LOS ANGELES— Homeowners in Los Angeles County have the exciting opportunity to cash in on a $2,000 rebate for environmentally friendly upgrades that also improve their homes’ property values! GreenPoint Rated offers an upgrade system that not only helps Los Angeles residents make their homes more environmentally friendly and energy efficient but, as a third-party sustainability certification, increases the market value of homes. (Photo courtesy of Build It Green)
DocuSign has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the conservation of trees globally. DocuSign anticipates that their growth of 150,000 signed documents and over a million pages of documents processed each day will help them reach their goal to preserve one million square feet of rain forest. (Screenshot via DocuSign.com)
While the arduous burden so many women face of collecting firewood and the health problems cooking smoke causes women and children may seem like a tragic but distant problem, wood and charcoal cooking actually affects all of us. Approximately one quarter of global co2 emissions are generated by the rural poor, more than all transportation-related emissions worldwide combined. (Photo courtesy of Elsen Karstad, BURN Design Lab)
LOS ANGELES– On Saturday, May 19, women leaders will come together for an amazing day of workshops, speakers, and networking in the Loft Seven penthouse in downtown Los Angeles. The Annual Women of the Green Generation Conference brings together women who are creating solutions to pressing issues related to the environment, economic health, and social well-being, both locally and globally. (Photo by Daku Resort Savusavu Fiji, Flickr)
Did you know that soy is being used for some surprising new purposes, including home insulation and car seats? Although Sierra Club Green Home was excited to learn that some companies were exploring greener materials, a closer look at these products shows that their sustainability merits are questionable. Before embracing or rejecting the soybean, read SCGH’s investigation into soy foam products. (Photo by M. Nash, National Soybean Research Laboratory)
LAS VEGAS– In a usually unused and forgotten Las Vegas neighborhood, hundreds of people gathered and made it a vibrant green community, if only for one weekend. The Build A Greener Block project took a small portion of Main Street and, instead of shutting the entire street down, narrowed the street to showcase how everything can work together. Pedestrians can walk, bicyclists can use their lane, and drivers can still parallel park their cars. (Photo by Erika F. Washington)
I finished the 100 mile drive through Big Sur feeling relaxed, but in serious need of coffee. Monterey, California brought a wash of caffeine into my consciousness, along with a surprise. Next to the coffee shop was a large health and fitness expo at the Monterey Conference Center. As an avid runner, I could not resist heading inside to mingle. I was pleasantly surprised to find I had planned my road trip on the same weekend as the Big Sur International Marathon. (Photo by Courtney Hayden)
There are many benefits to incorporating walking into our lives. Take the example of walking kids to school. It is a great way to get kids moving, and makes kids and adults alike feel more connected to their surroundings. According to America Walks, parents driving children to school comprises 20-30 percent of morning traffic congestion in urban areas. So organizing a “walk your kids to school” program would improve morning traffic, ensure that kids get their exercise for the day, and help people get to know their neighborhoods better. (Photo by Nestor’s Blurrylife, Flickr)
Within 90 minutes of searching I’d unearthed three plastic candy wrappers, six broken plastic bottle caps, eleven newspaper ties, one straw wrapper, five pieces of fishing line, ten pieces of unidentifiable broken plastic, one fast food container, ten Styrofoam pieces, one Styrofoam cup, one large woven plastic bag, nine cigarette butts, and one cigar tip! (Photo by Courtney Hayden)
By knowing where the coffee process begins and ends, you as an individual can ensure that you are drinking coffee that was produced in a way that is sustainable and does not harm rainforests. (Photo by Shaun McRae, Wikimedia Commons)
Sierra Club Green Home traveled to Sonora, Mexico to investigate the fisheries that provide America’s favorite seafood. We found that shrimp is quickly becoming one of the most environmentally and socially destructive parts of our diet. But how is this so? Where is our shrimp coming from, and why should we care? Most importantly, what can we do about it? (Photo courtesy of Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies)
LOS ANGELES– The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles hosts events and exhibits that fascinate and educate children and adults alike. Since 1910, the museum has made ancient history, modern biology, visual art, and the performing arts interesting and accessible to the public. Now the museum is putting its amazing resources toward Sierra Club Green Home’s favorite cause: sustainability. (Photo by LAGreenGrounds, Flickr)
SAN DIEGO — GE is on the road selling cities on the benefits of high efficiency lighting. Their goal: upgrade offices, homes, street lights, parking lots, retail stores, and other buildings with lights that last longer, save energy, and cut power bills. (Photo by Max Havins)
Pierce College’s two acre Botanical Garden, nestled between classrooms and soccer fields, is a place to breathe easy and enjoy nature. The garden is home to over 600 species of plants and countless numbers of animals. Walking through the garden is captivating. Students can spot anything from sunbathing turtles and nesting hummingbirds to butterflies relaxing in the shade. Each step brings them closer to nature. (Courtesy of Doreen Clay and Pierce College)
In celebration of Earth Month, over 5,400 schools across the country participated in the Green Your School Challenge through DoSomething.org. Since February 1, students have been given the opportunity to participate in green projects, such as increasing their school’s recycling rate, starting a garden and growing their own produce, and encouraging their school’s administrators to adopt energy-saving practices. (Photo courtesy of DoSomething.org)
Whether you’re lacing up running sneakers, loading up mountain bikes, or gearing up for a cross country ski, the National Parks App from National Geographic will take the stress out of your adventure! With the freedom of maps on demand; you’ll be able to identify your position, calculate distance to destinations, search nearby amenities by name and category, and venture off the beaten path without fear of getting lost! The app will even allow you to mark your car and campground, so you can enjoy nature without limitations. (Photo by Karynsig, Flickr)
TOKYO — Tokyo may be known as a cultural and technology capital of the world, but it has also been quietly making strides to embrace green and sustainable living. If you are going to be visiting Tokyo, here are suggestions for how to have a green visit to this megalopolis of 35 million. (Photo by Roland Oehme)
Los Angeles artist Shelley Beckes is known for her bold, nature-inspired interior design. Her unique approach centers on outdoor photography. Beckes begins with a photograph and designs outwards using prominent colors within the picture to soothe, inspire, and ground. Her work captures the essence of nature, synthesizing the benefits of the outdoors with the comfort of home. (Photo by Simone Paz Photography)
SAINTE-MARIE-AUX-MINES, FRANCE — Thousandsuns France bundles an environmentally friendly solar product with corporate social responsibility by hiring exclusively disabled personnel to produce its products. What’s more, the company was awarded the Franco-British award for innovation in its first year of production. When everyone benefits, from production staff to top managers to society as a whole, all is well under the sun. (Photo by Arnaud Gailleurd)
Since 1900, Louisiana has lost more than 1 million acres of wetlands and barrier shoreline. In just the past 50 years, more than 1,500 square miles of coastal Louisiana disappeared. The state could lose an additional 1,000 square miles of land by 2050– an area roughly the size of Rhode Island. What is more, since the oil spill of 2010, there has been some marshland die-off in critical marine life habitat areas like Barataria Basin. (Photo courtesy of Scott Madere)
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