3 Ways Keeping Proper Pressure in Your Tires Saves the Environment

Especially in a faltering economy, people are choosing to maintain their current vehicles rather than buying new ones. Car maintenance is not only about making your car last longer for monetary purposes, but it can also help the environment. Keeping the proper amount of air in your tires saves you money and helps the environment too.

3 reasons to keep the right amount of air in tires

1. Increases fuel economy. The proper amount of air in your tires helps to increase the fuel economy in your car. The less gas you have to put in your car, the less money you have to spend and the less fossil fuel resources have to be tapped.

2. Extends the life expectancy of the tires. Replacing tires on your car can be expensive. By maintaining the proper amount of air pressure, your tires will last longer. It saves you money and keeps your old tires out of the landfill (even though your tire place probably recycles the tires for other uses).

3. Reduces emission. With the proper amount of air, your car has to work less to make it go, which also reduces the amount of emissions your car is producing in the air. Proper air pressure and less of a carbon footprint go hand-in-hand so keep the right amount of air in all four of your tires.
Proper air pressure is the eco-chic way to go for your car and the environment. Put the right amount of air in your tires today (and always).

Flagler Monument Island Clean-up for the Environment

Sitting in the middle of the crystal blue waters of Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach is the man-made island of Flagler Monument Island. Named for the column-like structure that sits on one side of the island, Carl Fisher, the Miami Beach creator built this island in honor of Henry Flagler.

I arrived at the marina on Purdy Avenue around 8:30 am on Saturday morning and headed toward the Ecomb.org table to sign-in and prepare for the short boat ride to the island. The non-profit organization is devoted to "educating Miami-Dade County’s residents and visitors to adopt responsible environmental behaviors and to raising their awareness to our surrounding ecosystems."

Today, our mission was to clean up the trash on Flagler Monument Island, an initiative the non-profit organization tackles once a month. More than 20 volunteers from all walks of life joined together to clean-up the island and leave the environment a little bit safer than it was when we arrived.

The hot South Florida sun beat down on my face and shoulders as the boat took one group at a time of the volunteers from the marina to the island. As we approached the island, (built as a perfect circle by Fisher but has since lost its shape from water, wind and hurricane erosion over the years) groups of families were already inhabiting the island for the day with their boats bobbing just offshore, barbecue grills and tents erected on the sandy beach.

As volunteers hopped from the boats, we approached the Ecomb table that was setup to retrieve our latex gloves and trash bags. I volunteered with my friend and her sister so with our gloves in place and trash bags in hand, we set out to pick up trash. Before we could take a step, one of the boaters approached us and asked for an extra trash bag so they could throw away their own trash. The City of Miami Beach has strategically placed trash barrels around the island for visitors to deposit their trash, but we of course handed over a trash bag to him. According to one volunteer, "We found the most amount of trash closest to the trash cans."

Not prepared for some of the things I saw, we picked up items such as:

*Beer bottles
*Heroine baggies
*Condom wrappers
*Used tampons and maxi pads
*Diapers
*Broken glass
*The grill plate of a barbecue grill
*Cigarette butts
*Plastic bags
*Plastic utensils
*Bottle caps
*Plastic bottles

In the hour we spent cleaning up the island, we amassed more than 20 bags of trash. Keep in mind that Ecomb performs this effort on a monthly basis so that is a lot of trash in a 30-day period. Sweat soaked volunteers were eventually transported back to the marina a boat load at a time feeling a sense of accomplishment as we made the island and its surrounding waters a little safer for animal inhabitants, wildlife and water life. By removing trash that taints the natural habitat, we had adopt responsible environmental behaviors ourselves and raised awareness of our surrounding ecosystems to the people who were enjoying the island for the day.

If you're interested in leaving an environmentally friendly mark on the environment and live in or visit the Miami Beach area, visit www.ecomb.org for more information on its efforts and volunteer opportunities.

Where to Recycle Plastic that Can't Go in the Bin

I recently learned that certain types of plastic cannot go in the recycling bin. Even if you try to sneak in such plastics as soda bottle caps, yogurt containers, butter tubs and cottage cheese tubs, the recycling plant won't recycle them anyway.

So what are you supposed to do with these plastics?

Yesterday, I mentioned that you can take your bottle caps to your local Aveda store and they'll make sure the caps get recycled for you. If you're really hardcore about recycling, you can mail a box or envelope of caps to Aveda, if you don't have a store near you.

Whole Foods is the drop off spot for those plastic tubs and containers (usually #5 plastics) that are segregated from the recycling bin. If you don't have a Whole Foods in your area, you can also mail your plastics to Preserve, the manufacturer of many plastic household goods.

