Green Environmental Links And Eco Friendly Resources

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All Things Green

100's of links to green living information, news, tips and books. Also covering renewable energy sources, solar power, sustainability, eco friendly homes, recycling, wind power, alternative fuels, organic foods, electric vehicles, global warming, green energy, and much more.

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ecoreview says:

Change out all your incandescent bulbs with compact florescent, a 60 watt incandescent is equivalent to a 13 watt compact florescent. A savings of 48 watts per bulb!

jp1978 says:

Here in the Philippines virtually every store uses plastic bags. A few months ago I started carrying my own bag everywhere so whenever I buy something I don't need to have it bagged. I think it's (very) slowly starting to catch on. Not fast enough though.

Mike_Long says:

Read endless tips and ideas at http://www.top-alternative-energy-sources.com

 
 
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Introduction To Green Living 

Sustainable living refers to a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resource. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet. Proponents of sustainable living aim to conduct their lives in manners that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology and cycles.The Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL)-philosophy The practice and general philosophy of ecological living is highly interrelated with the overall principles of sustainable development.

Lester R. Brown, a prominent environmentalist and founder of the Worldwatch Institute and Earth Policy Institute, describes sustainable living in the 21st century as "shifting to a renewable energy-based, reuse/recycle economy with a diversified transport system.""An interview with Lester Brown" by Greg Ross [http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/lester-brown] American Scientist.

 


