Sustainability will be one of the defining concepts of the next 40 years. If the present levels of carbon emissions, deforestation, resource depletion and pollution continue the world will be a very bleak place indeed 40 years in the future. Flooding, desertification, water shortages, food shortages and reduced life expectancy are all inevitable unless the world acts together to address the most pressing environmental and social problems. The answer to these problems can largely be summed up by 'sustainability'.

Sustainability in some ways is like a religion. People try to emulate the Buddha or Jesus, but they fall short of perfection or enlightenment. The same with sustainability: it is something we should strive for, even if we fall short in practice. The technical definition of sustainable is an enterprise or action which does not produce a net loss of energy or resources. Because there is no net loss an activity can go on indefinitely.

Commonly people imagine activities such as growing bamboo to make flooring as 'sustainable' because bamboo grows quick enough to keep up with consumer demand for new flooring. In contrast, chopping down hardwood trees that take over 100 years to reach maturity is not sustainable because trees grow too slowly to keep a pace with demand.

The case of growing bamboo is a good move in terms of sustainability but of course bamboo also requires inputs of water; it takes up soil resources; and the bamboo is processed using machines that require fossil fuels; the bamboo is then shipped from China to the rest of the world and that uses more resources. Studying the carbon history of any consumer item makes it clear that nothing is produced without a loss of energy or resources. It is a matter of deciding which activities are the most sustainable and which are the least.

We have to realize that there is no such thing as an eco-car. The inputs of power, water, and minerals are very significant to make just one hybrid or electric car. There is a limit to how much metal ores are in the ground. We are running out of iron ore deposits; just as we (the world) are running out of oil, gas and coal. Just because 'eco-cars' pollute less we should not be fooled into thinking that everyone should have one. We should think that cars are a necessary evil and their numbers should be limited.

It is at the level of ideas that the drive to get closer to sustainability must be fought. Big corporations have formed a symbiotic relationship with the mass media and many governments to push the persuasive rhetoric of consumption. We must all consume more to 'boost' the economy to give people jobs and a better standard of life. 'Standard of life' has become equated with material possessions. It is the job of environmental action groups around the world to fight this pernicious ideology. The standard of life is about preserving an environment that is fit for human habitation. The only way we can do this is to stop raping the earth. More important than paper money are trees, clean air, seas and rivers full of marine life, less carbon in the air etc. These are the real values of life because they underpin life. What use will be the billions of dollars the top execs in Wall Street have if the air they breathe poisons them, if the sun on their back gives them cancer, if they cannot eat fish or vegetables or fruit?

It is obvious that sustainability is interconnected with society. Until economic exploitation called 'globalization' is addressed nothing will get better. Until education systems stop producing factory fodder and start producing free thinking individuals nothing will change. Until women gain control of their bodies and their reproductive function human numbers will continue to spiral out of control. Until the issue of aboriginal land rights is really addressed forests and other natural resources will continue to be destroyed.

The fight for justice is also the fight for a sustainable future. That is why it is necessary to act together. Governments should act in accord; people should act in accord. The poor, dispossessed and exploited vastly outnumber the rich few who reap the benefits of the present system of unsustainable development. The fight is for real democracy where the needs of the vast majority are met is the battle ground where we must meet to save the planet from environmental Armageddon. We must make our leaders really take action not meet at climate change conferences and just hum and haw. They must be forced to side with the people and not oil companies, agribusiness and other big corporations.

At the same time as forcing the world to come together to find ways to make the future more sustainable we must all self-scrutinize. How can we use less electricity, less gasoline, less water? How can we offset our actions that damage the environment and drain its resources? How can we recycle our waste instead of plundering nature?

This website deals with all the aspects of sustainability and environmental action. Articles discuss the politics of sustainability as well as offering advice on how we can tread more lightly in our everyday lives to help the environment. There is an environmental aspect to nearly every topic, every consumer item. By bringing these aspects to the light we hope to do our own small part for the cause of sustainability. So read on. We all have walk on parts in this war to save the world.

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Social ease with roommates

Society

The understanding the pitfalls of navigating your social relationships, in your roommate situation, is essential. There are so many difficulties when living with people who aren’t your family, that it creates major headaches. I have had many of these experiences myself, and hope that’s my stories will give you a bit of perspective.

I have had both good and bad roommates in the past. The most important thing however is the ability to have distance in the apartment. The layout became the most important thing. When we selected which flats to rent, we always made a point of having a living room. When ever we only had a kitchen to socialize in., There was always strife. Once when I was 20 years old I lived with my best friend. The two of us shared a small apartment with a third girl named Jenny. Jenny claimed the largest room, because she had a boyfriend. We tried to argue this point as irrelevant, to no avail. We explains that the only reason we did not have a girlfriend was because we were new in town. She did not bend on that ruling.

I was optimistic that we would find a system where we would all be happy, but the layout and density of living situation, proved to be too difficult. Both myself and my friends had to deal with this girl and her boyfriend, “up all night”. The best situation I ever had was later in life, when I had only one roommate. Which one we were able to put in room or two, between rooms. That allowed more space and more solitude, and privacy. never a need for a sock on the door, or anything so banal. I’m glad jenny’s boyfriend never caught us laughing at their amourous  noises. He was a black belt.

