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ECO-LUXURY™ Furniture Line Unveiled by Green Designer Debi Bodinus PDF Print E-mail
Written by Sheryll Alexander   

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Award-winning green interior designer Debi Bodinus (www.4greendesign.com) has unveiled her all-new ECO-LUXURY™ line of truly green upholstered furniture.

The D’Bodinus ECO-LUXURY™ furniture line is sold by retail furniture stores, Eco-boutiques and interior designers. “Every facet of the D’Bodinus ECO-LUXURY™ line has been meticulously researched and sourced for a truly eco-friendly solution to upholstered furniture,” says Bodinus.“Finally, design style, flair and attention to detail do not need to be compromised by going green.”

Each piece in the D’Bodinus ECO-LUXURY™ furniture collection is composed of non-toxic, chemical-free, earth-friendly materials such as FSC Certified wood, 100 percent rubber latex foam, eco-wool, no VOC’s water-based glues and 95%recycled steel springs. Her ECO-LUXURY™ upholstery selections include organic and chemical-free textiles including linen, cotton, hemp, wool and bamboo.

Bodinus was recently awarded two prestigious awards from the Building Industry Association, including the Grand Award for Hawaii BuiltGreen Residential Remodel and the Carl Reppun Grand Award for Residential Remodel. “I have refined green interiors with award-winning design, luxurious comfort and eco-friendly production,” says Bodinus.

According to the US Green Building Council, today’s interior environments consume half of the world’s materials and resources, use twice as much energy and emit twice the amount of carbon dioxide as all of the cars on the road in the U.S.

Through using strict processing guidelines, I have created truly green upholstered furniture that is void of the harmful chemical toxins typically found in any standard upholstered piece of furniture,” says Bodinus. “These chemical toxins can cause allergic reactions, asthma or more serious health problems. All these toxic chemicals out-gas into the air that fills our homes and buildings, which may be absorbed into our lungs and through our skin,” she adds.

Bodinus was inspired to become a green designer a decade ago when she learned of the effects of harsh chemicals contained in most building and interior materials and products. After losing her brother to lung cancer, Debi became deeply committed to designing only green projects.

I am no longer willing to design an environment that is harmful to my client’s health and the planet,” she says. With this mission in mind, Debi launches  D’Bodinus ECO-LUXURY™ through creating natural, beautiful environments, which combines her award-winning design skills, signature line of ECO-LUXURY™ furnishings and sustainable, green materials.

Her commitment to purely green products and materials reflect a new level of concern being woven into the world we create for a healthier future. For example, Bodinus says her recent project in Hawaii, which won BIA’s Grand Award for Hawaii BuiltGreen Residential Remodel and the Carl Reppun Grand Award for Residential Remodel, was created using these green products and materials:


  • Custom-designed ECO-LUXURY™ upholstered furniture 
  • Borate-treated lumber to ward off termites 
  • Formaldehyde-free wall insulation 
  • Natural Tiger wood posts and railings 
  • Low e-glass windows and doors 
  • Natural stone, cork and glass flooring 
  • Lime plaster wall treatments 
  • VOC-free paints 
  • Energy-efficient LED lighting 
  • Natural wood countertops
  • Organic beds and bedding 
  • Energy Star-rated appliances 
  • Low flow plumbing fixtures

           
“This all adds up to a peaceful, healthy home that not only increases one’s sense of well being, but also decreases energy consumption and costs with an increase in resale value,” says Bodinus. “Our homes especially provide a naturally safe, serene haven in which one can relax, restore and rejuvenate.”

Bodinus’ newest green business venture is Eco babyLuv™, a line of exclusively designed green baby furnishings and organic products, which are safe for baby and the planet.

For more information about Debi Bodinus and D’BODINUS ECO-LUXURY™, visit www.4greendesign.com.

About Green Designer Debi Bodinus & D’BODINUS ECO-LUXURY™ 
Debi Bodinus is an award-winning interior designer based in Newport Beach and Hawaii whose portfolio includes high-end residential, restaurant, commercial and hotel projects such as Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Along with her recently-debuted D’Bodinus ECO- LUXURY™ upholstered furniture line, she offers architectural planning, interior design and complete project management. She is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and an Adopter of the Designers Accord, which is a global coalition of design and innovation firms focused on working together to create positive environmental and social impact.


CONTACT: 
Sheryll Alexander

(908)489-6024

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The Mealer Economic Energy Plan PDF Print E-mail
Written by JL Mealer   

This plan was completed several years ago to introduce a replacement tax for fossil fuel taxes that would have been lost when Mealer American Motors Corporation introduced a certain automobile...

