Farmer’s Market Season Has Begun
It’s one of my favorite times of the year, Farmer’s Markets are either starting up again or beginning to carry more and more fresh produce. It’s wonderful that we can finally begin to buy fresh local produce that is much better than horrible produce you find in grocery stores over the winter or canned/jarred preserved items. When I visit the farmer’s market, I’m always excited to find the latest produce that’s in season. There is such a huge difference in the prices and quality you will find there that it will keep you coming back every week. Also, who could forget about the great atmosphere where you get to meet the farmer’s who grew the produce.
Be sure to check out these great resources to find a farmer’s market in your area:
If farmer’s markets aren’t your thing, you could always still join up to a CSA in your area. You can have fresh produce delivered to a location near your house every week. You get the great benefits of going to a farmer’s market without having drive the sometimes long distance to get to one.
Green Web Hosting Comparison
Determining which web hosting service to host your site on can be a daunting task, let alone finding one that is environmentally friendly and a great value. There are many web hosting companies marketing how they are the most “greenest” web hosting service on the market. It can often be difficult to find out how exactly they are providing a green web hosting service whether it be through carbon neutral servers or environmentally friendly business practices. To make this process easier, I compiled a list of all the major green web hosting companies and what they have done to make the claim that they are in fact “green”. Also provided are other factors including price that can be used to determine which web hosting service meets your needs.
Direct Renewable Energy Hosting Companies
Carbon Reducing Hosting Companies
Carbon Neutral Hosting Companies
International Hosting Companies
After compiling much of the information about all of the web hosting companies, I was able to break the companies into two distinct categories based off of how they are :
- Direct Renewable Energy Powered: I consider these web hosting companies to be the real deal. They have renewable energy on site and are sure that their data servers are not causing an impact on the environment.
- Carbon-Neutral: These companies still want to lower their impact on the environment by either purchasing RECs or Renewable Energy Credits or planting trees. RECs do provide an easy way to show that you purhcased renewable energy, but buying their purchase does not always guarantee that the true amount of renewable energy was generated.
- Grid Contributors: Think of these companies as similar to the carbon-neutral companies, but take it one step further. They purchase RECs or plant trees in excess of their current energy use to contribute renewable energy into the power grid.
In no way does making this separation discount the efforts the businesses in the later groups are taking to lower their impact on the environment. Companies in all categories go beyond just making their servers more environmentally friendly by conserving energy use throughout their entire business, using recycled products as well as becoming involved in the local community.
I am also including other fields that can help you decide which web hosting service will best suit your website:
- Price: This is the lowest price available by the particular hosting company. Most companies have a wide array of other pricing options depending on the size of a website.
- Free Domains: It’s often desirable to have a free domain name provided when purchasing a hosting plan, whether it be just for a year or for the life of the account.
- Bandwidth: The amount of data transferred to or from a website or server within a prescribed period of time. This could be an important number depending on the amount of trafifc a site receives.
- Disk Space: The total amount of physical disc space you can use on their servers.
- Databases: How many databases instances you are allowed to operate. This can be dependent on how many websites are run and how many databases a particular website may be using.
- Power Source: A major factor in determining how “green” the web hosting company is.
- Uptime: The reliability and stability of the web servers. This can be a huge determining factor in choosing a hosting company so that you website is available at most times.
May’s Contest Winner!!!
The winner of my May’s contest is Jessica. She is going to use the money to:
I would use the money to plant a small plot with organic herbs and salad greens, it would be really nice to have some handy to cook with, and great to not have to worry about pesticides.
Thanks to everybody to participated and I hope you also enjoyed my blog. If you didn’t already do so in the contest, be sure to subscribe to my RSS Feed or email subscription to keep up with all the latest article on my blog. I will also be hosting several contests in the near future, so be sure to stay updated.
Eco Mist Solutions New Outdoor Cleaning Products
With summer just around the corner, Eco Mist Solutions just released it new line of outdoor cleaners. This new line of cleaners includes a BBQ Grill Cleaner, Deck Wash and Patio Furniture Cleaner. All three cleaners use the same safe and effective technology used in all of their other cleaners, but they are specifically designed to fight the tough stains and grease you would normally find on outdoor items. They are also made from 100% natural ingredients, are non-toxic and affordable to buy.
BBQ Cleaner
The BBQ Grill Cleaner is specifically designed to fight tough grease you would normally find on any part of the grill. I was fortunate enough to try the BBQ Grill Cleaner and must say it works as it says. When I first sprayed it on my grill, it started eliminating the grease immediately. I normally use natural cleaners such as vinegar or baking soda to naturally clean my grill, but I found that this cleaner required far less scrubbing and was more effective. It also had no fumes and it felt great that I could spray my grill off with no worries that environment would be harmed. You can also feel safe to eat on your grill immediately after cleaning it. With ingredients like grass, corn and coconut, why would you?
Deck Wash
Both the Deck Wash and Patio Furniture Cleaners are designed to remove mold and mildew and safe on just about any surface. The patio cleaner is safe for all surfaces this cleaner is ideal to help brighten your patio furniture. The deck wash is strong enough to get mold, mildew, grease & grime off your deck yet gentle enough for a toddler to pad around on afterwards. It is also safe around your pools, spas and gardens.
Go check your local Home Depot in Canada or one of the many online relaters that carry Eco Mist Solution products to get these great cleaners. Also be sure to check out the great interview I had with the creator of Eco Mist, Ted Fagan if you haven’t already.
