I think a kitchen should be painted yellow.  This is mostly because my favorite color is yellow.

What color is your kitchen?  and why do/don’t you like it?  For those who want to make an immediate change but are on a budget, Sue Bennett, an interior designer and CEO of Bennett Design said to CTV.ca today: new paint is the key.

The Detroit News agrees with me: “There’s no need to stick to the pale shades of yellow most often used in kitchens,” she [Margaret Walch, director of the Color Association of the United States] says.  “Instead, try Spanish bloom yellow, such as Benjamin Moore’s Banana Yellow (2002-2). “People like their kitchens to wake them up a bit in the morning. A deep, bright color helps make the kitchen more eye-opening.”

I like tall ceilings but my little rambling rambler ranch has 8 foot ceilings throughout.  So I am going to have the walls in the front room repainted, and I will bring that color 4 inches up onto the ceiling, and then paint the rest of the ceiling a light arctic blue/white.  To bring the yellow (again, my favorite color!) from the kitchen, at the back of the house, into the front room, l think l will add white to my bucket of yellow paint and ask the hardware store paint department to shake it for me in the shakey-machine.  That will keep the hue but change the tone (?? I think!)  Since the yellow l picked is called Behr brand ‘manila tint’ it is very yellow, don’t let the ‘tint’ fool you!  I like that.

Wal-Mart has taken a bad rap the last several years for being environmentally and socially unconsious. It represents all that has gone wrong with commercialism, right? Maybe not. Wal-mart might actually be a leader for a people-centered form of environmentalism. While green technology is often blamed for being overpriced, Wal-Mart has brought prices way down on flourescent bulbs and solar lights, recycle bins, and EnergyStar appliances. In fact, they have a “Earth Friendly Products and Budget Friendly Prices” link of their website. Even the buildings themselves are becoming more environmentally friendly.

A few years ago, Wal-Mart conducted a detailed study that showed shoppers bought significantly more products when natural light showed on the area. Other researchers have found that natural lighting increases morale and health in the workplace. As a result, skylights might be coming to a Wal-Mart near you. They have also been playing with more environmentally friendly buildings. A new supercenter in Las Vegas boasts a 45% decrease in energy use compared to other Wal-Mart supercenters. They are also endorsing a Kids’s Recycling Challenge, in which participating schools earn $5.00 for every 60-gallon collection bag filled with plastic grocery bags they bring to a local Wal-Mart store for recycling by March 31, 2008.

Is it noblesse oblige or something more that is driving Google to a leading role toward a greener tomorrow? I’d love to see Google’s name on this list – there’s some impressive names already there. Like Shaklee, climate neutral since 2000.

Joshua S Hill brought to my attention today at Green Options that the world need not wait for government to do the work of the hungry consumer. To me, this means entrepreneurs and corporates alike will no longer have to make do with the energy sources that brought us the horseless carriage and the steam engine. Using oil and coal to run today’s technology is what’s called transitional technology. It’s time for a new normal and I’m buyin’.