A weekly round-up of EcoSalon’s top five stories.

In When You Feel Good, You Look Good, West Coast fashion correspondent Rowena Ritchie considers conscious consumption and muses, “Buying fashion for a good cause seems like a lovely idea, doesn’t it? You could say it’s like lifting two spirits with one swipe of your credit card. You buy an item and the designer donates some money to a good cause. That is until, like me, you’ve got enough charity printed tees to hold a small rally in your closet benefiting workouttopsforever.com.”

In VC’s, Angels and Investing In Women: What Are They Not Thinking?, senior editor Scott Adelson looks at the cold, hard facts: Women make up a minute fraction of the venture capital and angel investment community, and women entrepreneurs receive a tiny percentage of that community’s investment dollars. This is the first in a series of articles by Adelson, examining “Equity investment’s relationship with businesses that have traditionally been out of its mainstream, including women-owned, green and long-term-growth-oriented.”

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, is at the center of a heated controversy about reverse sexism. In Scott Adams: #Winning Or Not?, EcoSalon news editor Andrea Newell asks: “Some of his readers have pointed out, he seems to be taking lessons from Charlie Sheen on public relations. The question is, is he #winning or is his reputation going down in flames?”

Virgin America’s New Eco Luxe Terminal At SFO was unveiled this past week as the first green airport terminal in the country. The terminal is using a host of technologies to boost its green credibility – though we’re not so sure about the spaceship part.

The Foodie Underground column is turning one! In Foodie Underground: A Year In Review, columnist Anna Brones curates a round up of her favorite articles from the past year and invites you to send her your foodie favorites: “Maybe it’s a hand-me-down recipe that you can’t go to a dinner party without, maybe it’s your favorite local food truck that serves up a mean plate of organic tacos, maybe it’s a photo of your home brewed liqueurs, maybe it’s a painting rendition of a classic recipe, or maybe it’s your weekly indulgence for taking food porn shots. Whatever it is, we want to see it!” The winner of the contest wins a a set of Festival Sol Mini Bowls, made with recycled glass, from VivaTerra. Submissions are piling up, so be sure to get yours in soon.

Image: Wagner T. Cassimiro “Aranha”

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Virgin unveils the country’s first green airport terminal.

Wednesday, Sir Richard Branson himself was on the scene at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to open the new, fully green $383 million terminal that will house both American and Virgin America airlines. The terminal will likely be the first in the United States to achieve gold LEED certification. (That’s not the only first: Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two and SpaceShipOne made an appearance, as well. If you’re going to have a green terminal, it may as well debut with a spaceship.)

Global architecture firm Gensler remodeled Terminal 2, originally erected in 1954, thoughtfully – and under budget. The most significant change to the structure is the addition of more windows, lending a spacious, bright quality to the entire space. As Forbes reports, Gensler architect Melissa Mizell says that “the goal was to pair passenger delight with energy efficiency and water efficiency.”

The terminal uses a host of technologies to boost its green credibility, including low-flow faucets in the bathrooms and displacement ventilation systems for more efficient temperature regulation (the architects explain this should reduce power usage by at least 20%). There are also new spaces for art installations and play; partners in the project believe fliers will now enjoy the experience of visiting the airport. The space may be conscious in every way – art, check, green, check, retrofit vs. tear-down, check – but as Forbes points out, there’s no word on making the planes themselves more efficient.

Catch more pictures of the terminal, including art installations, at 7×7.

Images via: 7×7

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