Top 10 Tips For Eco Friendly Driving

Technology has helped motorists become more eco-friendly with energy efficient innovations and will continue to do so in the future. This, combined with small changes all drivers can make to the way they drive puts us on the road to a greener future. Check out these 10 easy tips to help you drive greener and save some money.

1. Go easy on the accelerator: Stick to the speed limit. Speeding burns excess fuel. Avoid excessive and frequent braking and accelerating to make your fuel tank last longer. When driving downhill, choosing the right gear and letting the engine do the downhill braking rather than only using the brakes can save fuel.

2. Lighten your load: Still got the gear from last summer's camping trip in your boot? Clean up the junk from your car. Dragging excess weight around burns more fuel. If you have roof racks on the car which you're not using, take them off as they only cause drag and increase fuel consumption.

3. Turn off air conditioning: Unless it is very hot or you need to demist, ask yourself if you really need the air conditioning. Open the windows instead to save petrol.

4. Check the tyre pressure: don't over or under inflate the tyres. Incorrect tyre pressure can damage the tyres and lead to higher fuel consumption. Always check your tyre pressures when the tyres are cold.

5. Plan your trip: use a street directory or a GPS to choose the fastest and easiest route. Avoid rush hour. Use public transport when possible. Combine chores to reduce number of trips.

6. Service your car regularly: Always make sure your car is regularly serviced as dirty air filters, worn out spark plugs and even old sludgy oil in the engine can affect fuel consumption.

7. Share the ride: Car pooling is the simplest way to reduce your carbon footprint. Give your neighbour, colleague and friends a lift or ask for one. You'll save on petrol and reduce traffic on road.

8. Walk or ride: Get those walking shoes out and walk or ride where you can. It's great for your health too.

9. Give your car an eco friendly wash: Wash on the grass instead of driveway. Use a trigger-type hose attachment to reduce water usage. Choose bio-degradable, earth friendly cleaning products.

10. Buy green: When it's time to get a new car, check its "green rating". Australian Government's "The Green Vehicle Guide" website has ratings for new Australian vehicles based on greenhouse and air pollution emissions.

If your car has a trip computer, switch it to the average fuel consumption display. This can help you to learn how your driving habits can affect your fuel consumption.

The Clean Green Revolution

Eco-friendly used to be a buzzword thrown around by people in the small, but growing, environmentalist groups of generations past. Today, however, it has become a way of life as more and more people are waking up to the importance of taking care of the planet. People are recycling, reducing waste, and reusing what they can. They are also taking a cold, hard look at the products they use every day and getting the shock of their life when they realize just how toxic those products really are.

Because of this, one industry that is seeing a huge surge in growth is the green cleaning industry. According to an article by Marketing Daily, which I was led to by a post on the ShopToEarth Live Green blog, green household cleaners are going mainstream. In 2009, consumers spent $557 million dollars on green household cleaning and laundry products. This represents a 229% growth in the sales of green cleaners between 2005 and 2009.

This news is wonderful for two reasons. First, going green is a lot easier now than it was when environmentalism was only a grassroots movement. Nowadays, green products are rubbing shoulders on store shelves with their brand name toxic counterparts, so those looking to make a change now have greater access to more eco-friendly options. Secondly, this trend towards cleaning green has provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to build successful businesses producing or marketing green products.

And unlike certain fashion trends (bell bottoms anyone?) this movement towards being more eco-conscious isn't going to simply fizzle out. Environmental disasters, both natural and man-made (recent Gulf oil spill), ensure that the push towards responsible conservatorship of the Earth remain at the forefront of the social change that is happening in the world today. People want to make a difference and the majority of them will start in their homes by making different choices when it comes to the food they eat, the products they use, and they way they use resources such as water and electricity.

As an eco pioneer, you can help lead the way to a healthier planet simply by introducing people to green alternatives to the products they already use. In fact, you can build a very profitable home based business just using the internet. According to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company, over 85% of the world's online population (nearly 1.8 billion people at last count) had used the internet to make a purchase. That represented a 40% growth from 2006. A business that combines these two burgeoning trends really has no way to go but up.

