Ecological Surveys?

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What is an Ecological Survey?

 

An ecological survey, commonly dubbed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), is an evaluation of the possible outcome (both positive and negative) that any proposed project is likely to impose to the environment. These impacts are not only viewed in relation to the environment, but also in regard to their social and economic outlook. These reports are very essential especially when establishing new structures or projects, and must be presented to the local authorities for approval. They, the local authorities, with regard to the report presented to them, can either decide to abort or approve projects on the basis of their impacts. If your projects do more harm than good to the environment, then they are more likely to be rejected by the local authorities.

 

What are the common types of Ecological Surveys Available?

 

Ecological surveys are carried out by well-established Arboricultural and Ecology Consultancies, and mainly provide information on both the botanical and zoological aspects. For example, they provide information regarding the welfare of animals living in certain habitats. Is your project endangering or threatening their lives (animals)? Is it going to benefit them in anyway? Or is it going to deplete the natural resources available hence making them migrate? Some of the common ecological surveys conducted include:

 

Protected Species Surveys-Protected species surveys are studies aimed at ensuring the wellbeing of certain protected animal species. Therefore, reports released (after conducting protected species surveys) mainly provide information regarding to whether certain species of animals are present in those particular habitats or not. For example, the report will highlight whether bats, lizards, owls, Newts or badgers are present or not. And if not, what mainly caused their absence?

 

Protected Tree Surveys-These are surveys conducted to establish the impacts of designing new projects especially to trees. Such surveys mostly put into consideration the welfare of trees as well as other animals depending on these trees as their natural habitat. Are the new projects going to permanently deplete tree cover? If they are, how will it affect the wellbeing of other animals living in such habitats? Are there any socio-economic related outcomes?

 

Marine Surveys-These types of surveys are in most cases related to marine life. They aim at investigating and if possible alleviating the probable effects of establishing projects with regard to marine life. For example, the study will assess the pros and cons of establishing a project maybe to fish or sea whales, the risks involved and maybe the strategies that are likely to be used to avert such risks.

 

For more information on how to conduct Tree, Bat and Habitat surveys check http://www.arbtech.co.uk/ for more and detailed information.

The Oracle of Omaha Looks To The Skies

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Warren Buffett speaking to a group of students...

Warren Buffett speaking to a group of students from the Kansas University School of Business (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is noteworthy that Warren Buffett, one of the principal investors of our era, has turned his investment attention to solar energy.  Even if you do not follow the markets you, likely know are familiar with Warren Buffett. Whether it is from the fact that he was the world’s richest man for an impressive period of time or from frequent discussion regarding his famous frugal lifestyle or his witty comments on our nation’s politics, you know two things about him, namely, he is very rich and incredibly successful. As one could imagine, these two things go hand in hand. Mr. Buffett accomplished this by becoming, “arguably the greatest value investor the world has ever seen. His investment holding company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A), has averaged a compounded annual gain of 19.8% since 1964”.[1] When Mr. Buffet speaks, the world listens, and when he takes action, we take heed. Mr. Buffet is known, in particular, for his style of investment, the long haul. He will take large positions in companies and hold them for a long time. When Mr. Buffet decides to purchase stock in a company, he is not looking to make a few quick dollars. He is looking for something with inherent value that he feels is undervalued and can produce long term success. That is why many ears perked when it was announced that, “Mr. Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company has acquired two SunPower solar photovoltaic power  plant projects in California for between $2 billion and $2.5 billion. The adjacent Antelope Valley Solar Projects will be built in Los Angeles and Kern counties and will generate 579 megawatts of electricity for utility Southern California Edison. At peak output that’s the equivalent of a big fossil fuel power plant”.[2]

To understand why Mr. Buffet made this purchase, we only need to look at one of his recent purchases and to abroad to understand the future he sees. Let us first look at Mr. Buffet’s purchase of Burlington North Santa Fe Railway in February 2010. When they looked at the railroad industry they saw that, “fuel prices were up 120% since the March 2009 lows[,] unemployment stubbornly hovered around 9% in most areas[,] [and] shipping rates, as measured by the Baltic Dry Index, were 1/10th of their 2008 highs”.1 Many people enjoy quoting FDR’s line, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”, but do not grasp the context of the words. We recognize the meaning behind the words but tend to fail to see the world to which they were spoken. They were words spoken in the thralls of the Great Depression, reaching out to a world in the grip of compounding fear. Fear, like many traumatizing forces, tends to have a multiplier effect and a perceivable impact on outcomes. People were living in a world where there did not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, but what they failed to recognize is that they were the ones who had to dig to the light. Mr. Buffet not only recognized that the light was there, but also comprehended what was necessary to reach that light.  Now he is reaping the rewards: “the freight railway industry is enjoying its biggest building boom in nearly a century…Profit in the industry has doubled since 2003, and stock prices have soared…Fortune has even dropped a “green” gift in the industry’s lap. A train can haul a ton of freight 423 miles on a gallon of diesel fuel, about a 3-to-1 fuel-efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers, and the railroad industry is increasingly promoting itself as an eco-friendly alternative”.[3] What we have found buried in this purchase is a sound decision that showed vision and an in-depth understanding of the intersection of both environmental concerns and the drive for profit. How successful was this purchase for Mr. Buffet? In the first nine months of 2012, BNSF accounted for roughly a quarter of Berkshire’s profits. To put that in context, Berkshire owns roughly eighty companies.[4] When Mr. Buffet undertook this purchase, he followed the wisdom of his own words: “‘In business I look for economic castles protected by unbreakable ‘moats.’’”1 Now he turns his gaze to the solar industry, and to understand why, we must turn our gaze abroad.

We turn to Germany which has been making waves lately with its energy reports. Their numbers from this past summer show us why Mr. Buffet was attracted towards solar:

“Renewables now account for 25 percent of energy production, up from 21 percent last year, the country’s energy industry association (BDEW) said in a statement that reinforced Germany’s position as a leader in green technology…Solar energy saw the biggest increase, up 47 percent from the previous year”.[5]

Germany is no small fish; it is a member of the G8 and has a GDP of $3.479 trillion, with a GDP per capita of $42, 625.[6] As such, Germany is quite comparable and offers a viable alternative for America. As of 2011, renewables only accounted for 9% of US energy consumption, with solar only accounting for 2% of that.[7] Unfortunately for the renewables sector, there are many barriers to entry into the energy market in America. Most notable are the huge subsidies given to fossil fuel companies that artificially lower prices. Despite these obstacles, renewables are making inroads. Science has for the most part always been on their side but now the economics are beginning to adjust as well with, “the cost of PV modules, currently the single largest part of system cost, and [falling] 74% in the last twenty years”.7

Still, however, one must question Mr. Buffet’s wisdom. Why would he invest in solar, which makes up such a small percentage of an already small percentage, when he could invest in oil? Oil, already, accounts for 36% of total US energy consumption 7 and the US is set become a net energy exporter in the next few years.[8] Mr. Buffet recognizes that despite the fact oil production is on the rise, we are no longer simply paying prices based on our demand, but on world demand. As such, we no longer solely determine the price.

So then what do we make of Mr. Buffet’s decision? Mr. Buffet, in my opinion, merely did what he has always done. He saw an undervalued industry that has room for growth and decreasing costs. With his purchase he bought a company which not only, “will build and operate the projects for MidAmerican Renewables, and the energy will be sold to Southern California Edison in accordance with two long-term agreements that have received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission”[9],  but will print the blueprint of a way forward in America. Germany has already shown us that despite the common argument, it is possible to put yourself on a renewable energy track, while maintaining a high standard of living.  We have a castle for a model, but we still need the moats. The moats, of course, are the inherent failures of the fossil fuels, both economically and environmentally. People enjoy stability and control in their lives, and a country whose energy consumption is reliant on fossil fuels can expect neither. In the end, we are left with an industry with growing demand and shrinking costs. Furthermore, we have an administration that has made its support for renewables crystal clear. Mr. Buffet is in this for the long haul and in the long haul, the sun is always going to be there.  Warren Buffett clearly recognizes the economic value of investing in alternative energy that helps us live green, be green.

