than five years old use about 95 percent less power in sleep mode than when they are on, he says. Should you shut down at night? The savings versus using sleep mode is minuscule, says Nordman.

Water Heater:

Lowering the setting from the usual 140 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 (the minimum to guard against bacterial growth) is sufficient and safer, as 140 can scald. And for every 10 degrees the temperature is lowered, you save 3 to 5 percent in energy costs, says Lynn Clement of Focus on Energy, a Wisconsin efficiency programmer.

Forbes interviews

2009-10-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

With the world population headed toward 9 billion by 2050, Texas author James McWilliams wants more genetically modified food and more subsidies to feed people.

In his new book, Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, McWilliams challenges conventional eating mores and cuts through what he believes to be layers of myth and misinformation.

He writes that an imported tomato is more energy-efficient than a local greenhouse-grown tomato. And farm-raised freshwater fish may soon be the most sustainable source of protein.

McWilliams encourages us to ask where our food comes from and how it's produced.

He agrees that in the 21st century, "we face a genuine agricultural dilemma, and that is to produce more healthy food on less land with fewer resources. I see the locavore response just as one response, and in the grand scheme of things it's a fairly small response.

When we look at how a crop is grown or how a certain food is produced, transportation is really a small amount of energy used to produce that particular food. It's about 10%, according to several studies. What that means is the energy sink is elsewhere, how that particular crop is produced."

I am certainly not saying that I agree, but it's an interesting perspective.

Read more of his interview with Forbes here.

Botany of Desire

2009-10-28T08:00:00.006-04:00

Trailer
Botany of Desire

This is a "Do not Miss." Tomorrow night, Oct. 28, 8PM catch an eye-opening exploration of the human-plant relationship with one of Helium Balloons favs, author Michael Pollan.

This PBS special takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants' point of view. The program shows how four familiar species from his book (the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato) evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control.

Read more here.

Frank Llyod Wright in New England!!!

2009-10-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ahh Fall. The leaves are changing, pumpkin flavors everything and there is a smell of autumn in the air. What a perfect time of year to head to Boston and take in some fall foliage along the way!

And, thanks to Apartment Therapy, I discovered the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in New England (that is open to the public.) The Zimmerman house in Manchester, New Hampshire, was donated in full, complete with furniture, dishes, clothing and toiletries to the Currier Museum of Art by Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman.

Photos were not allowed inside the house, but here are a few from the website: Wright designed the house in 1950, along with the interiors, built-in and free standing furnishings, textiles, mailbox, dishware and gardens. The average home at that time cost about $12,000, but this house ran the Zimmerman's $60,000. They lived in it for 36 years.

My photos:

The entire house was built with symmetry in mind. The tiles on the floor were 4x4 these concrete slabs that act as a ribbon around the house are 2x2 and the windows are 1x1. Wright was a master of proportion and balance, often to a fault.

It was raining pretty hard that day, as you can see, but you can also see the underside of the roof. The long linear patterns in the wood run through out the entire house and help give the illusion of a larger space (the house was a 2 bedroom.)

The house, as most of Wrights masterpieces, was built into the land, as you can see above. It helped keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

It was a true representation of one of Wright's later works. And I think that my friends were truly shocked by his controlling architectural style. Wright dictates what furniture you use and where it goes, he must approve the dishes you use and the placement of books, artifacts and plants. He even disallowed the placement of art on the walls, stating "You don't hang art on art."

With every home I see, I realize how much of a genius Wright truly was. But would I want one of his homes, not sure... but I can definitely take elements of his style and incorporate it into my own!

Home

2009-10-26T08:00:00.005-04:00

I know you have nothing to do for the next hour and a half, so watch this movie. It will change the way you think.

It is a beautiful video showcasing our planet, and what we have done to deplete our natural resources. The narrator says "scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live and avert the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate."

Here are some things I've learned:

"Over 30,000 skyscrapers have been built in the past 20 years."
"Inhabitants of Las Vegas are the biggest uses of water on the planet."
"In the last century, half of the worlds marshes were drained."
"By 2050 a quarter of the Earths' species could be threatened with extinction."
"40% of our worlds coral reefs have disappeared. They are an essential link in the chain of species.

"We have shaped the Earth in our image. We have very little time to change."
Watch it.

Quote Sundays

2009-10-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.

- Jane Goodall, anthropologist

Satunesday

2009-10-24T08:00:00.003-04:00

For their latest mission, Improv Everywhere installed a photography studio on a random subway car. They claimed that the MTA had hired them to take photos of every single person who rides the subway and at the end of the year would produce a yearbook. Hilarity ensued!

Improv Everywhere

350

2009-10-23T08:00:00.003-04:00

The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.

But, solutions exist!

Starting tomorrow, the movement begins. 350.org is taking on the climate crisis and will get this planet out of the danger zone and below 350.

350.org's Mission: "Our first job is to make sure everyone knows the target so that our political leaders feel real pressure to act. Reaching 350 ppm will require unprecedented international cooperation. The United Nations is negotiating a treaty that could put the world on a course to solve the climate crisis, but the current plans for the treaty are much too weak to get us back to safety. 350.org will bring millions of new voices to the table, united by our common call to action. Together, we will redefine the possible and rally the world behind the solutions that science and justice demand."

