By Collin Kelley

While it may seem that restaurants are constantly closing in Atlanta, there are always new ones ready to open and become the next dining destination.

Over the next few months, some of Atlanta’s most notable chefs and restaurant groups will be opening new outposts. We round up what’s coming soon and what’s recently opened to tempt your tastebuds.

Coming Soon

Yard House
The California-based Yard House will open its first Atlanta location at Atlantic Station in April with a large selection of draft beers, American fare and classic-rock wafting from the sound system.

Watershed
When Watershed announced it was closing in Decatur after 13 years, there was an outcry from longtime patrons who were concerned it would rise again. Fear not, because the new incarnation of Watershed will open this Spring at The Brookwood condo building on Peachtree Street. Owners Ross Jones, Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers and Chef Joe Truex said the new, 175-seat space will offer private dining space, a patio and plenty of parking to realize their dream of growing the business with private dining, a patio and a wealth of parking. And, yes, Fried Chicken Night is still on the menu.

The Optimist
Fans of JCT. Kitchen are optimistic about Ford Fry’s new restaurant in West Midtown on Howell Mill Road, which is slated to open this Spring. The menu will focus on sustainable seafood prepared in a wood-burning oven. Adjacent to the new restaurant, Fry will also be opening Oyster Bar at The Optimist, a more casual “fish camp” style venue, featuring an outdoor patio, live music and an oyster bar.

Pano’s
The saga of Pano Karatassos’ – half of the famed Pano’s & Paul’s – new restaurant and lounge may finally have a resolution as it was announced that it will now open later this year in the 103 West building in Buckhead.

The Spence
Bob Amick, Todd Rushing and Richard Blais have teamed up to open The Spence at Technology Square on 5th Street in Midtown (the former home of The Globe and short-lived WaterHaven). Expected to open in March, the menu will feature family friendly items like cheeseburgers, steak and pasta.

East Paces Tavern
East Paces Tavern, featuring Mexican and Southern California cuisine, is taking over the former Abbadabbas shoe store on East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead. An opening date had not been announced at press time.

F&B
Fans of French American Brassiere (FAB) in Downtown will have a new destination this spring when F&B opens on the ground floor of the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Buckhead.

Lure
Fifth Group Restaurants is planning to open seafood restaurant Lure in April inside the old Vickery’s space on Crescent Avenue in Midtown.

Now Open

Red
Located inside Philips Arena, this restaurant was expected to open this month and be open before, during and after ticketed events at the Downtown venue. The menu includes contemporary American fare like crab cakes, burgers and wings. The big draw will be the tiered seating with views to the Philips Arena floor. philipsarena.com

Modern
This new contemporary American restaurant was expected to open this mnth in the old Copeland’s spot at 3365 Piedmont Road. modernbuckhead.com

The Pullman
Serving up a classic American menu, The Pullman opened in January at 1992 Hosea Wiliams Drive in Kirkwood. thepullmanatl.com

STK
If you’re hankering for a hunk of meat, STK is now open at the 12th & Midtown development. The hip space features high quality steaks and seafood along with innovative and exciting side dishes, appetizers, desserts and cocktails. togrp.com

Alma Cocina
The latest restaurant from Fifth Group Restaurants opened in December in downtown’s One Ninety One Peachtree Tower. The contemporary Mexican menu is prepared by Executive Chef Chad Clevenger. fifthgroup.com

Barcelona
If you can’t get to Spain, just head to Inman Park and check out the newly-opened Barcelona Restaurant & Wine Bar on North Highland Avenue. The menu features large and small plates of tapas. barcelonawinebar.com

Cardamom Hill
The popularity of Asha Gomez’s popular Spice Route underground supper club meant it was time to open a restaurant, and Cardamom Hill is already pleasing critics and diners alike with its Indian cuisine. cadamomhill.net

The Lawrence
The owners of Top Flr and The Sound Table have opened their latest concept, The Lawrence, at 905 Juniper in Midtown. The menu features bites, small and large plates with items like Duck Tongue Camitas, Trigger Fish, Roasted Monkfish, Beef Calotte and more. thelawrenceatlanta.com

White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails
Alan LeBlanc, owner of Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery, was expected to have this new contemporary Southern dining restaurant open by the time our February issue hit the streets. The eatery is in the former All Star Café Space on Peachtree Street in Downtown. whiteoakkitchen.com

Olde Towne Tavern & Grille
The former Saskatoon space at 360 Pharr in Buckhead is now part of the local Olde Towne chain, serving up pizza, burgers and beer. ottavern.com

By Shandra Hill Smith

If a new home is in your sights, is now a good time to buy?  Should you consider selling? Not clear on what to do in today’s housing market?

