Editorial

As the conservation and “green” movement looks for more followers and more momentum, much attention has been directed to the global phenomenon of the multi-billion dollar fast-food industry.

Some fast-food chains are making great strides toward being “green” in all of the key facets of such an operation – obtaining local and reliable sources for its food; using recycled packaging materials; and constructing buildings with green initiatives in mind such as LED lighting, clearly marked recycling bins, and landscaping that can sustain itself without much water.

But conservation organizations and supporters feel there is much to be done in the future.

Obviously, you look to the top to see how such environmental concerns are unfolding with the most powerful fast-food chain. Experts agree that McDonald’s could undeniably change the face of supply chain sustainability with “green overtones” to every facet of its business. After all, the company operates 31,000 stores with yearly sales of over $23 billion, and McDonald’s executives have been in the news in attempting to improve their environmental scorecard by working more closely with suppliers who themselves have environment-friendly business models. At the same time, they are trying to phase out suppliers who are harmful to the environment. To that end, it was reported earlier this year that the company supports a moratorium on soya suppliers to prevent harmful environmental practices in the Amazon.

McDonald’s introduction of its first “green” restaurant in Chicago is a signal of the potential future of the franchise. In addition, it has introduced free EV charging stations for customers in a North Carolina restaurant, with the only potential problem being that it generally takes longer to charge an electric vehicle than the average amount of time a customer spends in a McDonald’s.

McDonald’s restaurants in South America are already delivering used oil to be converted into biodiesel fuel.

But “green” watchdog groups are encouraging the company and others like it to work on improving its packaging materials, and also incorporate more green design into the restaurant buildings.

The McDonald’s “green” restaurant in Chicago is estimated to use 25 percent less energy than a traditional McDonald’s by featuring a green roof, a storm water retention system and energy-saving kitchen and network equipment. It also features the use of recycled milk containers to be used in making the tabletops, and a partition built out of Coca-Cola bottles.

Researchers are determining if waste from fast-food chains can somehow be converted to energy sources or compost for farmers.

Imagination seems to be the only boundary for fast-food chains in trying certain measures, as over the long haul it would definitely be a money-saving initiative to convert to more green restaurants.

While the “greening” of our lifestyles is becoming more apparent, and our awareness of conserving natural resources is reaching new levels, it is still unusual to find a store that practices all that is being preached.

It is hard to predict if these types of stores will multiply and prosper in the future. That all depends on how consumers worldwide view stores with a mission to draw environmentally conscious patrons, or to educate those who want to learn more.

One such example exists in the small community of Geneva, Ill., where a shop called Peaceful Parlour recently opened its doors. “Many things in the store are made from things we saved from going into the landfill,” store owner Shari Ralish explains.

That would include hammocks made from hemp or recycled plastic bottles; door mats created from wasted fishermen’s ropes; and organic, cotton shopping bags that are alternatives to plastic bags.
The “green” toys in the shop are made from recycled plastic milk jugs and have no small parts that could be dangerous to children. “The toys in here are ‘Alexander approved,’” Ralish said, referring to testing the products on her son Alexander first. Recycled cardboard furniture and botanical paints also are available for children.Feeding spoons and baby bowls are made from bamboo, Ralish said, emphasizing that many items in her store are “natural earth products that have no toxins.”

Ralish said she “avoids plastics in any we can” when choosing products to sell.

Rainwater diversion kits for creating rain benches or rain barrels are also on display, along with various plant-based cream moisturizers, oils and mists that are targeted for different sensations, from calming to energizing fragrances.

Household items and some furniture pieces are made from re-used fabrics, assuring that original items are getting second or third uses. “We are hoping as more people learn about us, they will stop in for a visit,” Ralish said.

www.peacefulparlour.com

The Essential Element has developed a revolutionary next-generation mobile power plant and water purification solution that brings hope to over a billion people in the world who do not have access to clean drinking water. According to the World Health Organization, over 5,000 people die each day because the energy necessary to purify water is not available in impoverished regions or disaster areas. The company claims to have solved this problem with their HYDRA, an on-site self-fueled, self-powered system to pump, purify and store potable water and excess power.

