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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Plastic Bag Recycling: Process Explained w/ Video


Wonder how plastic bags get recycled? You see the recycling bins in most grocery stores that take #1 and #2 plastic bags and newspaper sleeves. Watch the video to see how they are recycled back to plastic material.
Trex recycles 2 billion bags / year and turns then into "plastic lumber" and recycles most of the other non PE that comes in with the plastic bags when they are recycled.



Via: Clean Skies LINK

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Besam - Eco Friendly Products from an Eco Friendly Company

While at the National Geographic Museum in DC I noticed that their entrance doors are made by Besam and were marked as "low energy power operated door".

Some businesses are reluctant to not have the door always open to make the store more inviting and easier for customers to come in - this wastes tremendous amounts of energy and money in heating and cooling costs.
besam logo
" ... Besam strives to manufacture ... automatic entrances in a manner that limits their impact on the environment, ... "

" ...study conducted .... energy use and customer counts were monitored before and after the installation of Besam Holland’s “Green Door” ..."

" ... cost of heating the shop was reduced by 43%. ... there was virtually no decrease in the number of customers entering the store after the installation of the automatic sliding door."

Automated doors have been shown to both save energy and keep store traffic at high levels.

Via:  Besam.com LINK

Monday, March 29, 2010

Ghost or vampire power users are devised that are "turned" off but still draw power.  Included in this  category are batter charges used for cell phones and the like. 

Most people leave these charges plugged in all the time and they are "burning power" all the time.  Feel the charger and it is usually warm .... wasting electricity.

"AT&T estimates their customers consume enough energy by leaving idle phone chargers in the walls to power 24,000 homes for a year. ... their new ZERO charger .... Available at the end of May ... will sense when it is not connected to a cellular phone and will block the power supply from the socket."


Via: SmartPlanet LINK

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Tonight is Earth Hour - March 27th, 2010 from 8:30 - 9:30 pm Local Time GLOBALLY

Just a reminder that EARTH HOUR is today at 8:30 pm local time.

Turn off your lights for an hour, think about the earth and how you can help make the world more sustainable.  Take a look outside and see if your neighbors / town have embraced Earth Hour and turned off their lights.

For more on Earth Hour LINK

< Via: Green Guy @ YourGreenQuest.com LINK

Thursday, March 25, 2010

LA's Airpots to Measure Carbon Footprint

Enviance makes software for measuring a business's carbon footprint.  Read how LAX is using this software today ...

" ... Los Angeles World Airports group ... operates three airports in southern California ... has “the same complex emissions requirements and reporting challenges as a medium-sized city.” ...

" ... the airport network has been working with Enviance for some time ... new FastTrack service will allow the airport network, which also includes the Van Nuys and LA/Ontario facilities, to begin fulfilling its reporting goals more quickly ..."



Via:  ZDNet  LINK

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

PECO Smart Ideas (SM)

 PECO - the power company is SE Pennsylvania has lots of ideas on ways to save you energy and money.

" ... put our energy into helping you save energy ... introducing PECO Smart IdeasSM, a program that shows you new ways to use less energy ... PECO Smart Home E-Audit shows you how you can use less energy and save more money with PECO Smart Ideas rebates, cash incentives and energy saving tips."

To enter PECO's appliance makeover and get up to $5,000 in Energy Star appliances >>> LINK
 

Via: PECO LINK

Monday, March 15, 2010

Appliance Energy Saving Tip ...

Small changes can save energy and can really add up.  Some changes are not hard to do at all ... just put your mind to it.

" ... simple changes in your life ... can reduce the amount of C02 released into the atmosphere and help stop global warming. Be part of the solution"

"Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year."


Via:  stopglobalwarming.org   LINK

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Terracycle: e-Waste to Flower Pots

recycled plastic flower  pots Terracycle reuses / recycles all sorts of stuff such as juice boxes and turns them into bags and totes.
They take e-wast and turn it into useful products ... keeping waste out of the landfill.
"Made from 100% e-waste (such as crushed computers and fax machines) that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. These ingenious little pots help you garden sustainably! "

Via:  Terracycle.net  LINK

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Chicago's ConEd Experiments with Consumer Energy Management Tools

ConEd Logo

Chicago's ConEd is conducting an experiment to determine how consumers manage their energy use when they have metrics on use, cost and use patterns.  Home will be outfitted with solar panels and some homes will be allowed to sell back to the grid and others will not.

