Our Green News

Q: Steve — I would like to make our business greener, but especially in this economy, If going green is going to cost us money we can’t do it.

A: I know you will be happy when I say, no, it isn’t. In fact, not only should “Going Green” not entail any major expense, it can actually save your small business money. After all, the whole idea is to reduce, reuse and recycle materials.

There are any number of small steps any small businesses can take to help reduce their carbon footprint. Here are some of my favorites:

Going Green Step #1: Change your light bulbs.
By simply replacing your standard bulbs with compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs (the squiggly ones), you can reduce your energy bill significantly. Added bonus: The new bulbs also provide better color and flicker less.

Going Green Step #2: Use Energy Star equipment.
Energy Star certification means that the appliance or product you are buying and using is green, highly energy efficient, and can save you money.

Going Green Step #3: Choose an all-in-one printer.
By using an all-in-one printer that offers two-sided printing (also called duplex printing) you can easily and immediately reduce your paper consumption, and costs, in half.

Going Green Step #4: Use timers and motion sensors.
Lights are often left on in conference rooms and other offices when they are not in use. By installing occupancy sensors, you will be assured that your office energy use will be efficient and not wasteful. It will save you money.

Similarly, electronic equipment like computers and monitors are usually not turned off when not in use. To remedy this, put a timer on that power strip.

Going Green Step #5: Reuse and recycle.
Boxes, packaging, paper, and office folders can easily be re-used. And, if you don’t reuse them, then at least have recycling bins handy so people can recycle them.

Going Green Step #6: Buy recycled office supplies.
Paper, pads, sticky notes, file folders and even ink and toner cartridges can be purchased in recyclable versions, and often at the same price as similar “regular” items. Indeed, many recycled paper products are now roughly the same price as conventional paper due to increased demand and better production operations.

Going Green Step #7: Use green energy.
Many local utilities offer customers renewable power from green energy sources such as wind farms. Often, there are local incentives for using such sustainable energy supplies, and the new stimulus law also includes federal tax incentives for alternative energy use. Similarly, there are all sorts of breaks for investing in green tools like solar panels.

As with many of these ideas, while in the short run these things may seem like an expense, over the long term, such changes don’t cost, they pay.

Let people know what you are doing. Lots of consumers are making purchasing choices these days based upon how green a company is. So be sure to make note of what you are doing, what changes you have instituted, and then be sure to get the word out to the local media and your customers. Many customers will reward your efforts with increased loyalty.

On this Earth Day, remember that going green is your classic win-win: Not only does it help the environment, but it also can significantly lower your operating expenses. Who would have thunk that going green actually saves green?

Today’s tip: One final idea: Be sure to get your employees involved. No doubt, many will have ideas of their own for how you can do even more in the greening of your business. Involving motivated employees will allow them to participate in a cause they believe in while also helping the planet, and your business.

By Steve Strauss for USA TODAY – http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2009-04-20-going-green_N.htm

I just read an article yesterday on how companies are Greenwashing and misleading the public. When do the corporations stop the lies? First it was accounting fraud with Enron (and others) , then they sold houses and cars etc. to people knowing they can’t afford them, and now they are full of it when it comes to calling themselves a green company. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

Anyways I posted the article below. Feel free to comment.

Click here for article

Practices, products, organic food, recyclable packaging, the green list is never ending. More than ever businesses are claiming to go green, to the point where society needs a term to describe consumers being misled by a company regarding their environmental practices. The term “greenwashing” was claimed to have originated from a NY suburban environmentalist named Jay Westerveld in 1986, although the actual practice originated somewhere in the 60s alongside the emerging environmentalist movement.

It’s no wonder that green business has become so popular when over half of the baby boomer population – some 40 million – are environmentally conscience consumers. Therefore greening your business can be an all around profitable endeavor from a marketing standpoint as well as a cost savings standpoint. The danger is when it comes to advertising a practice or an approach as green which isn’t reflected in the day to day operations. It’s simply fraudulent or better known as …greenwashing.

The Think Green Alliance aims to provide a safeguard against “greenwashing,” which is common in the marketplace today when so few standards and regulations exist for determining whether a company is truly environmentally friendly and if so, just how environmentally friendly they are. The criteria for membership, established by Cybernomics, are simple but telling.

