Ms. Darby

Yes, you read that correctly – paper countertops. Richlite is primarily paper treated with phenolic resin and then baked to form a solid sheet. The colors and surfaces are quite reminiscent of Corian’s one color products, and the beautiful results and practical applications are best in bathroom’s and kitchen’s. Richlite has been used in the aerospace industry since the late 1950’s, and is a common material in skateparks and boats, too.

The paper used in the process comes form certified managed forests in North America. Richlite is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (keep in mind, here, that products are NEVER certified by USGBC) and is considered a green product due to its main ingredient, paper, being derived from renewable or recycled resources.

From their website:

Managed and sustainable forests, habitat conservation efforts, along with prudent manufacturing practices are just some of the environmental mandates that go into our product.

We use the most environmentally benign production methods and materials available. During the saturation and drying process, over 99% of the volatile organic compounds are incinerated. The heat from that incineration is used for the drying process to minimize thermal pollution. There is no hazardous waste generated in our process.

You can easily find a dealer from Richlite’s interactive map. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, it is doubly attractive for those of you looking to go after the regional materials points (MR Credits 5.1 & 5.2) in the LEED NC guidelines if your project is in the Pacific Northwest. Costs are similar to what one would pay for Corian, far below the costs of Granite and other manufactured stones.

Filed by admin at 3:36 pm under Countertops
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I was wondering what was happening with Ms. Arundhati Roy of late, because I adore her storytelling, commend her brave activism and eloquence, celebrate her beauty and truth, and hadn’t heard much about her lately. So, intending to find out, the intertubes delivered much more than I anticipated.

First, Roy is the award-winning author of The God of Small Things, one of the most poetic novels ever written. I had read somewhere that she ruminated on the story and wrote one page a day, never revising it after that page was written. Ever. Crazy, huh? And this prose…I tell you…’tis glorious. I remember, too, reading a Q&A with Ms. Roy which gave the impression that she may never write another book. I am delighted to discover she has recently announced the beginnings of her second novel.

And the news just kept getting better, more mysterious, and intriguing, as Google served up more tidbits relating to Ms. Roy as I searched. Sometime in 2006, the webmaster of resistinc.org, Geoff, received a film with an anonymous note that read:

Feel free to pass this on to others who you know will be interested in its relatively unique content and perspectives (either by copying this DVD, dubbing to VHS, by dissemination through internet download, holding private screenings etc). Using the technology of this information age you have the freedom to be as imaginative as you like in the different ways which you can choose to make this accessible to others.

Geoff said that, “after seeing the film, we felt it was very important, cool, and overall just a fantastic piece of work. So a couple months ago, weroy.org was created to assist the efforts that others put forth in getting this free documentary seen by the citizens of the world.”

The film is described* as “this…unusual kind of underground production. An anonymous sympathiser has edited a video recording of Roy’s speech over 64 minutes, interspersing an impressive array of archival footage to illustrate themes and specific historical events. Contemporary music overlaid throughout the piece shifts the mood and quickens the pace. The result is a visual essay rather than a traditional documentary, perfectly suited to its creator’s intentions, which is to spread the anti-imperialist, social justice politics of Arundhati Roy everywhere.”

It is a free documentary, created by the anonymous filmmaker named “Anon”. He speaks of his inspirations of the film beyond Arundhati Roy’s speeches and his process, among other very human, emotional, and intellectual topics. His statement, “News is now really only a business – and that means big trouble for everyone,” pretty much sums it up, if a complex and engrossing film like ‘We” is only to be summed up. You can view ‘We’ through many different providers. I encourage you to do so. It is outstanding, poignant, and important. Long live truth, passion, activism, and the people’s use of the intertubes.

*on the weroy.org site, no credit was provided of the speaker

Filed by darby at 10:29 pm under Arts, Docu Potent
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I discovered the Bohemian Girl on the “interwebs – that series of tubes” a couple of months ago. She had commented over at Nothing But Bonfires (yet ANOTHER fantastic woman-made blog/art) regarding music. It just so happened that I was thinking the same thing, and before you know it, an online friendship began. And I am better for it. Not only does BG speak the truth, her truth, and universal truths, but she is an artist living her dream and shining light by way of example.

