photo credit: pfala

Many “environmentally correct” mutual funds are available, but many are not making much money. Yet they do have a bit of a following, which is good to see, unfortunately it appears many are not good business models and taking total advantage of the Green Media Hype, without making a profit or even providing that much “green” or environmental assistance to the reality of pollution.

Perhaps this article will help me illustrate my point: In the Napa Valley, CA Register:

Green business is a highly underrated opportunity for small business.The exploding opportunities for entrepreneurs continues to be in organic products, trash and recycling of garbage, and marketing to the “green lifestyle” clientele. So why is green in these days, and why do we know have an ever-expanding $280 billion green industry? One reason is the growing number of regulations that push our industries and communities to leave less of a “carbon footprint.” California has led the way with the passage of Assembly Bill 32 or the Global Warming Solutions Act, which mandates that the state lower its global warming emissions to 1990 levels by 2002.

So, it seems politicians are once again giving away money and of course, there are entrepreneurs lining up to take it, take it for all its worth. If all these companies were legitimate that is fine, but even this carbon-credit scheme, is questionable, as it gives folks that were never going to pollute in the first place, free money. You know, it just seems like a big Enron type trading scheme again, this time sanctioned by the government.

In the end all these carbon credits will act as a tax on all of society, raising cost of living, and who gets hurt? The poor who are working to make it to the middle class, which will be hurt worse. People and companies should not pollute because it is the right thing to do, not because someone is paying them, bribing then and giving them free money, our money, the taxpayer? We need to pay attention to what is going on here in the name of the environment, the Nobel Peace Prize Recipients and a huge contingency of Vulture Capitalists and their backers.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

Creating a “green” business or transforming an established business into an eco-friendly environment, may seem like a very overwhelming task. Yet, in today’s era of escalating energy costs and climate change, energy efficiency is the most important aspect of greening your business. You can reap immediate savings by lowering your overall energy use and doing so will automatically reduce your business’s carbon emission footprint. You can also save money in the areas of waste reduction, equipment use, transportation, and building design.

Operating a green business is not only good for the environment, but good for your business’s bottom line. Conserving resources and cutting down on waste saves money. The good news is that regardless of the type of business you run, there are simple things you can do, to run an environmentally friendly business.

* Save Energy with Existing Equipment. Make it a company policy to turn off all lights, equipment and machinery when it is not being used, especially nights and weekends.

- Much equipment is idle and unused for up to 90 percent of its life.

- Turning off the computers at the end of the day can save an additional 50 percent.

* Save energy by installing new or replacing existing equipment.

- Install low-cost energy monitors that can provide an accurate display of the cost and energy use of individual equipment. Research shows that this step alone can lead to energy savings of up to 40 percent.

- Lighting can often account for up to 40 percent of energy costs for many businesses. Installing motion-sensor or automatic dimmers helps to ensure, that you are efficiently shutting down lights in areas when no one is present.

- A very cost-effective upgrade is to replace all of your incandescent lighting with new compact fluorescent bulbs. Your older 1.5 inch diameter fluorescent tube lighting should also be replaced with newer 1 inch tubes and solid-state electronic ballasts.

- Install displacement toilet dams in toilet reservoirs. Placing one or two plastic containers filled with stones [not bricks] in the toilet’s reservoir will displace about 4 liters of water per flush – a huge reduction of water use over the course of a year.

* Reduce unnecessary waste. Any waste that your company generates is an unnecessary cost. Waste is simply inefficient. Implement a recycling program and have a meeting on how to eliminate the items that are not recyclable. Setting up recycling in your workplace is something that is simple and invites your employees to become a part of the movement, giving them a sense of purpose.

- Encourage communications by email and read email messages on screen to determine whether it’s necessary to print them. If it’s not, then don’t. If you need to keep a copy for legal reasons, or for various other reasons, there are online storage sites that may be utilized for this reason.

- Purchase recyclable products for your office, there are now many different vendors that supply not only recycled paper, but sell “green” cleaners, standard or not so standard, office supplies. These vendors will typically provide a recycling program of their own. A word of advice, if you are needing new office furniture, before investing money in purchasing it new, find out if your existing furniture can be refurbished.

Going green not only helps a business to do their part in minimizing their eco-foot print. The savings, especially at times like these, help everyone. If that’s not enough, there has never been a better time than now to tap into a laundry list of tax credits, rebates and other financial incentives designed to encourage individuals and businesses to go the greener mile. At the federal level in the U.S., individuals can reap the rewards of no less than eight different financial incentives. Besides these federal incentives, nearly every U.S. state has additional state or local incentives available.

Try Creative Services at Studio 1C.

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In my discussions over the years with clients, one question seems to pop up more than any other: Are Americans willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products?

For the segment of the population that is most affluent, most educated and most eco-conscious, the answer has always been – yes.

Now, a survey conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, shows that an ever increasing number of Americans are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products.

“Many American consumers, even in the face of economic uncertainty, express a willingness to pay more for environmentally friendly products,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale Project on Climate Change.

