by Ken Leinbach, Executive Director, Urban Ecology Center (excerpted from Ken's original article)
Ignorance really is bliss. It used to be so easy. To paint my living room, insulate my attic or carpet my kid’s bedroom, I would simply go to the hardware store and get the best product recommended by the sales person within my price range. This was when the only filters for my decisions were price, performance and look. Now I’m cursed with too much information!
For those who care about this type of thing (and we hope this will soon be everyone on the planet), wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to get the information needed, see and touch sample products, read or hear testimonials, compare prices and get suggestion for vendors and installers? Such a place exists at our very own neighborhood Urban Ecology Center!
When you walk into the Center there is an attractive exhibit of alternative materials and products that you can see, touch and smell, along with the raw material from which they are made. For example a pair of old jeans is next to the insulation made from denim, and a bowl of flax seeds and a photo of the flax plant explains where linoleum flooring comes from. The exhibit is on a wall leading towards the elevator, and acts as a “teaser” to lead people downstairs to the community room were the Library of Sustainability is located.
The exhibit educates the uninformed while it also provides in-depth information to those already initiated to the concept of eco-friendly design. Contact information for product sources and service providers is available and a wireless laptop can be checked out to obtain up-to-the-minute information from the internet.
The library also references products and materials used throughout the entire building. If a person is considering a bamboo floor for example, the visitor is directed to our fourth floor mezzanine to see one installed and in use, complete with a sheet about its pros, cons, installation and costs.
Urban Ecology Center
Riverside Park
1500 E. Park Place
Milwaukee, WI 53211
(414) 964-8505