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~Green Links~ 

About Green Living
About.com green living, sustainable lifestyles, low impact living and environmental living.
Alternative Energy
Alternative Energy is for our economy, security, and the environment. Read news on solar energy, wind power, geothermal, biofuel, biodiesel, hydrogen and every form of renewable energy.
American Solar Energy Society
Established in 1954, the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the use of solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies in the U.S.
American Wind Energy Association
The mission of the American Wind Energy Association is to promote wind power growth through advocacy, communication, and education.
AutoblogGreen
We obsessively cover the green scene.
Better World Club
Better World Club Provides Nationwide Roadside Assistance. We are the Nation's Only environmentally friendly auto club. Membership Includes eco-travel Services, Discounts on hybrid car rental, insurance Services, Free Maps, Auto Maintenance discounts and bicycle roadside assistance. We donate 1% of annual revenues toward environmental cleanup and advocacy.
Betty Biodiesel
To improve the air we all breathe by providing a dynamic and entertaining approach to education; teaching all ages about the benefits of diversity, efficiency and renewability. To empower youth in the creation of a society dedicated to providing clean air for all.
Building Green
Publishers of Environmental Building News and of other information resources for practictioners of sustainable design.
Campaign Earth
We offer simple solutions to today's most pressing environmental issue, climate change. Knowing a busy lifestyle is as American as apple pie, we've created straight forward actions that enable us all to make a difference, one step at a time.
Carbon Fund
Carbonfund.org is leading the fight against global climate change, making it easy and affordable for any individual, business or organization to eliminate their climate impact and hastening the transformation to a clean energy future.
Care2
Largest online community empowering people to lead a healthy and green lifestyle while taking action on important causes such as human rights, animal welfare and global warming.
Clean Air Council
Clean Air Council is a member- supported, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting everyone's right to breathe clean air. The Council works through public education, community advocacy, and government oversight to ensure enforcement of environmental laws.
Common Fire
Common Fire helps to create and nurture model living spaces that are devoted to giving as full an expression as possible to healthy and sustainable living in solidarity with other people and the planet. Common Fire does not pretend there is one way to do this. Rather each Common Fire co-op and community, while adopting some norms on which there is strong consensus, offers a rich diversity of perspectives and strategies regarding what it means to lead such a good life.
Cultivate Sanctuary
A holistic approach to living. Including feng shui , green living and food energetics.
Cyberset
Cyberset, a music and media company based in San Francisco. Our growing family of artists blend musical elements of world, ambient, dance, vocal, and urban genres into fresh sounds that share the positive intentions and global reach of modern New Edge culture.
Cyberset artists embody this emerging culture that emphasizes community, personal growth, social conscience, and ecological awareness. Although you will find a range of genres featured on the label, a closer look at the artists' pages, blogs, and websites reveals many common values and interests. There is more than meets the ear to Cyberset!
Daily Acts
By growing our awareness and better recognizing the power in each common action, we shape the world we wish to call home. All of our efforts involve providing the resources and support to rediscover the bits of bliss in how people live.
DIY Power System
Discover how to build your own wind or solar energy generator for as little as $100!
DSIRE
DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Earth4Energy
Here at Earth4Energy we have created a complete step-by-step kit so that you can setup your own renewable energy system in your backyard for less than $200!
Earthdance
Our mission is to promote peace by joining participants worldwide in a synchronized Prayer For Peace and to support humanitarian causes through the global language of music and dance. Our goal is to inspire participation from promoters, clubs, artists, musicians and peace-lovers worldwide to dedicate one day to support humanitarian efforts and help unite people from all nations in a day of peaceful celebration and harmony.
Earthware Biodegradables
Our mission is to be part of the solution. We're focused on helping to reduce waste by developing and marketing sustainable solutions - compostable, recyclable and reusable products for households, businesses, and institutions.
Ecofriend
'Ecofriend' is an environmental blog. The idea behind Ecofriend is simple: to inform and educate consumers who love to possess the latest gadgets and products available in the market and who are also concerned about the environment around them. We are here to help both these ends meet. The main editorial focus of 'Ecofriend' is Alternative Energy. Our insatiable demand for energy contributes hugely to help combat global warming among a host of other environmental problems. Renewable energy and Energy-efficiency are going to be two big themes at 'Ecofriend'.
Ecopalooza
Ecopalooza Green Events Network welcomes your events related to environment/ecology, sustainable living, food/sustainable farming, organic food, renewable energy, bioregionalism, faith-based eco-events, sustainable transportation/biofuels, green business, localization, and other eco-related events.
EERE
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) works to strengthen the United States' energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality in public-private partnerships.
Efficient Planet
This website will show those interested in generating their own power and how to live more efficiently, the perfect step-by-step program.
Energy Center
The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to Greening Your WorldSM through public programs and services including free workshops, rebate programs, free shade trees, outreach events and public education.
Energy4Green
Stop being held hostage by the electric company and discover how you can transform your backyard into a mini power plant.
Environment Directory
Earth's biggest environment search engine!
Environmental Defense Fund
Founded in 1967 as the Environmental Defense Fund, we tackle the most serious environmental problems with:
Strong science
Innovative markets
Corporate partnerships
Effective laws and policy
Environmental News Network
We publish information that will help people understand and communicate the environmental issues and solutions that face us and hopefully inspire them to get involved. We help nonprofits, governments and businesses from around the world get their information published and read by the people who want to help make this planet a better place. People like you.
Environmental News Service
The Environment News Service is the original daily international wire service of the environment. Established in 1990 by Editor-in-Chief Sunny Lewis and Managing Editor Jim Crabtree, it is independently owned and operated.
The Environment News Service (ENS) exists to present late-breaking environmental news in a fair and balanced manner.
ENS news reports are indexed by Reuters/Dow Jones Factiva, and KeepMedia. Hundreds of websites feature ENS headlines and story briefs.
Etopia Eco Village
Etopia Eco-Village is a realistic representation of a semi-sustainable village showcasing the best Real Life examples in sustainable design, renewable energy production, intergated land use and human-scaled development.
Excess Access
We link donations of business and household items / materials with the wish-lists of nearby nonprofits that can provide pick-ups or accept drop-offs. We serve the US, Canada and beyond. Together we're keeping useful goods out of over-flowing garbage dumps. It's great for charities and the environment!
Fields Of Green Team
We are here to inspire and teach environment readiness and responsibility. We know that families can work together and do small things everyday that will create a huge impact. As a team, we will share powerful ideas and recommend practices and products that can begin to reverse our environmental crisis and clean up the air we all breathe.
for Harmony
What if we each made conscious choices every day? What if we were more conscious of how our thoughts, words and actions can impact our lives and those of the people around us. And on an even bigger scale, the global community and the Earth itself? That is why for Harmony was created. To create awareness of our thoughts, words and actions. To connect us to each other and to the world around us. And to embrace all that life has to offer. For a healthy and sustainable world.
Free Energy Options
Get instant access to all the information you need to create electricity right in your own backyard, including detailed step-by-step instructions, full-color illustrations, and sources for all materials.
G Living
The G Living Network is more than a media entertainment network for a new generation. We are a lifestyle company. We focus on all the elements that make this lifestyle possible. Currently, G Living creates original innovative content, and works hands-on to create "G" products, contemporary designs and original programming from our Venice California studio. The G Living Network produces various online media, including streaming broadband shows, a multi-media cookbook, cooking shows, featured editorial content, daily blogs, and an interactive social networking community.
Global Citizen Center
The Global Citizen Center ("GCC" or "the Center") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that employs public education and demonstration to promote a set of new economic practices that are environmentally sustainable and socially just. In so doing, the Center hopes to accelerate the transition to an alternative economic paradigm that embodies these practices, a paradigm often referred to as the Green Economy.
Global Giving Green
Focused on helping people and the planet. We've hand-picked projects that address climate change and poverty - you choose your favorite and watch your donation make a difference! These projects have been selected using a unique evaluation system and have earned the GlobalGiving Green "leaf".
Go Green Solar
GoGreenSolar.com is the #1 online destination for Renewable Energy Products, Professionals and Financing. We not only retail small renewable energy systems, wind turbines, and solar panels; For larger installations we connect you to renewable energy professionals in your area. Through our extensive relationships in the renewable energy industry we deliver consumers the highest quality products, services and information.
Green Biz
Green business news and tools for aligning sustainability with business success. Resources for successful green strategies, covering operations, energy, product design, marketing, and more.
Green Daily
Green Daily is your one-stop shop for all things eco-friendly. We cover everything from environmental news and politics, to green celebrity gossip and fashion trends, to the emerging green tech industry. We also offer a host of easy, practical, money-saving tips for reducing your impact on the planet.
Green Energy News
The first issue of the weekly Energies newsletter was published in 1996. Green Energy News incorporated the following year. The publication was developed to offer news and commentary in regards to clean, efficient and/or renewable energy in relation to business, technology, issues and policy. Green Energy News is geared to a wide audience ranging from consumers to industry professionals to the educational community to government officials.
Green Festivals
Think of Green Festival as a walk through a sustainable community. It begins with finding solutions to help make our lives healthier-socially, economically and environmentally. Individuals along with business and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. Organizations and businesses showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Neighbor-to-neighbor connections are formed, and skills are shared to empower people to create positive change in the world.
Green Guide
National Geographic Green Guide makes living in an environmentally aware way personal, practical and positive. Intended for general consumers, Green Guide shows people how to make small changes that add up to big benefits for their wallets, for their health, and, of course, for the health of the planet. Not political or activist, the Green Guide is chock full of simple, useful ideas broken down into achievable steps that make going green a gradual and affordable process rather than an all-or-nothing plunge.
Green Harmony Living
Green living products, organic foods, raw foods, and vegan food. Green Harmony Living online shop.
Green Home Building
Greenhomebuilding.com is where you can find a wide range of information about sustainable architecture and natural building.
Green Impact
Green Impact helps organizations implement their sustainability goals by providing expertise in strategy, program development, cross-sector dialogue and written communications.
Green Living Ideas
Green Living Ideas provides ideas, tips, and information to help you improve the environmental sustainability of every aspect of your life: home energy, green building and remodeling, cars, food, waste recycling-and everything in between. Green Living Ideas is the most comprehensive green living website ever assembled, with information on how to live greener in over 200 different areas of life! We've assembled the world's top green living authors and experts to bring you the latest info on green and sustainable living.
Green Living Journal
Green Living has been publishing news you can use, mostly related to environmental issues, since 1990. Our regular topics include organic gardening, green building, health, ecocareers and right livelihood, outdoors/sports, socially responsible investing, econotes, questions and answers, book reviews, and features on topical environmental issues.
Green Living Online
Whether it's sustainable seafood, pasture-raised meat, organic grains and vegetables or raw food you're after, here's where to go for a great green meal.
Green Living Project
To educate and inspire citizens to live and support a more sustainable lifestyle through stories focused on successful and unique sustainable projects from around the world.
Green Living Tips
Environmental tips for going green at home or work plus earth friendly business guides. News and advice on living a more natural lifestyle that reduces impact on the environment.
Green Lodging News
Unlike any other lodging industry publication in the marketplace, Green Lodging News focuses solely on environment-related issues that impact profitability. Via the website and the weekly Green Lodging News e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight, Green Lodging News offers an opportunity to reach a segment of buyers and sellers who are serious about saving money and conserving natural resources.
Green Map
Green Map System promotes inclusive participation in sustainable community development worldwide, using map-making as our medium.
Green Matters
Helping homeowners transform their lives and living spaces for simplicity, health and the environment.
Green Maven
Finally a website that brings the best of the Green Web together. Designed for Mavens that just can't get enough of all things Green. Use it as a research tool, or keep up to date on the latest trends in the Green Revolution.
Green Restaurant Association
The Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national non-profit organization, provides services in research, consulting, education, marketing and community organizing. The GRA utilizes a collaborative strategy that involves restaurants, manufacturers, vendors, grassroots organizations, government, media, and restaurant customers. The GRA's model provides a convenient way for all sectors of the restaurant industry, which represents 10% of the U.S. economy, to become more environmentally sustainable.
Green Search
A leafy alternative to your daily Google.
Green Yoga Association
The term "Green Yoga" indicates our conscious intention to honor and care for the Earth as part of yoga. Green is also the color of chlorophyll, which represents the life-sustaining relationship between Sun and Earth. The creation of this chlorophyll came, as one of my teachers Brian Swimme likes to say, through the Earth's process of careful attention to the Sun. For 4.5 billion years the Earth attended very, very carefully to the Sun, meditating on it. Ultimately, the Earth learned how to be transformed by sunlight, resulting in the creation of chlorophyll. In a similar way, when we as humans devote sustained, loving attention to the challenges at hand, we are transformed in ways that promote life.
Green-e
Green-e is the nation's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green-e offers certification and verification of renewable energy and greenhouse gas mitigation products. It is a program of the Center for Resource Solutions.
Greeniacs
The Greeniacs mission is to deliver unbiased, non-judgmental information regarding the environment and ecological issues to anyone and everyone at no cost to them so that they may each be better informed. We hope that this approach will lead to better environmental decisions by the broadest number of people.
GreenNet
GreenNet is the ethical ISP that has been connecting people and groups who work for peace, the environment, gender equality and human rights since 1986.
Home Made Energy
If you have ever wished to stop wasting money on your electrical bill, help the global economy and save the Earth, then you've arrived at the right page.
HomeMadeEnergy.org is the website created to help you slash your electricity bill by 80% or even eliminate it completely!
With the ever increasing costs of living, there is no better time than right now to stop throwing money out the window and start generating your own electricity.
However, you need an open mind and willingness to listen, because there are large economic interests that keep most people dependent on energy.
Ideal Bite
Ideal Bite offers bite-sized ideas for light green living - ideas for real people who lead busy lives and want to make small changes that add up to big results. Our Daily Tips cover everything from biodynamic wine to eco-pet products to organic cosmetics. The secret sauce? A spoonful of "incremental environmentalism" combined with a keeping-it-real attitude.
Live Earth
Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action. A for-profit company, Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media, and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.
Living Green
Actions for healthier and more sustainable lives.
Low Impact Living
At Low Impact Living, we want to help you lower the environmental impact of your home and your daily life. To do that, we help you find the best green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals. And we will also help you understand the environmental benefits and economic trade-offs of your choices. Our primary goal is to make the path from inspiration to implementation as short and as smooth as possible. Only by taking action will we collectively reduce the damage to our planet and ecosystems.
Make Natural Power
Your ultimate all-in-one guide to home renewable energies. Make your own solar and wind power systems. If you are interested in joining the thousands of people who have chosen to say good bye to their power bill, then this is the perfect resource for you.
Modern Green Living
Welcome to moderngreenliving.com, your source to design, build, remodel, furnish or find a green home. Search the most comprehensive database of green residences and communities. Find green architects, builders, remodelers, interior designers, realtors, and green building consultants near you.
Mother Jones
Mother Jones is an independent nonprofit whose roots lie in a commitment to social justice implemented through first rate investigative reporting.
Mother Earth News
America's leading magazine about sustainable, self-reliant living. Topics include building, gardening, homesteading, do-it-yourself, kitchen, energy and conservation.
NRDC
National Resources Defense Council is the nation's most effective environmental action group, combining the grassroots power of 1.2 million members and online activists with the courtroom clout and expertise of more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals.
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council works to protect wildlife and wild places and to ensure a healthy environment for all life on earth. NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action group, combining the grassroots power of 1.2 million members and online activists with the courtroom clout and expertise of more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals.
Off Grid Living
For the past 15 years our family has been living off the grid with only solar and wind power. We moved to our present location, built our own house ourselves and set to work to find alternative energy options for our home that we could afford. Our family is no different than yours. We are just regular people who just want to make a difference in our lives. We wanted to lower our electricity costs. It is getting very expensive out there so we figured out a way to beat it. Today we live 100% Off-Grid with our solar panels and wind generator.
Our Energy
Join the thousands of American consumers who have already sent over 1,540,000 letters and emails to elected officials asking about our nation's energy and climate policy.

