Design 21: Social Design Network

GREEN ECO-tips galore!

The National Environmental Health & Safety Conference takes place March 16-19, 2009 in Indianapolis. The conference will focus on how to become a Sustainable Green Printer (SGP) and best practices to create a safe, cost-effective and employee-friendly work environment. How printing peers are championing sustainability in the workplace will also be discussed.

The conference will span all printing processes, from commercial printing to specialty printing and flexographic printing. General sessions, roundtable discussions and half-day in-depth pre-conference workshops will cover topics such as:

Responsible Sourcing: Inks, Chemicals, Substrates, Oh My! This session is for those that are confused or are just not yet familiar with terms like VOC and phthalate free. Knowing exactly what environmentally friendly means can help printers source inks and other materials that are green. The session will focus on questions printers can ask suppliers to make responsible decisions.

Understanding Green Paper Choices With all the info about green paper floating around, it can be hard to decide on which paper is best for individual printers. This breakout session will sort through environmental issues surrounding paper and will help printers pick the paper that meets both the printer’s and customer’s requirements. State-of-the-art liquid toners, adhesives and other new eco-friendly materials will be covered.

Meeting Environmental and Safety Compliances Robert Fricke will focus o...

Source: Electrifying Times

To see the article click here

Electrifying Times gave me the opportunity to attend a General Motors press event showing off the Volt back in late 2008 after just releasing the book Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, 2nd Edition. In addition, I am finalizing the manuscript for Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Since the Volt claimed to be some sort of plug-in hybrid, it is perfect topic of discussion for the book.

How Does It Work?

One of the engineers explained to me how the car works. It is basically a 40 mile per hour / 40 mile electric car. After that, it kicks into a gas car; basically a series hybrid.

While a series hybrid is good, the Toyota Prius gets 100 miles per gallon because after the 20 miles of pure EV mode, it kicks into a hybrid-electric car.

Economics

The funny thing is that the reason they need to make this technology work is the real economic point; it would cost about less than $1.00 a day to charge up! Yup, we are taking about no charging stations. By using a Standard Society of Engineer 1772 standard for chargers, makes the electric car more versatile since you use a 110/120 outlet and safe. That allows the driver while at work or at the train station to charge up. What can that do? Turn the car into a 80 mile range EV.

City Driving – All Electric

Yes, all city driving would then be virtually all electric. That is a emission reduction dream and an ability to make every car in the GM family plug-in hyb...

Electric vehicles are a hot topic right now, but the problem is there really isn't much to choose from other than a handful of hybrids and NEV's. What if we were to tell you that for the price of a new bottom of the barrel, no thrills or frills subcompact, you could turn just about any vehicle into an EV?

We had the opportunity to speak with Seth Leitman, Consulting Editor of the Green Guru Guides, Founder of Green Living Guy, and Author of Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, and asked him exactly how someone with minimal armchair mechanical knowledge, ability, and tools could fabricate their own EV. We think you'll be happily surprised by some of his answers...

Treehugger: Seth, could you tell us a bit about your background? Seth:

“It all really started in my Masters Degree in Comparative International Development at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy (Part of SUNY Albany). My focus was international lending practices through the IMF and how it affected energy/environmental projects funded by the World Bank. This degree made understand that there was a need to change how those institutions coordinate efforts to develop innovative energy efficiency programs and projects.”

“After my Masters Degree, I worked in the NYS Senate for a year and then worked for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). There, I worked on green buildings (when everyone use to joke and ask, Hey is that the paint on the wall?). I also managed the Cle...

Our most recent partner event was co-sponsored by The NYU Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship, StartingBloc, Pure Project, Green Leaders, NYU Reynolds Program for Social Entrepreneurship and Stern Social Enterprise Association.

For those of you who missed Woody Tasch, Chairman of Investor Circle, on "Slow Money" please visit the following links to catch up: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Please click here to see the highlights of our most recent gathering.

We are looking forward to our next which will be hosted by Tree in the East Village in their beautiful outdoor space. We will be featuring Mitchell Joachim, who was named in this month's Wired Magazine as one of "15 People the Next President Should Listen To." Learn more and click here: Mitchell Joachim: Redesign Cities From Scratch.

THE TORREY BOTANICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS NEW YORK CITY’S INAUGURAL WILDFLOWER WEEK MAY 4-10th, 2008 (http://www.torreybotanical.org)

For more information please contact Marielle Anzelone at marielle@drosera-x.com.

Green Leaders – Cocktail Hour at The Rainforest Alliance January 24th, 2008 7-8:30pm

Tensie Whelan serves as Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance. With nearly 20 years at the organization, she was named Executive Director in 2000. Whelan also served as the executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters from 1992 until 1997, prior to which she was Vice President of Conservation Information at the National Audubon Society. Whelan's published work includes one of the first books on eco-friendly tourism, Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment.

The Rainforest Alliance is a global organization supporting biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. They ensure quality standards through certifications such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which has certified over 104 million acres of forestland in 61 countries.

Appetizer and Drink Sponsor: WHOLE FOODS, Chelsea
RSVP: jennienevin@gmail.com Featured Speaker: TENSIE WHELAN , Executive Director, Rainforest Alliance Location: Rainforest Alliance Headquarters; 665 Broadway, Suite 500 NYC

Wishing you warm holidays and a Happy New Year!

Jennie, Marissa and Micah

Fair Trade in Bloom Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times

The fair-trade market is still small, but fast-growing, and it has been a boon in places like Varginha, Brazil, where coffee roasters like Café Bom Dia, above, work directly with small farmers.

By ANDREW DOWNIE Published: October 2, 2007

VARGINHA, Brazil — Rafael de Paiva was skeptical at first. If he wanted a “fair trade” certification for his coffee crop, the Brazilian farmer would have to adhere to a long list of rules on pesticides, farming techniques, recycling and other matters. He even had to show that his children were enrolled in school.

“I thought, ‘This is difficult,’” recalled the humble farmer. But the 20 percent premium he recently received for his first fair trade harvest made the effort worthwhile, Mr. Paiva said, adding, it “helped us create a decent living.”

More farmers are likely to receive such offers, as importers and retailers rush to meet a growing demand from consumers and activists to adhere to stricter environmental and social standards.

Mr. Paiva’s beans will be in the store-brand coffee sold by Sam’s Club, the warehouse chain of Wal-Mart Stores. Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and Starbucks already sell some fair trade coffee.

“We see a real momentum now with big companies and institutions switching to fair trade,” said Paul Rice, president and chief executive of TransFair USA, the only independent fair trade certifier in the United States.

The Internation...