Certified Organic Products

I just did a post about Sustainability Programs and getting a Green Degree and I read about the new sustainability certificate program offered by the University of Colorado.

The program focuses on sustainability management for professionals to green their workplaces.

The University of Colorado's continuing education department is debuting the new "sustainability management certificate" in January to help professionals put a green edge on their existing expertise.

According to the Program Director Geoffrey Rubinstein, he said he expects the program to attract employees of mom-and-pop shops, larger companies, local government, nonprofit agencies and schools.

They also noted that the courses will be offered online in the near future to expand their reach nationwide as well as internationally.  Mike, Guest Blogger for Green Energy TV.

1. Renewable Fuels - For seven years, they have used clean, renewable fuels such as Biodiesel in their snowcats.

3. ISO certified as a "Green" company

• Go on a Green Diet - In the New Year, many people go on a diet. This means, you can start eating certified organic foods that do not contain the food toxins or chemical toxins that are in most of our foods. You can also start to buy more of your food locally as well and get food that is fresh and support the local economy and help create more green jobs as a direct result of your purchases.
• Do the Green Diet Exercise - One of our Guest Bloggers wrote about how he lost over 70 pounds by pedaling his bike to power his TV. Here's a link to that blog post if you are looking to power your TV while you watch it and save electricity and lose a lot of weight in the process blog.greenenergytv.com/blog/wind-power-technology/0/0/new-green-diet-pedal-and-watch
   
• Say good-bye to Household Toxins - You can have an environment friendly home by eliminating the chemical toxins. Most of the store bought cleaners contain very harmful chemical toxins, however, you can switch to safer cleaners from companies such as Shaklee or Seventh Generation. There are many new green and safer cleaning products out there right now that do a great job without exposing your family to chemical toxins in your home.
• Green your Lawn - Most of the chemicals in fertilizers used on the lawns in the US are banned in Europe because of the dangerous chemical toxins they contain and they seep back into our drinking water and affect fish and other wildlife as well. There are more options for this year with chemical free lawn care and organic lawn care. You can use bone meal and other organic lawn care products that prevent weeds and still give you a green lawn without the chemicals. Check out your local nursery and read the labels!
• Get Green Jobs & Get Certified- There is an increase in green jobs, whether you decide to become a solar installer, energy rater, get involved in Sustainability Programs, etc. We have green jobs posted on our main site, and there are many other major outlets advertising green jobs on Indeed.com and Monster.com
• Get a Green Degree - There are more schools and independent organizations offering classes on Sustainability Programs, certifications for LEED, Energy Raters, Solar and Wind Installers and more. Many of the top green universities are also offering green educational classes and degrees now and this can help you land  green jobs and prepare you for the future blog.greenenergytv.com/blog/green-jobs
• Start a Green Business - There are many areas in green that are fast growing and opportunities increasing daily. We did a post a while back that talked about the growth areas of green and here's a link to some of the hottest and upcoming areas that deal with organic natural foods, eco friendly products, solar installation to geothermal energy, energy efficiency and green building.

• Facebook has over 350 Million users and they connect without using paper, exchanging traditional mail, or people having to drive to get together.
• Companies and organizations using Facebook are connecting with potential customers and eliminating paper advertisements, TV ads, etc. which all require lots of energy, ink, paper, etc.
• Users write 1 message that can be shared and posted with numerous people so they don't have to call, email or try to get together with everyone at once.
• All LEED Gold Data Centers - Each of the data centers hosting Facebook’s servers are on track for Gold certification under the LEED rating scale. All four of the leases are in facilities designed to attain the highest energy efficiency ratings under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program operated by the U.S. Green Building Council.

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• Serve certified organic products and organic natural foods
• Their restaurants are Leed Building certified
• Have 100% recyclable plates, recyclable napkins, pizza boxes, menu's
• Deliveries are made using Totoya Prius Hybrid Cars
• Offset their energy use with Wind and Solar Energy
• Use biodegradable toilet paper and more!

