Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

Video Voice calling and saving energy go hand in hand these days. Modern technology helps us Live Green by giving us the ability to work from home. Visiting our friends and family who live far away from us is easier and cheaper to do with video voice calling, while at the same time being kinder to our environment.

If businesses took advantage of video calling to the tune of cutting back  their travel by 20%, that would save 22 million tons of co2 from going into the environment. Not to mention how many millions could be saved by having to spend less on company travel. Money that in this economy could be used to put more people to work.

Video Voice Calling programs are free and easy alternatives to travel and it’s not just for business. It’s the most cost effective way to stay in touch with family, friends and business colleagues. But it is also the next best thing to being there.

Especially in this economy businesses and families that are looking for ways to stretch that dollar should really take a look at Video Voice Calling as a cost saving measure and as part of Greening their lives. Using  technology as eco-friendly economizing tools makes sense.

Skype is my personal favorite because I’ve been using it for years and it works great. I use it for personal purposes to get together with family in Europe and South America. With Skype you can make free calls over the Internet, the whole world can talk for free.

Here is a list of some of the Video Voice calling Programs out there:

AOL Instant Messenger

Brosix

X-Lite

Ekiga

Google Talk

KPhone

Linphone

Minisip

OctroTalk

OfficeSIP Messenger

QuteCom

SightSpeed

Skype

QuteCom

Tokbox

Yahoo! Messenger

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Raising Cattle is becoming a Green Business. Ranchers are adapting greener measures to leave less of a footprint while conserving water, protecting endangered species of animals, plants and the land from overgrazing. Check it out…

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Join Mathew Modine by making Earth Day bike to work day. It’s a simple thing to do, it’s healthy for you and healthy for the earth…Do what you can…

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Join the movement on March 28th, wherever your are in the world, turn off all the lights and enjoy a quite moment with friends and family in honor of the earth.

Vote Earth Your Light Switch is Your Vote

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Have you ever thought about where that beautiful bouquet of flowers you got or are giving away for Valentines came from? Here is some food for thought, a cute video of a day in the life of flowers…

For more information you can go to: GivingPlants.com

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For the ladies out there, here is a list of famous hunks with a green thumb, so to speak. They not only make it a point to look good, but also to do good.

Leonardo Di Caprio

Besides being a greeny himself, he is out to convince others of the virtues of going green. You can catch him in several “environmental” productions.

• The 11th Hour a documentary about climate change.
• Greensburg chronicles the rebuilding of the town of Greensburg, Kansas which was wiped out by an EF5 tornado back in 2007 and is reinventing itself into totally sustainable and eco-friendly town.

George Clooney

He drives a one seater electric car called Tango and soon to be driving the $100k Tesla Roadster 100% electric, burns no oil and looks great. They both do.

Edward Norton

• While often playing the bad guy, the mysterious Edward Norton works with Friends of the High Line a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line - a 1.5 mile, elevated railway that runs along the West Side of Manhattan.
• He has also worked with National Geo on a series called Strange Days on Planet Earth on Climate change… Ecosystem degradation… Clean energy… Poverty… Disease…  Strange Days on Planet Earth connects some of the greatest issues of our day.

John Ledgend

• The legendary R&B singer has performed in the Live Earth Concerts in London, is spokesman for GQ’s The Gentleman’s Fund to support the five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice.
• He is also involved in the Show Me Campaign helping impoverished villagers in Africa become self-sustaining.

Adam Levine

• The hot rocker from Maroon5 has been on “Gen E” Generation Environment spots promoting environmental awareness through public service announcements.
• Is actively involved in the “greening” of concert venues. ReverbRock…
• They are also involved with Global Cool who’s mission is to inspire one billion people to  reduce their co2 emissions by one tonne.

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If your in Atlanta the weekend of November 14/15 go check out the Broadcast Atlanta ENVIRO EXPO USA. It will be held at AmericasMart Convention Center. This environmental event is free.
Enjoy…

BroadcastAtlanta ENVIRO EXPO USA
Nov. 14-15, 2008
AmericasMart
240 Peachtree Street N.W. Building 3
Atlanta, GA 30303

Attend the region’s most diverse display of eco-friendly products and services, and hear experts share how to live a green lifestyle. Experience eco-friendly food, apparel, cosmetics, household, furniture and lawn and garden products. Indulge in organic food and home products, including olive oil, baby food, chocolate, honey, fresh herbs, seasonal vegetables, granola, and organic soap at the region’s most diverse display ofeco-friendly food, apparel, cosmetics, furniture, and lawn and garden products. Learn about green businesses in the water, energy, transportation, remodeling, recreation, and green-financing industries.

