Josh Dorfman's Tips for Going Green on a Budget

Here is an article to help you go green:

Going green doesn't have to cost a lot of green! Use these simple tips to make a positive impact on the environment while keeping your wallet intact. It's easy, even for the laziest of environmentalists.

• Shut down and unplug electronics. Make small changes to use – and pay for – less energy, like shutting down your computer when you're not using it and plugging your cell phone and other electronics into power strips so you can turn several devices off with one switch.
• Wash your clothes in cold water. By using cold water instead of warm, the average household can avoid emitting 1,281 pounds of carbon dioxide annually and save on energy bills.¹
• Fill your bottle with filtered tap water. Choose the greener solution by using a reusable bottle, like the FilterForGood bottle, and filling it with filtered tap water. If you use a Brita filtration system you can make another responsible choice by recycling your pitcher filter when you replace it, which should be about every two months (or every 40 gallons). Find out more about recycling Brita filters here.
• Update your wardrobe for less. Instead of consuming new products, trade fashionable clothes, accessories, cosmetics and shoes for free (you only pay for shipping). By swapping merchandise you can lower the amount of harmful emissions caused by the manufacturing process. Check out swapstyle.com to learn more.
• Exchange CDs, DVDs and books instead of buying. Now you can avoid purchasing new products without forfeiting your entertainment needs. Visit swapacd.com, swapadvd.comand paperbackswap.com for access to thousands of CDs, books and DVDs.

 

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Greening the World Bank

Here is a great green earth article: 

When I think Green Living, my first thought is not about what the World Bank is doing. But because they are behind so many international infrastructure, lending and development projects, how they view green development protocols and initiatives is important. Recently they took what I think is a big step forward in appointing Daniel Kammen, a UC-Berkeley energy professor, to lead their push for alternative energy programs in developing countries. His role will be as the chief technical specialist for all renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and was newly created for him “amid unprecedented demand from developing countries for support to address development and climate change as interlinked challenges.” The overarching goal of his position is to address difficulties in getting the 1.5 billion people who do not have clean, reliable and affordable energy services.

  Kammen is the founding director of Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and has done extensive research and consulting on design and implementation of renewable energy systems. His new position will complement the appointment of Andrew Steer as the World Bank’s first special envoy on climate change earlier this summer. Steer is in charge of over $6 billion in projects through the World Bank’s Climate Change Investment Fund, and Kammen’s new position will provide the technical direction for the projects.

 

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Did You Know You Can Get Free Solar on Your Home in Eight US States?

You are lucky if you live in one of these 8 states and want to go green:

There are now at least eight states in the US where you can get a free solar system to supply your home’s electricity at a lower rate than your utility does. These eight states allow private companies to compete with their utilities that sell power by the kilowatt hour, through a “lease” or a power purchase agreement, or PPA.

The three companies that stepped in to offer these $0 down options are Solar City (OR, CA,TX),SunRun (CA, AZ, CO, NJ, MA) and Gro Solar (PA, CA). Sungevity also offers yet another PPA, providing yet a third option for Californians.

Typically, the way they do this is to find investors or banks who will front the money for a large number of installations, and they own the system, so you don’t have to apply for a bank loan to put solar on your roof.

Once installed on your roof, you either make lease payments or just pay monthly for electricity by the kilowatt hour, the same way you pay your current electric utility.

Companies offering leases or PPAs can in many cases offer $0 down. You get a free solar system and start paying a lower monthly rate than before.

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