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.
It’s a far cry from a “tree huggers convention” that began in 2002 in Austin, Texas with only 4000 people in attendance. This years’ 2009 GreenBuild International Conference and Expo drew more than 27,000 architects, developers, builders & innovators, making it clear that a movement is well underway.
Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and a founder of the organization that started it, the United States Green Building Council, or USGBC, spoke to a packed house at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona last week. “GreenBuild is about the families who must weigh their power bill against their grocery bill; workers who labor in buildings that take a toll on their bodies and spirits; and it’s about kids who spend their entire childhoods in toxic classrooms,” he said. ”We have the power to make choices that will fundamentally change the environment and people’s lives for the better.”
GreenBuild’s keynote speaker this year, Vice President and climate change activist Al Gore, reiterated Fedrizzi’s sentiment and encouraged all Greenbuilders to stay on track and be proud of their efforts that will undoubtedly be felt by the next generation.
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. …read more of Is Danger Lurking in Your Living Room? here
Something big is happening to something big. As Loretta White described in her recent ecomii Building Blog post, the Empire State Building, the most iconic office in the world, is undertaking an enormous green renovation—one that will put it at the forefront of eco-friendly building technology.
An investment of $20 million that will save the ESB approximately $4.4 million per year in energy costs, cutting total energy use by 38%, the project is truly revolutionary. But what exactly is the green team at the ESB doing to make this happen?
Here’s a quick look at the eight components of the massive retrofit:
Windows: Each one of the ESB’s approximately 6,500 double-hung windows will be removed, insulated with a coated layer of film, and filled with a pocket of krypton/argon gas between the two panes. …read more of Miracle on 34th Street (and 5th Avenue) here
Retrofitting and reinventing to be a new icon of sustainability, the Empire State Building, one of the Seven Wonders is going green with a bang!
An innovation workshop was held with a group of industry and political leaders to advise on how to effectively reduce its carbon footprint, energy consumption and obtain a LEED Gold building certification - Over 250 projects worldwide have received LEED certification. Less than 25 percent of these projects have achieved the Gold LEED rating. http://www.energy.gov/additionaltaxbreaks.htm
Those in the know at the Johnson controls, the Clinton Climate Initiative, Rocky Mountain Institute and Jones Lange LaSalle are not only pioneering a system, but circumventing the process for the buildings to come. …read more of Empire State Building Goes Green here
Building or renovating a home is a daunting task, particularly when done with consideration for the Earth and human health.
Materials that were once considered safe are now being found to be detrimental to indoor air quality and to the environment at all stages of the life cycle. Carpets manufactured with petroleum-based synthetic fibers and toxic glues are thought to give off gas for years. Vinyl flooring is made with one of the most toxic materials used in the home.
These considerations are even more critical when statistics are saying the majority of us spend up to 90% of our time indoors. Natural flooring options improve indoor air quality and long-term health, while being much better for the planet. …read more of Sustainable Flooring here
Follow the latest in green design, remodeling and building techniques. Find out about the newest products and where to buy them. Swap stories and advice.
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