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Here is an article from The Green Office Blog on trying to make your 4th of July a Green one:

With a globally warm summer already upon us and Independence Day just around the corner, the question on a lot of people’s minds is: how in the world am I going to have a “sustainable” Fourth of July? For a holiday steeped in the traditions of grilled meat and over-the-top pyrotechnic displays, is such a thing even possible?

We think it is, and to that end we’ve compiled a list of five easy steps you can take to make your red, white, and blue just a little bit greener.

By Philip Proefrock
Source: GreenOptions.com

Lighting for buildings is a major part of their energy use. Increasingly, green building design is recognizing the importance of providing natural daylight as a means of lighting the building and reducing energy use. Not only does natural daylight reduce the building's energy use, but it also increases comfort for the people in the building. The LEED system includes credit for providing at least 75% of the spaces in the building with natural lighting and views, and the credit is increased if 90% of the spaces are naturally lit.

by Lizette Wilson
source: Green Home Inc.

With more than 10 million computers dumped in landfills each year, officials worry over mounting trash and toxicity. Massachusetts recently joined more than a dozen European countries in banning computers and TVs from landfills and throwing down the green gauntlet for the feds to follow suit.

Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia are also considering electronic dumping bans similar to that in Massachusetts.

Current federal rules prohibit large-scale electronic dumping (groups that toss more than 220 pounds of electronic waste a month must recycle), but residents and small businesses can, and do, pile old computers into landfills. According to the National Safety Council, only 11 percent of computers get recycled, and small-time consumers alone add 10 million computers to landfills every year.

by David Wortman
Source: National Geographics The Green Guide May/June 2007

Green roofs are all the rage, and for good reason—they trap and filter storm water, provide habitat for birds, insects and small animals and bring color to urban neighborhoods. Covered with vibrant grasses and plants, green roofs provide insulation in winter and reduce heat during warm summer days. Chicago has ambitious goals to cover over 2.5 million square feet with greenery on over 200 rooftops; in Germany, they account for an estimated 10 percent of all flat roofs.

Installation varies from laying out simple pre-planted modules to setting up more elaborate multi-layered systems. While it can be twice as expensive as a conventional roof, a green roof is cheap to maintain. Homeowners may even be eligible for utility rebates and state- or city-government incentives. What's more, they may double your roof's lifespan by shielding it from sunlight, wind and extreme temperatures. A quick note: Your roof will need to be able to support at least 30 pounds per square foot, depending on the system used, and have a slope of no less than one percent and no greater than seven percent.

"From the perspective of increasing biodiversity, green roofs are a success," says Amy Lesen, assistant professor of biology at New York's Pratt Institute. But if it's measurable energy savings you're after, you might consider solar panels. "Studies show that payback [from a green roof] in terms of energy savings can take up to 200 years," notes Chris Benedict, an architect specializing in energy-efficient design.

Electricity-generating photovoltaic (PV) solar roofs significantly reduce household carbon-dioxide emissions, and typical systems can last up to 30 years, adding to your home's value. Installation is easiest when putting on a new roof and should be done by a licensed electrician with experience putting in solar panels. Your service provider can help set you up with "net metering" to offset any energy you buy with that you produce.

PV roof panels are sold in "per kilowatt" increments, with four to five kilowatts covering about half the average home's energy needs. While installations run from $8 to $10 per watt, costs and payback time will depend on electric rates, state incentives and climate. Federal tax credits of up to $2,000 are now available, along with a variety of local credits; to find out what's available in your area, see www.dsireusa.org. However, breakthroughs in panel efficiency that promise to reduce costs aren't yet available to consumers, and, given the current high prices, you may want to concentrate on personal energy conservation before investing in photovoltaics.

But if you do have the resources, consider combining PV panels with a green roof. According to the Scandinavian Green Roof Institute, shade provided by the panels can even encourage more biodiversity. You and the environment just may find yourselves in a win-win situation.

Resources: Solar Living Institute, Solar Estimator, www.Greenroofs.com

Sources: The Green Burial Council, People Magazine

The following quote is an excerpt of an interview with Joe Sehee, Executive Director, The Green Burial Council.