Three Intown professionals hope to set the record straight by schooling you on some of today’s myths regarding the current climate. They include Weslee Knapp, real estate consultant and managing broker, Keller Knapp Realty (kellerknapp.com); Dac Carver, vice president and managing broker, Beacham & Company (beacham.com); and Randal Lautzenheiser, managing broker, Atlanta Intown Real Estate Services (AtlantaIntown.com).

“A lot of buyers are not hearing the most up-to-date information because the market is changing faster than the economists can often project or respond,” explains Knapp. “It typically takes analysts six months to a year of previous data to decipher trends in the market, but by that time conditions have often changed and the findings are outdated. The best way for most buyers and sellers to find out about market trends in real time is to consult with a Realtor.”

What are some misconceptions (on the part of homeowners and potential homebuyers) you’re finding in today’s real estate market?

Weslee Knapp: Yes, homes are at great prices, but there are not enough of them. In 2009, we had 123,000 different units on the market in metro Atlanta.  Today, we have just over 51,000 homes on the market (GAMLS). There are a glut of townhomes and condos on the market. Condos and townhomes represent less than 11 percent of total product on the market right now. New-construction condos are at the lowest quantity they have been in the last decade. I’ve been a realtor for over 10 years now and I’ve never seen this low of product out there.

Dac Carver: There are [fewer] homes on the market now than there were 10 or 11 years ago; when we tell them housing inventory in Atlanta is at a 10- or 11-year low, everyone is always surprised. We project in Buckhead, it’s more around a 15-year low.

Randal Lautzenheiser: The biggest misconception from both buyers and sellers is that the property will sell for substantially less than the list price. If a property is correctly priced it will sell very close to the list price. The average that is being negotiated right now is about five percent in the Intown neighborhoods, meaning that houses are selling for about 95 percent of the list price. The average days on market is 85.

Is it a buyer’s market? If so, please explain why.

Knapp: I’ve never seen a better time to buy since I’ve been in real estate than right now. There [are] fewer homes on the market; I believe you’re going to start to see prices go up. It’s a rare time where interest rates are also extremely low. Very few homes on the market in key areas will mean higher prices, which may start as early as this spring. Higher prices will create more opportunity for sellers who could not previously sell their homes. It also means that buyers should take a serious look at current prices in combination with low interest rates of today.

Carver: I think it’s a buyer’s market to some extent. It’s not the same buyer’s market it was two years ago. It’s easier to get financing than it was a couple of years ago. Interest rates are still phenomenally low. But because of the inventory factor and the fact that a lot of sellers who had to sell have sold, there’s pressure on prices to go up. We see the market starting to turn and on its way up.

Lautzenheiser: It is definitely a buyer’s market because prices are as low as they are and interest rates are so low. Anybody who can buy right now should buy right now. If someone already owns they should buy a second home or investment property to take advantage of the low prices and interest rates. The market will turn around and come back up and there are excellent investment opportunities everywhere.

How would you describe the interest rates we’re finding today?

Knapp: We are at unusually low interest rates currently. Rates have remained low to spur additional home purchasing. However, as we see the market starting to turn, you will see rates start to rise toward the end of the year.

Carver: They’re historically low. They remain some of the lowest we’ve had in generations. We don’t foresee that changing going into the spring. It means that buyers can get much more house for their money than they could four years ago. If you compare the payment for the same house to four or five years ago, in some cases you’re paying half what you would have four years ago for a house.

Lautzenheiser: Interest rates right now are at an unprecedented low and when they start to go up it is doubtful that they will come back down this low any time soon.

What are your forecasts for 2012 and maybe even a little beyond?

Knapp: I believe that 2012 will be a solid year for Intown real estate and markets with solid school districts. In those areas, you will a small rise in prices. I believe that 2012 will be remembered as the first year in the beginning of the next positive real estate cycle.

Carver: I think we’ll see prices continue to increase in our areas – Buckhead, Intown. I don’t know that we’ll see an overall increase for Atlanta, but I’m optimistic.

Lautzenheiser: Home prices have reached bottom and they are currently stabilizing.

By Tim Sullivan

Druid Hills resident Brennan Bolt is a labor and employment attorney at McKenna Long & Aldridge by day. By night he and his wife Michelle dote on their two young boys, Ewan and Nolan. And a couple of late nights a week he grows a beard and plays some hockey. As it turns out, not all hockey left town with the Thrashers.

