Marriott International, Inc. announced today that it has been recognized for the fourth consecutive year as a recipient of the 2008 ENERGY STAR "Partner of the Year" award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), earning Marriott the distinction of being named a partner of "Sustained Excellence" for the second consecutive year.
Some of Marriott's energy-saving programs include retro-commissioning existing hotels, LEED certification for new hotels and implementing features such as: low flush toilets, energy demand response systems, fluorescent lighting and more.
It's more than just what they do in their hotels though. Marriott workers are helping people and places all over the world. They stand by the acronym S.E.R.V.E. which means Shelter and food, Environment, Readiness for hotel careers, Vitality of children, Embracing diversity and people with disabilities. How wonderful is that!?
Through a 12-year affiliation with Habitat for Humanity International, their employees and customers have built more than 300 homes in 15 countries, including the U.S., Indonesia and Mexico. Many of their employees also work with soup kitchens and food banks in their local communities.
In celebration of Environmental Awareness Month in April 2007, the company embarked in a Global Tree Planting campaign. Employees planted 3,000 trees at hotels around the world, representing their nearly 3,000 properties.
Sounds to me like I'll be frequenting Marriott's whenever I travel.
Ann DeLaVergne spent time making her own, reusable envelopes via a sewing machine to help in preserving trees and using less paper. She eventually went on to patent ecoEnvelopes with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
The envelopes zip closed, eliminate the need for a separate reply envelope, and are manufactured with paper from managed forests and contain up to 100 percent post-consumer waste content.
DeLaVergne used to be an organic farmer and beekeeper. The environment has always been important to her and she has spent a huge portion of her life devoted to being "green." The ecoEnvelope sort of became a passion and she took it under her wing, perfecting it and sharing it with the world. She received grants from the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance and the Eileen Fisher Foundation and won supporter after supporter, including the former CEO of one of the largest envelope manufacturers in the U.S.
The main objective of these envelopes is so businesses need not enclose an envelope inside your mailed bills and such. If you're not comfortable going paperless with billing then the least you can do is push for companies you deal with to use the environment friendly envelopes. As it stands right now 80 billions "reply" envelopes are sent each year in the U.S. alone and that is just unacceptable.
On February 20, 2008 the USPS finally decided they are going to take this green initiative and legally push the bill. The ecoEnvelopes have received a key National Customer Ruling from the U.S. Postal Service and this is VERY important. "The USPS National Customer Ruling is issued after an official testing and approval process. The ruling provides customers with increased confidence that ecoEnvelopes' unique designs meet the most stringent qualifications for use in the US mail."
"Eliminating return envelopes saves energy, water, and forest resources and reduces the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Every one million ecoEnvelopes used saves an estimated 250 million BTUs of energy and 37,000 pounds of greenhouse gasses. All ecoEnvelopes are manufactured on certified papers from managed forests using up to 100% recycled content."
You should definitely check out the preview trailer of the show because even though we are constantly hearing the same thing about our environment this report is still extremely profound.
Hosted by Anderson Cooper, Jeff Corwin, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, it is a two-part, four-hour special with breathtaking images and some startling numbers – along the lines of "We lose 7,000 square miles of rainforest each year…roughly the size of the state of New Jersey".
"Every day, more than 70 species vanish from the planet, and the number of endangered animals and organisms grows each year." I don't know about you but that is alarming and shocking to me. I know the rules of survival of the fittest and evolution but still...70 species a day!?
In discussing the earth's population..."The earth's population has risen from 2.9 billion people to more than 6.6 billion over the past 50 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau." With more people there is even more of a need for more efficiency. This means we need to research other means of resources for energy. It also means we should stop developing ginormous mansion size single family homes they are just not necessary. People have lived in more economical spaces before and they can do it again.
The show will air tonight and tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on CNN.
President George Bush: "The age of clean energy requires transforming the way we produce electricity. Electric power plants that burn coal are the world's leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. The world's supply of coal is secure and abundant. And our challenge is take advantage of it while maintaining our commitment to the environment. One promising solution is advanced clean coal technology. The future of this technology will allow us to trap and store carbon emissions and air pollutants produced by burning coal. Since 2001 the United States has invested more than $2.5 billion to research and develop clean coal. And in partnership with other nations and the private sector we're moving closer to a historic achievement -- producing energy from the world's first zero-emissions coal-fired plant.
