Love Angeles Magazine®

Earth, Wind and Wire: Going Beyond Solar Panels

Source: LA Times - Here's a look at three technologies that California residents are using to cut their energy bills and turn their homes into clean mini-power plants.

Not long ago, people who wanted to generate their own green energy at home had to content themselves with rooftop solar panels.

But new technologies -- and hefty government subsidies -- are now allowing homeowners to tap the wind, the Earth and other renewable sources in their own backyards.

Call it the green evolution.

The cost of heating and cooling with fossil fuels has nowhere to go but up, thanks to rising global demand and increased regulation of carbon emissions. Turning one's home into a clean mini-power plant is getting cheaper and easier all the time.

Here's a look at three technologies that some California residents are using now to cut utility costs while turning their homes into truly green houses.

Small wind

Californians driving along gusty interstates near such places as Palm Springs are accustomed to seeing commercial wind farms, where turbines as tall as buildings spin lazily against a blue sky.

These days, a modest but growing number of people are using a downsized version of that technology inside their own fence lines.

Roughly 10,500 small turbines were sold to homes, farms and businesses nationwide in 2008, according to the American Wind Energy Assn. Though 2009 figures aren't yet available, demand last year remained strong despite the recession, said Elizabeth Salerno, the association's director of data and analysis. A survey of small-turbine manufacturers has projected a thirtyfold increase in the U.S. market by 2013.

Locally, some of the growth comes from companies eager to lower their electricity costs. In Palmdale, for instance, city officials are allowing businesses to install wind turbines up to 60 feet high. Among them is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has a 17-turbine project planned for its Sam's Club store in Palmdale.

But interest is also surging among people such as Ernest Ramirez. He and his wife live in Oak Hills, an unincorporated, blustery section of western San Bernardino County dotted with spacious homes on multi-acre lots. The couple weren't looking to install a wind turbine. Their 3,250-square-foot home, which they purchased in 2003, just happened to come with one.

Ramirez can't imagine life without it now.

Perched on a slender tower about 80 feet high, the 10-kilowatt turbine has three 10-foot-long blades that whip often enough to keep his power bills from Southern California Edison at about $100 a month -- roughly a quarter of what he calculates he'd fork out otherwise.

Gusts are so fierce in this part of the Cajon Pass that they have been known to snap trees and jackknife semi-trucks. But Ramirez welcomes a bad hair day.

"When I get out of my car and it's blowing 35 mph and I have to stay inside the house, at least I know I'm saving money," said the 46-year-old grant writer. "Wind is such a precious resource."

Ramirez said he could count seven neighbors with their own wind turbines. Still, what works in windblown, rural San Bernardino County won't necessarily fit everywhere.

For a turbine to make economic sense, the AWEA said, a homeowner considering one should live in an area where 10-mph winds are frequent and be paying at least 10 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity. Permitting is also a challenge in many communities; some neighbors consider the spinning contraptions ugly.

The technology certainly isn't cheap, running about $3,000 to $6,000 per kilowatt installed, or about $40,000 for a system large enough to power a typical home, according to the AWEA.

Subsidies are helping to soften some of that sticker shock. Homeowners can get a hefty rebate from the state of California -- up to $12,500. They're also eligible for a 30% investment tax credit from the federal government. Continue reading on here.

Plug-in Hybrid School Bus...Alright!!!

Source: LA Times - Ventura gets first plug-in hybrid electric school bus in Southern California. The Ventura Unified School District will put the $200,000, state-of-the-art bus into service this week. It's expected to achieve 30% better fuel economy than a conventional bus.

Major automakers are readying a wave of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles for consumers, but one local school district is already taking advantage of the technology.

The Ventura Unified School District unveiled a $200,000, state-of-the-art, plug-in hybrid electric school bus Tuesday, the first in Southern California. The bus will start hauling students this week and replaces a polluting, 1977 model.

The bus, built by the IC Bus subsidiary of Navistar Inc., is powered by a lithium ion battery pack and is expected to improve fuel economy up to 30% and reduce emissions up to 40% over a conventional gasoline-powered school bus.

Michael Chiacos, transportation specialist with the Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara, believes the bus will do even better, improving fuel economy more than 60% compared with a traditional school bus.

"The bus reflects our commitment to being a green school district as we ensure safe and healthy learning environments for our students," said Trudy T. Arriaga, superintendent of Ventura Unified School District. The district "is on the cutting edge of providing safe, healthy and environmentally sound transportation to our students."