So, why hockey? Flat puck, small goal, thin skates, cold, hard ice…
My college roommate had played when he was younger and had decided to get back into it. Since I enjoyed watching hockey, I decided to give it a try as well. We started going to stick times, which are basically “pick up” hockey. When I finally entered the real world, my boss encouraged me to sign up and actually play on a team. The rest, as they say, is history – I am now captain of my team.

There are seven different levels to the Atlanta Amateur Hockey League (atlantahockey.org ). Is anybody playing ALTA anymore? Where do all these games take place?
Can’t speak for ALTA, but we play at The Cooler in Alpharetta, the Ice Forum in Cumming and the Marietta Ice Center. Those of us that live in town are still waiting for Philips Arena to book our games to replace the Thrashers. I suspect we’ll be waiting a long time.

Can individuals sign up and join the league?
Yes, but there are evaluations and even a draft. I’m embarrassed to say that I was not drafted the first time I signed up with this league.

What is the hockey haircut du jour? Is it still all business on top and party in the back?
The mullet is and always will be the staple, but nowadays any style of long hair and a beard will do.

How do you expect your team, Army Mules, to fair this year?
We should make the playoffs but once they start anything can happen. One season we were the top seed and were the first team eliminated. Another season we were the last seed and won it all. Teams really turn it up a notch and the games are taken a lot more seriously.

Will you encourage your sons to take up hockey when they are old enough?
No, living in the South, football and baseball are more likely to have a better rate of return for my wife’s and my retirement plan. However, if they choose hockey, we certainly won’t discourage them. Our oldest, who is two and a half, is already interested in ice skating. We got him a pair of skates and a hockey helmet for Christmas and have taken him skating two times already. He loves it.

Were you bummed out when the Thrashers jetted out of town for Winnipeg?
Absolutely. Games at Philips were always entertaining regardless of the outcome, and watching hockey live is so much better than on television. While we still have the Gwinnett Gladiators, it’s a shame that Atlantans can no longer watch the premiere players from the NHL.

Ever get mistaken for being Canadian?
Uh, no. If you watch me play hockey, you will understand how that would be impossible to do.

Well, I have a Canadian friend – let’s call him Batman –  who leaves the wife and kids to “play hockey” at very strange hours and some suspect that he runs an international pyramid scheme.  You’re an attorney, care to speculate?
Our games do sometimes start after 10 p.m. during the week. But if you want to see if “Batman” really does play hockey, ask to see where he stores his equipment. Hockey equipment is notorious for its stench, so if the room doesn’t smell, you’ll know that something is up.

Ok, Bolt round! What’s the better movie: Slap Shot or The Cutting Edge?  Favorite ice Olympian:  Mike Eruzione or Dorothy Hamill?  Post-game beverage:  Labatt’s or Molson?
Definitely Slap Shot and Eruzione. The Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot are classic. As for beer, I’d probably say Labatt’s. Speaking of beer and hockey, how could you leave off Strange Brew, you hoser?

I don’t know! How do you not pick Dorothy Hamill? She’s cute as a button!

By now most of us have heard of Botox and facelifts, and some of us may even be familiar with the various laser treatments available today. But with so many medical spas touting the latest and greatest in anti-aging treatments, it can be tough to know what’s what.

Read on as we round up this season’s best non-invasive procedures and get the latest information from the experts at some of the city’s top medical spas.

Oculus Plastic Surgery

Known as the “Botox Expert,” Dr. Harvey “Chip” Cole is one of the nation’s leading instructors of this popular non-surgical procedure. In addition Botox, he offers a variety of non-invasive anti-aging treatments at Oculus Plastic Surgery (oculuscosmetic.com), where he serves as medical director.

“I like to refer to Botox and dermal fillers as bridge procedures,” he explains. “They will help improve the appearance of fine lines and restore volume loss until you are ready for the surgical step.”

Oculus Plastic Surgery also offers IPL photofacials, a procedure that uses Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) to target things like blemishes, broken capillaries, neck redness, and age spots. In other words, it jumpstarts the skin’s natural cellular activity, leaving you with a younger, healthier look.

“The advantage of these procedures is people are able to still look like themselves for a longer period of time,” Dr. Cole says. “With more traditional procedures people tend to look better, but different.  They don’t quite look like themselves, which can oftentimes be unsettling at first. By doing lower maintenance procedures over a steady period of time you can put off invasive procedures and still look like you.”

