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I was reading an article in Time Magazine about this really cool eco-village in up state New York. These folks are really living the good life. They live and work on a 175 acre farm that seeks to be very environmentally friendly. They grow their own organic fruits and vegetables. They have a common kitchen where they can cook and eat together. And they have a lake on the property for fishing, boating, and just good old fun and relaxation. Most, if not, all the homes are solar powered and have other energy saving devices as well.

What could be more fun and exciting than this? Am I crazy or what? I'm thinking (again) why not find a bunch of other people who like to do these sort of things and go for it. We only live once. So we get together head to East Texas. Find a property with about 150 acres of wide open space. Buy it, build on it (GREEN OF COURSE) and live on it. I'm talking about jumping off the edge. Taking the plunge. Escaping the cement jungle. It can and should be done. I'm ready to go for it.

There should be a way to build a cooperative kind of spirit around this idea. 12 to 15 hard working intelligent people could pull this off in a heartbeat. We could create eco-village mania so to speak. It could and should be an income producing property. It should be managed by the owner members and should set an example and inspire many more ventures or I should say adventures like it.

So what are we waiting for city slickers. Give me an email and tell me what you think.



Published On: 2/17/2008
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  Get your GREEN DREAM JOB

This is not another generic “How to Write the Resume for Success” or “Sell Yourself” self-help article. I am simply going to let you in on a happenin’ Grassroots networking opportunity that has likely already sprouted up in your neck of the woods.  It will have you spreading the GOOD GREEN WORD about the authenticity and the inevitable effectiveness of this unique Social gathering.

 ENTER: Greendrinks / VENUE: Your local pub, Yoga Studio, or even Art Museum / SPOTLIGHT: Eco-Activists, Professionals, Students, and “HIP-pies”; such as- Green Building Consultants and Design Firms, Organic Farmers, Owners of Eco-conscious PR firms and Fair Trade Chocolate Companies, Bio-Diesel Retailers and Solar Power Engineers, students of Sustainable Economics and Urban Planning….. Your chance to get face-to-face and celebrate with people who you want to work for –or probably will work with- in the near future!

One Tuesday a Month, 6-ish p.m.: Beer and Wine are free-flowing, smiles light up the room, the food table is loaded w/ local goodies, name tags speak “open door”, and you have one mission….Drink, Eat, Shake hands, and Share your ECO-Passion with other GREENDRINKERS. 

Last Tuesday I strolled into Evo, a Surf/ Skate/ Snowboard Retailer and Gallery in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle.   As one of the hosts of the Seattle Greendrinks that month, Evo opened up its Warehouse-size shop to about 500 Green Industry Players and wanna-be eco-activists—potentially, like yourself. Everyone there wants to connect to others that are just as excited about the Green Revolution! Thus, you’re bound to enter into the inner circles of Eco-Blissdom and fall ‘in love’ with the vibe of the social Eco-scene. Greendrinks has what it takes to keep people coming back for more- and telling their friends who have the same interest in Green about it! So, the party grows and the Dream Green job network explodes with opportunity!

Now go Network and connect with those who share your interest in re-constructing the Conventional business models to reflect this era of Green. Green is the place to be and you want a part of it not JUST because it is thriving, but because, DEEP DOWN, you know the Green Industry is making this world a better place to live for you today and for your kids in the future.—It’s only Natural to wanna be a part of that!

Start a Greendrinks in your town, city, or country….visit: http://greendrinks.org or if you’re in Seattle find a Greendrinks celebration at: www.seattlegreendrinks.org Tell Gabriel that Maggie sent ya! CHEERS!
 

Interest-based Social Networking is the way you captivate the hearts and minds of your future employers, Green Industry mates, friends and neighbors.  I have been to GREENDRINKS- SEATTLE four times now and I have witnessed its exponential growth and been a beneficiary of its authenticity. Authenticity is a blend of confidence, truth, influence, leadership, passion and cannot be faked.  Greendrinks arose from peoples’ authentic call to others in their community for a revolution in the way we carry out our day to day activities- from the morning cup ‘o joe , to the afternoon business lunch, ending in the last bulb switched off.   It all starts with caring and then sharing and this is where the job opportunity appears and my lesson is taught. –Bless, Maggie

