August 17th, 2008
Recently, Outlaw Consulting surveyed 100 Generation Y-ers about their favorite green products. The top 15 brands listed were:
- Whole Foods
- Trader Joe’s
- Toyota
- Honda
- Google
- Aveda
- Zipcar
- American Apparel
- Ikea
- 7th General
- Apple
- the Body Shop
- Starbucks
- Netflix
- Method
Now, some most of these companies I wouldn’t necessarily consider “green” in general, but they are branding certain products to be green and making good on corporate promises to go green…or at least, the public perceives them as green.
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August 15th, 2008
A diversion for a moment…
Recently, I’ve been talking a lot about the Beijing Olympics and the problems with China’s commitment to go green for them. While I still do want to encourage you to support environmentally-friendly initiatives in China and around the world, please note that IN NO WAY do I think that anything political should mar these games.
In other words, this is the only time that I feel like the world, in general, comes together without thoughts of fighting and anger (except maybe over subjective scoring!). I don’t like the fact that many are using the Olympics to “make a statement.” Now is not the time. The athletes, games, and ceremonies should never become pawns in some larger political message. They’ve worked too hard for too long.
That is all. We now return to your regularly-scheduled Greener Assets!
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August 14th, 2008
China’s environmental issues have magnified since the start of the Olympics. As part of their Olympic pollution clean-up, which became in 2001, the city decide to shut down hundreds of plants that were contributing highly to pollution problems. Over 200 steel, chemical, automobile, and electronics companies were closed.
Kind of.
At least, that’s what they said.
However, reports from the Washington Post and Environmental Leader are saying that it’s all a sham - the companies didn’t close. They just relocated.
Beijing’s two top polluters, Shougang Group’s Capital Steel and Steel Co. and the Beijing Coking-Chemical Plant didn’t close down as reported, but rather moved to locations in Tangshan, which is about 125 miles east of Beijing.
That’s not to say that Beijing and China as a whole haven’t really been trying to clean up their air and water…but are they promoting themselves to be greener than they actually are? Probably. Hiding companies in another city isn’t making the world a greener place.
And having 14-year-old gymnasts isn’t fair. But hey, that’s a fight for another day, another blog.
Weigh in with your thoughts - are China’s clean-up efforts a sham or are they really trying? Leave a comment!
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August 12th, 2008
Earlier this month, my fellow b5media bloggers at Tree Hugging Family talked about organic and green lunch bag/box options. They gave readers some great options here and here, but if you’re not in school anymore, you might want a more sophisticated option than what they showed, which are mostly for kids(although I was totally a fan of Bento Box Set they showed). Here are some adult-friendly green lunch bag options:
Built NY Gourmet Getaway Lunch Tote
JanSport Lunch Break Lunch Box
Vera Bradley Out To Lunch New Colors
Elle Essentials - Sadie Lunch Bag - Brown
I really like the Elle line of lunch bags - they’re under $30 for the most part and really look sharp. In addition to the Sadie version listed above, you can find more cute styles here:
And there’s even more, in tons of styles and colors here. Too cute!
Remember, packaging your lunch in reusable containers instead of plastic baggies and paper bags is a much greener option. You’ll save a ton of money, and when you bring a lunch to work instead of buying a lunch at a nearby restaurant, you have the added benefit of being able to choose organic options.
Picture and links all from Amazon.
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August 12th, 2008
If you like to play the stock market, SustainableBusiness.com has a list that might interest you - the World’s Top Sustainable Stocks. This is the seventh year the site has published a top twenty list. They assert that is is not a “buy” list, but they do take both financial and environmental criteria into consideration. You can read more about it here.
So who made the Top 20 list? Check it out:
- Accsys Technologies Plc
- Apogee Enterprices, Inc.
- Asahi Pretec
- Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc.
- Chipotle Mexican Grill
- Climate Exchange Plc
- First Solar
- Google, Inc.
- Hewlett-Packard Co
- IBM
- Interface
- Lindsay Corporation
- Natura Cosmetics SA
- Ormat Technologies
- Philips Electronics
- Solar Millennium AG
- Staples, Inc.
- Suzlon Energy Ltd.
- TNT N.V.
- WaterFurnace
Before you call your broker, I urge you to go to Sustainable Business’ website a read Snapshots of all the SB20 Companies.
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August 11th, 2008
China’s Yao Ming might not be a 2008 Olympic gold medalist after China’s defeat by the United States (it was a great game), but no matter what the final outcome of men’s basketball, Yao Ming is still a champion in the heart of many…and he’s now an officially “Environmental Champion.”
The United Nations has officially declared Ming as their first-ever Environmental Champion due to his commitment to promote going green to young adults throughout the world. Says Ming,
“As a sportsman, I believe sport has a major role to play in promoting environmental issues so I will work with young people across the world and try to inspire them to plant trees, use energy efficient light bulbs, harvest rain water and to become environmental champions in their own communities.
“As the world celebrates the Beijing Olympic Games, I would also like to call upon the organizers of all major sports events in the world to make sure they use public transport facilities, build proper waste management systems and use greener forms of energy.
