What does one tree mean? It may mean a lot more than you think. If you plant one tree for Arbor Day then:

• One LARGE tree absorbs 10 lbs of air pollutants, including 4 lbs of ozone and 3 lbs of particulates.
• Intake of NOx by the tree is equivalent to NOx emitted by a typical car driven 3,600 miles.
• In one year the average tree inhales 26 pounds of carbon dioxide, the amount emitted by a car on an 11,000 mile trip.
• This same tree will in turn exhale enough oxygen to keep a family of 4 breathing for a year.

What would happen if we stop deforestation?

• Deforestation accounts for roughly 20 percent of global carbon emissions - and more than 30 percent of emissions from developing countries. Halting deforestation over the next 50 years would protect important habitat while also providing around 15 percent of the carbon-emissions reductions needed to stabilize global temperatures.
• It takes just over 275 square feet of trees to produce enough oxygen for one person.
• It takes 6 square feet of trees to compensate for carbon dioxide produced from automobile fuel for each mile driven.
• Forests are of immense importance in soil stabilization and erosion control, especially in mountainous and hilly regions; they also protect and conserve water supplies and prevent floods.

Sources:

Arbor Day Foundation (http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm)

Encyclopedia Britannica (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-61051/tree)

Tree Canada (http://www.tcf-fca.ca/calculator/index.htm)

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Bryan
No Comments »

What did you do to celebrate Earth Day? Some of our favorite sites dressed up a little. Here are our favorite Earth day icons.

Google

Yahoo

AOL

FOX

So why didn’t everyone do it?

Although many know about Earth Day most still don’t really know what it is about. We have done our part, now it is your time to do yours. Celebrate Earth Day, celebrate the Earth. Celebrate what it means to live, and interact with nature. What can you do?

Do you clean with environmentally friendly products? Do you recycle? Do you walk when you can, take the stairs when you can?

It is not a matter of something that we need to do, it is a matter of something that we have to do. It is not a chore, nor a problem. Enjoy it, Celebrate it, Have Fun with Nature! Together small differences make a huge impact.

The Earth Thanks You.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Bryan
No Comments »

So now you know your eco footprint (if not see our article here) but what in the world is a Carbon Footprint, and is it any different?

Simply stated a carbon footprint is the amount of CO2 you release into the air in a given year. CO2 for many years has been blamed for a number of global warming issues including green house gasses.

To see yours you can take either of these quizzes

Carbon Counter.org

Whats My Carbon Footprint

So what does it all mean? Well simply stated it depends on the types of fuel you use. Using fossil fuel of any type gives of a lot more CO2 than other types of energy. Fossil fuels can be either Oil or Coal based. Burning of organic fuels gives off CO2 but in lesser amounts. There are a lot of alternative ways of heating your home including feedstock pellets. These are pellets that can be burned in a heating stove made from the by products of food and paper production. They are very efficient.

Here are some steps that you can take to help reduce your Carbon Footprint

• Home - electric appliances are much more efficient and give off much less CO2 than do gas appliances. The reason for this is that whatever your local electric plant does to generate electricity it is cheaper to do in mass quantity than if you use gas in your home. Gas products are of course made from oil and although the oil is still relatively cheep it is not as efficient or environmentally friendly as electric appliances. It can also not be said enough that running a fan in the summer with the air conditioning turned 3 degrees higher can save money and greatly reduce your energy consumption. There is no need to try to keep your house at 70 degrees when it is 95 outside. The same can be said with heating. Turn your thermometer down a few degrees in the winter and wear a seater. This will give you a large overall savings and reduce your footprint.

• Transportation - Alternative energy cars help a lot. See our article on the best fuel for you to get more information about them. Using a motorcycle, a scooter, a bicycle, or simply walking can reduce your carbon footprint by as much as half. Carpooling and taking public transportation is another great way to reduce your footprint. Check with your local transportation agency, they may already be running buses on biodiesel.

• Waste - This is also a big one. All those factories that make all those things that we love to throw away release CO2 into the air. But not all of them do so in the same quantity. You will see more factories with green or energy star ratings for better CO2 emission rates. Use this as your basis for what you buy. Then don’t throw it away, reuse, recycle, and give away unwanted items when possible.

Still not enough for you. There are several companies available now who will purchase Carbon offsetting energy, or simply offset your CO2 emissions with plants and trees. You can check them out below.

http://www.carbonfund.org/

http://www.terrapass.com/

http://www.nativeenergy.com/

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Bryan
No Comments »

On Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8pm, millions of people, families, and corporations across the globe participated in Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a call to action on global warming. This movement started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and gained such popularity that is went global in 2008. Just imagine what we will be able to create in 2009, 2010, 2011…

Thank you to all those who participated in Earth Hour 2008. For those who were unable, it is never too late.

1. Create your own Earth Hour at home

• Pick a date and time
• Turn off all electronics, yes even your cell phones
• Unplug Everything!
• Light some candles or use flashlights

2. Involve your friends and neighbors, have a Earth Hour Block Party

• Can be during the day
• See how creative you can be with games that involve no electricity
• No food that requires electricity for cooking, cook over the campfire or grill

3. Test your survival skills

• Camp under the stars for one night or even the weekend if you dare
• Challenge yourself to disconnect from all electronics during this trip
• Bring all food with you and cook over the campfire

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Karen
No Comments »

So what is your eco footprint? There is a lot of talk about your eco (ecological) footprint lately but do we really understand what it is?

