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 By: Arto Torosoglu
Year after year young men and women set off to college to acquire an education. Usually, students choose campus housing also known as dorms. Nowadays, even getting your dorm room to be eco-friendly is simpler than ever. With some effort, an imagination and a few helpful tips from EnviroCitizen.org, you will be on your way to a more sustainable living environment.
Many of these students want to indulge in the “college experience” which would obviously include leaving their homes. However, they must be careful that they don’t end up having items sent in from home and everywhere else on a regular basis. Instead, it is wiser to look for what is needed locally or store items away until the next term. Many schools organize forms of transportation for this.
One of the most environmentally-friendly things you can do as a student is to give up air conditioning. It really isn’t needed as much as you think. As you may well know, most of the time spent living on campus is not in the dorms. Many universities make it really easy for you to be green already by banning air conditioner (AC) units in dorms to save the energy costs. That doesn’t stop many clever students from sneaking them in. The trouble is, after groups of students sneak something in, it all adds up. This means the potential for hundreds of thousands of energy-sucking AC units. Instead of AC, why not try opening a window, using a fan, taking a cooler shower before bed or just be outside. Of course, if you have to have AC for allergies or some other reason, be sure to get an Energy Star certified, low-energy unit if you absolutely cannot go without one.
While you are trying to go local, instead of buying new items from a major retailer, try looking on sites that offer used or secondhand goods. It will save money and create a truly unique room. Better yet, look for free, used stuff. Take a look at Freecycle or your local classified ads to see if there are any items like beds, desks or lamps that you can get for free. If you choose to stay during the semester, your university may have a day that coordinates furniture exchange or recycling. You can also try to find other dorm mates who want to get rid of items to lighten their loads if they are moving out.
Linens for your new room will make up the bulk of the rest of your buying. When you look for sheets, curtains or towels, go for organic cotton if possible. It will be the same the exact same material, but the cotton for the sheet was not exposed to pesticides or other harmful chemicals.
By Arto Torosoglu
If the green movement were to ever reach its pinnacle, we would certainly need everybody to take the initiative to follow through with change. With sports teams spending billions of dollars on new stadiums, you can only imagine how many materials and different types of machinery were used to construct them. They consume resources at tremendous rates not only to build the stadium but to maintain them as well. Then when the fans come to the games, they buy soda, beer, food, etc. which produces tons of waste. Imagine what a dent we could make in this green movement if our 400+billion dollar sports industry began to acknowledge the change. Well luckily, that’s what is beginning to happen. Different sports organizations are making an effort to engage the environmental problems that these massive sporting events may cause. Major League Baseball is one of the first organizations to do so. They have implemented a Team Greening Program to consult the teams on how to conduct environmentally friendly practices. “In March 2008, Major League Baseball and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced the creation of the Team Greening Program which has been developing for two years. This program supports and coordinates the many environmentally-sensitive practices now pursued by virtually every Major League Baseball Club.” (MLB.com)The MLB has probably taken the largest step so far and is only looking to expand.
Ranked as America’s number one sport, football has also taken steps to go green. Their changes are not quite as dramatic as the MLB’s, however any change is good change. Some of the teams now have their jerseys made with recycled materials to avoid consuming new resources. Arguably the greenest team in the NFL right now is the Philadelphia Eagles. They have taken various different steps to get not only the team involved but the employees and staff as well. “Team employees are offered reimbursement if they sign up with their local power company for renewable energy. So far, said Grant, 112 of the Eagles’ 200 employees have taken the deal.” (Potter) By offering these incentives you are more likely to get people involved for the right reasons. Some of the other teams that have contributed are the Indianapolis Colts, the Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, and the Houston Texans. As time goes on, hopefully we can get more of the teams involved to further the changes needed to preserve the environment.
Although hockey is not the most popular sport in America, it has made large moves to promote a green culture and make changes to the sport to better the environment. “The NHL also announced today that it will replace 30,000 plastic shopping bags with reusable bags during the Stanley Cup Final. The commemorative bags, which feature the 2010 Stanley Cup Final logo, will be available for a limited time to consumers who make purchases of $10 or more at arena shops in the two Stanley Cup Final markets and at the NHL Powered by Reebok store in midtown New York City.” Such a powerful move and it is only one of the thousands of different things that they have begun to do. They have all of the teams involved and have gotten all of the players and staff involved as well. The NHL is looking to make the green initiative a year round issue and do its best to get the fans involved as well.
Sports command an enormous amount of attention from the public and it is fantastic to see that they take time out of their lives to promote this green culture. Teams have such a powerful influence on their fan bases that this idea of getting players involved can really teach us to take the extra step to be more environmentally-friendly. Although some organizations have done more than others, we should be grateful that the green movement is even acknowledged. With a continued drive to improve, sports will increase interest in environmental preservation and increase overall sustainability.
By Ralph Santoni
The past few years have seen an explosion in interest in solar power projects. Environmental concerns combined with a slowdown in the return of more traditional investments has helped fuel this growing appetite. A wide variety of investment opportunities are available. These range from direct investment in fledgling solar companies to the purchase of shares in large solar energy index funds. Even more complex investment vehicles are available for the savvy individual or institutional  investor. As with all investments, you should only choose vehicles you understand and consult an expert for advice before committing any money. Online discussions of solar investment with other investors can also be helpful.
