Go Green

<p> <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/energy-conservation-refrigerator-temperature"><img class="imgBorder" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/2O/fridge-temp-tip-md.jpg" /></a><br /> <a class="greenHeadline" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/energy-conservation-refrigerator-temperature">Check the Temperature in Your Fridge and Freezer</a><br /> </p> <p> It&#39;s easy for those dials to get knocked out of whack by oversized tubs of leftovers or marauding children or houseguests, so make sure you have the temperature set optimally in your appliances. </p> <p> You should consult with your manufacturer, but in general the EPA recommends keeping refrigerators at 37 degrees F and freezers at 3 degrees. Anything colder is probably overkill, and a waste of energy. </p> <p> That&#39;s important, because refrigerators and freezers use about a sixth of home electricity. </p> <p> Not sure if the internal temps are actually correct? Place a weather thermometer inside to check the temperature and adjust the dials until you get the desired results.<br /> <img src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/design/headers/header_quickRead.gif" /><br /> </p> <ul> <li>Optimal temps: 37 degrees for fridges, 3 degrees for freezers. </li> <li>Fridges and freezers = 1/6 of home electricity. </li> <li>Check accuracy with a weather thermometer. </li> </ul>

<p> <a class="greenHeadline" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/694">Take a Green Vacation</a><br /> <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/694"><img class="imgBorder" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/green-hotel-stay-TP-med.jpg" /></a><br /> </p> <p> Make one aspect of your vacation greener: Opt not to have your hotel linens and towels laundered daily wherever you stay. This will save both water and energy. Think about visiting a low-impact resort like the campgrounds at Maho Bay on St. John&#39;s, U.S. Virgin Islands. Or take a kayak eco-tour. Consider, too, that air travel is a huge contributor to greenhouse-gas buildup. </p> <p> When making flight plans, think about buying credits to <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/2262">offset your carbon emissions</a>. So along with your frequent flier miles, track your footprint miles. Or best yet, take a train; passenger train travel is one of the most eco-friendly ways to see the world.<br /> </p> <ul> <li>Opt out of daily linen service. </li> <li>Seek lower impact resorts. </li> <li>Take trains when possible. </li> </ul>

