Green Patchwork

New evidence that shows that climate change is having a direct impact on animals, plants, and humans has been outlined in a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The bleak conclusion of the report is that people living in poverty would be worst affected by the effects of climate change because they will be the least equipped to deal with the changes. Read more at BBC News’ “Billions Face Climate Change Risk”.

I recently found an article in the New York Times online titled “The Era of Green Noise”, about the topic of “green noise” - the excessive and contradictory information overload people are experiencing regarding how to live lightly on the earth. With all the information people  receive via the internet, newspapers, friends, environmental groups, the media, and many others they are bound to feel overwhelmed and confused. At the end of the article the writer suggests being patient and also points out the fast that our environmental problems are not going to be solved overnight and will take some generations to create change. I agree with the author and encourage people to remain patient and lead by example. Don’t give up and try not to give in to frustration and the myth that there is no problem- our environmental problems took decades to create and will take that many or more decades to correct.

Mind mapping is a radial rather than linear method of brainstorming and problem solving. I have done my own mind mapping in the past, but they were very rudimentary and sketchy. If you google ‘mind map’ and search through the images you will find a creative and colorful collection of various mind maps. Through my image search I found a mind map relating to global warming and the various solutions, problems, and issues surrounding this global issue. I hope this inspires you to create and explore your own mind maps.

New York City remains one of the world’s leading fashion centers which is why you will see more and more fashion shows in the future highlighting green design. One such show that happened earlier this year was Project Earth Day, a fashion show staged in NYC that is dedicated to the promotion of green design and builds a platform for leaders and future leaders in the design industry to bridge their environmentally-conscious ideas and developments together. Presented by the Emerging Green Builders, a committee of the United States Building Council, Project Earth Day advocates values of sustainability, innovation and environmental responsibility. 

For a who’s who of leading green designers and future green designers click on the “Designers” link.

I work at a small locally-owned children’s clothing and toy store called Wild Child. About 27 years ago Renee West opened the store as a result of not being able to find non-branded cotton clothing for her kids. She was also frustrated by the fact that all the toys being sold for children were made of plastic, required batteries, and broke easily. (more…)