The bus comes to the district through a nationwide initiative called the Plug-In Hybrid Electric School Bus Project. The Community Environmental Council applied for funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.

"While school buses are first to the market, consumer plug-in hybrid cars will soon be available from many manufacturers," Chiacos said.

"Plug-in hybrids and electric cars are the largest revolution in a century of vehicles," he said. They "will help us transition to a future free from dependence on imported fossil fuels."

One Man’s Trash…

Source: EcoFabulous - Reusing old items (like furniture) tops the eco-list of planet conscious peeps everywhere, no question. But as much as we’d love to add a little pre-loved flavor to our home, the challenge often lies in picturing that discarded dresser or crumbling credenza living in your place when it’s just so… trashed. After a trip to Brooklyn based home décor company, Nightwood, it makes the visioning process a breeze: they gather, recover, and repurpose unwanted pieces and offer beautiful, one-of-a-kind goods.

Founded in 2008 by Nadia Yaron and Myriah Scruggs, Nightwood was born out of a necessity for furnishing their own apartment without busting the bank. The ladies soon discovered a knack for artful deconstruction and reconstruction of vintage furniture, using salvaged wood scraps, low-VOC paints, water-based finishes, and organic, natural fabrics. Today, Nightwood offers the best of what repurposing furniture should be: low-impact, natural, and downright gorgeous!

Check out their gallery to browse past projects; if you see something you like, contact them and they’ll customize a piece that’s perfect for you!

Grammys to Show Michael Jackson "Earth Song" 3-D Movie

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood and Usher will take part in a tribute to Michael Jackson at the Grammy awards next week that will also showcase a movie created by Jackson for his 1995 hit "Earth Song."

Grammy organizers said on Wednesday that Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson would also join in the Jackson tribute, singing along with the voice of the "Thriller" singer.

The January 31 Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles will also feature the first complete showing of a 3-D mini movie for "Earth Song" created by Jackson before his death in June.

The song and the movie, about the future of the planet, were intended to be the centerpiece of Jackson's planned series of 50 "This is It" comeback concerts in London last summer.

"It was one of the most important portions of the concert tour to Michael and when Michael saw the film for the first time at his last rehearsal, there were tears in his eyes," Ken Ehrlich, a longtime Jackson associate and who is producing the Grammy telecast, said in a statement.

Jackson, who won 13 Grammys and whose 1982 album "Thriller" is the biggest-selling album of all time, is to get a posthumous lifetime achievement Grammy this year.

Ehrlich said the five singers would perform along with Jackson's voice while the 4 1/2 minute film is projected on a screen behind them.

"Each and everyone of (the artists) said they were honored to be asked to do this," he told reporters.

The "Earth Song" film features a young girl who goes to sleep in a verdant forest and awakes to find it destroyed by environmental changes.

Ehrlich said Grammy organizers had given much thought to how best to remember Jackson, whose last rehearsals were in the same Staples Center arena where the Grammys will be held.

"It just didn't feel like it was something we should try to do with one those songs you don't want ever want to see anyone but Michael doing.

"The idea of honoring him by doing something that really meant something to him while he was alive, and now with his passing can continue the message that he wanted to deliver, was really an opportunity we didn't want to miss," he said.

Organizers said 3-D glasses will be provided to the Grammy audience in Los Angeles and U.S. TV viewers will be able to get free 3-D glasses through a partnership between broadcasters CBS and retail store Target.

Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy which awards the Grammys, said the Jackson tribute "promises to be an emotional highlight of this year's show".

Earth Hour 2010 Set For Lights Out March 27th

Source: ecorazzi - Are you ready for Earth Hour 2010? It’s hard to believe, but we’re already on the third year of the worldwide campaign to recognize climate change with the symbolic gesture of “lights out” for one hour. The initial list of US landmarks taking part in this global climate event includes Mount Rushmore, Empire State Building, the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas,” Harrah’s Caesar Palace and the MGM Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

New Earth Hour participants in 2010 will include Montezuma Castle National Monument in Arizona and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Indianapolis. Other local landmarks taking part include Atlanta’s Bank of America building and the Pike Place Market sign in Seattle, with many more expected to sign on in the days ahead.

The World Wildlife Fund, which organizes the campaign each year, is hopeful that participation in the U.S. will include people, buildings, and landmarks from all 50 states.

