July, 2007 Cover Story

GREEN THOUGHTS
COMPILED BY SALLY GILHOOLEY
© 2007 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE 2020 GUIDE TO GOING GREEN

Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the state of Texas.

Ever forget to charge your cell phone? A solar cell phone has been introduced by China's HiTech Wealth telecommunications company with panels that will charge the battery in any light, even candlelight. An hour of direct sunlight on its panels will give users 40 extra minutes of talking. Now available only in China, the company plans to release six more solar phones within the year and 30 solar models by 2009. Source: www.ecogeek.org

All major world governments are committed to reducing carbon emissions and becoming carbon neutral. Reduce your personal carbon footprint which is the measure of green house gases from fossil fuels in units of carbon dioxide, with a green computer called Tranquil. The millions of PC's in use today are using enormous amounts of electricity and increasing our carbon foot print. Switching to an economical Tranquil PC system will save money and our planet.
Source: ZeroCarbonFootprint

By 2010, Australia hopes to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents; Canada will follow suit by 2012. Environmentalists together with Philips Lighting are trying to get the US to switch by 2016. Source: Treehugger.com & The New York Times
You can stop using chemicals and still have a great looking lawn through landscapers who receive training at Grassroots Healthy Lawn Program, a project of Grassroots Environmental Education conducted in cooperation with Nassau and Suffolk Counties made possible in part by a grant from Long Island Community Foundation. To find a participating landscaper or retailer, go to www.ghlp.org
Last year Waste Management recycled enough paper to save over 41 million trees. Trees help rid the air of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. To learn more go to www.wm.com/thinkgreen
The top green cars, those with the highest green ratings indicating a vehicle's environmental friendliness are; the 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid, the 2007 Toyota Prius, the 2007 Honda Civic GX NGV and the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid. The new 2008 Ford Escape hybrid is being marketed as the most fuel-efficient SUV on the planet. Learn more at www.greencars.com
Over one million New Yorkers have made the switch to an Energy Service Company (ESCO) or green power provider using their Power to Choose. 58% of New York's large commercial and industrial customers have switched to an ESCO. Find out about the options available for your energy suppliers. To learn about various services, prices and potential tax savings available, go to www.AskPSC.com (1-888-Ask-PSC1).
The Laundress, a line of all-natural laundry care products, offers specialty fabric care and accessories that are chemical-free — from biodegradable dryer sheets to anti-bacterial odor removers and organic wool shampoos. Check them out at www.thelaundress.com
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only a fraction of the more than 75,000 registered chemicals have gone through complete testing for human health concerns. Children are especially susceptible to the negative effects of chemicals. To learn about simple changes to reduce toxic exposure inside your home, in the yard and when building or remodeling go to www.reduce.org
Save water — and money by keeping showers under 5 minutes, using a broom to clean the driveway or sidewalk, using a bucket when washing the car, running the dishwasher and washing machine only when full. To learn 100 more ways to save water go to www.wateruseitwisely.com
Researchers have developed bricks that look and perform like normal bricks yet are crafted from fly ash, a waste product produced by coal-fired power plants. Manufacturing clay bricks requires kilns fired to high temperatures that waste energy, pollute air and generate greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Fly ash bricks are manufactured at room temperature. Credit: Henry Liu, a longtime National Science Foundation awardee and the president of Freight Pipeline Company which developed the bricks.
If all U. S. answering machines were replaced with voice-mail services, the annual energy savings would total almost two billion kilowatt hours. The reduction in air pollution would be equivalent to removing 250,000 cars from the road for one year. From the green book, the everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time. Go to www.read thegreenbook.com
Americans use twice the water and energy per person as anyone else in the world and by 2025, the world must increase its water supply by 22% to meet its needs. Every two minutes you can shorten your shower can conserve more than ten gallons of water. Setting your thermostat a degree higher for air-conditioning and a degree lower for heating could save you $100 a year and, if we all did it, we could save more than $10 billion a year on energy costs. Source: www.readthegreenbook.com
In recent years, global warming has caused the world's glaciers and ice caps to melt and fall into the seas at rapidly increasing rates. If the present rate of warming is allowed to continue, water levels worldwide would rise between 18 and 20 feet putting the cities of Miami, Amsterdam, Calcutta, parts of Manhattan, many of the world's island nations as well as other coastal areas under water. From: Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, winner of two Academy Awards and the third highest-grossing documentary in history.
Green Energy Resources, a renewable energy company, is a publicly traded environmentally friendly green stock, symbol GRGR, working with industry for "green certificate," a 21rst century currency. It is the only U.S. company exporting wood fiber fuel (biomass) that is 100% environmentally certified, Kyoto compliant and aimed at preserving global forests, not cutting them down. Cutting down trees releases carbon dioxide which accounts for 80% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Source: www.greenenergyresources.com

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