If you are ready to make a positive change in your life that helps other people make a positive change in the world, contact me or take a free tour of our business for information on how you can earn green while going green. Becoming eco-friendly has never been easier or more profitable.

New Research in Green Fields Encourages Engineering Growth

In Utica, NY, they devised a "rain barrel" program where recycled steel drums equipped with hoses capture rain for irrigation rather than risking sewage overflows into area waterways. In Tennessee, they're working to create solar-assisted charging stations for electric vehicles. In Delaware, they can tour an Air Force Base to help come up with ideas for cleaning spilled chemicals that can contaminate ground water supplies.

"They" referred to above are engineers. As organizations work to save money on electric bills and earn tax credits and the government acts on a plan to create environmentally-friendly jobs, occupations in green engineering are expected to be among the most secure of the coming decade, according to a June Newsweek magazine report. The report was compiled based on input from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and career counselors, according to the web site for a compliance information company known as BLR. With traditional power company employees retiring and different forms of alternative energy increasing, employment in renewable energy is also on the rise, according to an article on the Power Engineering magazine web site.

There are civil engineers who work in urban planning and who come up with solutions for pollution, global warming, water resources and more, and there are environmental engineers who develop alternative energy products. There are also engineers in areas such as aeronautics, petroleum, mechanics, chemicals, computers, acoustics, electronics and biomedical science. Some of these engineers might also work as ocean engineers, coming up with ways to reduce coastal erosion and designing robots and remote control vehicles for deep sea exploration, according to the Junior Engineering Technical Society. Green engineering encompasses all engineering disciplines and is one facet in a broader discussion on sustainability, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University web site notes.

Already, engineering design companies are reporting growth in green engineering, according to an online publication known as Electronics Design, Strategy News. John Myung, vice president of sales and marketing for Focus Product Design, for the July article told the publication that companies are looking for new and better automobile designs. They're also ordering solar panels as a means of analyzing this form of alternative energy, according to information provided by Myung.

Virginia Tech, as the school with campus and online degree programs is known, is one of several institutions with green engineering offerings. In this particular instance, the school offers a minor that introduces students to water, air and soil issues, such as depleting drinking water from aquifers. The minor also explains how the engineering profession affects the environment and tells how engineers can create products, processes and systems to help solve or minimize environmental problems.

Students interested in green engineering programs at Ivy League schools can find them there as well. Yale University, for instance, maintains a Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering. The Environmental Protection Agency, through a Green Engineering Program, provides colleges, universities and technical schools information and materials that can help them incorporate a green philosophy emphasizing pollution prevention into the classroom. The EPA has even created a textbook intended for senior to graduate level chemical engineering students specifically, the agency's web site shows.

At a conference held in Florida in 2003, a group of engineers and scientists developed principles of green engineering, according to the EPA web site. They include conserving and improving natural ecosystems while protecting human health and well being; striving to prevent waste; minimizing depletion of natural resources; and improving and inventing technologies that can create sustainable solutions. Entry to engineering careers generally requires a bachelor's degree, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes. Starting salaries for engineering degree holders, depending upon area of specialty, are among four of the top five for graduates and extend to nearly $75,000 a year, a 2010 Salary Survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows.

All That You Wanted to Learn About Eco Friendly Bags

Considering the rate at which environmental hazards are increasing, it is no surprise that folks have started mending their ways and switching to several environment friendly measures. One such efficient measure as followed by many is using environment friendly bags. They're not just a boon for the environment, but also offer ease of usage. These bags are commonly made of reusable materials like jute, food wrappers, candy wrappers and many more.

Eco friendly bags are foldable bags. You can conveniently fold them into a small pouch and carry them wherever you go. So, whenever you need them just use them. And, when you are done, you can fold them again and preserve them for future use. You may initially forget to carry these bags along everywhere. But, you'll eventually get used to carrying them along.

There are various selections to choose from when talking about environment friendly bags. They're available in different designs, sizes and styles. They also come in a lot of shapes. You may choose bags that are round shaped or otherwise pick ones with squared silhouettes. Some of these bags can even be embossed with public service messages like 'save the environment' or 'help the disabled.' You may further personalize them by printing your own company name or logo on them. For best outcomes, use a good quality printer to do so.

