The Big News: The new legislation adds a $6500 tax credit for existing homeowners who contract to buy a new home by April 30th, 2010. The home you sell must have been your current residence for a consecutive 5 years out of the last 8. The income limits are the same as for first time home buyers (see below) and the new home can cost up to $800,000. You have to be in a written binding contract to purchase the new home by April 30th, but have until July 1st to actually close or finalize the sale. The 5 consecutive years rule is meant to keep investors and fix and flip buyers from receiving the tax credit. 

The $8000 first time home buyer tax credit that was set to expire at the end of November, has been extended until April 30th, 2010. Also, the annual income limits to qualify for either credit have been increased from $75,000/single and $150,000/married to $125,000/single and $225,000/married. Above those income levels, the credit is reduced and eventually phased out. The rules are still the same for determining a “first-time home buyer” – you just have to have not owned a home as your personal residence in the last 3 years.

Note that a credit is way better than a deduction. You get that amount taken right off your taxes due and if you owe less than the credit amount, you get the difference refunded to you. So  if you file your income taxes and owe the IRS zero, they send you a check for $6500 or $8000 smackeroos.

This new Bill should really help along a real estate market that was already seeing some modest signs of improving. Between these tax credits and historically low interest rates (still hovering around 5%). It could be a great time to make a move and buy a house. I would still recommend that you only jump in and make the move if you are planning to be in the new house for a good 5 years or more. These are still not times to make a quick buck in real estate. But if you have been thinking about buying, now is a great time.

For more info check these out - Frequently Asked Questions  or Summary of Changes

Blog posted by elephant’s  Realtor – Liz Benson

Technorati Tags: Boulder real estate, first time home buyer, home buyer tax credit, new tax credit

Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis, hosted by Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (MT)

The Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis is taped in front of a live audience of up to 300 people on the second Thursday of every month at Naropa University.

Attend the live tapings!

During an era when it is vital for the general public to engage in eco-responsibility, “The Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis” uses the classic talk show format to highlight timely topics in a fun and accessible, yet fundamentally serious manner.

Previously, Waylon has interviewed green/LOHAS/adventure/right livelihood leaders including Deepak Chopra (twice), Bill McKibben (twice), Seane Corn, Amy Goodman, Chris Sharma, Richard Freeman, Dr. Andrew Weil, Michael Pollan, Robert Thurman, Sharon Salzberg, Paul Hawken, Byron Katie, Alice Walker and “Top Chef” Hosea Rosenberg, and featured music including Flogging Molly, Krishna Das and Paper Bird.

Technorati Tags: dovekins, Kelly MacLean, naropa university, walk the talk show, Waylon Lewis

A champion muscle-man now presides over California. Jesse “The Body” Ventura once governed Minnesota. Barry Siff, multi-sport athlete and Eco-Challenge competitor, had hoped to join a short list of sportspersons turned politicians.

But Tuesday’s Boulder City Council election results had Suzy Ageton, Matthew Appelbaum, KC Becker, Macon Cowles, and George Karakehian joining the starting line-up, leaving Siff standing on the sidelines.

  Losing is something new for the professional competitor. He’s raced in numerous marathons, triathlons, and Iron Man Challenges, and he took on the 300 miles of rugged Eco-Challenge terrain as a professional adventure racer between 1998 and 2003.

“In athletic events, when you win or do really well, you’ve accomplished something… you’ve celebrated, and then it’s on to the next thing,” Siff said. “In this situation (winning) is just a start.”

  Siff had apt credentials for a spot on Council. He’s an entrepreneur—he started two businesses; author—he wrote Fit and Fun for Life and co-authored Adventure Racing: The Ultimate Guide; and avid environmentalist—under his leadership, 5430 Sports received the 2007 “Zero Waste Community Event Award” from the Executive Director of Eco-Cycle. Siff also acted as Vice President, Human Resources, for a $7 billion division of ConAgra Foods.

 Siff had hoped his past attention to environmental issues and green efforts would be appreciated by Boulder’s environmentally-minded community.