Half of the respondents to the survey said they would “definitely” or “probably” pay 15% more for eco-friendly clothes detergent (51%) or for an automobile (50%). Forty percent said they would spend 15% more on “green” computer printer paper and 39 percent would do the same for “green” wood furniture.

What has been most surprising in this study is the fact that Americans who said their current financial situation is “fair” or “poor” were just as willing to spend 15% more on such environmentally-friendly products as detergent or wood furniture as those Americans more confident of their current financial situation.

As the green movement continues to grow, this survey should make it clear to industries across the board that green products will continue to increase in demand. Whether you are a manufacturer, small family business or service provider, it is important to increase the development or repackaging of your products as environmentally friendly.

As green becomes the norm, and probably the cost of entry for most products within the next 3 to 5 years, those firms that get a jump start on their competitors will have the best chance of capitalizing on this premium price differentiation. After that time frame, the green premium will most likely disappear and companies will have to look for the next marketing edge.

In the meantime, go green. It makes economic sense.

Robert Piller is President of EcoMarketing Solutions LLC, a company that helps businesses promote themselves to their customers and prospects using environmentally-friendly promotional products that won’t end up in a landfill. You can reach his blog at http://greenspotblog.com or reach him at robert@ecomarketingsolutions.com Robert Piller is also a guest speaker and free lance writer on green marketing issues.

photo credit: OakleyOriginals

With everyone and their mother jumping onto the Green Movement bandwagon, words like Organic, Natural, Safe, are tossed around like water balloons at a county fair. If you’re the one catching the balloon, make sure it doesn’t unexpectedly go SPLAT all over you. The key to successfully navigating the New Green World and knowing whether you are purchasing safe, healthy and nutritious products is having a solid understanding of how to read the labels, and what the words Organic and Natural really mean.

Fertilizer Increases Yields

Widespread, frequent and excessive use of synthetic organophosphate fertilizers began in the 1930s, when such fertilizers became affordable and accessible to the masses. Food production quickly increased as a result of fertilizer use. Unfortunately, the effects of widespread organophosphates would not be realized for many years. It takes much longer for synthetic chemicals to break down, and by the 1950s and 1960s, phosphates from the overuse of fertilizers clogged streams, lakes, rivers and deltas, causing algal blooms and other environmental problems.

Silent Spring Arouses Concern

The publication of Silent Spring in 1962, focused attention on the toxicity of chemical pesticides, and by extension, the practices of chemical companies producing synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Before Carson’s book, the general public was not well aware of such problems with modern agricultural practices. Once published, the book sparked a movement by government officials and the public to ban DDT and scrutinize production, labeling and distributing of pesticides and fertilizers.

Silent Spring marked the beginning of awareness for government officials about the harmful nature of broad, indiscriminate use of synthetic chemicals. Baby steps were taken in the direction of better pesticide and herbicide regulation. Until pressured in the 1970s and 1980s by environmental groups and everyday grocery-shoppers, there were few regulations in place to prevent wholesale dumping of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides all over the food marketed to consumers. European farmers led the way in bringing natural farming methods and organic farming mainstream.

Government Takes Over Organics

The USDA began its Organic labeling program in 2002. The program has different levels, all of which can be confusing if you don’t read the fine print. The Green Movement trend has exploded exponentially since 2006, when An Inconvenient Truth, a film about global warming featuring Al Gore was released. Suddenly, everyone wanted on the Green bandwagon and now the wagon is mighty crowded. Green is the new Gold. Green business practices or at least the insinuation of green business practices, results in higher revenues for multi-national companies.

Safe, Natural Products

With Green becoming little more than a marketing label, how can consumers know what is really safe to eat, or nutritious for the body? When growing your own produce, how can you tell if a fertilizer is helpful or harmful? Just as synthetic chemical companies marketed heavily to farmers, companies producing clothing, food, and cosmetics clamor to have the official organic seal on their products. They claim everything possible to be Natural. To cut the wheat from the chaff, several resources explain the mysteries behind the labels and marketing claims and help consumers make beneficial and healthy choices.

The Mayo Clinic website debunks some of the myths about organic versus natural versus nutrition in food products: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255

The website www.safe-fertilizer-reviews.com contains information, reviews and survey results about natural fertilizers-or fertilizers that are not man-made.

The USDA website with information on the Organic Program is: www.ams.usda.gov/nop
There, you can read the fine print.

Proactive Consuming

The key to finding, purchasing and growing the healthiest produce with the least impact on the earth is understanding the meaning of natural and organic, and using that knowledge when making product purchasing decisions. Together, as earth-conscious consumers, we can make sure that the Green Business Claims made by mass-marketers are truly beneficial to health and to the earth.

Natural Fertilizer Guy started the website http://www.safe-fertilizer-reviews.com in order to provide gardeners, homeowners and landscapers with the tools and information they need to make informed, environmentally responsible purchases for gardening.

Natural fertilizers and Seaweed fertilizers are Natural Fertilizer Guy’s area of expertise. Each fertilizer reviewed on the site has been tested by Natural Fertilizer Guy, and has proved to increase plant growth as much, if not more than conventional, synthetic fertilizers.

For more information on natural fertilizers and seaweed fertilizers, please visit http://www.safe-fertilizer-reviews.com