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The solution that can provide millions of under-privileged people with safe drinking water.
About 900 million people go without safe drinking water. the revolutionary LifeStraw Water Purification Project has come about. This invention was created for prevention of waterborne diseases from unsanitary water. The small tube can be carried around to create easy access to safe and clean drinking water. LifeStraw does not use chemicals or batteries to purify the water. LifeStraw removes 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of parasites.

Approximately 43% of the global population, especially the lower-income populace in the remote and rural parts of the developing world, is deprived of household safe piped water

The Ultimate Eco Christmas Tree

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This is such an amazing idea!

I was scrolling through Tumblr and I came across this creation just in time for the holidays. It's sustainable and eco-friendly. Instead of chopping down and killing a beautiful tree just for traditions sake, someone constructed a Christmas tree out of a ladder! And made it look very nice if I say so myself. This is so creative! Not only are you saving money by not purchasing a tree, but also saving a tree from being chopped down.
The average lifespan of a tree is at least 100 years however, when you cut them, they only last a month or two.
This is a prime example of reduce REUSE recycle
Happy Holidays !!

Did you know..

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Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags every year, causing huge amounts of litter and pollution. Cities like Austin and Los Angeles have made a huge dent by banning plastic bags. I remember when living in DC, they charged a couple cents extra for plastic bag usage.

Who said eco friendly cars were ugly?

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I beg to differ. Check these babies out!

Peugeot Onyx Hybrid Super Car







Terra SUV concept by Nissan





Forstars Sport Utility Coupe concept





Honda CR-Z Hybrid



Lexus LF-CC Hybrid coupe





BMW Concept Active Tourer

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Unplug it! When you leave the house or when you stop using electronics, make sure to unplug them from the wall. Unplugging them will not only be easier on the environment but will also save you money on your electricity bill. Believe it or not, you are still using electricity when your items are plugged even if they are not turned on. Hence the reason your laptop batter is hot even thought the computer is off. This is because electricity is still flowing through.

The ENERGY STAR program, 40% of the electricity that home electronics use is consumed while the products are turned off. One Berkeley study suggests the savings would be 6 to 26% off your total bill.

The Main culprits;

• Cell phone chargers
• Lamps
• Small kitchen appliances
• Sound systems
• VCRs and DVD players
• Computers
• Computer printers
• Cable modems/DSL
• TVs

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Say NO to Plastic Water Bottles.

Instead of wasting money buying numerous water bottles, purchase a reusable water bottle for the same price as a pack of wasteful plastic water bottles. Make sure the water bottle is BPA free. BPA is a cancer causing agent in plastic water bottle. Hence the reason why we should not leave our plastic water bottles in the car on hot summer days. The heat from the sun can cause chemicals from the bottle to seep into the water we digest. So be careful! Reusable water bottles are no more than $5 but of course you can purchase the "fancy" ones. Try this reusable water bottle that tracks how many plastic bottles you save from landfills!


The Facts;

• According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, store-bought bottled water is a rip off. Tap water is often subject to more stringent regulation and testing than bottled water. It costs a fraction of the cost from the tap. It is cleaner, cheaper, and thus healthier.
• Ten percent of the plastic produced every year worldwide winds up in the ocean. 70% of which finds its way to the ocean floor, where it will likely never degrade.
• Every square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it. (UN, 2006)
• 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and jars were thrown away in one year (2008). Tap water is cleaner, cheaper and healthier than store-bought water.
• 60 billion single-use drink containers were purchased in 2006, and 3 out of 4 were thrown out directly after use.
• Plastic bottles are among the most prevalent source of pollution found on our beaches.

Also, go a step further and invest in a water filter for your sink. You can purchase a detachable water filter for your faucet for about $20. Or you can purchase a water filter pitcher. Either way, these two options are a lot more cheaper than buying packs of water bottles every week. This is easier on the environment and also on your pockets!

Four More Years

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Election time is right around the corner. Do you know who you're votin for? What's that? Obama? Of course you are! Check out a couple of the environmental strides President Obama has done for the environmental movement so far;

• Nearly doubling renewable energy usage while our dependance on nasty foreign oil is at a 16 year low!