Make sure that the #5 plastics that don't make the recycling bin don't wind up in the trash. Separate these plastics from the others and make a monthly drop-off at Aveda and Whole Foods. It's a small step to making a big difference.

3 Reasons to Go Green and How to Do It

Where I live in Miami, the recycling plant recycles the typical plastics, glass and newspapers. Where my parents live in Virginia, however, the recycling plant even recycles office paper, junk mail and window envelopes. My father, however, still tries to say his recycling bin for junk mail is the trash can no matter how much my mother and I chastise him.

I'm sure dear old Dad isn't the only one struggling with why he should go green or even some of the ways he can do it (besides recycling the junk mail instead of throwing it away).

3 Ways to Go Green and Why You Should Do It

1. Just do it. You may not think that you, one little person, cannot make a difference, but you can. And if everyone thought they couldn't make a difference with what they're doing then where would we be? Every single person makes this planet a little greener by recycling, walking to work, using reusable bags at the grocery--whatever it is you can do, just do it.

2. Grow a garden. Planting your own garden of fruits and veggies contributes to the health of the environment and to your body. It can also help you cut down on your grocery bill. Not to mention emissions from not having to truck the fruits and veggies in from around the country. Growing green also means you're feeding the environment the oxygen plants give off and the plants are sucking up the carbon dioxide from the air. It truly is a win-win.

3. Recycle more plastic. There is so much more plastic that can be recycled--beyond soda bottle and yogurt containers that you may already be throwing in the recycling bin. There are plastics that you can't put in the recycling bin but you can still recycle these products.

Aveda--a local beauty store--accepts the plastic bottle caps that the recycling bin doesn't allow

Whole Foods--the organic and healthy grocery store--recycles your water filter cartridges

Earthworks collects and recycles used gift cards and some other plastics

I'm going to keep trying to get my dad to recycle junk mail in the recycling bin. What can you do to go a little greener? It's well worth the small effort.

Starbucks Gets a Little Greener

After getting my hair trimmed in preparation for heading off on vacation tomorrow, I stopped at Starbucks today for a late afternoon pick-me-up. I was happy to see that this particular Starbucks now offers a 10% discount if you bring in your own coffee cup. For me, it's not really about the discount but more about helping out the environment by not using a disposable cup every time I order a coffee to go.

Next time you're in your neighborhood Starbucks, see if they're offering the same option. If not, ask them to implement it. You'll save a few cents and the environment at the same time!

What Does the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Mean for Green Jobs?

Obama's stimulus package's true intent was to save 3.5 million jobs over the next couple of years. But is that where the power of this money ends? The answer is no. Not when it comes to going green anyway. Part of the package is to increase the amount of renewable energy that the U.S. produces, so it's a move toward a more environmentally friendly way of life.

Increase in green jobs
The really great news is that the need for more renewable energy also calls for more professionals that can help with all of the renewable energy initiatives. The bottom line is this stimulus package may create an opening for more green jobs. So, a company that has 15 biologists on its payroll may have a need now for 30. And these aren't job roles that just anyone can fill. These are highly specialized and trained professionals. With more money available from the Federal Government, companies in the renewable energy industry will have the means to go after, recruit and attract the right professionals for these positions.

Tax relief
Not only will funding be available but there will also be some tax relief associated with the deal. The new Clean Energy Finance Authority has been established to make the process of getting financing and approval for renewable energy loans easier on the borrowers. When the chips fall where they may, it is expected that $100 billion in renewable energy projects will spurt from the cash and tax credit incentives.

So what does the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act mean for green jobs? It means there may be a whole lot more green job positions available in the near future.

Fight the Power

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average household spends more than $250 per year on standby power. So now it's time to do your part--your part to save energy and a little green (money) this year!

Ways to save standby power

1. When you're not using your computer, turn it off!
2. When you step away from your computer for more than a few minutes, put your computer into sleep mode.
3. When your cell phones and other devices are not charging, unplug the chargers.
4. Unplug anything and everything when you're not using it. Plugged in items do draw electricity even when not in use.
5. To turn items off and unplug in one fell swoop, plug items into a power bar. For example, every time you leave your office, turn the power strip off that has your computer, printer and fax machine plugged into it and then unplug the power bar.

Take these five steps and you can save around $250 on your electric bill each year. You'll be saving energy too!

Save Electricty at College (or at Home)

When you're off at college and living off campus, you have to start worrying about paying electricity as part of your expenses. Or if you're a parent a parent with a child that has a cell phone, a gameboy and several other gadgets, plugging all of these items in to charge can really add up.


Solution: A Solar Powered Backpack
That's right. Most office supply stores and some retailers online sell solar-powered backpacks that you can plug in cell phones, laptops and other gadgets into to charge. It's a win-win. Gadgets get the juice they need and it saves money on electricity.