Further on such bags are accessible in myriad of sizes. You can use the small sized ones to carry smaller stuff like snacks and plenty of more. Nevertheless, these eco friendly bags are also available in big sizes, large enough to house wedding flowers. Additionally, there are a handful of meant exclusively for packaging of lunch and the like.

It isn't unusual to see people skeptical of buying environment friendly bags. Despite the fact that such bags are boon to the environment, a lot of people refrain from purchasing them, thinking that they are not very long lasting. Contrary to this belief, eco- friendly bags are not just long lasting, but are also sturdy enough to bear a lot of weight. Just choose the high quality variety and carrying heavy items will no longer be an issue.

So, wait no more. Go ahead and contribute your bit to the environment and make it a better place to live in. Merely purchase and use such environment friendly bags at the earliest best.

IsPETE a Revolution in the Design of Solar Panels?

PETE could be your new best friend if you're thinking of installing solar panels. PETE's not actually a person but a new solar energy capture technology that's just been announced by scientists at Stanford University.

The new technology, photon-enhanced thermionic emissions or PETE concentrates solar energy on a semiconductor receiver coated with cesium metal. It's twice as efficient as existing solar panels as it combines both the light and heat from solar radiation to produce electricity.

Current photovoltaic cells used in solar panels convert the energy of light photons to electricity using silicon as a semiconducting material. Unfortunately, they can only use part of the light spectrum with the rest of it just generating heat. The problem has been to capture this wasted heat energy, which can account for up to 50 per cent of the solar energy received by the cell.

Conventional solar panels become less efficient as the temperature rises, but high temperatures are needed to capture the wasted heat energy. The new solar cells work all the way up to 800 degrees centigrade, rather than the 100 degrees centigrade of conventional photovoltaic cells. Their peak efficiency starts at well over 200 degrees centigrade. In fact, the hotter, the better for the performance of PETE cells. It's the cesium coating that makes the big difference as it enables the semiconducting material to harvest the energy from both the heat and light.

Just as exciting as the increased efficiency of PETE, is the potential for reducing the costs of solar power technology. As it uses solar concentrators, PETE uses less semiconducting material, so the need for large expensive sheets of silicon should become a thing of the past. The Stanford University team also want to design devices so that the new technology can be easily added to existing systems.

Also other materials, such as the commonly-used gallium arsenide, could work even better than the gallium nitride semiconducting material that the team used.

This is a fundamentally-new way of generating solar panels. Hopefully, it'll be standard fitment in homes in the next few years.

Where Do You Buy PP Woven Shopping Bags For Green Packaging?

Those seriously involved with industry know that the pp woven shopping bag craze is growing in acceptance worldwide. However, this exact material can be used within packaging for various industries, albeit through a different form. Woven polypropylene bags also perform great as common packaging for products within the agricultural industry and more. These are environmentally friendly bags that are usually recyclable and do a good job for protecting any items that are kept inside.

An additional advantage to these PP woven bags is that despite the fact that they are much stronger, they are much light in weight than paper or jute bags. Heavy products including stock feed, dog food, soil, and other products can be stored in these kinds of bags, so it is necessary that these bags are as light as possible to reduce load while staying as durable as possible as a way to withstand the force of such a large or heavy product.

A further benefit to these PP packaging bags is that they have a high pest defense. This means that they are an extremely environmentally friendly methods for packaging because you do not have to make use of chemical pesticides to get rid of the pests or bugs - you can just rely with the sturdy woven polypropylene packaging to help keep out any unwanted intruders.

If you are using standard options for packaging for instance paper and your packaging gets wet, you will need to endure plenty of damage to the product, as the water can soak through the paper easily and actually degrade it. The woven shopping bag is water resistant and does protect your products, raining or not.

Another great thing concerning these bags is that happen to be reusable! If you have been using the bags within your own business for transferring goods, you are able to reuse them - and customers may reuse or recycle these items as well. Over time this can reduce the use of plastic and paper packaging dramatically. The reusable impact will help to save your company a lot of money as well.

The truly great thing is that even when you disregard the fact that the bags can be reusable, they are however much cheaper than almost every other packing options. Even so, they remain able to become customized very easily with detailed photos which are attractive to virtually any customers, which can help increase your sales. In fact, the actual graphics will actually now work better on this polypropylene surface because it is thicker and more durable than traditional paper surfaces - ink saturating and other concerns are no longer a problem for your generation process.