 If he was elected, he promised to instate “some smaller, more concrete, visible programs that (would) get people engaged in the sustainable movement, (like) making the Hill a zero-waste zone.”

 His business savvy won him favor with Yellow Scene Magazine, who stood with the Boulder Outdoor Coalition, Boulder Bicycle Commuters, and ElephantJournal.com as an endorser of Siff’s campaign.

 “Barry Siff is an incredibly astute, innovative businessman who is serious about economic issues,” said YS Editor Andra Coberly in an e-mail.

  Having succeeded in environmentalism, business, and athletics, Siff was ready to tackle a new monster: local government.

  “We feel like Siff would bring a new, economically-motivated mindset to Council,” Coberly said. “He is solutions-driven, and he talked with me a lot about revving tourism as an economic engine, which is incredibly smart (as it’s) one of the ‘cleanest’ industries.”

 Siff compared his preparation for the Council election to participating in an Eco-Challenge.

Both have “the ideas of setting really high, lofty goals.”

Technorati Tags: barry siff, boulder city council, Boulder Outdoor Coalition, economy, environment, green efforts, Iron Man Challenge, tourism

 

Today is my 45th day without eating any solid food. I’ve been on the “Master Cleanse” (without the daily saline laxatives/didn’t “feel” the need for this part). All I have essentially consumed this past month and a half is the special lemon-based liquid the Master Cleanse is know for (often referred to as “that lemonade diet”). The contents are simple: grade B maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice. I did not do vitamins. And feel effervescent.

I have done this cleanse before but never anything approaching this long. I was inspired this time by a visit to the Año Nuevo State Reserve and Park—regular haunt of elephant and other species of seals—where a docent explained how this aquatic mammalians would beach themselves and not eat anything but live off their blubber stores (females eat nothing while giving birth, nursing, and mating; males go without food for up to three months).

If they could do it, I decided, so could I. After all, I had some blubber stores of my own after a summer spent in the gourmet-enthusiast neighborhood of San Francisco Noë Valley. Daily visits to the cheese shop and delicacy markets kept my palette happy with triple-cream Brie, whole-wheat gnocchi, Belgian milk chocolates, French country loaves, and cream—in my coffee, tea, and baked egg dishes.

But that feels like another lifetime ago….

 I already have my first solid meal planned for tomorrow morning. When I say “I” what I really mean is my body’s own internal culinary guidance system—for my intuitive digestive mechanisms have already had me prepare the following menu: organic red quinoa, uncooked tofu marinated in miso/ginger/garlic/Bragg’s, farmer’s market-fresh kimchi, and heirloom lettuce leaves. I already know my portions will be moderate, my chewing thorough, and my taste buds highly aroused. What my body wants my body gets. It has cooperated splendidly these last 45 days.

 In fact, (except for the last three days where I started to actually feel hungry) this physique  performed splendidly. I have even attended two haute cuisine weddings, a fully catered environmental fundraisers (complete with organic/vegan/local buffets), and various salons and workshops accompanied by colorful and delectable hors d’oeuvres , snack trays, fruit-and-cheese platters, and sandwich mounds. But it hasn’t been hard at all. I simply have not been hungry.

 I actually feel better than I have in many, many years.

 By the way, I have not been lying on my bed with the curtains drawn like some forgotten prisoner in a Turkish jail. Every morning I either trundle a couple of miles through the sand dunes in Marina Del Rey while utilizing my Nordic walking poles (like cross-country skiing this activity gives a full-body workout) or yoga. Just last week I was cutting down spiny limbs of a friend’s palm tree with a chainsaw while balances atop a rickety ladder. I’ve made love. I’ve sat in a classroom for 12+ hours.

 I’ve been very relaxed. And my chronic back pain (I herniated my L5/S1 three years ago) has disappeared. Completely.

 My friends’ reactions are inspiring: “You look so much younger!” and “I expected a gaunt look and dark rings under your eyes but you look fabulous!” Quite frankly, I feel sexy as hell.

