Ted is always looking for ways to minimize his ecological footprint. Professionally, Ted is working to gain the skills necessary to turn his passion for sustainable development into action, as an entrepreneur or financing sustainable businesses.
Ted studied economics and international business at Saint Louis University’s campus in Madrid, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was honored as the Distinguished Student in International Business for his class. As the founder and president of the SLU Madrid Business Club, Ted focused the club’s activities on sustainability.
While working for commercial real estate multi-national Jones Lang LaSalle’s Madrid office, Ted strove to implement sustainable practices both within the firm and for its clients. He proposed and designed an Environmental Sustainability Action Plan for JLL Spain. Green Building and Environmentally Sustainable Development remain a passion for Ted: he believes that the intersection of sustainable infrastructure and sustainable attitude is where we’ll find a sustainable society.
Ted currently works for a private equity firm in Madrid, learning skills that he hopes to apply to finance Environmentally Sustainable Development in the United States and around the world.
Cherl Petso is the Associate Editor at Disaboom.com, an online magazine for people with disabilities. Her writing expertise includes articles about the environment and sustainable living, and vegan/vegetarian issues. A vegetarian for 16 years and a recent vegan, Cherl is passionate about animal rights and issues. She enjoys writing about simple ways to lessen the impact on the Earth.
Cherl recently moved to Denver, Colorado from Bellingham, Washington. She enjoys hiking and hanging out with her puppy.
Alexis Steinkamp grew up at Helderledge Farm, a perennial plant nursery in an apple orchard near Albany, New York. As a teenager, she hybridized daylilies, raised chickens, grew tomatoes, chopped wood, picked apples, baked pies and feared mosquitoes. She left the farm to attend Northwestern University and study art and design.
After graduating in 1991, she stayed in Chicago to work in theater, film and special event design. She didn’t make much money, but lived simply and saved for a rainy day or a place to live—whichever came first. As it turned out, the condo came first. Her friends were shocked that she, a starving artist, could afford a condo in the city. How did she do it? She should write a book about it! So, she did. She wrote a personal finance workbook to help young women budget, save and dream called Thrifty Girl KICKS YOUR FINANCIAL BUTT; Get a grip on your finances without dying of boredom. And, she developed a personal finance class that she teaches at Truman College in Chicago.
Today, Alexis still lives simply. She works part-time, writes and lives in a tiny condo with a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline. Visit her online at Thrifty Girl
Loretta White is a writer, educator and scholar who gained huge diversity of experience within varied industries; energy, government, high tech and more. The last fifteen years she brokered deals with the top multinational companies globally, her Rainmaker skills are unsurpassed and she remains an authority on BD, BI, sustainability and the Global Marketplace.
Frugality was the voice of her elders who endured wars, rationing and Depression, raised to respect, love and to co-exist with nature through sustainability, self reliance, need and RRR practices. Loretta’s juxtaposition of ideas, deep love for the planet and her Yankee sensibilities are the foundation of a lifestyle that is in partnership with nature. Loretta indulges her passions for renewable energy, organics and being green on her 17.5 acre farm in central Massachusetts.
Recently Ms. White has lead an Assoc. of Caregivers providing support to those caring for parents, disabled, and others.
Loretta is invested in the community of our species and our planet and her diverse background in technology and green living gives her a unique perspective on how to live with nature and with our own gifts of technology.
Ms. White’s work has been published by Corporations, magazines, readers digest and many others.
Lauren Mangion is a writer, engaged citizen, and an eco-coach from Calgary, Canada. Lauren’s personal life and work are intimately intertwined, both being experiments in more sustainable, lower-footprint urban living.
Through Conscious Home, an eco-coaching service, Lauren educates and inspires her fellow Calgarians with tools and resources toward reducing the individual ecological footprint.
Boston born novelist, short-story writer and who has published thousands of technical papers now works in the horror-fiction world. Occasionally, his characters and stories transcend genres and travel from fantasy to realism.
