Green News - The Fun Times Guide to Living Green

Solar in UK Schools

This is a really fun new development in the UK. Climate activist group 10:10 is behind it, but really, it’s all about local communities. The short story: 10:10 has created a website, Solar Schools, where people can easily donate as little as £5 to put solar panels on a local school’s roof. The organization creates a webpage for each school involved that shows who has donated (unless you want to remain anonymous) and how much, by replacing some of the solar cells with donor photos, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: BPA, green kids, renewable energy, school, solar power

World Solar Challenge

There are a ton of cool solar technologies out there or in development these days -- solar bikinis, solar-powered 3D printers and cutters, peel & stick solar panels, solar paint, and solar shingles, for example. But, while cool solar technologies are fun, it’s hard to beat a solar vehicle race! The World Solar Challenge is just that. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: alternative energy, cars, green events, solar power

How to “Use the Force” to Lower Gas Prices

If you are not one of the 42 million or so people who have watched the Darth Vader kid & Volkswagen commercial (“The Force”) on YouTube or who saw it during this year’s Super Bowl, you should go check it out now (and then come back to this post). One of the best Congressmen out there today, in my humble opinion -- Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) -- and the Natural Resources Committee (Democrats) recently made a great spoof of this video, or sequel you might say. But, beyond just spoofing or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: energy savings, funny, gas, renewable energy, videos

YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip (Award-Winning New Film)

YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip. Put this on your must-see list. This is an excellent-looking film I heard about a few months ago and would love to see. Apparently it’s as good as the trailers make it look. YERT, I think, is exactly what this site is about – fun ways to help the environment and fun storytelling to give props to such innovative, green projects and efforts. At its world premiere at the Environmental Film Festival at Yale (EEFY) a couple … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: global warming, movies

Making Solar Power a Community Thing

Americans love solar power, really. Nearly every poll concerning the matter shows tremendous support for solar power across the United States, across political preferences, and so on. No, unfortunately, that hasn’t translated into a lot of solar power use yet. (But we’re getting there -- solar power growth has been tremendous in the last decade or so.) Now, when you think of going solar, you think of doing so on your own, right? But that one person at a time thing is sort of slow, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: home improvement, renewable energy, solar power

Can You Install Solar Panels for Free with Government Rebates?

Solar power refers to the production of electricity by utilizing sunlight. Solar power has 2 main advantages: It produces electricity in a renewable way that doesn’t damage the earth; And once the installation has been completed, power is generated free of charge. Its main disadvantage is that the initial installation can be very costly. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: alternative energy, free stuff, home improvement, money, solar power

103-Year-Old Cyclist May Be World’s Oldest

We support cycling a lot around here, since it’s both one of the greenest things you can do (in place of driving) and it’s a lot of fun. But while we’ve written posts on 5 reasons to bike commute, 5 hidden benefits of bike commuting, various bike events, and some super cool bikes, sometimes we skim over that fun part. I guess it’s sort of implied. But the story I’m about to tell you a little about brought that key benefit to the forefront of my mind recently. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: cycling, health

How FutureMark Paper is Making The Most Out of America Recycles Day

Have you put it on your calendar yet? Monday, November 15, is America Recycles Day. As we approach this eco holiday, how about some interesting info on a couple recycling dilemmas today and how to address them. Everyone (or nearly everyone) supports recycling and using recycled products, such as recycled paper, these days. But lets take a look at a couple of problems facing the recycled paper industry as it works right now. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: America Recycles Day, green events, recycling

Wednesday October 6th is International Walk To School Day

Remember those days when kids used to walk to school? The Partnership for a Walkable America is trying to bring that concept back into our busy day to day lives...specifically this Wednesday October 6th. How? With a international walk to school day of course. The Partnership for a Walkable America sponsored the first Walk to School day in 1997 in Chicago, getting the idea from the United Kingdom. It was done in an effort to make the surrounding communities more walker friendly. Read on to find … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: air pollution, cars, green events, green kids, health, school

How To View The 2010 Perseids Meteor Shower

Tonight marks the beginning of one of nature's most impressive displays of grandeur...the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. The Perseids are the most dependable and most viewed meteor shower of the year in the Northern hemisphere. They're magnificence is second only to the December Geminids, but you also don't have to brave a cold wintry night to view them either. This year's Perseids will offer a special treat since their peak activity doesn't compete with the moon for visibility. This … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green News, Home & Garden Tagged With: coffee, green events, nature