David Rowley, Contributing Writer

A native of Iowa, David Rowley is getting ready for his impending exit from the state. He’s not sure what awaits him next – grad school or the real world – though David is sure he will be traversing new roads….

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The Green Side of Art – Making New Beauty from Old Objects

Have you ever looked at a beer bottle and thought, That would make a good candle? Like many people switching to a more environmentally friendly – “green” – lifestyle, artists are finding new ways to show their creativity while recycling material that otherwise would be tossed in the garbage.

Tom Brown has found an outlet for his creativity by participating in the Iowa City Public Library’s Altered Book Sale and Exhibit.

For the past few years, people of all ages have been encouraged to participate in creating fun works of art using old books as the focal material of the work. Those who participate have the option of using their own library for material or picking up an old book from the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL).

Using recycled material such as books and copper, Brown went to work creating his piece for the exhibit: a lamp. Brown made the body from copper tubing and the shade from the pages of a medical encyclopedia.

“It was covered in skulls and kidneys and other body parts,” says Brown….

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International Women’s Day Event to Celebrate Ugandan Hero

In an early celebration of International Women’s Day, Blue Planet Green Living is partnering with A GEM of An Idea to host a live and interactive, online forum featuring the subject of this post, Agnes Nyamayarwo, founder of Mulago Positive Women’s Network.

We’re focusing on Agnes — both here and in the online forum — to celebrate her singular accomplishments as a woman of initiative, courage, and strength.

We invite you to join us February 26, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EST to speak with Agnes Nyamayarwo live from Uganda via the Internet.

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Dr. Jason Bradley, Contributing Writer

Dr. Jason Bradley practices naturopathic and chiropractic medicine in Iowa City, IA. After finishing his undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and English Literature, he attended Palmer University in Davenport, Iowa, where he attained his Doctor of Chiropractic, graduating summa cum laude.

Early in practice, he realized that his patients were coming to him with complex questions about metabolic and nutritional medicine and that naturopathy school was calling him. He attended Trinity College in Warsaw, Indiana, where he earned his Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, again graduating summa cum laude.

A lifelong learner, Jason recently completed a Master’s Degree in Journalism at the prestigious Adler School at the University of Iowa. While continuing to see patients, he is currently completing a Doctor of Nursing Practice at Frontier School of Medicine in Hyden, Kentucky and will sit for the Board Certification exam in Anti-Aging Medicine in April of 2011.

In his practice, Jason specializes in treating complex metabolic disorders, weight loss, fatigue, thyroid and adrenal imbalances and bio-identical hormone replacement therapies….

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Kara Bennett, Contributing Writer

Kara Bennett is a University of Iowa senior, majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication and English.

Raised in eastern Iowa, the Mississippi river was only a few feet from her front door, inspiring a childhood rich with outdoor activity and a reverence for wildlife.

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Lauren Mills, Contributing Writer

Lauren Mills is a junior at the University of Iowa, majoring in Journalism, English, and Spanish. She recently returned from studying abroad in Chile and loves to travel, but she’ll always come home to her beloved Kansas City.

Her interest in environmental journalism began when she worked the environmental beat as a reporter for the The Daily Iowan…

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Woofables – A Gourmet Bakery Your Dog Will Love

Although Woofables, The Gourmet Dog Bakery in Coralville, Iowa, sells dog food, it has the light scent of a real bakery. Owner Laura Taylor, who used to work in marketing, now spends her days crafting handmade treats for canines out of all-natural, all-human-grade ingredients.

While frosting a cake, Taylor explains that everything made in the store can be eaten by people; they’ll just think it tastes bland. Salt is unhealthy for dogs, so items are flavored with pumpkin, peanut butter, and cinnamon. Frosting is made with carob and yogurt and tastes like white chocolate….

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Taproot Nature Experience Deepens Children’s Connection to the Natural World

Taproot Nature Experience was founded on the simple idea that kids need to have time outdoors.