And I am a bit blown away right now, because as we had agreed to trade some music mixes, I have JUST received – like, minutes ago – this bundle of joy that you see above, and it is wonderful and gorgeous. Just to touch the paper and see the artistic love that went into this…It definitely helps me to raise my own bar in how I ever send CD’s to anyone again, because not only did I get amazing compilations of music I know and love and much that I am soon to discover for the first time (oh, joy!) but handmade artwork to hold the treasures. Wow. Thank you, oh talented and generous Bohemian Girl. Rock on!

Filed by darby at 3:29 pm under Arts, raves
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sys·tem·ic (sĭ-stěm’ĭk, -stē’mĭk). adj.
1. Of or relating to systems or a system.
2. a) Relating to or affecting the entire body or an entire organism: systemic symptoms; a systemic poison.
b) Relating to or affecting a particular body system, especially the nervous system: a systemic lesion.
c) Physiology Of or relating to systemic circulation.

I intitally attempted a full understanding of the concept of the word systemic (mostly seen in the world of dis-ease) while in a Physiology class a number of years ago. While reading “Privatizing Responsibility: the Times On Green Consumerism” at the ever-intelligent Worldchanging blog this morning, I was reminded of that killer word: systemic. Affecting the entire system; The comprehensive look at any given situation. The whole picture.

In response to the N.Y. Times article in today’s Sunday Styles section, called “Buying Into the Green Movement”, by Alex Williams, Alex Steffen over at WorldChanging discusses the path better travelled in order to succeed against global warming and make heightened and real changes towards solving our environmental crisis.

The Times article paints the picture of a well-heeled Yuppie, making all of the “eco choices” afforded by incredible prosperity, to aid in a guilt-free, environmentally conscious lifestyle. We are in an age where, apparently, we can consume our way to a solution, or so the worlds of marketing and advertising would have us think. The point the article makes is that we consumers are potentially relinquished from the responsibility of consuming less by feeling good about consuming as much as we want, as long as it is “green.” It seems we are potentially forgetting the basics, like the first of the three R’s in the “rules of recycling”: Reduce. (re-use and recycle are the other two, in that order.)

From The N.Y. Times article:

“There is a very common mind-set right now which holds that all that we’re going to need to do to avert the large-scale planetary catastrophes upon us is make slightly different shopping decisions,” said Alex Steffen, the executive editor of Worldchanging.com, a Web site devoted to sustainability issues.

The genuine solution, he and other critics say, is to significantly reduce one’s consumption of goods and resources. It’s not enough to build a vacation home of recycled lumber; the real way to reduce one’s carbon footprint is to only own one home.

Steffen responds:

Actually, as i told Alex Williams, I believe something quite different: that the genuine solution is not a matter of consumer choice at all.

There is no combination of purchasing decisions which will make the current affluent American lifestyle sustainable. You can’t shop your way to sustainability…

And here’s the essential break between lite green and bright green thinking: the reality is that the changes we must make are systemic changes. They involve large-scale transformations in the ways we plan our cities, manufacture goods, grow food, transport ourselves, and generate energy. They involve new international regulatory regimes, corporate strategies, industrial standards, tax systems and trading markets. If we want to change the world, we need to forge ourselves into the kinds of citizens who can effectively demand such things…

If we don’t move fast enough, we’ll simply be attending a global ecological collapse well-heeled and stylishly attired, watching the planet burn with a glass of organic champagne in hand.

Amen. Just as any treatment to cure a systemic disease should go after the entire system and get at what is causing the disease rather than treating the symptoms, so, too, must we attack the systemic dis-ease of our environmental crisis. With huge policy changes through business and government first, continuing to make good decisions with our consumer dollars last, and collectively demanding change within our system that allows for the irresponsible production of goods and the monetary rewards that go hand-in-hand with business as usual.

Filed by admin at 6:20 pm under Community
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