Even though more people are turning to energy-efficient spiral fluorescent light bulbs, which use 75% less energy and greatly reduce your carbon footprint, they still pose a threat of mercury poisoning.

According to an article in BostonChannel.com, spiral fluorescent bulbs are great ways to reduce your energy consumption because they last 10 times longer than regular bulbs, but since they require mercury in them to produce light, they can also be dangerous to your health if they are broken…

Even though more people are turning to energy-efficient spiral fluorescent light bulbs, which use 75% less energy and greatly reduce your carbon footprint, they still pose a threat of mercury poisoning.

According to an article in BostonChannel.com, spiral fluorescent bulbs are great ways to reduce your energy consumption because they last 10 times longer than regular bulbs, but since they require mercury in them to produce light, they can also be dangerous to your health if they are broken.

The Hazards of Mercury Poisoning

Spiral fluorescent bulbs only have about 1 to 30 milligrams of mercury in them, but if they are broken and you come in contact with the mercury directly or inhale the toxic fumes, you can greatly damage your central nervous system, your liver and your kidneys. This can be especially harmful to babies and pregnant women, who already have weak immune systems.

Check out the Wikipedia page for more about mercury poisoning.

How to Save Energy and Protect Your Health

Despite the risk of mercury poisoning, spiral fluorescent bulbs are still the best types of bulbs to use to save energy in your home. You can use this great page on the Aubuchon Hardware website that gives you a detailed list of name-brand spiral bulbs and how they compare to regular bulbs in efficiency and price.

Here are some ways that you can protect yourself and others from mercury poisoning:

• Don’t touch the mercury inside the bulb if it breaks
• Carefully sweep up broken glass and soak up the mercury with a paper towel
• Wrap any broken bulbs in cardboard or newspaper and tape the package together before throwing it away
• Keep the area ventilated so the fumes can be aired away

You can also recycle your mercury bulbs at certain specified businesses in your state, or you can find a complete list of mercury bulb recyclers on the LampRecycle.org Resource page.

I think that if you are safe about how you handle the spiral fluorescent bulbs and dispose of them correctly, then you can protect both your health and the environment at the same time. Not every product can be totally 100% safe for the environment, but if it can cut energy consumption by 75%, then I think that it’s worth our effort to keep it in production’until something better comes along!

Reading a good book is one of our oldest and most treasured pastimes, and it’s no surprise that avid supporters of the green movement love to read about the environment and society’s impact on it. The concept of recycling our paper and plastic products goes hand-in-hand with the ability to recycle the knowledge that we learn from books.

I recently discovered a site called Biblio.com that sells over 50 million used, out of print and hard-to-find books…

Reading a good book is one of our oldest and most treasured pastimes, and it’s no surprise that avid supporters of the green movement love to read about the environment and society’s impact on it. The concept of recycling our paper and plastic products goes hand-in-hand with the ability to recycle the knowledge that we learn from books.

I recently discovered a site called Biblio.com that sells over 50 million used, out of print and hard-to-find books from over 5,500 professional and independent booksellers worldwide. It’s the perfect site for college students to find classic novels for Literature class, or for anyone to find that book that just doesn’t seem to be in the larger chain stores. If this isn’t jaw-dropping enough, it’s also the first-ever eco-friendly bookstore around!

Going for the Green

One of the greatest accomplishments of this small, self-financed company located in Asheville, North Carolina is that it has managed to become a globally-recognized online bookstore that receives nothing put positive praise from its clients and customers. This is not only because it offers excellent service and products, but also because it is dedicated to literacy and the fight against global warming.

It currently uses a process called ecosend, which is an eco-friendly way to ship their books. The company has partnered with Native Energy to offset the emissions created by the shipment of every book purchased through the site. But it doesn’t stop there! Biblio.com even offsets its entire business operations, from its everyday office energy consumptions to the CO2 released from employee vehicles.

Native Energy calculates the total carbon footprint created by Biblio.com, and then Biblio.com purchases carbon credits and invests in alternative energy projects sponsored by Native Energy. All of the projects support sustainable development.

To make this company even more amazing, they also created a non-profit organization called BiblioWorks, which sets up community libraries in impoverished nations such as Bolivia and provides children with a wealth of books and computers to advance their education.

Support This Local Bookstore

There are not many companies that offset their entire business practices, as well as create non-profit organizations, so I applaud Biblio.com for their overwhelming accomplishments. If you’re in search of a used or rare book, or you just want to support an eco-friendly company, then check this site out!

