Lorraine gives Ed his first laptop, a refurbished machine that NextStep has rebuilt.
Let's start with a bit about NextStep recycling. How did the organization come together?
We came together because I have a need, and I learned members of my community had a similar need. I grew up thinking I was unintelligent. I was a "special ed" kind who received many labels. I got through life okay, working a series of working class jobs, but after being injured in a ...
June’s Spotlight of the Month: NextStep Recycling
Posted on May 31st, 2009
For June, green is sexy caught up with Lorraine Kerwood of NextStep Recycling, an organization in Eugene that takes in your old electronic equipment, rebuilds them, and then puts them back into the hands of others who can use them...
Lorraine gives Ed his first laptop, a refurbished machine that NextStep has rebuilt.
Let's start with a bit about NextStep recycling. How did the organization come together?
We came together because I have a need, and I learned members of my community had a similar need. I grew up thinking I was unintelligent. I was a "special ed" kind who received many labels. I got through life okay, working a series of working class jobs, but after being injured in a ...
Lorraine gives Ed his first laptop, a refurbished machine that NextStep has rebuilt.
Let's start with a bit about NextStep recycling. How did the organization come together?
We came together because I have a need, and I learned members of my community had a similar need. I grew up thinking I was unintelligent. I was a "special ed" kind who received many labels. I got through life okay, working a series of working class jobs, but after being injured in a ...
May’s Spotlight of the Month: Alex Webb
Posted on April 29th, 2009
On his website, LA-based architectural designer Alex Webb writes that he is “primarily interested in performative algorithmic design, environmental sustainability, sustainable transit and building information modeling (BIM).” We caught up with Alex in Santa Monica, California to learn what the heck all of that means.
So… what exactly is performative algorithmic design anyway?
Yeah… it’s a pretty nerdy term. But algorithmic design is a method of designing the parts of a building through numbers and parameters and stuff, and letting them “self-organize”. You create how the pieces go together and how they relate to each other instead of starting with a preconceived idea of what your design will look like. It’s a pretty common technique in ...
April’s Spotlight of the Month:Ginger Ninjas
Posted on March 31st, 2009
For April, we caught up with the Ginger Ninjas, a band who not only travels to gigs by bike, but powers their shows by bike And this isn't just your average gig down at the neighborhood bar. The Ninjas just returned from touring all over Mexico via bicycle on a epic journey deemed "The Pleasant Revolution".
Let's start with a bit about the band - You seem like you all have different backgrounds - how and when did you come together?
Isaac James, Hayes Burris and Kipchoge Spencer founded the Ginger Ninjas around 2002. Only Kipchoge remains a full time member of the band. Jared May, the bass player, joined in Guadalajara, Mexico in February 2007, four ...
Let's start with a bit about the band - You seem like you all have different backgrounds - how and when did you come together?
Isaac James, Hayes Burris and Kipchoge Spencer founded the Ginger Ninjas around 2002. Only Kipchoge remains a full time member of the band. Jared May, the bass player, joined in Guadalajara, Mexico in February 2007, four ...
March’s Spotlight of the Month: David Diracles
Posted on February 27th, 2009
Photo: Verus Energy Ltd. Co-Founders Tim Jervis and David Diracles
For March, we’re talking trash with David Diracles, co-founder of Verus Energy in London.
Dave, you and your friend Tim recently founded Verus Energy. What is that?
Verus Energy is a development company focused on creating renewable power plants that use waste as the feedstock. In the same way that a property developer might develop a new residential or commercial property, Verus develops a power plant. Between the core team at Verus and our strategic partners, we can design, build, construct, and operate power plants that use waste rather than fossil fuels as the source of energy.
How did the two of you ...
February’s Spotlight of the Month: B Corporations
Posted on January 30th, 2009
It's a green new way to certify your company. It's called a B Corporation, and it's beginning to catch on.
