http://newlygreens.com Walking Green for a Sustainable Garden State Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:16:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://newlygreens.com/feed/ Stories of green living from the early adopters walking the walk. Produced in NJ just outside New York City the show gives an East Coast flavor to implementing more balanced choices. Hosts Greg and Connie, "newlygreens" and not so newlywed, try take the stories to heart and and bring practical change into their own lives. It may not be about being the ideal, but it is definitely about finding inspiration and working toward something better. Kaizen Productions LLC clean Kaizen Productions LLC info@newlygreens.com info@newlygreens.com (Kaizen Productions LLC) 2010 Kaizen Productions LLC Eco Friendly Tales of Going Green from the Northeast sustainable, environmental, earth, nature, solar, wind, recycle, organic, green, eco, eco-friendly http://newlygreens.com/_content/_images/powered_by_podpress_small.jpg http://newlygreens.com http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/lunapads-a-sustainable-take-on-sanitary-napkins/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/lunapads-a-sustainable-take-on-sanitary-napkins/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:23 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=3044 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/lunapads-a-sustainable-take-on-sanitary-napkins/feed/ 0 Gloria Steinem,Lunapads,menstruation,Rwanda,SHE,Sustainable Health Enterprises,Unicef - Listen up girls! (and guys).  Today we speak with Madeleine Shaw, founder of a company called Lunapads.  If you didn't think you needed an attitude adjustment when it comes to menstrual cycles, just listen to some of the facts and statistics our g... Listen up girls! (and guys).  Today we speak with Madeleine Shaw, founder of a company called Lunapads.  If you didn't think you needed an attitude adjustment when it comes to menstrual cycles, just listen to some of the facts and statistics our guest is going to share with you today.  This show is an eye-opener! Society is not particularly comfortable talking about periods.  As a matter of fact, we've posted a link to  Gloria Steinem famous essay called, If Men Could Menstruate, where she tells us that if men had periods there would be no taboos.  "Men would brag about how long and how much. And sanitary supplies would be federally funded and free".   FACTS AND FIGURES: Approximately 20 billion pads, tampons and applicators are sent to North American landfills annually . On an individual level, each of the approximately 73 million menstruating women in North America will throw away 125 to 150kg or approximately 16,800 disposable pads or tampons in her lifetime. Disposable pads and tampons are made primarily of bleached kraft pulp or viscose rayon, the origin of which is wood cellulose from trees. What makes these products perform so effectively is the use of high tech chemicals such as super-absorbent acrylic polymers (SAPs) surfactant-laced gels and leak-proof plastic backings. The long-term health and environmental impact of these ingredients is contentious and largely unknown. In 1991, the Landbank Consultancy report reviewed the environmental impact of disposable diapers and concluded that compared to cloth diapers, throwaway diapers used 20 times more raw materials, three times more energy and twice as much water; overall they generated 60 times more waste . Disposable menstrual pads are made from substantially equivalent materials and ingredients as disposable diapers. Lunapads will last well over 5 years with recommended use and care, as opposed to 3 or 4 hours in the case of disposable products. While individual use may vary, we estimate that a single Lunapad replaces 120 disposable pads or tampons. The cost of reusable products is significantly less than disposables – women can save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over time. 1,000,000 disposable pads and tampons are now being diverted from landfills monthly thanks to Lunapads’ customers having made the switch to reusable products, and tens of thousands of women worldwide are feeling more connected to themselves and at peace with their consumer choices. For more information you can visit the Lunapads website at Lunapads.com. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-green-vacations/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-green-vacations/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:30:46 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=3055 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-green-vacations/feed/ 0 Best Mass Transit Cities,eco-travel,Hotel,Lodging,Mass Transit,Train,Travel - July is almost over and here comes August!  If you haven't taken a vacation yet, you're probably thinking about one, so sit back and enjoy these short little tips on making that vacation a little bit greener. July is almost over and here comes August!  If you haven't taken a vacation yet, you're probably thinking about one, so sit back and enjoy these short little tips on making that vacation a little bit greener. 1) Find A Green Hotel - It's easier than you may think.  There are lots of registries.  We have added a link to a couple on our website. Registry of Environmentally Friendly Hotels Green Hotels Association 2)  Take the Train - Rail travel has some of the lowest carbon emissions per-traveler of any form of transport. If you need to travel a distance, look into a train with a sleeper cabin and a restaurant on board.  Some of them are very nice.  And what an interesting way to travel! 3)  Options For Getting Around Town - Try to choose a destination with a good public transit system. If you have to use a taxi, check ahead and find one that uses hybrid vehicles.  We've included a link to help you find a green taxi if you're interested.  Biking is also a fun way to see the sights and unwind, and of course, walking is still the best way to get around! Search for green taxis. Check out this story on the 5 Best Mass Transit Cities and while we're at it here's a story on the 10 Worst 4)  Volunteer Vacations - You could look into volunteer vacations which enable you to give something back while you travel.  You might end up in an exciting place, doing exciting things such as helping to save the environment or helping endangered animals.  Think Katrina or the Gulf Oil Spill, or any of the hundreds of other good causes that are out there.  We've included a link to make finding those vacations easier. Volunteer Vacations. 5) The Ever Popular Staycation -  Did you ever notice that sometimes you need a vacation after you get back from a vacation?  They're fun but they can be draining as well.  The staycation can be fun and totally relaxing!   A search for "travel activities" in and around your town will likely turn up lots of options. That's it for now.  Enjoy the rest of your summer and please also enjoy this little quote for the week..... "The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving"   Author Unknown Happy Travels! Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:43 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-29-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-29-2010/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:56 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=3069 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-29-2010/feed/ 0 David de Rothschild,Dirty Water Vending Machine,Don Blankenship,drinking water,electric wheelchairs,Great Pacific Garbage Patch,Ivory Coast,Massey Energy Company,Mine Safety and Health Administration,mini cows,MSHA,Netherlands - The Headlines: Oil trader fined for illegal dumping Protesters travel 8,000 miles to protest plastic pollution UNICEF unleashes "dirty water" vending machine Norwegian couple protests rail restrictions Massey CEO has no regrets about mine explosion ... The Headlines: Oil trader fined for illegal dumping Protesters travel 8,000 miles to protest plastic pollution UNICEF unleashes "dirty water" vending machine Norwegian couple protests rail restrictions Massey CEO has no regrets about mine expl... Kaizen Productions LLC clean 2:01 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/henry-pollack-ph-d-a-world-without-ice-prt-2/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/henry-pollack-ph-d-a-world-without-ice-prt-2/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:33:49 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=3066 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/henry-pollack-ph-d-a-world-without-ice-prt-2/feed/ 0 A World Without Ice,Climate Change,geophysics,Henry Pollack,Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,IPCC,Nobel Peace Prize,temperature - Today we continue the discussion we started last week (part 1) with Dr. Henry Pollack. He was a contributing author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) 4th Assessment Report which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with ... Today we continue the discussion we started last week (part 1) with Dr. Henry Pollack. He was a contributing author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) 4th Assessment Report which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with along with former Vice President Al Gore. His expertise on long-term geologic evidence of temperature has lead him to testify before the Senate as well as garnering him an invitation to the White House to consult on Climate Change. He has been a professor of geophysics at the University of Michigan for more than forty years, travels regularly to Antarctica, and has conducted scientific research on all seven continents. He joins us today to talk about the science of Climate Change and his latest book "A World Without Ice". A summary of the climate information that came up during our discussions with Dr. Pollack is available in the show notes for part 1. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 24:12 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-keeping-cool-part-two/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-keeping-cool-part-two/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:14:48 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=3036 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-keeping-cool-part-two/feed/ 0 - Here are some more ways to keep things cool this summer. - 1 Hang bamboo shades outside your windows. This can stop 60 to 80% of the sun's heat from getting in through the windows. - 2 Do not use a dehumidifer at the same time you are using your AC ... Here are some more ways to keep things cool this summer. 1 Hang bamboo shades outside your windows. This can stop 60 to 80% of the sun's heat from getting in through the windows. 2 Do not use a dehumidifer at the same time you are using your AC unit. The dehumidifier will increase the cooling load and force the air conditioner to work harder. 3 Add two degrees and add a fan. The EPA says if you raise your thermostat by just two degrees and turn on a ceiling fan you can trim cooling costs by up to 14%. 4 Clean your AC filter once a month. Whether you've got an central air or a window unit, cleaning the filter keeps the air conditioning working the best it can. 5 Go down. Stay as low as you can to the ground. Heat rises, so cooler air can naturally be found the farther down you go. The basement's not looking so bad is it? 6 Embrace mint. Mint doesn't just cool down your mouth. Use pepper mint body wash, soap, lotions and powders. Mint refreshes your skin and cools you down. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 2:34 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-22-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-22-2010/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:12:36 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=3010 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-22-2010/feed/ 0 Bacillus thuringiensis,Baghdad,BioCouture,biomaterial,BT,Central Martin's College,CNN,Environmental Protection Agency,EPA,green tea,Iraq,Jack Cafferty - The Headlines: - 650 dogs killed daily in Baghdad Bandages may soon have new functions San Fran pet sale ban Monsanto fined for mislabeling seeds Green tea grows clothes - The Details: - 650 dogs killed daily in Baghdad - You heard that number right. The Headlines: 650 dogs killed daily in Baghdad Bandages may soon have new functions San Fran pet sale ban Monsanto fined for mislabeling seeds Green tea grows clothes The Details: 650 dogs killed daily in Baghdad You heard that number right. The Associated Press reports 58,000 of Baghdad's estimated 1.25 million stray dogs have been killed in the last three months, equating to about 650 dogs every day. Iraqi officials hasten to say the killings are necessary because packs of stray dogs have been attacking people, some even killing children. But the brutality of the canine extermination is unsettling. Government workers have been putting out poisoned meat for the dogs to eat. We haven't been able to confirm which poisons they are using, but a common one, strychnine, is said to cause hours of pain before the animal suffocates and dies. And there's no telling how many other animals besides stray dogs are ingesting this poison meat. When they aren't poisoning dogs, Iraqi police are shooting dogs in the streets. This is also problematic because the Iraqi police force is not known for its accuate aim. Many shots probably miss their intended area and only wound the dogs, causing prolonged and painful deaths. The World Society for the Protection of Animals has many strategies for fixing this problem, including animal protection legislation, vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and registration of pets. But in war-torn Iraq, where many humans are still not given the care and protection they need, the services of the WSPA seem to be the last thing on the government's mind. Bandages may soon have new functions Researchers at the University of Bath and the Southwest UK Paediatric Burns Centre are developing wound dressings that not only stop bleeding, but also detect infections and even release antibiotic medication as well. This completely safe dressing only responds to harmful bacteria and doesn't have to be changed nearly as often because the medicine to treat infection is built right in. The nanotechnology can detect disease-causing pathogens and then release antibiotics contained in nanocapsules. When it does this, a color-changing dye indicates that medicine has been released. Scientists hope this new medical technology will be available for mass use, especially by developing countries, in four years. San Fran pet sale ban What began as a proposal to outlaw puppy and kitten mills in San Francisco has become a hefty piece of proposed legislation banning pet sales entirely. The list of pets that the legislation would render unsellable includes: rats, snakes, hamsters, guinea pigs, turtles, gerbils, birds, cats and dogs. (Chicken and rabbit sales are already prohibited in the city.) All of these critters end up in shelters and are frequently euthanized. Phil Gerrie is a member of the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control & Welfare, which advises the San Francisco legislature on matters concerning animals. Gerrie brought the idea up in one of their meetings. When they scheduled a hearing for it, over 100 people from all sorts of animal rescue groups as well as concerned citizens showed up, causing the longest meeting the Commission has ever had. Local and national media paid attention to the idea, prompting a firestorm of debate. Even Jack Cafferty of CNN got in on the action, calling the idea "not half bad." All the fuss is making it impossible to actually get the resolution together, so for the moment, the vote on the proposal has been set back another month. Monsanto fined for mislabeling seeds No environmentally conscious news day would be complete without a story on Monsanto, the multinational agricultural seed and supply company. They may have won in the Supreme Court last month lifting the ban on their alfalfa seeds, but they lost a hefty chunk of change two weeks ago. The Environmental Protection Agency issued a record-breaking $2. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 13:17 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/henry-pollack-ph-d-a-world-without-ice-prt-1/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/henry-pollack-ph-d-a-world-without-ice-prt-1/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:12:35 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=3000 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/henry-pollack-ph-d-a-world-without-ice-prt-1/feed/ 1 A World Without Ice,AR4,Climate Change,Copenhagen Diagnosis,Denier,Global Warming,Henry Pollack PH.D.,IPCC,scientist,Skeptic This is [Part 1 of 2]- [Part 2] can be heard here - - Our guest today worked on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR4 report which you may recall shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former vice president Al Gore. This is [Part 1 of 2]- [Part 2] can be heard here Our guest today worked on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR4 report which you may recall shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former vice president Al Gore. His expertise has lead him to testify before the Senate as well as garnering him an invitation to the White House to consult on Climate Change. He has been a professor of geophysics at the University of Michigan for more than forty years, travels regularly to Antarctica, and has conducted scientific research on all seven continents.  He is the author of "Uncertain Science . . . Uncertain World", and he joins us today to talk about the science of Climate Change and his latest book "A World Without Ice". Dr. Henry Pollack. Some climate information that came up during our discussions with Dr. Pollack paraphrased by the Newlygreens Editorial Staff: The IPCC report is often cited as the leading compilation on Climate Science. One of the criticisms of the IPCC report is that it is compromised by the political influence of various nations. Ironically, critics of climate change also accuse it of being alarmist. Well, as you might expect, you can't have it both ways. In reality the projections and forecasts of the impacts of climate change constantly outpace those made in IPCC reports. If you think the picture the reports paint of the future is alarming now, you should see what the science says when undiluted by the competing interests of politics. Another criticism is that the Summary for Policy Makers overstates certainty that man-made causes are causing the changes we see.  There are numerous lines of evidence that indicate man is having a considerable influence on global climate through large-scale land use changes, and the emission of pollution via the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. The IPCC report on Climate Change is now several years old. Prior to the UN Copenhagen meeting last December a group of leading Climate Scientists released the Copenhagen Diagnosis that showed several examples of how the IPCC projections of future impacts were in fact too conservative and were being outpaced by reality. (Executive Summary below in the Show Notes) A few examples of this are: 6a)  IPCC Follow Up - We have seen a 40% reduction in sea ice in the Arctic over the last 40 years and we are on course to loose all summer ice in the near future.  The IPCC made projections about how fast we might expect to loose the remaining ice at the North Pole but it now seems that reality is outpacing those predictions.  We will be the first generation of humans EVER to see an Arctic with no ice in the summer. 6b)  IPCC Follow Up - Greenland - Jakobshavn (Ya-kob-zha-van) Glacier - the actual rate of ice loss is significantly greater than that which was forecast in IPCC AR4. Jakobshavn Isbrae holds the record as Greenland's fastest moving glacier and major contributor to the mass balance of the continental ice sheet. Starting in late 2000, following a period of slowing down in the mid 1990s, the glacier showed significant acceleration and nearly doubled its discharge of ice through 2006. 7-8% of all ice lost from Greenland is coming off the Jakobshavn glacier - NASA Greenland has either been neutral or loosing ice since 1960. 6c)  IPCC Follow Up - Anthropogenic (Human) Forcing Factors Detailed: GHG Emissions - Ralph David Keeling - Keeling Curve - 1957 GHG concentration was 315 ppm, was increasing at a rate of 1 ppm per year.  By 70's it was growing at a rate of 1.4 ppm/yr, by the 80's it had grown to 1.6 ppm/yr, today it is at 2.2 ppm/yr.  GHG emissions are growing logarithmically.  The IPCC AR4 report made projections as to what this growth would be.  Reality is outpacing projections of the IPCC AR4 report. At the Copenhagen talks last December no one in attendance was debating the science of climate change. As far as global politics are concerned, Kaizen Productions LLC clean 20:43 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-keeping-it-cool-prt-1/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-keeping-it-cool-prt-1/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:28:04 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=3030 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-keeping-it-cool-prt-1/feed/ 0 - Earlier we talked about the recent heat waves and how it's only going to get hotter. So here are some eco-friendly ways to keep cool: - 1 Forgo the big, hot meal for a few smaller ones. Yogurt and refrigerated fruit can cool you down instead of prep... Earlier we talked about the recent heat waves and how it's only going to get hotter. So here are some eco-friendly ways to keep cool: 1 Forgo the big, hot meal for a few smaller ones. Yogurt and refrigerated fruit can cool you down instead of preparing a large, hot dish that warms up your kitchen. 2 Wear loose-fitting clothes, preferably light-colored ones. Clingy clothes cause more friction against your skin, adding more heat to your already hot day. And dark clothes absorb more heat from the sun. Keep those clothes light and loose! 3 Take a nice, cool shower instead of a hot one. There's nothing more relieving short of going swimming. 4 Keep your lotions and skin creams in the refrigerator. When you use them, they will cool down your skin. 5 Draw the shades. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so it's important to keep any windows facing either direction nice and shaded. 6 Place your AC well. Putting an AC unit in a window that spends part of its day in the sun makes it harder for the AC to do its job. It'll increase the efficiency of your unit 5 to 10% if you put your AC unit in a north or south facing window. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 5:43 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-15-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-15-2010/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:26:20 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=3006 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-15-2010/feed/ 0 2039,Academy Award winner for Best Documentary,Animal Planet,CFL,Climate Change,documentary,dolphins,Dr. Mitchell Joachim,Europe,furnitfure,halogen,heat wave - The Headlines: - Ikea to stop selling incandescents 2039 is looking hot Whole Foods wants organic proof "Cove" documentary screens in Japan House of the future made of meat? - The Details: - Ikea to stop selling incandescents - Every college kid's... The Headlines: Ikea to stop selling incandescents 2039 is looking hot Whole Foods wants organic proof "Cove" documentary screens in Japan House of the future made of meat? The Details: Ikea to stop selling incandescents Every co... Kaizen Productions LLC clean 11:38 http://newlygreens.com/blog/wall-street-journal-op-ed-submission/ http://newlygreens.com/blog/wall-street-journal-op-ed-submission/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:22:10 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=3032 http://newlygreens.com/blog/wall-street-journal-op-ed-submission/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reverb-green-concert-coordinators/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reverb-green-concert-coordinators/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:00:48 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2964 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reverb-green-concert-coordinators/feed/ 0 Barenaked Ladies,Bonnie Raitt,Dave Matthews,EcoLimo,EPA Green Power Partnership,Green Power Network,Greenvans,Guster,Jack Johnson,John Mayer,Live Nation,Muscian's World Network - Our guest today is Brian Allenby, General Manager for a fascinating organization called Reverb. - Reverb is a non-profit organization providing turn-key greening programs for artists' tours while conducting outreach and education programs for musi... Our guest today is Brian Allenby, General Manager for a fascinating organization called Reverb. Reverb is a non-profit organization providing turn-key greening programs for artists' tours while conducting outreach and education programs for music fans everywhere.  They have coordinated green tours for the likes of Dave Matthews, John Mayor, Guster, Sheryl Crow and Barenaked Ladies, just to name a few.  They've worked on 80 major tours to date and have helped artists and fans reduce or eliminate over 72,000 tons of CO2.  They have created large-scale, and measurable change, and here to talk to us about that today is Brian Allenby,  who not only has an extensive background in concert promotion AND renewable energy, but also dabbles in the art of of beer and cheese pairings.. For more information, you can visit Reverb's website at:  www.reverb.org Kaizen Productions LLC clean 19:46 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-what-are-we-eating-part-2/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-what-are-we-eating-part-2/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:30:33 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2968 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-what-are-we-eating-part-2/feed/ 0 anxiety,blood sugar,caffeine,caffeine addiction,FDA,fiber,helps maintain a healthy heart,infertility,intact fiber,isolated fiber,jitteriness,low cholesterol - Summertime is a great time. There are vacations to go on, friends to visit, and most importantly, good food to eat. But before you make your next trip to the grocery store, here are some food labels and catch-all terms you want to avoid. Summertime is a great time. There are vacations to go on, friends to visit, and most importantly, good food to eat. But before you make your next trip to the grocery store, here are some food labels and catch-all terms you want to avoid. 1 "High in Fiber" - We all know that fiber is essential to regulating our digestive systems. But fiber can only do its good deeds in our bellies when it's "intact" fiber. Intact fibers, like those found in beans, vegetables, fruits and grains are shown to lower cholesterol and blood sugar. But products like ice cream and yogurt often contain "isolated" fibers, which don't have all the great health effects of intact fiber. The fiber content may be high, but it might not be the right kind of fiber. Look out for inulin, polydextrose, and maltodextrin, which are isolated fibers. If you see them listed in the ingredients, avoid that product. 2 "Helps Maintain a Healthy Heart" - To speak plainly, it probably doesn't. If you see this on a product at the store, don't let its presence on the package affect your decision to buy it. "Helps Maintain a Healthy Heart" and its cousin "Supports the Immune System" are wastes of ink. Neither term is FDA approved, and you will find no information on the product as to how it does either of these things. Because it doesn't. The FDA only approves statements like "May reduce the risk or cancer" or "May reduce the risk of heart disease." 3 "Whole Grains" - There are two main types of grains: whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains are the healthy ones that the USDA recommends we eat. However, just because a bread product says it's "made with whole grains" doesn't mean it's healthy. Companies aren't required to print how much of their product contains whole grains versus refined grains, so while it may say "made with whole grains", it could contain much more refined wheat flour than whole wheat. Look for products that give actual percentages. If the wording is ambiguous, don't buy it. 4 The last term on our list is an invisible one: caffeine. Since only energy drinks actively boast about their caffeine content, most of us don't think about how much caffeine is in other things we consume. But it's in more products than we can imagine, and the amount of it can be staggering. Caffeine can interfere with our sleep cycles, cause anxiety and jitteriness, upset our stomachs, and increase the risk of miscarriage and infertility in women. To top it all off, caffeine is a highly addictive substance. But even with all the risks, companies are not required to state how much of it is in their products. The FDA and USDA are very lenient in allowing many food companies to use these terms or to omit very important information from the labels of foods and drinks. These government organizations are letting us down. Don't stand for it. Email the FDA and the USDA and tell them you want tougher, more succinct regulations on the food that you buy. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10:50 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-1-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-1-2010/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:00:02 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2942 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-july-1-2010/feed/ 0 2 4-D,Agent Orange,Amazon River,bluefin tuna,British newspaper,Captain Paul Watson,corn,Cotton,dicamba,Dr. Lawrence Gonzi,Dr. Simon Lewis,evolution - The Headlines: Greenpeace activists break into Swedish nuclear plant Sea Shepherd scuba divers free tons of tuna Roundup resistant weeds could force farmers to use harsh herbicides again Monsanto wins Supreme Court case lifting ban on genetically m... The Headlines: Greenpeace activists break into Swedish nuclear plant Sea Shepherd scuba divers free tons of tuna Roundup resistant weeds could force farmers to use harsh herbicides again Monsanto wins Supreme Court case lifting ban on genetically modified alfalfa British newspaper apologizes to climate scientist The Details: Greenpeace activists break into Swedish nuclear plant 50 Greenpeace activists in Sweden broke into the Forsmark Nuclear Plant two weeks ago to make a statement to the Swedish parliament's vote on June 17th against the building of nuclear reactors. The activists were dressed up as brightly colored renewable energy sources wind, water and sun. The police were called and 29 activists were arrested. Of those arrested, 27 of them will be tried in court for illegal trespassing. On June 17th, the Swedish government voted to allow the building of new nuclear reactors to replace the current reactors when their life spans run out. "With a narrow majority, the members of parliament show they do not take the environmental risks posed by nuclear power seriously, and that they do not trust in the enormous potential there is for Swedish renewable energy," Greenpeace spokesman Ludvig Tillman said in a statement. In February 2009, the Swedish government announced it was going to reverse a 1980 decision to phase out its 12 nuclear reactors by 2010. Since 1999, 10 reactors have remained in use at three power plants and account for about half of Sweden's electricity production. Sea Shepherd scuba divers free tons of tuna Marine wildlife activists from the Sea Shepherd group made popular by their Discovery network reality show "Whale Wars" have cut the nets on an undersea cage and released hundreds of bluefin tuna fish off the North African coast. About 42 miles off the coast of Libya, the Sea Shepherd activists liberated the Bluefin Tuna fish from the grasp of Maltese fishing boats because the cages were full of very young fish and many of the fish had been poached illegally. But instead of trying to work through some governmental procedures, the activists took on the task of rectifying what they saw as a serious situation themselves. Paul Watson, activist and captain of the Steve Irwin, said, "The risk of losing the Bluefin Tuna as a species is far more important than the risks to our own lives and freedom. And so we decided to free the tuna.” In a radio address, the Maltese prime minister, Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, condemned the release of the fish. Three days after freeing the tuna, the crew of the Steve Irwin returned to the area but were fired on by Maltese fisherman using flare guns until they retreated. The fish they released were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Roundup resistant weeds could force farmers to use harsh herbicides again Thanks to evolution, today's pesky weeds are no longer susceptible to the best herbicide of yesterday: Roundup. Since the 1970s, Roundup has been the primary weed killer for farmers because it is safer than most herbicides and requires less tilling of the soil, resulting in less soil erosion. The corporation that created Roundup, Monsanto, even created crop seeds resistant to Roundup so farmers could spray their fields and then only plant Roundup-resistant seeds. Seeds containing Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" traits are now used to grow about 90 percent of the nation's soybeans and 70 percent of its corn and cotton. But since about 10 species of weeds have evolved to resist Roundup, many farmers are returning to the harsh herbicides of decades past. Farmers and agricultural industry experts are turning to 2,4-D, a World War II era herbicide also used to produce Agent Orange and another herbicide called dicamba. Penn State University weed scientist David Mortensen estimates that in three or four years, farmers' use of dicamba and 2,4-D will increase by 55.1 million pounds a year because of resistance to Roundup. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 23:36 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/out-for-sustainability-gays-going-green/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/out-for-sustainability-gays-going-green/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:00:39 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2900 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/out-for-sustainability-gays-going-green/feed/ 0 Gerod Rody,Grist Magazine,LGBTQ,OUT for Sustainability,Seattle,Washington - Our guest today hails from Seattle, Washington and is the Founder and Executive Director of OUT for Sustainability, a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ)communities to practice susta... Our guest today hails from Seattle, Washington and is the Founder and Executive Director of OUT for Sustainability, a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ)communities to practice sustainable habits and lifestyles. Gerod Rody has been featured in Grist Magazine's "40 people who are redefining green", and he has a Masters in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Gerod talks to us about why he started his organization, what they are doing to improve the world and what they plan to do next. He also offers a unique perspective on the "green" movement, and tells us what OUT for Sustainability is doing differently from other not-for-profit groups. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 3:33 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-what-are-we-eating/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-what-are-we-eating/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:33:19 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2570 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-what-are-we-eating/feed/ 0 all natural,anxiety,caffeine,caffeine addiction,Coca-cola,FDA,Food,food labels,grocery store,helps maintain a healthy heart,high in fiber,Hot Pockets - Summertime is a great time. There are vacations to go on, friends to visit, and most importantly, good food to eat. But before you make your next trip to the grocery store, here are some food labels and catch-all terms you want to avoid. Summertime is a great time. There are vacations to go on, friends to visit, and most importantly, good food to eat. But before you make your next trip to the grocery store, here are some food labels and catch-all terms you want to avoid. 1 "Made with Real Fruit" or "Made with Real Veggies" - These terms are so loosely thrown around, the easiest thing to say is just avoid everything that isn't an actual piece of fruit or a vegetable. The thing to remember about these products is that quantity very often equals quality. Unless you see a sizable percentage of fruit or vegetables in an item, it's safe to say it's not worth the purchase. Just because an item contains the name of a fruit or vegetable doesn't mean it has enough to be a viable source of nutrition. Usually a candy that claims to have fruit in it will contain more sugar than fruit. And snack foods that claim to contain vegetables usually contain much more salt than anything else. 2 "All Natural" - Just because a product is claimed to be "All Natural" doesn't mean it is. There are meats that claim to be "All Natural" that are actually injected with beef and chicken broth. And there are foods and drinks containing highly processed high fructose corn syrup that claim to be "All Natural." Look at the ingredients and nutrition facts before throwing an "All Natural" item into your cart. 3 "Low Sugar" or "Lightly Sweetened" - These two terms are not currently regulated by the FDA, so they can mean literally anything. The USDA recommends we only have as much sugar in a day as that contained in a can of Coca-Cola, but many products advertised as having "Low Sugar" or being only "Lightly Sweetened" often contain much more than that. 4 "No Trans Fat" - It's true that trans fat is bad for us, but just because a product has a big "0 grams of trans fat" sticker on the front doesn't mean it's healthy. Check the nutrition facts. Many times, companies will try to trick us into getting a product that may be low in trans fat, but incredibly high in saturated fat. "Hot Pockets" have no trans fat, but we all know how seriously fattening they are. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 9:22 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-24-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-24-2010/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:00:39 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2905 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-24-2010/feed/ 0 airship,Alaska Department of Fish and Game,Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium,Austria,Bank of America,Bank of America Merrill Lynch,BP,British Petroleum,Bullet 580,critical habitat,Delaware,Department of Interior - The Headlines - Europe's wind and gas power neck and neck Bank of America stands up to BP Alaskan state official defends oil over bears East coast governors collaborate on wind Nearly extinct species of turtle offered hope Airships making a comeback... The Headlines Europe's wind and gas power neck and neck Bank of America stands up to BP Alaskan state official defends oil over bears East coast governors collaborate on wind Nearly extinct species of turtle offered hope Airships making a comeback The Details Europe's new wind and gas power neck and neck Startlingly progressive news from across the pond! The European Wind Energy Association reports that the amount of new power generated by wind turbines in Europe this year will be comparable to, if not greater than the amount of new power generated by natural gas this year. New natural gas was top dog in European power generation, but since 2008 it has been lagging behind new wind. Just to make sure we're clear, we aren't saying wind produced more power than all the natural gas in the European Union. We're saying that since 2008, more new wind power has been created than new natural gas power, which is still pretty great. The European Union can now generate 85GW of wind power, and if the past few years is any indication, they'll only be adding more. Bank of America stands up to BP In a fiscally responsible and possibly moral move, an executive within Bank of America Merrill Lynch handed down an order last week telling the company's traders not to engage in oil trades with British Petroleum beyond June of 2011. The unnamed executive did not state a reason for doing so, but cutting down on trades with a counterparty helps to protect banks against risk that a company will be unable to meet its long-term obligations. Bank of America has good reason to assume BP won't be able to pay up, with the company running up a huge tab for oil spill cleanup in the Gulf, boycotts taking place across the United States, and their stock plummeting. Bank of America is not one of BP's biggest trading counterparties, but perhaps they will set a trend for larger banks to follow. Alaskan state official defends oil over bears The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has a plan to save the increasingly rare polar bear. They want to establish more than 187,000 square miles of Alaskan land as a polar bear "critical habitat". Critical habitat by definition is the area that contains features essential to the conservation of the species, so unless the United States was for some reason anti-polar bear, giving them this essential land would seem like a no-brainer. Not so, says Doug Vincent-Lang, endangered species coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Vincent-Lang believes the cost of setting aside this land for the polar bear is not worth the protection. Polar bears spend the majority of their lives living on sea ice, hunting for food above and below the ice. This also happens to be prime territory for oil drilling. The establishment and designation of preserved land would lead to development project delays, additional consultations and litigation, which would cost the oil industry. It should be noted though, that giving this land to the polar bear, a threatened species, would only cost the oil industry a lot of money, not the taxpayer. East coast governors collaborate on wind Ten governors from East coast states, Republican and Democrat alike, have shaken hands on the development of wind energy farms on the Outer Continental Shelf. Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Virginia governors officially created the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium, which according to the Department of Interior is expected to generate thousands of jobs in manufacturing, construction, and operations relating to new wind energy development. Not many states have come out in direct opposition to more offshore oil drilling, but now that these ten states have banded together, the "neighbor effect" should stop any new drilling from taking place. Nearly extinct species of turtle offered hope Kaizen Productions LLC clean 11:09 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-america-environmental-impact-through-economics/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-america-environmental-impact-through-economics/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:00:37 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2895 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-america-environmental-impact-through-economics/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-schools-out-now-what/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-schools-out-now-what/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:30:53 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2877 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-schools-out-now-what/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-17-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-17-2010/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:00:39 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2871 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-17-2010/feed/ 0 2010,AAAS,Academy Award,American Association for the Advancement of Science,antifreeze,Apple,Best Documentary,Coney Island,Department of Energy,dolphin intelligence,European Renewable Energy Council,Green - The Headlines: Apple patents solar iPods Coney Island solar-retrofits subways Study shows we could be almost twice as rich if we switch to renewable energy Less than 1 percent of oily birds survive New window film can cut energy costs by up to 40 pe... The Headlines: Apple patents solar iPods Coney Island solar-retrofits subways Study shows we could be almost twice as rich if we switch to renewable energy Less than 1 percent of oily birds survive New window film can cut energy costs by up to 40 percent Scientists meet to discuss our relationship with dolphins and whales The Details: Apple patents solar iPods Apple recently patented solar technology for "media players with integrated touch sensor solar panel surfaces." So iPods, iPhones and possibly even iPads of the future will be solar-powered. Green Apple geeks of the world are no doubt celebrating at the prospect. The iPhone will be getting an especially exciting overhaul. The solar panel will be placed underneath the touch screen, so it can still take in power from the sun, but users will not have to sacrifice the touch screen. And iPhones will soon be coming with a glass back, allowing for another solar panel on that side for double chargeability. Coney Island solar-retrofits subways The New York City Transit Complex in Coney Island was just retrofitted with a thermal solar array to replace the facility's electric hot water heater. Not only will the 48 panel system make the hot water needed to clean subway cars, but it will also eliminate the need to use antifreeze in the winter. Using a pressurized closed-loop vacuum insulation system, the Coney Island Transit Complex is now the first of its kind in the world that requires no antifreeze at all to run. The $1.1 million array, combined with new high efficiency lighting systems recently installed at other transit facilities, is expected to save about $170,000 per year in energy costs and cut New York City’s mass transit greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3,000 tons. Study shows we could be almost twice as rich if we switch to renewable energy Exciting numbers from the European Renewable Energy Council's commissioned report were released last week. The gist of the report: a global shift to renewable energy could create an $18 trillion economy by the year 2050. If we continued down the wasteful energy path we're currently on, we would only end up with an $11 trillion energy industry. Additionally, the report finds that it is technologically and fiscally feasible to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. And before we roll our eyes at this fanciful Utopian notion: the report assumes no conservation of energy or efficiency, so there are no caveats to these numbers about the what-ifs of cutting back on energy use. Switching the entire world to renewable energy sounds like quite a feat, but the technology already exists and will only get better. The majority of the work would come from building a global energy infrastructure. The report also recommends phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, as not paying for dirty fuel would totally change the economic possibilities for the better. Less than 1 percent of oily birds survive Unfortunately it's true. Silvia Gaus, animal biologist and oil spill expert addressed the elephant in the room of the Gulf oil spill with a very unpopular opinion: it's better to kill the birds than try to clean them. Birds don't just get covered in oil. They also ingest the oil, and even attempts to give them Pepto Bismul can't counteract the damage that happens to their kidneys and livers. Also cleaning them, even though it has gotten more efficient and less harsh on the birds, still traumatizes them badly. A British study found that the average bird released after cleaning in other spills only survived for seven days. The kidney and liver damages coupled with the trauma of capture and cleaning causes nearly all the birds to die a slow, very painful death. The average survival rate of oily birds after cleaning is less than 1 percent. So while Gaus's recommendation may be painful to think about, it does unfortunately seem like the most humane option. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 8:23 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/ken-mankoff-discussions-with-a-climate-scientist/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/ken-mankoff-discussions-with-a-climate-scientist/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:00:40 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2815 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/ken-mankoff-discussions-with-a-climate-scientist/feed/ 1 Antarctica,Climate Change,GISS,Goddard Institute,Ken Mankoff,NASA,Oceans,TCP,The Climate Project - Ken Mankoff is a PhD. student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is studying the cryosphere, focusing on ice and ocean interactions nearby and underneath the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf, Antarctica, using observational fieldwork, Ken Mankoff is a PhD. student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is studying the cryosphere, focusing on ice and ocean interactions nearby and underneath the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf, Antarctica, using observational fieldwork, remote sensing, and modeling. In the past he has worked with climate models at the Columbia University NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Earth and Mars observing spacecraft at the University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and competed in the astronaut selection process. He speaks publicly about climate change and has been an invited speaker on all seven continents. Audiences have included scientists at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, business leaders at the United Nations, and students in New York City. Ken helped develop the Educational Climate Modeling program for schools. High School and Undergraduate students can work with climate models to help develop a better understanding of Climate Science. Ken has gone to Antarctica 3 times and had three different projects. The first project drilled into the sediments under the ice to study the climate back in time 40 million years. Second they deployed ocean sensors to study how the ocean next to the continent is changing in terms of temperature and salinity, and therefore how this ocean might melt the ice. Third time they studied the CO2 content of the water to try to find out if it is saturated... Is the ocean still uptaking atmospheric CO2, or is that sponge 'full'? No answers yet on the third one, but some preliminary results on the first two. Related Articles: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/national-research-council-calls-for-climate-action/ http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/certainty-vs-uncertainty.html How Certain is Climate Science? - Climate Science Update April 2010 http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch1s1-6.html Al Gore Op-Ed Piece Perhaps we can relate the Gulf spill back to clean energy choices.  Below is a copy of Mr. Gore's recent op-ed on the spill if you haven't had a chance to read it. The continuing undersea gusher of oil 50 miles off the shores of Louisiana is not the only source of dangerous uncontrolled pollution spewing into the environment. Worldwide, the amount of man-made CO2 being spilled every three seconds into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding the planet equals the highest current estimate of the amount of oil spilling from the Macondo well every day. Indeed, the average American coal-fired power generating plant gushes more than three times as much global-warming pollution into the atmosphere each day—and there are over 1,400 of them. Just as the oil companies told us that deep-water drilling was safe, they tell us that it’s perfectly all right to dump 90 million tons of CO2 into the air of the world every 24 hours. Even as the oil spill continues to grow—even as BP warns that the flow could increase multi-fold, to 60,000 barrels per day, and that it may continue for months—the head of the American Petroleum Institute, Jack Gerard, says, "Nothing has changed. When we get back to the politics of energy, oil and natural gas are essential to the economy and our way of life." His reaction reminds me of the day Elvis Presley died. Upon hearing the tragic news, Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, said, “This changes nothing.” -Al Gore, The New Republic, May 21st, 2010 Kaizen Productions LLC clean 20:31 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-helping-the-waterways/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-helping-the-waterways/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:30:18 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2854 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-helping-the-waterways/feed/ 0 fish,ocean,sea,Tips - Talking to our guest Ken Mankoff made us think about the planet and specifically about our oceans. And since the oil gush in the Gulf is already devastating coastal and sea life, we wanted to give you some tips that you can do to help or reduce the ... Talking to our guest Ken Mankoff made us think about the planet and specifically about our oceans. And since the oil gush in the Gulf is already devastating coastal and sea life, we wanted to give you some tips that you can do to help or reduce the harm that humans cause. June 8th was World Oceans Day, but even if you didn't participate, there's plenty you can do to show your appreciation for the oceans of Earth. 1. Choose sustainable seafood. 75 percent of the world's fisheries are fished to capacity or overfished. And 30 million tons of fish, sea turtles, sharks, and seabirds die each year as "bycatch"—animals caught accidentally and discarded, dead or dying. Choosing seafood from fishers who use better practices can save animal lives. The good folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium have compiled a free guide called Seafood Watch with seafood recommendations, restaurants and recipes. 2. Recycle more and waste less. There's literally an island of trash Great Pacific Garbage Patch that some estimate to be the size of Texas floating between Asia and North America, and it isn't getting any smaller. Being diligent about disposing of your waste properly means it won't end up in the ocean. 3. Cut down or eliminate the use of pesticides and fertilizers in your lawn or garden. Those chemicals seep into the soil and can eventually reach the ocean. There are around 150 'dead zones' where low oxygen inhibits or kills off sea life in our oceans and many of them were caused by excessive fertilizer runoff into rivers and streams. Cutting back on harsh chemicals isn't just good for the ocean, it's good for you. 4. Cut down on fuel consumption. Do you and your neighbor both have to use your gas grills when you could just get together and share? Could you walk to the convenience store instead of driving? Could you hitch a ride with friends instead of meeting them at the bar? If you can cut down, you should. Offshore drilling for oil continues to devastate the environment. If you can cut down on fuel consumption it means less profit for the oil companies who are causing all this damage. 5. Tell the government how you feel. Of course the White House has a good handle on the national sentiment towards the BP oil gush, but until we explicitly say what we think and how we'd like our government to respond, we're just wasting our breath. We are in the middle of an environmental crisis, and we need all hands on deck to solve this problem. Write your local government, your state government, and of course the federal government. Some of these tips are from the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:56 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-10-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-10-2010/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:00:18 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2851 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-10-2010/feed/ 0 animal waste,BBC,Britain,China,CITES,EPA,Europe,factory farms,fish,freight transport,freshwater wind farm,fuel pellets - The Headlines: Fish affected by a different kind of pollution Madagascar's rosewood rainforests ravaged EPA to crack down on factory farms Robot fish to help schools in need Freshwater wind farm in the works UK's waste to become Euro fuel - The Deta... The Headlines: Fish affected by a different kind of pollution Madagascar's rosewood rainforests ravaged EPA to crack down on factory farms Robot fish to help schools in need Freshwater wind farm in the works UK's waste to become Euro fuel The Details: Fish affected by a different kind of pollution We're not talking about oil, and we're not talking about trash. We're talking about sound. A new study published in ScienceDirect finds that fish have a very well developed sense of sound, and over the last 100 years, humans have increasingly used the oceans of Earth, to the detriment of sea life. According to the BBC, 80 percent of global freight transport is done by motorized shipping, and the global shipping fleet is made up of around 1.2 million vessels! That's a lot of noise under the sea, and one effect of that is that fish are fleeing from the loud noises, causing an unequal distribution of fish across the oceans. There are also problems for the fish that don't flee from loud human sounds: they can't hear the sounds they need to hear to function properly. Fish make noises to define territory, to court mates and to find food. They need to hear each other and their surroundings to live and thrive, but shipping noise is so loud that it's disrupting their ability to do so. Madagascar's rosewood rainforests ravaged You may know rosewood from high-end furniture or from the necks of guitars. But not many people know where rosewood comes from, or what the environmental impact of rosewood might be. Most rosewood comes from Madagascar and it's being plundered from the countryside on orders from Chinese furniture makers, who buy the wood to craft expensive furniture for Americans and Europeans. It's been going on in small illegal operations for years now, but this past year, it has increased at least 25-fold, according to environmental groups. They estimate the value of trees felled this past year at $167 million or more! Malagasy timber barons have stepped up operations because of a military coup that took place last year. The new government is weak and can't really enforce rules against felling these increasingly rare trees. Some environmental groups even claim that the government of Madagascar is getting a cut of the profits. Some scientists are recommending the few remaining rosewood trees in the rainforest of the island deserve the protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. We hope they get it. EPA to crack down on factory farms Due to a recent lawsuit settlement with environmental groups, the EPA is proposing a new policy in dealing with factory farms. It doesn't have anything to do with animal treatment, however. This rule is about animal waste. Animal waste, bacteria and parasites from chickens, pigs and cows drain into streams and rivers, posing a threat to human health. The EPA's response? Their new policy proposal would require factory farms to report the type and capacity of manure storage facilities, quantity of manure generated, available land acreage to apply manure and how excess manure is disposed of to the EPA. This is a nice first step, but the EPA's proposal only requires farms to report this information every five years. Robot fish to help schools in need There are robots in the seas! They monitor ocean temperatures and scan for pollutants. But there's a new robot fish on the block, and it's there to actually help the fish. Maurizio Porfiri, assistant professor at Brooklyn laboratories at Polytechnic Institute of New York University, created this new robot fish that can mimic the actions of 'leader' fish, who dart quickly around other fish to lasso them into a school which they then lead. The idea is that the robot fish could take over a school and lead it away from boat motors and power plant turbines. Laboratory experiments with fish in aquariums have proved successful, Kaizen Productions LLC clean 14:03 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/back2tap-education-and-options-for-the-plastic-bottle/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/back2tap-education-and-options-for-the-plastic-bottle/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:53:23 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2703 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/back2tap-education-and-options-for-the-plastic-bottle/feed/ 0 Back2Tap,Central Asia Institute,Mary Lonergan,Plastic Bottles,water - Today we speak with Mary Lonergan, Co-founder of Back2Tap.  Back2Tap aims to reduce the waste generated from the production and distribution of disposable plastic bottles.   There are some startling statistics when you look into the world of plas... Today we speak with Mary Lonergan, Co-founder of Back2Tap.  Back2Tap aims to reduce the waste generated from the production and distribution of disposable plastic bottles.   There are some startling statistics when you look into the world of plastic bottles and we will look at some of them here today. More facts at Earth 911 Recycle ideas at All Plastic Bottles.org 5% of B2T profits go to the Central Asia Institute. The statistics are staggering: * About 1.2 billion people globally lack safe water to consume * About 2.6 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation * Just one toilet flush in the West uses more water than most Africans have to perform an entire day's drinking, cooking, washing and cleaning * Women and children in water-stressed countries walk three to six miles every day just to collect water for their families. This prevents them from otherwise pursuing an education, maintaining their households or earning additional income. * More than half of the hospital beds in the developing world are occupied by people suffering from preventable diseases caused by unsafe water and inadequate sanitation * Dirty water poses a greater threat to human life than war or terrorism. * Meeting the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the percentage of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 would cost about $4 billion a year for 10 years. That amount represents just one month's spending on bottled mineral water in Europe & US. For more information visit Back2Tap.com. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 19:33 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-ditch-the-plastic-bottle/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-ditch-the-plastic-bottle/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:50:09 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2708 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-ditch-the-plastic-bottle/feed/ 0 Filter,Plastic. Bottled Water,Tap Water - Tip - Only one tip today.   Avoid Bottled Water. - There are definitely times when a disposable bottle of water is handy to have, but it should be the occasional exception.  Here are just a few reasons why bottled water isn't so great... Tip - Only one tip today.   Avoid Bottled Water. There are definitely times when a disposable bottle of water is handy to have, but it should be the occasional exception.  