Last week President Obama and his administration outlined changes that would greatly alter the fuel economy and emissions standards of the auto industry. Not only would these changes reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted into the air by cars, but they would also save the average car buyer thousands of dollars in fuel.

So far both environmental organizations and lobby groups seem to be on board for the car fuel economy changes.

Last week President Obama and his administration outlined changes that would greatly alter the fuel economy and emissions standards of the auto industry. Not only would these changes reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted into the air by cars, but they would also save the average car buyer thousands of dollars in fuel.

So far both environmental organizations and lobby groups seem to be on board for the car fuel economy changes.

The best fuel economy standards?

So, what makes the 1,200 page fuel economy and emissions standards document so great for everyone? Besides completely altering the current rules of the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, these rules will also:

• Push for a 5% increase in fuel economy standards per year from 2011 to 2016
• Increase  automobile fuel standards from 27.3 mpg in 2011 up to 35.5 mpg in 2016
• Ensure that cars with model year 2016 would have to meet an average limit of 250 grams of carbon emitted per mile driven

These are all great changes that could help everyone reduce their carbon footprint. The government even says that these would:

• Save car buyers $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle
• Reduce CO2 emissions about 950 million metric tons
• Greatly reduce US dependence on foreign oil by about 1.8 billion barrels

Overall, this sounds like a great green initiative, and we hope that it will help us reach the best fuel economy standards in a reasonable amount of time.

What do you think? Are these goals within reach?

Source: Matter Network

More than a dozen U.S. colleges signed up to support Earth Hour on March 28, so to extend this preservation of the planet they can also pledge to be car-free on World Environment Day, which is Friday, June 5.

If you don’t know what World Environment Day is, it’s a day that was created by the United Nations General Assembly to increase environmental awareness through political and public attention.

More than a dozen U.S. colleges signed up to support Earth Hour on March 28, so to extend this preservation of the planet they can also pledge to be car-free on World Environment Day, which is Friday, June 5.

If you don’t know what World Environment Day is, it’s a day that was created by the United Nations General Assembly to increase environmental awareness through political and public attention.

To show their dedication to World Environment Day, the makers of the Mini Cooper are asking people to pledge not to drive on that particular day. Instead of driving, they want people to “take the pedal off the metal” and focus on walking or biking instead.

The makers of the Mini say that not driving on World Environment Day 2009 will not only reduce your carbon footprint, but it will also bring people together for a common eco-friendly goal.

To pledge the number of miles that you are not going to drive on Friday, go to the Mini.com website.

Source: Mini.com

Memorial Day weekend is the perfect time for getting together with family and friends. It means that summer is on its way, the kids are getting ready to finish school and neighborhood pools are officially opening. It’s also an ideal time to have an outdoor picnic that supports your eco-lifestyle!

Memorial Day weekend is the perfect time for getting together with family and friends. It means that summer is on its way, the kids are getting ready to finish school and neighborhood pools are officially opening. It’s also an ideal time to have an outdoor picnic that supports your eco-lifestyle!

Since most people have Memorial Monday off, the 3 day weekend leaves many options open for celebrating the holiday. One option that you should consider is learning how to have a green Memorial Day weekend. If you can make this weekend eco-friendly, then you will be reducing the carbon footprint of everyone who shares in your festivities.

Here are some green steps that you can take before, during and after the picnic:

Before the picnic….

• Get rid of any stuff that has accumulated in your yard by donating it to thrift store, or let it be reused when you sell it on eBay or Craigslist.
• Mow your grass with an old-fashioned push mower. Gas and electric mowers are more expensive, and they also leave a huge carbon footprint.
• Purchase an electric grill powered by wind energy or a solar powered grill to have the most eco-friendly cooking experience with your food.
• Clean off dirty lounge chairs or other outside patio furniture with green and natural cleaning products instead of using toxic chemicals.
• Instead of going to a grocery store, support your local farmer’s market. Walk or bike to it to reduce your automobile emissions. Or, if you have a garden, pick your own organic ingredients from it!
• Want to keep pesky mosquitoes away from you while you eat? Lather on some organic bug spray and repellant. You can also leave a cup of sugar water away from the crowd and bugs will flock towards it instead of you.

