Make Your Car More "Green"

If you have been to the pump lately it might be your wallet that makes you want to go more "Green" with your car then before. As it relates to the environment automobiles account for 20% of all greenhouse gases emitted into the air. How ecological friendly you handle your car is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Still the only way to offset your carbon footprint is to plant trees. Listed below are the Top 10 things you can do to make your car more "Green."

1. Buy a Hybrid Car or Green Car

Yes, it doesn't take rocket science to understand that if you buy a more environment friendly car you have reduced your carbon footprint. Hybrids now come in sedans, SUV, and luxury vehicles. If buying a hybrid right now isn't in your budget choosing a car with excellent gas mileage is going to make a big difference.

2. How You Drive

You drastically increase the fuel you consume and the emissions your car gives off when you accelerate quickly and stop quickly. Driving the speed limit and more smooth as it relates to aggressive driving through the city will save on your gas bill. Also, the more you can take care of all your errands in one trip is better than many short trips to the store.

3. Keep Your Car in Shape

Regular tune ups of your car will keep your car producing less greenhouse gases, using less gas, and prevents future trouble. It is estimated that if every American's tires were properly inflated to the right level we would save 3 billion gallons of gas every year.

4. Offset Carbon Footprint

You can plant trees to offset the greenhouse gases you are emitting each year. Planting trees is the only way to offset your carbon footprint.

5. Carpool

If you have been on the freeway during rush hour you see all the commuters driving by themselves. Not only will you drastically lower your impact on the environment by carpooling you get to go in the carpool lane, as well.

6. You Don't Need a Car for Everything

For short trips you can take your bike or walk. With cars we don't even think about the other ways we can travel; we just hop in our cars and off we go. Many store items can easily be carried on a bike with a backpack. Also, you can get an electric scooter to get places faster.

7. Drive Half Way

For some trips walking or your bike isn't the complete answer. Driving your car and then getting on mass transit or driving your car and then parking to then go on your bike both work. Many times if you are going during rush hour, driving until the traffic gets thick and then going on your bike will get you there faster than sitting in the bumper to bumper traffic.

8. Use Less AC

Using a windshield protector can reduce how hot your car gets allowing you to use less air conditioner in the car. Turn your AC on low instead of high uses less gas. Don't forget to park in the shade to also keep your car cooler.

9. Use the Web

With the easy access to the web these days you can have video conferences, send email, and buy your products online. A video chat can be just as good as a face to face meeting without using gas and your car.

10. Go without a Car

For those that are willing to take it on it can be done. You would be surprised with a change in thinking how it is possible for some to go without a car. Using physical transportation like a bike and mass transit can get you around. Also, for those that want to it may be important to live closer to work or the stores you need or making your work day virtual so your home is your office.

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Erase Carbon Footprint offers services to plant trees to reduce your carbon footprint.

Canyoneering Adventure of Real Life Survival

Making Black Cars Green

Now that congestion pricing is behind us (at least for now), attention can turn to other PlaNYC 2030 proposals to lower the carbon footprint of some of the traffic we see every day in our city.

To do that, the Taxi and Limousine Commission recently approved regulations will increase the fuel economy of all new "black cars" that service the city's business community to a minimum of 25 miles-per-gallon (mpg) next year and to a minimum of 30 mpg beginning in 2010.

The proposal to green the city's roughly 10,000 black cars is an obvious follow-up to last year's regulation that is, slowly but surely, converting the city's yellow cabs to fuel-efficient hybrids, thanks to Local Law 72 of 2005.

Switching to more fuel-efficient models (whether hybrid or not) cuts fuel costs for drivers and operators, while reducing the global warming impacts of the overall industry.

Though this new regulation is well intentioned, it may not provide as much global warming as possible.
The Myth of MPG

Here's why: the use of "mpg" ratings (set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for all cars sold in the U.S.) as the performance indicator is an imperfect way to measure the global warming impact of these vehicles. It's imperfect for two reasons.

First, the agency's mpg ratings are flawed because they are based on the agency's assumptions regarding the typical style of driving in cities and on highways across the nation. These assumptions bear no relationship to the way black cars are actually driven in New York City. To put it as simply as possible, EPA assumes cars drive faster, sit in less traffic, idle less, and use less air-conditioning than any city black car.

Second, mpg ratings are imperfect because there are significant, so-called "upstream" global warming emissions that stem from the manufacturing and transport of the vehicles to New York, as well as from the production, refining, processing and/or transport of whatever fuel is used (i.e., gasoline, diesel, biofuels, or alternative fuels such as natural gas or electric power). The agency's ratings govern only the amount of fuel that one can expect to use in typical city or highway driving, not the actual global warming pollution that comes from the driving (and the production) of the car.
A Footprint Approach

A more comprehensive approach would be to measure the full, life-cycle "carbon footprint" of the vehicles. Such an approach would ensure that the city is driving the black car industry towards the vehicles that provide the least amount of global warming pollution.

