A Global Force for “Green”

by

Image

 

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”

by

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 Game of Green

by

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

Forward for Green

by

Now that the 2012 election is over, Monday morning quarterbacks are examining their play books to determined what did and did not work and where they stand on their key issues.  The same holds true for proponents of green initiatives.  The commitment and actions of green coalitions, scientists and ordinary committed citizens over the past few years have yielded remarkable results in the fight to give climate change and global warming the attention it requires.  While it is unfortunate that it took Hurricane Sandy’s catastrophic descent on major northeastern urban centers in this country to garner the call to action from political leaders, it still is important to recognize that the platform is here now.  With the visual record of Sandy’s attack fresh in our minds and the costs of the devastation still rising, it is mandatory that we use this window of opportunity to aggressively move forward to advance a green agenda to address the problem of climate change.

Today we celebrate the reelection of Barack Obama, who, in his victory speech, specifically addressed the need for a country “that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet“.  Our agenda finally has made it to the national spotlight.  As concerned citizens, we must hold the President and other elected officials accountable for addressing this problem.  To do this, the green movement must rethink and regroup its strategies with the goal to establish a major voting block inclusive of all people committed to protect and preserve the earth.  We particularly need the energy of young people ages 18 to 30, who have a real stake in this movement because the condition of the planet directly affects their tomorrow.  With a strong lobby and voting block established, the green movement can secure the commitment of elected officials and candidates who have the option of effectively representing this voting block or face defeat.  This is our time to propel climate change to the position it deserves, upfront and center with health care, foreign policy and the economy.  This is a natural progression as this issue is fully woven into the pattern of all of every existing item on the national agenda and can no longer be ignored.

As we address the hard work ahead for the green movement, it is important that we celebrate the victories achieved in this election.

  • The persistent efforts and education by the League of Conservation Voters and other policy interest groups and watchdogs resulted in the defeat of three “Flat Earth Fivers”, namely Joe Walsh of Illinois, Ann Marie Buerkle of New York and Francisco Conseco of Texas.
  • Rhode Island voters approved a bond for $0 million to fund wastewater and drinking water projects.
  • The state of Maine approved several water, sewer, conservation and transportation bonds.
  • The city of Longmont, Colorado anti-fracking activists were successful in upholding a ban on hydraulic fracking and storage of fracking waste within city limits.
  • Seattle, Washington voters overwhelmingly approved a 30-year bond for $290 million to rebuild the Elliott Bay seawall.

There were a lot of lessons to be learned from this contentious election campaign.  Perhaps the most important is the admonition by former President Bill Clinton at the Democratic Convention that “we are all in this together’.  With this in mind, let’s use this new day to roll up our sleeves and work hard to live green, be green.

From Darkness to Light - please read

From Darkness to Light – (Photo credit: ecstaticist)

Get Ready for the Frankenstorm

by

This year we have witnessed a record number of named hurricanes.  Fortunately, the United States largely weathered these storms well to date.  Now we face a new and unique challenge.  Hurricane Sandy is barreling toward the east coast as a category 2 hurricane and is expected to make landfall along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States this Monday or Tuesday.  Unfortunately, it appears that Heaven and Earth are aligning to transform Hurricane Sandy into a monster or “Frankenstorm” just in time for Halloween.

This hurricane is approaching during a full moon which, with its accompanying high tides, will increase Sandy’s storm surge about 20% higher than normal along the eastern seaboard.  This possibly could lead to major flooding and beach erosion.  What makes this storm really special and potentially catastrophic is its position as one player in three weather systems, which include a wintry storm approaching from the west and a frigid air stream traveling south from Canada.  If these three weather phenomena meet on Tuesday morning in the vicinity of New York and New Jersey, forecasters predict a huge, prolonged soaking mess that will settle over the northeast and spread as far as western Ohio.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration goes on to say that there are no modern precedents for what the storm models are suggesting.  This incoming storm is a clear example of the weather situations predicted by environmentalists, scientists and proponents of climate change.  It is unfortunate that these experts still do not have the ear of government and public policy experts, who possibly with the acknowledgement of the contribution of human factors to climate change, would do more to find solutions to this growing problem.  Hopefully, now that Heaven and Earth are speaking louder than ever and in unique fashion, maybe everyone will listen.

Let’s try to get prepared for this storm and stay safe, and as always, let’s live green, be green.

Food Labeling Controversy

by

I think it is amazing that in the year 2012, there would be a contentious debate going on in this country regarding the rights of consumers to know whether or not their food contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  This controversy will appear on the ballot in the upcoming California general election.  If passed, it will require “labeling of foods sold to consumers made from plant or animals with genetic material changed in specific ways”.  It also would prohibit “marketing such foods, or other processed food, as ‘natural’.

