Filed under: Business Practices | Tags: environment, graphic design, graphics, green printing
Advanced researches have successfully proved that the printing industry is the single largest polluter and the third largest consumer of fossil fuels in the world after automobiles and steel manufacturing. It is estimated that printers consume trillions of gallons of water, which again demands treatment on account of its toxin content. Use of adhesives and foils further render the final product un-recyclable. Imagine a situation where millions of such products are being manufactured everyday, which would ultimately end up in a landfill! These volatile products can easily contaminate groundwater, soil, and air (when evaporated) consequently stimulating the occurrence of fatal diseases like cancer, chronic liver and heart malfunctioning.
The concept of green printing is thus an offshoot of increasing environmental degradation. The concept holds a lot of promise as the end product created is recyclable. Since the common printing process is hazardous in itself, steps are taken by green printing firms to use such materials that would not spur the creation of toxins. For instance, the printing paper should be derived from 100 per cent post-consumer waste, processed chlorine free, uncoated, Forest Stewardship Council certified, and manufactured using renewable energy sources like solar power or wind. Vegetable-based ink or soy ink should be used for printing. Dye sublimation is another printing process, vastly used by non-profit organizations these days. The process uses petroleum and other volatile organic compounds instead of solvent-based inks. Digital printing is another alternative towards a more sustainable approach.
Green printing processes can thus help promote the cause of the environment and make your planet look green and beautiful. So help spreading awareness towards eco-friendly printing and save your home from further degradation.
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Suzanne Macguire is a marketing professional, currently engaged in encouraging eco-friendly printing solutions.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzanne_Macguire
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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: trade show exhibits, trade show displays, trade show booths, trade show graphics
MODdisplays, a company specializing in trade show displays and exhibit graphics, has returned to the spotlight with the ability to sell eco-friendly graphics for their entasi displays. Many trade show display companies use solvent printers, which are horrible for the environment, but for a small upcharge you can have your entasi display printed using responsible means. The graphic production process produces a graphic called “GreenKnit”, which is a great way to help the environment.
There are hundreds of thousands of trade show graphics printed around the world each year, many of which immediately end up in the trash due to errors in printing and/or laminating by inexperienced printers. Changing the way graphics are printed could have a huge impact on the health of our environment, and MODdisplays realizes this fact. GreenKnit graphics are the first step in a process that will allow graphics to be printed more responsibly.
Green Knit can be used for structures, such as custom projects, Shapes and Entasi, and also for banners. Green Knit can be printed using our state of the art Photo Fabric printing process.
Sixty percent of the yarn used in making Green Knit is one hundred percent recycled. Seven carbon producing manufacturing steps are eliminated in the production of the recycled yarn. For every pound of yarn produced 61,000 BTU’s are conserved (equivalent to .5 gallons of gasoline).
The introduction of this fabric is another example of MODdisplays commitment to environmental responsibility. MODdisplays is proud of its many initiatives in this area that include:
- Our Photo Fabric Dye-Sublimation printing is produced without the use of solvent inks.
- All aluminum scrap is recycled at our three manufacturing plants.
- All paper, cardboard and shipping tubes are recycled at our three plants.
- MODdisplays offers a rental program – encouraging our customers to rent rather than buy and discard after limited use.
- The Belfast plant uses BioHeat instead of standard heating oil.
- The Salt Lake City plant uses swamp coolers instead of air conditioners.
The Step-Up Program provides a progression businesses can follow to become environmentally sustainable and to become leaders in the business community.
You can read more about this photo printing process by visiting the Trade Show Marketing Blog and reading about trade show graphics. You can also read about the top trade show products MODdisplays sells.
Filed under: Business Practices, Consumer Products | Tags: bags, Consumer Products
There are two kinds of degradable carrier bags on the market today. The first being a biodegradable bag - Note the ‘bio’ part of it. This bag is made from a natural maize, which once manufactured, starts to degrade slowly. These are generally the most expensive, and are not ideal if some of the stock needs to be shelved for a lengthy period of time. The second type is a degradable carrier bag. These are basically a plastic carrier bag which has a special agent added to it during the manufacturing process. This agent slowly breaks down the plastic material over a fairly long period of time, which eventually turns it into a harmless vapour and dust, none of which are toxic in any way. These are the cheaper option and probably the most popular. The quality of this type of bag is the same as a standard plastic carrier bag, the only difference being that they are far more environmentally friendly.
These biodegradable bags are also great to use as a promotional tool. They can be printed and personalised with company logos and wording and are proving extremely popular for use at events and exhibitions. It gives the opportunity for businesses to advertise themselves to hundreds, if not thousands of people attending the event, as well as give the visitors something to carry there freebies and literature in.