Natural Body Spa

This February, Natural Body Spa (naturalbody.com) is unveiling a new procedure called Contour Ultra. “We call is muscle reeducation,” says founder and CEO Cici Coffee. “It’s a piece of equipment you might see at a chiropractor’s office. The microcurrent works to tighten the skin, so it is like a non-invasive facelift.”

Contour Ultra helps with lymphatic drainage, preventing the body from processing toxins like pollution and smoke that show signs of aging on the skin. It also improves blood flow and tightens the pores, giving you a more youthful glow. And the best part? “It can prolong a surgical procedure for years,” Coffee says. “I equate it more to working out in the gym. If you do the same thing all the time, you won’t get new results. This teaches muscles to contract the same way they did when you were younger.”

The treatment comes without the pain or discomfort of a surgical procedure, so all you’ll feel is a tingly sensation. A series of 10 will give you a six-month youthful appearance, reversing what Coffee calls “inflamm-aging.” “If you can take puffiness away, you remove the sagging and tighten up face,” she says. “This can take five or 10 years off of your appearance.”

Spa Sydell

Ask aesthetician Josephine Walsh at Spa Sydell (spasydell.com) about the benefits of non-invasive treatments like microdermabrasion and chemical peels, and she’ll tell you it’s the immediate results. “These treatments assist in cell renewal and the shedding of the skin, which promotes the growth of new skin cells,” she explains. “Microdermabrasion exfoliates and resurfaces the skin by removing dead skin cells and stimulating tissue to produce collagen and elasticity. Facial peels also serve as a recommended alternative to invasive skin treatments.”

Spa Sydell’s SLC peel is a favorite among aestheticians and clients alike. This anti-aging pigment peel helps minimize fine lines and wrinkles, eliminate acne inflammation and help with collagen production. The vitamin C peel and the triad peel are good alternatives to this treatment as well.

In the winter months, Walsh also recommends body resurfacing, as it helps remove dead, flaky skin. “It is essentially a body polish that uses an exfoliant of vitamin C-coated crystals activated with lactic acid to remove dead skin,” she says. “After the exfoliant is rinsed off, a moisturizing lotion is applied revealing soft, glowing skin.”

Kai – The Medical Spa

While Kai – The Medical Spa (kaimedspa.com) boasts a variety of anti-aging treatments including Fraxel and photofacials, it is their new VI peel that has owner Grace Choung Davidson really excited this season. “It’s a new generation peel unlike any other you might have experienced,” she says. “This reverses the effects of sun damage, environmental factors and time, to enhance your skin’s natural beauty.”

The VI peel is also highly effective in clearing acne and impurities for patients as young as 12 years old.  A series of treatments may reduce acne scars, too. “This peel improves the tone and texture of the skin,” Davidson explains. “It also reduces or eliminates hyperpigmentation and melasma, as well as pore size. It softens lines and wrinkles and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin for firmer skin.”

There is little to no down time with this type of peel, and it is less painful than some of the deeper peels. And while many peels are not safe on darker skin types, this is safe and effective for all skin types. It also works well in conjunction with lasers and injectables.

By Collin Kelley

Natalie Saxon’s love of repurposing furniture not only led to the creation of a business, but a personal project to help women in transition.

Saxon created her interior design company, Expressions by Natalie, last year, and found immediate success with clients who needed to spruce up a room, but had a limited budget. Saxon decided she wanted to give back to the community and took on her biggest project to date.

Through The Repurpose Haven Project, Saxon is working with Women of Gilgal, which provides housing for women who are transitioning from homelessness and addiction. Women of Gilgal has two homes in Atlanta with 17 bedrooms for 25 women.

“All the rooms were the same color and full of handed down, mismatched furniture that didn’t fit or function,” Saxon said.

Rather than do all the work herself, Saxon is working with the women to reconfigure, rebuild and repaint the existing furniture in the bedrooms. She’s been going to the residences twice a week since last September.

“I bring paint brushes, rollers and tools to help repurpose the pieces together,” Saxon said. “The women get to take a break from the verbal aspect of treatment and focus on more quiet time and painting. I enjoy working with them.”

Since the bedrooms are small, vertical space is at a premium, so creating storage has been at the top of the list for the women. One project they’ve worked on is getting old trunks from thrifts stops and turning the lids into bulletin boards and the bases into shelving units.

They’ve also worked with old barrels to create tables and surfaces for both inside the homes and out.

