Earth911.com and Quantum Shift Partner on Environmental Education

Filed under: Earth911, Press Releases - November 30, 2007

Scottsdale, AZ—Earth911.com, the nation’s official environmental network, and Quantum Shift TV, an innovative solution-oriented web broadcaster, have partnered to deliver actionable and educational content to the next wave of environmental stewards: students.

Earth911.com is an Action Partner for Quantum Shift’s “Be the Change! Share the Story!” youth video contest, where students from across the U.S. and Canada can upload videos documenting the planning and implementation of social and environmental projects. The first prize for the contest is $50,000.

As part of this partnership, Earth911.com has uploaded over 50 videos to www.quantumshift.tv that serve as eco-friendly examples for contest participants. Quantum Shift has provided a player so that visitors to www.Earth911.com can also view these videos.

Earth911.com will also feature videos from the “Be the Change! Share the Story!” contest on its Web site as part of the www.students.Earth911.com site that will launch in January. This site will be co-branded with Quantum Shift and features content on recycling, reduction and reuse, in addition to topical issues including electronic waste and water conservation. The site will direct students back to the Quantum Shift Web site in order to enter the contest.

“Quantum Shift TV’s platform was designed with the needs of nonprofits and socially-responsible businesses like Earth911.com in mind,” said Leif Utne, VP Marketing at Quantum Shift TV. “Through this partnership and our affiliation with Earth911.com, we aim to help students be the change, and share their stories.”

“Quantum Shift provides a high quality of video and the flexibility and control that Earth911.com desired for displaying videos on our site,” said Jonathan Smith, Earth911.com VP of Marketing. “We are excited to incorporate Quantum Shift’s video content in our student section and encourage students to get involved with this exciting contest.”

For more information, please contact:

Trey Granger
Earth911.com
tgranger@earth911.org
(480) 337-3326

Mail Tribune – Since You Asked: Environmentally Friendly?

Filed under: Earth911 - November 30, 2007

November 30, 2007

The Oregon Energy Trust recently sent us the new DuraBright light bulbs to help save on energy and be more “environmentally friendly,” which I thoroughly support. However, I noticed on the package in very small print that these bulbs (made in China) contain mercury and they should be disposed of according to local, state and federal laws. With mercury one of the leading causes of water pollution, why are these bulbs considered more “environmentally friendly” than the older type bulbs. Why are disposal methods not required to be in large bold print and public notices aired on the news, so the consumer can make informed decisions on their use and disposal?

— George B., Medford

Unfortunately it seems mercury vapor is integral to the function of fluorescent lighting. As for how green they are, the mercury is a trade-off, George. The federal government says if every American traded just one incandescent bulb for a compact fluorescent, it would save enough electricity to power 3 million homes for a year and cut greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a year’s pollution from 800,000 cars.

Although each fluorescent bulb contains just a wee little bit of mercury (about 5 milligrams, or about 1/100th of the amount in those old mercury thermometers), they shouldn’t be disposed of in regular household trash, according to energystar.gov, a Web site maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The mercury is safe and contained so long as the bulbs remain intact. So don’t twist or untwist them holding the twirled glass part. Twist from the base.

Those agencies recommend a site called www.earth911.org for finding information about recycling or disposing of hazardous household waste, but we got the skinny for you and found a better local site.

A grant to Ashland Sanitary and Recycling allows customers to drop off up to 10 fluorescent bulbs, compact or tubes, free at the Ashland Recycling Center on Water Street. Ashland Sanitary’s regular fee is 30 cents a foot for tubes and $1.25 for the compact bulbs at the Valley View Transfer Station or if you have more than 10 at the Water Street center. Crews also will pick them up at customers’ homes for a $10 pick-up fee, plus the regular disposal fee, if any.

Rogue Disposal & Recycling and Southern Oregon Sanitation don’t collect the bulbs, but both companies recommended Allied Environmental Services, 407 Boardman St., Medford; and Garris Environmental Inc., 535 Industrial Circle, White City, that will take them. The going rate at those companies we called is 20 cents a foot for tubes and around $1 for the bulbs.

To find out where to get rid of lots of stuff you wouldn’t otherwise throw in the garbage, visit www.roguesmart.org online for a recycling directory.

Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501

Quantum Shift and Earth911 Call for Environmental Video Help

Filed under: Earth911 - November 30, 2007

Calgary-based web broadcaster Quantum Shift TV, along with Earth911.com, will use online tools to deliver actionable and educational content to the next wave of environmental stewards: students.

Quantum Shift and Earth911 are currently staging a “Be the Change! Share the Story!” youth video contest, in which students from across the U.S. and Canada can upload videos documenting the planning and implementation of social and environmental projects. The first prize for the contest is $50,000.

As part of this partnership, Earth911.com has uploaded over 50 videos to www.quantumshift.tv that serve as eco-friendly examples for contest participants. Quantum Shift has provided a player so that visitors to www.Earth911.com can also view these videos.

Earth911.com will be co-branded with Quantum Shift to feature content on recycling, reduction and reuse, in addition to topical issues including electronic waste and water conservation. The site will direct students back to the Quantum Shift Web site in order to enter the contest.

“Quantum Shift TV’s platform was designed with the needs of nonprofits and socially-responsible businesses like Earth911.com in mind,” Leif Utne, VP Marketing at Quantum Shift TV, said in a release. “Through this partnership and our affiliation with Earth911.com, we aim to help students be the change, and share their stories.”

“Quantum Shift provides a high quality of video and the flexibility and control that Earth911.com desired for displaying videos on our site,” added Jonathan Smith, Earth911.com VP of Marketing. “We are excited to incorporate Quantum Shift’s video content in our student section and encourage students to get involved with this exciting contest.”

About the “Be the Change! Share the Story!” School Video Contest

Students in grades one through 12 in the U.S. and Canada are invited to work on a social or environmental project of their choice and document their progress in two short videos to be uploaded on the Web. In addition to making a difference in their community, students have an opportunity to win up to $50,000 in prizes for their school. The deadline to sign up and upload the first video is January 31, 2008. The second video is due by March 31, 2008. Winners will be announced at the end of May.

Earth 911.com delivers actionable local information on the environment that empowers people to act locally, live responsibly and contribute to sustainability. As Google’s #1 return for “Recycle,” and many other environmental action terms, Earth911.com is the nation’s leading source for non-activist, politically-neutral information. During its more than 16 years in “green” leadership, Earth911.com has established a wide base of strategic media partnerships including three appearances on the *Oprah Winfrey Show *during 2007 alone.

*Quantum Shift TV is described as a 21st Century storyteller renewing the cultural values of community, care and interconnectedness via a quality citizen journalism platform that integrates Web videos with games to create an active and engaging experience for its audience. Founded in early 2007, Quantum Shift TV is based in Calgary, Alberta, with a virtual team of experienced filmmakers, journalists, and entrepreneurs spread across Canada and the United States.*

Processor.com: Charitable IT Donations

Filed under: Earth911 - November 29, 2007

By Don Reisinger

Business ethics, while a relatively new phenomenon, has become one of the most important elements of any company looking to make a difference in the community. And while some of that revolves around doing what is right, an important element of acting ethically involves charitable donations. After data center managers decide they can reuse their old IT equipment (see “Prep Equipment For Exit” on page 1), some may consider donating it to a reputable charity.

Managers should consider a host of issues before they make the decision to donate electronic equipment to schools or other charitable organizations. Unfortunately, a slew of pitfalls can trick data center managers into donating equipment to fake charitable organizations that actually intend to sell the equipment for a profit.

In the end, though, finding the right charity for your small to midsized enterprise is an important step in becoming a more socially responsible company. And if that wasn’t enough to justify a contribution to a charity, most charitable donations are tax-deductible.

Find The Right Charity

Finding the right charity is not a simple task. Instead, the process may take some time for data center managers to consult the right organizations and find the charity that could benefit most from the equipment.

Before they begin their search for reputable organizations, data center managers should be aware that some organizations, while they purport to take equipment and deliver it to worthy individuals, actually resell the equipment for a profit. These organizations are usually left off such trusted charity lists as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) or Charity Watch (www.charitywatch.org).

A good place to start for most companies is a local charity. Instead of finding a national charity that doesn’t necessarily represent the community the company is a part of, a local charity could provide a number of benefits. In fact, if a company is concerned with giving back to the local community, charities in the general area typically have a better idea of what groups may need the equipment.

More often than not, local charities are the easiest to donate to. Instead of searching for national organizations that a company has no knowledge of, local charities typically have a more public face in the community, and consulting a newspaper or area Web site usually yields the contact info needed to get the ball rolling.

On the other hand, some organizations want to appeal to people on a more national level. If that’s true, managers should be aware that not all organizations donate to the same place. If a data center manager wants to donate to schools, she should consider the National Cristina Foundation (www.cristina.org), which takes donated IT equipment and delivers it all over the country to schools or to people with disabilities.

If a data center manager wants to donate equipment to low-income families that may not be able to purchase computer equipment for their homes, The On It Foundation (www.theonitfoundation.org) may be a viable possibility. Unlike some charities that send products to schools or other not-for-profit organizations, The On It Foundation focuses solely on bringing the community into the charitable process by providing free computers to local families who have school-age children and meet the requirements. The charity also provides 20 hours of training with each computer.

Factors To Consider

As Trey Granger, content manager of Earth 911 (earth911.org), an organization dedicated to making the public aware of charitable opportunities to save the environment, says, “There are several important things to consider when disposing of electronics.”

Perhaps the most important element in the charitable donation of equipment is security. While donating equipment is certainly an important step that any organization should take, it’s also important for that organization to realize that equipment will be leaving the building, so managers should remove all data in its entirety.

Granger says, “If an organization is recycling an electronic device that stores personal information (computer, cell phone), data center managers should make sure the device is wiped clean before it is donated. There are plenty of programs available that allow managers to erase an entire computer hard drive without the threat of losing important data.”

Data center managers also need to take into account the environmental factors that go into transporting electronic equipment. According to Granger, managers should strive to work with organizations that employ an electronic waste collector. These people are trained in how to transport electronic equipment in a way that is environmentally safe.

Another important consideration when donating to a charity is public perception. Simply put, if a company donates to a charity that does not represent the best interests of the public at large, the public’s perception of the company could be damaged.

The Advantages Of Charitable Donations

One of the most important elements of any charitable donation is how it affects your company. By offering equipment to the community, your company can enjoy the benefits of increased visibility, an expanded network that could allow for future growth, and the public’s knowledge that your company has given something back.

On the other hand, charitable contributions also behoove an organization from a financial standpoint. Instead of saving no tax dollars through a recycling program, organizations can enjoy a slew of tax benefits upon donating equipment to a charity. In fact, as long as a donation is made to a public charity and is recognized as such under federal taxing statutes, an organization can deduct donated equipment at its fair market value. In other words, an organization gets the benefit of tax liability deductions without sacrificing any expenses already taken against the donated assets.

Charitable donations are an important part of a solid and well-run organization. And while most SMEs are looking for ways to donate equipment in a way that would behoove them the most, there are a number of pitfalls that could easily throw that off. But with some diligence and the dedication to get equipment into the hands of people who need it most, a charitable organization that leads an industry in ethical behavior may be in any IT manager’s future.