We also need to take advantage of clean safe nuclear power. Nuclear power is the one existing source of energy that can generate massive amounts of electricity without causing any air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Without the world's 439 nuclear power plants, there would be nearly 2 billion additional tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere each year. And by expanding the use of nuclear power, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions even more."
He is such a *^%(&*@)! It's like he is seasoning soup the way he throws words like energy, emissions and technology around. He doesn't have a clue what he is talking about and it is absolutely frustrating!
President George Bush: "We will harness the power of technology. There is a way forward that will enable us to grow our economies and protect the environment, and that's called technology. We'll meet our energy needs. We'll be good stewards of this environment. Achieving these goals will require a sustained effort over many decades. This problem isn't going to be solved overnight."
He is the most redundant speaker I have ever heard! Not to mention it sounds like he stole lines from every "green" promoting commercial on the air today!
Yay! I am so excited to hear that solar panels are soon going to be far more affordable. Seems like an odd thing to be giddy over, but I know this will help a lot of people run their homes more energy efficient which means they will save money while also helping the environment.
Folks at Colorado State University are playing a huge role in figuring out how to make it easier for everyone to participate in helping their world at a lesser cost.
Professor W.S. Sampath and his research group at the Materials Engineering Laboratory at Colorado State have developed a manufacturing technology to efficiently produce photovoltaic solar cells, which can be one of the most affordable and efficient energy sources of the future.
The college has also recently made a commitment to using wind power for energy. They will be running 20 buildings on campus with wind power. This will save them $4,700 a year in utility costs!
I hope more schools begin to follow suit with Colorado State.
And the tagline is "Future Friendly is about living today, with tomorrow in mind."
So far the participating brands are Ariel, Lenor, Fairy and Flash. So far this is completely based in the UK, but I'm sure it will spread over here to the states soon enough. At least I hope we take the intiative.
I would definitely look for the future friendly mark on my products. If I see one with and one without I could be persuaded to change what I buy. I think this is a great idea. Like any cause, when I see something with the pink ribbon for breast cancer, I am more prone to buying that product than if it didn't have the ribbon. I suppose it makes me feel like I'm doing a small part in helping a big problem. =o)
So look for the Future Friendly logo if you wish to buy products that save energy and water or reduce waste.
The site is dedicated and about "cool cities" that have made a commitment to stopping global warming by signing the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. Begun in 2005, the Cool Cities campaign empowers city residents and local leaders to join and encourage their cities to implement smart energy solutions to save money and build a cleaner, safer future.
Currently, there are 681 "cool cities" across the United States and each city has a profile describing the steps they have been taking to improve their local environment. In Delaware the only cool city is Wilmington and it has one milestone because the City Signed the US Mayors' Agreement. Tennessee has four "cool cities" Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville. Nashville has four logged milestones: Establish Campaign, Engage The Community, City Signs the US Mayors' Agreement and Advanced Smart Energy Solutions.
It's really interesting to look through and see what different places are doing to help with the issues at hand in our environment.
The Center for ReSource Conservation has been around for over 30 years (in one form or another) educating people about energy technology. It has only been during the last 5 years they have branched out and begun working within four realms: Water, Waste, Energy, and Green Building.
In May of 2007 they released an article to the press titled, "Spring greening: 50 simple ways to be environmentally responsible." The article includes tips such as, "Water before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. to prevent evaporation." Helpful green tips like that are important to share because a lot of people honestly just don't know why or what to do to "be green."
They are also responsible for installing solar hot water systems in low income housing units around Boulder, Colorado, their home base. On Sunday, September 30, 2007, they will be presenting The Boulder Tour of Solar and Green Built Homes. If you can make it out there you should check it out to "see first-hand that solar and green built homes are comfortable, practical, reliable, and affordable." It's all part of Solar Week in Boulder.
Like most news reported by the media, facts can be skewed. Bias in news worthy stories is inevitable and should be expected. This is why thinking for yourself and doing your own research is important.
The Chicago Tribune recently did an article about BP. The same themed story was ran by the News-Sentinel as well, but the outcome of each article are quite different.