Most councils and government organisations have switched to using biodegradable bags due to their eco-friendly nature. With the government actively promoting environmental issues and solutions, they have to be seen to be operating in a greener way themselves. There are many other eco type products on the market today, for both domestic and commercial purposes. These range from recycled products, through to energy saving products. The world is becoming more aware of the damage that we are causing to our planet. If more people, and businesses made a few changes to their daily practices and changed their habits with the products they bought and used, the world would be a greener, safer place to live.
Filed under: Consumer Products | Tags: condoms, Consumer Products, the environment
Firstly, don’t flush your condoms, ever! Flushing condoms is not the way to deal with them. Condoms can clog the plumbing in your house (or the plumbing wherever you happen to be). This can be an expensive and embarrassing situation. If the condom manages to make it through your septic system, it will only end up with the solid waste. This means that somebody has to pull it out of the sewage treatment, which isn’t pleasant for anybody. The condom might even make it past the treatment plant. This is not good because it means that it could end up in the water supply, and the last thing we need is more pollution in our rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Not all condoms are made equally. Most condoms are made of latex, which means that they will biodegrade. Latex, however, does not biodegrade when it is under water, which is why it is not good to flush your used condoms. Condoms are not entirely made of latex, however, and the other things on condoms (spermicide, lubricant) might affect the biodegradability. The best option seems to be to send them to a landfill and see how they pass the test of time.
Some condoms, including all female condoms, are made of polyurethane, a type of plastic. These will not biodegrade. There is no option, however, except to put them in the garbage, because your local recycling depot won’t recycle used condoms. They won’t even recycle new condoms.
Other condoms are made of lambskin. These are completely biodegradable condoms. Don’t run out and get lambskin condoms just yet though! Lambskin condoms do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases. The pores in the lambskin are small enough to stop sperm, and so prevent pregnancy, but the pores are large enough to let sexually transmitted diseases and infections through. This option is only viable for people in monogamous relationships who have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases. If this is the case, you could consider an even more environmentally friendly barrier form of birth control such as a diaphragm, cervical cap, or shield. Ask your doctor what is best for you.
Regardless of what material of condom you use (latex, polyurethane, or lambskin), you are going to have a wrapper to dispose of. These foil wrappers will not biodegrade, nor can they be recycled. This simply has to be put in the garbage.
Even if your latex or lambskin condoms are biodegradable, it is best not to try to compost or bury your condoms. Animals will smell the human scent and try to dig up what you have buried. This means that there will be unsightly used condoms around. Burying your condom is tantamount to littering: and there are better ways to deal with your condoms available.
So, in the end, what is the best way to dispose of your condoms? The best thing is to wrap it in a bit of toilet paper or paper towel (or any other biodegradable material: think paper bases such as paper bags) and then to put it in the garbage. Don’t wrap your condom up in plastic, as then it certainly won’t biodegrade. The good news is that the semen and vaginal fluid on the condom certainly will biodegrade, and might facilitate the condom biodegrading.
And lastly, remember…never reuse a condom. Although reduce, reuse, and recycle is the motto for environmentalism, you need to put your health first on this one. Don’t minimize your condom use, don’t reuse your condoms, and it’s too bad that you can’t yet recycle them. To think on an environmentally broader scale, using condoms is environmentally friendly because it is preventing the spread of communicable diseases. It is also preventing conception, and children have been documented to be hugs consumers of global resources.
Hopefully soon we will be able to figure out an environmentally friendly way to practice safe sex. Until then, we’ll make do with what we can, and we will continue using condoms.
For more information on condoms and condom use, visit http://www.theguideto-birthcontrol.com/barrierbased_birth_control_methods/male_condoms/ The Guide to Birth Control.
Filed under: Earth | Tags: earth's rotation, planet earth, the environment, weather
Meteorologists and observers have established some classifications for certain aspects of the changing weather we experience. At present the list includes three significant types of air circulation that are based on the heat of the sun. One of these categories is the Hadley cell, so named because scientist George Hadley was instrumental in isolating and classifying them. This term is applied to air circulation in or very near the tropical regions of the Earth.
Simply stated, a Hadley cell occurs when tropical air (23.5 degrees north and south of the equator) is heated by the sun and begins to rise. This warm air mass spreads, encounters a barrier often called the tropopause, and sinks back to the ground. Generally, the falling air mass touches the Earth at about 30 degrees of latitude, north and south of the equator. As it sinks to the ground, the moving air mass displaces air at the surface. The air mass that moves out flows toward the equator, completing a cycle that can cause weather changes over a large region of the globe. When the same type of circulation occurs at latitudes farther north (30 to 60 degrees) they are known as Ferrel cells. Similar movement of air masses at the poles are called polar Hadley cells.