MSN.com: 11 Ways to Be an Earth-Friendly Couple

Filed under: Earth911 - November 29, 2007

By Alonna Friedman

We saw Al Gore’s movie. We agreed we needed to wake up (we even got that catchy song stuck in our head for days). But eventually, we went back to our daily lives and tried not to think about those shrinking habitats, melting ice caps, and the effect these things are having at home (think: hurricanes). So here are a few new weekend projects for you as a duo: Embark on some (or even just one) of these simple Earth-saving strategies — you can both feel that you’re helping those future generations your parents and in-laws keep talking about!

The goal here is to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are the big offenders in the global-warming crisis.

Strategy 1:

Change your light bulbs. We’re sure you’ve heard this before—and we know it’s tempting to buy the four-pack of bulbs for $2—but compact fluorescent bulbs use two-thirds less energy and last 10 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs.

The payoff:
If Americans replaced just one bulb in their home, it would save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes in one year and prevent an amount of greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of 800,000 cars.

Strategy 2:

Bring your own mug to Starbucks. You’ll get a 10-cent discount, and it’s one less paper cup to end up in a landfill. While you’re there, pick up some free bags of spent coffee grounds to use as “green” fertilizer in your garden.

The payoff:
The store won’t create more waste when they throw away a cup, and you can start growing carbon dioxide-eating plants au naturale.

Strategy 3:

Save water. Run the dishwasher only when it’s full, and don’t pre-rinse dishes (a waste of time, water, and energy). But the real water drain is the shower—take shorter ones (and take them together!).

The payoff:
By skipping pre-rinse, you’ll save 200 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released and $40 a year. And by taking shorter showers, you’ll conserve 350 pounds of CO2 and keep about $100 in your pocket each year.

Look into low-flow shower heads. They still have great pressure but conserve gallons of water from each shower.

Strategy 4:

Turn off your computer. When in standby mode, your PC is still using energy. In fact, 75 percent of electricity used in your home comes from electronics that are turned off. Stop this phantom electro rush by plugging your computer into a power strip and shutting down completely at the end of the day. Also, remove your iPod, digital camera, and phone chargers from outlets when not in use.

The payoff:
Turning off a 75-watt monitor for 40 hours a week might only save $4.38 a month, but it reduces CO2 (greenhouse gas emissions) by 750 pounds, burning 450 fewer pounds of coal each year!

Strategy 5:

Cancel catalogs. Many of us have a steady flow of unwanted and unsolicited junk mail, catalogs, and magazines. Let’s say everyone in New York City received 10 a month: That would make 240,248 tons of paper waste! Call 888-5-OPTOUT or get off the lists at NewDream.org. Make sure to recycle what you do receive. Find out where to recycle in your area at Earth911.org.

The payoff:
Less energy is spent on creating paper (which kills trees we need) and less trash is created when we can reuse products. The immediate return? Less clutter at home!

Strategy 6:

Reuse plastic bags. Instead of chucking 100 billion plastic sacks a year (wow!), try and get a second, third, or tenth use out of them. Tote your lunch to work or your groceries home, or at least use them as garbage bags. Better yet, next time you shop, try a reusable bag. Learn how at ReusableBags.com.

The payoff:
You’re reducing pollution. The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile.

Strategy 7:

Green your car. The next time you’re in the market for a new car, check out an eco option like a hybrid model—whatever you do, don’t get an SUV. In the meantime, take care of your current ride with regular tune-ups and properly inflated tires.

The payoff:
Driving a 13-mile-per-gallon SUV wastes more energy in one year than if you left your refrigerator door open for six years! Getting regular tune-ups, performing maintenance, and having clean air filters will help you burn less gas and therefore pollute the air less. And properly inflated tires could save around 2 billion gallons of gas each year.

Strategy 8:

Use recycled paper…in the bathroom. Most of the TP we use is made from virgin trees found in forests previously untouched by humans. Seeing as trees absorb carbon dioxide, we’d get better use from them living than we would as a roll in the powder room.

The payoff:
If every household in America replaced one roll of toilet paper with a recycled postconsumer waste roll, 424,000 trees would still be standing. Look for eco paper towels and napkins too. If every household used recycled napkins, we would spare one million trees.

Strategy 9:

Buy energy-efficient appliances. The old fridge conked out. Great! Replace it with an Energy Star appliance (EnergyStar.gov) and you’ll use at least 15 percent less energy and water in your home. It might be a little pricier to buy, but you’ll be saving money on your utility bills and helping the environment.

The payoff:
If we all installed one Energy Star appliance, it would be like planting 1.7 million acres of new trees.

Strategy 10:

Plant a tree. Adding green to your garden is aesthetically—and earth—pleasing.

The payoff:
Just one tree (native to your region) will help make cleaner air and save the environment from 5,000 pounds of hot carbon dioxide each year.

Strategy 11:

Give and voice your support. Contribute or volunteer with the green organization of your choice. And tell a friend to do the same. Some we like: OnePercentForThePlanet.org, SaveOurEnvironment.org, SierraClub.org and ConservationFund.org. Sign the “Emissions Petition” at EnvironmentalDefense.org, and send the message to your local government representatives that you want to undo global warming.

The payoff:
Together time. Oh, and feeling like you’re doing something about this Earth-destroying epidemic.

Business Wire: Yellow Book USA and DistribuTech Sign Exclusive Partnership

Filed under: Earth911 - November 28, 2007

November 28, 2007

Places Yellow Book Directories in Retail Stores Across the Nation

UNIONDALE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Through a new deal with DistribuTech, the nation’s largest distributor of free publications, Yellow Book directories will be displayed in participating retail stores across the US.

DistribuTech places free informational publications in more than 18,000 stores in 41 states, plus the District of Columbia, which includes grocery stores, pharmacies, mass merchandisers and convenience stores.

Yellow Book directories will be distributed by DistribuTech initially in more than 6,000 locations with plans to expand to approximately 15,000 locations.

This news is good for shoppers who have just moved into the area and are looking for a complete resource of local buying information. They can easily pick up the local Yellow Book directory in advance of the next annual Yellow Book distribution to homes.

Yellow Book and DistribuTech have similar national footprints, making this a natural partnership for both companies. This arrangement will be exclusive in their common footprints. Both companies also provide local products designed to help consumers find information quickly and easily.

The placement of the Yellow Book directories in store entrances will also provide consumers with a new convenient pick-up point for additional directories.

About DistribuTech

DistribuTech is the largest distributor of free publications in the United States with over 60,000 locations in 41 states, comprised of 72 markets. DistribuTech maintains exclusive community rack programs with the nation’s largest retail chains, including grocery, drug, convenience, video, fitness and other mass merchandise locations. DistribuTech is a division of Consumer Source Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PRIMEDIA (NYSE: PRM). For more information visit www.distributech.net.

About Yellow Book USA

Yellow Book USA is the #1 independent publisher of print and online yellow pages directories nationwide. Founded in 1930, Yellow Book published nearly 1,000 printed directory editions in its 2007 fiscal year with a circulation of approximately 123 million. The company’s online directory, yellowbook.com, reaches millions of users via computers and mobile phones through organic web searches and through Yellow Book’s network of partner sites. The company’s humorous advertising campaigns have made Yellow Book one of the nation’s most recognized brands. Yellow Book has approximately 6,000 sales employees, one of the largest media sales forces in the U.S. Over the past decade Yellow Book has made over 50 acquisitions and now operates in 47 states, plus the District of Columbia. Visit the company’s website at www.yellowbook.com.

Yellow Book asks you to please recycle your outdated telephone directories. Through its industry-exclusive partnership with Earth 911, you will find your community’s recycling locations in your local Yellow Book and at www.yellowbook.com/RecyclingInformation. You can also learn more about recycling and the environment at www.earth911.org.

Medford Mail Tribune: Going Green: The Hard, Medium and Easy Ways

Filed under: Earth911 - November 27, 2007

Going green is the new black in 2007. Advice abounds on how to cut your carbon dioxide output and do your part in the battle against global warming. But how much does a person have to spend to go green—and what kind of environmental impact would that spending actually have?

The United States is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, accounting for 25 percent of the world’s total. The average American is responsible for about 20 metric tons a year of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), a standard measure of greenhouse gases. That’s about 40,000 pounds of CO2e a year, per capita, a far greater number than that of any other industrialized country. Sixteen percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated from our homes—from the fossil fuels burned to power our electronics, lighting, heating and cooling systems.

We set out to evaluate a few of the in-vogue recommendations based on what they cost and what they’d do for the environment. We offer three levels of feasibility—hard, medium and easy. Where possible, we’ve crunched the numbers to estimate how much a change would cost, how many pounds of CO2e each step can save and the percentage each would knock off one person’s emissions.

The Hard Way: Buy an energy-efficient house

Cost: Energy-efficient homes may cost a few thousand dollars above market value, which would generally add about $10 to $15 to one’s monthly mortgage payments. Some will not be valued above market.

Savings: It’s estimated that an energy-efficient house will shave $30 off monthly utility bills for an average home, according to Energy Star for Homes, an EPA organization. The average U.S. home is about 2,500 square feet.

Impact: 4,500 pounds of CO2e a year, or 11 percent of one person’s total emissions.

The EPA’s Energy Star program works with 3,500 home builders—including 225 in Oregon—to spur the construction of homes that are 25 percent to 30 percent more energy efficient than a home built to the International Energy Conservation Code, which most states use as a standard.

That increase in efficiency comes from increased insulation, better windows, controlled air filtration, and efficient heating and cooling systems. So far, about 750,000 such homes have been built. The EPA expects 2 million by the end of the decade, reducing the United State’s CO2e emissions by 1 million metric tons.

The Medium Way: Switch to “green power”

Cost: $120 to $500 a year. Varies by area and size of home.

Impact: 14,173 pounds of CO2e a year, according to the EPA, or 35 percent of one person’s total.

Go to the Pacific Power’s Web site, and you’ll find a section called Blue Sky, where customers are encouraged to enroll in a green power program. Pacific Power offers three renewable-power options to its Oregon customers, and the company says more than 20,000 Oregonians are purchasing electricity generated from wind, biomass and solar.

One option, called Blue Sky Block, lets you purchase wind energy in 100 kilowatt-hour (kwh) increments called blocks for an additional fixed cost of $1.95 per block per month. You can buy as many blocks as you’d like, allowing you to match a portion or all your energy usage to new wind resources around the region.

A second option, called Blue Sky Usage, equals your total monthly usage and features energy from 100 percent new renewable sources — wind, biomass and solar. For the average home using 1,000 kwh monthly, Blue Sky usage would cost about $8 more per month. You would prevent almost 24,000 pounds of CO2 emissions annually—as much as your car makes when driven about 25,000 miles.

Blue Sky Habitat works like the Usage option, but also includes a $2.50 monthly donation to The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the restoration of native salmon habitat. The average additional monthly cost for this option is $10.30.

The Easy Way: Use low-energy light bulbs

Cost: $19.76 for a 12-pack of GE Energy Smart CFL Light Bulbs, at Walmart.com, or $4.98 for a single Soft White Compact Fluorescent Bulb, at Lowe’s and other major retailers.

Savings: $30 per bulb

Impact: 1,200 pounds of CO2e a year (for 12 bulbs), or 3 percent of one person’s total.

Only 10 percent of the energy consumed by a normal light bulb generates light—the rest just makes the bulb hot. Compact-fluorescent lights convert more energy to usable light and less to heat, requiring 75 percent less electricity. They’re about eight times more expensive at the checkout counter, but will last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs—saving about $30 over the life of each one.

