things of note:

So, you know how these days everyone preaches about drinking plenty of water, but at the same time, we're supposed to use less plastic? And, we have a tendency to leave our "bottles" at home leaving us to the throws of buying that Dasani at the corner market? Well, why in the world don't more companies think the way this Michigan based company has, by creating and selling bottle water... packaged in boxes? True story.

I mean, really when you think about it, people have been packaging liquid beverages in boxes forever: milk, juice, etc.... so why did plastic bottles take off so much? I'm guessing because of marketing and people wanted to see how "clear" their water was, but hopefully I'm assuming we're smarter consumers now and we don't need to see our water to believe it's clean and clear. Anyways "Boxed Water is Better" packages their water in containers that are made from 90% renewable resources, trees! The company states that "trees, when harvested in a responsible, managed, and ethical way... serve as an amazing renewable resource that benefits the environment even as it's renewed." As well, BWIB, states that their "carbon footprint is lower since the container boxes are shipped flat to the filler and filled only as demand is created, opposed to most bottled water companies who ship their empty bottles across the globe to be filled only to then be shipped back for consumption." Basically, by using flat unfilled boxes... they can transport the same amount of containers on one truck that it would take five trucks to ship empty bottles. That's a whole lot of saving! As well, they're giving back 20% of their profits back to the resources their product is composed of, water and trees. So, even though drinking tap water is better than purchasing water, sometimes you just don't have a choice. This company is trying to lessen the impact that plastic bottles have on the environment by creating an alternative. Right now, they're only available in Michigan, but hopefully before too long it'll catch on like wildfire. ;)
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Also, a few weeks ago this item came across my radar and i thought it was wicked cool. What this is (as seen above) is a Contrail. Contrail was developed by Brooklyn-based Studio Gelardi, and created as part of last year's Design21"Power to the Pedal" Design Competition, where it was a finalist. Basically, Contrail is a device that attaches to any bike seat tube and applies a thin layer of chalk powder in one of several colors, to the rear tire. The result is a whimsical streak of color that traces your bike path and leaves an impression based on the cumulative movements of many cyclists over time. In many ways, this lies somewhere between sky calligraphy, temporary street graffiti, and overlapping footprints in the snow. Now, if you have a stalker this may not be the best idea, but if you're like Hansel and Gretel, just want to leave your mark as a fun harmless urban graffiti or help make motorists more aware of the presence bikes have on the roads... then, this is product for you!

As well, this reminds me of once last summer, someone wrote a heartfelt birthday message to their sweetie in chalk on one of the bike paths on the Broadway Bridge. I rode my bike over the inscription not too long after it was written, and I noticed how I, and all the others to pass over the chalk message before me, each took a little bit of chalk on our bike wheel and carried it forward onto the pavement for the rotation ahead of us. Over the next several days, so many people had ridden over the message, that it became smeared and distorted... but left in it's place was an awesome impromptu piece of street art. Errant and purposeful bands of color stretched out for several feet in each direction from the original drawing... it was pretty amazing and cool how everyone, just in their daily bike trips, helped contribute to the art whether they meant to or not.

(originally posted March 27, 2009)

take that bag and shove it...

So, last week because I have a personal interest in the cause, I went to Keen''s Headquarters in downtown Portland for a presentation (lecture sounds so academic and not fun) by two members of the Alagalita Marine Foundation's Anna Cummins and Dr. Marcus Eriksen, who formed JUNKride. JUNKride is a 2,000 mile bike ride from Vancouver, BC to Tijuana Mexico where along the way, they are stopping to educate and inform organizations and legislators about the evils of plastic in our oceans and the danger it presents for all of us. Anna had written the highly informative article in Wend Magazine highlighting the North Pacific Gyre ..aka... the floating trash pile the size of Texas, and on hand there were also talks by the chair of the local Surfrider chapter as well as Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Jessica Hamilton from the Governor’s office.

Probably the biggest emphasis of their whole talk was not that there is a massive amount of plastic in our ocean, but that the harmful chemicals in these plastics are slowly working their way into our human food consumption.

“Plastics are a medium for other pollutants to get into food webs,” said Dr. Eriksen. Toxins like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and other pesticides in our watersheds are liphophilic compounds. This means that although they don’t mix with water, they do stick to plastic particles, and in turn migrate into the tissue of animals ingesting plastic in polluted waters. ...When the Algalita Marine Research Foundation traveled to the North Pacific Gyre last year they found plastic particles in over a third of the lantern fish that they collected for research, showing that marine and human health are equally dependent on solving the problem of plastic pollution. “We know that the situation is getting significantly worse. On our last voyage we found that the density of plastic particles had double in just 10 years. That, coupled with the fact that we found plastic particles in the fish we brought back, is enough to tell us we have to make some drastic changes,” said Cummins.