Here are just a few reasons why bottled water isn't so great... ... Kaizen Productions LLC clean 3:02 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-3-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-3-2010/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:47:37 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2817 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-june-3-2010/feed/ 0 ant,Arctic,arrests,Beijing Zoo,BP,Brazil,Canada,China,CO2,crocodile,deer,European Union - The Headlines: - Greenpeace members arrested at anti-drilling protest Beijing zoo serves the species they house for dinner No poo this week, but we'll do some numbers: Extending the Treasury Grant Program could produce 200, The Headlines: Greenpeace members arrested at anti-drilling protest Beijing zoo serves the species they house for dinner No poo this week, but we'll do some numbers: Extending the Treasury Grant Program could produce 200,000 jobs Protein made by plants to be reduced by 1/5 USA one of the top ten renewable energy investors The Details: Greenpeace members arrested at anti-drilling protest Ever the users of dramatic symbolism, members of Greenpeace boarded an offshore drilling support ship off the coast of Louisiana on May 24. Their mission? To scrawl crude anti-drilling messages on the side of the ship using crude oil. The ship is scheduled to travel to the Arctic over the summer to support Royal Dutch Shell's plans to survey the area for potential drilling, and Greenpeace found this to be unacceptable. Seven members of Greenpeace wrote "Arctic Next?" on the ship and held up a sign that said, "Salazar: Ban Arctic Drilling" before being captured and detained by local law enforcement. The activists were charged with unauthorized entry of critical infrastructure and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, both of which carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison. Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace, said, "It is outrageous that prosecutors would confront peaceful protesters with such a heavy hand while not a single BP executive has been charged for the devastation they have wrought on the Gulf of Mexico and the people and animals that depend on it." The seven members of Greenpeace were released on bail on May 25. Beijing zoo serves the species they house for dinner An unsettling article from The Guardian recently reported on the misconduct of the Beijing Zoo in China. While most other zoos try to protect the animals in their exhibits, the Beijing Zoo would rather turn a profit, selling some of the very species that inhabit their zoo as food in their restaurant. The restaurant serves the webbed toes of hippopotamus, dishes made with crocodiles, scorpions, kangaroo tail, deer penis, ant soup, shark fin soup, peacock and more. And until the zoo began receiving bad PR, they even had the bad taste to put nutritional information and serving suggestions on the cages of their exhibit animals. The management of the zoo has promised to change their menu, but no one knows yet what those changes will entail. Extending the Treasury Grant Program could produce 200,000 jobs The Solar Energy Industry Association or SEIA released a report last week stating that if the federal government only does two teensy weensy things, the green energy industry could create over 200,000 jobs by 2016! If the federal government extends the Treasury Grant Program, which was part of the Federal Stimulus Package, for another two years and gives tax breaks to green industry equipment manufacturing companies in the form of Manufacturing Investment Tax Credits, $48 billion would be invested in the solar industry, and 207,000 jobs would be created. Protein made by plants to be reduced by 1/5 A UC Davis study released in a recent issue of Science made a sobering discovery about the effects of CO2. Over the next 50 years, the authors of the study say, plants will not be able to absorb as much nitrogen due to projected higher CO2 conditions. Without taking in as much nitrogen, plants will not be able to produce as much protein.  In 50 years, people will be eating plant-based food that contains 20 percent less protein than the plant-based food of today. And in case some of us are not big salad eaters, we will still be affected because any foods made with carbohydrates such as spaghetti and bread are created from wheat and other grains that grow on plants. So this affects virtually everyone. USA one of the top ten renewable energy investors We just got its hands on a Pew research study and found the countries that have invested the most into renewable energy sources. And the U.S. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10:36 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/larry-schweiger-ceo-of-national-wildlife-federation-on-bp-oil-spill/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/larry-schweiger-ceo-of-national-wildlife-federation-on-bp-oil-spill/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 13:42:59 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2772 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/larry-schweiger-ceo-of-national-wildlife-federation-on-bp-oil-spill/feed/ 0 BP,Deepwater Horizon,Environmental Disaster,FLA,Gulf,Gulf of Mexico,Haliburton,LA,Larry Schweiger,MS,National Wildlife Federation,oil spill - We are extremely honored to have with us today, Larry Schweiger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Wildlife Federation.  To highlight just a few of his many past accomplishments, he served for eight years as President and CEO o... We are extremely honored to have with us today, Larry Schweiger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Wildlife Federation.  To highlight just a few of his many past accomplishments, he served for eight years as President and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he pioneered watershed restoration and promoted ecological research, land conservation and community outreach.  Prior to that, Larry was the Executive Secretary of the Joint House/Senate Conservation Committee for the Pennsylvania General Assembly.  In his book Last Chance, he breaks down the science behind global climate change and shares how the clean energy economy can provide the solutions we need to avert the worst consequences of global warming. Jan 19, 1991 the largest oil spill of all time (380-520 million gallons) was created intentionally by Iraqi forces trying to prevent the landing of US forces in Kuwait during the Gulf War.  They intentionally opened valves at the port releasing a 4 inch slick over 4000 square miles. The largest accidental spill of all time (140 million gallons) was also in the Gulf of Mexico June 3, 1979 - March 23, 1980. Ixtoc I, a two-mile deep exploratory well, leaked at an estimated rate of 10,000 to 30,000 barrels per day for almost ten months until it was capped in March 1980. Approximately 5.65 million tonnes (that's over 1.5 billion gallons) of oil were lost as a result of tanker incidents alone from 1970 to 2009 Worst Spills of all Time Other Famous Spills Learn More About The Science of Spills New York Times Interactive map of the BP spill What about the Natural Gas that's mixed in with the oil Welcome to Newlygreens on the Radio, Mr. Larry Schweiger. Some points of interest from today's interview: Tony Hayward CEO of BP has claimed the environmental impact of this spill would be small relative to a really big ocean. The Exxon Valdez spill was just over 21 years ago and it was considerably smaller than this spill. On May 20th the EPA ordered BP to find a less toxic alternative to the dispersant called Corexit they have been using to break up the oil coming from the well.  100's of thousands of gallons of to be more specific... (related story) We see over 70 miles of oil floating on the surface. The BP estimate of the leak has grown from 1,000 barrels a day up to 5,000 barrels/day at the prompting of the Coast Guard, that's 210,000 gallons.  A recent NPR scientist put the estimate at more like 84,000 barrels or 3.5 million gallons/day .   BP currently claims to be siphoning 3000 barrels/day but admit there is still more leaking. A reminder to our listeners the National Wildlife Federation has a number of ways for you to get involved from Finding Solutions to the Climate Crisis, getting kids outside with the  BE OUT THERE™ campaign, or Safeguarding America's Wildlife and Wild Places , If you care to refer people to help with NWF oil spill activities please feel free to refer them to NWF's oil spill page. They may also have job openings so if their mission speaks to your heart there may be opportunities for our listeners to get involved professionally as well.   You can find more information at www.nwf.org. How will this effect wildlife in the area? Kaizen Productions LLC clean 24:10 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-for-use-with-nwf-interview/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-for-use-with-nwf-interview/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 13:41:03 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2786 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-for-use-with-nwf-interview/feed/ 0 BP,Deepwater Horizon,EPA,Gulf oil spill,Lisa P. Jackson,National Wildlife Federation,NOAH,oil spill,Ranger-Rick,TransOcean - In keeping with today's topic of the BP Oil Spill we've gathered some information on how you can help.  From the EPA to the NWF, there are many ways to find out more and get involved. - Only one tip today: Stay informed.  Ask questions. In keeping with today's topic of the BP Oil Spill we've gathered some information on how you can help.  From the EPA to the NWF, there are many ways to find out more and get involved. Only one tip today: Stay informed.  Ask questions.  There are better alternatives.   In the meantime, get information on the spill and how you can help below.. From the  EPA website: To volunteer, call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816. More information and volunteer hotlines. Report an oil sighting: Report oiled shoreline: 1-866-448-5816 Report oiled wildlife: 1-866-557-1401 Discuss spill related damage: 1-800-440-0858 Submit a question or a comment about the spill. Follow EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on Facebook or Twitter Follow EPA on Facebook or Twitter Submit a technology solution. Vendors - submit information to EPA's list of contract services your company can offer. Add EPA's BP Spill response widget to your Web site, Facebook page, or other location. From the National Wildlife Federation website: Volunteer for the Cleanup Efforts - The National Wildlife Federation is helping coordinate the on-the-ground volunteer effort, including NWF's Gulf Coast Surveillance Teams, which are being set up to monitor the coastline for wildlife in distress. Donate to the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund - You can help wildlife threatened by the oil spill by donating online, making a leadership gift or donating via your mobile phone. Your support will help NWF's on-the-ground volunteer and restoration efforts. Speak Up for Cleaner Energy Choices - Tell your senators that now more than ever we need to pass comprehensive legislation that provides America with cleaner and safer energy choices. Help Spread Messages Online - Follow @NWF on Twitter or join us on Facebook to get all the latest updates about the BP Oil Spill. On the ground in the Gulf? Share your photos and videos on Flickr by tagging them SPILL_NW10. How to talk to your kids about the spill:  http://www.nwf.org/Kids/Ranger-Rick/Parents-and-Educators/How-To-Talk-With-Kids-Gulf-Oil-Spill.aspx PLEASE, if you find wildlife along the Gulf Coast that you think may have been injured by the oil spill, do NOT attempt to rescue it. Call the Oiled Wildlife hotline at 866-557-1401. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:21 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-27-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-27-2010/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 13:39:29 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2745 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-27-2010/feed/ 0 air pollutants,biogas,Bionictile,Ceracasa,data center,glaciers,Greenland,Gulf of Mexico,Hewlett Packard,ice,Lifewall,melting - The Headlines: - Oil spill impacts fuel consumers Greenland rises as ice melts Feeling warm? You're not the only one! Pollution-eating plant walls Cow manure could help more than just farmers - The Details: - Oil spill impacts fuel consumers - Start... The Headlines: Oil spill impacts fuel consumers Greenland rises as ice melts Feeling warm? You're not the only one! Pollution-eating plant walls Cow manure could help more than just farmers The Details: Oil spill impacts fuel consumers Starting off with some good news: A poll by an environmental polling organization called the Shelton Group found that 20.1 percent of Americans say they will “reduce their gas consumption in response” to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. So one in five Americans plan to drive a little bit less. “For years our research has shown America is a see-it-to-believe-it nation. Before we make changes, we need to see things with our own eyes or have a personal connection to something, said Suzanne Shelton, president of Shelton Group. “If Americans start seeing a lot of oil-covered pelicans or dying dolphins, these numbers will likely go even higher.” We hope it doesn't take that happening to convince Americans. This information corresponds to a slightly optimistic trend reported by CBS News: Americans' support for drilling has dropped from 62 percent in 2008 to 46 percent as of last week. Greenland rises as ice melts You'd think that ice melting would cause a landmass to lose surface area. Not so with Greenland. Greenland is mostly covered in glaciers and ice, and thanks to climate change, a lot of that ice is melting. The melting ice is sliding into the ocean, taking some of the weight off of Greenland. Without as much ice weighing it down, Greenland is literally rising. Greenland's rocky areas are shooting up almost an inch per year in some spots. If the trend continues unabated, that number could go up to as much as two inches per year by 2025. Feeling warm? You're not the only one! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, recently looked at the Earth's tempurature trends for January through April. What they found was proof positive of global warming. To quote NOAA: "The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for both April and for the period from January-April." The monthly analysis comes from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, which is based on records going back to 1880. The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature was the warmest on record for January-April at 56.0°F , which is 1.24°F above the average temperature for the 20th century. Pollution-eating plant walls Vertical farming and gardens seem to be the trendy new innovation all the green geeks are experimenting with. But this one caught our eye. The company is called Ceracasa, and they make ceramic tiles. But their newest tile system is a double-whammy. They're calling it Lifewall, and in a similar fashion to a ChiaPet, the tile grows drip-irrigated plant life on it. A secondary tile called Bionictile absorbs pollution from the air and converts it into fertilizer for the Lifewall plants. The one meter square tiles are meant to be arranged in various patterns by designers to create a flora wall. The nitrogen oxide that pollutes the air is transformed into nitrate fertilizer, and the air quality around the garden walls significantly improves. Just another way environmentally conscious people are working to clean up the planet. Cow manure could help more than just farmers Hewlett Packard recently came up with an ingenius idea that could benefit computer companies as well as farmers. The arrangement would also use renewable energy of the stinky kind. A lot of farmers have heard about biogas plants where manure is processed and the methane produced is used in place of natural gas or diesel, but the cost of equipment is often too expensive for them to finance by themselves. But tech companies like HP, Google, Microsoft, etc. need the power and the land that these farmers could potentially give. Farmers need to get rid of their cow poo, Kaizen Productions LLC clean 7:56 http://newlygreens.com/blog/al-gore-op-ed-on-bp-oil-spills-significance/ http://newlygreens.com/blog/al-gore-op-ed-on-bp-oil-spills-significance/#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 21:34:13 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2780 http://newlygreens.com/blog/al-gore-op-ed-on-bp-oil-spills-significance/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/summer-rayne-oakes-zoe-zac-shoes/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/summer-rayne-oakes-zoe-zac-shoes/#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 15:43:10 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2648 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/summer-rayne-oakes-zoe-zac-shoes/feed/ 0 eco-friendly shoes,green fashion,PayLess Shoe Store,sustainable shoes,Zoe and Zac,Zoe&Zac - Today  we are speaking with Summer Rayne Oakes, spokesperson for the Zoe & Zac line of eco-friendly shoes.   