1 Apr 08 |
Photo courtesy of chiefdm5 at Flickr.com.
The first choices made during a project are often critical choices - they set the tone for everything that follows. During construction projects, that goes doubly true. It’s important to have a complete vision of the finished goal before the first brick is laid.
For example, it can be time consuming and expensive to add another bathroom after concrete is poured. Using low-VOC paint doesn’t do much good if it’s the second coat of paint on a wall. And putting in a skylight is easiest before roof tiles are applied.
Many early construction choices will be hidden from sight - under the carpet or inside the walls. Simply because these choices are covered up doesn’t make them any less important. A commonly overlooked factor is the importance of framing material. This press release (from a lumber company with a clear agenda) makes the case for wood framing as a greener option than steel.
As trees grow, they convert CO2 to carbon, which remains stored in the wood long after the tree is harvested. The benefits are substantial: the wood framing in a typical suburban home stores a volume of CO2 equal to the emissions from a small car over seven years.
That makes sense to me, but it’s important to make sure that the lumber used comes from a well managed forest or other sustainable source (ie; recycled building material, underwater forests, etc). There are sustainable certifications available for virtually all wood products - check with the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance for more information.
Photo courtesy of benb787 at Flickr.com.
For related information about the unseen benefits of insulation, check out our post about how Thermal Imaging technology can save energy by spotting leaks.
Popularity: 5% [?]
22 Mar 08 |
If you have a video camera, an exhibitionist streak, and a desire the change the world, Whole Foods wants you! The natural and organic food superstore is hunting for 6 members of the “Earth Generation” (anyone born between 1991 and 1995) to voice their opinions about where the future lies for sustainable consumption.
Good luck!
Popularity: 7% [?]
Photo courtesy of Major-General Clanger at Flickr.com.
(Editor’s note: I didn’t even know what the hell at CRO was! And then I find out that they even have their very own trade magazine.)
The 2008 list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens was just published by CRO Magazine (a magazine for Corporate Responsibility Officers). The list includes a wide variety of companies, from Intel to SPX Corporation, that have recognized the importance of environmental concerns in their day-to-day operations. According to CRO Magazine, the categories measured include:
Climate Change, Employee Relations, Environment, Financial, Governance, Human Rights, Lobbying and Philanthropy. In so doing, we added, renamed, combined or dropped other categories, and gave Climate Change and other issues related to Environment the greatest weight because of their acute importance.
It’s great to see Climate Change and Environmentalism recognized for their importance!
Popularity: 7% [?]
19 Feb 08 |
Photo courtesy of Guided by the light at Flickr.com.
Robert Frost famously wrote about how “Good fences make good neighbors,” but the type of fence that pioneers built in the American West can be a drain on the environment. Picket fences block animal migration routes and are often painted with toxic chemicals. Building a wooden fence kills trees and fossil fuels are burned transporting lumber. These fences can also cause erosion by transferring the force of the wind into the soil, and they take constant maintenance.
Centuries old techniques offer a green alternative. Just as the Normans used hedgerows and Native Americans used Osage-Orange, botanists are exploring new ways to use living plants to regulate property lines. For example, Phung Tuu Boi is building a green fence to keep people from areas contaminated with Agent Orange. As the director of the Center for Assistance in Nature Conservation and Community Development in Hanoi, he’s developed a fence that keeps animals from foraging in contaminated sites while also restoring the soil and growing a cash crop:
Mr. Boi has developed a low-tech solution to overcome these problems: a fence made of trees covered with cactus-sharp needles to deter humans and animals alike. Mr. Boi hopes this so-called green fence will not only discourage trespassers, but also provide them with an economic incentive to leave the barrier intact. Once mature, the trees he has chosen to make up the fence, Gleditschia australis, produce a fruit that residents can sell to make soaps and medicinals. Gleditschia, a type of honey locust, is disease and insect resistant, and its thorns and soft wood should deter residents from cutting it down for firewood.
Photo courtesy of imbala at Flickr.com.
Another advantage of living fences is that they offer habitat for wildlife. These slices of greenery often act as highways for wild animals on the move and dense tree lines are just as effective at controlling domestic animals.
Popularity: 8% [?]
18 Feb 08 |
Photo courtesy of k9ine at Flickr.com.
A week after contacting the three companies that are offering Green Credit Cards, only one of the companies has replied to my questions:
Emily, at Brighter Planet, wrote:
Hi George - The market rate for our offsets are $12 a ton, and we measure in short tons (2000 lbs.) And as far as biodegradable plastic goes, we wish! The truth is that only giftcards can be made out of biodegradable material right now because they hold up for 3-5 swipes, not enough for a credit card. As soon as a good enough, durable plastic comes out we’ll switch! Thanks for your interest and let me know if there are other questions I can answer for you.
