Green Wish Community News

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Celebrity Endorsements and Charity: Creating Campaigns with Compassion and Credibility
A new method for evaluating celebrity involvement in charity campaigns.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1679242/celebrity_endorsements_and_charity.html

Ed Begley Jr joins Non-profit Start-up Green Wish for its Official Launch in Honor of Earth Day 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Headed by Actor Raphael Sbarge, Green Wish will Help Raise Funds for Local “Going Green” Projects in Communities across America

Los Angeles, CA. Green Wish Inc., a start-up grassroots, non-profit charity with a focus on making local green projects come true, is officially launching their organization on April 20, 2009, in honor of Earth Day. The group is proud to name actor, environmentalist, Ed Begley Jr as spokesperson and member of their board of directors.

With growing concerns about the United States consuming 25 per cent of the world’s energy and generating 25 percent of global pollution, actor and father, Raphael Sbarge, and actress and wife, Lisa Akey, wanted to make a positive impact on the environment for the future of their children; and Green Wish was created. The organization received their 501(c)3 non-profit status and pulled together a team of well-known environmentalists such as Ed Begley Jr and Rachelle Carson Begley to help them build awareness for their unique program.

Green Wish is focused on helping local communities raise funds and fulfill their “green wish” no matter how large or small. Asking for donations in “give what you can” denominations makes it easy for anyone to give. Green Wish hopes to expand its online donation program to local markets and chain retailers who want to help give back to their local communities by collecting donations. Green Wish is using social media to help get the word out online, from donation sites such as YourCause.com and GuideStar to fund-raising parties on Twitter to Facebook. Green Wish has also collaborated with MomTV and NewBaby.com to help build awareness with the Mom community through video blogs as well as the “green” blogger community.

“We are so fortunate to have Ed Begley Jr and his wife, Rachelle Carson Begley, both environmentally active actors, join us on the Board of Green Wish,” said founder, Raphael Sbarge. “It makes the countless hours that we are all putting into building this program to benefit communities across the US achievable.”

Green Wish has created an online community to serve two groups of visitors, those who have green projects they need funding for and those who have green wishes or ideas they want to share with the community. By submitting your green project online, organizations across the US can have access to building awareness for their cause as well as get funding for it. Each month, causes selected by the Green Wish team will be spotlighted on the website and receive funds for their cause. Green Wish will work with these communities to help build awareness locally for offline as well as online fund-raising programs. Updates on how the projects are going will also be shared on the community, so visitors can see the success of their support at the local community level.

Between star power and the power of social media, Green Wish hopes they can raise awareness and the funds needed to help local communities get their green projects going. “It is truly something to look forward to as a parent, knowing we are doing everything we can to help seed the future with Green Wishes,” says Sbarge.

About Green Wish
Green Wish Inc is a grassroots, non-profit charitable organization that is focused on helping local green organizations and groups fund projects for their communities through small donations at local retailers and online in "pay what you can" denominations. Green Wish grants "Green Wishes" to different groups each month from submissions to their website, which are vetted by the board of directors. Board members of Green Wish Inc also include Ed Begley Jr and his wife, Rachelle Carson Begley, well-known actors and environmentalists. The Begley’s are also the stars of the hit show Living with Ed. Green Wish is also listed as a charitable organization with GuideStar and YourCause where online donations can be made.

Earth Day 2009 marks the beginning of the Green Generation Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 06:39:00 +0000

Earth Day 2009, April 22, marks the beginning of the Green Generation CampaignTM.

This two-year initiative will culminate with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 will be a day of action and civic participation, to defend the Green Generation’s core principles: Family with windmills: Renewable energy for future generations.

* A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.

* An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.

* Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.

Under the umbrella of the Green GenerationTM, thousands of events are currently being planned in schools, communities, villages, towns and cities around the world. As in 2008, on April 19th Earth Day Network will celebrate Earth Day on the

* National Mall

in Washington, DC, plus large-scale volunteer events in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, Atlanta, and DC in partnership with

* Green Apple Festival

The Green Apple Network has announced free concerts in 10 cities with famous music acts. Find one near you, or just find out how you can get involved hugging and planting trees this Earth Day.

Sign up to volunteer!

Earth Day network partners in Cleveland, Columbus, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Beijing, and Manila, among others, are planning large events where everyone can participate.

Find an event or activity near you!