<p> <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/how-to-green-your-pet.php">How to Green Your Pet</a><br /> by <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/authors/index.php?author=jasmin">Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA</a><br /> </p> <p> What&#39;s the Big Deal? </p> <p> Ah, the pitter patter of four-legged feet as they whip through your living room at overclocked speeds or uproot your prize gladiolas with manic fervor. But Snookiepuss and Mrs. Fluffypants are practically family, right? So why should they settle for anything less than top drawer when their health and wellbeing are at stake? Throw the planet a bone while you&#39;re at it; we&#39;ve got the goods on how to reduce your pets&#39; carbon paw prints-without making your wallet roll over and play dead.<br /> </p> <p> 1. <strong>Adopt from a shelter</strong> </p> <p> Pet breeders have only one goal in mind-to raise large quantities of purebred animals for profit. They&#39;ve also been pilloried for misdeeds such as overbreeding, inbreeding, poor veterinary oversight, lousy food and living conditions, overcrowding, and culling of unwanted animals. Why buy when you can adopt one of the 70,000 puppies and kittens born every day in the United States? Love knows no pedigree. Check out <a href="http://www.petfinder.com/">Petfinder.com</a> to find your perfect match. </p> <p> 2. <strong>Spay or neuter your pet</strong> </p> <p> Did we mention 70,000 puppies and kittens are born every day in the United States? That&#39;s 15 puppies and 45 kittens for every hairless biped that slides out of a birth canal. And &quot;multiplying like bunnies&quot; isn&#39;t just any old trope. We don&#39;t need any more homeless animals than we already have. As a bonus, spaying and neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives by eliminating the possibility of uterine, ovarian, and testicular cancer, and decreasing the incidence of prostate disease. </p> <p> 3. <strong>Rein in your pets; protect native wildlife</strong> </p> <p> Always keep your dog on a leash when outside, and confine your mangy feline indoors. Topped only perhaps by habitat destruction, cats are the biggest, baddest bird killers of all time. Even <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/01/a_risk_manageme.php">wind turbines</a> have got nothing on them. While you may poo-poo high cat-related bird-mortality rates as collateral damage in the great Circle of Life, domestic cats do have an unfair advantage. Unlike wild predators, house cats are always well fed, well rested, and in tip-top fighting shape. They&#39;re also present in more concentrated (and rapidly increasing) numbers than say, the San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike. </p> <p> That aside, two out of every three vets, according to the Humane Society of America, recommend keeping cats indoors, because of the dangers of cars, predators, disease, and other hazards. The estimated average life span of a free-roaming cat is less than three years; an indoors-only cat gets to live an average of 15 to 18 years. If kitty needs to heed the call of the wild, an outdoor cat enclosure is a good compromise. </p> <p> 4. <strong>Swap out the junk food</strong> </p> <p> Most conventional pet-food brands you find at the supermarket consist of reconstituted animal by-products, otherwise known as low-grade wastes from the beef and poultry industries-you know, inedibles you wouldn&#39;t touch with a ten-foot fork. In fact, the animals used to make many pet foods are classified as &quot;4-D,&quot; which is really a polite way of saying &quot;Dead, Dying, Diseased, or Down (Disabled)&quot; when they line up at the slaughterhouse. Unless that can of Chicken &#39;N Liver Delite explicitly states that it contains FDA-certified, food-grade meat, you should know that its contents are considered unfit for human consumption-but apparently good enough for your cat or pooch. </p> <p> Now, since nutrition is one of the key determinants of health and resistance to disease, ideally you&#39;ll want your pet&#39;s chow to be comparable in quality with what we would eat. </p> <p> Natural and organic pet foods use meats that are raised in sustainable, humane ways without added drugs or hormones, minimally processed, and preserved with natural substances, such as vitamins C and E. Certified-organic pet foods must meet strict USDA standards that spell out how ingredients are produced and processed, which means no pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, artificial preservatives, artificial ingredients or genetically engineered ingredients.<br /> </p> <p> 5. <strong>Clean up their poop</strong> </p> <p> Scoop up your doggie doo in biodegradable poop bags so your buddy&#39;s No. 2 isn&#39;t immortalized in a plastic bag, while deep-sixed in a landfill somewhere for hundreds of years. Cat owners should avoid clumping clay litter at all costs. Not only is clay strip-mined (bad for the planet), but the clay sediment is also permeated with carcinogenic silica dust that can coat little kitty lungs (bad for the cat). Plus, the sodium bentonite that acts as the clumping agent can poison your cat through chronic ingestion through their fastidious need to groom. Because sodium bentonite acts like expanding cement-it&#39;s also used as a grouting, sealing, and plugging material-it can swell up to15 to18 times their dry size and clog up your cat&#39;s insides. Eco-friendly cat litters avoid these problems; a happy cat is a cat that doesn&#39;t claw your face off. </p> <p> 6. <strong>Give them sustainable goods</strong> </p> <p> Your furry friends can get in on some saving-the-planet goodness, too-and have plenty of fun-with toys made from recycled materials or sustainable fibers (sans herbicides or pesticides) such as hemp. A hemp collar (with matching leash) is a rocking accessory for a tree-hugging mutt. These days, you can even get pet beds made with organic cotton or even recycled PET bottles. </p> <p> 7. <strong>Use natural pet-care and cleaning products</strong> </p> <p> You don&#39;t use toxic-chemical-laced <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/how_to_green_womens_personal_care.php">shampoos and beauty products</a>, so lather up your cats and dogs (or ferrets, rabbits, or hamsters-we don&#39;t judge) with natural pet-care products, as well. And if your cat horks up a hairball, or Fifi doesn&#39;t make it all the way to the bathroom, clean up the mess with <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/how_to_green_your_cleaning.php">cleaning products that are as gentle on the planet</a> as they are on your critters&#39; delicate senses. </p> <p> 8. <strong>Pets, not fads</strong> </p> <p> Sure, everyone&#39;s ovaries ping when they see a five-year-old moppet cradle a tiny chick or a bunny during Easter, but nature dictates that baby bunnies grow up into rabbits, and little chicks into full-size chickens. Unless everyone involved understands that a pet is a long-term commitment that involves demands on both their time and money, you&#39;re better off giving the kid a stuffed animal. Impulse buying (say, rushing out an grabbing the next available Dalmatian puppy after watching <em>101 Dalmatians</em>) isn&#39;t a good idea, either, as the large numbers of fad dogs that pass through shelters (often to their death) can attest. Repeat after us-especially you, Paris Hilton: Pets are not fads or fashion accessories. </p> <p> 9. <strong>Melt the ice, nicely</strong> </p> <p> Use a child- and pet-safe deicer such as <a href="http://www.safepaw.com/">Safe Paw&#39;s environmentally friendly Ice Melter</a>. Rock salt and salt-based ice-melting products, which kids and animals might accidentally ingest, can cause health problems, while contaminating wells and drinking supplies. </p> <p> 10. <strong>Tag your pet</strong> </p> <p> It might be a stretch to call inserting an electronic ID chip into your pet an eco-friendly move, but losing your buddy causes extreme emotional distress that turns you into nobody&#39;s friend. Then there&#39;s the paper waste from printing out Missing posters, the fuel cost of driving around your neighborhood trying to find them, the phone bill as you bawl your eyes out to everyone you know … well, you get the idea. Ask your vet for more info. For hanging tags, check out these recyclable (and recycled) <a href="http://shop.robbinspetcare.com/dogs/diamondplatetags.html">aluminum ID tags</a> and these <a href="http://www.mommytags.com/index.php?main_page=index&amp;cPath=8">WaggTaggs</a> made from recycled silver. </p>

