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AlterECO Blog
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Blog
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Why do bamboo?
When shopping for new cabinetry, people often look to balance visual appeal with their concern for the environment and their desire for durability. A choice for green cabinets that is rapidly gaining popularity is Bamboo—a rapidly renewable resource! In its recent interpretation as an engineered panel, bamboo demonstrates a sleek, modern sensibility that—together with its naturally warm tone & subtle texture—makes a beautiful combination for cabinetry.
Bamboo has over 1,200 species and is actually a type of grass, not a wood. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing woody plants in the world and can grow up to 24 inches or more per day, one-third faster than the fastest growing tree. The “moso” bamboo used for cabinets is one of the most ecologically-responsible alternatives to hardwood. It matures within 3 to 5 years, unlike hardwood which can take decades to regenerate. Bamboo remains intact when the stalks, known as “culms” are harvested, and its extensive root system allows for new “shoots” to grow immediately.
The regenerative aspects of Bamboo make it an ideal sustainable choice for construction, whereas wood harvested from hardwood trees can contribute to deforestation and soil erosion. A well-managed forest will ensure that trees are harvested and replanted responsibly, but, sadly, areas (including massive tracts of the Amazon) continue to be clear-cut or otherwise poorly managed. Current estimates indicate that we are losing an area of forestland equivalent to a football field every second (NRDC).
The value of Bamboo as a building material continues to grow as the global supply of traditional hardwood diminishes. Bamboo can actually help to control soil erosion; it works to stitch the soil together along deforested areas, and it can be grown with little or no irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers. Moreover, the processing of Bamboo requires only a third of that required for wood to create a building material of the same capacity (Treehugger).
Important benefits of Bamboo as a cabinetry material include its hardness, durability, & stability. Bamboo is sometimes referred to as “green steel” for its amazing tensile strength and is also substantially harder than many hardwoods. Bamboo has great dimensional stability and, therefore, less tendency to warp, shrink, or swell than many woods; making bamboo a good candidate for kitchens or baths where higher moisture levels are present.
Of course, many cabinets have only a thin veneer of the finished material (often over a cheap substrate), so it is important to ask for solid, 3-ply panels (including a center cross-ply) made by a reputable manufacturer to get the full beauty & benefit of the bamboo material for your cabinet faces. Likewise, it is important to choose bamboo cabinets from a company with extensive experience working with bamboo (especially solid bamboo) and a solid reputation for quality, reliability and responsibility…befitting the amazing benefits of bamboo!
Oh...did it mention that bamboo is beautiful too?!
7/26/12
(udated & adapted from our original artical of 9/15/10) |
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HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Please join us at the
Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary
on Saturday, April 21 9am-1pm
Where: Richardson Bay Audubon Center, 376 Greenwood Beach Rd, Tiburon (map)
Description: Saturday, Apr 21, 9am-1pm Celebrate Earth Day by bringing your family and friends for a morning of naturalist led explorations, bird watching, restoration and clean-up. We will be providing information about bay and bird conservation as well as the research at Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary. Help make a difference and connect with our beautiful bay and uplands. Even the wildflowers should be out in full force to brighten the day! Activities are appropriate for all ages, including young children. All restoration participants are asked to sign a waiver, for youth under 18 a waiver must be signed by a parent/guardian. Children 10 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Please bring a re-useable water bottle, wear appropriate clothing and close-toe shoes. FREE EVENT. RSVP: 388-2524.
4/1/12 TRH |
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What pairs well with a gorgeous bamboo kitchen?
An exquisite glass of wine*, of course!
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A wine that you enjoy takes on a splendiferous complexity of flavor when sipped in an environment that harmonizes with your delightful personality, honors your caring values, & nourishes your beautiful energy. Add friends/family & celebrate the sweetness of life!
Let's pour!
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* other superb pairings with AlterECO's bamboo kitchen cabinets include (but are certainly not limited to): cheery family; fun friends; fresh, local, organic fruits, veggies, herbs & dairy; fresh wild salmon; fair trade coffee & chocolate; a loving pooch; a good read; a day off; AlterECO entertainment center, bath cabinetry, etc.; a thoughtful telephone conversation while sipping organic tea (or - back to that wine)...
1/18/12 TRH
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AlterECO
awarded
GREEN BUSINESS OF THE YEAR!
by the
Sausalito Sustainability Commission
THANK YOU SAUSALITO!
10/18/11 TRH
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To B or not to B...
that is
no longer
the question!
