Artificial
Pros: Durable, affordable, easy to set up and maintain and continues to look good.
Cons: PVC, phthalates, huge carbon footprint and no natural tree scent

Real
Pros: environmentally friendly, local, renewable and recyclable and they smell good
Cons: grown with pesticides, difficult to set up and maintain, pricey

Solution? I already have an artificial so I am going with “reuse” despite the PVC and phthalates concerns. Plus I like a white tree and that is tough to find at the tree farm. Still can’t decide? You could always go with a Festivus pole.

Holiday Gifts With a Donation Twist
If you would like to make a donation to a worthy cause and go holiday shopping in the process, then check out greenlagirls Give to get: Picking an eco-gift bag.

Her useful review actually compares the contents of two different eco gift bags to determine if the bag is truly eco-useful or just fluff. One bag is from Environmental Working Group for a $135 donation and the other is from Jump Start to Green for an $89.99 donation. Either bag is a great way to get an “eco-interested” friend or relative started on the right foot.

Green Holiday Gift Guide (for Him)
Are you looking for greener gifts for the man in your life? Look no further than Inhabitat’s Green Gifts For Men. Most items are pricey but you will come out with unique, sustainable and eco conscious gifts crafted from recycled materials and that make a green statement to the world.

The short list that you can use to green your pumpkin:
1.Purchase an organic pumpkin to take strain off the environment
2.Purchase a smaller baking pumpkin and do something edible with the insides and carve the outside
3.Eat the seeds
4.Donate your used jack-o-lantern to a zoo. Call ahead to make sure your local zoo wants them.
5.Compost the pumpkin. Find a municipal compost pile if you don’t have your own.

Great list! Read the full list including recipes and links at Gaiam-life.com

While you are at it, check out more green Halloween tips from Grist.
Image Source: http://life.gaiam.com/gaiam/p/5-Easy-Ways-to-Green-Your-JackOLantern.html?p=1

The traditional wedding is expensive, extravagant, and elegant. The bride and groom will pay a large amount of money to create an elegant, romantic, and fairytale wedding. Today we are seeing increasing numbers environmentally conscious brides and grooms choosing green weddings.

Green weddings show the initiative, awareness and responsibility to take care of our environment. Green weddings are also known as environment friendly, or eco friendly weddings. A green wedding theme inspires the guests, relatives and friends to do their part to protect and care for the environment.

Green Wedding Ideas

Use a recycled wedding band. Fair trade stores, pawn shops and thrift stores may sell recycled gold for wedding bands. Antique shows, auctions, and shops may also carry some lovely wedding bands.

Arrive in style with a hybrid car. The hybrids use a fraction of fuel compared to conventional cars. Organize car pools for the guests. The car pool will take several cars off the road and pollutants out of the air. Set the wedding ceremony and wedding reception close together (or in the same location) so the guests do not have far to go for the next itinerary.

Ask for the print shop to use recycled paper for wedding invitation. Recycled paper and stationary is now widely available. For a paperless wedding invitation, the bride and groom may consider online wedding website.

Rent, or borrow the wedding dress from friends or relatives. Renting or borrowing the wedding dress allows the wedding dress to be reused or recycled. Sometimes you can find excellent deals on new or “like new” wedding dresses on eBay.

The quality of digital photography is often as good as a traditional film camera without the toxic hazards associated with film and developing. The wedding photographers can often get the same results with digital camera. Digital photography also allows the bride and groom to screen unwanted pictures and create an online wedding album.

Reuse the wedding flowers. The wedding flowers from the church may also be used at the wedding reception. Try to use wedding flowers that are available locally and seasonally to reduce fuel costs.

Try to use organic wedding flowers to reduce the use of pesticides.

Use dishes that are reusable and washable. If it is impossible to use reusable and washable plates, spoons and glasses, then easily biodegradable plates, spoons and glasses are an excellent alternative.

There are caterers who specialize in organic dishes. Using only organic ingredients, the chef or cook creates the appetizing dishes for the wedding reception to enjoy. The organic wines, spirits, champagne, beer, soft drinks and juices will quench the thirst of the guests.

Toss only biodegradable and bird friendly wedding favors such as paper, nuts, wheat and rice. The nuts, wheat and rice will feed the birds and squirrels.

Choose eco-travel for your honeymoon. The ecotourism is also known as ecological tourism. Experience the adventure local culture, wilderness, flora, and fauna. Ecotourism promotes recycle of biodegradable materials, efficient use of energy,conservation of water supply, reforestation, evalution of local culture, reduction of waste, education of ecosystem, reproduction of endangered species and reversal of global warming.

Author: Dennis Estrada
About the author: Dennis Estrada owns wedding advice & destination wedding traditions and destination wedding etiquette website.