<p> Three Hybrid Myths Debunked<br /> <img class="stroke" alt="Hybrid Car" src="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/mean-green-machines/images/episodes/104/hybrid-car.jpg" /><br /> </p> <div> <p> <em>By Eric J. Leech</em> </p> <p> The show <em>Mean Green Machines</em> (The Planet Green Channel) talks a lot about vehicle safety, especially the safety of hybrid/electric vehicles. While some concerns of hybrids are quite justified, others are considered a bit more myth than truth. We break down three such myths and debunk some of the fear that is normally associated with them. </p> <ul> <li> <strong>Hybrid vehicles will be too complex and expensive to fix.</strong><br /> <br /> It is true that at the moment hybrids are not completely familiar to most mechanics, and therefore are more expensive to fix because it is considered a &quot;specialized&quot; repair. In truth, a hybrid is similar to the design of a cordless electric drill. Don&#39;t get us wrong, it has its share of complexity, but it is <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/10/hybrids_more_me.php">not necessarily any more complex than a standard combustion engine</a>. With this in mind, hybrids will not be considered a specialized repair for long. It is all a matter of <a href="http://auto.howstuffworks.com/future-car-repair2.htm">supply and demand</a>. As more hybrids appear, more mechanics will see the value in becoming certified to work on them. This will in turn create more competition and the price of repairs will steadily decrease. </li> <li> <strong>If the hybrid vehicle is in an accident, it may be difficult to determine if the vehicle is <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2005/06/23/state-farm-warns-of-danger-with-hybrids/">safe to approach</a>. Using the &quot;jaws of life&quot; in the wrong place could be deadly.</strong><br /> <br /> While this is a true concern for the hybrid, we can&#39;t forget the fact that with almost any powered comes a certain degree of danger. A gas vehicle poses a fire danger if gas or spark is evident. The key here will be for emergency folks to know where these danger areas of the hybrid are. They certainly wouldn&#39;t cut a gas line on a cripples combustion vehicle and nor would they cut a main electric line. It is all a matter of proper training and education. In addition to this, hybrids also have a fairly <a href="http://www.alt-energy.info/archives/99">fail-safe system</a> that shorts the moment any important wire is breached. The chance of electric shock is not as prevalent as some might have you believe. </li> <li> <strong>Hybrids emit <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/are-hybrids-an-emf-health-risk.php">a dangerous level of EMF (Electro Magnetic Forces)</a>.</strong><br /> <br /> We should by no means conclude that hybrids are not a potential source of dangerous levels of EMF, but nor should we go running scared just yet. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/automobiles/27EMF.html?_r=2&amp;pagewanted=2&amp;sq=hybrid&amp;st=nyt&amp;scp=2&amp;oref=slogin">Recent studies</a> from Honda show that the electric hybrid produces no more EMF levels than any other combustion vehicle. Almost every vehicle has its share of electric components (stereo, seats, GPS, control module, etc.) that cause a certain amount of EMF, there is just unfortunately no getting around that. </li> </ul> <p> With every doomsayer warning of hybrids, there is an optimist assuring us that everything is completely safe. There is no clear answer, which is why the ultimate decision of your safety should be yours and yours alone. This is why sites such as this are a great place to offer your insight, findings, and concerns. Together we can help each other make informed decisions about our lives using the multitude of information that is available to us. </p> <p> Help us keep our community strong! </p> </div>