During the picnic…

• Use biodegradable utensils, bowls and cups to create less waste for your local landfill. Have guests write their names on the items so that they can be reused.
• Keep a recycling bin (like one from Recyclingbin.com: Eco-Friendly Bins & Containers) next to the trash can so that people know you support plastic, metal and paper recycling.
• Give guests reusable napkins so that they can be rewashed and used again.
• If you do have a charcoal grill, use lump charcoal made from natural and sustainable wood and try to avoid using lighter fluid.

After the picnic…

• Use biodegradable plastic trash bags to clean up any surrounding trash.
• Let your guests take home any leftovers so that no food goes to waste.
• Clean the grill with soap and water instead of using harsh chemicals.
• Compost any leftover food scraps in a special compost pile in your back yard. You can also throw those lawn clippings from the other day in the pile!

You can have a fun, affordable and green Memorial Day weekend if you just commit yourself to earth-friendly practices. Plus, if you can commit to these practices on Memorial Day, then you can do it every time that you have a cookout!

The first attempt to turn the White House into a green house occurred in the 1970′s when President Jimmy Carter installed a solar energy water-heating system. The system cost $30,000 to install and only saved $1,000 a year. That was obviously a failure.

Twenty-three years later in 1993 Bill Clinton successfully saved more than $1.4 million in six years thanks to his “greening the White House” project. Now it’s Barack Obama’s turn to show America that anyone can turn their home into a green home.

The first attempt to turn the White House into a green house occurred in the 1970′s when President Jimmy Carter installed a solar energy water-heating system. The system cost $30,000 to install and only saved $1,000 a year. That was obviously a failure.

Twenty-three years later in 1993 Bill Clinton successfully saved more than $1.4 million in six years thanks to his “greening the White House” project. Now it’s Barack Obama’s turn to show America that anyone can turn their home into a green home.

Lead by Example

From the moment that Obama took office he wanted to create a plan that would reduce the carbon footprint of the 132-room White House mansion. He basically wanted to show the American people that if he cares enough to do it, so should they.

So, what two major changes have the Obama’s already made to turn their home into a green house?

• Michelle Obama planted an organic and herb vegetable garden in the South Lawn (you can read more here)
• They built an eco-friendly wooden swing set with recycled rubber tire cushioning

There are still many other plans to turn the White House into a green house, such as using green and natural cleaning products and promoting recycling, but Obama won’t give any specific details yet.

That’s okay because it’s good to know that the President is going green and proving to be a positive example for the green movement.

Source: MSNBC

Do you want to prove to Obama, and to the rest of the world, that your school may just be the greenest campus in America? Do you want to challenge other students to reduce their carbon footprint in order to win up to $20,000?

Of course you do, and to prove your commitment to protecting the environment you should sign up for America’s Greenest Campus contest.

Do you want to prove to Obama, and to the rest of the world, that your school may just be the greenest campus in America? Do you want to challenge other students to reduce their carbon footprint in order to win up to $20,000?

Of course you do, and to prove your commitment to protecting the environment you should sign up for America’s Greenest Campus contest.

Created by Climate Culture, a new startup that helps people save money and go green, and in partnership with Smart Power, a non-profit marketing organization that supports green energy, this contest pits college campuses around the U.S. against each other to prove their green university mentality.

Here’s how the contest works:

1.       Sign up with your school information on the Climate Culture website here

2.       Get other students to sign up as well

3.       Do your best to reduce your carbon footprint

After you sign up, your carbon footprint, along with everyone else from your school, will be tracked by the website carbon calculator, and on October 5, 2009 the school with the lowest carbon footprint will win!

The leader, as of today, is George Mason University in Virginia.

Oh, and did we mention that there’s even a YouTube video sung by the “Obama Girl” that talks about saving energy and joining the contest? Here it is:

Now that you know about the contest, are you ready to prove to the world that you are a part of the greenest campus in America?

Source: Mashable

It’s a brand new year, so for most people that means dedicating themselves to their new year’s resolutions. But let’s face it, we all make a lot of resolutions that we don’t keep. We’re either too busy at work or too consumed with our personal lives to truly stick to our goals.

One way you can stick to your resolutions is to make some green resolutions that would benefit both you and the environment…

It’s a brand new year, so for most people that means dedicating themselves to their new year’s resolutions. But let’s face it, we all make a lot of resolutions that we don’t keep. We’re either too busy at work or too consumed with our personal lives to truly stick to our goals.