Of course, requiring car fleets to calculate their carbon footprint is a bit harder than simply reading the EPA mpg ratings. So, a practical solution would be to give fleets a choice: fleets could choose to comply with the regulation simply by using vehicles that meet the mpg threshold —- or they could use vehicles that provide, on a life-cycle basis, an equivalent or better carbon footprint. Providing this option would open the door to alternative fuel vehicles that may have very low upstream emissions, yet that do not meet the Environmental Protection Agency's mpg threshold of the regulation.

How could this work?

The city could add an alternative compliance mechanism to its newly approved regulations that allows (but does not require) fleets to use a full, life-cycle global warming analysis to demonstrate compliance with the new rule. With such an alternative compliance mechanism in place, a vehicle with low upstream impacts could comply with the rule, even if its mpg rating does not meet the 25 or 30 mpg threshold (or, as in the case of some vehicles that are retrofitted to run on alternative fuels, no EPA mpg rating at all).

Adding such a mechanism would move the city closer to the ground-breaking approach being proposed in California. In that state, regulators are considering a "low-carbon" approach to regulating fuels and vehicles, rather than regulating mpg or biofuels. The city should share California's goal: to encourage the fuels and vehicles that are the lowest in global warming impact on a life-cycle basis, rather than rely on the more-limited view of the miles-per-gallon of the vehicle, the amount of biofuels used, or the emissions at the tailpipe (all of which are used in various PlaNYC 2030 proposals).
Setting Standards

Lawyers reading this may say, "Wait a minute - the City cannot set its own emission standards."

That's right: only the Environmental Protection Agency and California can set emissions standards for vehicles, and other states can choose to follow them (New York tends to follow the more stringent California standards). But the approach summarized above would not run afoul of the federal restrictions on the city's ability to set vehicle emission standards, because it would not be a mandatory requirement on the fleets. Instead, it would simply be an alternative compliance mechanism that could be used by the fleets or not, as they wish. Thus, such a mechanism should comply with the federal restrictions on the city's ability to regulate vehicle emissions.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission deserves support for its plan to improve the environmental performance of the city's black cars.

Like the yellow cabs, these vehicles drive more miles, consume more fuel, and emit more pollution than other cars on city streets. However, the commission can make a strong plan even stronger by amending the final rule to enable fleets to use life-cycle analyses to unlock the potential of lower-carbon vehicles that could provide effective service in the five boroughs.
Rich Kassel is a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he focuses on urban air pollution and transportation issues. He also chairs the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a regional transportation advocacy organization and blogs on a variety of environmental issues on the NRDC switchboard.

Help Save The Environment With Your Oil Changes

Would you like to change your vehicle oil only once a year or 25,000 miles whichever comes first, better protect your engine, save substantial money, get up to 8% better gas mileage, and help the environment by reducing waste oil by a factor of eight. All this can be done by a simple switch to the best synthetic oils and filters available today while enhancing your engine's performance and protection.

Let's first look at the economics of the oil change business. In some cases the auto repair and quick lube businesses use the oil change as a lost leader to be able to sell you the higher margin products they carry, such as; fan belts, air filters, PVC valves, windshield wipers, fuel filters, transmission oil changes, etc. They want you to come back every 3,000 miles to give your contributions to their cash flow. They take advantage of women, in particular, by selling them items that they could probably do without. The following will give you an idea of the direct savings by using premium synthetic oils. Conventional petroleum based oil with a 3,000-mile drain interval for 25,000 miles per year will cost you $148.00 (8 changes per year). Premium Synthetic Oil with a 25,000 mile drain interval (1 change per year) will cost you only $51.55.

Right away your saving, $96.45 per year on your oil change, 7 trips to the quick lube (your time and inconvenience), improved gas mileage, and reduced vehicle maintenance. 25000milemotoroil.com has further information on the synthetic oil products.

Most people do not want to change because they have been thoroughly indoctrinated to the 3,000-mile oil change interval. Let's change this falsehood because it is not good for our pocketbooks, the environment, or our dependence on foreign oil. The lubricating oil consumption in the US is estimated to be approximately 2.7 billion gallons by 2008. If everyone used premium synthetic oil, the US could save 2.315 billion gallons or 42 million 55 gallon drums of lubricating oil per year. If the 42 million drums were stacked end to end they would go for 23,863 miles or almost completely around the earth.

There is still another used and proven technology available to us today where we can eliminate oil changes altogether. This technology is the By-Pass Oil Filtration System that can be installed in all vehicles. This system uses two filters, a full flow filter and a by-pass filter. These are high quality nano-fiber filters that can eliminate particles below one micron in diameter and water from your engine's oil. Standard filters only remove particles down to 25 microns in size, but studies have shown that over 60% of all engine wear is caused by particles in the 5 to 20 micron range. This system is set up so the full flow filter provides the unrestricted flow that the engines needs, while 10% of the flow goes through the by-pass filter that removes the fine particles down to the one micron range. The oil capacity of the engine flows through the by-pass filter every five minutes while driving at approximately 45 miles per hour. Your engine oil is thoroughly and continuously cleaned every five minutes. A Mack truck with an E7-400 engine was driven over 400,000 miles without an oil change (only the oil filters were changed every 25,000 to 60,000 miles), the engine was torn down for inspection, and the engine wear was moderate and equivalent to the wear of an engine that had it's oil changed every 15,000 miles with conventional oil. This is some testimony to the performance of premium synthetic oil.