The HYDRA is a fuel cell-based device that can turn scum into over 20,000 gallons of pure water a day, store electricity better than a battery, make medical-grade oxygen and run on the sun. “What we’re doing is using the sun to break water into hydrogen and oxygen, saving the oxygen for medical uses and using the hydrogen to power the fuel cell, which provides the energy to run the water purification system,” said Brad Carlson, COO of The Essential Element. “So it’s fully self-contained, needs no outside sources of power, and can be delivered to any point on the globe.”

The HYDRA produces far more power than the water purification equipment needs, which can then be used to power schools, clinics, tools, lights, emergency or community communication systems and other devices, say is inventors.

Mobile water purification systems have been employed for many years with limited results. Several major problems have limited the widespread adoption of the systems. High-cost/low-efficiency solar panels are heavy and expensive. They utilize difficult-to-dispose-of batteries with limited life and power storage and produce ineffective or marginal water purification. Use of gasoline or diesel fuel generators runs the risk of spills. Fossil fuel contaminates water and soil whenever it comes into contact with them—just one quart of oil can pollute 150,000 gallons of water—not to mention the toxic fumes emitted when fossil fuels are burned or the costs and difficulties of transporting those fuels over flooded or damaged roads.

Use of the HYDRA, which costs about $100,000, can provide pathogen-free clean water and power to people wherever and whenever it is needed, raising the standard of living for impoverished people all over the world, says Carlson.

There are moments when you want your breath taken away. Other times, for instance when you are sleeping, maybe not so much. Unfortunately, for 12 million Americans suffering from sleep-disordered breathing, this isn’t always an option. While previous risks to sleep-disordered breathing came from obesity or family history, researchers have recently found a new contributing factor: pollution.

Researchers form the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health explored the link between air pollution levels, temperature increases, and sleep-disordered breathing. Their study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, used data from the Sleep Heart Health Study. The study followed 6,000 participants from 1995 to 1998. Researchers cross-examined the sleep study results with EPA air pollution monitoring data from 7 U.S. cities during the same years. Using the two sources, researchers were successful in finding a link between pollution, temperature, and sleep-disordered breathing.

The study showed that pollution affected sleep patterns in a particular way. Researchers found that particles in pollution influence the upper airways as well as the central nervous system. This disturbance leads to poor and disrupted sleep which affects both health and overall well-being. Probably the most important outcome of this study is the ever prevalent idea that environmental pollution and damage can have serious repercussions on human health. Even something as small as a particle can affect millions of individuals in polluted places. The key to remember is that the more we try to avoid the fact that pollution and other environmental harms are hurting us, the more damage they will do.

The United Steelworkers praised Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for introducing the Security in Energy and Manufacturing Act of 2010. The SEAM Act is aimed at helping to grow the nation’s green manufacturing supply chain.

Senator Brown’s SEAM Act is a companion to Congressman Phil Hare’s (D-IL) bill, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 16 and supported by the USW. Brown’s bill provides for greater opportunity to create good green manufacturing jobs by making available $5 billion in tax credits or grants to companies manufacturing goods and components in the United States that are used in alternative energy projects, such as wind farms, nuclear power plants and solar generation plants.

The SEAM Act builds upon the energy manufacturing tax credit in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to encourage a green domestic manufacturing supply chain for alternative energy projects as the nation transitions to energy independence. The section provides for a 30 percent tax credit for investments in new, expanded or re-equipped green energy manufacturing facilities.

The USW strongly supported Section 48c in the Recovery Act, which was so popular that the initial $2.3 billion in credit ran out quickly and many worthy projects had to be put aside awaiting additional credit authority, the union notes.

