Sustainable Living

Breaking News, Social Media, Sustainable Living / 10.04.2012

Everyone needs a burst of energy. But who would have thought it would take the form of an actual battery! Today I’m very pleased to announce that Rayovac has signed on as a major sponsor of the Joy Trip Project. Starting next week reporting on the business art and culture of the sustainable active lifestyle will be supported in part by this Madison, Wisconsin-based provider of portable energy and light solutions. "It is important for us to work on projects that push the limits of products or ideas," said...

Adventure Media Review, Commentary, Sustainable Living / 05.07.2011

I put off buying an iPad until I could answer a simple question. What the hell am I going to do with it? With an Apple desktop, a wireless card equipped laptop and an iPhone, I’ve pretty much got the global/mobile thing nailed. But in my line of work as journalist a fourth devise in small package with an easy-to-read screen could come in handy while gathering and sharing stories online. After fighting every single early adopter impulse in my body I resisted the urge. But finally I decided to make the purchase in a mid-year resolution of sorts.  I want to use this tablet device in order read and support the work of high caliber journalists, spend less idle time on the Internet watching crap and consuming a healthier diet of online content that supports the highest aspirations of my active lifestyle. So like millions of people around the world I bought an iPad too.
Capital Region Business Journal, Charitable Giving, Environmental Journalism, Gardening, Madison, Magazines, philanthropy, Sustainable Living / 22.06.2011

Teachers, students and parents gathered to celebrate the destruction of a school. Defunct for many years the building that once housed Badger Rock Middle School was finally demolished in late March to make way for a new vision of secondary education. A modern construct will stand its place to offer lessons in growing vegetables, healthy nutrition and living in a sustainable community.
Art, Food, Madison, Sustainable Living, Urban Agriculture / 13.04.2011

If you’re a fan of protein you’ll love this new project from folks the Underground Kitchen in Madison. Yesterday afternoon I received a note inviting me to a gallery showing of “Meat Art.” My friend and stand up paddling partner Scott Pauli is a talented graphic artist who designed the packaging for six weeks of artisan meat deliveries that are part of a unique community supported agriculture program.
Assignment Earth, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection, Sustainable Living / 23.03.2011

  Making the growing season grow longer, that’s the idea for Daphne Yannakakis, an organic farmer in western Colorado. Along with husband Don Lareau on Zephyros Farm, they’re growing vegetables in wintertime as part of a study by Colorado State University. The vegetables grow under the protection of unheated green houses called high tunnels, which hold in heat stored by the Earth at night and capture solar heat during the day. They also provide protection from the wind. These farmers plant a variety of cold hardy vegetables at monthly intervals and record weather data electronically with custom software. The data is collected from five farms across Colorado and will be compiled and made available to other small-scale farmers. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and called the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program or SARE, the study is intended to help small-scale farmers in the Rocky Mountains remain productive and profitable through much of the winter by utilizing high tunnels. Even when outside temperatures reach sub-zero extremes these simple structures allow vegetables to survive harsh winter conditions and enable farmers to grow more.
Banff, Environmental Protection, Film Festival, Film Review, Sustainable Living / 24.02.2011

A father wants what’s best for his children. In his film Mi Chacra (My Land), director Jason Burlage explores a year in the life of a Peruvian farmer as he struggles to make a better life for his son. Taking top honors at the Banff Mountain Film Festival this documentary feature depicts the world of laborers who divide their time between planting crops and carrying loads for tourists on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.