But CFLs aren’t no-brainer purchases: Some give off harsher light than others; some work with dimmer switches, some don’t. Also be aware that each bulb contains about 4 milligrams of mercury, a small amount but enough to warrant special disposal. The EPA recommends placing it in a sealed plastic bag and discarding at a local hazardous waste collection site. (Earth911.org can locate the closest site to you.)

On the Road

In the U.S., the transportation sector accounts for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions and is the fastest-growing major source of greenhouse gases, according to a recent EPA draft report. Cars and light-duty trucks contributed to 61 percent of transportation CO2 emissions in 2005, down from 63 percent in 1990.

InterGovWorld.com: Web 2.0 Eyed for Next-Gen Public Service Delivery

Filed under: Earth911 - November 27, 2007

By Lisa Williams

Is Web 2.0 the next big thing for government?

This was the question posed by Paul Macmillan, national public sector industry lead for Deloitte and Touche LLP, at a Web 2.0-themed technology forum held in Toronto yesterday, hosted by the Office of the Corporate Chief Technology Officer of Ontario.

“There is a clear business value in Web 2.0,” said Macmillan, who added that partnership and networks are the sources of innovation in the private sector.

For government to move forward with Web 2.0, however, MacMillan said the public sector needs to establish its core role in the context of Web 2.0 technologies.

He stressed the government needs to veer away from the industrial age concepts of organization and design, and move into the information age. “This is especially critical for the next generation of professionals who will drive the transformation of the information age organization,” he said.

Macmillan cited the Web site, earth911.org as an example of a site that demonstrates the promise of Web 2.0.B It’s a site that links federal agencies, local governments and community groups into one source.

The builders of the Earth911 site believe that what citizens are interested in is access to information they can rely on, and aren’t necessarily concerned with whoever is providing the information, according to Macmillan.

Another forum participant, Mark Relph, director of Microsoft Canada’s developer and platform group, said the term Web 2.0 is “massively abused, ill-defined and misleading.”

When it comes to the public sector, Relph said, “We shouldn’t think in Web 2.0 terms, but in service transformation terms.”

He said there are three major trends within the realm of service transformation: service delivery through software-as-a-service model, composition, which involves how the application is built, and service experiences, which is an area where “the Web 2.0 term is valid,” said Relph.

He said these three trends lead to an overall transformation in the services industry and have massive implications for internal applications and infrastructure.

He stressed the importance of thinking about the user experience, and to be mindful of the generation that will want to use these services in the future. “The current generation prefers social networking and instant messaging to traditional e-mail and browser-based systems.”

Sun Microsystems calls Web 2.0 “The Participation Age,” said Frances Newbigin, vice-president of software practices for Sun Microsystems Canada.

She said participation presents new challenges, specifically trust, which involves a secure environment, and speed as it relates to rapid and flexible standards-based developments.

Ultimately, Government 2.0 is about changing the business model and enabling technology to fit within that model, to become more flexible, transparent, networked, and collaborative, Macmillan said.

“Web 2.0 tools have a role to play with how government collaborates with stakeholders and citizens,” he said.

The value of Web 2.0 for government as outlined by Macmillan includes: citizen-driven innovation, open source thinking, aggregating and providing information, transparency (outcome reporting), and network facilitation.

Fire Safety Do’s and Don’ts

Filed under: Earth911 - November 27, 2007

By Jennifer Abbasi

House fires peak in December and January. The three biggest holiday risks:

Trees

Don’t buy a dried-out tree; it’ll be far more flammable than a fresh one. If needles shower down when you bounce the trunk on the ground, the tree is already too dry.

Do keep your tree hydrated, which makes it less likely to catch on fire. Cut off a half inch from the bottom of the trunk when you get home, and make sure the water level never falls below the base of the tree.

Don’t set up your tree near heat sources, like the fireplace and heating vents, which will dry it out faster and increase the risk of its catching fire.

Do toss or recycle your tree three to four weeks after you buy it—the older it gets, the more flammable it is. To find tree-recycling programs in your area, visit earth911.org.

Don’t burn your tree in the fireplace. Trees that aren’t fresh can burn out of control. (Wrapping paper can cause flash fires, too.)

Do choose only “fire retardant” artificial trees.

Candles

Do use broad-based ones instead of tall, thin ones, which can tip over easily.

Don’t leave kids who are mobile alone in a room with a lit candle.

Do blow out candles before going to bed.

Don’t dress your tree with lit candles.

Decorative lights

Don’t use them on a metallic tree, which can conduct a charge if a light malfunctions.

Do check tree lights for broken or cracked sockets, frayed wires, or loose connections.

Don’t connect more than three strings of lights to one extension cord or to each other.

Do turn off the lights before leaving the house or going to bed; a short could start a fire.

Environment News Service: California Diverts Fluorescents From Landfills

Filed under: Earth911 - November 26, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, California, November 26, 2007 (ENS) – The California Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to keep millions of compact fluorescent bulbs out of landfills because they contain small amounts of mercury.

The state agency is working in collaboration with the U.S. EPA under the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program, NPEP.

Cal/EPA, the first state agency to join the partnership program, would like to help lead the nation in continued efforts to remove mercury from the environment.

The state aims to divert approximately 4.5 million compact fluorescent light bulbs from landfills in one year.

Celebrated for their efficiency, CFLs have one drawback – mercury. (Photo credit unknown)
“Reducing the impact of mercury on human health and the ecosystem is a priority for the EPA,” said Wayne Nastri, administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “We are very pleased to have our state partner Cal/EPA join this program and set an innovative example for other states throughout the country.”

“The problem with the bulbs is that they’ll break before they get to the landfill,” says John Skinner, executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America, the trade group for the people who handle trash and recycling.

“They’ll break in containers, or they’ll break in a dumpster or they’ll break in the trucks,” Skinner told NPR. “Workers may be exposed to very high levels of mercury when that happens.”

Because mercury is so persistent in the environment, and so toxic at such minute quantities, the EPA launched the NPEP Mercury Challenge in 2004 to focus on the elimination of mercury.

“We already are working hard to reduce mercury through our Take-It-Back program, and by combining those efforts with NPEP, we hope to achieve even greater reductions,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Linda Adams.

Cal/EPA has committed to reducing mercury through its own California Take-It-Back Partnership, a collaboration of government, private business, and non-profit organizations that provides free, local and convenient ways for California residents to recycle everyday household wastes such as batteries, fluorescent lamps and cell phones.

Since the beginning of 2007, about nine million fluorescent bulbs have been purchased in California, preventing the release of 1.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide compared to traditional incandescent bulbs.

While these bulbs are extremely energy efficient, they each contain trace amounts of mercury. The partnership helps keep mercury, a neurotoxin that can cause kidney and brain damage, out of the environment.

When the time comes to replace a compact fluorescent bulb, seal the old bulb in a plastic bag and take it to the nearest Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Site – see Earth 911 to find the site nearest you.

NPEP, a voluntary federal program, aims to reduce the use or release of four million pounds of toxic chemicals in the United States by 2011.

Cape Cod Times: Guides Help Separate Eco-Consciousness From P.R.

Filed under: Earth911 - November 25, 2007

By Juliet Eilperin

As more vacationers have begun to contemplate the impact of their travels on the planet, from the greenhouse gas emissions of their flights to the litter they leave behind in scenic areas, mainstream travel publishers have devised a new category of books to address their concerns.

The new responsible and ethical travel guides, including Lonely Planet’s recent “Code Green: Experiences of a Lifetime” and the upcoming “Green Travel: The World’s Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels” from Fodor’s Travel, aim to give readers a way to judge the sustainability of operations from lodges to wildlife treks. In a world where commercial enterprises are increasingly eager to tout their eco-tourist credentials, these specialty books help travelers distinguish environmental ventures from orchestrated PR. (In fact, “Code Green” has a short section on “How to Tell if Your Holiday Is Green or Just Greenwash,” and Rough Guides has a similar feature in its recently released “25 Ultimate Experiences: Ethical Travel.”)

Some publishers, such as the U.K.’s Rough Guides and Australia’s Lonely Planet, have integrated the concept into all their books and Web sites. They urge readers to reduce their global warming emissions and compensate for those they generate over the course of a vacation. Both companies’ Web sites have a feature allowing visitors to calculate the global warming impact of any given trip and then donate money to Climate Care, a British group that compensates for carbon emissions by funding initiatives that cut greenhouse gases. Every Rough Guide, moreover, contains a section urging travelers to stay longer in a given location to minimize their climate impact.

Brice Gosnell, Lonely Planet’s regional publisher for the Americas, said readers are demanding this service and have indicated that they welcome the changes guidebooks have made. “It’s just about giving people the information they need to make appropriate decisions,” he said.

Mark Ellingham, Rough Guides’ co-founder, said guidebooks “should encourage our readers, and by extension airlines and governments, to treat the issue with the gravity it demands.”

U.S. travel guidebook publishers, such as Fodor’s and Frommer’s, have traditionally confined this sort of advice to books targeting countries where environmental activities are most popular, such as those in Latin America. Fodor’s has an eco-tourism chapter in its Costa Rica book, while Frommer’s tackles the subjects in guidebooks on such countries as Belize, Panama, Brazil and Peru.

“In general, the U.S. market is just becoming aware of eco-travel, carbon footprint and the impact of travel on the planet,” said Fodor’s Travel publisher Tim Jarrell. He said that as Americans “increasingly become concerned about global warming, they will begin to examine different parts of their life.”

Kelly Regan, Frommer’s Travel Guides editorial director, said her company is working to educate readers about practical steps, such as reusing towels and linens to conserve energy and water. “It’s a very small thing, but it can reap big benefits,” she said.

Fodor’s and Frommer’s are expanding their responsible travel offerings, covering not only which hotels use solar power and sustainably harvested wood, but which tourist activities improve the welfare of the local communities they touch. Fodor’s “Green Travel,” which will be published in the spring, identifies three criteria as essential to responsible travel: environmental conservation, social and cultural awareness, and economic benefits for the communities tourists visit. Lonely Planet’s “Code Green” and Rough Guides’ “25 Ultimate Experiences” apply a similar standard to their trips.

Publishers also are exploring the possibility of introducing rating systems in their standard guides that would let readers know which accommodations are greener than others. Lonely Planet plans to publish a “green listing” that will establish criteria for comparing the climate effects of different lodging options.

These changes may seem minor in light of the massive carbon emissions that global travel produces each year: A round-trip flight for two passengers from California to Europe produces about the same amount of carbon dioxide that a U.S. car emits on average during an entire year, and air travel is expected to be the single biggest contributor to human-induced climate change by 2020.

But Regan said these books speak to travelers’ sense of urgency to see natural wonders before global warming makes them disappear. Her company hires local writers as often as possible, she said, which cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions, and tells its readers how to reduce their carbon footprint by taking nonstop flights.

Over time, Regan added, customers will get used to these new approaches to travel in the same way they’ve adjusted to stricter airport security measures: “You kind of assimilate it, and that’s the new reality.”