" ... whether consumers have the ability, with this technology, to become little utilities. They will be able to buy and sell electricity at a real-time hourly price, which is very close to the wholesale price, from their homes."

" ... will install smart electric meters and price the homes’ electric use by the hour. Half of the homes will be able to gain credits by sending stored solar power back to the grid. The other half won’t be able to store their energy." 

Via:  SmartPlanet LINK
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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Dixon Golf Ball Recycling Program


" ... estimated that over 300 million golf balls are discarded in the United States each year ... enough ... to make a solid line of golf balls from LA to London! ... Dixon Golf gives a $1.00 ball for ball credit towards the purchase of Dixon Earth golf balls for every Dixon ball recycled in a Dixon Golf Recycle Center located at a participating retailer. ... gives a $0.50 ball for ball credit for any other brand of golf ball recycled ..."
.

Via: Dixon Golf LINK
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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Here's a golf bag that lets golfers feel good about their bag because it is made with recycled fabric.

" ... Staff Eco-Carry™ bag is not only lightweight and durable, it is made from 100% recycled fabric. ...



Via: Wilson LINK

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Clean Air Cab is CARBON NEGATIVE.  They offset more carbon than they use.  That beats carbon neutral ...!

" ... Clean Air Cab ... the first carbon negative taxi fleet in Phoenix, using only Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicles."

" ... a net zero carbon footprint ... net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent offset amount ... take this one step further and make our fleet carbon negative by planting ten trees per month for each cab we have on the road in addition to our carbon offsets."


Via: Clean Air Cab LINK
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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Dixon Golf's "GREEN" Golf Ball

Dixon Golf's "GREEN"  golf balls are truly green - made with recycled materials and themselves recyclable.

" ...first high-performance eco-friendly golf balls ... all balls manufactured by Dixon Golf are "green" to the core ... 100% recyclable and made from reprocessable materials ... packaging is made from 100% recycled material."
 



Via: Dixon Golf LINK
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Friday, March 5, 2010

Time to Rethink Solar: PV Panel Prices Dropping

Solar prices are dropping and this may be the time to outfit your roof with PV panels.  In my area (southeastern PA) utility prices are expected to rise significantly as electricity rate caps are lifted.

Last summer I priced out a 4.5 kW system; the price was a little too steep for me.  This was even after accounting for the PA State rebate (instant) and Federal Credit (claimed when filling taxes).

Given the lower price I need to take an other look.

" ... reveling in the satisfaction that your home is producing its own zero-emissions power."

" ... panel prices have plunged by half in the past year ... glut will be bad for manufacturers' profit margins, but good for you. For $15,000 installed, a 3.5 kilowatt system could generate 5,000 kwh of electricity a year, about a third of most homes' needs." 

Via: Forbes LINK

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Wal-Mart is continuing its GREEN journey by working with suppliers to reduce carbon impact of it merchandise.

" ... working with ... suppliers to reduce ... carbon footprint starting at the sourcing of raw materials and ending with the way in which Wal-Mart customers use and dispose of the products ..."

" ... Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke announced ... plans to eliminate 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions ... by 2015."

Via: Forbes LINK
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Office Depot - LEED-CI for Retails Stores Starting June 2010

Office Depot is embracing green building and LEED Certification. 

" ... recently announced ... will be pursuing LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) certification for all of its new retail stores beginning in June 2010. ... news comes on the heels of the company's announcement that its LEED Gold certified Austin, Texas, store was able to reduce its carbon footprint by 23%."






Via: Forbes LINK
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Lawrence Livermore Lab - Working on Tractor Trailer and Truck Aerodynamics

Research at Lawrence Livermore National Lab is focusing on making tractor trailers more aerodynamic.  This leads to better fuel economy and lower operating costs.  " ... new truck designs will provide trucks more fuel efficiency, possibly saving the trucking industry as much as 10 billion dollars in fuel costs."





Via:  SmartPlanet LINK
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PSE&G to Add Solar Panels to Utility Poles in NJ

Utility PSE&G is beginning to deploy solar panels on their utility poles ... expects to have 1200 in Cherry Hill, NJ ...a nifty way to add solar capacity on existing structures ... distributed grid ...
... "Cherry Hill is getting 1,200 panels, according to township spokesman Dan Keashen:" ...
Via: KYW1060 LINK Solar Panels In South Jersey
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