Archive for July, 2008
July 17th, 2008
my creative co-worker in charge of multimedia, chris soprych, shared this with me: Grow Your Own Lawn Chair.
the tip is courtesy of make magazine, which got it from treehugger.com.
“The Grass armchair is self assembled, each pack contains 14 corrugated cardboard frames and 100g pack of grass seeds. You will need about 240 litres of soil, to fill in the frame. First find the right spot, because once the armchair has grown you won’t be able to move it!! You can put up to 20cm of gravel with in the frame then the soil. Spread the seeds evenly using only 4/5 of the bag of seeds. Press them in and water slightly so that the soil is humid. Water the armchair everyday.”
so if you made the frame yourself, you’d be recycling and creating a reusable resource from renewable materials. too bad i just re-did my backyard. 
by the way, make is a tech-inclined do-it-yourselfer magazine. i bought it for my father-in-law the engineer one year.
July 16th, 2008
this week, the company that bills me for my electricity announced that it plans to reduce its energy consumption by 25 percent by 2020. the trib story is here. this is what forbes said:
The Chicago-based company, already on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent from 2001 levels, said its $10 billion plan to cut 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually will be the equivalent of removing nearly 3 million cars from American roads. Greenhouse gases are cited for rising world temperatures.
“The science is overwhelming - climate change is happening now and human activity is the primary cause,” John Rowe, Exelon (nyse: EXC - news - people )’s chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement.
without doing an investigative report, i can’t complain with that kind of news.
but without knowing what it takes to run a company, i know comed has sought rate increases. according to this, a final decision could come by september.
here is a petition to fight that, if you so choose. here are bizrock tips from last month on ways to keep your bills down.
July 15th, 2008
when i got a spam about speed dating in my in box this morning, it reminded me of a story about “green speed dating.” eco-conscious singles in california hoped to find their true loves last month in santa monica. well, maybe they’re not THAT eco-conscious. one dater drives an SUV, another found the dating pool lacking and lazy in the green department … and there was valet parking available.
this l.a. times green blog named emerald city previewed the event but didn’t cover it: bummer.
as the green movement grows, maybe going green will become a prerequisite lifestyle issue: what’s your job? do you want kids? what’s your carbon footprint?
July 11th, 2008
but reminder that this summer you can go to the illinois renewable energy and sustainable lifestyle fair aug. 9 and 10 at the ogle county fairgrounds in oregon.
given the high cost of energy and the higher level of eco-awareness, i expect interest to be high. there will be exhibits, workshops, food and entertainment — did you there’s a green band, the giving tree band?
The environmentally “sound” decisions of the band include performing with instruments that were built from naturally fallen trees and reclaimed woods, producing music with renewable energy, packaging CD’s with 100% recycled materials, and supporting numerous charities and eco-friendly organizations with their concerts and recordings.
July 10th, 2008
i’ve seen the dishwasher keyboard video (i would never do this!), but i got a press release from a company named unotron that makes washable keyboards. below is an excerpt:
Unotron’s patented SpillSeal ® technology allows data equipment to be safely cleaned with water and even disinfected with hospital-strength cleaning products to prevent the spread of germs, bacteria and viruses.
In addition to the benefits of being able to sanitize your data equipment with cleaning products rather than a dust rag, Unotron’s SpillSeal ® technology helps prevent against damage from an accidental spill or too many crumbs under the keys. Consumers of all ages sit for hours at computer desks playing games, surfing the web or working. Unlike regular keyboards that would be ruined by a spill, Unotron’s products allow you to wash away bacteria and residue, saving time and money.
Budget-friendly prices make Unotron SpillSeal ® products hard to resist, with keyboards starting at only $49.99 at many major U.S. retailers.
not sure i’d want to go this way, but i would guess that this kind might last longer. you can apply for a demo here.
July 9th, 2008
wait, that’s a different tune (i hope the person who typed these lyrics used the “copy” function).
just a friendly reminder to “take just one, please.” one napkin from the restaurant. one paper towel from the rest room. don’t take (or accept) what you don’t need.
then you won’t end up with 20 ketchup packets in your desk drawer, like i have. i like ketchup, but give me a break!
July 8th, 2008
if you wanna move to nashville, then you might love tennesseegreen.com, lauched by the tennessean this year. it collects tips, news, resources, food and outdoors info and allows readers to get involved and connect with each other.
while its audience is those conscious of and passionate for green issues, it also hopes to reach the “green curious.”
apparently features like this, a set of reader tips, are pretty popular. i have to admit i read every one. good ideas for me to mine.
July 7th, 2008
regular reader hokumboy noted that the fireworks cause a considerable mess downtown.
boy, is he right. here’s the story we wrote about cleanup last year (but the photo above from alan leon is from this year):
Crews make quick work of 4th’s mess
ROCKFORD — About 125,000 Fourth of July revelers spilled out of downtown at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, leaving behind a colorful patchwork of trash. By dusk, the streets were lined with wrappers and soda bottles; trash swelled from packed garbage cans.
By dawn, the scene was dramatically different.
A small legion of street sweepers and garbage collectors hit downtown streets as soon as crowds had departed, Public Works Superintendent Bill Morr said. For six hours, 12 workers cleared trash cans and blew loose garbage into the street for sweeping.
Late-night workers devoted much of their shifts to downtown cleanup, and additional workers were called, Morr said. They started about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and didn’t wrap up until 4:45 a.m. Thursday, just in time to spare early risers, shoppers and downtown businesspeople the celebration’s remnants.
Morr had not tallied costs of the Fourth of July cleanup, but he said it’s typically more than $1,000.
“That’s how I measure the success of the celebration, by how much trash we have to clean up,” Fourth of July Committee Chairman Joe Marino said.
Hardest hit were Ingersoll Centennial Park, downtown bridges, high-traffic intersections and other prime spots for fireworks viewing, Morr said. Public
Works crews placed about 20 trash cans along the parade route, but by day’s end they were either full or ignored.
“That’s the consequence of people who are very inconsiderate when it comes to trash,” Marino said. “We had containers, and I guess they missed the containers when they threw it.”
The cleanup effort was the product of several weeks of planning and even some precleaning. Crews swept and patched certain streets before Wednesday’s parade as a safety precaution, Morr said.
The Fourth of July is not the messiest downtown celebration, despite its size, Morr said. That could be On the Waterfront, which draws hundreds of thousands of people to Rockford’s downtown streets for three days around Labor Day.
By the numbers
125,000 People in downtown Rockford on the Fourth of July
20 Garbage cans along the parade route
6 Leaf-blowers
3 Street-sweepers
12 Workers cleaning up trash
6 Hours worked
July 7th, 2008
… that’s what one of my co-workers (a loyal reader) said to me.
cute. i don’t think there’s any environmental benefit to green tea (aside from the fact that i use and wash my same cup instead of buying mcstyrofoam or starbucks cups like said co-worker above, who shall remain anonymous).
there are good health benefits, though.
personally, i don’t even have the caffeine in my tea. and have you ever tried this mighty leaf chamomile citrus? it’s not green tea. and since it’s herbal, it’s not technically even tea, but wow! it’s great.
July 4th, 2008
just for fun, because it’s a holiday, i googled “fourth of july and green.” you didn’t think i’d find anything, did you?
this little article suggests ways to have a green party: i like the “bring a cup” and “non-garbage station” ideas.
or you can order green fourth of july t-shirts from cafe press and drink organic beer!
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