Start by asking your elected officials these questions to get the dialogue
headed in the right direction:
Pachamama Alliance
To preserve the earths tropical rainforests by empowering the indigenous people who are it's natural custodians. To contribute to the creation of a new global vision of equality and sustainability for all.
Planet Drum Foundation
Planet Drum was founded to provide an effective grassroots approach to ecology that emphasizes sustainability, community self-determination and regional self-reliance. In association with community activists and ecologists, Planet Drum developed the concept of a bioregion: a distinct area with coherent and interconnected plant and animal communities, and natural systems, often defined by a watershed. A bioregion is a whole "life-place" with unique requirements for human inhabitation so that it will not be disrupted and injured. Through its projects, publications, speakers, and workshops, Planet Drum helps start new bioregional groups and encourages local organizations and individuals to find ways to live within the natural confines of bioregions.
Planet Thoughts
A PlanetThought is a thought directed towards caring for our planet. The environment needs our care so Earth can remain human-friendly for the next century and beyond. You can join us to learn more and to help promote more awareness and discussion of these critical issues.
Planetwork
Planetwork brings a collaborative systems view rooted in conscious evolution to the intersection of sustainability & technology. We are a convening organization, gathering people from a wide variety of disciplines and vocations - science, technology, activism, business and the arts to further the conversation about earth systems, communities and the potentially constructive role of technology.
Playgreen
The wiki on green living.
Raw Veg Info
Planetwork brings a collaborative systems view rooted in conscious evolution to the intersection of sustainability & technology. We are a convening organization, gathering people from a wide variety of disciplines and vocations - science, technology, activism, business and the arts to further the conversation about earth systems, communities and the potentially constructive role of technology.
Recycle First
RecycleFirst is a pioneer in the consumer and corporate recycling industry. Seven years ago we started our business when cartridge recycling was in its infancy and cell phone recycling did not exist.
reegle
reegle is a one-stop shop for high quality information on renewable energy and energy efficiency. This includes a powerful search engine for documents and other information (Intelligent and Category Search) as well as a comprehensive catalogue of stakeholders (Actors' Catalogue)
Run Your Home For Free
In minutes you'll know how to build your own simple, ingenious home power supply that's perfectly legal, and will give you all the juice you need on demand for pennies.
Sinless Buying
Our company is a manufacturer and a sales partner with other manufacturers. Together, we put together a line of products and customizable green solutions that can serve you as the one stop shop for green packaging needs.
We provide sustainable alternatives to Paper and Plastic products. By working with various manufacturing partners, we offer the ability to customize products for various packaging needs. Our current focus is on food packaging but are not limited to other industrial packaging products.
Solar Energy International
Solar Energy International (SEI) is a USA non-profit organization whose mission is to help others use renewable energy and environmental building technologies through education. SEI teaches individuals from all walks of life how to design, install and maintain renewable energy systems, and how to design and build efficient, sustainable homes. SEI offers trainings online and in 22 locations around the world.
Sustainable World Coalition
We are a coalition of individuals and supporting organizations who work toward a world that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling. Our work is to educate, inspire and activate, fostering a strong engagement in personal and planetary sustainability. We produce events and educational materials to promote action that restores and maintains the health of the planet and the well-being of humanity.
The Daily Green
The consumer's guide to the green revolution.
Thimmakka
To create practical, quantifiable, economically-viable systemic solutions to critical global environmental problems. We accomplish our mission by transforming business-as-usual practices through the forging of new partnerships and leveraging existing Green Business Program guidelines.
Think Green
At Waste Management, we are dedicated to delivering on the promise of Think Green®, to promoting sustainability, and to being good neighbors with each other and the environment we share.
Think Green Building
We believe that good buildings unite specific people with a specific spot on the planet to the benefit of both. Through teaching, writing, consulting, designing, trouble shooting, and building, we are dedicated to helping create good buildings.
TreeHugger
TreeHugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream. Partial to a modern aesthetic, we strive to be a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information. At TreeHugger we know that variety is the spice of life, so you can find all you need to go green in our up to the minute blog, weekly and daily newsletters, weekly video segments, weekly radio show and our user-generated blog, Hugg. We also extend our expertise to companies looking for a little green guidance. Past clients include Domino, Sundance Channel and House & Garden.
Urban Alliance For Sustainability
UAS intends to always provide a platform for those solutions that are successfully manifesting the shared vision of a more sustainable world. By returning focus on the solutions, UAS hopes to activate the energy of those individuals and organizations that are feeling overwhelmed or helpless in this currently unsustainable world. UAS wants to engage with you and hear what is important to you!
Urth
Urth members are creating the next generation of conscious media: global citizen media. Urth.tv encourages the merging of conscious practices into digital storytelling creating a new ecology, a new economy and a new mythology - a new Earth.
We Can Solve It
The We Campaign is a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years. Our economy, national security, and climate can't afford to wait.
Webcor
We are committed to helping our clients produce buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthier places to live and work. As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, our teams include accredited professionals who leverage their expertise during preconstruction by working with the design team to help the owner evaluate the benefits of sustainable features while optimizing the value of each dollar spent.
Whole Life
We are creating a global, collaborative, click and Mortar platform with hundreds of conscious social networks, media channels, live broadcasting, e- commerce and philanthropy for people who value healthy and ecological lifestyles, personal and spiritual development, conscious commerce and global citizenship - a Wholelife!
Wikia Green
Green Wikia strives to become a trusted central place to share our growing and evolving body of knowledge about environmental topics and issues with people who want to inform themselves and live in a more sustainable way.
The Green Wikia community also believes that the threats to our environment are real and that they require action. However, the wiki also strives to foster a community where respectful debate and informed viewpoints can be heard.
Women's Earth Alliance
Women's Earth Alliance is a global organization that unites women working on the frontlines of environmental causes, through the coordination of resources, training, and technology - because when women thrive, communities thrive.
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to find practical ways to protect the earth and improve people's lives.
Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.
Because people are inspired by ideas, empowered by knowledge, and moved to change by greater understanding, WRI provides-and helps other institutions provide-objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development.