It’s easy to be green
If you aren’t familiar with Earth911 (http://earth911.org), go to the Web site to find eco-solutions to keep all aspects of your life more eco-healthy. That includes travel. Earth911 offers these eight suggestions to “green up” something as simple as a road trip:

Malibu Times: Malibu Fire Emergency Contacts, Information

Filed under: Uncategorized - November 25, 2007

Those who have lost their pets or animals can call 888.738.7911 or visit www.pets911.com to find phone numbers and locations of animal shelters or agencies nearby.A state-of-the-art mobile insurance bus from Farmers Insurance will arrive in Malibu between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Monday to assist those affected by the fire. The bus will be parked on Pacific Coast Highway at the corner of Heathercliff Road. For more information, call 310.457.5092.

The Petfinder.com Foundation Web site at www.petfinder.com/disaster updates statistics and contact information for animal shelters and rescued pets.

The foundation has also set up a 24-hour call center to link evacuees with volunteers willing to provide a temporary home for a displaced pet. You can search for a foster provider on the Web site or call 866.654.4732.

City Emergency Hotline: 310.456.9982

City’s Web site: www.ci.malibu.ca.us

Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station: 310.456.6652

General Information, Los Angeles County Fire Department.: 323.881.2411

Web: www.fire.lacounty.gov

Fire Prevention and Inspection (Brush Clearance): 818.880.0341

Fire Plan Unit: 818.890.5783

(Identifies hotspots, makes presentations to homeowners)

Fire Station 70 (Division Headquarters) 3970 Carbon Canyon Rd.: 310.456.2513

Fire Station 71 – 28722 PCH: 310.457.2578

Fire Station 88 – 23720 Malibu Rd.: 310.456.2812

Fire Station 99 – 32550 PCH: 310.457.3706

Wildfire Evacuation Checklist: www.fire.lacounty.gov/SafetyPreparedness/SafetyPrepFireStorms.asp

Brush Clearance: www.fire.lacounty.gov/Forestry/Forestry.asp

Fire Prevention Tips: www.fire.lacounty.gov/FirePrevention/FirePrevFirePreventionTips.asp

Daily Weather Danger Report and Terms: www.fire.lacounty.gov/Forestry/PDF/FireWeatherDanger.pdf;

www.fire.lacounty.gov/Forestry/FireWeatherDangerTerms.asp

Evacuation Checklist: www.fire.lacounty.gov/SafetyPreparedness/PDFs/Operation%20Evacuation.pdf

The Malibu Times Web site: www.malibutimes.com

Capital Press: Growers tout benefits of real Christmas trees

Filed under: Earth911 - November 23, 2007

Industry promotes environmental superiority, quality over fake trees

Elizabeth Larson
Capital Press
Friday, November 23, 2007

Christmas trees are loaded for shipment to retail stores and wholesale outlets at the Bordiers Nursery near Escondido. This nursery escaped damage in the recent wildfires in north San Diego County.
‘Tis the season for Christmas tree farmers to take their produce to market and tree farmers are emphasizing their industry’s eco-friendliness as concerns about fake trees and what they’re made of mount.

Sam Minturn, executive director of the California Christmas Tree Association, said that the Christmas tree season officially kicks off the day after Thanksgiving.

Last year, the association recorded its members sold 2.8 million trees, with prices expected to go up marginally this year – about 5 to 10 percent – due to gas prices, Minturn said.

The big concern for tree growers is fake Christmas trees, 85 percent of which come from China, Minturn said. The concern, at least with some of the older trees, is that they contain lead.

The association’s website, www.cachristmas.com, explores the issues of real versus fake trees, Minturn said. The site includes links to articles, including one on a Swedish study that says natural trees are five times more environmentally compatible than plastic trees.

In addition, the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Growers Association is running a promotional campaign to help target consumers in California, a major market for trees grown on Pacific Northwest tree farms.

Rick Dungey of the National Christmas Tree Association said his group’s website, www.christmastree.org, uses a chart to compare real versus fake trees.

“The problem is there is a lot of really confusing information and mixed messages out there and most of it comes from the fake tree people,” Dungey said. “Somebody told me they got a fake tree and on the packaging it says ‘better for the environment because you don’t have to cut a tree down.’ It comes in a cardboard box. That’s a mixed message.”

So, this year, they’re highlighting the issue.

“As an industry, the farmers and the retailers are involved too,” Dungey said. “Let’s raise our voices a little bit louder.”

Dungey explained that real Christmas trees come from farms, not forests. Yet, the fake tree industry has been trying to convince the general public that they’re saving pristine forests and that it is bad to cut down trees. That is at best a half-truth and at worst a flat-out lie, Dungey said.

Real Christmas trees also have the support of environmental groups, Dungey said.

“Even the tree huggers themselves – from Arbor Day Foundation to Earth 911 – have been partners of ours for a long time in promoting recycling,” Dungey said. “Almost every environmental group has said it is better to use a natural product over a manufactured product, and that’s what it really boils down to. Do you want to buy a natural, biodegradable product grown by a farmer here in North America or do you want a synthetic, manufactured, nonbiodegradable product made in a Chinese factory?”

Minturn said this is also the time of year when television stations like to burn a Christmas tree to show how improperly lighted trees can start a fire.

It’s enough to make a Christmas tree grower wince.

“They want to promote safety and all they promote is ‘don’t burn a tree,’” Minturn said.

What these demonstrations fail to explain, said Minturn, is that artificial trees burn also.

He pointed to a favorite clip on the National Christmas Tree website, where they show “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in which Leno plays a clip of a tree-burning demonstration where, to get the real tree to light, they had to douse it with gasoline.

The National Christmas Tree Association reports that a National Fire Protection Association report found that Christmas trees – real or fake – are ignited in less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all home fires.

Consumers aren’t just interested in real trees, but in potted Christmas trees that can be replanted after the holidays, Minturn said.

“It’s a very difficult job, I would say, to do it successfully,” Minturn said of growing container trees.

Yet some of their growers are making it work and finding increased market share.

Minturn said he also gets a few calls every year from consumers looking for organic Christmas trees, which one association member grows.

Dungey said, environmentally, real Christmas trees are the best option.

“We have got to make sure that all of the facts and truths are out there and people are not confused and misled anymore,” he said. “The problem is the reason that they are misled again is the fake tree people have been telling them these half-truths and lies for so many years. Once people realize all of the facts, we have a clear-cut victory.”

Elizabeth Larson is based in Lucerne. E-mail elarson@capitalpress.com.

Grand Junction Sentinel: How to … Choose and/or cut down a Christmas tree

Filed under: Earth911 - November 23, 2007

By Samantha Stiles

Yes, a National Christmas Tree Association exists, and here’s how it can help.

“Cutting the tree is easiest as a two person project,” according to the association’s Web site, www.christmastree.org.

The association recommended the person doing the cutting lie on the ground near the trunk while sawing. The second person should hold the bottom tree limbs up and out of the way while tugging on the tree lightly on the side of the tree opposite the cut.

The association also offered these tidbits of advice for choosing a tree.

1. Remember to measure the space you have for a tree both vertically and horizontally before heading to a retail lot or a tree farm.

2. Do a freshness test on the trees. Green needles on fresh trees should break crisply, according to the association. Needle loss, discoloration, musty odor and wrinkled bark are dryness indicators.

3. As how to care for it and where you can recycle the tree at the end of the season.

If you’re in doubt of how to cut down a Christmas try, it might be better to let the pros do it.

Note: Trey Granger, spokesperson for Earth 911, Earth911.com, cautioned people against using the fake spray snow on their real trees. They can no longer be recycled.

Also Earth911.com has a zip code recycling center finder.

Christmas tree permits: Tree permits for the Grand Mesa and Uncompahgre National Forests are available through Dec. 31 at the U.S. Forest Services offices in Grand Junction and Delta.

Permits for designated cutting areas on Grand Mesa are also available at the Mesa General Store in Mesa (credit cards are not accepted).

Some of the cutting ares are not accessible by vehicles. Varieties of trees are also limited to certain areas.

More information is available by calling 242-8211 in Grand Junction, 874-6600 in Delta or 240-5300 in Montrose.

The Boston Globe: 84 Ways You Can Help the Planet

Filed under: Earth911 - November 18, 2007

By Meaghan O’Neill

AT HOME

SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. Energy conservation can be simple, but it has a big impact. If every home in the United States replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), the energy saved would prevent greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to taking more than 1 million cars off the road, says Arthur Rosenfeld, a physicist and member of the California Energy Commission. He also says that if Americans achieved a 2 percent reduction in energy use each year for the next 30 to 40 years—a feasible rate—we would be halfway to stabilizing our greenhouse-gas emissions. “What many people don’t realize is how easy conservation is,” says Rosenfeld.

MAKE SURE “OFF” IS OFF. Household electronics account for more than 25 percent of home electricity use, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Since chargers for iPods, cellphones, electric drills, and the like draw electricity even when not connected to their mates, these should be removed from sockets as soon as the devices are juiced. Anything with a standby light—TVs, for example—should be plugged into a power strip that is shut down when not in use. (Electronics qualified by the federal Energy Star program—a joint effort of the EPA and the Department of Energy—use lower wattage in standby mode.)

REDUCE, THEN REUSE, THEN RECYCLE. In the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart—an architect and a chemist who collaborate on developing ecologically-smart products and materials—note that “more than 90 percent of materials extracted to make durable goods in the US become waste almost immediately.” Think about it: Whether you buy a candy bar or a DVD player, you will undoubtedly toss some packaging into the trash before ever taking a bite or watching one movie. Someday there will likely be a wide variety of packaging that can be composted or endlessly reused and recycled; until then, consuming less that’s new, reusing anything you can, and recycling what’s left are your best options.

AND THEN RECYCLE EVEN MORE. When citizens ask for and participate in recycling programs, cities respond. Boston Recycles launched a pilot program this year in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale that gives residents large, wheeled bins for all of their recyclables – there’s no sorting wine bottles from newspaper from plastic. “The results are very encouraging,” says James W. Hunt, chief of Environmental and Energy Services for the city of Boston, who notes that recycling tonnage has gone up 53 percent in those areas. No matter where you live, recycle as much as you can, and ask your municipality to do more.

CONDUCT AN AUDIT. More than 20 percent of the atmosphere-warming carbon-dioxide emissions created in the United States come from energy used in homes, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Getting a professional energy audit is the single best way to identify and solve inefficiencies, experts say, which, of course, can save homeowners money on energy bills, too. Some utilities, such as KeySpan (keyspansaves.com), now part of National Grid, offer help setting up audits and provide rebates for weatherization upgrades and equipment improvements.

STOP HAND WASHING THE DISHES. Good news: Using the dishwasher is actually better for the planet than washing dishes by hand. The average energy-efficient dishwasher uses just four gallons per cycle, saving as much as 5,000 gallons of water per year compared with hand washing, as well as $40 in energy costs and 230 hours of washing time, according to the EPA.

REPLACE WITH ENERGY STAR. When you need a new major appliance, heating or cooling device, or light fixture, buy an Energy Star model. Prices vary, but many manufacturers offer a range of certified products. “There are two price tags when you buy a product,” says Maria Vargas, EPA spokeswoman for Energy Star. “The actual one, and what it costs to operate a device over its lifetime. The Energy Star promise is payback on your energy bills within five years or less.”

POWER THE GRID. Going “off the grid”—living without power from central utilities—sounds like a good way to lessen your personal impact on global warming, but there’s a better way to help. Homes that use a decentralized renewable energy source like solar panels can sell excess power back to the public utility provider. In Massachusetts, utilities are required to offer “netmetering,” a system that allows the meter to spin backward when a home creates more power than it uses, sending energy back to the supplier and showing up as credit on bills.