Zoe and Zac creates green fashion that is stylish and affordable.  They firmly believes, as we do, Today  we are speaking with Summer Rayne Oakes, spokesperson for the Zoe & Zac line of eco-friendly shoes.   Zoe and Zac creates green fashion that is stylish and affordable.  They firmly believes, as we do, that sustainable living does mean wearing a paper bag and living in a cave. Ms. Oakes has an impressive bio with a background in environmental science.  In this interview, she tells us about the Zoe & Zac line of eco-friendly shoe, and we discuss how manufacturing in an environmentally friendly way comes down to the people behind a company. Talking about shoes and fashion may sound shallow on the surface, but providing low cost, eco-friendly products in a large chain is a big step towards making those choices available to everyone, and that's a big step in the right direction. For more information on the Summer Rayne Oakes and the Zoe&Zac line, you can visit their website at Zoe&Zac.com. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 17:36 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-20-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-20-2010/#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 15:42:22 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2735 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-20-2010/feed/ 0 American Power Act,bacteria,Better Bricks,Bob Menendez,bricks,calcium chloride,carbon emissions,Carol Browner,climate bill,CO2,Congress,electric bike - The Headlines: - Climate bill finally announced Two startling polls Obama's Gulf spill bill Volkswagen's so-crazy-it-just-might-work idea No poo this week, but there's pee! - The Details: - Climate bill finally announced - U.S. The Headlines: Climate bill finally announced Two startling polls Obama's Gulf spill bill Volkswagen's so-crazy-it-just-might-work idea No poo this week, but there's pee! The Details: Climate bill finally announced U.S. Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman finally unveiled their climate bill, the American Power Act, last week. The legislation aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and more than 80 percent by 2050. Also included in the bill are provisions against offshore drilling. The bill would allow coastal states to opt out of drilling up to 75 miles from their shores, as well as allowing a state near a state where drilling is to take place to stop the drilling if they can prove plausible negative impacts on their state. Those states that allow offshore drilling will receive a share of federal revenue, which is different from the current policy. For the first time it would set a price on carbon emissions for large-scale polluters. Estimated rates range from $12 per ton of carbon emissions to $25 per ton. The bill would offer incentives of up to $2 billion per year for companies that develop so-called clean coal technologies, and it increases funding for nuclear power which was part of Obama's initial plan. Two startling polls Even with the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, we found two public opinion polls that defy logic. An Associated Press-GfK Poll asked participants about President Obama's handling of the spill as well as their feelings toward offshore drilling. The poll found that 42 percent approve of Obama's actions, 33 percent disapprove and 21 percent say they have neutral feelings about his response. That's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that more people favor increased coastal drilling for oil and gas than oppose it. At least 50 percent of people still favor offshore drilling! A 60 Minute story on what caused the explosion A second poll tabulated by Public Policy Polling shows something even crazier: an astonishing nine percent of the public believe that environmentalists caused the explosion that resulted in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill! And 22 percent of people surveyed said they were not sure if environmentalists intentionally caused the spill. That's about 1 in 5 people in the U.S. Obama's Gulf spill bill Speaking of the spill, last week the White House sent President Obama's bill proposal to deal with the spill to Congress. The bill would provide funding for further safety inspections at oil rigs, grant unemployment assistance for those hurt or displaced by the spill, give money for environmental studies related to the oil damage in the Gulf and provide nutritional assistance to those in the area who might be affected by the spill. The proposed bill would also call for a raise in "the statutory expenditure limitation for the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund from $1 billion to $1.5 billion." In addition, the bill would raise the cap on natural resource damage assessments and claims from $500 million to $750 million, providing more money for cleanup of oil spills. But the part that many on Capitol Hill are concerned about is the money that the responsible oil companies would have to pay. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey has called for the current cap of $75 million to be upped to $10 billion. The White House's bill has no exact figure for the companies to pay. Carol Browner, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, offered this explanation: "We think it is important to work with Congress on determining what that set number will be. As you know, there have been bills already introduced and we will be working with them to determine what the right number is." We'll see. Volkswagen's so-crazy-it-just-might-work idea The trunk of most cars is the place where you typically find the spare tire. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10:24 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-may-20-2010-fair-trade-and-vintage-clothing/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-may-20-2010-fair-trade-and-vintage-clothing/#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 15:20:11 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2654 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-may-20-2010-fair-trade-and-vintage-clothing/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/echoage-air-may-13/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/echoage-air-may-13/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 13:00:07 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2525 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/echoage-air-may-13/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-may-13/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-may-13/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 12:30:56 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2606 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-may-13/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-13-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-13-2010/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 12:00:03 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2656 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-13-2010/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/whats-up-2010-whats-going-green/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/whats-up-2010-whats-going-green/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 00:02:16 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2710 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/whats-up-2010-whats-going-green/feed/ 3 http://newlygreens.com/blog/helping-with-the-oil-spill-deepwater-horizon/ http://newlygreens.com/blog/helping-with-the-oil-spill-deepwater-horizon/#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 04:28:55 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2658 http://newlygreens.com/blog/helping-with-the-oil-spill-deepwater-horizon/feed/ 3 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/julia-andros-susan-sepaniak-eco-green-crafts-may-6th/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/julia-andros-susan-sepaniak-eco-green-crafts-may-6th/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 14:00:41 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2480 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/julia-andros-susan-sepaniak-eco-green-crafts-may-6th/feed/ 1 Art,coupon,Eco Green Crafts,Julia Andros,Non-Toxic,Supplies,Susan Sepaniak,VOC - Today we speak with Julia Andrus and Susan Sepaniak, founders of a company called Eco Green Crafts. Eco Green Crafts is a provider of environmental and consumer-friendly craft products, dedicated to protecting artists, crafters, Today we speak with Julia Andrus and Susan Sepaniak, founders of a company called Eco Green Crafts. Eco Green Crafts is a provider of environmental and consumer-friendly craft products, dedicated to protecting artists, crafters, and kids from the potentially harmful effects of dangerous chemicals and materials often found in everyday arts supplies. In this interview, Julia shares her story as a cancer survivor and the motivation behind creating Eco Green Crafts.  She and Susan tell us more about the tremendous opportunities that exist for creating healthier, less toxic products in the world of art supplies. They also explain the international ASTM rating system, and the new code that designates products that are more eco-friendly.  To find out more about the these guidelines and the facts behind some of the chemicals used in the industry, they point us to an article posted on their website that can be found via this link,  "how-safe-are-traditional-artists-materials". To view their products or order on line, visit the Eco Green Crafts website. Julia and Susan were also kind enough to offer our listeners a 15% off coupon if you'd like to try any of their products.  Look Under the Green Scene Section of their site and follow the link for the NewlyGreens visitors from their website.    Thanks Eco Green Crafts! Kaizen Productions LLC clean 23:19 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-to-cart-or-not-to-cart/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-to-cart-or-not-to-cart/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 13:23:59 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2479 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-to-cart-or-not-to-cart/feed/ 0 adhesives,Anne Frank,arts and crafts supplies,bike chargers,cycle analyst,Eco Green Crafts,electric-bikes.com,HobbyLink,pedal power,Snap Tite - Tip # 1 - While we're on the subject of alternatives to potentially toxic craft supplies.... If you're interested in toy models but would like to avoid the glues used in traditional brands, try one that snaps together, requiring no glue at all. Tip # 1 - While we're on the subject of alternatives to potentially toxic craft supplies.... If you're interested in toy models but would like to avoid the glues used in traditional brands, try one that snaps together, requiring no glue at all. We found a company called "Snap Tite" at HobbyLink.  Some of the models are pretty cool.  Click here for more information on Snap Tite models. Tip # 2 - Charge it with pedal power.  With warmer weather comes the ability to get out and ride a bike.   We hear there are kits that can rig up a charger to your bicycle. Really?  So far we haven't found anything that looks all that user friendly, so please send us the links if you find more information. In the meantime, here are a couple of sites to check out if you're interested in pedal power... Pedal Power Info 1 Pedal Power Info 2 Here's a note from our friend who recently setup his bike with a charge/power assist option: I did add a power assist and it is fabulous/problem free. Because I am pretty big, I bought a Giant (brand) Stainless Steel frame bike to fit my size.  Ordered the hub/regulator kit (back wheel) from, I think, electric-bikes.com and then had the bike shop I bought the Giant from install the hub.  They loved it!  If I recall, I got a Crystalite kit.  Can't remember.  Do know that it isn't strictly road legal, as I can achieve speeds greater than 20mph (which is the legal limit for e-bikes in NY State, I think).  I can get up to 30mph (pedaling, of course).  The great thing about the bike is that you can give yourself as much or as little power assist as you like. Also got a fun thing called the cycle analyst :  gives you a lot of important data on speed, distance, how much power you are using, how much you have left, etc.  Kind of like a car dashboard. I don't drive, but can get around well on this.  Climbs hills, etc.  Range is about 15 miles when I use the battery a good bit. Frankly, this has been the best thing I've done for myself in years!  I think I get the equivalent of 1,000+ miles a gallon or more...LOL! Tip # 3 -  Trying to consume less?  The next time you go food shopping for just a few items, try grabbing a basket instead of a cart.  You will avoid impulse buys, consume less and spend less money! Tip # - Well, not so much a tip as it is a quote.... "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." - Anne Frank Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:20 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-6-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-6-2010/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 13:00:02 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2538 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-may-6-2010/feed/ 0 American League,Australia,Cape Wind,cell phone,Chamber of Commerce,CO2,Electric shoes,geothermal energy,GPS,greenhouse gases,Indonesia,Japan - The Headlines - MLB goes green Clean energy fans march on Washington America's first offshore wind project approved Indonesia rides the volcano Whale poo found to be useful and...Electric shoes! - The Details - MLB goes green - Major League Basebal... The Headlines MLB goes green Clean energy fans march on Washington America's first offshore wind project approved Indonesia rides the volcano Whale poo found to be useful and...Electric shoes! The Details MLB goes green Major Lea... Kaizen Productions LLC clean 12:24 http://newlygreens.com/blog/climate-legislation-action-request-from-repower-america-ceo-maggie-fox/ http://newlygreens.com/blog/climate-legislation-action-request-from-repower-america-ceo-maggie-fox/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:55:17 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2633 http://newlygreens.com/blog/climate-legislation-action-request-from-repower-america-ceo-maggie-fox/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-climate-denial-crock-of-the-week/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-climate-denial-crock-of-the-week/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:00:14 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2597 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-climate-denial-crock-of-the-week/feed/ 0 Climate Change,Climate Denial Crock of the Week,cold,Global Warming,global warming scandal,Peter Sinclair,Skeptic,winter [part 4 of 4] Does Cold Weather Disprove Climate Change? - Show Summary A new addition to the Newlygreens show! For the last couple years our friend Peter Sinclair has been busting myths about climate change on his YouTube channel. [part 4 of 4] Does Cold Weather Disprove Climate Change? Show Summary A new addition to the Newlygreens show! For the last couple years our friend Peter Sinclair has been busting myths about climate change on his YouTube channel. We found his videos so informative and entertaining we thought they would make a great addition to Newlygreens. In this edition Peter explains how the fact that we have cold weather does not disprove global warming, and that severe snow storms are actually something we would expect