Saxon said the project has been an education for her as well. “I’ve learned so much from the women,” she said. “They are so strong to even be there and be honest with themselves.”

She said bringing light and color into the women’s lives, as well as teaching them helpful skills is part of therapeutic process. “My hope is that they will be confident to fix up their own places when they are living independently and realize they don’t have to spend money to have a nice place to live.”

The project with the Women of Gilgal will wrap up this month and Saxon is also planning a benefit concert for The Repurpose Haven Project on Friday, Feb.17, from 7 to 10 p.m., at Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee at 6640 Akers Mill Road. Visit nataliesaxon.com/outreach for more information.

Saxon, who grew up in Atlanta, said her knack for repurposing furniture began when she moved to Seattle a few years back. “I didn’t have any spending money, but it was important for me to me make my space homey and comfortable.”

She said it became a running joke with her friends in Seattle because she was always asking them to stop so she could inspect some discarded piece of furniture left on the side of the road. She also haunted estate and garage sales looking for items to repurpose. The friends who were laughing were soon asking Saxon to help them with a project.

When Saxon moved back to Atlanta in 2010, she started blogging at nataliesaxon.com about her finds and projects, which led to the creation of her business.

While many interior designers like to hand off the construction and painting to others, Saxon said she likes to be hands on. “It’s a more meaningful experience for me,” she said, “and I can apply that to working with those in need like with Women of Gilgal.”

By Melody Harclerode

As an elementary school student, my school offered limited options for after school activities. I had the choice of music lessons or girl scouts. If I wanted to learn ballet, gymnastics, art or karate, my parents had to drive me offsite for classes. Fortunately, these extracurricular classes are now readily available for many Atlanta area elementary students.

The Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Atlanta) has established Discover Architecture as a fun and innovative after school option for 4th and 5th graders. Does your child love to create building drawings, make building models, have an interest in architecture or related fields including interior design, structural engineering, and construction? Then Discover Architecture might be for them.

AIA Atlanta pairs volunteer architects and design professionals with an elementary school art or gifted teacher, who appreciates architecture and provides a classroom for this after school program. I like to refer to this collaboration as Architecture Harmony. Under the guidance of the volunteers and support of the teacher, students draw and explore the architecture in their neighborhood, metropolitan area and across the United States, participate in exciting design exercises and make building models during a minimum eight-week session.

These young people have the opportunity to hear presentations and career advice from various professionals in the design industry such as an architect, structural engineer or furniture designer. At the end of each semester, the students present their work to family, friends and the school community.

I co-founded the AIA Atlanta Discover Architecture program as a pilot program in fall 2010 at E. Rivers Elementary School with art teacher Phillip Alexander-Cox in Buckhead. With the support of fabulous architects and design professionals, we just finished this past semester at four additional Atlanta schools:  Springdale, Mary Lin, Garden Hills and Morris Brandon Elementary Schools. As the accompanying pictures show, this innovative program brought lots of joy to the students and volunteers at E. Rivers during the fall 2011 session in which the students designed buildings for the Serenbe Community in South Fulton County.

AIA Atlanta wishes to add Discover Architecture as an extracurricular activity for more public and private elementary schools across metro Atlanta, particularly with the involvement of the school art or gifted teacher. To find out more, visit discoverarchitecture.org and contact me at mlharclerode@bellsouth.net.

Melody L. Harclerode, AIA, a local architect, promotes the power of architecture and design as a Board Member of the Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Principal of Harclerode Architects (harc-arch.com).  For more information about these programs, check out aiaatlanta.org.

By Tina Chadwick

One billion. That’s how much chocolate is bought for Valentine’s Day in the U.S. That’s also the amount of Valentines cards sent out worldwide each year. If you don’t want to add to the numbers of the ordinary, here are a few ways to have a little bit of fun that will earn you a few points in the originality column and make a good story when you get the inevitable question, “Do anything cool for Valentine’s Day?”

Many, if not most, of Atlanta’s finer eateries have wonderful prix-fixe menus. The tradition of eating a special meal on Valentine’s Day dates back to ancient Romans who held a feast on Feb. 14 in honor of the goddess of women and marriage, Juno. In medieval times, girls ate bizarre foods on Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future spouse.

But instead of being served, you could have a restaurant-quality dinner in the uniquely romantic setting of your own choice. Pick up Star Provisions’s (starprovisions.com) signature mise en place dinner for two. It’s a complete Valentine’s Day dinner including how to heat it all up just right. For the heady allure of the outdoors, Atlanta Botanical Garden (atlantabotanicalgarden.org) offers drinks, dancing and dessert surrounded by beautiful orchids and seductive candlelight.

