Sierra Nevada Ups Their Environmental Ante

Written on January 22nd, 2008, by Chris

Sierra Nevada beerMy wife and I are big advocates of living locally. While that sounds like an obvious statement, it means, like many who feel as we do about the impact we’re having on our planet, that we try to purchase items locally and consume products that are created locally. For us living here in Jackson Hole, that can often be more difficult than one would think. As the great article in last week’s News&Guide pointed out, nearly everything (and I mean everything) we consume here in this isolated valley needs to be shipped in—usually by truck.

We do our best to buy locally grown vegetables in summer and locally raised beef (for me and the kids—the wife’s vegetarian, which means most of the time we are, too) when we can. We even eschew the practice some here in Jackson have of driving to Idaho Falls to shop for clothes, building materials or even food (with three grocery stores here, I have a hard time with that one).

But one of my greatest weaknesses is beer. I love beer.

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Resource Revival Closing The Loop :: Turning Recycled Bicycle Parts Into Art

Written on November 19th, 2007, by Chris

Graham Bergh and the Resource Revival Team

In the category of businesses doing good, I’ve got a friend who started out with a funky little product and a unique business idea and has turned it into a very successful venture. Graham Bergh runs Resource Revival from a small compound on a hill high above Mosier, Oregon. On the grand scale of places to call home, work or both, Graham’s compound scores an 11 out of 10. And he’s striving for a 12.

Resource Revival crafts unique gifts and promotional items from recycled bicycle parts. In the process they’ve helped close the loop where they can. Graham started out with a product he dubbed the “tube-tie,” and grew Resource Revival into a business whose mission is to:

“…create innovative products from recycled materials, to provide meaningful, living wage jobs, and to have fun. We envision a sustainable future where commerce flourishes in a world powered by renewable energy, and where consumers are conscious of the origin of the food they eat, the energy they consume, and the products they buy.”

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