Attend University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service gardening demonstrations.

The Broadcast Atlanta ENVIRO EXPO USA will also feature:

• Green Hall Meeting- Learn how to Green It Up with community sustainability leaders, a town hall-style discussion with sustainability experts from the Environmental Protection Agency, local government agencies and area environmental organizations on Saturday, November 15^th from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
• More than 20 expert speakers discussing topics ranging from eco-conscious landscaping to everyday water conservation.
• Activities for kids including, an appearance by the Radio Disney Street Team from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Also, children can participate in a bicycle-recycle relay, a Nike shoe throw and learn how Nike turns recycled shoes into basketball and tennis courts.

The Green Hall Meeting- Learn how to Green It Up with community sustainability leaders, is being held in conjunction with the Broadcast Atlanta ENVIRO EXPO USA on Saturday, November 15, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. in the atrium of the AmericasMart facility. This town hall-style discussion gives attendees an opportunity to ask questions of and learn from sustainability experts from the Environmental Protection Agency, local government agencies and area environmental organizations. The Green Hall Meeting will focus on identifying the issues that Atlantans face on local, state, and national levels in terms of creating a more sustainable environment and identifying the key resources that can solve those issues. Lynette Young of Sustainable Atlanta will moderate the discussion, which will include:

· Joe Bassista, City of Atlanta,

· Randy Hartmann, Georgia Department of Community Affairs

· Shana Udvarsky, Atlanta Water Department.

Join in the family fun and activities. Children can participate in a
bicycle-recycle relay and a Nike shoe throw, and they can see how Nike
turns recycled shoes into basketball and tennis courts. They also can
watch UGA Coop Extension Service gardening demonstrations to learn how to  make compost.
Free and open to the public. Visit www.enviroexpousa.org or call 770-517-0447

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This independent film narrated by Robert Redford, is about how the coal companies tried to fast track their way into Texas. Watching this movie gives you an idea how when big business has the prey in their eyesight, they will put out all the stops, steal and lie to get what they want. If environmentalists are not watching out for the people and the planet, big business will have their way and they don’t have our interests at heart. This film is an inspiration to all that are fighting against big business greed. The film is about a half hour long and well worth the time.

How far should we be willing to go? As far as it takes! Become involved, we do have a say.

“From the outset FIGHTING GOLIATH: TEXAS COAL WARS was intended to serve as a tool for raising awareness, inspiring action, and creating a meaningful dialogue about how to overcome one of the greatest threats to public health contributors to global warming faced by the U.S.—conventional coal-fired power plants. FIGHTING GOLIATH follows the story of farmers, ranchers and Mayors fighting against the construction of 18 new coal-burning power plants in Texas. TXU Corp. withdrew eight of the 11 permit applications shortly before the case went to court, when it was announced that shareholders would sell the utility to private equity firms. The film was produced by the Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve and Alpheus Media, and directed by Mat Hames and George Sledge.”
(Snag Films.com)

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If your in Atlanta the week of Oct 7th stop by the GreenBusiness Works Expo. It is being held Oct 7th and 8th. at the Cobb Galeria Center in Atlanta Georgia. It is a comprehensive environmental EXPO designed to educate corporations and municipalities about sustainability programs, services and products available to support their environmental stewardship efforts.

If you are in any of these professions or positions then you should attend or send someone from your company to represent.

• Corporate Sustainability Officers and Environmental Managers
• US Mayors and other Elected Officials
• Facility Managers, Supervisors and Building Service Contractors
• Hospitality Industry Leaders including Hotel, Restaurant and Entertainment District Managers
• Development Community
  • Developers, Builders, and Contractors Architects and Engineers
  • Commercial and Residential Interior Designers

• Facility Managers, Supervisors and Building Service Contractors
• Hospitality Industry Leaders including Hotel, Restaurant and Entertainment District Managers
• Meeting and Event Planners
• Bankers and Environmental Financiers and Real Estate Brokers
• Warehouse, Plant and Project Managers
• Fleet Directors and Managers
• Marketing and Communication Officers
• Human Resource Managers

Available at the expo will be Speakers, Roundtable Experts, and the trade show exhibition.

Keynote speakers will be:

Scott Seydel
President, The Seydel Companies
Board of Directors Chairperson, Global Green USA

and

Andy Savitz
Sr. Consultant, Sustainable Business Strategies

Attend and get your business involved to learn from leading experts who have already practiced sustainability successfully through exclusive educational programs, networking opportunities, best practices, leading case studies, and products and services that support corporate and community environmental stewardship efforts and positively impact ROI.

