Trip Planning Saves Gas, Time, and Money
With thousands of gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis, I’ve really started to consider the amount of gasoline that I consume every year. I’m a New Yorker, so I use my legs and public transportation to get around during the week. But I am also very guilty of frequently renting cars for long road trips to escape the city.
Photo by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yvandermeer/3707697747/}Yuri van der Meer {/link}.
A great way of avoiding a hefty gasoline bill is to utilize alternative methods of transportation such as regional rail or bus systems for weekend vacations. But when these alternatives are not available and a car is the only viable option, then consider extensive trip planning as a way to cut down on gas consumption and save time and money.
Common sense dictates that the shortest distance between two points will generally cost less, take less time, and use less gas. So, plot out your trip in detail ahead of time if possible. Print out a good roadmap before you leave so that you minimize the chances of getting lost. If you think you might stop off at a particular store on your trip, then check out that store’s website for locations and then run the addresses through Google Maps or Mapquest to find the closest one to your route. And, if a stop along your way offers public transportation options, consider using them. Not only can these options sometimes save money, they can be great ways of experiencing a new city!
Telsa Motors Offering IPO
Photo by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/4742228673/}kk+{/link}.
Tesla Motors, a rising electric car manufacturer, is offering its IPO on June 28th. There is lots of buzz around the company who many consider to be a risky investment considering they have yet to turn a profit.
In the end, Tesla hopes that it can raise approximately $178 million, with more funding possible from big time manufacturers like Toyota and Daimler. This makes sense considering that Daimler is already using Tesla’s battery technology in all of it’s electric vehicles.
The company is hoping that the unveiling of their Model S in 2012 along with capital raised from this IPO will to take their operations to the next level. Plans have already begun to manufacturer the car in Fremont plant with a price of around $50,000.
As I said earlier, this company is a risk, but could pay off big to stock holders who are willing to take on that risk. I wish Tesla much luck and hope that they can help make the electric car a staple in the American home.
Reusable Bags Could Potentially Be Harmful?
Reusable bags are great for the environment by eliminating the need for plastic bags. We may have to be more careful now when using those plastic bags though. According to a recent study done by the University of Arizona, reusable bags may present health risks.
The study was done by testing 84 reusable bags from shoppers in Arizona and California. The study concluded that 20% of the bags contained E. Coli, most likely due to raw meats leaking into the fabric. Even though the meat is usually wrapped when we buy it, that doesn’t mean that the juices can’t leak into the bag.
Some environmental groups feel the study was done to scare people from using reusable bags. To me, the study does feel like it should be common sense to most. If you use a bag to carry meat home with, it should be washed after use, regardless of how careful we are.
Chuck Gerba, who conducted the study, does not at all advocate we discontinue our use of reusable bags.
“You just have to maintain them and recognize the potential for cross-contamination,”
I do feel that this is something that we must be aware of, but at the same time we do not want to discourage anybody from using reusable bags. Hopefully this study does not do that and only makes consumers more conscience when using their bags.
Whole Foods Taking Stance on Organic Beauty Products
The USDA regulates organic food products by making sure that at least 95% of all of the ingredients come from organic products. Even though I wish it was closer to 100%, it’s still far better than the non-existent regulations on organic beauty products. Even though the government has no regulations in place, Whole Foods has decided to take the situation into their own hands.
Whole Foods recently made the announcement that all of their organic personal care products will have to be certified organic. This means that it must hold up against the same standards as food by containing 95% organic materials, with the other percentage from a list of approved materials.
It’s good to hear that Whole Foods is not letting personal care products with false or exaggerated claims make it on their shelves. I have seen way too many products that have the Organic label on them, but still contain dangerous products like parabens, propolyne glycol and other products that you might no consider really natural.
No matter which store you buy your personal products from, always check out the labels and do you research before buying products. Make sure you are buying a product that has ingredients that are truly natural and is not just full of “green washing”.
GM Alfalfa A Possibility?
Over 50 lawmakers are fighting back at the possibility that we could be eating genetically modified alfalfa. This comes after the USDA make preliminary findings that GMO alfalfa will have “No Significant Impact”.
Photo by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/erincollins/1248032422/}Erin Collins{/link}.
The lawmakers formed together a letter to the USDA stating:
We have concluded that USDA’s preliminary finding of ‘No Significant Impact’ cannot be justified and we call on you to correct the serious deficiencies in the [Draft Environmental Impact Statement] and to deny the request for deregulated GE alfalfa.
There is concern in the letter that all crops of alfalfa could be contaminated with the GMO crops and harm the entire industry. That would mean that the current definition of the organic label would be misleading if this type of contamination were to happen.
Feel free to read the entire letter available at senate.gov.
The Benefits of Green IT
By switching over to Green IT solutions, companies are savings tons of money, reducing the amount of space need for servers and most importantly helping minimize their environmental impact. Virtulization is a large part of that, but there are other solutions that businesses are implementing that helps green up their servers.
Many people get scared when people start talking overly technical, but Green IT doesn’t have to be difficult to understand nor it’s benefits. This video filmed by VMWare gives a great overview of some green IT solutions in plain English.
Many companies can implement many of the mentioned methods and save lots of money and reduce their environmental impact. The concept of reducing costs alone will entice any company into implementing these methods. Try proposing many of these ideas to your company, you might be surprised how receptive most companies are to changes like these.
How to Take Fewer Trips to the Dry Cleaner
These days, there are plenty of eco-friendly options when it comes to dry cleaning our clothes, but the most cost-effective and environmentally conscious options are still (1) to take fewer things to the dry-cleaner and (2) to dry-clean items less often.
Here are a few tips for accomplishing both of these goals:
Wear items several times before you take them in to the cleaner. You can do this by wearing layers (like an undershirt) underneath items that need to be dry cleaned and by hanging these items as soon as you take them off to prevent wrinkling.
Wear washable clothes at home. A great way to minimize trips to the dry cleaner is to wear “DRY CLEAN ONLY” clothes less. I never wear clothes that must be dry cleaned when I am just planning to spend the day at home with my family, and I change out of clothes that have to be dry cleaned as soon as I get home from work.
Freshen clothes yourself. Place items in a dryer with a wet washcloth for a few minutes or hang items in the bathroom while you take a shower. Follow with a garment steamer or iron if necessary.
Hand wash when possible. Some items say “DRY CLEAN ONLY” but can actually be hand-washed. As a general rule, I dry clean anything with a lining, pleats, or a finicky fabric, but I hand-wash most other items – including those made of linen and cashmere – with a gentle, eco-friendly soap specially designed for delicates. In the long-run, these items may not hold up quite as well as they would if I took them to the dry cleaner, but hand washing can be done at such a small fraction of the price that I still consider the savings to outweigh any damage done.
