Green Week

Three (Awesome) Green Business Innovators

March 22, 2009 · 6 comments

Below are three green businesses/organizations/awareness groups (who are also engrossed in the twitter-sphere) that you should know about. I recommend getting to know each of these and showing some support to businesses in your area that are doing their part to save the planet.

YouRenew.com (@YouRenew)

Have an old stereo sitting in the back of a closet? What about one of those old-school first generation b&w IPods? DVD’s that are sitting on the shelf but you know you’ll never watch them again? Now you can recycle your old electronics and, better yet, get paid to do it! Do a little spring cleaning, downsize those old electronics, do your part to save the planet, and make a little money. What’s not to love? Head over to their website and get started today: www.yourenew.com

Green Fleet Messengers (@greenfleet)

Green Fleet Messengers is a Nashville based bicycle courier service. The company is taking an ‘old school’ (and environmentally friendly) approach to package delivery – specializing in same day and rush deliveries for legal, medical, and professional clients. Green Fleet offers an affordable and sustainable delivery solution that prevents pollution, promotes alternative transportation, and reduces traffic congestion. Our cities would be much less congested and polluted if there were more ‘Green Fleets’ in the world. Easy + Fast + Green – sounds pretty good to me. If you are in the Nashville area, check out their website: www.greenfleetmessengers.com

Water - Use It Wisely (@WUIW)

Water – Use it Wisely is an international water conservation campaign providing simple tips to help you save water. When it comes to ‘being green’ and saving the planet, it can seem almost impossible to figure out where to begin. More times than not, people are in the mindset that a small change in habit here or there won’t amount to much, but in order to see big changes, we have to start with the little things. WUIW headlines with ‘There are a number of ways to save water, and they all start with you’. The organization’s website provides a comprehensive list of over 100 ways to conserve water. Tips range from shortening shower time, efficiently watering the lawn, and saving water while washing the dishes. Each item on this list is a surprisingly simple thing that you can do to make a difference. For the complete list, and much more information on water conservation, swing by the website and make a personal commitment to change a few habits: www.wateruseitwisely.com

GET INVOLVED: Share some green/eco-friendly businesses and organizations in your area. Who should we know about? What green-biz innovators are changing the way we look at the corporate world? Please comment and spread the good word about your favorite green business or resource!

Green Week Spotlight – No Impact Man

March 21, 2009 · 2 comments

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What It Is: In this case, not what – but who. No Impact Man is Colin Beavan – 43 years old, writer, family man, and overall just an ordinary guy. An ordinary guy with an extraordinary mission.

“No Impact Man is an experiment with researching, developing, and adopting a new way of living for myself and my family – one wife, one toddler – and one dog – to live in New York City while causing no net environmental impact. By decreasing the habits we do that hurt the earth (making trash, causing carbon dioxide emissions, and so on) and increasing the things we do the help the earth, cleaning up the banks of the Hudson River, giving money to charity, rescuing sea birds, etc.”

What is Net Impact? There are many (many) layers to this, but in short, easy to digest summation: Negative Impact + Positive Impact = Zero (No NET impact). Colin’s lifestyle included giving up toilet paper (think about the creativity that had to be incorporated here), consuming only food that has been grown within a 250-mile radius, avoiding all carbon-producing forms of transportation, no air conditioning, and buying no new material items. Colin goes so far as to pick up his dog’s poop (yes, I called the s*** ‘poop’ – Billy Madison reference. Anyone?) with plastic bags he finds around the city. It all may seem a little extreme, but he is changing the way people look at their own impact on the environment. Motivating people to question their own habits and challenging people to reduce their own eco-footprint.

The Takeaway: Colin and his family went to extremes to prove a point. They showed thousands of people who followed them on their journey just how wasteful we can be and how society (in general) takes so much for granted. Their journey is chronicled on Colin’s blog – and since the experiment has reached it’s conclusion, many of the habits formed have remained in place for Mr. Beavan and his family. Now, (almost) every day – Colin writes about ways we can improve our own habits, asking people what things they re-use to reduce waste, inviting people to stand up for change with their local governments and politicians, and enforcing that it doesn’t take an extreme year-long experience, it starts with small changes in everyday habits.

My Two-Cents (for what it’s worth): As a society, we look toward the highest levels of government to change the world. As much as I love and support Obama and his message, change will never come from the top down, it has to start with us – you and I have to inspire the change we want to see in the world. It sounds almost impossible in the grand scheme of things, but little things really can go a long way. I’m by no means an environmentalist, but I feel compelled to raise some awareness – and this blog is the best way to have my voice heard. My hope is that this article, or maybe another one, will spark something inside of you to make a couple changes. Switch to CFL light bulbs, convert that old box in the back of your closet to a recycling bin, cut your time spent in the shower by just one minute or buy a water-efficient shower head. It’s little things like this that seem so easy, and really are – it’s just about making that personal commitment to yourself and DOING it. Make a list of things you want to change, blog and network with some friends to get them to do the same. You’ve got to start sometime, why not make it today?

“The way I see it, waiting for the senators and the CEOs to change the way we treat the world is taking too long. Polar bears are already drowning because the polar ice is melting. In fact, research shows it’s worse: they are so hungry, they are actually starting to eat each other. I can’t stand my so-called liberal self sitting around not doing anything about it anymore. The question is: what would it be like if I took the situation (or at least my tiny part of it) into my own hands? I’m finding out.”