As part of their JUNKride duties, Cummins and Eriksen presented Portland Mayor Sam Adams with an actual sample of soupy plastic and sea water from the NPG. Initially, Mayor Adams was worried about tackling the issue of a "bag ban" in a down economy, but after hearing public support for it, Sam was willing to help.

What surprised me greatly about what Mayor Sam Adams had to say as he accepted the bottle filled with sludge, was about the strong opposition and lobbying he was going to face by supporting the bag ban. Apparently, one of the biggest Lobbying groups in opposition to the ban is the American Chemical Council. Now, maybe I'm blindsided by doing the right thing, things that are good for the environment... and I know that perhaps American jobs may be at stake by a downturn in plastic bag production (?)... but the thought that people would actually put money into seeing these bills defeated boggles my mind. The main bend for the ACC is that the bags should not be banned, they should be recycled. Keith Christman, senior director of the ACC, who worked with his organization to prevent Seattle from enacting it's fee, states that “Plastic bags are an environmentally responsible choice. They dramatically reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and are recyclable.”

But we all know, that even all those bags that are sent out into the world with good intentions of being recycled, some times it's easier said than done. As well, time and time again we've learned that to recycle something generally takes more energy than is really worthwhile. The easiest thing is to reuse a product or reduce your consumption. As a result, the best thing is to go without. 

Charlie Plybon, Oregon field coordinator for Surfrider, says plastic bags are detrimental to fish and wildlife in ways that most people can’t see. “By the time a lot of stuff makes it to the ocean, especially Portland, it’s probably broken down a little bit into smaller pieces,” he said. “Bags are easy to pick up. A bag that breaks down into 5,000 little pieces is very problematic.” When bags stay intact, he added, they look a lot like jellyfish, which causes many animals to prey on them. “Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not a problem,” he said. “There are places in the ocean where plastic outnumbers plankton 6-to-1.”

The ACC also is afraid that if plastic bans pass, then stores will remove their containers for plastic bag recycling and there will all those excess plastic bags go? To me the logic is a little skewed, but I'd rather see a plastic bag recycled than end up in a in a tree somewhere. As a result, the ACC and it's allies put together this little website to let you know where you can recycle plastic bags near where you live. And, if you don't live near anywhere near a place where you can drop off your remnant plastic bags that you can't reuse, you can always do what Real Simple Magazine did, turn them into plastic knee pads for the garden and other smart and innovative ideas.

Well, you can guarantee that just like stainless steel water bottles became the trendy and fashionable item of 2008, reusable shopping bags are going to the clutch item to have in 2009 and hopefully beyond. Already, the internets and the shopping aisles are filling with cool, smart, fashionable and creative bags like these.

bagthehabit.com

Baggu

Reloadbags.com

Don't forget though, that you don't have to buy a reusable grocery bag to be cool. Look around and grab any old bag you see. Take a few and keep them in your car or stuff them into your bookbag or purse for that next impromptu trip to the store. And, if you see any cool reusable bags out there that are worth note, yes.. even free ones from Target count, feel free to let me know.

(originally posted April 29, 2009)

i think about scribbling... a lot.

Howdy Blogger world! 

Wouldn't you know but I started my blogger site back in November but got frustrated when I found I couldn't transfer it automatically to myspace, - but now I really kinda hate myspace, so I'm back. Hello. I love you, or so I'm going to try to to.

really, it's been a while since I posted a random free flowing blog that wasn't about saving the world or be bitching about some design thing. And, not that I can't guarantee that I'll do that here or not, but this is just a little post to check in an say hi. To let you know how life is and what is keeping me busy and what thoughts have been occupying my mind recently. I originally wrote this last Friday, May First, but I'm being lazy and going back and making entries I should have made forever ago.

One of the things that have been filling my head recently are scribbles. You know, hand drawn lines. I've seen a massive trend recently in the hand made mark and not only is the inconsistency appealing and warm, but it's a nice break from the coldness and preciseness that lines drawn on a computer have. Here are some examples:

Poster Designs

this journal and wallpaper pattern by Julia Rothman

Stumptown coffee brewing guide

this t-shirt I own from Seattle's Wonder Thunder 

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Another thing is damn facebook quizzes. While some are cute, informative and funny... some are downright dumb. I DO admit, I will occasionally do them. Yes, I want to know what HHS student I am (jenn levo), I want to know my true nationality (German), what Portland neighborhood I live in (Inner SE)... and of course, what font I am (Helvetica).... but really, I will limit the amount of them that I do. Sadly though, ... some people do not have any self control. What Cosby kid are you? What's your true birth sign? What infectious disease are you? Really, if you are the type of person who takes every quiz that comes down your happy facebook path, I will probably delete you from my feed because I don't want to know what Grey's Anatomy character you are. No offense.

