Green News

Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

...it has taken awhile to see much in the way of significant action toward [envronmentally friendly] measures in the building industry. That's why Peter Lytle, the executive director at Live Green, Live Smart, decided to renovate a 1948 ranch-style home in Minnetonka.

Through his example (he recycled 90 percent of the old home's materials in the remodeled home, significantly improved the home's energy savings, and dramatically boosted its style), he hopes to encourage others to build and remodel in similar ways. And he has set quite an example, landing the highest possible certifications on local, state, and national levels. Peter pointed out to me, however, that almost everything possible was included here, in this demonstration home. People can take significant steps toward sustainability using even a handful of ideas.

June and July: HGTV, The Discovery Channel, Green Europe, Kare 11/NBC

Earth Charter International invites you to reflect upon moments when you have suddenly felt a deep sense of connection or oneness in your life.  We are gathering personal stories and photos from people of all ages, countries, and walks of life. Selected submissions will be published in a book, to be released internationally in 2009.

For full details and a video version of the Call for Submissions, visit this site.

New York, NY, June 5th, 2008

My'It'Things an online platform for user generated fashion and trends, announced todaythe launch of its June/July GREEN Contest. Starting today, in conjunction with the World Environment Day, My'It'Things will plant 10 trees for every green article submitted through its website, with a goal of planting ten thousand trees. By partnering with Trees for the Future, My'It'Things hopes to increase environmental awareness among its large community of trendsetters and consumers.

In a contest titled "GREEN is the new BLACK" bloggers and writers are invited to submit articles on green fashion, organic beauty products, eco-friendly gadgets and sustainable home design. Readers will vote for the Top 10, which later will be judged by a panel of green experts: *Renee Loux*, TV show host of *It's Easy Being Green & *award-winning author*,* *Mark Spellun, *Founder & Editor-in-Chief, *Plenty Magazine* and Josh Dorfman, green entrepreneur, media personality & author of *The Lazy Environmentalist.* The winner will be awarded $1,000 Grand Prize. To submit your article, please visit http://MyItThings.com/contest/14/green.

"We are thrilled to announce our GREEN initiative," said Yuli Ziv, co-founder & Editor-In-Chief of MyItThings. "As a leading user-generated trends publication, we feel obligated to educate the next generation of eco-conscious consumers. Encouraging our users to create content on green products and trends definitely contributes to this process."

Since 1989, Trees for the Future has been helping communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and our country programs, we have empowered rural groups to restore tree cover to their lands. Planting trees protects the environment and helps to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations. Our mission and history demonstrate how dedicated we are to sustainable agroforestry. Learn more about Trees for the Future by visiting http://www.treesftf.org/

Focus on Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction

The Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP) and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN/ISDR) are pleased to invite you to the Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance which will be held on October 19-22, 2008 at the Dusit Hotel, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The theme of the congress is "Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction."

Women and environment experts have raised concern over the absence of women in the discourse and debate on climate change and disaster risk reduction, both of which are global mainstream issues that are currently impacting the entire world. The involvement of women in areas of environmental management and governance should not be perceived as an afterthought. Women's roles are of considerable importance in the promotion of environmental ethics.

The current imperative is for women to understand the phenomenon of climate change and disaster risk reduction and their impacts and implications at the individual, household, community and national levels. Studies show that women have a definite information deficit on climate politics, climate protection, and preparedness through disaster risk reduction. Only with this information can women take their proper, significant and strategic role in the issues of climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Invited to this congress are parliamentarians, decision - makers in national governments, environment organizations, youth leaders and media practitioners, funding/ donor agencies/ organizations (Female and male participants are welcome.)

Please download the full information sheet and registration form for this Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance from our website.

Washington Post online

Food-to-fuel mandates were created for the right reasons. The hope of using American-grown crops to fuel our cars seemed like a win-win-win scenario: Our farmers would enjoy the benefit of crop-price stability. Our national security would be enhanced by having a new domestic energy source. Our environment would be protected by a cleaner fuel.

But the likelihood of these outcomes was never seriously tested, and new evidence has shown that the justifications for these mandates were inaccurate.

Read the entire op-ed by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute and Jonathan Lewis of the Clean Air Task Force online in the Washington Post.

