Introducing Six Magazine - The "Green" Vogue of the Fashion World!

Fashion enthusiasts around the world (including myself) are buzzing about the launch of Six Magazine, a publication that celebrates the designers, individuals, independent brands and companies who are creating a more ethical and sustainable future for the fashion industry.  From their Website:

 We stand for slow fashion, respect for clothes and those who created them, and the return to individuality.

 SIX magazine heralds the way all fashion should be.

 It represents the sixth sense we all have: style and value.

 SIX. Sense. Fashion

Click here to check out their first issue.

Six Magazine behind the scenes at London's fashion week: 

 <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20098429">London Fashion Week BEHIND THE SCENES by Nyco Dyszel</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6067452">SIX Magazine</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Six Magazine meets students from the London College of Fashion:

<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20370332">Six Magazine meets students from the London College of Fashion</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6067452">SIX Magazine</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

World Water Day: Water for Cities - How you can get involved

Click here to view the World Water Day Live Webcast!

The most important natural resource and commodity in this world is water. Because it flows to use so easily to us in different forms (ie. tap, bottled, flavored, sparkling), we sometimes take it for granted. World Water Day calls international attention to the plight of communities with inadequate access to water and sanitation. 

International World Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater.

This is the first time in human history that most of the world's population live in cities: 3.3 billion people...and the urban landscape continues to grow.

38% of the growth is represented by expanding slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city infrastructure can adapt.

The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. 

This year's theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management.

Resources:

• World Water Day Official Brochure
• World Water Day 2011 Programme
• World Water Day 2011 Advocacy Guide

 In celebration of this day, Huffington Post offers 8 ways you can get involved: 

1. Charity: Water - dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to communities in developing nations. They fund 3,811 projects, which provide water for more than 1.7 million people by digging wells, harvesting rainwater and installing filters. Volunteer and attend monthly volunteer nights in New York City. Schools can get involved in Water for Schools, a student-led campaign that helps bring water to schools in developing countries.
2. Water.org - Cofounded by Gary White and Matt Damon, Water.org provides communities in developing countries with adequate water supplies by building partnerships with local organizations. Water.org has projects based in 11 countries including an initiative in Haiti, to provide safe water and sanitation for 50,000 people. Supporters can follow Water.org's progress on my.Water.org, like it on Facebook, or follow it on Twitter. It also offers lesson plans for teachers and fundraising kits for supporters interested in running their own fundraisers.
3. The UNICEF Tap Project was started in New York City in 2007. The concept: participating restaurants ask patrons to donate at least $1 for tap water usually served for free. Funds collected go to UNICEF's water, sanitation and hygiene programs. Their Celebrity Tap Project gives participants the chance to win "some ridiculously famous water," drawn from the homes of celebrities "more famous than you." Donate $5 to enter the sweepstakes or find a restaurant in your hometown participating in the UNICEF Tap Project during 2011 Global Water Week (March 20-26).
4. Living Water International - This Houston-based nonprofit was founded in 1990 when a group of travelers went to Kenya and noticed the lack of clean drinking water available. Today, Living Water International trains, equips and consults nationals in 26 countries to create sustainable, long-term, local solutions for 9.5 million people. Make a donation, or volunteer at home or in the field. You can also create an advocacy page or show support for LWI on Facebook from the comfort of your computer.
5. The Samburu Project provides clean, safe drinking water to communities in Wamba, Samburu, Kenya. They drill shallow wells, which are easy to access and operate by locals. In the Samburu District, women and children walk up to 12 miles every day in search of water, which is often contaminated. Clean water in the region supports education, health care, livelihoods and women's empowerment. This Sunday in Hermosa Beach, Calif., the Samburu Project will participate in the 2nd Annual Walk For Water -- a four-mile fundraising walk to support the organization's water projects. Sign up for the Walk For Water and learn more about the Samburu Project.
6. A Drink For Tomorrow (ADFT) works with the drink and beverage industry to raise money for clean water projects and help the approximately 884 million people without access to clean water. The organization uses cause marketing partnerships and community events so the drinks consumed in America today can go towards providing clean water for someone in a developing country tomorrow. Establish a business partnership in your community with A Drink For Tomorrow or find an event year you.
7. Drop in the Bucket, based in Los Angeles and Gulu, Uganda, installs water wells and sanitation systems at large rural schools in sub-Saharan Africa. Since its inception 11 years ago, Drop in the Bucket has constructed over 90 water wells and numerous sanitation systems in places including Tanzania, Mozambique, South Sudan, Chad, Kenya and Uganda. Find a fundraising campaign or learn how to raise money and name a well.
8. Innovation, collaboration and urgent action -- these are the tools the Safe Water Network believes will solve the global water crisis. Safe Water Network uses a small team of specialized practitioners who adapt the latest technologies for local solutions. Their work using safe water kiosks and rainwater harvesting initiatives have given over 80,000 people access to safe water in Ghana, Kenya and India. Learn more about Safe Water Network or make a donation.

ShelterBox Kits to Offer Sustained Relief in Japan

From Earth911.com:

A week after a giant earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, relief workers are turning their focus from search and rescue to helping displaced survivors – and that’s where ShelterBox comes in.

The UK-based charity, which dispatched an international team to Tokyo immediately after the disaster struck, now has about 500 of its emergency aid kits on the ground in Japan, another 400 en route and 5,000 on stand-by. The team is working to distribute the kits in the country’s worst affected areas on the northern coast.

Food and medicine are of course critical after such a disaster, but what’s unique – and sustainable – about ShelterBox is its focus on longer-term shelter and self-sufficiency in the weeks and months that follow.

