Archive for the ‘Announcements’ Category

Last week I wrote a blog on why it is so important to recycle but why it is equally important to purchase recycled materials and to complete the loop. It is wonderful that recycling is now on the forefront of everyone’s minds nowadays but what should also be on the forefront is looking at your purchasing choices. I thought I would give a quick example of a couple products before the holiday season that are completing this loop!

Number 1: Green Toys made from recycled milk jugs!

These are probably one of my all-time favorites….. Milk jugs are made from HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and is one of the safest and cleanest plastics around. They are BPA (bisphenol-A) free, phthalates and lead free! Since they are also made from milk jugs the products themselves come out incredibly strong! Your child can throw these things across the room and they wouldn’t break. It actually reminds me of the tea sets that I used to play with as a kid. Somehow along the way those tea sets have gotten cheaper and cheaper as the years went along and are so flimsy that your child will break a fork when opening the box!

Another quick thing to point out is the packaging. I cannot stand when a company has a wonderful recycled material product and then screws it up by putting it in non-recyclable packaging! What is the point?? This companies packaging is recycled corrugated boxes and is 100% recyclable! Kudos!

Number 2: Bags made from recycled plastic bottles!

This company does not have an entire line of recycled plastic bottle bags but they are starting and making an attempt! This is a great example though of making a conscious choice of what you purchase. You may see the entire line of bags but you decide to purchase the one made from recycled plastic bottles, or they also have one made from recycled canvas. Have the recycled products start becoming your first choice! b. happybags recognizes that  hundreds of billions of plastic bags are consumed each year and less than 3% are recycled and are taking an active choice to start changing that!

Number 3: Office & school supplies made from post consumer waste

Here is a big one!! If you cannot start doing anything at all, then at least pay attention to all of the paper you consume and to purchase paper or supplies that are made from post consumer waste (pcw). Did you know that less than 9% of the 8 million tons of printing and writing paper used in the US every year is recycled content?? The rest comes from chopping down 188 million trees. That is absolutely insane and “you” and I have the power to change that. The higher the pcw content the better but at least make sure it is over 30%.

So, this holiday season throw in a small notepad into your child’s stocking, or friends hostess gift. Get them started as well!

Number 4: Mr. Ellie Pooh made from elephant dung!

Here is a product that is made from not only pcw (post consumer waste of 25%) but is mixed in with 75% elephant dung! Any company that says they are saving the elephants one poop at a time, is a company that I like to support!! These products are of course made from elephant dung and how ingenious is that?!? This is an example of an adorable end product, that is helping with conserving our planet’s resources but also with animal conservation as well. Since 1950 Sri Lanka has killed over 4,000 elephants for the sole purpose of interfering with their agriculture. By supporting Mr. Ellie Pooh Paper you are saving the elephants! A perfect Christmas present and a perfect story to go along with it!!

Hopefully these few examples will inspire you to look at products this holiday season a little differently. I think the economy has forced a different perspective on everyone and we are more cautious about what we purchase now more than ever. Don’t just focus on the “cost-saving” aspects (although this is definitely important) but focus on the impact of the product and how it makes you feel when gift giving this year by knowing you are doing the right thing for our planet and future generations!!

Some exciting things are happening this weekend in Bakersfield. This Saturday, November 7^th from 9 am to 1 pm you can pick up maps at Greenshops located at 7737 Meany Avenue in Northwest Bakersfield for the first annual Bakersfield Solar Tour.

This is your opportunity to drive around Bakersfield and speak to homeowners that have purchased solar panels for their homes and ask them questions.

I purchased my solar panels in April 2008 from REC Solar. When I purchased my panels the tier 5 rates were 35 cents per-kilowatt hour (KWH). As of today, the rates have increased about 30% and are 45 cents per-kilowatt hour. PG and E has already received approval that as of January 2010 to raise the rates, yet again, to 48 cents per-kilowatt hour. With these rapid rate increases, it makes it more and more affordable to purchase solar panels.

When I first started looking into purchasing solar panels my first goal was to get my electric bill down as much as possible. I did not want to spend more than I needed. We just built a new home and had a fountain in the front and back of our home running full time and a swimming pool. We decided to make many energy saving choices for our home. We set up our home with many energy saving devices, so when appliances were not in used, we could shut off all power (read about vampire power). We put the fountains on times, reduced the amount of time we were running the pool, and then we started monitoring our air conditioning and only used it when necessary. We were wasting electricity all over the home and by actively paying attention we cut our bill in half.

Now we are ready to talk to Kevin our fabulous solar man. Kevin came out and looked at our new electric bill showed us how solar would benefit us. Back then we were thinking we were looking at a 9 year ROI, but with how quickly the rates are rising, it may not take that long. The best part is that you can get a 30% credit for the federal government on your out of pocket expense. Plus talk to your local solar guy to find out what other great incentives that are out there.

I feel like it was definitely the right investment for my family. Currently little ole’ Bakersfield is ranked 6^th in California for homes with solar. See numbers below:

San Diego, 2,262
Los Angeles, 1,388
San Francisco, 1,350
San Jose, 1,333
Fresno, 1,028
Bakersfield, 751
Clovis, 733
Santa Rosa, 725
Sacramento, 692
Berkeley, 648

Here is another great blog about the solar tour with some great solar information. http://bakersfieldexpress.org/2009/11/04/curious-about-going-solar-tour-some-solar-homes/

Come join the fun and find out more about solar.

9 am to 1 pm

Pick up maps at Greenshops 7737 Meany Avenue, Suite B3 Bakersfield, CA 93308 661-587-6477