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SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 10 /CSRwire/ - Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 361 today to spur the creation of high quality jobs in California through benefit corporations. The legislation, introduced by Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), creates a new class of corporation in California called benefit corporations that are legally required to pursue the creation of a material positive impact on society and the environment, while meeting higher standards of accountability and transparency. Current law requires corporations to prioritize the financial interests of shareholder over the interests of workers, communities, and the environment....click here for the full press release from B-Lab (the creators of the B Corp concept). ...UNTIL NOW, CALIFORNIA B-CORPS HAVE EXISTED ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS (NOT A LEGAL STRUCTURE RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE). THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR THE WORKFORCE, GREAT NEWS FOR "CONSUMERS", GREAT NEWS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, GREAT NEWS FOR BUSINESS...THIS IS TRULY GREAT NEWS!!!
10/10/11 TRH
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350 THANK YOUS to all who attended our Get350! event and the "Bay Area Mega-Massive Moving Planet Mobilization" in San Francisco (see previous blog post below for info about the event and the movement). What a wonderful time...what a beautiful movement...what a critical CLIMATE REALITY*!!!
This brief, beautiful video shows snippets of a handful of the global events (including several of the Bay Area parade & plaza action)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lteZulzEM4&feature=player_embedded
*...Oh, and speaking of "CLIMATE REALITY", please take a look at the amazing work Al Gore and concerned global citizens have been up to at http://climaterealityproject.org/
And remember, whatever you do, please help the world "Get 350!"
9/30/11 TRH |
On September 24, 2011, Join our Moving Planet event: Get350!...
WHAT is ”Moving Planet”? …A world-wide rally on September 24, 2011 to demand solutions to the climate crisis. It is on track to be one of the most massive mobilizations of people power in history! And it will be FUN!
WHY ”Get350!”? …This is a way of summarizing/focusing such solutions, since whatever actions we take ultimately need to bring global atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions (from cars, factories, coal-fired power plants, etc.) down from the current level of ~395 parts per million (ppm) to 350ppm or less. According to many scientists and climate experts, 350ppm is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. For more info, go to http://350.org. It is important that everyone “gets” (understands) “350” so that we can work together to assure that Mother Earth gets 350! Get it?!
THE DAY—9/24/11...Our Get350! event will start from AlterECO's showroom in Sausalito. We will walk to downtown Sausalito, board the ferry for San Francisco, and stroll across the Embarcadero to Justin Herman Plaza, where we will connect with and assimilate into the . We will then parade down Market to the SF Civic Center Plaza for a powerful event designed to bring real attention to the climate crisis and to inspire meaningful solutions....NOW!
For more information and to SIGN-UP for the "Get350!" action, see the event page at:
http://www.moving-planet.org/events/us/sausalito/336
If you are closer to San Francisco than Sausalito, please go directly to Justin Herman Plaza. Here is the link to the "Bay Area Mega-Massive Moving Planet Mobilization":
http://www.moving-planet.org/BayArea
If you are not close to Sausalito or San Francisco, go to
http://www.moving-planet.org/ and search for an event near you.
Whatever you do, please help the world "Get 350!"
9/11/11 TRH |
September 11 - 17: World-wide week of PEACE
Let's remember 9/11 by putting our attention toward Peace. Here is a beautiful invitation from United Tribes for Peace:
Dear Fellow Passengers of this Beautiful Earth
You are invited to join with heart, mind, body and spirit in a self-organizing Worldwide Week of Peace, September 11–17, 2011.
In the interest of healing history, particularly a decade of fear and enmity, let us build fresh understanding and renew our joy in living. We can restore emotional health through collective expressions of Peace. These may be art exhibits, concerts, poetry readings, rallies, prayers, meditations, acts of kindness, words of gratitude, parties, media events, reconciliation councils, or simply walks in nature. It can also be a time to reach out with an open heart to those we have been afraid to speak to.
This is a do-it-yourself and do-it-together movement. Everybody spread the word!
And let us know about your peace activities by posting news on this wall. Thanks!
Visit our website: http://tribesforpeace.org/
9/11/11 TRH |
A Perfect Fit: the Greenest Cabinets for the Greenest City...
AlterECO has happily served our beloved San Francisco Bay Area since our founding in 1997. Since then, we have also offered the greenest cabinetry available...anywhere. So it's safe to say that we've played at least some small role in the evolution of the "Greenest City"...
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San Francisco Named North America's Greenest City
by Leslie Guevara. Published June 30, 2011
San Francisco took the title as the greenest city in North America in a study of the environmental performance and commitments by 27 major metro areas in the U.S. and Canada. Click here to read the full article at GreenBiz.com
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7/14/11 - TRH
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Are You a Green Business Owner? Or thinking about it? Check out these workshops...
GreenBusinessOwner.com offers a variety of workshops perfectly suited to those considering eco-entrepreneurship; those who have laid-out the ground-work but not yet launched; and those who have taken the plunge, have had a year or two of success, and need now to nurture the business and assure stability and increased profit.
...Click here for workshops by GreenBusinessOwner.com
...Click here for membership in GreenBusinessOwner.com
12/14/10 - TRH
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