Be Wise! Be Healthy!
Be in the know about Sustainable Living and Green Building, Products & Experts
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April 2008 Issue
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by Elaine Ireland
What I love so much about this "Green Movement" is the incredible, creative innovation now going on in this solutions-oriented phase that we've entered. The awareness-building gestation period is over. The birth has happened. Now, a plethora of new innovative approaches and products are being created to help us see the possibilities of our destiny. (read on) |
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The chief moral obligation of the 21st Century is to build a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty.
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General Features |
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by Steven Greenhouse
Presidential candidates talk about the promise of “green collar” jobs - an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions, Urban groups and environmentalists say Green Jobs are the answer to many of our problems. Some skeptics argue that the phrase “green jobs” is little more than a trendy term. No one is certain how many such jobs there are - or will be, but we at GreenSage certainly see it growing and there are several organizations innovating their way to push it forward. Here's what they're doing - and don't forget to check out our Green Jobs Board to see how we are participating and you can too. (read on) |
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by Alan S. Glassman
The Number 8 and the Law of Octaves. Continuing where we left off in Part 5 with the number 7, we now move on to the number 8. The meanings and correspondences to the number 8 are rich and vast. This month we reveal Segment I: Symmetry and Renewal, starting with perhaps the most famous and admired piece of architecture in the history of the Western World, The Parthenon, Symmetry, and Eight. (read on) |
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| ASID and the USGBC recently launched the nation's first green residential remodeling guidelines during INTERIORS 08: The ASID Conference on Design. Organized into the ten most common remodeling projects, the REGREEN Guidelines are designed to provide resources and tools to green home remodeling projects. The guidelines can be applied to a variety of projects, from remodeling a kitchen to executing a full-scale renovation. (read on) |
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Outdoor Air Issues |
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By Alan Clendenning in Sao Paulo, for the Scotsman
This story is about the real cost of conventional hardwood products. After a report released in January detailing a suspected rise in deforestation, the Brazilian government is pushing to prevent the rise in illegal logging and burning that threatens to reverse three successive years of Amazon deforestation declines. Heavily armed Brazilian federal police seized more than 500 truckloads of illegally cut hardwood, fining several sawmills for stocking wood of unknown origin and selling lumber without authorization. (read on) |
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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
(Eleanor Roosevelt)
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Indoor Air and Toxins Issues |
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by Steve Metsch
When the Environmental Working Group commissioned a study of 10 people to find if any of 413 toxic chemicals were in their bodies, the group was surprised to find that 287 chemicals were detected. Make that "very surprised" because the tests were conducted on umbilical cord blood from 10 newborns. No one thought industrial pollution begins in the womb. Everybody thinks babies start out clean. Not so. (read on) |
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by Susan Moran
Joel Tickner is trying to build a greener future one molecule at a time. We're at a turning point. Companies and states are taking leadership where the federal government isn't. It's not about banning chemicals one by one, but about thinking more holistically about how we use chemicals in the design process itself.” This approach is the core of green chemistry, which tries to eliminate waste, use renewable or environmentally benign materials and avoid relying on toxic agents when designing chemical products. (read on) |
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Building & Construction |
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| Mercedes-Benz just marked the opening of its first environmentally sustainable dealership in Peoria, Arizona. Mercedes-Benz of Arrowhead will be a prototype designed from the ground up to conserve resources and help employees shift the way they work to reduce their impact on the environment. (read on) |
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| The results are in from the partnershp between GoSolarMarin Community Discount Program and SPG Solar. Starting in November 2007, more than 100 new solar photovoltaic systems were purchased. When installations are complete, the systems will represent a total of more than 400 kilowatts of solar power, the equivalent of removing 1,110 cars off the road, 210 tons of pollution. It would require 1,716 acres of new tropical rainforests to reduce an equivalent amount of Carbon Dioxide. (read on) |
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| Estimated Monthly Utility Cost: $1.00. The solar-powered LEED Gold town homes are highly energy efficient through exceptional building design and energy efficient appliances. Many features are made from sustainable materials. For example, cabinets and other woodwork come from sustainably managed forests, floors are bamboo and polished, colored concrete with integrated radiant heating. Other features use recycled materials. Check out this great case study, and if you're looking for a place to live and work sustainably, they're available. (read on) |
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by Jon Dougal
Articles recently appearing in the Chicago Times and the New York Times are claiming that the cost of green is higher than conventional. Since all affordable housing is going green, or more correctly "sustainable," it would make more sense, and be more responsible, to say it is at least competitive. As most "every" manufacturer has realized, green is the only way to go. They are shifting from making "virgin" products in favor of making "green" products. In short, green has gone mainstream. It is by both dollars and by volume the only game in town. But here are the Times' opinions anyway. (read on) |
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GreenSage Guide to Living Green |
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By Elaine Ireland & the GreenSage Team
Now that we all know that scientists are convinced that human actions are causing global warming, doesn't it make sense for us humans to shift our own actions? To take the steps that will help reduce what's being called an ominous threat? You can help in three ways. 1)take action in your own life, 2)encourage your community to take action, and 3)influence government and policy-makers to take action. (read on) |
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By Elaine Ireland
There are three ways we take toxins into our bodies, not counting those acquired in the womb. Find out how we take them, how to prevent them coming in, and what you can do once they've come in. (read on) |
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Green Products |
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| According to a new analysis by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, U.S. power plant CO2 emissions jumped 2.9 percent in 2007, the biggest single-year increase since 1998, making power plants the single largest factor in climate change pollution in the U.S. Carbon Sciences proposes a unique approach to the problem of CO2 - transform the gas into something useful with commercial value instead of sequestering (e.g. burying) it somewhere. (read on) |
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by Jon Dougal
Last month we told you about an innovative furniture company, Bloxes, making furniture from modular blocks of super-sturdy cardboard that can also build desks, even walls in minutes. This month, check out this new meaning of modular furniture - and sculpture. (read on) |
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| With Green building practices becoming more and more important today, builders and remodelers are looking for environmentally friendly construction materials as well as ways to save on costs. Well, check out this green product. THE NAILER, a drywall backer/fastener for supporting interior drywall corners, is one of those small and simple building products that makes it easy for contractors to embrace and benefit from green building. It saves money on material, labor and natural resources. (read on) |
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Green Economics |
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| The House has passed $18.1 billion in renewable energy tax incentives, including an extension for energy-efficient home improvements, such as windows, doors, roofs, insulation, HVAC, and non-solar water heaters (currently you have until April 15, 2008 to report on your 2007 taxes), and solar panels and water heaters (which remains in effect through December 31, 2008). Extending these credits is the quickest way to reduce the threat of global warming while creating jobs, saving consumers money and increasing our energy security, says Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists. (read on) |
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Calendar of Events |
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Dozens of Green Events Around the World to Participate in |
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Where Every Issue is a Green Issue
