Homeowners who want to remodel their kitchen will have projects goals like selecting the style, quality of craftsmanship and materials used. Since the buzz now is going green, many people are choosing green options in order to increase energy efficiency and preserve resources. Dick Titus who is the executive VP of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) said using eco friendly elements in kitchen modeling is no longer a passing fad, but is a way of life. Homeowners are particular in choosing environment friendly products that are also safe for their families.Green Education Prospectus
Green Job Growth
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009, based on the National Establishment Time Series Database; analysis by Pew Center on the States and Collaborative Economics.
Green Job Distribution
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009, based on the National Establishment Time Series Database; analysis by Pew Center on the States and Collaborative Economics.
Tag Archives: green
US Voters Warm Up to Renewable Energy
It’s election season once again. One of the most important times of the year, where we get to decide the direction that our country is moving in. It looks like elections this year will hold good news for renewable energy. In a recent poll of voters conducted by Public Policy Polling for the NRDC Action Fund it was found that the majority of voters were in support of an energy bill with strong ties to renewable sources. The poll was conducted in 23 congressional districts and concluded that at least 52% of voters in these districts would be more inclined to support a candidate whose platform included energy policy that would cut pollution and reduce the effects of climate change.
This is good news for the booming renewable energy sector. Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has already gotten the ball rolling by supporting renewable energy projects in the United States. Continued legislation in favor of renewables will only further cement the progress that has been made in the past 3 years. Continue reading
Posted in Green, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living, Wind Energy
Tagged american recovery and reinvestment act, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, clean energy, clean energy jobs, eco friendly, energy, energy conservation, environment, green, green collar jobs, green government, recovery act, renewable energy, solar energy, solar panels, solar power, wind energy, wind turbines
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Cars Are Getting Cleaner, Faster
Taking a deep breath nowadays might just be a little bit healthier than it was just a few short years ago. It’s common knowledge that cars and transportation are a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and other airborne pollutants. However, according to recent figures new cars today are cleaner than ever before. Of course most consumers expect that cars will get cleaner as time goes on; as part of the natural progression of technology and the demands of continuing legislation regulating vehicle emissions. What might come as a surprise is how quickly the change is happening.
Of course progress is most noticeable among the cleanest of the herd. Average carbon emission figures for the cleanest cars dropped by 21 per cent over the last four years. According to consumer information website Green-Car-Guide.com, cars in the low-emission group emitted an average of 102.8 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven for the 2010 model year (CO2 is considered to be the primary contributor to global warming). In 2006 the same group recorded an average emission of 131.1 g/km. The difference of28.3 g/km represents the 21 per cent drop.
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Posted in Car, Energy Efficiency, Green, Sustainable Living
Tagged alternative fuel vehicles, alternative fuels, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, cars, clean cars, clean diesel, eco friendly, electric cars, energy efficiency, environment, fuel efficiency, global warming, green, green cars, green economy, green environment, green living, hybrid cars, sustainability, sustainable living, suv
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5 More Green Living and Eco Friendly Apps for Iphone and Android
These days our phones are so much more than just simple communication devices. The Apple [Nasdaq: APPL] iPhone and Google [Nasdaq: GOOG] Android platforms are revolutionary. They are our lifelines, and they also provide us with help on things that many people would never imagine a phone can do. With that in mind, here are 5 more green related apps that Eco Institution found when researching our last article.
Carbon Tracker – The Carbon Tracker app is a GPS-enabled program that helps users to actually calculate and account for their carbon footprint from daily commuting, business trips and vacations. The cool thing is that you can actually set goals for maximum emissions per month and then check up on your progress. It can also be networked for use by more than one person for businesses and universities. Continue reading
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Green, Sustainable Living, green education
Tagged android, apple, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, eco friendly, energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environment, Google Inc, green, green environment, green living, iphone, iphone 4, smart phones, sustainability, sustainable living
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Controversial Waste-Burning Renewable Energy Powerplant Moves Forward in Baltimore’s Fairfield Neighborhood
At the site of a former agricultural chemical processing facility in south Baltimore Maryland, Energy Answers of Albany, N.Y. is working on a different kind of renewable energy electrical generation facility. The power source? Trash. That’s right, garbage – the company hopes to take refuse off the curb and bring it right back to you through the meter. The generator would produce a moderately sized 120MW of electricity directly to the grid plus steam heat available locally to industrial consumers by burning up to 4,000 tons of garbage a day.
The project is classified as a renewable energy venture because it won’t be using fossil fuels to generate power. Because of that it is eligible for lucrative federal funding. Instead of functioning in the capacity of a normal incinerator, the facility will use Processed Refuse Fuel (PRF) which is essentially sorted and shredded residential and commercial garbage. The PRF burns cleaner and hotter than refuse that is used as fuel in traditional incinerators. The boiler will also use moderate amounts of Tire Derived Fuel (TDF) because of the high energy density of the material. Continue reading
Posted in Green, Renewable Energy
Tagged american recovery and reinvestment act, baltimore, carbon dioxide emissions, clean energy, clean energy jobs, department of energy, eco friendly, electricity, employment, energy, Energy Answers, Fairfield, green, green collar jobs, green energy, green jobs, incinerator, jobs, leed, recovery act, recycling, renewable energy, renewable energy companies, sustainability, tire derived fuel
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The Future of Solar Renewables: New Quantum – Dot Photovoltaics
Solar power has always been the renewable energy source that captures the imagination. Free, instant electricity with no moving parts and nothing to wear out –you just point your panel at the sun and plug in. It’s such a wonderful concept that it’s always been in the back of every renewable energy ecogeek’s mind. On top of that, it’s a commonly quoted figure that the sun blasts the earth with enough energy in an hour to produce a year’s worth of electricity. It all sounds very promising and seductive; the problem is that solar panels just aren’t very efficient. In fact most modern solar panels are only able to convert around 25% of the energy that hits them into electricity. That’s not very much and because of that solar panels just haven’t been very successful when it comes to development as a means of mass power generation.