Maggie Hoback is the leader and inspiration for the Green Living interest-based online social networking community at Colonies.com. Similar to the Greendrinks social network, yet Green.colonies.com has with a 24hrs a day meeting space, ECO- newsfeeds,  membership profiling capacity, photo sharing, and more! Her interest in Green Living took off while pursuing her degree in Agribusiness. With studies focusing on Sustainable Development, Fair Trade, and Organic Agriculture, Maggie found a passion in publicizing the importance of creating a sustainable future for all lives on earth. By creating a Community space for Eco-conscious individuals and organizations to harvest their own and shared knowledge and experiences so that we become more efficient Stewards of the Earth. Join at: www.green.colonies.com , part of the Colonies.com Network. People.Passion.Purpose.



Published On: 5/15/2007
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So glad to see that there is a green colony now!! :)
Here in Nicaragua with so much of the coastal land in foreign hands and the prospects of rampant construction just around the corner it has never been a better time to influence the
way things are to be done.  At www.nicageeks.com we are in a prime position to do that as part of our business involves the process of selling and marketing wind and solar powered systems with the future goal of positioning ourselves as the green consultants to the local land developers and homebuilders. There is so much to do in this country to help shape its future for its people and its environment. I am excited to be a part of that and feel optimistic about the possibilities that lie before me down here!



Published On: 5/12/2007
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While at University, I studied Agribusiness and thus made to complete courses in Crop, Dairy, and Water Sciences -to name a few.  During an Organic Agriculture course, as we spoke on growing Corn for Ethanol and using veggie products for blending with Diesel or on it's own as B100 biodiesel, a rancher's son spoke up about the deficiencies matched with the demands put on production of crop-based fuels.  He'd lived and worked his family farm since birth and contended that Biofuel crops create carbon dioxide pollution equalled to the carbon emissions of oil use---through crop production and harvest systems! 
 
HHMMM...Well, the lesson I take away from his insights are aligned with my own....only....my perspective is this:
   Don't rely on one source for everything...Diversify...Yeah...BioFuel is not THE answer...it's ONE of the solutions...Hydrogen and Solar are options too....we all just need to continue to keep open to new and alternative sciences, technologies, and suggestions!
   Buy locally, Think Globally...purchase from your local ma and pop shops and make sure that they practice Social Responsibility.
 
Read what MSNBC is saying about relying solely on Biofuels:    
 
 
While saying bioenergy represents an “extraordinary opportunity” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it warned that “rapid growth in liquid biofuel production will make substantial demands on the world’s land and water resources at a time when demand for both food and forest products is also rising rapidly.”
 
 
 


Published On: 5/8/2007
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Published On: 5/6/2007
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I found this on YouTube and one comment that was made surprised me.... pdxjules (1 month ago) marked as spam Solar Towers have already been built, but not this same design...they don't appear as High Tech. One in Isreal, another in Spain. The MegaWattage is great! Imagine large wind turbines all along the inside of that tall tower. It's not for every location, but for Deserts with High Powered Grid access, the concept is worthy. Better than investing in Coal, Gas fired, large hydro, or Nuclear. Should last a long time too. (The visitor features are quite optional, and a little distracting, IMO) WHY HAVE WE NOT MADE ADVANCES ON THIS?!!!!

Published On: 5/6/2007
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What is Green Power?
The term "green power" generally refers to electricity supplied in whole or in part from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower, and various forms of biomass. Increasingly, electricity customers are being given electricity supply options, either as retail power markets open to competition or when their regulated utilities develop green pricing programs. More than 50% of retail customers in the United States now have an option of purchasing a green power product directly from their electricity supplier. In addition, consumers can support renewable energy development through the purchase of green energy certificates.

Why Buy Green Power?
By choosing to purchase a green power product, you can support increased development of renewable energy sources, which can reduce the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Greater reliance on renewable sources also provides economic benefits and can improve our national energy security.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's web site provides an additional discussion of the benefits of renewable energy.

How Do I Buy Green Power?
If retail electricity competition is allowed in your state, you may be able to purchase a green power product from an alternative electricity supplier. Some states have already implemented electricity competition. Check the Status of State Electric Industry Restructuring Activity (PDF 2.1 MB) map, prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, to see if your state has passed an electricity competition law.