Your eco footprint basically is the amount of area needed to sustain your lifestyle. First click on this link to see what your eco footprint is.

EcoFootprint Quiz

Mine was and embarrassing 20. Then I was faced with the reality that if everyone in the world lived like me we would need 4.6 Earths to sustain us as a human race. The good news is that Americans have an average of 24 so I am a little below that.

The way this particular survey figures it our is a combination of how many acres of land is needed to sustain your food, How many acres are needed to produce the energy that you need, how many acres are required to house you; this includes the building materials and your house footprint, and how many acres it takes to produce; and dispose of your consumable goods and services.

This is a very good survey that takes a lot into consideration, but still what does it mean?

• Food – your food score is based on the amount of land is needed to raise animals, and crops for your consumption along with the area needed to transport your food to you. To reduce your Food Eco Footprint you can consume less animals, it takes a lot more area to raise animals for food than it does crops for food. Also if you buy locally, such as at farmers markets, your footprint will be smaller due to less transportation and processing costs.

• Mobility – your mobility score is based on the amount of land is needed to support your travel, like roads, the amount of land that is needed to produce the energy for your mode of transportation, and the resources to build your transportation equipment. To reduce your Mobility Eco Score simply carpool more, use public transportation, and when able walk or ride a bike. A fun way to reduce your score is to use a motorcycle or motor scooter as they get much better gas mileage.

• Shelter – your shelter score is based on your land use (the amount of property your house takes up not the amount of land you own), how much land is needed to build your house, and the energy you use in your house. To reduce your Shelter Eco Score you can downsize and live in a smaller house. I promote this on my personal blog Coach Kip (http://www.coachkip.net). You can room with someone or invite people to live with you, and you can use energy conservation practices such as solar water heaters, proper insulation and insulating windows, and turn down that thermostat in the winter, and turn it up in the summer. This will also save you money!

• Goods – you consumable goods score is the most complicated of all your scores. It is based on not only the goods you use, but of the ones you dispose of. It can be a double whammy. You need land to produce the goods, and you usually need more land to dispose of it and put it in a landfill, especially if you do not compost your food waste. So how do you reduce your Goods Eco Score? Buy recycled products, recycle products that you need to get rid of, compost as much of your waste as possible, and don’t buy anything you don’t absolutely need.

Right now as a total population we are about 23% over what our Earth can sustain. Or in other words it takes just under a year and 3 months to recuperate what we use in a year. With each one of us just doing a small part we can fix this problem and have a much happier and simpler life.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Bryan
1 Comment »

Locate Earth Day activities across the Globe

In America:

In Canada:

In the UK:

In 1985, Scientists report that a giant hole in the earth’s ozone layer opens each spring over Antarctica. http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Karen
No Comments »

You’re Invited…to an Earth Day Celebration!

Who: all humans on Earth

What: an International holiday to celebrate the wonder of life

on our planet

When: Earth Day in America will be celebrated April 22, 2008

Where: All across the world

Why: to help clean up and protect our precious Planet Earth

Don’t miss out, join in the fun- we’ll see you there!

In 1970, Twenty million people celebrate the first Earth Day. http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Karen
No Comments »

Earth Day Facts brought to you by Globio, http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=35#

Earth Day Stats

• Earth Day is celebrated worldwide.
• Earth Day is celebrated by most people on April 22nd each year, and by some one month earlier.
• Earth Day is about learning about the planet and protecting Earth’s biodiversity.

Earth Day History

• Senator Gaylord Nelson of the USA is considered the founder of Earth Day.
• The first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States on April 22, 1970.
• The first international Earth Day was celebrated in 1990, with 200 million people from 141 nations participating.

Celebrating Earth Day

• People celebrate Earth Day in many ways.

• Ringing of peace bells
• Environmental rallies
• Parades
• Games
• Rive bank and beach clean-ups
• Workshops
• Tree planting

Protecting Earth

• There are things that can be done every day to protect the Earth
  • Walking or riding a bike to reduce pollution.
  • Planting trees to keep the air clean.
  • Making sure trash is thrown away.
  • Creating a compost pile instead of creating more garbage for landfills.
  • Recycling.

In 1976, EPA begins phase-out of cancer-causing PCB production and use. http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Karen
No Comments »

http://www.earthdaytv.net/

Watch TV, yes watch TV, your mother was wrong it IS good for you! Earth Day TV is an educational network focused on what we each can do to help improve our planet. They encourage ways for individuals to join forces in your community and around the world. Several topics of interest are as follows: Global Warming, Alternative Energy, Greener Living, Coral Reefs, In the Classroom, and Earth Day News.

In 1972, the United States and Canada agree to clean up the Great Lakes, which contain 95 percent of America’s fresh water and supply drinking water for 25 million people. http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Green by Karen
No Comments »

In the Workplace-

If your printer, fax, or copier has a stand-by mode make sure that it is active and set. It will conserve energy while not in use. Don’t worry it will come right back on when you are ready to use it.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tags: Uncategorized by admin
No Comments »