BUY RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS. Some electrical companies—including National Grid’s GreenUp program, which is offered in Rhode Island and Massachusetts—offer customers the option to purchase renewable energy certificates through their utility bills. This doesn’t mean that the power delivered to your home will come directly from a wind turbine or other renewable energy source, but the money you pay—usually a few dollars extra per month—supports alternative energy projects sponsored by private energy companies. Some credits are tax deductible, depending on the clean energy certificate supplier; your utility provider can let you know specifics for your area, or go to Mass Energy Consumers’ Alliance (massenergy.com) to get started.

CLEAN UP YOUR CLEANING PRODUCTS. There are about 15,000 different chemical compounds sold in the United States each year, according to the EPA, but not all have been evaluated for human safety. Some conventional household cleaning products contain known and suspected carcinogens and hormone disrupters, and many can induce asthma and other respiratory illnesses. “To be on the safe side, it definitely makes sense to avoid things such as air fresheners, optical [laundry] brighteners, and anything with artificial fragrance,” notes epidemiologist Julia Brody, executive director of the Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit scientific research organization in Newton focused on finding links between the environment and women’s health. Homemade options make good alternatives. “Water is a great cleaner,” says Brody, “along with vinegar and borax.”

GO NATIVE. “Our backyards are corridors to wild habitats,” says Debra Strick, a spokeswoman for the New England Wild Flower Society, where flora that grow naturally in New England yards will flourish without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, and require less watering than nonnative varieties. Plants should be nursery-propagated, not taken from the wild, and be sure to avoid invasive species altogether.

COMPOST. SERIOUSLY. Composting kitchen and yard waste is one of the best ways homeowners can reduce the amount of garbage they’re sending to the dump. Yes, organic waste is biodegradable, but without light and oxygen, anything can become virtually mummified in a landfill; according to the EPA, 30-year-old cabbages and carrots have been identified in dumps. Even city residents can make a difference. In Boston, for example, leaves and grass clippings are turned into compost that enriches the city’s 150 community gardens. “Gardeners call compost ‘black gold,’” says Valerie Burns, president of the Boston Natural Areas Network (bostonnatural.org). “Without it, our community gardens couldn’t grow food year after year, because the soil would become depleted of nutrients.” Apartment dwellers, you’re not necessarily off the hook: The network recommends vermiculture—that’s letting worms make mulch out of your organic waste—for indoor bin composting. Ask about getting started at a gardening store.

PASS ON PARTICLEBOARD. Indoor air quality is affected by formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, found in carpeting, plywood, subflooring, paint, and furnishings. You don’t have to remodel your entire house, but choose lower-VOC options going forward. Strong fumes are one indicator of harmful gases, but some products, including interior paints, indicate whether they are “low-VOC” on their packaging.

PLUS

Buy food at farmers’ markets to help support local agriculture. Turn the water off while shaving and brushing your teeth. Use aerating shower heads and faucets. Insulate your hot water heater’s tank with a $20 insulating jacket from the hardware store. Insulate yourself with a cardigan, and turn the thermostat down to a comfortable 68 degrees this winter. (Lower it to 55 while you’re out or sleeping.) Seal the gaps around windows and doors; a typically leaky US home has the equivalent to a 3-by-3-foot hole in the wall, according to the nonprofit research and lobbying organization Natural Resources Defense Council. Use a clothesline if you can. According to Energy Star, washers and dryers account for 6 percent of the average home’s annual energy bill. Learn more about how your home and your lifestyle choices affect the environment by visiting the Nexus Green Resource Building Center, which is free and open to the public (38 Chauncy Street, seventh floor, Boston, 617- 374-3740, greenroundtable.org). Recycle obsolete computers and home electronics (it costs just $10 per large item, like a monitor, at Staples stores).

IN THE COMMUNITY

PUT YOURSELF IN THE PUBLIC EYE. Got an environmental platform or plan? Run for town council, state senate, or a position in a civic organization. In 2006, Allison Rogers, who had graduated from Harvard two years before, decided to spread the word by competing for the title of Miss Rhode Island. She surprised the pageant circuit with her unusual cause—the environment—and won the crown. She spent her yearlong reign making presentations about global warming to students, businesses, and other groups; she even marched in parades instead of waving at crowds from a car. “You hear that the environmental movement is preaching to the choir,” says Rogers, who now works for the Green the Capitol Office of the US House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. “I wanted to reach out to a new audience.”

JOIN AN ADVOCACY GROUP. Organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc.org) and the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) lobby and run awareness campaigns for a broad range of causes. Other national nonprofits, such as Surfrider Foundation (surfrider.org), focus on single issues, such as ocean protection; that group’s regional chapters hold beach cleanups. Strictly local organizations—like the Massachusetts Audubon Society (massaudubon.org), which works to preserve the region’s natural heritage, and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow (healthytomorrow.org), which advocates in Massachusetts for the regulation of environmental health hazards—tackle issues close to home.

SHAKE UP YOUR TOWN. Taking action locally can be more rewarding—and more immediate—than trying to foster change higher up the chain. Attend town or city meetings to bring up pressing environmental issues that aren’t already on the agenda, or speak out on those that are. Many town and city council or board of selectmen meetings have dedicated time for citizen communications; if yours doesn’t, contact your representative or a member of the energy, recycling, solid waste, or other municipal commissions to request that your cause be placed on the docket. Kate Abend, climate change outreach coordinator at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a national scientific research and advocacy group with headquarters in Cambridge, suggests sending a handwritten note or calling local politicians to add a personal touch. “Be as specific as possible: Is there a global warming reduction target you want to achieve? Did a problem affect your child? Tell the story of why you care, because that’s what’s appealing.” The organization’s website (ucsusa.org) has state-by-state contacts and information on pending legislation.

REACH OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS. Know something that other people in your community don’t? Trying to get a local ordinance passed? Set up panels, lectures, or start a community task force to spread education and awareness. Cambridgeport resident Steve Morr-Wineman, who works for a human services nonprofit, cofounded the GreenPort neighborhood group a year ago. Today, the group educates and empowers the local community to make changes concerning transportation, home energy, and food choices by bringing in speakers, handing out CFL bulbs donated by NSTAR, and sending representatives to local government hearings where decisions about environmental causes are being made. “The common thread among everything we do is community building,” says Morr-Wineman.

GET INVOLVED IN SCHOOL DECISION MAKING. Join your school’s PTA and start pressing for change—from easy, inexpensive improvements, like switching to nontoxic cleaning supplies, to major changes, like building energy-efficient new schools from sustainable, healthy materials. Schools certified by the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, known as LEED, cost an average of $3 more per square foot to build, though these facilities typically see payback within a few years due to reduced energy, water, and health-related costs. A 125,000-square-foot school, for example, can expect to see savings of about $100,000 annually. “Building green is a money saver; that’s how you get the bonds passed and taxpayer approval,” says Rachel Gutter, the council’s school sector manager, based in Washington, D.C. “But healthy kids and reduced costs? It’s a no-brainer.” The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust, which helps fund clean-energy projects and green-building design, planning, and construction, has $15 million in grant money set aside for schools; the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School, for example, was recently awarded $340,000 for rooftop solar panels. (Schools are also eligible for grant money from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.) To connect with a green-schools advocate in your area, visit buildgreenschools.org. Also consider contacting the Massachusetts Farm-to-School Project (mass.gov/agr/markets/Farm_to_school), which helps connect school food programs with local growers; the practice reduces the carbon costs and packaging associated with shipping.

SIGN A PETITION. Going door-to-door is so 1970s. Today, signatures are collected and “demonstrators” gather online. “In the old days, if you marched out on the streets, it would get 30 seconds of coverage on the evening news,” says An Inconvenient Truth producer Laurie David. So she launched StopGlobalWarming.org, where citizens can join John McCain and Arnold Schwarzenegger in what David calls a “virtual march” that’s on public display all day, every day. Over at the League of Conservation Voters (lcv.org), you can urge presidential candidates to take a stand on global warming and ask Congress to act on clean energy.

MINGLE. Going out for martinis may not seem like a community-oriented task, but local branches of the international social network Green Drinks (greendrinks.org) can help you connect to neighbors with similar interests, whether your mission is fighting LNG terminals or finding a vegan date. The Boston group (founded with help from environmentalist and 2006 Miss Rhode Island Allison Rogers) has been around since 2005. Other groups have been established in Cambridge-Somerville, Great Barrington, Lowell, Northampton, and Pittsfield, as well as Newport and Providence, Rhode Island.

PRAY FOR CHANGE. Many religious traditions consider environmental stewardship to be a moral imperative. Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light (mipandl.org) helps congregations with energy audits, utility rebate programs, the purchase of renewable energy credits, and other green measures. MIPAL co-founder Tom Nutt-Powell, a member of All Saints Parish Episcopal in Brookline, helped his church save $17,000 by upgrading to a high-efficiency boiler. “Once you see this as an act of faith, you want to do it everywhere,” says Nutt-Powell.

PLUS

Vote for eco-friendly policies and candidates. Contribute money to a “green” nonprofit. Don’t know how much to give? A good guideline is to pick an organization whose mission you like and then donate the cost of the last pair of shoes you bought. Vote with your wallet by buying goods and services from companies that support a healthy planet and use organic ingredients and eco-friendly packaging.

AT WORK

WATCH THE THERMOSTAT. According to the US Department of Energy, heating and cooling are the number one source of energy use in office buildings. Ideally, individuals could control the climate of their personal work spaces, but if that’s not an option, suggest that your employer keep temperatures set to an energy-efficient 70 degrees in winter, 75 degrees in summer. Programming thermostats to automatically reset temperatures at appropriate times—after the workday ends, for example – can also help increase efficiency. At Artists for Humanity, a Boston nonprofit that employs teens in the arts, such devices help keep heating costs down. The group built a new green facility two years ago that uses about 70 percent less energy than a comparable conventional building would. Still, conscientious behavior also plays a role. “We keep it comfortable,” says outreach and marketing associate Shane O’Garro, “but we pay attention to indoor temperatures all the time.”

START (OR JOIN) A GREEN TASK FORCE. Sustainability groups can help implement change throughout an entire organization. Starting with simple things—like buying recycling bins and posting signs that remind co-workers to use them—can lead to influencing corporate decisions on issues such as purchases, renovations, power, and employee programs like telecommuting. That’s what happened at Boston architecture firm Payette Associates, where a grass-roots in-house group formed about eight years ago. Eventually, the corporate culture changed to encourage recycling, resource efficiency, and even composting of coffee grounds. “It’s occurring at a fundamental level,” says Arlen Li, associate principal and a catalyst of the change. “People have really latched onto it.”

CONDUCT A WASTE AUDIT. Individuals, departments, or entire companies can identify wasted resources by taking stock of everything that goes into the trash and recycling over a certain period of time, usually a week or a month. Knowing what materials are thrown away provides insight into ways a company can cut back or reuse, which can help keep both ecological and waste-removal costs down. The environmental information website Earth 911 has a “Business Resources” section (earth911.org) that explains the process well.

USE LESS PAPER. The virgin pulp and paper industry is the largest industrial polluter of water worldwide and one of the top emitters of global-warming pollution, according to the National Resources Defense Council. The typical US office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copier paper each year, according to the council—and less than half of it gets recycled. So think twice about what you print out, make double-sided copies, send internal memos via e-mail, use scrap paper to take notes or print drafts, send faxes digitally, and so on. Recycling the paper you do use means saving forests and water, reducing toxic pollution, and keeping waste out of landfills.

