Update from the Editor's Lounge

By Dan Estabrook - October 23, 2008 As part of my commitment to keeping you -- our readers -- up-to-date with stories upon which we report right here at Tonic News, I provide an update on some of our past and popular stories.

Style Search (August 8, 2008)

As I reported back in August, the BBC Style Search Competition was seeking people with cool and swanky style to use their talents to create fashion masterpieces with second-hand, recycled, fair trade, and/or sustainable clothing.  The winner was 21 year old Holly Bryant whose entry was a dress made with restyled tartan from a charity shop, second hand ankle boots, customized fringed leg warmers made from an old jumper and necklaces made from a handbag chain and board game pieces. Judges' comments: 'Simple idea with an intelligent, creative outcome. The look is not overstyled and it is trend-setting and ahead of the game. Confident execution of an chic and accessible look.' Other entrants used bed sheets, cuddly toys, curtains and knitting needles to create unique but completed recycled fashion.  These entrants could teach a thing or two to our friends at Project Runway

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One Fewer SUV (July 25, 2008)

If you remember, Ryan Mickle was accepting advice on how to remove his Range Rover from the earth completely. As far as we know, Ryan has not yet decided what to do with his SUV - his site has not been updated in quite some time. Ryan - if you are reading please let us know what is going on! With the economy going the way it is, I bet Ryan has much competition attempting to get rid of his gas whore!

A Girl, A Goal and Your Car (July 3, 2008)

Jennifer Sekar created a campaign to get us to sign up at her site, A Day of Rest, to get 1,000,000 cars off the road on October 4th.  I recently heard from Jennifer with an update on her efforts.

A Quick Update on the outcome of "A Day of Rest (ADOR)" on October, 4, 2008

I would like to personally thank all of you for your support for "A Day of Rest (ADOR)" efforts and making an impact on the environment on Saturday October 4th, 2008. As you may recall, the goal of "A Day of Rest" (www.adayofrest.org <http://www.adayofrest.org> ) was/is to get 1 million cars off the road, on the first Saturday of every October, which happened to be October 4th in 2008, to prevent 10,000 Tons of Carbon Dioxide emission in just one day, We estimate that we have reached over 700,000 people with ADOR's message since it was founded in May 2008. The number of people who pledged through ADOR's website was 464, although many people called us on October 4, 2008 and informed us that they observed A Day Of Rest even though they did not officially register on ADOR's  web site. You and I made a difference on the environment that day. You and I helped prevent several tons of Carbon Dioxide emission from polluting the environment further, on that day. You and I spent the time with the family and friends and strengthened our bond on that day. Here are some examples of the reaction that I heard from many of the people who observed A Day of Rest on October 4, 2008 and I was very touched by their experience. ·         One family, with a 3-year old infant, walked all the way to the church, which was quite far, to attend the mass on Saturday, instead of driving their car as they normally would do. ·         Another family called me to say that they did not officially register on ADOR's web site, but stayed home and observed the day of rest ·         One family moved their house warming party (which was previously planned for Saturday) to Sunday October 5th so they could observe the day of rest on Saturday ·         Another family refused to drive on October 4, 2008 to a friend's party and forced the friend to reschedule that party to the next day. ·         Many people, who would normally drive their cars alone, had taken buses to carry on their business. ·         One family rode their bicycle, instead of driving, to attend a school event On the day of rest, my parents and I spent the day at home and just like so many other families, we also walked to the church that day instead of driving. We did not want to give up on our daily activities on that day, we simply adapted to not driving that day. There were also people who called us and very apologetically told us how sorry they were that the circumstances forced them to drive their car since they had to drop off their kids for games or school events.  We understand their situation. Their hearts were in the right place. People from many countries pledged their commitment and support on ADOR's web site. ·         USA (California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio….), ·         Canada ·         India ·         Sri Lanka ·         Carribean Islands, and ·         Bahrain With your help, we succeeded in planting the seed, about preventing pollution, in the hearts and minds of all the people that we have reached. Once again we hope that you will continue to support ADOR's efforts by taking a day of rest and not drive on first Saturday of every October and also spread the word to your friends, families and neighbors. Please mark your calendar for the next "A Day Of Rest":  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER 3, 2009 Please continue to pledge, not for money, but for a promise not to drive for one day, on October 3, 2009 (Saturday), at A Day of Rest. Well, there you have it!  Enough updates for one day!