#1: Buy and Use Recycled Boxes. When you go to buy boxes for shipping your items, look to already recycled and post consumer products. For businesses and groups who do a lot of shipping, this simple step can vastly reduce the cost to the environment.

#2: Use Biodegradable Packing Supplies. What you pack on the inside also counts. Utilize paper and starch based packing materials instead of plastic and Styrofoam. Starch based packing materials will dissolve with water, giving back natural energy to plant life and organisms. Paper products (recycled post consumer, of course) can be recycled after use. Did you know that you can buy real popcorn for shipping now? No need for Styrofoam popcorn when the real thing will do.

#3: Purchase Plastic Pallets Instead of Wood. If you ship large quantities by freight, a simple way to go green is to actually by plastic. This surprising suggestion is made because plastic pallets are made almost exclusively from post-consumer products. They are sturdier and more resistant than wooden pallets, and they can easily be recycled into new pallets when they need to be disposed of.

#4: Reuse Received Shipping Supplies. When you receive packages, you will undoubtedly receive along with it a myriad of Styrofoam, bubble wrap, and other packing materials, including the box. Instead of throwing these out, reuse them and when you ship your package, include a note to the next guy that he should reuse the material, or you’ll pay to have the packing material shipped back (shipping on a box of packing peanuts is much cheaper than buying new ones).

#5: Recycle What Cannot be Reused. If the products are beyond reuse, then you should recycle them. Styrofoam, plastic, paper, cardboard, there are plenty of consumables that can be recycled into new shipping materials. By continuing the cycle, you’ll insure the most minimal impact on our environment.

Globally Green - Simple Steps To An Earth Friendly Life

Going Green In Your Home

#1: Use Reusable Cloth Wrappers. Reusable cloth wrappers are excellent for wrapping sandwiches, vegetables and snacks, keeping them fresh without requiring aluminum foil, plastic wrap or baggies. They are washing machine safe, and one of the best ways to go green during lunch time because they cut down significantly on wasteful paper and plastic products that get thrown away at the end of the meal.

#2: Utilize Bento and Lap Top Boxes. These cute little lunch boxes are not only excellent for children, but also for bringing your own adult lunch to school or work as well. Not only do they help you exercise portion control, but they also cut down significantly on lunch time related waste, because everything is packaged together rather than individually using paper and plastic.

#3: “Brown Bag It” at Lunch Time. Don’t really bring a brown paper sack, but opt to bring your own lunch rather than eating out, driving someplace to eat, or even worse, driving all the way home for lunch. Bringing your own lunch is cheaper than buying out, and saves significantly on waste and gasoline in the process.

#4: Buy Eco-Friendly Consumables. Snack size foods seem like fun, but they add tons of extra waste in the process. Buy in bulk, and choose fresh foods and produce whenever possible, because processed foods in tiny packages breed waste and unnecessary garbage. Buying eco friendly consumables for lunch time is one of the best ways to go green during meal preparation.

#5: Use Reusable Supplies. Rather than buying plastic throw-away flatware, plastic baggies and paper lunch sacks, opt for reusable supplies instead. Dishwasher-friendly reusable plastic supplies and washable sacks are best, saving significant costs and promoting a green lifestyle for your entire family in the process.

Most teachers realize that they have influence over their students, and can teach excellent green lifestyle principles without having to do much work. There are 3 really simple ways to go green in the classroom that will teach your students a thing or two about taking the green lifestyle home. Here are some easy ways to go green in your classroom, and to teach your students about eco-friendly living.

#1: Do not ask for your students to buy new materials or supplies unless they are absolutely necessary. Can your students keep using the same notebooks, pencils, markers and supplies that they used in your classroom last year? Consider buying a single set of these items and reusing them from class to class until they absolutely cannot survive another year. Encourage your students to reuse their supplies rather than buying new and teach them what it means to do green things and to life a green lifestyle. This way, when they come to class without new gear this year, they will not feel at a disadvantage.

#2: Do not use paper for assignments and projects unless you have to. Can you use the whiteboard or chalkboard to do your teaching? Can students send their homework assignments in by e-mail? Save paper whenever you can, and you will make a huge difference. There are numerous ways for you not to use or abuse paper in the classroom, you simply have to be creative when thinking up ways to go green in the classroom.

#3: Provide recycled paper whenever paper is necessary. If you do have to assign paper-driven homework assignments but are looking for ways to go green, consider buying recycled paper or reusing the same paper. If students have to take notes, let them take notes and turn in their assignments on the same pages. Encourage use and reuse of recycled pieces of paper and teach your students what it means to use less paper and to save more trees in the long run. Using recycled paper is infinitely better than using fresh paper over and over, and it promotes a green lifestyle for you and your students through and through.

Here is a link to some great projects that you can do with your students.
http://www.edutopia.org/environmentally-conscious-lesson-ideas

I’ve been out searching for more easy ways to go green and I what I found today was the Neuton battery charged mower. The mower offers over one hour of mow time, push button start, no fumes, and is much quieter than a gas mower. It’s also lighter (48lbs) and lacks the annoying vibration that gas mowers produce. It never needs a tune up and of course runs clean. It’s made up of mostly recyclable plastic and the packaging it comes in is even recycled cardboard. It requires a key to start it and has a safety feature that makes inadvertent starting impossible.