“The USW supports Senator’s Brown’s efforts to expand and improve this energy manufacturing tax incentive by providing an additional $5 billion in credit or grants to expand and create green manufacturing and good jobs right here in the U.S.,” says USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “A typical wind turbine made by Pennsylvania steelworkers includes 250 tons of steel, three tons of copper, 250 yards of concrete, titanium components for rotator hubs, gears and gear boxes, bearings and many more domestic components.”

Gerard also noted that USW members also make many other alternative and efficient energy products, such as glass for solar panels, goods from recycled paper and energy efficient air conditioning products.

“These are the kinds of good-paying, permanent jobs we need to create if we are to reinvigorate our manufacturing base so it can become a key player in the transition to a clean and green energy future.”

Kaiser Permanente will now require suppliers to provide environmental data for $1 billion worth of medical equipment and products used in its hospitals, medical offices and other facilities.

The Sustainability Scorecard is the first of its kind in health care. It will allow Kaiser Permanente to evaluate the sustainability of each medical item it purchases while also encouraging suppliers across the industry to provide greener products for the health care sector. Addressing concerns about products and materials commonly used throughout health care will help create a healthier environment for Kaiser Permanente’s patients, employees and physicians.

“Kaiser Permanente recognizes we can improve health today and for the future by taking a close look at the products we purchase,” said Dean Edwards, vice president and chief procurement officer. “With Kaiser Permanente’s size and influence, the work we’re doing is continuing to move the industry.”

Kaiser Permanente spends more than $1 billion each year on medical products. By September this year, when Kaiser Permanente’s key supply chain partner, Broadlane, adopts the tool, the scorecard could influence $10 billion in medical purchasing. Kaiser Permanente’s current environmental policies already provide environmental guidelines for products ranging from greener cleaning chemicals to IV tubing free of potentially harmful chemicals. The Sustainability Scorecard goes further by requiring suppliers to provide information on their company’s environmental commitment, use of potentially harmful chemicals in their products and information about product and packaging recycling.

“Kaiser Permanente is continually working to find environmentally friendly products, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and inform public policy to protect the health and safety of our workforce and members alike,” said Kathy Gerwig, Kaiser Permanente’s vice president for workplace safety and environmental stewardship officer. “With our Sustainability Scorecard, we are strengthening the link between sustainability and health.”

As many as 30 years ago, a school, office building or a home that took the steps to convert to solar energy were looked upon as pioneers setting the stage for a new era of energy.

But a quick look at the history of solar energy tells us that ancient Greeks and Romans understood the benefit in designing architecture in a way that allowed the sun to light and heat indoor spaces. They were quick to build houses and other structures that utilized glass or mica on the south sides of buildings to hold in the heat provided by a winter sun. And they did it with conservation in mind, not just as a way to stay warmer during cold months. Greeks and Romans were able to calculate the use of the sun’s energy, and would use those calculations to offset the need to burn wood, which was often hard to come by.

Forward-thinking industrialists could see that fossil fuels powering the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century would eventually be used up. So solar power was again a way to conserve.

Despite this long history with solar energy, it never quite took hold in the late 1970s, when it first began to appear with solar panels on tops of buildings. In fact, many scoffed at the notion that this could work – especially if one was trying to utilize the new technology in regions of the country that couldn’t count on the sun being out consistently for days at a time.

But enter the current green movement and awareness, and the potential rises for solar energy to again become more accessible, more effective and, ultimately, more popular.

The technical description of a solar panel is a panel composed of several individual photovoltaic cells that are arranged in a grid pattern. This allows the panel to collect clean, renewable energy in the form of sunlight during the day, and converting that light into electricity in a direct-current voltage form for storing in a battery or for direct conversion to typical 120- or 220-volt alternating currents.

The technology, called solar photovoltaic, or PV, has been around for 70 years, with the discovery credit going to Albert Einstein. In some states, like California, new energy metering laws permit residents with solar grid systems to feed their excess solar energy back into the public electricity grid, which in effect will “spin back” the individual’s meter and qualify that person for compensation, or credits, for producing electricity.

