Green Stock

April 22, 2009 · Filed under environment, green, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would write a post about a green stock. My definition of a green stock is a company that is developing green technology that will allow us to live more sustainable lives. It is important for me to note right now 1) I currently own the stock I am writing about 2) I have absolutely no training as a stock broker or financial advisor so before you invest anyof your own money in the company I talk about here do your own research and make your decisions appropriately and 3) You should always do alot of research before you invest in the stock market.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR)

Corporate mission: To create enduring value by enabling a world powered by clean, affordable solar electricity.
Information: First Solar was formed in 1999 and launched production of commercial products in 2002 and has achieved the lowest manufacturing cost per watt in the industry, $.98/watt for the fourth quarter of 2008, breaking the $1 per watt price barrier. First Solar is the largest manufacturer of thin film solar modules, having expanded manufacturing capacity to an expected 735 MW in 2008; and with additional plants under construction, First Solar will bring total expected capacity to more than 1 GW by the end of 2009.

Stock Information: Currently, trading at the lower to middle end of the 52 week spectrum. They were able to get through the begining of the horrible stock market decline by actually gaining at times and then not losing as much as the market.

Other News: First Solar Inc announced it would build a solar power plant for Sempra Energy in Nevada that, when completed, will be the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America.

Information as of April 22, 2009 at about 12:44pm EST (to see their whole profile on cnnmoney.com click here)
Prev. Close: 140.14
Open:  139.40
High:   146.00
Low:    138.50
Volume: 1,132,380
Volume Avg.: 4,190,200
52wk Range: 85.28 – 317.00
Market Cap (mil): 11,918.94
P/E Ratio: 34.35
Dividend Yield: N/A
They have worked to position themselves as a leader in this field and if they continue to make sound business decisions they could do some excellent work in the field and make their investors money as well.

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Green Items for Kids and Babies

April 22, 2009 · Filed under community, environment, food, green, how to, life, living · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In honor of Earth Day here are a few tips on how you can green the lives of your kids (big and small) too.

Make their school lunch more green:

Buy a lunch box. Not a plastic one but a metal one or of recycled materials (follow the link for some cool bags).

Put your kids drinks in a reusable water bottle. For those of you who read my blog regularly you probably feel like this is a broken record but it makes a HUGE difference. This is one of the best things you can do for the environment. My niece loves my Sigg and they make Sigg water bottles for kids. Here is a link to some really cool Sigg bottles!!!

Pack utensils for them. It is just as easy to put them into the dishwasher at night with the dinner dishes.

Pack a cloth napkin. Some kids admittedly will not go for this one… but see how they feel about it. Being green is in right now so they might be game for it.

Buy them organic and locally grown food. Even if it is just for a few weeks try to get to the farmers market before they go away for the winter and get some locally grown food.

Do not buy juice boxes or prepackaged food. Beside the obvious packaging issues for the environment, think of your kids health. Really read the label of a Lunchable… it is a disgrace and we wonder why kids have health problems. I have told all my friends who have or are having kids if I see them feed their kid an Uncrustable I will report them to the authorities or steal their kid ;) if you cannot make your kid a PBJ you probably should not have kids… Ok off my soapbox, sorry.

Do not put things in plastic baggies. Find a reusable container to put these items in. Unfortunately, the easiest and safest ones are plastic but if you use them for an entire school year I have to think that is better than 180+ plastic baggies.

Green Baby Items:

Sigg or other stainless steel sippy cups- Plastic with bis-phenol or BPA has been know to leach into the food that is contained in them (see my post of the health effects of plastic here).  By using stainless steel sippy cups you do not expose the child to any harmful chemical. I think we all know that plastic is not good for the environment so by purchasing a stainless steel sippy cup you are saving another plastic item from being made and ending up in a landfill.

G diapers- Regular diapers can take up to 500 years to break down in a landfill and G Diapers take 90 days because they are plastic free. You can also compost (the wet ones) or flush them as well. Basically they are cotton breathable outer pants that come with disposable inserts. Because you are not throwing out the entire diaper with every change there is a little bit of work involved for a parent to keep up with this method of diapering but G Diaper has an 800 number and website for help for parents. Remember kids can poop through regular, bad for the environment diapers so be realistic in your expectations for these diapers. The good they do for the environment are worth the learning curve needed to be successful in using them.