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Sustainablog 

Looking for Solar DIY Projects? Voltaic’s Got ‘em…
/>Want to put solar panels on the house? Start saving… solar power is a great investment, but it is an investment… often a hefty one. If you’d like to get started with something a little less ambitious (but more affordable), you’ll find a number of good sources out there for a whole range of solar DIY projects. Voltaic, best known for its solar backpack, has joined more well-known sites such as Gary Reysa’s Build It Solar and Mother Earth News with its own collection of do-it-yourself projects.
So far, the collection is small… but there are already some really cool projects available:

Read more of this story »
Looking for Green Business Ideas? Check Out Gil Friend’s “The Truth about Green Business”
/>Another book on green business? You may be tempted to wonder if we need another one. After all, there are already numerous classics on the subject (The Ecology of Commerce, Natural Capitalism, Mid-Course Correction), as well as more recent books that bring the subject of sustainable business into the 21st century (Green to Gold, Strategies for the Green Economy). What can Gil Friend, founder and CEO of consulting firm Natural Logic, add to the subject with his new book The Truth About Green Business? (Note: that paragraph’s brimming to the gills with affiliate links…)
The short answer, of course, is “a lot”: Gil’s spent nearly 40 years in the sustainable business field, so he’s able to address questions ranging from the general (”What’s the business case for green?”) to the very specific (”What elements should an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program include?) with deep knowledge of green business ideas, as well as plenty of real-life examples.
What makes the The Truth about Green Business really stand out, though, isn’t necessarily the quality of information, but the format of the book itself. Most of the other books mentioned above delve deeply into their topics, and require a sustained reading effort (both of which are good things, of course). Friend’s created something quite different: in the Introduction, he describes the book as “designed to help you tackle these grand ideas in simple, practical, profitable, bite-sized chunks” (specifically, 52 “truths”).