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Save Water When Gardening This Year

Conservation, Environment, Green

You will need to water the garden every day in hot weather.  Using a large watering can is an economical way to do this if you have an outside tap.  A much quicker way would be to use a hose pipe.  However, when people use hose pipes they tend to use much more water than is actually required.

Hose pipes are very good for washing down lean to greenhouses especially if you have an attachment on the end to increase the water pressure.  Another option for the garden is to attach a sprinkler on the end and leave in the garden for an hour or so.

Small watering cans with sprinkler attachments are best for delicate plants and seedlings where you want no disturbance of the soil, in lean to greenhouses for example.

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Solar Power Beats Out Kerosene

Green

In Uttar Pradesh, a large and poor Indian state, a new service is being offered to locals that enables a cheaper and healthier source of energy for light and low power uses.  This is very necessary as the Indian power grid is already massively overloaded and does not even reach to the far flung villages of many states.  The service is made up of solar power grids that are built for individual villages.  The villagers pay a small fee to get set up with their solar panel charging kits and a very small fee on a subscription basis.  This cheap solar energy has many positive aspects;

  • The energy provided is much cheaper than kerosene, the normal choice of fuel
  • Kerosene is bad for health and causes lots of smoke and a danger of fire, especially when burnt in a enclosed environment – solar energy is ‘clean’
  • Additional cheap lighting means the working day can go on longer.  Villagers appreciate this as it allows them to work longer hours to earn more money and their children get extra time to study for school.
  • The small subscription for the service means local families do not get into debt as they do not have to buy products that have a large one off payment.

With the cheaper energy prices, locals can also afford to charge their mobile phone regularly which is important for communications in most rural Indian towns and villages.  One charge of a mobile phone in the local town costs 33% of the subscription payment for the local solar grid. If the locals connect into the local solar grid they can charge their phones as much as they need AND  power their home lighting every night so the economic benefits are very clear.

It is great to see the worlds natural and renewable energy resources making a difference to the poor people of this planet.  Hopefully in the future we will see more reliance on renewable energy sources and less on natural unrenewable sources for everyone in every nation.

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Sustainability Begins with Solid Personal Finances

Society

Establishing an environmentally friendly, sustainable lifestyle will undoubtedly be the focus of younger generations for decades to come.  It is a noble and increasingly necessary aspect of life in today’s society.  Sustainability, however, doesn’t come easily.  Sustainability must come after one establishes him or herself a viable, healthy personal lifestyle that includes a secure financial situation.  Personal finances are the cornerstone upon which a “green” lifestyle can be built.  For those that have loans out in their name, using an amortization schedule is a great way to ensure that a stable personal financial situation can be established.  Loan amortization is an effective way to get an overall snapshot of finances by enabling one to view their recurring loan payments and see how they’re distributed between interest, principal and associated financial fees.

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Local Governments are Going Green!

Environment, Green

Everything in churches and governments move extremely slow and for this reason I am not surprised neither have jumped on the Go Green bandwagon quickly.  Most are still as wasteful as ever and have no plans on changing.  Then again, every once in a while there seems to be a glimmer of hope and there is an improvement.

It can be as simple as having traffic accident claims available online instead of having to mail all the information to various companies. This is a small step but it can make a great impact over time.

Churches can also send emails to update parishioners on the events of the week instead of printing flyers and bulletins.  Even better they can customize what parishioner gets what email so it save both the church and the person time and energy on information they do not want or need. The benefits of going green truly are endless.

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Create a Sustainable Business Strategy by Erecting Competitive Barriers

Environment, Society, Uncategorized

In business, it is critical to build a sustainable competitive advantage.  Many new businesses develop competitive advantages that aren’t sustainable.  This limits their future growth, unless they are able to continuously out-innovate the competition.  To create a sustainable business strategy, you must erect barriers for the competitors.  These range from barriers to entry (for an unsaturated market) to barriers against existing players.

One of the most common business strategies is to create ways to lock in strategic partners and/or customers.  For instance, if the company is a manufacturer, it can try to create long-term contracts with the industry’s major buyers.  These long term contracts not only provide financial security for the company itself, but they also ensure that competing manufacturers need to find new customers (i.e. grow the market) instead of fighting for the existing customers.  Another example would be offering programs that increase customers’ switching costs.  Great examples of these business strategies are hotel companies and airlines.  These travel companies tend to use points or mileage systems and tiered membership (e.g. Gold, Platinum member status) systems to increase customer loyalty.  As a customer earns more and more points with a particular provider, it becomes less inclined to use the services of other similar service providers.

There are some industries with interesting barriers that naturally put them in a very desirable competitive situation.  These can be regulatory barriers placed by the government or environmental barriers.  For instance, most telecommunication and energy companies are local monopolies.  Ever wonder why you can only by utilities from a single company?  This is due to regulatory restrictions that only allow a certain company to serve a specific area in the United States.

Other companies may be geographically or environmentally positioned to allow them a lower cost structure than competitors.  This deters other companies from competing with them, because the competitors know they are at a disadvantage.  An example of this could be mineral mining companies that own a controlling number of mines for a specific mineral.

When a business doesn’t have a sustainable competitive advantage, its business strategy must be altered so that it obtains a sustainable advantage.  If a business never successfully develops a sustainable advantage, it is only be a matter of time before the company gets squeezed out of the market.   A business can leverage its existing intellectual property and core competencies to pivot off its existing business into a neighboring one — where it obtains a competitive advantage.