Linda Ellerbee & Nick News Celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 19

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Nick News with Linda Ellerbee CELEBRATES EARTH DAY BY exploring THE LIVES OF KIDS LIVING IN ENERGY-SUFFICIENT HOUSEHOLDS on a kid off the grid, premiering Sunday, April 19, on Nickelodeon

Special to Feature the Home and Lifestyle of Actor/Environmental Activist Ed Begley Jr. and His Daughter Hayden

NEW YORK, April 9, 2009 – People who don’t use energy from the electric company are said to be living “off the grid.” As many as 350,000 U.S. households now meet their own energy needs, and it’s estimated that close to four or five million homes will be going off the grid in the next 10 years. To commemorate Earth Day on April 22, the Emmy Award-winning series Nick News with Linda Ellerbee explores the lives of families who are off the grid in various ways and shows us what it is like to be a kid living in an energy self-sufficient household, on A Kid off the Grid, premiering Sunday, April 19, at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.

“For most of us, going off the grid is more of a goal than a reality and requires sacrifices, and nobody seems to understand that quicker or better than kids,” said Linda Ellerbee. “We can’t continue living on this planet as if we had another one to go to. Anything we can do to help protect our natural resources, really helps to protect us.”

Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village is a community in Rutledge, Missouri, that is entirely off the grid. Their homes are made out of recycled materials. They get their energy from solar panels, grow their own food and filter their own water from rainfall. Rowan, a kid who lives in the community, says, “We keep track of the weather because if it’s not going to be sunny for a few days, we have to conserve it for lights so we don’t turn on any video games or radio.” The theory is: People will eventually have to learn to do with less — and it’s not as hard as it sounds. The kids at Dancing Rabbit agree.

Actor and activist Ed Begley Jr., known for riding his bike to red carpet events, who says he “wanted to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem,” lives in an eco-friendly home in Studio City, Calif. His nine-year-old daughter Hayden explains what life is like be a movie star’s kid who lives in a house where you get your energy from solar panels, recycle, use biodegradable soaps and detergents, and grow your own vegetables. Hayden says, “It’s our responsibility to protect the environment because we are the people of the world.” When Ed drives, he uses his electric car (powered by solar energy), or his bike, or — his favorite — his feet. Ed adds, “With six billion of us on the planet, I think we need to live simply so that others can simply live.”

Some other “city” people are beginning to try to move away from the grid. Alexis, from Bronx, NY, has a rooftop garden on her building, known as a Greenroof. Greenroofs help lower overall building energy costs because of their natural thermal insulation, making structures cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. In Oakland, Calif., Isaiah helps save the environment by walking to school rather than driving, unplugging devices from the wall when he isn’t using them, and turning off the water when brushing his teeth. Isaiah, says, “One person shutting the light off would make a big difference and if that person told the next couple of people to shut their lights off that would make an even bigger difference. It’s like dropping a stone in the water; it ripples outward and the ripple gets bigger and bigger.”

Get Rid of Plastic Bags… And Plastic!

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:43:00 +0000

The raw material of plastic bags is oil. Therefore, the more we use plastic bags, the more we waste oil - a non-renewable energy source.
The petroleum-based plastic bags take decades to break down, so if they are not recycled they litter. It creates visual pollution: in the streets, on the beaches etc. Also, they can clog roadside drains, which could cause street flooding during heavy rainfall.
Plastic bags can be recycled but it rarely happens: according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, only 1% of plastic bags were recycled in 2000, against twenty percent for paper bags.
They endanger wildlife and particularly sea life such as sea turtles and dolphins which can die of entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion because they assume that these bags are jellyfish.

Read the rest of this story at the EarthDay website by clicking here.

What's Your Footprint?

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Find out how many planets it takes to support your lifestyle.

Top 10 Most Polluted Places in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:05:00 +0000

Number of people potentially affected: 3,000,000
Type of pollutant: Coal and particulates
Source of pollution: Automobile and industrial emissions

Follow this link to see the Top 10 Most Polluted Places in the World as chronicled by Time Magazine

Earth Hour 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Lights went out in 4,085 cities | 88 countries in the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change in history!

Check out these sites around the globe from Earth Hour 2009 - March 28, 2009.

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Coming this spring... a new organization that seeks out local green projects and organizations to help you get your wish - to have a greener community.

Please join us by sharing what YOUR green wish is... watch for more updates and follow us on Twitter @GreenWishTM.