Proponents of Prop 37 voice concerns that GMOs have been linked to allergies and other health problems, while opponents of the measure state that there is no scientific evidence that processed food with traces of GMOs pose a danger to humans.  The major issue posed by the opponents lies in the costs of regulation and verification, which would be the responsibility of the retailers and an undue burden to smaller stores and businesses.

The amazing part of this debate is that there is such a discussion going on questioning consumers’ rights to know what is in their food.  Also, I find it interesting that this is a big issue in America while 50 other countries in the world (which represents 40% of the world’s population) presently require GMO labeling.  These countries include all of Europe, Japan, India and China.  Also polls here show that 90% of Americans want to know if their food is genetically engineered.

In our present tumultuous political climate, we hear politicians at all levels making promises about what they will do for us and our country if elected.  Maybe we all should take a step back and question how these people want to help us in all these other areas but are willing to bend to big business and violate such a basic right as access to information regarding the contents of the food we eat.  We have the right to make informed decisions about our nutrition and it is up to us ensure this is the case and that our rights are not violated.  This is 2012, not the dark ages.  Access to facts on our food content is crucial to being able to live green, be green.

 

LGBG Ventures into Green Job Recruitment

by

Today on good news Monday, LGBG by PMD is excited to announce that the company will soon provide green job placement services. The decision to do this is a natural progression in the team’s focus on learning new things and using that knowledge to advance the causes of the green movement.

Over the past year, we have researched and shared information on all things green, celebrating the positives and making our audience aware of the problems that need to be addressed. Our discussions have included legislative issues, practical home and business solutions to green living, as well as conversations on sustainable energy and climate change, just to name a few. It is apparent to us that green initiatives now are entrenched in our society, and with that said, there are many opportunities for employment in green jobs. A review of several recruitment and employment boards, however, indicates that most companies tend to throw the green jobs in with all the other employment opportunities. Our team would like to see a job service that exclusively devotes itself to the green market sector with a platform that services both companies looking to hire and job seekers.

We feel that such a service will save time for job hunters committed to finding green jobs because they will not have to wade through tons of useless ads that are not applicable to them. Also for businesses looking to hire, they will not be bogged down with ads from other businesses totally unrelated to green initiatives. Our site will be exclusively green. It is our promise that any company listed on our site will meet the standards of being a green company. Conversely, potential employees referred to these businesses will be carefully screened to make sure that they meet the requirements for jobs offered by any potential employer.

Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see”. Our team at LGBG by PMD wants to see a healthy green world, and we feel that our new venture into green job recruitment represents a great opportunity to positively advance the green movement so that we all can live green, be green.

Put Green in Halloween

by

Halloween is a fun holiday for children and adults, and with just a little over a week left before the big day, many people have shifted into high gear to make the celebration festive.  It is important to be green conscious with Halloween plans so that we protect the environment and stay safe.  Here are a few tips to have a healthy and happy Halloween:

  • Make sure any store-bought costumes and makeup are safe.  Many of the costumes, masks and ornaments on the market, particularly those manufactured in China, contain some levels of lead.  Several new reports out this week noted the seizure by U.S. Customs and Border Protection of shipments of pirate costumes with lead in ornamentation, masks and props, such as swords.  The best way to avoid lead contamination in products is to buy costumes made in America or to make costumes at home.  I think it is important to note that store-bought costumes are permitted to have some levels of lead, but I feel that avoidance of this toxic substance altogether is the safest route to take.  The same is true for face paint.  These products often contain lead and other heavy metals and can be toxic, causing allergic reactions.  Make sure your face paint is organic.  The healthiest alternative is to avoid face paint altogether if you are unsure of the ingredients, or go to the website, Big Green Purse Blog at http://blog.biggreenpurse.com/biggreenpurse/2009/10/make-your-own-green-halloween-face-paint-.html to get reliable information on safe face painting.
  • Be careful about lighting.  While tea light candles in decorator bags lining a pathway are scenic, they pose a danger to trick-or-treaters.  Instead, try LED lights, which are safe for the kids and the environment.
  • Swap or donate costumes.  Once Halloween is over, consider swapping out used costumes with friends, or neighbors.  An alternative is to donate used costumes and props to local theater groups.
  • Try natural decorations.  While the plastic pumpkins and ghosts may seem like a bargain, they are not good for the environment.  This year try natural decorations with real pumpkins, bales of straw and corn husks.  As a bonus, these decorations can double for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Some clever fall decorating ideas can be found on Pinterest.  Remember to save the pumpkin seeds to eat later after carving pumpkins.  Roasted pumpkins make a delicious and healthy snack.