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Accessorizing House with Green Devices

Green

When you are on a Go green drive to make your house environment friendly, by buying solar lamps, heaters, and chargers, why not use eco-friendly accessories for pets too? It could be as simple as buying bed for pets, collar, harness, outing bag for packing pet food and medicine made out of recycled material. It may be difficult to leave out some of the devices like automatic litter box, which offers great convenience to pet owners. You may want to use environment friendly products whenever possible, but busy schedules make automated devices part of our life.

Green issues are easier to preach, than practice. If you are ready to sacrifice some time and effort and provide natural litter box, you may have to use sand or pine pellet accessories or other non-food grade natural litter. This needs one to scoop dirtied litter from time to time, to avoid the bad odor indoors. If cat or dog are used to going outdoors, it is best to let him or her go, provided, your residence is safe for them to venture out.

Other green measure that you can follow; to avoid the bad odor is to use baking soda. It is harmless and works well to reduce the odor. Using clay is not an environment friendly measure, for it may release toxic when the litter settles at the bottom. Using a natural litter box is not a feasible idea, since letting the machine do the dirty work sounds reassuring when you have lots to manage.

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More on the Green Issue

Green

green issuesThe green issue is an organization that was formed by students in California. They were the first students to form the organization. They are committed to sustainability, and the green building. The organization is made up if students who are disciplined, they are determined to build the environment. They have a strong passion to change the surrounding community and their main campus as well.

They have realized the need to have a healthy ecosystem that will provide goods that are vital to the humans and other living organism. They have also assisted in the management of the resources which they have based their knowledge from the economics.

In most cases, they have their interest in green issues, they also focus to impact a better understanding of the environment and the society around them and improve on the economy of the country.

They have a mission to educate, create awareness on sustainability matters, they have also created awareness of Cordyceps as a remedy for high levels of bad cholesterol in the body they are also involved activities that help improve the standard of the community. They are mostly concerned in sustaining the community around them.

Within one year they have organized and have been the participants of various events like the workshops that are involved in the installation of the solar panels in the community. They have activities like the field trips, the green buildings, competition for the local and the nation desighn, competions for the energy saving in their campus.

Both the students and the faculty have worked so hard to get the tremendous education, get the research opportunity, as well as the involvement in the community service project. The green issue has led to the reorganizing of the living conditions. They have impacted greatly on the lifestyle of the community, with the new technology that has helped them to reduce resource consumption.

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7 Effective Ways to Increase Your Energy Levels

Society

As we cope up with our busy lifestyles, our energy levels sometimes tend to drop, thus, making us slower in any task that we do at the moment. With this compelling issue we are facing, it is everyone’s goal to find solutions that will increase their energy levels to its maximum. Check out for online tips on how to increase one’s energy levels. There are great sources available for download just like the Photoshop free training courses that can help any web designer to become expert is his/her field.

Here are 7 effective ways which can help you level up your energies and keep up with the demands of your appointments in a more vibrant manner:

1.     Prioritize your activities

Learn to prioritize your schedules according to their importance. Decide which task needs more time and attention to accomplish. By doing this, you have more time and energy to other tasks without consuming on things that are not necessary at the moment. You also save time in worrying.

2.     Practice proper breathing methods

Breathe naturally and try to adopt the correct methods of breathing through the abdominal muscles. Once you mastered the technique, this will allow more air inside your system, thus giving you enough oxygen for more vigor to do most of your tasks.

3.     Avoid skipping meals

Eat 3 meals a day with light snacks in between to perk you up. Remember that a person who tends to skip an important meal will make him/her feel weak and dull.

4.     Have enough sleep

The normal hours required for a good night sleep is 8-10 hours. Having enough sleep will give our bodies the chance to recuperate and improve our energy levels. A person who lacks sleep is irritable, moody and has no focus on doing things the right way.

5.     Do something that you love most

Take a time out from your busy schedule and do something worthwhile like a hobby or a favorite sport activity. Any active form of recreation will liven up your spirit and produce hormones that are responsible in creating a happier mood feeling to any individual, thus giving you a more energetic outlook to do each task without a heavy heart.

6.     Eat foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals and potassium

Remember what we have learned in our Science subjects about energy giving foods. Eat foods like meat, fish, whole grains, nuts and bananas for energy. Foods rich in minerals are also good for brain power that is needed in producing energy to the entire body’s system.

7.     Listen to lively music

Once in a while, listen to livelier types of music to break the quietness in your surroundings. Find a music that can be pleasant to your ears, but lively enough to wake up your sleepy mood and give you energy to do any task faster as you listen and blend to the rhythmic movements of the music.

Be happy always. Live a healthy lifestyle.

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Entry Level Jobs for Renewable Energy Companies

Green

The market for green and renewable energy jobs grows continuously, even faster compared to many other industries. So, it is not surprising that entry level jobs are sought after by many. These starting jobs can be in wind, solar, bio, hydro, or geothermal energy. Nonetheless, any other jobs that can help the country become less polluted and more energy efficient, can qualify as green jobs.

If you are in search of a green entry level job, you may join the support staff. Most renewable energy companies have a staff that supports their business operations. So, if you have the skills and knowledge on clerical work, information technology, and computer operations, then you may qualify as part of the staff. It would also be helpful if you are familiar with outreach and communications, finance and accounting, marketing and sales, customer service, and human resources.

