500 Top Green Companies in US...

Newsweek compiled a 2009 list of 500 US companies by how ‘green’ they are. It’s an impressive list of some big companies. I always find these kinds of lists interesting, informative if not a bit sketchy in how to correlate an apple to an orange and have it make sense to the masses. Aside from that, if you are into this sort of thing, it’s fun to get an idea of the ‘big boys’ out there that deem ‘green’ a worthy pursuit. From a personal perspective, I work for a small company that pursues green or sustainable methods for...

Community Resources-Get Involved...

For so many reasons, Olympia is a great place to live!  I can hardly imagine finding anywhere better. For me it’s a package deal, but the cherry on top is the people. Olympia is such a delightful mixed bag and for the most part easy to take in it’s entirety and minimally, always entertaining! Having grown up on the east coast, the loose nature of our little community suits me just fine. I’ve only lived here for 20 years, but I see many more in my future. Naturally, this inspires me to keep up to date on what’s happening in and around Olympia and to...

FROGBOX-A Green Moving Alternative...

This is a notable Puget Sound resource I just read about in the Business Examiner, “FROGBOX Brings Totatable Alternatives to South Sound“. FROGBOX is a sustainable alternative to the resource-rich effort of moving. If you are are relocating your belongings whether from your home or business, FROGBOX supplies movers with plastic re-usable totes that can replace regular cardboard boxes. People can order the amount of boxes needed from the FROGBOX website, FROGBOX will then deliver the re-usable boxes to be filled by you and when ready, they will come back to...

Evaluating Luxury...

As with most mornings, today was no different. I woke up to hot breath on my face and eyes loaded with anticipation. That would be Eddy, she’s an 80 lb Chesapeake Bay Retriever, determined to start each day  retrieving. Again, like most mornings, first thing we grab the ‘Chuckit’ and ball and head out to survey our small kingdom to see what happened during the night, we search for tracks from critters that  came under the field fence, and those that came over, we look at pond levels and clarity, examine the new trees, admire the weeping willow...

Holiday Food Drive...

HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE! Each year, the members of The Artisans Group sponsors a food drive for  those in our community who could use a helping hand. We match each donation as a way to say thanks for our happy lot in life! Please join us by dropping by soon (M-W, 9 to 6) with a non-perishable donation: Food: Dry Goods like cereals, grains and pasta packaged in factory boxes Jar Goods like tomato and apple sauce Canned Goods of all kinds Personal Items: Soap Shampoo  and Conditioner Toothbrushes Razors Combs and Brushes Other Items: Cash and Check donations Gift...

New home for plastic foam...

Finally a local place to recycle your plastic foam containers! I read this article in the Olympian the other day and thought it was worth passing along. Enjoy! Zeta New home for plastic foam Recycle: Tumwater site takes stuff that was garbage JOHN DODGE; The Olympian | • Published November 09, 2009 TUMWATER – Add plastic foam products such as cups, plates and food take-out trays to the list of items that can be recycled in South Sound. Dart Container Corp., a Tumwater-based manufacturer of plastic foam food and beverage containers, has opened a drop box to accept...

Incandescent Lights Out...

There are certainly differing opinions about light bulbs these days, for example rarely do we hear someone sitting on the fence about their feelings toward the relatively modern energy-efficient compact flourescents (CFL). The energy efficient part is hardly the question… but the qualitative experience of conducting life under the glow of a CFL is widely debated. Conversely, environment be damned… we all love the warmth and strength (and lack of flickering) of the incandescent bulb. The incandescent bulb has been around in some fashion since the mid...

The Electric Grid – How does the B...

Though it’s not about design or construction or cool new interior products, if you are an information junkie like me, you may find this interesting in this age of hyper energy awareness. National Public Radio covered a provocative story earlier this year examining the costs, the politics and other challenges of upgrading our country’s electricity grid. The series covers the big issues surrounding the nations transmission lines from the immediate need for new lines to how renewable power interacts with the current system. Listen to the series here. NPR also created a...