I love this picture. Yes, it proves I cannot use power tools, but it was taken in Evan Everhart's incredible art studio. Evan is a sculptor whose medium is metal, plastic, wood, literally anything we descard. His studio is a magical maze of recycled material; old street signs, Victorian window frames, aluminum doors that have long lost the buildings they were attached to, and athousand pieces of metal minutia. His artwork is dispersed into this hodgepodge of metal bent and twisted by Evan's hand into trees that can be used as lawn decorations or caot racks. Fire pits fused out of old steel into the shape of giant daisies. Metal, glass, and Christmas tree lights hang from the ceiling in a dizzying array of angles. You cannot help but be imaginative in Evan's space. You can imagine, quite easily, that humankind has the intellect and creativity to completely rethink the way we live. From the way we produce energy to how we eat and how we design shelter.

This issue of Erie Life focuses on all of these topics. I learned so much putting our magazine together this past month. I learned that there is a tremendous urgency to start implementing change now. I learned that the environment and global warming isn't just headlines on CNN or a political debate between Democrats and Republicans. I learned that how we are living our lives right now will have a direct impact not only on the quality of our lives in the very near future but also the futue of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I learned we are literally running out of time and we must take action.

You will read about the people, schools, and businesses of Erie who understand this urgency and have made he commitment to change. From individual lifestyle choices to how they build and run their offices. Our cover story describes not only how one Erie company is making a global difference, developing renewable energy, but how they changed the way their engineers work. They cut bureaucracy to accelerate progress. Reducing waste and increasing efficiency is not just turning off the water when you brush your teeth. It encompasses all facets of our lives including how we implement our business modules.

We also look at the lighter side of going green and for those of us who may only go green on St. Patty's, we have provided a guidebook to make your day more efficient. This issue also features one of the best pubs in Erie and some great ecoshopping.

In the month of March we will be adding two new features to our website Ask Dr. Pyke! where you can email a medical question based on his articles and he will respond and ERIE'S TALKING! where we feature your letters and emails. We received dozens and dozens of emails, phone calls and letters from you telling us what you think of Erie's first city publication. Thank you! We love your feedback and we have achieved one of our goals when we started Erie Life Magazine, that you, our readers, would take ownership of this publication as your own.

I hope this issue inspires you as well. Don't forget to write and, better yet, fill out our online survey at www.moore-research.com. We love hearing from you.

Rena Tran
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Erie Life Magazine