CHOOSE RECYCLED PAPER. Choosing paper with high “postconsumer” recycled content—at least 30 percent for copier paper—means less virgin pulp is used and more waste is diverted from landfills. (Products marked with “post-industrial recycled content” are less beneficial, since the term refers to waste generated in production that never reached consumers and that manufacturers already reuse in order to save money.) For every 40 standard boxes of copier paper made from 100 percent post-consumer material, an office can save 24 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity, and 60 pounds of air pollution, according to the National Resources Defense Council.

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS. At 30 percent of total energy consumption, according to the US Department of Energy, lighting is a big chunk of energy use in a typical office building. Rejiggering a building’s overall lighting design to include more natural daylight, more efficient lamps, timers, and occupancy sensors are a few of the big-ticket ways companies can help decrease their use. But simply turning lights off at night could go a long way, too, toward changing both behavior and energy bills. It worked at Breakstone, White & Gluck, a law firm in Boston where motion detectors and energy-efficient bulbs were installed, and where lawyers and other staff, as well as the late-night cleaning crew, are encouraged to turn off lights. The result? A 10 percent drop in energy use, reflected on the monthly utility bill. “Most of these changes can be done for pennies,” says David W. White Jr., a partner in the firm and president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, who is also launching the Lawyers Eco-Challenge in January, a statewide competition to see which firm can operate the most eco-friendly office.

GO ENERGY STAR. The Energy Star rating is best known in the context of home appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators. Yet, approved office equipment uses up to 60 percent less electricity than standard copiers and the like, automatically switches into power-conserving mode when not in use, and can save bundles on energy bills. Go to energystar.gov for lists and rankings of computers, printers, and even water coolers.

MAKE MACHINES LAST. Eking out one more year from existing equipment will cut back tremendously on hazardous e-waste, save money, and can significantly reduce energy consumption. Other solutions, such as switching from individual desktop computers to machines that run off of central servers, can also help businesses cut back. (Laptops also use less power, but are more expensive to buy and have shorter life spans.) “If your office can’t save one-quarter of the energy it’s using, you’re not trying,” says Cambridge-based consultant Mark Ontkush, founder of New View Data Solutions in Belmont, which specializes in green computing and energy efficiency.

KNOW—AND USE—YOUR BENEFITS. Some companies offer incentives for going green on the job and at home. Household and personal-care products manufacturer Seventh Generation of Burlington, Vermont, for example, offers employees $5,000 toward purchasing a hybrid car, another $5,000 for energy-efficient home improvements, and $500 for installing upgraded appliances. Environmentalism is in the company’s DNA, but it’s also good for business, says spokeswoman Chrystie Heimert—employee turnover is extraordinarily low. Whether your employer’s best offer is telecommuting or a T pass, take advantage of it.

STOP USING STYROFOAM. Expanded polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam, developed a bad reputation in the 1980s when it was made using chemicals that damaged the atmosphere’s ozone layer. Safer options have since been substituted, but styrofoam is still made from petroleum, is rarely recycled, takes hundreds of year to degrade, and can endanger wildlife. If your company has a cafeteria, talk with managers and enlist your colleagues to get styrofoam cups, plates, and containers taken out of the inventory or, at least, added to recycling programs. Your next crusade for the caf: insisting upon reusable plates, cups, and utensils.

BREATHE BETTER. The air inside buildings is typically at least two to five times more polluted than that outside and can cause headaches, fatigue, nausea, asthma, and other irritations, according to the EPA. The culprit? Furniture, carpeting, paints, and cleaning products—especially when coupled with poor ventilation—that give off harmful gases. Considering that people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors (another EPA figure), better building design and maintenance can positively affect our health. “Proper indoor air quality can improve worker health and productivity,” says Douglas Kot, an architect and consultant with the Green Building Roundtable, a nonprofit consultancy in Boston. “And that’s good for business.”

FIND A GREENER GIG. You don’t have to switch careers entirely to have an impact—just think creatively. “If you want to be a green professional, learn about marketing, finance, biology, or whatever, then apply your environmental passions to that arena,” advises Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz.com, a Berkeley, California-based news website, and author of several books on sustainable business. “If you approach it that way, the opportunities are endless.”

PLUS

Show them the money. Since ecological rewards don’t always motivate higher-ups but cost-cutting measures do, frame your suggestions for saving the planet around saving money by using fewer resources. Drink at the sink. According to the Container Recycling Institute, Americans used nearly 30 billion single-use plastic water bottles in 2005, and, despite being recyclable, the majority wound up in the trash—at a rate of about 845 bottles each second. Shut down at night. It’s a myth that leaving a computer on overnight is more efficient than rebooting in the morning. Use EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (epeat.net). It’s an online guide to greener computers and can help purchasers evaluate, compare, and select machines based on environmental attributes. BYO. Bringing your lunch from home helps cut down on waste related to disposables and packaging, and not driving your car to a restaurant saves carbon emissions, too. Get matching donations. Does your company offer to match your charitable contributions? Find out if the environmental organization of your choice could benefit.

Celebrate America Recycles Day with Earth 911

Filed under: Earth911, Press Releases - November 13, 2007

Scottsdale, AZ – November 12, 2007 – The annual America Recycles Day will take place this year on Thursday, November 15, and the nation’s official environmental network Earth911.com encourages everyone to celebrate locally by searching for one of over 74,000 recycling centers nationwide on http://Earth911.com.

The theme of this year’s America Recycles Day is “It All Comes Back to You.” Along with the only national database for finding recycling locations and services, Earth 911 provides tips on how/why to recycle, as well as what happens to recycled products. The site also features a calendar of hundreds of local events in celebration of America Recycles Day.

In addition to recycling traditional products such as paper, aluminum cans and glass, Earth911.com suggests people take this yearly opportunity to recycle items from around your household that are hazardous to the environment.

The average garage can contain 100 pounds of household hazardous waste (HHW), and Americans generate 1.6 million tons of HHW per year. These products can range from paint supplies to batteries to electronic appliances that contain harmful chemicals like lead and mercury. All can be recycled with the help of Earth911.com.

“America Recycles Day is such an important day for the environment because it educates people on a simple step they can do to live a greener lifestyle,” says Earth911.com CEO Jeffrey Rassás. “Over 75 percent of our waste is recyclable, and Earth911.com has been educating people for over 16 years on what belongs in a recycling bin.”

For more information, please contact:
Trey Granger
Earth911.com
tgranger@earth911.org
480-337-3326

Click Press: Innovative Candy Company Celebrates America Recycles Day by Promoting Environmental Awareness and Helping to Educate Citizens about the Benefits of Recycling

Filed under: Earth911 - November 12, 2007

11/12/2007

[ClickPress, Mon Nov 12 2007] In support of America Recycles Day 2007, November 15th, Candy Dynamics, a cutting edge marketer of popular novelty candy products, including its flagship Toxic Waste® Hazardously Sour Candy®, is seeking to promote environmental awareness and the recycling cause through issuing simple and practical tips that encourage more people to reduce trash output and join in the movement toward creating a better natural environment through recycling.

From individually packaged food servings to disposable diapers, more garbage is being generated and deposited in landfills now than ever before and during the holiday season the generation of trash is increased furthermore as a result of holiday gift giving and entertaining. Recycling is one of the easiest ways to address this issue and thus protect our resources, our environment, and our quality of life. For recycling to work to its optimal potential, everyone has to participate in each phase of the loop. From government and industry, to organizations, small businesses, and people at home, Candy Dynamics encourages every American to make recycling a part of their daily routine during the holiday season and throughout the year.

An environmentally conscious company, Candy Dynamics and its one-of-a-kind Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy, do their part by supporting a cleaner planet through the use of recycled and recyclable material in its packaging and through sponsorship and participation in environmental awareness programs. Acknowledging the many dangers facing the environment, Candy Dynamics has issued 10 helpful recycling tips to keep in mind for the upcoming holidays.

For the Holidays Recycle = Re-Use

• When shopping for holiday gifts and groceries, avoid using one-time plastic bags by bringing your own re-usable bags to carry your purchases home in.
• Reuse wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and boxes when preparing gifts for others.
• Use old Christmas cards to make Christmas present name tags by cutting out festive designs from the face of the card.
• Recycle old holiday, greeting and birthday cards by cutting off the face of the card and using it as a post card.
• Reuse old posters, maps, sheet music, Sunday comic pages, and other colorful paper goods that would otherwise be discarded as wrapping paper for holiday gifts.
• Save and reuse packing peanuts from previous gifts when shipping new holiday gifts.
• Reuse metal cookie tins for storing and giving holiday cookies.
• When entertaining place easily identifiable recycling containers at your celebration so guests can recycle their pop cans, bottles, etc.
• Recycle old clothing, toys, and other useful products by donating them to community or charitable organizations that are collecting items for the needy during the holiday season.
• Spread the word. By telling other people and helping them to get started, we increase the savings that can be made. Also get your children involved – if we can educate them early, they will grow up and appreciate waste reduction and will be able to apply these skills in later life.

During the holidays and throughout the entire year it’s important to always remember to recycle paper, plastic, glass, metal and other recyclable materials by depositing them with your local recycling center. To find the recycling center closest to you, call 1-877-Earth911 or log on to www.Earth911.org.

In regard to issuing the Holiday Recycling tips Karen Windle-Burcham, President of Candy Dynamics, stated, “As an environmentally conscious company we strive to support initiatives for a cleaner planet and raise awareness among children of all ages regarding how they can pitch in and do their part to help. In having named our sour candy line Toxic Waste, we are hoping to strike a chord with kids and their parents that will motivate them to act upon the issues behind this name. Offering these recycling tips as we enter the holiday season and in conjunction with celebrating America Recycles Day, is just one small part of our cleaner planet awareness initiative. We also promote green activities on our website and host our popular Toxic Takedown Challenge which offers the opportunity to win monetary and candy prizes for kids who submit their ideas on how to achieve a cleaner planet.”

About Candy Dynamics:
Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Candy Dynamics was established in 2006 as a marketer of novelty candy products. Its flagship product, Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy, is an innovative and phenomenally popular, one-of-a-kind, double action sour hard candy treat that has become a hit with candy lovers of all ages worldwide. Currently enjoying healthy sales and brand awareness, future sales expectations are high as the company continues to support the brand with aggressive marketing programs and further build its distribution chains in the US and internationally. The Toxic Waste Sour candy line currently includes Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour hard candies, Nuclear Sludge sour chew bars, sour liquid candy sprays, and sour Dip & Lick lollipops with additional line extensions in development. An environmentally conscious company, Candy Dynamics and Toxic Waste support a cleaner planet through the use of recycled material in its packaging and through sponsorship and participation in environmental awareness programs. For more information, visit www.toxicwastecandy.com.

# # #
Press Contacts:
Steven Style or Jeffrey Assisi
The Steven Style Group
New York City
t) 212-465-1290 f) 212-465-1299
email: stevens@stylegroup.com or jeffa@stylegroup.com

Chicago Daily Herald: With Plan, You Can Increase Odds of Bringing Lost Pet Home

Filed under: Uncategorized - November 11, 2007

I lost a dog once. Her name was Cocoa. It happened under rather extraordinary circumstances. When we found out she was lost, we didn’t leave the area. After searching for nine hours, we found her. She was several miles from where she started. Losing her was a traumatic experience for everyone, including my dog.