By Sean Patrick Maguire

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[1] http://www.investmentu.com/warren-buffetts-railroad.html

[2] http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2013/01/02/warren-buffett-in-2-billion-solar-deal/

[3] http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2008/04/30/railroads.ART_ART_04-30-08_C8_5RA29I0.html

[4] http://blogs.star-telegram.com/dfwjobs/2012/11/bnsf-continues-to-be-a-profit-leader-for-berkshire-hathaway.html

[5] http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/germany-renewables-idUSL6E8IQIA720120726

[6] http://www.gfmag.com/gdp-data-country-reports/268-germany-gdp-country-report.html#axzz2Hh9Mj2kK

[7] http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS03-12.pdf

[8] http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/20131514160576297.html

[9] http://inhabitat.com/warren-buffet-buys-worlds-largest-solar-plant-for-just-over-2-billion/

SunPower Corporation

SunPower Corporation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New Year Ushers In New Green Legislation

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The New Year ushered in new legislation in many states, including some “green laws” that we find worthy of comment today.

The state of Maryland enacted a new law that prohibits the use of chicken feed that contains arsenic, a known carcinogen.  This is the first law of its kind in this nation, which bans the use of arsenic-containing additives, specifically roxarsone, in chicken feed.  The bill to prohibit arsenic-containing chemicals in chicken feed was sponsored by Del. Tom Hucker (D-Dist 20) of Silver Spring.   Del. Hucker notes that this new law is “a win for all Marylanders.”  Historically, arsenic-containing additives were added to chicken feed to protect the birds from parasites.  However, this chemical can build up in the birds’ bodies and manure and then can be washed into the Chesapeake Bay.  it is important to note that arsenic has been linked with diabetes, heart disease and cancer.  This win comes with a caveat as the poultry industry expresses concern that roxarsone (previously manufactured by Pfizer and voluntarily suspended in 2011) could be marketed again as a similar product by a different company.  It is important that we watch for any new developments that may occur in response to this new legislation.

A second piece of legislation worthy of mention is New York’s new law that exempts the sale and installation of commercial  solar energy system equipment from state sales use tax.  This law was enacted in response to the state’s commitment to “achieve the goal of 45 percent of New York State’s electricity needs through clean renewable energy and improved energy efficiency by 2015.”  Sen. George Maziarz (R-C, Newfane) Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, notes that eliminating all state sales tax on solar systems equipment and installations and providing local municipalities the option to do the same should serve to stimulate the economy with increased commercial solar installations and the creation of more jobs to complete the work.  This law definitely should serve as a model for other states to increase the use of clean renewable energy while simultaneously stimulating the job market.

Indiegogo, The World’s Funding Platform

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INDIEGOGO

With the advent of crowd funding, a popular business funding approach that allows good ideas that do not fit the pattern required by conventional financiers to attract cash and break through, Indiegogo clearly is a leader in this industry.  This global platform allows people all over the world to raise money, millions of dollars, for all types of campaigns.

Indiegogo presents a refreshing and attractive website, with fully functional tabs on the top and sidebars that are engaging and simple to follow.  This site incorporates lots of graphs and charts, thereby giving customers the power to make educated decisions on where to spend their hard earned money.  The site provides an excellent education on fundraising campaigns, and the company does not charge a fee or require an application  to get started.  Indiegogo invites inquirers to design a campaign and raise funds by engaging others to connect with their passion for a cause.  For the novice in crowd funding, this website provides thousands of success stories which anyone can browse to find inspiration.  It also displays featured successful campaigns with in-depth descriptions of programs and the funds raised.

This company’s “Customer Happiness” tab reinforces its emphasis and commitment to customer satisfaction.  A review of this section indicates easy accessibility to knowledge based information, help center access and contact information.  Indiegogo uses a step-by-step approach to browse the site, learn how to design a campaign and to follow through with the creation.  It hosts a well delineated breakdown of types of causes, entrepreneurial sectors, quick picks, locations and partners.

Indiegogo is the go-to company for crowd funding applications.  It is a great source to seek funding for fundraising campaigns, particularly for the green movement.  The impressive list of partners and supporters on the website speaks strongly of the role of this company as an industry leader.  As such, this platform comes highly recommended by LGBG as a great place to initiate programs to raise money to help us live green, be green.

Crowd funding powers green movement

Crowd funding powers green movement

North America Set to Become Net Energy Exporter by 2025

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Exxon,by virtue of its operational sector, is usually a lightning rod for controversy. Whether it is due to the fact that its products contribute to global warming, or because everyone who works for the company is perceived to be like the individual in the cartoon below.

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Only $4.09 a gallon?

The result is that the company seemingly is always under attack. Perennially however, Exxon seems to do one thing right: forecasting energy trends. And by all accounts, the company sees North America as becoming a net energy exporter by 2025.

