2009 Idaho Green Expo Is This Weekend

Well, it's finally here! The 2009 Idaho Green Expo is being held July 18th & 19th at the Boise Centre On The Grove, in Boise, Idaho. Admission is free and the resources are almost ENDLESS !

Besides numerous Green Exhibitors this year, The Expo will be presenting "Sustainable U". This will be a self-guided exploration of what a green home, garden and office actually look like. By walking through these exhibits, you can see for yourself how you can make small, and sometimes, not so small changes that will usually lead to saving energy, saving money, improving your health and are also good for the environment.

Then, there's a quality line-up of Speakers at the Idaho Green Expo. Mayor David Bieter of Boise will be in great company with a panel of Idaho Mayors. Also, Scott Schliebe, will speak on the fate of the polar bear. Jim Evanoff, "Yellowstone's" Green Ranger is scheduled to speak along with several other great speakers and topics.

Another first for the Idaho Green Expo is the Eco Brew Festival on Saturday & Sunday. Local and sustainable beer, wine, food and music will be available. Check out the 2009 Idaho Green Expo website for times and all vendor information. Location is "On The Grove", of course!

I'll be one of over 140 Exhibitors at the 2009 Idaho Green Expo and will be set up in Booth #85. Please stop by and visit, when you're there.

This venue is more than exceptional. Please don't miss it. The folks at GreenWorks Idaho do a stellar job in bringing Idaho a prestigious array of green and sustainable resources and information.

Cleaning With A Toxic Brew - Forget About The Monsters Under Your Bed !

The "monsters" are right there on the grocery store shelves just waiting to "clean up" your home, school or office!!

That's right, sitting there all prim and proper, polished and priced; are a plethora of cleaning products, (aka Monsters), ready to come into your personal spaces and gobble up all those terrible germs and gunk! But, in the process of "cleaning up" your spaces, they may also be leaving behind a toxic brew.

These toxins may be absorbed by inhalation, ingestion, or contact. Some of the ingredients have been found to be associated factors of one or many health conditions. Asthma, Chronic Fatigue, Reactive Airway Dysfunction, Skin Allergies and more, may be affected or enhanced by the toxic brew of products that you're "cleaning" with.

You have options. Natural and non-toxic products are available and can be just as effective as the Name Brand products. Many of these products are concentrated and not any more costly than the Name Brand products. There are also recipes available to make up your own homemade solutions.

To find out more about the toxic brew lurking under your sink, check out a short Toxic Brew video at http://www.4greenplanetsolutions.com/ . At that site, you can also order a free, Home Cleaners Toxin Checklist, to check out the contents of some commonly used Brand Name products.

Remove the "Monsters" and replace them with products that are safe for you, your home and the planet.

My Step #3 To Combat Climate Change

I’m in the process of sharing my personal journey to reduce my personal carbon footprint, on the planet. I was initially inspired by reading the World Environment Day website and their Twelve Steps To Unite To Combat Climate Change.

In June, I addressed Step Number One; which was Commitment , and also, Set Number Two; which was Assess Where You Stand.* Now, it's time to move onto Step Number 3. This is "where the rubber meets the road", as they say.

Step Number Three is: Decide And Plan Where You Want To Go

During my assessment* in Step #2, I completed a survey on the website, One Million Acts of Green. In this process, I selected areas called “Acts of Green” that I already have done, and then Pledged to make changes in numerous other Acts. I have a lot of areas that are in the “Pledged” category still, and this is the resource that I can use to work on Step #3; Deciding and planning where I want to go.

Therefore, I will be using my uncompleted Acts of Green (or Pledges), to calculate how I am progressing on my carbon footprint reduction. I plan on referring back to my Pledges at least once a week, and using it as a reminder of things to work on and a place to update my accomplishments.

I’m will be sharing my accomplishments and hurdles, (hopefully there are very few of those), with everyone via this blog. Please feel free to share with the other readers and myself, what areas are more difficult for you to conquer. Maybe together, we can help each other accomplish our common goal in reducing our greenhouse emissions, fighting global warming and just plain being good stewards.

Can't Thank Them Enough !

Freedom Isn't Free

4th of july 2009 My Hero Military Tribute from porsches4ed on Vimeo.

Landmark Climate Bill Passes The House

Another landmark victory this week for protecting our environment!

In a very close House vote, 219 to 212, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), was passed by the House of Representatives on June 26, 2009.

This legislation is a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon pollution, as well as grow our economy. It still has to make it through the Senate and be signed into law, but it definitely appears to be on its way!

What does this all mean?

