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summer 06 highlights
Maui, Puyallup Fair, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Daryl Hannah, Project Runway, Summer Rayne Oakes, magazine green issues...
sean was in...
atlanta
chicago
grenoble
los angeles
maui
miami
new york
sonoita
seattle
steilacoom
toronto
turin
old sslog
2007: winter, spring, summer, fall
2006: winter, spring, summer, fall
2005: winter, spring, summer, fall
2004: winter, spring, summer, fall
2003: winter, spring, summer, fall
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June 22, 2006 - Sip your support
 Just ran across Republic of Tea's newest tea "Man Kind Tea" which is both a solution (in the sense that green tea has been shown to reduce slow and/or reduce the risk of prostate cancer) and fundraiser for the Prostrate Cancer Foundation. They also have a line of Sip for the Cure teas and other products. A tea company into sustainability putting their money where their mouth is, very impressed.
July 3, 2006 - Newsweek's Giving Back Awards
 Another pleasant surprise on the newstands this week. Newsweekdevoted a cover and issue to their Giving Back Awards. A few expected folks (like Brad Pitt) but quite a few surprises including Benita Singh and Ruth DeGolia, co-founders of a great startup/nonprofit, Mercado Global, that SSF remembers well from our small beginnings. They've been doing sustainable style form the beginning...and doing it well. Surfers to Mercado Global may also notice the face of the very sustainable and stylish Summer Rayne Oakes as the face of Mercado Global.
July 3, 2006 - Daryl Hannah's Vlog
 OK...so I'm completely addicted to Daryl Hannah's site DH Love Life. love it, Love It, LOVE IT!!! It's basically just a collection of short videos in which Daryl explores all sorts of topics, from biodiesel to gorillas in Rwanda. Being a closet conservation biologist, I was of course drawn to the gorillas. She's got a great positive attitude about things too which we always dig here at SSF. Hope is out there! I was lucky enough to chat with Daryl briefly at the Environmental Media Awards last year and was TOTALLY inspired. Sustainability needs an army of folks like her.
July 27, 2006 - Water tension at Surface
 If you haven't picked up Surface Magazine's new issue on water...GO DO IT RIGHT NOW! This is one of the best 'sustainable style' treatments of a key environmental issue in a long time. There are several articles on water topics (water quality, conservation, etc.) as well as the requisite over-the-top-cool fashion editorials that incorporate water themes.
August 11, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - "E `ai i kekahi, e kapi i kekahi"
 "Eat some, salt some" is a great Hawaiian philosophy...eat some now and save some for later. I'm off to Maui for the first time ever (or any of the Hawaiian islands for that matter) and absolutely loving it. Of course for the amazing beauty of the scenery, flora and fauna, but also for the many things I'll learn about traditional and modern sustainability efforts under way. I'm traveling with my friend Paul and two other friends. Paul's family has had a time share condo for many years so it will be great to hang with someone who knows the island well. We're staying in Ka'anapali just north of Lahaina, the historic Royal center of Maui.
August 12, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - Just another day at the beach
 This is the first travel day. I was able to find a lot of magazines with sustainabiltiy topics for the plane ride over...the usual suspects such as Dwell and Ready Made magazines. But I was also pleased to see that Fortune Magazine's cover "Walmart Saves the Planet". I know people either love or hate Walmart, but this is a pretty big milestone for sustainability going mainstream. The fact that Lee Scott, Walmart's CEO is starting to get sustainabilityis a pretty big deal. I'm going to try to check out their new organic section while on Maui...yes, there is a Walmart in Maui. There was also a really great article on taro farming in Hawaiian Airlines inflight magazine. We arrived pretty late in the afternoon so sped off to Costco to get some of the best local fish. Then it was back to the condo and off to dinner at Leilani's. I had some organic salad and a great local fish entree. I was suprised at how many non-local items there were on the menu. Guess you do still have to appeal to tourists. Oh, and I am totally blown away by all the flowers and plants here. A conservation biologists dream!
August 13, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - Just another day at the beach
 After an early morning run where I met several egrets making their way to the local golf course for their breakfast I had a very slow morning. A little breakfast here, a little read there, but finally I made my way down to the beach. I didn’t have a snorkel yet and only my prescription goggles but I did the best I could to explore the closest coral reef. Very quickly I saw some beautiful local fish. Though I could only make quick trips down it was well worth it. Our first night we dined at home on local fish, produce and local organic juice. Yumm-ee! I was also very releaved to discover that the condo we're staying at, The Whaler, has an extensive recycling program. Not so hot on water conservation efforts (they wash down the large pool deck every morning), but at least they have some green efforts underway.
