Greening Paris on Clear Channel Radio

27 November, 2010

International Environmental Film Festival, 28th Annual, Paris

Over the past few years, a number of films on ecology and the climate have been awarded prizes and have succeeded in attracting a significant turnout in cinemas. The 28th International Festival of Environmental Film, held from 24th to 30th November in the La Pagode cinema, presents a unique panorama of this new genre which is inspiring filmmakers from around the world.
Sponsored by Isabelle Giordano, this year will focus in particular on the issues linked to biodiversity and climate change, with the spotlight on Mexican documentaries.
You can attend screenings of documentaries, dramas and short films from around the world, attend previews, cartes blanches and thematic programmes, all for free.
In their own way, each of these films address a variety of subjects such as the protection of nature, the rational management of resources, the greenhouse effect, the quality of agriculture and the environment, the fight against poverty, participative democracy, north-south and east-west relations, the influx of immigrants and integration etc...
Reader Contest! Send in your Translations for The Cartoons and you will be eligible to Win one of The Gifts and Giveaways on Greening Hollywood.  Post your entry as a Comment!

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21 November, 2010

Max Havealaar France and Gossypium U.K. Rockin' The Fair Trade World

Gossypium is an example of a company that put the horse before the cart.  Founded by Abigail and Thomas Petit in 2000, Gossypium is a clothing and textile manufacturer based out of the U.K. that is specialized in organic and Fair Trade cotton.
Often, you will find that companies focus on either Fair Trade or Organic when it comes to ethical practices. When the focus is on Fair Trade cotton, the primary concern is for the farmer and that they, and their families, are able to earn a living wage from their daily endeavors. Oftentimes, in these instances, emphasizing that the cotton farmed and sold to industrial manufacturers be organic can actually work against the Fair Trade farmers because they are then priced out of the market.

Gossypium from the U.K. and Max Havelaar France are both Fair Trade cotton Heros.
Abigail and Thomas Petit decided to do it all. They began by spending two years in India back in 1998 where they set up a partnership with Agrocel, an organization that has defined and branded a cotton fiber that is distinctive for its high quality.
Agrocel® Pure & Fair Indian Organic Cotton is cultivated from 12 rural service centers across India and works with a selected group of local farmers.  At each center, there is a team of agronomists who monitors growing to International Organic Standards.
It was only after the Petits set up this chain of Fair Trade supply that they returned to the U.K. where they began their clothing and textile brand, Gossypium, using this high quality, organic and Fair Trade sourced cotton. It has since established itself as one of the U.K.'s leading ethical brands.

Fair Trade cotton pyjamas by Gossypium. High quality textiles, aloe vera finish. Fair Trade ethics.
Abigail Petit attended a Fair Trade cotton conference in November hosted by Max Havelaar in Paris and held at the Mairie de Paris (city hall) which sits just across from Notre Dame.  Max Havelaar is the Fair Trade organization in France, and though it sounds like the name of a Rock Star, in fact it is a non-profit organization that is rockin' the world of ethical and fair trade markets.
Max Havelaar organizers of the event invited key industry attendees to a dinner the evening before the conference so they could hear firsthand what some of the concerns and questions are as the Fair Trade market develops further and enters more widely into mainstream textile markets.
France has quietly but powerfully been moving forward on these fronts: The entire French Post Office Corps., "La Poste," is clothed in uniforms that are manufactured from Fair Trade cotton sourced textiles. The manufacturing company is Amor Lux. Max Havelaar has been a key organization in getting these sorts of strategic partnerships flowing.

From Abigail Petit concerning the Conference at the Mairie de Paris held early in November 2010:
“The secret is out! The cotton farmers are not happy! We are not paying them enough for their cotton. It was great to have the farmers represented at the recent Max Havelaar Conference in Paris, but there is only one solution- LOVE Your COTTON! We do at Gossypium, we respect the amazing fabric that our Indian farmers provide for us and lovingly use it to make our cosy pyjamas here in Lewes, U.K. We are so proud to say that they are Fairtrade, organic, Aloe Vera Finished cotton. Get them on!”
And from their website:

Our vision is that the making and wearing of textiles is indeed a pleasant and beautiful global occupation, not at all at odds with a socially fair or environmentally sustainable world, and we set out to create trade in textiles according to these principles. - Gossypium Founders Abigail Petit is well-known internationally as a leader in ethical and Fair Trade sourced textiles. Thomas Petit's family has been in textiles in Paris since the French revolution and he brings to Vericott Ltd., the parent company of Gossypium, knowledge of design and branding.

