breaking ground in design, development, and green technology
For those that didn’t check out the article, there was an awesome explanatory video at the end. It explains the cloud and how it interacts with the driver.
It’s amazing to see technology being implemented in smart, design-savvy ways.
Until Next Time,
Christine
Forbes magazine recently published an article about the new generation of cars: smart cars. These cars will incorporate smart technology to cater to your driving experience. It knows everything from traffic and weather to letting you know when you should wake up!
Ford is the main company behind this new type of car, but it is looking to collaborate with other car companies. The reason being that the cars will be in communication with one another, and so it is important that this technology allows all cars to communicate.
How will these cars impact the environment? It will navigate quicker routes to your destination, it has an energy efficiency mode, and more.
Check out the original article here!
Until Next Time,
Christine
Brooklyn Grange
Who could have imagined that an organic farm could be built in the middle of Queens in New York City? What makes the Brooklyn Grange even more special is that it’s built on a rooftop! This garden began a little over a year ago in spring of 2010, and it has over forty types of vegetables and herbs.
Ben Flanner is the mastermind behind this project, collaborating with many passionate parties like Acumen Capital Partners, which is a company that works for “sustainable renovation of commercial spaces in New York City.” He and his collaborators want to send the message the urban farming is a very promising way to impact the health and environment of local communities.
Definitely check out the article, here! They’ve also provided some beautiful pictures of the garden on the site.
Until Next Time,
Christine
There are many different types of disposable containers that we can replace with reusable ones. Here are three examples…
1. Grocery bags: You’ve probably seen these reusable bags advertised in dozens of stores. The important thing is to actually use them, because you have to use it 171 times to “offset the higher carbon emissions.”
2. Ziplock bags: Try to use tupperware whenever possible, because ziplock bags can only be used a certain number of times.
3. Coffee mugs: Many cafes will give you a slight discount ($0.10 or so) if you bring in your own mug. The number of disposable cups used in 2010 was 23 billion!
Read more about reusable shopping bags here and the environmental impact of coffee cups here.
Until Next Time,
Christine
Most people know the phrase, “Reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
While this phrase is helpful in pointing out three ways to shape a sustainable lifestyle, it’s important to remember that these three actions are not equal. The order of the words is important because it follows the order of the greatest impact.
While recycling is awesome, it does require energy and resources to recycle. Reusing is also a great way to save resources, but it’s ultimately best to try to reduce consumption in the first place.
This is just something to keep in mind as we go about our busy, daily lives.
Until Next Time,
Christine
Recycled paper products are particularly important in the workplace, since businesses are consuming 20% more paper every year. This trend seems a bit surprising, considering that there’s a move towards digitization of documents; but we have better accessibility to printers than ever before, and it’s definitely affecting how much paper we use.
Here are five simple tips to save our beautiful trees:
1. When printing documents for a meeting, ask the individuals to print out the document. Some may choose to read the document on their computers instead. Also, there won’t be any leftover (i.e. wasted) paper.
2. Use recycled paper. It takes 55% less water and 65% less energy to produce recycled paper.
3. Use the double-sided option on the printer.
4. Reduce margins and font designs to fit material on less number of pages.
5. Offer to email receipts to customers (Urban Outfitters has started to do this!).
Statistics in this post are from this article.
Step-by-step guide to reducing paper in your workplace here.
Until Next Time,
Christine
Ultimately, it’s the little things that add up to form the big picture. Being environmentally friendly isn’t an all-or-nothing categorization. Instead of feeling guilty or sad about our impact on Earth, let’s look positively and celebrate when we make a “green” decision! Look out for a new series of posts on five changes that you can make to help Mother Earth.
Until Next Time,
Christine
I personally love having flowers and plants for adding colorful accents. Besides, plants indoors have been shown to bring “an appreciation of natural beauty” (click here to read about more benefits). In looking for plants, there are a lot of unique varieties that you may have never heard about. Tillandsia’s are amazing plants that grow in air or on other plants, i.e. not in soil – which makes it easier to take care of. It receives its nutrients and water through its leaves. Some varieties bloom only once in their lives, but others bloom annually.
I love that this plant is so unique and different from your stereotypical indoor plant. The one below reminds me of a funky chandelier.
Find more info on tillandsias here.
Until Next Time,
Christine
The last post provided an article for information about the oil industry and discussed some aspects to consider for the future of oil consumption. To follow up, check out this awesome diagram detailing statistics on current fuel prices.
In the diagram you can find information about world oil reserves, consumption in various countries, factors that influence oil prices, and more. I particularly like that the information is displayed with images and cool displays.
Until Next Time,
Christine
Many know that the U.S. consumes more oil than any other nation, and most of that oil is imported. Exactly how many barrels did we import during the first seven months of 2011? The answer is one million nine hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred ninety-eight… times one thousand.
Importing this many barrels of oil requires massive amounts of transportation, which means a huge toll on the environment. However, many are strongly opposed to domestic production of oil.
We’re dependent on oil, so it’s incredibly important to research alternative sources of powering our homes. Home heating is particularly dependent on oil, so it’s not just our cars that are drinking up this expensive and political commodity.
Check out this article for more detailed and in-depth info!
Until Next Time,
Christine
