Save Jackson Forest

Dear Carl,
Thanks for your assistance, especially your own outreach efforts. I feel that the public is really making great progress. I am optimistic that we will cause management of our forest to change for the better -- much better.Vince
Carl Macki wrote:
Thanks, Vince. I wrote a letter--also sent it to the press demo. I've been publishing your writings about the issue at skysidestudios.blogspot.com carl
Vince Taylor wrote:

Letter to Golden Gate Transit

I am interested in speaking with your facilities planning department about improving the bus stop waiting areas.
For the most part, I am sorry to see the rampant destruction and waste that has occurred to many of them.
We have some ideas in using non-toxic sustainable materials that would also be aesthetically pleasing.
I am also curoius about blind accessiblity issues, about using Pathfinder tiles that would be of benefit to the sight-impaired.
Yours,
Carl Macki

USGBC Green

Upcoming Events: North Bay
recommended by John Shurtz
Green Builders of Marin—
205 Montego Key
Novato, CA 94949
(415) 884-0700
john@greenbuildersofmarin.com
Visit http://www.usgbc-rec.org/ for more info about these events.
Kickoff 2006 Redwood Empire Chapter Party!!!!
Tuesday February 28th, 5 to 8 pm
Cacti Grill, Novato
It’s time to get to know your local Green Building community.
This is our first Chapter gathering of 2006
and we’ll be having fun and creating our vision for the year.
More details to come, but mark your calendars now.

Sustainable Novato Meeting

from Ed Mainland, Sustainable Novato
FRIENDS OF SUSTAINABLE NOVATO
monthly meeting7-9 p.m
Monday, February 20
17 Harding Drive, Novato
(Harry Moore's house)
RSVP to Harry at 415-897-0822
Everyone welcome. We aim to encourage policies and practices that reinforce long-term community sustainability.
Our featured speakers/discussants will be Steve Birdlebough and Valerie Taylor, Friends of SMART.
This session follows last month's meeting which also sought to clarify what kind of sustainable, multimode transportation system will fit Marin best for future decades.
Looking at transportation issues through the prism of sustainability,we hope in due course to develop Sustainable Marin and Sustainable Novato positions on SMART, Marin's transportation challenges and, in particular,what mix of public transit and other modes makes the most sense.
We will be bringing you up to date on current contacts with Marin Supervisors about our reservations concerning the Redwood Landfill expansion, and about the need for a sustainable, long-term County zero-waste policy and strategy.
We'll also be talking about next moves on an integrated pest management strategy directed at main sources of pesticide and herbicide use in Novato, as initiated in our November, 2005 meeting, with the objective of reducing the toxic burden where we live and work.
Sustainable Novato 415-902-6365 --
Posted by carl macki to SkySideStudios at 2/16/2006 12:43:00 PM

About Dana Porteous and Green Design

from skysidestudios.blogspot.com
Novato Advance Article
Skyside merges ‘green,’ design
By Mary Connell, Staff Writer

"Skyside Studios is about as well positioned as it is possible to be — if ever there was a time and place to introduce ‘green’ but elegant building materials, this is it.
"And for Dana Porteous, the opportunity to create custom designs in new and traditional materials is one he takes seriously.
"Porteous, who grew up in Boston, apprenticed as a woodworker and cabinetmaker.He still considers himself a 'lifetime apprentice.'
"He came to Marin 16 years ago to work for Mitchell Berman in Larkspur. Berman, one of the North Bay’s finest furniture and cabinet makers, has since moved his shop to Cotati. . . ."
more




http://www.novatoadvance.com/business.htm

The Arts Are A Green Business

A Musical Celebration with
The Novato Theater Company!
A show within a show, with your
favorite Broadwaymusic,
and some of the
best voices in Marin
A fundraising benefit for a
new performing arts center in Novato.
March 4, 2006 - 8pm
Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Church
1819 Virginia St. –
Novato, CA
All tickets: $20.00
Reservations: 415-892-3005
and on-line
at www.novatotheatercompany.org
Press Contact: Clara Lamers 492-9601

Hi -- We're Already Underway

My name is Carl and I started this blog for a real purpose--let's waken the Novato community to sustainable practices. For starters, I wrote this letter to the IJ today.

Dear Marin Independent Journal,

It was good to see that the Marin IJ is devoting a lot of coverage to the discussion over a new public building for the City of Novato.

A new Novato City Hall is a wish "devoutly to be consumed for," but where's the green? And what about using local sources? That is certainly part of sustainability.

I work for a certified Green Business. Skyside Studios makes sustainable cabinets and has been distributing "green" materials all over Marin for over two years.

In the San Jose area, we are working with a non-profit developer to bring affordable and sustainable solutions for low-income housing.

If Green is not too expensive for low cost housing, it is not too expensive for public buildings. Further, it is also being mandated.

By green I am not just talking about LEED points--a way to measure sustainability in construction by counting the good and the "bad," and making tradeoffs--I am talking about a green design from the ground up, just like a tree.

The existing architects are doing a good job. Let's ensure that they receive the right mandate. You may find important information at our blog and web sites -- skysidestudios.blogspot.com and www.skysidestudios.com.

I implore you to contact your the City Council members in Novato, even if you don't live there--you exist in relationship with that community--to insist that the new City Hall (and other community ventures) be wholly green.

Sincerely,
Carl Macki
Committee for A Sustainable Novato City Hall