One of the interesting features of cells such as these is that they do not move in straight lines, north and south. Because the Earth is a planet rotating around the sun and rotating on its axis at the same time, moving air masses experience the Coriolis effect. This is not limited to air movement, however. All free-moving objects and fluids have a “right turn” motion north of the equator and a “left turn” motion south of the equator. Gustave-Gaspard de Coriolis is credited with first identifying this trait nearly 200 years ago.
What does this mean for air movement? The Coriolis effect deflects an air mass, creating what some have called a cyclonic flow. This circular movement applies to air around areas of low pressure, causing large air masses to turn clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. But that’s not all. When the air is flowing around a high pressure system, the circular movement is just the opposite! Without the rotation of the earth, air masses would move quickly in a straight line, rapidly equalizing pressure.
There is one place on Earth where the Coriolis effect does not impact air movement - the equator. Because of this cyclones are not part of the regular experience in life at the equator. Conversely, the Coriolis effect is strongest at the Earth’s poles.
Concentrating on the area of changing weather, he wrote especially for http://www.alicante-spain.com - You might discover his contributions on Costa Blanca weather at many different sources for Costa Blanca weather knowledge.
Filed under: Business Practices | Tags: fax, internet fax, save the planet
Do you know more than 17 million trees are cut down yearly just for the usage of faxing papers in United States? Ever thought of cutting down your paper usage, especially in office? Now here’s a simple way to do so: Switch from conventional fax machine to Internet faxing machine. Yes, and I mean cut down all conventional fax machine usage!
What is Internet faxing?
In general, Internet faxing is known as a web service that allows users to send out and receive faxes in email forms. Faxes are transmitted via Internet and no fax machine is needed during the process. The very first Internet fax services are started since mid 1997 by PSI Net. Back then, Internet faxing was better known as InternetPaper. The technology then revolved and developed into a multimillion industries where more than dozens of merchant popped up to provide similar services. Nowadays Internet services are available worldwide.
Can I really send fax over Internet?
The answer is yes! In fact there are more than couple ways to send and receive faxes via Internet.
When you are shopping Internet faxing services, your choices are wide. Some service allows you to fax for free; while some require monthly subscription fees. Some Internet faxing services require you to install special software on your computer; while some allows you to send fax directly on the web. The right thing to do is to review and select the one that suits your needs.
What are the benefits of Internet faxing?
When compare to conventional fax machine, Internet faxing is so much easier and more affordable.
Firstly, there’s no need to waste money on an extra fax line. Also, no extra cost for fax machine, fax paper, as well as printing ink. All Internet faxes come in as email attachments - softcopies are easier for circulation as well as file organization. More over, do you know according to research, 17 million trees (as said) are chopped down annually just for the faxing paper in United States? Sending virtual faxes save more than just your money, the technology save more trees as well!
If you use a conventional fax machine, you should know that using those old fax machines can be very tiring. The frustrations cause by paper jam, extra phone line cost, cuts off page text, and fax transmission failure are always bothering the users. Isn’t terrible? You bet! On the other hand, while comes in cheaper operation cost, Internet fax provides an easy faxing method where the service is 24 hours ready, no more engage tones, and no more paper jamming.
With Internet faxing services, you can send faxes as long as you have an active Internet faxing account and a computer connected to the Internet. The flexibility and mobility of Internet faxing is a valuable feature for frequent business travelers. Just imagine finishing all your faxing works while waiting for boarding in the airport - you wouldn’t have this done if you are still using the old fax machine, right?
Using Internet faxing services
For commercial usage, setting up an Internet faxing needs nothing more than just an email account (well okay, you do need a computer with Internet connection). Most Internet faxing service providers offer immediate activation - this means you can start receiving and sending faxes right after you register for the services.
Once activated, you can construct your outgoing faxes like how you compose your email with Yahoo Mail or Hotmail. What’s different is on the recipient address bar - instead of email address, you will need to input recipients fax number with fax service name. Say we are sending fax to 1234567890: the recipients will be 1234567890@myfax.com for MyFax; while for eFax, it will be 1234567890@efax.com. Email subject line will be converted to fax header, while email content will be the fax content.
Before you ask, yes, Internet fax service is very much similar to sending and receiving the email. In fact some services allow you to setup your virtual faxing service on popular mail agent like Outlook. For most Internet faxing services, a user friendly GUI (a toolbar or something similar) will be installed in your system during setup. Upon receiving the email to the Internet fax service providers the automated programs convert the email messages to the fax format and send the fax to the recipient fax number. On the other hand, the recipient receives the fax on their fax machine normally.