18th Annual EMA - Ed Begley Jr Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:15:00 +0000

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs for Consumer

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:14:00 +0000

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Earning the Government’s ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs

ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
Save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
Produce about 75 percent less heat, so they’re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.
Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors.

Learn the facts about mercury in CFLs.

Recycling information for ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs may be found at www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling or www.earth911.org.

How to Choose and Where to Use CFLs

ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs provide the greatest savings in fixtures that are on for a substantial amount of time each day. At a minimum, ENERGY STAR recommends installing qualified CFLs in fixtures that are used at least 15 minutes at a time or several hours per day. The best fixtures to use qualified CFLs in are usually found in the following areas of your home:

family and living rooms
kitchen
dining room
bedrooms
outdoors

How to Choose the Right Light

Matching the right CFL to the right kind of fixture helps ensure that it will perform properly and last a long time.

For example:

CFLs perform best in open fixtures that allow airflow, such as table and floor lamps, wall sconces, pendants, and outdoor fixtures.
For recessed fixtures, it is better to use a reflector CFL than a spiral CFL since the design of the reflector evenly distributes the light down to your task area.
If a light fixture is connected to a dimmer or three-way socket fixture, you’ll need to use a special ENERGY STAR qualified CFL designed to work in these applications. Make sure to look for CFLs that specify use with dimmers or three-way fixtures.
Choose a qualified CFL that offers a shade of white light that works best for you. For example, while most CFLs provide warm or soft white light for your home, you could choose a cooler color for task lighting.
To choose the ENERGY STAR qualified CFL with the right amount of light, find a qualified CFL that is labeled as equivalent to the incandescent bulb you are replacing. Light bulb manufacturers include this information right on the product packaging to make it easy for consumers to choose the equivalent bulb. Common terms include “Soft White 60” or “60 Watt Replacement.”

You should also check the lumen rating to find the right CFL. The higher the lumen rating, the greater the light output. Consult the following chart to determine what CFL wattage is best to replace your incandescent light bulb:

You might have heard that the government is requiring all light bulbs to be more efficient in the next few years. Learn more.

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Reality TV Meets Conservationist Ed Begley Jr
Ed Begley Jr.s HGTV show "Living With Ed" has a rather unique twist on any other shows that are seen on HGTV. With each show you will learn how Ed and Rachelle Begley live their lives in Studio City, California, rather than in the plush lifestyle of Beverly Hills.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/152357/reality_tv_meets_conservationist_ed.html

Going, Going, Green, From Composting to Clubbing, Innovations to Expand Your Eco-Vision

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:41:00 +0000

By Eviana Hartman

Special to The Washington Post

If skyrocketing oil prices, the booming world population and the threat of global warming hadn't already grabbed people's attention, last week's record power demand and air-quality warnings certainly served as a reminder that the world faces pressing questions about its climate and energy use.

While "doing something for the environment" once meant tossing a newspaper in a recycling bin or buying organic lettuce, now nearly every aspect of daily life -- from the toilets we flush to the flowers that decorate our dinner tables -- is being radically rethought. Entrepreneurs, scientists and thinkers are working to transform industry so that it functions more like nature, lessening pollution and inefficiency while propelling the economy forward. Here are 13 ideas -- some far-fetched and far-off, others thriving right here, right now -- that can make the world a greener place.

PLASTIC FROM PLANTS

Plastic is one of the most useful materials, but also one of the most environmentally problematic. While its light weight saves fuel in cars and during shipping of goods, most plastics are produced using petroleum and toxic chemicals. When burned, as some garbage is, more toxic compounds are released.

The new breed of biodegradable and plant-based plastic containers and tools offer almost all of plastic's benefits and few of its ecological drawbacks. They are usually derived from non-genetically modified corn and wheat, which means they can be composted or will biodegrade (though in tightly sealed landfills, they might not). One polymer, developed at the University of Warwick in England, biodegrades into soil in which plants can grow. Biota ( http://www.biotaspringwater.com/ ), the first spring water with a biodegradable plastic bottle, launched in the western United States in 2004.

Locally, bioplastics are available at Future Green (1469 Church St. NW, 202-234-7110) and Java Green (1020 19th St. NW, 202-775-8899, http://www.javagreen.net/ ), a cafe that serves organic coffee, runs on wind energy and uses biodegradable takeout dishware.