to see with climate change, not something that runs counter to CC as has been claimed by some disinformation campaigns in the blogosphere. Peter has dozens of other Crocks episodes on his channel, and we'll be including several in upcoming episodes of Newlygreens. Kaizen Productions LLC clean http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-3/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-3/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:30:04 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2596 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-3/feed/ 0 Air Flow,Air Sealing,Blower Door,Building Science,Home Energy Diagnostics,insulation,Interstitial Spaces,Pascal,Thermal Envelope,Tom Testa [part 3 of 4] Blower Door Test and Final Reports - Show Summary - Continuing with our episode on home energy audits... In Part 3 of this show we perform a blower door test on our home and Tom Testa of Home Energy Diagnostics explains how air moves thr... [part 3 of 4] Blower Door Test and Final Reports Show Summary Continuing with our episode on home energy audits... In Part 3 of this show we perform a blower door test on our home and Tom Testa of Home Energy Diagnostics explains how air moves through a home. We also summarize the details of our audit as it relates to the projects we are going to need to pursue in the future. Guests Appearing: Tom Testa - Home Energy Diagnostics Kaizen Productions LLC clean http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-2/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-2/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:00:48 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2584 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-2/feed/ 0 audit,Ed Schwartz,fixtures,Gray Russell,Green Living Solutions,Home Performance with Energy Star,Restoration,water [part 2 of 4] Sustainability Tips and the NJ Program Details - Show Summary - After about 5 years of picking the low-hanging fruit, (the easy weekend projects, the CFL replacements, the digital thermostats, [part 2 of 4] Sustainability Tips and the NJ Program Details Show Summary After about 5 years of picking the low-hanging fruit, (the easy weekend projects, the CFL replacements, the digital thermostats, the window caulking and so on) we've come to the realization that in order for us to make further efficiency improvements we are going to need to graduate to some big time projects that require professional assistance. The good news for us is that NJ has a program to help homeowners, like us, make improvements in insulation and heating equipment called Home Performance with Energy Star. The next few episodes of Newlygreens are going to detail our experience with the program and the showcase the results we achieve (or fail to achieve) In Part 2, Ed from Green Living Solutions details the specifics of the NJ incentive program as well as explains some of the other things we can do to make our homes safer and more comfortable. Guests in the episode: Ed Schwartz - Green Living Solutions Gray Russell - Green Living Solutions Zorina - A long-time family friend Kaizen Productions LLC clean http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-1/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-1/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:41:43 +0000 mattisong http://newlygreens.com/?p=2579 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/newlygreens-3-our-house-the-hummer-prt-1/feed/ 1 audit,Blower Door,BPU,DIY,Ed Schwartz,efficiency,Energy,Gray Russell,Green Living Solutions,Home Energy Diagnostics,Home Improvement,Home Performance with Energy Star [part 1 of 4] The Home Energy Audit - After about 5 years of picking the low-hanging fruit, (the easy weekend projects, the CFL replacements, the digital thermostats, the window caulking and so on) we've come to the realization that in order for us to... [part 1 of 4] The Home Energy Audit After about 5 years of picking the low-hanging fruit, (the easy weekend projects, the CFL replacements, the digital thermostats, the window caulking and so on) we've come to the realization that in order for us to make further efficiency improvements we are going to need to graduate to some big time projects that require professional assistance. The good news for us is that NJ has a program to help homeowners, like us, make improvements in insulation and heating equipment called Home Performance with Energy Star. The next few episodes of Newlygreens are going to detail our experience with the program and the showcase the results we achieve (or fail to achieve) The process starts with a Home Energy/ Safety Audit and that's what we will be sharing in part 1 starting at our friend Zorina's. Guests in the episode: Ed Schwartz - Green Living Solutions Gray Russell - Green Living Solutions Tom Testa - Home Energy Diagnostics Zorina - A long-time family friend Kaizen Productions LLC clean http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-one-common-purpose/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-one-common-purpose/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:59:36 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2417 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-one-common-purpose/feed/ 0 community organization,community service,community volunteer,facebook,One Common Purpose - Greg had a chance to talk to Bruce and Sean of One Common Purpose (Facebook), which if you haven't heard of, you will soon. One Common Purpose is a website that aims to hook up communities and community organizations with volunteers and other organ... Greg had a chance to talk to Bruce and Sean of One Common Purpose (Facebook), which if you haven't heard of, you will soon. One Common Purpose is a website that aims to hook up communities and community organizations with volunteers and other organizations in order to share ideas and collaborate on creating a better future. Bruce and Shawn think that community involvement and volunteering are a great way to effect massive global change. If every individual puts in just a little bit of their time, One Common Purpose maintains that real global progress can be made. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 1:42 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-interfaceflor/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-interfaceflor/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:27:49 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2403 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-interfaceflor/feed/ 0 carpet,carpeting,Green-A-Fair,InterfaceFLOR,Mission Zero,reclaimed plastic,recycling carpet - Greg talked to many people at the Green-A-Fair, but someone you wouldn't necessarily expect to attend would be carpet manufacturers. Good thing Charlie from InterfaceFLOR was there to explain how his company is taking steps to be less wasteful and ... Greg talked to many people at the Green-A-Fair, but someone you wouldn't necessarily expect to attend would be carpet manufacturers. Good thing Charlie from InterfaceFLOR was there to explain how his company is taking steps to be less wasteful and more resourceful. Charlie talks about InterfaceFLOR's "Mission Zero" objective (to be completely sustainable by 2020), using reclaimed plastic, and recycling carpets by taking old carpets from customers instead of paying to get rid of it. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 4:31 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-greater-newark-conservancy/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-greater-newark-conservancy/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:19:36 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2414 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-greater-newark-conservancy/feed/ 0 environmental ethics,environmental stewardship,Greater Newark Conservancy,sustainability,urban communities - Lee from the Greater Newark Conservancy talked to Greg about environmental stewardship, improving the quality of life in New Jersey's urban communities, sustainability and environmental ethics. - Lee from the Greater Newark Conservancy talked to Greg about environmental stewardship, improving the quality of life in New Jersey's urban communities, sustainability and environmental ethics. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:51 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-marcal/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-marcal/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:13:34 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2397 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-marcal/feed/ 2 Green-A-Fair,Marcal - Marcal Paper Products visited WPU's Green-A-Fair on April 7 to celebrate their 60 years anniversary of using recycled materials. - Lindsay and Eileen talked about the history of Marcal, what sorts of recyclable items they make, Marcal Paper Products visited WPU's Green-A-Fair on April 7 to celebrate their 60 years anniversary of using recycled materials. Lindsay and Eileen talked about the history of Marcal, what sorts of recyclable items they make, places to buy Marcal products, and their recycling process. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 5:31 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-recycling-mulch-and-other-spring-fun/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-recycling-mulch-and-other-spring-fun/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:09:56 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2529 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-recycling-mulch-and-other-spring-fun/feed/ 0 disposable razors,George Orwell,Marcal,mulch,Recycle Now,recycled paper products,theobromine - Tip # 1 - Save trees using recycled TP: Did you know that one person alone uses up to 50lbs of tissue paper (toilet paper, paper towels) in 1 year?  A family of 4 uses 250lbs! No need to fret however, because 1 person can save 1 tree and a family o... Tip # 1 - Save trees using recycled TP: Did you know that one person alone uses up to 50lbs of tissue paper (toilet paper, paper towels) in 1 year?  A family of 4 uses 250lbs! No need to fret however, because 1 person can save 1 tree and a family of 4 can save 2 trees each year simply by switching to using recycled paper products.  For more information on the beauty of recycled paper products, you can visit the Marcal website. They have a neat little save-a-tree calculator so you can calculate the number of trees your family can save in years to come. Tip # 2 - What can we recycle at home that could end up making useful products like those we saw at the WPU Eco Fair? Find out by referring to this UK site called"Recycle Now".   This handy little site gives you lots of information about what can be recycled.  And more specifically, what can be recycled in a particular area. Does anybody know of a similar site in the US?  We would love to know about it. If you find one, please email us at Info@newlygreens.com.  Thanks! Tip # 3 -  Ah.... the pleasures of spring. With Spring approaching, make sure your outdoor products, such as mulch, are not toxic to animals. For example, be careful about using a cocoa mulch as it may be harmful to dogs and cats.  The mulch apparently contains a  lethal ingredient called  Theobromine.  Theobromine is in all chocolate, which is also considered toxic to dogs.   As with all outdoor products, it's better to be on the safe side and check the ingredient list. Tip # 4 - With warmer weather comes more shaving  (well, maybe for some).  Be kind to the environment and switch to a reusable razor as opposed to the disposable kind.   Did you know that about two billion disposable razors end up in landfills each year?  Wow. Tip # 5 - Better yet.. buy nothing and consume less.  Because, as George Orwell tells us: "The pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing" Outro music this week: Artist:The Unseen "Paint it Black" from State of Discontent Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10:11 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-29-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-29-2010/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:09:22 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2462 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-29-2010/feed/ 0 Amazon River dam,Andes Mountains,Avatar,Bolivia,Brazil,Camden New Jersey,COP16,Earth Day,Evo Morales,glaciers,Global Warming,Green Porno - The Headlines: - Earth Day like Christmas to 25 communities "Spring Creep" sets in Amazon dam moves forward Bolivia demands compensation for melting glaciers Isabella Rossellini confuses and arouses us - - The Details: - Earth Day like Christmas t... The Headlines: Earth Day like Christmas to 25 communities "Spring Creep" sets in Amazon dam moves forward Bolivia demands compensation for melting glaciers Isabella Rossellini confuses and arouses us The Details: Earth Day like C... Kaizen Productions LLC clean 7:46 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-april-22nd-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-april-22nd-2010/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:00:30 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2423 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-april-22nd-2010/feed/ 0 birthday party,charity,echoage,echoage.com,environmental term assistance,epa.gov,invitation,low impact living,lowimpactliving,renovating,solar screens,spring cleaning - In today's Green Sprouts: ECHOage, lowimpactliving.com, EPA's "Terms of Environment", and Connie Rocks it! - Tip # 1 - What a great idea for a birthday party! - ECHOage - ECHOage is a charity-driven, eco-friendly, In today's Green Sprouts: ECHOage, lowimpactliving.com, EPA's "Terms of Environment", and Connie Rocks it! Tip # 1 - What a great idea for a birthday party! - ECHOage ECHOage is a charity-driven, eco-friendly, online birthday party service where children learn the value of giving and receiving while celebrating. Here are the simple steps to planning as shown on the ECHOage website: Step #1. Choose an invitation, select a cause and invite your guests. Step #2. Guests RSVP and contribute online and you get to watch the giving grow on your ECHOage Tracker. Step #3. When your party is over, ECHOage will send half of the money collected to buy a dream gift for your child and the other half to the charity your child has chosen. Easy on guests, good for the environment and meaningful for kids. Find out more at ECHOage.com. Tip # 2 - Spring cleaning, redecorating or renovating?   Shop around for green vendors, designers, builders or even realtors.  You can find some good information on eco-friendly products and services at Low Impact Living.com. Tip # 3 - And with summer just around the corner, we can start thinking about energy saving with ways to cut down on air conditioning like adding extra ceiling fans.  Or, check out some solar screens... Solar Screens: These screens cut 75% of the heat coming through your windows, but don’t impact your visibility. They sound like really great energy savers.   