The Humane Society of the United States and PETS911.com suggest a number of tips on what to do when you’ve lost a pet — including staying calm. From personal experience, this is easier said than done, but it doesn’t help to panic.

A study reported by the American Veterinary Medical Association found dogs were recovered primarily through a call or visit to an animal agency, from a dog license tag and after posting neighborhood signs.

Contacting local animal shelters and animal control agencies is important. File a lost pet report with a photograph and description with every shelter, within a 60 mile radius of your home, and visit each shelter daily.

Posting fliers and neighborhood signs are ways to get word out about your lost pet. Create fliers and posters containing the following information: a photo; a brief description of your pet including age, sex, weight, breed, color and special markings; and a phone number that is always available. When describing your pet, leave out one identifying characteristic and ask the person who finds him or her to describe it.

Post these fliers and signs at stores, veterinarians, groomers and anywhere else that will let you put them up. Go door to door, giving the fliers out to your neighbors and ask if they have seen your pet. Also, put an ad in your local newspaper and post your lost pet online at PETS911.com.

Another tip is to search your neighborhood by walking or driving through it several times a day. Ask your mail carrier or anyone regularly in your neighborhood if they have seen any wandering animals, especially during early morning or late evening hours. Before going to another neighborhood to search, thoroughly check your immediate area. For example, if it’s a lost house cat, it may have been scared and hid in your neighbor’s bushes.

Another suggestion is if you have to go to work or sleep, leave your pet’s favorite food in a dish, or leave a T-shirt or blanket with your scent or your pet’s scent on it outside. Since animals have a more sensitive sense of smell, they may smell it from a distance.

PETS911 suggests you be on call. A message such as, “If you are calling about our lost pet, please call us on our cell phone,” then give the number. This will put people in touch with you immediately.

According to the Humane Society, be wary of pet recovery scams. When talking to a stranger who claims to have found your pet, ask him for a description of your pet. If he leaves out the identifying characteristic, you left out of the advertisement, he may not really have your pet. The Humane Society also suggests being particularly wary of people who insist you give or wire them money for the return of your pet.

As always, if your pet gets lost, his ID tags are his ticket home. A pet has a better chance of being returned home if he is wearing a collar and an ID tag with your name, address and telephone number. In addition to ID tags, personalized collars with a pet’s name and a phone number are now available from several pet catalogs.

Also, talk with your veterinarian about a permanent method of identification, such as microchipping your pet.

The Humane Society stresses not to give up the search. They report animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners.

We were lucky. We found Cocoa and brought her back home. May all the lost animals find their way home.

CSRwire-Calgary: Quantum Shift TV to Present at Investors Circle

Filed under: Earth911 - November 9, 2007

Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
Provided by CSRwire

11/09/2007: Press Release from Quantum Shift Media

Quantum Shift TV to Present at Investors Circle

Innovative web video network provides a platform for socially responsible businesses and nonprofits to share their stories, build community, and reach new audiences

(CSRwire) CALGARY – November 9, 2007 – Quantum Shift TV (QSTV, http://quantumshift.tv) announced today that CEO Hugo Bonjean will speak at the annual Investors Circle conference in Boston, MA, on Wednesday, November 14. QSTV is one of just 20 companies selected to present, out of over 200 applicants, at this premier gathering of socially responsible investors. The innovative web broadcaster hopes to spur investors’ interest in its unique, solution-oriented approach to news and entertainment, as well as its powerful technology platform for citizen journalism and member engagement.

“Responsible businesses, nonprofits and independent producers are hungry for new outlets to share their stories, and new ways to involve their audiences,” said Bonjean. “Quantum Shift TV provides a platform that allows media creators to build community among customers and members in new ways, without getting lost in the big video networks.”

QSTV offers organizations a comprehensive hosted solution that combines high-quality embeddable video sharing tools with state-of-the-art social networking technology. In addition, QSTV’s proprietary contest engine allows organizations to run their own video contests, and weaves puzzle games into the viewing experience, turning audience members from passive consumers into active participants. It also provides new opportunities to draw in and monetize user-generated content.

“The response from the nonprofit and responsible business communities has been phenomenal,” said Bonjean. Nearly three-dozen organizations, including UNICEF, CARE, Oxfam, Rainforest Action Network, Earth911.org and the Committee for Children, have signed on as Action Partners in QSTV’s ‘Be the Change! Share the Story!’ school video contest. The contest challenges youth in grades 1-12 across the US and Canada to pick a social or environmental project to work on this school year, and document it in two short videos uploaded to Quantum Shift TV. The top teams in three age groups will receive $50,000 in cash and prizes for their school.

Research from the prestigious Max Planck Institute in Germany shows that people are far more likely to take positive social and environmental action when they are seen to be doing so. Quantum Shift TV is here to help people and organizations to be the change and share their stories.

To learn more about Quantum Shift TV visit www.quantumshift.tv.

KNXV-TV: Go “Green” and Help Domestic Violence Victims

Filed under: Earth911 - November 9, 2007

Celebrating America Recycles Day on November 15th in Glendale will not only help Mother Earth but could also help domestic violence victims around the Valley.

Starting November 12th, the city of Glendale will recycle your cell phone and give it to the West Valley Advocacy Center which will refurbish the phones and give them to victims.

You can donate your cell phone through November 30th.

You can “green” your cell phone at Jobing.com arena or any of the city’s three public libraries.

There are similar programs throughout the valley, one in particular in the city of Phoenix.

Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten promotes one where used cell phones are also collected for women in shelters.

Those who live in that part of the valley can take their phones to the Sojourner Center at 1634 E. McDowell Rd.

And if you just want to find a place to safely dispose of your mobile device you can log onto www.Earth911.com, click on “mobile phones”, and type in your zip code to find a location nearest you.

According to reports, it’s estimated people replace their cell phones every 18 months.

The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association says 130 million cell phones were disposed of in 2005.

FoxNews.com: Are Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Good for the Environment?

Filed under: Earth911 - November 7, 2007

By Jackson Kuhl

Almost every news story about global warming recommends that consumers switch from incandescent light bulbs to more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs.

But are CFLs really that good for the environment?

Incandescent light bulbs use electricity to heat a filament to a white-hot state, producing light. Yet 90 percent of the energy used is wasted as heat, according to General Electric’s Web site.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs use electricity to excite gas within a glass tube. The gas fluoresces, producing ultraviolet light which the human eye cannot see. This UV light then reacts with mercury and a phosphorescent chemical compound inside the tube to create visible light.

Because CFL bulbs do not use heat as the lighting mechanism, less energy is spent to create an equivalent amount of light.

The packaging of an N:Vision-brand CFL bulb purchased at Home Depot, for example, states that it uses only 14 watts to produce the same amount of light, as measured in lumens, as a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

This decreased demand for electricity reduces the need for electrical generation, which environmentalists point out reduces emissions from coal-fired plants.

In February, Australia announced a nationwide ban on incandescent bulbs, which will go into effect in 2010. The country’s environment minister said the move will cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 800,000 tons by 2012, according to Reuters.

But this assumes that Australians will significantly reduce their current levels of electrical consumption.

What if a consumer who has a $100 monthly electric bill reduces it to $50 by installing CFLs, but then leaves the new lights on longer, because he’s already accustomed to paying $100 per month?

The consumer would be using less raw electricity than before, but not that much less.

“Sometimes when you cut the cost of things, people use more of them,” said James S. Shortle, professor of environmental economics at Penn State University.

“People have a certain lighting requirement,” said Shortle, and they would be happy to fulfill that need more cheaply.

He suggested that people probably would not turn on their lights more often. “What they might not do is turn them off.”

Manufacturers, meanwhile, tout the savings to consumers in reduced electrical costs over the lifetime of the CFL bulb.

The 14-watt N:Vision states on the packaging that it will save the buyer $46 over its lifetime. How did the manufacturer arrive at that number?

CFL makers claim the bulbs have lifetimes of 10,000 hours each, whereas most equivalent 60-watt incandescent bulbs last 1,000 hours.

Based on a rate of $0.10 per kilowatt-hour, a CFL costs $14 to power over its lifetime. The consumer would go through 10 incandescent bulbs in that time, costing a total of $60. Hence, a difference of $46 in electric costs per light fixture.

Since CFLs last longer than incandescents, consumers have to buy fewer bulbs for their fixtures, but here the cost savings are trivial.

At $3.97 for a four-pack of N:Visions versus $1.04 for four Philips incandescents, and assuming 10 incandescents used for every CFL used, a consumer opting for the N:Vision would save about $1.60 per fixture in addition to the electricity conserved.

You won’t save a lot of scratch on the bulbs themselves, but at least you’ll spend less time changing them.

But what about any drawbacks to CFLs?

CFLs don’t operate well in frigid conditions, limiting their use for exterior lighting in cold areas.

According to a spokeswoman from Philips Lighting, most CFLs require a minimum starting temperature of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit; below that, it’s difficult for the bulb’s reaction process to begin.

Other problems in cold temps include reduced light output and a pinkish glow, rather than the desirable “soft white” (actually faintly yellow) color.

Those problems alone may make nationwide bans on incandescent bulbs impractical in parts of the United States. Winter temperatures in Australia’s southernmost state of Tasmania average 52 degrees Fahrenheit, but Minnesota spends most of its winters between 6 and 16 degrees F.

The bigger problem with CFLs is their mercury content.

Along with the phosphor, which can be one or many of several chemical compounds, mercury helps shift the invisible UV light into the visible part of the spectrum.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association, or NEMA, which sets voluntary industry standards, suggests that CFLs of 25 watts or less—the equivalent of a 100-watt incandescent bulb—contain no more than five milligrams of mercury, the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen.

Both CFL manufacturers and the Environmental Protection Agency recommend recycling CFL bulbs, since breaking or incinerating them releases mercury into the air. The poisonous metal can then find its way into soil, water, fish and fish-eating humans.

Sites such as epa.gov/bulbrecycling, lamprecycle.org and earth911.org offer information about where CFLs can be recycled, and certain retailers such as IKEA accept used CFLs for recycling.

Should you break out the hazmat suit if you break a CFL at home? The EPA offers a checklist at epa.gov/mercury that suggests you leave the room for 15 minutes, then return to sweep up and double-bag the mess — and not to vacuum unless absolutely necessary.

So handle with care, lest you end up like Brandy Bridges of Prospect, Maine, who broke a CFL bulb in her daughter’s room in March and was told that professional environmental cleaning would cost about $2,000.

According to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Bridges was concerned about any amount of mercury in her house, even at levels far below the state hazard threshold. (Hazardous levels were found on an area of carpet “the size of a dinner plate.”)

It was in response to her “nervousness” that the DEP responder who came to her house recommended the cleanup service.

Two months after the incident, state DEP officials came back and found no mercury hazard. Even so, they removed the piece of carpet—which Bridges had planned to take up even before the bulb was broken—at her request.

In the meantime, manufacturers are racing for bragging rights to the CFL with the lowest mercury content. Philips says that it sells 19 CFL products at Wal-Mart that contain 40 percent to 60 percent less mercury than the suggested NEMA level of 5 milligrams.

Whether decreases in power-plant emissions are offset by people releasing mercury into the environment by disposing of their CFLs improperly remains to be seen.

