October 2012 Publisher’s Letter

If this is the future, I’m not that worried. ~ Jay Leno (after driving the Tesla electric car)

My first car was a gas-guzzler; a used, baby blue 1970 Ford Falcon with a white roof and red shag carpeting (a custom detail installed by friends). It got about 11 miles to the gallon, but I was just a teenager, and at the cost of only 70 cents per gallon of gas, the freedom and independence it afforded me seemed worth it.

Today, I still value my freedom, but with gasoline costing nearly $4 a gallon, I’ve been considering other options, including electric vehicles (EV), which until recently I’ve watched develop with curiosity, but never considered as a serious contender as my next auto. They seemed too impractical and expensive, with limited driving range and a dearth of public recharging stations and independent service centers being key deterrents for me.

But just this month, as we prepared for this special edition on environmental issues, I learned about the EV Project, a national initiative to create a dependable infrastructure for charging electric vehicles that has recently launched in here in our city. Read all about it in our feature, “Electric Vehicles Make Their Move in Atlanta.” Besides more charging stations, early adopters can get great deals on home charging equipment installed in their homes and even discounts from utilities.

We have also learned about Go-Green Auto Centers LLC, an automotive training center that has begun teaching programs in Atlanta to prepare independent auto repair shops to properly repair and service electric vehicles and hybrids. Going electric just got much more practical and affordable in Atlanta. So, keep the EV alternative in mind if you’re looking to buy a new car. Just as with the advent of “The Cloud,” for computing, we will look at EV a few years from now and say, “How did that happen so quickly?” Chalk up a victory for the Earth.

Also hot in Atlanta this month is the Southeast Yoga Conference, a full weekend of yoga workshops with national, regional and local yoga instructors that are a great way to try out different teachers and styles of yoga. We’ll be there because we love yoga, and hope you’ll attend and stop by our Natural Awakenings table to register to win some awesome prizes, like a three-day pass to the Ancient Wisdom Rising Gathering of Elders, in November, and other thoughtful gifts from our supporting advertisers. To help you navigate the abundance of yoga options in Atlanta, we’ve started a new local feature, the Yoga Spotlight. Read our story, “Atlanta’s Eclectic Yoga Scene” to get started.

We’re excited by the growing commitment to sustainable living trends in Atlanta we see taking place. The Green Communities Program, for instance, is a voluntary certification program in the 10-county Atlanta region to encourage local governments to become more sustainable. The Atlanta Regional Commission developed the program to assist local governments in reducing their overall environmental impact by conserving energy, investing in renewable energy, conserving water, conserving fuel, reducing waste and protecting and restoring the community’s natural resources. See “Shaping the Future We Want,” for a more global view and news about inspiring initiatives happening across the country.

Remember to check out our awesome advertisers, without whose commitment and support we wouldn’t be able to bring you such fabulous free content every month. Please appreciate them with your patronage and say, “I saw it in Natural Awakenings!”