1. Sell Carbon Credits - You can do this from your dorm room, or wherever. Selling carbon credits to large companies that produce a large volume of pollution can be a lucrative way for students and small businesses to earn revenue. Businesses that are involved in reducing carbon emissions or who produce low emissions in general can sell carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) For more info: www.ieta.org/ieta/www/pages/index.php
2. Sell Eco Friendly Products - You can start an online store that sells eco friendly products.
3. Green Inventions - There are a lot of people coming up with green inventions and energy innovation, but do not know how to market them. You can help expose the green inventions and energy innovation that people are creating in their basement or garage and help get the word out there for them.
4. Sell Organic & Heirloom Seeds- Over the last few years, there has been a huge increase in people having backyard gardens. Many people are looking for seeds that are Non Genetically Modified and there are some companies out there selling Organic and Heirloom seeds and doing quite well at it.
5. Start a Green Jobs site - This could be a site for college interns as well as others so they can see what is out there for them or in their area. There are some jobs sites now, but not too many that are specific to green jobs and green internships.
6. Green Grant Writer - Many companies and individuals may want to go green and since there is a lot of stimulus money and tax incentives for going green out there, most people don't know how to go after it. If you write green grants, companies and individuals can hire you to write these on their behalf.
7. Become an Energy Rater - Help people to save money in their homes and business and the environment. Info on how to become a Certified Energy Rater www.natresnet.org/rater/certified/default.htm

Let me take you back to a time long, long ago.  A new governor had just set up shop in Columbus.  Renewable Energy projects were misunderstood and virtually unknown in the Mahoning Valley.  And the Cleveland Browns were picked to win their division. Seriously.

The year was 2007.

Three organizations met to discuss the possibility of creating a wind turbine project: A forward thinking school district; Western Reserve Local.  An environmentally progressive architectural firm; Olsavsky-Jaminet.  And a well-established local company willing to adapt to a new business reality; Tri-County Tower Service.

Fast forward to 2009.  After 2 years of planning and effort, and the collaboration of 13 businesses in the state of Ohio, these wind turbines have become a reality. 

When Tri-County Tower Service (now operating under the name of their renewable energy division, TCT Renewable Energy) was approached by Superintendent Chuck Swindler of Western Reserve in Berlin Center, Ohio, it was immediately determined that a wind study should be initiated on site.  As time passed and it became evident that there was enough of a resource available to support a wind project, system parameters were developed.  The school decided that they would like to utilize a single turbine in the 100kW range to produce 10% of their current electricity needs.  However, it soon became clear that the marginal wind speed onsite would not support a unit in that kW range.  Please bear in mind that “marginal” is a relative term. Wind maps, production charts and return on investment spreadsheets showed that they had enough wind to make a small scale project feasible, but not enough to support a larger turbine. 

With that in mind, TCT helped them to choose the three Proven 15kW turbines that are now in place.  Proven is the world’s largest manufacturer of small wind turbines.  Despite their longevity, they had yet to see a project that was quite like this one.  In order to adequately harvest the full potential of the wind, it was decided to place the three turbines atop 150ft. tall self-supporting lattice towers.  This decision made the project the tallest Proven installation in the world!  With the turbines in place, hub height would be at 160ft. Overall project height is 175ft. once the 15ft. long blades are considered.  These units will produce around 85,000kWh annually for the school.

To date the school has received almost $165,000 in grant money, mostly from the Advanced Energy Fund administered by the Ohio Department of Development.  Additional funds are being sought from the Green Team, the Department of Education and the Appalachian Regional Commission.  Integrated curriculum is being developed that will allow the project to be used not just as a power source, but as a learning tool.  Furthermore, the three turbines will help Western Reserve to be LEED Gold Certified on their new grade-inclusive facility scheduled for completion in 2011.  The wind turbines, coupled with the district’s new 216 well geothermal system, will produce the lion’s share of the power for the new structure.

However, these are much more than wind turbines.  They are a tangible symbol of the progressive thinking that can propel our region into a leadership position in the state’s renewable energy supply chain.  Renewable energy should not be a partisan political issue, but a jointly pursued goal that produces environmentally conscious and economically quantifiable results.

The leadership of Western Reserve Local Schools should be applauded for installing a wind project that allows them to be fiscally responsible, climatically aware and educationally adaptive.- Scot Loveland, Guest Blogger for GreenEnergyTV.com and Renewable Energy Manager for TCT Renewable Energy www.tctre.com

 

I watched the Ted Talks video of Carolyn Steel and began to wonder if the world will eventually run out of food or if we will change our ways and solve this issue?

Carolyn talks about how every day, in a city the size of London, 30 million meals are served.
So where does all the food come from? Architect Carolyn Steel discusses the daily miracle of feeding a city, and shows how ancient food routes shaped the modern world.