The Living Green Expo is a free, annual event that provides information and products to help Minnesotans and their neighbors improve the environmental and social impacts of their day-to-day living. The Expo features over 200 exhibitors of products, services, and information, along with workshops on a variety of sustainability and green living topics. Expo attractions include music, art, food, demonstrations, and activities for youth and children.

The Living Green Expo is a family-friendly event offering products and educational resources to inspire people to lead healthier and more sustainable lives that improve our environment and quality of life. The Expo is working to create a world for future generations in which:

• Business operations and products are redesigned to interface benignly with the natural world
• Environmental values are integrated into economic and social systems and into people’s lives
• Healthy ecosystems and sustainable communities exist

Goals for this year's Expo include:

• Connect Minnesotans with resources to lead a more sustainable life, with an emphasis on reducing environmental impacts.
• Expand the reach of "living green" actions, using event promotion and media coverage that shows these actions to be convenient, accessible, affordable, effective, and popular.
• Provide a positive networking opportunity for Minnesotans around issues of sustainability to connect those people and businesses working to bring sustainability into the mainstream.
• Build the market for small, local businesses and organizations providing environmentally preferable products, services and educational approaches; also build the market for environmentally preferable products from larger businesses, encouraging these and other businesses to increasingly incorporate environmental and social concerns into their products and operations.
• Operate the event in as environmental/sustainable a manner as reasonably possible.

The Living Green Expo is a collaboration of government agencies, non-profit groups and businesses seeking to promote sustainability-oriented products and behaviors in Minnesota. The Prevention and Assistance Division of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is the main coordinator of this collaborative effort.

For more information about this great green event, contact the Expo via their website 

 NOW with Bill Moyers on PBS

 Week of March 28, 2008

Could a new effort to fight global warming save money and create jobs at the same time? NOW looks at a city-wide plan in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to make all its buildings more energy efficient.

Up to 80 percent of emissions in many urban cities comes from buildings. Cambridge hopes that this unprecedented effort to green its buildings will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent in just five years, the equivalent of taking 33,000 cars off the road. If every major city in America took the same approach, it would have a significant impact on the carbon footprint of the United States —and it would generate tens of millions of new "green" jobs.

Read and view the report on the NOW site. 

GREEN BUILDING EXCHANGE HOSTS ALTERNATIVE VEHICLE FAIRE

Educational forum and fair featuring cutting-edge clean-and-green vehicles

REDWOOD CITY, CA. – Friday and Saturday, April 11 & 12 -- The Green Building Exchange, a year-round marketplace for businesses and individuals committed to green building, energy systems, transportation and consumer goods, is hosting the Peninsula's first ever Alternative Vehicle Show at 305 Main St. in Redwood City. The event kicks off with an educational forum on Friday, April 11th, where speakers and panelists will discuss how new policy and technology can help us step toward a sustainable transportation future. On Saturday, April 12th, the vehicle show is FREE and open to the public from 9am to 5pm. The show features over 45 cutting-edge
alternative vehicles, a suite of sustainable vendors, music, refreshments and more.  Find out more at their website.

Green Transportation 2008: Choices for the Future, is the first annual San Mateo County fair dedicated to showcasing the latest alternative vehicles and transportation options.  It will bring together state-of-the-art electric, alternative-fuel, hybrid, solar and hydrogen-powered vehicles. In addition to over 45 cars, trucks, scooters and bikes onsite, nonprofits and representatives of the region's transportation planning agencies will be on hand to discuss highway congestion relief, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, public transportation, ride sharing and bicycle commuting.

Transportation Futures Forum – Friday, April 11th – Green Building Exchange will host those working toward sustainable transportation in the Bay Area. For a small fee, participants can enjoy a catered lunch, presentations and a panel discussion on transportation policy options and emerging technologies.  Participants will also see a preview of Saturday's public show.