Launched in September 2007 by Zac Wedemeyer and his wife, Elesa, this Iowa City-based company has several different programs that connect children with nature: an after-school program; a summer camp; and Sprouts, a program for pre-school-aged children.

Wedemeyer says that kids used to be allowed to go outside more, but now parents are afraid to let their children out of the house alone. As a former elementary-school teacher, he saw firsthand how little time kids spend in nature and how much time they spend watching television and playing video games….

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Karmic B.S.™ Sanitized Bovine Excrement – A “Greeting Jar” with Laughter, Bite, and Good Karma

“Hand someone a jar of Karmic B.S.™ sanitized bovine excrement, and their first reaction is likely to be confusion,” says ecopreneur Joe Hennager. “They see the bull and the yin-yang in our logo — and the pile of bull poop — and they usually look up with a question in their eyes.

“But the second they tip the jar to read the punch line on top, they burst out laughing. They get it. The person giving them the jar is saying, ‘This is full of B.S. & so are you!’

“The idea of karma is that you get what you give,” says Hennager, who also happens to be my husband and the co-owner of Blue Planet Green Living. “The yin-yang symbol in our logo represents the idea of ‘what goes around comes around,’ which is another of the punch lines we use. After all, this is real, sanitized B.S. (and you know what that means). When someone gives you B.S., you can give it back — literally — with our adult novelty gift.” …

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Software to Hold “Greenwashers” Accountable

It’s no secret that “going green” has become the next big thing in the corporate world. Riding the wave of consumers’ growing interest in environmental sustainability, companies are launching major ad campaigns to tout their green credentials. But many of their claims are misleading or downright false. The ads are compelling, but how are we to know who’s telling the truth? “Greenwashing” is eroding the credibility of well-intentioned green businesses and turning would-be green consumers into skeptics. …

The development of Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA) software is well underway, with roughly 60 vendors bringing solutions to market. ECA software enables companies to track their carbon footprint and the footprint of their suppliers as well as the impact of customer use of their products. It’s a promising innovation that can help us manage corporate America’s environmental footprint, but it’s still at the early stages of adoption. We need a number of things to happen for the ECA market to mature and develop environmental accounting to the same level as financial accounting….

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ReUse Connection – Ideas for Repurposing, Freely Shared

Ian Moise is the founder of ReUse Connection, a Facebook page and future website dedicated to finding alternative uses for items or materials people might otherwise throw away. For example, do you ever wonder what to do with used plastic tape dispensers? ReUse Connection readers suggested ideas as varied as making candle holders, using them [...]

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Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Helps Change Lives through Improved Sanitation

“There are 2.6 billion people without access to improved sanitation. And, according to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), that’s supposed to be halved by the year 2015,” Ian Moise [mo-EEZ] told Blue Planet Green Living (BPGL).

Moise is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, who currently consults on a global sanitation project for the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). “Our project is one of the many projects working on expanding access to ‘improved sanitation’ for a target of roughly 1.3 billion people,” he said… (Part 1 of a 2-Part Interview)

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My 5: Jennie Nigrosh, The Green Garmento, President and Co-Founder

Blue Planet Green Living (BPGL) asks our interviewees to answer two questions that give us insights into their thinking about the planet we all share. Today, Jennie Nigrosh, president and co-founder of The Green Garmento, gives us her responses. The Green Garmento is a reusable polypropylene bag that replaces the ubiquitous, single-use, plastic dry cleaning bags.

BPGL: What are the five most important things we can do to protect the planet?

NIGROSH:

1. Education. We have to learn where the problems are, understand the answers, and do the best we can to solve them….

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Breeze Dryer – Eco-Friendly Solutions for Drying Your Laundry

“Why do you care about drying clothes outside?” Blue Planet Green Living (BPGL) asked Gary Sutterlin, President and CEO of Breeze Dryer. “Do you have a passion for this, or is it just a business?

“For us, it goes beyond that,” Sutterlin said. “It really was a life lesson for our children. I’m a pharmacist by training, my wife’s a Ph.D. by training. I was doing very well in the pharmaceutical industry as an executive and pretty much walked away overnight. Our passion was to make a difference in this world. We found that medium through clotheslines.”