 My clothes all fit again. My body feels good on as well. Most significantly, I have re-established a healthy relationship with food. The habitual, unmindful eating I notice around me constantly (a great reminder of how I was eating before the cleanse) reminds me of how easy it can be to act like a zombie when something edible is available.

 Curious, too, how much extra time I have. When it is time for nourishment, I squeeze some lemons in my double-sized Nalgene bottle, pour in some syrup, add a pinch of red pepper, and I am good to go.

 The greatest challenge has been all the negative thoughts other people have projected onto me when I tell them what I am doing. In my recent experience, other’s food issues are more virulent than swine flu. They are concerned, or worried, or fearful, or judgmental. They think I am killing myself or insane or tortured—even when I tell them I feel fabulous.

 My childhood wasn’t always rosy and I developed an unhealthy relationship with food for the escape and succor. Twinkies, Big Macs, Kentucky Fried Chicken, 31 flavors abounded. Now I cannot stomach the thought of even tasting on of these so-called foodstuffs. My body wouldn’t let me close enough to touch them.

 I have this sense of being clear, almost monk-like

As I mentioned before, only during the last three days have I started to feel hungry. But I haven’t minded. I appreciate the opportunity to actually feel what not eating is like for a change. And experience a noticed contrast to the years I spent stuffing my face with mac’n’cheese or popcorn or whatever.

 Our species relationship to food might be our most basic and powerful with an outside substance (air and water don’t count; we don’t direct much consciousness or will toward these except in dire emergencies).

It has been thrilling to discover, viscerally, that all this hubbub about food really is “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

 Simply put, food just hasn’t been an issue for me.

 Harold Linde uses his creativity to inspire audiences about the environment and cultural evolution though visual and social media. Previous organization and projects he has worked with in the past include: United Nations, Peace Corps, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Burma Relief Center, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Forest Ethics, Ruckus Society, Evolver Project, PETA, 5 Actions Campaign, International Fund for Animal Welfare 11th Hour, Battle in Seattle, 30 Days; PBS, DragonflyTV, Edens: Lost and Found, and Big Ideas for a Small Planet.

 

Technorati Tags: blubber, body, eating, food, habits, Harold Linde, Master Cleanse, nalgene, seals, sexy, weddings, wellness

Obama had a terrible time explaining his Bail Out of Wall Street and the Health Care Debate has Congress so confused they will soon need their own Socialized Health Care …and now they are jumping into another fire fight…Cap and Trade.

So as Congress starts the debate on a Climate Bill, this years World Series would be a good time to explain the program before it gets confusing. So here we go.

The need for salary caps and player trades is a key part of both baseball and environmental matters. Here are the simple facts.

We as citizens should put a “cap” on a corporation’s CO2 emissions (pollution) just like we should put a cap of the amount of salary the Yankees can pay their players. If not they will always be in the playoffs and the rest of us will be waiting for basketball to start. So if the Yankees want to pay more for their players they should have to compensate the other teams. (As a White Sox Fan Obama should like this).

for reference, one ton of CO2 occupies about 16,000 cubic feet of space — that’s about the same as the amount of air in a 2,000 square foot house. So if your house or apartment is 2,000 square feet, each ton of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere would fill your house. In 2007, the U.S. emitted 6 billion tons of CO2 — enough to fill one house for every human on earth. And CO2 is heavier than air, so if a ton of CO2 filled your house directly, you’d suffocate, just like the Earth is doing.

This is similar to Obama’s plan for industry. Manufacturing plants could only pollute the air for the rest of the league (you and I) to a certain level. And if they want to pollute more (pay more salary) they would have to compensate the other teams. In this case they would just buy some of the CO2 savings from another “team” or company.

And “Trade” is similar to trading players. If you need a good left handed pitcher you might have to give up two great prospects to make the trade. You get the player you want but the other team gets compensated. The same is true in pollution. If you need to pollute more until  you can modernize your plant, you pay someone else for cutting their pollution.

So everyone is a winner: the polluter who gets to pollute, the enlightened manufacturer who gets paid for what he wants to do anyway (reduce pollution), the Chicago stock exchange, who loves to trade things they have never seen, make money and the rest of us get cleaner air.

