Archive for Green Lifestyle
Highlights of a Bridgid Coulter Green Home
Posted by: | CommentsThere are many celebrity projects that highlight green issues, including actress and interior designer Bridgid Coulter, longtime girlfriend of actor and environmental activist Don Cheadle. Coulter was recently featured on E! News for the Venice California green home she redesigned into an eco-friendly bungalow with many green living features and recycled materials. Bridgid Coulter is also known for her work on stage and screen, her credits include Rosewood, Class of ‘96 and Family Matters.
(Image Credit: bridgidcoulterdesign.com)
Coulter is a house flipper and also runs a boutique design studio, which is adjacent to her retail storefront. In her Santa Monica store, Bridgid Coulter Design, she features her signature line of textiles, pillows, eco candles and custom furniture; as well as other home accessories. Her longtime beau, Don Cheadle, is an UNEP Ambassador for the Environment, so being eco-friendly is something close to the couple’s heart.
The bungalow, originally built in 1953, was brought down to stud, and the debris was handled in a responsible and earth friendly manner. The eco design elements are evident in the great room (a combined living and dining room space) where all the light fixtures are made from recycled glass. The lights are also on dimmers, which not only allows you to add atmosphere to the room, but also helps control the heat in the room as well. The room also boasts an eco-designed fireplace, which runs on ethanol fuel. Ethanol is a clean burning fuel and the fireplace does not need ventilation to run. The fireplace is portable, so you could conceivably decide to move it into one of the bedroom easily.
The kitchen is outfitted with stainless steel Energy Star appliances. All the countertops are made of recycled glass, and the cabinets were made from FSC certified wood using green glue. Another feature of the house is that there is a water filtration system in the kitchen which eliminates the need for bottled water, a simple glass or reusable bottle can be filled from the tap.
The home office is filled with antique items. When you don’t buy brand new, you are reducing waste and decreasing the carbon cost of the items in your home. The new window shades were made locally in Los Angeles of all natural fiber. Coulter suggests buying local as it cuts down on shipping which further reduces the carbon footprint of the home.
The bedrooms are filled with repurposed furniture including an upcycled end table made of out old rubber tires. It’s unique pieces like this that add visual interest to a room while embracing green living ideals. The bathrooms tiles and sinks are made from recycled materials. The toilet has a fun eco feature because it’s dual flush, which means you choose from option one or two to use less water as the situation requires. Outside they planted greenery native to dessert temperatures, which means less watering. In LA, you would have to water frequently to keep greenery alive given the heat, so this is also a cost saving measure. Another great feature that the outside of the house boasts is the raised garden platforms, which were made out of the pallets that the siding was delivered in.
This million-dollar home is a shining example of a green home where a family can create many treasured memories. Kudos to Bridgid Coulter for green living designs at their best.
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Exercise Generates Electricity with PlugOut Fitness
Posted by: | CommentsNow you can enjoy an even greener lifestyle while you exercise with PlugOut, fitness equipment that actually generates electricity with the energy from your physical effort. A good for the planet, good for your health workout – how cool is that? One workout session can generate enough electricity to power your smartphone or Blackberry for a week or directly offset the consumption of an Energy Star LCD Television. And, it’s not consuming electricity the way traditional fitness equipment does, so your physical energy exerted is providing both personal and planetary health. No, it’s not going to solve our climate crisis, but it’s certainly a much greener option to standard fitness equipment which consumes energy. Plus, it’s an added incentive for the person working out, knowing that they are actually producing energy.
PlugOut Cross Trainer Elliptical
PlugOut’s mission is “to help create healthy people and a healthy planet.” Based out of Seattle, PlugOut was the brainchild of observing rows of people at a fitness facility working out simultaneously and thinking “wouldn’t it be cool if all this energy could be harnessed and used?” Cool indeed. A sustainable workout that doesn’t consume energy and actually gives back by generating 50 to 250 watts of power in a single exercise routine. It’s a win-win fitness regime.
All of the equipment options work straight out the box as long as you have access to a three prong grounded plug, it’s ready to go. There are currently two options, PlugOut Cross-Trainer, a Commercial Grade Elliptical with Touchscreen, and the PlugOut Cycle, an Indoor Cycle Bike. The PlugOut Cross-Trainer’s Touchscreen will not only track your workout but also the power you’ve generated. Additional products are still in development but I for one would like to see this type of equipment revolutionize the way people want to administer their fitness routine and add to their green lifestyle.
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Posted by: | CommentsWelcome back to the sustainable scribe for another edition of green news of the week featuring a few interesting green highlights from this past week. This week includes: Al Gore smackdown on Obama over smog standards and pollution, Dell refocusing their green initiatives, 10 easy ways to make your campus green, the top 5 chemicals to avoid in food, Greenpeace fights for toxin-free products from major manufacturers, and 19 of the best organic and fair trade chocolates at the market. Click on the link to read the full article.
Al Gore Criticizes Obama For Abandoning Smog Standards: It’s Al Gore vs. President Obama. Gore lambasted Obama when the President asked the EPA to withdraw proposed clean air regulations. Here’s an excerpt from Al Gore’s blog site from yesterday: “Instead of relying on science, President Obama appears to have bowed to pressure from polluters who did not want to bear the cost of implementing new restrictions on their harmful pollution—even though economists have shown that the US economy would benefit from the job creating investments associated with implementing the new technology. The result of the White House’s action will be increased medical bills for seniors with lung disease, more children developing asthma, and the continued degradation of our air quality.”
Dell Backs Away from Carbon Neutrality, Focuses on Efficiency & E-Waste: Dell has several sustainability initiatives and they just released their 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report. Their plans seem to be moving away from being carbon neutral and concentrating more on energy efficiency and improving e-waste collection, up 16% over last year according to the report.
10 Ways to Make Your Campus Green: From carpooling to recycling to using reusable water bottles, there are several ways today’s campuses can go green. This is a list of realistic green lifestyle changes students and faculties can incorporate into their daily routine to help preserve the environment. “The green schools movement is the biggest thing to happen to education since the introduction of technology to the classroom.” – Glenn Cook, Editor in Chief, American School Board Journal
Top 5 Chemicals to Avoid in Food: It’s important to examine the ingredients on the products you buy because food manufacturers don’t exactly prominently advertise the chemical content. Whenever possible, buy organic food and avoid processed foods. If there’s a label on it, inspect it thoroughly so you know exactly what you’re about to consume. This is a list of 5 chemicals to avoid because of the associated risks ranging from weight gain to cancer.
Puma, Nike and Adidas Run Towards Toxin-Free Products With Greenpeace: “Greenpeace recently released a report entitled Dirty Laundry which alleged that clothing from top brands like Adidas, Nike, Calvin Klein, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lacoste, Converse and Ralph Lauren are linked to facilities in China releasing toxic chemicals in our water. Greenpeace’s Detox Campaign is asking manufacturers to offer toxin-free solutions to their customers and exercise transparency when it comes to discharging any chemicals into our environment. Puma has already announced their intention to eliminate toxins from its entire supply chain and product lifecycle by 2020.
19 of the Best Organic and Fair Trade Chocolates: Do you have a sweet tooth for chocolate? Well you don’t have to eat the processed version laced with chemicals. The folks at the Daily Green have come up with a delectable list of 19 of the best organic and fair trade chocolates guaranteed to satisfy the taste buds of even the most discerning chocolate connoisseur.
Stay tuned next week for more green news stories from across the globe.
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