Depending on your performance, you may even get promoted after some time. See to it that you do your job well and you abide by all the rules of the company. As for the salary, yours may depend on your skills, educational background, location, years of service, and of course performance. Nonetheless, if you think that being part of the staff does not suit you, you may also consider being a technician. Entry level jobs such as this are also in-demand with renewable energy companies.

You can be an electrician, plumber, mechanic, or a technician for ventilation, air conditioning, and heating. You can also be a system installer or an integrator of wind or solar energy systems. Nevertheless, there are also entry level jobs in manufacturing and transportation; so you may also consider these. Moreover, you can check out the positions available in the science and engineering departments. They usually offer entry level jobs in academic institutions, manufacturing, and research. If you have a technical college degree, you may even be employed in the private sector. You can be in an energy services company or an environmental consulting firm.

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Saving on Your Next Subway Meal

Uncategorized

Its not unusual to find a couple of good Subway Coupons in the advertising section of your Sunday newspaper. But what if you missed the paper this week, will you have to miss out on the sandwich specials and pay full price rather than getting those great discounts?

Fortunately the answer is probably not. Many of the same Subway coupons you find in your newspaper every week are also posted online as well as some that are exclusively offered on the Internet only.

Online coupons of any kind, not just Subway coupons, are actually a great alternative to traditional clipped from the newspaper coupons. They do not get lost as you simply only print them out when you need them. and you don’t have to wait until the weekend to find them as they are available twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, ready whenever you are.

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Improving Sustainable Shoe Manufacturing Processes

Environment

High street fashion has become more and more competitive in recent years especially in the UK with brands such as Primark and H&M battling it out for the women’s ‘fast fashion’ crown. Stores like these are nuder pressure to be at the forefront of fashion in order to survive and quite amazingly you can see catwalk fashions, such as dresses and designer shoes, arrive on the high street in a matter of weeks at prices affordable to everyone. This is due to the manufacturers in countries such as China and India having such cheap labor costs along with their ability to produce designs in super fast time.

This may sound great for consumers but the rock bottom prices do come at a cost in other areas, namely the workers and environment. Luckily there are organizations that are looking for a way to produce a more sustainable manufacturing process which they hope to both improve output whilst improving the environmental footprint some of these processes leave. Recycling is a major focus as only 3.5%  of the twenty billion pairs of shoes made worldwide each and every year are either re-used or recycled. The only place for the rest of them is in landfill sites which of course is not doing the environment any good

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An open society connected via social networking sites

Society

I can attest to the influence of the internet in man’s life nowadays. Among which is in the field of commerce. Thus, if any business executive would want to stay ahead of the game, the internet is definitely one research resource he or she should tap.

For this blog entry, I will share with you one use of the internet that has proven to be useful in the field of commerce. And that is internet marketing. As a matter of fact, as the competition among businesses gets more intense, more and more internet marketing companies are also getting into business.

As its name suggests, an seo agency will boost your sales through search engine marketing or selling your business, products or services through the internet using a lot of tools. One such tool is social media marketing.

Essentially, social media marketing works by tapping various social media networks and establishing your presence there. Perhaps you already know about these social media networks—Twitter and Facebook being among the most popular ones in the bunch—and the large pool of potential customers and clientele they carry.

So basically, these internet marketing companies will do a social media analysis where they will find out which social media websites or social media networking sites are the most appropriate for your business. Then, they will establish your presence there.

In the same manner, they will also do the process known as social bookmarking. Here, the contents of your website or blog will be bookmarked at social bookmarking websites so your potential customers will find you easier.

And lastly, they can even help you set up your very own account in a niche social networking website as well as come up with a customized social networking strategy.

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The Green Advantages of a Gas Fire Pit

Green

There is no doubt that an outdoor fire pit can be both an attractive and a practical addition to anyone’s back yard. A new generation of gas fire pits though has a big advantage of the more traditional wood burning fire pit – they are far more eco friendly.

The first big advantage of gas fire pits over wood burning fir pits is that they are clean burning. Many local ordinances forbid wood burning fires, especially in the summer, but they do allow gas fueled fires, just for this reason. This means that people who had thought that a fire pit was not an option for them because of where they lived now have the option, thanks to gas fire pits, to get a taste of what they have been missing for all this time.

A gas fire pit is also better for human health as well as that of the environment. Sit by a wood burning fire pit for a while and the smoke will begin to get to you. If it is a light smoke you may just find yourself fanning it away but if it is the heavy smoke that many woods tend to produce you may find yourself running away instead! The smoke is not only annoying but if inhaled it can be downright unhealthy, especially if the wood that you are burning has been treated with pesticides (and a lot of it has)

It is also very fair to say that gas burning fire pits are far easier to use than wood burning fire pits. Lighting a wood fire is not the easiest thing to do, or often the safest either. If you have a gas fire pit the flame is there at a touch of a button which allows you to enjoy your evening around the fire rather than spend it tearing your hair out because you cannot get a flame to burn for longer than five minutes at a time.

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Is A Lifestyle With Poor Sleep Even Worth It?

Society

One of the body’s absolute necessities to function properly is sound quality sleep.  Unfortunately not everyone gets the proper sleep that is required.  One very bad sleep condition that has been catching quite a bit of buzz lately is sleep apnea.   The major problem with this condition is that the lack of sleep affects both partners due to the obnoxious snoring this condition causes.  The cessation of breathing during sleep is what causes the awful snoring so often associated with this ailment.  Curing this problem will lead to a much healthier lifestyle and definitely lead to a higher level of productivity.