Please pass on this explanation to your Congressman before they get all mixed up. If not, the Republicans will soon be talking about Obama wanting to sell us Air or some other nonsense. Unfortunately Congress’s creates a lot more CO2 (which they are not paying for) and they will never win the World Series of Government.

Technorati Tags: baseball, Cap & Trade, clean air, CO2 Emissions, environment, government, health care, industry, politics, pollution, World Series

I love the packaging; it is creative modern and appealing to children and adults. It is rare to see children’s products that deserve design recognition but Go-Go Squeez is certainly an exception. Who doesn’t love a talking banana and cinnamon stick?

On a similar note, the pouch design is surprisingly functional. The combination of a Capri-Sun and Clif Energy Gel, the package is easily packed into a lunch box or hiking backpack for a quick snack. I must emphasize that this is merely a snack with only 130 calories per serving and enough applesauce for three minutes of slurping. Of the apple, apple-strawberry, apple-banana, apple-peach and apple-cinnamon varieties, apple-peach was my favorite flavor. Yummy.

With 100% fruit, no added sugar, and a full serving of fruit make the Go-Go Sqeez a healthy, on-the-go snack. Oh, and did I mention they are Kosher certified?

Here is a little company back-story:

Known as Materne Pom’potes in France, the brand has become the favorite fruit snack of children with more than 1 billion pouches consumed to date.

Materne GoGo squeeZ was launched in the US in June 2008 to offer American families the opportunity to enjoy our no spoon, no mess, all natural squeezable applesauce when on the go! Each pouch contains the equivalent of one fruit serving and supports our mission to American consumers: Helping parents feed their kids better foods when they are on the go!

Our Mantra: simple and clean ingredients, great taste and lots of fun!

But hold on! The packages are not recyclable. This was a huge disappointment because I love the packaging, taste and portability. (Pouting face) Maybe I will just stick with my canned, all-natural applesauce that I know can be recycled.

For more information, please visit the Go-Go Squeez website. If you are interested in ordering, please visit the Amazon website.

This review was made using a free sample of applesauce from Go-Go Squeez.

Technorati Tags: Apple, applesauce, child, children, delicious, food, natural, nutrition, on-the-go, recycle, review, sugar

Bamboosa offers clothing for men, women and babies in their infamous bamboo-blend fabrics, as well as baby-blankets and gentle soaps for infants. The fabrics are really soft. Dubbed as “the new cashmere”, bamboo textiles maintain this reputation with fabrics that feel and look beautiful.

This company feels like it has a conscious regardless of if they use bamboo, one of the more questionable eco-textiles available. Their products are light-hearted and playful but maintain a seriousness that makes their clothing basics true classics.

The clothing arrived in modestly wrapped packages with tasteful tissue paper decorated with bamboo. Points for not wasting unrecyclable packing materials for shipment. Most of their clothing is available in six different colors that have rich, deep pigments, perfect for the transition into the winter months.

A special note, Bamboosa’s bamboo fabric is free of chlorine and formaldehyde, are American Made and sweatshop-free. Whoa, love it.

Priya Racerback with Shelf Bra in Merlot Red ($36)

94% Viscose from Organic Bamboo and 6% Lycra.

“Priya Racerback top with built-in knit shelf bra. Comfortable fabric, comfortable fit and a very comfortable bra! Great for Pilates or yoga classes … and for layering under long sleeve tops, jackets or sweaters”

For someone with a long torso, this top is not for you. It is soft and subtly sexy with the interesting racerback design but falls unfortunately short with the shelf support. If you plan on wearing this top away from your yoga mat, be aware that the slightest breeze will expose some mighty nipples.

Sukara Long Pant in Coffee Brown ($48)

65% Viscose from Organic Bamboo, 27% Organic Cotton, 8% Lycra

“The Sukara pant is an all-round comfort pant. Great for yoga, Pilates and weekend lounging. Can also be used for a maternity pant with a stretch waist to wear up or rolled down”

I am not particularly proud of being part of a generation to include “sagging” as a fashion statement but I must admit that I am much more comfortable with pants slung around the lowest regions of my hips; anything around my bellybutton is off limits. These pants are not in my comfort range. With a rise that extends above the belly-button and tapering to enhance hips, the pants are in the quintessential “mom-style”. I can imagine these pants being the perfect addition to a maternity wardrobe due to elasticized waist and long inseam.

