Summer Rayne Oakes · Eco-Chick

Browsing all posts by Summer Rayne Oakes

Summer Rayne Oakes is a green model, activist and the official spokesperson for Discovery Channel's Planet Green.

http://summerrayne.net

This author has contributed 90 posts.

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How I Wear Eco Fashion: Model Citizen Summer Rayne Oakes Rocks the Uniform Project

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03/29/11

Over the past month I’ve been taking on the Uniform Project challenge and helping raise money for Charity: Water through the kindness of the community’s readers. It’s been exciting because we’ve already raised enough money to build 1 1/2 wells and hope that we can hit our $10K mark over the next couple days to build two wells.

It’s been tremendous fun as it’s allowed me to maximize the creativity of my wardrobe. And it’s been great to share with the readers my personal style and also invite them in as a “guest” by giving them a 31-day snapshot into my personal-professional life. As I mentioned in previous post, they have seen the “whimsy and wunderkammerness of my little abode. Brightly painted walls…tendrils of ivy and philodendrons…terrariums of exotic insects…and a collection of honeys, tea, bibelots, and collectible from all corners of the globe.”

Not to mention the breadth of the programs I’ve been lovingly laboring over – from Source4Style to the environmental film I’m working on in memory of my greatest mentor and long-time friend, Tom Eisner.
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eco fashion, Fashion, model, NYC, reuse

21 New Additions to the Family!

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08/04/08

Do you remember the article on my bug fetish, “What’s Bugging Summer Rayne,” I wrote years ago for SASS Magazine, as per Sean’s request?

Well, I just got a whole new troupe of arthropods in today, which is cause for great excitement. My friend, Jake and I were preparing the terrariums all weekend. There were a few mishaps along the way. Jake fell off the ladder while hanging up some plants and put a foot straight through one of the glass cases. He cut himself up pretty badly and we had to go get peroxide and bandages because he was a bleeder. Right after that, we had to go back to the pet store to get another terrarium.

Then this morning, UPS never delivered the blasted insect package because the plane had been delayed. Finally, UPS came back, but only on a whim because the shipper misspelled my street name. Thank goodness they found me–otherwise I would have had a box of fried cockroaches!

Right now I have two terrariums: Forest terrain and desert terrain–to accommodate the different habitat preferences of the species. I’m in agreement with Jake: The desert terrain is pretty damn sweet. I have a number of succulents and a coconut hut, the latter which has been the hotbed of insect activity. I think the Madagascar hissing cockroach (who is more suitable in the forest terrain, but had to separate him from the female roaches for obvious reasons) is shacking up right now with a desert millipede in the hut. That inspires me to actually create a new terrarium with little coconut huts with signs like, “The Roach Motel,” “The Bug Bar,” “Centipede Shoe Shine”….you know, the usual hang-out joints for beasts like these.

I have a lot of new insects that I haven’t raised before, like the red-backed darkling beetles and common darkling beetles. I was actually surprised that they do headstands as a defensive mechanism, which is pretty cool. They’re related to the blue death-feigning beetles, (which I have raised before), and who actually roll over and play dead. Well, at least I know they are pretty agile–maybe I should start a coconut hut-gymnasium.

Another newcomer is the absolutely stunning show-stopper of a bug: A female Hercules beetle. She has not removed herself from the organic banana and kiwi slices, but graciously shares them with the Black African millipedes (my favorite) and the red-backed darklings. This will provide endless hours of enjoyment for me…Just wait until I start walking them in Bryant Park… ;o)

A female blue death-feigning beetle on a succulent

Check out more from eco model Summer Rayne on her blog.

insects, pets, terrariums, urban insects

Pull up a Green Armchair and hit this book

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05/30/07

You want to know what the latest green companies have up their sleeves? Well, there are two ways you can answer that question: Tune into Josh Dorfman’s radio show on Sirius Satellite Network, The Lazy Environmentalist OR pick up the book with the same cushy green title. Josh highlights the companies and brands that are offering up the latest green products and services in the same fun-loving approach The Dorfman has to life. And yes, ladies, word on the street is that Josh is single, loves to take long showers and has all the latest green gadgetry and gizmos…

Check out where Josh will be and be sure to let him know what you’re up to. After all, he’s always cool hunting for the next green thing.

book, Dorfman, farm, Hair

Gamers Face Global Climate Change, Flooding

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04/18/07

I had the pleasure of meeting David de Rothschild, National Geographic Society emerging explorer – and founder of Adventure Ecology – on a recent shoot for Outside Magazine. David uses his adventurous treks across the globe to teach audiences about global warming. In January 2005, he completed a trek across Antarctica via the South Pole, and five months later set a speed record for crossing the Greenland ice cap (or what still exists of it). Check out Mission 1 profiled here.

His aim with his work and with Adventure Ecology is to use the romance of adventure, and the power of the Internet, to unite the world’s schoolchildren in the fight against global warming and environmental degradation.

Most recently in the game, Second Life, David staged a global warming flood – that took over London, the Netherlands, Ibiza and Tokyo.

“Our message was, You may have a second life, but [you still need to] offset your second life in real life,” said David de Rothschild, a London-based environmentalist and adventurer whose nonprofit Adventure Ecology helped stage today’s flood.

Over 5.2 million people live online in the second life and David felt it was the perfect way to reach out to a wide audience. Read more via National Geographic.

from itsgettinghotinhere.org

arctic, children, climate change, farm, flooding, Global Warming, London, magazine, News, spa, Tea

30×30 says Bloomberg

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04/18/07

On Sunday, April 22nd, New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg will announce PlaNYC 2030 – one of the more advanced 25-year climate action plans put forth to date. After six months of work, the NYC team put together a plan that will reduce the city’s total emissions 30 percent by 2030. Earlier this week, Bloomberg’s office released a study that shows that NYC contributes 1% of the nation’s greenhouse gases.

The team at itsgettinghotinhere.org urge you to write Bloomberg and other city mayor’s to support this progressive initiative. The mayor is set to announce the comprehensive plan on Sunday at 1:00 PM. The plan and the mayor’s speech will be available on the PlaNYC website and will address: