Laura Turner Seydel Takes "earth-friendly" Living to the Maximum with EcoManor

Laura Turner Seydel, daughter of CNN founder and philanthropist Ted Turner, is one of Atlanta's most famous environmental activists. Together with her husband Rutherford, they built a shining example of earth friendly living with their EcoManor private residence.

Eco-awareness has been a way of life for Laura and Rutherford Seydel. Years of earth- friendly living and community involvement have fueled the inspiration for EcoManor.

Growing up, Laura Turner Seydel was more aware of environmental issues than most children. As daughter of Ted Turner, she was exposed at an early age to how very ecologically desperate some areas of the world were. Rutherford was awakened to alarming environmental issues within Atlanta when he joined the Ecology Club at Lovett High School, which backs up to the eastern bank of the struggling Chattahoochee River. Recognizing the potential for her efforts, she began her commitment toward working to improve the environment in every way she could.

Together, Laura and Rutherford have established themselves as ecological activists, committed to making a difference in their own back yard. Laura and Rutherford are co- founders of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, and are both active on the boards of many other local and national groups including: Earth Share Georgia; The Nature Conservancy of Georgia; the North Georgia Water Planning District Board and the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.

Currently, Laura serves as chairman of the Captain Planet Foundation, a partner program to the highly successful environmentally focused Saturday morning cartoon, Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The Captain Planet Foundation acts as a national educational conduit to place funds in the hands of groups conducting environmental projects with elementary, middle, and high school students.

But living "green" and promoting the ecology through various programs was not enough for the Seydels. While they did what they could to "walk the talk" by using recycled or bio- degradable products and monitoring their energy and utility bills, the rising costs of fuel and various energy and water shortages kept them questioning, "What more can we do for our home?"

Thus, EcoManor was built according to the exact standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED certification. LEED certification is reserved only for those projects and builders who adhere to the ultimate standards of environmental responsibility. The certification is based on a checklist of environmental factors in six categories including: sustainable sites; energy and atmosphere; water efficiency; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; and innovation and design process.

"Besides being a super efficient and healthy home, a green home can be aesthetically pleasing beyond your imagination. Your home can also be affordable. With the rising costs of fuel, a green home makes sense," states Laura. Laura and Rutherford Seydel hope that by building EcoManor, the home can be used as a tool to illustrate the opportunities and benefits of earth-friendly, energy-efficient homes. The home will serve as a showcase to demonstrate life in a green, eco-friendly way through the use of eco-friendly products, energy efficient products, and environmental options. More importantly, EcoManor will serve as an educational tool to builders, architects, designers, vendors, landscapers, educators and homeowners in an effort to promote green living, conservation options and improved residential building practices.

For more information about EcoManor, including a tour of the residence, plus a complete list of building products used during construction, click here.