But wait – there’s more! That’s not the only thing that is having a negative effect on the popularity of solar power. The other issue (and probably the killing stroke) is expense. Solar panels use components and materials (gold, to name one) that are extremely expensive. Because of that, the panels are very costly. The truth of the matter is that not everyone is committed enough to alternative energy that they have desire to shell out thousands of dollars to purchase a machine that only does its job at ¼ to 1/3 efficiency. Continue reading
Green Branding Watch: Boeing, Apple, P&G and more
Globally, there has been no clear-cut definition of what ‘sustainable packaging’ really means. Most of the policies are geared towards waste reduction and recycling but nothing has given emphasis on sustainability. But Sustainable Packaging Alliance (SPA) believes that packaging will only be “sustainable” if it meets the four sustainability principles (from sustainablepack.org):
Effective – provide social and economic benefits;
Efficient – provide benefits by using materials, energy and water as efficiently as possible;
Cyclic - be recoverable through industrial or natural systems; and
Safe – non-polluting and non-toxic.
Interest in sustainability packaging has been growing. According to a New Report from the Global Industry Analysts, Inc, the global sustainable packaging market is expected to reach US$142.42 billion by 2015. From the looks of it, such 2015 projections will be possible or may even exceed the above-mentioned US$142.42 billion. You might wonder if it really is possible, so here are some reasons why:
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Posted in Car, Green, Sustainable Living
Tagged air planes, air travel, apple, banning of plastic bags, boeing, bottled water, bottled water matters, cars, chevrolet, chew chew, clorox, coffee machines, detergents, dreft, environment, environmental responsibility, furniture, global industry analysts, green, green brands, green mobile apps, green mountain coffee roaster, greenpeace, greenpeace logo, hbo, heineken, ikea, international bottled water association, iphone 3g, levis, lexus, organic restaurant for pets, p&g, palm oil, planet green star adrian grenier, plastic bags, pt sinar mas agro resources & technology tbk, sandra bullock, Seventh Generation, sustainability, sustainable home appliances, sustainable packaging, sustainable packaging alliance, techcrunch, whole foods, whole tree inc
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Clinton Global Initiative Reveals High Hopes for Green Jobs
At the recent Clinton Global Initiative conference held in New York Last week, a variety of different topics were discussed. Among the hottest topics: Green Jobs and the growth of the green economy. The Clinton Global Initiative describes itself as:
“…a meeting of innovative, action-oriented, and socially responsible leaders in the world. The Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting brings together heads of state, government and business leaders, scholars, and NGO directors. Participants analyze pressing global challenges, discuss the most effective solutions, and build lasting partnerships that enable them to create positive social change.”
That being said, it should be encouraging that green development and the green economy were one topic that was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. According to leaders at the conference, the green sector is the shining light amidst an otherwise gloomy outlook.
Posted in Green, Green Collar, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living, Wind Energy
Tagged clean energy, clean energy jobs, eco friendly, employment, environment, green, green collar, green collar jobs, green economy, green energy, green jobs, obama, recovery act
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New Green Careers Starting in Educational Sector
Almost everyone has been talking about “green” jobs. Or you may have heard someone talking about the “green” economy. But do you really know what these terms mean or even recognize how you can use your skills into embarking on a new “green” career?
But you shouldn’t worry any longer because the UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies will be helping you understand the “green” lingo. Every semester, the Nelson Institute Community Environmental Forum tackles a particular issue and discovers everything about it. This fall, there will be a free series of forums entitled “Green Jobs for Wisconsin’s Economy” Continue reading
Posted in Green, Green Collar, Sustainable Living, green education
Tagged academia, business, dane county, faculty, green, green economy, green jobs, green jobs for wisconsin's economy, madison, nelson institute community environmental forum, non-profit organizations, state and local government, students, university of wisconsin, uw-madison, uw-madison nelson institute for environmental studies, wisconsin
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Go Green When Remodeling Your Home
Since kitchen cabinets could account for almost half of the renovation budget, its important for homeowners to incorporate green elements in their kitchens by choosing a quality cabinet manufacturer who’s into environmental sustainability. KCMA’s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) can help in that. Companies will only get the ESP seal shown on their products if the certification requirements like product resource management, air quality, process resource management, and environmental stewardship and community relations are all met. For homeowners who want to set affordable eco friendly cabinets into their kitchen, ESP keeps the standard. Continue reading
Time for Australia to Go Green
[/caption]As the rest of the world is taking on clean energy sources, Australia joins in as well. Australia is planning to build the biggest wind farm in the southern hemisphere by 2013. These plans are Australia’s quick responses towards fighting off climate change as well as in controlling its abundant clean energy sources, such as wind, solar, waves, geothermal energy and bioenergy.
Australia lacks the political and commercial will to take on big renewable energy projects. Consequently, only a very small percentage, particularly 6% of power in Australia is supplied with renewable energy. Aside from the lack of political and commercial will, Australia’s remote areas and almost 60,000 kilometers or 37,000 miles of coast hinders the tie up of new, remote power sources into the grid.
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Posted in Green, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living
Tagged australia, australians, cheap coal, clean energy, green, green energy, greenhouse gases, photovoltaics, renewable energy, renewable energy legislation, renewable resources, solar energy, solar panels, thermal energy, wind farms, wind turbines, zero carbon
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