Even if your state is not implementing electricity market competition, you may still be able to purchase green power through your regulated utility. More than 600 regulated utilities spanning more than 30 states offer "green pricing" programs (see our map of green pricing programs). The term green pricing refers to an optional utility service that allows customers to support a greater level of utility investment in renewable energy by paying a premium on their electric bill to cover any above-market costs of acquiring renewable energy resources.

Finally, whether or not you have access to green power through your utility or a competitive electricity marketer, you can purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs). RECs (also known as green tags, green energy certificates, or tradable renewable certificates) represent the environmental attributes of power generated from renewable electric plants. A variety of organizations offer RECs separate from electricity service, that is, you need not switch from your current electricity supplier in order to purchase these certificates.

To find out what green power options are available in your state, please visit our Can I Buy Green Power in My State? page, where you can click on your state to view available green power products.

For more information on buying green power, see: Guide to Purchasing Green Power (PDF 1 MB). Download Adobe Reader

Green Power Evaluation and Certification
How can you be sure that your green power purchase will benefit the environment? For more information, see our Consumer Protection page.

Green-e is a voluntary certification and verification program for wholesale, retail, and commercial electricity products, tradable renewable certificates (TRCs) and utility green pricing programs in the U.S. Green-e certifies about 100 retail and wholesale green power marketers across the country.

The Environmental Resources Trust certifies renewable energy certificates (RECs) through its EcoPower certification program. Under EcoPower certification, RECs convey only the renewable energy attributes of renewable electricity and do not convey environmental benefits.

The Power Scorecard is a web-based information tool created by a coalition of environmental groups that lets consumers compare the environmental impacts of green power and conventional power products.

Selected Green Power Customers
Businesses and other non-residential customers such as municipalities and government agencies are increasingly recognizing that green power purchasing can help meet corporate or institutional goals related to environmental improvement and sustainability. Follow the link for a list of selected non-residential green power purchasers. The U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership has additional information on organizations purchasing green power.
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO GET STARTED BECOMING CARBON NEUTRAL..


Published On: 5/3/2007
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"America is shifting to a 'green culture,' with more and more businesses understanding that environmental responsibility is everyone's responsibility, By switching to alternative, renewable power sources, PepsiCo is proving that going green can be the choice of every generation." --said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson

Green power is produced from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro. These energy sources are considered cleaner and have a superior environmental profile than conventional sources of electricity. Purchasing RECs helps drive the development of additional renewable energy capacity nationwide.
 
Read more about Pepsi and their conversion to 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY:
 
 
 
With some $30 trillion to be invested in energy production over the next 30 years, making the right low-carbon investments is one of the keys to fighting climate change. Carbon offsets help put a price on the climate change consequences of these investment decisions, and if properly structured can help move a portion of that $30 trillion investment into clean energy. While a lot of that investment will be in the developing world, some of it will be domestic. Demand for new power continues to rise in the US. It is our hope that carbon offsets can help new domestic energy be as clean as possible.
 
READ MORE ABOUT RECs

 SEE BELOW:
 
 
or search through this LIST of Reputable REC suppliers...
...here's a sample:
Certificate Marketer Product Name Renewable Resources Location of Renewable Resources Residential Price Premiums* Certification
3 Phases Energy Services Green Certificates 100% new wind Nationwide 2.0¢/kWh Green-e
Bonneville Environmental Foundation Denali Green Tags (Alaska only) 100% new wind 10% Alaska, 90% Nationwide 2.0¢/kWh Green-e
Bonneville Environmental Foundation Green Tags Blend 90% new wind, 10% new solar Nationwide 2.4¢/kWh Green-e
Bonneville Environmental Foundation Green Tags Solar 100% new solar Nationwide 5.6¢/kWh Green-e
Bonneville Environmental Foundation Green Tags Wind 100% wind Nationwide 2.0¢/kWh Green-e
Bonneville Environmental Foundation Zephyr Energy (Kansas Only) 50% new low-impact hydropower Mid-West, West 2.0¢/kWh Green-e
Carbonfund.org Carbon Offsets wind, solar, biomass, efficiency, reforestation Nationwide $5.50/ton CO2 (donation) Environmental Resource Trust**
Carbonfund.org MyGreenFuture 99% new wind, 1% new solar Nationwide 0.5¢/kWh Green-e
Carbon Solutions Group LEED Project Services 100% renewables Nationwide NA Green-e
Clean and Green Clean and Green Membership 100% new wind Nationwide 3.0¢/kWh Green-e
 