Thanks,
Emily
I asked these same questions to the other green card providers and I’m still waiting on a reply from Earth Rewards and Green Pay. But I’m not holding my breath - have you ever tried getting straight talk from a credit card company?
Photo courtesy of unitednatures at Flickr.com.
Popularity: 8% [?]
If you’ve been to Whole Foods lately, the you’re sure to notice a change. Whole Foods is phasing out plastic bags, and in encouraging their customers to “Bring Your Own Bag,” they are giving out reusable bags.
We’re not sure how long this promotion will last, but we’re loving it! Finally, a major grocery store that is making moves in the right direction.
If you forget to bring your own bags, don’t worry. Whole Foods will still have their 100% recycled paper bags for you to use. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be “that girl” that uses paper bags. I have a feeling that, in the future, not bringing your own bags will be like writing a check, out-dated.
There is probably plenty of time until that day, but you should start considering getting your own reusable bags to take to the grocery store or super market now.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Photo courtesy of WookieSlayer at Flickr.com.
There are credit cards that offer just about every incentive under the sun. For those who want to earn cash back, airline miles, or even strange things like hours in jetfighter training, there are cards that reward cardholders with a percentage of every dollar spent. Now, several companies have rolled out credit cards with an environmental affinity. For every purchase on these cards, a portion of the fees are invested into carbon offsets and financing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
General Electric launched the Earth Rewards MasterCard. It offers two green options - users can donate 1% of their purchases to fighting global warming, or they can keep half a percent for themselves and donate the other half percent to saving the planet.
Bank of America is behind the Brighter Planet Visa. They use a point system where every dollar spent earns a point and 1,000 points equals a ton of carbon dioxide offsets. That makes it a bit hard to compare apples to oranges, but a ton of carbon costs anywhere from $5 to $40 with an average value around $10 per ton. So, that equals about the same reward rate as the Earth Rewards Card (1% or 1:100).
MetaBank offers the GreenPay MasterCard. It rewards cardholders with 5 lbs of CO2 reduction for every dollar spent and 10 lbs for every dollar spent on gasoline or utilities. The first thing to do in comparing these is to convert carbon pounds to carbon tons. Carbon credits are measured using metric tons and 1 metric ton is approximately 2205 lbs. So, at the lower rate, every $441 spent on the card earns 1 ton of carbon credits. Assuming $10 per ton of carbon credit, that works out to about a 2.2% reward rate or 1:45.
From the information on their websites and responses to my inquiries, it appears that all of these cards are printed on standard plastic blanks. That’s a real shame, considering that many stores now offer gift cards printed on biodegradable plastics.
In summary:
Earth Rewards MasterCard: 1:100 (1 cent earned per dollar spent)
Brighter Planet Visa: approximately 1:100 (1 cent per dollar )
GreenPay MasterCard: approximately 1:45 (2.2 cents per dollar )
Greenpay MasterCard for gas and electricity purchases: 1:22 (4.5 cents per dollar)
The cards also have critics:
Some advocates question whether the green cards will actually lead to fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. “What I am more concerned about is that it gives people an easy pass: ‘OK, I’ve got my green credit card, so I can do things that are carbon-ridiculous,’” says Leslie Lowe, director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility on Energy and Environment, a nonprofit based in New York.
For now, your best bet may be to keep a high reward card and use the rewards to purchase carbon credits on your own. Whether you join one of these programs or not, you can always sign up for paperless statements and cut your footprint that way!
Popularity: 9% [?]
According to Mark Buckley, the VP of Environmental Affairs at Staples, an estimated 133,000 computers are discarded every day in the U.S. That’s nearly 49 million computers a year! And that doesn’t even include cell phones and other office related electronics.Old electronic junk, or “e-waste” is increasingly becoming a larger problem in today’s electronic age, making the need for recycling more and more important. A lot of people think that paying to recycle their stuff is not worth it, and they just throw it into the garbage to get rid of it. But a few major computer companies like HP, Dell, Sony and Apple are making it easier for people to recycle their old computers when they upgrade.According to Earth 911.org’s website,
Reusing and recycling prevents electronic items from reaching landfills, creating less waste, providing usable items to organizations that need them and recapturing valuable resources.”
