In his book The Greening of IT: How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment, Lamb explains how green, energy efficient data centers can help reduce greenhouse gases. Incorporating green principles can, Lamb says, have an important impact on a business’s triple bottom line of economic viability, social responsibility and environmental impact.

The Greening of IT is a book meant for CEO’s, CIO’s, CFO’s and a variety of IT leaders. But it offers a detailed look at case studies and business practices that can help companies cut costs (as much as 50 percent on annual electricity costs), save energy, and learn about government regulations and utility incentives that can help companies move towards a greener operation.

The book starts with the Basics, including:

• Utilizing power management features to reduce computer usage
• The importance of having the tools to measure energy, power and overall IT usage

Throughout the book, the role of collaboration is key – with vendors, with utilities, within the company itself. Lamb examines aspects of greening IT that you may not have considered – incentives, virtualization, utilizing energy metrics, cooling equipment, and emerging technologies. You’ll find specific "how to’s" throughout the book, as well as important case studies that round out the book’s perspective on how IT leaders can move towards greener, more efficient data centers. The book also has excellent visuals throughout that illustrate key points, ideas and statistics to help business leaders grapple with and overcome key challenges to implementing a greener IT.

Throughout The Greening of IT, Lamb uses examples and facts from IBM research and studies. No wonder, as he is a Senior Technical Staff Member and Senior IT Architect for IBM Global Business Services. Lamb examines the future of green IT and the opportunities it presents for businesses.

The Greening of IT is available on Amazon.com.

Little has discovered what many of us fail to realize – how pervasive petroleum-based products are throughout our lives. From the plastics we take for granted to the fertilizers used to grow our food, from our clothing to the medicines we take to our transportation, our personal worlds revolve around fossil fuels – and we need to find a way to wean our selves and our country away from this.

Some of Little’s statistics are sobering:

• Of the 85 million barrels of petroleum consumed daily in the world, America consumes 21 million!
• Little says the US military uses between 135 – 145 million barrels of oil annually, a mere 2 percent of our annual demand.

Little reveals a meeting with Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Ibn Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia, where the two leaders agreed that the US "would provide military support to keep the royal dynasty in power and the Saudis would continue to give the US privileged access to their oil." From that day, presidents have cited "protecting Saudi security" as the underlying reason for securing and preserving the United States’ oil dependency.

An examination of the role and impact of oil in the military revealed that a shocking number of fatalities are directly attributable to the bombing of convoys carrying oil to troops. The military’s heavy dependence on oil is, in essence, killing our troops.

Throughout the book, Power Trip poses some important questions, including:

• Are we in danger of running out of oil?
• What essential policies should the federal government enact right now?
• How vulnerable is our electrical grid?
• What kind of timetable are we looking at for 100 percent renewable energy?

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (co-author of Not a Drop to Drink: America’s Water Crisis)
says, "Power Trip offers a panoramic view of our energy crisis, exploring past, present, and future with hope, passion and humor." Little incorporates interviews with industrial leaders, activists, academics, inventors, executives and policymakers, weaving it all into a must-have, must-read book.

Power Trip is available on Amazon.

As easy read, Simply Green is filled with all kinds of useful, creative ways to green every part of our lives: all the rooms in our home, our cars, outdoors, our kids, even our pets. It offers suggestions, tips and a lot of "how to’s".

There’s a lot of simple commonsense throughout this book. It covers things like buying your gas in the morning when it’s cool to ensure you get the best quality, novel ideas like using plants to help clean the air inside the house, and "You can’t do everything and you shouldn’t feel guilty because you can’t."

If that’s not enough, this useful resource covers creative crafts to do with your kids and making time to talk with them about green issues and ideas – to "nurture the green genes". For fun, it also has some great recipes, including Seligman’s salsa recipe and her Mom’s fried green tomato recipe.

There’s something for everyone in this fun book – from recycling to developing a kitchen ecosystem. "Stand up and do something," the book says. Everything in the book is simple, like go back to basics: walk don’t drive, use the dishwasher instead of washing by hand to conserve water, and, before you toss it, find the treasures in your trash (translate that to find ways to reuse some still useful things).

