http://community.ecoseed.org/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=29468&mediaType=blog&sortType=recent All new blogs on EcoSeed Community Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:25:15 GMT Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:25:15 GMT arnel.reyes@ecoseed.org (areyes) arnel.reyes@ecoseed.org (areyes) KickApps Feed Builder 2010-09-07T07:25:15Z 3025 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=29468&sortType=recent 0 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Hassle-Moving-Tips-Enjoy-Your-Move/BLOG/2628245/29468.html Moving home with entire household from one place to another is not a fun chore. It is the procedure of hustle & bustle. It is a very difficult, tiresome, problematic and challenging task. It is difficult & challenging enough to make your extremely tired and stressful. During the process of home shifting you have to do lots of works. All works associated with move (such as packing, transportation, loading, unloading, unpacking, etc) are difficult enough to make your stressful and tired. But you can make your home shifting easier and simpler in very hassle-free manner. The solution is making move in organized and planned way. If you do so you will have truly a happy relocation experience. And you will enjoy your move also. There are many things to consider in order to make the moving procedure goes smoothly and relatively stress-free. At least one month before start getting planned for your move. Consider what things you will carry and what things you will not. Make an inventory of such items. Make a garage sale for items you will not carry or you will not use in future. This will help you earn some money cutting costs of your move. Get moving estimates from various reputable packers and movers (removal companies) of your area. Compare their estimates and cost proposals. Also evaluate their services. Choose one that caters your needs and budget perfectly. Do not be in hassle in selection of mover. Be careful in the selection of a right moving company. Take your time to ensure that you hire the best moving company with best moving estimate. One another important aspect of moving is packing of goods. Consider for professional packing or pack things yourself if you can properly. Self-packing would be money saving experience. But you should pack things properly. Ask your mover for some helpful packing tips. Before you pack things, keep plenty of packing supplies handy. Pack goods using good quality packing materials such as strong boxes, sturdy cartons, whapping sheets, heavy duty packaging tapes, bubble wraps, padding materials, etc. Pack things you can properly. Leave those items you cannot pack and let movers to pack such things. Avoid packing of highly fragile items yourself. Such items should be packed by professionals only. After packing, label packed boxes properly according to room by room basis and also mention about contents inside the boxes. Once goods are delivered to your new home, unpack boxes carefully and rearrange them properly. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hassle-moving-tips-enjoy-your-move.html yadav john is an Internet Marketing Professional. Currently he is working with a Packers Movers Moradabad – one of most reputable and professional Movers and Packers Moradabad based companies. Moving home with entire household from one place to another is not a fun chore. It is the procedure of hustle & bustle. It is a very difficult, tiresome, problematic and challenging task. It is difficult & challenging enough to make your extremely tired and stressful. During the process of home shifting you have to do lots of works. All works associated with move (such as packing, transportation, loading, unloading, unpacking, etc) are difficult enough to make your stressful and tired. But you can make your home shifting easier and simpler in very hassle-free manner. The solution is making move in organized and planned way. If you do so you will have truly a happy relocation experience. And you will enjoy your move also. There are many things to consider in order to make the moving procedure goes smoothly and relatively stress-free. At least one month before start getting planned for your move. Consider what things you will carry and what things you will not. Make an inventory of such items. Make a garage sale for items you will not carry or you will not use in future. This will help you earn some money cutting costs of your move. Get moving estimates from various reputable packers and movers (removal companies) of your area. Compare their estimates and cost proposals. Also evaluate their services. Choose one that caters your needs and budget perfectly. Do not be in hassle in selection of mover. Be careful in the selection of a right moving company. Take your time to ensure that you hire the best moving company with best moving estimate. One another important aspect of moving is packing of goods. Consider for professional packing or pack things yourself if you can properly. Self-packing would be money saving experience. But you should pack things properly. Ask your mover for some helpful packing tips. Before you pack things, keep plenty of packing supplies handy. Pack goods using good quality packing materials such as strong boxes, sturdy cartons, whapping sheets, heavy duty packaging tapes, bubble wraps, padding materials, etc. Pack things you can properly. Leave those items you cannot pack and let movers to pack such things. Avoid packing of highly fragile items yourself. Such items should be packed by professionals only. After packing, label packed boxes properly according to room by room basis and also mention about contents inside the boxes. Once goods are delivered to your new home, unpack boxes carefully and rearrange them properly. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hassle-moving-tips-enjoy-your-move.html yadav john is an Internet Marketing Professional. Currently he is working with a Packers Movers Moradabad – one of most reputable and professional Movers and Packers Moradabad based companies. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:25:15 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Hassle-Moving-Tips-Enjoy-Your-Move/BLOG/2628245/29468.html yadavjohn 2010-09-07T07:25:15Z EcoSeed Community Moving home with entire household from one place to another is not a fun chore. It is the procedure of hustle & bustle. It is a very difficult, tiresome, problematic and challenging task. It is difficult & challenging enough to make your extremely tired and stressful. During the process of home shifting you have to do lots of works. All works associated with move (such as packing, transportation, loading, unloading, unpacking, etc) are difficult enough to make your stressful and tired. But you can make your home shifting easier and simpler in very hassle-free manner. The solution is making move in organized and planned way. If you do so you will have truly a happy relocation experience. And you will enjoy your move also. There are many things to consider in order to make the moving procedure goes smoothly and relatively stress-free. At least one month before start getting planned for your move. Consider what things you will carry and what things you will not. Make an inventory of such items. Make a garage sale for items you will not carry or you will not use in future. This will help you earn some money cutting costs of your move. Get moving estimates from various reputable packers and movers (removal companies) of your area. Compare their estimates and cost proposals. Also evaluate their services. Choose one that caters your needs and budget perfectly. Do not be in hassle in selection of mover. Be careful in the selection of a right moving company. Take your time to ensure that you hire the best moving company with best moving estimate. One another important aspect of moving is packing of goods. Consider for professional packing or pack things yourself if you can properly. Self-packing would be money saving experience. But you should pack things properly. Ask your mover for some helpful packing tips. Before you pack things, keep plenty of packing supplies handy. Pack goods using good quality packing materials such as strong boxes, sturdy cartons, whapping sheets, heavy duty packaging tapes, bubble wraps, padding materials, etc. Pack things you can properly. Leave those items you cannot pack and let movers to pack such things. Avoid packing of highly fragile items yourself. Such items should be packed by professionals only. After packing, label packed boxes properly according to room by room basis and also mention about contents inside the boxes. Once goods are delivered to your new home, unpack boxes carefully and rearrange them properly. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hassle-moving-tips-enjoy-your-move.html yadav john is an Internet Marketing Professional. Currently he is working with a Packers Movers Moradabad – one of most reputable and professional Movers and Packers Moradabad based companies. moradabad, movers, packers nonadult false Hassle Moving Tips – Enjoy Your Move text blog moradabad,movers,packers 2 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19113491&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_C.jpg false India Delhi Delhi 110092 0 0 2628245 19113491 Silver 1275 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Easy-Moving-Tips-Follow-and-Make-Your-Move-Easier/BLOG/2628240/29468.html Moving home with entire household goods puts a lot on one’s plate. Even so, the procedure of home shifting does not have to be an awful experience. With proper planning, one can make move easier and simpler. Here are some important tips and suggestions to keep in mind that can make your move more comfortable and less problematic. Though moving companies provide full move service, however many people prefer for self-packing of goods and belongings. Consider about your need. Do you need full move service or you will prefer to pack your goods yourself. Hire a professional mover well in advance according to your needs and budget. Inform your all relatives and friends about your change of address well one month in advance. Inform post office, utilities, and anyone you do business with, about your change of address. If you have decided for self-packing, start packing at least two weeks in advance. Start with things you do not use on the daily basis or items you will not need until you arrive at your new home. Pack one room at a time or in a day. Before you start packing things, make sure that you have plenty of packing & moving supplies. You will need things like boxes, cartons, tape, marking pen, labeling stickers, box-cutters, old-newspapers, wrapping sheets, cushioning or padding materials, etc. Save your newspapers a few weeks before you move. Make sure you use packing materials of fine quality. Do not compromise with the quality of packing supplies. Use strong and sturdy boxes or cartons. Work smarter not harder. Keep utmost care while you pack fragile items. If you are unable or hesitant to pack fragile items, do not try to pack them. Leave them and let them professionals to pack for you. Before you pack items you should wrap them using enough layers of good quality wrapping sheets. Label boxes or cartons if you packed and seal them properly. Label boxes on the room by room basis. Also mention contents inside the boxes while labeling boxes. Keep your valuables like jewellery, currency, etc and personal documents like certificates, land papers, etc in a safe place at all times throughout your move. Do not put such items on moving or transportation vehicles. Clean you new house before you shift all your things and belongings in, if it is possible. Unpack things properly. And rearrange them properly. Your movers can also help you unpack and rearrange goods. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/easy-moving-tips-follow-and-make-your-move-easier.html yadav john is an Internet Marketing Professional. Currently he is working with Packers and Movers Gurgaon based company. Gurgaon Packers Movers specializes in household shifting, and industrial & commercial goods shifting services for short and long distance move. Moving home with entire household goods puts a lot on one’s plate. Even so, the procedure of home shifting does not have to be an awful experience. With proper planning, one can make move easier and simpler. Here are some important tips and suggestions to keep in mind that can make your move more comfortable and less problematic. Though moving companies provide full move service, however many people prefer for self-packing of goods and belongings. Consider about your need. Do you need full move service or you will prefer to pack your goods yourself. Hire a professional mover well in advance according to your needs and budget. Inform your all relatives and friends about your change of address well one month in advance. Inform post office, utilities, and anyone you do business with, about your change of address. If you have decided for self-packing, start packing at least two weeks in advance. Start with things you do not use on the daily basis or items you will not need until you arrive at your new home. Pack one room at a time or in a day. Before you start packing things, make sure that you have plenty of packing & moving supplies. You will need things like boxes, cartons, tape, marking pen, labeling stickers, box-cutters, old-newspapers, wrapping sheets, cushioning or padding materials, etc. Save your newspapers a few weeks before you move. Make sure you use packing materials of fine quality. Do not compromise with the quality of packing supplies. Use strong and sturdy boxes or cartons. Work smarter not harder. Keep utmost care while you pack fragile items. If you are unable or hesitant to pack fragile items, do not try to pack them. Leave them and let them professionals to pack for you. Before you pack items you should wrap them using enough layers of good quality wrapping sheets. Label boxes or cartons if you packed and seal them properly. Label boxes on the room by room basis. Also mention contents inside the boxes while labeling boxes. Keep your valuables like jewellery, currency, etc and personal documents like certificates, land papers, etc in a safe place at all times throughout your move. Do not put such items on moving or transportation vehicles. Clean you new house before you shift all your things and belongings in, if it is possible. Unpack things properly. And rearrange them properly. Your movers can also help you unpack and rearrange goods. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/easy-moving-tips-follow-and-make-your-move-easier.html yadav john is an Internet Marketing Professional. Currently he is working with Packers and Movers Gurgaon based company. Gurgaon Packers Movers specializes in household shifting, and industrial & commercial goods shifting services for short and long distance move. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:23:20 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Easy-Moving-Tips-Follow-and-Make-Your-Move-Easier/BLOG/2628240/29468.html yadavjohn 2010-09-07T07:23:20Z EcoSeed Community Moving home with entire household goods puts a lot on one’s plate. Even so, the procedure of home shifting does not have to be an awful experience. With proper planning, one can make move easier and simpler. Here are some important tips and suggestions to keep in mind that can make your move more comfortable and less problematic. Though moving companies provide full move service, however many people prefer for self-packing of goods and belongings. Consider about your need. Do you need full move service or you will prefer to pack your goods yourself. Hire a professional mover well in advance according to your needs and budget. Inform your all relatives and friends about your change of address well one month in advance. Inform post office, utilities, and anyone you do business with, about your change of address. If you have decided for self-packing, start packing at least two weeks in advance. Start with things you do not use on the daily basis or items you will not need until you arrive at your new home. Pack one room at a time or in a day. Before you start packing things, make sure that you have plenty of packing & moving supplies. You will need things like boxes, cartons, tape, marking pen, labeling stickers, box-cutters, old-newspapers, wrapping sheets, cushioning or padding materials, etc. Save your newspapers a few weeks before you move. Make sure you use packing materials of fine quality. Do not compromise with the quality of packing supplies. Use strong and sturdy boxes or cartons. Work smarter not harder. Keep utmost care while you pack fragile items. If you are unable or hesitant to pack fragile items, do not try to pack them. Leave them and let them professionals to pack for you. Before you pack items you should wrap them using enough layers of good quality wrapping sheets. Label boxes or cartons if you packed and seal them properly. Label boxes on the room by room basis. Also mention contents inside the boxes while labeling boxes. Keep your valuables like jewellery, currency, etc and personal documents like certificates, land papers, etc in a safe place at all times throughout your move. Do not put such items on moving or transportation vehicles. Clean you new house before you shift all your things and belongings in, if it is possible. Unpack things properly. And rearrange them properly. Your movers can also help you unpack and rearrange goods. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/easy-moving-tips-follow-and-make-your-move-easier.html yadav john is an Internet Marketing Professional. Currently he is working with Packers and Movers Gurgaon based company. Gurgaon Packers Movers specializes in household shifting, and industrial & commercial goods shifting services for short and long distance move. and, gurgaon, movers, packers nonadult false Easy Moving Tips – Follow and Make Your Move Easier text blog and,gurgaon,movers,packers 1 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19113491&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_D.jpg false India Delhi Delhi 110092 0 0 2628240 19113491 Silver 1275 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Shopping-Organic-as-Part-of-a-Bigger-Picture/BLOG/2627995/29468.html [image]A recent article on AOL discussed whether buying organic was really worthwhile. It also spoke of a back lash against organic as stories come out about companies being labeled organic that really are not, and also doubts if organic means healthier. I see shopping organic as an important aspect of living sustainably for what it provides on many levels, not just the likelihood that I am getting more nutrients in my food. Buying organic is an important choice in speaking out about what real, clean food is and how commercial agriculture, and the food coming from it, is creating more and more problems relating to health and the environment. In my opinion we should be calling for stricter labeling so that when we see organic or non-GMO we can rest assured that this is what we are really getting. When you shop locally at farmers markets you can ask your farmer what they use on their crops. Often family farms don’t use chemicals because they do not want to expose themselves, their family and their community to the toxic chemicals involved in conventional farming, and they are committed to providing the public chemical free produce. Often produce at a farmers market may not be labeled organic because of the red tape and added expense for certification but if you ask you may find that the produce is not sprayed, or rarely sprayed compared to conventional produce. Getting to know who is growing the food that you put in your body gives you the opportunity to make choices for your health, and the health of the environment. The debate should not be just about whether the food has a higher nutritional value, but what is in it as a result of chemical use. Just one example is the chemical herbicide atrazine, which is commonly used on corn and other crops. This herbicide has been banned in Switzerland, the home country of its maker Syngenta, and was banned in the EU in 2004 because of its persistent groundwater contamination. Both Germany and Italy banned its use in 1990 and their crops have not suffered, one of Syngenta’s arguments for its continued use. Here is a link to a report published by the Land Stewardship Projectabout Syngenta and atrazine if you would like to learn more, Section 4 -The Impact of Syngenta’s Atrazine on our Health and Environment, What the Syngenta Corporation Doesn’t Want You to Know about Atrazine may shock you. I recently was in Hawaii and driving by fields of corn on Kauai I saw that Syngenta’s presence was quite strong. I was so upset to learn about what was being grown on the island paradise. But back to the issue of chemicals. Over 76 million pounds of atrazine is used annually in the US and it is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in US ground water and also rainwater. Many scientists continue to warn about the health and environmental hazards of atrazine. This herbicide is a known “endocrine disruptor” which means that it changes the hormone activity in both humans and animals, and it has been linked to cancers, birth defects and low sperm levels in men (in fact in male frogs the herbicide actually turns testosterone into estrogen literally castrating them), yet it is allowed to be used in the US. You can read more about it here. Atrazine is only one of many herbicides commonly used, not to mention pesticides and fungicides also allowed in commercial agriculture. By choosing organic you not only don’t put these harmful chemicals in your body, but you also support farmers who don’t use them and support a cleaner environment and water supply. Another good reason to shop organic is to avoid genetically modified food. Since there is no requirement to label products that contain GMO’s, which I believe there should be, the only way to be sure that you are not eating them is to shop organic or products labeled non-GMO. The non-GMO Project is a great resource to learn more. There is a lot of controversy around food that has been genetically modified but one of the most popular reasons for modifying seeds is to produce a plant that is resistant to the application of chemicals used to kill pests whether they are insects or weeds, so what often happens is even more chemicals are used on GMO’s since they have been modified to withstand the onslaught of chemicals and of course these chemicals wind up in your mouth and in the environment. What is now happening is the chemical companies producing the herbicides and pesticides are creating the seeds that are used to grow our food. Plus many of these same companies also have connections to pharmaceutical companies, so once you get sick from the food they are producing they have the medicine to supposedly make you better…sort of a scary scenario in my opinion, especially since clean, natural food helps to keep us healthy in the first place. Herbicide resistant plants account for 80% of GE crops now being grown and the second most common crops that have been engineered produce their own pesticide. I don’t know about you but there is something creepy about eating something that has been genetically changed to produce a pesticide…that means that what I am eating has made its own pesticide. If this is all a bit alarming to you you will find a non-GMO shopping guide here. Buying organic or looking for a non-GMO label on the food that you buy is your best protection. Another good reason to shop organic is to support businesses that have made a commitment to either growing or producing organic products or using only organic in their prepared food. I recently have met a number of owners and employees from such companies and they really are committed to bringing us the best sustainably produced food available. Today there are so many types of companies from Strauss Dairy, Third Street Chai and Pacific Natural Foods that are creating truly sustainable businesses beyond just giving us organic products. I will be writing more about each of these companies in the future to share with you their stories about how they have created businesses that are part of a bigger picture of sustainability and prove that it is possible to create and maintain a profitable business that really cares. Supporting such companies sends a loud message to big-agriculture and the mega-food corporations that we don’t want food that has been tampered with, that harms eco-systems and our health. So if you hear or read that organic really isn’t any better than conventionally produced food remember there is more at issue here than just the vitamin and mineral content of food. The footprint that each bite we take (and I have not even mentioned the huge amount of petrochemicals used in conventional agriculture) leaves behind is also crucial to a sustainable future as well as our health. Keep the bigger picture in mind and you will know that shopping organic is beneficial for you, your family and the planet. Source: http://smartlifeways.com/shopping-organic-as-part-of-a-bigger-picture/   [image]A recent article on AOL discussed whether buying organic was really worthwhile. It also spoke of a back lash against organic as stories come out about companies being labeled organic that really are not, and also doubts if organic means healthier. I see shopping organic as an important aspect of living sustainably for what it provides on many levels, not just the likelihood that I am getting more nutrients in my food. Buying organic is an important choice in speaking out about what real, clean food is and how commercial agriculture, and the food coming from it, is creating more and more problems relating to health and the environment. In my opinion we should be calling for stricter labeling so that when we see organic or non-GMO we can rest assured that this is what we are really getting. When you shop locally at farmers markets you can ask your farmer what they use on their crops. Often family farms don’t use chemicals because they do not want to expose themselves, their family and their community to the toxic chemicals involved in conventional farming, and they are committed to providing the public chemical free produce. Often produce at a farmers market may not be labeled organic because of the red tape and added expense for certification but if you ask you may find that the produce is not sprayed, or rarely sprayed compared to conventional produce. Getting to know who is growing the food that you put in your body gives you the opportunity to make choices for your health, and the health of the environment. The debate should not be just about whether the food has a higher nutritional value, but what is in it as a result of chemical use. Just one example is the chemical herbicide atrazine, which is commonly used on corn and other crops. This herbicide has been banned in Switzerland, the home country of its maker Syngenta, and was banned in the EU in 2004 because of its persistent groundwater contamination. Both Germany and Italy banned its use in 1990 and their crops have not suffered, one of Syngenta’s arguments for its continued use. Here is a link to a report published by the Land Stewardship Projectabout Syngenta and atrazine if you would like to learn more, Section 4 -The Impact of Syngenta’s Atrazine on our Health and Environment, What the Syngenta Corporation Doesn’t Want You to Know about Atrazine may shock you. I recently was in Hawaii and driving by fields of corn on Kauai I saw that Syngenta’s presence was quite strong. I was so upset to learn about what was being grown on the island paradise. But back to the issue of chemicals. Over 76 million pounds of atrazine is used annually in the US and it is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in US ground water and also rainwater. Many scientists continue to warn about the health and environmental hazards of atrazine. This herbicide is a known “endocrine disruptor” which means that it changes the hormone activity in both humans and animals, and it has been linked to cancers, birth defects and low sperm levels in men (in fact in male frogs the herbicide actually turns testosterone into estrogen literally castrating them), yet it is allowed to be used in the US. You can read more about it here. Atrazine is only one of many herbicides commonly used, not to mention pesticides and fungicides also allowed in commercial agriculture. By choosing organic you not only don’t put these harmful chemicals in your body, but you also support farmers who don’t use them and support a cleaner environment and water supply. Another good reason to shop organic is to avoid genetically modified food. Since there is no requirement to label products that contain GMO’s, which I believe there should be, the only way to be sure that you are not eating them is to shop organic or products labeled non-GMO. The non-GMO Project is a great resource to learn more. There is a lot of controversy around food that has been genetically modified but one of the most popular reasons for modifying seeds is to produce a plant that is resistant to the application of chemicals used to kill pests whether they are insects or weeds, so what often happens is even more chemicals are used on GMO’s since they have been modified to withstand the onslaught of chemicals and of course these chemicals wind up in your mouth and in the environment. What is now happening is the chemical companies producing the herbicides and pesticides are creating the seeds that are used to grow our food. Plus many of these same companies also have connections to pharmaceutical companies, so once you get sick from the food they are producing they have the medicine to supposedly make you better…sort of a scary scenario in my opinion, especially since clean, natural food helps to keep us healthy in the first place. Herbicide resistant plants account for 80% of GE crops now being grown and the second most common crops that have been engineered produce their own pesticide. I don’t know about you but there is something creepy about eating something that has been genetically changed to produce a pesticide…that means that what I am eating has made its own pesticide. If this is all a bit alarming to you you will find a non-GMO shopping guide here. Buying organic or looking for a non-GMO label on the food that you buy is your best protection. Another good reason to shop organic is to support businesses that have made a commitment to either growing or producing organic products or using only organic in their prepared food. I recently have met a number of owners and employees from such companies and they really are committed to bringing us the best sustainably produced food available. Today there are so many types of companies from Strauss Dairy, Third Street Chai and Pacific Natural Foods that are creating truly sustainable businesses beyond just giving us organic products. I will be writing more about each of these companies in the future to share with you their stories about how they have created businesses that are part of a bigger picture of sustainability and prove that it is possible to create and maintain a profitable business that really cares. Supporting such companies sends a loud message to big-agriculture and the mega-food corporations that we don’t want food that has been tampered with, that harms eco-systems and our health. So if you hear or read that organic really isn’t any better than conventionally produced food remember there is more at issue here than just the vitamin and mineral content of food. The footprint that each bite we take (and I have not even mentioned the huge amount of petrochemicals used in conventional agriculture) leaves behind is also crucial to a sustainable future as well as our health. Keep the bigger picture in mind and you will know that shopping organic is beneficial for you, your family and the planet. Source: http://smartlifeways.com/shopping-organic-as-part-of-a-bigger-picture/   Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:00:25 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Shopping-Organic-as-Part-of-a-Bigger-Picture/BLOG/2627995/29468.html SmartLifeways 2010-09-07T06:00:25Z EcoSeed Community [image]A recent article on AOL discussed whether buying organic was really worthwhile. It also spoke of a back lash against organic as stories come out about companies being labeled organic that really are not, and also doubts if organic means healthier. I see shopping organic as an important aspect of living sustainably for what it provides on many levels, not just the likelihood that I am getting more nutrients in my food. Buying organic is an important choice in speaking out about what real, clean food is and how commercial agriculture, and the food coming from it, is creating more and more problems relating to health and the environment. In my opinion we should be calling for stricter labeling so that when we see organic or non-GMO we can rest assured that this is what we are really getting. When you shop locally at farmers markets you can ask your farmer what they use on their crops. Often family farms don’t use chemicals because they do not want to expose themselves, their family and their community to the toxic chemicals involved in conventional farming, and they are committed to providing the public chemical free produce. Often produce at a farmers market may not be labeled organic because of the red tape and added expense for certification but if you ask you may find that the produce is not sprayed, or rarely sprayed compared to conventional produce. Getting to know who is growing the food that you put in your body gives you the opportunity to make choices for your health, and the health of the environment. The debate should not be just about whether the food has a higher nutritional value, but what is in it as a result of chemical use. Just one example is the chemical herbicide atrazine, which is commonly used on corn and other crops. This herbicide has been banned in Switzerland, the home country of its maker Syngenta, and was banned in the EU in 2004 because of its persistent groundwater contamination. Both Germany and Italy banned its use in 1990 and their crops have not suffered, one of Syngenta’s arguments for its continued use. Here is a link to a report published by the Land Stewardship Projectabout Syngenta and atrazine if you would like to learn more, Section 4 -The Impact of Syngenta’s Atrazine on our Health and Environment, What the Syngenta Corporation Doesn’t Want You to Know about Atrazine may shock you. I recently was in Hawaii and driving by fields of corn on Kauai I saw that Syngenta’s presence was quite strong. I was so upset to learn about what was being grown on the island paradise. But back to the issue of