Celebrate Earth Hour 2011 – March 26th at 8:30 pm local time - all across the globe !

Via:   Earth Hour LINK

Sprint Recycling Program – Reducing e-Waste

Did you know that MASSIVE amounts of cell phones are tossed in the trash EVERY HOUR ?

16,000 cell phones are thrown away each hour !!   Sprint wants to keeps these out of landfills and has programs that make it easy for everyone to recycle (and not contribute to to e-waste) your cell phone and related accessories.

Check out these 2 videos for more information on Sprint’s recycling programs …

Via:  Sprint and You Tube

GreenandSave.com

GREENandSAVE has a Website and Blog with lots of good "green" information.  There are tips to increase your "individual green-ness" and links to many green items in the news including green job training.

Check out the Experts Tip section for lots of ideas you can use to save energy, money and the planet.  Tips I found include ways to save water this summer and ideas for a greener Christmas.

 ... strives to inform the public about eco-conscious living, environmental matters, ... feature daily news, information and blogs  ... mission is to expand readers’ awareness of environmentally conscious efforts ... and encourage participation."


Via:  Green and Save  LINK

Earth Day 2010 - April 22

Happy Earth Day !!

 Today is the  40th anniversary of Earth Day !!
- What will you do today, and going forward for Earth Day?
- Use a reusable cup instead of a throw away one use cup ?
- Take public transportation or walk rather than drive by car?
- Car pool rather than drive alone?

To learn more about Earth Day 2010 and things ** YOU ** can do ... LINK

Via: Earth Day 2010  LINK

How to Keep the Miniuvan / SUV and Still Be Green / Greener ?

BLOG POST # 250 !!

Some people just need larger cars.  Not everyone can make life work with a small hybrid.  So, what can they to make their lifestyle green / greener?

" ...motivations behind EnviroCitizen.org, ... information about a variety of green topics with the ability to purchase carbon offset certificates via Carbonfund.org. ... 1,000 articles on the site focused on sustainable lifestyle tips and habits."

" ... EnviroCitizen ... acknowledges some of the practical barriers that prevent people from being as environmentally sensitive as they might like. .. 

Via: SmartPlanet LINK

HP's Approach to -Waste

What is the true cost of electronic items? Whatever it is ... disposal costs are rarely factored in.  e-Waste is a growing issue because it is the fastest greowiung component of our waste streams and improper disposal can lead to air and water pollution.

Read how HP is addressing this issue ...

" ... Hewlett-Packard has an ambitious goal to recycle two billion pounds of e-waste by 2010. ... Sumi Das talks to the company's director of sustainability, Bonnie Nixon, about how they are meeting the challenge by building recycling facilities ... demonstrates how HP is re-using materials from old printer cartridges to create new ones through a process called closed-loop recycling."



Via: SmartPlanet LINK

University of Pennsylvania Green Dining Options

The University of Pennsylvania supports green in the dining plan options and is looking to bring more sustainability to the meal plan with student interns in the dining area.

" ... seeking students to continue the work of previous interns, with sustainability in mind. ... variety of tasks, ranging from promoting special events to updating the Penn Dining Web site. ... position "encourages the knowledge of sustainability" in order to fashion marketing strategies and promote dining's environmentally-friendly initiatives."

Via: University of Pennsylvania LINK

Understand Your Carbon Footprint with mobGAS©

If you can measure it you have the ability to change it. mobGAS© helps you with this ...

" ...mobGAS© ... first mobile application about climate change with wide distribution in Europe and world ... aims to make the connection between daily activities and the emissions of Greenhouse Gases ... suggest changes to improve individual performances."

" ... diary of users’ behaviour ... activities or appliances that are ... used ... converted in individual emissions of GHG that may be compared with the weekly average or with country and world average."

" ... challenge individuals to make small changes to their daily routine in order to achieve significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions...."

Via: mobGAS© LINK

Tips to Stop Junk Mail

It seems that everyone hates junk mail ... those that get it and have to sort through it ... and those that deliver it ...

There are ways to slop the flood of junk mail ... and perhaps save a few trees as well ...

" ... to reduce your risk of having your identity hijacked ... and to ease your loyal mail carrier’s back strain—try these tips to turn a tide of unwanted mail into a trickle ... Call 888-567-8688 (888-5-OPT-OUT) from your home telephone ... Or visit http://www.optoutprescreen.com/ ... this simple step should halt what some experts believe is the most dangerous type of unwanted mail: pre-approved credit offers ... You can opt out for five years or permanently, but you must follow the opt-out procedure for each adult member of your family."


Via: MSNBC LINK

Gazelle = Cash for Old Electronics

Wondering how to get rid of your old electronics in an environmentally friendly way? Gazelle will take your old e-stuff and turn it into cash ... and keep it out of landfills !

" ... fast, easy and safe way for you to sell electronics and recycle electronics ... earn cash ... save the environment by keeping old, used gadgets out of landfills ... get green while being green! "

" ... believes that electronics recycling starts with reuse ... When we receive items that are still in working condition, we extend their lives by ... selling the electronics through a variety of retail and wholesale outlets. Items without market value are recycled responsibly."

Why Recycle electronics?

In 2005 the EPA determined " ... Americans got rid of 304 million TVs, VCRs, cell phones, computers and monitors. Two-thirds of them still worked ... Computer Takeback Campaign reports that 130 million cell phones are thrown away every year ."

You can make a difference and possibly pocket some GREEN at the same time !

