Category: Green lifestyle

How Residents of Hamburg Reclaimed the Power Grid

Read the full story at Great Lakes Echo.

Because natural burial has environmental benefits over conventional burial, it is often favored by those who like to “go green.”  But it also can appeal for other, more conservative reasons.  It’s the choice of some independently-minded rural folks, and to many religious traditionalists.  Additionally, it can help out the local businesses that serve the growing demand.  In this installment episode of WEMU’s “The Green Room,” Barbara Lucas looks at natural burial benefits that go “beyond green.”

That waste on your doorstep: phone books

Via the Product Stewardship Institute.

In this technology-driven age, an increasing number of Americans are turning to online search engines rather than print phone books, yet yellow pages companies continue to drop unwanted directories on residents’ doorsteps throughout the country. Unwanted directories are not only a nuisance but also a waste: each year the industry uses an estimated 4.68 million trees worth of wood fiber, or 14 football fields’ worth of forest per day. They are also a burden on local governments and taxpayers, who pay nearly $60 million annually to recycle or dispose of unwanted phone books.

Opt out of receiving a phone book to quickly reduce your environmental footprint! Visit bit.ly/YP-opt-out to stop phone book delivery in a few quick clicks.

 

Does Wasting Home Heating Make You See (Infra)red?

Read the full post from the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Have you ever wanted x-ray vision, or to see the hidden features of your home? The City of Vancouver has launched a new effort to make energy use more visible to its residents, complete with rainbow-colored images of their homes that show details invisible to the naked eye. Using thermal imaging to show heat loss in roughly 15,000 homes in five neighborhoods, Vancouver aims to help residents uncover wasted energy. How can making invisible aspects of a home visible drive energy savings and economic development?

Living Green 365: Greening your home’s exterior

Read the full story from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Summer is an ideal time to work on home improvements that will help your home last longer, keep you healthy, and increase energy efficiency. Take a walk around your home and assess what improvements need doing this summer.

Green myths

Read the full story in Living Green 365.

Like any myth, the green variety may sprout from kernels of truth. More often, they are based on false or outdated information.

Below, we take aim at several common myths that we’ve come across. We’ll tackle some more in a future edition of Living Green 365.

The Best Home Decor That Doesn’t Ruin The Environment

Read the full story in Fast Company.

In the fight against climate change, every action helps, especially the everyday choices you make at the cash register. A study published earlier this year in the International Journal of Environmental Policy and Decision Making found that consumers are becoming more conscious about the carbon footprint of their products they buy and use. Considering that the building industry is responsible for over 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions and on top of that there’s the carbon footprint of all the stuff you buy to fill those buildings, now’s a great time to buy products that are friendlier to the environment at some point in their lifecycle, whether its in how they’re made or how they perform.