COOL FACTORS

One Less Punch Per Day?

Modest changes can lead to drastic savings. Did you know that 600 tons

of steel could be saved if every office worker in the United States used one less staple a day? Sounds shocking, but it's just another example of this crucial principle in action: Tiny things add up to big impacts. Apply the same idea in your workplace and watch your savings roar.  Thanks for this tip from Green Business Bureau

The trees THANK YOU! Your mail carrier thanks you!
Reduce unwanted mail, opt-out of catalogs and remove your name from mailing lists of choice. Stop waste, reduce clutter and save natural resources. Simple and free! Learn more at www.catalogchoice.org

green bag

Mean green? 
Have a little fun with people by carrying this whimsical bag when you go shopping. It’s sure to keep people guessing exactly what you mean! To order yours









ecofont

Improving Your Ink Mileage
Eco-minded consumers are keenly aware of the impact of printing and copying on the world's supply of trees. Now a Dutch creative agency called Spranq has developed a new printing font to extend the life of your printer ink and toner. The result? Ecofont!  It uses 20% less ink and it's free to download and use.   Read more


vegawatt vault


A whole new meaning to grease fire 
Vegawatt, developed by a clean energy system company based in Massachusetts called the Owl Power Company, is a new way for restaurants to use their waste cooking oil to increase the efficiency of the building’s electrical use. The refrigerator-sized units are installed into existing systems the same way a solar panel is retrofitted and typically provide 10-25% of a building’s electricity requirements. Read more




running shoes
Newton Running’s cool green packaging, shown here in the prototype, while great in concept, left a bigger carbon footprint than they liked. By thinking outside the box, Newton developed a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable solution to packaging and shipping their shoes. Check out Newton’s solution here



sponge
Exfoliating Timber Use
In Paraguay, where severe deforestation has left more than 300,000 families without adequate housing, local activist Elsa Zaldivar has found a way to mix loofa with corn and palm husks and recycled plastics to form strong, lightweight panels suitable for construction purposes. The panels are fully recyclable and are available for less than $3 per square meter, making them competitive with other more traditional construction materials.Read more

termites

Putting termites to good use 
ZeaChem, a company that uses the microbes in termite guts to make ethanol, has raised $34 million to build a biorefinery plant in Oregon that will be capable of making $1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year from non-food feedstock such as wood chips and grasses. Read more