So, this evening I attended a discussion held by our friend, Blue Crump, of Cityspace Construction at the new Whole Foods in Short Pump. I’ve been wanting to catch one of his classes for some time now, and he did a great job teaching attendees about residential solar options to help offset energy consumption (and costs). His presentations are down-to-earth and make green construction and renovation concepts easy to understand. Blue offers free classes there and at Ellwood Thompson’s to share green ideas with homeowners throughout the Richmond area.

Feel free to visit the Cityspace website for more information on this business and their free educational classes.

In our little paint world, it’s easy to think about the products we work with every day and forget about the bigger picture. Why are we driven to offer healthier products to our customers? There are a lot of reasons. In this entry, we share a lecture given by Alex Steffen during the 2005 TED conference. What is TED? TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Their annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

In this lecture, Alex Steffen challenges us to look at our world through a broad lens. The small choices we make each day, including using healthy materials in our homes, can make a big difference…

I received an email today from the James River Green Building Council that referenced a recent article published July 18th on Richmond.com. It talks about the practicality of making our homes “green”, and whether or not it really is cost-effective. Many of the people I talk to feel like making their homes eco-friendly is unaffordable. Additionally, much of what we hear on the news talks about what’s happening in other parts of the country. What’s happening here in Virginia? This article references several local professionals who are working to make green buildings a reality for homes and business spaces alike.

For resources and supplies for making your home a healthier place to live, consider a visit to EcoLogic, a green home supply store that’s slated to open in mid-August on Main Street in the City of Richmond.

I was recently introduced to an organization that brings issues related to sustainability and eco-friendly living called Back Porch Initiatives. As you’ll see on their site, Back Porch is a non-profit organization working with communities to cultivate local responses to the national and global issue of energy consumption. The Back Porch team is committed to collaborating with communities on existing resources, leveraging new ideas, and developing practical, economical and environmental solutions.

Back Porch has extended an invitation for us to present during one of their weekly community conversations on Monday, July 21st, 2008. We’ll be speaking about healthy paint options available here in Richmond, and will also likely discuss the local green-building resources. We will be at Globehopper Coffeehouse at 2100 E. Main Street in Richmond’s historic Church Hill. This event is free and open to the public.

If you aren’t free to attend this coming Monday’s conversation, please know that Back Porch holds these talks every Monday evening from 7-8 pm at Globehopper.