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20 November, 2010

Green Is Good - Radio Interview Hotel Gavarni's Xavier Moraga and Yahoo's Christina Page

Hotel Gavarni’s Xavier Moraga and Yahoo!’s Christina Page - November 19, 2010

Xavier Moraga Hotel Gavarnis Xavier Moraga and Yahoo!s Christina PageWhen Xavier Moraga began working at Paris’ upscale boutique Hotel Gavarni, he immediately began conceptualizing ways to green the legacy hotel. Today, the hotel is the first independent hotel in Paris to receive the European Ecolabel, a strict certification award for the greenest hotels in Europe.
Moraga was inspired to green his workplace following a trip along the Silk Road through Tibet. Seeing the ecological damage in the region really changed his entire mindset, even though he was raised to respect and conserve his environment.
“It takes teamwork,” Moraga says of Hotel Gavarni’s green status, which is reevaluated each and every year for European Ecolabel status. “Every person on the [Hotel Gavarni team] is really committed to making it green.”

Yahoo Christina Page Hotel Gavarnis Xavier Moraga and Yahoo!s Christina PageChristina Page, Director of Climate and Energy Strategy at Yahoo!, is tasked with reducing the footprint of a website network that serves more than 600 million users.
“We really ‘walk the talk’ as much as we possibly can,” Page says. “Yahoo! Green is the number one green-content website on the Web right now. There is great green content to be found on virtually all Yahoo! properties.”
Page has overseen Yahoo!’s data centers become increasingly more efficient. She claims that Yahoo!’s data centers are 40% more efficient than the competition, use 90% less water and cost far less than most others. The amount of water saved in Yahoo!’s eco-friendly data centers is enough to provide drinking water for approximately 200,000 people for a year.

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When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.
Environmental Pioneer Paul Hawken
Questions? Comments? Like to be a guest on the show? Contact Green Is Good Now!

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14 November, 2010

Leonor Greyl Salon and Produits Naturelle

Leonor Greyl has used natural ingredients to formulate her hair products for more than 40 years.  It's the type of natural beauty salon and hair care product company that is so native to a Parisienne's beauty regime, that it's become cultural.  In that sense, as a visitor or tourist, you wouldn't necessarily know it was there or that it was "naturelle"  until someone deemed you worthy enough to tell you.

Leonor Greyl Centre de Soins, Paris 75008
It's not that the Leonor Greyl salon is hidden.  Not at all! Its location just behind Madeleine in Paris's 8th arrondissement makes it a perfect appointment stop just before partaking of the Crillon High Tea, stopping in at Hédiard for a gift box of "fruit jellies" or finding that perfect silk scarf at Hermès.

Leonor Greyl offers deep penetrating, hydrating treatments for hair, Paris
Its second-floor (first floor, French) locale gives the Leonor Greyl salon that intimate feeling of a ritual to be indulged in, a ritual to be shared only with your inner circle, and a ritual that is all about taking time just for yourself.
It's worth reserving in advance for the Salon Privée or the private treatment room. It's just a small room off the main salon floor but the experience cordons you off from the salon chatter and symphony of hair dryers. It is also here where Leonor Greyl's signature treatments are given.
One of these signature treatments is designed for deep hydration of not just your hair follicles but all the way down to your scalp. This ritual is called "ventouse therapy" and it begins with your hair esthetician, in this case, Nina, a delightful Parisian sporting a gold Bindi, who will apply a honey thick dose of "huile de germe de ble" or wheat germ oil to your whole head of hair.
The wheat germ oil is used as a treatment for hair that tends toward oily. The vegetable oils and vitamins of the wheat germ facilitates the elimination of excess sebum at the roots of your hair.  The result is shinier, more voluminous hair where "health and vitality" glows through from the roots to the tips.

Leonor Greyl, located just behind Madeleine, in Paris 8th arr.
The Ventouse Therapy is what you can request while the wheat germ oil is left on your hair for more thorough penetration. It is a small suction cup that your hair esthetician will place on small sections of your scalp. You will feel a slight vacuum sensation as the oil and the delicate skin of your scalp mingle to achieve a deep hydration and revitilization of hair and skin follicles. This therapy stimulates healthy hair growth, or so swear generations of satisfied Leonor Greyl clients.
After the Ventouse Therapy your hair is wrapped in a warm towel, your esthetician gives you a neck, shoulder and arm massage and then you are left to enjoy your warm herbal tea while you relax in the reclining chair with your head under a cocooning hair dryer for 10-15 minutes. This is where the privacy and quietude of the Salon Privée is most appreciated.
You can be assured that all products used at the Leonor Greyl salon are Paraben and alcohol free, all are "naturelle," though they don't make the claim that the products are "bio," meaning organic.

