Hello Readers,
It’s May, and that means our cool days are numbered. Before you can say scorching, sweltering summer heat, the triple-digit days will be upon us. Right now, I am sitting at my kitchen table with all of my windows opened, enjoying the cool air and writing to you.
Last month, we celebrated Mother Earth and all things environmental. This month, we have dropped the Earth — it’s all about mothers. Our Cool Outrageous Stuff offers pampering products for our precious moms, many of whom have, in their own abstract way, been pioneers in the world of preservation.
How else would you explain their almost innate desire to pass values and valuables down to their children? Preservation is a family matter, whether it’s the desire to preserve old photos or a Sicilian baked ziti recipe (which in my case, can now be perfectly recreated by my older son) or something more important, like being mindful of the environment. I remember something Publisher Dorie Morales shared with me when we first met. After one of her son’s baseball games, Keaton asked, “Mom, how about we walk around the park and pick up trash?” And that is exactly what they did. It still amazes me.
This month, Dorie scored a sit-down interview with Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and learned how he helped one of the least sustainable cities in the U.S. do a complete turnaround. A 50-acre Resource Innovation Campus has been opened for imaginative businesses to access waste materials and make new products (like creating glassware from old wine bottles). And, the city opened a one-of-a-kind compost facility that can process up to 220,000 tons of compostable material, which can be sold as fertilizer. Sounds like a wonderful program but I wouldn’t want a whiff of that.
My Turning Green column is a picture of being plagued by plastic and the process of walking away from water bottles. Send your alternatives for a budget-minded family of four to dolores@greenlivingaz.com. And please, if you want to join me in growing towards greener living, fill out the form that accompanies the story or online at greenlivingaz.com.
And there is more — a follow-up on the autonomous car awry, composting, micro-gardening and party-planning tips from artist and Paradise Valley designer Patsy Lowry.
So sit down, open the windows while you still can, and enjoy our May issue!
Dolores Tropiano
Editor
Email me at dolores@greenlivingaz.com