Alternative Vehicle Show - Saturday April 12th - the Green Building Exchange parking lot, tradeshow floor and retail center are open to the general public at no charge from 9 am to 5 pm.  The show hosts vehicles from major manufacturers and fresh, innovative companies alongside nonprofit tables. Representatives are on hand, as well as food, refreshments and a free recycled-art table for little ones. Live DJs, Eternal Harmonics, will provide music all day (www.TraansAatma.com). The Green Building Exchange was created as a one-stop green business marketplace by founder Michael Schaeffer, who wanted to make the information and the process for sustainable building as accessible and affordable to consumers as conventional building. The Green Building Exchange facility offers products, services, education, networking and media, though a permanent tradeshow exhibit, a retail store for green design products, on-going classes and symposia, and state-of-the-art office and conference spaces.

For additional information about the upcoming forum and fair, please contact Danny Beesley at Green Building Exchange (650-369-4900)

Newly Released Studies Confirm Energy Savings Significant in LEED, ENERGY STAR Buildings 

Certified buildings outperform peers in sale, rental and occupancy rates. 

April 3, 2008 (Washington, DC) – Two recently released studies, one by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and one by CoStar Group, have validated what the green building community has known all along: third party certified buildings outperform their conventional counterparts across a wide variety of metrics, including energy savings, occupancy rates, sale price and rental rates.  

In the NBI study, the results indicate that new buildings certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED certification system are, on average, performing 25-30% better than non-LEED certified buildings in terms of energy use.  The study also demonstrates that there is a correlation between increasing levels of LEED certification and increased energy savings.  Gold and Platinum LEED certified buildings have average energy savings approaching 50%.

“The NBI Study confirms that newly constructed LEED certified buildings use significantly less energy than their conventional counterparts, and that they perform better overall,” said Brendan Owens, Vice President, LEED Technical Development, U.S. Green Building Council.

“The report also underscores that monitoring a building’s ongoing operations and maintenance, as required in LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance and ENERGY STAR, is equally important,” continued Owens.  “Buildings are complicated systems and achieving and maintaining high performance is a process that requires the ongoing discipline and commitment to green practices.   LEED and ENERGY STAR provide building owners and operators with valuable structure to maintain high performance and deliver savings over time.”

Energy savings under EPA's ENERGY STAR program are equally impressive: buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR label use an average of almost 40 percent less energy than average buildings, and emit 35 percent less carbon.

But beyond the obvious implications of reduced energy use and reduced carbon emissions, the results from both studies strengthen the "business case" for green buildings as financially sound investments.  

For more information, visit the USGBC website.

The Green Institute/ReUse Center announces the Grand Opening of their new Maplewood location

***GRAND OPENING

Come and Celebrate with us!

Dates: Saturday, March 22
Time: 12pm - 4pm
Location: 1723 East HWY 36
Maplewood, MN 55109

http://www.thereusecenter.com/MaplewoodPhotos.html 

***

The ReUse Center now has three locations in the Metro Area.

Minneapolis, MN:   2801 21st Av S  (Enter on 29th St)   612-724-2608
Osseo, MN:   8769 Jefferson Hwy N   763-315-0949
Maplewood, MN:  1723 E Hwy 36  (NW Corner of 36 & White Bear Av) 651-379-1280

An environmental film festival in the Nation's capital is in its 16th year and runs this coming March 11-22.  More than 45 venues, 115 films, and more than 20,000 filmgoers are anticipated this year.  If you can't attend in person, check out the website and preview some great films that show how the way we treat the planet - and one another - will determine the future of the human species. Visit their website here.

Some of the short entries are available on youtube, including Store Wars, a favorite of Live Green, Live Smart's own Green Grandma. Find it here.

May the Farm be with YOU!

Toronto ON., February 4, 2008 – Canada’s first Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show (EWLS) opens March 1st and 2nd at the Design Exchange. Eco-conscious couples, who are planning a wedding, are faced with many challenges when searching for suppliers that will get them on the right ‘eco-footprint’.

Sponsored by Absolute Tent & Event Rentals and Weddingbells, The Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show will feature a diverse collection of stylish and unique wedding and lifestyle vendors, all of whom have a commitment to the environment. In Canada, weddings are still in their ‘green’ infancy but the demand is growing for more organic and eco-friendly options, specifically in Toronto.

Show producer, Jaye Marsh Graham, believes that the market is underserved, as couples have to search high and low to find the companies that align with their values. “They are hungry for the convenience of a one-stop shop,” states Graham, “and at the same time they want their wedding to cater to their environmentally conscious lifestyle.  This show will give them access to all of their planning requirements in a green and intimate fashion”.

