Giving a Gift that Changes Lives

Microfinace is a growing trend allowing people with good hearts and limited finances to make a difference in the lives of the hardworking working poor.
Giving a gift that gives back is a powerful tool for change. As little as $20 can mean the difference in a child being able to attend school for the first [...]

An Environmental Move for Change

An online grassroots movement is taking place, one intended to put electronics manufacturing giants on notice.
The idea, says Frank Paniagua, CEO of Green Plug, Inc., is to let manufacturers know consumers want more convenient and more eco-friendly products.
“I Want my Green Plug” asks the public to stand up for eliminating power supplies that only end [...]

Thoughts of the holidays

As it’s Christmas Eve and so many have already quietly fled their offices – to travel to be with family or to get some much needed quiet R&R, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect.
We face challenging and fascinating times ahead. A new President who’s been the defacto head of State for several weeks [...]

Simple Conservation to Take Hold in Shopping Centers

A few months ago, I wrote an article about an exciting system that consumers can use to significantly save on water consumption
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/sep/14/green-gadget-drought-fighter.
 

Now a major shopping center developer, Regency Centers has announced they will begin installing this “smart” irrigation system at selected locations.
The initial pilot for the installation of these irrigation controllers will cover 36 sites [...]

Renewable Energy from the Mississippi?

Back in October, I wrote several posts about an installation off the coast of Spain that would generate electricity from “wave” energy, a new technology being considered as a renewable energy source around the world.
Now this exciting technology is about to come to the upper Mississippi River.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the licensing [...]

The Latest in Recycling

As consumers, statistics show that we’ve grown more practiced with recycling paper, plastic and aluminum. Now there’s another area to consider. These won’t fit into your recycling bin, but recyclers are beginning to accept them.Well-used mattresses are beginning to be recycled for their steel, cushioning and wood contents. Recyclers in places like Massachusetts, Wisconsin and the San Francisco Bay area [...]

Green Speed Bars?

A new concept in discouraging speeding may be coming to your town in the near future. Designers Jae-yun Kim and Jong-Su Lee have created the first smart ”green” speed bump.
Designed to flatten when a vehicle goes within the speed limit, these yellow and black speed deterrents remain upright when approached by speeding vehicles. Implanted with small [...]

Innovative Energy Generators

As an update one of my very first posts (“Innovation and Creative Thinking”, August ’08), a revolving door that generates energy using the power of each person entering the building has been installed in the Driebergen-Zeist railway station in the Netherlands.
The door was designed by architecture firmRAU and built by Boon Ed. It’s anticipated the [...]

Human Energy Powers Japanese Subway Station

With the vast U.S. subway systems on the East Coast, this could be an excellent energy-saving solution metropolitan transportation authorities should explore.
 

With human foot traffic the most easily available energy, this new power source has been installed in the flooring in what’s commonly believed to be the busiest subway station in the world.

In the latest [...]

An Eco-friendly Gun-Toting Hiker?

 Chalk another one up for Bush and his “midnight regulations” tactics. If further devastating the environmental protections like the Clean Water Act weren’t enough, now he’s “making the world safe for democracy” by allowing concealed weapons to be carried on national parks.A reversal of a 25-year-old federal rule restricting this practice, beginning in January ’09, [...]