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As well, as the warmer weather comes, so does softball season and outdoor soccer season! Wahoo! My softball team did a little switcharoo from last year and while we are no longer "The Rocket" the essential team, give or take a few folks, is still all here and we now go by the amazingly awesome name of the Brewhers. We got sponsored by Rouge Breweries, Katie OBrein's Bar, and some reality company to lessen the fees and quench our thirsty post game pallets. As a team, last year we got to a really slow start but once we picked up momentum we were a force to be reckoned with. I pretty much expect that to be the same case this year. So far we've had some glittering moments and then we've had a few moments we'd like to forget. Speaking of moment's we'd like to forget. My clock was cleaned last night during a soccer game with my new team the DEBS. I was on a rush to the goal when two girls pretty much tackled me and i went down HARD. Today, I'm a little hobbily mess that's sitting at work with their leg propped up on a trash can and wrapped with ice. It's no big incident, no cause for alarm, it just hurts. Thats all. 

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Oh, so get this, last sunday while out last night with some of my friends, we decided to go to another random part of town to eat sushi. I walked into the joint and I hear from a table near me as I'm sitting down someone yell "LEVO!"... I turned around and waved, said hi, exchanged pleasantries, but for the life of me could not figure out who in the hell it was. 

As my cohorts poured over the sushi menu, I searched my brain. Who in the world could this be? Did I play a sport with her? Was she a friend of the kid I house sat for in January? She was really young after all... Does this person even live here or is she visiting? So, I narrowed it down: given the apparent young age of the girl, and the apparent jewishness of the other girl who was with her, and the fact that she yelled LEVO!!! I figured it was a camper from the jewish summer camp I worked at in MAINE for five summers. But the last summer I was there was almost three summers ago, it's been so long. What are the chances that someone from Camp Tap would be out here in some little dive sushi bar in Portland? 

So, I thought long and hard and suddenly it came to me, WOW...I knew who it was! I assumed she was probably in town for some fencing thing or checking out colleges cause that's the only way any sixteen year old from NYC would be out here. So, feeling assured I knew who it was, I went over and chit chatted. Sure enough, it was who I thought it was and yes... she and her family had flown in from NYC to PDX for a fencing tournament. It blew my friggin mind! I couldn't wrap my head around it for the remainder of the night. Anyways, It was nice to talk and catch up and better yet, her dad gave us their massive plate of leftover sushi. 

Small small world indeed. I can't go anywhere without running into people I know. Especially Tapawingo people. It's a proven fact that if two Tapawingo people are in close proximity to each other, they will find each other. It's like this weird random homing sonar thing. Speaking of Tapawingo, now is about the time I get the jonsin in my bones to want to return. I think I miss it most when the mornings are cool and crisp like they have been here in Portland recently. The smell of the air that will soon warm with the strength of the sun reminds me of waking up among the pines, with the morning sun coming through my window, lacing up my shoes and going out for a jog. These days, that jog is replaced with a bike ride to work and days spent buried deep in photo chemicals in the camp darkroom are replaced with the steady glare and glow of the computer screen. Yeah, summer has changed over the years for me... but I love what I do now and I love where I live and honestly, it would take a lot for me to return and have things be the same. For even though everything at camp changes, a lot doesn't, but I have changed a lot since then too. 

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Okay, well... that's all for today. It's the first day of May and it's simply stunning outside here in most fantastic Portland Oregon. I've got a great weekend of backyard grill outs, cornhole, surfing at the coast, beer pong, softball games, and hanging out to do. I'll leave you with this nice little video from the folks at VW and Nick Drake. It makes me want to enjoy the warm weather and spend it outside with my friends... letting it all soak in.

Have a great weekend everyone.

(originally posted May 1, 2009)

shopping with jenn

shopping with jenn

So, last night I went to the big REI sale and used my 20% Members coupon for a really good map of Oregon. When it comes to maps in the great state of Oregon, I've got a detailed Portland city map to tell me what street I'm on, I've got detailed trail maps to tell me which side of the mountain I'm on, and I've got a US Atlas to tell me how many miles I've got to go till I get to California. However, for the life of me, I cannot find my way out of Forest Grove to save my life. So, I bought a detailed Oregon Gazetteer and I'm bound and determined to know every logging road in this state gosh darn it! Also purchased at the REI sale was a cycling computer for my bike (so that I can finally tell you how fast and far I'm going and begin to OCD about it), a small pack towel for my next backwoods venture, and some freeze dried food. Until I climbed Mt. Shasta last year, I'd never used the freeze dried food... but I quickly discovered that when you're on a mountain, you're cold, tired and the best thing you can think of is a 1000 calorie warm meal to stick in your belly, it really is a great thing. Plus, you don't have to worry about packing tons of ingredients or pots and pans. As well, because it's freeze dried, when they're on sale it's smart to buy a bunch and just keep them on hand for when you need them. I wouldn't go this way if I was hiking the AT for four months as they're pretty spendy... but when you're short on time and packing room, freeze dried is a smart way to go.  