Simple small changes will become part of a routine lifestyle and those kinds of changes are the ones that last. The book offers an eclectic perspective with ample options for any family looking to be a little greener. You’ll find information you may already know plus plenty you hadn’t thought of before. This is definitely a book worth reading, with suggestions that will make a difference.

Simply Green is available at many independent bookstores and online at Amazon.com.

His book 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer is filled with fun "out there" ways to turn dead components into useful or at least interesting looking items.

Who would have thought of making a 3-string guitar from a computer? Or a Scanner compost bin? These are just a sample of what anyone can do following the instructions and photographs Sarafan provides.

A freelance media artist and graduate of Parsons School of Design, Sarafan has put together a fascinating book filled with creative projects rated from Novice to Geek Squad level in degree of difficulty. Each project is accompanied with instructions, diagrams, terrific pictures and the supplies you’ll need to create it.

Sarafan stresses safety first right from the beginning of the book. That’s especially important given some components contain serious chemicals and an electrical source. Still, "62 Projects.." demystifies electronics in language even the most serious novice can grasp, offering good explanations of how electronic components work.

This book offers something for everyone – a Cell phone Assassin Necklace for fashionistas, a PDA Doodler reminiscent of an Etch-a-Sketch, or a former circuit board turned into a Resistor Pillow.

62 Projects… is filled with fun, humor and creativity and, since a large majority of us have old computers or laptops sitting around gathering dust, we may as well do something with them. Even if you don’t consider yourself a do-it-yourselfer, this book has something even the least skilled can tackle and have fun doing.

As the book cover says: "Don’t Trash it – Transform it! It’s irresistible Geek chic!"

The book "opens the door to electronics as an art form; you can take old parts and create something that doesn’t use electricity at all," says one reviewer. It’s "a good book for the artist, for the electronic beginner or the person concerned about trashing things rather than finding a new purpose."

62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer is available online at Amazon.com.

Living Green: The Missing Manual, by Nancy Connor, is a comprehensive resource filled with tips, suggestions and go-to resources for greening your life at whatever level you want to.

Connor says it’s about lifestyle adjustments. Wanting to reach a broad spectrum of people, she wrote the book with a 3-pronged approach:

1. Healthy living – your home, lifestyle, recycling
2. Lifestyle – food, family, shopping and transportation
3. Energy efficiency – green building, renewable energy and taking action

Living Green presents options. Do a little or a lot, just choose what areas you want to address. These include:

1. Becoming aware of and reducing the chemicals in your home that produce VOC’s (volatile organic compounds – synthetic chemicals that can adversely affect your eyes, skin and breathing)
2. A do-it-yourself home energy audit to learn how efficient your home really is
3. "Repurposing" – finding new ways to use things you already have like using empty yogurt or cottage cheese containers to grow or water new seedlings
4. Options to creating a "green" baby home, including non-BPA baby products, low or zero VOC furnishings and making sure the products you use don’t contain formaldehyde.

Connor says there’s a flexibility of green living and that consumers effect the environment based on the choices they make. This is in line with the philosophy behind Seventh Generation products, which says every decision you make will effect up to the 7th generation.

"Doing your part makes a difference," Connor says in the forward to the book.

"The more people take steps to save the environment – reducing consumption, recycling and reusing, wasting less, becoming more energy efficient, insisting on renewable energy and sustainable industry – the effect builds."

Connor, who holds a PhD from Brown University, is the author of several other "Missing" manuals. She lives in Ithica, New York, named one of the greenest cities in the U.S, where she shops for organic produce at local farmers markets and browses second hand stores.

Living Green: The Missing Manual has something for everyone concerned about the environment who wants to do something to be a little greener. It retails for $19.99 or $15.99 as an e-book and is available in bookstores or online at Amazon.com.

This book offers some great information on a number of easy-to-follow steps to help you green your lifestyle.

