Sustainable Living Tips by Lee Leffler

Target stores will celebrate Earth Day 2012 by giving away 1.5 million resusable bags to their customers on April 22.

In addition to the bag giveaway, Target has provided a limited-life web page, www.target.com/earthday that lists (and has coupons for)  some products that they consider appropriate for Earth Day — but we’re not sure about the bottled water!

You can read Target’s announcement here.

Here’s  another downside to disposable plastic bags. Do you, like me, anticipate the coming of Spring by looking for signs of green in the treetops? If so, no doubt you noticed the off-white remnants of plastic, streaming from almost every tree beside a highway.

The annual EcoFair sustainability conference in Fairfield, Iowa has been renamed “EcoFairfield” in order to include all citizens of Fairfield and beyond. Out-of-town guest speakers, guest presenters and attendees will continue to be welcomed April 20-22 — Earth Day Weekend — and the slogan is to “serve, inspire and connect.”

The event is being organized now by students in the Sustainability program at Maharishi University of Management and is sponsored by the City of Fairfield, Fairfield Volunteer Center, Fairfield Public Library, Maharishi University of Management, myLocal Cooperative, and  Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

This year’s event focuses on sharing the knowledge of local experts, the excellence of local vendors and businesses, and local projects that anyone can participate in throughout the year.

The conference includes:

• community service
• education about sustainability issues
• celebrations
• (more…)

The practice of “fracking” – hydraulically fracturing rock to extract natural gas – has come under fire in New York State. Environmental and health groups swarmed the state Capitol in Albany requesting a legislative ban on fracking. They are concerned that regulation cannot adequately prevent the contamination of water from fracking.

NY State Senator Tony Avella has sponsored a bill to ban hydraulic fracturing. “Fracking is the most important environmental issue this state has faced in the past 100 years,” he said.

Click to read the article in the Wall Street Journal.

During a single weekend, you can hear from two world-renowned visionary authors, learn to grow organic food, “hydro-fracking” or how to implement wind and solar power into your home and business., either on the standard power grid or at remote sites.

All this and more is being offered at the second annual Local Living Festival, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 24 and 25 2011 at the Cooperative Extension Learning Farm, 2043 Route 68 in Canton, NY.

Click for more information.

Prince William and Kate Middleton get married – sustainably!

This article in EcoSeed – Energy | Environment | Economy explains how His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales will marry Miss Catherine Middleton in an eco-friendly way, from the wedding ring to the flowers.

Let us hope their marriage is totally sustainable, too!

Click to read the article in EcoSeed.

Sustainable Living Center Will Be Unique in the Country

Press Conference and Earth Day Event Scheduled for 12:45 p.m. April 22

On Earth Day, April 22, the walls and the roof will go up on Maharishi University of Management’s new Sustainable Living Center — a building that will set a new standard for green building in America by being completely off the grid with respect to electricity, heating and cooling, water, and waste.

The Sustainable Living Center has been designed to meet the Living Building Challenge, the highest standard for sustainable design and green building in the world. It will be one of the first three to achieve this. And it will be unique because it will be the first to combine that standard with the standards of LEED Platinum certification, Building Biology, and Maharishi Vedic Architecture.

“There’s no other building like this going up in the nation, or in the world for that matter, that we know of,” said nationally known green building expert Mike Nicklas, who co-designed the building and whose company Innovative Design has designed over 4000 buildings that use renewable energy solutions.

Click to read the rest of this article.

Are you ready for the EcoFair 2010 in Fairfield, Iowa on April 30-May 2?

Held on the Maharishi University of Management campus, this year’s EcoFair will feature Diana Leafe Christian, the author of Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities, speaking on Spiritually Oriented Ecovillages. Also, you will hear Mark Lakeman and Micahel Cook on City Repair and the Power of Placemaking. Meet Mike Nicklas, president and co-founder of Innovative Design, Inc., who will talk about Key Strategies for Green Development. And more. Speaker’s list. Schedule.

On Sunday May 2, the Ecofair will become an Unconference using Open Space Technology. Open Space Technology is a highly participatory process that has been successfully employed in multiple situations all over the world. Learn more.

Mark Your Calendar!

Join us for Iowa’s Fifth Annual Natural Living Expo on March 27-28, 2010. We are the first Iowa expo to showcase natural, healthy and green living. We are enthusiastic about Connecting the Community! If you are looking for a fun way to promote your business, sign up to be an exhibitor. Visit the Natural Living Expo website to sign up to exhibit. Feel free to call any of our sales team with questions: Laurie 515-276-6971 / Tizzy 515-681-6781 / Angela 515-205-5494.

The Natural Living Expo is actively seeking volunteers! Volunteers are a vital role in making the Natural Living Expo a fantastic and fun-filled event for everyone. We have many options for service:

• Flier and poster distribution beginning February 25, 2010.
• Set up on Friday, March 26, 2010 at the Polk County Convention Complex. Assist vendors in the unloading and set up of their booth.
• Expo weekend – we need greeters, ticket takers, vendor relations, stage crew, and more.

To sign up, please email tizzy@naturallivingexpo.org or call Tizzy at 515-681-6781.

The *cool* volunteer t-shirt will be available mid-March.