Well, I definitely am no authority in the area of global warming and the economy, but there have been significant studies to access the impact of this bill. The effects on the nation's economy, energy costs and household impacts were seriously calculated. None of these areas will see measurable results in the very near future, but will show themselves over time.

It didn't take us a couple of years to put our planet in the condition that it's in, and it will take more than a couple to get us out of it. In fact, projected measurable results may not be fully seen until 2020 and 2030, in the impacted areas.

There is much division over the value of this legislation via H.R. 2454. But still, I can't stop hoping that if nothing else, this discussion brings the issues of global warming and reduction of CO2 emissions into the forefront of everyone's mind.

Raising The Bar In San Francisco

I'm so proud of San Francisco and Mayor Gavin Newsom. I'm literally busting at the seams!

San Francisco already has made huge strides in recycling, but now, they have raised the bar by signing into law, mandatory composting in my favorite City. Seventy-two percent diversion from the landfills wasn't enough for Mayor Newsom and his colleagues, and so now it's the law!

In an article in the Huffington Post, the progressive Mayor outlines the chronology of San Francisco's war for reduction in their landfills and repurposing much of the byproducts of waste.

Please watch inspiring video that explains San Francisco's ambitious journey to create a model for environmental stewardship in every city on this planet.

Step 2 of My 12 Steps To Combat Climate Change

In a previous post, I shared about the Twelve Steps To Unite To Combat Climate Change on the World Environment Day website. Then, I decided that I would like to become more accountable and have begun to share the 12 Steps on this forum, and what I am personally doing to walk through them.

Last week, I talked about Step Number One, which was Commitment. In this post today, I am focusing on the Step #2.

Step Number Two: Assess Where You Stand

By assessing where I stand, I will know where and how I generate greenhouse gases. There are numerous online calculators and I have previously tried a few of them. But today, I discovered a very cool website called, One Million Acts of Green.

"When we all do one act, we act as one, and help the planet", is the motto on One Million Acts of Green website. On the site I completed a completely painless, but very thought provoking survey, on what actions I have taken and what actions I pledge to take, to reduce my carbon footprint on the planet.

Based on my "Completed Acts of Green", the site actually provided my personal contribution of reduction of my carbon footprint, based upon these completed acts. As, I continue to follow through and check off my "Pledged Acts of Green", then the amount of my carbon footprint reduction will increase.

I encourage those reading this post, to please go to their website and check out the numerous resources available on it. In addition to the survey and carbon footprint calculator, there is information on educating about the environment, forums, blogs, groups and challenges. This website is definitely worth bookmarking and referring back to regularly.

Our Voice About Global Warming

In addition to some easy lifestyle changes that can be made to slow down Global Warming, we also have a voice to get the message out. And that message can easily be disseminated right from our computer to anyone else who has a computer and email.

The Environmental Defense Fund has a great online resource to voice our concerns about Global Warming, with members of Congress. By completing some pre-formatted fields with your name and home address, your voiced concerns are routed directly to the Congressperson that represents you.

One endangered North American species, that could be affected by the results of Global Warming, is the Canada Lynx. The EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) shares about these beautiful creatures and others in their new feature, Warming and Wildlife. As the EDF states, all life is interdependent and any harm to these creatures, in many cases has direct effects on human life.

Visit EDF's Warming and Wildlife campaign for more information on other endangered animals and follow this link to make your voice heard by your local Congressperson today.

My Twelve Steps To Combate Climate Change

On the World Environment Day Website, they shared Twelve Steps To Unite To Combat Climate Change. I've decided that I would go through this Twelve Step "program" on my blog with all of you. By doing this, I am hopeful that others will be inspired to do the same thing.

Step Number One is: Making a Commitment

One definition of the word "Commitment" that I found was: The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons.

And I am here today, to state in writing, that I am COMMITTED to reducing my carbon emissions and thus, reducing my carbon footprint on this planet.

Every activity that I or any being on this planet participates in, has an affect on
Greenhouse Gases. Burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have been the primary causes for the added Greenhouse Gases. And, these two activities in themselves, are dictated by society's demands, or more specifically...MY DEMANDS !

Gasoline and fuel for all forms of transportation, heating oils, plastics, manufacturing, construction, paper products; you pretty much name it, and everything points back to fossil fuels and the forests.

So, how do I reduce my personal demand from these resources? By being committed to educate myself and put into practice the things that I learn.

Now, I'm not going to "know it all", or even practically "do it all", but I am passionate about learning what I can do to make a more positive impact on our environment.

Are you committed to being a better steward of our environment and planet?