FOR MORE , VISIT:


Published On: 5/3/2007
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Grow More Pot
by Jello Biafra
From I Blow Minds for a Living, recorded at Slim's, San Francisco, Nov 21, 1990


Does anybody out there know that for the first time in American history the U.S. Army was used in a war operation against the American people? Right near here, up in Humboldt County about 200 miles north of San Francisco right near a town called Shelter Cove, get this: three- to four-hundred American G.I.s dressed with automatic rifles and fully armed for battle, fanned out on maneuvers through the woods, backed up by a dozen Blackhawk attack helicopters. The mountain people up there were frightened out of their wits! They thought there was a war going on, especially the ones that had soldiers kicking in the doors to their cabins and putting guns to their heads in front of their children.

Why!? Who was the enemy in this war? Not the communists! Not Saddam Hussein! Not Earth First! or even the spotted owl. No! The enemy they called out the army to put down, secretly, so few people outside of Humboldt would get alarmed as possible, it wasn't even a person or an army or a terrorist group! It was a plant, the marijuana plant.

And they actually did manage to find a few for the G.I.s to pull up, and then they had to fly in more from the government stash so the pile would look big enough when they lit the bonfire for the network TV news cameras, so that they could say "Yes! Another triumph in the Drug War!"

Drug War. War. The American army sent to war against the American people. And we're supposed to feel relieved and secure and protected. Protected from what?!

A lot of people with more guts than I'll ever have risked their life and limb all last summer at the Earth First! Redwood Summer Action up in Humboldt County. They were chaining themselves to redwoods that were three times wider than they were, 800 years old, they were spread-eagled, as the saws buzzed right over their heads. They stood in the dirt as the bulldozers charged them and stopped right at their toes. Or people waved clubs at them, charged them with logging trucks, shotguns, you name it. All to try to save some of the last unspoiled virgin forest we have left anywhere in this country from being chopped down and turned into toilet paper, TV Guides and the Weekly World News.

On the other side the loggers saying "What about our jobs!? What about our families!? What about our lives?! You needed wood and cardboard to make those protest signs!"

We need fuel! We need paper! It's almost gone! Where are we gonna get more? The answer, for centuries, has been right under our nose: grow more pot!

If we're serious about saving the earth, saving the ozone and our freedom to go about saving the earth and the ozone, we should start by paying all those dirt-poor coca farmers in South America and out-of-work loggers in Fortuna and Eureka, and Midwest family farmers and rust-belt families too, to all get together and grow more pot!

Why? Get ready for this...! There's a book out called The Emperor Wears No Clothes. The author's name is Jack Herer. It's published by Queen of Clubs, and I think there's ads for it in High Times, or NORML, the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, could direct you to a copy I'm sure, and in this book, among other places, it is written that before the 20th century, the marijuana plant provided almost all the world's paper, all the world's clothing and textiles, and almost all the world's rope.

According to none other than the U.S. Department of Agriculture you can make four times as much paper from one acre of hemp plants as you can from an acre of trees. And instead of chopping down all the redwoods in Humboldt County and turning Northern California, Oregon and Washington and Appalachia into the Sahara Desert, if you do it with hemp plants, you can just grow another crop a few months later and make more paper! At one-quarter the cost of making paper from wood pulp and only one-fifth the pollution. The ancient Romans knew this and grew it, Henry VIII made each farmer in old England grow their share, because they knew if you want the strongest natural fiber there is, you all have gotta do your part for the King and grow more pot!

And we did, too! Guess what Levi jeans were originally made out of? And guess what American flags used to be made out of? And guess what the early drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were written on? And if that's too un-Christian for you, guess what they made Guttenberg and King James Bibles out of? Guess what you can use to power a car? You can get at least four times as much cellulose to make gasohol or methanol from hemp stems as you can from a corn stalk. Which along with solar energy would be a great way to avoid dying for oil in Saudi Arabia.