Think Green Alliance members (1) must show tangibly that they have incorporated green principles into their business plan, (2) must have a concrete, measurable, and step-by-step approach to integration of these principles, and (3) must be committed to a continuous cycle of improvement.

Think Green Alliance members span multiple industry verticals and therefore lend a multidisciplinary approach to companies looking to start adopting green principles into their business plan and operations, as well as provide a benchmark to companies who have already embarked upon a green plan.

by: Jean Jerome Baudry Apr 14, 2009 – http://www.emqus.com/index.php?/emq/article/greenwashing_dont_be_mislead_by_green_claims_396

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration opened the way for regulating U.S. greenhouse gas emissions on Friday by declaring climate-warming pollution a danger to human health and welfare.

Environmental activists and their supporters in Congress were jubilant and industry groups were wary at the news of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s move. The White House said President Barack Obama would prefer legislation rather than administrative action to curb greenhouse emissions.

Congress is already considering a bill to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, one of six major greenhouse gases.

In its document, the EPA said, “greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations” and human activities spur global warming.

“This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “Fortunately, it follows President Obama’s call for a low carbon economy and strong leadership in Congress on clean energy and climate legislation,”

“The president has made clear his strong preference that Congress act to pass comprehensive legislation rather than address the climate challenge through administrative action,” a White House official said, noting that Obama has repeatedly called for “a bill to provide for market-based solutions to reduce carbon pollution.”

The EPA’s endangerment finding said high atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases “are the unambiguous result of human emissions, and are very likely the cause of the observed increase in average temperatures and other climatic changes.” The document is available online at www.epa.gov.

The EPA’s finding is essential for the U.S. government to regulate climate-warming emissions like carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. Regulation is not automatically triggered by the finding — there will be a 60-day comment period.

But as that period proceeds, legislation is moving through Congress aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions with a cap-and-trade system, which would let those companies that emit more than the limit trade with those that emit less.

MAJOR SHIFT FROM BUSH

EPA scientists last year offered evidence of the health hazards of greenhouse emissions, but the Bush administration took no action. It opposed across-the-board mandatory regulation of climate-warming pollution, saying it would hurt the U.S. economy.

Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who shepherded climate legislation to the Senate floor last year, called the EPA’s finding “long overdue.”

“We have lost eight years in this fight,” Boxer said in a statement. “… The best and most flexible way to deal with this serious problem is to enact a market-based cap-and-trade system which will help us make the transition to clean energy and will bring us innovation and strong economic growth.”

“At long last, EPA is officially recognizing that carbon pollution is leading to killer heat waves, stronger hurricanes, higher smog levels and many other threats to human health,” said David Doniger at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

But the National Association of Manufacturers said trying to regulate greenhouse emissions with the Clean Air Act would “further burden an ailing economy while doing little or nothing to improve the environment.”

“This proposal will cost jobs. It is the worst possible time to be proposing rules that will drive up the cost of energy to no valid purpose,” NAM President John Engler said.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled two years ago that the EPA has the authority to make these regulations if human health is threatened by global warming pollution, but no regulations went forward during the Bush administration.

Carbon dioxide, one of several greenhouse gases that spur global warming, is emitted by natural and industrial sources, including fossil-fueled vehicles, coal-fired power plants and oil refineries.

The original Supreme Court case was aimed specifically at greenhouse pollution from cars and light trucks. The EPA said in its endangerment finding that motor vehicles contribute to rising greenhouse emissions and the “threat of climate change.”

It said five other greenhouse gases also endanger health and contribute to global warming in addition to carbon dioxide: methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.

By Deborah Zabarenko and Tom Doggett – http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090417/hl_nm/us_climate_usa_endangerment.html

Kelly Rutherfoord is one of the women who are using their celebrity status to speak out about the importance of living green with the environment in mind. The Gossip Girl actress recently attended a luncheon in order to promote the launch of Health eHome, a new online tool designed to help people identify the potential dangers and hazards in their living space.