The environmental impact of reducing our country's lubricating oil consumption by 2.315 billion gallons is beyond our imagination and this environmental abatement can begin today if every one becomes aware of their ability to contribute by using premium synthetic oil and filtration products. The EPA estimates that 200,000,000 gallons of used oil are not disposed of properly each year. The cost of reclaiming and processing used oil is significant and affects all of us by higher prices and increased taxes. One gallon of improperly disposed of oil can render one million gallons of fresh water undrinkable.

The United States accounts for 26% of the world's consumption of lubricating oils. The economic growth in China and other parts of the world will spike the requirement for lubricating oils which will greatly contribute to the contamination of the earth's environment unless we make strides in using the most effective and efficient ways to keep our wheels in motion.

The United States uses an average of 385,000,000 gallons of gasoline each day. This amounts to 140,525,000,000 gallons of gasoline per year. If we can increase our gas mileage 4% by using premium synthetic oils we can save 5,621,000,000 gallons of gasoline a year. These are steps we can take now before we need to take bigger steps, such as going to a hydrogen infrastructure. Even with hydrogen replacing the gasoline, we will still need the lubricating oils to keep all the parts of our cars, trucks and equipment in motion without abrasion.

We can also do a better job of recycling our used oil. Do you know where our used oil goes now? Look at the following data.

40% is dumped on the ground or poured down the sewer. 21% is disposed of in our trash and goes to the landfills. 19% is reused for other purposes. 14% is recycled. 6% is burned.

With only 14% of our waste oil being recycled, there is a big opportunity to do more. It's a total neglect to have 61% of our used and contaminated oil seeping back into our water ways and aquifers. You can help by using premium synthetic lubricating oils and having them properly disposed of when they are replenished. Reducing your oil consumption by a factor of 8 times is a tremendous help to the environment, your vehicle, and your wallet.

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More information about Synthetic Oil and Filters can be obtained from 25000MileMotorOil.com along with details on extended drain intervals. This will aid you in helping the environment, improving your engine longevity, and saving you lots of money.

How Home Solar Electric Systems Work. Going Green (Part 2)

You are contributing to a cleaner environment by upgrading to solar generated electricity. You are also taking a step toward energy independence when you begin using solar power in your home.

To better understand solar electric systems and how they work, you first need to understand the technical components making up a residential solar energy system.

New solar rental services are emerging that offer solar power in new and simple ways. These new solar equipment rentals offer system wide efficiency and control and make a home's electric service more responsive, more reliable, and more renewable.

The remainder of this article will explain and further define many of the common components making up home solar energy system.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

The primary components of a home solar system are the Solar (PV) panels. These panels utilize solar cells to convert sunlight directly into home electricity. A number of cells strung together to make a panel that generates about 250 watts (w) of electrical current at peak sunlight capacity. The panels then route power through an inverter where a controller determines how to distribute the power throughout your home.

Solar Energy Controller and Inverter

The controller is the device that monitors and manages the distribution of electricity produced by a residential solar energy system. Its capability extends even further by monitoring and managing the flow of energy between the house, the solar (PV) panels & system, and the local utility company. Often these controllers also have the ability to manage secondary storage through the use of batteries for more flexibility and control.

Coupled with the controller is the brains of the operation; the inverter. An inverter is in essence an electronic circuit that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). An inverter allows the 12 or 24 volt DC power produced from solar panels to supply AC power to operate all of the electrical needs around your house.

Solar Array Mounting and Connection Components

Connection components are made up of electrical wiring and the rail mounting structure. Several solar panels are arranged into a grid, secured by a rail mounting device, and connected together to make a solar (PV) array. Electrical wiring is needed to connect the solar panels to the controller, then to your meter box, and then to your utility company via the existing electricity grid. Little additional solar energy equipment is needed, other than the panels, controller and inverters, wiring, and the roof mounting system.

The mounting rail is another simple structure that secures your solar (PV) array to your roof with the little need to drill holes through your singles. It is designed with maximum strength and allows for easy assembly of the solar array.

Rental Options for Residential Solar Energy Systems

Homeowners now have the ability to generate electricity right at home in safe, simple, and environmentally conscious way. Residential solar energy systems convert sunlight (i.e. photons) directly into usable home electricity. Residential solar energy systems, now offered to homeowners on a rental basis, provide a new source of reliable electricity and they enhance electric services without expensive investments in solar purchases.

In a future article, we will continue this series related to residential solar energy systems. We will explain in common terms how to measure the power of the sun. One objection often voiced by homeowners researching home solar power relates to the quality of the sunlight.