I encourage you all to check out Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man blog. A ton of great information and if your struggling for inspiration, he’s got plenty to motivate you into action. Small changes, big difference.

Green Week Challenge: What is ONE small thing you can do to benefit the environment by changing an everyday habit? Share your thoughts here and over at the Green Week homepage for your chance to win FREE swag courtesy Cool People Care & WEADDUP.

Green Week: Take the Challenge, Get Involved, Win Free Stuff!

March 20, 2009 · 13 comments

Spring has arrived! You can save the world between March 28th and Aprill 22nd. Are you up for the challenge? Cool People Care is sponsoring the EH2ED (Earth Hour to Earth Day) Challenge. From Earth Hour (celebrated around the world on March 28th at 8:30 PM) to Earth Day (internationally recognized on April 22nd) CPC will be sending out special edition emails, highlighting organizations, programs, initiatives, and resources that can help each of us to develop eco-friendly habits and behaviors that hopefully will translate into life-long commitments. In 3 and a half weeks [26 days, 624 hours, 37,440 minutes, 2,446,400 seconds] - YOU can make a huge difference.

Naturally, I wanted Life Without Pants to be a part of the challenge – so I am in turn challenging all of you to get involved and make some changes in your own life, because ‘going green’ is more than an idea, it’s a personal commitment to change, and it takes a spark to start a fire.

Starting today, and until Earth Hour (8:30 PM on March 28th) we’ll be celebrating ‘Green Week’ here at Life Without Pants. For the next 8 days we’ll get ‘down to earth’ and focus on all things good for the environment with a new (eco-informative) post EVERY DAY. Hopefully, by the time Earth Hour rolls around next weekend, you’ll be fully armed with an arsenal of awesome environment-saving tricks up your sleeve.

So now that I’ve built some suspense, what about the promised ’Free Stuff’? As many of you know, in the relatively short existence of Life Without Pants, we have established a great community and have had many a-good discussion. I only want the community to continue in it’s growth and development to a point where you folks are just as involved as I am. In conjunction with Cool People Care’s EH2ED campaign, I’ve got a few sweet giveaways to reward you for going green, sharing the sustainable love, and getting yourself and others involved in the Life Without Pants community.

How to Enter (Get Involved)

Leave a comment in THIS thread sharing one green idea/website/organization that we should all be aware of. Share an eco-friendly business to follow on Twitter, give one (or many) tips on going green ourselves, or just share your story on what commitment your making to save our planet. Only one comment per day in this thread will be counted for entry – but feel free to post as often as you want! (8 entries possible). I’ll be compiling the list of responses for a new ‘Green’ page to be added as a permanent resource here at LWP. Secure your place in LWP history and get involved!
Subscribe to the ‘LWP Post’ (Life Without Pants email list). For those of you who’ve already done this, you’re one step ahead of the game!
Referr other people to sign up for the ‘LWP Post’ – each referral is worth one entry – no limit here, 100 referrals = 100 entries, 1,000 = 1,000. You get the idea. (THE best way to pile up entries for a prize!). Please, no fake emails. We’ll use the honor system here.
Comment on ANY ‘Green Week’ post. One comment will be counted per post per day, but don’t let that limit you’re involvement. The more the merrier! This is simply to limit those folks who might take advantage and comment over and over to rack up entries. Play nice people!

Prizes Up for Grabs

(1) ‘Da Grand Prize: Cool People Care ‘Recycle’ t-shirt + New Day Poster Combo (Set of 3 Posters) + Today is a New Day’ book – Awarded to the person who is the MOST ACTIVE overall (combines comments and referrals) during ‘Green Week’. To win this sweet prize pack courtesy of Cool People Care, get involved in discussions and tell your friends, family, and coworkers to sign up for the LWP post (make sure they include you as the reference). The person with the most activitey over the next week will win this killer CPC tri-fecta!

(2) ‘Second Best is still Pretty Great’ Prize: WE ADD UP t-shirt of your choice ($20 value). Winner to be chosen during random drawing. Trust me, you want this shirt. You’ll raise awareness and look cool doing it. Each t-shirt is individually numbered so no two tee’s will ever be the same! To learn more about becoming an affiliate of WE ADD UP, head over here.

(3) Third ‘Last but certinley not least’ Prize: Cool People Care ‘Peace’ t-shirt + Set of 25 Recycled Greeting Cards. Break out this t-shirt just in time for spring, and send a greeting card to a loved one for Easter, a birthday, or maybe just because. Winner to be chosen during random drawing.

The Mighty (Not-So) Fine Print

That’s three (3) chances to win some pretty sweet (and eco-friendly) swag! Remember, the more entries you have, the better your chances of winning! Get involved, help our community grow, encourage participation, inspire others to make changes in their daily routine – and we’ll reward you for it. Simple as that. Winners will be announced for each prize on MONDAY, MARCH 30, right here at Life Without Pants.

Note: To keep things spicy, there may be a few ‘bonus prize’ opportunities – These opportunities will be announced randomly so keep checking back throughout the week for your chance to win a little something extra. Just for being here and being you! (All prizes are organic and eco-friendly).

For more information on Cool People Care’s EH2ED campaign (and how you can score a free copy of Sam Davidson’s book, New Day Revolution) head over to their website and sign up to take part in the challenge TODAY! Special thanks to Cool People Care for partnering with Life Without Pants. You guys rock!

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