wyldkisses79 asked:


Hi, I am currently broke as a joke and renting a trailer in missouri. But I have big plans for my future, I want to go green. I already reuse reduce and recycle, and conserve anything that I can. I am looking into buying land in about 5 years when all my kids are in school and I can get a full time job to fund a earthship or another type of self sutainig green living. What I am looking for is suggestions on where to look for land, and ways I could build my own earth ship as cheaply as possible. When I envison a eco community or green living i see a bunch of rich people.. Is it possible for poor people to live this way?
Right now I am in st charles Mo. I was hoping to stay wiht in 50 miles of here.

AUTUMN

Jay B asked:


Simply put. How can you make money in the business world, by going green? The initial costs are usually huge… what changes can one make in the workplace that result in big savings, or profit making?

CELINA

RyanThomas asked:


Car buyers are now opting for fuel efficient vehicles offered by different car manufacturers. This is what the Auto Alliance announced as a way to start the celebration of the National Alternative Fuel Autos Week.

The group of car makers reported that there are now 10.5 million alternative fuel vehicles on U.S. roads according to 2006 sales data from R.L Polk and Co. The data also shows that last year alone, more than 1.5 million alternative fuel vehicles were sold. The figure surpasses the expectation of the auto industry by as much as 50 percent.

Today, car makers based in the U.S. or abroad are offering 60 models of alternative fuel vehicles. These include hybrid electric vehicles, flex-fuel vehicles which can run on a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol, and diesel engine equipped vehicles which gets its juice from biodiesel.

Dave McCurdy, the President of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, has this to say during the announcement: “There are 10.5 million Alternative Fuel Autos on the roads and highways of every state across the country. We are happy to see that consumers are, in fact, discovering the alternatives that are available to them on dealership lots nationwide. We believe that the numbers of Alternative Fuel Autos on the roads continues to rise because consumers can choose from a variety of autos that reduce fuel use while still providing the utility, safety, performance and comfort they seek.”

While there are a lot of alternative fuel vehicle out in the market, car manufacturers are still looking for ways to develop more technology which will be employed by their vehicles to make them more fuel efficient. Alternative fuel vehicles are not the only vehicle to be produced with concern for the environment in mind though.

Conventional vehicles are also equipped with features that make them more fuel efficient and more eco-friendly. These features include fuel injectors, variable valve timing, continuously variable transmission (CVT), and exhaust filtration devices like the Nissan catalytic converter. These features allow even conventional vehicles to consume less fuel but still perform at the highest possible level.

In order to offer more fuel efficient vehicles, members of the Alliance have created partnerships with the alternative fuel industry to make alternative fuel more available to consumers. As of today, members of the Alliance have created over 25 partnerships with other industries to facilitate the development of newer alternative fuel technology.

The aim of the group is emphasized on McCurdy’s statement. “Having exceeded our sales expectations in 2006, we hope that 2007 will be another banner year for sales of Alternative Fuel Autos. This year marks the first-ever National Alternative Fuel Autos Week and automakers hope to draw more attention to the availability of these autos currently for sale.”



ROCHELLE

Sadie T O’Neal asked:


In general, every home or office is typical; it already has dozens of cleaning and personal care products that contain harmful chemicals. Recent studies have revealed that most households/offices contain over 63 hazardous products that together contain hundreds of chemicals. These chemicals have the potential to greatly harm or even kill your children, your pets and you, should they accidentally not be used with the utmost caution.

Could these tragedies happen in your home or office?

When little Jennifer Smith of Salt Lake City, UT was but a year old she crawled over to the dishwasher while her mother was unloading the dishes. She put her small finger in the detergent dispensing cup and ate a finger full of wet but un-dissolved commercial dish detergent. In minutes her face was red and blistered the inside of her mouth and tongue were burned white. Luckily she was rushed to a nearby hospital emergency room for quick medical attention. She recovered in a few days.

Another documented case was a 20 month old boy who had to be fed through tubes for five months and suffered through many operations. Again, the culprit was dishwasher detergent.