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Calling all restauranteurs!!!

Yep, you heard right. There is a company in Colorado called FoodServiceWarehouse.com started by an avid group of environmentalists whose mission is to help the restaurant industry to become more environmentally responsible. They have created an industry leading certification program aimed at helping commercial kitchens cope with the costs and complexities of going green. The program features educational resources, rewards and the industry’s only free certification process, modeled after, and fulfilling credits for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

In order to show their dedication in helping commercial kitchens slash energy costs, conserve water and reduce their environmental impact, they are giving away a green commercial kitchen worth up to $40,000 to one qualifying kitchen.
Here is where you can go to sign up for the Green Commercial Kitchen Giveaway…

Good Luck…

commercial kitchen giveaway leed certification

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Part of the Pickens Energy plan is to use wind to power 20% of the electricity for the country. See what happens to a town that is already on that track: Sweetwater, Texas was becoming a sleepy town starting to lose it’s residents do to a shortage of jobs, but it received a shot in the arm when a large wind power facility was built just outside of town. This has brought in new construction jobs, maintenance and manufacturing jobs and more spending power into the local economy. It’s not only good for the environment but also for the economy. Check it out…

Find more videos like this on PickensPlan

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INFORM is an environmentally conscious group “dedicated to educating the public about the effects of human activity on the environment and public health. Our goal is to empower citizens, businesses and government to adopt practices and policies that willsustain our planet for future generations.”

INFORM has put together a series of videos called the “Secret Life Series” that remind us about the life cycle of products that we use everyday and how the choices we make can affect the outcome of the impact these products have on our environment and our health.

Take a look:

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To continue the family business, is his duty, to help save the oceans and the rivers of the world is his passion. Philippe Cousteau Jr., the grandson of the infamous Jacques and son of the equally famous father Philippe, side by side with sister Alexandra, continue the work of the family by filming nature documentaries and educating people on becoming better stewards of this earth.

Wearing many hats at once it seems, the array of his work spans from filming documentaries on the beauty of the underworld, to the fierceness of it’s inhabitant. Ironically while filming a documentary called “Ocean’s Deadliest” for the Animal Planet, where he is Chief Ocean Correspondent, Cousteau witnessed the death of the Crocodile Hunter,  Steve Irwin. He also films public announcements about environmental issues,  but no matter what he is doing his core mission never wanes, to save the earth’s waters from humanity’s impact. Along with his family he has formed a non-profit organization called EarthEcho International, an environmental action group whose motto is “Everything you do makes a difference”.

Here’s a video about the EarthEcho International teaming up with Vans Warped Tour that travels around the country raising awareness about environmental issues.

Check it out…

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• A fun way to spend an afternoon with kids or friends is to put together a mosaic. Never throw away chipped plates or glasses, save them up and when you have enough make a mosaic out of them, make it a party.
• Need a use for old cinder blocks? Make a garden bench out of them, stack them up 2 high and wide enough for 2 people to sit in, line them up against a wall and top with a foam cushion and pillows lined with scrap pieces of fabric.

• Take an old door that is not being used, spiff it up with some sanding and fresh paint and hang it horizontally behind a bed as a headboard.
• Have some old PVC pipe hanging around, get some elbows and T’s (they’re cheap at the hardware store), play with the design and come up with some functional items for the garden. Make a coffee table, a gardening stool, if you have a lot and are adventurous maybe a chair.
• Take old cast iron garden furniture that you don’t like out there anymore, and bring it in the house. Cut it into pieces that can lay flat and hang it as wall art, or hang it from the ceiling.
• Old book cases or any scrap wood can always be turned into something else. One idea is to cut the wood into strips and turn it into frames, place some inexpensive molding on it and save yourself a whole lot of money.
• Old switch plates can be painted and reused as frames also. Cut a piece of sturdy cardboard with the same dimensions as the switch plate. Attach your picture centered on the piece of cardboard and then hot glue the cardboard to the switch plate.
• Empty wine or beer or any kind of bottle can be used as a flower vase. Just gather some favorite magazine pictures or you favorite wall paper and decoupage it onto the bottle making it now a decorative piece that can be enjoyed.

You get the message, use your imagination before throwing anything out. See what other uses you can find for those objects. Keep looking back for more ideas and please add you ideas in the comments.

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T. Boone Pickens sounds like he could be a country singer, he’s even got a little bit of a twang, but he’s singing the “we are addicted to foreign oil blues…”

If you’ve never heard of T. Boone Pickens, he is a billionaire who made his money in oil, mergers and acquisitions of oil companies and is often referred to as a corporate raider and greenmailer. He is also known as an activist in the political arena as well as an animal rights champion and a philanthropist in the humanitarian and education causes.