One thing’s for sure: Using compact fluorescent light bulbs makes sense for anyone paying an electric bill—and who doesn’t have butterfingers.

Hearst Launches Full-Scale Version of TheDailyGreen.com

Filed under: Earth911, Press Releases - November 7, 2007

New York, NY—Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a unit of Hearst Magazines, today announced the full-scale format launch of TheDailyGreen.com, a new, comprehensive one-stop eco-resource for environmental news, tips and information.

With TheDailyGreen.com, Hearst is the first major magazine company to launch a consumer-oriented news and service Web site devoted to assisting consumers interested in a more earth-friendly lifestyle. Originally unveiled in a beta-version on Earth Day 2007, the full-format version of TheDailyGreen.com is a mash-up between a mainstream media site and a grassroots, blog-based, community-centric site. Starting today, the site will feature a more robust community interface as well as tools for localized content, video, flipbooks, promo players, blogs and more. TheDailyGreen.com has worked with leaders in their fields, including Earth911, EarthLab and WeatherBug, to power many of its user-friendly applications. TheDailyGreen.com has also teamed up with MSN to provide content to its recently launched MSN Green channel.

“Hearst is committed to raising environmental awareness and we’re very proud to use our editorial and digital expertise to launch TheDailyGreen.com,” said John Loughlin, executive vice president, general manager, Hearst Magazines. “Led by Deborah Barrow, its founder, and the digital team assembled by Chuck Cordray, vice president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, we’ve established a powerful new online brand that will enable more people to understand the importance of — and foster participation in — the green revolution.”

TheDailyGreen.com launched as Hearst Magazines’ first pure-play, non-magazine brand Web site and is part of a growing stable of newly launched or acquired Web sites at Hearst, including 14 magazine sites, as well as eSPIN.com, MisQuinceMag.com, RealAge.com and Kaboodle.com.

“Thanks to the great work of many environmental pioneers, we are at the cultural tipping point of the green movement, but a glaring need exists for an easy-to-use, approachable resource for information geared to the typical consumer ready to adopt a more earth-friendly life,” said Barrow, founder of TheDailyGreen.com. “TheDailyGreen.com is a site that gives people a chance to play a part in bettering their life, their health, their wallet as well as the environment, no matter where they may fall on the green scale. Our goal is to demystify the green lifestyle and make it easier for people to begin the process in their own homes and families and in their own way.”

TheDailyGreen.com will launch with five special editorial feature packages, each geared to cutting edge concerns of the new green consumer. In the New Green Cuisine channel, launch editorial will focus on the movement towards sustainable foods with “The Think Global…Eat Local Thanksgiving,” a combination of how-to’s, recipes, photo galleries, and blogs that show readers how to make their own Thanksgiving table more eco-friendly. In the Green Homes channel, the focus will be on safe toys for Christmas with articles including “250+ Lead-Free Toys Made in the USA,” for the millions of parents looking for toys that are safe for their kids. In the News channel, the site will launch “Green Your Vote 2008,” a look at the environmental stance of the major presidential candidates, powered by the League of Conservation Voters. And because going green doesn’t have to always be serious, the site will premiere “My Big Fat Environmental Crisis,” webisodes starring actress and essayist Annabelle Gurwitch and produced by Hearst Entertainment. Finally, TheDaily Green.com will continue its comprehensive coverage of Colony Collapse Disorder, in its popular “Save Our Bees” series.

TheDailyGreen.com will feature daily editorial in each of these content areas:

Breaking Environmental News—led by news editor, Dan Shapley, TheDailyGreen.com provides updates from around the world on the latest in environmental news.

The Daily Debate—offers readers an interactive opportunity to vote on related issues and keeps track of the results in real time.

New Green Cuisine—“real food for real people” recipes developed and compiled by TheDailyGreen.com food editor, Karen Berner; all based on ingredients that are healthy, organic, pesticide-free, and not over-processed. Also, “Safe Food Watch,” covering all the latest food recalls.

Blogs—featuring more than 20 diverse bloggers at launch, the best minds in the business deliver a frank and spirited eco-discourse including the likes of Chris Mooney, author of Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming; Starre Vartan, AKA the Eco-Chick, who blogs on fashion; Tommi Lewis Tilden, whose The Green Carpet blog highlights what’s happening in the celebrity front; Peter Berley, author of The Flexitarian Table; Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, authors of Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally, and others with informed commentary on topics ranging from the environment’s affect on our ecosystem (“The Beekeeper”), to raising an Earth-friendly family (“Ask an Organic Mom”), to alternative fuel and car choices (“Driving Directions”).

Weird Weather Watch—a user-generated photoblog of climate change gives backyard environmentalists and camera phone climatologists a chance to share their wildest weather observations…as well as the subtle shifts in climate they’re noticing close to home.

The Confessional—a not-so-serious place to go to share funny, frivolous, maddening and totally human environmental missteps and to poke a little gentle fun at ourselves as we struggle to find ways to go green in a modern world.

Green Homes—the guide to saving energy and saving money with style at home . . . while keeping the family safe from toxins. Daily ‘Safe Home Watch’ news on all home-related alerts and recalls in the news; ‘Green Cleaning Guide’; ‘Lost (green) Arts from the Past’; ‘Green and Gorgeous’ home products and decorating flipbooks.

One Easy Thing—a daily eco-tip offering one simple change that anyone can do to make life a little more environment-friendly.

EcoPedia—the A-Z of everything green. A guide to the new language of the green movement…with plenty of opportunity for the community to comment, weigh in and clarify.

The Community—TheDailyGreen.com users are some of its best editors, adding their own news, views, comments, pictures, tips and recipes, while bringing a dynamic excitement and authenticity to the site.

In addition to its community of citizen journalists, TheDailyGreen.com team comprises editors and writers with a wide-range of eco-credibility and experience. In addition to 20-plus years as a senior executive at major media companies including Meredith and Primedia, founder Deborah Jones Barrow has a long-time personal commitment to environmental issues through her work on volunteer boards, including a stint as president of Hudson River Heritage, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to preservation of the historic and natural viewsheds along the Hudson River. Joining Barrow is Dan Shapley, news editor, who has spent seven years on an environmental beat with Gannett News. Brian C. Howard, home and eco-tips editor, is the former managing editor of E: The Environmental Magazine. Karen Berner, food editor, has extensive experience as a chef and food magazine editor with a long online history that started with The Culinary Institute of America’s former website, Tavolo.com. Photo editor, Gloria Dawson, who worked for Seventeen and Allure prior to joining TheDailyGreen.com, also oversees the Weird Weather Watch photoblog.

Red Bluff Daily News: Free Oil Filter Recycling Event in Corning

Filed under: Earth911 - November 5, 2007

People can bring their used oil filter to Kragen Auto Parts in Corning between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, and receive a free oil and filter recycling container. The offer is limited to the first 50 individuals.

Used oil and oil filters can be recycled every day for free at Kragen Auto Parts, 798 Edith Aven., Corning, 824-3895.

Information about oil and filter recycling is available by calling Tehama County/Red Bluff Landfill Management Agency at (530) 528-1103 or 1-800-CLEANUP or also visit www.earth911.org.

This program is sponsored by Tehama County/Red Bluff Landfill Management Agency and the Rural Counties’ Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority, funded by a grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Cincinnati Post: Web Primer on Global Warming

Filed under: Earth911 - November 4, 2007

By Jan Perry

My sister doesn’t believe in global warming. She says the rise in temperatures, melting of perpetually frozen areas and continuing droughts that are plaguing many areas of the world are simply part of a continuing natural cycle. She honestly believes that at some point things will swing back to the way they used to be without any help from us. Perhaps not in our lifetimes, but eventually. I should add she does believe in living without waste as much as possible. She recycles and generally lives green – she just doesn’t think global warming is an issue that we can or need to “fix.”

I, on the other hand, believe that we are on the verge of earth-changing times. I see the situation much more like the early scene in a disaster film where the scientist discovers “looming doom” and spends the first third of the film trying to convince people that the doom is reality. You know the scenario. No one believes him (her) until it’s too late. The louder he (she) yells, the less people listen. Of course, things change the minute the doom isn’t looming any longer, but rather, sits big and terrifying on the edge of town.

Of course, in the movies, the hero (heroine) comes to the rescue and figures out a way to end the threat just as doom is about to devour the town. But in real life won’t be that fast or that easy. And unless all of us begin working on ways to protect rather than deplete the earth’s resources, I’m afraid none of us will care for the ending of the story.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3769428—If you think it isn’t happening, you might want to read this ABC story. The residents in Orme, Tennessee certainly understand the seriousness of the situation. Their town water supply has dried up and the life-sustaining liquid must be trucked in each day. The H2O flows for three hours each evening and then the taps go dry again.

www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html—In this case it isn’t a single scientist pointing out the problem, it’s a ton of them, all telling us it’s time to stop debating and start solving. The final sentence of this piece should scare us all. “Even if all emissions of greenhouse gases were to cease immediately, the temperature would continue to increase after 2100 because of the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.”

http://iknowaboutit.com/global_warming—This is a fine archive of articles and editorials on the topic.

www.carbonfund.org—So now you’re saying “I believe it’s a problem, but what can I do about it?” Well, the CarbonFund theme is “Reduce what you can, offset what you can’t. This site lets you calculate your own production of atmosphere-damaging greenhouse gases and offers loads of large and small changes you can make to reduce what you produce. It also helps you figure out the cost of offsetting what you can’t eliminate. And if you want an easy solution, they’ll convert your donation into carbon-reducing projects such as renewable energy, energy efficiency protocols and reforestation projects.

www.nrdc.org—The Natural Resources Defense Council asks us all to help save the wildlife and the wild places. The site includes an entire section on the effects of global warming, along with suggestions for saving the world without sacrificing your creature comforts.

http://earth911.org—This clever site teaches ways to live green that are both easy and imaginative. Learn how to get maximum results with minimum effort.

Earth 911 Releases EnviroTip Video Series to Help Green Your Life

Filed under: Earth911, Press Releases - November 1, 2007

Scottsdale, AZ – November 1, 2007 – Earth911.com, the nation’s official environmental network announced today its release of 13 one-minute video clips on practical ways to green your life. This release marks the first installation in a series called EnviroTips that focuses on simple, everyday solutions for the environment.

Ranked number one on Google for “recycle” and a list of other keywords and featured three times on The Oprah Winfrey Show during 2007 alone, Earth911.com has been providing mainstream environmental solutions since 1991.

The EnviroTip series teaches simple tips which can be applied in 15 minutes or less on topics ranging from improving energy and water efficiency to setting up a recycling system and “greening a garage.” Each video is hosted by Earth911.com personalities Sandra Keil and Jonathan Smith.

All 13 EnviroTip videos are available for free viewing at www.Earth911.com. They are produced in TV broadcast quality, creating the opportunity for brands and organizations to customize and run as licensed public service announcements.

“It is time to move beyond the discussion of all these environmental problems and allow people to take action in their everyday lives,” says Earth911.com CEO Jeffrey Rassás. “The EnviroTip series is a free and simple way for anyone to green all aspects of their home life.”

The EnviroTip series will be delivered through Earth911.com’s media partners and included as part of syndication packages. For more information on this program, contact Derrick Mains at (480) 889-2650.

For more information, please contact:
Trey Granger
Earth911.com
tgranger@earth911.org
480-337-3326