<p> <a class="greenHeadline" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/home-depot-recycle-cfls-47062403">Finally! An Easy Drop-Off Spot for Old CFLs</a><br /> <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/home-depot-recycle-cfls-47062403"><img class="imgBorder" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Rx/incandescent-light-bulbs-md.jpg" /></a><br /> </p> <p> Home Depot will create the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/business/24recycling.html">largest network</a> of compact fluorescent light bulb recycling centers at its 1,973 U.S. stores, the <em>New York Times</em> reports today. </p> <p> Although <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/latest/757">CFLs</a> have many environmental benefits, they do contain a small amount of mercury, and so need to be disposed of properly. </p> <p> CFLs contain up to 5 milligrams of mercury, which is quite a small amount; compare that to older home thermostats and mercury fever thermometers, which contain from 500 to 3,000 milligrams. But given that nearly 300 million CFLs were sold in the U.S. in 2007, according to the <em>Wall Street Journal,</em> it can still be a concern. </p> <p> Besides Home Depot, other options for recycling and safe disposal include <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/social_environmental/environment.html">Ikea</a> and True Value stores, community hazardous waste collection sites (<a href="http://earth911.org/blog/2007/06/15/cfl-added-to-earth-911-database/#panel-recycle-search">find one near you</a>) and Sylvania&#39;s <a href="http://www.sylvania.com/Recycle/RecyclePak/">RECYCLEPAK</a> program. </p> <p> Home Depot&#39;s program will make it easier for more people to recycle, since there&#39;s a Home Depot within 10 miles of 75% of the American population, according to a Home Depot official quoted in the <em>Times.</em> </p> <p> Disposing of used CFLs might seem like a bit of a pain, especially if you have to pay, but note that the recycling cost amounts to just about 1% of the total amount of money you&#39;ll spend on a bulb in its lifetime, since energy use is the lion&#39;s share. Also note that if you do have a broken bulb, don&#39;t handle it with bare hands. Pick up the fragments with a paper towel, seal in a plastic bag, and take to a recycling center. Ventilate the room thoroughly to push out any mercury vapor. (Click here for the EPA&#39;s <a href="http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm">safe-cleanup tips</a>.) </p> <p> View 10 great new CFLs to fit any fixture, and lifestyle, <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/new-cfl-bulbs-46010808">here</a>. </p>

<p> <img class="stroke" alt="bicycling bikes bicycle find safe bike routes city bike photo" src="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/images/2008-06/find-safe-easy-bike-routes-city-large-photo.jpg" /><br /> Find Safe, Easy Routes to Travel by Bike </p> <p> By <a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/accounts/persona.html?member=115114290">Collin Dunn</a><br /> Corvallis, OR, USA | Fri Jun 20 13:38:00 EDT 2008 </p> <p> Use these tips to make it easier to navigate busy cities by bike<br /> </p> <p> Traveling by bicycle is about the greenest way to get around -- bicycles are <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/world_most_ener.php">the world&#39;s most efficient vehicles</a>, after all -- but navigating city traffic during rush-hour can be a daunting, intimidating task. If you&#39;re in a new city, and aren&#39;t familiar with the nuances of navigating its streets or finding good bike lanes, another degree of difficulty gets added. Happily, there are a handful of services to make it easier to safely get where you want to go on two wheels. </p> <p> <strong><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/">MapMyRide</a></strong> makes it easy to find safe routes via its Google Maps interface. It offers a trio of services: <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/create">ride mapping</a>, which creates a route based your start and end address; <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/search">route finding</a>, which shows you popular routes and trails near your location; and <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/training">log training</a>, which makes it easy to track your routes, monitor your mileage, and log your training schedule. There&#39;s even a <a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/community">forum community</a>, where you can share your ideas, trade tips, and more. </p> <p> For more location-specific data, check out <strong><a href="http://www.bikemetro.com/home/home.asp">BikeMetro</a></strong> in southern California. The handy site offers routes and tips for navigating Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernadino and Riverside counties, as well as chances to meet and talk to other cyclists in the area, organize bike rides in their online bike communities, and even find out how many calories can you burn riding to work, and how much pollution do you create driving to work. </p> <p> In the New York City area, <a href="http://www.nycbikemaps.com/"><strong>NYC Bike Maps</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.ridethecity.com/"><strong>Ride the City</strong></a> have you covered. Between the two, they offer boro-specific mapping, route-finding, and ideas for scenic tours around the city. Want to find the best ride around Central Park? How about the fastest route from the Lower East Side to Midtown? They&#39;ve got you covered. </p> <p> For those who are just looking for some recreational riding, check out <a href="http://www.pedaling.com/"><strong>Pedaling.com</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.bikely.com/"><strong>Bikely.com</strong></a>, who both offer myriad options for two-wheeled mobility. Search by area, difficulty level, street or mountain bike rides, family-friendly rides, and share your favorites with fellow riders. Between all of these, there are tons of tips, ideas, and resources to make getting around without a car easier than ever. </p> <p> <strong>Difficulty level:</strong> Easy </p>