This is what all the fuss is about. "BP received permission from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be exempt from environmental laws that cap the amount of toxins into the lake. It will be allowed to include in its daily discharges into the lake 54 percent more ammonia (above the current 1,584 pounds) and 35 percent more sludge (above the current 4,925 pounds)."
"The exemption will allow the refinery to continue with a planned $3.8 billion expansion that will allow it to handle heavy crude oil from Canada, which requires more extensive processing."
"The oil we get from Canada will be oil we don't need to get from the Mideast."
The good and the bad about this can be weighed and viewed on many different levels. There are always two sides to every story. The environmental implications are quite clear, but who is to judge the environment against the cost of oil to citizens and the dependence on countries who are not necessarily trustworthy.
The Chicago Tribune seemingly left out the part of this deal with Canada. Their implications were purely shedding light on the fact that this allowance for toxins to be dumped into the lake is bad for the environment. Folks, this is a Catch 22 clearly, debatable for many reasons. It's important whether you agree or disagree to always give all components of the story. Without understand the facts you are depriving yourself of valuable information. Sludge waste is NOT being dumped into the Michigan Lakes as the Chicago Tribune will lead you to believe. Emissions aren't as low as we would like and there is excessive silt being dumped into the lakes.
I do not agree with putting more ammonia in the air and I do not agree with allowing more pollution in any body of water. I do however see the debate and am happy that I do not have to make these types of decisions. One can only hope that a fair compromise can be made.
I mean do we really want to continue to depend on the Middle East to supply oil to our country? No, of course not. Do we want Michigan's lakes to be polluted? No, of course not. Fighting about this will not solve the problem, everyone needs to stop being catty and sit down to figure out other possible solutions.
Reducing emissions is something BP is striving to do as are many other companies in our nation. It's one thing in a pile of things that needs to be taken care of and checked off the metaphorical list. If you would like to learn more about BP you can read their fact sheet click through to the BP Whiting Refinery Fact Sheet.
There is currently a plan underway to open wide areas of the Arctic to oil drilling.
Despite the overwhelming objections of scientists, native communities and Members of Congress, the Bush Administration has reversed many of these protections and plans to allow drilling in nearly all the remaining Teshekpuk Lake area, as well as other parts of the Western Arctic region.
We need to act and take a stand now. 70 million acres in the Arctic Ocean are already open to oil and gas drilling. The Sierra Club says, "What our country needs is a cleaner, smarter Energy policy that focuses on safe renewable forms of energy."
Please don't think I am biased because I am a member of the Sierra Club. But I couldn't possibly agree more with their statement! That is exactly what needs to be done. Less reactive and more proactive measures need to be taken!
4.175 million years. The 'average' person's plastic bag legacy
And from the "Plastic Ai'nt My Bag" campaign...
"Ten years ago, scientist Richard Dawkins observed that one could 'have travelled thousands of miles through the United States and never see a baseball cap turned back to front.' Today the reverse baseball cap is ubiquitous. Punchline; behaviour is viral. And we humans learn quick. In Bangledesh and Zanzibar and Taiwan they haven’t had plastic bags for years and are bearing up just fine."
Yesterday, Planet Gore posted a Dilbert comic on their website with the headline being "Dilbert Tells an Inconvenient Truth?"Dogbert rarely tells the truth as it is, everything he talks about is so cynical and negative and all that other bad stuff. Environmentalists are not elitists looking to bring down people or cause any sort of struggle. So I'd say the Dilbert comic has Dogbert telling an opinion that indeed would be inconvenient if it were the truth.
Hippyshopper is a site I frequent and one of their most recent posts talks about Eco-awareness. I found it interesting and thought I'd send you their way.
Sky: The Bigger Picture is a website that is constantly updating with new information on what we can do to actively make a positive difference in our environment. It's a pretty useful site and fun to browse through so check it out.
You can travel on over to the EIP's website. Or you can read the official report for yourself, but here are the cliffnotes.
Essentially, there are less suits and circumstances being dealt to polluters. In fact, the numbers have fallen by more than half over the last 8 years. This means that less action is being taken to help the environment. Because let's face it, there is not 50% less pollution in the environment, so there is no reason for being less proactive in cleaning up our air and earth.