This is only two of thousands of cases reflecting children ingesting and being exposed to, what most consider common household products, terrible life threatening consequences.

It is estimated that the U.S. Poison Control Center has nearly 1.5 million reported cases of accidental ingestion of poisons every year. Sadly most of these cases were under 12 years of age.

Have you ever wondered what the strong odor in the cleaner’s isle of your supermarket is?

Ingestion is only one of three major ways that these products enter the body. Inhalation is even for more dangerous because when breathed in these harmful chemicals go directly into the blood stream and can quickly affect the lungs, heart, brain liver and kidneys.

By the way, that strong smell in your supermarket cleaner isle is caused by what industry experts describe as “out gassing”. Out gassing are the vapors escaping from the “sealed” containers on the supermarkets shelves. Which obviously are extremely harmful to your health.

Have you ever been literally driven out of your bathroom shower while using one of the most popular tile cleaners? These types of cleaners must contain strong chemicals in order to do the job. The job may get done but you are at risk from the strong vapors that are generated. By the time you have exited the bathroom the chemical vapors have entered your blood stream and are wrecking havoc with your health.

Where are your rubber gloves?

Do you know that one square centimeter of skin (the size of a dime) contains 3 million cells and 4 yards of nerves? How do you think nicotine and hormone replacement patches work? Do the chemicals somehow enter the body from the patch through the skin to do their work? Of course they do.

This same absorption occurs every time a cleaning product touches your skin. By the way, if your baby happens to crawl across your nicely scrubbed kitchen floor, even several days after, the skin will pick up and absorb whatever harmful chemicals happen to be in the cleaner.

Consumers everywhere, including those at businesses, hospitals and schools are switching to environmentally, safe, effective cleaners to increase health among family members, clients and employees.

Consumer Beware!

Why isn’t the consumer informed and protected from the potentially dangerous chemicals contained in cleaning and personal care products?

• The government has very limited power to regulate and require proper testing.

• Products that kill 50% of lab animals can still get designated as “non-toxic”.

• Of 17,000 household chemicals only about 5,100, or approximately 30%, have been adequately tested and less than 10% have been tested on the nervous system.

• No law requires manufactures to list the exact ingredients on the package label.

Just imagine your peace of mind if you never had to be concerned again about your family suffering from the misuse of harmful cleaning chemicals.

Start protecting your health today!!

Don’t waste another minute. You owe it to yourself, your family; friends and employees to get the protection that are safe and effective. Access to these earth friendly products is so easy and convenient.



KRISTI

Hilal Abdelwali asked:


There is a growing trend toward pushing people to use new alternative fuels to power their vehicles. Alternative fuel burns cleaner, is better for the environment, and, in many cases, can be cheaper than gasoline. But not just any car will run on alternative fuels. The engine must be constructed in a different way to adapt to the new substance that it will be running on.

Almost all major car companies have jumped right on to the alternative fuel bandwagon by manufacturing a variety of vehicles designed especially to run on alternative fuel. They are called, of course, alternative fuel vehicles or AFVs for short. Some vehicles are strictly designed and built to run on nothing but alternative fuel while others can run on either gasoline or alternative fuel making them a hybrid car.

As of 2006, here is a list of some of the alternative fuel or GREEN vehicles manufactured by some of the major car companies:

Honda Insight

Honda Accord Hybrid

Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 Series

Dodge Stratus Sedan

Dodge Durango SUV

Dodge Caravan Minivan

Ford Taurus

Ford F-150 Pickup

Ford Escape SUV

GM Impala

Chevrolet Silverado 4 x 2

Chevrolet Tahoe SUV

Chevy Yukon SUV

Nissan Titan Pickup

Toyota Highlander SUV

Toyota Prius

And these are truly just a few of the alternative fuel vehicles that are on the market. There are more and more being designed and manufactured every day. Big car companies know that the wave of the future is going to be towards environmental friendliness when it comes to a personals vehicle. That is why their manufacturing of so many alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles is a huge part of their business plans these days.

Now, you should know that even though it is a good idea to buy an alternative fuel vehicle these days, you will have to pay more money to do so. Alternative fuel vehicles run anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 USD more than a regular gasoline car. That is why many states offer great incentives for those people who own alternative fuel vehicles.