SUSTAINABLE NIGHTCLUB

Energy can be harvested from just about anywhere: rivers, the sun, wind . . . and hyperactive club kids. The latter is the rationale behind Club Double Dee, which dubs itself the world's first sustainable dance club.

Scheduled to open in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the club is a cooperative project between Enviu, an international organization promoting sustainable entrepreneurship; Doll Lab, a Dutch architecture firm; and Off Corso, a local dance club. Not only is Double Dee considering serving organic beer and using a rainwater collection system for toilets, but it may actually be powered by dancing: Springs beneath the floor would capture motion energy to be converted into electricity. Enviu is remaining tight-lipped about the specifics of the project until its public presentation on Oct. 7, an event that the organization's Web site, http://www.enviu.org/ , touts as "the beginning of a new era; an era in which sustainability will be hip and trendy."

CLOTHING SWAPS

The EPA estimates that more than 10 million tons of textile waste went to U.S. landfills in 2003. Why contribute to the problem? Swaporamarama, the brainchild of Wendy Tremayne, is an innovative series of events designed to bring people together and reuse unwanted clothing. Show up with a bag of old clothes and $10. Then, you can roam around, pick as many items as you can carry, and take them to sewing stations, where designers and artists will customize or tailor them -- or teach you to do it yourself. A fashion runway, open to all, only adds to the fun.

Swaporamarama hit D.C. on April 22 (Earth Day), but another one is in the works for Baltimore (go to http://www.swaporamarama.com/ to join the mailing list). Or, if you can't wait, visit Clothesswap.meetup.com to connect with like-minded swappers in the area.

"The thousands of pounds of free clothing demonstrate the fantastic surplus that we live amongst," says Tremayne. "And once we imbue our objects with meaning, the byproduct of adding our creative energy to it, these objects are far less likely to wind up in the trash."

BIOFUELS

Biodiesel -- one of the green movement's biggest buzzwords -- is diesel fuel derived from a combination of alcohol and animal or vegetable fats, instead of petroleum. Diesel cars and trucks can run on it without any conversions, and while burning biofuels still produces carbon dioxide, the levels released are much lower, the exhaust contains fewer carcinogens and growing the crops to produce it actually absorbs carbon dioxide.

Commercial biodiesel may be more expensive than regular diesel or gasoline, but the fuel economy is significantly better. In smog-choked Los Angeles, there's a new full-service biofuel center, Lovecraft Biofuels (Mandy Moore is a customer). Unfortunately, there's no one-stop shop yet in the D.C. area; for fuel stations that sell biodiesel in Maryland and Virginia, go to http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites .

Even cheaper than commercial biodiesel is straight vegetable oil -- some restaurants will even give it away for free (though, technically, using it hasn't been approved by the EPA). This option requires a conversion kit, which should be installed by a mechanic. "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" by Joshua Tickell (Tickell Energy Consultants, $24.95) is Amazon's most popular how-to guide.

COMPOSTING TOILETS

Though you probably want what's in your toilets to go far, far away, composting toilets -- which trap waste to produce fertilizing mulch -- make a lot of environmental sense. Instead of sending waste into the sewer system, the air-suction driven, mostly waterless toilets store it in a hidden, sealed chamber, where air circulates to decompose the material in a peat moss base. Microbes and worms help with the process. Users remove the final product -- rich, garden-ready fertilizer -- every few months. While the toilets (which range from about $1,000 to $2,000) are frequently used for homes, camps and resorts in remote locations where running water and sewer lines are expensive or prohibitive, they're also suitable for local homeowners (some municipalities may have special regulations governing their use). And the suction of air, the companies claim, makes them odor-free. Try http://www.envirolet.com/ , http://www.biolet.com/ , http://www.sun-mar.com/ or http://www.compostingtoilet.com/ .

CARBON NEUTRAL

However we try to reduce our energy consumption, as human beings in the industrial age we still produce carbon dioxide -- from driving, using electricity at home and flying on airplanes. The "carbon neutral" concept lets individuals do their part to slow the process: Your carbon dioxide emissions -- whether for a year of driving, your household's annual use or a flight -- are counterbalanced by an investment in renewable-energy initiatives (such as wind power) or by planting trees.