One way you can stick to your resolutions is to make some green resolutions that would benefit both you and the environment. Just think about your traditional resolutions and add a green twist to them!

Here are ten eco friendly resolutions that you can make this year to have a happy and green new year:

1. Green Exercise ‘ With all the extra weight put on from feasting over the holidays the start of the New Year is a great opportunity to get in shape. And you can do it in an earth-friendly way! Check out our post on How to Green Your Exercise Routine.
2. Recycle ‘ Whether you take your plastic bottles or aluminum soda cans to a recycling center or do something creative like Recycling Your Used Coffee Grinds, get rid of your waste in an eco friendly way and help reduce trash in your area by recycling.
3. Switch to Reusable Shopping Bags – Countries like Africa, Australia and China have already banned plastic bags in many areas, so why not jump on the green bandwagon and stop using plastic bags yourself? You can purchase organic and eco friendly reusable shopping bags from ReusableBags.com.
4. Drive Less ‘ You may not be able to afford a hybrid vehicle but you CAN afford to cut down on carbon emissions and reduce your carbon footprint by driving less. If you live on campus check to see if you can rent a bike like the students at these universities, or try walking to your destination. If you have to drive you should carpool or join a ride share program.
5. Green Your Work Area ‘ You spend about 40 hours a week at your place of employment, so how about making it a bit more eco friendly? Not only will you be more productive at work, but you’ll also be helping out the environment. Check out our 10 Ways to Make Your Work Area Green blog post.
6. Stay in Touch with Family and Friends ‘ Make it a point to get back in contact with the family and friends that you haven’t had a chance to talk to in the past year. You can reduce paper waste by sending them an email or a free e-card, or you can purchase recycled greeting cards and notebook paper.
7. Volunteer ‘ Websites like Idealist.org offer hundreds of opportunities for you to join a green organization and volunteer your time. You can do just about anything, from planting trees to promoting animal rights.
8. Green Your Computer ‘ Even if you turned your laptop off at work last year it still consumed energy if it was plugged into the wall! So this year cut back on your computer’s energy consumption by installing a free energy-saving application from LocalCooling.com or by unplugging the cord when it’s not in use. You can also purchase an eco friendly laptop bag or buy green computer products from websites like Verdant Computing.
9. Start a Garden ‘ Even if you live in a small apartment with limited space you can still grow your own herbs and vegetables. Nothing is better and healthier than eating your own organically grown food.
10. Use Less Water ‘ There are many ways that you can reduce your water consumption, from turning off the water when you’re brushing your teeth to taking shorter showers. If you’re interested in finding out what your water footprint is check out the website Waterfootprint.org.

These are just a few green resolutions that you can make.

If you have any other ideas please feel free to share them with the Green Student U community.

This past summer the University of Miami launched two new green programs that will not only reduce carbon emissions on campus, but will also help students lower their carbon footprint.

Though both Green U programs deal with using green vehicles, one program uses cars while the other uses bicycles…

This past summer the University of Miami launched two new green programs that will not only reduce carbon emissions on campus, but will also help students lower their carbon footprint.

Though both Green U programs deal with using green vehicles, one program uses cars while the other uses bicycles.

Catch a Ride with Zipcar

Zipcar is a ride share program that provides fuel-efficient rental vehicles to drivers. So why is program a great idea for the University of Miami? Here are a few reasons:

• Once you become a member, you can reserve a vehicle on the internet or over the phone.
• A special bar-coded Zipcard unlocks the car and start the engine.
• Drivers are charged only $8 an hour, and that includes fuel and free parking on campus.
• Reduces the number of cars on campus.
• Decreases carbon emissions.

The best thing about this program is that it will benefit incoming freshmen, who will not be allowed to have cars on campus.

Ubike Saves on Gas

The university’s other Green U program is called Ubike, which is basically a bike-friendly program for all students. Benefits of the program include:

• Cheaper bike and accessory purchases.
• Service discounts.
• Bike paths throughout campus.
• Free air pump stations.

The campus even put up bike signs and light poles for the bikers.

These are just two of the most recent positive green initiatives the University of Miami is implementing on campus, along with UM Police using new segways to reduce fuel consumption and the on-campus recycling programs.

Right now about 70 colleges and universities use the Zipcar program, and more colleges are offering bike rentals to students, so hopefully this trend will continue to spread across the country.

Contributing Author, Elizabeth Kudner is the co-founder of myUsearch, a free and unbiased online service that matches students to colleges, and the manager of the myUsearch blog.