August 15, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - The high way to Haleakala
Today started with a 2:45am alarm. We were off to see the sunrise at Haleakala National Park, the highest point on Maui. Early along the way we saw one the sugarcane fields that was set on fire. Pretty amazing sight for 3:00am in the morning. The road to Haleakala was a long, windy, steep and cold drive up but well worth it. The sunrise was breathtaking but even more exciting for me was getting to see silversword, a species of plant found only high on Haleakela. In addition, there were several conservation programs for migratory birds in the area. All in all, a wonderful morning for a conservation biologist.
On the way back, Paul and I stopped at Kula Lodge for a fantastic breakfast that included pancakes covered in macadamia nuts and coconut syrup. The beautiful botanical gardens that surrounded the lodge were amazing as well. Once back home, it was snorkel time. With the snorkels we were able to go out much further and see a lot more. We saw many fish and were lucky enough to see a sea tortoise and a spotted eagle ray. That night it was back to Leilani’s for an organic Caesar salad with local fish. Of course the lava flow cocktails were pretty tasty as well.
August 15, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - Janet's Bio Beetle to Julias banana bread
 Whoa! I think I’ve met at true force of nature in Maui. I came across Janet Six’s name and email when searching for “sustainable” and “maui” on Google. She’s a Ph. D candidate at University of Hawaii and is in charge of special projects at Maui Community College. One of MCC’s special projects is called Sustainable Living Institute of Maui. The project has a lot of great partners that ensure it will be a success including MCC, Steve Case, founder of AOL, the Maui Land & Pineapple Company, and Earth University. I think Janet, an archaeologist by education, knows EVERYTHING sustainable that has gone on and is going on in Maui, in Hawaii, and in many other island nations. She told us about how things used to work in Maui, dividing up resources in the ahupua’a system (a division of land from mountain top to sea shore that allowed groups to hunt, farm and fish) and how Maui is moving away from sugarcane as a primary monoculture and more towards other, more drought tolerant plants…including sunflowers which can be used as a biomass fuel source. Even better, Janet had just bought a new diesel Volkswagen Beetle and was going to be putting the first tank of biodiesel in the tank. Couldn’t pass up the photo op so we raced off with her to Pacific Biodiesel, the first biodiesel station in the US. She gave me many more sustainability contacts in Maui and the rest of Hawaii that I hope to meet up with during my trip. Janet also solved a great mystery for us. We noticed early on in our trip that the wiliwili trees all looked dead across the island. According to Janet, the Ethrina gall wasp, a stowaway from Taiwan, recently invaded the island and is responsible for the tree sickness. The wasps got the non-native Wiliwili's and has now spread to the native wiliwili forests. We’ve seen a few trees that are making a comeback, hopefully more will in the future. No question, Janet’s one of my new favorite people.
After the great morning with Janet it was off to tour the north part of Maui. Lots of beautiful scenery, winding roads, cattle ranching, taro farming and even a great pit stop for Julia’s best banana bread. The bread was great but it was also a chance for me to see taro farming up close. I’m fascinated at how resources were divided in earlier times and plan to spend a lot more time learning about Hawaiian practices past and present. The rest of the trip up north was mostly filled with more beautiful scenery and more resorts as we approached Kaanapoli. One interesting story that we had heard and Janet retold us involved the Ritz Carleton Resort. Story goes that they were leveling the area by the shore with sandblaster for the resort foundation; before long bones started dropping out of the hillside. Over 1100 were unearthed before they stopped. Well, no surprise, the site was a sacred burial site. In the end, the bones had to be returned properly per proper ancient Hawaiian protocol, the ground reblessed and the hotel had to be moved up the hill. Thankfully, there is less of this sort of thing happening these days as the tourist industry has come to respect the local culture much more and the state has become much more aggressive about such sites.
August 16, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - The road to Hana
 We had another early start today as our plan was to drive the whole south Island. The road to Hana is known for its beauty and it is one of Paul’s favorite trips. There were lots of amazing waterfalls along the way, some ranches and can farms, and many incredible plants along the way. Our only diversion before Hana was a stop at Kahanu Garden, home of the Hale O Pi’ilani Heiau, the largest sacred temple ruins in Hawaii. The site was breathtaking and I felt like I was at last connecting with some authentic Maui. You could definitely also see how the ahupua’a system worked. This was by far one of my favorite experiences in Maui. I hope to spend more time here and learn more about the site and ancient systems next time I’m here.
