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There’s tons of green news every day, but due to the nature of your daily thread, we can’t get to it all.  With that said here are the stores and events that interested us and we were able to attend.

Swine Flu and Factory Pig Farms…Connection?

I have to bring it up, everyone else is.  If you haven’t heard Swine Flu is a new pandemic that is going around the world (sort of a mix up of swine, avian and human flu combined.)  It has spread into a few different countries, including our own.  Fortunatley in the U.S. we have access to treatment that can stop the virus, but other countries haven’t been as lucky.  I just heard of two confirmed case in Orange County this morning.  If you want to learn more, turn on any news channel as that is all they will be discussing.  If you want to move beyond the sound bites check out this interesting article forwarded to me about the connection of Swine Flu and Factory Farms.  A major pig factory farm is located in Vera Cruz where the outbreak of Swine Flue is said to have started.  If you’re curious read more  here.

Whole Foods is Accepting Corks…

Used wine corks to be more specific.  They will be turning these used corks into recycled cork flooring.  To get further details contact your local Whole Foods or visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com

BIG SUNDAY, Volunteer and Give Back to the Local Community:

I got an email last last night about Big Sunday.  I wish they would have told me sooner   If you’re looking for things to do this weekend and have volunteering on the brain visit bigsunday.org  They have over 400 volunteer oriented events happening this weekend including eco oriented events like beach cleans ups, etc. Check out the complete list of opportunities at www.bigsunday.org Perks for volunteering, include a 12 oz Iced Coffee for free from Coffee Bean on Thursday, May 7th from 4 to 8 p.m.

Are You a Video Game Geek?  Why Not Learn How to Make Your Own Arcade System from Recycled Parts this Sunday:

If you love video games and arcades (I’m speaking to you barcade fans out there) check out this event happening at the Machine Project this Sunday night at 8 p.m.  The event it titled from E waste to E fun (pretty clever) and will teach you how “everything you need to build your own stand up arcade machine.”  I think I know a few people who might be interested    For complete details check out the Machine Project’s website.

Visit the Brand New CB2 Store at 8000 Sunset:

CB2 has just opened TODAY in West Hollywood on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Crescent Heights.  I was fortunate to attend the press opening yesterday.  For those of you who haven’t heard of them, CB2 comes from Crate and Barrel and is all about high design for low cost–Affordable Modern. The store has also implemented alot of eco-friendly elements from products to lighting throughout the store and making conscious efforts to minimize and stream line CB2′s packaging.   This is a sign of really thinking green in my opinion.  It’s wonderful to have eco-friendly products, but if the energy used to ship them is excessive and full of styrofoam peanuts then what is the point.  I had an opportunity to speak with Marta Calle, CB2′s brand manager.  She herself lives in an eco-friendly home and definitely walks to the walk.  CB2′s Chicago headquarters are moving into a LEED certified buidling too.  It’s great to see a big company thinking about its environmental impact all the way down the line from their products to their company operations.  Way to go CB2!

I took photos of some of eco-friendly products including, bamboo towels, rugs made from recycled sarees, one of a kind wall art made from recyceled Indian newspapers and Bollywood movie posters, modular carpet tiles made from recycled materials (and captured methane gas and can also be recycled), tables made from reclaimed wood, stools made from recyceld paper and more.   You can view all of my photos on ydt’s flickr page.

Apparently they’re working with Indian communities too.  The Conserve tote is made in Indian from recycled products and comes with a dvd to let you know more about the community that created the product.

For more information visit the shop or go online to www.cb2.com

Tags: Arcades, Big Sunday, CB2, E Waste, Factory Farms, Green Design, recycled wine corks, Social Activism, Swine Flu, Volunterism