Archive for November, 2009
Tips for the Green Business Networker
November 30th, 2009 | 
Author: 
Based on a recent exchange I had with a Facebook friend collector, I felt compelled to write about networking and what works--and what does not. A couple weeks ago, someone from a Facebook group to which I belong asked to be a "friend," sending this message: "Hi, I'm also a member of the Green Business Innovators group - would love to connect!" After politely telling her I keep my Facebook and LinkedIn separate, suggested that she find me on LinkedIn, and offered to chat on the phone to see how I could help her, I received this response: "No problem."
And then . . . I got this message from her a couple weeks later:
"Hi, I'm also a member of the Green Business Innovators group - would love to connect!".
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A Nutty Ban
It's Black Friday, which we celebrated 5 years ago by visiting Rio de Janeiro for a couple weeks. Rio is one of the world's most unique and beautiful cities for countless reasons. Incredible beaches lace the city; good food is abundant for all budgets; and the city seems stuck in 1960, with abundant mid-century and retro architecture that other cites would have demolished years ago. My mood today is black because one of Rio's simple pleasures may soon disappear: sipping fresh coconuts on one of Rio's beaches--soon to be banned.
Posted in International, air - land - quality of life, food and consumer products | 
Tags: Brazil, coconut ban, coconuts, composting, garbage, Olympics, recycling, Rio de Janeiro, World Cup | 
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The Definitive Holiday Eco-Viewing Guide
Happy Thanksgiving! It's the start of a month of holiday merriment and madness, so enjoy! I offer no lecturing about that antibiotic ridden turkey, the BPA hiding in the lacquer that makes the gourds in your table centerpiece shimmer, nor the evils of excess packaging. Today I encourage you to watch the following classic holiday specials that also impart timeless messages about sustainability.
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Posted in International, art and culture |
Tags: Absolutely Fabulous, Clueless, holiday tips, Keeping Up Appearances, South Park, Ugly Betty |
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The Perfect Combination
Tonight I went to a dinner in Santa Monica hosted by a consultant who graciously thanked those who had worked with her over the past year. The dinner was fantastic, but most indulgent yet guilt-free were her gifts to us, and I have to share these products with you. I think she read our minds, because the gifts involved two things that go so well together, but often are not the most sustainable goodies: coffee and chocolate. What we received tonight was sublime.
Posted in food and consumer products |
Tags: Compartes, Decor Craft Inc., eco-cup, Jonathan Grahm |
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Treating your Dog
It’s Thanksgiving on Thursday, which makes for a light week. Well, light as in news. Not in food. But something has to be light, so it will be GreenGoPost's tone for the week. Today I thought I’d talk about dog treats and how you can make your little fella happier during the holiday season—as well as at any time of year. (more...)
Posted in food and consumer products |
Tags: Avoderm, Breeder's Choice, Cloud Star, dog treats, pets |
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Paris: A Perfect Storm
With all the fretting Los Angeles civic leaders and residents have about our city's water supply, we could take a look at Mulholland Drive, and then nine time zones away to see what's going on in Paris. Los Angeles has a dry climate--but on average the city receives about 15 inches of water a year--not enough to water everyone's lawns and support non-native palm trees, but plenty to justify the investment in better storm water trapping and storage infrastructure.
Posted in International, water |
Tags: France, grey water, Los Angeles, Paris, rainwater harvesting, TreePeople |
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The Hanging Gardens of . . .
Yerevan.
Yes, that's right. The New York times just covered the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. This US$40 million art center sits on top of the Cascade, an ostentatious yet delightful structure that sums up Armenia. As true with any nationality, being part Armenian, I had to visit the ancestral homeland, so I've done so, twice. And that was enough. But one of the best features about Yerevan is the Cascade: a decadent, grandiose temple mixing Soviet chic with Art Deco ornaments--and it works!
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Posted in International, art and culture, construction and architecture |
Tags: architecture, Armenia, Cafesjian Center, Cascade, Yerevan |
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One More Week Until T-Day!
It's that time of year again: the season for excess and debauchery, and hopefully, quality time with friends and family. I am not going to preach any holiday tips, nor have I looked at any "green" web sites, because I can only imagine the wrist slapping over all these not-so-sustainable practices. What I will do is discuss what we do during the holidays--sustainable yet sensible, of course--and we'll have some fun while we're at it. (more...)
