ecoSENSE: Arniston Bay Wine Pouch

Ask anyone who knows me - they'll tell you I love to drink wine.
Not really in a 'snobby, expensive-is-better' kind of way but instead a 'tastes-nice, reasonably-priced' kind of way.

At £9.99 for 1.5L (2 bottles), the Arniston Bay Chenin Blanc wine pouch hits that sweet spot ~ with a twist of ecoSENSE.

This wine pouch - called Astrapouch - weighs about 20 times less than glass bottles. And since the wine is made & packaged in South Africa and then shipped around the globe, the weight of the package makes a big difference to the eco-impact. (Trust me; this phenomenon is easily detectable on recycling day!)

The best way we scientists have to measure, or quantify, eco-impact is a life-cycle analysis or LCA. (more on that soon!) The folks down at Arniston Bay did an LCA and they are sharing the results:

* 80% lower carbon footprint
* 90% less landfill waste compared to a glass (okay but NO excuses for not recycling glass!)

The light package is also perfect for picnics, tailgating and pretty much any other time you're carrying alcohol around - and the wine stays fresh for a month (not that it's ever around my house that long!)

US EPA Green Chemistry Program calls for interns

The US EPA in Washington, DC has openings for 4 undergrad student interns to join its Green Chemistry Program during the month of January. The position is volunteer but offers a unique opportunity for training in green chemistry.

During December, the EPA will receive nominations for the 2010 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards; during January, EPA staff and interns will read all of the nominations, write brief reviews of each nomination, discuss the nominated technologies in multidisciplinary group meetings, and prepare the nominations for the anonymous judging panel convened by the American Chemical Society. This work is highly technical and so applicants need to have a strong science background (i.e. at least one year of organic chemistry).

Interested? Contact greenchemistry@epa.gov for more details.

Far East, here we come!!

DjD & I are heading to Thailand & Malaysia in 5 days and I can not wait!!  This is going to be the trip of a lifetime and I am looking forward to experiencing it with my wonderful husband!!

Photography

DjD & I recently visited Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, UK which is just north of Harrogate.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful spring day to experience the setting.

DjD took some great photos but I also managed to get a good one of him!       

Hot Date Night = HDN

I absolutely love HDN.  This has been a tradition between my husband and I for over 5 years now. 

Typically on a Thursday night, we go to dinner.  Just us.  

No work, no issues, no finances; Just US.  Our dreams and ambitions together. 

It's amazing!!  I hope we continue to celebrate HDN for decades to come.

Happy New Year!!

2009.

Wow - I can't help but be reflective on the blessings in my life.

Namely, the love of my life, David Duran.  

DjD & I grew up 8.4 miles from each other but in two different US States (DjD - Ohio, me - PA) so we didn't meet (?) until chemistry brought us together at Carnegie Mellon University in '03.  Literally - Chemistry.  

In the last 5 years, 

we've gotten engaged at Machu Picchu, Peru in Sept'05, 

married in the Bahamas in Nov'06, 

and moved to England Dec'07 where we currently live.      

Life is good.