If you work for a company that seems to upgrade to new computers on a regular basis, start asking what your company is doing with those old computers. If the computers are broken beyond repair, search around for local take back programs or retailers that recycle any electronic product. Look online for the manufacturer of your old computer to see if they have a recycling or take back program. Staples, for example, will recycle electronics from any manufacturer for 10 dollars or less, nationwide. It might not be free to recycle that dusty old computer, but at least they will make sure it is recycled properly.Here at my workplace, I just upgraded to a new Apple computer. Don’t be jealous! After the purchase, Apple emailed me a Fed-Ex shipping label to print out. All I have to do is box up this old PC, stick on the shipping label and drop it off at a FedEx Kinko’s. They’ll take it back and see that it is recycled. Seems like hassle free e-cycling to me!If your computer or other electronics are still in working order, but you have newer models you are using, try selling, donating or free-cycling your electronic goods. There are lots of people who still can not afford to buy brand new computers, so selling or donating yours locally can help others in your community. Ebay and freecycle.org are two good resources for selling electronics, or giving them away.Just remember, it’s all about doing your part. Become proactive at work by asking what they are doing with old computers there. It may cost your boss a little extra to do some good, but doing good will pay off when your consumers and other companies begin to take notice.
Popularity: 7% [?]
During the 1960’s there was a street theater group, known as the Diggers, in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. They regularly held free concerts, fed the public for free in golden gate park, and perhaps the most famous of their altruistic activities; the free store.
The free store was basically a second hand store that people would bring unwanted items to and anyone could walk in off the street and pick up anything they wanted off the shelves for free; no money ever changed hands. The Diggers aren’t around anymore (at least not in Haight-Ashbury) but the concept of the free store has been carried to a lot of unexpected Venues. A friend of mine who was a student at Fort Worth’s Baptist Seminary told me that they had a free store of sorts in the dorm, and free stores have gained in popularity all across Europe.
What has all this got to do with Chemicals and waste disposal? Well, everything; especially if you live in Fort Worth, Texas. This week I had the pleasure of visiting Fort Worth’s Environmental Collection Center. If you live in Fort Worth or one of the participating municipalities (go to their website to see if your community is one of them) you can show up at the center with acids, aerosol cans, antifreeze, batteries (all kinds, including car batteries), brake fluid, cooking oil, craft chemicals, degreasers, drain cleaner, fertilizer, fluorescent light bulbs, compact flourescent light bulbs (CFLs), herbicides, household chemicals, motor oil, paints & stains, paint thinners, pest strips, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, photo chemicals, pool chemicals, oil filters, solvents, transmission fluid and varnish…And they will take them off your hands.
Now, many years ago I played in a band with the primary purpose in life to promote environmental issues. We played free concerts at several drop off recycling centers like this in order to promote recycling and proper waste disposal so that people wouldn’t be dumping motor oil down storm drains; It’s not new. But what I found unique and how we tie this all together is that not only is this a drop off and recycling center; it’s a free store for household chemicals and paint. I first heard about this service from Ken 
Otoole, the gallery director of The Second Floor Gallery in Fort Worth. He painted the entire art gallery using paint obtained for free from the ECC. I admit, the first thing I thought of was the old Steven Wright joke “I just bought some used paint; it came in the shape of a house” but as he explained you simply walk in and take whatever paint other citizens have dropped off. You get free paint and the paint winds up on your walls instead of in a landfill somewhere. You may have to mix a few to get the color you want, but the price is right.
And we’re not talking just paint. When I was there I found carpet cleaner, motor oil, bio-degradable degreaser (that one went home with me; I drive a diesel after all), sterno, bicycle chain lube and all kinds of things that I personally have paid good money for in the past. Nothing beats saving the environment and saving money all at the same time.
And what happens to the stuff that nobody wants or they can’t give out? Well, cooking oil is used to make bio-fuels, batteries are stripped and recycled, used motor oil is recycled, and pesticides are shipped to appropriate centers to be incinerated and rendered harmless. Paint cans are crushed, allowed to dry, and then 
crushed some more before being safely disposed of. In short; everything that can be recycled is recycled, and everything that can’t is safely converted. Much better than dumping it down a storm drain I think.
Like I said before, there are a limited number of communities that can participate in Fort Worth’s program and if your community doesn’t have such a program you have some campaigning to do with your city government. To find out what is available to you visit Earth911.org and punch in what you have and where you need to get rid of it and it will tell you whats available locally; and while you’re there see if they have a free store. If not, talk to them about the free frame of reference.
Popularity: 10% [?]
1 Aug 07 |
Eco-friendly is big! Discovery has acquired Treehugger.com, the top green site / blog for $10 million, according to the Fortune Technology blog.
Congratulations Treehugger. We hope that the site will continue to grow and succeed as part of the Discovery network of TV channels and web properties.
Popularity: 4% [?]