• Investing in over 15,000 clean energy projects which supported nearly 225,000 clean energy jobs .


• By 2035, Obama proposed that America gets at least 80% of its electricity from CLEAN energy and not dirty coal and/or oil which are horrible for the environment.
• Proposed the first ever carbon pollution standard for diry coal plants which is the leading cause of air pollution from the CO2 it emits daily cause greenhouse gases to pollute the environment and contribute to global warming. Whew! That was a mouth full.
• Signed one of the largest wilderness protections which set aside more than 2 million acres as protected wilderness.
• Investments which contribute approximately $427 million and 3,200 jobs in restoring ecosystems such as Everglades, Great Lakes, and Chesapeake Bay.
• Helped restore more than 5,200 acres of coastal habitat and protect more than 54,000 acres of coastal areas
• National Clean Water Framework which helps ensure the integrity of the water we rely on.
• Established the first-ever national standards for toxic air pollution which will prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and 130,000 cases of asthma symptoms each year.

Remember, Obama is not superman. He is not a dictator either. Therefore, everything he may want to happen, may not happen. Especially with a house full of Republicans who continiuously shoot down every clean energy attempt he proposes. These are a list of his achievement in the environmental movement so far. This says a lot more than what our previous presidents hav done for the environmental movement. Last year, Obama even directed $2 billion to developing solar power plants so that we can take our dependence off of dirty fossil fuels and focus more on using energy from our most natural energy source, the sun. After all, plants do it and they are getting along pretty well if you ask me. And Obama is no hypocrite either. He set a carbon reduction target for the government itself to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by 28% by the year 2020.

Picture of the Day

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Environmental Tip of the Day

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Make it a full load!

Run your dishwasher only when it's full. Don't pre-rinse dishes - tests show pre-rinsing doesn't improve dishwasher cleaning, and you'll save as much as 20 gallons of water per load. When you buy a new dishwasher, look for one that saves water. Water-efficient models use only about only about 4 gallons per wash.

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Opt for E-Books.

Instead of buying new books in paper form, try purchasing the e-book version online. That way there will be less trees cut down to supply the demand for paper form books. Also, e-books are easily accessed whenever and whereever without having to tote along a heavy book.

Students, opt for the e-book version of your textbooks for class. Trust me when I say this is much more efficient. Not only will you have less to carry but e-books are easily accessible with great features! You can highlight lines and also leave notes in the e-book. As long as you have your computer, you have your textbook. You can also borrow and/or rent textbooks.

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Use less paper and/or use recycled paper.

When buying products such as toilet paper and regular writing paper, make sure that it is made with "post-consumer recycled fiber".

Post Consumer means that the product was made with recycled materials. The higher the percentage of recycled fiber, the better. The U.S. alone is responsible for the chopping of 1 million trees.

Adding More Land to NYC

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"Lower Lower Manhattan"


In an ambitious move to expand the downtown economic powerhouse, adding more land to Manhattan is proposed by the Center for Urban Real Estate also known as CURE. Manhattan is a highly populated area housing the Financial District and Midtown. The plan is to connect Lower Manhattan to Governor's Island with a land bridge made from landfill. This would make add 88 million square feet to Manhattan and would also house office buildings, stores and restaurants. "Lower Lower Manhattan" could possibly generate $16.7 billion in revenue over the next 20-30 years! As crazy as it may seem, adding artificial land is nothing new to NYC being that 10% of the borough is already made up of landfill located at Manhattans southern tip.

Lo Lo has already been dubbed the new name for the new land of Lower Lower Manhattan. Catchy much? Soho, Noho..

However, do not get too excited. This plan is only an idea and for now, is not going to happen. It is being argued that the money put towards this creation could be used for other much needed projects.

photo credit; NY Times

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Bring your laptop to class.

By bringing your laptop to class, you are limiting your paper usage from taking notes. Think of all the notes that are taken during class. Tons of notebooks are being used for taking down notes. Instead, use notepad, microsoft word or any other program you have on your computer to take notes in class. This way you will always have your notes with you and you will not have to scramble for your notes. You can even organize your notes better on the computer than on paper and keep them forever with less clutter.