She breaks down many interesting facts and ideas that range from how many fossil fuels we use to make food, transport it and dispose of it. She talks about how a billion people in the world are obese and a billion starve.

Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts.



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Upcoming Posts will cover Top green companies, benefits of organic natural foods, certified organic products, environmental education for children, organic farming, sustainability programs, green cities, green inventions, green jobs and more. Stay tune....

Source: Ted

Here are some Fun Facts About Frog's Leap Sustainability Programs and why they are one of the best green companies

• 1020 photovoltaic panels on 1/2 acre of vineyard space.
• Output from Solar Energy- Their panels output is 168 kw/day and the vineyard only uses 65 kw/day to meet 100% of their electricity needs. The rest is fed back to the grid and their solar panels produce enough energy to power 150 homes during peak hours.
• Cost of Solar Installation - $1.2 million minus the PG&E rebate of 50% or $600,000 so the system will pay for itself in 6 years.
• LEED Building - Frog's Leap Hospitality Center and Administrative Office were built to LEED Building standards.
• They also installed Geothermal in their Leed Building to meet their heating and cooling needs. Payback for this system is 6 years.
• Dry Farming - Frog's Leap believes in deep roots and dry farming. They currently dry farm over 200 acres of organic vineyards which saves a lot of precious water.

• Clif Bar & Company’s use of organic ingredients not only provides consumers with better products, but also represents a major step toward safeguarding the
  nation’s soil and water.
• They are working to reduce their ecological footprint by supporting construction of wind farms to offset its carbon dioxide emissions.
• Use non-toxic inks and recycled paper for its print
• Using recycled paperboard for the cartons that hold the bars on store shelves
• In-house recycling and compost programs.

We gave the #1 natural nutrition company in the US Two Green Thumbs Up! Shaklee is one of the best green companies in the US and they have been green when green was just a color and biodegradable was barely a word.

In fact, almost 50 years ago, Shaklee Corporation made one of the first biodegradable household cleaners ever. And they were the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral™ certification and totally offset our CO2 emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment.

Shaklee sells chemical free cleaning products, that do not have the chemical toxins that many leading brands have. The range of products they offer are from vitamins, cleaners, healthy weight products, healthy home, nutritional, beauty products as well as many other eco friendly products.

You may have seen or also heard about Shaklee on Oprah or by people like Dr. Oz as well as many other major TV networks and health magazines & journals.

These guys are very green from their products all the way down to the boxes and the soy printing that goes on the boxes that are delivered to your door.


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• RechargeIT: Plug-In Hybrids http://greenenergytv.com/Watch.aspx?v=1077011807
• Clean Energy - Since 2007, Google has been working on creating utility-scale renewable electricity that is cheaper than coal. In addition to this, they have also come up with the Google PowerMeter for homeowners to measure their energy usage and Google has a 2030 Plan that their energy team is working to generate billions of dollars in savings and help create millions of green jobs.
• Reducing their Carbon Footprint: There are millions of Google users and their platform requires a lot of electricity. Google uses solar and also off-sets their carbon footprint by investing in projects that reduce carbon.
• Efficient Data Centers - Google-designed data centers use about half the energy of a typical data center and they continue to work towards reducing their energy.

Google also uses Solar energy to power 30% of their buildings, invests in Geothermal Energy, Wind power technology and serve certified organic products to their employees as well as many other green initiatives. For more information on Going Green at Google, check out their site http://www.google.com/corporate/green/index.html  Keep up the great work!

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If you are tired of bad news and all the doom and gloom reported on mainstream media, then turn it off and click on the news section on our main site.

We have news releases that are positive, fresh and inspiring to see areas of growth for green jobs, solar energy, wind power technology, certified organic products, alternative and renewable energy and more.

Here's the link, and you can be part of the growing "green" economy http://greenenergytv.com/News/Default.aspx

There are a lot of new green jobs and green careers people are choosing to pursue. One area that continues to grow year after year for the last several years is certified organic products. When it comes to food, many people are becoming more knowledgeable about the chemical toxins in our foods and they are making a switch to eating organic natural foods.

In their effort to supporting eco friendly products and eco friendly living, these certified organic products and organic natural foods are hitting the local stores shelves and expanding rapidly.

Many stores including large chains such as Wal-mart, support local farmers and especially purchase their organic natural foods from local farmers. In the video below, see how this pioneer organic farmer set up his business in Atlanta and is creating green jobs, supplying certified organic products and green jobs to residents and businesses in his local community.