About John Cottone

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New York’s Green Police Cleaning Up the Streets

A team of officers working for the Department of Environmental Conservation, now called the “Green Police“, are tasked with enforcing environmental crimes in New York. They have complete authority to issue citations to violators.

The mission of the Green Police is “To protect and enhance the environment and natural resources of the State of New York while also protecting the health and safety of its people through the enforcement of Environmental Conservation and related laws and public education.”

The office states that they write approximately 300 violations each month, a number that is steadily increasing with proper enforcement.
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Organic Flower Bouquets from FTD

Buying flowers in the middle of winter can help brighten up events with loved ones – winter weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. But doing so at this time of year does mean generating a larger carbon footprint. Flowers that are imported from tropical areas are flown by plane and use up large amounts of fuel and energy for travel, and storage.

You can’t choose the time of year for some events, but a good green compromise involves buying organic or Fair Trade flowers in the winter. Organic flowers are pesticide-free, and have no chemical fertilizers used in the seeding, growing or preserving of bouquets. Additionally, you should know that workers in the cut-flower industry routinely are exposed to higher levels of contamination than other agricultural workers, a problem made worse because they work in enclosed environments, typically in greenhouses. Reducing the level of chemical treatments can help improve the health of those workers.

If buying flowers online, FTD.com now offers an “eco-friendly” section. Before going to their site, I recommended checking out these FTD coupon codes to receive a discount on your purchase.

Time-lapse Images of Glacier Loss

Professional photographer and naturalist James Balog is director of the Extreme Ice Survey and the first recipient of the International League of Conservation Photographers Award. Here, he gives a TED talk to illustrate global warming with time-lapse images of glacial ice-loss.

Another Way to Recycle Your Old Stuff

Getting rid of your old stuff around holiday time? There’s now an interesting auction site option in addition to Freecycle, eBay, or Craigslist. Listia.com is an eBay-style auction site where you bid on virtually free stuff using barter-style credits instead of real money. As of November 2009, this startup is focused on the San Francisco and New York markets, and will grow into additional markets as it becomes more popular.

A quick note on how it works – you receive Listia credits when you sign up, and earn more credits as you give things away. eBay-style bidding is based on the credit system, and the winner of an item auction receives the rights to pick it up from you for free or arrange shipping.

The main benefits of the site are in saving time and money, while keeping a level of trust in your transactions. You can give away items without having to manage dozens of Craigslist replies or worrying about the buyer showing up, and each member is rated in a similar fashion as eBay.

This new business model provides another potentially interesting way for us to recycle finished goods. I’m glad they’re working on making it simpler for users to get rid of stuff they don’t need anymore, or find someone else’s free stuff online without resorting to landfills.

Green Business Tips: Choose an Eco-Friendly Printing Company

Individuals are increasingly aware of the environmental practices of companies, and those practices can influence buying decisions for your key customers and clients. One of the simplest and economical ways to improve your environmental practices is to use green printing for all your marketing and sales materials.

PSPrint is one printing company that has taken action to offer environmentally-friendly services. Below are some of the benefits they offer with their services:

Printing on Recycled Paper
PsPrint offers 100% recycled paper stocks for most of their printed products. Your business should consider using high-quality recycled papers for everyday office printing and faxing, along with promotion of your services via brochures, business cards, and catalog printing . Show your green efforts to your clients by printing a line on your sales materials – “Printed on 100 percent recycled paper”.

Printing with Soy-Based Inks
PSPrint uses soy-based inks which are much safer for the environment than traditional petroleum-based inks. Soy inks emit fewer VOCs (volatile organic compounds) than traditional inks, and they help save the environment by making paper easier to recycle.

Recycling Paper Waste
Consider the life-cycle of the production of your printed materials, not just the quality of the finished product. PSPrint recycles all of their paper waste, while the printing industry on a whole produces tons of paper waste every year.

At Green Nation Today, we encourage you to go green with your business’s printing. The price will be similar to your current processes, and you’ll have the added benefits of reducing environmental impact and having one more sales point for your environmentally-sound clients.

Under Floor Heating a Green and Economically Smart Solution

If you’re looking to renovate your home, or plan to build a new residence, a major portion of the planning process should focus on energy efficiency and long-term economical benefits. In cooler climates, installing under floor heating is one of those economical and environmentally smart options that should be seriously considered.

Underfloor heating systems are generally constructed as either electric systems or warm water circulation systems. The heating elements are built directly into the floor, and provide a gentle, constant warmth from the ground up. Typically, these installations are more efficient than traditional forced air and radiator systems, making them less expensive over time and better for the environment. The reason is that your room’s air is heated more evenly and at a lower temperature, yet still provides the same level of comfort as a higher temperature setting would in traditional systems. No more cold spots in the room!

One additional benefit of underfloor heating is that it can improve the air quality for people with allergies. Because there is no circulation of air and no fans in this system, you can prevent the circulation of dust and other allergens that is all too common with forced air systems. Just another way to improve your living environment.

Arctic Ice Melt: A Video Explanation

In this short video, NASA climate scientist Tom Wagner clearly explains the recent history of arctic ice melt, and what these changes mean on a global scale. He also discusses NASA’s role in monitoring the cryosphere.

Via Treehugger