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/koalie/2560862862/

Earlier in the week I was at our local health food store waiting for my turn at the check-out counter when I noticed the lady in front of me had bought her own re-usable carry bags which suddenly made a lot more sense to me than choosing “paper or plastic”. When we witness examples of people choosing to live in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way, it causes us to stop and reflect on our own living and buying practices.

The Global Green USA program that invites celebrities to arrive at the Academy Awards in energy efficient transportation started in 2002 with just four participants. This year Jennifer Aniston and supporting-actress nominee Frances McDormand were among the 25 VIPs to participate in the fourth annual “Red Carpet, Green Cars” event sponsored by the environmental organization Global Green USA and Toyota Motor Corp. Participants in the program arrived in either Toyota or Lexus hybrids. Considering that close to 40 million people watch the Academy Awards it creates a great opportunity for a lesson in green living and shows that you can be environmentally minded with style.

The same applies to planning a “green meeting”. In the process you are not giving up anything and can be saving a lot in terms of cost and waste in the process. A green meeting or event incorporates environmental considerations to minimize any negative impact on the environment. There are also economic benefits to using recycled materials, reusing items and reducing the amount of materials used. Plan an environmentally responsible event and promote your event’s environmental features keeping the following ideas in mind:

Prevent and Reduce Waste
Use double-sided printing for promotional materials and handouts. Avoid mass distribution of handouts and allow attendees to order copies. Provide reusable name badges.

Recycle and Manage Waste
Collect paper and recyclable beverage containers in meeting areas. Collect cardboard and paper in exhibit areas. Collect cardboard, beverage containers, aluminum cans, and plastics in food vending areas. If re-usable containers are not used, encourage use of recyclable beverage containers.

Conserve Energy and Reduce Traffic
Look for naturally lighted meeting and exhibit spaces. Publicize mass transportation options. Provide shuttle service from mass transit stops or hotels to the event site.

Food Service and Accommodations
Plan food service needs carefully to avoid unnecessary waste. Consider use of durable food service items. Donate excess food to charitable organizations. Work with the hotel on non-replacement of linens, soaps, etc.

Buy Environmentally Aware Products
Use recycled paper and vegetable- and soy-based inks for promotional materials and handouts. Consider selling or providing refillable containers for beverages. Provide reusable containers for handouts or samples (pocket or file folders, cloth bags). Where reusable items are not feasible, select products that are made from recovered materials and that also can be recycled.

Educate Participants and Exhibitors
Request the use of recycled and recyclable handouts or giveaways. Request that unused items be collected for use at another event. Encourage participants to recycle materials at the event. Reward participation by communicating environmental savings achieved.

For more information and support in planning your “green meetings”, go to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Green Conference Initiative The Green Meetings / Conference Initiative was developed and is supported by the EPA’s Pollution Prevention Division to provide conference planners and suppliers of conference services, easy access to environmentally friendly goals of conference planning. The Initiative provides green options and opportunities for conference planning.

Author:Yvon Douran
About the author: A desire to creatively express myself in the world drives me. A wish to provide a service of value is at the foundation of my business. Pursuits related to improving the quality of life on earth interest me. I have been working with professional speakers for 8 years. More info at:
http://www.keynoteresource.com

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/kino-eye/37596727/

More popularly known as Green Building, this is a method of constructing a home or building with the use of environmentally friendly products and technique. Much thought is given to what is available at the site it self, it is a boon to be able to harvest energy, water and some materials for the construction. This type of construction combines urban and wild land development, you have a modern home using mostly natural materials that are found around your land. Excess wood from the trees that cut to make way for the construction site may be used as flooring for a particular room.

Green Building costs less since most of the materials needed are easy to manufacture and do not put the environment or your health at risk. Imagine positioning a building in a direction that takes advantage of natural lighting and wind direction. To keep energy use at a minimum, a well insulated structure using safe insulation is needed. With Green Building, the worry for toxic fumes emitted by artificial insulation is a thing of the past.

Since technology in Green Building is evolving and the response to the demands for the environmentally sound materials are acknowledged by the building materials industry. “Green Building Products” is gaining acceptance, not just because of its impact on the environment but because of the excellence in quality. All of these materials comply to construction standards in appearance, practicality and durability. These may be eco-friendly but also succeed in adding an appealing visual quality to the room. Designing with green materials also gives architects and designers the freedom to extend the norms of building design, appearance and style. Green designers look for materials that are available and easily replaceable. Using old techniques with the use of technology make natural materials available without the risk of exploiting the source. The Bamboo Grass and the Cork Tree are two of the favored construction materials for flooring. The life of the tree is never endangered when the needed materials are extracted. The Cork Tree bark is just stripped leaving the tree still living. While the Bamboo Grass, is harvested according to the shoot’s age. Since shoots are known to grow from a single root, extraction is not dangerous.

