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Sunday, January 8, 2012

How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Happy New Year …

Pretty soon folks will be taking down their Christmas trees … consider recycling yours rather than putting it out with the trash.

You can find a location – hopefully nearby – that will help you recycle / mulch your Christmas Tree.  Go to Earth911 and type “Christmas Tree” and your ZIP CODE into the search boxes and you will (hopefully) find a location or two nearby.

 

Via:  Earth911.org LINK

Green You Lifestryle with these Simple Tips

25 Easy Ways to Green your Life

HAPPY 2012 …

Start the new year off right with some green tips … the full list of 25 is at the link at the bottom of this post … many of these are VERY EASY and are FREE or of limited cost …

Here are some ways top green your lifestyle and be more sustainable … and maybe save some money too !

- wash laundry in cold water when possible
- turn down the temperature on your water heater
- insulate your water heater
- use reusable shopping bags – some stores will give you a few pennies off for each bag you do not use
- compost what you can and get some great mulch for your garden

Via:  Wise Bread  LINK

Sunday, September 11, 2011

GE Platinum LEED Data Center in Kentucky

GE’s recently opened its FIRST Platinum LEED data center in Kentucky; it is few Platinum LEED data centers in the world. 

Only 6% of LEED facilities in the world meet Platinum certification.

  • Materials were over 50% locally sourced, approx. 30 % had recycled content and 80 plus % of construction waste was recycled and not landfilled.

 

In addition … 

“ … reducing water consumption inside the building by 42 percent …”

“ … offset 35 percent of the data center’s predicted annual energy consumption through the purchase of off-site renewable energy … “

“… Outside … reducing water consumption by 100 …”

 

Via:  GE LINK

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

ecoATM Recycling Kiosks for Small Electronics

ecoATM has a kiosk system that can evaluate the quality of old unwanted electronics – like cell phones – and offer cash and safe recycling.

Using screen prompts and a plug in wire to analyze a device the kiosk can determine the value and offer cash or to give the money to charity.  If cash is chosen the kiosk prints a slip that a partnering store can trade for cash.  In any case the devise is then reconditioned or safely (for the environment – no e-waste) recycled.

The kiosk “ … patented, advanced machine vision, electronic diagnostics, and artificial intelligence to evaluate and buy-back used electronics directly from consumers for cash or store credit. …”

Watch this video to see how easy the process is for the user …

Currently (Sept 2011) there is a cluster of ecoATM locations on the west coast stretching from just north of Los Angeles to just south of San Diego and two others – one in Kansas City, Kansas and one in Redmond, Washington.

 

Via:  ecoATM  LINK

Sunday, July 24, 2011

LifeHacker’s Energy Saving Tips

Check out this interesting  post on LifeHacker about ways to significantly reduce your energy bills.

Check this post from Jason Chen   He managed to cut 1/3 from his energy bill.   You might find some good tips there …

Remember; unless your energy is from a renewable source, reducing your energy use also lowers your carbon footprint and can save you some money.

Via:  LifeHacker  LINK

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Macy's and ECOTality to Offer Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in California

ECOtality logo

Macy’s is planning to install EV chargers at a number of San Diego stores.  They are partnering with ECOtality to pilot self serve EV (electric vehicle) charging stations. " ... two electric vehicle charging stations this fall outside each of six Macy's stores in ... San Diego ..."

The specific / exact locations are still being identified.metropolitan area (locations are being identified). 

Via: Macy's  LINK and ECOtality  LINK

Monday, April 25, 2011

Valvoline NextGen Oil - Recycled Motor Oil

Recycling motor oil is good for the environment … and is a good “raw material” for new oil.

Further recycling motor oil can reduce dependence on imported oil and protect the environment – especially the water supply. 

Did you know that “ … just one gallon of used oil can contaminate up to one million gallons of water ….”

“ … motor oil doesn't really wear out … it's the additives that wear out …”

Check out this video to learn about the engine oil life cycle as oil is reprocessed “from oil pan to oil can”.

 

 

 

 

Via:  Valvoline  LINK

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

VW: Possible All Electric Bulli (previously the microbus !)

Google Translated from German ...

VW recently showed off at the Geneva Auto Show a prototype 6 seat all-electric called "Bulli".   " ... maximum utilization of space ... driven ... by a powerful electric motor or alternatively efficient gasoline and diesel direct injection engines ..."

 See picture of concept car at right >>>> 

Via:  Volkswagen  LINK

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Heat from Commuters in Stockholm’s Central Station Serves Nearby Office Block

Swedish ngineers have found a way to recover the excess heat generated by commuters in Stockholm’s main train station and use that energy to heat a nearby office block.

The technology is not all that different from typical heat exchangers … this application is well suited to climates like Sweden where the winters are quite cold and the cost of petroleum based fuels is quite high.

Check out this video of more details …