There are various options for using reusable shopping bags - you will be able to choose among several levels of coating and lamination to fit the needs you have. If the packaging can be seen by customers, however, you can take advantage of coatings that can improve the look of the bag. All of this is being done inside an environmentally sustainable way that will help save money for your company and lower cost for your customers as well.

Living Off the Grid, The Ultimate in Green Living - Can You Really Live Without the Grid?

It's a great concept: living off the grid. But do those people who profess to live off the grid really do so?

Not very likely.

Even if you generate your own power at home through a combination of solar, wind, and even geothermal energy sources, you are dependent on the grid for a lot of things you take for granted.

For example, how do your think your tools and electronic devices were manufactured if not for grid -based power. That means every refrigerator, light bulb, computer, razor, toothbrush and all the other modern conveniences that you avail yourself of would not exist but for the grid. You can't make a solar panel without high purity silicon. And of course, you use a cell phone and the cell phone network, including its satellites, don't you?

And unless you are quite skilled at skinning, spinning, knitting, and sewing, the grid also provides the means to produce your shoes, clothes, blankets, and linens.

Even the Amish don't reject all the conveniences and technology from the modern world. They may avoid grid-provided electricity, but many use kerosene-powered refrigerators and generators. They are also still willing to hire cars and vans or ride in trains or buses.

Living off the grid-really and truly off the grid-means literally going back to nature. And most people aren't really able to do that. It would be like perpetual camping. People living in rural or sparsely populated areas where utility companies have not provided services come close to off-the grid living. They are forced to generate their own power if they want to have any electrical conveniences at all. But to run oil-powered generators requires oil, which had to obtained somehow-pumped from the ground, refined, and transported to the remote location where it is used.

Part of progressing as a society is using the resources and technology we have developed to improve our standard of living, while always maintaining a respect for the cost to the environment when we do. People need to be housed, clothed and fed, and need places to live and work. Wise development of land can provide these needs and improve our living standards without destroying the earth's ability to continue to provide for our needs.

The electrical grid is an integral part of the infrastructure of society. We should use it wisely, and not waste the power we obtain or abuse the benefit. A rational approach is to reduce our need for power but not be completely severed from the grid. Conserving, and using our resources wisely, but not ex-communicating ourselves from the grid is the best approach.

Multijunction Solar Cells - Overview and History

Ultimately, all energy - even energy derived from fossil fuels - is solar energy. The difference between petrofuels and what we think of today as solar energy is that the former represents the sun's energy that has been locked up in the form of carbon for hundreds of millions of years and is released when it is burned.

New technology such as solar photovoltaic cells make direct use of solar energy as it reaches the surface of the planet. Although this is virtually pollution-free and can ultimately provide virtual no-cost energy, there have been two major drawbacks to photovoltaic solar cells: cost and inefficiency. Solar cells have historically been exorbitantly expensive, and generate relatively little in the way of usable electrical power.

However, as has been the case with the personal computer, solar energy technology is undergoing rapid changes that allow solar voltaic cells to produce greater amounts of energy at much lower costs; barring interference from federal legislators and oil company lobbyists, it is very possible that within the next few years we will be able to generate electricity from solar panels for as little as.03c a kilowatt - about half of what folks are paying for hydro power in Washington State, where electricity is already inexpensive compared to the rest of the country.

One of the keys to this bright energy future is multijunction solar cells. These cells have multiple layers, each of which is "tuned" to a different part of the sun's spectrum. As you may know, the sun's rays are made up of different colors, which you can see through a prism or after a storm when water droplets in the atmosphere break up the spectrum, producing a rainbow. Each layer in one of these specialized cells captures part of the spectrum - which means they are able to capture more of the sun's light and turn this into electricity.

The bottom line is efficiencies up to 40% - 4-3 times that of older types of solar panels.

Multijunction solar cells have been around for awhile, but until now, costs have been astronomical - literally. They have long been used for orbiting satellites (and are used on the Mars Rover as well), because their light weight went a long ways toward offsetting the cost of getting them into outer space. Today, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy Renewable Energy Lab have achieved more than 40% efficiency using this technology, which is currently the record for such generation.