chemicals. Over 76 million pounds of atrazine is used annually in the US and it is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in US ground water and also rainwater. Many scientists continue to warn about the health and environmental hazards of atrazine. This herbicide is a known “endocrine disruptor” which means that it changes the hormone activity in both humans and animals, and it has been linked to cancers, birth defects and low sperm levels in men (in fact in male frogs the herbicide actually turns testosterone into estrogen literally castrating them), yet it is allowed to be used in the US. You can read more about it here. Atrazine is only one of many herbicides commonly used, not to mention pesticides and fungicides also allowed in commercial agriculture. By choosing organic you not only don’t put these harmful chemicals in your body, but you also support farmers who don’t use them and support a cleaner environment and water supply. Another good reason to shop organic is to avoid genetically modified food. Since there is no requirement to label products that contain GMO’s, which I believe there should be, the only way to be sure that you are not eating them is to shop organic or products labeled non-GMO. The non-GMO Project is a great resource to learn more. There is a lot of controversy around food that has been genetically modified but one of the most popular reasons for modifying seeds is to produce a plant that is resistant to the application of chemicals used to kill pests whether they are insects or weeds, so what often happens is even more chemicals are used on GMO’s since they have been modified to withstand the onslaught of chemicals and of course these chemicals wind up in your mouth and in the environment. What is now happening is the chemical companies producing the herbicides and pesticides are creating the seeds that are used to grow our food. Plus many of these same companies also have connections to pharmaceutical companies, so once you get sick from the food they are producing they have the medicine to supposedly make you better…sort of a scary scenario in my opinion, especially since clean, natural food helps to keep us healthy in the first place. Herbicide resistant plants account for 80% of GE crops now being grown and the second most common crops that have been engineered produce their own pesticide. I don’t know about you but there is something creepy about eating something that has been genetically changed to produce a pesticide…that means that what I am eating has made its own pesticide. If this is all a bit alarming to you you will find a non-GMO shopping guide here. Buying organic or looking for a non-GMO label on the food that you buy is your best protection. Another good reason to shop organic is to support businesses that have made a commitment to either growing or producing organic products or using only organic in their prepared food. I recently have met a number of owners and employees from such companies and they really are committed to bringing us the best sustainably produced food available. Today there are so many types of companies from Strauss Dairy, Third Street Chai and Pacific Natural Foods that are creating truly sustainable businesses beyond just giving us organic products. I will be writing more about each of these companies in the future to share with you their stories about how they have created businesses that are part of a bigger picture of sustainability and prove that it is possible to create and maintain a profitable business that really cares. Supporting such companies sends a loud message to big-agriculture and the mega-food corporations that we don’t want food that has been tampered with, that harms eco-systems and our health. So if you hear or read that organic really isn’t any better than conventionally produced food remember there is more at issue here than just the vitamin and mineral content of food. The footprint that each bite we take (and I have not even mentioned the huge amount of petrochemicals used in conventional agriculture) leaves behind is also crucial to a sustainable future as well as our health. Keep the bigger picture in mind and you will know that shopping organic is beneficial for you, your family and the planet. Source: http://smartlifeways.com/shopping-organic-as-part-of-a-bigger-picture/   chemicals, farmers-markets, farms, gmo, health, organic, sustainable nonadult false Shopping Organic as Part of a Bigger Picture text blog chemicals,farmers-markets,farms,gmo,health,organic,sustainable 1 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=25558380&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_C.jpg false United States NM Santa Fe/Los Angeles 87501 0 0 2627995 25558380 Member 360 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Are-We-Finally-Taking-More-Steps-for-Clean-Energy/BLOG/2627992/29468.html By michelle victoriaPublished: April 30, 2010Posted in: Changing Habits, Sustainable EnergyTags: alternative energy, clean energy, getting greener, health, wind-power [image]It was reported this week that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is approving the first offshore wind farm in America, the Cape Wind Project off the coast from Cape Cod. America is far behind both Europe and China in utilizing the energy potential from offshore wind plants and hopefully we are now getting on board this clean source of energy. Opponents argue that such wind farms can harm fish and birds, but are these opponents considering the constant threat to wildlife from offshore oil rigs? Right now in the Gulf of Mexico an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil are leaking daily after the explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon that left 11 people missing and presumed dead. The oil slick has a circumference of about 600 miles and covers about 28,600 sq miles. As of Wednesday the slick was about 20 miles off the coast of Louisiana. If we want to talk about harming fish and birds this is really devastating and the long term effects will be significant even once it stops leaking. Now there is talk about setting it on fire to stop it from spreading, which will do additional harm to the environment, although it could wind up saving birds since the oil will burn up. It is time to take a realistic look at the constant danger that offshore oil rigs pose, realize that wind farms offer a much better alternative, and utilize the wind as an inexhaustible resource. In the world of energy development everything has a downside but some of the alternatives are so much less harmful than what we have been using for decades and it is time for a change. Interior Secretary Salazar said the project would create 1,000 construction jobs and produce the energy equivalent to that of a medium-sized coal-fired power plant. He said it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 175,000 cars. These are only some of the facts that make a wind farm a much more attractive alternative to coal and oil. One of the stumbling blocks I believe to more offshore wind development is the “not in my backyard” mentality that often plagues America. Much of the mining and refining of coal, and even the coal plants, are in less economically advantaged parts of the country and the people living in these areas have been subjected to the pollution created from the use of coal in providing much of America’s electricity. Unfortunately this scenario exists in many fields, the poor are paying the costs with their health, their environment, their traditional way of life and often their lives to give the rest of the country so-called cheap energy. But this is not cheap energy, it comes with a huge price tag for local residents and the clean up of polluted areas comes from tax dollars, not the profits of the companies-so in the end we all pay. Usually coastal areas are occupied by the more affluent who have been able to use their influence to stop this and other projects from being considered. Even the late Senator Kennedy opposed the Cape WInd project…the view from his home would have overlooked the project, could this have been the real reason for his opposition? It is time to recognize that we need to really move into the 21st century and take advantage of all of the great technology that already exists to provide for our needs in a more sustainable way. Let’s support clean energy and the movement away from fossil fuels, this is something that effects all of us. Let your representatives and the President know that you support offshore wind projects, solar and other green, alternative energy projects rather than increasing offshore oil production as recently proposed. source: http://smartlifeways.com/are-we-finally-taking-more-steps-for-clean-energy/   By michelle victoriaPublished: April 30, 2010Posted in: Changing Habits, Sustainable EnergyTags: alternative energy, clean energy, getting greener, health, wind-power [image]It was reported this week that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is approving the first offshore wind farm in America, the Cape Wind Project off the coast from Cape Cod. America is far behind both Europe and China in utilizing the energy potential from offshore wind plants and hopefully we are now getting on board this clean source of energy. Opponents argue that such wind farms can harm fish and birds, but are these opponents considering the constant threat to wildlife from offshore oil rigs? Right now in the Gulf of Mexico an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil are leaking daily after the explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon that left 11 people missing and presumed dead. The oil slick has a circumference of about 600 miles and covers about 28,600 sq miles. As of Wednesday the slick was about 20 miles off the coast of Louisiana. If we want to talk about harming fish and birds this is really devastating and the long term effects will be significant even once it stops leaking. Now there is talk about setting it on fire to stop it from spreading, which will do additional harm to the environment, although it could wind up saving birds since the oil will burn up. It is time to take a realistic look at the constant danger that offshore oil rigs pose, realize that wind farms offer a much better alternative, and utilize the wind as an inexhaustible resource. In the world of energy development everything has a downside but some of the alternatives are so much less harmful than what we have been using for decades and it is time for a change. Interior Secretary Salazar said the project would create 1,000 construction jobs and produce the energy equivalent to that of a medium-sized coal-fired power plant. He said it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 175,000 cars. These are only some of the facts that make a wind farm a much more attractive alternative to coal and oil. One of the stumbling blocks I believe to more offshore wind development is the “not in my backyard” mentality that often plagues America. Much of the mining and refining of coal, and even the coal plants, are in less economically advantaged parts of the country and the people living in these areas have been subjected to the pollution created from the use of coal in providing much of America’s electricity. Unfortunately this scenario exists in many fields, the poor are paying the costs with their health, their environment, their traditional way of life and often their lives to give the rest of the country so-called cheap energy. But this is not cheap energy, it comes with a huge price tag for local residents and the clean up of polluted areas comes from tax dollars, not the profits of the companies-so in the end we all pay. Usually coastal areas are occupied by the more affluent who have been able to use their influence to stop this and other projects from being considered. Even the late Senator Kennedy opposed the Cape WInd project…the view from his home would have overlooked the project, could this have been the real reason for his opposition? It is time to recognize that we need to really move into the 21st century and take advantage of all of the great technology that already exists to provide for our needs in a more sustainable way. Let’s support clean energy and the movement away from fossil fuels, this is something that effects all of us. Let your representatives and the President know that you support offshore wind projects, solar and other green, alternative energy projects rather than increasing offshore oil production as recently proposed. source: http://smartlifeways.com/are-we-finally-taking-more-steps-for-clean-energy/   Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:51:11 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Are-We-Finally-Taking-More-Steps-for-Clean-Energy/BLOG/2627992/29468.html SmartLifeways 2010-09-07T05:51:11Z EcoSeed Community By michelle victoriaPublished: April 30, 2010Posted in: Changing Habits, Sustainable EnergyTags: alternative energy, clean energy, getting greener, health, wind-power [image]It was reported this week that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is approving the first offshore wind farm in America, the Cape Wind Project off the coast from Cape Cod. America is far behind both Europe and China in utilizing the energy potential from offshore wind plants and hopefully we are now getting on board this clean source of energy. Opponents argue that such wind farms can harm fish and birds, but are these opponents considering the constant threat to wildlife from offshore oil rigs? Right now in the Gulf of Mexico an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil are leaking daily after the explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon that left 11 people missing and presumed dead. The oil slick has a circumference of about 600 miles and covers about 28,600 sq miles. As of Wednesday the slick was about 20 miles off the coast of Louisiana. If we want to talk about harming fish and birds this is really devastating and the long term effects will be significant even once it stops leaking. Now there is talk about setting it on fire to stop it from spreading, which will do additional harm to the environment, although it could wind up saving birds since the oil will burn up. It is time to take a realistic look at the constant danger that offshore oil rigs pose, realize that wind farms offer a much better alternative, and utilize the wind as an inexhaustible resource. In the world of energy development everything has a downside but some of the alternatives are so much less harmful than what we have been using for decades and it is time for a change. Interior Secretary Salazar said the project would create 1,000 construction jobs and produce the energy equivalent to that of a medium-sized coal-fired power plant. He said it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 175,000 cars. These are only some of the facts that make a wind farm a much more attractive alternative to coal and oil. One of the stumbling blocks I believe to more offshore wind development is the “not in my backyard” mentality that often plagues America. Much of the mining and refining of coal, and even the coal plants, are in less economically advantaged parts of the country and the people living in these areas have been subjected to the pollution created from the use of coal in providing much of America’s electricity. Unfortunately this scenario exists in many fields, the poor are paying the costs with their health, their environment, their traditional way of life and often their lives to give the rest of the country so-called cheap energy. But this is not cheap energy, it comes with a huge price tag for local residents and the clean up of polluted areas comes from tax dollars, not the profits of the companies-so in the end we all pay. Usually coastal areas are occupied by the more affluent who have been able to use their influence to stop this and other projects from being considered. Even the late Senator Kennedy opposed the Cape WInd project…the view from his home would have overlooked the project, could this have been the real reason for his opposition? It is time to recognize that we need to really move into the 21st century and take advantage of all of the great technology that already exists to provide for our needs in a more sustainable way. Let’s support clean energy and the movement away from fossil fuels, this is something that effects all of us. Let your representatives and the President know that you support offshore wind projects, solar and other green, alternative energy projects rather than increasing offshore oil production as recently proposed. source: http://smartlifeways.com/are-we-finally-taking-more-steps-for-clean-energy/   alternative-energy, clean-energy, climate, health, wind-power nonadult false Are We Finally Taking More Steps for Clean Energy? text blog alternative-energy,clean-energy,climate,health,wind-power 2 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=25558380&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_E.jpg false United States NM Santa Fe/Los Angeles 87501 0 0 2627992 25558380 Member 360 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Ride-Your-Bike-to-Support-Climate-and-Energy-Solutions/BLOG/2627990/29468.html [image]I have been seeing so many people on bikes in Los Angeles, ok, mainly down by the beach in Venice, Santa Monica and Marina del Rey but in other parts of town too. I am thrilled whenever I can take a bike to shop or go wherever I am headed, and here in LA I find it pretty easy and even more convenient at times. It sure saves on parking time. I just read about Climate Ride, which is a fund raising bike ride to support climate and energy solutions. There will be two rides, one in Northern California this September and then one in June from New York to Washington DC. Both sound like they will be beautiful rides. Each evening riders will be able to hear speakers so it will be a climate and energy conference on wheels, a fundraiser and an opportunity to show many communities, and hopefully beyond, the importance of looking for and utilizing new energy solutions that do not harm the environment, people and animals. The web site has lots of good information, including how to train for the ride. So if you ride or if this could motivate you to ride, check it out. I am tempted to bring SmartLifeways back east in June for the ride-maybe I will see you there.   source: http://smartlifeways.com/ride-your-bike-to-support-climate-and-energy-solutions/   [image]I have been seeing so many people on bikes in Los Angeles, ok, mainly down by the beach in Venice, Santa Monica and Marina del Rey but in other parts of town too. I am thrilled whenever I can take a bike to shop or go wherever I am headed, and here in LA I find it pretty easy and even more convenient at times. It sure saves on parking time. I just read about Climate Ride, which is a fund raising bike ride to support climate and energy solutions. There will be two rides, one in Northern California this September and then one in June from New York to Washington DC. Both sound like they will be beautiful rides. Each evening riders will be able to hear speakers so it will be a climate and energy conference on wheels, a fundraiser and an opportunity to show many communities, and hopefully beyond, the importance of looking for and utilizing new energy solutions that do not harm the environment, people and animals. The web site has lots of good information, including how to train for the ride. So if you ride or if this could motivate you to ride, check it out. I am tempted to bring SmartLifeways back east in June for the ride-maybe I will see you there.   source: http://smartlifeways.com/ride-your-bike-to-support-climate-and-energy-solutions/   Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:45:42 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Ride-Your-Bike-to-Support-Climate-and-Energy-Solutions/BLOG/2627990/29468.html SmartLifeways 2010-09-07T05:45:42Z EcoSeed Community [image]I have been seeing so many people on bikes in Los Angeles, ok, mainly down by the beach in Venice, Santa Monica and Marina del Rey but in other parts of town too. I am thrilled whenever I can take a bike to shop or go wherever I am headed, and here in LA I find it pretty easy and even more convenient at times. It sure saves on parking time. I just read about Climate Ride, which is a fund raising bike ride to support climate and energy solutions. There will be two rides, one in Northern California this September and then one in June from New York to Washington DC. Both sound like they will be beautiful rides. Each evening riders will be able to hear speakers so it will be a climate and energy conference on wheels, a fundraiser and an opportunity to show many communities, and hopefully beyond, the importance of looking for and utilizing new energy solutions that do not harm the environment, people and animals. The web site has lots of good information, including how to train for the ride. So if you ride or if this could motivate you to ride, check it out. I am tempted to bring SmartLifeways back east in June for the ride-maybe I will see you there.   source: http://smartlifeways.com/ride-your-bike-to-support-climate-and-energy-solutions/   alternative-energy, bike, clean-energy, climate, green-conference nonadult false Ride Your Bike to Support Climate and Energy Solutions. text blog alternative-energy,bike,clean-energy,climate,green-conference 1 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=25558380&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_E.jpg false United States NM Santa Fe/Los Angeles 87501 0 0 2627990 25558380 Member 360 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Farmers-Market-Inspired-Eggplant-Zucchini-and-Potato/BLOG/2627988/29468.html   [image]Once again necessity sparked my creativity and luckily something delicious came out of it. I was getting ready to head back to Santa Fe and wanted to finish off what I had in the fridge….all bought at Saturday’s Playa Vista farmers market (This was my first time there and I really liked it. It’s small but you can get everything that you need from fish toChocovivo’s amazing chocolates, and of course beautiful produce) so there was no way it was going to wind up in the compost pile. Since it is eggplant season, here’s another idea to share with you This is what I used quantity wise and there was plenty for two for a big main course (with some leftovers) or as a side dish for 4-6. This could be served as a warm or cold salad, or as something on the side. 1/2 of a good size classic purple eggplant. You could certainly use any kind and many farmers markets have a great variety right now so you could try some different varieties. Japanese or Chinese varieties will cook quicker. [image] I cut the eggplant into cubes, but it could also be sliced. 1 zucchini roughly sliced 2 cooked (boiled) potatoes. I used two amazing red fingerlings from Weiser Family  Farms. They are so delicious-consider yourself fortunate if you are in the L.A. area and can get them. You can use your favorite variety of fingerlings or Yukons or just about any kind. I had boiled a few to have them ready to use for who knows what so they were ready to go. I just chopped them roughly. Small piece of leek-maybe two inches long (remember this was what was left in the fridge). You could use leek, shallot or any kind of onion. Fresh cilantro and fresh mint Dried spices: Whole Foods Pondicherry Curry Powder (not sure why but I really like this one), fennel seeds, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon Shredded coconut-optional Saute onion in olive oil for a few minutes, add eggplant. On top of the eggplant I used the following seasonings: Salt Whole Foods Pondicherry Curry Powder- i used enough to lightly cover the eggplant Fennel seeds Tumeric Cayenne-beware and use to your flavor and heat bearing abilities Cinnamon Allow eggplant to cook for 10-15 minutes. toss often with tongs over medium heat. You may need to add a bit more oil. [image] Time to add the zucchini when the eggplant is almost ready Once the eggplant is almost completely cooked add zucchini and toss every few minutes till the zucchini is almost cooked. Add the potato, the chopped herbs and coconut. Cover and allow to just sit on top of other vegies for a few minutes to warm and then toss well. This is also a great filling for making wraps, or putting inside of a pita and could be served warm or cold. It’s also tasty with a yogurt sauce made from plain yogurt, chopped cucumbers, salt, dill, and chopped garlic. You could also use other types of squash. Be creative when you are out shopping and maybe try something that you usually don’t buy. Every fruit and vegetable provides different nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals that we need to enjoy good health. And we get more of those essential elements when they are pesticide free & organic and really fresh like you find at a farmers market.   source: http://smartlifeways.com/eggplant-zucchini-and-potato/     [image]Once again necessity sparked my creativity and luckily something delicious came out of it. I was getting ready to head back to Santa Fe and wanted to finish off what I had in the fridge….all bought at Saturday’s Playa Vista farmers market (This was my first time there and I really liked it. It’s small but you can get everything that you need from fish toChocovivo’s amazing chocolates, and of course beautiful produce) so there was no way it was going to wind up in the compost pile. Since it is eggplant season, here’s another idea to share with you This is what I used quantity wise and there was plenty for two for a big main course (with some leftovers) or as a side dish for 4-6. This could be served as a warm or cold salad, or as something on the side. 1/2 of a good size classic purple eggplant. You could certainly use any kind and many farmers markets have a great variety right now so you could try some different varieties. Japanese or Chinese varieties will cook quicker. [image] I cut the eggplant into cubes, but it could also be sliced. 1 zucchini roughly sliced 2 cooked (boiled) potatoes. I used two amazing red fingerlings from Weiser Family  Farms. They are so delicious-consider yourself fortunate if you are in the L.A. area and can get them. You can use your favorite variety of fingerlings or Yukons or just about any kind. I had boiled a few to have them ready to use for who knows what so they were ready to go. I just chopped them roughly. Small piece of leek-maybe two inches long (remember this was what was left in the fridge). You could use leek, shallot or any kind of onion. Fresh cilantro and fresh mint Dried spices: Whole Foods Pondicherry Curry Powder (not sure why but I really like this one), fennel seeds, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon Shredded coconut-optional Saute onion in olive oil for a few minutes, add eggplant. On top of the eggplant I used the following seasonings: Salt Whole Foods Pondicherry Curry Powder- i used enough to lightly cover the eggplant Fennel seeds Tumeric Cayenne-beware and use to your flavor and heat bearing abilities Cinnamon Allow eggplant to cook for 10-15 minutes. toss often with tongs over medium heat. You may need to add a bit more oil. [image] Time to add the zucchini when the eggplant is almost ready Once the eggplant is almost completely cooked add zucchini and toss every few minutes till the zucchini is almost cooked. Add the potato, the chopped herbs and coconut. Cover and allow to just sit on top of other vegies for a few minutes to warm and then toss well. This is also a great filling for making wraps, or putting inside of a pita and could be served warm or cold. It’s also tasty with a yogurt sauce made from plain yogurt, chopped cucumbers, salt, dill, and chopped garlic. You could also use other types of squash. Be creative when you are out shopping and maybe try something that you usually don’t buy. Every fruit and vegetable provides different nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals that we need to enjoy good health. And we get more of those essential elements when they are pesticide free & organic and really fresh like you find at a farmers market.   source: http://smartlifeways.com/eggplant-zucchini-and-potato/   Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:36:19 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Farmers-Market-Inspired-Eggplant-Zucchini-and-Potato/BLOG/2627988/29468.html SmartLifeways 2010-09-07T05:36:19Z EcoSeed Community   [image]Once again necessity sparked my creativity and luckily something delicious came out of it. I was getting ready to head back to Santa Fe and wanted to finish off what I had in the fridge….all bought at Saturday’s Playa Vista farmers market (This was my first time there and I really liked it. It’s small but you can get everything that you need from fish toChocovivo’s amazing chocolates, and of course beautiful produce) so there was no way it was going to wind up in the compost pile. Since it is eggplant season, here’s another idea to share with you This is what I used quantity wise and there was plenty for two for a big main course (with some leftovers) or as a side dish for 4-6. This could be served as a warm or cold salad, or as something on the side. 1/2 of a good size classic purple eggplant. You could certainly use any kind and many farmers markets have a great variety right now so you could try some different varieties. Japanese or Chinese varieties will cook quicker. [image] I cut the eggplant into cubes, but it could also be sliced. 1 zucchini roughly sliced 2 cooked (boiled) potatoes. I used two amazing red fingerlings from Weiser Family  Farms. They are so delicious-consider yourself fortunate if you are in the L.A. area and can get them. You can use your favorite variety of fingerlings or Yukons or just about any kind. I had boiled a few to have them ready to use for who knows what so they were ready to go. I just chopped them roughly. Small piece of leek-maybe two inches long (remember this was what was left in the fridge). You could use leek, shallot or any kind of onion. Fresh cilantro and fresh mint Dried spices: Whole Foods Pondicherry Curry Powder (not sure why but I really like this one), fennel seeds, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon Shredded coconut-optional Saute onion in olive oil for a few minutes, add eggplant. On top of the eggplant I used the following seasonings: Salt Whole Foods Pondicherry Curry Powder- i used enough to lightly cover the eggplant Fennel seeds Tumeric Cayenne-beware and use to your flavor and heat bearing abilities Cinnamon Allow eggplant to cook for 10-15 minutes. toss often with tongs over medium heat. You may need to add a bit more oil. [image] Time to add the zucchini when the eggplant is almost ready Once the eggplant is almost completely cooked add zucchini and toss every few minutes till the zucchini is almost cooked. Add the potato, the chopped herbs and coconut. Cover and allow to just sit on top of other vegies for a few minutes to warm and then toss well. This is also a great filling for making wraps, or putting inside of a pita and could be served warm or cold. It’s also tasty with a yogurt sauce made from plain yogurt, chopped cucumbers, salt, dill, and chopped garlic. You could also use other types of squash. Be creative when you are out shopping and maybe try something that you usually don’t buy. Every fruit and vegetable provides different nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals that we need to enjoy good health. And we get more of those essential elements when they are pesticide free & organic and really fresh like you find at a farmers market.   source: http://smartlifeways.com/eggplant-zucchini-and-potato/   cooking, farmers, heath, market, recipe nonadult false Farmers Market Inspired Eggplant, Zucchini and Potato text blog cooking,farmers,heath,market,recipe 1 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=25558380&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_C.jpg false United States NM santa fe/los angeles 87501 0 0 2627988 25558380 Member 360 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Vancouver-digital-entertainment-firms-set-aim-with-Shanghai-trade-mission/BLOG/2627191/29468.html     [image] VANCOUVER - A handful of Vancouver-based film and video game company executives are in southern China this week with other Vancouver firms involved in green technology at the five-day Vancouver Green Capital Business Mission, which begins Wednesday. A total of 22 Vancouver companies and organizations will meet with close to 100 Chinese businesses and institutions in Shanghai, with the aim to foster business deals between the two countries. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will also attend. Film and digital entertainment companies Atomic Cartoons, Rainmaker Entertainment, Image Engine Design and Disney Interactive will attend, as will BC Film. Fraser Milner Casgrain, a law firm that works with Vancouver’s entertainment firms, is also on the trip. They will meet with at least 37 Chinese companies and organizations with a digital media focus, including China Film Group, Shanghai Media Group, Dragon TV, and Hengdian World Studios. These companies will participate in the digital media industries sector of the trade forum. Other sectors involve environmental technology, renewable energies and green building products. Some will also attend Shanghai Expo 2010. “We’re looking to send service there, but also to partner with Chinese companies doing animation there,” said Trevor Bentley, president and partner of Vancouver animation studio Atomic Cartoons, who has lined up meetings with five Chinese companies. “We’re seeing some fantastic properties and animation coming out of China,” Bentley said. “It’s a matter of doing our due diligence and making some connections. If we’re going to send projects there or ask someone to invest in our projects or partner with us on something, we have to meet face-to-face.” Warren Franklin, CEO of Rainmaker Entertainment, hopes to build on momentum his company created by making a short animation for the Canadian Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, as well as a film shown at the B.C.