Bound & Gagged: Global Warming Silence
Jim Hansen, the leading climate scientist in the world, reported on 60 Minutes on 19 March 2006 regarding the cover-up of the science behind global warming under the Bush administration (also reported on the 29 January 2006 in the NY Times). We all knew this, of course, but what truly…
Rural Tourism in Catalonia– Not Quite There Yet
Being such a slave to metropolises, I rarely consider entertaining the idea of any type of rural tourism. In fact, I know little about anything rural. According to Planeta.com, an online global journal of practical ecotourism, rural tourism can be defined as a type of travel that “allows travelers to…
Karma’s Gonna Get You
Since Bush has decided that America is addicted to oil (hmmm…wonder where he got that idea?) his administration is considering a requirement that some of the biggest SUVs meet fuel economy standards for the first time. According to NPR, “Vehicles weighing between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds have been exempt from…
Cute and Smart, Just What I'm Looking for — In a Car
Yay!! Smart Cars are
Wearing those knees thin in your favorite jeans?
They are our favorite jeans for a reason. They may make our butt look good (a definite pre-requisite for buying them in the first place); they elongate our legs (good for petite women); they just…fit (thank god for a little lycra); or, they’ve been with you since college, bringing home…
Denim Revolution: Organic + Ohhh-My-Butt- Looks-So- Good Jeans
That’s what it is about girls, right? Jeans that make our asses look good while being good to the planet…It’s also nice to see that responsbile denim companies using organic cotton, less toxic to non-toxic dyes, and fair trade standards are popping up all around the globe. In my many…
A Little "C'mon I Wanna Laia"
I live my life on the turn of a dime. Honestly, I do. Most of the time I decide what to do that day, that day. The spice of life for me is spontaneity. I live it all the time. I don’t think we, as a society, do enough of…
To Buy or Not to Buy?
Two years ago I had the pleasure of attending the American Institute of Graphic Artists’ (AIGA) 2004 Gain Conference in New York. Although the bulk of the conference included motivational speech about a designer’s social and environmental responsiblity, one speaker—Christopher Hacker, the then creative & marketing director of Aveda jumped…
What's Your Footprint?
I just learned that if everyone on the planet lived as I do, it would take 4.2 Earths to provide for them. Meaning: I take up three times as much resources as I should. And that’s with keeping my house at 60 degrees all winter, driving minimally in an efficient car, and being a…
Buying Something you Truly Value
(as told in the March 19, 2006 issue of NY Times Magazine from “Consumed” by Rob Walker) A few years ago, Dwayne Ball went to buy a gift for a friend who had cancer; Ball was looking for something meaningful. He chose a teapot from…Ten Thousand Villages T. It was…