Successful Solar Installations Around The World

While some lawmakers in Washington D.C. continue to push for refinement of the existing oil and coal industries, innovative companies headed by a new generation of forward-thinking entrepreneurs have continued to press on with the development of practical solar power plants throughout the world. As nonrenewable fossil-fuel stores are further depleted, new technologies such as the concentrated photovoltaic system (CPV) and multijunction solar cells are leading the rest of the world toward the day when the use of petroleum will be limited to the manufacture of some types of plastics - and solar power generation will be the planet's primary source of energy.

Not surprisingly, some of the most successful solar power plants are found in parts of the world in which the price of oil is prohibitively expensive, such as Europe and Japan. Until now, most of these have been of the indirect type, in which the sun's rays are concentrated toward a single area in order to generate heat. This heat is in turn used to boil water which drives steam turbines; in this respect, they operate in much the same manner as coal, oil and gas-fired power plants, the only difference being that solar energy is used in place of the fossil fuel. Although far cleaner than fossil fuels, such solar power plants are not particularly efficient.

A concentrated photovoltaic system, or CPV, is another matter. This type of solar generation uses sunlight directly, and with current technologies, is approaching efficiency rates of over 40%. The Moura CPV facility in Portugal and Germany's Waldpolenz Solar Park are two of the most successful solar power plants in the world today; both of these generate in excess of 40 megawatts.

The United States has some catching up to do, but has come a long way. In 2009, construction began outside of San Luis Obispo, California on the Topaz Solar Farm. Although costs are projected to be in the neighborhood of $1 billion, it is expected to generate 1100 gigawatt-hours every year, dwarfing the capacities of the European plants.

Less than three hundred miles to the east in the deserts around Las Vegas, a locally-based company is leading the way forward with the latest multijunction solar cells at the University of Nevada campas. Multijunction solar cells represent the most efficient form of direct solar energy yet developed; rather than simply using part of the solar spectrum, these cells are able to capture solar energy from the entire spectrum from near infrared to ultraviolet. It is only one of several projects this company has developed over the past few years in the Las Vegas metro area; its CPV power plant at Nevada Energy's Clark Generating Station has been a fixture along U.S. Highway 95 since 2006 and continues to supplement the utility's power supply during times of peak demand.

Are Solar Powered Vehicles in Our Future?

Solar power is becoming quite popular in many countries across the planet as it utilizes the energy of the sun. A solar-powered vehicle is basically an electric automobile that is powered by this renewable energy. The power is gained by the use of solar panels that are usually placed on the roof of the car. Photovoltaic (PV) cells then convert the energy from the sun straight into electrical energy. It is all a very simple process. While solar vehicles have been made, they are not considered to be practical in daily transportation use at this point in time. Most solar-powered cars are basically used as demonstration vehicles as well as research projects. However, that is not to say they will not be more popular in the future.

Solar cars are typically quite limited by energy that is input into the machine. The majority of solar cars at present have actually been manufactured for the reason of racing solar cars. However, there are some solar utility vehicles in use in various parts of the world. The cars are usually fitted with gauges that are used to indicate any possible problems. If there are not any gauges installed, the auto will probably have wireless telemetry. This lets a driver's team monitor the energy consumption, the capture of energy as well as other parameters of the car while the driver can simply concentrate on doing the driving.

The PV cells of the cars can directly convert the light of the sun into electricity and are generally constructed of semiconductor materials including alloys of indium, nitrogen, gallium, as well as silicon. However, silicon is used most commonly used as it possesses an efficiency rate of 15 to 20 per cent.

As stated before, solar cars are generally restricted to racing and show. There are two very popular solar car races which are the North American Solar Challenge, and the World Solar Challenge. These are overland road rally-style races that are usually contested by corporate and university teams.

Racers from across the world gather in Australia to compete in the World Solar Challenge. The drivers race 3,000 kilometres across the continent. In the North American Solar Challenge, college and university teams dominate as they race in timed intervals in America and Canada, with the next event scheduled for the summer of 2010.