I found a great review on the Neuton by someone who has actually used it. But before I give you the URL to go check it out I wanted to let you know about the giveaway. To celebrate their second anniversary Neuton is giving away the CE 5.2. All you need to do is make a comment on their blog about why you would like to have it and they will choose one random comment to be the lucky winner. As of today September 13th there is only 55 comments.

Enter The Giveaway for a Neuton Here

I think the Neuton battery charged mower offers yet more easy ways to go green and if you win one for free…that would make it even easier

Read the full review by an actual Neuton owner here

Good Luck!

Sometimes an easy way to go green is to support another cause in addition to the things you do in your own home. I subscribe to the Global Green USA Newsletter and was pretty happy to see an email from Matt Peterson today that talked about the contest for American Express Card Holders. Any cardholder was able to enter to have their idea to rebuild New Orleans have a chance to be awarded 2.5 million dollars to help rebuild New Orleans. The contest is decided by popular vote.

Global Green’s plan is to “continue helping transform New Orleans into a model sustainable city with green schools, homes and neighborhoods.” Not only would I be extremely pleased to see such a beautiful way to continue rebuilding New Orleans 3 years after the hurricane but the awareness it would bring to the forefront is awesome. It’s hard to believe that New Orleans is still in the critical stage of rebuilding, but it seems that they have the opportunity now to be an example to the rest of the country on how going green can make a huge impact on the economy, the environment, and our health.

Matt Peterson has been selected as one of the top 25 finalists of 1,100 entries and his plan proposes to help more than 10,000 residents rebuild with energy efficient and healthy materials that will lower their costs overall. Building 10,000 energy efficient homes would save $7.5 million to $11.5 million every year. The proposed plan also advances their “Build it Back Green” initiative that reaches out to thousands of people still rebuilding their homes and offers simple, no- or low-cost ways to implement improved energy efficiency and indoor air quality.

I am always trying to implement easy ways to go green into my daily life and today I just simply voted for this project. You can see a short video here and if you decide that the cause is worthwhile you can vote.

This video shows how the roots of Global Green’s entry into the contest actually began just one week after Katrina.

Or GO VOTE!

GO VOTE!

You already know to save energy by turning lights off when they are unnecessary, but did you know you could save energy every time you turn on a light? An LED light bulb can use 70 percent less energy than the traditional bulb would use – some estimates are even higher! They can be found with different wattage to add the right amount of brightness to your home.

Anywhere you need light is a good place to install LED lights. While they can be rather expensive, you can find some that are on the affordable side. Once you buy one, it starts paying for itself as soon as it is turned on. LED bulbs are famous for their longevity, with some varieties lasting over 50,000 hours. An LED light bulb would be an excellent choice for using with ceiling fixtures and in regular lamps.

If you find that regular bulbs make your bathroom too hot, try installing LED bulbs instead; they usually do not heat up so much. Desk lamps can also make your office uncomfortably warm; use an LED bulb here, and you can cut down the temperature while still giving your eyes the light they need. The cooler temperature also makes these bulbs a safer choice for lamps that are within the reach of toddlers or children.

You can find lovely LED bulbs that provide the same amount of light as their counterparts, but need 15 times less energy in the form of watts! Some bulbs are manufactured especially for outdoor use, and can save you a lot of money each evening.

If you think that switching to LED light bulbs is too small a step to make much difference, consider what the research shows: if every family in America used just one LED light instead of a regular bulb, the national energy savings would exceed the energy made at one of our biggest power plants. You can see the particular light bulb this refers to here: 5 watt led


Implementing easy ways to go green into your life can be as simple as switching a light bulb! Why not try it for yourself?

The Benefits of Go Green Hosting

Quite a few companies in quite a few industries have decided to “go green” over the past few years. And believe it or not, this trend is beginning to pick up when it comes to hosting. If you are looking for a hosting company for your website and looking for easy ways to go green, you should consider those who are dedicated to the “green” way of doing business. And when it comes down to it, Go Green Hosting is the best of the best in this category.

What makes Go Green Hosting so special? The homepage of their website says it all: The purchase of your Go Green Hosting will be equivalent to planting several acres of trees or removing several cars from the road for one year.

As you can see, when you purchase your hosting through this provider you have the ability to get the service that you need while also doing something great for the environment. And guess what? You do not have to give up a high level of service and features to take advantage of this green benefit. To go along with this, Go Green Hosting offers competitive pricing. With all of this in mind, there is no reason not to look into what Go Green Hosting has to offer.

You still have one question on your mind, right? How can Go Green Hosting call themselves a green company? As you will see the second that you visit their site, the company offsets 100 percent of their energy usage with certified wind power from Oklahoma. That alone goes a long way in making them the number one green hosting provider in the United States, if not the world.

In addition to the environmental benefits, Go Green Hosting is also dedicated to giving you what you want from a service point of view. Here are several top features offered by Go Green Hosting:

1. Three hosting plans ranging in price from $9/month to $27/month.
2. An experienced customer service team that is willing to promptly answer your questions, or respond to problems.
3. A large number of preinstalled programs including Fantastico (perfect for WordPress blogs), Shopping Carts, and AWStats among many others.

If you are in the market for quality, affordable hosting, you will want to consider Go Green Hosting. And don’t forget, when you decide to purchase, you will be helping to protect the environment. Go Green Hosting offers us more easy ways to go green while providing a great service.

Green Eco-Friendly Hosting