Via: Gazelle LINK

Walmart to Provide "eco rating" for its Products

Walmart is looking to provide consumers with eco information about the products offered in stores so they can make informed decisions and shop greener.

" ... will ask its suppliers to provide environmental information on all products carried in its stores ... use that information to label each item with an eco rating, designed to measure its environmental friendliness."

"... change how we make and sell products ... make consumption itself smarter and sustainable."

" ... latest effort by Wal-Mart to create a greener landscape .. already strived to make its own stores environmentally friendly ... an effort to create more sustainable electronics devices to reduce the amount of items dumped into landfills.

Via: cnet news LINK

Green Practices at Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch has several environmentally friendly practices that they follow ... including recycling more aluminum cans than they use, recycling grain for animal feed and creating methane gas ... check out the neat videos about A-Bs Green efforts.

" ... our tradition of environmental stewardship dates back to ... the late 1800s, ... recycling leftover grain from the brewing process, using it for cattle feed, a practice that continues today."

" ... recycle more than 99 percent of the solid waste we create. ... recycling more than 27 billion cans annually. ... Bio-Energy Recovery System (BERS), ... provides up to 15 percent of the fuel for nine of our U.S. breweries, ..."


Via: Anheuser-Busch LINK

Patagonia - Footprint Chronicles

Our *** 75th post ***

Long known for its very functional outdoor clothing and its policy of giving 1% of sales to environmental programs, Patagonia is, as you might expect, focused on the environment and environmental awareness.

" ... measure water consumption as well as energy consumption, waste, carbon emissions and distance traveled for chronicled products ... list "Product Footprint" data for a large portion of our products so you can make a more informed purchasing decision..."

" ... Footprint Chronicles examine Patagonia's life and habits as a company. ... give more of our practices some air ... been in business long enough to know that when we can reduce or eliminate a harm, other businesses will be eager to follow suit."

Check out the footprint chronicles ... and see how some of their products travel the globe during production and what is good and possibly not so good about each ... and what Patagonia is looking to do to lessen the environmental impact.


Via: Patagonia LINK

call2recycle - Proposal to recycle all batteries in Toronto, Ontario !

Today - July 9, - call2recycle HELD a public meeting at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre " ... to review their draft plan for an All Battery Recycling Program in Ontario, Canada."

" ... draft Industry Stewardship Plan (ISP) for the collection and recycling of all rechargeable and non-rechargeable consumer-type batteries in Ontario. ... plan builds on our 12+ year experience and infrastructure ... results which have already realized the diversion of over 685,000 kilograms from Ontario landfills -- and expands our collection and recycling service to also include non-rechargeable consumer batteries. "


Via: call2recycle - Ontario LINK

Facts about plastic bags / Trash in the Pacific Ocean

We (should) all know that plastic bags contribute to litter and can take a long, long, long time to decompose ... or break down in nature.

Here are some interesting facts about plastic bags ... an a lot of reasons to consider using compostable bio degradable bags.

"Regular polyethylene-based plastic bags can take well over 100 years to degrade and are not compostable, ... Less than 2% of all plastic bags ever get recycled-most end up in landfill. ... Studies indicate that 100,000 marine animals and 2 million birds die each year from ingesting or being caught up in plastic debris.

I have been reading a good bit about HUGE swarms of plastic in the ocean and will post on those when I get a chance. In the meantime below is a sobering You Tube video on plastic in the pacific off the west cost of the US.

The video comes from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Since the video was made in 2001 and the amount of trash has significantly increased.




A very moving video. Two questions ...
>>> what were your reactions?
>>> has this spurred you to consider / reconsider using plastic bags and instead use a reusable bag?


Via: Ecolife Products LINK

mobGAS© Mobil Application to Track YOUR Impact on the Climate

Knowing how your behavior can impact the planet is a great way to help make changes ... mobGAS© " ... will be the first mobile application about climate change with wide distribution in Europe and world. ... aims to make the connection between daily activities and the emissions of Greenhouse Gases and ... suggest changes to improve individual performances. "

" ... application includes several icons representing activities or appliances that are usually used every day (more than 60). These activities or appliances ... will finally be converted in individual emissions of GHG [green house gas] that may be compared with the weekly average or with country and world average."

Some tips / facts from mobGAS ...

"... bus carries the same number of people as 10 fully occupied cars, but takes up a third of the road space and emits half of CO2 per km per passenger. ... when your charger is not connected to the phone, it is still draining electricity. Unplug your mobile charger when you're not using it ... Reducing the temperature by just 1°C can cut 5-10% off your family's energy bill and avoid up to 300kg of CO2 emissions per household and year...."


Via: mobGAS LINK

Green Laces

Athlete Natalie Spilger is trying to get athletes to consider their impact on the environment ... through a program called .. green laces.

"... athletes, ... can be particularly hard on the environment. ... Natalie Spilger is hoping you'll take a minute to consider your carbon footprint, ... a lot of waste in sports, from the fuel used in traveling to and from venues, to non-recyclable waxed cups of Gatorade they give you, to the plastic water bottles, to the stretchy, Styrofoam wrap we use to wrap our knees, for our shin guards, or tie our hair back, ... athletes can be pretty carbon intensive as a group."

" ... Spilger founded GreenLaces, a non-profit outreach organization that targets athletes and their fans to encourage them to become more eco-conscious. " See the video for more details ...




Via: greennexxus / green laces LINK