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Can Debt Relief Help People Live A Greener Life?

Politics

There is no doubt that debt relief programs help people to live a greener life.  But the question is what do I mean by greener life? For one I mean having more money in your pocket, after all the dollar is green.  However saving more money can help people to then use that money for some better cause than getting the greedy credit card companies wallets fatter.   That money can be put back into ones house making it more energy efficient therefore saving you more money on your power bills but also contributing to help save our dying planet as well.

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Is Wine Sustainable?

Uncategorized

Wine is an interesting topic when it comes to sustainability.  Ask any wine of the month club and they can tell you that Styrofoam is a cheaper packing material than cardboard, but the conversation is much more involved than that.

The stopper is an interesting topic.  Are natural cork stoppers really better than 100% recyclable fake cork?  Does your answer change if you know that all the cork which is used is shipped from Portugal?

What about shipping and those costs to the environment when it comes to pollution?  As nice as it is to buy American, if you live on the east coast your wine from California is shipped on a truck across the country while European wine is creating much less emissions on a boat.

Interesting set of topics isn’t it?

What do you think?

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The Hidden Cost of Clean Water

Environment

Although having access to free flowing drinking water is a wonderful thing, many people are afraid of the dangerous chemicals that lurk in regular tap water.  Studies have shown that tap water contains chemicals, prescription medication, and other compounds that can cause health damage.  Because of this, many people have turned to an under sink water filter powered by reverse osmosis.

Although reverse osmosis water filters can provide your family with safe and healthy drinking water free of contaminants, there is a hidden environmental cost of using such a filter.  Of the water that reaches the unit’s semi-permeable membrane, only five to 15 percent of it is recovered.  That’s a massive use of water!  The rest of it is waste water that cannot be used because it is filled with the rejected contaminants from the filtered water.  Five gallons of reverse osmosis water will create a startling 45 to 95 gallons of waste water, which puts an extra burden on your septic system and, of course, the environment.

Before you invest in a water filter, consider different options other than reverse osmosis.  You can use a cartridge system that filters the water through carbon filters that catch contaminants but do not waste water.  We all deserve access to clean water, but let’s keep the environment in mind while we do it.

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How Food Industry Affects Our Environment & Health

Environment, Green, Politics, Society

Recently I’ve been thinking how farm bill is contributing to the obesity problem in America. Well, since then I have been also thinking—can 127 million people in the US being overweight be chalked up entirely to subsidies in the farm bill? In the quest for an answer, I decided to look locally. A recent study by the NC Division of Public Health reported Orange County as having the lowest incidence of obesity in North Carolina. This makes sense; college students represent a huge portion of our population, and our proximity to RTP means that the average OC citizen can afford the health foods that are abundantly available here.

But being the fittest county in NC doesn’t mean what it used to, and according to World Health Organization standards more than 50% of local residents are overweight or obese & suffer from excess triglycerides levels. Not to mention the effects of excess food consumption, obesity effects the environment in several ways. An article in The Engineering Economist says that “nearly one billion gallons of additional fuel per year can be attributed to the average weight gain between 1960 and 2002 of people living in the United States.” If Orange County—home of the world famous Carrboro Farmer’s Market, Weaver Street, and dozens of gyms and health spas—can’t beat the obesity epidemic, what chance do we have?

In an editorial article on the BBC by Simon Cox, the health and environmental benefits of organic food and production are disputed. Many people intuitively feel that organic food is better for their health and so they buy organic products. However, what is the science behind it? I sure don’t know myself, not being big on the science thing. It’s interesting because this article shows that there is opposition to this organic movement which is becoming more and more popular as part of the larger environmental movement. Some research out there acutally says pesticides do not harm people since we already consume many foods with pesticides, and have been for several years.

You decide what you want to eat everytime you sit down for a meal right? Well maybe not…In Marion Nestle’s book, Food Politics, she reminds us that food is an industry much like tobacco. Nestle argues that the mere fact that we eat everyday creates an environment in which we take our food for granted and do not examine why or how we are eating certain things. Nestle tells us that this is a mistake…the food industry is a business which advertises and lobbies for policies that will be acceptable to their shareholders. So what effect does this have on us? This book tells us quite a large one.

Nestle divides her book into 5 different parts each covering one way the food industry has been politically active. The sections are: Undermining Dietary Advice, Working the System, Exploiting Kids, Corrupting Schools, Deregulating Dietary Supplements and Inventing Techno-Foods. Each section is broken down to show the way in which the food industry has worked to increase its profits and space in the food world by lobbying to the government for more lax regulations as well as advertising and promoting its products to young children and vulnerable audiences. The food industry accounts for 13% of the U.S. GNP which gives the industry unlimited resources to use when attempting to influence the way we eat. Some of the things you will read in this book will astound you: Did you know that in 2000 food companies spent $33 billion in the U.S. to advertise and promote their products? This book provides countless other details regarding each section of her book.