<p> <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/local-food-460608"><img class="imgBorder" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/1s/13-30days-heritage-md.jpg" /></a><br /> <a class="greenHeadline" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/local-food-460608">4 Steps to a Local Menu</a><br /> </p> <div> <p> <strong>1. Buy Local, Grill Local</strong><br /> Farmers&#39; markets open around the country this weekend, if they haven&#39;t already opened for the season. Choose your meal based on what&#39;s in season now, and available locally. Aim to buy as much as possible food grown and produced within 100 miles of home. </p> <p> Need a jump start in finding all things local? Use the <a href="http://www.100milediet.org/map/">100-Mile Diet Mapping Tool</a> to define your target area. Then, use the <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/">Local Harvest Web Site</a> to find local farms and farmers&#39; markets in your neighborhood. </p> <p> <strong>2. The Substitute You&#39;ll Actually Pay Attention To</strong><br /> Some summer favorites just aren&#39;t available yet. Try these worthy substitutes until the harvest catches up with your appetite. Although there&#39;s really no substitute for sweet corn, how about grilling <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/256">asparagus</a>? It&#39;s quick, easy, and the grilled flavors this venerable veg evokes simply can&#39;t be beat. </p> <p> Have a hankering for crisp, cool watermelon? Sub in <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/436">strawberries</a> - they&#39;re ripe for the picking (and eating.) Tired of waiting for &quot;everything tomato&quot;? Try our <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/1831">white gazpacho soup</a> recipe that uses lots of garlic instead and will make your calendar-watching days a little more tolerable. </p> <p> <strong>3. Let Us Help</strong><br /> Check out a couple of weekend menus for distinctive locally flavored meals that will keep your guests talking until Labor Day. Or, choose one dish and haul it to your neighborhood pot luck party. Here&#39;s a <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/539">Menu</a> that hits all the high notes for easy-to-find ingredients, flavor, and good-old fashioned summer season fun. A duo of vegetable and fruit salsas, steak &amp; vegetable grill, goat cheese and arugula sandwiches, a cool creamy cucumber salad -- all topped off with sinfully delicious whole wheat brownies -- is sure to please any die-hard al fresco fan. </p> <p> And, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, the authors of <em><a href="http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-9780307347329-0">Plenty, A Year of Eating Locally</a></em>, share their tips and <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/1709">Memorial Day Weekend recipes</a> inspired by their quest to live off the land all within their own zip code. </p> <p> <strong>4. Spread Local Flavor</strong><br /> If you&#39;re hosting the barbecue, give it a local theme by encouraging your guests to bring food with regional flavor. If you&#39;re lucky enough to be attending someone else&#39;s party, wow them with your favorite dish - then rave about the farm where you bought the ingredients. </p> </div>

<p>Here's an interesting article on how there really needs to be a energy revolution because the savings from conservation will be eaten up by economic growth.</p> <p>http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11580723</p>