According to his bio on Wikipedia, Pickens has been talking about alternative energy sources to oil since 1997, when he “began touting natural gas as the best vehicular fuel alternative because it’s a domestic resource”, pushing for Nuclear Energy and other Alternative Energies such as wind power. Now this is also around the time that he formed a corporation now called Clean Energy that owns and operates natural gas fueling stations from British Columbia to the Mexican border.

That being said, his personal reasons for coming up with this plan may seem partially self-serving, and only he knows the answer to that. It’s not a bad plan, maybe not a perfect plan but it is a plan, we went through  a similar thing back in the 70’s, let 30 years lapse without a plan and here we are again. I believe a plan is better than no plan, anything to get the oil monkey off our back, out of pockets and out of our air.

Check it out for yourself go to his website and see what you think, get involved if you want…Pickens Plan

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Finally we are getting some rain. Oh, I know some parts of the country are getting way more than they need but for those of us in parts of the country where rain is scarce, we welcome every drop.

It’s time to think about how to capture this precious water any way we can, so that we can reuse it and disperse it in our gardens when the rain is not so forthcoming. The best way to do this I found is to use a Rain Barrel. I found this really attractive one over at the Garden Supermart, it has a Crown Planter that allows you to put a plant on top for a more attractive look than an average planter, it comes in two versions a 50 gal one and a 65 gallon one, with a spigot at the bottom, a connector with shut-off valve and a 6′ garden hose. Many more tips on Living Green can be found at the Garden Supermart.

Another way to save water during the rainy season is to have a rain sensor on your sprinkler system. So many times do I see sprinklers going on in the middle of a rain shower, what a waste. If you are not home to monitor when your sprinklers go off, a rain sensor will do that for you, so you don’t have to watch water and money go down the drain.

Collected rain water can not only be used for watering plants but also for washing driveways, cars, walkways, dogs, gardening tools. Use your imagination and I am sure you can come up with many other uses recycling rain water.

gardensupermart.com rain barrel recycling rain water water conservation

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If you are planning a trip to Europe or any other place in the world and would like to make it a green vacation, why not consider biking through your destination. Many countries are bicycle friendly but especially Europe and there are hundreds of tours that can be taken, from seaside rides to mountain top climbs. You can arrange tours that provide you with the rented bicycles. There are self-guided tours or completely guided tours depending on your budget and preference. Just Google “European Bike tours” for example and you’ll find many tour companies that will provide many choices.

Contact a travel agent that can hook you up with some cheap hotels, and one of the hundreds of bike tours available throughout Europe. Just imagine yourself on a bike through Venice, or the beauty of the Tuscan hills and vineyards. Landscapes that can only truly be appreciated on two feet or two wheels. And at the end of a fruitful ride ending up in one of the beautiful Roma hotels.

There is no better way to enjoy the sights than doing it up close and personal. There is so much that we miss while touring in a car. But I realize that we cannot possibly get everywhere we want to go on foot or on a bike. So a drive and bike plan can work when we are considering long distances. Nowadays they even make bikes that you can fold up and stick in the trunk for just that kind of situation.

Being green on vacation can be a fun adventure, it can be a healthy way of seeing the world, and it’s environmentally friendly. What better way to go.

bike tours green vacations

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My previous post covered public transportation and how the gas prices of the day are pushing people to look for alternatives to driving. In this post we will cover even greener ways of transporting oneself.

Let’s look at walking. What happened to the days when people walked everywhere. We have gotten so lazy that the thought of walking to the corner store makes us break out in a sweat. We would rather spend a couple bucks, in gas, so that we don’t have to move so much. But the consequences stemming from our inactivity is catching up with us. Obesity is rampant in our society, look at these Obesity Statistics:

USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions

• 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese
• Eight out of 10 over 25’s Overweight
• 78% of American’s not meeting basic activity level recommendations
• 25% completely Sedentary
• 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990

Now that looks scary to me. If we could only understand that regular physical activity is essential to good health and that simply walking can get us there, will benefit our pocketbooks, and is better for the environment too, we’d all be better off.

Another option is something a reader over at Swiss Bikes brought up to me which is the Drive and Cycle commuting option. In situations where it is too far to bike all the way but there is a possibility to drive part of the way and then bike the other part, why not take advantage of that. It kills three birds with one stone. You can take care of your daily dose of exercise, save money on gas and help save the environment.