In this interview with Time Out New York Kids, Rutherford speaks openly about the decisions she’s made when it comes to reducing her carbon footprint and living a healthier life. She admits that taking the steps towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle is a life-long process and that everyone had to do what fits for them. She admits that being a mom with a two-year old son has made her more aware of the types of cleaning products she uses and what kind of food she stocks in the house.

The star also speaks openly and candidly about dealing with the very public divorce from her husband Daniel Giersch which turned into ugly tabloid fodder a couple months back. She says: “I look to other women going through this for support. The thing is, there’s no good time to go through it unless it’s super amicable. So you try to do it with as much grace as possible and hopefully it will make sense later on. Of course, you can’t always hold it together, but thank god for my kids, because they’ve given me the strength to get through the rough times.”

Also, the star addresses the possibility of returning to Melrose Place. She explains that she is committed to Gossip Girl, but would consider doing something with the new show in the future if it felt right. She also said that she would be on board if they ever decided to make a Melrose Place movie.

By phillyburbs.com : http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/news/spotted/category/lily/

It is the parent’s responsibility to help teach and prepare our children. show them what the values of Green Living, and learning about the earth are really all about. These Green Living Tips are targeted more to the parents than to the children, simply because the child will be at such a young age. Whatever a parent does with their kids will be as much fun for the parent as for the child.

When a parent starts teaching their children while they are young, it sets in their mind and most of the time, the things you teach them will always be with them. If you live in a rural area, and you have a garden spot, give your child a small space for them to grow something of their own. For instance, Don’t just plant vegetables, make it fun for the youngsters, let them plant things that they would like, even if it is something like gourds, or watermelons. A parent would take the time to make sort of a game with their young ones, buying some seeds, showing the child how to plant them and then taking their child outside often to check the progress of the plants. Once the plant blooms, if it is a flower, the child will get to see and smell the work that they have put into this project. If the plant was a food source, the child will get to taste the fruit of their hard work. There is not only gardening in the spring, but there are fall veggies that can be planted. You can even sit down with your children and let them help pick out the flowers and vegetables for next years garden.

This will begin to teach children responsibility and dedication to a project, which is needed in our world today. These are the basic steps for teaching our leader for tomorrow’s leaders.

As a parent, you should spend time with your child. Such as going bike riding, showing your child how to build things, how to start a project and especially how to finish it.

If a family lives in the city instead of in a rural area there are still things that can be done almost the same way. Most plants can be started and grow inside a pot and put outdoors on a terrace, or inside near a window where it will get some sunlight. You could even teach kids about the pigeons and how they came to the city, and how they survive in the city. Let the child figure out several purposes that a pigeon has in a city. You could take the children a nearby park, find an ant hill and teach them the purpose of the ants.

Reading books to them about the values of the earth and always telling them the dos and the don’ts of polluting the earth. For instance, don’t throw paper or garbage of any kind on the ground, or if you pull up a tree, plant another tree somewhere else to take its place. Teach them the art of recycling things.

Teach your children to watch nature channels on TV, such as The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and other nature related shows. Take them outside for a walk and show them the butterflies and the bees, explain what the purpose of the small animal have in this world.

Giving your children small chores at home and making sure they do them will also help in building their minds, preparing them for the future.

Kids watch their parents every move, so if you as a parent turn off lights that aren’t being used and saving water whenever it is possible, recycling things, your children will follow your example.

If given the support and education, young people will change the world. They could be our future conversationalist, environmentalist and humanitarians.

By helping train our children about green living, each parent will realize what their children like best and can direct them in the right path, so that later on in life they may be trained and further educated in their particular field, coming together with other such groups and developing a much more Green Lifestyle for the entire planet.

The funny thing is before you know it your kids will be teaching you. My five year old has caught me a few times throwing things away that should have been recycled for example. Boy, have I empowered him!! And that is the key in teaching your child anything, making your children feel they can make a difference and empowering them is the most a parent can ask for. Even though I have been embarressed a couple of times by my son correcting me, I am extremely proud of him.

It is not only our children that we should teach, but by trying to educate other adults around the world the values of Green Living, they in turn will educate their children as well. Since, it is all to true that mankind has polluted our world up to now, and we are just realizing how important it is to take care of our Earth.

article by: more4kids.info