Diaper service- Find a local diaper service. Get some cloth diaper pants, covers, or holders (for lack of a better term). You can order diaper covers from babynaturale.com or cottonbabies.com . You can also get cloth diaper accessories at kellyscloset.com

Organic baby clothes and blanket- organic cotton is much easier to get these days for kids and babies. Organic cotton is most sustainable for the environment because no harsh pesticides are used in the farming of cotton. These pesticides comes through in the fibers of the cotton and can get on babies skin so organic clothes are better for baby and the environment.

Baby food maker- There are devices out there now to make it even easier for parents to make their children a fresh nutritious dinner. The  <a href=”Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker“>  Is a steamer and pureer that gives parents the ability to Baby food freezer packages - If you decide to make your own baby food even some of the time you need to get one of these amazing storage containers to make it easier for you to freeze. <a href=”Baby Cubes 2 Oz. Baby Food Storage Contains no Phthalates, Bisphenol-A, PVC“> or <a href=”Baby Cubes 1 Oz. Baby Food Storage Contains no Phthalates, Bisphenol-A, PVC“>

Baby food cookbooks- It is actually quite easy to make food for your baby and most food can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months so it is possible to devote some time on a regular basis to make the food but still have the same conveniences as store bought processed foods. It helps you buy local, organic, and healthier foods. One of the best cookbooks I have found is the “<a href=”Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months“>Cooking for Baby” Cookbook by Lisa Barnes.

Recyclable stroller- Baby Planet makes some of the coolest strollers ever… They come in animal themes like tiger and frog, a donation goes to the Wildlife Conservation Society with every purchase and when you are done with the stroller you send it back to them for free and they recycle the ENTIRE thing!  While I have never actually pushed one I read the reviews on Babies R US and it appears people are happy with it, the complaint I read the most was that it was a little heavier than other strollers but I personally feel the big plastic strollers are to light weight a cheap (not to mention bad for the environment).

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Great Tips and Posts for Earth Day

April 22, 2009 · Filed under community, education, environment, food, green, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Below is a list of blogs that I like and links to some of my favorite green, earth friendly, eco-friendly posts that they have.

Cupcakes and Cutlery- blog with awesome advice about throwing the best parties ever. They have a section on eco-friendly party resources. The post I personally reference  is the ”save the cutlery save the world” post that has resources on where to get ecofriendly party supplies.

Ed Next Step- blog about sustainably, architecture, and education (I am grossly under explaining this blog you should check it out). This blog has a section about green schools, I particularly like the posts about the Greening of America’s Schools. You should also check out St. Phillip’s Academy which is a green school the author of the blog is involved with.

Angry African- I think he says it best in his tag line “I have opinions, I am from Africa, I live here now, I blog.” He blogs about alot of different topics but he is one of the best writers I have ever read in the blogging world. I particularly like his green post titled “What the Hell is Eco-Friendly,” you need to read some of his other posts to truly know what he is being tongue in cheek it is a great post (if you want to read a great post that is not about the environment read “How I Love my Wife“)

Do you have any green blogs you want to plug?

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Thoughts for Earth Day

April 22, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As we start to celebrate Earth Day, here is a short list of good and bad things that are happening for the environment. This is the first of a few posts today in celebration of Earth Day.  

Good

More people are employed by the wind power industry than coal mines- Definitely a shift in the right direction!

EPA targets green house gases- The EPA is finally taking a real look at how we can reduce our green house gases.

Bottled water sales decreasing- Since only about 25 years ago people used to just drink from a water fountain when they were thirsty the waste created from bottled water sales has had a huge impact on society. Now, maybe because of the economy, sales are on the decline. People need to start bringing their tap water in a water bottle with them rather than purchasing their water.

Bad

Still no wind power off the coast of US- Alot of states are talking about, acting like they are getting close…etc. but currently there are no actually wind turbines off the coast of the US.

People still drive huge cars and good alternative vehicles are not available for sale.

Oil prices went down, good because of the economy, but bad for the environment… people were really looking at their oil consumption when the price was almost double what it is now.

I hope you check back through out the day to see what other thoughts, advice, and resources I have  for Earth Day.

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Solar Power From Space

April 21, 2009 · Filed under environment, green, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

PG&E is working with Solaren Corp. to purchase solar power from space!! Solaren is creating solar panels that would orbit the Earth and send the energy back down to Earth through radio frequency transmission. The energy would then be converted and send back into the grid!