How does Nestle say we should combat the political power and influence of the food industry? Simply by taking action and voting with our forks. However, for this solution to be effective citizens must be educated to the politics of food. People must learn to recognize food advertisements when they seem them and realize that government regulations may not be in the consumers best interest as they have been influenced by food industry money and lobbyists. She advocates for eating food that is grown locally and organically which improves the nutritional quality of the food and supports local farmers. She encourages the development of alliances between people who want to make concious choices about food and which can counteract the political influence of the food industry.

Nestle’s book was a very interesting read and I would recommend everyone to sit down and spend some time at least skimming the book. It is written in a lively style that is really easy to read. Although the subject could be techinical, the writting is done in way that is accessible to all. The only downfall about this book is its length; it is 375 pages which can be overwhelming if you are pressed for time. I would recommend reading it when you can take the time to get into it. It is easy to get in a routine with the food we eat because it is an everday occurance that becomes second nature. However, if there is one thing this class taught me, it is the importantance of critically examining the messages we are receiving and the same should be done with food. Nestle’s work provides a body of knowledge that helps to educate the common citizen about the ways in which food is advocated for, manipulated and advertised by major corporations.

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The Green Revolution in Building

Conservation, Green

It makes sense really, if we build homes that last much longer, that cost less to run and even improve the healthy of a family then everyone wins.  Green building firms are doing just this and helping improve the environment, with more efficient buildings that actively reduce the environmental impact compared to old buildings.

Building practices have been refined and technology as well helps implement these improvements.The amazing thing is that construction costs are even lowered using these methods, creating a winning formula for both the builder and the homeowner.

There is a trendous opportunity to have a very positive impact on the environment with these eco friendly buildings.  Here’s some of the advantages -

  1. Reduce Emissions
  2. Reduce Waste
  3. Improve Air Quality
  4. Improve Water Quality

Lots of potential and can be achieved by simply meeting green building standards.  There are estimates that embracing these green building concepts could reduce energy usage by nearly ten percent. For example consider the construction industry could recycle over 70%. A much more efficient way of building and using less resources.

It is of course the primary aim of any green building standards, to improve energy efficiency.  For most of us that means reducing the amount of fuel we need to heat and live in our homes. Even something as simple as house placement on a particular construction site can have huge implications for ongoing green savings and eco friendly benefits that stay with you.

For example, you can ensure that you reap the benefit of the sun’s warmth in the winter and maximise shade in the summer by how you locate windows, patios and even trees.

Possibly one of the most overlooked areas in Green building techniques is how you can conserve water.  There are lots of special plumbing devices which save water and even in landscaping you can utilize drought tolerant sods to save on water usage.

Obviously materials are important and there are environmentally friendly options in most areas now.  Often the ‘green options’ are stronger, more durable that the traditional options and yes even cheaper!

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Live Fences For African Vegetable Gardening

Conservation, Environment, Green

The key goal of the WSSD was to promote the advancement of Sustainable development around the world.  One area of importance is to encourage productive vegetable gardening in African farming environments.

A major productivity reducer in African vegetable gardens is grazing on the harvest by roaming livestock.  Unfortunately the building of fences to protect said gardens is an expensive undertaking.  Not only are the initial costs in labor not insignificant, but fences also need ongoing care and maintenance if they are to remain effective.

The concept of live fences is one example of sustainable development.  By using vegetation as fencing the amount of effort required in their building and maintenance is greatly reduced. Not only are costs reduced, but the fence itself can become an asset.

Firewood, fruits and similar products can be harvested from the fencing on a regular basis.  Thus it becomes not just an obstacle to livestock getting into vegetable gardens, but a productive part of the garden itself.

While it may take a couple of years for a living fence to grow in from seed or seedlings, they are a much more realistic approach to protecting crops in Africa than the type of fences traditionally used in Western countries.

Research indicates that the use of living fences over dead fences in certain economically challenged African countries can increase a farmers earning by almost $250 American dollars over a six year test period.  This is a significant amount of money in areas where the average income can sometimes be less than a dollar a day.

It is by spreading knowledge of sustainable development ideas – like this simple technique for improving the productivity of vegetable gardening – that summits like WSSD can make lasting changes to the world.

 

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Who Has Even Heard Of The WSSD?

Conservation, Politics

The World Summit on Sustainable Development took place almost ten years ago in 2002 and if you go online today, you have to look hard to find any material on this conference that took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. Just like so many other “world” meetings, gatherings, conferences, summits or whatever else you might call them, this one appears to have vanished into the history books.

The simple fact is that the countries of this world really don’t want to work together to do much of anything at all. No matter what type of initiative that seems to be on the table, getting the major players to all agree is one tough sell. Anything to do with global conservation, the environment, and pollution seems to be especially difficult to get an agreement on.

Counties ultimately look out after themselves and all these “world” initiatives are drains on their finances rather than money making ideas. It is extremely hard to convince nations that they need to change their ways and spend money to avert some crises that isn’t here yet and often times can’t even be agreed on. No matter how many of these summits like the WSSD there are, you just don’t see any real changes being made.

Unfortunately things might have to get much worse before anyone really pays attention. It is sad but true that before the world can truly agree to save and conserve, our planet will probably have to deteriorate much more. Only when faced with undeniable evidence that something has to be done, will different nations come together and agree to make changes.

 

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Was The WSSD A Lot Of Hot Air?

Environment

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), also known as the Earth Summit took place in 2002. I am not a supporter of the Green Party and my knowledge of this event was non-existent until we received an order recently from a customer for several personalised christening gifts for a baby to be named Gaia.

