Newell Rubbermaid has announced that its Paper Mate brand is bringing innovation to the everyday writing experience and helping consumers go green with the introduction of Paper Mate Biodegradable, the first widely available line of pens and mechanical pencils made with a majority of biodegradable components, which break down in soil/home compost in about a year.

“The Paper Mate Biodegradable pen and pencil were developed based on insights that consumers desire simple, affordable ways to incorporate greener practices into everyday activities at school, home or the office,” says Bill Mullenix, president of Newell Rubbermaid’s Everyday Writing global business unit. “This is the first line of biodegradable writing instruments to be widely available to consumers globally. By offering a unique combination of performance and affordability, we’re making it easy for consumers to be greener.”

The Paper Mate Biodegradable line is the latest demonstration of Paper Mate’s ongoing commitment to the environment. In 2009, the brand launched a line of products made from recycled sources, including the Earth Write Recycled Pencil made from 100 percent recycled wood and Paper Mate Write Bros. Recycled Ball Point Pen made from 80 percent recycled material.

Additionally, Newell Rubbermaid Office Products brands are partnering with TerraCycle, the upcycling company that finds new ways to use items that would otherwise be thrown away, to create the world’s first program to collect and reuse or recycle pens, markers and other writing instruments.

Paper Mate Biodegradable products look and feel like conventional plastic, but their compostable components are a bio-plastic made from plant-derived sugar, an annually renewable resource. When disassembled and placed in yard soil or home compost, they decompose in about a year, increasing compost and reducing waste. Additionally, the products are packaged in 100-percent PVC-free recyclable material.

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.

You see a notice on occasion that a cell-phone recycling program is taking place in your community, but too many of us just let old cell phones pile up in a drawer or supply closet.

The same happens at any number of businesses, large and small. The result is that nearly 800 million cell phones, piling up since 1980, are no longer in use. The bad news is that, eventually, we get tired of seeing old cell phones gathering dust, and far too many of us throw them out with our regular trash.

The Environmental Protection Agency calculates that in a single year, such as 2009, the total number of cell phones disposed of and ending up primarily in landfills is 129 million – or 17,270 tons of old cell phones.

On the opposite side of that equation, the EPA reports that about 11.75 million cell phones were recycled, or about 1,570 tons.

The numbers aren’t too impressive yet, but recycling options for your cell phones are becoming more prominent and consumers have more choices to consider.

Still, understanding the potential damage of not recycling your cell phone is taking some time to sink in. Experts in the land pollution sector of the EPA say that if a cell phone is disposed of improperly, the metals such as lead and cadmium can leach into the ground and pollute drinking water.

On a national scale, only 10 percent of cell phones are recycled. The EPA estimates that for every 1 million cell phones recycled, we could recover 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver and 35,274 pounds of copper. Multiply those figures times the more than 100 million cell phones retired each year and it is easy to see why environmental experts are continuing to push cell phone recycling.

The second annual National Cell Phone Recycling Week was held in early April to raise awareness and decrease the number of cell phones in our landfills. Your community recycling program may accept old phones, as well as nearby phone or electronics stores. There also are numerous web sites that direct people to drop-off sites such as recyclemycellphone.org or charitablerecycling.com.

You can also find information about cell phone recycling on wirefly.org.

The EPA estimates there are 57.8 million old unused cell phones “in storage” in people’s homes. That’s 9,271 tons of valuable material that could be recycled. Turn in your old phones and do your part to keep America from becoming a nation of electronic hoarders.

It has a long name – the Green Fuels Depot demonstration project. And it could go a long way toward a new phase of green technology that may one day become as common as a community’s water treatment plant.

The first Green Fuels Depot in Illinois was introduced recently in Naperville as part of a federally funded project that has the backing of Argonne National Laboratory. Scientists, community leaders and politicians who support the concept showcased a full-scale prototype gasifier/reactor designed to convert lawn and farm waste into electricity, ethanol and hydrogen.

Packer Engineering, which intends to equip farms and sawmills across the country with this technology, showed off the first depot. But the City of Naperville was able to get in on this green energy prototype through federal funds and the support of local Congresswoman Judy Biggert, who has pushed for solutions to the country’s dependency on foreign energy sources.

The gasifier/reactor in Naperville is located at a city water reclamation site. Any expenses the city incurs are reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Energy. Communities that are able to utilize this technology in the future would most likely locate it in similar surroundings already associated with energy or water treatment.