For more information or for ordering, please visit the Bamboosa website.

This review was made using a free sample of clothing from Bamboosa.

Technorati Tags: bamboo, clothing, eco, environment, fabric, green, infant, review, textile, women, yoga

Pink Ribbon products create Good Press for Revlon (etc.), Cancer for You.

We’ve devoted covers of elephant magazine (which went online a year ago) to the subject: the use of toxins in our everyday foods, cosmetics etc has almost directly paralelled the rise of cancer in the 20th century.It brings a sense of personal urgency to the rationale for eating organic or using only (truly) organic bodycare products. And since the FDA doesn’t regulate the use of the word “natural,” or even “organic” in bodycare—a painful forfeiture of responsibility—it’s up to moms, daughters and sisters, and dads, sons and brothers to read the labels to your shampoo, moisturizer, blush, lipstick and eye creams.

This morning, I tripped upon the below succinct explication (good Scrabble word) of the hypocrisy behind the beauty industry:

Before you Kiss for the Cause: What’s in that pink ribbon product?

by Stacy Malkan

It’s that time of year again, when you can’t walk five steps without finding some new opportunity to spend money for breast cancer. We can “Kiss for the Cause” with Revlon lipstick, “shower for the cure” with Philosophy Pink Ribbon Gel, dust our cheeks with “Hint of a Cure” blush by Ramy, and “Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer” with Avon products.

Before I rush out for a pink-ribbon makeover, I have some questions for these companies: How much money are they actually contributing to breast cancer charities, and what is the money being used for? And most importantly, are they willing to stop using chemicals linked to cancer?

The big beauty companies don’t want such questions raining on their pink parade. After all, Revlon reaps a lot of good will and positive press from its pink-branded products and efforts to raise money for breast cancer charities through the Revlon 5K Run/Walk.

Yet ironically – outrageously – many Revlon products contain chemicals linked to cancer. In fact, Revlon’s Colorsilk brand is ranked as the most toxic brand of all in the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep database, with an average toxicity score of 8.6 (with 10 being the worst).

Pink ribbon giants Avon and Estee Lauder don’t fare much better; each company makes more than 100 products with a toxicity of score of 8 or above…for the rest, and for resources of where to look for safe products, click over to Crazysexlife.com

Technorati Tags: bodycare, cancer, FDA, moisturizer, natural, organic, toxins

My boyfriend was ready for is military contract to expire after eight years, two tours and countless sleepless nights served as a U.S. Marine. To commemorate the occasion, I enlisted the help of Combat Paper, an art initiative catering to the personal catharsis of veterans through individual paper-making.

“The goal is to utilize art as a means to help veterans reconcile their personal experiences as well as broaden the traditional narrative surrounding service, honor and the military culture. Through papermaking workshops veterans use their uniforms worn in combat to create cathartic works of art. The uniforms are cut up, beat and formed into sheets of paper. Veterans use the transformative process of papermaking to reclaim their uniform as art and begin to embrace their experiences as a soldier in war”

I contacted Drew Cameron, co-founder of Combat Paper, to inquire about purchasing some paper and his response provided an unexpected display of kindness,

“For something like this I wouldn’t want to charge any money, as badly as I could use it, it is projects like yours that allows us to continue: Connections”

Genuine and sincere, I set-out to create a limited-edition lithograph print not only for my boyfriend but also for the people at Combat Paper and the veterans who donated their uniforms for my paper. When the paper arrived, I was surprised to find that printed on the back were the names of each veterans involved in the papermaking process as well as a process description:

“Combat Paper is a collaboration project initiated by Drew Matott and Drew Cameron of the People’s Republic of Paper along with the members of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Utilizing the uniforms that they wore in combat, the veterans cut, cooked and beat their issued uniforms into a pulp and used a spray-pulp printing technique to render images and text onto the sheets.