This automobile is different from others and very special. Once our non-fossil fuel , non-EV (Electric Vehicle) which will also power a home when it is not being driven down the road, is sold, the government fuel taxes would soon disappear. This means, the coal power companies taxes, the nuclear power companies taxes, the taxes from hydro-electric power sources would eventually be done away with. The government would be in trouble.

Today.. The government is already in trouble, but worst yet... The citizens of the nations with struggling economies are in worst trouble. The following “brief” explains these new tax sources...

1. USA manufacturing and new USA manufacturing businesses PLUS the millions of jobs that must exist to feed the need of the manufacturing sector... The same jobs that grew this country and have since been replaced by retail salespeople and Walmart employees selling Made in China products.

A. The Mealer 3R Economic Energy Plan entails paid training by utilizing the hundreds of thousands of stores fronts that sit vacant throughout America. Many of these training centers are old, vacant Walmart stores and stores put out of business by the retail China import giant. The products made during training are resold in a host of retail stores throughout the nation and throughout the world...

B. These stores can be retrofitted and create immediate construction based jobs for those in the business and used for re-training America while the building/property owners receive huge tax breaks (through existing laws) for either donating or deferring lease payments until the 3R schools are producing a steady cash flow or until the following takes place...

2. As these smaller and solvent USA manufacturing companies come into existence, the newly schooled entrepreneurs who follow up with business law courses (community college works fine here) unless they feel confident or hire outside help, will go on and gather several other new small mfg companies and form them into one group to sell as a commodity and regulated as such. The market is huge! This is within the scope of commodities exchange and we would expect some out of work Wall Street types to hop on board since they aren't doing anything as it is... Could it be any easier to supply funds for any moments of struggling new USA MFG businesses than to group them together like this? Think about it... say.. Five to Ten medium sized US businesses who manufacture several different items for resale, all being collected together as one Trade Commodity. As these Commodities form, they are placed on the bidding block and portions of their 'value' is returned back into the individual businesses to keep them operating smoothly. American ingenuity and the desire to succeed will work out the products, and there are thousands to choose from. The jobs from the traders and marketers and local government alone will create a small new US economy in itself. This is something that can be done in All Free Nations.

3. New jobs that are unrelated to these new USA MFG businesses will thrive as the new cash flow from these students and employees is spent to purchase normal everyday products and services. The ratio to cover one purchaser average 3 to 1, so for every new USA MFG position, the outside jobs that will be created are three per each industry. Don't believe me? Compare this to Detroit as the automaker jobs move away due to the Big Three mfg overseas and in Mexico. Compare this to the increase in jobs when the foreign automakers move into non union states. The cities and local economies thrive!

4. More people working in a community means more government resources and jobs will be needed to serve the public. This means even more jobs. This Mealer Economic Energy Plan is really very simple and may be implemented today with immediate economic benefits, jobs and that thing call hope for the future..

But this is real and certain hope that ends up creating money rather than costing it. No government needed, except to stay out of the way. This is the only viable “renewable energy business plan” and by far the only viable “economic stimulus plan” that can possibly work.

 

JL Mealer

Mealer Companies LLC
Mealer American Motors Corporation www.betterconstructed.com


 
Take the Paperless Challenge PDF Print E-mail
Written by Julie Urlaub   

Businesses and individuals across the country are looking for ways to cut costs during these challenging economic times.  With small business resources strained most look to cut the most visible expenses: travel, operating expenses, and so forth.  

One path to cost reduction is looking at the underlying, seemingly unconscious processes and habits that we do daily.  Companies interested in reducing cost and building business sustainability are taking the challenge to reduce their use of paper. 

In our sustainability consulting, we encourage clients to identify all the activities in their business that utilize paper.  The obvious comes to mind like printers, copiers, mail, collateral, but dig deep here and explore other areas of your business.

  • How much paper do you use for events, trade shows, invoicing, literature, packaging, shipping materials?
  • What about the kitchen areas and bathrooms?  Remember, it's not just paper but paper products.
  • Consult with people in other departments and get a clear picture of the paper they are using, where it is coming from, when they are using it, and how they are using it.
  • You might want to talk to your purchasing department and learn more about how much you are spending on your paper products.


As a next step, employ the sustainability concept of the 3 R's: reduce, reuse, recycle.

  • Reduce your paper consumption by working with your purchasing department to reduce the amount of paper purchased and switch to buying  recycled paper (100% post consumable is best).
  • Reuse paper by placing bins next to the copiers and printers for easy reuse of single sided scraped paper.
  • Recycle paper that has been used.