She recently sent me this great article that she wrote about college students and their true committment to living an eco-lifestyle and having a green campus…

Contributing Author, Elizabeth Kudner is the co-founder of myUsearch, a free and unbiased online service that matches students to colleges, and the manager of the myUsearch blog.

She recently sent me this great article that she wrote about college students and their true committment to living an eco-lifestyle and having a green campus.

Here is what she wrote:

“As colleges across the country take steps to become more environmentally sustainable, many ask the question ‘Do students really care?’, or more importantly: ‘Will students actually choose one college over the other because of a colleges’ commitment to being green?’

As the co-founder of myUsearch, a free and unbiased online service that matches students to colleges, I would really like to know the answer to this question. After looking into this however, I found very conflicting opinions.

Although I can’t scientifically back up my opinion, I have a hunch that the majority of students do care whether their college or university is taking steps to be green. According to a recent study, students prefer green degrees and this article claims that college students and recent grads prefer jobs with green companies. This evidence leads me to believe that students do care, however I’m not so sure that ‘being green’ will actually influence a student’s college choice.

College Confidential recently asked this question in a forum and the answers from the 74 responding students ranged from ‘Yeah, I could care less.’ to ‘A school that didn’t show any initiative on taking responsibility for their impact on the environment would’ve definitely turned me off.’

From this non-statistically significant sample, I would conclude that students do care, but not enough to choose one college over the other. This thinking would be in line with another recent study that concluded that MBA’s will ultimately choose green money over a green environment. The study surveyed 527 MBA students at 12 top-ranked international business schools. 95% of the students ranked career opportunities as “extremely” or “very important” factors in selecting an employer, but only 34% of the students viewed a company’s environmental policies with the same importance.

Is this study conclusive? Don’t be so sure.

In contrast to the MBA study, The Sierra Club makes a strong claim that students do care:

“Unless you’ve got a trust fund, you’ve got to make a buck. But many students are unwilling to give up their ideals to do so. Some 200,000 seniors at more than 100 colleges have signed a Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility, initiated at California’s Humboldt State University in 1987. Participants promise to consider sustainability along with salary at any job they’re offered, and to work to improve the practices of any company that employs them. Their ranks are likely to keep multiplying: According to a recent survey by KeyBank, an educational loan provider, this year’s freshman class is more concerned about the environment than the job market they’ll face upon graduation. And with green business a growth industry, the ribbon pledgers wear at commencement may be just what recruiters are looking for.”

Now I’m even more confused, but there is one more thing. Could this discrepancy indicate a generational shift? Now’. we might be on to something.

When I looked more deeply at the College Confidential Forum, I realized that most of the people who felt ‘being green’ was not important, were older respondents. The most memorable comment:

‘If meeting my university’s power needs is cheaper with dead dinosaurs than it is with wind power, then as a trustee I would demand that the money used to soothe our green egos go towards the real mission of the university–towards faculty recruitment/retention, research, financial aid, etc.’

However, many of the younger (and in my opinion smarter) respondents seemed to place environmental sustainability higher on their priority list. My favorite comment, from a very astute UVA 2012 student, makes a strong argument against the comment above:

‘Environmental sustainability is often tied to economic sustainability, and even a sense of entrepreneurship. You may think it’s tree-hugging and hippyism, but think about the fact that the cost of living due to energy prices will probably be skyrocketing in twenty to fifty years — living in an environmental dorm may be in fact be cheaper than living your own home. I suppose not now — but if your school is conducting environmental efforts — then it’s likely that its engineering department is innovative and ecologically-minded. Environmentalism and sustainable economics go hand-in-hand. Perhaps in 30-50 years, energy prices will make conservation science the new i-banking.’

So now what is my conclusion? Although I still have a hunch that ‘being green’ does not strongly influence student’s college choice today, I have hope that one day it will. Our future depends on society’s willingness to demand environmental responsibility and I sincerely hope students will start demanding more from their colleges.

What do you think? Does it make a difference? Do you students care? Please comment.

And more importantly, for all of you forward thinkers, here are a few links to help you find a green college or degree program that demands environmental responsibility:

Green Degrees for a Greener Planet

The Princeton Review Green Honor Roll

10 Colleges That Get It

25 Green Colleges”

We think that Elizabeth asks some great questions, and the only way we can truly have one correct answer is to get all colleges involved in one way or another with going green.