Read more of this story »
Green Talk Radio: Green Blogger Series David Anderson Co-Founder of Green Options Media
GreenTalk Radio show host Sean Daily speaks with David Anderson, co-founder of Green Options Media about the story behind Green Options and their post-Virgance acquisition future.
[Courtesy of our friends at GreenLivingIdeas.com]
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July 4: How are you celebrating Independence Day?
/>
Like millions of Americans, we're celebrating July 4th, Independence Day.
However, we're celebrating this national holiday by focusing on the many aspects of our life that, in various ways, have led us to quite a different vision for a sustainable tomorrow ? complete with local, renewable energy and lots of delicious meals harvested within ten miles of where we live ? if not from our own kitchen garden.  Sometimes we even celebrate July 4th with a rainbow.
Here's how our Independence Day is different — and yours can be too:
?  Be energy independent by generating all our power with renewable energy systems.
For a vast portion of the United States, there is enough solar and wind energy to completely meet our needs right where we live.  True, adopting renewable energy will require an investment either personally or for your business if you work from home.  But with present Federal tax credits and many state incentives, the time couldn't be better.  We completely power our Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast and Farm with solar electric and wind turbine systems.  In fact, we overproduce renewable energy to the tune of about 4,000 kWhs (kilowatt hours) a year.  We share the surplus with our neighbors.
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More Revelations about the Conflict Materials in your Cell Phone
/>Two weeks ago, we took a look at news from the Congo involving “conflict minerals”: armed groups have exploited the mining of materials such as tin, tungsten, gold, and tantalum, and the people who live near these resources, to fund their fighting. Since then, I’ve had a chance to communicate with David Sullivan, a research associate with the Enough Project, about the issues surrounding the situation in the Congo. David addresses the multiple atrocities — human and environmental — surrounding the trade of these materials, and the actions you can take to ensure electronics manufacturers are aware of these issues.
sustainablog: Oftentimes, situations like these arise from limited economic opportunities. What other means of making a living are available (or could become available) to people in the Eastern Congo? Are there options for these people that couldn’t be as readily exploited by armed groups in the area?
David Sullivan: Impoverished Congolese miners and their families are often entirely dependent on their meager income from mining, and they currently have few viable economic alternatives to lift them out of this indentured servitude. What could be the most promising alternative to mining is agriculture, but the threat of violence often forces Congolese farmers to abandon their fields to flee for safety.
Efforts to end the trade in conflict minerals absolutely must be accompanied by international support for livelihoods and economic opportunities in eastern Congo. Rebuilding roads is a key opportunity, so that other sectors can benefit from trade. Infrastructure projects with guaranteed labor at decent wages can help lure miners out of conflict mines and create opportunities for demobilized combatants. Larger firms can raise miners’ living standards if independently verifiable mechanisms are put in place to ensure that the corporations are not contributing to armed groups, and health, safety, and labor standards are observed at mining sites. International investment should be stepped up in agricultural development initiatives in eastern Congo, which mining has displaced in recent years.  Good models for agricultural investments in mining areas exist in Sierra Leone. Other livelihood initiatives, such as small business development projects, should also be promoted. All projects should be designed in close partnership with miners themselves, and should also be followed up with education initiatives for miners.

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Environmental Defense Fund: Climate Report - Life in a Very Different United States
Today’s post is by Lisa Moore, a climate scientist at EDF.
NOAA recently released a terrific scientific report that explains, in plain English, the current and projected effects of climate change on the U.S. The nonpartisan report, prepared by the 13-agency U.S. Global Change Research Program, tells a grim but important story, clearly and with lots of powerful maps and charts. I encourage you to check it out to see how climate change will affect your area of the country.
Here are some of the “business-as-usual” projections that my colleagues and I find most striking and disturbing:
You think August is hot now?
By the end of this century, we could be in for much more severe summers all across the country (see maps that follow).

If you live in New Hampshire, summer could feel like it does today in North Carolina (p.107).
If you live in Michigan, brace yourself for summers that feel like today’s summers in Oklahoma (p 117).
And if you live in Texas, you now experience 10 to 20 days a year over 100 °F. By the last two decades of this century, look for 100 such days - that’s more than three months (p. 90).
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Green Talk Radio: Increasing Water Efficiency with EPA WaterSense Program
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks to Stephanie Thornton of the EPA about their WaterSense program. Much like the EnergyStar program, WaterSense seeks to help Americans to save water and protect the environment by creating product efficiency standards that manufacturers must meet in order to receive the WaterSense certification label on their products.
[Courtesy of our friends at GreenLivingIdeas.com]
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The 10 Greenest Cities in the U.S.
/>

The Mother Nature Network has just published their list of the ten greenest cities in the United States.
There is as yet no official criteria set by the EPA for determining a city’s “greeness,” MNN considered key areas to measure the effectiveness of a municipality’s efforts at carbon footprint reduction, including air and water quality, efficient recylcling and management of waste, percentage of LEED certified buildings, acres of land devoted to green space, use of renewable energy, and easy access to green products and services.
And the MNN winners are:
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Greening Hollywood: Sony’s Sustainable Culture
/>

Sony Pictures Studios believes in creating a culture on their Culver City campus. For CEO Michael Lynton and Co-Chairman Amy Pascal this includes a culture of environmental responsibility and sustainable stewardship, according to Jon Corcoran, VP, Corporate Safety and Environmental Affairs and John Rego, Director, Environmental Sustainability for the movie studio.
During a recent tour of the facilities, they each pointed out that education and employee awareness were key to behavior changes when it comes to environmental stewardship. This philosophy is in keeping with the Japanese tradition of creating an employee culture, a loyalty that reaches beyond the standard employee-employer structure, and one that gives and takes both ways. [Pictured: John Rego, Sony Studios; Paige Donner, Greening Hollywood; and Jon Corcoran, Sony Studios; photo by Ann Burkart]
Case in point: On June 29th, as part of Sony Studios ?Links Green Series? they hosted a lunch time ?Residential Solar and Hybrid Car Program,? presentation. This is an incentive program, offered through the studio, that gives employees a check for up to $5000 when they either buy a hybrid electric vehicle or install solar voltaic panels on their residence. This incentive ?payback? is above and beyond the State and Federal tax incentives. Believe me, I asked. Don't everyone blast your resume off to Sony Pictures Entertainment now!
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Enterprise Fleet Management Wins American Business Award for Environmental Responsibility
/>Enterprise Fleet Management was recognized this week with the 2009 American Business Award (the “Stevie”) for Environmental Responsibility Program of the Year.
Owned by the Taylor family of St. Louis ? which also owns and operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car - Enterprise Fleet Management offers businesses with medium-sized fleets services to efficiently manage their vehicle fleet.
The award comes as no real surprise for this blogger, as Enterprise Rent-A-Car has come to our attention on several occasions for their work expanding their low emissions rental fleet, providing van pool services throughout various cities across the U.S., funding alternative fuel research, and acting generally as a good corporate citizen.