Last year, celebrities like Edward Norton, Alanis Morissette, and even Yoko Ono campaigned for people to join the campaign. Are you ready for a little candlelight on March 27th? Check out the new promo below:

Once In a Blue Moon

Source: CNN - It happens only once in a blue moon and scientists say a blue moon is exactly what we'll see in the skies this New Year's Eve.

Don't expect an azure glow over our lunar satellite, however. The term "blue moon" simply refers to the second full moon in a calendar month, something that hasn't happened on a New Year's Eve for nearly 20 years, NASA says.

"December 1990 ended with a blue moon, and many New Year's Eve parties were themed by the event," said Professor Philip Hiscock of the department of folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in Canada. "It was a lot of fun."

Most months have just one full moon, because the 29.5-day cycle of the moon matches up pretty well with the length of calendar months. Occasionally, there will be two full moons in a month, something that happens about every 2½ years, NASA says. But a blue moon on December 31 is rare.

Elvis Presley crooned about it when he sang the old Rodgers and Hart song "Blue Moon," in which he stood alone without a dream in his heart or a love of his own.

He struck a more hopeful tone in another tune, singing about his love returning to his arms "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again." He also covered Bill Monroe's bluegrass classic, "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

It is possible for the moon to have a cerulean hue, NASA says, but that's sometimes caused by fine dirt circulating in the Earth's atmosphere or the dark blue tone of the sky.

A blue moon hasn't always meant the second full moon in a month. Hundreds of years ago, it simply meant "never" or "absurd," Hiscock said.

"The phrase 'blue moon' has been around a long time, well over 400 years, but during that time its meaning has shifted," he said. "I have counted six different meanings which have been carried by the term, and at least four of them are still current today. That makes discussion of the term a little complicated."

When the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883, it put so much dust in the atmosphere that the moon actually appeared blue -- an event so unusual that the term "once in a blue moon" was coined, according to NASA's National Space Science Data Center. The effect lasted for almost two years, Hiscock said.

Full moons used to have 12 names, one for each month, such as "harvest moon," NASA said. The term "blue moon" referred to the 13th full moon in a year.

The term acquired its current meaning in the 1940s, after the Farmer's Almanac of Maine offered an astronomical definition of a blue moon "so convoluted that even professional astronomers struggled to understand it," NASA wrote on its Web site.

A writer at Sky and Telescope magazine in the late 1940s tried to explain the almanac's definition by saying it referred to the second full moon in a month.

"That was not correct, but at least it could be understood," NASA wrote. "And thus the modern blue moon was born."

Glittering Metropolis

Source: NASA - "Like a whirl of shiny flakes sparkling in a snow globe, Hubble caught this glimpse of many hundreds of thousands of stars moving about in the globular cluster M13, one of the brightest and best-known globular clusters in the northern sky. This glittering metropolis of stars is easily found in the winter sky in the constellation Hercules and can even be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.

M13 is home to over 100,000 stars and located at a distance of 25,000 light-years. These stars are packed so closely together in a ball, approximately 150 light-years across, that they will spend their entire lives whirling around in the cluster.

Near the core of this cluster, the density of stars is about a hundred times greater than the density in the neighborhood of our sun. These stars are so crowded that they can, at times, slam into each other and even form a new star, called a "blue straggler."

The brightest reddish stars in the cluster are ancient red giants. These aging stars have expanded to many times their original diameters and cooled. The blue-white stars are the hottest in the cluster.

Globular clusters can be found spread largely in a vast halo around our galaxy. M13 is one of nearly 150 known globular clusters surrounding our Milky Way galaxy.

Globular clusters have some of the oldest stars in the universe. They likely formed before the disk of our Milky Way, so they are older than nearly all other stars in our galaxy. Studying globular clusters therefore tells us about the history of our galaxy.

This image is a composite of archival Hubble data taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team(STScI/AURA)Acknowledgment: C. Bailyn (Yale University), W. Lewin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), A. Sarajedini (University of Florida), and W. van Altena (Yale University)

Houston, We've Got Competition

Source: CNN - "Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.

While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth, the discovery is being heralded as a major breakthrough in humanity's search for life on other planets.

"The big excitement is that we have found a watery world orbiting a very nearby and very small star," said David Charbonneau, a Harvard professor of astronomy and lead author of an article on the discovery, which appeared this week in the journal Nature.