<p class="c1"> Greensburg </p> <p> About the Show </p> <div> <p> On May 4, 2007, a deadly tornado struck Greensburg, Kansas, ripping the town to shreds. Ninety-five percent of the town was destroyed, eleven lives were tragically lost, and survivors were left without homes, businesses, schools and basic city services. Greensburg was gone, and it seemed that all was lost for its residents. </p> <p> From the rubble, however, came a resilient and courageous call from the people of Greensburg to not only rebuild their community, but also to send a bold message to the rest of the nation. Greensburg committed to building smarter and better, determined to make their town a model for the future of cities of all sizes throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world. They decided to rebuild Greensburg as a model green community. </p> <p> In an extraordinary 13-part series co-produced by acclaimed actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio and award-winning producer Craig Piligian, viewers will meet the people of this amazing town, seeing the daily struggle of a community as it fights its way back from the edge of extinction and learning how the lives and livelihood of Greensburg&#39;s citizens will be changed by this massive reconstruction effort. </p> <p> Struggles abound as the city government strives to build the greenest buildings in the entire country, and citizens endeavor to remain patient as they live in FEMA town trailers, the temporary residences for many citizens, and prepare to rebuild their homes using green technologies. </p> <p> Still, the spirit of the citizens of Greensburg are what make the journey most inspirational, as they are ordinary, everyday people of great character who choose to face adversity head on and create a better life for themselves and their children. The dependable-yet-futurist city planner, the &quot;good old boy&quot; mayor, and a bright high school senior all share a deep connection to the city, both past and future. </p> <p> Greensburg&#39;s story is both poignant and universal. The imagination and innovation demonstrated in Greensburg inspires and enlightens audiences, showing that when individuals, companies and communities respect and harness nature, the results are a dramatic improvement in our social, economic and environmental living conditions. </p> <p> The rebuilding of Greensburg presents a historic opportunity. One rural town on the plains of Kansas vividly demonstrates that sustainable, eco-friendly building is an imperative path to the future. This story of survival and recovery is important, not only to the people of Greensburg, but also to the rest of the world. </p> </div> <div class="one-by-fifteen"> </div>

<p> <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/3636"><img class="imgBorder" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/houseplant-voc-tp-med.jpg" /></a><br /> <a class="greenHeadline" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/3636">Zap VOCs with Houseplants</a><br /> <img src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/design/headers/header_quickRead.gif" /><br /> </p> <ul> <li>NASA tests have shown common houseplants clean air. </li> <li>Tropical low-light plants tend to work best. </li> <li>Poor indoor air quality is a common problem.<br /> <p> Pick up a few of these common houseplants the next time you visit a local nursery: palms, ferns, corn plant, dragon tree (dracaena), rubber plant, weeping fig (ficus), English ivy, peace lily, florist mum, gerber daisy, dumb cane (dieffenbachia), schefflera, orchid, spider plant, philodendron, arrowhead plant, pothos, dwarf banana and Chinese evergreen. </p> <p> Why? Houseplants can help remove certain harmful <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/definitions/volatile-organic-compounds">volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)</a> from indoor air. Things nobody wants around their lungs, or their kids. </p> <p> In the late 1980s, NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) conducted a study of 19 houseplants in an attempt to find ways to purify air for extended stays in orbiting space stations. The tests were conducted in sealed test chambers that contained pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene, commonly present in indoor air from paints, varnishes, insulation, particleboard, pressed wood, adhesives and other sources. </p> <p> What they learned for outer space can be applied to your inner space as well. Many of these plants are adapted to tropical climates and grow under dense canopies and low-light conditions. They have to be superefficient in capturing light as well as in processing the gases necessary for photosynthesis. Because of these traits, they have greater potential for capturing other gases, including harmful ones. </p> </li> </ul>

<p> <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/panasonic-compact-fluorescent-lightbulb-cfl-quick.php">Fluorescent Bulbs that Last 13,000 hrs by Panasonic</a> </p> <p> by <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/authors/index.php?author=mike">Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada</a> on 06.18.08 </p> <div class="entry-content entry-body"> <p> <img alt="Panasonic CFL lightbulb quicker photo" src="http://www.treehugger.com/panasonic-new-cfl-quick-001.jpg" /> </p> <p> <strong>Lighting the Future</strong><br /> Time flies. It was only a few years ago that compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) were these &quot;weird looking new things&quot;. Now they are everywhere and most people who look to the future are keeping an eye on <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/nanocrystal-coating-led-lightbulbs.php">LED bulbs</a>. </p> <p> <strong>Panasonic&#39;s New Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb</strong><br /> But that doesn&#39;t mean that CFLs aren&#39;t improving anymore! Their cost certainly has gone down with mass production, but their performance is also getting better. The latest announcement on that front is by Panasonic with the &quot;Pa-Look Ball Premium Q&quot; CFL (what a horrible name). What&#39;s special about it? It is a hybrid lightbulb that uses a &quot;quick lamp&quot; to help it reach full brightness about 50% faster than other fluorescents. It also has a longer life (rated at 13,000 hours, and 40,000 cycles). Only downside is that so far there&#39;s only a 10-watt model (which is equivalent to 54-watt incandescent). </p> </div>

<p> Hey Folks~ </p> <p> So I am not sure if anyone has caught the new channel on cox cable. Channel 103 is the Green Channel. It has all kinds of shows about going green &amp; saving the environment. I would highly recommend checking it out. </p>