Ask for the Salon Privee' when you make your Leonor Greyl reservation. It's sooo worth it!
Many French beauty traditions are rooted in natural processes. The more established ones do not trumpet this fact because, well, it's simply what they've always done. For them it would be akin to announcing the sky is blue. Leonor Greyl is one of these ever so Parisienne, ever so French and predominantly naturelle salons.
If you are lucky enough to get Stephan, a sort of charming French hairstylist version of a George Clooney, to give you a blowout, you will walk out of the salon and to your Crillon High Tea feeling - and looking - like a princess.
Leonor Greyl   15, rue Tronchet, 75008  Paris   www.leonorgreyl.com

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10 November, 2010

World Energy Outlook 2010

The 2010 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) was released on 9 November and it provides updated projections of energy demand, production, trade and investment, fuel by fuel and region by region to 2035. It includes, for the first time, a new scenario that anticipates future actions by governments to meet the commitments they have made to tackle climate change and growing energy insecurity. 
WEO-2010 also puts the spotlight on several topical issues, including what more must be done and spent post-Copenhagen to limit the global temperature increase to 2°C and how these actions would impact oil markets; how emerging economies – led by China and India – will increasingly shape the global energy landscape; the costs and benefits of increasing renewable energy, the outlook for Caspian energy markets and their implications for global energy supply, the future role for unconventional oil and the crucial importance of energy in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.  Read More....

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Cocobohème = craftiness, whim, aesthetics



Partners, Catherine Fouchard, art director, and Christian Mégevand, scenographer began their company in 2003. They like to describe their designs as "poetry with a practical side," and they've dosed up on ethics and making a signature out of using sustainable materials.

Their original creations of potato-starch based biopolymer chalkboard stickers and baby bibs were the first of their kind when they brought them onto the market.   They've since launched with brown cardboard constructed stools shaped as pods, light-reflecting stickers that afix to clothing and bicycle helmets...and glow in the dark. They also offer a line of no glue, self-adhesive window stickers that allow in light while providing decorative themes on the windowpanes. 


Cocobohème embodies this philosophy.  It is a "soft mixture of craftiness, whim, aesthetics," and it is 100% French.  Granted there has been an explosion of eco-friendly consumer products in recent years on the market, but it is nonetheless a challenge to find design concepts that are fresh and purely original.



Their dining table ware is equal whimsy with birch-based wooden platters embossed with a white-lace doily and an egg cup that neatly cradles a perfectly hardboiled egg. And their light-weight birch salad bowl with matching salad tossers embossed with a black stencil design is chic, light, and comes with some assembly required!

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04 November, 2010

Green Is Good - Radio Interview

wens Corning’s Joe Arrigo and

Eco Consulting * Eco Media's Paige Donner -

October 29, 2010  Green IS Good Radio Program

HostO
Joe Arrigo Owens Corning Owens Cornings Joe Arrigo and Paige Donner

 

Green Is Good Radio Program: Hosted by John Shegerian and Mike Brady on Clear Channel
Joe Arrigo, the Building Science Leader for Owens Corning, visits “Green is Good” to discuss the iconic building materials company’s new eco-projects.
Owens Corning is the original manufacturer of Fiberglas, the insulation material used in millions of homes worldwide. Arrigo points out that Fiberglas pays for itself 12 times over in the first year following installation. Now the company’s Energy Complete system, launched in 2009, is leading the energy-efficiency and insulation industries.
“On average, [Owens Corning] saves the homeowner 30% [on energy costs],” Arrigo reveals. “Domestically, energy costs are probably going to significantly go up in the near future, and we want to make sure that we’re making buildings more efficient.”
Paige Donner Owens Cornings Joe Arrigo and Paige DonnerPaige Donner wears many eco-hats: humanitarian, filmmaker, journalist, founder of the Green Blog Network and more. While Donner is based in Los Angeles, she travels all over the globe, investigating how the media conveys eco-news and awareness.

“We’re all together on this planet,” Donner says. “[We share] more similarities than differences. It’s not that you have to be perfectly green — none of us are going to be perfect. I think a lot of people think ‘green’ and become self-critical instead of self-praising.”
In particular, Donner is interested in the greening process in Hollywood — both on the production and awareness side. She says that more Hollywood stars are going green without being pigeonholed for it — a sign that the eco-movement is finally being embraced as a culturally accepted norm.
John Shegerian & Mike Brady
 John Shegerian and his Electronic Recycling Co. was featured recently in Fortune Magazine
“Green is Good,” hosted by Electronic Recyclers International’s John Shegerian and Mike Brady, is America’s No. 1 green radio show that features people and organizations that are making a green difference. Join John and Mike as they discuss go-green initiatives, green-collar jobs, sustainability practices, environmental issues, recycling, reuse and more with some of the green world’s most influential people.
Broadcast weekly on Clear Channel Radio Network, “Green is Good” highlights hot topics in the green world, and offers advice, suggestions, information and solutions from green experts. Join the go-green movement today.
Innovative, practical and entertaining… I love what’s been created with our “Green is Good” show… We are fortunate enough to have one of the most knowledgeable and dynamic entrepreneurs in the country in John Shegerian, to deliver this most important message on our Clear Channel stations and world wide web sites. This show delivers the country’s most knowledgeable and cutting edge environmental savvy business owners and professionals that can be heard anywhere… green is good, is great, I’m proud of it.
Jeff Negrete
Clear Channel
Market Manager

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