Eco-Logical features a variety of facts and figures about the environment, climate change, energy choices, transportation and other aspects of our lifestyles, presenting them alongside of fun colorful graphics. Yarrow looks at both sides of these issues, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions.

This colorful small-ish book, printed on recycled paper, takes readers through issues including:

• The almost impossible concept of how to feed 9 billion people in the world
• carbon capture and storage – does it work or not
• nuclear power – the costs and problems of nuclear waste, its disposal and the issue of radiation
• how do we curb greenhouse gasses and help developing nations improve their standard of living

Yarrow discusses issues surrounding food, looking at organic farming, Fair Trade and the meat versus vegetarian argument. She also the different forms of renewable energy, from solar to biomass and even covering wave and tidal energies, always in clear concise understandable language.

For every point of view, Yarrow presents an equal and opposite perspective for each and every issue, leaving readers to make sense of both sides and draw their own conclusions.

An accomplished author. Eco-Logical is Yarrow’s third book on the environment. Her other book titles include: 1,001 Ways You Can Save the Planet and How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint (both written with co-author Duncan Baird). In her "day job", Yarrow is the Environmental Director of Beyond Green Ltd., a consulting firm focused on sustainability.

The book’s jacket says "No issue is black or white. Eco-Logical brings clarity to the many shades of green."

If you’re looking for a straightforward look at the diversity of environmental issues today, Eco-Logical is a useful choice. Containing hundreds of compelling facts and figures, it offers unbiased, clear information that lets you decide which side of the fence you want to stand on.

Eco-Logical is available on Amazon.com for around $11.00, though lower priced options are also available.

The use of alternative fuel is common nowadays because it is cheaper than gasoline or diesel. Also, alternative fuels contain substances which are environment friendly, as such, it can help save and conserve natural resources that are used in order to produce gasoline and provide efficient and clean fuel combustion.

One basic thing to know about alternative fuel is it may be readily used today. The most common machine that is powered by alternative fuel is a car or vehicle. There are many forms of fuel alternative available that may be used in one’s vehicle; it includes liquefied petroleum gas, ethanol, methanol, compressed natural gas, and electricity. The good thing about alternative fuel is that it cost less but without sacrificing the mileage. In addition, its components are made of substances that reduce the risk air pollution. A classic example is electricity. If your car is powered by electricity, there is no chance that air pollution may be emitted.

As stated a while ago, alternative fuel helps save the environment. It removes the risk of creating carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, unburned hydrocarbons and other particulate materials. The poisonous emissions stated usually come from gasoline and diesel powered vehicles and machineries. Alternative fuel minimizes these kinds of emissions, if not absolutely obliterate it.

Another thing to know about alternative fuel is that its materials can be found anywhere, including your own backyard. Some materials include old frying oil, used vegetable oil, recycled paper, plant wastes, animal manure, and other recyclable materials. However, don’t even think about putting vegetable oil in your vehicle. There is a process in converting these materials into alternative fuel.

Some fuel alternative uses a specific vehicle or engine in order to completely operate. This is commonly called as alternative fuel vehicle. Alternative fuel vehicles use a specific alternative fuel in order to work. Am example is an electricity powered car. When using this kind of vehicle, one must charge its battery in order to use it. It is like charging the battery of a digital camera or a cellular phone. The problem with alternative fuel vehicle is that they have a lower energy output. This means that gasoline or diesel vehicles provide farther mileage as compared to alternative fuel vehicles on a full tank basis. Another thing to take note is that alternative fuel vehicles cost more than the conventional gasoline or diesel automobile.

Fuel alternatives are not only used in vehicles, it may also be used in one’s industry or for the industrial operations. Some industrial machines use gasoline or diesel in order to function. Since diesel or gasoline is used, alternative fuel may be used as a replacement. Other industries are compelled by a law or a local ordinance to switch from gasoline to alternative fuels not only to minimize air population, but also to help the government to reduce the production of gasoline and diesel.

Globally, countries opt to operate every machine using alternative fuels. Air pollution is a big problem that a country needs to remedy. Through the use of alternative fuel, it will not only save our environment, but also, be an effective way to conserve our very limited resources.

