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This is my first official post! I’m as excited as you are. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview Diane MacEachern, author of Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World and founder of www.biggreenpurse.com. Facebook is a wonderful networking tool…

Diane has been a believer in green for years now. She’s a true green goo expert as well, dealing with enough variety of green issues that we can refer to it as a shapeless mass of green knowledge and experience. More simply put, she knows her green stuff. Well, without further adieu, the interview.

Kelvin: First of all, you must tell me how to pronounce your last name. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to know. With a name like mine (also Celtic, I might add), I undertand the value of a well pronounced name.

Diane: My name is pronounced Mack - ACK - Ern. (I would have tried Mac-EEEK-Ern or Mac-Acorn first, phew!)

Kelvin: Your book is quite specifically directed to women. First, tell us a bit about your book. Second, why women specifically? What about men? Should I read your book? What can men do to reinforce the message you’re sending?

Diane: My book offers dozens of green lifestyle and shopping suggestions to make it easy for consumers to use their marketplace clout to encourage manufacturers to reduce pollution. It’s focused primarily on women because women spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace; however, the information is relevant to men and women - anyone who shops can make a difference. The point is: our money is one of the most powerful tools for social and environmental change that we have. We can all put our money to work to protect the planet — and that means, sometimes, keeping our money in our purse or pocketbook, especially so we don’t buy a lot of stuff we don’t need.

Kelvin: What products will make the biggest impact on sustainability? Polution? Social Justice? Is there a silver bullet or a fix-all?

Diane: Unfortunately, there’s no “silver bullet” or “fix all”. I encourage people to focus on ways they can save energy (which will help reduce climate change, clean up the air, and protect wilderness areas), save water, and limit their exposure to dangerous chemicals. You can start with something really simple, like installing a compact fluorescent light bulb, or be more ambitious - switch out all your shampoos and soaps to paraben-, phthalate, and fragrance-free alternatives. The book really offers a lot of ways you can make a difference.

Kelvin: Annie Leonard recently came out with the Story of Stuff, a brief plea to buy green and/or buy less. Did she try and preempt you? Is there a secret war we should know about? Or are you two friends?

Diane: I love the Story of Stuff. It works hand-in-glove with Big Green Purse; we both encourage consumers to consider what they buy before they buy it. Overall, the message is buy less, then when you do shop, buy green. Reducing consumption is absolutely the first step to a greener world. But when you still need to shop, shop with the earth in mind.

Kelvin: There is something that has always bothered me about most products. Their packaging is often an impenetrable fortress of plastic, tape, cardboard, and styrofoam. This is a major waste problem, but has become so vital to product protection and marketing. What are companies doing about this? Can they use less packaging and still market and protect their product?

Diane: Some companies are doing a lot to reduce what they use. As a result, consumers have more options. For example, you can buy cleaning detergent either in bulk sizes or in concentrated sizes: both options cut down on the amount of paper or packaging being used. Wal-Mart is now requiring all of its suppliers to use less packaging, both in shipping and in the product itself.

Kelvin: You’ve had your website, www.biggreenpurse.com, for quite some time. Did the book idea spawn the website? What’s to blame for all the fantastic work you’re doing? What inspired it all?

Diane: My website launched last year; thanks for the compliment! What inspired me? I suppose growing up in Michigan, where at one point in my childhood the lakes were too polluted to swim in. Things are better now, but there’s more to do.

Kelvin: Finally, how can I get a signed copy of your book? I had to ask…

Diane: I invite you to come to one of my book signings; the next ones are in Phoenix, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. I keep a running list of my appearances on my website, and I’d love you and everyone else to stop by and say hi. There are books for sale on Amazon.com (only $12 and some change), but they’re not autographed…sorry! (But don’t let that stop you from getting a book!).

Kelvin: Thank you so much for your time. I konw you’re very busy. Good luck with your book. We’re all looking forward to your next works.

Diane: Thanks for the great questions!!!

As you can see, she shot down my attempt to get a signed book in the mail. Don’t worry though… Our paths will cross one day and I’ll have my copy ready in hand.

I have to admit, I did the interview a few weeks ago. Sorry for the delay. Diane is amazing simply because she took the time to speak to a geeky blogger with a weird blog title. Goo? Anyway, thanks to her for her time, her work, and her wisdom. As she mentioned, you can find her book at Amazon.com for some pretty good deals.

I mentioned in my “wait” post that I will focus primarily on architectural issues. That’s true. I’ll also throw in interviews and stories like this one when the opportunity presents itself. I’ll follow this post up with some links to older writings of mine from www.houseplans.info, where I blog regularly for my day job (at least for another month or so).