We had a short lunch in Hana and were then off again on our tour of the south island portion of Maui. There were lots more amazing plants and small villages along the way, some more taro farms and a beautiful old church near the seashore along the way. I was quite amazed at the change in biogeography on the route…from lush to complete desert. There were a few more small ruins along the way as well, demonstrating that the local peoples made use of all the island no matter what the conditions.
After a miserable but usual traffic jam from Kahalui (the main city on Maui) to Lahaina (the town just south of where we were staying) we made it back just in time to catch the Feast at Lele…essentially a Luau that featured food and dance from around Polynesia. WOW! Absolutely amazing. Being a conservation biologist that as in to culture as I am biology I was really blown away.
August 17, 2006 - Maui Mahalo - Its better down where its wetter
 Today I did my first scuba dive...in Maui of all places!!! We went with Lahaina Divers, a local dive company. They did a great job introducing all us newbies to the ABCs of diving and then we were off for our first dive. After passing a few short tests, we started our first of two dives. Not 30 seconds into the dive and a HUGE giant sea tortoise swam right over us. REALLY amazing. From there it was lots of beautiful coral and many, many species of fish. Being a rower with a big set of lungs I was the first one up from the dive. Our 2nd dive was closer to shore over an old pier that had fallen during a hurricane. The town deciced to leave the broken pieces of pier in the water to assist coral development and provide habitat for fish spieces. A great conservation story but also awesome for divers. I was lucky enought to see two more tortoises and many other species of fish.
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August 20, 2006 - Project Runway Recycles
 OK, I'm a little behind on this one...but I just got back from Maui! Just saw this week's Project Runway in which the designers had to use recycled materials. SO SSF! I can't say I agree with the judges decision at all but was glad to see some sustainability sneak into PR. Several of the designs were stunning. SSF actually did a project like this at Seattle Central Community College's Apprarel Design Program. I wish I had some pictures of the students outfits because ALL of them were stunning: a tent turned into a J-Lo gown, a sleeping bag turned into an Chanel inspired suit, etc. The whole thing reminds me of Season 2, Episode 9 in which the designers had to use plants and flowers to construct their designs, also good stuff. I'd love see more sustainability themes on PR in the future...maybe even something delving into social issues.
September 9, 2006 - Fabulous RX3
 "Perusing the crossroads of style and sustainability" is the catch phrase of FiftyRX3, a blog by New York designer Jill Danyelle who has pledged to wear 50% recycled/refashioned clothing for a year. Yeah, we've showcased her on here before, and I see her on lots of other sites now. But the project is just SO COOL! The blog has commentary and some great pics of her creations. Hello! I LOVE IT!!! I'm at about 95% recycled (second-hand) these days. Get lots of great things at Value Village and Goodwill, and great designer stuff at my favorite cosignment shop here in Seattle, Le Frock. As far as furniture goes, I'm all about second hand there too. My favorite spot, besides Value Village, these days is Collective. I could seriously live there and be perfectly happy.
September 11, 2006 - Real cowboys wear pink
 Spent Sunday at the Puyallup Fair and was wowed by a couple things. First, I was there with friends to watch the finals of the Susan B. Komen Foundation. The Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign was organized by Wrangler Jeans and many other companies from the Western Industry to raise awareness and support for breast cancer research. Even our local Renton Western Wear has gotten into the act and is offerering the T-shirt you see at the left. Well, YEE HAW!.
September 12, 2006 - Cheers Pardners!
 Another great discovery while doing the Puyallup Fair...several of the beer gardens were serving Wild Hop Lager, an organic beer by Anheuser-Bush. Tastes like...beer, a pretty good beer at that. But it's ORGANIC. Giddy yup!
September 12, 2006 - Summer Reigns
 I was totally psyched to see one of my favorite people in the world on the September/October Issue cover of E Magazine. Summer Rayne Oakes is much more than a model. She's a Cornell trained entomologist, she's an environmental activist and most importantly...a really incredible person. Her projects are too numerous to go through here but I encourage you to go to her website (click on her name hyperlink above). You go girl!!!
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