“I think I can fix Ryan’s room by cutting a hole in the wall,” said my husband Jim. My son’s room has always been one of the warmest in the house due to the western exposure on his outer wall. When we replaced our a/c unit a few years back the consultant suggested an additional return for that room. We opted to wait and see how the repaired ducts and new unit performed. While the bill went down and comfort increased, Ryan’s room was still retaining too much heat. My engi-nerd husband consulted his colleagues and they determined we just needed to let the hot air leave. While cutting a significant hole in the drywall of any home’s hearth may be enough to make even a veteran wife cringe, my husband’s track record with home maintenance is five-star. I gave my blessing and left the room so I wouldn’t have to watch the surgery. Jim cut a hole in the wall near the ceiling where the hot air is trapped to release air to our kitchen and used vents to cover it. Lo and behold it looked great; I could feel the air being released and the temperature cooling.

While reviewing this month’s feature article, Natural Awakenings’ Green Home Checklist, I was pretty proud to be able to check off a large number of the items on the list. Energy star appliances, non-toxic cleaners and natural soaps, sturdy reusable shopping bags, filtered water ...all check. We even have a tank-less water heater. But as usual, I found some great ideas such as an interior solar shade to help keep Ryan’s room cool!

This month in honor of Earth Day you’ll find tips for a green home and ways to reduce your food waste [page 24]. Discover how pet shelters are connecting eco-friendly facilities with pet care [page 26]. Then enjoy the perspective of Frances Moore Lappé, author of 18 books including Diet for a Small Planet, and co-founder of Food First: She shares her views on how to change the way we think to create the world we want [page 28].

This April issue marks the completion of 10 years and 120 issues of Natural Awakenings in our community. Thank you to all our readers, advertisers, and distributors for making it possible. Your record turn-out at our Healthy Living Expo was heart-warming and we look forward to finding a superb venue to accommodate everyone in 2013! Watch for our annual Natural Living Directory coming in May, your natural phone book you can keep year-round.

Here’s to many more naturally wonderful years!

Kris Urquhart,

Publisher