It started back in June 2006 with something called B Lab. 3 entrepreneurs - Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan, and Andrew Kassoy - who had founded and sold larger successful corporations in the past, but all three had become interested in businesses that saw social and environmental goals as part of their core mission. They noticed an opportunity - and although it started with green business, it wasn't about creating another one. It was about making a difference to the entire industry.
Here was an opportunity to take a growing activity - ...
February’s Recipe of the Month: Trifle
Posted on January 30th, 2009
Looking for an inexpensive, easy dessert to make for your sweetie this month? Try a trifle! We love trifle’s because they’re super versatile, low-energy (for you and your appliances) and pretty. Did we mention delicious?
Our favorite trifle’s are made with fresh fruit, but since there are so few fruits in season this time of year, we’ve made a Chocolate Mint Cookie trifle, as well as a Mixed Berry trifle, using berries we froze at their peak freshness.
To get started, you’ll need a serving vessel. If you have one, you can use a glass compote, but if not, try an empty flower vase (thoroughly washed, of course).
Chocolate ...
January’s Spotlight of the Month: Ben Shors
Posted on December 31st, 2008
An avid outdoorsman, Ben Shors relaxes during a hike on Spencer's Butte in Eugene, Oregon.
For January, we caught up with Ben Shors, an assistant journalism professor at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. This year, Professor Shors did something a bit different in his lesson plan for his environmental journalism students. And it goes a little something like this....
Tell us a bit about the Global Warming project.
Ben: We didn’t set out to write the book on global warming. Rather, I wanted students to consider how such a massive and controversial topic might affect their lives – from the farm towns where they grew ...
December’s Spotlight of the Month: Cardboard Christmas Tree
Posted on December 1st, 2008
For December, we caught up with friends Nick Ng and Dan Greene, creators of the Cardboard Christmas Tree. The Cardboard Christmas Tree is a 100% recylable, minimally packaged Christmas tree alternative -- perfect for apartment dwellers, artsy types, greenies and everyone in between. We spoke to Dan and Nick in Chicago to learn more about recycled decorations, sustainable design and keeping things sexy in the Windy City.
How did the Cardboard Christmas Tree idea come up?
(Nick) I had the idea quite a number of years ago when I couldn't find a tree that I liked for Christmas. From there the idea of a Cardboard Christmas Tree came to me as something that ...
November’s Spotlight of the Month: The CoHo Ecovillage
Posted on October 29th, 2008
The CoHo Ecovillage
From left to right, Jennifer and Rob in front of their condo; Kids play in some of the 2+ acres of mixed forest preserved on the property
At first promenade into the CoHo Ecovillage, only a few blocks from the vibrant but mellow downtown in the earth-friendly city of Corvallis, Ore., what's striking is the network of individual garden plots that buffer nearly all of the 34 green-built residences, and the common house bustling with the chefs du jour, preparing one of the three communal dinners that's served each week, to which diners are known for bringing their own cloth napkins.
But what's more overpowering than this imagery is the ...
From left to right, Jennifer and Rob in front of their condo; Kids play in some of the 2+ acres of mixed forest preserved on the property
At first promenade into the CoHo Ecovillage, only a few blocks from the vibrant but mellow downtown in the earth-friendly city of Corvallis, Ore., what's striking is the network of individual garden plots that buffer nearly all of the 34 green-built residences, and the common house bustling with the chefs du jour, preparing one of the three communal dinners that's served each week, to which diners are known for bringing their own cloth napkins.
But what's more overpowering than this imagery is the ...
September & October’s Spotlight of the Month: PaCOOS
Posted on September 8th, 2008
Timewaster opps abound on the Interwebs, but there are plenty of ways to suck down an hour or two while getting your green on. This time, we shine our light on the PaCOOS West Coast Habitat Server, Oregon State University's new map of its home state's territorial sea, which at a glance might seem like nothing more than a pretty mug shot of some comely coastline but actually offers up a hundred ways to blast through an evening and walk away having had some knowledge dropped upon you.
The new interactive map can be found at http://pacoos.coas.oregonstate.edu. Click "launch" in the "map viewer" section and up pops a nifty looking patchwork of blue, green and brownish, plus a ...