Is too cloudy? Is it too foggy? How does snow effect solar cell output? We will explain how to determine whether your geographic location receives enough sunlight hours to make solar suitable.

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At Solargies, we plan to make the right Eco-friendly, green solutions available to the American homeowners. My role involves the leadership, communication, and the education related to the adoption solar energy system rentals. Learn more about residential solar energy.

World Environment Day June 5th

Today, June 5th, people across the world are uniting to celebrate World Environment Day. Originally established by the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), the day serves as a reminder to world citizens, business leaders, and politicians to take action in helping restore Mama Earth. This year's emphasis is on climate change.

To draw eco-awareness to our global home, the day is chock full of activities with much buzz around one campaign in particular—Together. The online resource is already a hit in the UK and was created by international NGO, The Climate Group, which works with governments and businesses around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate a low carbon economy.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is saying 'Hasta la Vista' to climate change by helping bring Together stateside, providing American citizens with easy ways to fight global warming.

If you're in the New York-area today head over to Times Square where environmental heavy weights such as Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group, and environmental expert, Simran Sethi are gathering to celebrate the Together campaign. Otherwise, honor the day by checking out tips from Together and UNEP's World Environment Day Alphabet – 80 Ways to Celebrate—and then take action.

from Planetgreen.discovery.com

Top Seven Green Economy Myths - Debunked!

We regularly meet people at networking meetings and in our group calls who are making false assumptions about the Green Economy. These assumptions may have been true at some point, but times have changed. Are you letting some of these false assumptions hold you back from entering the Green Economy?

Myth #1: I won't make any real money.

This all depends on your interests and the choices you make. If you want to work in a non-profit or directly with wildlife and the environment, your income potential may be somewhat limited.

But if living close to the land or on a tight budget isn't your thing, you won't make choices that will put you in those situations. You'll choose to enter an industry that has good income potential and growth potential.

Supply and demand control the level of wages much the same way they control the price of goods. If you have a skill that is in high demand and there are not a lot of others with the same skill, your value will go up. If you are developing your green skills now, you'll be in high demand as this green economy takes off. It's likely you'll have more opportunities to name your price.

Myth #2: Green careers are only for scientists.

It's true that many environmental jobs, renewable energy jobs, and clean tech jobs require a scientific / technical background.

However, there are many other green careers that are outside the scientific realm. These jobs fall into areas such as advocacy, policy, finance, marketing, sales, education, manufacturing, distribution, green building, and green services such as ecotravel, event planning, real estate, and publishing.

Myth #3: There aren't any green jobs.

In the last year, the number of green jobs in several industries has started taking off. Hiring trends depend a great deal on where the industry / company is in the maturation process. For instance, a company in an R&D phase will hire more researchers than a company that is moving into production and distribution.

There are green jobs and there will be even more as time progresses; the real question is whether there are green jobs that fit your skills and abilities. Given that the green economy is just beginning, some industries are growing faster than others.

A recent article by American Progress outlines the number of green jobs that have been created and will be created in the renewable energies, clean tech, and environmental industries. Venture capital to these areas is skyrocketing. Switching over to new energy sources will create jobs in all areas of the country.

There are other industries that will be affected that aren't mentioned in that post. For instance, green, sustainable building for new construction and energy efficiency retrofitting is already experiencing rapid growth industry.

Furthermore, all of these changes will lead to ripple effect changes in other areas such as manufacturing, IT, services, and education.

Myth #4: I'll have to start over in an entry level position.

Under certain circumstances, if you want to make a dramatic career change, you may need to step back to build your experience, knowledge, and credibility.

In most situations, however, you have a number of other options.

-> Green your current job - explore ways to add a green component to your current job. Depending on the culture of the company, you may be able to have quite an impact by taking the initiative to give more focus to green issues within your workplace.

-> Use your expertise as a way to transition into a sustainable company. In this situation your expertise is the ticket that opens the door to a new company, field, or industry.

-> Build your green resume by becoming active in your community, volunteering, interning, or leading a green initiative.

-> Go back to school to get a green / sustainable certificate to help give you an edge in getting a green job.

Myth #5: I need a college diploma.

Not necessarily. Remember that many traditional companies are moving in a green direction. It's possible you can remain in your current organization, in your current job, and participate in the greening of your company.

Another option is to explore the green collar jobs that may soon be available in your area. As we make the shift from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy, a number of green collar trade jobs will become available. The great news about these jobs is that they will pay well, they won't be able to be outsourced, and there will be easily accessible training programs to earn the certificates that you need to get hired. For information about training programs, look at the community colleges in your area. These programs are just beginning to take form. Stay tuned.

Myth #6: I can't think about this now, I need to wait until I'm ready to make the leap.

Actually, the best time to begin to explore your green options is well before you are ready to make your move. Finding the right green career won't happen over night. You'll need time to explore your interests, your options, and create a plan for your transition.

