Building A Sustainable Future: The Greenest Living Building and Biomimicry

As an environmental writer, I have the unique opportunity to explore a multitude of eco-related subjects. With environmental news rightfully focused on catastrophic events such as the Gulf Oil Spill, and stories about greenwashing running rampant, it may seem like there’s a fog descending upon the green world. But, I source exciting fresh information daily, I'm impressed with the level of new eco-friendly products and sustainable materials available.

As a blogger I feel that it is my duty and honor to dish out environmental news and commentary about things that have the capacity to enrich the environment and hopefully, create a more sustainable future for our kids.

I was invited last month to the Omega Institute of Holistic Studies to tour one of the most sustainable buildings in the world and listen to architects, designers and eco-visionaries discuss the inspirational process of creating the Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL). The OCLS is a state-of-the-art water reclamation facility and environmental education center that brings together wastewater recycling, clean energy, green architecture and other sustainability elements that can be replicated locally and globally.

Omega spent the last four years working to achieve one of the most prestigious honors in the green world – The Living Building Challenge. To make this happen, Omega had to reach the most advanced level of sustainability in a built environment. Here we (writers and photographers) are hearing Omega's, Skip Backus talk about building the OCSL:

Three awe-inspiring things I learned at the OCSL:

1. As a high-performance designed building, the OCSL is powered by passive solar heating, a geothermal system, a photovoltaic power and includes a greenhouse and green roof, constructed wetlands and a green classroom that integrate seamlessly with the natural environment. 2. The OCSL is a teaching facility that teaches Omega participants as well as local schoolchildren how to adopt sustainable living practices in their own lives and homes. 3. From waste come life – At the core of the center is a greenhouse with a living water filtration system that uses plants, bacteria, algae, snails and fungi to recycle Omega’s wastewater (approximately 5 million gallons per year) into clean water used to restore the aquifer. To watch a video about the OCSL and learn more CLICK HERE.

While I was visiting Omega, a conference called, Design By Nature: Creative Solutions With Biomimicry, Permaculture & Sustainable Design was in full swing. This event brought together some of the nation’s foremost leaders in the fields of biomimicry, permaculture, and sustainable architecture. The main objective was to explore the creative potential of these promising green technologies for the sustainability of the planet.

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a fascinating emerging science that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.

Biomimicry can answer questions such as:

How would nature get water to the desert? How would nature heat and cool a home? How would nature create color without harmful chemicals or dyes? How would nature create non-toxic waterproof adhesive?

To find the answers to these questions and read more about how biomimicry can change our lives CLICK HERE.

As we hope to forge towards a more sustainable future, we can learn so much from "living buildings" like the OCSL at Omega, and scientific ideas such as biomimicry. They truly fill me with the promise of a bright green future.

Photo Credits: Omega Institute and Care2

To Toss Or To Shelve?

For those of you who seem to be nearing an age where you are ready to dispose of some of the accumulation of your youth, I ask you, “What do you do about all of your books?”

New books are like precious kittens. We get a new book, we cuddle it, sometimes it lies prominently next to our most comfortable chair. Some books win the prize of becoming our bedside companions. Either way, we read the book, shelve it and move on to the next one that purrs loudly.

My 25 year old daughter and I were perusing a used book store in Hudson, NY, and I marveled at how everything old was new to her. We came home with armfuls of books. Many of the books she chose I had read years ago. Her enthusiasm made me realize that some books have staying power. I also started to  rethink how I would recycle the massive volumes of books we’ve amassed (and still accumulate).

Here is a sampling of some of the non-fiction books she nabbed: The Time/Life Foods Of The World cookbook series from the late 60’s. These books where the first of their kind, as they introduced my parent’s generation to the world of international cooking. The Whole Earth Catalog was the evolutionary mega-manual that taught a whole generation how to tread lightly on the planet. I had a tattered copy that I gave to the local library when she was just a tot and now that I've taken a fresh look at it, it is amazing how far (and not so far) we've come on the environmental front. She grabbed a few of The Foxfire Books. They were one of the first series of DIY books (Boy Scout manuals withstanding) with an environmental backbone. They have the step-by-step instructions for creating everything from tying knots to building outdoor furniture. Lastly, she chose the 1960’s classic, Be Here Now. This is the book that sent so many inspired seekers on their spiritual journeys.

Throughout our dusty adventure, I couldn’t contain myself from mumbling, “Oh, I had that book. It's a classic.” And, she would say, “So, mom should I buy it or can I have it?” Well, some of those books I’ve kept, others went to library sales or were given away years ago.

