letterfrompublisher

In the early 1980s, I had the pleasure of living in beau- tifully handcrafted eco-designed homes in Taos, New Mexico. On cold winter days, a solar heating system, combined with heat-absorbing indigenous rock walls, artfully incorporating recycled aluminum cans or colored glass, kept us warm. These ingenious innovations in the homes of friends were creative, resourceful ideas that were far ahead of the times. In Naples, I was amazed by new construction that

took little account of the power of sunshine. While my kids were growing up, we had access to a charming retreat on Little Marco Island. Built and designed by artist and craftsman Dale Beatty, most of the niceties, such as household use of collected rainwater, running fans, compost toilets and the natural ability to keep food cold, were all the result of Dale’s ingenuity. Eventually, my sister’s new extended family purchased the island house from

Karen Beatty, along with two more bungalows, and then upgraded the extended complex to high-tech living, completely off the grid. That’s how we met local pioneers like John McNicholas (page 30), who installed the sophisticated solar power system. These homes served as an inspiring learning experience for visiting mainlanders dependent on the utility grid. I regret that Florida’s building boom hasn’t benefited from the same foresight.

The vast majority of builders and buyers behave as if fossil fuel supplies are end- less. Fortunately, Editor Linda Sechrist located and interviewed more Earth-con- scious folks, like green architect Marie Barnett, who joined earlier environmental pioneers and now specializes in designing green retrofits for homes, businesses and local institutions. Others, such as The Florida Green Team, Purciello Homes, FAFCO Solar Energy and Hurricane Water System are also passionate about guid- ing homeowners towards more energy smart and sustainable choices that save our nonrenewable resources, as well as money, on monthly energy bills (page 30). We even have the scoop on state and federal energy-wise incentive programs,

as part of this month’s feature on greening up our home environment. Spring Green Rehab on page 34 provides practical ideas and resources for eco-flooring, safe paints, window treatments and lighting. We can all begin with a few simple steps, experience the rewards and go from there. When the first Earth Day was organized 40 years ago, “green” was a nick-

name for money. But on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans rallied across the nation to protest the deterioration of the environment. As a result, today more people know more about the issues and preserving a healthy environment is finally on the presidential agenda again. As part of our salute to Earth Day, Natural Awakenings invites you to pop into

one of the events marking the occasion (page 16) to look at new ways to help save the planet and get healthier, too. We look forward to seeing you there.

Here’s to an ever greener future,

Sharon Bruckman, Publisher

6

Collier/Lee Counties swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64