-Canada Pavilion during the 2010 Winter Olympics here. “We’re hoping to leverage that [pavilion] work for some new projects and business. The opportunities in China are enormous, and there’s a lot of potential for co-productions between Canadian and Chinese companies in the animation and digital media area,” stated Franklin. “The growth of the Chinese theatrical film market is also a factor. The number of screens being built every year is quite high, and we see this will be an important theatrical market for our content.” Rainmaker has had discussions with Chinese interests about the Vancouver company’s work and, Franklin said, “I think our business is expanding into that market in terms of theatrical opportunities that are starting to present themselves for feature films.” Image Engine executive producer Shawn Walsh, who travels to Shanghai with his company’s CFO Greg Herbert, has a half-dozen meetings with Chinese companies this week, including China Film Group. “We do about 80 to 85 per cent of our visual effects work for feature films, so China Film Group is one of the companies we need to know more about,” said Walsh. “They have a governmental aspect, which is different from the way film production companies work in North America. They are interested in doing co-productions. Currently the budgets for those co-productions are quite meagre, but that will change over time as the market grows.” Robert Wong, of BC Film, will not participate in the business meetings, but will give a talk outlining the incentives and the working environment in the B.C. digital media industry. Robertson will be in China a total of 11 days, visiting Beijing and Hubei province, Vancouver’s sister city of Guangzhou, and Tianjin, where he will speak at the World Economic Forum. Individual companies pay for their own transportation and accommodations. The Vancouver Economic Development Commission has contributed $75,000 to the trip, and the mayor’s office has put up $45,000. http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Vancouver+digital+entertainment+firms+with+Shanghai+trade+mission/3487454/story.html     [image] VANCOUVER - A handful of Vancouver-based film and video game company executives are in southern China this week with other Vancouver firms involved in green technology at the five-day Vancouver Green Capital Business Mission, which begins Wednesday. A total of 22 Vancouver companies and organizations will meet with close to 100 Chinese businesses and institutions in Shanghai, with the aim to foster business deals between the two countries. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will also attend. Film and digital entertainment companies Atomic Cartoons, Rainmaker Entertainment, Image Engine Design and Disney Interactive will attend, as will BC Film. Fraser Milner Casgrain, a law firm that works with Vancouver’s entertainment firms, is also on the trip. They will meet with at least 37 Chinese companies and organizations with a digital media focus, including China Film Group, Shanghai Media Group, Dragon TV, and Hengdian World Studios. These companies will participate in the digital media industries sector of the trade forum. Other sectors involve environmental technology, renewable energies and green building products. Some will also attend Shanghai Expo 2010. “We’re looking to send service there, but also to partner with Chinese companies doing animation there,” said Trevor Bentley, president and partner of Vancouver animation studio Atomic Cartoons, who has lined up meetings with five Chinese companies. “We’re seeing some fantastic properties and animation coming out of China,” Bentley said. “It’s a matter of doing our due diligence and making some connections. If we’re going to send projects there or ask someone to invest in our projects or partner with us on something, we have to meet face-to-face.” Warren Franklin, CEO of Rainmaker Entertainment, hopes to build on momentum his company created by making a short animation for the Canadian Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, as well as a film shown at the B.C.-Canada Pavilion during the 2010 Winter Olympics here. “We’re hoping to leverage that [pavilion] work for some new projects and business. The opportunities in China are enormous, and there’s a lot of potential for co-productions between Canadian and Chinese companies in the animation and digital media area,” stated Franklin. “The growth of the Chinese theatrical film market is also a factor. The number of screens being built every year is quite high, and we see this will be an important theatrical market for our content.” Rainmaker has had discussions with Chinese interests about the Vancouver company’s work and, Franklin said, “I think our business is expanding into that market in terms of theatrical opportunities that are starting to present themselves for feature films.” Image Engine executive producer Shawn Walsh, who travels to Shanghai with his company’s CFO Greg Herbert, has a half-dozen meetings with Chinese companies this week, including China Film Group. “We do about 80 to 85 per cent of our visual effects work for feature films, so China Film Group is one of the companies we need to know more about,” said Walsh. “They have a governmental aspect, which is different from the way film production companies work in North America. They are interested in doing co-productions. Currently the budgets for those co-productions are quite meagre, but that will change over time as the market grows.” Robert Wong, of BC Film, will not participate in the business meetings, but will give a talk outlining the incentives and the working environment in the B.C. digital media industry. Robertson will be in China a total of 11 days, visiting Beijing and Hubei province, Vancouver’s sister city of Guangzhou, and Tianjin, where he will speak at the World Economic Forum. Individual companies pay for their own transportation and accommodations. The Vancouver Economic Development Commission has contributed $75,000 to the trip, and the mayor’s office has put up $45,000. http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Vancouver+digital+entertainment+firms+with+Shanghai+trade+mission/3487454/story.html Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:23:56 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Vancouver-digital-entertainment-firms-set-aim-with-Shanghai-trade-mission/BLOG/2627191/29468.html yiehk21 2010-09-07T02:23:56Z EcoSeed Community     [image] VANCOUVER - A handful of Vancouver-based film and video game company executives are in southern China this week with other Vancouver firms involved in green technology at the five-day Vancouver Green Capital Business Mission, which begins Wednesday. A total of 22 Vancouver companies and organizations will meet with close to 100 Chinese businesses and institutions in Shanghai, with the aim to foster business deals between the two countries. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will also attend. Film and digital entertainment companies Atomic Cartoons, Rainmaker Entertainment, Image Engine Design and Disney Interactive will attend, as will BC Film. Fraser Milner Casgrain, a law firm that works with Vancouver’s entertainment firms, is also on the trip. They will meet with at least 37 Chinese companies and organizations with a digital media focus, including China Film Group, Shanghai Media Group, Dragon TV, and Hengdian World Studios. These companies will participate in the digital media industries sector of the trade forum. Other sectors involve environmental technology, renewable energies and green building products. Some will also attend Shanghai Expo 2010. “We’re looking to send service there, but also to partner with Chinese companies doing animation there,” said Trevor Bentley, president and partner of Vancouver animation studio Atomic Cartoons, who has lined up meetings with five Chinese companies. “We’re seeing some fantastic properties and animation coming out of China,” Bentley said. “It’s a matter of doing our due diligence and making some connections. If we’re going to send projects there or ask someone to invest in our projects or partner with us on something, we have to meet face-to-face.” Warren Franklin, CEO of Rainmaker Entertainment, hopes to build on momentum his company created by making a short animation for the Canadian Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, as well as a film shown at the B.C.-Canada Pavilion during the 2010 Winter Olympics here. “We’re hoping to leverage that [pavilion] work for some new projects and business. The opportunities in China are enormous, and there’s a lot of potential for co-productions between Canadian and Chinese companies in the animation and digital media area,” stated Franklin. “The growth of the Chinese theatrical film market is also a factor. The number of screens being built every year is quite high, and we see this will be an important theatrical market for our content.” Rainmaker has had discussions with Chinese interests about the Vancouver company’s work and, Franklin said, “I think our business is expanding into that market in terms of theatrical opportunities that are starting to present themselves for feature films.” Image Engine executive producer Shawn Walsh, who travels to Shanghai with his company’s CFO Greg Herbert, has a half-dozen meetings with Chinese companies this week, including China Film Group. “We do about 80 to 85 per cent of our visual effects work for feature films, so China Film Group is one of the companies we need to know more about,” said Walsh. “They have a governmental aspect, which is different from the way film production companies work in North America. They are interested in doing co-productions. Currently the budgets for those co-productions are quite meagre, but that will change over time as the market grows.” Robert Wong, of BC Film, will not participate in the business meetings, but will give a talk outlining the incentives and the working environment in the B.C. digital media industry. Robertson will be in China a total of 11 days, visiting Beijing and Hubei province, Vancouver’s sister city of Guangzhou, and Tianjin, where he will speak at the World Economic Forum. Individual companies pay for their own transportation and accommodations. The Vancouver Economic Development Commission has contributed $75,000 to the trip, and the mayor’s office has put up $45,000. http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Vancouver+digital+entertainment+firms+with+Shanghai+trade+mission/3487454/story.html nonadult false Vancouver digital entertainment firms set aim with Shanghai trade mission text blog 29 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7683071&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_10005797_29468_7683071_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2627191 7683071 Gold 17080 http://community.ecoseed.org/_The-climate-deniers-of-the-left/BLOG/2627169/29468.html   [image] Coca Cola greenwash at the Copenhagen climate summit. The scientific community has never been more united in its conviction that climate change is well on the way to rendering planet Earth a vastly less hospitable place for most species, including our own. Yet doubt about the gravity of the problem is, paradoxically, on the rise. Recent polls in the US, Britain and Canada reveal that fewer people take the threat of climate change seriously than five years ago. One likely reason is the insidious effect of the ongoing campaign — largely orchestrated and funded by the fossil fuel industry, and drawing support from a cast of right-wing pundits and politicians — to sow doubt about the existence of climate change or at least about the contribution of human activity to it. The contrarians don’t all line up with the forces of reaction, however. Alexander Cockburn, veteran left journalist and co-editor of online journal Counterpunch.com, resigned this year from a more than 40-year stint on the editorial board of the New Left Review. His resignation was in response to the publication of Mike Davis’ “Who Will Build The Ark?”, a reflection on the implications of climate change, as the lead article of the illustrious journal’s 50th anniversary issue. There are few issues that get Cockburn as hot under the collar as global warming. He is by far the most extreme in his wholesale denial of the very problem of climate change, but Cockburn is not the only prominent leftist to dismiss the urgency accorded to global warming by progressives. York university’s David F. Noble, historian of science and technology, critic of the corporate usurpation of the university and occasional contributor to Canadian Dimension, is equally irate over the Left’s attention to climate change. And Slavoj Zizek, one of the world’s most prominent left-wing intellectuals, dubbed the “Elvis” of cultural theory, has at times articulated an agnostic position on global warming. Each of these thinkers, who reflect a real, if marginal, minority opinion on the left, come at their climate change scepticism from different angles. Cockburn maintains that global warming is a “non-existent threat” based on flawed science. He approvingly cites naysayers such as Patrick Michaels of the right-wing Cato Institute, fingered as a paid consultant of the fossil fuel industry. Against the prevailing scientific consensus, Cockburn insisted in an April 2007 Counterpunch.org article: “There is still zero empirical evidence that anthropogenic production of CO2 is making any measurable contribution to the world’s present warming trend.” In his view, climate change is a fiction fostered by capital as part of a strategy to profit from higher energy costs at the expense of the poor — a notion bearing more than a passing resemblance to the type of conspiracy-thinking he elsewhere denounces. He treats the left with contempt for not only being hoodwinked by the global warming “dogma”, but for being naive in seeing it as a tipping point in the direction of radical social change. Noble’s emphasis is different, although he pursues the general theme of climate change as a false crisis fabricated by elites for their own purposes. Tracing the history of the corporate world’s warming to the issue of climate change, he depicts it as a deliberate and successful effort by a faction of the ruling class to co-opt and derail the anti-globalisation movement of the 1990s. He is especially contemptuous of the left for adopting what he sees as an uncritical view of science in relation to climate change, one that disconnects science from politics, and of buying into the dominant either/or logic. Noble argues corporate interests have succeeded in creating a false polarisation of positions that leaves no space to reject both sides: he complains that one can either accept climate change as the principal problem of our time, along with the green capitalist solutions, or join the much maligned “deniers”. Zizek, too, cautions against a naive view of science. However, he seems lately to be conceding more to the scientific consensus than in previous pronouncements, where he opposed any limits to development on the grounds of uncertainty about the science. He argued that nature is inherently unstable and crisis-ridden and that ideas about any natural balance being upset by human activity are misguided. He said ecology, insofar as it emphasises our finitude and calls for us to treat the Earth with respect, is inherently conservative and expresses a deep distrust of change, development and progress. He thus characterised it as “a new opium of the masses”. In an April 29 New Statesmen article, Zizek seemed to shift gears. On the one hand, he repeated the assertion that nature is chaotic and there is no underlying natural balance to be perturbed by human activity. Science, he reiterated, is unreliable and its conclusions are subject to the pressures of capital. But he asserted that our survival as a species depends on “a series of stable natural parameters that we tend to take for granted ... The limits to our freedom become palpable with ecological disturbances, as our ability to transform nature destabilises the basic geological conditions of life on earth.” He appeared to jettison his opposition to placing limits on development when he wrote: “What is demanded, first, is strict egalitarian justice: worldwide norms of per capita energy consumption should be imposed, stopping developed nations from poisoning the environment at the present rate while blaming developing countries, from Brazil to China, for ruining our shared environment.” Of course, both scepticism and the ability to change one’s mind are signs of intellectual vigour. And dissent, as US socialist Norman Thomas said, is “essential to the search for truth in a world wherein no authority is infallible”. But there is a question of what motivates these dissenters. Scepticism about climate change on the right is fuelled, particularly in the US, by the belief that global warming is a socialist Trojan horse, designed to destroy the free market by the stealth of environmental regulation. What seems to unite the climate change sceptics on the left is the opposite belief — that climate change is distracting and deflecting the left from the project of radical social transformation. It is reminiscent of the response of a significant part of the socialist left to the emerging environmental consciousness in the 1970s, which discounted concerns about pollution and the rate of resource consumption as a “petit bourgeois” affair with no bearing on the world’s masses. But as countless scientists have stressed, the most devastating effects of climate change will be felt first of all by the poor in the global South, who are more directly and immediately dependent on the natural world for their living. The sceptics are legitimately concerned that the ecological crisis will be manipulated by capital as a business opportunity. There is no doubt that climate change will be exploited for profit by the corporate elite — just as the oil catastrophe in the Gulf is being turned to economic advantage by some of the companies responsible for the disaster who are now cashing in on the clean-up activities — but this fact should not lead us to discount the reality or gravity of the crisis. What is called for is an anti-capitalist response to the ecological threat — not only to the survival of our own species but to the innumerable other species now at risk. Left climate change sceptics seem to ignore the emerging ecosocialist current, which has taken up the challenge of wedding the critique of capitalism to an analysis of the ecological crisis. As one pamphlet produced the time of the December 2009 Copenhagen climate summit pointed out: “Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is but one symptom of a system ravaging our planet and destroying our communities.” Far from being distracted by climate change, ecosocialists understand it as intimately related to the reigning global system of production that endlessly reproduces the unjust disparities of wealth and power that have always been the object of the left’s opposition. How can Cockburn, Noble and Zizek argue with that? http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/45269     [image] Coca Cola greenwash at the Copenhagen climate summit. The scientific community has never been more united in its conviction that climate change is well on the way to rendering planet Earth a vastly less hospitable place for most species, including our own. Yet doubt about the gravity of the problem is, paradoxically, on the rise. Recent polls in the US, Britain and Canada reveal that fewer people take the threat of climate change seriously than five years ago. One likely reason is the insidious effect of the ongoing campaign — largely orchestrated and funded by the fossil fuel industry, and drawing support from a cast of right-wing pundits and politicians — to sow doubt about the existence of climate change or at least about the contribution of human activity to it. The contrarians don’t all line up with the forces of reaction, however. Alexander Cockburn, veteran left journalist and co-editor of online journal Counterpunch.com, resigned this year from a more than 40-year stint on the editorial board of the New Left Review. His resignation was in response to the publication of Mike Davis’ “Who Will Build The Ark?”, a reflection on the implications of climate change, as the lead article of the illustrious journal’s 50th anniversary issue. There are few issues that get Cockburn as hot under the collar as global warming. He is by far the most extreme in his wholesale denial of the very problem of climate change, but Cockburn is not the only prominent leftist to dismiss the urgency accorded to global warming by progressives. York university’s David F. Noble, historian of science and technology, critic of the corporate usurpation of the university and occasional contributor to Canadian Dimension, is equally irate over the Left’s attention to climate change. And Slavoj Zizek, one of the world’s most prominent left-wing intellectuals, dubbed the “Elvis” of cultural theory, has at times articulated an agnostic position on global warming. Each of these thinkers, who reflect a real, if marginal, minority opinion on the left, come at their climate change scepticism from different angles. Cockburn maintains that global warming is a “non-existent threat” based on flawed science. He approvingly cites naysayers such as Patrick Michaels of the right-wing Cato Institute, fingered as a paid consultant of the fossil fuel industry. Against the prevailing scientific consensus, Cockburn insisted in an April 2007 Counterpunch.org article: “There is still zero empirical evidence that anthropogenic production of CO2 is making any measurable contribution to the world’s present warming trend.” In his view, climate change is a fiction fostered by capital as part of a strategy to profit from higher energy costs at the expense of the poor — a notion bearing more than a passing resemblance to the type of conspiracy-thinking he elsewhere denounces. He treats the left with contempt for not only being hoodwinked by the global warming “dogma”, but for being naive in seeing it as a tipping point in the direction of radical social change. Noble’s emphasis is different, although he pursues the general theme of climate change as a false crisis fabricated by elites for their own purposes. Tracing the history of the corporate world’s warming to the issue of climate change, he depicts it as a deliberate and successful effort by a faction of the ruling class to co-opt and derail the anti-globalisation movement of the 1990s. He is especially contemptuous of the left for adopting what he sees as an uncritical view of science in relation to climate change, one that disconnects science from politics, and of buying into the dominant either/or logic. Noble argues corporate interests have succeeded in creating a false polarisation of positions that leaves no space to reject both sides: he complains that one can either accept climate change as the principal problem of our time, along with the green capitalist solutions, or join the much maligned “deniers”. Zizek, too, cautions against a naive view of science. However, he seems lately to be conceding more to the scientific consensus than in previous pronouncements, where he opposed any limits to development on the grounds of uncertainty about the science. He argued that nature is inherently unstable and crisis-ridden and that ideas about any natural balance being upset by human activity are misguided. He said ecology, insofar as it emphasises our finitude and calls for us to treat the Earth with respect, is inherently conservative and expresses a deep distrust of change, development and progress. He thus characterised it as “a new opium of the masses”. In an April 29 New Statesmen article, Zizek seemed to shift gears. On the one hand, he repeated the assertion that nature is chaotic and there is no underlying natural balance to be perturbed by human activity. Science, he reiterated, is unreliable and its conclusions are subject to the pressures of capital. But he asserted that our survival as a species depends on “a series of stable natural parameters that we tend to take for granted ... The limits to our freedom become palpable with ecological disturbances, as our ability to transform nature destabilises the basic geological conditions of life on earth.” He appeared to jettison his opposition to placing limits on development when he wrote: “What is demanded, first, is strict egalitarian justice: worldwide norms of per capita energy consumption should be imposed, stopping developed nations from poisoning the environment at the present rate while blaming developing countries, from Brazil to China, for ruining our shared environment.” Of course, both scepticism and the ability to change one’s mind are signs of intellectual vigour. And dissent, as US socialist Norman Thomas said, is “essential to the search for truth in a world wherein no authority is infallible”. But there is a question of what motivates these dissenters. Scepticism about climate change on the right is fuelled, particularly in the US, by the belief that global warming is a socialist Trojan horse, designed to destroy the free market by the stealth of environmental regulation. What seems to unite the climate change sceptics on the left is the opposite belief — that climate change is distracting and deflecting the left from the project of radical social transformation. It is reminiscent of the response of a significant part of the socialist left to the emerging environmental consciousness in the 1970s, which discounted concerns about pollution and the rate of resource consumption as a “petit bourgeois” affair with no bearing on the world’s masses. But as countless scientists have stressed, the most devastating effects of climate change will be felt first of all by the poor in the global South, who are more directly and immediately dependent on the natural world for their living. The sceptics are legitimately concerned that the ecological crisis will be manipulated by capital as a business opportunity. There is no doubt that climate change will be exploited for profit by the corporate elite — just as the oil catastrophe in the Gulf is being turned to economic advantage by some of the companies responsible for the disaster who are now cashing in on the clean-up activities — but this fact should not lead us to discount the reality or gravity of the crisis. What is called for is an anti-capitalist response to the ecological threat — not only to the survival of our own species but to the innumerable other species now at risk. Left climate change sceptics seem to ignore the emerging ecosocialist current, which has taken up the challenge of wedding the critique of capitalism to an analysis of the ecological crisis. As one pamphlet produced the time of the December 2009 Copenhagen climate summit pointed out: “Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is but one symptom of a system ravaging our planet and destroying our communities.” Far from being distracted by climate change, ecosocialists understand it as intimately related to the reigning global system of production that endlessly reproduces the unjust disparities of wealth and power that have always been the object of the left’s opposition. How can Cockburn, Noble and Zizek argue with that? http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/45269   Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:18:47 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_The-climate-deniers-of-the-left/BLOG/2627169/29468.html yiehk21 2010-09-07T02:18:47Z EcoSeed Community   [image] Coca Cola greenwash at the Copenhagen climate summit. The scientific community has never been more united in its conviction that climate change is well on the way to rendering planet Earth a vastly less hospitable place for most species, including our own. Yet doubt about the gravity of the problem is, paradoxically, on the rise. Recent polls in the US, Britain and Canada reveal that fewer people take the threat of climate change seriously than five years ago. One likely reason is the insidious effect of the ongoing campaign — largely orchestrated and funded by the fossil fuel industry, and drawing support from a cast of right-wing pundits and politicians — to sow doubt about the existence of climate change or at least about the contribution of human activity to it. The contrarians don’t all line up with the forces of reaction, however. Alexander Cockburn, veteran left journalist and co-editor of online journal Counterpunch.com, resigned this year from a more than 40-year stint on the editorial board of the New Left Review. His resignation was in response to the publication of Mike Davis’ “Who Will Build The Ark?”, a reflection on the implications of climate change, as the lead article of the illustrious journal’s 50th anniversary issue. There are few issues that get Cockburn as hot under the collar as global warming. He is by far the most extreme in his wholesale denial of the very problem of climate change, but Cockburn is not the only prominent leftist to dismiss the urgency accorded to global warming by progressives. York university’s David F. Noble, historian of science and technology, critic of the corporate usurpation of the university and occasional contributor to Canadian Dimension, is equally irate over the Left’s attention to climate change. And Slavoj Zizek, one of the world’s most prominent left-wing intellectuals, dubbed the “Elvis” of cultural theory, has at times articulated an agnostic position on global warming. Each of these thinkers, who reflect a real, if marginal, minority opinion on the left, come at their climate change scepticism from different angles. Cockburn maintains that global warming is a “non-existent threat” based on flawed science. He approvingly cites naysayers such as Patrick Michaels of the right-wing Cato Institute, fingered as a paid consultant of the fossil fuel industry. Against the prevailing scientific consensus, Cockburn insisted in an April 2007 Counterpunch.org article: “There is still zero empirical evidence that anthropogenic production of CO2 is making any measurable contribution to the world’s present warming trend.” In his view, climate change is a fiction fostered by capital as part of a strategy to profit from higher energy costs at the expense of the poor — a notion bearing more than a passing resemblance to the type of conspiracy-thinking he elsewhere denounces. He treats the left with contempt for not only being hoodwinked by the global warming “dogma”, but for being naive in seeing it as a tipping point in the direction of radical social change. Noble’s emphasis is different, although he pursues the general theme of climate change as a false crisis fabricated by elites for their own purposes. Tracing the history of the corporate world’s warming to the issue of climate change, he depicts it as a deliberate and successful effort by a faction of the ruling class to co-opt and derail the anti-globalisation movement of the 1990s. He is especially contemptuous of the left for adopting what he sees as an uncritical view of science in relation to climate change, one that disconnects science from politics, and of buying into the dominant either/or logic. Noble argues corporate interests have succeeded in creating a false polarisation of positions that leaves no space to reject both sides: he complains that one can either accept climate change as the principal problem of our time, along with the green capitalist solutions, or join the much maligned “deniers”. Zizek, too, cautions against a naive view of science. However, he seems lately to be conceding more to the scientific consensus than in previous pronouncements, where he opposed any limits to development on the grounds of uncertainty about the science. He argued that nature is inherently unstable and crisis-ridden and that ideas about any natural balance being upset by human activity are misguided. He said ecology, insofar as it emphasises our finitude and calls for us to treat the Earth with respect, is inherently conservative and expresses a deep distrust of change, development and progress. He thus characterised it as “a new opium of the masses”. In an April 29 New Statesmen article, Zizek seemed to shift gears. On the one hand, he repeated the assertion that nature is chaotic and there is no underlying natural balance to be perturbed by human activity. Science, he reiterated, is unreliable and its conclusions are subject to the pressures of capital. But he asserted that our survival as a species depends on “a series of stable natural parameters that we tend to take for granted ... The limits to our freedom become palpable with ecological disturbances, as our ability to transform nature destabilises the basic geological conditions of life on earth.” He appeared to jettison his opposition to placing limits on development when he wrote: “What is demanded, first, is strict egalitarian justice: worldwide norms of per capita energy consumption should be imposed, stopping developed nations from poisoning the environment at the present rate while blaming developing countries, from Brazil to China, for ruining our shared environment.” Of course, both scepticism and the ability to change one’s mind are signs of intellectual vigour. And dissent, as US socialist Norman Thomas said, is “essential to the search for truth in a world wherein no authority is infallible”. But there is a question of what motivates these dissenters. Scepticism about climate change on the right is fuelled, particularly in the US, by the belief that global warming is a socialist Trojan horse, designed to destroy the free market by the stealth of environmental regulation. What seems to unite the climate change sceptics on the left is the opposite belief — that climate change is distracting and deflecting the left from the project of radical social transformation. It is reminiscent of the response of a significant part of the socialist left to the emerging environmental consciousness in the 1970s, which discounted concerns about pollution and the rate of resource consumption as a “petit bourgeois” affair with no bearing on the world’s masses. But as countless scientists have stressed, the most devastating effects of climate change will be felt first of all by the poor in the global South, who are more directly and immediately dependent on the natural world for their living. The sceptics are legitimately concerned that the ecological crisis will be manipulated by capital as a business opportunity. There is no doubt that climate change will be exploited for profit by the corporate elite — just as the oil catastrophe in the Gulf is being turned to economic advantage by some of the companies responsible for the disaster who are now cashing in on the clean-up activities — but this fact should not lead us to discount the reality or gravity of the crisis. What is called for is an anti-capitalist response to the ecological threat — not only to the survival of our own species but to the innumerable other species now at risk. Left climate change sceptics seem to ignore the emerging ecosocialist current, which has taken up the challenge of wedding the critique of capitalism to an analysis of the ecological crisis. As one pamphlet produced the time of the December 2009 Copenhagen climate summit pointed out: “Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is but one symptom of a system ravaging our planet and destroying our communities.” Far from being distracted by climate change, ecosocialists understand it as intimately related to the reigning global system of production that endlessly reproduces the unjust disparities of wealth and power that have always been the object of the left’s opposition. How can Cockburn, Noble and Zizek argue with that? http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/45269   nonadult false The climate deniers of the left text blog 22 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7683071&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_10005797_29468_7683071_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2627169 7683071 Gold 17080 http://community.ecoseed.org/_15th-Annual-Urban-Wheel-Awards-Promotes-Green-Technology-Event-Includes-Green-Car-Show-and-Technology-Exhibit/BLOG/2627161/29468.html Detroit - September 2, 2010 - The 15th Annual Urban Wheel Awards, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show, will host its first annual Green Car Show and Technology Exhibit on Sunday, January 9th, 2011, at the Motor City Casino Hotel in Detroit.  