The planet, named GJ 1214b, is 2.7 times as large as Earth and orbits a star much smaller and less luminous than our sun. That's significant, Charbonneau said, because for many years, astronomers assumed that planets only would be found orbiting stars that are similar in size to the sun.

Because of that assumption, researchers didn't spend much time looking for planets circling small stars, he said. The discovery of this "watery world" helps debunk the notion that Earth-like planets could form only in conditions similar to those in our solar system.

"Nature is just far more inventive in making planets than we were imagining," he said.

In a way, the newly discovered planet was sitting right in front of astronomers' faces, just waiting for them to look. Instead of using high-powered telescopes attached to satellites, they spotted the planet using an amateur-sized, 16-inch telescope on the ground.

There were no technological reasons the discovery couldn't have happened long ago, Charbonneau said.

The planet is also rather near to our solar system -- only about 40 light-years away.

Planet GJ 1214b is classified as a "super-Earth" because it is between one and 10 times as large as Earth. Scientists have known about the existence of super-Earths for only a couple of years. Most planets discovered by astronomers have been gassy giants that are much more similar to Jupiter than to Earth.

Charbonneau said it's unlikely that any life on the newly discovered planet would be similar to life on Earth, but he didn't discount the idea entirely.

"This planet probably does have liquid water," he said.

Carbon 14 Will Award 50K Toward Your Action

Are you doing something good for the environment and wish you had a few more bucks to assist you in doing more good?

Well, the eco-chic watch brand Carbon 14 wants to help and they're putting their money where their mouth is - they've recently announced that they will be giving away a top prize of $50,000 toward your Environmental action or cause! Oh yes, 20 finalists will receive the Carbon 14 watch of their choice.   

If you, or someone you know, is doing something extraordinary, make sure to submit the cause or action (by nominating yourself or others) and how the 50K award will help out.

According to the C14 website, this opportunity is for everyone, and that means everyone - not just the eco-geeks who seem to be inventing the next fuel-efficient jet (although their submissions are also encouraged!) Don't feel shy at all about submitting your action even if you simply want to make your house or yard more environmentally friendly - you can still enter and win!

Most important of all, we need YOUR help in identifying worthwhile environmental causes. We have created an interactive discussion forum for each nomination, so you have the ability to share your ideas and comment on other's nomiations.

They need to get all your nominations by February 28, 2010 - then the voting begins. Who are the judges? Find out for yourself - we've included pics of a few of them above, recognize anybody?

So make sure to tell your friends, neighbors, and everyone you know to vote for your idea. The Top 20 nominees who receive the most votes will be reviewed by a panel qualified judges. Check out the panel of judges below. From those Top 20 nominees, the judges will choose the Top 5 finalists - then through another round of voting YOU will decide who wins the C14 $50000 Environmental Award.

Check out the the contest rules and deadline dates here.

James Cameron Covers Life On the Planet

Source: Ecorazzi - "At the premiere in London of Avatar, James Cameron’s first film in over 10 years, the director opened up on the environmental message of the movie — and how he hopes it inspires people to look at the destruction around them.

“The point is that we are devastating habitat and biodiversity at a terrible rate,” he told the UK Sun. “We are causing a global climate change that’s going to be absolutely devastating to the coral reefs. Science is unable to keep up with our industrial society. We are destroying species faster than we can classify them. We are destroying the food chain faster than we can understand it. The politicians are over in Copenhagen talking about climate change now – but there are other issues as well.”

Cameron mentioned that once the publicity and premieres for the new film have wrapped, he will head back to his solar-powered eco-ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Him and his wife are also planning on installing wind turbines soon. Check out the rest of The Sun’s interview with the director here.

“Unchopping a Tree” Debuts In Copenhagen

Source: ecorazzi - Artist and architect Maya Lin has unveiled her latest addition to her conservation memorial “What is Missing” called “Unchopping A Tree”. It’s a moving piece of work enriched with ethereal music and visuals. The Fast Company blog gives us the details saying,

The video, which is inspired by a W.S. Merwin poem of the same name, focuses on how we would feel if deforestation came to the city parks that we love the most. Lin decided the debut the video at the Support REDD+ Gala in Copenhagen to highlight the importance of enacting REDD, a UN program that will pay developing countries to cut down on deforestation. “I want to get out the message that by preventing deforestation, we can reduce emissions and save species,” Lin said.