This series was made from the uniforms of: Chanan Saurez-Diaz, Jon Michael Turner, Adrienne Kinne, Drew Cameron, Cloy Richards, Matt Howard, Eli Wright, Nate Lewis, Mike Blake, and Phil Alife”

A special thanks to Drew Cameron and everyone at Combat Paper for supplying the handmade paper for free to commemorate the expiration of another honorable veteran’s eight-year military contract.

For more information on Combat Paper, please visit their website or contact Drew Cameron.

Technorati Tags: art, combat paper, emotion, emotional, generosity, generous, honor, Iraq, military, mindful, paper, uniform, war

Note: Athleta provided free items in exchange for guaranteed review. That said, we say what we think, that’s why readers bother to read our reviews, which is why companies want us to do reviews. ~ed.

Athleta, a yoga-clothing powerhouse consistently delivers inspiring silhouettes but is not well known for its eco-responsibility. So now is the test:

how environmentally responsible are Athleta’s clothes?

The first thing I noticed about the Athleta shipment was the size of the box: huge. Although they were generous in their shipment of reviewable winter yoga apparel, they were also liberal with their unrecyclable, uncompostable packaging. Naughty, Athleta!

Of the five items I received, only one of the plastic bags surrounding each garment was recyclable. To be honest, for a company owned by the likes of the Gap and Banana Republic, I was impressed that even one recyclable bag was swimming in the sea of unrecyclable materials.

In all fairness, the Gap and Banana Republic are sustainable companies in the sense that their core products are basics—items that are used and kept by consumers for the longest duration of time, thus contributing less to mass consumptions of fashionistas.

Okay, here’s the run-down of Athleta’s gorgeous goods:

Long-Sleeve Organic Cotton Senorita Dress in Very Berry & Asphalt ($79)

“Perfect over leggings or perfect on its own, the Organic Cotton Señorita Dress needs only a sweater layered over the top to make the perfect cool weather dress for cruising around town. Semi-fitted and made from stretch organic cotton, this 24-hour dress has a deep V-neck with gathering and a slight A-line shape”

Points for the organic material and double points for the killer silhouette. Athleta nailed the womanly design of this piece with emphasis around the ribcage and a length perfect for jeans and tights alike. The colors are really appropriate for fall and winter while the fabric feels great against my skin. From a morning yoga practice to a date at night, I plan on wearing this dress all winter.

Lodge Pants in Khakina ($79)

“The Lodge Pant has a boot-cut fit with a flattering flat front, an extended tab zip/snap closure, internal waist adjustment, two front mesh-lined jean style pockets, one right leg zip pocket, two back patch pockets, and Athleta chi logo rivets”

Polyester?! Wait, recycled polyester. Whew!

Unfortunately, the fabric of these pants reminds me of the “swishy” pants I wore as a child before soccer games. Neither warm, nor terribly comfortable, these pants sit in my “red zone” (the area between my natural waist and belly-button), which invariably leads to unnecessary wedgies. If you like your pants a little higher, however, these are a great choice.

Organic Cotton Rooted Top in Oregano and Espresso ($59)

“Your favorite organic cotton T-shirt just got even more personality, making it a must-have for your post-studio endeavors. Semi-fitted with a scoop neck, this top has raw edge seams at the cuffs and hem, a rib knit neck, and shirring at the sides and back for a flattering fit”

This shirt, like the dress mentioned above, it flattering to a woman’s body. Ruching and extra-long sleeves contour to my shapes while providing a cover-up for the gym or a base-layer while mountain biking. This is not a piece I would normally pick out, but it’s a nice addition to my workout and day-to-day wardrobe.

These clothes were made for active women who expect more out of their performance apparel. Although Athleta does not have all organic options, it does cater to a growing audience of eco-sensitive consumers.

For more information or for ordering, please visit the Athleta website.

Technorati Tags: athleta, clothing, color, cotton, design, eco, environment, organic, polyester, silhouette, spandex, winter, woman, yoga