The three summits of Mount Rainier: Liberty Cap, Columbia Crest,and Point Success (unaltered image)

Most of us would consider a trip to a state or national park to be a chance to get away from the pollution that plagues our cities. But it’s seldom easy to escape the effects of urban, industrial air pollution. Now, with a new art project called ECLIPSE, the web viewer or park visitor can see real time air quality data “imposed” on the otherwise scenic landscapes of our state and national parks.

ECLIPSE, based on an open source program, is the handiwork of artists Cary Peppermint and Leila Christine Nadir of EcoArtTech, and is a sponsored project of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for its website turbulence.org.

So, how does it work? Just select a State/National park from a drop down menu, click the “apply AQI (air quality index) conditions” button, and ECLIPSE then performs two “data scraping” functions…if air quality data is available for that park, the program sorts through Flickr.com for images tagged with that particular park’s name, then, the program “corrupts” or alters the image to reflect air quality data (culled from the most recent AQI updates on the www.airnow.gov website) of the nearest, large city within a 65 mile radius.

The air quality rating system uses the following scale: good – fair – moderate – unhealthy – very unhealthy –hazardous*. The AQI rating is a measure of particulate matter in the atmosphere, based on a range of 0 – 500 parts per million, with “good” being 0 - 50 ppm, and “unhealthy” being 151 ppm or higher.

Airnow.gov maintains 300 monitoring stations in cities across the country. With the ECLIPSE program, the more pollution present in the atmosphere of the park’s nearest city, the more visually “corrupted” the image becomes. This alteration process utilizes various algorithms that affect color, saturation, and contrast, and, additionally, impose intermittent mirroring, deletion, or cropping functions on the image’s data file.

Air quality is determined by the presence of particulate matter in the lower atmosphere. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of moisture and small particles of dust, soot, soil, various acids (e.g., nitrogen or sulfur containing acids) and trace metals.

The artists’ website notes that, In 2008, the EPA’s own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Council (CASAC) protested that the EPA was not upholding its mission to protect air quality standards according to
the scale.

*Note that U.S. air quality ratings are different than Canada’s AQ rating system, for example. The U.S. system has more gradations of air quality in which “moderate” in the U.S. system is rated as “unhealthy”  on the Canadian scale. The site offers a visual comparison of air quality ratings between the US and Canadian indexes.

[Sugar Beet Field. Creative Commons photo by Gilles San Martin]

A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the USDA illegally approved Monsanto’s genetically modified, Roudup Ready beets.

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Occupational Hazards

Always the intrepid investigative journalist, I braved crosstown traffic to respond to a tip about a salon using all natural hair color. Shades Natural Hair Color Studio was founded by Susan Henry in 2006. She was a very successful colorist, with hundreds of Hollywood A-list clients. But around 2001, she became so ill from ammonia poisoning, she could no longer work in a salon. Inspired by her daughter’s botany studies, she developed an ammonia-free, all-natural product in order to continue doing the work she loves.

Susan carefully selects each product she carries and uses in the salon, interrogating the manufacturers even as they avoid divulging their secret formulae. Her products are also sold online, and she just released a boxed version of the home coloring kit which may soon be available in stores. The colors I saw on other clients were lovely, and I immediately recommended it to a friend who is prematurely grey and has been coloring her hair for ages.

In the photo, Susan touches up the gorgeous red on a regular client.

Tina explained to me that many of their clients are cancer survivors who understand as few others do the traumatic effects of the chemicals in our lives. While the health of clients is important, I could not help but think about the health of the stylists who spend the majority of their waking hours inhaling all manner of toxic chemicals. Unlike other salons, I walked in and smelled nothing, even with color clients present. And of course they didn’t have the ubiquitous Prop 65 warning on the door. I recalled a nail salon I’d visited in Spain with such poor ventilation I could barely stand it, so this was a real treat. The nail polish Shades uses is free of toluene and formaldehyde, and the mani included a wonderful oil & sugar scrub.

World Peace Through Beauty

Being satisfied with my natural hair color (for now), I chose the scalp treatment and green manicure. Thursday was a rough day in my life, and these are tough times. I was a wreck Friday morning, so it felt wonderful to be pampered. I was clearly reminded of how important it is to take care of myself, even when the money’s tight. Pulling out of a funk, it’s easier to spot opportunities and actually see the bright side.

Gia did such an amazing job it completely changed my outlook on life. Not only did she rub one of Susan’s special hand-mixed oils into my scalp and hair, she also gave me the most thorough shoulder massage I’ve had in ages. I could’ve skimped and left with oily hair, but I wanted the full treatment, so I also got a fab blowout which always impresses the natives here in LA. I’d rushed out of the house without makeup, so even with gorgeous hair, I wasn’t in the mood to be photographed. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Good Chemistry

I couldn’t help but recall Andrew Dent’s speech from Sustainable Brands ‘09, where he stated that as a scientist and Vice President of Material Connexion, clients simply weren’t in the habit of asking for the sustainable innovations. He explained that once clients began asking scientists to develop materials with specific properties, particularly around environmental impact, they could do it. If we never ask for it, nobody will know there’s a need to develop it.

It’s sweet potato central here at my house now that they’re in the farmers market. But while sweet potatoes are very nutritious, they also have that sweet flavor that can overwhelm many diners. One option is to prepare them as though they were savory instead of sweet.

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When you need to urgently need to blow your nose in Germany and don’t have a tissue on hand, you might ask a friend “Hast du ein Tempo?” (Do you have a Tempo?)

Tempo, it turns out, is a brand of tissue, not the German word for tissue.

Substituting a brand name for a general product description is relatively common across a number of languages. How many times have you heard someone say “Just Google that” or “Can I have a COKE please”? Over the years, powerful brands have impacted our culture and slipped into our language. For a brand, this is the ultimate compliment and a big awareness driver. In fact, Coke and Google (the 2 examples above) are now the #1 and #2 brands respectively on Interbrands latest list of powerful brands. Tempo continues to be a very powerful brand in Germany.

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If life’s a journey, Journey Inn — an eco-inn and retreat that’s designed with nature completely in mind, spirit and body – serves as a guide.

Located in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, about an hour from St. Paul-Minneapolis, this Travel Green Wisconsin and Green Routes certified enterprise launched by John Huffaker and Charlene Torchia in 2006 artistically crafts a peaceful refuge to enhance our experiences with nature and allow our inner beings to breathe. Journey Inn is part restoration enterprise and part center for recreating our human soul in more meaningful ways.

I had the opportunity to stay at Journey Inn for a couple days this past September with my family, since we prefer ecotravel-oriented accommodation options. We hiked some of the abundant hiking trails on their sixty-six acre property that includes a spectacularly restored prairie and garden labyrinth. We sipped tea while relaxing in their gardens. We even shared a few of our cucumbers and tomatoes from Inn Serendipity with a couple celebrating their honeymoon there.

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