water

Kohler Numi Toilet

April 16, 2011

Unbelievable. Technology is going to save us once and for all. For a price. As seen in USA Today, a new customizable “smart toilet” is being brought to the US market the end of this month. Called the “Numi”, Kohler’s new toilet is billed as “a perfect blend of technology, performance, and design.” It comes [...]

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The Lawrence Street House – Bidding and LEED

January 30, 2011

I know it’s been a little while since I gave you all an update on the Lawrence House. With the holidays, I took a bit longer finishing the drawings and we really didn’t want to have to be doing open houses during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Open Houses are actually kind of a pain. [...]

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Van Jones and Green Jobs

January 25, 2011

Van Jones was appointed by President Obama early in his presidency. After a short six months as Special Advisor for Green Jobs in the Obama Administration, amid controversy over several issues, Jones resigned. My wife and I had the privilege of hearing Jones speak Monday night at the University of Oregon in the EMU Ballroom. [...]

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The Seven Sins of Greenwashing – Sin #6

December 17, 2010

GREENWASH Greenwashing is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.” SIN #6 – THE SIN OF FIBBING Outright lying drives me nuts. I can understand stretching the truth (although I don’t agree with it or condone it), but deliberately messing with [...]

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The Seven Sins of Greenwashing – Sin #2

December 6, 2010

Today we’ll dive into Sin #2, The Sin of No Proof. But first, as a reminder, here’s a definition of Greenwashing: GREENWASH Greenwashing is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.” SIN #2 – THE SIN OF NO PROOF The Sin [...]

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Simple Sometimes is Really Good

December 1, 2010

OK, so a few days ago I dissed on the one-cup coffee makers with all the disposables. Now for something truly sustainable and amazing. It’s the Niagra Stealth HET (High Efficiency Toilet). Made by Niagra Conservation, the Stealth toilet is a single flush, using only 0.8 gallons. Most of the new dual flush toilets are [...]

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Advent Conspiracy – Give Presence

November 28, 2010

Sunday, November 28 marks the beginning of Advent. A few years ago, a group of pastors in Portland, Oregon started the Advent Conspiracy. Their concept was simple: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All. You’ve probably noticed in my posts that I have a tug in my heart toward those who are the [...]

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Toothbrushes and Running Water

August 22, 2010

I was talking to a friend a while back who was visiting his grandchildren in England. They asked him why he left the water running while he was brushing his teeth. This gave him pause to think about that. And this caused me to think about the times we leave the water running when we [...]

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Saving Water

January 14, 2010

Water. Something we in the US take largely for granted. We go to the faucet, turn it on and don’t really think twice about it. For us it’s abundant, cheap and clean. And for those of us in the Pacific Northwest, it’s cool, refreshing and drinkable — right out of the tap. But a lot [...]

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White

January 9, 2010

If you’re following a recent wave on Facebook, you’ll have noticed women posting their bra color to raise awareness about breast cancer. Well, I had already planned this post, so thought it timely to go for it. I was originally going to call it “Halves and Doubles: Underwear”, but decided to change simply to “White”. [...]

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