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) January 30, 2008 — Pizza Fusion (www.pizzafusion.com), the most environmentally sustainable restaurant in America, will be opening San Diego’s first ever LEED certified restaurant (http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/Project/RegisteredProjectListDetail.aspx?ID=10187303) in the Hillcrest neighborhood at 3827 5th Avenue this May. The restaurant will be the second location of Pizza Fusion’s national franchise expansion to open outside their home state of Florida, following the opening of their Pittsburgh, Pa. restaurant in April. Entrepreneurial duo Mike and Nicole Walker are the franchisees behind Pizza Fusion’s new San Diego location. Mike, a military veteran, was attracted to the franchise’s VetFran program after returning from completing two combat tours in Iraq with the 1st battalion 5th Marines.
“When I got back from overseas, I wanted to start a business of my own that could provide Nicole and I with the financial stability we were seeking, while at the same time, reflect our socially conscious values that we’re very passionate about,” Walker, explains. “Pizza Fusion is exactly what I was looking for in a business model. Their industry leading approach to sustainable restaurant service, backed by an outstanding product made me question how this restaurant wasn’t already operating in California. I’m excited and proud to introduce California to Pizza Fusion.”
Walker’s San Diego store is the first of four locations to open this year in California, including Temecula, Santa Monica and Thousand Oaks. Pizza Fusion, whose motto is ‘Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time,’ practices an eco-friendly approach to their entire existence, including their restaurants’ buildout, service and overall operations. Through building only LEED certified restaurants, delivering their food in company owned hybrid vehicles, and offsetting 100% of their power consumption with the purchase of renewable energy certificates (among many other things), Pizza Fusion is setting the standard for sustainable restaurant practices as the most eco-friendly restaurant in America. Currently, the company has over 60 LEED certified restaurants opening in nine states across the U.S., including California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Virginia and Florida.
“We’re very excited and proud to branch out to the California market as some might consider it the hub of the United States’ green movement,” Vaughan Lazar, CEO and co-founder of Pizza Fusion, continues. “I know our sustainable approach to restaurant service will be warmly accepted by the state’s environmentally conscious residents. The American restaurant sector has a long way to go in terms of minimizing waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We’re looking forward to influencing the industry with our West Coast expansion through raising awareness and fueling environmental consumerism. We’re proud to make our move west with Mike Walker. We’re confident that Mike and our other California franchisees will represent us well and uphold Pizza Fusion’s founding values.”
In the United States, restaurants are the top electricity consumer among retail businesses, accounting for 33% of the total consumption. Each restaurant produces an average of 50,000 pounds of waste per year. Pizza Fusion’s LEED certified restaurants reduce water waste by 40 percent and electricity consumption by 20 percent annually. The chain’s LEED certified restaurants feature a number of unique, eco-efficient products, techniques and designs, including eliminating the use of water heaters and air heating units by recycling heat from their ovens to warm their water and the restaurants themselves. Pizza Fusion restaurants’ other eco-elements include countertops made from 100% recycled detergent bottles, bamboo flooring, 30% recaptured industrial concrete, ceiling panels made from 74% recycled aluminum cans and 24% post industrial metals, USG Gypsum Board made from pre-used drywall, insulation made from recycled blue jeans, ceiling baffles made from recycled composite board, low voltage and low heat lighting, seat cushions made with soybean oil, furniture made from reclaimed wood and much more - all the way down to the 100 percent post consumer toilet paper in their bathrooms.
Born and raised in Park City, Utah, Mike Walker moved to San Diego in 2003 with his San Diego native wife, Nicole. Prior to Pizza Fusion, Mike served two terms with the United States Marines in Iraq from 1999 to 2007. Nicole has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Cal State San Marcos. Both are outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy snowboarding, surfing, backpacking, rock climbing, and scuba diving.
About LEED Certification
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™, established by the United States Green Building council, is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
About Pizza Fusion
Founded in February of 2006, Pizza Fusion leads a new niche market by combining an eclectic organic menu with a detail-oriented environmental business approach in chic LEED certified fast casual environments. Pizza Fusion serves and organic menu of gourmet pizzas, ciabatta sandwiches, salads, desserts, beers, wines and more in their purest form - untainted by artificial additives, such as sweeteners, pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics and hormones. They also offer health conscious alternatives for people with selective diets and food allergies, including gluten-free, vegan and lactose-free options. For additional information, visit: www.pizzafusion.com.