"Green burial is a way of caring for our dead without the use of toxins or materials that are not biodegradable, which essentially means no formaldehyde (a major ingredient in embalming fluid), no metal caskets and no concrete vaults. It also requires that markers, if used at all, must be living (i.e. trees, wildflowers) or ecologically functional (i.e. boulders, field stones) and appropriate for the surroundings. Green burial is not a new idea. It's the way much of humanity has handled its end-of-life rituals for several thousand years until the advent of the modern cemetery/funeral industry."

In the June 25, 2007 issue of People Magazine, the story "Dust to Dust" goes into how Green Burials are increasing just outside of Westminister, S.C., and the benefits they provide to the environment.

For more information on Green Burials, visit The Green Burial Council.

By Peter A. Seligmann, Chairman and CEO
Conservation International
June 18, 2007

President Bush has proclaimed he would convince the world that the United States is a leader in finding solutions to climate change. Ironically, he said that in a recent speech at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while at the same time his administration is slashing USAID support to reducing tropical forest deforestation, the second leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

Globally, tropical deforestation contributes at least 20 percent of global greenhouse gases – more than the entire transportation sector. Proposed USAID cuts will sabotage emerging efforts to protect forests in developing countries, particularly in Africa, Asia and South America, where USAID programs support the emergence of community management of natural resources.

Source: Conservation International

By Bob Ramlow and Benjamin Nusz
Source: Green Living Journal

WHATEVER BROUGHT YOU to this point, whether it was the realization that we are trashing our environment or the simple need to lower your living expenses, now you are here and you want to do something. But what to do first? The answer is simple: start by conserving the energy you use to heat water. Three general principles that are easy to follow will also save you money: reduce losses, increase efficiency, and reduce consumption.

To start, examine your heating system from top to bottom and look for places where heat might leak out. Heat losses in the system end up wasting the energy you just used to heat your water. Many can be reduced by just a little bit of cheap insulation. For instance, insulate all of your hot pipes. If you are working on a new construction, insulating the hot pipes is easy. Even if you don't have access to all your pipes, insulating the ones you can get at will make a noticeable difference. You should also insulate your water heater. A tank- type water heater heats a whole batch of water. As this water sits there waiting for use, it slowly cools down. The more you insulate it, the better it will retain its heat. Heat losses can also come from leaks. A faucet that leaks 30 drops of water a minute will waste almost 100 gallons a month. Fix leaky faucets promptly.

 Source: Green Living Journal

By Kristine Hansen, Trade Press
Source: EcoMall.com

When asked why on earth a company would switch to using “green” cleaning chemicals, Barry Dimson, co-owner of Philadelphia’s Sheraton Rittenhouse, pulls out the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for a window cleaner used at most hotels. Reading from it, he cringes at the words butoxyethanol and propanol and quotes a sentence about health hazards such as corneal eye damage and lung damage — possible if the product penetrates the skin, or is inhaled. The problem is that hoteliers buy into its rock-bottom price and don’t read the MSDS, Dimson says.

As the nation’s first environmentally smart hotel, Sheraton Rittenhouse is setting a precedent, and is part of an industry keen on cleaning for health, and for the environment. The hotel uses 100 percent organic cotton bed-sheets, chemical-free laundry cycles, energy-efficient light bulbs, and palm trees in the lobby with a superb oxygenation rate. The lobby’s reception desk is made from recycled soda bottles. Cleaning chemicals are all non-toxic, water-based, hypoallergenic and biodegradable.

The Sheraton also is a member of the Green Hotels Association, which lists approximately 200 hotels as members. A campaign that put cards in hotel rooms, urging the reuse of towels, put the association on the map in 1993. The concept reportedly saves a hotel $.50 per day per occupied room.

Source: EcoMall.com

Source: The California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is building a dynamic new facility that will transform the museum into one of the world's leading scientific and cultural institutions. The new design, which features a living roof, will integrate the Academy more sensitively into Golden Gate Park and make nature a part of the building's structure. With its environmentally-sensitive design, the new building will be an expression of the Academy's mission to explore, explain, and protect the natural world.
 
There are varying shades of green as measured by the U.S. Green Building Council through its LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. Through all aspects of design and construction, the Academy will strive to achieve the highest rating: LEED platinum. When it opens in 2008, the Academy expects to be the largest public LEED platinum building in the world.
 
The new Academy is one of ten pilot "green building" projects of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, part of a vanguard initiative to develop models for workable, sustainable public architecture and will consume 30-35% less energy than required by code.

Get more details at  The California Academy of Sciences Web-site.

Source: The California Academy of Sciences