By knowing where you want to go, you can begin to take advantage of opportunities to network, learn, and gain experience while you are in your current position. The more actions you can take before you start interviewing, the stronger your position will be.

Myth #7: Finding my green career is going to take too long. There's nothing I can do to speed up the process.

Actually, with a little forethought, you can be very strategic about finding a green career that suits you both personally and professionally. At Green Career Central we help people take the necessary steps to identify and achieve the green career goals that match their needs.

It all begins with identifying your green niche. With your focus in mind, you can make better use of your networking, training, and reading time. The more you immerse yourself in your target industry, the more opportunities you will see.

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Green Career Expert, Carol McClelland, PhD, is the author of Your Dream Career For Dummies and founder and managing editor of Green Career Central. A comprehensive set of easy-to-use resources, programs, and events helps you identify your green niche, find a green job, start a green business or get a green education. Visit http://www.GreenCareerCentral.com to request our free report--Six Strategies to Find Your Green Career.

Help Save The Environment With Your Oil Changes

Would you like to change your vehicle oil only once a year or 25,000 miles whichever comes first, better protect your engine, save substantial money, get up to 8% better gas mileage, and help the environment by reducing waste oil by a factor of eight. All this can be done by a simple switch to the best synthetic oils and filters available today while enhancing your engine's performance and protection.

Let's first look at the economics of the oil change business. In some cases the auto repair and quick lube businesses use the oil change as a lost leader to be able to sell you the higher margin products they carry, such as; fan belts, air filters, PVC valves, windshield wipers, fuel filters, transmission oil changes, etc. They want you to come back every 3,000 miles to give your contributions to their cash flow. They take advantage of women, in particular, by selling them items that they could probably do without. The following will give you an idea of the direct savings by using premium synthetic oils. Conventional petroleum based oil with a 3,000-mile drain interval for 25,000 miles per year will cost you $148.00 (8 changes per year). Premium Synthetic Oil with a 25,000 mile drain interval (1 change per year) will cost you only $51.55.

Right away your saving, $96.45 per year on your oil change, 7 trips to the quick lube (your time and inconvenience), improved gas mileage, and reduced vehicle maintenance. 25000milemotoroil.com has further information on the synthetic oil products.

Most people do not want to change because they have been thoroughly indoctrinated to the 3,000-mile oil change interval. Let's change this falsehood because it is not good for our pocketbooks, the environment, or our dependence on foreign oil. The lubricating oil consumption in the US is estimated to be approximately 2.7 billion gallons by 2008. If everyone used premium synthetic oil, the US could save 2.315 billion gallons or 42 million 55 gallon drums of lubricating oil per year. If the 42 million drums were stacked end to end they would go for 23,863 miles or almost completely around the earth.

There is still another used and proven technology available to us today where we can eliminate oil changes altogether. This technology is the By-Pass Oil Filtration System that can be installed in all vehicles. This system uses two filters, a full flow filter and a by-pass filter. These are high quality nano-fiber filters that can eliminate particles below one micron in diameter and water from your engine's oil. Standard filters only remove particles down to 25 microns in size, but studies have shown that over 60% of all engine wear is caused by particles in the 5 to 20 micron range. This system is set up so the full flow filter provides the unrestricted flow that the engines needs, while 10% of the flow goes through the by-pass filter that removes the fine particles down to the one micron range. The oil capacity of the engine flows through the by-pass filter every five minutes while driving at approximately 45 miles per hour. Your engine oil is thoroughly and continuously cleaned every five minutes. A Mack truck with an E7-400 engine was driven over 400,000 miles without an oil change (only the oil filters were changed every 25,000 to 60,000 miles), the engine was torn down for inspection, and the engine wear was moderate and equivalent to the wear of an engine that had it's oil changed every 15,000 miles with conventional oil. This is some testimony to the performance of premium synthetic oil.

The environmental impact of reducing our country's lubricating oil consumption by 2.315 billion gallons is beyond our imagination and this environmental abatement can begin today if every one becomes aware of their ability to contribute by using premium synthetic oil and filtration products. The EPA estimates that 200,000,000 gallons of used oil are not disposed of properly each year. The cost of reclaiming and processing used oil is significant and affects all of us by higher prices and increased taxes. One gallon of improperly disposed of oil can render one million gallons of fresh water undrinkable.

The United States accounts for 26% of the world's consumption of lubricating oils. The economic growth in China and other parts of the world will spike the requirement for lubricating oils which will greatly contribute to the contamination of the earth's environment unless we make strides in using the most effective and efficient ways to keep our wheels in motion.

The United States uses an average of 385,000,000 gallons of gasoline each day. This amounts to 140,525,000,000 gallons of gasoline per year. If we can increase our gas mileage 4% by using premium synthetic oils we can save 5,621,000,000 gallons of gasoline a year. These are steps we can take now before we need to take bigger steps, such as going to a hydrogen infrastructure. Even with hydrogen replacing the gasoline, we will still need the lubricating oils to keep all the parts of our cars, trucks and equipment in motion without abrasion.