Simultaneous with these efforts, in our sustainability consulting, we suggest the use of online document management systems for your documents.  Content Management Systems like the ones offered by WayPoint Technologies give you more than the environmental benefits of going paperless.  They offer the ability to manage different types of data: emails, contracts, logos, reports, forms, drawings, web pages, blogs, etc.  Their web based solutions enables satellite offices and remote employees to go paperless as well. 

To win in taking the Paperless Challenge, it's important to articulate and communicate the vision, and the "how's" and "why's" of your plan.  Communicate and train your staff regularly to monitor the success of the program.
 
E-cards versus Paper Cards PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
sustainability

W

e send sentiment to people in our lives that we care about. And Christmas is definitely a time were we want to connect and express our feelings to family and friends. It is important to let others know that we are thinking of them during the holidays. But should we send a paper card or an electronic one? Here are some pros and cons for each.

Paper cards

Paper greeting cards have been around for at least a hundred years. It is cheaper than a telephone call and people can choose to keep our sentiments if they wish. Christmas cards say what we would like to but can’t seem to put into words. The fun begins when we shop for the cards and choose just the right one for someone we care about. In that regard, Christmas cards meet a need. Many companies are striving to be more environmentally friendly by using recycled paper for their cards. The argument against recycled paper is that it is not as strong as virgin wood pulp. That may be a consideration for paper grocery bags but for cards, the strength is in the wording not what they are printed on. Purchasing greeting cards on recycled paper supports the recycling industry as a viable alternative to plastic and other materials.

On the other hand, after the holidays, paper cards end up in the trash along with wrapping paper and other items. Some people recycle but most throw everything away in the regular trash to get rid of it. This paper goes to the landfill and stays their indefinitely. Yes, paper is made from trees and trees are organic and therefore biodegradable. Unfortunately, in a landfill, the conditions are not appropriate for that kind of biodegradation to occur. Paper hands around as long as plastic in a landfill.

E-cards

The electronic card is the greatest innovation. It helps out those of us who forget to send out paper greeting cards in a timely fashion. An electronic card can be sent on December 23rd and arrive on the twenty-fourth. They make noise, show interactive scenes and can be personalized to say whatever we want.

Online, people get to choose from free card offerings or pay for more detailed cards for Christmas or the service to be able to send cards at any time and for any occasion. E-cards can be saved on the computer and viewed as many times as you want.

Electronic card programs eliminate the need to go to the store for cards. Some people use those. These cards can be created and sent to others. People do print them out and that contributes to the trash situation in the landfill.

Which is better, e-cards or paper? That is up to you. Be responsible with your choices and instead of throwing out those paper cards, find creative ways to reuse them.


 
Edible Tree Ornaments PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
sustainability

C

hristmas belongs to everyone especially the children. Most of the memories that we treasure for a lifetime are created during childhood. Help your kids to make memorable moments with edible ornaments. Edible ornaments are fun to make and even better to eat. One advantage of these ornaments is that there is less to pack away in containers once the holidays are over. These ornaments are biodegradable if the kids don’t get to them.

Start with the garland. Usually we string tinsel and other items that can be harmful to pets and children if they are eaten. In the early days of Christmas among the settlers, foods like popcorn and nuts were used for garland. Little treats could be placed on the tree that the kids could eat later.

Go back to the old ways and have the kids string a few strands of popcorn garland. Use their favorite popcorn flavors. You run the risk of more popcorn being eaten than strung but it is a chance you will have to take. Actually, stale popcorn is easier to string than freshly popped. Leave a bag or two of microwave popcorn sitting for a day or two and then begin decorating.

Pretzels can be strung as well. You won’t need a needle for this stringing procedure. Pretzels can be placed at intervals between the pieces of popcorn.

A popular tree ornament is candy canes. The red and white striped treats are a staple of Christmas. Now, they come in a variety of colors and flavors besides peppermint. Choose colors that complement your décor and color scheme for the Christmas tree.

They come individually wrapped so the candy can be shared with everyone after Christmas is over. In fact, if you have a Christmas party, let each child take a souvenir from your tree home to their tree.

Nuts can be glued together in the shape of a ball and hung like a Christmas bulb. Leave enough space to slip a piece of string or ribbon through the top and tie it to the tree branch. Since the shell is discarded anyway, a dab of Elmer’s glue won’t prevent eating them later.

Carefully choose which decorative edibles the kids can eat from the Christmas tree. For a fake tree, the branches are made of plastic and each ornament is safe for eating. With live trees, determine if the tree has been sprayed with anything to prevent bug infestation. Any small bugs or remnants of sprays can render the food inedible after coming in contact with it. In that case, use some sort of ornament hanger to keep the edible ornaments away from the tree branches and needles. Edible ornaments are fun to make. Shellac the ones the kids want to keep so they are preserved for more Christmas memories.


 
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