There is also a race for high school students that is held in America, called the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge. This is a yearly event that also attracts teams from around the world, but the majority are from the U.S. It originated in 1995. Other distance races are held, such as the Suzuka, Phaethon, which is an annual solar race that is held in Japan.

While solar power has been used to fuel motorcycles, bicycles, ships, and airplanes, it seems that cars would be the most popular form of transportation of a solar vehicle around the world and researchers are trying to develop one for everyday public use. The Solartaxi, which was the result of a project in Switzerland, has actually circumnavigated the world as it drove 50,000 kilometres in 18 and crossed 40 countries. It can travel 400 kilometres without recharging. And has a maximum speed of 90 kilometres per hour. While this is positive news, it seems a type of solar-powered hybrid car will be the next step. However, it has been reported that the 2010 Toyota Prius will have an option to erect solar panels on its roof and that Toyota is trying to develop an all-solar car.

Solar Power Information - The Advancements Made in This Green Technology

Solar power information is all over the place these days, and not due to anything new in the field, but more as a result of the dragging economy. The fact is that solar energy has drastically improved as a technology over the past four decades since its initial boom of popularity way back in the seventies - remember those days? Well, before I go dating my age here, let me just say that there are three major ways this technology has leaped ahead since way back then in "the old days". Basically, advancements have been made in production of photovoltaic cells ("solar panels"), bringing their prices way down for anyone to afford, materials used have made advancements as well, making them much more compact and lightweight, and there have been soaring advancements in their energy output - the amount of electricity that they can produce. Let's examine all of this more closely...

As for the advancements in solar power, information on their power ratings can be seen wherever they can be purchased, even online - there are a few different types and kinds of solar cells out there, and each has their out power output rating... but if you remember the way things were at all, you'll find that the power outputs of those from the seventies are quite ridiculously laughable when you compare them to those of today. For example, back then in order to provide enough electricity to power an entire home, it would cost in the general neighborhood of ten thousand dollars or more. Today, this cost has plummeted to being a few hundred to one or two thousand to do the same.

This is how far advanced today it is for solar power. Information on making your own panels is also all over the internet, as people everywhere are building their own arrays right out of the garage. Using simple and inexpensive components, people are putting together panels measuring about three by five feet, single ones, for less than a hundred dollars, that can power a small fridge, a personal computer, and a small stereo entertainment system all on the same single panel. This type of thing is usually done over a weekend as an activity to get into with the family for a fun filled project that's inexpensive, enjoyable... and pays.

The more solar power information you look into, the more that it seems senseless not to tap into this green technology using this free sustainable energy resource. It's free - there is no "sun bill" that comes in the mail every month. It's inexhaustible - if you had a hundred billion solar panels faced towards the sun and collecting the rays, it would never deplete the supply of energy that the sun whips out into the universe by the gigaton every passing second. It's clean - there is nothing burned, no exhaust, no fumes, no byproducts, and no negative effects on the environment at all whatsoever, in any way, shape, form or fashion. There's utterly no excuse not to be using this free energy, and a world of reasons to get into implementing it in our homes and our lives.

Green is a Way of Life in Canada

Going green is the topic du jour for many people these days. Environmental disasters, toxic products that cause catastrophic diseases, climate change, and the rising cost of natural resources has spurred individuals and families in the U.S. to reduce, reuse, and recycle. But although we have a reputation for creativity and innovation in the world, when it comes to being at the forefront of the environmental movement, we are sorely lagging behind.

Efforts to go green in the United States are inconsistent at best. Some states, such as Washington State, California, Vermont, and Colorado, have become the leaders in the environmental revolution and made going green an integral part of the state's culture. For example, Washington has an aggressive recycling program in place that has seen a steady increase in the recycling of reusable materials since 2000. In fact, Seattle calls their green residents Metronaturals to describe the commitment the city has to living in balance with its beautiful natural surroundings.

But as a nation we are trailing behind and can learn from other countries about going green including our sister nation to the north, Canada. From recycling programs to Earth-friendly financial products, Canada has got going green down to a science.

Canadians Going Green

* According to a survey conducted by Decima Research, 2/3 of Canadians are going green in the grocery store. Out of 1013 people surveyed, 92% are choosing locally grown fruits and vegetable, 81% try to purchase products with less packaging, and 65% have switched over to natural and organic foods.