We can also do a better job of recycling our used oil. Do you know where our used oil goes now? Look at the following data.

40% is dumped on the ground or poured down the sewer. 21% is disposed of in our trash and goes to the landfills. 19% is reused for other purposes. 14% is recycled. 6% is burned.

With only 14% of our waste oil being recycled, there is a big opportunity to do more. It's a total neglect to have 61% of our used and contaminated oil seeping back into our water ways and aquifers. You can help by using premium synthetic lubricating oils and having them properly disposed of when they are replenished. Reducing your oil consumption by a factor of 8 times is a tremendous help to the environment, your vehicle, and your wallet.

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For further information on Synthetic Oil and Filtering Systems that will help save the environment, your engine and your money, go to:
http://www.25000milemotoroil.com

Office Equipment, the WEEE Directive and Global Warming Issues

Environmentally Friendly photocopiers and other office equipment are crucial to workplace energy-saving and waste-reduction. Many measures (procedural and technical) have been implemented by equipment manufacturers, dealers and distributors - even before the government's introduction of measures via legislation such as the WEEE directive. Additionally, all government departments and private enterprise organisations have become acutely aware in recent years of the need for the implementation of energy-efficiency measures - not least to address bottom-line profitability as well as the wider responsibility to reduce climate change.

Environmental Issues: Recycling and the WEEE Directive

Office equipment including photocopiers which previously ended up on landfill sites are no longer able to do so under the WEEE directive. The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive affects those involved in the manufacture, selling and distribution, recycling or treating of any electronic equipment. Affected by the directive are household appliances, information technology equipment of all kinds , telephone/telecommunications equipment, audio visual gear, lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools, hospital and medical devices and automatic dispensers and of course, office equipment including photocopiers.

The aim of the WEEE directive is to reduce the waste generated from electrical and electronic equipment. The directive is also designed to ensure an improvement in the environmental procedures and processes of all those involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic products. Manufacturers, sellers and distributors of office equipment are responsible for taking back and recycling electrical and electronic equipment. They are also required to achieve a series of rigorous recycling and recovery targets for different categories of appliance. Responsibilities can be discharged in a number of ways, including financial contributions.

Environmental Issues: Energy Efficiency and Fossil Fuel Consumption

Apart from computers and associated print devices, photocopiers are without doubt the most common items of office equipment in use today. Due to the need to be used "on demand", they can incur a significant environmental cost in terms of energy and paper usage and consequent greenhouse gas emissions

Thus power management features are important for saving energy and an easy way to reduce air pollution. Energy efficient photocopiers provide a significant step towards reducing the environmental impact of office photocopiers. Such machines come provided with "energy saving" mode so that when not in use they "power down". This feature alone can reduce the energy needed to support the machine in periods of low activity by over 60%.

A major energy-saving feature of the latest photocopiers are so-called "on demand" fusing systems. A thin fixing film, rather than a thick heating roller is used. Additionally, a ceramic heating element, rather than a halogen heater is used. With these twin innovations, the latest photocopiers operate with greatly improved energy efficiency and lower heat requirements. Heat is used only when paper is passed through the fixing mechanism and images are "fixed" via the fixing film. In addition to this, the new technology can allow the photocopier to make the change between a cool energy-saving "sleep mode" to full operating temperatures in less than 10 seconds. This is a major advantage over conventional systems, which typically take more than one minute.

Elements of this innovative system are available on the latest Konica Minolta bizbub series, including the bizhub C451. The induction heating fusing technology on the bizhub C451 is also one which minimises energy consumption and maximises energy efficiency, by fusing at a lower temperature.

Such technology is paving the way to increased energy efficiency - especially when coupled with an increase in the availability of "duplex" (paper-saving double-sided copying and printing) as standard.

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Jimi St. Pierre writes for several Office Equipment suppliers in the UK, including office equipment supplier Officemagic. The Officemagic range of mutifunctional office equipment can be found at => http://www.officemagic.co.uk/

Three Global Warming Prevention Tips

If you wish to prevent further global warming, you must be willing to set aside the cultural norms by which you currently live, and accept that you and everyone you know must sooner or later learn to live on a fraction of the energy you currently consume. By all counts, there is no other way.

The earth is large but finite. The result of the enormous human population and the environmental impact of our current way of life is that we are rapidly extinguishing the Earth's biodiversity and degrading most ecosystems, creating a bleak future for ourselves.

There are numerous ways in which our learning to live with less will take place; there is no single, magic button solution that will solve the problem of global warming. The following tips discuss some of most potent possibilities, in that implementing them will cut out or reduce some of your most significant personal contributions to global warming:

Global Warming Prevention Tip #1: Sell your car

Yup, the past century of personal motorized travel has been a very convenient, luxurious, and enjoyable demonstration of grossly unsustainable human activity. According to the Energy Information Administration (http://www.eia.doe.gov/), the transportation sector overtook industry as the biggest US producer of carbon emissions in 1999, and motor fuel accounts for 60% of total US production of carbon emissions over the past 20 years. Every person is responsible for these emissions in various ways direct and indirect, but the biggest behavioral culprit under your closest control is your personal transportation.