For example, California, Florida, and Texas have allowed alternative fuel vehicles exemptions when it comes to commuting. These places have commuting or high occupancy lanes that allow cars with a certain number of people in them to use them. If you have an AFV, you can be in this lane even if you are by yourself.

The Federal Government also offers a tax break to those people who have purchased an alternative fuel vehicle in the year 2006. For some, that is an amazing tax advantage and well worth the investment in buying an alternative fuel vehicle.



MARION

m.jeya asked:


KOBO Soy Candle made with Leather, Armoise, and Cardamom. Deeply sensual and complex, leather mahogany combines the best of the old and new worlds. Armoise, cardamom and a leather accord fill the room with a contemporary classic fragrance. KOBO pure soy candles are created by and for those passionate about remarkable scents. They assert a complexity that increasingly unfolds with each experience.

 

The Kobo pure soy candle are fresh look of the Kobo Mahogany candle packaging creates an instant gift so beautiful it need not be wrapped. Only the highest quality fine fragrance and essential oils are used to create a room filling and long lasting, full-bodied bouquet.

 

Kobo Leather Mahogany candle is nostalgic of wood-paneled reading rooms, cozy club chairs and leather-bound books. The full-bodied scent is soothing and comforting yet masculine. Made from the highest quality fragrance, organic soy and lead-free wicks, Kobo full-bodied candles are also environmentally friendly. We love earth-friendly products, we really do, but with scents as rich and complex and packaging this great, it’s easy to forget that one is saving the world.

 

KOBO Leather Mahogany pure soy candles are created by and for those passionate about remarkable scents. They assert a complexity that increasingly unfolds with each experience. All-natural soy candles in fragrances so rich you’ll fear they will go straight to your hips, but so delicious that you just won’t care. Sometimes, good things come in beautiful packages. KOBO’s line of soy candles is hand-poured with 100% domestically grown pure soy wax. Please purchase online http://www.katiewongnyc.com in NewYork city.



SANTIAGO

r0ckergirl14 asked:


A smart car investment can be a much better deal in the long run. Consumers are now looking at alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles in order to save money, and at the same time save the environment.

Let’s look at the different kinds of hybrid electric vehicles, or HEVs, and their advantages.

HEVs, apart from having a positive environmental impact, can also reduce gas costs. A regular vehicle mostly uses gas, in comparison to a regular HEV which uses mainly gas but also uses electricity.

There is also another kind of hybrid, the plug-in, which has residual use of gas and but mainly uses electricity.

And finally, there is the all-electric vehicle, which only uses electricity as a power source.

Another hybrid innovation that one might want to consider buying or leasing is the flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or flex-fuel. Several models from different manufacturers in the US have already developed and applied this type of engine, where different sources of fuel can be used.

Biodiesel, an alternative fuel, can also be used in diesel engines. It is a renewable fuel that can be made at home and produced domestically, practically eliminating the factor of importing gas, whose price is getting steeper and steeper nowadays.

Ethanol is another alternative fuel that promotes environment-friendly benefits. It comes from different agricultural feedstocks, such as corn and switchgrass. However, since it is essentially more expensive than gasoline depending on your location, and is only available in the Midwest for now, it is not highly recommended yet.

Other examples of alternative fuel are gasohol (gasoline mixed with bioethanol), hydrogen (though this is still being debated upon), and natural gas fuel (mostly methane mixed with other natural gasses).



SAMANTHA

Neil Jones asked:


 

Things have been heating up all over the world with the rise in the price of crude oil and ever increasing awareness of global warming. People are wondering if the oil prices will settle down and whether this is just a taste of things to come.

There is great tension between major oil consuming countries and major oil producing countries over how to meet the ever-growing demand for oil. Considering all this, there is also a growing sense of urgency in discovering or developing alternative sources of energy that would reduce the dependence on conventional fuels. And it may surprise you to know that water is seriously being considered as one of the sources of alternative fuel.

What are alternative fuels?