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Recycling is Beautiful

Image by Scott Ableman

Accessory 3 ~ Brooch – recycled – Photo 2 of 2

Image by Urban Woodswalker

sterling recycling center

Image by kino-eye

Gardeners experience proves that the mixture of vermiculite, perlite, and organic potting soil (loose 100% organic soil mixture is also suitable) in equal proportions is the best for the successful organic hydroponics gardening. Such mixture offers the perfect upward capillary action of water and supply of CO2 and oxygen. Organic soil in the upper medium layer provokes microbial action.

Some growers practice mixing organic nutrients (e.g. worm castings) into the upper medium part. Others just distribute them on the surface of the grow medium and then spray them with water. Another way is to mix nutrients with half a cup of water and pour onto the top of the medium. Any of these methods ensure proper nutrients entrance into the soil mixture and good absorption by the plants primary roots.

The upper layer of the medium is also called "soil alternative", as it is the place where the nutrients are supplied to. It is treated as a standard soil container. To improve the capillary action of the water delivered by the lava rock at the bottom, it is recommended to spray the soil alternative once or twice a day with water.

Creating your organic gardening using hydroponics system pay special attention to the level of the pumped water, this must not moisten the upper part of the medium. If this happens, the nutrients, delivered to this soil part of the growing medium, will be washed out into the water reservoir, becoming unavailable for the upper part of the plants root system.

The usual watering cycle takes about half an hour to make the whole upper part of the medium wet. If this time is not enough, you may set the timer to prolong the cycles. It is also possible to spray the upper half of the growing medium with water in addition to the regular pump-triggered watering. Remember that soil-based part should never be soaked in water – being moist is enough for growing organic plants.

Reduction is the first and most effective way to eliminate waste. To reduce waste we must consume less. This might involve the most work for individuals. For example, cooking fresh foods reduces the amount of packaging we throw away. If enough people reduce their consumption by living a simpler lifestyle, then companies will produce less, and there will be a large scale reduction in waste.

Reuse comes next in the hierarchy, before recycling. Reuse is also called "primary recycling" – use of the same product for the same purpose again and again. Empty bottles can be refilled with liquids; empty Chinese food containers can be used to store leftovers; old computers can be donated; reusable diapers can cut down on bulky diapers; and e-readers and computers can substitute for printed newspapers, which are a large portion of landfill waste. Organic waste can be composted, rather than thrown away, and then used in next year’s vegetable garden. Choosing a reusable product saves you money and keeps material from entering a landfill.

Why does recycling comes last in the hierarchy? What we think of as recycling is actually known as "secondary recycling," the process of using bulk materials from recycled products to make new products. Despite advances in technology, recycling still fails to reclaim some products, like complex mixes of plastic (#7), greasy pizza boxes, or glass that breaks on the way to the recycling facility. Recycling consumes energy. Some materials, like aluminum and steel cans, consume remarkably little energy to reprocess. Plastics, however are cheaper to manufacture from raw materials. Recycling is more sustainable than landfilling, though, and the extra cost and effort are necessary in greening our way of life.

The waste hierarchy can be applied at any level, not just in the home. Manufactures should be encouraged to design products and processes with materials that can be used again, or that can be recycled. This cradle-to-cradle paradigm for materials usage is already attracting followers, and cradle-to-cradle certification is available for companies that use this method to develop products that create minimal waste in their lifecycles.

Any materials that cannot be reduced, reused, or recycled still must be disposed of in some way. Options like incineration or landfilling are not part of the three Rs, and are not desirable for many communities. Many of us believe they are too dangerous and unsustainable to justify their use at all – this is why we try to come up with alternatives. Eliminating waste will require creativity and dedication. Modern societies have no long-standing traditions to guide how we use our materials, and many of the materials available to use have never been seen before on earth. It is far easier and more profitable to be wasteful, and we’ve all learned recently that the market does not necessarily lead to the most ethical ways of doing things. What we choose to do with our materials today may determine humanity’s quality of life for thousands of years to come.