One of the best alternatives to owning your own car is to join a car co-op. In fact, car co-ops now operate in a growing number of cities around the world. Go here to find the closest car sharing option to you: http://www.carsharing.net/where.html

No care sharing going on in your area? You can start your own--check out http://www.relocalize.net/guide/carcoop for a primer.

If you cannot yet relinquish your car, make mileage efficiency the top deciding factor in choosing a vehicle, and start working now on any changes you need to make in your life to let you get rid of your car as soon as possible.

Public transportation is the only reasonable, long-term solution to the majority of our transport needs. It is slowly improving as US cities confront the impacts of an infrastructure built around cars and trucks. It will only get better when you demand adequate services; vote with your feet (and bring all your friends!) to demonstrate the need.

Global Warming Prevention #2: Buy local, eat local

You may have noticed the proliferation of farmer's markets around the country over the past decade or so. This is not just a quaint fad, but rather a vital, direct-action opportunity to reduce your global warming impact and increase local food security. When you buy local (and this goes for anything, not just produce), you support local, sustainable economic growth by keeping farmers and other primary producers at work, and your money working to bolster your local economy instead of supporting executives and corporate investors.

The long-distance transport of food and other goods comes with a heavy ecological cost;the average meal on your plate in the US has traveled 2000 miles to get to you, which helps to explain why every calorie of food you consume costs an average of ten calories of energy to produce it. That imbalance is a major contributor to global warming, pouring carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at a far greater rate than the oceans and vegetation can store or reprocess them.

One great resource to help you buy and eat more locally is: http://www.localharvest.org/

A partial change is better than no change; you probably can't eliminate processed and imported goods from your life tomorrow, but the more needs you can meet locally, the more you reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to the prevention of further global warming.

Global Warming Prevention Tip #3: Make your local government part of the solution

No politician interested in reelection is going to sponsor the kind of legislation required to alleviate our massive responsibility for global warming without an organized citizenry pushing for better climate legislation. Only when citizen activism shifts this topic into the mainstream will the government move to act on it substantively. Influcing the federal government on this issue may seem daunting, but pushing your local government to take action on global warming may bear fruit quickly (for help, check out http://www.coolcities.us).

Your personal action matters. Sell your car, buy your food from local sources, and pressure your governments to act. Most important of all, be vocal with friends, family, and strangers alike about why you're making these changes, and what is at stake.

The effort to prevent further global warming has already begun, but it needs your help. Start here and now. It can be done.

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This article may be reprinted freely as long as this resource box is included.
Nathan Brown is an activist creating a revolutionary movement by showing people how to prevent global warming.
You can sign up to join and help spread the movement: http://www.acoolerclimate.com

Kids enjoying the outdoors

Here is one of our reader's grandkids fishing and enjoying the outdoors.

The Evolution of the Auto Industry

Of course the idea of an automobile can be dated all the way back to when the wheel was first invented; however, I am going to place you back to when major progress was made to the auto industry. The first automobile was built in France by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Not long after came the first automobile patent in the United States which was granted to Oliver Evans in 1789. Evan produced his first self-propelled automobile in 1805. Although self-propelled, this vehicle wasn't anything like how our vehicles work today. Finally, in 1870 an inventor by the name of Seigfried Marcus put an internal liquid fuel engine in a horse carriage which made him the first man to propel a vehicle by means of gasoline. As were finding out today this may have been our biggest mistake as a civilization due to global warming concerns. However, when directly eyeing the auto industry, this was necessary to jump start the idea that has effects each and every one of us everyday.

Karl Benz built his first automobile in 1885, was granted a patent in 1886, and began producing automobiles in 1888. Notice the last names if you are not familiar with the history of the auto industry. In 1889 Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach designed a vehicle from scratch rather than using a horse carriage fitted with an engine. By the 1900s, mass production on vehicles was under way in France and the United States. The first company formed to exclusively build cars was Panhard et Levassor in France. Next came the United States auto industry startup called Duryea Motor Wagon Company founded by brothers Charles and Frank Duryea.

Oldsmobile had a production line up and running in 1902 and would dominate this era of automobile production. By 1903, Cadillac, Winston and Ford were all producing cars in the thousands. A few years later in 1908 the Ford Model T was introduced and became the most widely produced and available car of the era. In 1910 the Mercer Raceabout debuted as the world's first sports car. Slightly over a decade later the Austin debuted and was the most widely copied vehicle ever and served as a template for cars around the world. Later in 1934 the Citroen Traction Avant was the first mass produced vehicle with front wheel drive. Finally, Oldsmobile introduced the first automatic transmission in 1940 and no longer than 10 years all automobile manufactures were offering the same technology. 1950 and 60's was when the auto industry had the ability to really focus on the wants rather than the needs of consumers. The classics we love to see are in prototypes. 1962 hits and the first super car was introduced as the Ferrari 250 GTO. 1964 sets a mark and Ford releases the Mustang that became the best selling and most collected car of its era. In 1977 Honda introduced the Accord and it went on to become the most popular car of 1990s. A huge win for Chrysler, their 1983 release of the minivans were introduced and pushed station wagons out of the market. Many of these vehicles lasted decades and many can still be found today. More recently, Toyota has recently surpassed General Motors in leading worldwide auto sales and now holds the number one selling brand in the world.