The clotheslines that Sutterlin and his wife, Gayle, sell are made by Hills, an Australian manufacturer known for quality and reliability. We interviewed Sutterlin by phone from his home in Pennsylvania….

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Working for Green – A “Video-Based Web Community” of Ecopreneurs

“A big part of what we’re doing — and what gives me great passion — are the personal success stories about individuals,” says Susan Neisloss. “I can’t tell you how important it is for me to be able to share these stories and to have people give us good ideas. That is the key to building this community.”

Neisloss is speaking about the community of people who visit Working for Green, the website she has published for about a year. A seasoned broadcaster and reporter, she interviews ecopreneurs who are making a living by starting and running environmentally friendly businesses….

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The Green Garmento – An Eco-Friendly Dry Cleaning Tote

“Using The Green Garmento for your dry cleaning is similar to the reusable totes movement, which started as something grocery stores were offering and has changed the way people do their grocery shopping,” says Jennie Nigrosh, president and co-founder of The Green Garmento.

Nigrosh’s product is a dry cleaning bag that consumers use over and over again, both as a hamper at home and as a way to transport their dry cleaning without plastic bags. “Way beyond the fact that we have an interesting product that helps make life easier, helps to organize your closet, and helps you be green all at the same time,” Nigrosh adds, “it’s a new category.

Blue Planet Green Living (BPGL) interviewed Nigrosh by phone from her California office to learn more about The Green Garmento as well as its acceptance in the dry-cleaning world and in homes around the nation….

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Jaia Rosenfels, Contributing Writer

The oldest of five children, Jaia Rosenfels grew up in a rural Iowa town. She is from a family in which organic foods were served long before eating organic was trendy. Composting was a natural part of their family’s life.

Today, Jaia resides in a city where organic eating is a respected choice, because consumers are educated about the advantages.

Jaia is a freelance writer, who volunteers with a variety of civic groups.

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“I Can’t Walk Away and Leave Malnourished Children Standing There”

My cousin, David Wasson, knows about childhood nutrition better than most. David is an award-winning chef who spent his career preparing meals for wealthy people and teaching their children to cook. He also taught cooking at a community college in the United States. As he approached retirement, David embarked on a completely new venture that would profoundly change his life. Today, as the Chef and Child Foundation Ambassador to the Philippines, David cooks for children who are as familiar with hunger as most people reading this post are familiar with a full belly.

His work is urgent. With every meal he cooks, he fights to save children’s lives and the health of their brains and bodies….

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Chef David Wasson, Contributing Writer

Chef David Wasson CCC, CCE was a chef, caterer and teacher in Seattle Washington (35 years), where he won many awards for Innovative Nutrition Education. He also taught AAS degree classes in French Culinary Theory and Nutrition for the Seattle Community College District (20 years).

Chef Wasson wrote “That’s Fresh” Kids Cooking Team’s curriculum for the Chef and Child Foundation, and a cookbook for children. This ongoing process of teaching and feeding children is directly focused on the City of Tagum, where he now lives. He feeds 250 children each week through the Tagum City Food Bank, a charity that he started with the assistance of Tagum City Rotary and Chef & Child Foundation.

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Cast Your Vote for the “Hardest-Working ___ in America”

Mitchum’s brand team calls its product the “hardest working anti-perspirant in America.” And, as part of their latest advertising strategy, they’re running a contest that invites people to submit videos of the “hardest-working ____ in America.” Entrants were invited to fill in the blank with a noun, then to post a video about themselves or someone else they nominated. The goal is to convince the rest of us to vote for them.

While this is obviously another clever marketing strategy similar to a few other companies’ efforts (Pepsi and Intuit come to mind), the stakes are high enough that the prize could do some real good. And that’s why I’m weighing in with a suggestion that you take a look at the videos of the ten finalists and choose the one that resonates with you….

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