It's been quite some while since I've done one of these catch-all pieces - and it's really far short of a catch "all." Whenever I have enough free time to just surf the green web, I find so much fascinating information that there is no way to do justice to passing the info along. I file a lot of it away, but eventually lose track of some of it.
So, having spent the morning in the garden (yes, even though I'm moving soon, I can't stay out of the garden), I'm spending some of the afternoon avoiding packing by passing along some bits and pieces that I have found uplifting. I have a sort of theme here, and I guess we can call it sustainable design. We have some hard times a-comin' on this planet, even in this wealthiest of nations, and the sooner we start facing up to that fact, the better we will make it through them.
This lovely bit of design actually came to me from one of my fellow Blue Voices, known to her public as Wonky Muse, after her visit there. At a time when much of the architecture everywhere on the planet was seriously ugly and unconnected to Nature in any way (1951), Lloyd Wright (son of Frank) designed and built this most beautiful of chapels on the California coast: Wayfarers Chapel. Visit the "architecture" section of the site, spend some time in the photo gallery also. I'm not sure how "sustainable" in the contemporary sense of the word this site is, but it certainly looks spiritually sustaining to me.
Next, news of a new PBS series, "e2: the economics of being environmentally conscious," that will debut in June, with the "Design" portion of the planned episodes. Billed as "A television series that explores new ideas for living on earth," it will be narrated by Brad Pitt (this is, in all probability, either a definite plus or a really big minus for you, Brad inspires strong feelings both ways). This first topic is really about sustainable architecture and building practices. Later parts of the series will focus on: water, energy, food, textiles, transportation, botanicals, and health. A web site will be up this Sunday, April 1.
The two biggies ahead of us are, of course, Peak Oil and Global Warming. In this article, Ten U.S. Cities Best Prepared for an Oil Crisis, we see the top ten of the largest 50 U.S. cities that SustainLane has ranked, based on recent city commute practices, metro area public transportation, sprawl, traffic congestion, local food and wireless network access. There are many other areas that rising oil prices will affect: construction, retail goods of all types, utilities (especially in the Northeast, the one part of the nation where heating oil is used)—virtually every aspect of our economy will be hit. You can sign up on the website to get mailings as they continue to release city rankings for the other forty. SustainLane may be one of the most vital websites available for keeping up with ways to sustain existence through the coming crises.
If you yourself are planning any green building, or even any changes to your current building design to make it more energy-efficient or sustainable, The Green Building Pages - "a sustainable building materials database and design tool for the environmentally and socially responsible designer, builder and client" - might be a site you will want to bookmark and keep handy for future reference.
Having started with a grand design, in the Wayfarers Chapel, I'll end with an exquisite small one, from the ur-website for info on cutting-edge sustainable design , Inhabitat. This little cabin for a country getaway is too good to be true - an old idea made new again, Dogtrot Cottage. The article mentions dogtrot buildings in the Southeast, but this style of building was also used by early Texas settlers, and there are still some charming examples of the original idea in the Texas countryside. When AC is no longer a viable option, the dogtrot design will come back into style.
That's a full house for this edition of Flotsam and Jetsam. Take a walk around your property, then your city or town - see what sustainable options can be put into place,now, while there is still some window of opportunity at least partially open.
