BUDDHA

Waitakere- photo by Mae Lee Sun

New, greener Tucson Toros return to Hi Corbett field

By Mae Lee Sun, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, May 08, 2009

Back in the day, Eric May, now director of stadium operations for the Tucson Toros, was amazed at how much trash was left behind after every baseball game. There were plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard and cups that all got tossed into dumpsters and taken to the landfill to be buried. May, who has worked the baseball scene for the Toros, Tucson Sidewinders and the Arizona Diamondbacks, says he wants all that to change. He has made it both a personal and professional initiative to turn the Toros operations green.

“We are a throwaway society and I’ve been aware of this ever since I was a kid.  It always bothered me, so in my personal life I’ve made it a point to be conscious of what I’m doing to not create unnecessary trash.  So when I became facilities manager at Tucson Electric Park, which was prior to the Toros coming back, I tried to implement a recycling program. I tried for three years to no avail and was told it was too costly, took too much labor, too much time and there were too many perceived barriers to get a recycling program going.  The push for green wasn’t there like it is now. In coming over to the Toros operation this year, I decided it was that important that I was going to ram it through no matter what anyone else thought.  Because the timing was right, we’ve now got the City of Tucson and Tucson Clean and Beautiful on board,” he says.

Read more…link will go to Inside Tucson Business

First-ever business-to-business green event is Friday

By Mae Lee Sun, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, April 17, 2009

The newly formed Green Media Alliance, a partnership of media related firms, will hold its first-ever business-to-business event, “How to Survive in Tough Times” Friday (April 24).

The half-day of events will feature a morning workshop, Green Marketing 101, followed by networking and exhibits and then a luncheon with the aim to bring businesses together to share solutions capitalizing on growing consumer trends demanding a green marketplace.

Jacquelyn Ottman, a Manhattan-based consultant to Fortune 500 companies, is the keynote speaker. She is responsible for the EPA’s Energy Star program that has become a familiar signpost on consumer appliances.The move to green can be a significant financial investment for a business, especially in these recessionary times, but when asked if she sees it paying off, Ottman says, business should be able to more than recoup their initial financial costs.

Read more…link will take you to Inside Tucson Business

Obama’s Energy Plan: Do emerging technologies and a green economy mix?

Tucson Green Times   -  Issue March 15- April 15, 2009

Published  March 23, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun

Yes he did and I was there.  In that human sea of two million on a sunny, 20 degree day in D.C. to testify to the fact that indeed, a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens, neighborhood to neighborhood and email to email, can in fact change the world.

Although awe inspiring in it’s historic ramifications, as tiny American flags were waived in the air and babies of all colors were held to the sky in homage to a brighter, more culturally, racially and economically diverse future, and while I cried, my friends cried and the whole darn mass around us cried, the Inauguration of the first black president went far beyond a kumbaya moment.  That would trivialize the power of the people who, one by one, felt they had voted for change, hope and what is in the best interest of humanity over self-interest, fear and planetary destruction.

Photo by Carrie Abels

So now that it seems we’ve picked the right person for the job, who and what is responsible for translating our voted for hopes and values into action? Action that will bring forth the dream of a sustainable future and green economy?  And how long is this plan going to take?  After all, our new president is just one guy, albeit a truly exceptional one.  But he has neither the time nor ability to clone himself into a mass of thousands to execute the task at hand- putting one million hybrid cars on the road that get 150 miles per gallon on the road by 2015; to implement cap-and-trade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050; to create five million new (green) jobs by investing 150 billion over the next 10 years into private business to build clean energy; and the list of initiatives he’s committed to goes on.
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Home Grown: Insight into some of Tucson’s green cottage industry makers

By Mae Lee Sun, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Monday, March 02, 2009

For budding green entrepreneurs, it seems to start with an idea.

An idea based on connection with something larger than oneself, where values of sourcing materials sustainably, focusing locally and keeping ethics at the forefront translate into action- action which generates a product or service that will benefit the whole in the long rather than short term and tend to be free of any ties to the larger grid of business as usual.

Despite the state of the economy, the green industry and emerging technology fields are generally on the upswing, especially in Tucson and where down-home ingenuity, creativity and independence have come together in the creation of some cottage industries focusing on such things as landscaping, spices and interior design.

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Teahouses brew community, one pot at a time

Tucson Green Times

Published January 15, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
Just before three-thirty on a Friday afternoon, in the middle of Tucson’s Sam Hughes neighborhood, Zhu Ping Hodge puts on a pot of boiling water in preparation for an open tea tasting that takes place at the same time every week.  She’s recently returned to her shop, Seven Cups Teahouse, from China after spending several months there researching and buying new and varietals selections of high grade organic teas.

Having opened Seven Cups only four years ago, she is pleased at how popular the place has become.  Like in China and other countries around the globe, the teahouse in Tucson attracts those who are looking for everything from a serene environment in which to contemplate and rest, or come seeking education on tea culture and a comfortable place forge meaningful relationships.

Simon Smith and friends Melissa Nagelspach, Lauren Woods, and Heather Wallace enjoy good conversation over a cup of tea at Seven Cups Teahouse in Tucson. Photo by Mae Lee Sun

“Ever since the emperors and high officials made it popular to drink tea in their palaces hundreds of years ago, the common people followed.  At first, drinking tea was ceremonial, a tradition to show respect for your ancestors. But it was during the Tang dynasty in the 1300s that families adopted it as a necessary part of daily life,” She says.