Again this is something that is commonly done in Europe, where gas prices are double that of the US. In England for example, parking is very popular and sought after. People park their cars somewhere, pull out their fold up Swiss Bike from their trunk and ride the rest of the way on their bikes.

Those are my thoughts on greener and healthier forms of transportation.

fold up bikes gas prices parking transportation

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Next time you think about remodeling any part of your home or maybe even building your new home, Think Green first. Whether you will be putting down a new foundation or changing the Blinds in your home there is always a Green alternative. Here’s a checklist that can help jog your imagination.

• In the Bathrooms, use high performing shower heads which use 1-1.5 gallons per minute/ 60% less than traditional shower heads.
• Thinking of repainting the house? Think No-VOC Paints. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds which are toxic.
• Keep your attic cool by installing a radiant barrier to keep the heat out.
• If you are building new or gutting rooms, remember proper Insulation is key to energy savings.
• Taking into consideration your window coverings is often overlooked, but good Blinds or room darkening curtains can help keep the heat out and keep you cooling bills down.
• Remodeling the kitchen? How about a recycling center in the kitchen making it easy and a good habit for everyone to learn. These can usually be installed right in the cabinets. And if you want to get fancy there are even Kitchen Composters out there.
• Changing your flooring? Consider engineered wood, especially ones that use recycled materials.
• Redoing the landscape? Think water conservation in your new garden. Use indigenous plants whenever possible, and consider a drip system to compliment your sprinkler system for those areas that don’t need quite that much water. Check out Xeriscaping and also remember to capture and reuse rainwater.
• Consider a Tankless Water Heater. They heat water on demand rather keeping the whole tank of water hot constantly. A lot of savings there.
• Use Solar Energy where you can, even for heating the pool.

Please leave any other suggestions in the comments…Thanks…

http://www.smithandnoble.com/sn/home.jsp

energy efficient green building

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Every little bit that we can do to conserve helps the environment and saves money too. Here are some tips for Greening your machines.

• Power Management: he power consumption from leaving our computers on all the time, is staggering. If your in the habit of turning off the computer when you go home from the office that’s great, but we forget about the energy that is still being used when the computer is not being used, while you go to lunch, or are doing something else. “the biggest savings come from enabling Monitor Power Management (MPM) and Computer Power Management (CPM) to put monitors and PCs into low power states when not in use. This saves between $20 and $100 per PC per year, and requires little staff time and capital expenditure.” Read More
  • Tips for reducing power consumption in computers and peripherals: from EDTECH.com
  • Check your computer manual to find out how to turn on your energy-conservation settings.
  • Screen savers do not reduce energy use for monitors. Instead of screen savers, automatically switch to sleep mode or manually turn off monitors to save power.
  • Energy Star computers and monitors only save energy when power management is activated on the computer.
  • To maximize power savings with notebook PCs, put the AC adapter on a power strip that can be turned off because the transformer in an AC adapter draws power even when the notebook PC is not plugged in.
  • Don’t forget peripherals and components — printers, copiers, scanners, processors, motherboards and power supplies all have potential energy-saving features
• Bamboo, Crank and Solar Powered cell Phones: With all the millions of cell phones out there only about 10% get recycled.
  • How about a phone made out of sustainable Bamboo with a cranking charger
    • The case of the phone is totally degradable, after removing the battery, antenna and the print board it can be thrown in the compost bin. The “Bamboo” is made out of bio-plastics of renewable raw materials such as corn, and bamboo which is also a renewable resource.
    • The battery can be recharged with muscle power. It comes equipped with a cranking charger and a monochrome display for maximum efficiency. Read More
    • Check out this great Solar Powered Charger
• Energy Star Appliances: When you need to replace appliances, of course go with the Energy Star Label, it will save you about a third on your energy bill. That’s a significant savings.
• How good is your HDTV at saving Energy: Before you buy your new HDTV, consult the following chart to see how energy efficient the new TV will be. HDTV power consumption compared
• Get Paid to Recycle Electronics: There are companies out there that will pay you for mailing in old electronic devices and others have buy back program. Here is a list of a few.
  • BuyMyTronics
  • SecondRotation
  • CellforCash
  • SimplySellular
  • SellYourCell
• Mail-In Program Free of Charge: The Post Office has come out with a pilot program that allows customers to recycle small electronics and inkjet cartridges by mailing them free of charge. Check it out: USPS
• Find a Responsible Recycler: Recycle your old electronics with an Environmentally Responsible Recycler:
  • Electronics Take Back Coalition

That’s all for now…

electronics environment ewaste green machines high tech trash recycle

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