Ken Sobel, the president of United Sustainable Energy in San Diego, was quoted in a national wire service story as saying that the cost of materials needed to install solar energy has become less expensive and more attractive for homeowners.

“Solar panels on a roof are a ‘badge of honor’ showing commitment to being socially responsible and green,” Sobel said.In general, solar panels are guaranteed to generate electricity for 25 years, and those in the industry estimate that a homeowner can expect to recoup in savings the entire investment in a solar panel system within about five years.

The Solar Energy Industries Association web site at seia.org is considered a good starting point for a consumer to get a basic primer on solar energy and its options. Solar-estimate.org is a free public service site that estimates solar, wind and renewable energy system costs and the payback and financial advantages.

In the spirit of Earth Day, Green America is offering 10 tips for individuals to become more environmentally friendly.

“Going green saves money, creates jobs, and supports local communities. Green is the new red, white and blue,” says Green America Executive Director Alisa Gravitz. “One thing all Americans can do to help the environment on Earth Day and every day is to direct their money towards greener purchases.”

Green America’s tips for going green:

• Borrow, trade or buy used—The greenest thing consumers can do is to not buy new things at all.  You can find books, CDs and movies for free at the local library. People across the country are setting up clothing swaps to give away old clothes and get new  ones in return.  Online services like Craigslist, Freecycle and Ebay make it easy to find quality used goods locally and nationally, including first-rate used furniture that is often higher quality than new.  

• Grow your own food –When you plant your own garden you can ensure that your food is organic and healthy, and since there is no transportation involved, there are no climate change emissions.  You’ll also save money and you can spend time with your family in the garden. A recent National Gardening Association study found that the average family spends $70 a year on maintaining a vegetable garden, and grows about $600 worth of produce.

• Green your energy at home—Start with energy efficiency; using less energy is the best way to green your power consumption and enjoy big savings. There are many simple actions you can take.

• Give your car a break—If only 1 percent of car owners in the U.S. did not drive for one day a week, we would save an estimated 42 million gallons of gas per year and keep 840 million pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.  

• Buy used, organic, or sweatshop-free clothes—Cotton accounts for more than 10 percent of the world’s pesticide use and nearly 25 percent of the world’s insecticide use. Instead of buying clothes at the mall, you can buy stylish clothes at thrift and resale shops, and purchase new clothes that are sweatshop-free, organic and/or Fair Trade.

• Buy organic and Fair Trade personal care products—Make-up and body care products have been linked to allergic reactions, birth defects and even cancer.  In addition, many products contain oils and extracts that are harvested and produced in a way that harms the environment and exploits workers.

• Buy green home products—Household cleaners, paints and stains, furniture, carpets, and many other items contain volatile organic compounds, which have been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption and eye irritants.  Instead, make your own cleaners from safe, household ingredients or purchase green cleaning products.

• Support local green businesses—Spending money at locally owned businesses keeps more money in your community while supporting the growing number of businesses that are going green.

• With the money you save, invest in a greener future—A growing number of Americans are investing for their future. While doing so, they can also invest in a better future for the planet. Invest in socially responsible mutual funds that earn competitive returns and promote corporate responsibility.  

• Turn to Green America’s National Green Pages to get started—Start greening your purchases everyday by using the National Green Pages (www.greenpages.org), the largest listing of business in the U.S. screened for their social and environmental responsibility.

A look at the “house of the future” has piqued the curiosity of people all over the world for generations—whether that look came in futuristic movies, cartoons (remember “The Jetsons?”), novels or displays at theme parks or museums.

With the “green” trend enjoying its strongest momentum in decades, the call for “smart homes,” or those that employ and utilize all facets of conservation, has increased. As the general public’s interest has likewise increased, the need for a “smart home” to be current and even trendy has become more apparent.

An excellent example, and exhibit to visit, is the “Smart House” on display at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. This functioning, eco-friendly home has been on the museum’s grounds and open to visitors for more than two years.