Not to completely bash the current leader of laws, since pollution-control equipment has grown expoentially. But I do think more needs to be done and it needs to be consistent. There's my Sunday morning rant. =o)
Working for the University of Delaware as their web developer has been such an amazing experience. Being fortunate enough to be the developer for their College of Agriculture & Natural Resources in addition to their Cooperative Extension Programs for each county in Delaware has been an even greater experience. I'm learning so much about what is going on with the farms and environment around my own home. Things I never would have known about otherwise. This has piqued my interested in finding more Energy resource information to do my part in helping out.
For the last two years, UD has been leading the solar cell initiative. There are fifteen other participating colleges in the nation. Partial funding is being received from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). At UD, the goal is to create solar cells that operate at about 54 percent efficiency in the laboratory and 50 percent in production.
This spring, the U.S. Department of Energy highlighted 13 industry-led solar technology development projects for negotiation of up to $168 million (FY’07-’09), subject to appropriation from Congress; Newark, Delaware (home to the University of Delaware's main campus) was one of the 13 highlighted. There has been an abundant amount of people furiously working to find alternative energy plans. There are websites which give more information and explanations of why this is so important. Energy resources information.
I believe more and more colleges and companies will begin to put forth stronger efforts to harness solar energy as a form of electricity. Solar energy is a clean, renewable energy source and with the price of electricity and gas these days it is imperative to find other means of not only creating, but storing solar power. It is very exciting for me to be able to spread the word about what my employer is doing to aide this cause. And it's even more thrilling to know I will be developing sites to further promote alternative energy methods.
People are debating whether or not windmills should be more actively used to generate electricity in the US. There is a debate that further studies should be done to find out who dangerous the blades of a windmill are for birds and bats.
I like animals. I had a bird once. I see bats all the time, they don't bother me. But I'm for windmills. So my thoughts are birds are dying for many reasons, many, many reasons including neglected habitats and pollution. Bats..yes, I know they fly at night but they have sonar abilities to sense sound and I am certain they would be able to feel the movement of the air near the windmill and know not to fly into it.
To have electricity generated by wind, carbon-free has so many benefits it seems silly to me to put a halt on their increase just because someone is concerned about the bird and bat population. No, I'm not dense, I know bats and birds eat bugs and if they die then we have more bugs which could effect produce, etc. There is going to be a domino effect or catch 22 to every thing. That is how life works. Cause and effect.
We'll see what happens. I'm sure people will study it to death and waste time brewing about the "what ifs." Until it gets settled we will just keep emitting more and more carbon dioxide into the air.
Founded 37 years ago, Earth Day has always been about celebrating the nature in the present tense and making sure we leave it in good conditions for the future.
Defenders of Wildlife are asking parents to take a pledge stating they will be taking their child out to celebrate Earth Day. You could take them to a State Park or to a Wilderness Area, whatever it is that floats your boat.
The Earthday Network has a lot of great information to read up on and share with your children as well. And you know, you don't have to be a parent, you can take your nephew or niece out or maybe the child you babysit on occasion.
The Supreme Court has really been taking things over this week. It looks like in many small ways, the government is really trying to make an effort in helping to save the environment.
Basically what has happened is states wanting automobile emission standards to be more strict than those set by the federal government are allowed to pursue them. So it removes an obstacle.
"I am very encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision today that greenhouse gases are pollutants and should be regulated by the federal government," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican. "We expect the U.S. E.P.A. to move quickly now in granting our request for a waiver."
How awesome is that!? Perhaps more action stars need to take on political offices. And yes, California is one of the states who is already taking steps to raise auto-emission standards. Excellent!
The Supreme Court "overturned a lower court ruling and declared that Duke Energy did indeed violate the Clean Air Act when it modernized coal plants without paying for pollution-reduction equipment."
*high fives all around*
The emissions from Duke Energy are linked to health problems in the area such as heart disease and respiratory ailments.
So, I am part of the campaign to fight Global Warming and clean America's air pollution. Yes, and it has consisted of writing letters and sending e-mails to friends to try and get them to participate.
Well, it is paying off for everyone involved and there are a lot of people involved.
Because today the Supreme Court ruled today that the federal government has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate America's global warming pollution. Unfortunately, it does not require the EPA to take action.
So there are still steps and leaps to be taken to continue moving forward with this campaign. You can read more about at the Environmental Defense website.
