Yet Another Green Sighting on Abbot Kinney

Your fellow green commuter here with another report on a sighting in Venice that yet again demonstrates the ever-growing buzz and support amongst the organic and eco-friendly townspeople on the west side.

Smart Car USA just opened up shop on Abbot Kinney, and as seen from the picture below they are making every effort to get noticed and draw in the crowd of the many in this area who want to improve the health of our planet.

In addition to this report, the Venice house we visited just recently has officially been posted on eBay and is up for auction for the highest bidder. With a starting bid of $2.85M, and the recent upset in the housing market, it might be a while before someone picks it up.

In any case, do try and visit the Smart Car store once they officially open up shop... Who knows, you might walk out with one of those pocket-sized vehicles racing up and down the streets of Venice with an organic soy latte in the cup holder and the latest hip and flashy hemp outfit money can buy!

- Patrick

On the way to work...

It's amazing the things you see on the way to work these days... Particularly the multitude of green and organic stores that have cropped up along Main Street and Abbott Kinney in Santa Monica and Venice.

One such store is epOxyGreen. According to their profile on GreenHomeGuide.com - another excellent online resource for green-living:

epOxyGreen offers the highest quality in sustainable building and design products. epOxyGreen has set a mandate within its business philosophy to distribute products that adhere to the standards of a review process by experts in this emerging industry. We are committed to maintaining the integrity within the definition of “sustainability” and “Green,” while helping to create an economy of scale so that these products become more available and affordable to the public. epOxyGreen offers full-service project management to address clients’ specific needs. Each client project is assigned a project manager to ensure clear communication and seamless follow-through of product orders and licensed professionals referred by epOxyGreen. 602 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291, Phone: 310-578-2123.

So next time you're driving around that area, have a look around... You will be surprised at the number of stores opening up offering eco-friendly services and products.

- Patrick

Programs for Green LA

While browsing the web I came across the web site of “Programs for Green LA". These programs are green initiatives from Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

I found information on this site very useful and thought to share with you. They have a verity of Green initiatives for LA including:

1. Trees for a Green LA
2. Energy Efficiency for a Green LA
3. Solar Energy for a Green LA
4. Electric Vehicles for a Green LA
5. Green Power for a Green LA
6. Recycling for a Green LA
7. Educational Services for a Green LA

I will recommend visiting @ http://www.ladwp.com/library/statichtml/homepage_greenla.html , http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/areaHomeIndex.jsp?contentId=LADWP_GREENLA_SCID

Zia

Venice House at 710 Milwood

A few weeks ago, Guidance employees were invited to visit the environmentally friendly house at 710 Milwood Ave in Venice.

The house was developed as part of a combined effort between various sponsors and charities. The information site for the house can be found here.

Some intelligent and eco-friendly features of the home, besides it's $3M+ price tag, include solar panels for zero external power dependency, automatic ceiling vents to control room temperature during all seasonal cycles, and some of the most modern and high-end appliances and furniture.

The home is built without the use of any toxic materials. Rainwater is captured to irrigate its own landscape. The garden is composed of drought tolerant and indigenous plants. The hardscape is permeable, so that rain water seeps back into the earth, helping to prevent erosion.

Every aspect of the home is practical, highly efficient and green. It is an example of how man can live in harmony with the environment.

Below is a list of pictures from that visit:

Connect with Nature

When we told Guidance employees to “take a hike,” we meant it!
And take a hike we did at beautiful Malibu Creek State Park.
In an effort to connect with nature and be reminded of the
environment we’re helping to protect through our
Guidance Green Initiative, on September 23rd we enjoyed a hike
to the Rock Pools with a stop at the Visitor Center along the way.

Ready, Set, Hike!

Nature in the Balance, or
is it Balance in the Nature?

Catherine and Mia

The Stewarts enjoy the
Visitor Center

Thanks to rain a couple of days

before, the creek was bursting with

life, including turtles.

Mia at our final destination,

the Rock Pools.

Greening Your Business

Valerie from Bentley Prince Street, an eco-friendly manufactuer of broadloom and carpet tile, alerted me to this site-- http://greenbiz.com/ -- which has tons of resources and information for greening your business and understanding more about the industry.

I have subscribed to all of their news feeds and email blasts-- here's are a few examples of what they have:

• Greener Buildings newsletter
• Greener Computing newsletter

Enjoy!
Jeff

The race to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle

Exciting news from our neighbors in Santa Monica, the X Prize Foundation. If you aren’t already familiar with them, the X-Prize Foundation “creates and manages prizes that drive innovators to solve some of the greatest challenges facing the world today.” They do this by staging competitions, offering large monetary rewards for winners in categories that include aerospace technology, genomics, and now, automotive innovation.

According to their press kit, the goal of the Automotive X Prize is: “To inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change.”

The grand prize will be awarded to the teams that “win a stage race for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 MPG equivalent fuel economy.”

So far, more than forty teams in five different countries have signed up for the challenge. The competition will take place in stages that will culminate sometime in late 2009.

If you’d like more detailed information on the Automotive X Prize or the X Prize Foundation, you can visit their web site at http://www.xprize.org.