These are just a few tips for an environmentally healthy and happy Halloween.  Let’s put green into our orange and black celebration so that everyday we live green, be green.

Go Green! Ditch the Water Bottles!

by

Go Green! Ditch the water bottles. The bottled water industry is a primary target of the ‘green” movement and for great reason.  If we are going to effectively integrate “green” practices and ingrain future generations with second nature “green” practices, then we must eliminate our consumption of bottled water!  If we do not do something now, bottled water will continue to resonate as one of the leading causes for the decline of our Earth’s health.   This entry is intended to exist as an educational realization of a very real problem that has masked itself as a common, healthy consumer good.  It is also intended to serve as a call to action for people to make the conscious effort to “go green” and consider switching to tap water as well as purchasing reusable bottles to drink from. The true extent to which bottled water is damaging our environment would take thousands of pages to explain however, I will do my best to paint a brief, yet alarming picture with one woman’s research.  Please read, think about what you are reading and take action by doing some research of your own and sharing what you learn as we are trying to do.

We present to you,  “Water Bottle Pollution Facts”, which was published in a 2011 publication of National Geographic by author, Susanne Didier.  Simply put, her findings are overwhelmingly alarming.  In her article, she breaks down the environmental impact of water bottle pollution in terms of the bottles as well as overlooked factors such as production and transportation.  Suzanne points out that American consumers alone, purchase more than 29 billion bottles of water a year, a staggering number.  To honor this demand, more than 2.4 billion pounds of plastic are needed.  Even more alarming, she reports that sadly, only 13% of these 29 billion bottles of water are being recycled!

The next part of her article discusses the transportation element of the water bottle industry supply chain.  People tend to forget that the costs that go into consumer products extend beyond just those of the raw materials and assembly of the product. Two of the biggest added costs are those of shipping and delivery.  To cut to the chase, in order to effectively and safely transport 29 billion bottles of water to U.S. markets alone, over 50 million barrels of oil are needed.  Yes, you read correctly, 50 million barrels of oil are needed!  To put that into perspective, each American, on average only uses a little over 24 barrels of oil a year and around 1500 barrels in a lifetime.  That’s it.

The last part of her report simply highlights that on top of how detrimental water bottles are to the environment, their purpose is not completely justifiable.  She reports findings from a 4-year study by the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) that revealed shocking findings.  Most notably, “Roughly 22 percent of the water tested contained contaminant levels that exceeded strict state health limits.” The report also concluded that there were traces of various levels of hormones and other contaminates, most of which people think they are avoiding by choosing bottled water over tap water.  Ironically enough, in a move (strategic marketing ploy) to be healthier, we are actually doing much more harm to ourselves overall!    

To conclude, the facts are before us and this one example is merely the tip of the iceberg.  We challenge you to impart this knowledge to others and think twice about continuing to purchase bottled water.  We challenge you to use this as a first step towards “going green” and consciously choose to live green and be green in some way every single day!

Here is a link to her article http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/water-bottle-pollution-2947.html

[youtube=http://youtu.be/S7LqsAnhrR4]

Green Jobs Propel Economy Forward

by

Despite the criticism of skeptics and conservative politicians, the green job movement is moving forward and progressing.  In fact, a report issued last week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) states that the growth and benefits of green jobs are even stronger than previously expected.  After its analysis of employment data from the Brookings Institution and the Pew Center on the States, who undertook the task of categorizing green jobs on a detailed industry and occupational level, the EPI concludes the following:

  • Green industries are growing faster than the overall economy, at a rate of 2,5 times as fast as other jobs.
  • States with green jobs withstood the recession and fared better than those without green jobs.
  • Approximately 20% of all green jobs are in the manufacturing sector, which is great for the economy because roughly 5.5 million jobs in this area have been lost since 2000.
  • Green jobs offer pathways into the middle class.  These jobs tend to require less education but pay better wages.  This is good for people who cannot afford to go to college but still need good jobs that pay well, enabling them to support their families in a wholesome and healthy manner.

Now we need to adopt the appropriate governmental policies on all levels–local, state and federal–to support the positive movement in the green economy.  This includes investing in storm water infrastructure and supporting energy efficiency programs in cities and states.  We need long-term commitment to businesses involved in solar and wind energy.  Most importantly, we need a change in mindset.  Only through education and technology with demonstrated successes in improvement of air and water quality and reduction in adverse health conditions attributed to pollution will we reverse our dependence on coal and fossil fuels, which are so detrimental to our environment.

A green economy is a win-win situation for everyone.  We can keep moving forward by practicing healthy living, educating our families and communities on green initiatives and demanding that our elected officials support the green movement through public policy.  We know that these strategies are important ingredients in the recipe to live green, be green.

Green economy pays off