Also last evening I met my friend Liz for Mazama Night at the Icebreaker Touch Lab in the Pearl. While I'm not a Mazama, I not so secretly long to be, but I wouldn't feel right doing it till I cap a glaciated peak (Mt. Adams is my Memorial Day plans). One of the perks of being a Mazama, is they get special discounts and deals on things, for instance, last night they closed down the Icebreaker store for a few hours so that only members could shop. They had beer, wine, and cheese and crackers on hand and best of all... if you purchased any base layer that evening, it was 40% off. So my friend Liz, who is a Mazama, had no problem with meeting me downtown for a little shopping. Friends with benefits are good to have. 

I had first heard of Icebreaker back in 2002 when I was traveling in New Zealand. I picked up one of their brochures and read through it, impressed by not only their wool based products, but also the detail and care they showed for their practices of producing and making their products from start to finish. Back in the day of outdoors wear, wool and cotton were pretty much your only choices. Wool was bulky, smelly, itchy and couldn't be washed. However, somewhere along the way when plastic, nylon and polyester got more popular, people shunned the dank wool for lighter, brighter, less itchy, and more modern fabrics. In due time though, we've discovered that these polyester fabrics are not all they were promised to be. Sure, they're moisture wicking, lightweight, wash well and wear well over time.. but at the same time, the more you use them, the more they smell, and also, they leave you with a not so fresh "clammy" feeling. As well, the fibers are petroleum based which mean that they further our dependance on non-renewable resources. Additionally, the process that the fabrics have to go through to add to their "performance", use way more energy than is really worth it. Plus, aside from Patagonia, who devised a system of reusing and recycling their old "capaline" product, known as Common Threads Recycling Program... the polypro synthetic fibers never really break down. 

That's where new wool comes in, especially super fine grade mernio wool. Recently, companies like Icebreaker, Smartwool, Ibex and Point 6 are making ground for themselves as performance clothing companies that use only fine grade mernio wool. Mernio wool is 100% natural, it's finer, softer, more insulating and more breathable than regular wool. Most of the time, the bulkier high micron fibers are weeded out of the shearing, which processes the "itch" out. 

Wool has the natural ability to cool when it's hot and warm when it's cool, it regulates just like a sheep's coat regulates in nature. Plus, wool moves moisture faster than any other material on the planet. Synthetics have to wait for moisture to condense into a liquid before wicking it away from your skin, wool garments absorb and transfer moisture in its vapor state, before it condenses. When it’s hot, this creates a mini air-conditioning unit next to your skin, transferring body heat through your apparel. When it’s cold, this keeps bone-chilling moisture at bay. This means, you stay drier longer. As well, the only thing synthetic fibers can do is wick and move moisture from one side to another. This is especially noticeable in socks where moisture moves from your feet to the lining of your shoe which just leaves you with wet shoes, wet synthetic socks, and wet uncomfortable feet. The difference is that Minero wool has a hollow core fiber with microscopic air pockets that wick, absorb and evaporate moisture in a vapor state as well as insulate against the heat and cold. As well, when you layer with wool, each layer retains it's own properties, but also combines with the layer above and below it for a more comprehensive and effective layering system than is possible layering with various synthetics. The individual fibers do the job as well as the fabric as a whole. 

This is one reason why when looking for a good baselayer to wear under my cycling jersey in hot and cold, I went with the slim fitting Icebreaker Atlas Tank. Testing the shirt out during my first three day four event cycling stage race in The Dalles, OR. I put that tank through everything from time trialing in 37 degree temps, road racing in 40 mph winds, and then burning hot corners in a crit, and never once did I feel itchy, too hot, too cold or too wet. Better yet, I never once washed the shirt and even after my last race... it didn't smell. I walked (or rode) away a firm believer in the products ability to be a performance baselayer. 

So, last night at Icebreaker, I jumped at the opportunity to add to my wool armory and walked away with a nice long sleeve quarter zip shirt. I look forward to using this item to replace an old Nike polypro layer of mine that's been kicking around for a few years in my drawer. My aim in shopping these days, is to make smarter purchases... not just more purchases. Which, hopefully down the line means I'll be able to make less purchases and get more bang for my buck. As well, hopefully the purchases I make will be more sustainable and not end up taking space in a box under my bed or a landfill somewhere. Speaking of which... I've got some synthetic base layers that may need new homes soon. And, if you live out in Forest Grove and want them, I've got a map now. I can find my way there.