Environmental tip of the day;

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Try eating a more vegetarian diet.

Vegetarians leave less of a carbon footprint than meat eaters. Forests are suffering from deforestion due to the trees being cleared for livestock grazing. Farms used to house the animals are not only slaughter houses but also horrible on the environment. Try to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet.

Think of it this way-the more beef we eat, the more forests we lose.

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Stop recieving junk mail.

Always opt for the "Green Choice" when signing up for services such as your cell phone bill and bank statements. Instead, sign up to have your bill/statments emailed to you. That way there will be less paper used and less gas used for actually shipping them to you.

Also, some stores are starting to email reciepts such as Urban Outfitters. Having your reciept email to you is definitely more convienient being that you wont have worry about losing the reciept.

According to DoNotMail.org, it takes 100 million trees to produce the junk mail delivered every year to U.S. mailboxes, including the roughly 800 pieces that arrive in your mailbox, if yours is a typical household.

If you register for the Mail Preference Service on the Direct Marketing Association, your name and address will be removed from mailing lists within 90 days.

You can also opt out of home phone book delievery if you do not need it (which most of us does not). Try usings Yellow Pages Goes Green.

Did You Know?

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Toilet paper in the U.S. alone is responsible for the chopping of 1 million trees.

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Drink shade-grown coffee!

Coffee lovers! Be environmentally aware of what you are drinking and the effects that it has on the environment. Be sure to drink shade-grown coffee.

What is shade-grown coffee?
Shade-grown coffee are grown on plantations which preserve the native rain forests rather than open fields that have been cleared of all native trees.

Here are a couple shade-grown coffee sellers:
Arbor Day Foundation coffee
Audubon Shade Grown Coffee
Birds & Beans

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Hey you!
Yes, you!

Put that prehistoric incandescent light bulb back on the shelf!

After all, they'll be banned here in the US pretty soon. Some countries have already beat us to it;
* Ireland by early 2009
* Australia by 2010
* Argentina by 2010
* Italy by 2010
* France announced by 2010 but no further details
* UK by 2011 via voluntary retailer agreements
* Netherlands by 2011 voluntarily
* Canada by 2012
* US by 2014
* China in 2017
* Cuba providing free CFLs
* Venezuela providing free CFLs
* Brazil subsidises CFLs
* Russia has begun a marketplace initiative
* Belgium announced a ban but no further details
* Japan considering ban
* New Zealand considering ban

Environmental Tip of the Day

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Plant a tree!

Planting trees provide many benefits for the environment and home. Trees absorb CO2 emissions which are pollutants we put into the air. This function helps to combat greenhouse gases/global warming.

Not only are trees good for the environment but they are also good for your home. Planting trees in your yard can keep your home cool in the hot summer days which reduces your energy bill. Trees also increase the property value of a home as well.

You can buy tree seeds online. Also, Home Depot sells trees that you can actually plant without the seeds.

Happy Earth Day!

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Here is a suggestion. Why not get out and have a pic-nic/cook out today? Enjoy the beauty of the environment. You could even RSVP to local picnics going on for Earth Day today. Or you could host your own picnic.

GREEN your picnic;

Choose a local park. This way you can save on gas and lessen the amount of emissions we put into the air daily. Walk, run or bike to your local part for great exercise as well.

Use recyclable material. Stay away from paper. No paper plates or cups. Do not insult the trees. Instead, reuse the containers already in the home. Glass is a bit better than using plastic.

Eat healthy! The lower the food is on the food chain, the more eco-friendly it is. So incorporate as much fruits and vegetables into your picnic as you can. For today, try a vegetarian diet or even a pescetarian diet which consists of seafood. It literally takes up to 634 gallons of water to make a hamburger. So let’s give it a break today.

Do not forget to clean up your site. Keep your park beautiful. Recycle and compost your unwanted items at the park.

Make this a habit! Summer is on the way which is a perfect time to enjoy nature.

Cant make it out? Try these tips.