One year ago, we launched our first green issue of Habitat. Covering how to live sustainably in the Wood River Valley; the magazine aimed to be a comprehensive resource. Twelve months on, our world has changed significantly and this country is moving closer to accepting the importance of looking after this planet. With that in mind, the direction of this issue of Habitat continues along the path of promoting sustainable lifestyles. And we are making a commitment to infuse all future issues with stories that help our readers along that path.

On a personal note, my own life has changed fundamentally since I posed for the editor’s photo last year. Eight months pregnant then, I am about to celebrate my son Owen’s first birthday. During the roller coaster ride that is a new parent’s first year, the importance of protecting our habitat has taken on an even greater significance. I have come to understand how much the little changes we make really do count. In my own home, I have taken to heart the tips from Hailey’s green families featured in the story, Rising to the Challenge (Page 16). From turning the thermostat down, to replacing energy-sapping lights with earth-friendly CFL bulbs, small efforts help conserve natural resources and go a long way to sustaining our way of life for Owen’s children’s children.

Going green is not all so scarily serious, however. In these uncertain economic times, there are many ways to help ourselves as well our planet. Plan a green wedding (Page 30). Redecorate on a budget (Page 38). Contain your composting (Page 42). Habitat covers the best and the brightest of home, garden and life in our spectacular valley.

So, please, enjoy the stories and glimpses into the lives of your neighbors. But above all, take from them this thought: In the words of that great arbiter of change, Mahatma Ghandi, whose own son I was fortunate to meet, "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

Jennifer Tuohy, Editor
editor@sunvalleyguide.com

Contributors

Dana DuGan has written on the Wood River Valley’s arts and community for more than 15 years. As a gardener, she is a committed composter and seeks out fresh organic food wherever and whenever possible.

Gregory Foley has been a professional writer and editor since 1997, the year he started his novel, The Clarity of Light. His work includes tenures as the news editor of a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in California and editor-in-chief of the Idaho Mountain Express. He moved to the Wood River Valley in 2002 via France, Hawaii, Colorado and the West Coast. "Since I was a kid, this is the longest I’ve stayed in one place. I guess that says something." A second novel is in the works.

Pat Murphy is the former editorial page editor and publisher of The Arizona Republic. Prior to that, he was a news executive with The Miami Herald.  Murphy is "retired" in Ketchum and working as a freelance writer and columnist for the Idaho Mountain Express.

Rosa Maricich was living green before she knew the difference. Growing up in Taos, New Mexico, amidst the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s, her lifestyle was defined by a close relationship with the earth and the elements. Now a green design and lifestyle consultant, she welcomes the time when living green will once again be the rule rather than the exception.

Matt Furber is whittling down to the basics and a little new media. A freelance writer packing the American Dream in a suitcase, Furber is going light with travel-writing, global news and a pen poised for fiction. He thinks it all might just fit.

PUBLISHER
Pam Morris

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jennifer Tuohy
editor@sunvalleyguide.com

ART PRODUCTION MANAGER
Tony Barriatua

SENIOR EDITOR
Michael Ames

CONTRIBUTINGEDITOR
Evelyn Phillips

AD PRODUCTION & WEDSITE DESINER
Colin McCauley

COPY EDITOR
Barbara Perkins

WRITERS
Dana DuGan, Tony Evans, Gregory Foley, Matt Furber, Rosa Maricich, Pat Murphy,
Sabina Dana Plasse

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
David N. Seelig

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Dev Khalsa, Thia Konig, Mark Oliver, Paulette Phlipot, Nick Stelma, Kevin Syms, Tory Taglio

BUSINESS MANAGER
Connie Johnson

MARKETING/SALE DIRECTOR
Ben Varner

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES
William Pattnosh, Gayle Kerr, Irene Robinson

Find us at www.sunvalleyguide.com.

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