White contributes to L. A, Weekly occasionally and other magazines and online forums, he also blogs regularly for several news and industry sites.
Current projects include; “Underwater City Salvage,” “Real Vampires”, “The Black Coach”, “The In-Between Time.” His novels are richly textured with excellent grasp on popular culture, and explores feelings of angst, deep-rooted in ancient themes.
A freelance writer specializing in environmental and health topics, Linda recently was part of a core team of writers who developed content for GreenYour, a website devoted to greener living.
She wrote an environmental column for five years for Good Housekeeping magazine called Green Watch. You can find her articles in Plenty Magazine’s online newsletter, Fit Pregnancy, Good Housekeeping, Arthritis Today, Profiles (Continental Airline’s in-flight magazine), and Microsoft’s Encarta.
She served on her town’s environmental commission for 15 years and remains an active volunteer. Her personal essay column for the local newspaper offers her take on the natural world and on environmental topics in her neck of the woods.
Dayanti Karunaratne is a freelance journalist based in Canada's capital city, Ottawa.
Since graduating from Carleton University's journalism program in 2006, Karunaratne has worked on the news desk at the Port Hope Evening Guide, the Ottawa Citizen, and the Molokai Times. Karunaratne's writing appears in the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Magazine, the Globe and Mail, and other lifestyle publications.
Heather O'Neill is the founder of Eco to the People, a green living blog.
Before founding Eco to the People, Heather O’Neill wore so many hats in the field of journalism that even the Queen Mother would envy her collection. She has worked as the managing editor of a beauty trade magazine; as a copy editor for an online tech magazine; as the associate editor of a city magazine and as a newspaper reporter and columnist, and as the senior editor at the popular online newsletter ecofabulous.
Her work has appeared in many publications, including Parenting, Alternative Medicine, Natural Solutions, Marin Magazine, Greenwich Magazine and HOME.
Heather earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from California College of the Arts. She lives and works in San Francisco.
Television producer-turned-blogger-turned-ecogeek, Kirsten Dirksen is co-founder of faircompanies.com a news/blog/video site focused on environmental sustainability for people and the planet.
For the cause, she has transformed her life into an eco-experiment, documenting every endeavor. Before moving to Barcelona, Spain, Kirsten was a TV producer/shooter/editor for U.S. networks like MTV, Oxygen, Sundance Channel and Travel Channel.
Recent EPA studies have shown that air pollution inside homes can be a shocking two to five times higher than outdoor levels. But what kind of pollution are we talking about, and where is it coming from? Well, you might be standing, sitting, or looking at it right now.
The following guide will help you identify polluting agents lurking in your home and the best ways to avoid or take care of them. So get ready to clean up your home environment, while doing some favors for the planet at the same time.
Your Walls have Fumes
If you have recently painted your living room you may be in danger. Most paint contains Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, which are emitted as gases. VOCs include an assortment of chemicals such as the known cancer-causing agent methylene chloride. Concentrations of VOCs can be 10 times higher indoors than outdoor because of the lack of ventilation. The scary part is that the VOCs emitted while painting, or even from a paint can in storage, can attach themselves to your carpet or furniture and continue to pollute your home.
Paint Solution
Fortunately there are a few simple solutions for avoiding run-ins with the sickening chemicals most paints contain. The best solution is to avoid VOC paint from the beginning. Mainstream paint brands like Benjamin Moore and the Sherwin Williams Co. offer low or zero VOC paints and there are many other brands who have been offering them for years, such as AFM’s Safecoat. You can read more about earth friendly paints here. Also, when painting, it’s always a good idea to open a window when you can to allow fresh air in, and stale air out.
The Fireplace That Warms You
Your living room fireplace can warm up the winter, but it can also fill up your house with carbon monoxide and other dangerous fumes. A dirty chimney, closed damper, or an open flame doesn’t allow the fire to properly ventilate and can cause health problems in your home.