PG&E is pledging to buy the power at an agreed-upon rate, comparable to the rate specified in other agreements for renewable-energy purchases, company spokesman Jonathan Marshall said. Neither PG&E nor Solaren would say what that rate was, due to the proprietary nature of the agreement. However, Marshall emphasized that PG&E would make no up-front investment in Solaren’s venture.

“We’ve been very careful not to bear risk in this,” Marshall told msnbc.com.

Solaren’s chief executive officer, Gary Spirnak, said the project would be the first real-world application of space solar power, a technology that has been talked about for decades but never turned into reality.

Solaren feels that they will be ready to actually have energy that is ready to use by 2016.

According to msnbc:

In the Q&A, Spirnak said his company currently consists of about 10 engineers and scientists, and plans to employ more than 100 people a year from now. He said each member of the Solaren team had at least 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, primarily with Hughes Aircraft Co. and the U.S. Air Force. Spirnak himself is a former Air Force spacecraft project engineer with experience at Boeing Satellite Systems as well.

“The impetus for forming Solaren was the convergence of improved high-energy conversion devices, heavy-launch vehicle developments, and a revolutionary Solaren-patented SSP [space solar power] design that is a significant departure from past efforts and makes SSP not only technically but economically viable,” Spirnak said.

Boerman said Solaren’s plan called for four or five heavy-lift launches that would put the elements of the power-generating facility in orbit. Those elements would dock automatically in space to create the satellite system. Boerman declined to describe the elements in detail but noted that each heavy-lift launch could put 25 tons of payload into orbit.

“We’ve talked with United Launch Alliance, and gotten an idea of what’s involved and what the cost is,” he said.

The plan would have to be cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration as well as the Federal Communications Commission and federal and state safety officials, Boerman said.

In the nearer term, PG&E’s deal would have to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, Marshall said.

He said the space-power agreement was part of PG&E’s effort to forge long-term deals for renewable energy, including deals for terrestrial-based solar power. Marshall pointed out that space-based and terrestrial-based solar power generation were “really very different animals.”

This appears to be an amazing ambitious plan to be undertaking. Good for PG&E to get in on the ground floor on this kind of project without bearing the risk of developmental costs. I think Solaren has a huge battle ahead of them to get the technology ready for this to work… if it works though think about the amazing power possibilities there are out there!

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EPA Finally Testing Pesticides

April 20, 2009 · Filed under community, education, environment, food, green, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

You probably assummed that the EPA was testing the health effects of pesticides on Humans for a long time right? Not so. This past Wednesday the EPA said that they will finally start testing 67 of the most common pesticides to see how it affects the human endocrine system. Lets hope that they actually expand their testing to all pesticdes soon.

Here is the exact text of the Press Release (here is the link):

EPA To Begin Testing Pesticides for Endocrine Disruption

Release date: 04/15/2009   Contact Information: Suzanne Ackerman, (202) 564-4355 / 7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. – April 15, 2009) EPA has issued the first list of pesticides to be screened for possibly disrupting the endocrine system.  Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interact with and possibly disrupt the hormones produced or secreted by the human or animal endocrine system, which regulates growth, metabolism and reproduction.More information on endocrine disruptors:   www.epa.gov/scipoly/oscpendo

“Endocrine disruptors can cause lifelong health problems — especially for children,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Gathering this information will help us work with communities and industry to protect Americans from harmful exposure.”

EPA will issue test orders to the manufacturers of 67 pesticide chemicals this summer to determine whether their chemicals may disrupt the endocrine systems (estrogen, androgen and thyroid).  Testing, conducted through the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), will eventually be expanded to cover all pesticide chemicals.

The list was developed on the basis of exposure potential and should not be construed as a list of known or likely endocrine disruptors.  The listed pesticide chemicals were selected because there is high potential for human exposure through food and water, residential activity, or agricultural pesticide application. 

Also being announced today are revised policies and procedures that EPA will follow to order testing, minimize duplicative testing, promote equitable cost-sharing, and protect manufacturers’ confidential business information.