Exxon’s glowing predictions for the continent stem from North America becoming less reliant on coal-based power plants, and instead, depending more on energy efficient natural-gas-fired plants. Overall, the oil giant sees coal use dropping 33% from 2010 to 2025, a substantially larger increase than its previous 23% estimate.

In addition, because North America, and particularly the United States, contains an abundance of natural gas reserves, and is working to perfect the hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques needed to unlock them, the continent has become energy rich in the clean burning fuel of the future. As a result, North America will become the go-to source to feed the growing energy demands of industrialized nations. In fact, Exxon’s report states that, “Global energy demand will increase 35% from 2010 to 2040, with most of the increased demand coming from developing nations like India and China.” By setting the initiative of becoming a global superpower in clean energy technologies, North America has positioned itself well to become less reliant on foreign oil, while at the same positioning itself as a provider of clean energy for other nations.

Remarkably enough, “By 2040 developed nations like the US and Canada are expected to generate 80% more economic output than in 2010 but use the same amount of energy.” This speaks to North America’s attempt to be on the cutting edge of this breakthrough technology and to the unmistakable way in which innovation can change a nation from a net importer to net exporter. (I’m looking at you United States) As clean energy becomes more and more of a priority with each passing day, it is refreshing to see how the green movement has changed political decision making. Let’s continue to make sustainability a priority both at home and abroad so that we can all live green, and be green.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324339204578171583862191830.html?KEYWORDS=energy+exports

A Global Force for “Green”

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Since his first term in office, President Obama has held the stance of favoring green technology innovation and becoming self-reliant on energy through alternative energy sources.  True to his word, changes are being made in most industries to, at the very least, become aware of alternative solutions to traditional fuels.

One very important (and expensive) portion of our Gross Domestic Product is spent on our nation’s defense. Their invaluable service comes with a price tag of close to 700 Billion dollars annually, a budget that is greater than the next 17 countries combined.  With that said, more can certainly be done to help reduce this gross spending, while at the same time keeping our country safe.

Yesterday, in a sign of approval for green technologies, the Senate voted 62-37 in favor of the Navy’s continued purchase of biofuels. The Navy already has a “Great Green Fleet” which is used for military exercises in Hawaii during the summertime. The expensive $26-per-gallon biofuel mixture used to fuel these vehicles combines cooking oil and algae blends to power ships, jets, and helicopters, and is a promising start to transition our military from oil to biofuels.

The size of our military seemingly gets larger with each passing day. Without a change to biofuels, our already excessive dependence on foreign oil will move to crippling figures.  An investment in infrastructure to refine and house biofuels in both domestic and foreign bases, while initially a financial burden, will do much to save money for a sector which uses fuel in egregious but necessary amounts. In fact, “One plank of the Navy’s plan, in conjunction with the departments of Energy and Agriculture, is to spend more than $500 million to jump-start construction of refineries that could produce large volumes of biofuels.” However, with a fiscal cliff looming, spending more seems to be the last thing policymakers want to advocate.

Yet, similar to any worthwhile technology, you must invest heavily initially in order to reap dividends. At the onset, computers cost a couple thousand dollars with minimal computing capabilities. As time moved on people, became more educated on its capabilities which sparked innovation and competition, and ultimately drove the price and size of its parts downward. Now you can purchase a powerful computer an inch thick for a couple hundred dollars. An initial investment in biofuels for the military will be expensive at first. But as with computers, innovation will make biofuels cheap in the near future and will help to save a tremendous amount of the military’s budget spending on fuels moving forward. Let’s invest in these new technologies so that one day, even our military can live green and be green.

Sources: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323751104578147650839726598.html?KEYWORDS=green+technology

http://live.wsj.com/video/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-fiscal-cliff/9FC3D579-BBD0-4D3A-848D-118C74C3AE83.html?KEYWORDS=what+you+need+to+know+about+the+fiscal+cliff#!9FC3D579-BBD0-4D3A-848D-118C74C3AE83

“Sustain Able Challenge”

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Designed as a marketing ploy or not, Unilever’s goals in its “Sustain Ability Challenge” are commendable and worthy of notice.  Unilever, the global health and food conglomerate known for brands such as Ben and Jerry’s, Dove, and Knorr is trying to use their worldwide presence as a way to change consumer behavior towards sustainable living.