* An Ipsos Decarie survey found that 90% of Canadians recycle and 65% use reusable shopping bags.

* In 2007, 84% of Canadian households were using energy efficient light bulbs, 62% have low flow shower heads, and 42% have programmable thermostats.

* 22% of Canadians have green financial services. For example, green auto loans and insurance which feature lower rates for energy efficient vehicles are popular.

* According to the Households and the Environment Survey 27% of Canadian households compost their waste which is up 4% from 1994.

Businesses Going Green

* The Powered Right Program offered in partnership by Nova Scotia Power and Clean Nova Scotia helps businesses go green by replacing their incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent lights. So far, they have saved over 44 million KwH of electricity.

* Out of 1049 Canadian small businesses surveyed, about 46% had a green plan in place with another 6% looking into creating one. 63% were concentrating on reducing energy usage while 31% were focused on incorporating environmental standards into the production of their products and services.

* 26% of Ontario's small businesses produce or sell green products or have plans in the works to do so.

* 82% of small businesses in British Columbia are committed to recycling.

* Penn West Energy Trust is reusing CO2. The company pumps CO2 underground to help bring oil to the surface for use. They have manage to store over one million tons of CO@ (the equivalent of taking 222,000 cars of the street for one year) and have culled 4 million barrels of oil that otherwise would have been lost. The company anticipates being able to store as much as 25 million tons which is the equivalent of taking 5 million cars off the roads for one year.

* The Canadian energy company TransAlta Corporation in Calgary, Alberta is the biggest investor of wind energy contributing over 154 MW of electricity generated by their wind farm to the grid. They have plans to add 66 MW to their Summerview Wind Farm in Alberta.

Government Green Initiatives

* In an effort to reduce emissions, the Canadian government set stringent new regulations in 2005 to reduce the sulfur levels in diesel fuel that is used for rail, marine, and other off road machinery.

* Called the eMobility program, the federal government is investing $3 million into 14 projects that will support the creation of eco-friendly transportation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

* In 2002, the Species At Risk Act (SARA) went into effect to protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats.

Tips for Going Green

Although Canada is going much to go green, there is always more everyone can do to be a little more eco-friendlier. Here are a few tips for bringing more green into your life:

* Save paper by paying bills online. Over 16 million trees would be saved if everyone in America alone would stop getting paper statements and pay their bills online.

* Avoid preheating your oven for more than 10 minutes to save energy.

* Sell, donate, or recycle electronics you do not want anymore.

* Set outside lights to be motion sensitive rather than leave them on all night.

* Unplug appliances, such as computers and televisions, when not in use. Billions of dollars in energy is wasted every year on standby power.

One simple way to save time, money, and be greener is to shop online for your household needs. Not only will you be able to find eco-friendly alternatives to the everyday products you know and love, you'll reduce your carbon footprint because you won't be wasting gas driving around town. Many of FedEx's and UPS's delivery trucks have been converted to energy efficient vehicles.

For those of you looking for ways to generate income, the green movement has opened up a multitude of opportunities to make money in a green business. My husband and I are involved in an eco-friendly business opportunity that combines two industries that continues to grow and offer immense profit opportunities, the environmental movement and online shopping. To learn how you can earn green while you go green, visit my online business tour or contact me. Saving planet is can be profitable.

4 Ways to Expand the Office Recycling Program

Going green in the office means more than recycling paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Every office should look beyond the obvious targets when implementing recycling programs. Here a four ways to expand your office's recycle program in overlooked areas.

1. Recycle more than paper. Companies like RECYCLEPAK make it easy for offices to recycle batteries and light bulbs. From calculators to cell phones, you can recycle many small office electronics in the same manner as your empty ink and toner toner cartridges-by sending them back to the manufacturers.

2. Recycle ink and toner cartridges. Many ink and toner manufacturers provide pre-paid shipping labels to make recycling ink and toner cartridges easy. Just return you empty cartridges and let them handle the recycling. If you're handy with a soldering iron, you can try refilling your toner cartridges yourself. There are many step by step guides floating around online. Just be advised: refilling toner cartridges can be a messy undertaking and carries some risk to your office machines.