This year's event will celebrate 15 years of emerging diversity in the automotive industry and promote green technology to people of color. [image] Actress LisaRaye headlined the 14th Annual Urban Wheel Awards.  "The Urban Wheel Awards is a unique, star-studded event and an exciting highlight to the nation's largest auto show." says Randi Payton, president and CEO of Decisive Media, the best source for cultural and consumer news, and organizers of the event.  "Now, in addition to promoting multiculturalism in the automotive industry, we're also promoting environmentally-friendly technology to the multi-cultural community."  The Urban Wheel Awards brings together celebrities, automotive executives, international media, government representatives and the multi-cultural community to celebrate diversity in the automotive industry. According to RL Polk,consumers in the multicultural market purchase one-quarter of new vehicles annually.  The Urban Wheel Awards promotes awareness of their inclusion and honors the companies and individuals who have made progress toward embracing this reality.  The Green Car Show exhibit will showcase a collection of efficient- and alternatively-fueled vehicles, as well as the newest hybrids and clean diesel automobiles.  It will also feature plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell, biodiesel, electric, and other advanced technologies.  Experts will be on hand to provide explanations and demonstrations of these technologies. Eco-friendly organizations are encouraged to participate by showcasing their innovative approaches to reducing the carbon footprint alongside major automotive manufacturers and suppliers.  "We are reaching out to automotive-related companies who are dedicated to environmentally-friendly ways to save our planet," Payton says.  "This is a premier opportunity for them to show their innovations to major automakers, high ranking auto executives and environmentally savvy consumers and to broaden their base to minority audiences." The day's activities will begin with the Green Car Show at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a celebrity Green Carpet and VIP reception at 5 p.m. The Urban Wheel Awards, which begins at 7 p.m. will honor four companies for leadership in environmental and fuel-efficient technologies.  Winners of the Urban Car, Urban Truck and Urban Green Vehicle of the Year will also be honored along with the Minority Supplier and Dealer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and the Urban Pioneer of the Year.   The day-long event is expected to attract more than 2,000 attendees looking to learn more about new environmentally progressive automotive technologies and participate in celebrating multiculturalism in the automotive industry. http://www.decisivemagazine.com/blogs/cathy-nedd/15th-annual-urban-wheel-awards-promotes-green-technology-event-includes-green-car-s Detroit - September 2, 2010 - The 15th Annual Urban Wheel Awards, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show, will host its first annual Green Car Show and Technology Exhibit on Sunday, January 9th, 2011, at the Motor City Casino Hotel in Detroit.  This year's event will celebrate 15 years of emerging diversity in the automotive industry and promote green technology to people of color. [image] Actress LisaRaye headlined the 14th Annual Urban Wheel Awards.  "The Urban Wheel Awards is a unique, star-studded event and an exciting highlight to the nation's largest auto show." says Randi Payton, president and CEO of Decisive Media, the best source for cultural and consumer news, and organizers of the event.  "Now, in addition to promoting multiculturalism in the automotive industry, we're also promoting environmentally-friendly technology to the multi-cultural community."  The Urban Wheel Awards brings together celebrities, automotive executives, international media, government representatives and the multi-cultural community to celebrate diversity in the automotive industry. According to RL Polk,consumers in the multicultural market purchase one-quarter of new vehicles annually.  The Urban Wheel Awards promotes awareness of their inclusion and honors the companies and individuals who have made progress toward embracing this reality.  The Green Car Show exhibit will showcase a collection of efficient- and alternatively-fueled vehicles, as well as the newest hybrids and clean diesel automobiles.  It will also feature plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell, biodiesel, electric, and other advanced technologies.  Experts will be on hand to provide explanations and demonstrations of these technologies. Eco-friendly organizations are encouraged to participate by showcasing their innovative approaches to reducing the carbon footprint alongside major automotive manufacturers and suppliers.  "We are reaching out to automotive-related companies who are dedicated to environmentally-friendly ways to save our planet," Payton says.  "This is a premier opportunity for them to show their innovations to major automakers, high ranking auto executives and environmentally savvy consumers and to broaden their base to minority audiences." The day's activities will begin with the Green Car Show at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a celebrity Green Carpet and VIP reception at 5 p.m. The Urban Wheel Awards, which begins at 7 p.m. will honor four companies for leadership in environmental and fuel-efficient technologies.  Winners of the Urban Car, Urban Truck and Urban Green Vehicle of the Year will also be honored along with the Minority Supplier and Dealer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and the Urban Pioneer of the Year.   The day-long event is expected to attract more than 2,000 attendees looking to learn more about new environmentally progressive automotive technologies and participate in celebrating multiculturalism in the automotive industry. http://www.decisivemagazine.com/blogs/cathy-nedd/15th-annual-urban-wheel-awards-promotes-green-technology-event-includes-green-car-s Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:17:15 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_15th-Annual-Urban-Wheel-Awards-Promotes-Green-Technology-Event-Includes-Green-Car-Show-and-Technology-Exhibit/BLOG/2627161/29468.html yiehk21 2010-09-07T02:17:15Z EcoSeed Community Detroit - September 2, 2010 - The 15th Annual Urban Wheel Awards, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show, will host its first annual Green Car Show and Technology Exhibit on Sunday, January 9th, 2011, at the Motor City Casino Hotel in Detroit.  This year's event will celebrate 15 years of emerging diversity in the automotive industry and promote green technology to people of color. [image] Actress LisaRaye headlined the 14th Annual Urban Wheel Awards.  "The Urban Wheel Awards is a unique, star-studded event and an exciting highlight to the nation's largest auto show." says Randi Payton, president and CEO of Decisive Media, the best source for cultural and consumer news, and organizers of the event.  "Now, in addition to promoting multiculturalism in the automotive industry, we're also promoting environmentally-friendly technology to the multi-cultural community."  The Urban Wheel Awards brings together celebrities, automotive executives, international media, government representatives and the multi-cultural community to celebrate diversity in the automotive industry. According to RL Polk,consumers in the multicultural market purchase one-quarter of new vehicles annually.  The Urban Wheel Awards promotes awareness of their inclusion and honors the companies and individuals who have made progress toward embracing this reality.  The Green Car Show exhibit will showcase a collection of efficient- and alternatively-fueled vehicles, as well as the newest hybrids and clean diesel automobiles.  It will also feature plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell, biodiesel, electric, and other advanced technologies.  Experts will be on hand to provide explanations and demonstrations of these technologies. Eco-friendly organizations are encouraged to participate by showcasing their innovative approaches to reducing the carbon footprint alongside major automotive manufacturers and suppliers.  "We are reaching out to automotive-related companies who are dedicated to environmentally-friendly ways to save our planet," Payton says.  "This is a premier opportunity for them to show their innovations to major automakers, high ranking auto executives and environmentally savvy consumers and to broaden their base to minority audiences." The day's activities will begin with the Green Car Show at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a celebrity Green Carpet and VIP reception at 5 p.m. The Urban Wheel Awards, which begins at 7 p.m. will honor four companies for leadership in environmental and fuel-efficient technologies.  Winners of the Urban Car, Urban Truck and Urban Green Vehicle of the Year will also be honored along with the Minority Supplier and Dealer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and the Urban Pioneer of the Year.   The day-long event is expected to attract more than 2,000 attendees looking to learn more about new environmentally progressive automotive technologies and participate in celebrating multiculturalism in the automotive industry. http://www.decisivemagazine.com/blogs/cathy-nedd/15th-annual-urban-wheel-awards-promotes-green-technology-event-includes-green-car-s nonadult false 15th Annual Urban Wheel Awards Promotes Green Technology Event Includes Green Car Show and Technology Exhibit text blog 18 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7683071&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_10005797_29468_7683071_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2627161 7683071 Gold 17080 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Is-China-Serious-About-Major-Economic-Reform-Probably-Not/BLOG/2627157/29468.html   [image] Of late, many propaganda pieces in the Chinese press have appeared extolling the importance of innovation, value-creation and a fundamental rebalancing of China's manufacturing-led economy to a consumer-driven one. On the ground, a big question remains whether the government truly believes its growth model has reached its peak. Infrastructure Investment. The key strategy continues to be urbanization which entails: a) massive infrastructure investment inland, b) upgrading non productive rural workers into higher-productivity manufacturing workers. The structure of the governments' gargantuan 2008 stimulus package is consistent with this framework. Factories are being built on hinterland farmlands, as are transportation networks to ship raw and semi-finished goods between lower-tier cities and the coast. The Party likely believes China can, as a whole, maintain is low-cost labor pool for at least the next decade, hence its reasonably calm reaction to recent labor unrest at Foxconn in Guangdong province. As a result, mobilization of resources and scalification of markets remain core growth planks and this is inconsistent with any leap up value chains. That said, the Chinese model is appropriate for making an incremental crawl up the value ladder. And, here, China has been successful in industry after industry, ranging from green technology to autos. But no industry has had anything close to a paradigm shift in terms of setting global standards of innovation. A Consumer Economy? In terms of stimulating consumer demand, there has been precious little the government has done that would relieve epic savings anxiety of both the middle class and the urban mass market. This would involve, most critically, fundamental restructuring of health care. Le Keqiang, Hu Jintao's heir apparent, is charged with leading the task force to address this need. But most observers are skeptical insurance pools are deep enough or inclusive enough to fund significant health care reform. So the effort is proceeding, and will proceed, in a piecemeal fashion. However, as a percentage of total economic activity, the consumer sector will increase, largely driven by industrialization of and growth in lower-tier markets. (This is the major story of the past couple years. Auto sales, for example, are exploding outside of Tier I cities. The same goes for luxury products.) Corporate Governance Hurdles. To generate more innovation in state-own enterprises, a key issue is corporate governance, or lack thereof. In China, shareholder rights are extremely weak and there is rarely (never?) an empowered board charged with ensuring that management maximize long-term shareholder value. Goals of maintaining Party control and responding to the market are in opposition. CEOs are judged in implementing the party line and competition is, at best, "managed," orchestrated from above, within the corridors of Party power. Service Sector Stagnation. The service sector, and modernization of it, also remains a huge challenge. It is currently designed to respond to, again in a mobilized manner, the needs to the masses. (Ten years ago, who would have anticipated such growth of the retail arms of the Big Four banks?) But the emerging middle class, whose needs are more sophisticated and require a greater degree of personalization, have been ignored. Again, key service industries (health care, financial services, real estate, etc.) remain "strategic" industries -- vital to the Party's macro- management of the country -- so significant reform is nowhere in sight. (The biggest star in retail banking innovation is China Merchant's Bank, not one of the big boys.) Brittle Company Structures. Corporate structure is also a huge barrier for innovation. Large SOEs are burdened by: a) byzantine hierarchies that preclude a bottom-up flow of new ideas, b) imperial CEOs who issue ambiguous instructions to generate anxiety and construct rival power factions to ensure competition is horizontal, not vertical, c) minimal investment in R&D, and d) dominance of (short-term) sales relative to marketing (a balance of short-term sales and long-term equity generation) functions. I am not aware of any large local company that has made huge strides in instituting an empowered marketing function. However, our experience with COFCO, China's largest food conglomerate, suggests it is at least trying nobly to impose a "framework" for innovation and brand development. Haier and large local appliance manufacturers remain stuck in the past. The local brands that have made the most progress moving beyond scale/huge market capitalization and towards value creation (Anta, Lining, dairy companies such as Meng Niu and Yili, fashion) are, relatively speaking, independent of the state. These are the companies fueling JWT's growth amongst local clients. However, smaller private enterprises are increasingly starved for capital. Key question: when will banks begin lending based on objective assessment of return? Many doubt that day will arrive anytime soon. By the way, Chinese companies are, rightly, focused on the China market. They are pragmatic. Few brands really want to "take over the world." Recent cases like Geely's takeover of Volvo is vanity project, a misguided attempt to grab a part of the booming luxury car segment. Lenovo could only go global via a takeover of IMB's international PC operations and results have been decidedly mixed. "International" Chinese brands will only succeed, for the foreseeable future, in emerging economies where the basic price-value equation of Mainland goods remains a genuine competitive advantage. Political Reform: Taboo. Underlying all of this is slow progress on the political reform front. Can the government instill significant intra-party checks and balances to institutionalize more efficient governance? (This is what party apparatchiks mean by "democracy.") So far, this type of reform remains taboo, except in lofty think tank debates. Is the government wrong to go slow? Probably not. Despite having become the world's second largest economy, China is still a poor country on a purchase power parity (PPP) basis. Vast expanses of the country require strong central government to continue the Middle Kingdom's Great Urbanization Project. That said, even "Friends of China" are right to encourage the Party to begin the process of institutional-based reform, because the day when it becomes a necessity, rather than a theoretical "good," will arrive sooner or later, perhaps unexpectedly. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-doctoroff/is-china-serious-about-ec_b_706419.html   [image] Of late, many propaganda pieces in the Chinese press have appeared extolling the importance of innovation, value-creation and a fundamental rebalancing of China's manufacturing-led economy to a consumer-driven one. On the ground, a big question remains whether the government truly believes its growth model has reached its peak. Infrastructure Investment. The key strategy continues to be urbanization which entails: a) massive infrastructure investment inland, b) upgrading non productive rural workers into higher-productivity manufacturing workers. The structure of the governments' gargantuan 2008 stimulus package is consistent with this framework. Factories are being built on hinterland farmlands, as are transportation networks to ship raw and semi-finished goods between lower-tier cities and the coast. The Party likely believes China can, as a whole, maintain is low-cost labor pool for at least the next decade, hence its reasonably calm reaction to recent labor unrest at Foxconn in Guangdong province. As a result, mobilization of resources and scalification of markets remain core growth planks and this is inconsistent with any leap up value chains. That said, the Chinese model is appropriate for making an incremental crawl up the value ladder. And, here, China has been successful in industry after industry, ranging from green technology to autos. But no industry has had anything close to a paradigm shift in terms of setting global standards of innovation. A Consumer Economy? In terms of stimulating consumer demand, there has been precious little the government has done that would relieve epic savings anxiety of both the middle class and the urban mass market. This would involve, most critically, fundamental restructuring of health care. Le Keqiang, Hu Jintao's heir apparent, is charged with leading the task force to address this need. But most observers are skeptical insurance pools are deep enough or inclusive enough to fund significant health care reform. So the effort is proceeding, and will proceed, in a piecemeal fashion. However, as a percentage of total economic activity, the consumer sector will increase, largely driven by industrialization of and growth in lower-tier markets. (This is the major story of the past couple years. Auto sales, for example, are exploding outside of Tier I cities. The same goes for luxury products.) Corporate Governance Hurdles. To generate more innovation in state-own enterprises, a key issue is corporate governance, or lack thereof. In China, shareholder rights are extremely weak and there is rarely (never?) an empowered board charged with ensuring that management maximize long-term shareholder value. Goals of maintaining Party control and responding to the market are in opposition. CEOs are judged in implementing the party line and competition is, at best, "managed," orchestrated from above, within the corridors of Party power. Service Sector Stagnation. The service sector, and modernization of it, also remains a huge challenge. It is currently designed to respond to, again in a mobilized manner, the needs to the masses. (Ten years ago, who would have anticipated such growth of the retail arms of the Big Four banks?) But the emerging middle class, whose needs are more sophisticated and require a greater degree of personalization, have been ignored. Again, key service industries (health care, financial services, real estate, etc.) remain "strategic" industries -- vital to the Party's macro- management of the country -- so significant reform is nowhere in sight. (The biggest star in retail banking innovation is China Merchant's Bank, not one of the big boys.) Brittle Company Structures. Corporate structure is also a huge barrier for innovation. Large SOEs are burdened by: a) byzantine hierarchies that preclude a bottom-up flow of new ideas, b) imperial CEOs who issue ambiguous instructions to generate anxiety and construct rival power factions to ensure competition is horizontal, not vertical, c) minimal investment in R&D, and d) dominance of (short-term) sales relative to marketing (a balance of short-term sales and long-term equity generation) functions. I am not aware of any large local company that has made huge strides in instituting an empowered marketing function. However, our experience with COFCO, China's largest food conglomerate, suggests it is at least trying nobly to impose a "framework" for innovation and brand development. Haier and large local appliance manufacturers remain stuck in the past. The local brands that have made the most progress moving beyond scale/huge market capitalization and towards value creation (Anta, Lining, dairy companies such as Meng Niu and Yili, fashion) are, relatively speaking, independent of the state. These are the companies fueling JWT's growth amongst local clients. However, smaller private enterprises are increasingly starved for capital. Key question: when will banks begin lending based on objective assessment of return? Many doubt that day will arrive anytime soon. By the way, Chinese companies are, rightly, focused on the China market. They are pragmatic. Few brands really want to "take over the world." Recent cases like Geely's takeover of Volvo is vanity project, a misguided attempt to grab a part of the booming luxury car segment. Lenovo could only go global via a takeover of IMB's international PC operations and results have been decidedly mixed. "International" Chinese brands will only succeed, for the foreseeable future, in emerging economies where the basic price-value equation of Mainland goods remains a genuine competitive advantage. Political Reform: Taboo. Underlying all of this is slow progress on the political reform front. Can the government instill significant intra-party checks and balances to institutionalize more efficient governance? (This is what party apparatchiks mean by "democracy.") So far, this type of reform remains taboo, except in lofty think tank debates. Is the government wrong to go slow? Probably not. Despite having become the world's second largest economy, China is still a poor country on a purchase power parity (PPP) basis. Vast expanses of the country require strong central government to continue the Middle Kingdom's Great Urbanization Project. That said, even "Friends of China" are right to encourage the Party to begin the process of institutional-based reform, because the day when it becomes a necessity, rather than a theoretical "good," will arrive sooner or later, perhaps unexpectedly. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-doctoroff/is-china-serious-about-ec_b_706419.html Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:16:21 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Is-China-Serious-About-Major-Economic-Reform-Probably-Not/BLOG/2627157/29468.html yiehk21 2010-09-07T02:16:21Z EcoSeed Community   [image] Of late, many propaganda pieces in the Chinese press have appeared extolling the importance of innovation, value-creation and a fundamental rebalancing of China's manufacturing-led economy to a consumer-driven one. On the ground, a big question remains whether the government truly believes its growth model has reached its peak. Infrastructure Investment. The key strategy continues to be urbanization which entails: a) massive infrastructure investment inland, b) upgrading non productive rural workers into higher-productivity manufacturing workers. The structure of the governments' gargantuan 2008 stimulus package is consistent with this framework. Factories are being built on hinterland farmlands, as are transportation networks to ship raw and semi-finished goods between lower-tier cities and the coast. The Party likely believes China can, as a whole, maintain is low-cost labor pool for at least the next decade, hence its reasonably calm reaction to recent labor unrest at Foxconn in Guangdong province. As a result, mobilization of resources and scalification of markets remain core growth planks and this is inconsistent with any leap up value chains. That said, the Chinese model is appropriate for making an incremental crawl up the value ladder. And, here, China has been successful in industry after industry, ranging from green technology to autos. But no industry has had anything close to a paradigm shift in terms of setting global standards of innovation. A Consumer Economy? In terms of stimulating consumer demand, there has been precious little the government has done that would relieve epic savings anxiety of both the middle class and the urban mass market. This would involve, most critically, fundamental restructuring of health care. Le Keqiang, Hu Jintao's heir apparent, is charged with leading the task force to address this need. But most observers are skeptical insurance pools are deep enough or inclusive enough to fund significant health care reform. So the effort is proceeding, and will proceed, in a piecemeal fashion. However, as a percentage of total economic activity, the consumer sector will increase, largely driven by industrialization of and growth in lower-tier markets. (This is the major story of the past couple years. Auto sales, for example, are exploding outside of Tier I cities. The same goes for luxury products.) Corporate Governance Hurdles. To generate more innovation in state-own enterprises, a key issue is corporate governance, or lack thereof. In China, shareholder rights are extremely weak and there is rarely (never?) an empowered board charged with ensuring that management maximize long-term shareholder value. Goals of maintaining Party control and responding to the market are in opposition. CEOs are judged in implementing the party line and competition is, at best, "managed," orchestrated from above, within the corridors of Party power. Service Sector Stagnation. The service sector, and modernization of it, also remains a huge challenge. It is currently designed to respond to, again in a mobilized manner, the needs to the masses. (Ten years ago, who would have anticipated such growth of the retail arms of the Big Four banks?) But the emerging middle class, whose needs are more sophisticated and require a greater degree of personalization, have been ignored. Again, key service industries (health care, financial services, real estate, etc.) remain "strategic" industries -- vital to the Party's macro- management of the country -- so significant reform is nowhere in sight. (The biggest star in retail banking innovation is China Merchant's Bank, not one of the big boys.) Brittle Company Structures. Corporate structure is also a huge barrier for innovation. Large SOEs are burdened by: a) byzantine hierarchies that preclude a bottom-up flow of new ideas, b) imperial CEOs who issue ambiguous instructions to generate anxiety and construct rival power factions to ensure competition is horizontal, not vertical, c) minimal investment in R&D, and d) dominance of (short-term) sales relative to marketing (a balance of short-term sales and long-term equity generation) functions. I am not aware of any large local company that has made huge strides in instituting an empowered marketing function. However, our experience with COFCO, China's largest food conglomerate, suggests it is at least trying nobly to impose a "framework" for innovation and brand development. Haier and large local appliance manufacturers remain stuck in the past. The local brands that have made the most progress moving beyond scale/huge market capitalization and towards value creation (Anta, Lining, dairy companies such as Meng Niu and Yili, fashion) are, relatively speaking, independent of the state. These are the companies fueling JWT's growth amongst local clients. However, smaller private enterprises are increasingly starved for capital. Key question: when will banks begin lending based on objective assessment of return? Many doubt that day will arrive anytime soon. By the way, Chinese companies are, rightly, focused on the China market. They are pragmatic. Few brands really want to "take over the world." Recent cases like Geely's takeover of Volvo is vanity project, a misguided attempt to grab a part of the booming luxury car segment. Lenovo could only go global via a takeover of IMB's international PC operations and results have been decidedly mixed. "International" Chinese brands will only succeed, for the foreseeable future, in emerging economies where the basic price-value equation of Mainland goods remains a genuine competitive advantage. Political Reform: Taboo. Underlying all of this is slow progress on the political reform front. Can the government instill significant intra-party checks and balances to institutionalize more efficient governance? (This is what party apparatchiks mean by "democracy.") So far, this type of reform remains taboo, except in lofty think tank debates. Is the government wrong to go slow? Probably not. Despite having become the world's second largest economy, China is still a poor country on a purchase power parity (PPP) basis. Vast expanses of the country require strong central government to continue the Middle Kingdom's Great Urbanization Project. That said, even "Friends of China" are right to encourage the Party to begin the process of institutional-based reform, because the day when it becomes a necessity, rather than a theoretical "good," will arrive sooner or later, perhaps unexpectedly. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-doctoroff/is-china-serious-about-ec_b_706419.html nonadult false Is China Serious About Major Economic Reform? Probably Not text blog 6 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7683071&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_10005797_29468_7683071_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2627157 7683071 Gold 17080 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Lake-Land-dedicated-to-environment-green-technology/BLOG/2627149/29468.html   [image] MATTOON — Lake Land College’s sustainability efforts are gaining international attention.  Ray Rieck, Lake Land’s vice president for business services, recently was invited to speak about these efforts at an international energy conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.   Lake Land has been dedicated to decreasing energy use, generating a return on investment on green technologies, and teaching students to attain green jobs. “I was impressed with the overwhelming response the Lake Land story received at the conference,” Rieck said. “Conference attendees were well-versed in best practices in environmental issues, and they were quite interested in everything we have going here at Lake Land.” Rieck said the two areas that seemed to be of most interest to conferencegoers were the college’s use of geothermal technology, which is not used in Brazil, and thin client technology, which is an innovative project that will reduce the college’s use of electricity for technology by 88 percent.  Both these efforts help to decrease the college’s energy demand by 45 percent, which saves $320,000 per year. This fall, Lake Land is scheduled to construct a 10-kilowatt wind turbine for instructional purposes, with larger ones coming in the future. This will help teach students about attaining green jobs. Other green energy projects at the college are the use of green chemicals, solar voltaic, daylight harvesting and solar thermal. The college’s Northwest, Field House, Vo-Tech and 50,000-square-foot addition buildings are on the geothermal system.  The Virgil H. Judge Learning Center renovation will be hooked to the geothermal system this fall, along with other energy efficient measures. http://www.herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/article_0579a9b6-b98b-11df-b92f-001cc4c03286.html   [image] MATTOON — Lake Land College’s sustainability efforts are gaining international attention.  Ray Rieck, Lake Land’s vice president for business services, recently was invited to speak about these efforts at an international energy conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.   Lake Land has been dedicated to decreasing energy use, generating a return on investment on green technologies, and teaching students to attain green jobs. “I was impressed with the overwhelming response the Lake Land story received at the conference,” Rieck said. “Conference attendees were well-versed in best practices in environmental issues, and they were quite interested in everything we have going here at Lake Land.” Rieck said the two areas that seemed to be of most interest to conferencegoers were the college’s use of geothermal technology, which is not used in Brazil, and thin client technology, which is an innovative project that will reduce the college’s use of electricity for technology by 88 percent.  Both these efforts help to decrease the college’s energy demand by 45 percent, which saves $320,000 per year. This fall, Lake Land is scheduled to construct a 10-kilowatt wind turbine for instructional purposes, with larger ones coming in the future. This will help teach students about attaining green jobs. Other green energy projects at the college are the use of green chemicals, solar voltaic, daylight harvesting and solar thermal. The college’s Northwest, Field House, Vo-Tech and 50,000-square-foot addition buildings are on the geothermal system.  