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Alternative Energy For Dummies

Alternative Energy For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))

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Alternative Energy For Dummies presents readers with a multifaceted examination of various forms of alternative energy, including solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, biofuel, and other sources. Each alternative scenario is compared to current fossil-fuel intensive practices in the scientific, environmental, social, political, and economic realms.

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Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies

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Hands-on, practical solutions to save money by making smart energy changes

One of the best and most affordable strategies people can employ to combat global warming is to improve the energy and water efficiency of their homes. Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies provides homeowners with advice, tips, and projects to reduce costs, increase energy efficiency, and cut down on waste and pollution. After performing a do-it-yourself home energy audit, readers create an action plan based on their personal goals. Readers are presented with a wide range of potential solutions, from making better use of blinds and awnings to exploring geothermal options in order to reduce household costs and their impact on the planet.

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Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies

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Want to build responsibly, reduce waste, and help preserve the environment? Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies is your friendly, step-by-step guide to every facet of this Earth-friendly method of construction. Building a home-even a green home-uses plenty of resources and energy. This practical, hands-on book shows you how to build or remodel conscientiously, whether your dream home is a simple remodel or a brand-new multimillion-dollar mansion.

You'll start by identifying green materials and sizing up potential systems and construction sites. You'll weigh the pros and cons of popular green building methods and identify opportunities for saving money in the long run. Need to find some green professionals to assist you in your venture? We'll help you do that, too.

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Green Business Practices For Dummies

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Green Business Practices For Dummies provides readers with the information they need to reduce the environmental impact of the business with out reducing their bottom line. The practical and expert advice and tips presented in this title benefits business owners at all levels, from large corporations to small, family-run stores.

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Green Cleaning For Dummies

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An authoritative guide to reducing household exposure to hazardous chemicals.

Thousands of household products contain toxic ingredients. Today, more and more people are seeking more natural cleaning methods to reduce their exposure to harsh chemicals. From the kitchen and bath to the living room and laundry, Green Cleaning For Dummies provides readers with green solutions to every common cleaning chore. Focusing on organic, nontoxic, sustainable alternatives to conventional cleaning products, it's packed with suggestions and tips for effective cleaning, and even offers green solutions for sprucing up patios, garages, vehicles, and the exterior of a house.

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Green IT For Dummies

Green IT For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

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Green IT For Dummies will provide an overview of what green technology is, what problems it can (and can't) solve, and how businesses or organizations might go about planning and implementing green technology solutions.

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Green Living For Dummies

Green Living For Dummies (For Dummies (Home & Garden))

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Want to do your part to reduce energy consumption, waste, and pollution; clean up the environment, and save the planet? Green Living For Dummies is packed with practical suggestions you can follow to make your lifestyle greener by doing as little damage as possible to the planet and the animal and plant life that depend on it.

This practical guide delivers an array of realistic practices and changes you can undertake to help the environment and create a better home for yourself and your loved ones. You'll discover easy and innovative ways to make a difference by reducing energy use and waste, scaling back reliance on your car, and even making minor adjustments to your diet. You'll also find how to live green at work and in your community, and you'll develop a deeper understanding of how these changes benefit both the environment and your own health and well-being!

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Green Your Home For Dummies

Green Your Home All in One For Dummies (For Dummies (Home & Garden))

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Green Your Home All-in-One For Dummies empowers readers to make ecologically-friendly improvements to each and every area of their home. At $29.99 and 696 pages, this package is a real value and a true source book for readers looking for a substantial breadth of information and solutions yet unwilling to invest in four, five, or six books on the wide range of content that they seek.

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Solar Power Your Home For Dummies

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Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you're looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power Your Home For Dummies takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you!

This friendly, hands-on guide is packed with tips for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power-and helping the planet at the same time. You'll see how to survey your home to determine your current household energy efficiency and use, and evaluate where solar power would best benefit you. You'll also calculate what the return on your investment will be before you make any decisions. Once you've decided on a project, you'll see whether it's best to hire a contractor or do it yourself. We leave no stone unturned.

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Sustainable Landscaping For Dummies

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Sustainable Landscaping For Dummies provides hands-on, how-to instruction for realizing the benefits of a sustainable landscape, from selecting sutainable hardscape materials to installing a rain-water catchment system to choosing native plants.

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Alternative Energy 

Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuelsOn site renewable energy options. Typically, official uses of the term, such as qualification for governmental incentives, exclude fossil fuels and nuclear energy Note: Nuclear does not appear as a resource in any states on the DOE EERE site. whose undesired consequences are high carbon dioxide emissions, the major contributing factor of global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and difficulties of radioactive waste disposal. Over the years, the nature of what was regarded alternative energy sources has changed considerably, and today because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates, defining some energy types as "alternative" is highly controversial.

The term "alternative" presupposes a set of undesirable energy technologies against which "alternative energies" are opposed. As such, the list of energy technologies excluded is an indicator of what problems that the alternative technologies are intended to address. Controversies regarding dominant forms of energy and their alternatives have a long history.

Alternative Fuels 

Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels. Conventional fuels include: fossil fuels (petroleum (oil), coal, propane, and natural gas), and nuclear materials such as uranium.

Some well known alternative fuels include biodiesel, bioalcohol (methanol, ethanol, butanol), chemically stored electricity (batteries and fuel cells), hydrogen, non-fossil methane, non-fossil natural gas, vegetable oil and other biomass sources.

 

Compressed Air Cars 

A compressed air car is an alternative fuel car that uses a motor powered by compressed air. The car can be powered solely by air, or combined (as in a hybrid electric vehicle) with gasoline/diesel/ethanol or electric plant and regenerative braking.

Earth Sheltered Homes 

Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external thermal mass, to reduce heat loss, and to easily maintain a steady indoor air temperature. Earth sheltering is popular in modern times among advocates of passive solar and sustainable architecture, but has been around for nearly as long as humans have been constructing their own shelter.

EarthCraft Homes 

EarthCraft House is a green building program created in 1999 as a partnership between the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface Energy Institute that teaches builders the latest methods of resource and energy-efficient construction. [http://www.havenproperties.com/earthcraft/]

Because of the requirements for air sealing the home, EarthCraft homes are more energy efficient than conventional homes. EarthCraft House is also partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Home program. Such homes are 30 percent more efficient than the benchmark 1993 Model Energy Code. [http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/rh_0405_earthcraft.html]

The ECH program requires each house to be inspected and tested beforehand so that many problems involving the building envelope, or heating and cooling systems can be identified and fixed before the homeowner moves in. Homebuilders hope that the increased energy efficiency and durability of an EarthCraft House will offset a higher price tag.