3. Donate or recycle old computers. Don't throw away old office computers after an upgrade - donate! Do it for the tax write off, PR benefits, and that warm do-gooder glow. The National Cristina Foundation is a great organization to donate to - they match match old office computers with needy schools. Furthermore, Dell and other computer manufacturers offer free recycling and trade ins. Or you can go old school and donate your old office computers to Goodwill. Of course, Dell and other computer manufacturers offer free computer recycling, as well as trade-in deals. With all the computer recycling and donation programs available to offices, there is no excuse for any office computer to end up in a landfill.

4. Compost cafeteria food waste. According to the EPA, only 2% of food waste is recycled for composting. Companies that expand their office recycling programs to include food composting significantly reduce their trash removal expense and gain invaluable PR. "In-vessel" composting is the best solution for most office because the food waste is fully contained to eliminate odors and keep away critters. The EPA offers a free guide to commercial food composting on their website.

Expanding the office recycling program is great way to green your office. Sure, you help the environment when you recycle, but you also boost your company's public image and improve the bottom line! Comprehensive recycling programs are one of the few ways businesses can save money and look good doing it!

Solar Cooking - Harnessing the Sun to Serve Humanity

Governments, organizations and communities have been alarmed at the scale of environmental damage and deforestation that Nature has incurred in the 21st century. Solar cooking is by no means a panacea to these problems but it can help reduce the environmental damage and reverse the upward trend in deforestation. Cooking by solar power also reduces gas emissions.

Although the method has not gained wide corporate backing, there are organizations who have given their encouraging support to manufacture and distribute solar ovens around the world, especially in developing communities.

According to recent studies, there are up to two billion people in the world who still use firewood for cooking. This translates to a significant area of forest cover lost each year to wood fires and wood cooking. By encouraging solar cooking, organizations are not only helping the forests, but also the surrounding communities that they support. A lush forest, after all, is essential to a balanced ecology where communities can live safely and productively. Whereas the loss of forests is tied to flooding, erosion, drought and global warming, their flourishing is connected to thriving water and land systems.

Cooking by solar power requires solar ovens or box cookers. These are well-insulated containers that can harness maximum amount of solar energy and retain the most amount of heat. A lot of research has gone into harnessing solar power, and the most advanced box cookers are made of energy-efficient, light-weight materials.

Solar cooking is a method known to humanity for centuries. But this alternative way of cooking continues to revolutionize the way people live across the world today.

Envelope Yourself in Sun Power

Sci-fi writer Phillip Jose Farmer wrapped his best stories in fascinating and mind-boggling concepts.

In his Riverworld novels, everybody who died since the beginning of the human race reappeared suddenly on another planet to live without dying. In the Dayworld trilogy, man is allowed only to live one day a week because of overpopulation, spending the other six days in stasis.

Such concept story-telling aptly describes a technology under development by a team at the University of Southern California that eventually could mean solar T-shirts at the Gap.

"Imagine people powering their cellular phone or music/video device while jogging in the sun," Gomez De Arco, a team member, told alternative-energy-news.info.

Researchers combined organic photovoltaic cells, which use organic polymers to absorb light and convert it energy, with transparent graphene films to create the flexible power-producing material. "Graphene solar cells demonstrated outstanding capability to operate under bending conditions," according to a paper the team published in science journal ACS Nano. "Our work indicates the great potential of CVD graphene films for flexible photovoltaic applications."

Definitely cool. Apply a coating to Iron Man's suit of armor and all he has to do after battling a superfoe is fly into the sun to recharge. Or slap a layer of the stuff all over my 1974 Super Beetle and I'll never have a dead battery. Plus it might keep the paint from oxidizing further.

The USC team includes Chongwu Zhou, Cody W. Schlenker, Koungmin Rye, Mark E. Thompson, Yi Zhang and De Arco.

Alternative Energy wrote while the graphene-organic photovoltaics don't produce electricity nearly as efficiently as standard silicon panels, they make up for that lack with "low cost, conductivity, stability, electrode/organic film compatibility, and easy availability along with flexibility."

Farmer in his heyday could have worked with the possibilities and taken solar on graphene to even greater heights. Then again, 3M may do the same thing in a couple of years.