Not quite ready to go so intimate as a one-on-one cozy dinner? You can hit the High Museum of Art (high.org) for the Picasso to Warhol:Fourteen Modern Masters exhibit complete with champagne, dancing and music. In keeping the culture, Atlanta Ballet (atlantaballet.com) hosts a Twyla Thorp world-premier performance of The Princess & The Goblin.

As for those of you who are in love with laughter, visit Dad’s Garage Theatre (dadsgarage.com) for Garage a Trois, a variety show of themed sketches, improve songs and some naughty on stage action. Sketchworks (sketchworkscomdey.com) is always a good time with its winter show, Deadliest Sketch and their offering two for one “couples tickets” if you mention Atlanta INtown.

To experience something out of this world, The Center for Puppetry Arts (puppet.org) is performing Space, a galactic romp through outer space for a little fact and fantasy. Fernbank Science Center (fsc.fernbank.edu) has three cool opportunities to look to the heavens, with “Sky Tonight”, a guided tour of the planets and constellations, “Moonwatchers” to hear about he changing faces of the moon according to African lore, and “Night Lights” to explore this phenomenon in Africa.

If you’d like to focus more on finding a Valentine, RSVP ATL has their Annual Cupid’s Prey Party (rsvpatl.com) at Cosmo/Lava where every girl gets a lock and every guy gets a key – the first 25 to find their fit get champagne – and maybe more.

For those with a bitter taste for the day of love and romance, The Bert Show is hosting The Bitter Ball (goldroomatl.com) at the Gold Room, where singles are encouraged to come party it up in the name of being the rebound.

If you want to give a little love back, Stacy Levy, a criminal defense attorney in Atlanta, offers the good idea to volunteer. She attends the Sweetheart Dance at Breman Jewish House (medical care facility) not as a volunteer in the traditional sense, but as the actual date of a resident there. “I really, really enjoy it. I get to dress up, have fun and go home happy.”

No matter where you decide to go, in preparation for your big night of love out on the town, take advantage of I Heart Wax at Wax (wax-atlanta.com) in Inman Park where a Valentine’s package includes a heart-shaped bikini wax and box of pink or red Betty dye!

With love, INtown.

By Laura Turner Seydel

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just released its most recent waste and recycling facts and figures, and reported that in 2010 Americans generated about 250 million tons of waste. Break it down and that means you personally throw away 4.43 pounds of refuse each day.  However, of that 250 million tons of waste, we recycled 85 million tons, for a national recycling rate of 34 percent.

The Tellus Institute (tellus.org), a non-profit research institute focused on environmental and social challenges, sees a need for improvement. In their report “More Jobs, Less Pollution: Growing the Recycling Economy,” they summarized that if we could increase the national recycling rate to 75 percent by the year 2030, our planet would see a monumental decrease in pollution and a much needed improvement in public health. Carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 276 million metric tons, the equivalent of taking 50 million cars off the road, and create more than 1.5 million jobs nationwide. Both would have a major impact on our overall economy.

Reaching this 75 percent recycling rate is easier for some states than others, specifically the 10 states who support the Container Deposit Law. These states, including Connecticut, California, and Vermont, provide a small monetary incentive to return beverage bottles and cans for recycling. Since Georgia is not one of these states, we have to work harder to do our part. Luckily, we are blessed with many in town organizations, like Georgia Recycling Coalition (georgiarecycles.org), Keep Atlanta Beautiful (keepatlantabeautiful.org) and Atlanta Recycles (atlantarecycles.com), who are each dedicated to educating, motivating, and inspiring us to do our part. From monthly newsletters to hosting electronics recycling drop-offs, these organizations have become instrumental in helping our community citizens become more avid and responsible recyclers.

In your day-to-day, think about the products you consume and how you can get creative to reduce, reuse or recycle to minimize your overall personal waste stream. Refrain from using one-use, throwaway plastic items, like drinking straws. Did you know that Americans throw away 500 million straws a day? That’s enough to fill 127 school buses, so you can imagine their impact alone on our landfills (bestrawfree.org).  Also, make sure you use reusable shopping bags whenever possible, use reusable glass food storage containers instead of disposable containers when storing leftovers, and simply place a recycling bin next to your trashcan to remind you to think twice before throwing something away. With our powers combined, we can make a difference for our community, state, and planet.

For more eco-living tips and news, visit lauraseydel.com.