When the gasifier is integrated with other technologies being developed at Argonne, it will give the reactor the potential to produce automobile-grade ethanol. Those on hand at the unveiling of the reactor saw the full operation of the 12-foot device and heard presentations on local developments in hydrogen storage and space-based solar energy. The gasifier produces electricity and heat from agricultural residue like corn husks or switch grass, while leaving behind minimal waste such as sand and ash. Once integrated with related technologies under development in Argonne’s labs, it also will power hydrogen fuel cells and produce automobile-grade ethanol.

Because it is only a pilot program, the depot will not be converting all of the city’s waste materials. In fact, it will use only 3 percent of the annual landscape waste collected by Naperville. In looking ahead to the future, officials speculated that if all 48,000 cubic yards of the city’s landscape waste were used in a full-scale green fuels depot, the amount would be enough to fuel all 300 vehicles in the city fleet.

Those types of numbers are fueling the hope that green-energy research will continue to emerge in some form from laboratory think-tanks and area colleges, while communities across the country slowly become more involved in the technologies that will pave the way for extensive conservation and money-saving practices.

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.

The average person loses half a liter of sweat each day. All this sweat is usually left in the underarm creases of white crisp shirts. But Swedish engineers are not letting this go to waste. They have found a way to harness, not the sweat per se, but the body heat given off by commuters and use it to heat buildings. Although the capturing of body heat to be later used as energy is not a new concept (it is used at the Mall of America), the Swedes have innovated this practice through the ability to transfer the heat from one building to another. Talk about hot technology.

The logistics of the system are not that complicated. A Time article from April 15, 2010, looked into the process. Here a simple rundown: the heat generated by commuters at the Stockholm train station is captured by the station’s ventilation system and used to warm water in underground tanks. The water is then pumped into pipes and transferred to a 13 story building 100 yards away. What makes this system great is that it is environmentally friendly but also pays for itself. The building’s energy bill will decrease as much as 20% each year and it will receive about 15% to 30% of its heat from the station.

Using innovative and alternative methods such as this one is very popular in Sweden and other European countries that are way ahead of the US when it comes to adapting green technologies. In Denmark, for example 20% of the countries energy is generated from alternative sources such as wind, whereas in the United States it is a mere 3%. But the article mentioned that such alternative systems as the body heat capturing one would not be seen as valuable in the United States as in Sweden or other European countries. Why? The United States has relatively low energy prices compared to other countries. Low prices allow the consumption of more energy without seeing financial repercussions when the utility bill arrives. Because Europeans don’t enjoy such generous pricing, they have to search for new ways to bring down costs, which much alternative energy provides. While using the system in Europe may show clear and deep cuts in cost, in the US, after installation, the system may not reap the same financial benefits.

But we shouldn’t allow economy to trump ecology. The environmental profits that the system will provide should be enough of an incentive to implement it. And despite the fact that the financial aspect will not be as prominent, the system does reduce energy costs, which will eventually pay for the cost of all the installation. For both the wallet and the environment, it’s a win: win.

Not only in the United States but internationally, automakers are being required to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions of their vehicles while also increasing their fuel efficiency. With more automakers turning to advanced power train technologies such as hybrids and electric-powered vehicles, the steel industry is scrambling to maintain its market share as car designers look for lighter-weight materials to help them compensate for the heavy batteries and fuel cells.

A global coalition of steel companies is now cooperating on the Future Steel Vehicle (FSV) research program to develop a safe, lightweight steel body for future cars and trucks that reduces emissions over the entire life cycle of the vehicle. An earlier initiative, the Ultralight Steel Auto Body Advanced Vehicle Concept (ULSAB-AVC) program, achieved a 25 percent mass savings vs. conventional auto body construction using advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). The FSV’s new goal is to achieve an additional 10 percent mass saving.

Emission savings will be based on a total lifecycle assessment of the vehicle, which involves more than just tailpipe emissions. It also will take into account the total carbon footprint of the complete fuel cycle, the complete vehicle manufacturing cycle and end-of-life recycling.
Producers of lightweight alloys such as aluminum and titanium have taken some automotive market share from steel, but at a significantly higher cost per vehicle. The steel industry has slowed those losses by developing lighter and stronger AHSS grades.

High-strength steels being considered for the Future Steel Vehicle program are more advanced than those used in ULSAB-AVC. About 90 percent of the body structure in the ULSAB-AVC program was composed of AHSS, with strengths as high as 800 to 1,000 megapascals (MPa). The FSV program will use steels up to 1,500 MPa. A decade ago the highest strength steels measured only 270 MPa.

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