A total of twelve United Kingdom families will take part in the “Sustain Ability Challenge”. In the social experiment, “Families will test practical ways to adapt their daily routines and adopt more sustainable behavior, for example, not throwing away food and not over buying.” Prior to the experiment, families were told that such proactive measures would help them reduce up to fifteen percent off their food budgets and up to twenty five percent off their total waste.

The company hopes to, “…Understand the triggers and barriers to changing consumer behavior towards more sustainable choices.” The decision to start the project came as a result of the nearly seventy percent of consumers in a recent poll citing price and expenses and being the primary reasons behind their failure to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. The most admirable part of the experiment however is that Unilever is planning to use the research to help spark a global movement.  Specifically the firm’s long term goal is to, “…Use the research to shape its conversations with Government and other commercial firms to address broader issues of consumer behavior change.” Changes in social behavior start on a local level, but it is through the actions of governmental bodies that truly drive the sustainable movement forward. Even if done as a marketing stunt, Unilever’s “Sustain Able Challenge” is worthy of praise, if not simply for the fact that it brings about awareness for a truly worthwhile cause. Either way, let’s all take this social experiment as an example of how we can all live green, and be green.

Source: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/unilever-social-experiment-to-shape-marketing/4004570.article

The Economic Case for High Speed Rail in America

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An economic case for high speed rail in America: We, as Americans, tend to have an inherent belief that America is the greatest nation on earth. The metric used to arrive at this belief is typically not one based on stats, figures, or data, but on a sincere love for this country. While there is nothing wrong with loving one’s country, there is something inherently wrong with allowing love to blind us from the facts. Across a multitude of metrics, America falls short of the number one spot. Two of those metrics coincide both in reality and in the reason for this blog; green energy and high speed rail. When discussing the implementation of high speed rail in America there are two numbers to take into account: The roughly $2.2 trillion in infrastructure investments[1] neededby America and the unemployment rate for October 2012, which was 7.9%[2].

Before explaining the need to initiate the implementation of high speed rail in America, we first must define the term itself. The definition of high speed rail varies in the international community and within the United States. The International Union of Railways defines it as systems of rolling stock and infrastructure which regularly operates at speeds of 155 mph on new tracks, while only at 125 mph on older tracks.[3] In the United States the definition tends to vary, with the accepted minimum being 90 mph. A major argument that is used against the implementation of high speed rail in America is that the nation is too large and that it would be too costly. However, while a national high speed rail system would be the end goal decades down the line, it is not the main aim of high speed rail. High speed rail would be used as a viable option to connect “mega-regions” throughout the United States. Mega-regions are defined as large-scale economic units of multiple large cities and their surrounding suburbs.[4] The mega-regions within the USA are responsible for over 75% of our economic activity.  These mega-regions extend over vast areas, ranging from Boston to D.C. and from Pittsburg to Chicago. This writer can attest to the pains of driving from NYC to Washington D.C.

The economic opportunity provided by such decreased times is quite obvious at first glance. The most noticeable is Philadelphia becoming a suburb of NYC.  It then would take me roughly five more minutes to travel to NYC by train while only living within fifteen miles of the city. Many will note that the Acela train, operated by Amtrak, already runs the north-east corridor route. The Acela, despite having limited speeds for most of its journey, as well as no dedicated track, can be deemed a success story. From 2000 to 2010, ticket revenues on the Acela line grew by 87%. Furthermore, despite only accounting for 10% of Amtrak’s ridership, the Acela line accounted for 25% of ticket revenue.  It comes as no surprise then that Acela has the best revenue of any of the Amtrak lines.[5] The success of the Acela line demonstrates both the restrained demand for high speed rail and its viability as a transportation system. Still, some question if high speed rail is worth it. Within the Stimulus, the Obama administration guaranteed money for the purpose of the creation of high speed rail. However, in several cases Republican governors refused the funds on ideological grounds. If we are to look back into history, what would we say to any governor who refused the interstate highway system? We would likely call that individual a fool and rightfully so. High speed rail has the opportunity to be the interstate highway system of the 21st century.