For editorial inquires, contact:
Eric Haley
Vice President of Communications
Pizza Fusion
6555 Powerline Rd., Suite 101
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Office: (954) 449-7244
Fax: (954) 449-4957
Filed under: Consumer Products, Uncategorized | Tags: bugs, eco-friendly, pest control, the environment
The following list contains environmentally friendly ideas for pest control in your garden. They are worth trying before using chemical pesticides.
1. A saucer of beer will lure and drown slugs and snails.
2. To combat mildew quarter fill a rubbish bin with seaweed, cover with water and leave for several weeks. Dilute the mix to the ratio of one part seaweed stew to six parts water before application.
3. Make a chive spray to reduce mildew on zucchini and squash plants by steeping 1 cup of chopped chive leaves and three cups of water for several hours. Strain and add an equal part of water before spraying.
4. Aphids can be squashed by hand, or blasted with a garden hose (water restrictions permitting). Aphids can also be deterred by making a nasturtium spray. The spray is made by taking one cup of nasturtium leaves and one cup of water and gently bringing to the boil over 15 minutes. When the mix is cool, strain and spray.
5. To protect young seedlings create a protective collar from an old yogurt container.
6. To deter aphids and caterpillars make a spray by boiling rhubarb leaves in water. Strain the mix and dilute to the ratio of one part rhubarb to four parts water.
7. Gritty sawdust spread around seedlings will deter snails and slugs who dislike the texture.
8. To keep birds from eating your home grown fruit drape bird netting over trees or alternatively hang aluminum pie dishes or old CDs from the branches to create a reflection to scare the birds away.
9. Used coffee grounds spread around seedlings will kill slugs and snails.
10. Control pear and cherry slug by throwing wood ashes into the affected trees. The ashes dehydrate the slugs.
Eco Friendly House (http://www.ecohousefootprint.com) - Making you home Environmentally Friendly How to make your home more environmentally friendly and reduce your Ecological footprint. Information on Solar Power, Lights, Waste Water, Recycling, Garden, Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Green Energy, Saving Water, Environmental Issues and more. Help save the planet. http://www.ecohousefootprint.com
Filed under: Environment and You | Tags: vegetarian issues, vegetables, rainforest
Many in our Western culture are influenced by our short-term focus on immediate gratification and our right to have what we want. Advertisers tell us more is better, bigger is better, and even we’re better.
Those who live this way call those who look to the future alarmists. After all, the world has survived all the calamities and struggles of the past. It will continue to survive without further attention given to shortages or consequences of present behaviors.
It’s uncomfortable and some say plain unnecessary to make a big deal about what may never happen. Their perspective seems to be that scientists have been warning about the ozone hole getting bigger for years, but we’re still alive. Pollution from cars was a big deal, but now it’s been decreased with legislation. So the oceans are a dumping ground for pollutants. Oceans are big. And over-fishing? Well, they’re still selling fish, aren’t they?
Marketing ads show cattle grazing in green pastures and milk cows admired by bulls. Milk and milk products are promoted as necessary to our health. It’s a status symbol to appear in an ad with a milk mustache.
The American public isn’t shown the factory farms or the slaughter houses. We don’t hear about the antibiotics and hormones unless we search the information out. It isn’t big news that our rivers are being polluted by animal waste from hog farms. Or that there is much more animal waste than human waste but no effective means to dispose of it. Or that methane gas from cattle is a significant pollutant of the air we breathe.
If each person ate just one less meat-based meal each day, or skipped meat just one day each week, that alone would positively impact our environment. The land used to raise feed for animals prior to slaughter is far more efficiently utilized to produce food for people. Many people can be fed from crops raised on the land required to feed just one steer.
The rainforests of South America supply our air with oxygen. That supply is lost when they are burned or cut down to provide grazing land for cattle to feed North American appetites.
Every day we have more people using fewer resources. The Native American view that each of our decisions affects the next seven generations continues to be of value. The choices we make today will impact the future of our children and our childrens’ children.
Gayle Evans is a nurse educator who has lived a vegetarian lifestyle for almost 30 years. To read more information on a healthy vegetarian lifestyle with consideration for the environment, please visit here: vegetariannook.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: harrisonburg homes, harrisonburg housing, harrisonburg real estate, harrisonburg realtors
Why spend hours driving around looking at real estate when you could search the entire MLS from your house? For instance, if you’re looking for Harrisonburg real estate, you could use www.harrisonburghomes.com to find any information you need without having to get out of your chair. This would reduce carbon emissions by allowing you to search the internet instead of driving all through town.
Despite the current state of the Harrisonburg housing market, you can still find reasonably priced houses in Harrisonburg without making a tremendous effort. The internet is becoming a valuable tool for real estate agents as well as prospective buyers and sellers, and the Harrisonburg area is no exception.
