Archive for March, 2008

Your home may be green and the way you live your life may be eco-friendly, but when you step into work, your lifestyle just sometimes slip away. The greenlife.com has 10 ways to make your workplace a little greener. Of course, the easiest step to make is to recycle paper. According to the site, the average U.S. worker uses up to 10,000 sheets per year. Another tip is to suggest that your office provide organic coffee and tea. To see all 10 tips, click here.

If you have any ideas on how you got your workplace to go green, share them by clicking on the comment button.

The Town of Chapel Hill released 10 ways they are reducing greenhouse gas emissions:

1. Carbon Reduction
The Town of Chapel Hill became the first U.S. municipality to commit to a 60 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 through the Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) Project.

2. Green Building Development
Developers are encouraged to include a “20 percent more energy efficient” feature in their plans maximizing the potential for energy conservation and use of renewable energy.

3. Green Municipal Buildings
New or expanded Town government facilities are built to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green building Rating System, approved by the U.S. Green Building Council.

4. Alternative Transportation
Since 2002, the buses have been free in Chapel Hill, offering more than 6 million rides a year. The Town is working to complete more than 28 miles of greenways and trails that will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to quickly and safely access every part of town.

5. Green Fleets
The Town has set high standards for obtaining energy efficient vehicles and to operate its fleets in a manner that is energy efficient and minimizes emissions.

6. Tree Protection
Proposed changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance will establish a new vision statement that calls for no net loss of trees/canopy cover and an increase in trees proportional to population growth.

7. Energy Bank
The Town has set aside $500,000 in bond funds to acquire construct, equip and install energy efficient facilities in certain existing public buildings. The savings attributable to these projects are used to reimburse the fund.

8. Active Living By Design
The Town participates in a national program centered in Chapel Hill that establishes innovative approaches to increase physical activity through community design, public policies and communications strategies.

9. Open Space
The citizens of Chapel Hill have supported and helped the Council identify, protect and preserve green spaces and critical natural areas, now totaling about 740 acres.

10. Sustainability Committee
The Sustainability Committee provides guidance to the Planning Board regarding sustainability principles to be adopted and monitors implementation of the principles and policies as adopted by the Council as part of the Comprehensive Plan review process.

For information, click here.

We see those big brown trucks driving along our roads and highways delivering packages to customers daily, but now those brown trucks will be green. Sort of.

UPS announced it deployed 167 Compressed Natural Gas delivery trucks. According to the UPS website, the trucks are expected to reduce emissions by 20 percent and improve fuel economy by 10 percent.

Read more about these “green” trucks by clicking here.

Fitness enthusiasts can make their daily exercise routines greener by taking it outside. Green Living Ideas suggests to take your workout outside instead of a gym. A walk or hike through the mountains makes for a great workout, plus it gets you in touch with the outside world. One tidbit found on Green Living is to substitute your routine with yard work. Yard work may be tedious, but did you know pruning trees and pulling weeds can have as much benefit as a dumbbell routine? For more ways to green your workout, click here.

An Oregon-based firm called Office Support systems has introduced a green ink cartridge. According to its website, for every cartridge purchased, up to $1 will be donated to American Forests. Then American Forests plants a tree for every dollar received.

Besides the dollar donation to tree planting, the company encourages its customers to recycle used cartridges. They have a system set up that will apply a credit to consumers that return a cartridge. A pre-paid FedEx label comes with every cartridge to make it easy for one to return. For more information on Go Green Brand Ink Cartridges, click here.

What do you do with your used ink cartridges? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below!

If you want to take the next step in ensuring that your pet eats natural food, you can try homemade pet food. Homemade Healthy Pet Food is a blog that has an extensive collection of pet food recalls, pet diet information and quite a few recipes. Here’s a recipe from the blog:

1 cup (=1/2 lb) turkey (or hamburger, chicken, lean chuck beef)
1 cup brown rice
1 cup cooked kidney beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of soy sauce or dash of iodized salt
Bring 2 cups of water to boil for every cup of rice. Add the rice and simmer 35-45 minutes. Mix in the other ingredients and serve.

 Check out the other recipes on there or share your own recipes by clicking on the comment button below.

With some cities considering banning disposable shopping bags, new reusable bags are hitting the market. The new bags are a more eco-friendly way to bring home the bacon…and the tofu.

They have style, functionality and some even fold up small enough to fit into a purse or backpack. However, they aren’t very large, so you may have to invest in more than one.

Here in the triangle, Whole foods plans to stop offering plastic grocery bags in its stores by Earth Day, April 22nd. The Texas-based grocery chain says it will give customers up to ten cents off their bill if they bring their own reusable bags.

Greenliving.com has an article on how give your pet an eco-friendly, green life. One major change is serving your pet, all natural pet food. The site suggests pet owners to look for foods that were approved by the USDA, and to avoid products that contain by-products. Or even better, as the article suggests, is to make homemade meals for your dog.

Earthdoggy.com is a site that offers organic and envirnomentally friendly products for you dog. Check out this site, or do a search on your own to find more ways to green your pet.

March 21st is North Carolina’s official Arbor Day.

Arbor Day was first proposed by Julius Sterling Morton, a Nebraska newspaper editor, at a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture on Jan. 4, 1872. President Theodore Roosevelt officially recognized Arbor Day in 1907 and in 1970 President Richard Nixon proclaimed the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day. The official North Carolina Arbor Day is always celebrated on the first Friday after March 15.

To learn more about planting a tree, click here.

Durham’s non profit The Scrap Exchange will hold a warehouse fabric sale on Saturday March 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Scrap Exchange has offered reuse programs since 1991. The location is 548 Foster St. Known as an artist market place, The Scrap Exchange also offers an art gallery and even classes.

Learn more here.