America is the land of the free and the home of the impatient. Check out this video where Dr. Lorraine Haataia encourages viewers to pay attention to the companies they're supporting, and to choose to buy from CSR triple bottom line companies like Patagonia, Whole Foods Market and Chipotle Mexican Grill, and to think twice before making too many purchases at large, low-price stores like Walmart.

Dr. Lorraine encourages buyers to slow down just a bit to “Google” the companies and manufacturers they’re voting for with their dollars.

If you’re interested in having Dr. Lorraine Haataia speak at your organization, contact her at www.DrLorraine.net.

On Saturday night, my husband and I celebrated Earth Hour at home. For dinner, we had Kirkland wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon from Costco over salad with Annie's Naturals organic Caesar dressing. He cooked the salmon on Fire & Flavor cedar planks on our outdoor grill and I made the Caesar salad in the kitchen.

After we put the salmon over the salad, he hit the breaker switch and turned off all the power to the house. We enjoyed our candlelight dinner for one hour and seventeen minutes, so in case you need an extra few minutes, we can lend you a few.

We talked about how quiet it was without hearing any air conditioning, music or anything at all running in the house. It was surprisingly dark in the house without all the LED lights that shine from the kitchen appliances and television equipment. We're so accustomed to them that we don't even notice until they're gone. We have dimmers and motion sensors on almost all the switches in our home, but "off" is much darker than dim lighting!

We talked about how big the impact can be on any cause when you multiply the number of participants. We also talked about how much of an impact this could have worldwide if everybody participated. We walked out to our backyard and looked at our neighbors' houses and everyone else had their lights on, so they obviously didn't get the Earth Hour memo. It was a bright moonlight night, so it was very easy to walk in our backyard. I could take on some guilt and say that I didn't do anything to promote it in my neighborhood, but I certainly can next year!

Earth Hour was sponsored by the World Wildlife Foundation. What did you do for Earth Hour? Please feel free to leave a comment.

Today I had the privilege of talking with Brian Setzler, MBA, CPA, and Co-Founder of TriLibrium, a “green CPA” firm in Portland, OR. The “tri” in TriLibrium stands for triple bottom line and the “librium” stands for equilibrium. To learn more, read their Story on their website.

Here are just a few things I got out of my meeting with Brian that you might want to apply to your business:

Look forward to the future. Brian says that traditional CPAs spend 80% of their time looking back and reporting what already happened. One of the key things that sets TriLibrium apart is that they encourage their clients to spend 80% of their time looking forward at what they can improve in the future. Once decisions are made and the bills are paid, you can’t do too much to change the past. TriLibrium encourages their clients to think about their strategy and spending going forward and what they can do to become a more sustainable company.

Get rid of the garbage. This sounds unthinkable for most businesses because most Americans have a throw-away mentality. Brian showed me a paper bag in the closet that’s there for emergency just in case something is no longer useful and can’t be recycled. The only thing in the bag that day was a small piece of plastic film from some packaging. When someone goes to the garbage in the closet, they joke with each other that it’s “the walk of shame.” In their kitchen area you won’t find any disposable cups. They’re all the real thing.

Replace garbage cans with recycle bins. If we all focused on producing less garbage and separating the garbage we did make, our landfill growth rate might slow down a bit. Replace the garbage cans in your office with recycle bins for paper, aluminum, glass, batteries, and any other common items regularly consumed by employees and your business processes.

Involve employees in shaping the company. TriLibrium employees don’t feel oppressed with a lean and green work environment. They all have a say in defining the company. Below is a collage they put together with words and photos that describing their ideal company. So it’s no coincidence that TriLibrium employees get a weekly massage by a masseuse in the same building.

See the bike in the picture? TriLibrium gives clients a bus ticket if they come to the TriLibrium office by bike or bus. Even clients partake in minimizing TriLibrium’s carbon footprint.

One of the other few works of art in the office is a painting entitled “Accounting Services for a Sustainable World” done by one of the employees, André Furin. Teachers take pride in their student’s work in K-12 schools every day, but this is usually where it ends. Why not include employee works of art demonstrating your company values?

Keep things simple.  The office has a courtyard entry from the center of the building. The courtyard includes a few large potted trees and a few chairs. When I entered TriLibrium’s second-floor office, I felt a sense of spaciousness and clarity. Because it’s a courtyard office, they’re able to light their office with a lot of natural light. There’s no place for clutter here, just the essentials. I really got the sense that I was in a business with focus where people not only believe in the work they do, but also enjoy it. One of the keys to sustainability is to weed out things that don’t serve a clear purpose. Brian believes in transparency and authenticity and he helps his clients achieve these goals. Brian is a graduate of Bainbridge Graduate Institute and now serves as a staff member going back once a month to teach. “It’s a great place to make connections,” he says.

Become a B Corporation. When a company earns the status of a B Corporation, they’re making a public statement that they’re committed to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Use the GRI Reporting Framework. If you’re serious about sustainability, use the Global Reporting Initiative Reporting Framework to measure and report on the economic, environmental, and social performance of your company.

Say no. Brian invited me to check out their conference room, primarily lit by natural light, well as much as you can get in Portland, anyway. This March day happened to be unusually sunny for the green city which is usually covered by grey skies this time of year. The EnduraWood conference table is made of sunflower seeds, wood pulp and natural resins. One of the few things on the conference table was a copy of their 2009 Sustainability Report. I asked if I could have a copy and he very politely told me that they only printed ten copies, but I was welcome view the report on their website.