Posted in food and consumer products |
Tags: holiday tips, Los Angeles, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, organic, Thanksgiving |
1 Comment »
Bring Back the Dollar Days
One of the ugly consequences of America’s foreclosure crisis is the abandoned homes that are scarring our cities. Once proud cities like Cleveland and Detroit, which in the past symbolized America’s industrial might, are turning into ghost towns, their neighborhoods barren and houses boarded up. Cleveland and Detroit reached their peak in the 1950s, when their populations were over 900,000 and 1.8 million, respectively—now they have half the people. There no quick fixes, but perhaps these cities can learn from a project my former adopted hometown, Baltimore, undertook thirty years ago: the dollar homes. (more...)
Posted in construction and architecture, politics |
Tags: Baltimore, Barbara Mikulski, dollar homes, Federal Hill, Fell's Point, green building, Maryland, Otterbein |
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FrankenYum
One thing you can say about the green movement is that in some ways, it has matured. Take the case of Stuart Brand, to some the patriarch of the environmental movement. Forty years ago, Brand, the author of the classic Whole Earth Catalog, preached we had to leave the cities and live off of the land. Well, now he’s back in the city, and there’s an understanding that high-density housing is better than scarring the earth with McMansions and big box stores. Big cities also have jobs . . . and while we don’t want to live in a slum, those slums house former peasants who are seeking a better life, better than the one of subsistence farming that also ruins the land. (more...)
Posted in International, food and consumer products, politics |
Tags: farming, genetically modified foods, Stewart Brand, World Food Summit |
1 Comment »
Dig West, Young Man!
It's Sunday afternoon, and after walking up and down Sunset Boulevard taking care of some errands, I'm sitting in our backyard with the view of Century City and the Wilshire Corridor in the far distance. I've grown to love that stretch of Wilshire, starting with the former Bullock's department store (now Southwestern Law School), slicing through Koreatown, the Miracle Mile, LACMA (LA's art museum), and finally posh Beverly Hills . . .continuing on to Westwood and Santa Monica. Wilshire Boulevard defines Los Angeles. If only I didn't have to drive there, but Henry Waxman and his fellow limousine liberal constituents delayed any planning for twenty-plus years, only to see traffic in their neighborhoods . . . get worse! (more...)
Posted in politics, transportation |
Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, Henry Waxman, LA Metro, Los Angeles, public transportation, Purple Line |
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A Devil of a Time With EU Mandates
What do you do when you're new to the EU and face that 20% renewables target by 2020? Ask Kaunas, Lithuania's second largest city and the country's largest logistics and economic hub. Home to 350,000 people--10% of whom are students--Kaunas faces difficult choices in the next several years as Lithuania struggles to meet EU regulations. (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: biofuels, clean energy, Gazprom, geothermal, Kaunas, Lithuania |
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A Hangar of Milk and Honey
The Baltic tour continues to Latvia and its capital, Riga, where local products are on display on a grand scale. Spending time in Riga--once known as the Paris of the East--and missing the Riga Central Market would be a huge sin. After visiting this gem, your local farmers' market would feel as exciting as buying vegetables from your supermarket's clearance bin. Latvia's pulse is on display at the Market, which has been operation since 1909. If you're a foodie, you'll find paradise here. (more...)
Posted in International, food and consumer products |
Tags: farming, Latvia, organic, Riga, Riga Central Market |
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An Alternative Fuel Recipe in Korea
It looks like today's DME Wednesday. I just profiled BC's Blue Fuel Energy, and came across an announcement from Korea's natural gas monopoly, Korea Gas Corp (Kogas), stating that the company is investing US$338 million into a plant that will produce cooking fuel from DME. Long range plans call for Kogas to develop DME for auto fuel, but Kogas' investment takes DME back to its roots: a clean, cost-effective form as cooking fuel. (more...)
Posted in International, energy, food and consumer products |
Tags: clean energy, dimethyl ether, DME, Korea, Korea Gas Corp |
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A Tinge of Blue
This site is a huge fan of dimethyl ether, or DME, and with all the fuss over solar, wind, and even algae, DME is one option often overlooked. It's clean burning and has applications from cooking fuel to running buses and trucks. Renewable energy advocates often overlook DME, a by-product of natural gas production, coal extraction, and biomass production. While the feedstocks necessary are ubiquitous, DME often is not, except in China. One company in British Columbia, however, has ambitious plans to market DME, and will be a company to watch for the next several years. (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: Blue Fuel Energy, British Columbia, Canada, clean energy, dimethyl ether, DME |
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