Each heavy-duty box is packed for a specific emergency, but generally contains:

• Tent designed to hold 10 people and withstand extreme temperatures, heavy rainfall and high winds up to one year; it also includes privacy partitions to divide space as needed
• Thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets
• Water filtration system good for three years, plus water storage containers
• Tool kit with an ax, hammer, saw, shovel, pliers, wire cutter for building latrines, chopping firewood and eventually home repairs
• Steel stove that can burn wood or any other fuel, plus steel pans, cooking and eating utensils, bowls and mugs
• Children’s pack with coloring books and crayons

“These materials are used over and over,” says Tiffany Stephenson of Shelterbox USA, one of the organization’s 18 affiliates.

“Last year, a team returned to Mexico three years after a disaster there and a family was still using the box.”

ShelterBox’s custom tent, by manufactuer Vengo, is redesigned every year for durability, Stephenson adds. “People are living in them every single day; these are not your camping trip tents.”

The stove, which the agency’s website notes can even burn paint, is also crucial in this sense, she points out. “It helps families feed themselves without having to wait for the next handout.”

Such delays can be the difference between life and death.

“It’s extremely cold here and we are hearing reports of people having to sleep in their cars while evacuation centers remain full and overcrowded,” ShelterBox international director Lasse Petersen told NPR. “We’re committed to doing everything we can to help Japan’s people at this extremely testing time.”

 

 

 

Aerotropolis Atlanta to feature Georgia's largest solar plant

As a resident of Atlanta, it always pleases me to see my city embrace green initiatives. One of Atlanta's prominent developers, Jacoby Development, is in the process of creating a new office, hotel and retail space that will incorporate solar canopies over 30 acres of airport parking at the Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l Airport. These solar canopies will provide power to the $1.5 billion project spanning 100 acres. See an excerpt of the story below from the Green Building Chronicle:

An abandoned Ford assembly plant site near Atlanta’s airport could soon become the largest clean energy producer — by far — in the state of Georgia.

With a capacity of up to 10 megawatts, the arrays would generate nearly 10 times the amount of electricity of any other solar project planned in the state — and more than 20 times the amount of any existing facility.

The solar arrays would serve as roofs for 30 acres of airport parking that represent the first of Jacoby Development’s planned Aerotropolis Atlanta project.

The solar project isn’t yet under construction, but Jacoby Development has already secured a power-purchase agreement with a “local utility” to buy up to 10 megawatts of electricity from Aerotropolis. The 10 megawatts represent one-third of the entire needs of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Go here to read the full story on the Green Building Chronicle.

EcoSense for Living TV series premieres in Georgia during Earth month

Jennie Turner Garlington, Creator and Executive Producer of EcoSense for Living

EcoSense for Living exposes everyday tips and topics to simultaneously save money and the environment. Episodes will premiere in Georgia during Earth Month and are slotted for Tuesdays April 5, April 12, April 19 and April 26 at 7:30 pm on GPB.

An excerpt from the show's creator and executive producer, Jennie Garlington:

“People think being green means spending more money,” Jennie said. “Our series reflects the opposite. There are ways – lots of them – to save money while helping the environment. In EcoSense for Living we have created an outlet to communicate to everyone just how easy it is to save money and to join in saving our resources for our children, whether you are a single homeowner, a huge corporate entity or an elementary school student. It’s all about saving our world for the generations to come and I can’t think of a better time to spread the word in Georgia than during Earth Month.”

EcoSense for Living: Episode 1, will premiere on GPB Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30 pm.

EcoSense for Living: Children & Nature, episode 2, profiles the importance of getting children outside and more involved in nature. Richard Louv identifies the phenomenon of dwindling exposure to nature as “nature deficit disorder” in his book “Last Child in the Woods.” Louv is interviewed in this episode which will premiere on GPB Tuesday, April 12 at 7:30 pm.

EcoSense for Living: Green Jobs, episode 3, explores how corporations large and small are making a difference in America with green jobs. The Louisiana Green Corps, a small pizza place called Pizza Fusion, and Coca-Cola’s Spartanburg plant, a model of sustainability and material recovery, are all profiled in this episode. It will premiere on GPB Tuesday, April 19 at 7:30 pm.

The newest episode, EcoSense for Living: Green Buildings, profiles homes, a school and even Atlanta’s Phillips Arena to illustrate how energy efficient buildings reduce our carbon footprint in remarkable ways. Phillips Arena was retrofitted with energy efficient systems and it now uses 21% less electricity than other arenas of similar size. This episode also profiles Arabia Mountain High School which focuses on environmental learning throughout its curricula using Promethean boards (to reduce paper and enhance learning), outdoor classrooms, and even energy- and water-efficient rest rooms. Green Buildings compares modular, new, completely green homes to modified older homes with energy efficient systems and opens by touring the Solar Decathlon in Washington, DC for a glimpse of the cutting edge green building designs being developed across the globe. Sponsored by the Department of Energy, the Decathlon is a competition showcasing design and designers, many of them college students, from Germany to California. Episode 4 will premiere on GPB Tuesday, April 26 at 7:30 pm.

Watch GPB on these nine stations across Georgia: Atlanta – Channel 8.1; Albany - WABW/14.1, Augusta - WCES/20.1, Chatsworth - WCLP/18.1, Columbus - WJSP/28.1, Dawson - WACS/25.1, Macon - WMUM/29.1, Savannah - WVAN/9.1, Waycross - WXGA/8.1. www.gpb.org

You know I'll be tuning in! For those of you not in GA, don't worry...I'll recap each episode here on my blog. Stay tuned!