“I sincerely believe small actions done by many over a long period of time can really bring about positive change. By doing a little now we can avoid doing a lot later. Please join me in this global team effort.”
Ming was China’s flag bearer in the opening ceremonies, alongside Lin Hao (not pictured), a 9-year-old who rescued two of his classmates after the May Sichuan earthquakes. Notably, the child carried an upside-down Chinese flag, which is internationally recognized as a symbol of distress. (You can see pictures of Hao and the upside-down flag at that link.)
Environmental distress in China? Political distress? Human rights distress? Or was this simply a mistake?
And a better question might be this - did Yao Ming know about this upside-down flag, perhaps even advocate it be carried? This is pure speculation, of course, but worth considering…
What do you think? Leave a comment below!
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August 9th, 2008
Often, we don’t think of colleges as businesses, but they are non-profits, and the choices institutions make affect the entire world. One student, Nina Merrill from Colgate University, has started a new blog titled Organic on the Green to promote organic eating on campus.
The project is actually a collaboration between Nina and countless students working to make a difference, and she’s actively inviting others to post on the site as well.
It’s an impressive effort to help the popularity of organic foods on college campuses grow. The site includes information for both administrative staff and students to help everyone make greener choices.
Studies show that the “greenness” of a college is becoming more and more important to young adults when making a final selection. Although switching to organic foods is a large change from the typical college dining experience, I think it is a decision we’ll be seeing more and more in the coming years.
(hat tip to The Daily Green)
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August 9th, 2008
If you’re like me, you leave your computer during the day for small chunks of time. It doesn’t always make sense to shut down your computer, but at the same time, leaving your computer turned on can waste energy unnecessarily. Verdiem, the software manufacture of the green SURVEYOR program, has released a free version of said program called Edison.
Edison allows you to time your computer’s sleep mode, so that you use less energy when you’re away from your machine. This program allows you more control, as well as shows you how much electricity, Co2 Emissions, and money they’re saving by putting their computer into sleep mode.
The cnet tech reports that you can save about 410 kilowatt hours every year, which equals about $2-$3 per month, although some have noted that this number seems unrealistic and wrong.
Here’s my question, though…can’t you already do this on your own? Your computer may not come with an energy tracker, but if you go into your system controls, you can easily choose when and how your computer goes into sleep mode, and most of the time when you leave your computer, you know you’re going to be away and can manually put your computer to sleep.
So, is this a ploy to sell copies of the SURVEYOR program? Or do you see some value in this type of product? Leave a comment below!
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August 9th, 2008
The recent outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia got me thinking about the impact of fighting on the environment.
First of all, I want to say that I am in no way putting the environmental impact above the grim toll this has already taken on the residents of this area. Thousands of men and women have already died due to the bombings, gunfire, and other hostilities in these two countries, and worst of all, over a thousand of these deaths were civilians. In addition, more than 30,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. So, while I am addressing environmental issues here, my thoughts are first and foremost with the people living in this war zone.
That said, war takes a toll on the environment. Of course, nuclear weapons are a major concern, as they can literally change the entire world’s weather, toxicity, and water supplies. That’s just the beginning, though. Here are some things you might not think about immediately:
- Fires, battles, and military movements can stomp out entire forests and fields.
- Today, people are still being killed and maimed by landmines, which have been planted all over the world in past war zones, so destruction of environment (and people living in it) can occur long after peace comes to a nation.
- Travel is hard on the environment, and during war, massive groups of people are moving from place. Not only do you have troops from both countries involved traveling, but other countries also fly in support, and refugees move from area to area, trying to ride out the war so they can return home.
- Many countries are testing and even using chemical warfare. This doesn’t just kill people - it also kills plants and animals, as well as pollutes water supplies and the air.
- When there’s a war going on, the government doesn’t care about the environment. First priority is winning the war and finding a peaceful resolution once again, not taking care of the environment. If it means destroying the environment of an endangered species to build a needed military post, so be it.
Remember, war affects everybody, not just people in the warring countries. As the issue begins to spiral, other countries relying on Russia and Georgia economically will be forced to take sides, and the chain reaction begins. Whether in the Middle East or in Russia/Georgia or in any other part of the world, support peace…support the troops trying to bring peace, but overall, support peace.
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August 7th, 2008
Business around the world are going green, and these decisions aren’t just being made by large corporations. You may not be able to change the world by yourself as a small business owner, but if we all work together, we can make just as big of a different at larger corporations.
In honor of the small business owners who really are working to be environmentally-friendly, I’m putting together a series of posts featuring these men and women, and their small businesses.
What are you doing to go green? Do you sell green products? Do you provide green services? To you help others learn how to go green? Are you just an ordinary small business that is making small changes to better your daily practices?
If you’d like your business to be featured in the Small Businesses Making Big Differences series, email me at allison.boyer -at- yahoo -dot- com with the subject line “Green Business Interview”. I’d love to know more about you!
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