The next time you think of remodeling your house, keep in mind what is healthy for you and still looks great. We must remember, if we think green we will always see green.

by Gladys J Co
About the author:A feature writer who is an in-house writer for http://agentsofvalue.com

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/gsbrown99/2504988631/

There is another, perhaps unexpected benefit to the high gasoline prices however. Just as smoking related deaths drop in almost predictable numbers when cigarette prices increase, auto related deaths are on a swift and remarkable decline due to the rising price of gasoline. Some researchers believe that automobile related fatalities will drop by as much as one third because of gas prices.

Some of the reasons suggested for the remarkable decrease in fatalities is that the riskiest drivers (teenagers) cannot afford gasoline, the most dangerous vehicles (SUVs) are too expensive to drive and that people are simply driving more slowly to save money. Most importantly however, is that people are simply driving less. 1.4 billion fewer miles less in April alone to be precise. That may not be good news for your summer vacation but it is excellent news for the environment and approximately 12,000 lives saved every year.

Learn more at abcnews.com

• Red Composting Worms
• Rubbermaid Bin
• Worm bedding such as old leaves, grass clippings or shredded newspapers

You can put it under your sink, feed it anything compostable, do your part to save the environment and get some excellent fertilizer for your lawn or garden (for free).

This might be acceptable if the amber waves of pesticides are feeding thousands of starving people, but now it seems that massive government subsidies are in place to promote ethanol which takes more fuel to create than it produces in the end. Is ethanol an environmental nightmare?

Author: Sandra Case

What is Ethanol?
Ethanol is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a fuel or solvent. Ethanol is also called ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol. Ethanol is the most important member of a large group of organic compounds that are called alcohol. Alcohol is an organic compound that has one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups attached to a carbon atom. Alcohol is shown as: C-O-H or C-OH.

Ethanol is a product of fermentation. Fermentation is a sequence of reactions which release energy from organic molecules in the absence of oxygen. In this application of fermentation, energy is obtained when sugar is changed to ethanol and carbon dioxide. All beverage ethanol and more than half of industrial ethanol is made by this process.

Pros of Ethanol:

1. Adding ethanol to gasoline improves combustion and reduces toxic emissions
2. Ethanol helps keep fuel injectors clean and improves engine performance
3. Ethanol revives local economies with high paying jobs (thanks to the subsidies)

*source Iowacorn.org

Cons of Ethanol

1. Ethanol increases prices at the pump due to increased complexity of production
2. Ethanol requires more energy to create than the final product contains
3. Ethanol is simply converting massive amounts of energy into another form
4. Ethanol cannot be shipped via normal pipelines substantially increasing costs
5. Ethanol contains 2/3 less energy than gasoline so the same priced tank will not take you as far
6. Billions of tax dollars are being spent on ethanol subsidies
7. Corn production depletes underwater aquifers
8. Corn production causes massive soil erosion
9. Negative environmental impact of 10 million acres of corn that could be returned to forest

source: Slate.com, Igreens.org

How Ethanol is Made:
Converting corn into ethanol by fermentation takes many steps. Starch in corn must be broken down into simple sugars before fermentation can occur. In earlier times, this was done by chewing the corn. This allowed the salivary enzymes to naturally break down the starch. Today, this is achieved by cooking the corn and adding the enzymes alpha amylase and gluco amylase. These enzymes function as catalysts to speed up the chemical changes. Changing the starch in kernels of corn to sugar and changing sugar to ethanol is a complex process and requires a mix of technologies that include microbiology, chemistry and engineering.

Once a simple sugar is obtained, yeast is added. Yeast is a single-celled fungi which feeds on the sugar and causes the fermentation. As the fungi feeds on the sugar, it produces alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. In fermentation, the ethanol retains much of the energy that was originally in the sugar, and explains why ethanol is used as a fuel. Most of the ethanol production in the United States is made in 50 production facilities in 20 different states. Most of these plants are located in the Midwest.

Bottom line:
Why on earth are we going to spend billions of dollars to chemically infest 10 million acres of previously forested land that could be used to grow food for human beings but instead is used to make an incredibly inefficient fuel that is so expensive that the farmers themselves cannot use it to fuel their own ethanol production and it does nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Better alternatives? Public transportation, solar cells, electric vehicles, hybrids, bicycles, scooters and yes, your own two feet.

About the author:
This article has been written by Sandra Case, who is Vice President of Commodity Research for Absolute Futures Commodity Brokerage. For further information regarding this article or information on other commodities or trading of the commodity markets please contact Sandra Case 800-935-6494. http://www.absolute-futures.com