Check it out below (the ‘unchopping’ bit comes near the end):

The Dry Garden: Capturing the Spirit of L.A.'s Streams

Source: LA Times Blogs -  "When it snows in the mountains and rains in the basin, Jessica Hall thinks of the lost streams of Los Angeles. In fact, she thinks of them all the time. For the last nine years, the 41-year-old garden designer has been retracing the paths of the native creeks, streams and springs that once ran wild before they were filled in and paved for homes.

In the process, Hall has come to believe that the best town planning and landscape design principles for the future may lie in understanding the habits of the watercourses of the past.

Those who missed the profile of Hall last August by Times staff writer Hector Tobar have a treat in store reading about how Hall tracked down Sacatela Creek, a jewel of a waterway that once flowed from what is now the Shakespeare Bridge in Franklin Hills to the Ambassador Hotel in mid-Wilshire. If Los Angeles ever wakes up to the potential of “daylighting” lost waterways, Hall will have been part of the story.

But this column picks up where the Tobar article left off, in particular to ask: What has this Princeton architecture graduate learned chasing streams that may be applied to capturing storm water at home and making the good choices when designing a garden?

The first, most basic answer can be found in a study of the vast Ballona Creek watershed. Hall and three other students produced the study as she was earning a master's degree in landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona.

“Seeking Streams” shows how rain and snow etched the landscape of Southern California before we arrived with earthmovers and asphalt. Snowmelt and rainwater cascading off the foothills deposited the characteristic soils, then shaped what grew.

Although those streams are largely gone above ground, their impact is alive and well below the soil line in underground waterways, Hall says.

So for Hall, one of the most basic steps in garden design is to revisit the basic plant communities that were first defined by streams. Continue reading here...

GOOD's Islands for Islands

GOOD has a really cool project offer going on right now, but the deadline is January 7, so you must act soon!

"Fix a traffic island in your city and we’ll send you to an island in the Caribbean. For this project we’re asking you to pick an ugly traffic island in your city and spruce it up—either in Photoshop or in reality. Add a bench or a sculpture, plant some flowers, whatever you can think of to make that neglected pedestrian junkspace more hospitable.

The winner will get a vacation to the Caribbean island of Dominica. Read on for the details.

the OBJECTIVE
To make an unpleasant traffic island in your city less so.

the ASSIGNMENT
Take a BEFORE photo of a traffic island—the uglier the better. Then, use Photoshop or some other image editing software to imagine how it could be improved. Or, even better, actually get to work improving it in reality. Take an AFTER image of your handiwork.

the REQUIREMENTS
First be sure to register here. Then send your BEFORE and AFTER images to projects[at]goodinc[dot]com. Each should be at least 1,000 pixels wide. Any image format works. Include in your email your name, the location of the traffic island, and up to 30 words describing your project. We'll post submissions here as we get them. The deadline for entries is January 7.

the PRIZE
Oh right—the prize. The winner (selected by a panel composed of members of the art and editorial departments at GOOD), will receive two round trip tickets to Dominica on American Airlines, two nights at Calibishie Lodges, and two nights at Shangri-La Resorts, and two free passes to the Aerial Tram rainforest tour.

Our friends from Dominica sent us some more information about the island—it sounds pretty incredible: Dominica is referred to as the Nature Isle for its unspoiled natural beauty. Located in the Lesser Antilles, it was the first country to receive the coveted Green Globe 21 certification and the Morne Trois Pitons National Park was the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean. The island is an outdoor lover's paradise featuring national parks, dense rainforests, hidden lakes, over 365 rivers, secret waterfalls, and many exotic plant and animal species. To learn more go to www.dominica.dm and to officially register for the Project go here.

Green Holidays

Hot Mom's Club - "The holidays are a time of joy and thanksgiving and this year, you can also make it a time of renewal for the planet. Without going to too much trouble, you can implement several “green” aspects into your holiday preparations and celebrations.

Technology to Save Energy: You are going to be on the computer anyway, so consider sending holiday greetings to family and friends via e-mail. For lot’s of holiday fun, check out elfyourself.com to turn yourself and family members into elves for the holidays-virually.

Reuse It: If you prefer to send hand-written notes, make your own cards with paper you already have. Or look for holiday cards printed on recycled paper. Eliminate envelope waste by sending postcards or folding and sealing notes so you can address them on the outside. Every bit of paper you save, really adds up and it saves you money on postage!

