Setting a goal of living green is not only a nice thing to do, it is an urgent priority if we want to leave a livable world to our children and our grandchildren. One of the many problems we need to tackle is reducing the amount of trash we all generate every year that gets stuffed into our ever-growing landfills.
Here are ten ways you can easily reduce your contribution to this nasty problem. If everyone followed at least half of these suggestions, our world’s trash problem would be well on its way to being handled.
1) Stop using paper towels and switch to rags for basic cleanups. Rags are reusable just by washing them. When you do use paper towels, buy recycled!
2) Get a reusable grocery bag or two, they are sturdy and stop the plastic and paper bag clutter that can get out of hand in our homes too. And now, there are so many styles to chose from.
3) Donate old clothes to charity or sell them on eBay instead of throwing them away, and buy used clothes from consignment…
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Airplanes may be convenient and easy, but they are major contributors to global warming as jet fuel is very dirty! Business culture traditionally has put a high value on “face time” ,meaning actually being in the same room with a client in order to make a deal. But times, they are a changin’. Recent economic woes have forced travel cutbacks, which is a good thing for Mother Earth. And technology has come to the rescue.
In the past, the alternative to business travel has been videoconfererencing. Old style video conference systems were hard to use - the voice sounded like an old CB radio (Breaker, breaker good buddy…), and the people on the other side seemed to have disproportionately small heads. Enter telepresence - which is the next step up from videoconferencing. Telepresence uses technology to make it appear like you ARE in the same room with your client, even though you may be on the opposite side of the globe. Companies like Cisco, Tandberg (just acquired by…
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Being green is cool these days, meaning lots of people have made the obvious lifestyle changes like recycling and using less nasty chemicals around the house. But there are some not-so-obvious changes that are easy to neglect - as they don’t immediately brand you as a ”hip” green person. If every0ne who has taken the first steps would continue to “green” their lives, the impact would be major.
What are some of these steps? First of all, although there are some green dry cleaners out there (Ecolav in Brickell being my absolute favorite)- lugging the dry cleaning to and fro adds to your carbon footprint. Advances in fabric technology means there are many wonderful new suits out there that are actually machine washable. And “green” laundry detergents are all the ‘rage” these days.
Secondly, green plants clear the air by absorbing carbon dioxide. Add a few plants to your home or office, they will brighten your day as well as help to purify the air around you.
Ladies, did…
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The weather is gorgeous, flowers are in bloom, and brides everywhere are hustling to complete last minute preparati0ns for that traditional June wedding. The popular Billy Idol tune from the 80’s “White Wedding” runs through our minds as we open invitati0ns to the many weddings happening this season.
What if the lyrics were changed to “Green Wedding” instead? A green wedding not only helps save the earth, it makes a statement to all wedding guests who might not be as clued-in to earth events as the wedding party. The more converts we get to the green movement, the greater the benefit to Mother Earth.
Some ideas for greening y0ur wedding include using Evite.com instead of mailing paper invitations. If you have relatives who are not computer literate, send them ones printed on recycled paper. How about a vintage/used wedding dress? With the beautiful weather upon us, you can hold the wedding and/or reception in a park or ecologically recognized sanctuary while serving…
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New Appliances Are Greener, and Sell Houses Faster!
Earth Day is right around the corner and what better way to celebrate by going out and buying a Energy Star appliance! Why not? The State of Florida is giving you back 20%; after all, the state giving back money isn’t something that happens everyday!
We all know those old appliances are energy vampires and hideous to look at, so consider replacing them. The 20% rebate program is open to all residents in the State of Florida who purchase the appliance for their primary residence. What a great way to add value to your property and make it more salable in today’s continuing tough market! To top it off, you will save you money on your monthly electricity bill and help save the earth in the process.
The launch date for this rebate program is planned to loosely coincide with this celebration of our planet. Starting on April 16th, through a launch on the State’s web site, it will continue through April 25th — three days…
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Going green is not just a trend or fad, it is an earth-saving complete lifestyle that extends to every facet of our lives. Our decor is a reflection of ourselves, so if we have a strong committment to being green our home decor should also be green.
Greening our homes means using sustainable materials such as bamboo for furniture, flooring, and decorations - bamboo grows faster than most other wood and is more readily replaceable. Paint should be VOC (volatile organic compound) free, and upholstery and bedding should be made from organic fabric and sans harsh chemicals.
Buckwheat hull filled pillows are natural and non toxic, and they feel better than foam created from petroleum byproducts.
Local flea markets, garage sales, and yes - even dumpsters can be good places to find furniture that just needs a bit more loving and keep it out of the landfills. Another great resource is Freecycle, which is a grass roots Internet-based movement that encourages people to post free…
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Old fashioned spinning meters are soon to be a relic of the past, with their inefficiencies and energy wastage. Enter the smart grid! Once a smart grid systemis in place throughout the US, smart meters will “read themselves”, and energy usage will be optimized in real-time based on the electronic information relayed back to the home office about overall power use.
What does this mean to the average homeowner? First of all, it means that a new system called Demand Response will be put into play. Consumers will get information that was never before available that will help them reduce energy usage in times of peak demand.
“Demand response, the heart of the smart grid, could account for a fifth of U.S. electricity.”
FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, cited by Reuters, “Smart Grid Good for Big Solar, Wind: US Regulator,” October 2009 view source website »
It will also allow more renewable energy sources to come into play.
“Cutting demand by a few minutes or seconds also…
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It’s Springtime! As our thoughts turn toward that dreadful time of year– spring cleaning, consider how you plan of ridding yourself of all that accumulated junk. Instead of simply filling up our garbage bins or dumpsters, we can put some green in our spring cleaning by giving our old stuff a new life.
By now, all of you have heard of Craigslist. If you haven’t tried it out, it is worth a shot. Up your odds of selling with a picture attached to the ad. I sold my whole house in just a few days. But move over Craigslist as there is a new guy in town; Freecycle. It is a grassroots movement that now boasts 7,090,000 members worldwide! Freecycle consists of local groups headed up by a local (volunteer) moderator - your neighbors post either things they have and don’t want or things they need. Through emails or Yahoo groups, you stay informed of either needs or wants, and can either give items a new life or get rid of things you no longer need.
Freecycle is…
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Back in the 1950’s, Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov enthralled readers with stories about Multivac, a huge all-knowing computer that took up many rooms to house its “innards”. Today, this vision is reality but through the Internet - not just one machine, but many.
Could Bloom Energy have created a new power solution similar to the Internet in its ability to transform our lives?
After roughly $400M and 8 years, Bloom Energy has released its Bloom Box, which is a fuel cell based energy “server”, directly analogous to the large data servers used by data centers today. Priced at roughly $800k, this version of the Bloom Box is clearly targeted to corporate customers. Google is one of the early adopters, and reports hefty savings in both power usage and CO2 emissions. Other early adopters include Bank of America, Coca-Cola, eBay, FedEx, and Walmart.
The Bloom Box is based on oxide fuel cells, a technology that is not dependent on sunlight or wind like solar or windmill…
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