I’m honored to say that I had the chance to be interviewed by eco-media maven Betsy Rosenberg on her EcoTalk radio program yesterday. While doing one of his daily “so eco it’s sick” Google searches, producer Will Craven found my modest site. I was asked to do the show mostly to talk about Twice Shy, but we also covered some of my writing and modeling work as well. A nice list of questions was drawn up to work from during the interview, but we barely got to half of them; nine minutes on-air flies by! Having been years since I’ve been in a studio, it was quite enjoyable to set foot in one again. Will I ever record myself singing again? Who knows what the future holds.

Betsy was very knowledgeable and joyously fierce in wanting to educate the world on green issues. Though we only had two or three minutes to talk before the interview stared, it quickly began clear that she is one of those folks you could spend an entire day talking to over a cup of tea. Despite having a cold and nearly losing my voice, all went smoothly. I honestly don’t remember half of what I said, so I look forward to listening to the segment. Please take the time to give my nine-minute blurb a listen and let me (and the EcoTalk site) know what you think via our comment sections.

If you are interested in reading more info about the program itself and their current troubles, check out my post over at WorldChanging SF.

Another piece of mine has been published in the SF edition of Yogi Times; this one is a restaurant review for Lettus Cafe Organic.

On top of freelance writer, model, and environmentalist, my resume will now have official sponsored spokesperson on it. I received an exciting proposition from one of the founders of Twice Shy (organic fashion for sinners everywhere) this week. What a wonderful feeling to have folks notice my hard work at spreading the news about eco-companies and causes. Other than just wearing their nifty duds and having some cool new green business friends, I’m also working to get the Twice Shy line to stores in the Bay Area.

Simply put, it is freaking sweet to be working with such a cool company. Being green and stylish are one in the same; Twice Shy’s creations prove that. Make sure to check out their website to see their new men and women’s Fall/Winter 2006 line, as well as their newly-discounted (40% off) Spring/Summer collection. With each different season, they feature a different artist’s work on their items. Not only are their items made from sustainable fabrics (mostly organic cotton), but the graphics on them also speak about the current state of our world. On top of that, they also have a kids line called Fig that they released this year, and an underwear line called Once Bitten coming out in 2007.

Can you bring attention to the eco-movement without using the color green? An article on Slate.com recently covered the lack of use of the color green on magazine covers and the industry myths behind it. In the past six months, a number of major publications (Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Wired, Bitch) have spend entire issues covering the eco-revolution, often featuring many varying shades of green on their covers, with our without celebrities. Shaking up the publishing world, the January issue of Harper’s Bazaar (shown below) won the American Society of Magazine Editors 2006 award for Best Celebrity Cover.

While sparking controversy with the status-go is all well and good, should we eco-philes be searching for a different color to get attention? A number of planet-focused lifestyle magazines have been started online in the past year, but time-tested green publications are sold on newsstands, such as Plenty, E, VegNews, and more. Would they sell better by not featuring the color green on their covers or is the topic of more concern? Most eco-magazines are smaller and can’t afford the big bucks that major publications spend on cover analysis, which they do on a monthly basis to try and sell more. The basic ideals of living a planet-friendly life isn’t about selling a lot of anything, but as a business, magazines do need to sell copies to gain advertisers and stay in business.

As one continues to think, this cover color issue moves from being superficial to a serious issue for environmentalists trying to draw media attention to their causes and companies. Does this fear of trying to sell the color green make editors hold back on promoting eco-lifestyles? From an artistic standpoint, green is a very powerful, thoughtful, and intelligent color; subconsciously, does this turn off the American public? Are we watching so much TV that delving into serious and life-altering issues is seen as just a mental bother? So many questions and not enough answers. As more and more media attention is drawn to our environmental movement, we’ll need to be innovative and inspiring to grab the attention of the public, green-phobic or not. Not only are the green trees and meadows being harmed, but red flowers, blue skies, and clear waters are being affected with our daily choices. The cornucopia of shades and experiences that the world offers are all worth preserving; a few shades of one color isn’t enough to represent all that.