This year’s best and worst “Green” cities

As consumers demand more green – in their products, building materials and in sustainability of companies they deal with, cities in the U.S. are ramping up their efforts to accommodate.

According to the Pew Research Center, 74 percent of Americans support efforts to protect the environment. To honor this National Energy Awareness Month, the personal-finance website conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s Greenest Cities in America. The website’s analysts compared the 100 largest cities across 20 key “green” indicators. These ranged from “greenhouse-gas emissions per capita” to “number of smart-energy policies and initiatives.”

People would buy green products if ecommerce showed they how

This blog was founded on the premise that people want to know more about green – green living, environmental issues, innovative solutions that creative minds have come up with regarding climate change issues and more. And hopefully it’s lived up to you the reader’s expectations in that regard.

I read a great article by journalist Chelsea Harvey detailing a new study showing that consumers would purchase more green, eco-friendly products and services if only they were given the options on how and/or where to do it. This included things from purchasing carbon offsets – how many of us really know how to do that? – to products that have the lowest carbon output of greenhouse gas emissions.

New crowdfunding platform for “green’ projects

Most people have heard of or even participated in some sort of crowdfunding campaign. Names like Indegogo and Kickstarter seem to be the most familiar platforms for a vast array of funding opportunities.

Now there’s a new star on the horizon, one that’s geared towards green projects. Earthcrowdfunder is the first crowdfunding platform designed specifically for environmental and sustainable projects.

Organic hair care packaged sustainably too

For those of us who want to live green lifestyles, every product we use is scrutinized. How green is it really?

I’ve written before about EVOLVh, a hair care line I’ve been using for almost five years. Made with 80 percent or more organic ingredients, these products are top quality, sulfate, paraben and sodium chloride free, reasonably priced and great for just about every hair type, including color treated.

Chico Company Creates Mens Stylish Hemp Clothing

Parallel Revolution’s men’s shirts are 97% biodegradable

Men’s fashion, especially men’s shirts, has evolved more slowly than the eclectic, often frenetic world of women’s fashion. Chico, California-based company Parallel Revolution is leading the way with changes men can feel good about.

Jake Wade and Andrew Schrage co-founded the company in 2010. Schrage was, according to Wade, an eco-driven guy, so the idea of making sustainable men’s clothing was a natural fit.

When Schrage proposed the idea, Wade had two conditions – that their products should be made of hemp and made in the USA. Schrage agreed and the company was born.

To learn more about the surprising sustainability of this eco-friendly clothing line, see the full article here.

Greenpop teaches kids about the importance of trees and reforestation

With deforestation, less than 30 percent of Africa’s rainforests still exist

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the world has lost 80 percent of the forests that originally blanketed the earth. Since trees are the largest source of breathable oxygen and carbon storage, that’s a huge deficit we’ve created.

Deforestation in Africa is a critical issue. Logging and conversion of forest land to agriculture are the main culprits.  According to figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, only 22.8 percent of West Africa’s moist forests remain, much of this degraded.
Education and planting trees to reverse deforestation are the goals of the non-profit Greenpop, which was founded in 2010 as an effort to educate underprivileged schoolchildren about the importance of protecting the planet. It’s become o a movement backed by thousands of volunteers who’ve “joined the “treevolution”” and are helping facilitate the planting of over 40,00 trees in 286 communities throughout Southern Africa.

Seeing Green in Singapore – A Guide to Eco-Living in the City State

These solar “supertrees” are part of Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay

Editors Note:  The following is a guest post from Ruth Harrison-Roberts.

If you’re someone who prefers to live life in an eco-friendly way, you may be wondering how exactly you’ll manage it in Singapore. The city-state is, after all, a very built-up place, with a dense population, busy roads and high-rise buildings dominating the skyline.

However, it was in fact designed as a garden city! You would never consider grouping it in with Letchworth and Welwyn in the UK, but the premise remains the same: soften the urban sprawl by planting trees along the highways and byways and creating parklands. And, this is one of the first things that people tend to notice when they visit Singapore – just how green it looks.

EPA reveals top 10 U.S. cities with most green buildings

Photo courtesy of Energy Star

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in most cities, commercial buildings are the largest source of carbon emissions.

Are you ready for Earth Day?

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Now into its 45th year, it’s now celebrated in over 190 countries around the world. There are all sorts of celebrations and festivals scheduled and there will be plenty of fun and information to take in.

The top Green Cities in the U.S.

Just read the report listing the top Green Cities in the U.S. I was surprised at a few of the winners, and even more surprised that San Jose, California, with its steadily increasing plan to be more green, didn’t make the list.