Al Gore buys credits to neutralize the flights he takes for his global warming speaking tour (as seen in "An Inconvenient Truth"), and festivals such as Bonnaroo went carbon-neutral this summer. The World Cup did the same through its Green Goal Initiative, which sponsored sustainable-energy projects in rural India.

Carbon offset credits are purchased through a third party such as the Silver Spring-based nonprofit Carbonfund.org. On most sites, the amount of carbon dioxide an individual produces is determined by a "carbon calculator," which then offers up the appropriate package to clear your conscience (or someone else's: The certificates can be given as gifts). At Carbonfund, the cost of offsetting an individual's energy consumption for one year is $55, or $99 to be "Zero Carbon" (this factors in the carbon emitted to grow and manufacture things you consume).

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS ORGANICS

Organic food has hit the mainstream, but your dinner plate isn't the only place that can go green. Conventional household cleaning products can be noxious, especially in confined spaces, and brands such as Seventh Generation and Ecover (both available at natural food stores) offer an alternative. Too busy to do the work yourself? D.C.-based service Little Green Men ( http://www.littlegreendifferent.com/ ) uses nontoxic products, and rags instead of paper towels, to clean homes and offices.

Cut flowers are often produced under less-than-green conditions, even though they seem to embody the very essence of nature: The industry makes heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers. Flowers grown without chemicals and harvested under ethical conditions can be ordered at Organicbouquet.com, or choose stems marked with the Veriflora organic certification symbol at your local florist.

HOLY GREEN

Some religious groups are focusing their considerable clout on ecological issues, arguing that the planet and its species are, after all, God's creation. The Evangelical Environmental Network, a Pennsylvania-based group, has orchestrated such initiatives as "What Would Jesus Drive?" (a touring church discussion about the perils of reliance on oil) and protests against mercury pollution, which disproportionately affects unborn children. Equal Exchange's Interfaith Program has supplied about 8,000 U.S. churches and synagogues with organic, shade-grown coffee during the past two years.

Locally, Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light works with congregations to help their facilities convert to renewable energy. Sojourners, a D.C.-based progressive Christian magazine, published a special issue about the environment in 2004 and regularly covers the topic. And the national organization Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is now sponsoring a drive to install efficient compact-fluorescent light bulbs (it's subtitled "How Many Jews Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?"). Shomrei Adamah, Hebrew for "Guardians of the Earth," is its D.C. affiliate.

REUSEABLE E-PAPER

The environmental argument is familiar enough: Paper comes from trees, and trees are worth preserving. (And even though paper can be recycled, it still requires energy to produce and transport it.) The Internet was supposed to kill the printed word, but the tactile pleasure of holding a book, newspaper or magazine has remained inimitable -- that is, until recently.

At Frankfurt's Plastics Electronics trade fair last fall, German tech giant Siemens unveiled computer screens that are paper-thin -- quite literally -- and can transmit moving and still images. The technology can be used for magazine advertisements and computer games, and could eventually replace paper: Publications could take the form of chips or even wireless transmissions, allowing the reader to continually reuse the same set of pages.

FECAL MATTERS

It may seem a mere nuisance to city dwellers, but animal waste needn't go to waste. In San Francisco, dogs produce as much as 6,500 tons of the stuff per year; what doesn't end up wrapped in plastic bags for all eternity can leach its unfriendly bacteria into the bay or the water supply. The city, through a company called Norcal Waste, is initiating a pilot program in which droppings from one busy dog park are collected with biodegradable bags and processed by a machine called a methane digester, in which bacteria process the feces. The methane gas produced as a result is, essentially, natural gas -- the same stuff used in stoves and heaters. It sounds far-fetched, but farms and European cities have been doing it for years, and similar processes that create methane energy from landfills are widely in use. One such landfill is in Fauquier County -- which partially powers EPA headquarters in downtown Washington.

CRADLE TO CRADLE

Would you feel better about seeing someone throw a plastic bottle out a car window if you knew it was made of biodegradable plant-based plastic and had a tree seed inside? While that idea hasn't been put into production yet, the product design manifesto that spawned it, "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" (North Point Press, $25), has caused a sensation on the green scene since its 2002 publication.

The authors, architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, argue that instead of being designed to end up in the trash, products should be designed more like nature, where waste is broken down into usable materials. McDonough and Braungart have since formed a consulting firm (clients include Ford and Nike) that also grants products a C2C-certified rating. Awardees thus far include recyclable office chairs and flushable, biodegradable diaper inserts made from sustainably harvested wood pulp.