Investment in Solar Power on the Rise
Solar Projects around the World
Interest in solar energy projects is not confined to the United States. Solar projects have been springing up around the world. Spain has been a leader in large scale solar projects. Among the most notable are several large Concentrated Solar facilities, both built and in the planning stages. Portugal, inspired by its next door neighbor, has seen many small and medium size solar projects spring up lately. Algeria and other North African countries are exploring ways to capture solar energy in the Sahara Desert and transport the electricity to Europe. Among the most exciting projects is one in India to use solar energy to power mobile phone networks.
Affordable Solar Technology
Making use of solar energy is not limited to large-scale industrial or government financed projects. There has been a recent boom in the number of affordable consumer products designed to harness the energy of the sun to help power your home. Roof-top solar panels are the most obvious examples but there are many other products. Among the most affordable are solar-powered battery chargers. These allow you to deploy a simple solar panel whenever the sun is shining and recharge batteries for a variety of uses.
Having Fun with the Sun
Not all consumer solar products are designed around the serious need to replace energy derived from hydrocarbons with renewable watts from the sun. Some solar products are just intended to engender fun, excitement and a sense of play. Solar powered toy cars can zip around the racetrack indefinitely. Solar-powered pond lights can drift around the water at night bringing the ripples to magical, colorful life. Perhaps the most wonderfully decorative example is a solar powered fountain. It can be put in any well lit space to enliven it with the soothing sights and sounds of flowing water.
By Arto Torosoglu
It is arguable as to when exactly the green movement started, but most would point to April 22, 1970, the date of the first Earth Day in United States history. The nation began to accept that there were environmental issues that needed to be addressed, and people started to come together to fight for the cause. Another place accepted the green movement as well, Hollywood. Studios and independent filmmakers began to portray their views of the various environmental problems. Some were a little more plausible and accurate than others. Hollywood’s interpretation on the environment was basing movies on eventual chaos and mass destruction. Some may remember movies like “Fire Down Below” starring Steven Segal, or “The Day After Tomorrow” starring Dennis Quaid. Independent filmmakers had a different approach creating documentaries about certain topics and investigating them to their core. Envrirocitizen.org has recognized their efforts and respects their drive to promote a green culture through informative filmmaking. Here are some green movies that are not only popular, but truly fantastic at illustrating its purpose and the problem it represents. They are in no specific order.
Food Inc. – Directed by Robert Kenner
Director Robert Kenner takes us on an adventure through the world of corporate food production showing us where exactly are food is coming from. We as Americans don’t feel the need to know where our cows are grown and how our vegetables are cultivated. We just go to the supermarkets and assume that because they are on the shelves that they are fine. Food Inc. shows us how terribly wrong we are about where our food comes from and how they exploit our natural resources to create chemicals for mass production. It was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Original Documentary”.
An Inconvenient Truth – Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Al Gore who is most recognized for his term as Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2003, is also quite the environmental activist. Director Davis Guggenheim follows Gore through his travels to educate the American people about the environmental problems. He goes to locations presenting a slide show that demonstrates the data and predictions made for climate change in the future at the rate we are going. He communicates what we as Americans must do in order to solve these problems before we face even larger ones. The film won two Academy Awards, “Best Documentary” and “Best Achievement in Music”.
Erin Brockovich – Directed By Steven Soderbergh
Erin Brockovich who is played by Julia Roberts, luckily acquires a job at the law office she owes money to after a car accident trial that she lost. While working at the law office, she finds a case regarding a corporation and while reading the details realizes that the information doesn’t make sense. The corporation was poisoning the Town of Hinkley with the pollution they were releasing into the town’s water supply. The corporation knew of the problem and orchestrated a cover-up of the entire matter. Erin battles the corporation to bring justice to the people of Hinkley. Julia Roberts won an Oscar for “Best Actress” and had 4 other nominations.
WALL-E – Directed by Andrew Stanton
It is probably the most unrealistic, but certainly the most imaginative. In the animated film, earth is controlled by a large corporation called BuyNLarge which evolves from a fast food establishment into the ultimate mega corporation providing everything humans need. They eventually consume all of earth’s natural resources and pollute it to the point where humans can no long survive there so BuyNLarge creates a massive spaceship that carries humans into outer space until everything is cleaned up by the WALL-E robots deployed. 700 years later the clean-up is a failure however one WALL-E robot survives using the parts from other WALL-Es. This last WALL-E unexpectedly embarks on a journey to make the world habitable again. This film won an Academy Award for “Best Animated Film”.
The Cove – Directed by Louie Psihoyos
In my opinion, the saddest of the five movies, The Cove takes away the glamorous perception we have of SeaWorld. The filmmakers go to Japan where a cruel black market for dolphins is located. They film their efforts to free the dolphins that are sold and mistreated by Japanese fisherman for pleasure and profits. This film won the Oscar for “Best Documentary”.
These are 5 powerful green films that will not only give you plenty of information, but also energize your will to help the environment. They share similar ideologies to the ones we have at Envirocitizen.org. The goal is to promote the green movement and what better way than by turning the problem into a form of entertainment that will capture the attention of the public. Animated films, documentaries and even studio films continue to inform us about the different problems that we know so little about. Hopefully, all of this information will accumulate and our will to make changes grows exponentially.
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