My final point is perhaps a bit existential, but nonetheless is one I feel must be addressed. I began this post discussing the notion of America being the greatest nation on earth.  There is a bridge in Trenton, NJ with the following inscription: “WE MAKE IT, THE WORLD TAKES IT”. To those of my generation, this may seem somewhat ironic; however, this was not always the case. America is still a manufacturing superpower, but it has lost ground. Now we must approach this realistically and recognize that a great deal of our manufacturing success came from the devastation unleashed on the rest of the world during WW2. However, we must also recognize that the demise of American manufacturing is not solely due to the rise of the rest of the world. We celebrate the resurgence of the American auto industry and lament the reign on imports over the past several decades. Yet, we are never told that the manufacturing system that caused Japanese imports to dominate world markets was first offered to American manufactures. Our country turned it down and the rest is history. America’s dominance of the global economy has much to do with the timely decimation of others, but just as much to do with what we produce.  When we look back on times of American prosperity, we find that it was the United States that was manufacturing the world’s most advanced technologies, while inventing many of them at the same time. At some point in time this all changed, and we have witnessed the decline ever since. We decry that supposedly all of our good are made in Mexico and China, yet we must recognize that most of those jobs are not coming back. This must be an accepted reality. If people are already frustrated at t-shirts and iPhones made in China, what happens when it’s our nation’s mass transportation system? Around the world millions of people are being pulled out of poverty and nations that were once written off are becoming some of the most economically developed in the world. Within a decade we will see an explosion of people in the middle income range around the world. High-speed rail has already proven to be a success in Europe, Japan, and China. No doubt others will seek to emulate this success. So where will they turn? The answer can be America, and this country will be able to solve a multitude of our other problems, such as unemployment. Americans tend to hold the attitude that if you are not first, then you are last. In the case of the hegemonic power of the 21st century, whoever dominates the green market will keep or gain that mantle.

[1] http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/

[2] http://www.bls.gov/cps/

[3] http://www.uic.org/spip.php?article971

[4] http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2009/05/mega-regions-and-high-speed-rail/17006/

The Game of Green

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I often find myself wanting to be as sustainable as possible. However, in many instances, the information is not available on how my specific choices will impact the environment, or if it is, I feel alone in doing the environmentally friendly thing.  With a new startup called Oroeco, founder Ian Monroe is looking to change the behavior of individuals to act sustainably.  He is doing this by quantitatively showing the environmental impact with each decision made by a person.

The entire concept for the company arose when Monroe saw that the information needed to make ecologically sound decisions was being held by consulting firms and intellectuals rather than consumers. According to Monroe, Oroeco attempts to overcome this challenge by, “…Creating a personal sustainability tool that includes social games, competitions and rewards, in order  to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle. The game will harness information with mobile devises and social networks and games and combine those into a tool that provides information and incentives for making sustainable choices on a daily basis.”

By tracking daily purchases, and quantitatively displaying the impact of that specific decision, each consumer will have the power to make a decision with much more information at hand than previously available. Going further into the mechanics of the operation, Monroe stated, “We automatically link up to all your spending and investment with a website called Mint.com. Through your using your credit or debit card we can calculate your climate change footprint according to what you purchase for groceries, your gas, airfare, health and education expenditures.”

In addition, by constructing the paradigm to be as a game amongst friends and communities, people will want to act sustainably, even for the wrong reasons. The structure taps into two ideas that promote global change and behavior: Incentives and competition. The social media aspect of the business utilizes these ideas by creating rewards for good behavior. As a result of these rewards, more individuals are likely to participate and try to outdo one another, thus creating, in this case, a competition amongst individuals and communities on who can live the most sustainably. The key to Oroeco’s success however will be the aforementioned participation element. In this case, let’s all try to do our part and live green and play green.

Source: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_22031716/local-man-bringing-sustainability-self-examination-market

To Victims of Hurricane Sandy

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Dear victims of Hurricane Sandy,

Our hearts go out to you.  As you all work to rebuild your homes and lives, please know that LGBG is going to work even harder on the mission we set forth.  We are confident, that by working tirelessly to rid the world of ignorance towards very real problems associated with climate change, we can help put a halt to random and severe weather of this magnitude.  Despite what many politicians and legislators argue, for monetary purposes in most cases, climate change is very real and in the wake of Hurricane Sandy it is officially time for everyone to understand this.  How many more catastrophic storms do we need?  Please, everyone, stand up for your Earth and the future generations of your family and make an effort to Live Green and Be Green so this does not happen again!  This is a call to action, the responsibility is on YOU.

Sincerely,

The Editor