You can find more information on solar screens here. Tip # 4  - Environmental Term Assistance - Hearing lots of environmental talk this earth day? If you find yourself puzzled over an acronym or two, check out the EPA's "Terms of Environment". It's a glossary of green terms, abbreviations and acronyms that can be found at EPA.gov. Tip # 5  - And finally, every day should be earth day... But since today actually is, we can use it to strike up conversations and elevate thoughts and actions to a higher level of commitment that may last longer than the day. Enjoy! Kaizen Productions LLC clean 11:53 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-22-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-22-2010/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:50:42 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2422 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-22-2010/feed/ 0 ABCE,American Businesses for Clean Energy,Arizona,Bank of America,Bicycling,ClimateAd.org,Connecticut,Democrats,Earth Day,Electric Motorcycles,Florida,Forbes - The Headlines: Dozens of solar companies donate to Haiti Ray LaHood defends his pro-bicycling remarks Electric motorcycles in the works Who's on the efficiency honor roll? And 3,000 companies apparently unite for climate action - The Details: - Doz... The Headlines: Dozens of solar companies donate to Haiti Ray LaHood defends his pro-bicycling remarks Electric motorcycles in the works Who's on the efficiency honor roll? And 3,000 companies apparently unite for climate action The Detail... Kaizen Productions LLC clean 14:10 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-wayne-environmental-commission/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-wayne-environmental-commission/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:30:19 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2406 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/green-a-fair-wayne-environmental-commission/feed/ 0 co-gen,cogeneration power plant,DC power,direct current electricity,geothermal energy,NJ Board of Public Utilities,smart microgrid,solar energy,Wayne Environmental Commission,Wayne NJ,wind power - Ramona, from the Wayne Environmental Commission, took a minute to talk to Greg about her role advising the Wayne, NJ town government on environmental issues and policy recommendations. - Greg also talked to Dr. Ramona, from the Wayne Environmental Commission, took a minute to talk to Greg about her role advising the Wayne, NJ town government on environmental issues and policy recommendations. Greg also talked to Dr. Martin Ludwig about cogeneration and the cogeneration power plant proposed to be built in Wayne. Other topics discussed were the implementation of smart microgrids, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind power, direct current electricity, and the impact that such facilities would have on the town of Wayne as well as its citizens. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:13 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greenparty/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greenparty/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:15:40 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2408 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greenparty/feed/ 0 Coal,Dennis Kucinich,Department of Peace,Essex County Greens,Green Party,politics,problems with coal,sustainability - Jane of the Essex County Greens stopped by the Green-A-Fair to explain the tenets of the Green Party: opposition to violence in solving international disputes, opposition to the death penalty, utilization of clean energy, equality, Jane of the Essex County Greens stopped by the Green-A-Fair to explain the tenets of the Green Party: opposition to violence in solving international disputes, opposition to the death penalty, utilization of clean energy, equality, and the right to a decent life. She explained that the political Green Party is different from the "green" movement toward sustainability, although the sustainability is a big part of the platform of their party. Jane also talked about the problems that coal and coal energy cause, and ways that miners could potentially be utilized to create sustainable energy instead of dangerous coal mining. In addition to their pro-sustainability outlook, Susan from the Green Party explained that the Green Party is also urging the federal government to create a "Department of Peace" which would help curb violence instead of only dealing with it after it happens. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10:40 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/wpu-singlestream/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/wpu-singlestream/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:00:46 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2401 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/wpu-singlestream/feed/ 0 Green-A-Fair,Newark,Single Stream Recycling,William Paterson University,WPU - William Paterson University, who hosted the Green-A-Fair, is a very environmentally conscious school. Greg talked to Brian Fronapple from the company Waste Management and Lou Poandl Director of William Paterson University's Physical Plant Operation... William Paterson University, who hosted the Green-A-Fair, is a very environmentally conscious school. Greg talked to Brian Fronapple from the company Waste Management and Lou Poandl Director of William Paterson University's Physical Plant Operations about the new partnership that will change WPU's recycling policies, specifically the change to single-stream recycling. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 6:18 http://newlygreens.com/blog/animal-updates/ http://newlygreens.com/blog/animal-updates/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:12:08 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2374 http://newlygreens.com/blog/animal-updates/feed/ 0 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/peter-sinclair-climate-denial-crock-of-the-week-april-15-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/peter-sinclair-climate-denial-crock-of-the-week-april-15-2010/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:40:50 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2356 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/peter-sinclair-climate-denial-crock-of-the-week-april-15-2010/feed/ 0 Climate Change,Climate Denial Crock of the Week,Global Warming,global warming scandal,Peter Sinclair,precipitation,solar activity - Our guest today is an award winning graphic artist, illustrator, and animator who runs Greenman Studio from his home in Midland, MI. He has recently applied his talents to the gargantuan task of rebutting climate change skeptics with his YouTube s... Our guest today is an award winning graphic artist, illustrator, and animator who runs Greenman Studio from his home in Midland, MI. He has recently applied his talents to the gargantuan task of rebutting climate change skeptics with his YouTube series, the Climate Denial Crock of the Week.  His videos are extremely entertaining and informative while addressing some of the many confusing questions we often encounter when it comes to the science of climate change. Ever wonder if it's actually solar activity causing global warming on earth? Or perhaps just looking at a foot of snow on the ground makes us question that global warming is real at all. In this interview, Peter addresses these questions as well as some other hot debate items such as: Global cooling predictions in the 1970's. The Medieval warming period of about 1000 years ago. Potential down sides to clean, renewable energy. Climate science scandal. And more.... We hope you enjoy the interview! We are also proud to report that we will be including some of Peter's top Crocks in the next few episodes of the Newlygreens TV series. Kaizen Productions LLC clean 22:14 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-15-2010/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-15-2010/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:31:10 +0000 RisaP http://newlygreens.com/?p=2353 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/reusable-news-april-15-2010/feed/ 0 Anna Tibiajuka,Australia,Chevron,coal mine explosion,Delta National Wildlife Refuge,Department of Transportation,Douglas Shoals,Environmental Protection Agency,EPA,Global Greenhouse Gas Standard,Great Barrier Reef,Louisiana - The Bad News: - Coal mine explosion kills 25 - Oil spills devastate Delta wildlife refuge - Chinese ship slams into Great Barrier Reef - The Good News: - UN launches global greenhouse emissions calculator - Obama signs the first federal fuel econo... The Bad News: Coal mine explosion kills 25 Oil spills devastate Delta wildlife refuge Chinese ship slams into Great Barrier Reef The Good News: UN launches global greenhouse emissions calculator Obama signs the first federal fuel economy standards into law Clean technology investments soar in 2010 First the Bad News... Coal mine explosion kills 25 Everyone by now should know about the tragic coal mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 25 employees of the Massey Energy Company on April 5. But now, media outlets are beginning to scrutinize the company about its safety record as well as its environmental impact. In the last two months, miners had to be evacuated from the Upper Big Branch mine three times because of dangerously high methane levels. According to the New York Times, "In 2008, one of its subsidiaries paid what federal prosecutors called the largest settlement in the history of the coal industry after pleading guilty to safety violations that contributed to the deaths of two miners in a fire in one of its mines. That year, Massey also paid a $20 million fine — the largest of its kind levied by the Environmental Protection Agency — for clean water violations." Oil spills devastate Delta Wildlife Refuge A Chevron Pipe Line Company pipeline leaked an estimated 18,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana last week. No word yet on the damage, but investigators are flying planes above the area to try and assess the situation. The refuge covers nearly 49,000 acres of marsh and is the habitat of many different species of birds and other wildlife. Chinese ship slams into Great Barrier Reef The Chinese coal-carrying ship Shen Neng 1 ran aground two weeks ago on Douglas Shoals, off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The shoals are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law. This ship was nine miles out of the shipping lane it was supposed to be traveling in. The ship is currently leaking oil into an otherwise pristine environment and it could take weeks to get the ship off the Reef. Here's Patrick Quirk of Queensland's Maritime Safety department, courtesy of the Associated Press: [Insert Clip] The ship's owner could be fined up to 1 million Australian dollars ($920,000) for straying from a shipping lane used by 6,000 cargo ships each year. Now the Good News! UN launches global greenhouse emissions calculator On March 23, the United Nations launched the first common system of calculating the amount of greenhouse gases produced in a given city, allowing cities to compare their performances and analyze differences. It's called the Global Greenhouse Gas Standard. The new common standard also takes into account cities’ primary energy sources, climate, means of transportation and urban form. “In reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cities are part of the solution: city officials are discovering new ways to get people out of cars and into rapid transit buses; to harness the methane released by landfills and turn it into energy; to support compact urban development and not urban sprawl,” said Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. First federal fuel economy standards created The EPA and the Department of Transportation have tag-teamed President Obama's greenhouse gas directive, announcing on April 1 the first-ever national greenhouse gas emissions standards. The new program claims it will do the following: Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 960 million metric tons over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated, equivalent to taking 50 million cars and light trucks off the road in 2030. Conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated. Enable the average car buyer of a 2016 model year vehicle to enjoy a net savings of $3,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle, Kaizen Productions LLC clean 10:16 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-fedral-eco-tax-tips/ http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-fedral-eco-tax-tips/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:29:13 +0000 cmatti http://newlygreens.com/?p=2362 http://newlygreens.com/podcasts/greensprouts-fedral-eco-tax-tips/feed/ 0 Alliance to Save Energy,clean fuel,Department of Energy,energy efficiency,Energy Star,fuel cells,Geothermal,hybrid cars,Solar,state energy tax credits,Tax credits,tax credits for home efficiency - Green Your Tax Return! There are many ways to reap the benefits of energy efficiency, including on your tax return.  Here are just a few of the incentives up for grabs this year.  Next year may bring even more... Green Your Tax Return! There are many ways to reap the benefits of energy efficiency, including on your tax return.  Here are just a few of the incentives up for grabs this year.  Next year may bring even more... 1 - 30% On Home Energy Tax Credits for Geothermal, Solar, Wind Turbines or Fuel Cells The economic stimulus bill removed the $2,000 cap that had applied to geothermal heat pumps, solar panels and other home renewable energy technology. The 30% tax rebate on qualified solar energy systems remains in place on geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines, and fuel cell systems. Ground-source heat pumps are installed underground and use the constant 50-degree subsurface temperature to cool air or water in the summer, and heat it in the winter — both of which reduce the cost of heating or cooling year round. In addition, the solar energy tax credit, which had been set to expire, is now good through 2016. (See The Daily Green's Home Solar Panel Reviews: The Most Efficient and Best Value Home Solar Panels.) 2 - $1,500 Home Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency You can claim a home tax credit for energy efficiency improvements made in 2009 (but not for improvements made in 2008) if you installed new insulation, energy-efficient windows or an energy-efficient furnace, boiler or air conditioner. A tax credit of up to $500 that expired in 2007 has been renewed for 2009 by the bailout bill, and expanded to $1,500 by the economic stimulus bill. It covers up to 30% (expanded from 10% by the economic stimulus bill) of the cost of a range of projects that meet certain specifications. Do $5,000 worth of qualifying work, and you not only get a $1,500 rebate, but also savings on energy bills for years to come. The economic stimulus bill also stripped out most caps on individual home improvements, which had applied to windows, heating equipment and other energy efficiency improvements. Note that the tax credit applies only to equipment, not labor. Find more information about these home energy efficiency tax credits at the Alliance to Save Energy or Energy Star or Department of Energy Websites. Note that much of this information reflects the tax incentives in place in 2006 and 2007; for the most part, the 2009 tax credits are identical, but check updated criteria for which products qualify, for instance. 3 - $500 Home Energy Tax Credits for Fuel Cells or Microturbines The tax incentive that had covered 30% of the cost of fuel cell or microturbine systems in homes, which lapsed in 2008, has been restored for 2009 and through 2016. It covers up to $500 per 0.5 kw of capacity. 4 - $7,500 Energy Tax Credits for Plug-in Hybrid Cars The first 200,000 buyers of plug-in hybrid vehicles from each manufacturer now qualify for a $7,500 tax rebate. A similar tax credit for hybrid vehicles had been capped at $3,500 before the bailout bill. 5 - $50,000 for Installing a Clean Fuel Refueling System While few homeowners may be ready to take advantage, those who want to install a clean fuel refueling system, like a natural gas refueling or a recharging system for a plug-in electric vehicle, can now qualify for up to $50,000 -- up from $30,000 -- if the system is installed in 2009 or 2010, thanks to the stimulus bill. Go with hydrogen and the credit increases to $200,000, and you have until 2014 to take advantage of it. 6 - Wildcard: State Energy Tax Credits Keep your eyes out for new incentives from your state, since the bill also authorizes an $800 million government bond program that encourages states to create incentives for new and existing energy conservation and related programs. Some of that money is likely to be used toward state tax breaks and other incentives that will vary by location. Among the incentives to watch for is up to $6,500 per qualifying home in the Weatherization Assistance Program. The Department of Energy's Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Kaizen Productions LLC clean 1:38