GREEN SPACE bids Metromode farewell

Times change, and so does metromode. Today will be the final edition of Green Space, a column that has run in the publication weekly since 2007.

Since today is the last dance for Green Space, it seemed appropriate to take a little stroll down memory lane and pick out a few of my favorite columns from over the years.

I am a total information junkie, so I am always looking for new ways to green my life -- hopefully in not too painful a manner. In that vein, some of my favorite columns have been simple how-to items about reducing the amount of styrofoam in your life, kicking the plastic water bottle habit, becoming (close to) paper-free, using rain barrels, the benefits to leaving leaves in your yard, and, on that same note, environmentally sensitive lawn care.

Something I think all these pieces have in common is the attitude that being environmentally cognizant is not about wearing a hair shirt and beating your brow -- becoming an environmental martyr. It is about conscious thoughts and choices that, oftentimes, aren't even any more difficult.

Other pieces are about local action-takers that have inspired me. Michael Klement of Architectural Resource and Doug Selby of Meadowlark Builders have done some amazing stuff in Ann Arbor, including an ultra-green residential rehab and a carbon-neutral ranch house renovation. Also in A2, Matt and Kelly Grocoff launched Greenovation.TV, the world's first Internet TV channel dedicated to green home improvements, on Earth Day 2009.

Another couple, Peggy and Tom Brennan, are behind the Green Garage, a sustainable business incubator and green renovation demonstration project in Midtown Detroit. This project is one that bears attention, and I'll continue to update Model D readers about it.

I loved learning about the return of sturgeon-spawning to the Detroit River and was heartened by the state's growing attention to renewable energy as a matter of economic development. And I really enjoyed blogging about the 2008 Auto Show.

Thanks for reading, I've really enjoyed doing this for the past few years.
-Kelli B. Kavanaugh