A sustainable holiday season is definitely in reach, and it starts with all the merchandise. Do you really need to buy all that stuff just because it’s on sale? Well, maybe. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have an eco-friendly Christmas come Dec. 25. So what would a sustainable holiday look like? This article looks at your tree, the presents, the food and the decorations. For example, this year, try using LED lights instead of incandescents. Not only do they use less electricity, they’ll save you money too. Also, be sure to put your lights on a timer so you’re not wasting electricity during the daytime or when no one is awake to enjoy your display. Whatever you do, try not to stress over having a perfectly sustainable holiday. The holidays are a great time to savor time with family and make memories that last a lifetime. If you’re too busy trying to focus on all things green, you might miss it. If you can pick one way to go green this year, consider yourself a sustainable success. [Read this article]
4 Ways To Create A Sustainable Holiday
Date: 12/03/2012 | Source: Mother Nature Network 
America’s Water Crisis – And How We Can Fix It
Date: 12/03/2012 | Source: GreenBiz.com
More than three in four Americans are concerned about the state of U.S. water infrastructure, and 61 percent are willing to pay more to fix it, according to a nationwide poll of more than 1,000 American voters. The 2012 Xylem Value of Water Index assessed what Americans think should be done about the country’s water crisis and who should pay for it. It found that most Americans hold all levels of government responsible for investing in fixing and maintaining our water infrastructure. However, few Americans are aware of the factors impacting water costs, recognize their water footprint, or understand the extent to which water infrastructure problems would impact them personally. For instance, most people believe they use 50 gallons or less daily – when it is really closer to 100 gallons. [Read this article]
From Coffee Cups To Climate Change, Do Local Efforts Really Matter?
Date: 12/03/2012 | Source: The Atlantic Cities
It happened just before Thanksgiving: the town of Brookline voted to ban the use of Styrofoam for takeout food containers and beverages. The local TV news was all over it. Most with steaming cups of coffee in hand scoffed – here goes the famously progressive community, trying to regulate our lives. Government, hands off our coffee cups! What could be next? Plastic grocery bags? Actually, yes. That topic is already being considered for another town meeting in the near future – though these days, forbidding disposable non-compostable sacks is hardly original. Many a supermarket shopper clambers out of a Prius with canvas tote bags already. In the absence of a statewide ban, it’s more the act of local government, self-contained, following its own path. [Read this article]
10 Techniques For Making Cities More Walkable
Date: 12/03/2012 | Source: The Atlantic Cities
In Jeff Speck’s excellent new book, The Walkable City, he suggests that there are ten keys to creating walkability. Most of them also have something to do with redressing the deleterious effects caused by our allowing cars to dominate urban spaces for decades. It’s a good menu to get city leaders and thinkers started in making their communities more hospitable to walkers. The book’s opening chapter is devoted to the rapidly increasing demand for walkable places and to an indictment of our car-oriented cities, which “have effectively become no-walking zones.” A “public realm that is unsafe, uncomfortable, and just plain boring” will not work for creative young people, he says, because they value a pedestrian culture that, among other things, creates opportunities for chance encounters that turn into friendships. The entry of the millennial generation into the housing market at the same time that baby boomers are retiring is dramatically strengthening the market for walkable places. Here are the author’s ten steps of walkability. [Read this article]
This Could Be The Key To Making Downtowns Greener
Date: 12/03/2012 | Source: The Atlantic Cities
A project installed at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments is called the “Biodiversity Green Wall, Edible Green Screen & Water Harvesting Demonstration Project.” Nancy Rottle of the University’s landscape architecture faculty and associated Green Futures Lab, which designed the project, says it is intended “as a billboard for new sustainable practices, and to discover to what extent green walls and screens can help promote biodiversity, produce food and reduce energy use. By harvesting water to irrigate the green wall, the project will reduce potable consumption and may lessen stormwater impacts.” The signature feature of the biodiversity wall comprises two large screens mounted on aluminum frames fixed to the wall of their building. The two green walls, each 10-by-10 feet, will together hold more than 500 plants, including 23 species, 70 percent native to the Pacific Northwest. [Read this article]
Americans Blame Utilities, Inefficient Homes For Rising Energy Bills
Date: 11/14/2012 | Source: Renew Grid
Although residential electricity consumption is increasing, a national survey finds Americans blame their utility or their inefficient home for their rising energy bills rather than putting the blame on themselves for using more power. The survey, conducted by Shelton Group, polled 1,003 U.S. consumers. It found that Americans are more likely to blame an inefficient home – 25% think their homes are inefficient – or utilities (18%), and not their own demand for energy (12%). In addition, the study discovered many of those who have changed habits or made energy efficient improvements say their utility bills have remained the same or gone up. The national poll found 80% of Americans think they are using the same or less amount of energy than in the past. However, the company says that government statistics show residential electricity consumption has actually increased. [Read this article]
Loading ...