The Virgil H. Judge Learning Center renovation will be hooked to the geothermal system this fall, along with other energy efficient measures. http://www.herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/article_0579a9b6-b98b-11df-b92f-001cc4c03286.html Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:12:07 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Lake-Land-dedicated-to-environment-green-technology/BLOG/2627149/29468.html yiehk21 2010-09-07T02:12:07Z EcoSeed Community   [image] MATTOON — Lake Land College’s sustainability efforts are gaining international attention.  Ray Rieck, Lake Land’s vice president for business services, recently was invited to speak about these efforts at an international energy conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.   Lake Land has been dedicated to decreasing energy use, generating a return on investment on green technologies, and teaching students to attain green jobs. “I was impressed with the overwhelming response the Lake Land story received at the conference,” Rieck said. “Conference attendees were well-versed in best practices in environmental issues, and they were quite interested in everything we have going here at Lake Land.” Rieck said the two areas that seemed to be of most interest to conferencegoers were the college’s use of geothermal technology, which is not used in Brazil, and thin client technology, which is an innovative project that will reduce the college’s use of electricity for technology by 88 percent.  Both these efforts help to decrease the college’s energy demand by 45 percent, which saves $320,000 per year. This fall, Lake Land is scheduled to construct a 10-kilowatt wind turbine for instructional purposes, with larger ones coming in the future. This will help teach students about attaining green jobs. Other green energy projects at the college are the use of green chemicals, solar voltaic, daylight harvesting and solar thermal. The college’s Northwest, Field House, Vo-Tech and 50,000-square-foot addition buildings are on the geothermal system.  The Virgil H. Judge Learning Center renovation will be hooked to the geothermal system this fall, along with other energy efficient measures. http://www.herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/article_0579a9b6-b98b-11df-b92f-001cc4c03286.html nonadult false Lake Land dedicated to environment, green technology text blog 11 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7683071&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_10005797_29468_7683071_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2627149 7683071 Gold 17080 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Saudi-Aramco-commercialises-wastewater-technology/BLOG/2627124/29468.html   [image] Saudi Aramco has turned to Siemens to sell the new wastewater technology. Saudi Aramco, the national oil company, has announced it is intending the commercialising a wastewater treatment technology in conjunction with Siemens Water Technologies, the company announced on Wednesday. The patented EcoRight technology treats oily or industrial wastewater by using granular activated carbon in a modified Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR), says the company on its website. Siemens has been granted a license to sell the technology, in return for royalty payments. The EcoRight process achieves a high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency with almost no additional operating or capital costs, says Aramco. In areas where water is scarce, the system allows for the inexpensive reuse of wastewater, thus conserving groundwater. In areas where discharges must meet strict environmental requirements, the system can provide the treatment necessary for compliance, reads the website. Since it provides the same removal capacity as much more energy-intensive technologies, it qualifies as a green technology and can earn CO2 reduction credits. This system can be used at all Saudi Aramco operating facilities that generate oily wastewater. Siemens has identified a number of potential uses and anticipates a five-year market for sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars with potential sales all over the world. EcoRight is being pilot tested at Ras Tanura Refinery as a potential replacement for its waste injection well. It is part of a proposed build, own and operate proposal for the Jiddah Refinery Phase II Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Project. Almost all other Saudi Aramco industrial facilities have some application need. The Water Management Committee will prioritize the needs of Saudi Aramco facilities that can benefit from EcoRight and schedule the projects into the Business Plan as appropriate. http://www.utilities-me.com/article-743-saudi-aramco-commercialises-wastewater-technology/   [image] Saudi Aramco has turned to Siemens to sell the new wastewater technology. Saudi Aramco, the national oil company, has announced it is intending the commercialising a wastewater treatment technology in conjunction with Siemens Water Technologies, the company announced on Wednesday. The patented EcoRight technology treats oily or industrial wastewater by using granular activated carbon in a modified Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR), says the company on its website. Siemens has been granted a license to sell the technology, in return for royalty payments. The EcoRight process achieves a high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency with almost no additional operating or capital costs, says Aramco. In areas where water is scarce, the system allows for the inexpensive reuse of wastewater, thus conserving groundwater. In areas where discharges must meet strict environmental requirements, the system can provide the treatment necessary for compliance, reads the website. Since it provides the same removal capacity as much more energy-intensive technologies, it qualifies as a green technology and can earn CO2 reduction credits. This system can be used at all Saudi Aramco operating facilities that generate oily wastewater. Siemens has identified a number of potential uses and anticipates a five-year market for sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars with potential sales all over the world. EcoRight is being pilot tested at Ras Tanura Refinery as a potential replacement for its waste injection well. It is part of a proposed build, own and operate proposal for the Jiddah Refinery Phase II Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Project. Almost all other Saudi Aramco industrial facilities have some application need. The Water Management Committee will prioritize the needs of Saudi Aramco facilities that can benefit from EcoRight and schedule the projects into the Business Plan as appropriate. http://www.utilities-me.com/article-743-saudi-aramco-commercialises-wastewater-technology/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:00:14 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Saudi-Aramco-commercialises-wastewater-technology/BLOG/2627124/29468.html yiehk21 2010-09-07T02:00:14Z EcoSeed Community   [image] Saudi Aramco has turned to Siemens to sell the new wastewater technology. Saudi Aramco, the national oil company, has announced it is intending the commercialising a wastewater treatment technology in conjunction with Siemens Water Technologies, the company announced on Wednesday. The patented EcoRight technology treats oily or industrial wastewater by using granular activated carbon in a modified Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR), says the company on its website. Siemens has been granted a license to sell the technology, in return for royalty payments. The EcoRight process achieves a high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency with almost no additional operating or capital costs, says Aramco. In areas where water is scarce, the system allows for the inexpensive reuse of wastewater, thus conserving groundwater. In areas where discharges must meet strict environmental requirements, the system can provide the treatment necessary for compliance, reads the website. Since it provides the same removal capacity as much more energy-intensive technologies, it qualifies as a green technology and can earn CO2 reduction credits. This system can be used at all Saudi Aramco operating facilities that generate oily wastewater. Siemens has identified a number of potential uses and anticipates a five-year market for sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars with potential sales all over the world. EcoRight is being pilot tested at Ras Tanura Refinery as a potential replacement for its waste injection well. It is part of a proposed build, own and operate proposal for the Jiddah Refinery Phase II Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Project. Almost all other Saudi Aramco industrial facilities have some application need. The Water Management Committee will prioritize the needs of Saudi Aramco facilities that can benefit from EcoRight and schedule the projects into the Business Plan as appropriate. http://www.utilities-me.com/article-743-saudi-aramco-commercialises-wastewater-technology/ nonadult false Saudi Aramco commercialises wastewater technology text blog 159 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7683071&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_10005797_29468_7683071_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2627124 7683071 Gold 17080 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Home-Greening-Tips-How-to-make-eco-friendly-changes-at-home-without-the-pain/BLOG/2626956/29468.html So, you want to be a “greenie”? Think quick now, just how green – just a little or the whole hog?   Ok, I guess that being so green that all your friends stop calling around, or moving to the mountains is not what you’re after.  But let’s say that you want to give it a  “suck it and see”.  Right then – let’s see what we can do.  Below is a simple list of things you can at least try yourself or even better coax your family along the “green brick road”.  Taking a few eco-friendly steps in your life does not have to be hard.  With just a few changes you can save energy, cut your fuel bills, save some money and have green bumper sticker with a clear conscience.  Using less energy can save you up to 20% on your power bills.  Here are your greenie budget saver tips : Turn your heating down, just 1degree Celcius can save up to 10% on power bills If you’re feeling coldish – put on a jumper or cozy fleece before turning up the heater, the heating lag time is just wasted power and a fleece feels great Turn your hot water thermostat down, you don’t need to maintain scalding hot water, you just need a nice warm shower or washing water.  If you can’t hold your hand in the hot water – it’s too damn hot, turn it down and save power Close the curtains at night and cut heat loss through your windows Track down drafts with a smoking incence stick and if possible seal any draft Fit draft stop or brush seals on exterior doors Keep internal doors closed to reduce draughts If you’re not in a room, turn off the lights, if you’re afraid of the dark, fit a motion sensor to a lamp so it comes on when you enter When cooking, use a hotplate that fits the pot pan and use its lid to use heat efficiently When doing your laundry, wash a full load each time or at least use the semi-load switch Wash at 30 degrees Celcius, modern detergents work perfectly well and you save up to 30% power usage Defrost your freezer regularly so it works efficiently Track down everything that uses standby power – if it has a glowing LED, it’s on standby. Standby can use up to 25% of the full load energy, especially your computer sitting at home on standby, turn the suckers OFF Don’t over-fill the kettle for just one cup of coffee Use low wattage energy-saving light bulbs where possible (dispose of them properly) OK, how hard was any of that? Most of these simple measure didn’t cost you a red cent and will save you money and you can congratulate yourself at your first cost cutting and eco friendly steps.  With your new found confidence, how about taking on a simple DIY project such as planting some  summer shade trees, plant a veggie patch, buy your fruit from a local market rather than from an overseas supplier (your supermarket).  Try something more technical like a DIY Solar Panel and hook it up to a roof cooling fan. Good luck and happy greening. Source: http://greeneasy.net/ So, you want to be a “greenie”? Think quick now, just how green – just a little or the whole hog?   Ok, I guess that being so green that all your friends stop calling around, or moving to the mountains is not what you’re after.  But let’s say that you want to give it a  “suck it and see”.  Right then – let’s see what we can do.  Below is a simple list of things you can at least try yourself or even better coax your family along the “green brick road”.  Taking a few eco-friendly steps in your life does not have to be hard.  With just a few changes you can save energy, cut your fuel bills, save some money and have green bumper sticker with a clear conscience.  Using less energy can save you up to 20% on your power bills.  Here are your greenie budget saver tips : Turn your heating down, just 1degree Celcius can save up to 10% on power bills If you’re feeling coldish – put on a jumper or cozy fleece before turning up the heater, the heating lag time is just wasted power and a fleece feels great Turn your hot water thermostat down, you don’t need to maintain scalding hot water, you just need a nice warm shower or washing water.  If you can’t hold your hand in the hot water – it’s too damn hot, turn it down and save power Close the curtains at night and cut heat loss through your windows Track down drafts with a smoking incence stick and if possible seal any draft Fit draft stop or brush seals on exterior doors Keep internal doors closed to reduce draughts If you’re not in a room, turn off the lights, if you’re afraid of the dark, fit a motion sensor to a lamp so it comes on when you enter When cooking, use a hotplate that fits the pot pan and use its lid to use heat efficiently When doing your laundry, wash a full load each time or at least use the semi-load switch Wash at 30 degrees Celcius, modern detergents work perfectly well and you save up to 30% power usage Defrost your freezer regularly so it works efficiently Track down everything that uses standby power – if it has a glowing LED, it’s on standby. Standby can use up to 25% of the full load energy, especially your computer sitting at home on standby, turn the suckers OFF Don’t over-fill the kettle for just one cup of coffee Use low wattage energy-saving light bulbs where possible (dispose of them properly) OK, how hard was any of that? Most of these simple measure didn’t cost you a red cent and will save you money and you can congratulate yourself at your first cost cutting and eco friendly steps.  With your new found confidence, how about taking on a simple DIY project such as planting some  summer shade trees, plant a veggie patch, buy your fruit from a local market rather than from an overseas supplier (your supermarket).  Try something more technical like a DIY Solar Panel and hook it up to a roof cooling fan. Good luck and happy greening. Source: http://greeneasy.net/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:32:32 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Home-Greening-Tips-How-to-make-eco-friendly-changes-at-home-without-the-pain/BLOG/2626956/29468.html arboinks 2010-09-07T01:32:32Z EcoSeed Community So, you want to be a “greenie”? Think quick now, just how green – just a little or the whole hog?   Ok, I guess that being so green that all your friends stop calling around, or moving to the mountains is not what you’re after.  But let’s say that you want to give it a  “suck it and see”.  Right then – let’s see what we can do.  Below is a simple list of things you can at least try yourself or even better coax your family along the “green brick road”.  Taking a few eco-friendly steps in your life does not have to be hard.  With just a few changes you can save energy, cut your fuel bills, save some money and have green bumper sticker with a clear conscience.  Using less energy can save you up to 20% on your power bills.  Here are your greenie budget saver tips : Turn your heating down, just 1degree Celcius can save up to 10% on power bills If you’re feeling coldish – put on a jumper or cozy fleece before turning up the heater, the heating lag time is just wasted power and a fleece feels great Turn your hot water thermostat down, you don’t need to maintain scalding hot water, you just need a nice warm shower or washing water.  If you can’t hold your hand in the hot water – it’s too damn hot, turn it down and save power Close the curtains at night and cut heat loss through your windows Track down drafts with a smoking incence stick and if possible seal any draft Fit draft stop or brush seals on exterior doors Keep internal doors closed to reduce draughts If you’re not in a room, turn off the lights, if you’re afraid of the dark, fit a motion sensor to a lamp so it comes on when you enter When cooking, use a hotplate that fits the pot pan and use its lid to use heat efficiently When doing your laundry, wash a full load each time or at least use the semi-load switch Wash at 30 degrees Celcius, modern detergents work perfectly well and you save up to 30% power usage Defrost your freezer regularly so it works efficiently Track down everything that uses standby power – if it has a glowing LED, it’s on standby. Standby can use up to 25% of the full load energy, especially your computer sitting at home on standby, turn the suckers OFF Don’t over-fill the kettle for just one cup of coffee Use low wattage energy-saving light bulbs where possible (dispose of them properly) OK, how hard was any of that? Most of these simple measure didn’t cost you a red cent and will save you money and you can congratulate yourself at your first cost cutting and eco friendly steps.  With your new found confidence, how about taking on a simple DIY project such as planting some  summer shade trees, plant a veggie patch, buy your fruit from a local market rather than from an overseas supplier (your supermarket).  Try something more technical like a DIY Solar Panel and hook it up to a roof cooling fan. Good luck and happy greening. Source: http://greeneasy.net/ nonadult false Home Greening Tips – How to make eco-friendly changes at home without the pain text blog 12 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=15868748&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_7080739_29468_15868748_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2626956 15868748 Gold 2670 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Recycling-tips-6-Great-Uses-for-those-Egg-boxes/BLOG/2626837/29468.html Seed starter you can also use cardboard style for this as well. But the eggs also produce the waste, which could end up in landfill. For your children? 1. Worms you’ll love the nutrient-rich castings produced. Dig a hole and pokopala (with other UGG Cardy Boots food). Use Jelly Mold Here? neat little trick someone told me recently. After the seeds germinate, push up at the bottom of the Cup, to remove it and transplant either outside or to another, a bigger pot. if made of stiropora, then you need by other solutions. Paint palette for children Or your kids love colors? Then a little colour (green colour) into each Cup, so that you can adjust how much of each color to each child gets. Put some potting soil in each Cup, then 1-2 seeds in potting soil, cover the seeds UGG Australian Boots with some potting soil. To begin with, make sure you compost these shells. it? simple work, what about that package darn egg. If you’ve used cardboard varieties can be cut out of the cup of cardboard collection UGG Cardy Boots UK of plants and the Cup to the new domain.I love eggs for breakfast, like many other people. class, parties, she filled each cup with jello and to withdraw until finished congealing. In this way does not go through too much from one color to the constant pressing of the pipe, or streaming from the bottle. Easter eggs to store you have those plastic Easter eggs for Easter egg hunts or decoration? Instead of having to store them in a plastic bag, use the eggs instead of cartons. If you have your egg boxes cardboard types of material, then EBay alternative? You: The Ultimate List Of Free And Almost Free alternative? You on EBay you can easily have given in your recycle Bin for paperboard. I’ve pointed out a few below. You can then pop them children, and have small snacks jello. Source: http://gerald.bestestzone.com/ Seed starter you can also use cardboard style for this as well. But the eggs also produce the waste, which could end up in landfill. For your children? 1. Worms you’ll love the nutrient-rich castings produced. Dig a hole and pokopala (with other UGG Cardy Boots food). Use Jelly Mold Here? neat little trick someone told me recently. After the seeds germinate, push up at the bottom of the Cup, to remove it and transplant either outside or to another, a bigger pot. if made of stiropora, then you need by other solutions. Paint palette for children Or your kids love colors? Then a little colour (green colour) into each Cup, so that you can adjust how much of each color to each child gets. Put some potting soil in each Cup, then 1-2 seeds in potting soil, cover the seeds UGG Australian Boots with some potting soil. To begin with, make sure you compost these shells. it? simple work, what about that package darn egg. If you’ve used cardboard varieties can be cut out of the cup of cardboard collection UGG Cardy Boots UK of plants and the Cup to the new domain.I love eggs for breakfast, like many other people. class, parties, she filled each cup with jello and to withdraw until finished congealing. In this way does not go through too much from one color to the constant pressing of the pipe, or streaming from the bottle. Easter eggs to store you have those plastic Easter eggs for Easter egg hunts or decoration? Instead of having to store them in a plastic bag, use the eggs instead of cartons. If you have your egg boxes cardboard types of material, then EBay alternative? You: The Ultimate List Of Free And Almost Free alternative? You on EBay you can easily have given in your recycle Bin for paperboard. I’ve pointed out a few below. You can then pop them children, and have small snacks jello. Source: http://gerald.bestestzone.com/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:59:12 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Recycling-tips-6-Great-Uses-for-those-Egg-boxes/BLOG/2626837/29468.html arboinks 2010-09-07T00:59:12Z EcoSeed Community Seed starter you can also use cardboard style for this as well. But the eggs also produce the waste, which could end up in landfill. For your children? 1. Worms you’ll love the nutrient-rich castings produced. Dig a hole and pokopala (with other UGG Cardy Boots food). Use Jelly Mold Here? neat little trick someone told me recently. After the seeds germinate, push up at the bottom of the Cup, to remove it and transplant either outside or to another, a bigger pot. if made of stiropora, then you need by other solutions. Paint palette for children Or your kids love colors? Then a little colour (green colour) into each Cup, so that you can adjust how much of each color to each child gets. Put some potting soil in each Cup, then 1-2 seeds in potting soil, cover the seeds UGG Australian Boots with some potting soil. To begin with, make sure you compost these shells. it? simple work, what about that package darn egg. If you’ve used cardboard varieties can be cut out of the cup of cardboard collection UGG Cardy Boots UK of plants and the Cup to the new domain.I love eggs for breakfast, like many other people. class, parties, she filled each cup with jello and to withdraw until finished congealing. In this way does not go through too much from one color to the constant pressing of the pipe, or streaming from the bottle. Easter eggs to store you have those plastic Easter eggs for Easter egg hunts or decoration? Instead of having to store them in a plastic bag, use the eggs instead of cartons. If you have your egg boxes cardboard types of material, then EBay alternative? You: The Ultimate List Of Free And Almost Free alternative? You on EBay you can easily have given in your recycle Bin for paperboard. I’ve pointed out a few below. You can then pop them children, and have small snacks jello. Source: http://gerald.bestestzone.com/ nonadult false Recycling tips: 6 Great Uses for those Egg boxes text blog 6 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=15868748&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_7080739_29468_15868748_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2626837 15868748 Gold 2670 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Eco-Friendly-Green-Living-Flooring-Choices-Made-Easy/BLOG/2626833/29468.html Are you looking for an eco friendly flooring option? You will be surprised to learn that it is easy to find exactly the look and feel you’ve been searching for that is environmentally friendly and beautiful at the same time. Most of the flooring options listed below will be easy to find and comparative in price to less environmentally friendly choices. Manufacturers of home building supplies are working hard to do their part to create more eco friendly products. And the more study and research they put into these items the better the benefits to your wallet and to the environment. Rugs – Rugs can be made from everything from recycled soda bottles to candy wrappers and plastic bags to old blue jeans. Many of these rugs are easy to clean and can be used indoors or outdoors. Reclaimed Hardwood – Oftentimes wood can be reclaimed from old buildings and refinished and placed in your home. This not only gives you a beautiful look, but it lessens the impact on the environment since fewer trees are being cut down. Carpeting – Recycled carpet is not only safe for your family, but it’s safe for the environment and looks much better on your floor than in a landfill. It comes with the same durability guarantees as virgin synthetic fiber carpets. And if you recycle the carpet you’re replacing it’s a double environmentally friendly upgrade to your home. Cork – Cork flooring is actually good for the environment and is family friendly. The cork is harvested from the bark of a living tree. This process actually stimulates the tree growth. It is soft and warm under your feet. When a plate is dropped on the floor the cushion of the cork will prevent it from breaking. The plate will leave a dent in the floor that will bounce back after a few hours. Bamboo – Bamboo is a great choice for environmentally friendly flooring. Although bamboo may look like wood, it is actually a grass that grows back in about four years. Linoleum – Linoleum is biodegradable and does not release toxic fumes.It can be purchase in any design or theme you might want. It is easy to install and long lasting. Recycled Glass Floor Tiles – Those glass bottles that you’ve sent to the recycling center can find their way back into your home in the form of flooring tiles. It’s truly amazing the color options you’ll find. No two tiles are exactly alike, making your design options endless. Now that you know how easy it is to pick out flooring that is both environmentally friendly and easier on your wallet, go ahead and get started. Decide which flooring option you’d like and take a trip to your local home improvement center. Are you looking for an eco friendly flooring option? You will be surprised to learn that it is easy to find exactly the look and feel you’ve been searching for that is environmentally friendly and beautiful at the same time. Most of the flooring options listed below will be easy to find and comparative in price to less environmentally friendly choices. Manufacturers of home building supplies are working hard to do their part to create more eco friendly products. And the more study and research they put into these items the better the benefits to your wallet and to the environment. Rugs – Rugs can be made from everything from recycled soda bottles to candy wrappers and plastic bags to old blue jeans. Many of these rugs are easy to clean and can be used indoors or outdoors. Reclaimed Hardwood – Oftentimes wood can be reclaimed from old buildings and refinished and placed in your home. This not only gives you a beautiful look, but it lessens the impact on the environment since fewer trees are being cut down. Carpeting – Recycled carpet is not only safe for your family, but it’s safe for the environment and looks much better on your floor than in a landfill. It comes with the same durability guarantees as virgin synthetic fiber carpets. And if you recycle the carpet you’re replacing it’s a double environmentally friendly upgrade to your home. Cork – Cork flooring is actually good for the environment and is family friendly. The cork is harvested from the bark of a living tree. This process actually stimulates the tree growth. It is soft and warm under your feet. When a plate is dropped on the floor the cushion of the cork will prevent it from breaking. The plate will leave a dent in the floor that will bounce back after a few hours. Bamboo – Bamboo is a great choice for environmentally friendly flooring. Although bamboo may look like wood, it is actually a grass that grows back in about four years. Linoleum – Linoleum is biodegradable and does not release toxic fumes.It can be purchase in any design or theme you might want. It is easy to install and long lasting. Recycled Glass Floor Tiles – Those glass bottles that you’ve sent to the recycling center can find their way back into your home in the form of flooring tiles. It’s truly amazing the color options you’ll find. No two tiles are exactly alike, making your design options endless. Now that you know how easy it is to pick out flooring that is both environmentally friendly and easier on your wallet, go ahead and get started. Decide which flooring option you’d like and take a trip to your local home improvement center. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:54:40 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Eco-Friendly-Green-Living-Flooring-Choices-Made-Easy/BLOG/2626833/29468.html arboinks 2010-09-07T00:54:40Z EcoSeed Community Are you looking for an eco friendly flooring option? You will be surprised to learn that it is easy to find exactly the look and feel you’ve been searching for that is environmentally friendly and beautiful at the same time. Most of the flooring options listed below will be easy to find and comparative in price to less environmentally friendly choices. Manufacturers of home building supplies are working hard to do their part to create more eco friendly products. And the more study and research they put into these items the better the benefits to your wallet and to the environment. Rugs – Rugs can be made from everything from recycled soda bottles to candy wrappers and plastic bags to old blue jeans. Many of these rugs are easy to clean and can be used indoors or outdoors. Reclaimed Hardwood – Oftentimes wood can be reclaimed from old buildings and refinished and placed in your home. This not only gives you a beautiful look, but it lessens the impact on the environment since fewer trees are being cut down. Carpeting – Recycled carpet is not only safe for your family, but it’s safe for the environment and looks much better on your floor than in a landfill. It comes with the same durability guarantees as virgin synthetic fiber carpets. And if you recycle the carpet you’re replacing it’s a double environmentally friendly upgrade to your home. Cork – Cork flooring is actually good for the environment and is family friendly. The cork is harvested from the bark of a living tree. This process actually stimulates the tree growth. It is soft and warm under your feet. When a plate is dropped on the floor the cushion of the cork will prevent it from breaking. The plate will leave a dent in the floor that will bounce back after a few hours. Bamboo – Bamboo is a great choice for environmentally friendly flooring. Although bamboo may look like wood, it is actually a grass that grows back in about four years. Linoleum – Linoleum is biodegradable and does not release toxic fumes.It can be purchase in any design or theme you might want. It is easy to install and long lasting. Recycled Glass Floor Tiles – Those glass bottles that you’ve sent to the recycling center can find their way back into your home in the form of flooring tiles. It’s truly amazing the color options you’ll find. No two tiles are exactly alike, making your design options endless. Now that you know how easy it is to pick out flooring that is both environmentally friendly and easier on your wallet, go ahead and get started. Decide which flooring option you’d like and take a trip to your local home improvement center. nonadult false Eco Friendly Green Living Flooring Choices Made Easy! text blog 22 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=15868748&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_7080739_29468_15868748_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2626833 15868748 Gold 2670 http://community.ecoseed.org/_9-Simple-Steps-to-Recycling/BLOG/2626816/29468.html [image] Photo used under Creative Commons from Matt Gibson This post was written a week or so ago, when it was still hot and sunny in the early morning and I could pull myself out of bed for a workout.  Now that fall has hit it’s not so easy and the early morning workouts are few and far between. My alarm went off at an ungodly hour this morning and off I went on my run.  I don’t usually pull myself out of bed this early, but in order to get my exercise fix I had to take advantage of the wee morning hours and take precious time out of my requisite 8 hours of sleep. As I was running, listening to my new-found love Vampire Weekend, a smile came across my face.  It was garbage day in my town and garbage cans were lining the streets-this was not the reason for the smile.  Sitting alongside most garbage cans was a recycle bin, sometimes more than one.  The smile stemmed from my amazement and pride that I lived in an area where most homes had more than one bin filled to the top with recyclables.  I wanted to stop at each house and personally thank each family for taking one small step toward the long term sustainability and health of our planet-but it was way too early so I decided against it and wrote this post instead. [image] Photo used under Creative Commons from e-magic I know recycling can sometimes seem like a chore, so here are a few simple tips for making recycling easy: Read up on the recycling rules for your municipality and make sure you don’t send anything in that can’t be processed. Each city has its own set of rules, so try to follow those guidelines as best you can.  