Reuse/Recycling

The CAN House - July 4th - Pensacola

GreenDocCindy — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:29:01 -0500

Compass Solar Energy, Inc is joining with Deep Green Technologies, llc to add a solar component to The CAN House for July 4th. By adding the solar panel, we will be able to show how a house can be off the grid (in a small way). Drop by the Sertoma July 4th Celebration in Seville Square, Pensacola, FL to see this Deep Green Project.

Be sure to get your GreenGoneWild.com bracelet to show your support for The CAN House. Look for our volunteers with the green T-Shirts.

NEW SEARCH ENGINE SEEKS TO BUILD A GREEN FUTURE!

mhaney — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:13:38 -0500

The first Flash Search Engine is an Environmental Search Engine!! http://www.greenplanetsearch.com is now live!

When Mike Haney first presented the idea behind the technology behind

www.greenplanetsearch.com, he was laughed down. Virtually, of course. “Everyone can

dream,: scoffed one, erroneously.

A few people were intrigued. The combination of Haney’s vision of a Flash-driven search

engine, and the plan to create a dazzling environmental education resource, eventually

attracted a loose-knit corps of collaborators, most of whom have never met in person first

among them Andre Roussille, a French computer programmer, and now part owner of the

company.

The upshot from this collaboration, apart from the stunningly beautiful homepage, is the

only people involved in the creation of the search engine, is that the only people involved

in the development devoted environmentalists, who genuinely wish to disseminate good

information to students and educators.

Later, through a similar serendipity, Mr. Haney teamed up with a veteran journalist who

agreed to lend his services to the site, building from scratch a source of environmental

news and policy analysis.

Advertisers will be strictly vetted by the companies shareholders, limited to companies

that are making a meaningful contribution the planet’s health.

The final result, which was launched this week, is the culminating of thousands of

hours of work, and more than a few false starts.

It boasts easily navigable information, experiments, lesson plans, presented in an interactive and graphically enhanced format,

and has an exclusive global climate change resource section for teachers and kids.

If you would like more information about greenplanetsearch.com, or to schedule an

interview with Mike Haney, please call Mike Haney at 305.531.3746 or e-mail info@greenplanetsearch.com.

What to do with old tires -

Shoe — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:52:58 -0500

In 1990 there was the Hagersville Tire Fire - No joke! 12 - 14 million tires burned for 17 days: http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/canada/266252-1.html

No one has yet figured out, effectively, what to do with old tires. You can bet that the government got in on the action by stacking a surtax on disposal, but where do they go? And what possible use are they?

We need to come up with a viable alternative rather that just stacking them on plots of land. Surely with the intillect out there we can think of something to do with these 'necessary evils'!

I have heard of some companies that cut, twist and put them into concrete blocks to be used for construction - not a bad idea! Other companies create blast-mats for construction to control land-levelling explosions - but I see that as dancing with the devil. Somewhat of an oxymoron, controlling this level of distruction while man destroys another necessary area. So, what to do? Any ideas?

I was thinking that they could be ground up and added to asphault. I'm no chemical engineer , and I have no experience with it, so I'm up for discussion. Another possibility could be filling them with concrete and placing them in the ocean to create breakwaters to prevent erosion. Would they leech chemicals? Again, not an expert.

So, let's put our brains together and come up with a viable option here. This is a very small, minor step but it leads in the right direction. And if my ideas are crappy, so be it. Not everyone out there will have crappy ideas. Some are sure to be outstanding...but you have to speak up.

The only foolish thought is the one that is never voiced.

Gradual learning, my first commitments

clairwilson — Sun, 25 May 2008 18:03:29 -0500

Step 1. I live in Cheshire and I'm making the effort to take all of my waste paper and waste plastic to the leisure centre recyling site as the council provide stupid bags for paper which blow away every week, and don't collect plastic

North West UK take a few little positive steps

Tree House - it's in their hands............

Bill McKimm — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:08:40 -0500

we are on a journey that we believe will change early years child education and attitude to the environment, we plan do this in a building that will be built from sustainable sources and will be carbon neutral.......................... does anyone no of any other similar projects happening world-wide? where we can share ideas and inspiration ????? do you have any ideas?

U.S. Consumers Worst at Being Green

AZ_Sun — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:14:46 -0500

WASHINGTON - Americans rank last in a new National Geographic-sponsored survey released Wednesday that compares environmental-consumption habits in 14 countries.

Americans were least likely to choose the greener option in three out of four categories - housing, transportation and consumer goods, according to the assessment. In the fourth category, food, Americans ranked ahead of Japanese consumers, who eat more meat and seafood.

The rankings, called "Greendex," are the first to compare the lifestyles and behaviors of consumers in multiple countries, according to the National Geographic Society.

It plans to conduct the 100-plus-question survey annually and considers trends more important than yearly scores, said Terry Garcia, executive vice president of National Geographic's mission programs.