Join today.

Sustainability

2009-10-22T08:00:00.003-04:00

Below are the Top 5 books on my "to-read" list. They were written by authors who were devoted to conserving our Earth's resources, even before it was "hip" or before it became necessary. If we had taken some of the advice on these pages, maybe we wouldn't be in the climate predicament that we are in, now.

Walden
by Henry David Thoreau, 1854
Purchase Here

"Walden" is the classic account of two years Thoreau spent living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. The story details Thoreau's day-to-day activities, observations, and undertakings to survive out in the wilderness for two years. Thoreau's journal is an exquisite account of a man seeking a more simple life by living in harmony with nature. Perfect for finding peace in a fast paced modern world.

A Sand County Almanac
by Aldo Leopold, 1949
Purchase Here

This widely cited as one of the most influential nature books ever published. Writing from the vantage of his summer shack along the banks of the Wisconsin River, Leopold mixes essay, polemic, and memoir in his book's pages. Much of the Almanac elaborates on the premise of balance between human and nature, as well as on Leopold's view that it is something of a human duty to preserve as much wild land as possible.

Silent Spring
by Rachel Carson, 1962
Purchase Here

Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death.

Limits to Growth
by Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and Dennis L. Meadows, 1972
Purchase Here

This book offers a pessimistic view of the natural resources available for the world's population. Using extensive computer models based on population, food production, pollution and other data, the authors demonstrate why the world is in a potentially dangerous "overshoot" situation. Put simply, overshoot means people have been steadily using up more of the Earth's resources without replenishing its supplies. The consequences, according to the authors, may be catastrophic.

The Ecology of Commerce
by Paul Hawken, 1994
Purchase Here

Paul Hawken, (Smith & Hawken), is no ordinary capitalist. Drawing as much on Baba Ram Dass and Vaclav Havel as he does on Peter Drucker and WalMart for his case studies, Hawken is on a one-man crusade to reform our economic system by demanding that First World businesses reduce their consumption of energy and resources by 80 percent in the next 50 years. He proposes a culture of business in which the real world, the natural world, is allowed to flourish as well, and in which the planet's needs are addressed.

Check out more here.

Minard Farms

2009-10-21T08:00:00.005-04:00

Are you looking for a good place to go apple picking this season? Well, I've got you covered.

Located just 75 miles north of NYC, Minard Farms has over 100 acres of beautiful ripe apples. When we visited, the Empire, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Rome and Fuji were available to pick.

Also, stop by the farm market for fresh apple dumplings, apple cider donuts, apple cider, homemade pies, homemade jam, jellies & fruit butters, local honey, NY cheeses, NY maple syrup, homemade soap and my favorite, roasted corn on the cob.

Check out the other amazing Fall photos that Huck's eye captured.... 'tis a lovely season.

Portland Rocks, Park Deux

2009-10-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

I've professed my love for Miss Snippet's hometown before, and even once dreamed of moving there, but now, I will just write about our countries greenest city; Portland, Oregon.

What makes Portland America’s greenest city? Could it be the solar-powered parking meters? Or, that way back in 1993, it was the first city to try to curb greenhouse gases. And today, the city boasts the most LEED certified buildings per capita.

Plus, Oregonians just think differently than the rest of us; they recycle 54% of their waste and office workers are encouraged to compost scraps.

Portland boasts 226 miles of bike lanes and has been named the number-one city for cyclists. Many roads have a designated bike lane and sometimes a blocked-off box for bikes to pull in front of cars at stop lights.

Portland offers an excellent array of sustainable transportation options. The city is covered by a comprehensive public transportation network of buses, streetcars and light rail. A lot of routes extend to the ring of suburbs around the city itself. Transit is convenient and buses run frequently. You can also call the number for the transit authority, punch in the number of the bus stop which is prominently displayed with the schedule at each stop, and an automated voice will tell you when the bus will arrive based on its location and speed which are tracked by GPS. It’s also affordable - a $2.00 ticket for 1-2 zones is good for three hours for buses or the light rail.

Finally, Locavorism is big there. The New York Times wrote about Portland’s dining scene last year in an article that highlighted the city’s tendency to eat local. The NYT wrote that nearly every notable Portland chef lives by the “the gospel of locally grown ingredients.”

Portland truly deserves this title. Now I want to go back...

Henry millers theater

2009-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Henry Miller’s Theater is not only the first Broadway house to be reconstructed in 20 years, but, it is the FIRST green theater to meet the environmental standards of the United States Green Building Council.

Recycled materials were used in the wall panels and baseboard of the 50,000-square-foot theater; waterless urinals are used in the men’s washroom to reduce consumption of potable water; and local materials were used in the marble flooring and countertops, among other touches. The theater also has a spacious women’s restroom with 22 stalls, (three times the number required by code). And all of this is built behind the preserved neo-Georgian facade of the original 1918 theater.

The 1,055 seat theater is set to reopen in September with Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of the musical “Bye Bye Birdie.” Previews start Sept. 10 and opening night is scheduled for Oct. 15. The production is to star John Stamos, Bill Irwin and Gina Gershon.

Quote Sundays

2009-10-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.

-Bobby Unser, race car driver

Satunesday

2009-10-17T08:00:00.003-04:00

Empire State of Mind

Jay-Z, LIVE at the VMA's