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Pepsi Works with Greenpeace to Develop Green Vending Machines

April 1, 2009 · Filed under community, environment, food, green, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , ,

Working with Greenpeace Solutions, Pepsi is testing greener vending machines. Thirty new machines will be tested in Washington DC area with the goal of having them rolled out all over the world in the next few years. Currently, Pepsi’s vending machines are equivalent to burning 5 100-watt bulbs and the new machines reduce that to two! It is important to note that Pepsi’s current machines are already less than industry standards. The new machines also emit about 12 percent less greenhouse gas, in part by keeping the drinks cool with carbon dioxide instead of the usual hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

INTERESTING FACT: Pepsi has between 4 and 5 million vending machines around the world!

As with most green invention the new machines are more expensive than current equipment but obviously will have lower energy bills in use.

Lets hope Pepsi keeps up their innovation and make more green items!!! If only they could find a way to get rid of plastic bottles.

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New Fuel Efficiency Standards

March 31, 2009 · Filed under community, environment, green, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it is raising the combined fuel efficiency standard for 2011 cars and trucks to 27.3 mpg, 2 miles per gallon above the 2010 average.

When was the last passenger car standard changed? Over 20 years ago!

What exactly is the new standard? All 2011 passenger cars must to meet 30.2 mpg. Trucks, SUVs and minivans must meet 24.1 mpg.

How much will it help the environment? The DOT says the increase will save 887 million gallons of fuel and reduce CO2 emissions by 8.3 million metric tons.

Is the the last increase we will see for awhile? The DOT is already working with the EPA to set future fuel efficiency rules combined with emission regulations through 2015, which will be released later this year. The administration is claiming it’s just the first in a series of more aggressive increases that will lead to meeting the 35 mpg standard by 2020 set by a 2007 energy law. Obama has promised that he will get the standard to 40 mpg by 2022.

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Obama Signs New Conservation Bill

March 31, 2009 · Filed under environment, green, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After spending a year working to get through Congress Obama signed a new conservation bill into law on Monday that protects 2 million acres of parks, rivers, streams, desert, forest and trails in California, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, New Mexico and Michigan. The bill passed the house with a vote of 285-140 with most of the opponents being Republicans who were upset that law did not allow access for oil and gas drilling on the land.

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Earth Hour This Saturday

March 25, 2009 · Filed under community, education, environment, food, green, how to, life, living, news · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Earth Hour is Saturday March 28th at 8:30 pm local time!

Last year I participated in Earth Hour and I hope more people do this year too. Last year we went to our neighbors house and had a nice dinner by candlelight (we made sure our lights were out before we walked over to their house).

There are lots of fun things you can do for Earth Hour:

  • Have your friends over for a barbecue. Cooler full of drinks and a grill to cook the food, who needs electricity.
  • For those of us in the north light a fire in the fireplace, make smores and just enjoy the company of the ones you are with.
  • Have friends over and play board games by candlelight (or flashlight).
  • Camp out in the backyard.
  • If there is a planetarium near your home contact them. Many around the country are doing special star gazing events or go to for more information: http://stardate.org/nightsky/ or http://skymaps.com/downloads.html
  • Try and organize a neighborhood wide block party or barbecue and get everyone to shut off their lights. It would be a good way to get to know your neighbors right!
  • You could use the time to change all the light-bulbs if you have not done so already or make other energy efficient changes in your home.
  • If you have kids let them have a sleep over and do fun things with the kids by candle light to help them learn more about the environment. The EPA has a great website for kid activities http://www.epa.gov/kids/index.htm

How to prepare:

  • Shut off all your lights (this is the basic way to celebrate)
  • Unplug all your lights, appliances… everything… yes you will need to re-program your alarm clock, your cable box will take a half an hour to load the guides back into your box, and you will have to climb behind your furniture and move things to do this but this step is what really saves the energy. As you probably know even when your lights and appliances are not on they are still using electricty.

Here is some news about Earth Hour from WWF:

MORE ICONS ANNOUNCE THEY’LL GO DARK: The Pyramids in Egypt, the Acropolis in Athens, the Broadway Theater District, the Space Needle in Seattle, and the Chrysler Building in New York have come on board over the past few days.

TUNE IN TO LARRY KING LIVE: Actor and Earth Hour USA Ambassador Edward Norton will talk with Larry King about Earth Hour this Wednesday, March 25th at 9 pm ET on CNN. Don’t miss it!

Look outside on Saturday night and see how many of your neighbors have their lights out! It would be great if there was more marketing on the environmental organizations part for people to display that they were going to participate ahead of time so that there might be some discussion in your neighborhood about what Earth Hour is.

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