Earthship Homes 

Visit the Earthships Squidoo Lens for more in depth information.

 

An Earthship is a type of passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. Designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture of Taos, NM, the homes are primarily constructed to work autonomously and are generally made of earth-filled tires, utilising thermal mass construction to naturally regulate indoor temperature. They also usually have their own special natural ventilation system. Earthships are generally Off-the-grid homes,minimizing their reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels.

Earthships are built to utilize the available local resources, especially energy from the sun. For example, windows on the sunny side admit light and heat, and the buildings are often horseshoe-shaped to maximize natural light and solar-gain during winter months. Likewise, the thick, dense outer walls provide effective insulation against summer heat.

Internal, non-load-bearing walls are often made of a honeycomb of recycled cans joined by concrete and are referred to as tin can walls. These walls are usually thickly plastered with stucco.

The roof of an Earthship is heavily insulated - often with earth or adobe - for added energy efficiency.

Electric Cars 

Category: File - :GM EV.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The General Motors EV1, a hallmark electric car, had a range of with NiMH batteries in 1999.

An electric car is an alternative fuel car that uses electric motors and motor controllers instead of an internal combustion engine (ICE). Currently, in most cases, electrical power is derived from battery packs carried on board the vehicle. Other energy storage methods that may come into use in the future include the use of ultracapacitors, or storage of energy in a spinning flywheel.

The term electric vehicle is often used, implying, in context, an electric road vehicle, though in its broader sense it covers all vehicles with electrical propulsion including trains and trams.

Vehicles that make use of both electric motors and other types of engine are known as hybrid electric vehicles and are not considered pure electric vehicles (EVs) because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally from an external source are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and become pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) during their charge-depleting mode. Other types of electric vehicles besides cars include light trucks and neighborhood electric vehicles.

Global Warming 

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F)during the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century. The IPCC also concludes that natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes produced most of the warming from pre-industrial times to 1950 and had a small cooling effect afterward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 45 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that the global surface temperature will probably rise a further during the twenty-first century. The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to the year 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts. The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the Amazon rainforest and Boreal forests, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields.

Political and public debate continues regarding what actions (if any) to take in response to global warming. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Building 

Category: Image - :Kansas stc.jpg|thumb|right|US EPA Kansas City Science & Technology Center.

This facility features the following green attributes:

*LEED 2.0 Gold certified *Green Power *Native Landscaping

A sustainable building, or green building is an outcome of a design which focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use ? energy, water, and materials ? while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building's lifecycle, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal.Frej, Anne B., editor. Green Office Buildings: A Practical Guide to Development. Washington, D.C.: ULI--The Urban Land Institute, 2005. Pp 4?8

Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

*Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources

*Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity

*Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradationBasic Information | Green Building |US EPA

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally.Hopkins, R. 2002. A Natural Way of Building. Transition Culture. Retrieved: 2007-03-30. Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.

The related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are integral to green building. Effective green building can lead to 1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2) improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3) reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment, although the appearance and style of sustainable buildings is not necessarily distinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.

Green Energy 

Green energy is the term used to describe sources of energy that are considered to be environmentally friendly and non-polluting, such as geothermal, wind, solar, and hydro. TransACT "Buzz terms in the eco sphere" (The Hindu Business Line)Winductry.orgThe Energy Institute Sometimes nuclear power is also considered a green energy source. Going Nuclear: A Green Makes the Case, The Washington Post, April 16, 2006France closes its last coal mine, BBC, April 23, 2004France: Vive Les Nukes, "60 Minutes," CBS, April 8, 2007Hot idea: Fight warming with nuclear power, MSNBC, July 7, 2005Environmentalists For Nuclear Energy Green energy sources are often considered "green" because they are perceived to lower carbon emissions and create less pollution.

Green energy is commonly thought of in the context of electricity, mechanical power, heating and cogeneration. Consumers, businesses, and organizations may purchase green energy in order to support further development, help reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity generation, and increase their nation's energy independence. Renewable energy certificates (green certificates or green tags) have been one way for consumers and businesses to support green energy!

Green Party 

A Green party or ecologist party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of Green politics. These principles include environmentalism, reliance on grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and support for social justice causes, including those related to the rights of indigenous peoples, among others. "Greens" believe that the exercise of these principles leads to the health of people, societies, and ecosystems.

Green Politics 

Green politics is a political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals, and on achieving these goals through broad-based, grassroots, participatory democracy. Green politics is advocated by supporters of the Green movement, which has been active through Green parties in many nations since the early 1980s. The political term Green, a translation of the German Grün, was coined by die Grünen, the first successful Green party, formed in the late 1970s. The term political ecology is sometimes used in Europe and in academic circles.

Supporters of Green politics, called Greens, share many ideas with the ecology, conservation, environmental, feminist, and peace movements. In addition to democracy and ecological issues, green politics is concerned with civil liberties, social justice and nonviolence.

Organic Foods 

Organic foods are made according to certain production standards. The use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is greatly restricted and avoided as a last resort. However, contrary to popular belief, certain non-organic fertilizers are still used. If livestock are involved, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet. In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified.

Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as "organic" within their borders. Most certifications allow some chemicals and pesticides to be used, so consumers should be aware of the standards for qualifying as "organic" in their respective locales.

Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run farms ? which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. However, since the early 1990s organic food production has had growth rates of around 20% a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in both developed and developing nations. As of April 2008, organic food accounts for 1-2% of food sales worldwide.

Rammed Earth Homes 

Rammed earth, also known as pisé de terre or simply pisé, is a type of construction material. It is an ancient building method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more sustainable building materials and natural building methods. Traditionally, rammed earth buildings are common in arid regions where wood is in scarce supply.

Recycling 

Recycling involves processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production. Recycling is a key component of modern waste management and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy.

Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste - such as food or garden waste - is not typically considered recycling. Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing.

In a strict sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material, for example used office paper to more office paper, or used foamed polystyrene to more polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so "recycling" of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (e.g., cardboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or gold from computer components), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and reuse of mercury from various items).

Critics dispute the net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs, and suggest that proponents of recycling often make matters worse and suffer from confirmation bias. Specifically, critics argue that the costs and energy used in collection and transportation detract from (and outweigh) the costs and energy saved in the production process; also that the jobs produced by the recycling industry can be a poor trade for the jobs lost in logging, mining, and other industries associated with virgin production; and that materials such as paper pulp can only be recycled a few times before material degradation prevents further recycling. Proponents of recycling dispute each of these claims, and the validity of arguments from both sides has led to enduring controversy.