<p> Unclutter your home and score free stuff Simple freecyling rules: Be legal, be honest, be clean, be safe </p> <div class="p14"> <div> </div> <div class="WCCol w300 fR clrR"> </div> <div class="CCol w160 fR clrR"> <img src="http://switch.atdmt.com/action/msnus_msnbc_business_040607" /> </div> <div class="mR165"> <div> <div class="textMedBlackBold"> By Laura T. Coffey </div> <div class="textMedBlack"> MSNBC contributor </div> <div class="textTimestamp"> updated 6:03 a.m. PT, Tues., June. 3, 2008 function UpdateTimeStamp(pdt) { var n = document.getElementById(&quot;udtD&quot;); if(pdt != &#39;&#39; &amp;&amp; n &amp;&amp; window.DateTime) { var dt = new DateTime(); pdt = dt.T2D(pdt); if(dt.GetTZ(pdt)) {n.innerHTML = dt.D2S(pdt,((&#39;&#39;.toLowerCase()==&#39;false&#39;)?false:true));} } } UpdateTimeStamp(&#39;633480949820900000&#39;); </div> </div> <p class="textBodyBlack"> getCSS(&quot;3027626&quot;) My husband and I recently ate dinner at the home of a friend who had just relocated and settled into her own place. We complimented her on her new digs, which featured a stunning white couch and loveseat, nifty red throw pillows, and an attractive dining room table with matching chairs. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> After each detail we noticed and admired, our friend smiled triumphantly. &quot;Free!&quot; &quot;Free!&quot; &quot;Free!&quot; she chirped again and again. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> It turns out that our friend is a master freecycler. This led to a big discussion about freecycling over our spaghetti dinner that night - and it got me thinking about this column. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> &quot;Freecycle&quot; rhymes with &quot;recycle&quot; for a reason. The term means &quot;free recycling&quot; - as in, giving stuff away and obtaining stuff free of charge from folks who live in your area. In addition to saving people hundreds if not thousands of dollars, freecycling is good for the environment because it keeps oodles of junk out of landfills. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> The freecycling concept isn&#39;t new; the <a href="http://www.freecycle.org/">Freecycle Network</a> actually got its start about five years ago. But … have you tried freecycling yet? If not, why not? The following tips can help you get started. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>1. Know how to begin.</strong></b> You can find a local group of freecyclers through the Freecycle Network. Once you join, you&#39;ll start getting e-mail messages listing offered, wanted and accepted items. You&#39;ll see all sorts of items included in those postings, from furniture to lawn equipment to exercise gear to clothing to … you name it! </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>2. Brace yourself for a deluge of e-mail.</strong></b> You can create a separate folder where all Freecycle mail gets directed, or you can opt to receive daily digests once or twice a day. You also can simply check your group&#39;s online message board. The daily digests and the message board likely won&#39;t be as timely as the immediate e-mail messages, though, so you might miss out on items you want. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>3. Check out other recycling groups as well.</strong></b> You also can connect with like-minded recyclers through <a href="http://www.sharingisgiving.org/">Sharing Is Giving</a>, <a href="http://www.freecycleamerica.org/">FreeCycleAmerica.org</a>, the <a href="http://www.reuseitnetwork.org/">ReUseIt Network</a> and <a href="http://www.freesharing.org/">FreeSharing.org</a>. On the <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html">Craigslist site</a> for your part of the country, you&#39;ll find a &quot;free&quot; section under &quot;for sale.&quot; </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>4. Mind your manners and attitude.</strong></b> Always have an eye toward giving, not just receiving. For your first posting, offer to give something away rather than announce what you want. Also, don&#39;t try to trade or swap through freecycling sites; the idea is to give stuff away with no strings attached. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>5. Show respect in your postings.</strong></b> Respect people&#39;s time by keeping your postings brief. Also remember that this isn&#39;t a place to make personal attacks, spam people, solicit for money or share political views or religious beliefs. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>6. Keep it legal, honest and clean.</strong></b> Big posting no-no&#39;s include: pornography, alcohol, tobacco, drugs of any kind (including medicines, vitamins and creams), firearms and other weapons. Postings should be appropriate for all ages. Be up front about the age, condition and size of items you&#39;re giving away, and post photos if possible. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>7. Stay safe.</strong></b> Avoid posting personal information, such as your phone number or address, for strangers to see. With pickups and drop-offs, avoid going to a stranger&#39;s home by yourself or having a stranger come over if you&#39;re home alone. Instead, make arrangements to meet in a public place or be sure to have someone with you. You also could leave items outside for a recipient and just keep your door locked. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>8. Don&#39;t leave people hanging.</strong></b> Be punctual and thoughtful when it comes to scheduling pickups and drop-offs. If you&#39;re late or you fail to show up altogether, you&#39;ll be wasting someone else&#39;s time. Also, don&#39;t dally about picking up an item you&#39;ve accepted. Take it off the giver&#39;s hands within three days max. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>9. Examine items carefully.</strong></b> Remember, a big benefit of freecycling is the ability to unclutter your home. Before you make someone else&#39;s trash your treasure, make sure it functions the way it should. If it doesn&#39;t, how realistic are your chances of fixing it? Don&#39;t take it home if it will simply create more clutter. </p> <p class="textBodyBlack"> <b><strong>10. Decide how to handle multiple responses.</strong></b> If you post a popular item, you may be inundated with dozens of e-mail messages within minutes. What to do? One option is to give priority to a struggling local charity if such a charity responds. Another is to randomly draw a name from a hat. No matter what, don&#39;t just say, &quot;It&#39;s on the porch for whoever gets here first&quot; - that is, unless you want to cause some bad feelings. </p> </div> </div>