"This is not just a one-time snapshot," Garcia said. "Some of the most important information may yet be revealed."
India and Brazil tied for the highest score: 60 points out of 100. U.S. consumers scored 44.9.

In between, China scored 56.1, Mexico 54.2, Hungary 53.2, Russia 52.4, Great Britain 50.2, Germany 50.2, Australia 50.2, Spain 50, Japan 49.1, France 48.7 and Canada 48.5.

Results are based on 1,000 online respondents per country interviewed in January and February by GlobeScan, an international polling firm.

To see how you score, take an abbreviated version of the survey at National Geographic Greendex

How Americans ranked among 14 nations in eco-friendly choices.
Transportation: 14th Place
Housing: 14th Place
Consumer Goods: 14th Place
Food: 13th Place

Source: McClatchy Newspapers
Above article printed in Arizona Republic

Paper towel replacement project

jnalley706 — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:32:29 -0500

I got to wondering how many trees that I've help bring down over the years just to wipe up a small spill or to dry my hands. I tattoo for a living and our most commonly used items are paper towels. There is definitely nothing I could think of to replace them in my work environment but I thought I could maybe drastically reduce our use of them at home. After talking it over with my wife we went to the store and purchased 20 nice bistro style bar cloths, a small trash can and mesh bag to store the dirties in and a shelf to put the clean one's on in the kitchen. All in all we are in for $57 and the way I figure it that's about 5 to 6 cases of paper towels in cost. With a case lasting only about a month for us this project should pay for itself within about 5 months or so. You could save some money if you have no need for a shelf but with limited space we definitely needed one. One of the great things about cotton cloths is how long you could keep them around. After the new cloths have been used in the kitchen/household and are all beat up, just transfer them to the garage or garden to further there lifespan. Then when the time comes to retire your trusty rags rest assured that you have helped our environment in some small way.

Ultimately I would like to be able to completely discontinue the use of paper towels in my home. With a new baby on the way and having been raised using paper towels my entire life, I'm not sure if we will be able to completely stop using them but I would like to make the one's I have to buy last much longer.

We spent yesterday doing some of our spring cleaning and at the end of the day took notice that we did not have to replace the paper towel roll when normally we may have used a roll and a half or more. Hey that's a good start. Think of how many resources we could save on just by using cotton cloths instead of tree based paper towels.

Paper or Plastic?

marij — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:20:50 -0500

If any of you have ever pondered over the question “paper or plastic?” then here is an informative interactive site on MSNBC which tackles the grocery bag predicament. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23358591/ The site includes info on the resources used, recycling, current laws, and a way to calculate your impact.

There is of course, the third option, the reusable bag. You can find these almost anywhere now and they are not too expensive. I got mine for just $1 each. There are benefits of getting the paper or plastic options as well, if you reuse the bags for other purposes such as for trash, recycling, lunches, or even for your next grocery store visit. My local grocery store, Ralphs, offers discounts for all three types of bags: $0.10 each for reusable, $0.05 each for paper, and $0.03 each for plastic. Check your local grocery stores to see if they offer any of the same benefits. If you do get paper or plastic though, make sure they eventually end up in the recycling bin!

Hope this helps!

Mari

11th Hour Action Intern

Xerox goes green with rewritable paper

11thhouraction — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:11:41 -0500

Xerox Corp. is working on a green technique that's as plain as the stack of papers on your desk. Scientists at Xerox can make the print on documents appear -- then disappear in time, allowing paper to be reused. The goal is to produce an erasable paper that costs two to three times the price of regular paper but can be used hundreds of times.

Using a molecular compound similar to the one on tinted eyeglasses, which darken or lighten depending on the amount of ultraviolet (UV) light in the environment, Xerox labs have developed paper that changes color when exposed to UV light. Unlike tinted glasses, however, which change color instantly upon walking outside or into a building, the print on Xerox's paper fades gradually over 16 to 24 hours, or it can be erased instantly by heating the paper.

Site provided by: www.thegreenreporter.com

Eco-Friendly Babies!

marij — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:43:09 -0500

Seeing as babies seem to be one of Hollywood’s newest obsessions, I decided to do some research on diapers. Disposable diapers are extremely wasteful and harmful to the planet. Here are some facts provided by the Real Diaper Association:

- “Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.

- Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill.

- No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.

- Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste.

- Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.”

Crazy, right? Even despite the intense environmental factors, babies experience uncomfortable dryness and rash, and parents experience loss of cash due to the high costs of buying disposable diapers.

The solution? Reusable cloth diapers! Just Ducky Baby (justduckybaby.com) offers various models of cloth diapers that are extremely comfortable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. The woman who started the company, Heather, hand makes all of the products, along with the rest of her team. It’s nice to support a small company (though I am a little biased, since Heather is a friend…shameless plug, I know) and to help the environment.

Here’s to reducing, reusing, and recycling!

Mari

11th Hour Action Intern