How do you know whether or not to donate a book away? In a New York Times interview with Francine Prose (a favorite local author), she talks about the way she edits her book collection:

"Two years ago, I re-organized my library, and gave away 20 cartons of books, culled according to the following general principles:"

1. Unless you are an Egyptologist, you only need one, at most two, enormous coffee table books on the Art of the Pharaohs. 2. If a country, like Czechoslovakia, no longer exists, it’s unlikely that you’ll want to take the travel guide along with you when you go. 3. If the reproductions in an art book are so fuzzy and blurred that you can’t tell the work of the Impressionists from that of the Pointillists, or even from the Surrealists, get rid of it. 4. Ask yourself the following hard question and answer honestly: If I live to be 100, will I read this book again?"

When asked whether Prose regretted giving away any of the books, her answer was, “Of all the books I gave away, the only loss I regret (or have even noticed) is the Book of Knowledge, the 25 volumes took up an entire shelf and I had to lose it for the same reason I gave away all those other books: to make room for more books.”

So how do you do it? Which books settle their spines onto your shelves for life and which do you toss?

Photo Credits: Flickr, Cole Haan

A Book Giveaway!

Now that we are settled into fall, it is the perfect time to induldge in two favorite pastimes: reading and creating things that are reimagined, reused and recycled.

Do you judge a book by its cover? When books come my way to be reviewed, it is the cover design that often grabs me first. So, even before I cracked open P.S.-I Made This…I See It. I Like It. I Make It by Erica Domesek, I was intrigued by the cover. The white cover displays a fashionista-clad model. That’s not so odd since the book is about fashion and DIY. But, what I love about the cover is that the font looks handmade and there are arrows to six DIY projects on the model. When I stopped ogling the cover and dove in, I found not just the cover had style, the whole book was designed minimally, with clear and concise step-by-step instructions for projects that are backed up by visually appealing fashion montages.

CLICK HERE to read more of my review and to find out why Erica says, "Thanks so much, this was one of my favorite reviews I've ever read."

Want to win a copy of P.S. – I Made This…?

I've been chatting online with Erica and she sent me another copy of her book to give away to one lucky econesting reader. Simply, leave a comment on this post (below) and tell us how you've brought a little green into your nest. Comments close 9am EST on Friday, October 22, 2010. A winner will be chosen at random and I will announce it later that day. Sorry, open to US residents only.

Knit...Purl Your Home

This weekend brings to town my favorite knitting event, The New York State Wool and Sheep Festival. I just drove past the fairgrounds and there's a flurry of pre-event activity. The vendors were setting out their wooly wares, the farmers were hauling hay to the sheep stalls, and a stray Border Collie was eagerly looking for work. If you happen to be in the vicinity of the Hudson Valley this weekend, I highly recommend checking out the Sheep and Wool Festival. Just thinking about all that luscious yarn has inspired me to write a knitting post...

Did you know that I love to knit and shower my family and friends with warm and fuzzy handknitted goodies? This post is not about wearable items, it's about a trend that I’ve noticed in the home décor world.

Over the years, I have observed the popularity of knitting go up and down. At the moment, the pendulum seems to be in a full upward swing, and knitted items are showing up in some unexpected and unusual places.

The latest trend in knitting, along with knitting small items (knitted bags, fingerless gloves and cowl neck scarves - the latest rage), and the subversive act of yarn bombing, are knitted chair coverings and functional knitted items for the home. These decorative knitted and felted pieces are bumping up against the soft edges of design with their intricate stitches and contoured shaping. The Wall Street Journal recently covered the Milan Furniture Fair and targeted a designerly group of haute-knitted items for the home in this article, A Gripping Yarn.

So, without further adieu, sit back and enjoy some eco-chic handknitted home décor, and a creative and simple DIY project that will knock the Kitchener Stitches right off your cabled cashmere socks!

Knitted Stools

Knitted Pendant Light

Knitted Poufs

Knitted Slipcover

DIY Sweater Chairs

Eco-crafter and author, Danny Seo recovered his IKEA chairs with cozy cashmere and wool sweaters that he scored at Goodwill.

He explains the simple DIY process: “It was easy: just unscrew the seat cushion, wrap a sweater over the cushion, staple gun into place underneath, trim off excess, screw back on and voila!  Sweater chair.”

Photo Credits: Sweet and Lowdown Lounge Chair, Knitted Stools, Knitted Armchair Slipcover, Knitted Pendent, Knitted Poufs, Sweater Chairs, Knittted Trashcan