I vaguely remembered a TV series constructed around the Gaia Theory and, having a few spare moments over the Christmas break, I did some research. The Theory was formulated by James Lovelock in the ‘70s and suggests that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system which relies on the components of the system – surface temperature, atmospheric composition, and ocean salinity – to be relatively stable. Any marked changes could threaten life itself.

The Gaia Theory has led to several summits over the years to discuss how to best maintain this delicate balance, with the latest threat seen to come from global warming or climate change. Although there has been much talk, and a little action from some of the smaller countries, the biggest polluting countries responsible for much of the causes of global warming have failed to take action to reduce pollution. Whether the little girl who will receive her christening gifts will enjoy the same sort of conditions on Earth when she is an adult is not known. Some say the chances of her doing so are slim.

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Saving the Amazon

Environment

Brazil is one of the economies that is fast growing in the world and that is catching the eye of investors. It is one of the BRIC countries that promises to gain in importance in the future. At the same time environmentalists are acutely aware that the fate of the Amazon rainforest is in the hands of Brazil. It is the single most important natural resource in the world with the greatest bio-doversity and the greatest ability to recycle carbon.

Although doom mongers are forever pointing out that the area the size of a European country is being cleared every year by loggers, the amount of logging per year is not uniform. Indeed Brazil has been reducing its logging activities year on year since 2004. They have now reduced logging in the Amazon by 75% since 2004. The area now cut down is about the size of Delaware in the USA.

Unfortunately, the present strict Forest Code that has been helping to preserve the rainforest is now being debated. The Brazilian parliament is being pressured by the logging lobby to relax restrictions to open up new areas of the forest. At the same time environmental activists policing the enforcement of the environmental laws are being killed. The President is being pressured to cave in to the loggers demands although she has a right to veto any new acts.

We must do our part to help the fight against the illegal loggers. What is driving the destruction of the Amazon is largely consumer demand in the USA. One of the biggest uses of ’exotic’ hardwoods from the rainforest is to make hardwood flooring. It is essential that consumers only buy hardwood flooring from suppliers who can supply an FSC certificate. Here is a list of companies in the USA selling hardwood flooring without FSC certification.

Alternatively, a consumer can buy either reclaimed hardwood flooring or another type of sustainable flooring such as cork, coconut or bamboo flooring. All these alternatives have advantages over hardwood flooring, not the least of which is that they are helping to preserve valuable natural resources. So before you buy hardwood flooring think carefully.

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Heating and Cooling Costs

Green

Heating and cooling costs make up 32% of the entire residential consumption of energy in the USA. This represents a lot of money as well as a lot of carbon emissions because most electricity in the USA comes from burning fossil fuels. It is thus in the home owner’s as well as the environment’s benefit to try and reduce heating and cooling bills.

It is important to do whatever is in your budget to improve the insulation in your home. This can be blocking holes, using draft excluders to fitting vinyl windows and putting insulation in the roof space. The energy efficiency of a home is intimately connected with making sure heat does not escape in the winter and that heat doesn’t enter the house in the summer. The notion of the passive house in Europe is very much focussed on insulation.

Another keep issue is better control of the HVAC systems. Too many people use inapproariate set point temperautes. Also many people waste money heating or cooling the home too much when they are not in. The solution to the problem is to buy a good programmable thermostat such as the Lux Products TX9100E. If you get a 7 day thermostat with 4 periods to program per day you will be able to make sure the home is comfortable when you are around and saving money when you are not at home. For every 8 hour period that the set point is reduced by 1 degree represents a 1% saving in the heating / cooling bill for that day. Over a year you can save #0% on your bills by using a programmable thermostat.

Installing a programmable thermostat is usually easy. They also do not cost much. A good 7 day thermostat costs between $40 and $100. They also come with many handy features such as smart response, auto change-over and filter change warning. They not only save you money on your bills, they make your home life more comfortable. That’s got to worth looking into!

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Politics and Wine Shipments

Politics

We all like the ability to buy online.  From electronics to wine gift baskets, there is always a sale going on somewhere and given free or discounted shipping and the high gas prices we are all experiencing, doesn’t it make a lot of sense to buy online these days?

So how do politics play into wine shipments and your ability to buy wine?

Pretty simple really, politicians are in desperate need of reveneue currently.  That means they are looking more and more to the internet to answer all of their problems. They think that they can make millions by either taxing online sales of alcohol, or by forcing everyone shipping wine into their state to have a warehouse.  Seems fair right, until you realize that only about 4 wineries and 2 wineries warehouse in any state, outside of California.

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Refrigerator Parts – Repair Don’t Replace Appliances

Conservation

Everyone is so keen on recycling as a key means of reducing our impact on the planet, and increasing the sustainability of modern lifestyles. While recycling is certainly useful in this regards, it is not the be all and end all of reducing our footprint on the Earth.

Another important technique that can be used to do this is reducing the amount of stuff we use. While recycling is good, even better is not to throw things away at all. Many people buy things like new cars or new kitchen appliances every few years; however, we would be better served by buying once and making these things last.

For example, let us consider the typical refrigerator purchase. These appliances are expensive, but many homeowners will buy one every few years – either when their tastes change, or at the first indication of trouble with their existing unit.

Given todays lowered quality of manufactured goods, it is not unusual for a refrigerator to need repairs shortly after coming out of warranty. Rather than dealing with that hassle, some people will opt to replace rather than repair.