Renewable Energy 

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat—which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, such as wood-burning. Hydroelectricity was the next largest renewable source, providing 3% of global energy consumption and 15% of global electricity generation. Global Status Report 2007 (PDF).

Wind power is growing at the rate of 30 percent annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 121,000 megawatts (MW) in 2008,REN21 (2009). Renewables Global Status Report: 2009 Update p. 9. and is widely used in European countries and the United States. Global wind energy markets continue to boom ? 2006 another record year (PDF). The annual manufacturing output of the photovoltaics industry reached 6,900 MW in 2008,REN21 (2009). Renewables Global Status Report: 2009 Update p. 15. and photovoltaic (PV) power stations are popular in Germany and Spain.[http://www.pvresources.com/en/top50pv.php World's largest photovoltaic power plants] Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 MW SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert.Solar Trough Power Plants (PDF). The world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18 percent of the country's automotive fuel.America and Brazil Intersect on Ethanol Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.

While most renewable energy projects and production is large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development.World Energy Assessment (2001). Renewable energy technologies, p. 221. Kenya has the world's highest household solar ownership rate with roughly 30,000 small (20?100 watt) solar power systems sold per year.What Solar Power Needs Now Renewable Energy Access, 13 August 2007.

Some renewable energy technologies are criticised for being intermittent or unsightly, yet the renewable energy market continues to grow. Climate change concerns coupled with high oil prices, peak oil and increasing government support are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. United Nations Environment Programme Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007: Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in OECD and Developing Countries (PDF), p. 3.

New government spending, regulation, and policies should help the industry weather the 2009 economic crisis better than many other sectors.Clean Edge (2009). Clean Energy Trends 2009 pp. 1-4.

Solar Power 

Solar power is by far the Earth's most available energy source, easily capable of providing many times the total current energy demand. The largest solar power plants, like the 354 MW SEGS, are concentrating solar thermal plants, but recently multi-megawatt photovoltaic plants have been built. Completed in 2008, the 46 MW Moura photovoltaic power station in Portugal and the 40 MW Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany are characteristic of the trend toward larger photovoltaic power stations. Much larger ones are proposed, such as the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm, and the 600 MW Rancho Cielo Solar Farm. Covering 4% of the world's desert area with photovoltaics could supply all of the world's electricity. The Gobi Desert alone could supply almost all of the world's total energy demand.A Study of Very Large Solar Desert Systems pg. 8 retrieved 25 April 2009

Solar power is a predictably intermittent energy source, meaning that whilst solar power is not available at all times, we can predict with a very good degree of accuracy when it will and wont be available. Some technologies, such as solar thermal concentrators with an element of thermal storage, have the potential to eliminate the intermittency of solar power, by storing spare solar power in the form of heat; and using this heat overnight or during periods that solar power is not available to produce electricity. This technology has the potential to make solar power "dispatchable", as the heat source can be used to generate electricity at will. Solar power installations are normally supplemented by storage or another energy source, for example with wind power and hydropower.

Sustainable Energy 

Sustainable energy is the provision of energy such that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A broader interpretation may allow inclusion of fossil fuels and nuclear fission as transitional sources while technology develops, as long as new sources are developed for future generations to use. A narrower interpretation includes only energy sources which are not expected to be depleted in a time frame relevant to the human race.

Sustainable energy sources are most often regarded as including all renewable sources, such as biofuels, solar power, wind power, wave power, geothermal power and tidal power. It usually also includes technologies that improve energy efficiency. Conventional fission power is sometimes referred to as sustainable, but this is controversial politically due to concerns about peak uranium, waste disposal and the risks of disaster due to accident, terrorism, or natural disaster.

Wind Power 

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 gigawatts (GW).

Wind power produces about 1.5% of worldwide electricity use,Wind Power Increase in 2008 Exceeds 10-year Average Growth Rate and is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 19% of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 11% in Spain and Portugal, and 7% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland in 2008. As of May 2009, eighty countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.

Large-scale wind farms are typically connected to the local electric power transmission network; smaller turbines are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy as a power source is attractive as an alternative to fossil fuels, because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions; however, the construction of wind farms (as with other forms of power generation) is not universally welcomed due to their visual impact and other effects on the environment.

Wind power is non-dispatchable, meaning that for economic operation all of the available output must be taken when it is available, and other resources, such as hydropower, and standard load management techniques must be used to match supply with demand. The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand. Where wind is to be used for a moderate fraction of demand, additional costs for compensation of intermittency are considered to be modest.

Studies of a pan european power grid, show that wind can be used to meet eg 70% of load, over a wide area of interconnected grids, and then the costs of electricity delivered into the consuming country are comparable to present day power costs. http://www.claverton-energy.com/talk-by-dr-gregor-czisch-at-the-5th-claverton-energy-conference-house-of-commons-june-19th-2009.html

Zero Waste 

Zero waste is a philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource-use systems in such a way that waste is reduced to zero. Put simply, zero waste extends current approaches to recycling by introducing the concept of circular systems in which as much waste as possible is reused, similar to the way that resources are reused in nature.

[Guestbook] 

Mike_Long wrote...

Great lens - a credit to you.

For more information on alternative energy sources please visit Top Alternative Energy Sources.

ReplyPosted June 05, 2009

Mike_Long wrote...

Great lens - a credit to you.

For more information on alternative energy sources please visit http://www.top-alternative-energy-sources.com

ReplyPosted June 05, 2009

JoDeeVale wrote...

What an inspiring lens! I have added you as a featured link on the following lenses.

http://www.squidoo.com/BuildAnEarthship
http://www.squidoo.com/LiveEarthship

Thank you for the obvious time and effort you took to put this together!giga

ReplyPosted May 27, 2009

Rayzorblades wrote...

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ReplyPosted April 29, 2009

Super_Natural wrote...

Great lens! This is an incredible collection of resources and information. When you have a chance, I'd love for you to visit my green living lens.

ReplyPosted March 29, 2009

jipock wrote...

Great Lens! 5*****

ReplyPosted March 27, 2009

Goodenergygirl wrote...

A lot of information here

ReplyPosted March 19, 2009

starsam wrote...

Your lens would be a great addition to the 'Solar Technology and Solar Energy' Group
( http://www.squidoo.com/groups/solar )
Feel free to add it anytime!

ReplyPosted February 16, 2009

Silver_Lotus wrote...

Well done!!!!

ReplyPosted January 30, 2009

sabredog wrote...

great lens!

ReplyPosted January 25, 2009

 
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