Fire Solution
Always make sure that when starting a fire you have the damper open, and that it stays open until the embers have completely stopped burning. Every winter season you should have your chimney and flue inspected for any cracks or debris.
Buildup in your chimney can allow fumes to seep into your home, or even worse, can start a chimney fire. Also, make sure you have a glass covering or door over your open flame. This will help keep the wood burning more efficiently and keep excess carbon monoxide out of your lungs.
The Carpet Beneath Your Feet
Whether your carpet is a hand-me-down from your grandmother or brand new from the store, it probably has more bad things in it than you realize. If you have recently purchased your carpet, it has most likely been fitted to be flame retardant, stain resistant, moth proof, and bacteria free. But the way manufactures “protect” you from all of this is by loading tons of chemicals and preservatives into the carpet.
Remember the dangerous VOCs from the wall paint? Well, carpets have them too, as well as 4-PC, associated with respiratory problems, and benzene, formaldehyde, ethyl benzene, styrene, and acetone, all known carcinogens that can cause cancer and reproductive problems.
Flooring Solutions So how do you stay safe from threats, such as fires, while staying healthy in the meantime? The first best step is to get rid of the carpet. You may have beautiful hardwood floors under those wall-to-wall carpets, which are a lot easier to keep clean and don’t have any of the same chemicals.
If you must have a carpet, look to buy those made of either natural fabric such as wool, or from recycled materials. Interface Global, a leading carpet manufacturer, has designed FLOR, an environmentally conscious line of recycled and chemical-free modular carpeting. As a bonus, the modular design allows you to replace only a part of their carpet at a time. Interface’s dedication to lowering its own carbon footprint through energy efficiency and waste minimization is icing on the cake.
In your home, some of the most significant polluters are your sofas, chairs, and tables. Furniture that is made from pressed wood also uses adhesives that contain high concentrations of urea-formaldehyde (UF) and other types of formaldehyde resins. These resins can begin to slowly seep into the air over time and have been linked to asthma problems with children.
Furniture Solutions
The rule of thumb when buying furniture is, if it smells – don’t buy it. Most furniture will have some sort of formaldehyde on it, whether from the adhesive or from flame retardants, but you can inquire about which resins in particular the furniture was made with.
Phenol formaldehyde and methylene resins emit much less toxins in the air than say UF, so choosing a wood product with these is better than most. Also, you can buy a veneer or water-resistant coating to put on your furniture, which will reduce the emissions of toxins.
Remember though, unless the furniture appears to be certified natural, it will contain some level of chemicals regardless of the strength of odor. It’s because of this that your best option is to buy from a green furnishing company such as Furnature and Vivavi. These two companies have designed lines of sustainable furniture and fabrics that promise to be chemical free.
Safe home, healthy planet
Now don’t be afraid of the dangers lurking in your living room: yes, they can be scary, but now you know what to do about them. A clean home environment will not only reduce your family’s exposure to harmful elements; every healthy choice you make in your own home will go a long way in protecting the planet’s health, too. So kick your feet up and rest easy knowing your home is as safe as can be.
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If you have recently painted your living room you may be in danger. Most paint contains Volatile Organic Compounds, or
Your living room fireplace can warm up the winter, but it can also fill up your house with 
So how do you stay safe from threats, such as fires, while staying healthy in the meantime? The first best step is to get rid of the carpet. You may have beautiful hardwood floors under those wall-to-wall carpets, which are a lot easier to keep clean and don’t have any of the same chemicals.
In your home, some of the most significant polluters are your sofas, chairs, and tables. Furniture that is made from pressed wood also uses adhesives that contain high concentrations of urea-formaldehyde (UF) and other types of formaldehyde resins. These resins can begin to slowly seep into the air over time and have been linked to asthma problems with children.
Interesting! If a bit alarming. And now there’s that horrid Chinese wallboard to worry about. I wonder if IKEA products are low in pollutants?