July 18 Questions: Alysia Reiner

Each month we ask a new eco-maven 18 questions about his or her life, occupation and advice for other like-minded people. This month we connected with the lovely and very talented, Alysia Reiner. Alysia is an award winning actress, producer, jewelry designer, mother humanitarian and outspoken environmentalist, but we’ll let her tell you that.

When we found out that Alysia was a green enthusiast, we jumped at the opportunity to speak with her. To all our green readers, get ready to be inspired and to all the Orange Is The New Black fans, you’re welcome!

1. What is your name and age?

Alysia Michelle Davis Reiner Basche. Age? Wait doesn’t living a green lifestyle make me ageless?

2. What is your occupation?

Actress, Artist, Producer, Jewelry Designer & Agent of Change

3. Do you have a “green” memory growing up?

I remember the magic of hiding in a pile of leaves. I am still awed by the majesty of the ocean in places such as Monterey in the Berkshires and Saltaire in Fire Island.

4. What’s your favorite meal?

I have so many! It so depends on my mood! As you are a green blog I will start with saying… I love vegan faire like Café Gratitude, Real Food Daily, and my new favorite, Gracias Madre.

I love when my husband grills veggies and we make ‘karma’ salad (our friend Karma from Bhutan taught us to make it) – cucumbers, red onion, jalapenos & feta, salt & pepper.

There is a salad at West Bank Café in NYC that I swear I could eat every day– kale, octopus, toasted almonds, and I am missing a few elements….can’t remember but it’s divine.

I love sushi – sustainably farmed of course! And I love trying new restaurants and chefs – particularly farm to table.

But if you asked David, he would say – and probably true – favorite meal maybe of all time that I never get tired of is: jumbo shrimp cocktail, a pile of wilted spinach with lots of garlic and a bone dry martini.

5. Who/what inspires you to be more “green” in your life?

My daughter inspires me daily to be more green and to help make the world a better place. As well as all my green hero friends like Erin Schrode, Marci Zaroff, Summer Rayne Oakes, Rachel Sarnoff, Cameron Sinclair, it goes on & on! We are all working to make a huge impact in the world.

6. Where on the “green scale” do you fall?

I am a rainbow of green – a bouquet of forest green, lime green, chartreuse! In some areas I am super-duper green and have helped enormously like at my daughter’s school. However, I am not perfect and certainly not zero impact.

7. What are the most rewarding and most challenging parts of your job?

The most rewarding is when someone says I helped them grow/feel/change/enlightened in an area of their life, when folks love my work & say so.

The most challenging is that every job ends and you need the next one.

8. Where’s your “greenspot”: food, body care/beauty, oceans, home or neighborhood, explain

I am very green in my food, beauty products ( http://www.shopfigandflower.com/), home ( thanks Marci & http://www.underthecanopy.com/), my daughter’s school, water & education and sharing the green word! I am so passionate about our world, but also HATE to ever tell anyone else what to do. I am very zen about that and would rather just be an example and let others be. So perhaps my greenspot – if you mean a blind spot – is I close my eyes to other people’s choices sometimes?

9. Where do you turn for your news?

The New York Times mostly, and I LOVE ODE MAGAZINE too!

10. What is one environmental change you vow to make in the next year?

It would have to be choosing more green clothes to purchase.

I love wearing vintage. My grandma’s closet is the BEST, and I love to borrow clothes from amazing designers, a very green choice because they get recycled and re-worn!! I do purchase sometimes. So…calling all green fashion designers out there – please contact me ASAP.

11. If you could trade places with one person from any time in history (past or present) for one day—who would it be and why?

EINSTEIN!!!!!! I am obsessed with his genius, spiritual soul, and brilliant mind. I would love to experience thinking like “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

12. You have a meeting with the leader of every country in the world. You have 30 seconds to tell them anything you want. Go!

I have never thought about that, but here goes…

I dare you to put all ego aside – yours and your co-leaders, and see how much peace, respect & love you can bring into the world. See what impact Ghandi, MLK, Mandela had? Be like them. CHANGE THE WORLD WITH PEACE. Peace among people. Love & respect for the planet. LET GO OF THE ILLUSION OF POWER, of RIGHT AND WRONG and choose PEACE. I DARE YOU.

13. You have the chance to send one tweet to all the tweeps in the world. Let’s hear it in 140 characters, or less!

Wishing y’all endless laughter, gratitude, health, magic, miracles & love. Now go be the change u want 2 see & make some rocking ruckus.

14. If there was one industry/product that you could make more eco-friendly, what would it be?

An industry change for waste – in all ways, like waterless toilets! We are getting there with recycling but so much farther to go with the way we manage waste.

15. Where in the world would you most like to be right now?

I believe I am here right now, loving this moment, surrounded by my family in my home that I adore. I would also love to visit Bali. Do you know a genie that can get me there without the plane trip?

16. What is the best book you have read recently?

I have not had time to read a real novel or anything except for my scripts & character research lately. I am about to read UNORTHODOX for a movie I am doing this summer, and on my bedside is Anne LaMott’s “Help, Thanks, Wow” which was just given to me by a friend and is a spectacular nightly companion.

17. What makes you cringe?

Meanness, cruelty, teasing, bullying, gossip, lies, neglect, war in the name of religion and folks who say the environmental and water crisis is not real.

18. What do you want your legacy to be?

WOW – that’s a tall order! KINDNESS. LOVE. OPTIMISM, CHANGE.

Actually my dad said it best & we put it on his tombstone:

MAKE A DIFFERENCE HAVE FUN