If you are unsure where to find the specifics for your town contact your local Department of Public Works. Have an indoor spot where recyclables are collected before making their way outside.  We place ours next to the sink and they make their way into the bins when someone goes outside. Place the recycle bin in a convenient location, preferably a high traffic area that is easy to access. Mine is in the garage next to the door we use to go in and out of the house. Remove the cap on plastic bottles.  A plastic bottle is designed to withstand a lot of pressure when the cap is on. If a bottle with a cap on it is recycled, more effort will be required to crush it and break it down. The best thing to do with the cap is to remove it and throw it out with the garbage. Crush plastic containers to save space in your recycling bin. Stepping on them is the easiest method-could help release some anger too. Have your children take part in recycling.  Show them the numbers on the bottom of plastics that can be recycled.  Have them help take the recyclables outside to the bins. You may not be required to rinse recyclables.  Check with your municipality.  Even if rinsing is not required, you will probably want to rinse if there is a chance of smell, mold and bacteria growth. Break down cardboard boxes to save space.  Our recycling company will not collect boxes that have not been broken down. Locate a recycling center for all the stuff curbside won’t pick up-for example old CDs, batteries, wood, electronics and paint. Source: http://groovygreenlivin.com/ [image] Photo used under Creative Commons from Matt Gibson This post was written a week or so ago, when it was still hot and sunny in the early morning and I could pull myself out of bed for a workout.  Now that fall has hit it’s not so easy and the early morning workouts are few and far between. My alarm went off at an ungodly hour this morning and off I went on my run.  I don’t usually pull myself out of bed this early, but in order to get my exercise fix I had to take advantage of the wee morning hours and take precious time out of my requisite 8 hours of sleep. As I was running, listening to my new-found love Vampire Weekend, a smile came across my face.  It was garbage day in my town and garbage cans were lining the streets-this was not the reason for the smile.  Sitting alongside most garbage cans was a recycle bin, sometimes more than one.  The smile stemmed from my amazement and pride that I lived in an area where most homes had more than one bin filled to the top with recyclables.  I wanted to stop at each house and personally thank each family for taking one small step toward the long term sustainability and health of our planet-but it was way too early so I decided against it and wrote this post instead. [image] Photo used under Creative Commons from e-magic I know recycling can sometimes seem like a chore, so here are a few simple tips for making recycling easy: Read up on the recycling rules for your municipality and make sure you don’t send anything in that can’t be processed. Each city has its own set of rules, so try to follow those guidelines as best you can.  If you are unsure where to find the specifics for your town contact your local Department of Public Works. Have an indoor spot where recyclables are collected before making their way outside.  We place ours next to the sink and they make their way into the bins when someone goes outside. Place the recycle bin in a convenient location, preferably a high traffic area that is easy to access. Mine is in the garage next to the door we use to go in and out of the house. Remove the cap on plastic bottles.  A plastic bottle is designed to withstand a lot of pressure when the cap is on. If a bottle with a cap on it is recycled, more effort will be required to crush it and break it down. The best thing to do with the cap is to remove it and throw it out with the garbage. Crush plastic containers to save space in your recycling bin. Stepping on them is the easiest method-could help release some anger too. Have your children take part in recycling.  Show them the numbers on the bottom of plastics that can be recycled.  Have them help take the recyclables outside to the bins. You may not be required to rinse recyclables.  Check with your municipality.  Even if rinsing is not required, you will probably want to rinse if there is a chance of smell, mold and bacteria growth. Break down cardboard boxes to save space.  Our recycling company will not collect boxes that have not been broken down. Locate a recycling center for all the stuff curbside won’t pick up-for example old CDs, batteries, wood, electronics and paint. Source: http://groovygreenlivin.com/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:42:24 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_9-Simple-Steps-to-Recycling/BLOG/2626816/29468.html arboinks 2010-09-07T00:42:24Z EcoSeed Community [image] Photo used under Creative Commons from Matt Gibson This post was written a week or so ago, when it was still hot and sunny in the early morning and I could pull myself out of bed for a workout.  Now that fall has hit it’s not so easy and the early morning workouts are few and far between. My alarm went off at an ungodly hour this morning and off I went on my run.  I don’t usually pull myself out of bed this early, but in order to get my exercise fix I had to take advantage of the wee morning hours and take precious time out of my requisite 8 hours of sleep. As I was running, listening to my new-found love Vampire Weekend, a smile came across my face.  It was garbage day in my town and garbage cans were lining the streets-this was not the reason for the smile.  Sitting alongside most garbage cans was a recycle bin, sometimes more than one.  The smile stemmed from my amazement and pride that I lived in an area where most homes had more than one bin filled to the top with recyclables.  I wanted to stop at each house and personally thank each family for taking one small step toward the long term sustainability and health of our planet-but it was way too early so I decided against it and wrote this post instead. [image] Photo used under Creative Commons from e-magic I know recycling can sometimes seem like a chore, so here are a few simple tips for making recycling easy: Read up on the recycling rules for your municipality and make sure you don’t send anything in that can’t be processed. Each city has its own set of rules, so try to follow those guidelines as best you can.  If you are unsure where to find the specifics for your town contact your local Department of Public Works. Have an indoor spot where recyclables are collected before making their way outside.  We place ours next to the sink and they make their way into the bins when someone goes outside. Place the recycle bin in a convenient location, preferably a high traffic area that is easy to access. Mine is in the garage next to the door we use to go in and out of the house. Remove the cap on plastic bottles.  A plastic bottle is designed to withstand a lot of pressure when the cap is on. If a bottle with a cap on it is recycled, more effort will be required to crush it and break it down. The best thing to do with the cap is to remove it and throw it out with the garbage. Crush plastic containers to save space in your recycling bin. Stepping on them is the easiest method-could help release some anger too. Have your children take part in recycling.  Show them the numbers on the bottom of plastics that can be recycled.  Have them help take the recyclables outside to the bins. You may not be required to rinse recyclables.  Check with your municipality.  Even if rinsing is not required, you will probably want to rinse if there is a chance of smell, mold and bacteria growth. Break down cardboard boxes to save space.  Our recycling company will not collect boxes that have not been broken down. Locate a recycling center for all the stuff curbside won’t pick up-for example old CDs, batteries, wood, electronics and paint. Source: http://groovygreenlivin.com/ nonadult false 9 Simple Steps to Recycling text blog 3 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=15868748&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_7080739_29468_15868748_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2626816 15868748 Gold 2670 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Make-your-own-homemade-cell-phone-signal-booster/BLOG/2626796/29468.html Do you live far from any major city, where making a call on your cell phone means climbing up onto your garage roof and waving your arms wildly just to boost your signal by 1 measly bar? Well apparently building your own make shift signal booster is a breeze and requires a few easy to find pieces of household equipment. (1) Insulated Wire Method: (2) Paper Clip Method: Paperclip Antenna – Click here for more blooper videos (3) Coil Method: Source: http://allgreengadgets.com/ Do you live far from any major city, where making a call on your cell phone means climbing up onto your garage roof and waving your arms wildly just to boost your signal by 1 measly bar? Well apparently building your own make shift signal booster is a breeze and requires a few easy to find pieces of household equipment. (1) Insulated Wire Method: (2) Paper Clip Method: Paperclip Antenna – Click here for more blooper videos (3) Coil Method: Source: http://allgreengadgets.com/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:28:21 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Make-your-own-homemade-cell-phone-signal-booster/BLOG/2626796/29468.html arboinks 2010-09-07T00:28:21Z EcoSeed Community Do you live far from any major city, where making a call on your cell phone means climbing up onto your garage roof and waving your arms wildly just to boost your signal by 1 measly bar? Well apparently building your own make shift signal booster is a breeze and requires a few easy to find pieces of household equipment. (1) Insulated Wire Method: (2) Paper Clip Method: Paperclip Antenna – Click here for more blooper videos (3) Coil Method: Source: http://allgreengadgets.com/ nonadult false Make your own homemade cell phone signal booster text blog 5 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=15868748&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_7080739_29468_15868748_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2626796 15868748 Gold 2670 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Let-The-Paper-Made-Alarm-Clock-Wake-You-In-Eco-Friendly-Way/BLOG/2626775/29468.html Before a mug of coffee does it, it would be your alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning. Now wonder how good it is to know that your alarm clock is made with recycled and molded paper! [image] Yes, it is just like a very ordinary paper mold, but the only difference is that it can wake you up. In the modern era, when we all are looking for alternate forms of resources, this is the right thing one can think of having. Every time we dump our used electronic gadgets, we are harming the environment. The effects of these electronic wastes are known to one and all. This inspired Joon&Jung, the product design studio from Netherlands, to come up with this innovative alarm clock made of used paper. Perhaps, nothing can be better than the technology of recycling. We all know about the good effects recycling have and how much it can protect our nature. These Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks are manufactured from collected paper and have all the features that you want in any alarm clock. The Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks come with an exterior case manufactured from pulp paper. If you purchase these ‘eco-friendly’ alarm clocks, you are doing your bit in protecting the environment. What more is that even when you feel that you have used the alarm clocks enough and have found the need to dispose it of, you can still do it the eco-friendly way. The alarm clocks comes with a self-address envelop so that when you feel like doing away with it, you can mail it back to the makers who will again recycle them to make new alarm clocks. Dumping any other ordinary alarm clock anywhere will produce hazardous wastes which will harm the environment in too many ways. [image] The alarm clocks are developed with white-themed knitted electronic buttons cable, and mechanic buttons. The white knitted electronic buttons cable is produced in Tilberg, Netherlands. The LED screen displays the time behind a textile display, which is clear enough for you to have a good look at the time. Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks were exhibited at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010. A lot is yet to meet the eye and for detailed info you can browse the Joon&Jung website to check out more of these innovative alarm clocks. Source: http://www.walyou.com/ Before a mug of coffee does it, it would be your alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning. Now wonder how good it is to know that your alarm clock is made with recycled and molded paper! [image] Yes, it is just like a very ordinary paper mold, but the only difference is that it can wake you up. In the modern era, when we all are looking for alternate forms of resources, this is the right thing one can think of having. Every time we dump our used electronic gadgets, we are harming the environment. The effects of these electronic wastes are known to one and all. This inspired Joon&Jung, the product design studio from Netherlands, to come up with this innovative alarm clock made of used paper. Perhaps, nothing can be better than the technology of recycling. We all know about the good effects recycling have and how much it can protect our nature. These Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks are manufactured from collected paper and have all the features that you want in any alarm clock. The Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks come with an exterior case manufactured from pulp paper. If you purchase these ‘eco-friendly’ alarm clocks, you are doing your bit in protecting the environment. What more is that even when you feel that you have used the alarm clocks enough and have found the need to dispose it of, you can still do it the eco-friendly way. The alarm clocks comes with a self-address envelop so that when you feel like doing away with it, you can mail it back to the makers who will again recycle them to make new alarm clocks. Dumping any other ordinary alarm clock anywhere will produce hazardous wastes which will harm the environment in too many ways. [image] The alarm clocks are developed with white-themed knitted electronic buttons cable, and mechanic buttons. The white knitted electronic buttons cable is produced in Tilberg, Netherlands. The LED screen displays the time behind a textile display, which is clear enough for you to have a good look at the time. Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks were exhibited at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010. A lot is yet to meet the eye and for detailed info you can browse the Joon&Jung website to check out more of these innovative alarm clocks. Source: http://www.walyou.com/ Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:12:08 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Let-The-Paper-Made-Alarm-Clock-Wake-You-In-Eco-Friendly-Way/BLOG/2626775/29468.html arboinks 2010-09-07T00:12:08Z EcoSeed Community Before a mug of coffee does it, it would be your alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning. Now wonder how good it is to know that your alarm clock is made with recycled and molded paper! [image] Yes, it is just like a very ordinary paper mold, but the only difference is that it can wake you up. In the modern era, when we all are looking for alternate forms of resources, this is the right thing one can think of having. Every time we dump our used electronic gadgets, we are harming the environment. The effects of these electronic wastes are known to one and all. This inspired Joon&Jung, the product design studio from Netherlands, to come up with this innovative alarm clock made of used paper. Perhaps, nothing can be better than the technology of recycling. We all know about the good effects recycling have and how much it can protect our nature. These Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks are manufactured from collected paper and have all the features that you want in any alarm clock. The Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks come with an exterior case manufactured from pulp paper. If you purchase these ‘eco-friendly’ alarm clocks, you are doing your bit in protecting the environment. What more is that even when you feel that you have used the alarm clocks enough and have found the need to dispose it of, you can still do it the eco-friendly way. The alarm clocks comes with a self-address envelop so that when you feel like doing away with it, you can mail it back to the makers who will again recycle them to make new alarm clocks. Dumping any other ordinary alarm clock anywhere will produce hazardous wastes which will harm the environment in too many ways. [image] The alarm clocks are developed with white-themed knitted electronic buttons cable, and mechanic buttons. The white knitted electronic buttons cable is produced in Tilberg, Netherlands. The LED screen displays the time behind a textile display, which is clear enough for you to have a good look at the time. Joon&Jung Paper Alarm Clocks were exhibited at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010. A lot is yet to meet the eye and for detailed info you can browse the Joon&Jung website to check out more of these innovative alarm clocks. Source: http://www.walyou.com/ nonadult false Let The Paper Made Alarm Clock Wake You In Eco-Friendly Way text blog 5 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=15868748&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_7080739_29468_15868748_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2626775 15868748 Gold 2670 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Tips-for-Successful-Moving-By-Packers-Movers-Moradabad/BLOG/2626006/29468.html Moving home with entire household items to a new location is a huge task. It is one of the most stressful tasks of life. It creates chaotic situations. You have to do lots of works associated with your move. Packing is one of the most stressful works involved in home shifting. If you pack properly your household goods you will be able to make your home shift easier and smother. Here are some important tips and suggestions which will help you pack your items properly in order to make your move successful, easy and smooth. Have a look at tips for packing contributed you by Packers Movers Moradabad. Start packing of your household items early to avoid unnecessary stress and rush. Pack your belongings that are seasonal in use first of all. Put seasonal clothing and decorations into your boxes. Get ride of items that you do not need anymore. Avoid packing items you will not want to use in future. Donate such items to a charitable organization or make a garage sale for such items. Pack light items into a big box as more of them weight less. This way you will able to manage boxes for easy carry. Do not overload your boxes or cartons. You may cause injury to your spine. Take extreme care in packing of fragile or highly breakable items. Use enough quantity of cushion or padding materials in the box with crushed old newspapers. Wrap each item with good quality wrapping sheets. Pack all your daily essential items into a separate box. Pack all your important documents and valuables yourselves and keep them carefully a safe place. Do not put such items onto the moving vehicles. Label each box / carton properly which will help you unpack box conveniently at your new residence. I hope these tips and suggestions provided by Moradabad Packers Movers will help you greatly in packing of your household items properly. If you are still hesitant to pack your things right, consider to hire professional packing & moving services from Packers and Movers Moradabad. Know more about moving tips and Movers and Packers Moradabad at the website www.packersmovers.ws. Santosh Ets is a relocation expert and amateur writer primarily focusing on relocation and transportation related topics. Currently he is working with a reputable Packers Movers Moradabad company. Moving home with entire household items to a new location is a huge task. It is one of the most stressful tasks of life. It creates chaotic situations. You have to do lots of works associated with your move. Packing is one of the most stressful works involved in home shifting. If you pack properly your household goods you will be able to make your home shift easier and smother. Here are some important tips and suggestions which will help you pack your items properly in order to make your move successful, easy and smooth. Have a look at tips for packing contributed you by Packers Movers Moradabad. Start packing of your household items early to avoid unnecessary stress and rush. Pack your belongings that are seasonal in use first of all. Put seasonal clothing and decorations into your boxes. Get ride of items that you do not need anymore. Avoid packing items you will not want to use in future. Donate such items to a charitable organization or make a garage sale for such items. Pack light items into a big box as more of them weight less. This way you will able to manage boxes for easy carry. Do not overload your boxes or cartons. You may cause injury to your spine. Take extreme care in packing of fragile or highly breakable items. Use enough quantity of cushion or padding materials in the box with crushed old newspapers. Wrap each item with good quality wrapping sheets. Pack all your daily essential items into a separate box. Pack all your important documents and valuables yourselves and keep them carefully a safe place. Do not put such items onto the moving vehicles. Label each box / carton properly which will help you unpack box conveniently at your new residence. I hope these tips and suggestions provided by Moradabad Packers Movers will help you greatly in packing of your household items properly. If you are still hesitant to pack your things right, consider to hire professional packing & moving services from Packers and Movers Moradabad. Know more about moving tips and Movers and Packers Moradabad at the website www.packersmovers.ws. Santosh Ets is a relocation expert and amateur writer primarily focusing on relocation and transportation related topics. Currently he is working with a reputable Packers Movers Moradabad company. Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:24:44 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Tips-for-Successful-Moving-By-Packers-Movers-Moradabad/BLOG/2626006/29468.html santoshets 2010-09-06T09:24:44Z EcoSeed Community Moving home with entire household items to a new location is a huge task. It is one of the most stressful tasks of life. It creates chaotic situations. You have to do lots of works associated with your move. Packing is one of the most stressful works involved in home shifting. If you pack properly your household goods you will be able to make your home shift easier and smother. Here are some important tips and suggestions which will help you pack your items properly in order to make your move successful, easy and smooth. Have a look at tips for packing contributed you by Packers Movers Moradabad. Start packing of your household items early to avoid unnecessary stress and rush. Pack your belongings that are seasonal in use first of all. Put seasonal clothing and decorations into your boxes. Get ride of items that you do not need anymore. Avoid packing items you will not want to use in future. Donate such items to a charitable organization or make a garage sale for such items. Pack light items into a big box as more of them weight less. This way you will able to manage boxes for easy carry. Do not overload your boxes or cartons. You may cause injury to your spine. Take extreme care in packing of fragile or highly breakable items. Use enough quantity of cushion or padding materials in the box with crushed old newspapers. Wrap each item with good quality wrapping sheets. Pack all your daily essential items into a separate box. Pack all your important documents and valuables yourselves and keep them carefully a safe place. Do not put such items onto the moving vehicles. Label each box / carton properly which will help you unpack box conveniently at your new residence. I hope these tips and suggestions provided by Moradabad Packers Movers will help you greatly in packing of your household items properly. If you are still hesitant to pack your things right, consider to hire professional packing & moving services from Packers and Movers Moradabad. Know more about moving tips and Movers and Packers Moradabad at the website www.packersmovers.ws. Santosh Ets is a relocation expert and amateur writer primarily focusing on relocation and transportation related topics. Currently he is working with a reputable Packers Movers Moradabad company. moradabad, movers, packers nonadult false Tips for Successful Moving – By Packers Movers Moradabad text blog moradabad,movers,packers 5 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19150397&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_E.jpg false India Uttar Pradesh Moradabad 0 0 2626006 19150397 Silver 1485 http://community.ecoseed.org/_All-about-Moving-Company-Helpful-Information/BLOG/2625998/29468.html A moving company is a company dedicated to help people and their belongings move from one place to other. Moving does not mean only moving of goods rather it include all tasks related to relocations and transportations. These include packing and moving, loading and unloading, rearranging and many other allied services like postal and parcel, courier, car carrier and transportation, storage and warehousing, custom clearance, air cargo relocation, freight forwarding and many other services. Moving companies apart from providing above mentioned services also act as rental companies. They rent trucks, trailers and moving equipment on rent. They also provide packing supplies to those people who want self relocation. They collect packing supplies and pack goods themselves. They also hire vehicles and load goods in trucks themselves. Some people hire driver to drive the truck while others drive themselves. However, hiring a moving company is good as they have good experience in the field. They carefully pack and move good from one place to another. The expert staffs are efficient in packing all kind of items. They are even comfortable in packing fragile items and big items like furniture, refrigerator, washing machine, AC, cooler, etc. They can safely pack these items. Your valuable belonging will be packed without encountering any scratch and damage. There are many moving companies in all over the country. Most of them are specialized in local and domestic moving while few relocation agencies also provide international facilities. You can find domestic movers in all over the country but most of international moving companies are clustered in metro cities and big cities. They are specially found in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and national capital regions. The relocation agencies based in NCR are known for rendering qualitative services. There are many relocation agencies in NCR –Ghaziabad Packers Movers based agencies and packers movers Faridabad based agencies are quite popular for providing smooth, safe and hassle free relocation. They also provide international relocation services. Popular moving companies use latest equipment to safely pack and move goods. Some companies use extra safety measures to save clients’ goods from being scratched. They use furniture blanket to move furniture. They also use dollies and ramps for safe relocation of clients’ goods. Moving companies have potential to make your relocation easy and stress free. Above mentioned information about their services is enough to understand what they do to make relocation easier. If you are looking for a relocation agency for your move hire one of the Packer and Movers Ghaziabad based companies. They will help you relocate safely and smoothly. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/all-about-moving-company-helpful-information.html Santosh Ets is a relocation expert and amateur writer primarily focusing on relocation and transportation related topics. Currently he is working with a reputable Packers Movers Ghaziabad company. A moving company is a company dedicated to help people and their belongings move from one place to other. Moving does not mean only moving of goods rather it include all tasks related to relocations and transportations. These include packing and moving, loading and unloading, rearranging and many other allied services like postal and parcel, courier, car carrier and transportation, storage and warehousing, custom clearance, air cargo relocation, freight forwarding and many other services. Moving companies apart from providing above mentioned services also act as rental companies. They rent trucks, trailers and moving equipment on rent. They also provide packing supplies to those people who want self relocation. They collect packing supplies and pack goods themselves. They also hire vehicles and load goods in trucks themselves. Some people hire driver to drive the truck while others drive themselves. However, hiring a moving company is good as they have good experience in the field. They carefully pack and move good from one place to another. The expert staffs are efficient in packing all kind of items. They are even comfortable in packing fragile items and big items like furniture, refrigerator, washing machine, AC, cooler, etc. They can safely pack these items. Your valuable belonging will be packed without encountering any scratch and damage. There are many moving companies in all over the country. Most of them are specialized in local and domestic moving while few relocation agencies also provide international facilities. You can find domestic movers in all over the country but most of international moving companies are clustered in metro cities and big cities. They are specially found in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and national capital regions. The relocation agencies based in NCR are known for rendering qualitative services. There are many relocation agencies in NCR –Ghaziabad Packers Movers based agencies and packers movers Faridabad based agencies are quite popular for providing smooth, safe and hassle free relocation. They also provide international relocation services. Popular moving companies use latest equipment to safely pack and move goods. Some companies use extra safety measures to save clients’ goods from being scratched. They use furniture blanket to move furniture. They also use dollies and ramps for safe relocation of clients’ goods. Moving companies have potential to make your relocation easy and stress free. Above mentioned information about their services is enough to understand what they do to make relocation easier. If you are looking for a relocation agency for your move hire one of the Packer and Movers Ghaziabad based companies. They will help you relocate safely and smoothly. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/all-about-moving-company-helpful-information.html Santosh Ets is a relocation expert and amateur writer primarily focusing on relocation and transportation related topics. Currently he is working with a reputable Packers Movers Ghaziabad company. Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:12:27 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_All-about-Moving-Company-Helpful-Information/BLOG/2625998/29468.html santoshets 2010-09-06T09:12:27Z EcoSeed Community A moving company is a company dedicated to help people and their belongings move from one place to other. Moving does not mean only moving of goods rather it include all tasks related to relocations and transportations. These include packing and moving, loading and unloading, rearranging and many other allied services like postal and parcel, courier, car carrier and transportation, storage and warehousing, custom clearance, air cargo relocation, freight forwarding and many other services. Moving companies apart from providing above mentioned services also act as rental companies. They rent trucks, trailers and moving equipment on rent. They also provide packing supplies to those people who want self relocation. They collect packing supplies and pack goods themselves. They also hire vehicles and load goods in trucks themselves. Some people hire driver to drive the truck while others drive themselves. However, hiring a moving company is good as they have good experience in the field. They carefully pack and move good from one place to another. The expert staffs are efficient in packing all kind of items. They are even comfortable in packing fragile items and big items like furniture, refrigerator, washing machine, AC, cooler, etc. They can safely pack these items. Your valuable belonging will be packed without encountering any scratch and damage. There are many moving companies in all over the country. Most of them are specialized in local and domestic moving while few relocation agencies also provide international facilities. You can find domestic movers in all over the country but most of international moving companies are clustered in metro cities and big cities. They are specially found in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and national capital regions. The relocation agencies based in NCR are known for rendering qualitative services. There are many relocation agencies in NCR –Ghaziabad Packers Movers based agencies and packers movers Faridabad based agencies are quite popular for providing smooth, safe and hassle free relocation. They also provide international relocation services. Popular moving companies use latest equipment to safely pack and move goods. Some companies use extra safety measures to save clients’ goods from being scratched. They use furniture blanket to move furniture. They also use dollies and ramps for safe relocation of clients’ goods. Moving companies have potential to make your relocation easy and stress free. Above mentioned information about their services is enough to understand what they do to make relocation easier. If you are looking for a relocation agency for your move hire one of the Packer and Movers Ghaziabad based companies. They will help you relocate safely and smoothly. Article Source:- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/all-about-moving-company-helpful-information.html Santosh Ets is a relocation expert and amateur writer primarily focusing on relocation and transportation related topics. Currently he is working with a reputable Packers Movers Ghaziabad company. ghaziabad, movers, packers nonadult false All about Moving Company –Helpful Information text blog ghaziabad,movers,packers 3 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=19150397&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/user/defaultImage_160x120_D.jpg false India Uttar Pradesh Ghaziabad 0 0 2625998 19150397 Silver 1485 http://community.ecoseed.org/_2010-Deutsche-Bank-Championship-Sustains-Green-Commitment/BLOG/2625544/29468.html [image] NORTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Deutsche Bank Championship today announced that it has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability and will once again be a carbon neutral event. This year marks the third season that the Deutsche Bank Championship has achieved net carbon zero emissions as it remains the only carbon neutral event on the PGA TOUR. The Championship’s extensive sustainability program, in collaboration with its Founders Club members and suppliers has also been expanded with several new and improved programs. “The Deutsche Bank Championship has remained committed to maintaining a high standard of environmental excellence, reflecting the Bank’s overall commitment to be carbon neutral from 2013 onward” For 2010, the Championship has partnered with BMW, the official vehicle of the Deutsche Bank Championship, to provide PGA TOUR players with a fleet of vehicles that includes the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series and BMW 335 Advanced Diesel. The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series is 5% more efficient than its non-hybrid counterpart and is able to run exclusively on electric power and emit zero harmful CO2 emissions up to a speed of 37 mph. The BMW 335 Advanced Diesel offers cleaner emissions, making it an excellent alternative to a traditional gas car. “The Deutsche Bank Championship has remained committed to maintaining a high standard of environmental excellence, reflecting the Bank’s overall commitment to be carbon neutral from 2013 onward,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas. “We have made significant strides in reducing the event’s carbon footprint and will continue to build on our success so that the Championship will be enjoyed by generations of fans to come.” The Championship has also invested in new liners for all on-site trash bins that are 100% bio-degradable and reduce emissions in the manufacturing process by 7%. Also new for 2010, the Championship, in partnership with Big Green Hippo & Newport Biodiesel will be converting all of the vegetable oil used in the kitchens into biodiesel fuel. This fuel is locally produced, non-toxic and can be used to power diesel engines or home oil furnaces. Because it is not possible to entirely eliminate the environmental impact of the event, Deutsche Bank and the Championship are investing in carbon-offsets to finance programs that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount that is estimated to be equal to those generated by the event. This year, the Bank will purchase carbon-offsets that will help finance the construction of a biomass fired power plant in Amazonas, Brazil. The goal of the project is to replace electricity from fossil fuels, while also reducing methane emissions from biomass stockpiles. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emission equivalent to 170,000 tons of CO2 per year and will help contribute to the sustainable development of the local community. The program was validated by environmental consulting expert First Climate, one of Europe’s leading carbon asset management companies. TPC Boston is adjacent to 150 acres of local conservation land donated by the development partnership of the club to the towns of Norton and Mansfield. The golf course was designed to complement its natural surroundings. There is a dedicated effort to preserve and enhance the environment by managing grassland and forest edges for the benefit of wildlife around the golf course. The foundation of environmental stewardship begins with utilizing natural products like composts and organic fertilizers that are recycled from biosolids, poultry litter, wood and paper. This practice helps achieve the building of quality soil, which allows the club to judiciously use water and other resources for improved plant health. The club has been the recipient of three Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards for environmental stewardship and is designated as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.” A New England’s Labor Day tradition, the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship features a $7.5 million purse and a $1.35 million winner’s check. It enters its fourth year as a PGA TOUR Playoffs event and is the second of four stops in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Its distinguished list of champions includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh (twice), Steve Sticker, Adam Scott and Olin Browne. About Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With 81,929 employees in 72 countries, Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people. www.db.com About IMG Sports & Entertainment Operating in 30 countries, IMG Sports & Entertainment's diverse businesses include: product and brand licensing; consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; golf course design; and client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motor sports, coaching, Olympic and action sports. IMG Academies are the world's largest, multi-sport training and educational facilities, delivering world-class training experiences to more than 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult, and professional athletes each year. More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com. About TPC Boston Originally designed by legendary player/designer Arnold Palmer, TPC Boston’s award-winning layout was re-designed in 2007 by celebrated golf course architect Gil Hanse, with PGA TOUR player Brad Faxon serving as a consultant. The result is a compelling par-72, 7,241-yard masterpiece named by Golf Digest the “Best Private Remodel of 2007.” Crafted to fit seamlessly into the natural New England landscape, lush fairways and Bentgrass greens traverse gently rolling hills, with stands of mature trees, chocolate-drop mounds, numerous wetland areas, fescues and native grasses, and 92 deep bunkers creating a stunning backdrop for this superb test of golf in Norton’s Great Woods. While challenging enough for the best players in the world during the Deutsche Bank Championship, five sets of tees on each hole make the course enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. At TPC Boston, remarkable golf is just the beginning of an outstanding PGA TOUR experience. Original Source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100904005005/en/2010-Deutsche-Bank-Championship-Sustains-Green-Commitment [image] NORTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Deutsche Bank Championship today announced that it has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability and will once again be a carbon neutral event. This year marks the third season that the Deutsche Bank Championship has achieved net carbon zero emissions as it remains the only carbon neutral event on the PGA TOUR. The Championship’s extensive sustainability program, in collaboration with its Founders Club members and suppliers has also been expanded with several new and improved programs. “The Deutsche Bank Championship has remained committed to maintaining a high standard of environmental excellence, reflecting the Bank’s overall commitment to be carbon neutral from 2013 onward” For 2010, the Championship has partnered with BMW, the official vehicle of the Deutsche Bank Championship, to provide PGA TOUR players with a fleet of vehicles that includes the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series and BMW 335 Advanced Diesel. The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series is 5% more efficient than its non-hybrid counterpart and is able to run exclusively on electric power and emit zero harmful CO2 emissions up to a speed of 37 mph. The BMW 335 Advanced Diesel offers cleaner emissions, making it an excellent alternative to a traditional gas car. “The Deutsche Bank Championship has remained committed to maintaining a high standard of environmental excellence, reflecting the Bank’s overall commitment to be carbon neutral from 2013 onward,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas. “We have made significant strides in reducing the event’s carbon footprint and will continue to build on our success so that the Championship will be enjoyed by generations of fans to come.” The Championship has also invested in new liners for all on-site trash bins that are 100% bio-degradable and reduce emissions in the manufacturing process by 7%. Also new for 2010, the Championship, in partnership with Big Green Hippo & Newport Biodiesel will be converting all of the vegetable oil used in the kitchens into biodiesel fuel. This fuel is locally produced, non-toxic and can be used to power diesel engines or home oil furnaces. Because it is not possible to entirely eliminate the environmental impact of the event, Deutsche Bank and the Championship are investing in carbon-offsets to finance programs that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount that is estimated to be equal to those generated by the event. This year, the Bank will purchase carbon-offsets that will help finance the construction of a biomass fired power plant in Amazonas, Brazil. The goal of the project is to replace electricity from fossil fuels, while also reducing methane emissions from biomass stockpiles. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emission equivalent to 170,000 tons of CO2 per year and will help contribute to the sustainable development of the local community. The program was validated by environmental consulting expert First Climate, one of Europe’s leading carbon asset management companies. TPC Boston is adjacent to 150 acres of local conservation land donated by the development partnership of the club to the towns of Norton and Mansfield. The golf course was designed to complement its natural surroundings. There is a dedicated effort to preserve and enhance the environment by managing grassland and forest edges for the benefit of wildlife around the golf course. The foundation of environmental stewardship begins with utilizing natural products like composts and organic fertilizers that are recycled from biosolids, poultry litter, wood and paper. This practice helps achieve the building of quality soil, which allows the club to judiciously use water and other resources for improved plant health. The club has been the recipient of three Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards for environmental stewardship and is designated as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.” A New England’s Labor Day tradition, the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship features a $7.5 million purse and a $1.35 million winner’s check. It enters its fourth year as a PGA TOUR Playoffs event and is the second of four stops in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Its distinguished list of champions includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh (twice), Steve Sticker, Adam Scott and Olin Browne. About Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With 81,929 employees in 72 countries, Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people. www.db.com About IMG Sports & Entertainment Operating in 30 countries, IMG Sports & Entertainment's diverse businesses include: product and brand licensing; consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; golf course design; and client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motor sports, coaching, Olympic and action sports. IMG Academies are the world's largest, multi-sport training and educational facilities, delivering world-class training experiences to more than 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult, and professional athletes each year. More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com. About TPC Boston Originally designed by legendary player/designer Arnold Palmer, TPC Boston’s award-winning layout was re-designed in 2007 by celebrated golf course architect Gil Hanse, with PGA TOUR player Brad Faxon serving as a consultant. The result is a compelling par-72, 7,241-yard masterpiece named by Golf Digest the “Best Private Remodel of 2007.” Crafted to fit seamlessly into the natural New England landscape, lush fairways and Bentgrass greens traverse gently rolling hills, with stands of mature trees, chocolate-drop mounds, numerous wetland areas, fescues and native grasses, and 92 deep bunkers creating a stunning backdrop for this superb test of golf in Norton’s Great Woods. While challenging enough for the best players in the world during the Deutsche Bank Championship, five sets of tees on each hole make the course enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. At TPC Boston, remarkable golf is just the beginning of an outstanding PGA TOUR experience. Original Source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100904005005/en/2010-Deutsche-Bank-Championship-Sustains-Green-Commitment Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:11:31 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_2010-Deutsche-Bank-Championship-Sustains-Green-Commitment/BLOG/2625544/29468.html ashleysoon 2010-09-06T06:11:31Z EcoSeed Community [image] NORTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Deutsche Bank Championship today announced that it has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability and will once again be a carbon neutral event. This year marks the third season that the Deutsche Bank Championship has achieved net carbon zero emissions as it remains the only carbon neutral event on the PGA TOUR. The Championship’s extensive sustainability program, in collaboration with its Founders Club members and suppliers has also been expanded with several new and improved programs. “The Deutsche Bank Championship has remained committed to maintaining a high standard of environmental excellence, reflecting the Bank’s overall commitment to be carbon neutral from 2013 onward” For 2010, the Championship has partnered with BMW, the official vehicle of the Deutsche Bank Championship, to provide PGA TOUR players with a fleet of vehicles that includes the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series and BMW 335 Advanced Diesel. The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Series is 5% more efficient than its non-hybrid counterpart and is able to run exclusively on electric power and emit zero harmful CO2 emissions up to a speed of 37 mph. The BMW 335 Advanced Diesel offers cleaner emissions, making it an excellent alternative to a traditional gas car. “The Deutsche Bank Championship has remained committed to maintaining a high standard of environmental excellence, reflecting the Bank’s overall commitment to be carbon neutral from 2013 onward,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas. “We have made significant strides in reducing the event’s carbon footprint and will continue to build on our success so that the Championship will be enjoyed by generations of fans to come.” The Championship has also invested in new liners for all on-site trash bins that are 100% bio-degradable and reduce emissions in the manufacturing process by 7%. Also new for 2010, the Championship, in partnership with Big Green Hippo & Newport Biodiesel will be converting all of the vegetable oil used in the kitchens into biodiesel fuel. This fuel is locally produced, non-toxic and can be used to power diesel engines or home oil furnaces. Because it is not possible to entirely eliminate the environmental impact of the event, Deutsche Bank and the Championship are investing in carbon-offsets to finance programs that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount that is estimated to be equal to those generated by the event. This year, the Bank will purchase carbon-offsets that will help finance the construction of a biomass fired power plant in Amazonas, Brazil. The goal of the project is to replace electricity from fossil fuels, while also reducing methane emissions from biomass stockpiles. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emission equivalent to 170,000 tons of CO2 per year and will help contribute to the sustainable development of the local community. The program was validated by environmental consulting expert First Climate, one of Europe’s leading carbon asset management companies. TPC Boston is adjacent to 150 acres of local conservation land donated by the development partnership of the club to the towns of Norton and Mansfield. The golf course was designed to complement its natural surroundings. There is a dedicated effort to preserve and enhance the environment by managing grassland and forest edges for the benefit of wildlife around the golf course. The foundation of environmental stewardship begins with utilizing natural products like composts and organic fertilizers that are recycled from biosolids, poultry litter, wood and paper. This practice helps achieve the building of quality soil, which allows the club to judiciously use water and other resources for improved plant health. The club has been the recipient of three Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards for environmental stewardship and is designated as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.” A New England’s Labor Day tradition, the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship features a $7.5 million purse and a $1.35 million winner’s check. It enters its fourth year as a PGA TOUR Playoffs event and is the second of four stops in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Its distinguished list of champions includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh (twice), Steve Sticker, Adam Scott and Olin Browne. About Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With 81,929 employees in 72 countries, Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people. www.db.com About IMG Sports & Entertainment Operating in 30 countries, IMG Sports & Entertainment's diverse businesses include: product and brand licensing; consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; golf course design; and client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motor sports, coaching, Olympic and action sports. IMG Academies are the world's largest, multi-sport training and educational facilities, delivering world-class training experiences to more than 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult, and professional athletes each year. More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com. About TPC Boston Originally designed by legendary player/designer Arnold Palmer, TPC Boston’s award-winning layout was re-designed in 2007 by celebrated golf course architect Gil Hanse, with PGA TOUR player Brad Faxon serving as a consultant. The result is a compelling par-72, 7,241-yard masterpiece named by Golf Digest the “Best Private Remodel of 2007.” Crafted to fit seamlessly into the natural New England landscape, lush fairways and Bentgrass greens traverse gently rolling hills, with stands of mature trees, chocolate-drop mounds, numerous wetland areas, fescues and native grasses, and 92 deep bunkers creating a stunning backdrop for this superb test of golf in Norton’s Great Woods. While challenging enough for the best players in the world during the Deutsche Bank Championship, five sets of tees on each hole make the course enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. At TPC Boston, remarkable golf is just the beginning of an outstanding PGA TOUR experience. Original Source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100904005005/en/2010-Deutsche-Bank-Championship-Sustains-Green-Commitment nonadult false 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship Sustains Green Commitment text blog 68 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=13707210&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_8041139_29468_13707210_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2625544 13707210 Gold 26223 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Windmill-Your-Green-Energy-Source/BLOG/2625543/29468.html [image][image]Windmill are the right choice if you need to save money on electricity and plug into a green and renewable energy source. It's also an easy and fun "Do It Yourself" project for the whole family. If you're interested in building your own wind turbine, you'll have to learn and comprehend the technology that drives windmills. Basically windmill consists of several blades that are attached to the generator's flywheel or shaft.Windmill are somewhat akin to the rotor blades in an airplane's propeller and they're used for getting the wind power. For any residential home windmill, it is possible to just make use of light plastic material or wood for producing the wind rotor blades. Keep in mind, the size of the wind rotor blades will depend on the size of the windmill's bottom and tower. If for example your windmill is 5-feet tall, then the size of the wind rotor blades must be around 1 to 3 ft. The tower – the simple windmill can have a height of only five ft and it's material must be a powerful plastic material like the pvc piping, or far better yet any stronger material. The benefits of building a residential home windmill are numerous. Possibly you might be tired of throwing your money away every single month in order to provide sufficient power for your home. [image][image]  Windmax HY1000-5 1,000 Watt Max 24-Volt 5-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit[image]  Well, through setting up a windmill at home, you can reduce your electric bills, and may even make money from electric companies should you create even more power than you might be consuming at your home. Yes, the electric companies will really pay you. So, you see, you may lower your monthly electric expenses and you may save a lot of money for that. Other than saving money, you may also be making a big difference in the planet that we reside on. Due to the fact you happen to be using a natural power to generate electrical energy, you're contributing to the environment by lowering the pollution and damaging gases which are coming from the mechanical sources of power.Windmill are cut from a sheet of metal and run through a machine to give them a curve. They are then attached to the metal rim using small bolts and metal clamps so that they can be raised or lowered depending on the wind. The site the windmill has to be placed has to be an area with a prevailing wind of at least 15 mph. The area has to be cleared of trees and other structures that block wind. [image][image] Wind Power For Dummies[image] Sometimes, a dirt mound or concrete base is build to raise the windmill so that it catches more wind. When assembling the windmill, the main body parts are connected first, to be bolted on the ground and then raised vertically. Connecting rods are used to join other poles while clamps are bolted at joints for stability. Once the tower is raised, it is loosely bolted to the base wherein stay wires are strung from the ground to the tensioners and ground anchors.Since farms do not require a whole lot of electricity, they can easily install an electricity generating windmill. It will fulfill the needs of the farm owners quite sufficiently. It's is difficult to install an electricity generating windmill in an area which is hugely populated and has very high buildings. The main reason is that these windmills require a decent amount of wind speed to work. The areas which have many tall buildings may block the wind flow. If this is the situation it will hamper the blades' movement of the windmill. As a result it won't produce electricity because there's no any mechanical energy that's able to turn the windmill. [image][image]  Windmax HY600-3 750 Watt Max 24-Volt 3-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit[image]  One hectare of area is sufficient for installing a windmill. It's not a very good idea to install a windmill in the area less than one hectare because it will not work properly as expected. Free electricity isn't all you get from a new home wind turbine, as soon as your system is up, you have improved your home value by atleast an equal amount of the investment. Your green energy powered home has a higher chance to sell compared to others with no home generation or emergency power system. Original Source: http://green-tech-gadgets.blogspot.com/2010/09/windmill-your-green-energy-source.html [image][image]Windmill are the right choice if you need to save money on electricity and plug into a green and renewable energy source. It's also an easy and fun "Do It Yourself" project for the whole family. If you're interested in building your own wind turbine, you'll have to learn and comprehend the technology that drives windmills. Basically windmill consists of several blades that are attached to the generator's flywheel or shaft.Windmill are somewhat akin to the rotor blades in an airplane's propeller and they're used for getting the wind power. For any residential home windmill, it is possible to just make use of light plastic material or wood for producing the wind rotor blades. Keep in mind, the size of the wind rotor blades will depend on the size of the windmill's bottom and tower. If for example your windmill is 5-feet tall, then the size of the wind rotor blades must be around 1 to 3 ft. The tower – the simple windmill can have a height of only five ft and it's material must be a powerful plastic material like the pvc piping, or far better yet any stronger material. The benefits of building a residential home windmill are numerous. Possibly you might be tired of throwing your money away every single month in order to provide sufficient power for your home. [image][image]  Windmax HY1000-5 1,000 Watt Max 24-Volt 5-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit[image]  Well, through setting up a windmill at home, you can reduce your electric bills, and may even make money from electric companies should you create even more power than you might be consuming at your home. Yes, the electric companies will really pay you. So, you see, you may lower your monthly electric expenses and you may save a lot of money for that. Other than saving money, you may also be making a big difference in the planet that we reside on. Due to the fact you happen to be using a natural power to generate electrical energy, you're contributing to the environment by lowering the pollution and damaging gases which are coming from the mechanical sources of power.Windmill are cut from a sheet of metal and run through a machine to give them a curve. They are then attached to the metal rim using small bolts and metal clamps so that they can be raised or lowered depending on the wind. The site the windmill has to be placed has to be an area with a prevailing wind of at least 15 mph. The area has to be cleared of trees and other structures that block wind. [image][image] Wind Power For Dummies[image] Sometimes, a dirt mound or concrete base is build to raise the windmill so that it catches more wind. When assembling the windmill, the main body parts are connected first, to be bolted on the ground and then raised vertically. Connecting rods are used to join other poles while clamps are bolted at joints for stability. Once the tower is raised, it is loosely bolted to the base wherein stay wires are strung from the ground to the tensioners and ground anchors.Since farms do not require a whole lot of electricity, they can easily install an electricity generating windmill. It will fulfill the needs of the farm owners quite sufficiently. It's is difficult to install an electricity generating windmill in an area which is hugely populated and has very high buildings. The main reason is that these windmills require a decent amount of wind speed to work. The areas which have many tall buildings may block the wind flow. If this is the situation it will hamper the blades' movement of the windmill. As a result it won't produce electricity because there's no any mechanical energy that's able to turn the windmill. [image][image]  Windmax HY600-3 750 Watt Max 24-Volt 3-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit[image]  One hectare of area is sufficient for installing a windmill. It's not a very good idea to install a windmill in the area less than one hectare because it will not work properly as expected. Free electricity isn't all you get from a new home wind turbine, as soon as your system is up, you have improved your home value by atleast an equal amount of the investment. Your green energy powered home has a higher chance to sell compared to others with no home generation or emergency power system. Original Source: http://green-tech-gadgets.blogspot.com/2010/09/windmill-your-green-energy-source.html Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:08:09 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Windmill-Your-Green-Energy-Source/BLOG/2625543/29468.html ashleysoon 2010-09-06T06:08:09Z EcoSeed Community [image][image]Windmill are the right choice if you need to save money on electricity and plug into a green and renewable energy source. It's also an easy and fun "Do It Yourself" project for the whole family. If you're interested in building your own wind turbine, you'll have to learn and comprehend the technology that drives windmills. Basically windmill consists of several blades that are attached to the generator's flywheel or shaft.Windmill are somewhat akin to the rotor blades in an airplane's propeller and they're used for getting the wind power. For any residential home windmill, it is possible to just make use of light plastic material or wood for producing the wind rotor blades. Keep in mind, the size of the wind rotor blades will depend on the size of the windmill's bottom and tower. If for example your windmill is 5-feet tall, then the size of the wind rotor blades must be around 1 to 3 ft. The tower – the simple windmill can have a height of only five ft and it's material must be a powerful plastic material like the pvc piping, or far better yet any stronger material. The benefits of building a residential home windmill are numerous. Possibly you might be tired of throwing your money away every single month in order to provide sufficient power for your home. [image][image]  Windmax HY1000-5 1,000 Watt Max 24-Volt 5-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit[image]  Well, through setting up a windmill at home, you can reduce your electric bills, and may even make money from electric companies should you create even more power than you might be consuming at your home. Yes, the electric companies will really pay you. So, you see, you may lower your monthly electric expenses and you may save a lot of money for that. Other than saving money, you may also be making a big difference in the planet that we reside on. Due to the fact you happen to be using a natural power to generate electrical energy, you're contributing to the environment by lowering the pollution and damaging gases which are coming from the mechanical sources of power.Windmill are cut from a sheet of metal and run through a machine to give them a curve. They are then attached to the metal rim using small bolts and metal clamps so that they can be raised or lowered depending on the wind. The site the windmill has to be placed has to be an area with a prevailing wind of at least 15 mph. The area has to be cleared of trees and other structures that block wind. [image][image] Wind Power For Dummies[image] Sometimes, a dirt mound or concrete base is build to raise the windmill so that it catches more wind. When assembling the windmill, the main body parts are connected first, to be bolted on the ground and then raised vertically. Connecting rods are used to join other poles while clamps are bolted at joints for stability. Once the tower is raised, it is loosely bolted to the base wherein stay wires are strung from the ground to the tensioners and ground anchors.Since farms do not require a whole lot of electricity, they can easily install an electricity generating windmill. It will fulfill the needs of the farm owners quite sufficiently. It's is difficult to install an electricity generating windmill in an area which is hugely populated and has very high buildings. The main reason is that these windmills require a decent amount of wind speed to work. The areas which have many tall buildings may block the wind flow. If this is the situation it will hamper the blades' movement of the windmill. As a result it won't produce electricity because there's no any mechanical energy that's able to turn the windmill. [image][image]  Windmax HY600-3 750 Watt Max 24-Volt 3-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit[image]  One hectare of area is sufficient for installing a windmill. It's not a very good idea to install a windmill in the area less than one hectare because it will not work properly as expected. Free electricity isn't all you get from a new home wind turbine, as soon as your system is up, you have improved your home value by atleast an equal amount of the investment. Your green energy powered home has a higher chance to sell compared to others with no home generation or emergency power system. Original Source: http://green-tech-gadgets.blogspot.com/2010/09/windmill-your-green-energy-source.html nonadult false Windmill : Your Green Energy Source text blog 84 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=13707210&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_8041139_29468_13707210_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2625543 13707210 Gold 26223 http://community.ecoseed.org/_4-Cool-Solar-Flashlights/BLOG/2625539/29468.html In the past few months, we have listed a ton of solar gadgets on this website. There are just so many solar solutions around these days, and there is no excuse for not using them. You can even use the technology to power up your flashlights. So when you need some light outdoors in dark areas, you can count on the power of the sun to find your way around. These 4 solar flashlights let you do just that: [image] Solarlite Flashlight: a cool solar flashlight that can provide you with 10 hours of power per charge. It can hold charge for up to 3 years. [image] Hybrid Light Solar Flashlight: a waterproof solar flashlight that floats and provides you with 10 hours of power per charge. It can be charged using the power of sun or artificial life. [image] Goldmaster Solar Flashlight: a solar flashlight for emergency situations. It not only uses the power of the sun to work, it can charge your batteries too. [image] Solar Powered LED Flashlight Keychain: a super compact flashlight that you can