Conventional fuels are fuels that have been traditionally used to provide energy in a variety of applications like powering vehicles or heating up buildings. Conventional fuels known to us are fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas, propane and coal; and nuclear fuel.

There is a growing concern about the environmental effects that these conventional fuels are having, not to mention their economic effects. Burning of fossil fuels is known to hugely increase the emission of greenhouse gases, one of the major contributors to global warming. Production of oil is expected to go into a decline sometime, leading to demand hugely outstripping supply and leading to a major energy crisis.

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These geopolitical concerns have led to many governments actively encouraging the development and use of alternative sources of fuel. The alternative fuel sources you may have already heard about are biodiesel, hydrogen, bioalcohol like ethanol and butanol, stored electricity, non-fossil natural gas and methane, vegetable oil and others. There are also sources of renewable energy like wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy and even tidal energy. But, how about water? Can water be a serious alternative fuel for cars and other vehicles?

Water as an Alternative Fuel For Cars

With the abundance of water, especially sea water staring us in the face, it was not surprising that people have always experimented with water as an alternative fuel for cars and vehicles in general. While they may have met with some success, nothing could be developed on a sustainable scale, certainly nothing that could make an economic impact.

People however, never gave up and lately, there has been renewed talk of how water could prove to be our ideal source of alternative fuel. There are reports of some inventors who in the process of removing salt from water discovered that the water actually started to burn and generate energy. With a similar idea in mind, the HTA company developed Aquygen, a gas generated from water and which is to be used as a fuel additive. What makes this so striking is that this additive decreases greenhouse emissions and increases the overall fuel efficiency of the car, without the vehicle needing any special changes in its fuelling system! There are also reports of a Japanese company having manufactured a car that runs only on water, without emitting any CO2.

While it is obvious that all these ideas and projects are still being developed and have to be tested on a large scale, they give hope to all of us that our dependence on conventional fuels may soon be over.



DOLORES

js1 asked:


I would think that NOW one would realize how big of an effect human pollution has on the environment, even if we are not the cause of global warming, landfills and wastes, the effects of not recycling, using too much energy and oil still takes a lot out on the environment and our civilization.

So are conservatives STILL turning a blind eye to environmental issues? If you dont believe it is that big of a deal or that we have that much of an effect, what’s the problem with at least going green? I dont see why people fight it.

LILY

Kim Klaver asked:


Lots of comments about how to deal with the perception:

“Beware of friends who sell what they recommend.”

They’re continuing to come in, so I’ll announce a raffle winner tomorrow.

(Interesting how many commenters seem to be in denial about this perception. Accept it. People have it. Many people would buy from us if they didn’t. Easy to blame the people. The more challenging question is: how do we stop fostering that perception?)

I promised some suggestions to help minimize this perception…here are three.

1. Be transparent. Before you say one word, ever, to anyone you know, about the wonders of your product let them know you are selling it. First. So your comments can be taken with the right grains of salt by the other person.

2. Be out there about “why” you are selling it. Everyone wants to buy stuff. We all like to buy what we want from someone we can relate to - someone who seems knowledgeable and cares about what they’re selling.

Everyone also needs to make a living, and we all know that.

So if you market earth-friendly cleaning products because you have long been an environmentally concerned person, let people know that about you. So the connection between what you do for a living and your personal passion is clear.

Plus your recommendations will mean more to someone who’s not quite as conscious about the environment as you, but is becoming more so. You can assume a person will figure that you could have sold ANY earth-friendly product line. So if you chose this one, it must be pretty good.

3. Limit your gushing or crowing about the products. Other than your personal story about it, and why you are now selling it, limit the “It’s just the best, life altering, one-of-a-kind, proprietary, patented, amazing, new and exciting, etc.” verbiage. The more you say about its wonders, the more uncomfortable you make everyone else, because they know you are selling it. You start looking like the pushy sales type most women try to get away from quick.

Just tell your before and after story - that first date script.

Then, you can ask, “Uhh, do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that? Or who might want to help me find more customers? Let me know, ok?”

Smile, let go and be first to change the subject.



KRISTIN