But it was recently transformed, through the work of Midwest Living magazine, to be even more relevant as the “Smart Home: Green + Wired” to be on display through January 2011 at the museum at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

The redesign of this home will catch the attention of those who are looking to be friendly toward the environment while also cutting down on maintenance. When architect Michelle Kaufman brought this pre-fabricated house to the museum two years ago, it was billed as the “greenest” home in the city – a title it could still boast to be true.

The three-story Smart Home is green inside and out. All the materials used to construct the building are non-toxic and low in volatile organic compounds. The home also has an air filtration and purification system and uses spray-in foam insulation, which does not wear down over time.

The dining room table features wood from a century-old oak that fell on the museum property and the chandeliers are hickory branches. With features like that, it is not surprising that the house utilizes bamboo hardwood flooring, carpets made from recycled coffee bean bags, kitchen counters made from recycled sawdust, bathroom vanities made from recycled porcelain toilets, and a shower stall made from recycled chardonnay glass bottles.

Visitors who are weary with home maintenance are amazed to learn that from the multi-sectioned exterior of the home to its removable interior walls, the Smart Home is engineered to anticipate repairs and replacements. This eliminates the need for major replacements of what amounts to permanent features. And if we do finally get to a life that “The Jetsons” envisioned years ago, the garage is made to accommodate alternative uses if these machines known as cars prove to be a rather long fad that eventually fades.

Virtually everything in the home is operated by a computer home automation system—controlling heat, window coverings, lighting, security sensors and cameras, and tracking electricity, gas and water consumption. A green roof sits on top of the building covered by native perennials to keep internal temperatures down in the summer, insulate the home in the winter, absorb rainwater and minimize water runoff. Also atop the home are a series of photovoltaic solar strips (more powerful than traditional solar strips) that power a majority of the home’s energy needs.

In an excellent example of water conservation, the Smart Home is close to Lake Michigan but utilizes water-saving devices with its showerheads and toilets. It also uses 30-gallon rain barrels beneath the first floor, catching rainwater to then be purified and recycled for drinking and bathing. The toilets may represent the “ultra green” in water conservation by using water recycled from the baths and sinks, or “grey water,” to flush waste.

Many people have begun taking their own reusable bags to the grocery store so they don’t have to answer the “paper or plastic” question and decide which material to add to the waste stream once they get their groceries home. Now there’s a way to take that idea a step further with the drycleaning routine.

While you can ask for your clothes to be returned “naked” from the drycleaner with no plastic bag protecting them, they may get soiled again by the time you get them home in a car full of kids or pets. As an alternative, The Green Garmento is an affordable and eco-practical option that not only helps organize, but more importantly eliminates the need for single-use plastic drycleaning bags.

The Green Garmento is an eco-friendly 3-in-1 reusable garment bag. At home it functions as a space-saving hamper; on the trip to the drycleaner, it becomes a stylish duffel bag; and at pick-up, it transforms into a hanging garment bag to protect cleaned clothes. Switching to The Green Garmento will help to reduce the estimated 300 million pounds of single-use plastic drycleaning bags that continue to clog landfills and kill wildlife each year, say the makers of the green garment bag.

Here’s how it works: Place all your “to be cleaned” garments in The Green Garmento as a duffel, using it as a hamper. Turn the bag over to your drycleaner and ask him to return your clothes hung up inside. At pickup, the clothes will be neatly arranged in The Green Garmento as a hanging garment bag. Wide gussets and a side zipper help to keep everything safely in place. Using two Green Garmentos, you can “swap out” with the drycleaner and continually repeat the process.

Many professional drycleaners have adopted the use of The Green Garmento. Not only does it meet their desire to be more eco-friendly, it saves them money on plastic and it’s easy to implement, claims the company.

The Green Garmento is available in multiple sizes ranging from 40 inch to 72 inch and in a variety of colors including: Black Night, Blue Water and Green Grass. To learn more and see the list of authorized drycleaners that currently utilize The Green Garmento, visit:

http://www.thegreengarmento.com