If not us, WHO? If not here, WHERE? If not now, WHEN?

These are the questions that gave birth to the Bay Area Urban Alliance of Sustainability three years ago. With a mission to "Inspire and integrate the sustainability movement,” and a vision to "Support the transformation of the world into a harmonious social, economic and natural environment for the benefit of all," UAS is working to connect local green organizations and individuals through programs centered around networking and community education — essentially giving people a platform where they can access and collaborate with others in the local green scene.

Being a volunteer-run organization, the easiest way to get directly involved in UAS is through volunteering or becoming a member.

As a member you get a number of benefits, including an individual, hour-long sustainability consultation about easy ways to reduce your eco-footprint. You can find out more about anything from feasible food options to green jobs in your local area. You can also ask about other help topics or discuss various green solutions you’ve seen or been involved in.

When people in your zip code sign up, UAS will organize an area-specific potluck to connect you with other green people in your neighborhood.

Members also have access to sustainabilty consultants via phone and website. Check out www.uas.coop for the e-newsletter, or to find out more on collaborative green solutions in the Bay Area.

Photo Credit: I Heart Organic

Think about the last time you ate a piece of organic fruit. Do you know where it came from?

Born from the desire to support and connect with local organic farmers, Bay Area start-up I Heart Organic is currently distributing sweatshop-free, and 100% organic American Apparel t-shirts at green festivals around the Bay Area. With 10% of all net profits to education and local organic farms, you may have also seen them at your local farmers market, on myspace, or on Earth Day at the Digital Be-In.

Recently meeting up with co-founder Rian Bedard for a chat about green living in San Francisco, I learned that I Heart Organic SF is as much a vehicle for green information and awareness as it is a really sweet American Apparel t-shirt.

Fully launching in the summer of 2007, www.iheartorganic.com will be a portal and an education tool for all local Bay Area organic businesses and organizations in the city. With an emphasis on organic farms, natural health, and green building, I Heart Organic will also feature documentaries from cutting edge filmmakers and a section of reviews on local green restaurants. With the latest from seasoned green and restaurant critics, this section will eventually grow to become more of a
wiki/yelp-style review portal for everything organic and green in the city.

"When you go to your local farmers market, you are looking people in the eye who cultivated the food you'll be eating," says Rian. "How many times can you say that when you walk into a supermarket to buy your groceries for the week? It's important to support your local farmers, and we aim to educate people as to why it is so important, and why eating organic is better for you and better for the Earth."

Be on the lookout in the near future for Eco-friendly tote bags sporting the "I Heart Organic SF" that both supports and shows support for your local organic farmers.

For more information, or to get your very own I Heart Organic tee, stop by and say hi every Saturday at the Ferry Buiding farmers market, or visit www.iheartorganic.com and tune in every Saturday at 10am to 90.3 KUSF for the "I Heart Organic SF" radio show dedicated to increasing awareness about local people, projects, and happenings that are helping to make the world a greener place.

Photo Credit: EcoHome Improvement

They weren’t kidding when they said living green ain’t easy. With all of the toxic home design products out on the market today, it’s often difficult to locate products that are environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, affordable, and importantly, aesthetically beautiful.

In the world of green design however, the times are a-changin’, and with the birth of Berkeley’s own EcoHome Improvement, a crucial green scene player is now giving us the gift of a centralized hub for green design products and education.

Featuring “Ecological & Healthy Home Improvement Products,” EcoHome Improvement specializes in non-toxic paints, formaldehyde-free finishes, FSC-certified wood for cabinetry and flooring, as well as bamboo, cork, natural linoleum and wool carpeting. The list goes on to include recycled countertops and tiles. Each of these products is, of course, only selected after making a high standard cut for overall performance quality and aesthetic appeal.

When I went over today to chat with co-founders Nina Boeddeker and Taja di Leonardi, I discovered that running a green design business like EcoHome Improvement has as much to do with the finished product on the showroom floor as it does with employee relations and a green business model. “It’s not just about what you sell,” said Nina. “It’s also about how you function internally. By working together for something you believe in, you help expand the field of something you love.”

For EcoHome Improvement, this means incorporating a structure of lateral management and making all important decisions collectively. “It’s about showing passion for what you do,” said Nina. “As well as making green products accessible to the public, we are interested in providing a aesthetically green experience for people to network, share in advice from an expert, or even just enjoy some tea at the paint bar.”

Personally, I’m thrilled with my EcoHome-painted green room (in color and quality!) that lets me sleep without breathing in air full of toxic fumes found so common in the harmful off-gassing of today’s paint products.

For more information on green home design practices or for Ecohome lectures and workshops that are beautiful inside and out, please visit: www.ecohomeimprovement.com.

What is green building? For Berkeley green design/build firm owner Connie McCullah, green building is, “Achieving the future you want by building an improved and healthier present. Like everything important, it all starts at home.”

When put into practice, this means combining daylighting and a balanced ventilation system with formaldehyde-free wood products and insulation, as well as using non-toxic, low-volitile-organic-compound (low-VOC) paints and finishes to lessen the release of harmful gases into the living space. Connie’s interest in green building stems from a belief that “It’s about setting higher standards, improving housing and the general quality of living. Our responsibility as the contractor is to help clients understand how to live in these new spaces, how it is affecting them, and what benefit it is giving them. It is really fun watching people change how they think about their space. For example, after installing solar panels, many of our clients will understand themselves to be in a new relationship with the sun.”

As well as co-owning and managing the green design/build firm Odin’s Hammer with her husband Denis, Connie is also on the board of Berkeley’s green resource center Build-It-Green, where she has helped build a series of councils and guilds to educate all facets of the community, from contractors and building inspectors to public utility municipalities about the benefits of using green design in new spaces. She has also recently co-written a green construction curriculum with Alameda County Waste Management Authority for builders and contractors seeking green alternatives to conventional construction products and practices.

For more on Odin’s Hammer and contact info for obtaining the green construction manual, please visit www.ohgreen.com (new website launching in early March). And for the newcomer to green design, Connie suggests checking out the valuable resources from Berkeley’s Build-it-Green at www.builditgreen.org.