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Pest control goes green: University Termite & Pest Control is first to be certified

By Mae Lee Sun, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, December 12, 2008

Rick Rupkey, president of University Termite & Pest Control, one recent morning was along the perimeter of his office building, with business partner Ryan Horn, simulating what they look for as potential problem areas where pests, such as termites, might gather.

“You have to look closely to see if the downspouts are clogged with leaves or if there are gaps where the pipes come out of the wall. If rocks are butted up against the building, we’d have to suggest moving them out.” says Rupkey, who has learned addressing potential problems in simple ways is the first line of defense in upholding the National Association of Pest Management’s new green standard.

Rupkey, Horn and the 30 technicians they employ suggest things such as caulking and rearranging landscaping.

Rick Rupkey                                 Photo by Mae Lee Sun

Although it can be more labor-intensive to be green, University Termite & Pest Control has been walking that sort of line for years. It was the first Arizona pest management company to be accredited as meeting the QualityPro Green service standard and one of only 19 companies currently certified by the National Association of Pest Management.

The certification requires extensive training and background checks for technicians, following regarding pesticides are applied and documentation and record-keeping of each inspection site.

The methodology harkens back to the 1950s use of Integrated Pest Management techniques used in agriculture. The focus then, as it is now, is on preventative maintenance by eliminating sources of food, water and shelter and looking at environmental factors such as light and humidity, as a deterrent to infestation. It also encourages the introduction of natural predators, such as praying mantis or spiders.

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The green media biz is all the buzz

By Mae Lee Sun, for Inside Tucson Business
Published on Saturday, November 01, 2008

For what many may consider to be a one (free-range) horse town, Tucson has managed to grow more than it’s share of green media venues. The growth mirrors the national green scene that’s continuing to blossom on the Web and TV, in newspapers and on the radio.

The local sampling includes Tucson Green Times (formerly Tucson Green Magazine), “Mrs. Green Goes Mainstream” radio program at 12:05 p.m. Saturdays on KNST 790-AM, “Green Tuesdays on The Mountain KWMT 92.9-FM and regular green living segments on KGUN 9 News.

Nationally, there’s the daily e-news source GreenBiz.com, Discovery TVs Planet Green channel, and National Public Radio’s “Living on Earth” that airs weekly on 300 stations (though not in Tucson).

Are these media forways substantive? And what impact do they really have on changing sponsors, viewers or listeners’ habits of heart and mind? Does having a ‘green’ special section in a newspaper generate revenue for both the outlet and advertisers seeking to reach across the aisle? So much green, so little time.

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UA’s Eller College of Management to ride tailwind of green MBA trend

By Mae Lee Sun
Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, September 05, 2008

The Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona will be adding “green” coursework to its MBA curriculm.

Paul Portney, dean of the Eller College, unofficially made that announcement at a presentation he gave recently to the Sunbelt World Trade Association.

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Green marketing: 8 tips to get you started on an environmentally sustainable marketing plan

By Mae Lee Sun
Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, August 22, 2008

Consumers are becoming more savvy about green issues. Al Gore and the support of Hollywood movies like “The Day After Tomorrow” and “WALL•E” might have something to do with it. Not to mention the decades of efforts on behalf of pioneering environmental organizations and growing scientific data that suggests we have no choice but to pay attention.

It’s no surprise then that when a movement becomes popular enough, corporate America takes notice. At least when it comes to turning the language, icons and products of it into marketable commodities as was done with the counter culture of the 1960s.

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Brooklyn Pizza gets Smart for delivery

By Mae Lee Sun
Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, August 22, 2008

By outward appearances Tony Vaccaro’s Brooklyn Pizza is a normal, successful, pizzeria. The storefront, at 534 N. Fourth Ave., is brightly painted lime-green, orange and black. A small group of hip-looking teenagers crowds around a few chrome café tables on the sidewalk, enthusiastically eating wide slices of thin crusty pizza. It’s a Friday night and Brooklyn Pizza is packed.

Inside, behind the counter, two white-aproned guys and a woman with flour-dusted faces are tossing dough, smearing sauce and dealing pepperoni as fast as they can to keep up with incoming orders. Some of those pizzas are about to be delivered by 21-year-old Fred Bohnen in Brooklyn Pizza’s newly purchased Smart car. Acquiring the car was a weighty financial decision for Vaccaro. As were other environmentally conscious changes.

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Green Drinks

Downtown Tucsonan

Published April 2008

by Mae Lee Sun

Gone are the days of conjuring up the image of the environmentalist as a tie dye and Birkenstock-wearing activist.

Green is now the new ‘blue’ when it comes to getting down to business and it involves people from both the public and private sector, students from Eller College of Business at the UA, local architects, builders, graphic designers and I.T. professionals.

Read more…page will link to the Downtown Tucsonan

BICAS: where every part contributes to the whole

Downtown Tucsonan
April 2008
by Mae Lee Sun

“Bicas is synonymous with sustainability and social justice,” says McKinley. “Reusing bicycle parts is ecologically and economically critical for the populations we serve whose main issue is affordable transportation and often only rely on a bike. We find it important to make those resources affordable in a hands-on sort of way.”

Read more (link goes to another website-Downtown Tucsonan)