As for the future of vehicles, manufactures are moving towards hybrid and hydrogen automobiles. Hybrid automobiles use a mix of technologies such as combustion engines, electric motors, gasoline, and batteries. Normally, the vehicles run on batteries that are found in a pack in the vehicle, and once the battery is dead the gasoline kicks in. Hydrogen automobiles generally use the hydrogen in one of two methods; combustion or fuel-cell conversion. Hydrogen can be obtained through various methods utilizing natural gas or coal. One can almost say history repeats itself, simply with a different goal. As noted at the beginning of this article, a gasoline powered engine was a major jump start to the auto industry. Now we have most everything else we can want and need, and the main focus is finding the best way to power the vehicle again that can both be environmentally safe and cost effective. This is because fossil fuels have been the number one proven cause of global warming, the supply is inevitably going to diminish, and the price is definitely not going down.

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This article was written for our friends at Premier Dash - http://www.premierdash.com . Article written and distributed by Steve Cancel, IT Manager of Michigan Web Site Hosting.

Recycling Kitchen and Garden Waste

Most of us are now beginning to feel the pressure being placed on us to reduce the amount of waste we actually produce and to reuse or recycle as much of our household waste as we possibly can. Practically all local councils are providing bins to enable us to recycle at least two different items of household waste and many organizations have been set up specifically to dispose of just about everything else you can think of from mobile phones and battery chargers, to bits of metal and aluminum cans.

However, many people are still throwing away a large amount of kitchen and garden waste every day without a second thought as to where it will end up. If you throw it in the bin, it is likely to end up in a landfill site and that is not what any of us should want.

The problem with landfill

When kitchen and garden waste is discarded in our bins it will be buried underground along with mountains of other rubbish. As it is deprived of oxygen, it will produce methane gas as it starts to decompose. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is contributing to global warming and climate change. Apart from the fact that we are running out of space for landfill, we must all do our bit to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. In order to do this, governments have set targets to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill, including the amount of kitchen and garden waste we throw away, but it is still up to us, the individual, to do our bit and make a difference.

Putting kitchen and garden waste out with your household rubbish is unnecessary as this type of waste can be very useful if only you know what to do with it. A very simple and effective way to reuse this type of waste is simply to compost it.

The compost bin

The first thing would be to purchase a compost bin and place it in your garden. You can find out where you can purchase one of these from your local council. They will also be able to advise if there is a waste collection facility in your area for this type of waste which may be preferable if you don't have a garden or enough space in which to compost. Composting actually takes up very little room so even very small gardens can benefit from a compost bin.

There are basically two different types of waste that you can compost:

- Green waste ' this is in the form of fruit and vegetable peelings, plant trimmings and grass cuttings. Green waste is very quick to rot and break down.

- Brown waste ' this can be in the form of small amounts of shredded paper and cardboard, egg boxes and dead leaves. Brown waste is much slower to decompose and creates air pockets which aid the decomposition process.

As the green and brown waste breaks down, together they produce a dark soily substance at the very bottom of the bin that can provide a very rich source of nutrients and minerals to feed your garden.

What you can put in your compost bin:

- Vegetable and fruit peelings and scraps
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Crushed egg shells and egg boxes (not plastic)
- Grass cuttings, leaves and plant trimmings
- Shredded paper and cardboard

What you cannot put in your compost bin:

- Dog and Cat poo
- Meat, fish and poultry
- Cheese
- Nappies
- Tinfoil and hard card
- Plastic, metal, glass or any other substance that cannot break down

Do you need a licence?

Many people ask if you need some sort of licence or permission to compost and the simple answer is no, not if it's for domestic use. There are some rules if you keep animals. For example, pigs, cattle, sheep, goats and deer can become ill and diseased if allowed access to composted kitchen waste and so you cannot compost in the same place where these animals are kept.

If you keep chickens and hens then any compost should be done in an enclosed container so that they cannot come into contact with the contents. Check with your local authority if you are unsure.

Domestic pets are ok though and you can compost at home without any approval or licence provided of course that you use the compost in your own garden.

Apart from the fact that composting helps to preserve the planet and the environment and helps meet government targets for reducing household waste, nothing can be more satisfying than using your kitchen and garden waste to produce food to nourish your own garden.

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Dave McEvoy writes for a leading online skip hire company called Value Skips. Offering a nationwide service, dedicated to fast, no-hassle and responsible waste disposal. For more information please visit our website http://www.valueskiphire.co.uk