<p> <a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/3915"><img class="imgBorder" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/fuel-cool-TP-med.jpg" /></a><br /> <a class="greenHeadline" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/3915">Fuel When It&#39;s Cool</a><br /> <img src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/design/headers/header_quickRead.gif" /><br /> </p> <ul> <li>Gas emissions cause smog and global warming. </li> <li>Heat increases evaporation. </li> <li>Fill up in the morning or evenings.<br /> <p> Cut down on gas emissions, which fill the air we breathe with ozone (smog) and contribute to global warming, simply by avoiding buying gas during the heat of the day, since heat increases evaporation. </p> <p> Know that gasoline smell when you drive into a station? That&#39;s the smell of gas emissions escaping from your tank, the other cars&#39; tanks and the pumps as everyone fills up. </p> <p> So breathe easier: fill up either early in the morning or late in the evening when the temperature is cooler. </p> </li> </ul>

<p> I will admit that when I leave the office, I simply log out of my name and shut the monitor off on my computer. Even on Fridays, I don&#39;t turn my computer off (and I really don&#39;t even think about it). But I never calculated or even thought about how much energy is being wasted if I, and other co-workers, leave computers on when not in use. </p> <p> If you take a closer look at your building, you will discover ways you never thought that your building is wasting energy. You might think your new and improved energy-efficient systems are bringing down the energy bill, but think again. You could be missing the most obvious energy problems in your building, according to <a href="http://www.buildings.com">buildings.com.</a> </p> <ul> <li>Leaving electronics and appliances turned on. According to the <a href="http://www.doe.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy</a>, office equipment makes up about 16 percent of an office&#39;s energy use. Install power-management software that puts computers in &quot;sleep mode&quot; when idle. Encourage tenants/occupants to turn computers off before going home. Unplug things that aren&#39;t in use, such as phone chargers. </li> <li>Unneccessary vending machine cooling and lighting. Vending machines use energy 24/7 because they running constantly. Shut off refrigerated drink vending machines at night and on weekends (don&#39;t turn off refrigeration for foods that might spoil). </li> <li>Cleaning at night. In most buildings, the cleaning is done outside of peak business hours but janitorial staffs expend energy during these off-peak times. If cleaning can be done during the day without it being too disruptive, the building&#39;s energy systems can be turned down earlier at night. If cleaning during the day is not an option, ask custodial staff members to move through the building one room at a time, turning off lights when they finish each room. </li> <li>Covering up vents, grilles, etc. Tenants/occupants move furniture sometimes and accidentally or purposely block airflow. Many hot/cold complaints have to do with blocked diffusers. Send someone to walk through the building to ensure that the airflow is not being blocked. </li> <li>Dirty windows and skylights. Keep windows and skylights clean. Dirt and dust block daylight from entering, causing occupants to utilize more overhead lighting. </li> <li>Incandescent exit signs. Exit signs are usually not used often, and their locations overhead make them hard to reach. Exit signs that use fluorescent or incandescent lights use more power than LED lights. </li> </ul> <p> Although these are some of the most obvious ways of wasting energy, many of these problems never came to my mind. But I&#39;m pretty sure when I pack up tonight they will be remembered, and I will shut off my computer (even though it takes an extra few minutes to upload in the morning). </p>