PREFAB SHIPPING CONTAINER HOUSES

U.S. ports are home to millions of unused corrugated-steel shipping containers. Standard in size, easily transportable and sturdy, the containers are now being envisioned by some architects as frames for modernist houses and apartment buildings.

For now, the concept exists more on the drawing board than in real life: Architects have drawn up plans for entire communities, like FXFowle's award-winning design for Gloucester Green in Massachusetts. (New York firm LOT-EK has also created a design for a library made from discarded airplane fuselages.) One architect, Adam Kalkin, has put theory into practice: He takes orders for his pre-fab Quik House online ( http://www.architectureandhygiene.com/ ). Prices for the industrial-chic structures range from $76,000 for the basic glass-and-steel kit -- bring your contractor -- to $160,000 for a fully equipped model with plumbing, HVAC and everything else but the foundation (that's up to you). "They are fascinating objects to me," Kalkin says. As for the potential resale value of a steel house? "Hard to say, but Frank Gehry could not give away his own iconic house when he wanted to sell it [years ago]. Now there is a long line for his signature buildings."

GREEN BURIALS

Yes, even returning to the earth can be done in a more earth-friendly way. Traditional funerals place chemically embalmed bodies in sealed containers, while cemeteries require not-so-green upkeep in the form of gasoline-powered lawn mowers and chemical grass fertilizers. And coffins, after all, are made of wood from trees (or wood chips glued together with formaldehyde).

Green burial sites feel more like nature preserves, and that's the idea: Practitioners emphasize the use of biodegradable, renewable-material coffins (or none at all), natural stones over headstones, and the planting of flowers and trees. An added bonus: It's significantly cheaper (a green burial might cost $2,000, vs. $6,000 for many conventional funerals). The closest green burial sites to the D.C. area listed on http://www.forestofmemories.org/ , which keeps a database, are Ramsey Creek in Westminster, S.C., and Greensprings Natural Cemetery in Upstate New York.

One company, Eternal Reefs ( http://www.eternalreefs.com/ ), offers a twist on the concept: They'll mix cremated ashes with concrete to create artificial coral reefs, which are then lowered into the sea to provide marine life with a new habitat. Prices start at $995 for a spot in a "shared community reef."

Sunday, August 6, 2006; M01

Companies discover going green pays off

noreply@blogger.com (Green Wish) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:19:00 +0000

By Edward Iwata, USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — A growing wave of companies in all sectors — technology, financial services, energy, retail, manufacturing — are embracing environmentally safe practices and saving hundreds of millions of dollars, according to corporate leaders and an environmental group's report Tuesday.

SunPower (STI), Sierra Nevada Brewing, Patagonia, Ikea, Nike (NKE), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), UPS (UPS), Yahoo (YHOO) and others are using green practices in their work sites, in product development and packaging, in energy-saving data centers and other technology, according to a report by the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund.

STORY: Honda to sell new gas-electric hybrid next year

The report was released here at a news conference featuring green-friendly CEOs and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

David Yarnold, the fund's executive director, says green business practices "can create competitive advantage" and "strengthen the bottom line."

Technology giant Sun Microsystems (JAVA), for one, aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2012 through a range of practices, from using cooler, energy-saving technology in its computer chips to allowing thousands of its 34,400 employees to work at home.

Permitting employees to telecommute has saved hundreds of millions of dollars in the past six years in real estate and fuel costs. Sun also hauled in $1 billion in revenue last year on its Niagara 1 server computer system, which uses power-saving chips.

Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz calls the technology "a bus" that gets the job done efficiently and economically, rather than a flashy, gas-guzzling Ferrari.

Fireman's Fund Insurance offers its commercial customers insurance policies promising their property, if destroyed by fire or disaster, will be rebuilt using green materials, heating and lighting.

The policies, which are growing quickly in popularity among Fireman's clients, will be available to homeowners in June, according to Chairman Charles Kavitsky.

One clear sign that the product is making money: Competitors are imitating it, Kavitsky says.

Schwarzenegger said green companies and environmentally friendly laws in California — such as its Million Solar Roofs Plan, which provides an energy-bill credit for homeowners and building owners to install solar systems — will lead by example.

"Are we going to wipe out global warming? Of course not," Schwarzenegger said. "But we're inspiring … the rest of the world to do the same thing."