“We do very little printing in this office,” Brian said. “We only used three reams of paper our first year in business. When you hear the printer running in our office, you know it’s something that really must be printed.”

TriLibrium helps their clients develop business plans and strategies. Their typical client is a small to medium size company with under million in revenue.

Keep up with the latest news and tips from Brian on his Green CPA blog.

Have you heard of encaustic painting? Me neither, until today when I had the opportunity to meet encaustic artist, Rebecca Shapiro, at her studio in Portland, OR. Unlike entering the studio of an artist who works with oil paints, the studio of an artist who works with beeswax smells refreshing and delightful. The melted wax is a form of artistic aromatherapy.

Here's what Rebecca has to say about her art:

Influenced by a childhood in the Pacific Northwest, I strive for sustainable practices in my studio and earth friendly materials in my mediums. I have always embraced a green heart and am currently exploring what it means to be a sustainable artist seeking kinship between art, nature and the human experience. I hope my art will help us all remember the interconnectedness of life.

A few years ago, I switched to encaustic because it is a more earth friendly choice for me. There is very little waste and I don't have to wash anything down the sink when I rinse my brushes. There is also a satisfying unity between the plants that inspire me, the bees that pollinate them and the beeswax. Each layer of wax allows me to be innovative, building my subject with glorious textures and ethereal depth. Sometimes, forty to fifty layers of wax are fused in a piece to abstract the essence of a plant. This sensuous medium gives me the freedom to express my love for the wild braid of colors, lines and forms in plants.

As being green and sustainable practices are being implemented in business, I would like to see businesses take their commitment a step further by purchasing/leasing art from artists who share the similar philosophies about being green. I would like to see a new breed of art patron emerge, that of the eco-art collector. These are people and organizations who use their dollars and support artists and their art who are considering their materials, studio practices and personal philosophy and in some cases, even their subject matter.

So, just what is sustainable fine art? In a nutshell, sustainable means to be made from renewable resources without depleting future resources, something that can continue indefinitely. If you look back through time, art certainly does that. Look at the paintings of Lascaux, DaVinci or Picasso. These works can be defined as sustainable because so far, they have continued indefinitely and we want to do everything to conserve them.

But now, things have changed. Sustainable fine art can’t just mean that you’ve created an image worthy of preservation. Sustainable fine art means that you, as an artist, must consider your materials, your studio practices and your personal philosophy. It means that you, as an art collector, use your dollars to support sustainable art and create a new breed known as the eco-art collector.

No, what I’m talking about is digging deeper into what sustainability means and apply art to the cradle to cradle concept. Cradle to cradle asks us to transform the way we make things – the way we make art. When a product returns to its industry at the end of a useful life and its materials are used to make valuable new products that do not return to the landfill, this is sustainable.

Why not design products so safe they don’t need regulation? Imagine a relationship between artist and eco-art collector where the artwork is returned, reworked and reinvented at the end of its life. Imagine a painting that has served its purpose, tossed on your garden for composting which feeds plants that are used to create pigments for future use.

There is amazing fine art out there made from recycled and reclaimed materials. But what about the fine artist like me that uses paints, pencils, inks, charcoals, pastels, paper, adhesives, varnishes, photography, etc? I might be green in my beliefs, studio practices and imagery but what if my medium isn’t sustainable? How can I create art but make choices that leave little or no impact? I don’t have all the answers but it’s worth having a conversation and exploring.

If you're looking for beautiful botanical art, check out Shapiro's work. Her pieces are ideal conversation-starters in locations such as:

• flower shops
• natural food stores
• aromatherapy shops
• green spas
• anyplace that sells honey or bee products
• green art galleries
• businesses located near bee farms
• organic or healthful restaurants
• botanical garden shops
• natural museum stores

If you have more ideas about where encaustic art might be featured, or you have something else you'd like to say, please leave a comment and add to the buzz about encaustic art! It's safe art without the sting of toxins.

Dr. Lorraine Haataia encourages viewers to pay attention to the companies they're supporting, and to choose to buy from triple bottom line companies like Patagonia, Whole Foods Market, Chipotle and Nike.

Before you go shopping for your favorite cosmetics again, check out the product ingredients at Environmental Working Group's Cosmetic Safety Database. There's a good chance you'll be looking for a new brand!

If you have a favorite safe brand or product you'd like to mention, please post a comment.

Project Vote Smart makes it easy to find your representatives. Search by candidate's or official's last name, or enter your zip code.



Let your representatives know what you're thinking!

Learn more about Climate Care Day in this short presentation:



Be creative and find a way to make this work for your organization!

Allesandro Volta, inventor of the first battery, was born on February 18, 1745. That's why February 18th is National Battery Day. Every great invention deserves a special day, doesn't it? Even if you've never celebrated this little-known holiday, it's not too late to start!

If you have a car, cell phone, computer, flashlight, or a wireless mouse, then you have batteries, and you may not realize how much they've improved in the past few centuries! If you aren't already using rechargeable batteries in your gadgets, today is your day to begin.

Check out this video to learn more about new UltraLast lightweight and compact solar and USB battery chargers:



This time last year, 63,590 people participated in FC EXPO 2009 & PV EXPO 2009, the world's largest hydrogen & fuel cell event and Asia's largest photovoltaic event. If you're really into batteries, you can attend this year's event or one of the many other upcoming photovoltaic events.

The next time you need batteries, choose rechargeables to help reduce the number of batteries that end up in our landfills.