put in your pocket and take it with you on the road. Solar flashlights are not only handy but they save you from the trouble of having to keep buying batteries. They are cheap too. Source: http://green.tiputopia.com/cool-solar-flashlights/ In the past few months, we have listed a ton of solar gadgets on this website. There are just so many solar solutions around these days, and there is no excuse for not using them. You can even use the technology to power up your flashlights. So when you need some light outdoors in dark areas, you can count on the power of the sun to find your way around. These 4 solar flashlights let you do just that: [image] Solarlite Flashlight: a cool solar flashlight that can provide you with 10 hours of power per charge. It can hold charge for up to 3 years. [image] Hybrid Light Solar Flashlight: a waterproof solar flashlight that floats and provides you with 10 hours of power per charge. It can be charged using the power of sun or artificial life. [image] Goldmaster Solar Flashlight: a solar flashlight for emergency situations. It not only uses the power of the sun to work, it can charge your batteries too. [image] Solar Powered LED Flashlight Keychain: a super compact flashlight that you can put in your pocket and take it with you on the road. Solar flashlights are not only handy but they save you from the trouble of having to keep buying batteries. They are cheap too. Source: http://green.tiputopia.com/cool-solar-flashlights/ Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:06:52 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_4-Cool-Solar-Flashlights/BLOG/2625539/29468.html ashleysoon 2010-09-06T06:06:52Z EcoSeed Community In the past few months, we have listed a ton of solar gadgets on this website. There are just so many solar solutions around these days, and there is no excuse for not using them. You can even use the technology to power up your flashlights. So when you need some light outdoors in dark areas, you can count on the power of the sun to find your way around. These 4 solar flashlights let you do just that: [image] Solarlite Flashlight: a cool solar flashlight that can provide you with 10 hours of power per charge. It can hold charge for up to 3 years. [image] Hybrid Light Solar Flashlight: a waterproof solar flashlight that floats and provides you with 10 hours of power per charge. It can be charged using the power of sun or artificial life. [image] Goldmaster Solar Flashlight: a solar flashlight for emergency situations. It not only uses the power of the sun to work, it can charge your batteries too. [image] Solar Powered LED Flashlight Keychain: a super compact flashlight that you can put in your pocket and take it with you on the road. Solar flashlights are not only handy but they save you from the trouble of having to keep buying batteries. They are cheap too. Source: http://green.tiputopia.com/cool-solar-flashlights/ nonadult false 4 Cool Solar Flashlights text blog 77 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=13707210&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_8041139_29468_13707210_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2625539 13707210 Gold 26223 http://community.ecoseed.org/_Students-design-windmill-designed-for-the-Third-World/BLOG/2625536/29468.html [image] CHICO — In windy areas of California, motorists can drive past wind farms where towering structures with propeller-type blades capture the wind to generate electricity. But in poor and remote areas of the world, where energy is needed for the most basic of resources, it's not very likely trucks with windmill building supplies will be rapidly rolling in. Students from Chico State University had these realities in mind when they designed a 15-foot tall windmill that could be built in Third World countries. People who attend the kickoff for this year's Book in Common, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," at City Plaza at 6 p.m. Thursday will have a hard time missing the prototype windmill, with bright orange sail cloth designed to "harness the wind." Greg Kallio, a professor in the department of mechanical engineering, mechatronic engineering, and manufacturing technology, said the project began in the fall of 2008, completely separate from the upcoming Book in Common. A faculty member, James Scolaro, had previously visited the island of Antigua in the eastern Caribbean. Power for the island comes from diesel engines, although the country has a history of wind use for things such as grinding grain, Kallio said. Diesel is noisy and causes air pollution, which naturally led to the thought "why not wind?" The country is fairly poor, which makes it difficult to fund tall wind turbines seen in more developed countries. Scolaro, a civil engineering professor, brought back an idea to build something that could be more easily assembled using materials available on the island. Antigua only receives water from rain, and has difficulty transporting available water around the island, Kallio explained. There are no rivers or underground sources. A team of four mechanical engineering students ran with the idea for an annual senior project, and began to design, build and test the device that could be a prototype. Kallio became the student adviser. Student Louise Fox wrote proposals for funding, garnering two grants for a total of $4,000 to build the prototype and then continue to improve upon the ideas. The decision was to use material that could be found in Antigua. A sailing industry exists there, thus the windmill is made from sailcloth, which resists exposure to the sun and can be formed into cylindrical shapes, and is very light-weight. The design is two stages of semi-circular cloth, patterned after a style known as Savonius. "It's not a sophisticated air foil, which are more efficient, but harder to build," Kallio said. After the first project was completed, Fox had a few classes to finish for her degree, and stayed with the project long enough to recruit others, including Keith Lindauer. The first design was able to pump water, but not as quickly as the students had hoped. Also, the first prototype had some problems with leaks. The second design included a barrel pump. The design is stiff at first, but once it starts turning, works well. "With this new design, they achieved the flow rate they wanted and the whole pump system was more robust," Kallio explained. Both Fox and Lindauer have since graduated and now work the Bay Area, the professor explained. Fox was also a member of the student group Engineers Without Borders, and while the wind turbine was originally designed with Antigua in mind, students will be taking the ideas to Honduras, where there is a great need for wind generation to pump groundwater. Kallio said the project fits nicely with the ideas expressed in "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," as accessible materials can be used to make relatively simple devices that greatly improve the quality of life for people in poor regions. It also shows how local students took a very real problem, and used their educational background to try to solve it in a practical way. By: Heather Hacking | September 5, 2010 | Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at 896-7758 or hhacking@chicoer.com. Original Source: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_15997320 [image] CHICO — In windy areas of California, motorists can drive past wind farms where towering structures with propeller-type blades capture the wind to generate electricity. But in poor and remote areas of the world, where energy is needed for the most basic of resources, it's not very likely trucks with windmill building supplies will be rapidly rolling in. Students from Chico State University had these realities in mind when they designed a 15-foot tall windmill that could be built in Third World countries. People who attend the kickoff for this year's Book in Common, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," at City Plaza at 6 p.m. Thursday will have a hard time missing the prototype windmill, with bright orange sail cloth designed to "harness the wind." Greg Kallio, a professor in the department of mechanical engineering, mechatronic engineering, and manufacturing technology, said the project began in the fall of 2008, completely separate from the upcoming Book in Common. A faculty member, James Scolaro, had previously visited the island of Antigua in the eastern Caribbean. Power for the island comes from diesel engines, although the country has a history of wind use for things such as grinding grain, Kallio said. Diesel is noisy and causes air pollution, which naturally led to the thought "why not wind?" The country is fairly poor, which makes it difficult to fund tall wind turbines seen in more developed countries. Scolaro, a civil engineering professor, brought back an idea to build something that could be more easily assembled using materials available on the island. Antigua only receives water from rain, and has difficulty transporting available water around the island, Kallio explained. There are no rivers or underground sources. A team of four mechanical engineering students ran with the idea for an annual senior project, and began to design, build and test the device that could be a prototype. Kallio became the student adviser. Student Louise Fox wrote proposals for funding, garnering two grants for a total of $4,000 to build the prototype and then continue to improve upon the ideas. The decision was to use material that could be found in Antigua. A sailing industry exists there, thus the windmill is made from sailcloth, which resists exposure to the sun and can be formed into cylindrical shapes, and is very light-weight. The design is two stages of semi-circular cloth, patterned after a style known as Savonius. "It's not a sophisticated air foil, which are more efficient, but harder to build," Kallio said. After the first project was completed, Fox had a few classes to finish for her degree, and stayed with the project long enough to recruit others, including Keith Lindauer. The first design was able to pump water, but not as quickly as the students had hoped. Also, the first prototype had some problems with leaks. The second design included a barrel pump. The design is stiff at first, but once it starts turning, works well. "With this new design, they achieved the flow rate they wanted and the whole pump system was more robust," Kallio explained. Both Fox and Lindauer have since graduated and now work the Bay Area, the professor explained. Fox was also a member of the student group Engineers Without Borders, and while the wind turbine was originally designed with Antigua in mind, students will be taking the ideas to Honduras, where there is a great need for wind generation to pump groundwater. Kallio said the project fits nicely with the ideas expressed in "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," as accessible materials can be used to make relatively simple devices that greatly improve the quality of life for people in poor regions. It also shows how local students took a very real problem, and used their educational background to try to solve it in a practical way. By: Heather Hacking | September 5, 2010 | Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at 896-7758 or hhacking@chicoer.com. Original Source: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_15997320 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:59:22 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_Students-design-windmill-designed-for-the-Third-World/BLOG/2625536/29468.html ashleysoon 2010-09-06T05:59:22Z EcoSeed Community [image] CHICO — In windy areas of California, motorists can drive past wind farms where towering structures with propeller-type blades capture the wind to generate electricity. But in poor and remote areas of the world, where energy is needed for the most basic of resources, it's not very likely trucks with windmill building supplies will be rapidly rolling in. Students from Chico State University had these realities in mind when they designed a 15-foot tall windmill that could be built in Third World countries. People who attend the kickoff for this year's Book in Common, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," at City Plaza at 6 p.m. Thursday will have a hard time missing the prototype windmill, with bright orange sail cloth designed to "harness the wind." Greg Kallio, a professor in the department of mechanical engineering, mechatronic engineering, and manufacturing technology, said the project began in the fall of 2008, completely separate from the upcoming Book in Common. A faculty member, James Scolaro, had previously visited the island of Antigua in the eastern Caribbean. Power for the island comes from diesel engines, although the country has a history of wind use for things such as grinding grain, Kallio said. Diesel is noisy and causes air pollution, which naturally led to the thought "why not wind?" The country is fairly poor, which makes it difficult to fund tall wind turbines seen in more developed countries. Scolaro, a civil engineering professor, brought back an idea to build something that could be more easily assembled using materials available on the island. Antigua only receives water from rain, and has difficulty transporting available water around the island, Kallio explained. There are no rivers or underground sources. A team of four mechanical engineering students ran with the idea for an annual senior project, and began to design, build and test the device that could be a prototype. Kallio became the student adviser. Student Louise Fox wrote proposals for funding, garnering two grants for a total of $4,000 to build the prototype and then continue to improve upon the ideas. The decision was to use material that could be found in Antigua. A sailing industry exists there, thus the windmill is made from sailcloth, which resists exposure to the sun and can be formed into cylindrical shapes, and is very light-weight. The design is two stages of semi-circular cloth, patterned after a style known as Savonius. "It's not a sophisticated air foil, which are more efficient, but harder to build," Kallio said. After the first project was completed, Fox had a few classes to finish for her degree, and stayed with the project long enough to recruit others, including Keith Lindauer. The first design was able to pump water, but not as quickly as the students had hoped. Also, the first prototype had some problems with leaks. The second design included a barrel pump. The design is stiff at first, but once it starts turning, works well. "With this new design, they achieved the flow rate they wanted and the whole pump system was more robust," Kallio explained. Both Fox and Lindauer have since graduated and now work the Bay Area, the professor explained. Fox was also a member of the student group Engineers Without Borders, and while the wind turbine was originally designed with Antigua in mind, students will be taking the ideas to Honduras, where there is a great need for wind generation to pump groundwater. Kallio said the project fits nicely with the ideas expressed in "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," as accessible materials can be used to make relatively simple devices that greatly improve the quality of life for people in poor regions. It also shows how local students took a very real problem, and used their educational background to try to solve it in a practical way. By: Heather Hacking | September 5, 2010 | Staff writer Heather Hacking can be reached at 896-7758 or hhacking@chicoer.com. Original Source: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_15997320 nonadult false Students design windmill designed for the Third World text blog 84 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=13707210&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_8041139_29468_13707210_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2625536 13707210 Gold 26223 http://community.ecoseed.org/_From-deep-fried-delights-to-biofuel/BLOG/2625532/29468.html [image] Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, pours a jug of used fryer oil through a filter after collecting the oil from food vendors at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island on Friday. The oil is recycled into bio fuel. (The Independent/Crystal LoGiudice) The Nebraska State Fair is a lot of fun and a lot of food. Make that a lot of deep-fried food.Even the most health-conscious fair-goer is tempted by the many deep-fried food fancies offered at the fair.But that’s all right with Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems. With all that deep-frying going on with all of those vendor carts and all of that vegetable oil, it made sense to Byrnes to start collecting the used vegetable oil that goes into making those corn dogs and funnel cakes and recycling it into biodiesel.Byrnes’ company has been an exhibitor at the State Fair for six years. Five years ago, he began inquiring with food vendors about what they did with their used vegetable oil.Biodiesel is a natural fuel made from vegetable oil and can be used in any diesel-fueled vehicle with conversion.When he found out that many of the vendors were hauling their used vegetable oil to a trash bin, he decided to ask State Fair officials if he could collect the used vegetable oil to convert into biodiesel. The recovered fryer oil is recycled by Nebraska Biofuel. It began collecting the used vegetable oil in 2006. Each gallon recovered reduces carbon dioxide emissions by four pounds.Byrnes said he hopes his efforts can help increase the fair’s green effort now that the State Fair has relocated to Grand Island’s Fonner Park.Byrnes, whose Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems’ booth is in the Marketplace at the State Fair, started his business to help people in Nebraska develop workable renewable energy systems, both on a large and small scale.Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems is a privately owned company dedicated to bringing renewable energies to individuals and communities throughout Nebraska. The company’s focus is on quantifying, designing and installing safe, cost-effective and durable renewable energy systems that can be operated with minimal training and time, according to its website at www.nerenew.com. The company worked as a consultant with a 5 million-gallon soy biodiesel project in Scribner, though the project eventually proved to be unfeasible because of high soybean prices, low fuel prices and the lack of government incentives.While there are no soy biodiesel plants in Nebraska, the state ranked fifth in the nation last year in soybean production, with 259 million bushels.Byrnes said his company got involved with the Nebraska State Fair about seven years ago.He came to Nebraska from New Jersey 11 years ago after a career in the U.S. Army. His company is based in Oakland.Byrnes, who owns a small acreage near Lyons, said it was after moving to Nebraska that he got interested in the potential renewable energy had in the state.“I went to the State Fair seven years ago,” he said. “I thought it was a great institution and something we didn’t have where I came from.”But what struck Byrnes about the State Fair was there was little being done about Nebraska’s potential in developing alternative energy sources, other than ethanol.That’s when Byrnes decided to begin displaying his business in Nebraska. He has been displaying Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems at the State Fair now for six years.“This was one of the first projects that we did,” he said. “We really don’t sell anything here. We are just here for information and to visit with folks. It’s good to visit with Nebraskans and see what they are thinking and what their thoughts are.”A University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska Rural Poll released on Friday found that 78 percent of rural Nebraskans believe that bioenergy/biofuels are important to the state’s future.The poll also found that 86 percent of the poll respondents said government support and incentives for alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power should be increased.That is the kind of enthusiasm that Byrnes hopes to increase when it comes to promoting renewable energy.According to Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, while Nebraska has been blessed with many sources of renewable energy, only ethanol has seen any significant growth. However, Nebraska is starting to catch up in developing its wind energy potential, which has been ranked as fourth best in the United States.A lot of the company’s focus has been in developing alternative energy resources, such as wind, solar, biodiesel and methane systems.“Our goals are to change this imbalance by helping individuals to gain their own stake in their energy future by utilizing the resources available to them,” according to the company’s website.Byrnes said, along with educating people on Nebraska’s potential with renewable energy, his business also consults and designs projects for clients.He has developed renewable energy systems that he uses on his farm, such as operating his vehicles on biodiesel.“I make fuel from everything that moves,” Byrnes said, including rendering the fat from his livestock into fuel.“I want Nebraskans to realize that we have tremendous resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass — we have the raw materials for clean energy,” he said. “But what we lack is the resolve, and we lack the policy to make that happen.”He said developing the state’s many alternative energy resources is not just about today but also for tomorrow’s generation.“We seem today to care not for the next generation but more about ourselves,” Byrnes said.He said that’s contrary to the pioneer spirit that built America to make it better for the generations that would follow.“I have four kids,” Byrnes said. “That’s an important part of this whole process.”  By: Robert Pore | September 4, 2010 | robert.pore@theindependent.com Original Source: http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2010/09/04/news/local/state_fair/doc4c81d21245e71817631454.txt [image] Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, pours a jug of used fryer oil through a filter after collecting the oil from food vendors at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island on Friday. The oil is recycled into bio fuel. (The Independent/Crystal LoGiudice) The Nebraska State Fair is a lot of fun and a lot of food. Make that a lot of deep-fried food.Even the most health-conscious fair-goer is tempted by the many deep-fried food fancies offered at the fair.But that’s all right with Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems. With all that deep-frying going on with all of those vendor carts and all of that vegetable oil, it made sense to Byrnes to start collecting the used vegetable oil that goes into making those corn dogs and funnel cakes and recycling it into biodiesel.Byrnes’ company has been an exhibitor at the State Fair for six years. Five years ago, he began inquiring with food vendors about what they did with their used vegetable oil.Biodiesel is a natural fuel made from vegetable oil and can be used in any diesel-fueled vehicle with conversion.When he found out that many of the vendors were hauling their used vegetable oil to a trash bin, he decided to ask State Fair officials if he could collect the used vegetable oil to convert into biodiesel. The recovered fryer oil is recycled by Nebraska Biofuel. It began collecting the used vegetable oil in 2006. Each gallon recovered reduces carbon dioxide emissions by four pounds.Byrnes said he hopes his efforts can help increase the fair’s green effort now that the State Fair has relocated to Grand Island’s Fonner Park.Byrnes, whose Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems’ booth is in the Marketplace at the State Fair, started his business to help people in Nebraska develop workable renewable energy systems, both on a large and small scale.Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems is a privately owned company dedicated to bringing renewable energies to individuals and communities throughout Nebraska. The company’s focus is on quantifying, designing and installing safe, cost-effective and durable renewable energy systems that can be operated with minimal training and time, according to its website at www.nerenew.com. The company worked as a consultant with a 5 million-gallon soy biodiesel project in Scribner, though the project eventually proved to be unfeasible because of high soybean prices, low fuel prices and the lack of government incentives.While there are no soy biodiesel plants in Nebraska, the state ranked fifth in the nation last year in soybean production, with 259 million bushels.Byrnes said his company got involved with the Nebraska State Fair about seven years ago.He came to Nebraska from New Jersey 11 years ago after a career in the U.S. Army. His company is based in Oakland.Byrnes, who owns a small acreage near Lyons, said it was after moving to Nebraska that he got interested in the potential renewable energy had in the state.“I went to the State Fair seven years ago,” he said. “I thought it was a great institution and something we didn’t have where I came from.”But what struck Byrnes about the State Fair was there was little being done about Nebraska’s potential in developing alternative energy sources, other than ethanol.That’s when Byrnes decided to begin displaying his business in Nebraska. He has been displaying Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems at the State Fair now for six years.“This was one of the first projects that we did,” he said. “We really don’t sell anything here. We are just here for information and to visit with folks. It’s good to visit with Nebraskans and see what they are thinking and what their thoughts are.”A University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska Rural Poll released on Friday found that 78 percent of rural Nebraskans believe that bioenergy/biofuels are important to the state’s future.The poll also found that 86 percent of the poll respondents said government support and incentives for alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power should be increased.That is the kind of enthusiasm that Byrnes hopes to increase when it comes to promoting renewable energy.According to Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, while Nebraska has been blessed with many sources of renewable energy, only ethanol has seen any significant growth. However, Nebraska is starting to catch up in developing its wind energy potential, which has been ranked as fourth best in the United States.A lot of the company’s focus has been in developing alternative energy resources, such as wind, solar, biodiesel and methane systems.“Our goals are to change this imbalance by helping individuals to gain their own stake in their energy future by utilizing the resources available to them,” according to the company’s website.Byrnes said, along with educating people on Nebraska’s potential with renewable energy, his business also consults and designs projects for clients.He has developed renewable energy systems that he uses on his farm, such as operating his vehicles on biodiesel.“I make fuel from everything that moves,” Byrnes said, including rendering the fat from his livestock into fuel.“I want Nebraskans to realize that we have tremendous resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass — we have the raw materials for clean energy,” he said. “But what we lack is the resolve, and we lack the policy to make that happen.”He said developing the state’s many alternative energy resources is not just about today but also for tomorrow’s generation.“We seem today to care not for the next generation but more about ourselves,” Byrnes said.He said that’s contrary to the pioneer spirit that built America to make it better for the generations that would follow.“I have four kids,” Byrnes said. “That’s an important part of this whole process.”  By: Robert Pore | September 4, 2010 | robert.pore@theindependent.com Original Source: http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2010/09/04/news/local/state_fair/doc4c81d21245e71817631454.txt Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:55:20 GMT http://community.ecoseed.org/_From-deep-fried-delights-to-biofuel/BLOG/2625532/29468.html ashleysoon 2010-09-06T05:55:20Z EcoSeed Community [image] Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, pours a jug of used fryer oil through a filter after collecting the oil from food vendors at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island on Friday. The oil is recycled into bio fuel. (The Independent/Crystal LoGiudice) The Nebraska State Fair is a lot of fun and a lot of food. Make that a lot of deep-fried food.Even the most health-conscious fair-goer is tempted by the many deep-fried food fancies offered at the fair.But that’s all right with Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems. With all that deep-frying going on with all of those vendor carts and all of that vegetable oil, it made sense to Byrnes to start collecting the used vegetable oil that goes into making those corn dogs and funnel cakes and recycling it into biodiesel.Byrnes’ company has been an exhibitor at the State Fair for six years. Five years ago, he began inquiring with food vendors about what they did with their used vegetable oil.Biodiesel is a natural fuel made from vegetable oil and can be used in any diesel-fueled vehicle with conversion.When he found out that many of the vendors were hauling their used vegetable oil to a trash bin, he decided to ask State Fair officials if he could collect the used vegetable oil to convert into biodiesel. The recovered fryer oil is recycled by Nebraska Biofuel. It began collecting the used vegetable oil in 2006. Each gallon recovered reduces carbon dioxide emissions by four pounds.Byrnes said he hopes his efforts can help increase the fair’s green effort now that the State Fair has relocated to Grand Island’s Fonner Park.Byrnes, whose Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems’ booth is in the Marketplace at the State Fair, started his business to help people in Nebraska develop workable renewable energy systems, both on a large and small scale.Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems is a privately owned company dedicated to bringing renewable energies to individuals and communities throughout Nebraska. The company’s focus is on quantifying, designing and installing safe, cost-effective and durable renewable energy systems that can be operated with minimal training and time, according to its website at www.nerenew.com. The company worked as a consultant with a 5 million-gallon soy biodiesel project in Scribner, though the project eventually proved to be unfeasible because of high soybean prices, low fuel prices and the lack of government incentives.While there are no soy biodiesel plants in Nebraska, the state ranked fifth in the nation last year in soybean production, with 259 million bushels.Byrnes said his company got involved with the Nebraska State Fair about seven years ago.He came to Nebraska from New Jersey 11 years ago after a career in the U.S. Army. His company is based in Oakland.Byrnes, who owns a small acreage near Lyons, said it was after moving to Nebraska that he got interested in the potential renewable energy had in the state.“I went to the State Fair seven years ago,” he said. “I thought it was a great institution and something we didn’t have where I came from.”But what struck Byrnes about the State Fair was there was little being done about Nebraska’s potential in developing alternative energy sources, other than ethanol.That’s when Byrnes decided to begin displaying his business in Nebraska. He has been displaying Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems at the State Fair now for six years.“This was one of the first projects that we did,” he said. “We really don’t sell anything here. We are just here for information and to visit with folks. It’s good to visit with Nebraskans and see what they are thinking and what their thoughts are.”A University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska Rural Poll released on Friday found that 78 percent of rural Nebraskans believe that bioenergy/biofuels are important to the state’s future.The poll also found that 86 percent of the poll respondents said government support and incentives for alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power should be increased.That is the kind of enthusiasm that Byrnes hopes to increase when it comes to promoting renewable energy.According to Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, while Nebraska has been blessed with many sources of renewable energy, only ethanol has seen any significant growth. However, Nebraska is starting to catch up in developing its wind energy potential, which has been ranked as fourth best in the United States.A lot of the company’s focus has been in developing alternative energy resources, such as wind, solar, biodiesel and methane systems.“Our goals are to change this imbalance by helping individuals to gain their own stake in their energy future by utilizing the resources available to them,” according to the company’s website.Byrnes said, along with educating people on Nebraska’s potential with renewable energy, his business also consults and designs projects for clients.He has developed renewable energy systems that he uses on his farm, such as operating his vehicles on biodiesel.“I make fuel from everything that moves,” Byrnes said, including rendering the fat from his livestock into fuel.“I want Nebraskans to realize that we have tremendous resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass — we have the raw materials for clean energy,” he said. “But what we lack is the resolve, and we lack the policy to make that happen.”He said developing the state’s many alternative energy resources is not just about today but also for tomorrow’s generation.“We seem today to care not for the next generation but more about ourselves,” Byrnes said.He said that’s contrary to the pioneer spirit that built America to make it better for the generations that would follow.“I have four kids,” Byrnes said. “That’s an important part of this whole process.”  By: Robert Pore | September 4, 2010 | robert.pore@theindependent.com Original Source: http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2010/09/04/news/local/state_fair/doc4c81d21245e71817631454.txt nonadult false From deep-fried delights to biofuel text blog 12 0 0.0 http://community.ecoseed.org/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=13707210&as=29468 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29468/photos/PHOTO_8041139_29468_13707210_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2625532 13707210 Gold 26223