With the motto “It’s not just your wedding; it’s the rest of your life!” the show will feature mini seminars ranging in topics that include real estate, green renovations, food and wine pairings, DIY invitations and more. “We aim to help couples make informed and sustainable decisions in all of these areas”, states Graham. “This is a chance for couples to meet both non-traditional vendors who offer these alternatives, and established, traditional vendors who are excited about the changes they are making to create a sustainable model”.

The main attraction to the show will be the unique and interactive eco friendly fashion shows, sponsored by David Scott Cosmetics. Models will be positioned at key stations for 20 minutes, alongside the designers, and guests can get up close and personal with the garments and the designer. Some participants include Project Runway winner Evan Biddell, Passenger Pigeon, Margaret Macleod and As You Like It. Footwear will be provided by Mink Shoes. The show will feature both traditional and non-traditional ensembles, and all garments will be local, recycled, or sustainable. Each show has 2 scenes, and will occur 3 times each day.

A free engagement portrait will be offered to guests on a first come, first served basis (maximum of 400) which can be booked in advance online. Attendees will also have a chance to win one of several great prizes, simply by filling out a “green survey”. The prizes include:

• Two comfort-fit, 3mm 18K white or yellow gold wedding bands valued at $600 courtesy of Brilliant Earth, who specialize in quality jewelry from ethical sources.
• A round-trip for 2 from Toronto to Quebec City, courtesy of VIA Rail, with one night’s stay at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac in the heart of Old Quebec (valued at $1000)
• Six wilderness adventure getaways courtesy of Wilderness Tours (valued at $100 each)
• Green Clean Home Starter Basket of Melaleuca products from Enhancing Health ($100 value)
• Producer's Pick 'Be Gorgeous' Basket ($200 value)

Some of the vendors who will be present at the show include Whole Foods, Plantatree Wine, Eco Flora, LPK’s Culinary Groove, CarbonZero, Toronto Botanical Gardens, The Richmond, Merchants of Green Coffee and Bullfrog Power.

The demographic for the average wedding in Ontario is changing dramatically. Couples are more mature, with an average age of 33.5 years. As a result couples have higher disposable incomes. Many have established careers, own homes and even have children. With this demographic shift, comes a market that advocates change. They do not want the traditional wedding and all the waste that comes with it. Green weddings are on the rise, as more couples starting a new life aim to leave a lighter eco-footprint.

Jaye Marsh Graham is a Green event planner and founder of Its Personal! Occasions. She recently had her own green wedding, and it is because of the challenges and obstacles she faced during the planning process that she decided to create the Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show. A veteran of the wedding industry, Ms. Graham is also a professional flutist with more than 300 weddings to her credit. She is currently part of Celebration Duo, based in the GTA.

Ticket Information:

Tickets are available online or at the door.

A discounted price for two hot GREEN events is available! For $20, attendees can go to the Eco Wedding and Lifestyle Show, AND enjoy free admission for 2 to the GREEN Spring Market put on by Green Mom. In addition, they will receive a GREEN VIP card valued at $15, with exclusive offers and discounts worth over $200 at Green Vendors around the city!

Single tickets to the Eco Wedding & Lifestyle Show are available online for $12.95, or at the door for $15. Visit www.ecoweddingshow.com to purchase.

Contact Information:

Kelly Drennan, Third Eye Media
P: 416-778-5934
C: 416-458-1491
E: kelly@thirdeyemedia.ca

Download the full press release 

Two studies released this week in the journal Science confirm what many have thought: biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, contribute more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than conventional fuels. The greenhouse effect from biofuels comes both directly (production methods use conventional fuels like gas and natural gas) and indirectly (using land for fuel instead of food causes even more land to be cleared for food).

Learn more in this New York Times article. 

Nearly 60% of the Netherlands' population lives below sea level. This makes this densely populated coutry one of those most threatened by the effects of global warming and rising water levels.  Already, sea levels are rising and dikes and pumps being tested.  So some homebuilders have a Plan B - houses climate proofed by being built to float.

Listen to the report by Rico Gagliano at American Public Radio's Marketplace