In the 1920s and 1930s most American cars and farm machinery had the option of running on gas or on methanol; most racing cars still do run on methanol. And George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations and smoked it, too!

In the 1760s in the American colonies you could even be jailed for not growing pot! Because that was part of the key to becoming economically independent from Britain. Hemp was legal tender in the Americas, a substitute for money, from 1630 clear up to the early 1800s. And hemp seeds are a great source of protein, better than soybeans, and it's cheaper than soybeans, too. Or so says the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Marijuana is legal for medical use in 34 states used to treat glaucoma and pain caused by cancer, and you can digest more protein from a hemp seed than a soybean seed. It's even shown some signs at being able to combat herpes. And, guess what kind of a parachute Mr. Drug War Junta-Man himself George Bush used when he bailed out of that bomber in World War II?

Hemp was illegal by then, but farmers were briefly ordered to grow it again in this country for the war effort and all, and the U.S. Army had their own stash all along in the colonies in the Philippines.

So, how did everything get turned around so damn bad? Doesn't it strike you as a little dumb that we burn oil and choke ourselves and chop down all our trees and ruin innocent people's lives by branding them criminals and throwing them in jails, or sending them off to drug camps, or taking all their property and selling it before they're brought to trial? In the process, making crack and heroin cheaper and easier to get than pot? Why do we do this when we don't have to?

Meanwhile the Police Chief of L.A., Darryl Gates gets front page approval for telling a U.S. Senate committee that pot smokers should be shot on sight. Because smoking pot is treason because, after all, it's illegal.

Why was marijuana cracked down on? And why was it done so violently? Well ... Ready?!

In 1936 Popular Mechanics magazine hailed the invention of a new machine to process hemp, predicting that marijuana/hemp would once again become the world's largest cash crop. This did not at all sit well with people like Hearst Paper Manufacturing or Kimberly-Clark or other cutthroat multinationals who happen to have large timber holdings. It didn't sit to well with tobacco barons for obvious reasons, and it sure as hell didn't sit too well with old buddies DuPont. Hemp processing uses only one-fifth the chemicals need to process wood pulp, and DuPont had just patented a new wood pulp sulfide process, and DuPont's patented plastic fibers had just passed up hemp as the No. 2 fiber, next to cotton, and they wanted to keep it that way!

And the last thing the big drug companies wanted was to lose their share of the ever lucrative disease industry market, to more affordable medicine made from marijuana or other natural ingredients because, check this out, you can't own and make money off a patent for medicine in this country, unless the medicine has chemicals in it. If it's all natural ingredients, you can't patent it. Maybe that's why we don't have access to a cure for cancer or AIDS, or why the health food store I go to keeps getting harassed by federal authorities for selling herbal medicines.

Meanwhile, guess who owns Congress? So marijuana was outlawed in 1937 and they fanned the racism fires playing the racism card just like they do when they want to crack down on rock-and-roll or rap or hip hop or something like that. They said that smoking marijuana might cause you to fall under the influence of listening to jazz! I believe that it was even said on the floor of Congress that marijuana had to be banned because smoking it might make a black man look at a white woman twice. And let's not forget that U.S. Treasury Department funded documentary film, called, "Reefer Madness!" So marijuana was outlawed as devil weed in 1937. Only 53 years ago it was legal. Need I say more, on why our beloved fearless leaders go out of their way to censor our access to information so damn much? Can you imagine the mass outrage if this kind of stuff ever really got out? And people knew that this big drug problem that they keep reading about and hearing about is being caused by the government themselves? And people knew how easily each one of us individually could turn our ecological and human crisis around without resorting to Nazi bullshi*t like oil wars and drug wars by just saying no! to George Bush.

And if people knew that the very companies that provide us with such crucial conveniences as Kleenex, paper towels and junk mail, have systematically and brutally rearranged every single one of our lives so that we are literally wiping our ass with out own future?

And it doesn't have to be this way! I mean, I'll tell you, I do feel kind of funny saying all this because I used to be a pothead and I hate smoking the stuff, and the whole low-energy stoner Deadhead vibe that comes with it. But, you don't need to smoke pot to realize that the real drug problem in this country is not the drugs. And we can help solve drug problems, crime problems, environmental problems - even our racial problems if we say no to George Bush and get together and grow more pot!


Published On: 8/5/2006
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