Recycled Party: When hosting holiday parties, use reusable glass or plastic ware, and recycled paper napkins. Marcal Small Steps, brand is made from 100% recycled paper rather than from trees, making your party so-eco-chic-green and festive. At biodegradablestore.com, you can find various biodegradable paper plates and cutlery to keep your party green through and through.

Bag It: Lately everyone seems to be remembering their reusable grocery bags at the grocery store, but we also need to keep in mind that when shopping for gifts and holiday decorations, to carry our own canvas bag or backpack, or reuse shopping bags. One smart choice is Chico Bag’s

Non-Material: Any mother will tell you that, they’d prefer receiving gifts of your time or services. Consider a free breakfast in bed or perhaps a lunch date. Save valuable resources and share some quality time with a loved one. Consider gift certificates – for restaurants, movies, babysitting, etc. – or give consumable items such as baked goods.

Give What is Needed: Resist the urge to spend money on fad gifts that may not even get used; instead, give gifts that are on someone’s list and are possibly made locally or in the U.S.A. This conservative approach results in happy gift recipients and a happy planet (less waste).

Re-gifting is not a crime: Pass along hand-me-downs and heirlooms as special gifts for family members. These are also called “story gifts” because they carry stories with them, and often invoke treasured memories. Share a story and some history with a loved one!

It’s a Wrap: According to the Medical University of South Carolina, waste output increases 25% during the holiday season. When wrapping gifts, consider re-using packaging from previous years or maybe even use the funny pages from the newspaper or use recycled wrapping paper. Get creative and use unique containers to hold gifts, such as cloth sacks or boxes from other products. Save countless trees and give your creativity muscle a boost!

Ever-Green: Everyone loves the smell of fresh cut holiday trees, however, Consider alternatives to a cut tree, such as a live tree, decorated houseplant, or artificial tree. To maintain that reminiscent evergreen odor, consider tree-scented air fresheners or candles. Check out EarthKind’s website for some eco-friendly options, earthkindstore.com. *Remember to recycle your Christmas tree when you can no longer use it. Many neighborhoods have tree recycling programs.

Decorate with Nature: Use natural items from around the house to decorate your tree such as, popcorn, berries and outdoor greens. Mother Nature will be so proud!

Buy Energy-Saving “LED” Holiday Lights: Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season. LED lights are available at many major retailers, including Target, CostCo, and Ace Hardware.

Buy Organic or Locally-Grown Produce: and cook at least some vegetarian meals-make the most out of food resources and fuel. Support local family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only does it taste better, you’ll be doing your part for the planet too. Consider preparing food that does not have to be refrigerated to lower the amount of power wasted by continually opening and closing the fridge. Give away untouched leftovers and unwanted gifts. Others less fortunate than you could be very appreciative of these re-given gifts.

Fair-trade Chocolate: Fill your stockings with Fair-Trade Chocolate and you can eat your way to a better planet. Consider Divine Chocolate whose mission is to improve the livelihood of smallholder cocoa producers in West Africa by establishing their own dynamic chocolate brand.

Cool House: Take a pledge this New Years’ to reduce your home energy use by buying energy-efficient light bulbs. Installing only 6 compact fluorescent light bulbs will save the average American family $60 per year. For example, if there’s a fire in your fireplace this Christmas, turn down that thermostat! Lowering the temperature even five degrees can take 10% off your energy bill.

Architecture In Times Of Need: Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Launches New Book

Ecorazzi - "Make It Right NOLA has a new website and now a new book too. The green building organization founded by Brad Pitt is currently helping to rebuild New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward and the book, titled “Architecture in Times of Need”, documents that process. From the synopsis,

This book which was sponsored and assembled by [architecture firm] Graft, features essays on the history and people of the Lower 9th Ward, the hurricane and its impact, and tracks the development and progress of the Make It Right project. But the primary focus of the book is on the design process and designs. The contributions to the project from Adjaye Associates, GRAFT, Gehry Partners and Shigeru Ban, among others, are shown in numerous photographs and renderings with sketches, building plans, and informative commentary. The book also describes the sustainable Cradle to CradleSM approach, which seeks to maximize economic, ecological, and social value by following principles inspired by nature.

In addition, Brad Pitt also adds his commentary to the pages. Sounds like a pretty solid read for anyone interested in green building and/or inspiring feats of charity."

“Architecture in Times of Need” is available now for $28.