Unfortunately this is doubly wasteful. Not only does the old unit end up in a landfill, but the new one requires both energy and raw materials to produce. A better option would be to investigate exactly what is wrong with the fridge freezer, and get refrigerator parts to replace those that have malfunctioned.

Spending a couple of hundred dollars on refrigerator parts every few years, rather than a thousand plus dollars on a brand new refrigerator, makes both financial and environmental sense.

The only time buying a unit new is sensible is with really old fridges. These units can be remarkably inefficient, and for ancient units the reduced operating cost can justify the investment in resources to produce a newer refrigerator.

 

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A sustainable online business model

Society

Many genuine money making chances online are more similar to part-time work opportunities which has the opportunity to use a regular cash flow. One such reputable online business model will be self-employed article marketing. A lot of online business proprietors look for the actual services involving high quality post writers for their advertising and marketing requires. The income you could gain is depend upon the kind of article you will be writing and the client soliciting the service. There’s also article writing and submission websites that will pay freelance writers to perform depending on the variety of view and the practical use of the article. It can indicate recurring income when the write-up is utilized through the web site for a long time.

Other legitimate income generating options online which makes use of your talent and knowledge has been a specialized expert. In the event you call yourself a web geek, your understanding about computer software and hardware may be a great benefit for you. Most online businessmen don’t have complex ideas and relies on your services of other people that do hold the expertise and knowledge they need to have. Repair any website or even making web design templates and fix programs and applications, people might rather get a cheaper the freelancer as compared to higher charging specialist service.

Selling sites such as eBay list can be one of the popular profitable business online. The online companies are teeming using buyers and sellers, and collectors searching for treasures online will always be on the watch for the subsequent great discovery. And the unquestionably the most popular one of the profitable business online is actually affiliate marketing. Mostly with regards to promoting your own affiliate companions, internet affiliate marketing is a possible selection for most any individual because it does not demand specific skill sets however it can require the in-depth expertise in online marketing and advertising for someone to succeed.

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A Greener Alternative To Smoking?

Green

Most people are aware of the effects that smoking tobacco cigarettes has on our health as well as others but not many people take into account the detrimental effects that smoking has on the environment. Smoking a cigarette contributes to air pollution, 25-30% of the population of North America smoke and if you think that a cigarette contains around 4000 chemicals then the atmosphere is bound to suffer. Land and water are also susceptible due to the careless disposal of cigarette butts, many end up in lakes and rivers and take around 25 years to decompose. Carelessly discarded butts have also been the cause of bush fires in dry seasons. This is all without going into the resources that are used to manufacture cigarettes, did you know one tree is used to make just 300 cigarettes?

This is why it is more important than ever to find alternatives and the electronic cigarette may just be the answer. The vapor that is exhaled is not harmful to the environment or other people and the e-liquid itself doesn’t contain the carcinogens contained in tobacco. From a consumer point of view they are also a lot cheaper, especially when discounts such as the E-Lites discount code are taken advantage of.

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How Could Cosmetic Surgery be Made More Energy Efficient?

Conservation

I don’t like going to the hospital. Every time I go, it feels like I am on a giant soundstage burning with electricity. So many bright lights, so many machines sucking power out of the walls. I think of how the world could survive without all this wasted power. Do people even realize that these machines don’t all have to be on at the same time? There should be a system where efficiency is built in to the design of these life-saving machines.

Life-saving machines tend to need 3 to 4 doctors to utilize them and repair them wasting time energy and hospital space. So many procedures can be done now without the need to go to a hospital. Going to a local practice of dermatology is a resourceful enough facility to handle the procedure. Not all doctor offices can handle such minor surgeries but enough facilities exist today for many hospitals to confirm patients to smaller private practices. Saving bedspace but also electricity in the process. By reducing the load on hospitals you reduce the load on powerplants and thus mother nature.

It had never used to bother me, the name calling, the ostracizing and all the other small little things that teenage girls can do to you that makes your life a living hell. My parents told me it was a buety mark and that it will make me stand out as a bueaty when i’m older. I had grown a protective skin around myself that their taunts, their insults just bounced off.

Now as an adult, I see that my mole is not some source of pride, like my parents convinced me it was as a child, but rather just a piece of skin. and I wanted it gone. I went to my local dermatologist office and had the procedure done that afternoon. I was prepared for a good amount of pain with out all those big machines pumping out gas. but with one small needle I was numbed and ready. The mole removal took three minutes working with a scalpel. I was then patched up and sent on my way.

I took my mole home for my compost pile. Now there’s a little bit of me in there.

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Tips for Going Green

Environment, Green

Want to go greener this year, but not sure where you and your family should start? It doesn’t have to be a whiplash set of changes. You and your children can always start with some small habits or products to change. Here’s a few tips on how to go green.

You may already do a few of these things, like turn off the lights you are not using or shutting off running water and taking showers instead of baths. If you have kids, pack their lunches in canvas bags instead of those brown paper bags, and opt for reusable plastic containers over plastic bags that often get thrown away.

Seek out their back-to-school materials with labels that say they are made with organic or recycled material. Usually children do not use all the paper in their notebooks, so save all the unused paper or notebooks for later use. And if their school has a recycling program, tell your children which materials to throw in recycling bins and which ones go in garbage cans.

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