Travelers Love Solar Powered Gear

Outdoor enthusiasts, business travelers, and everyday road-runners know these solar gadgets may carry the day.

* Outdoor Enthusiasts
o A solar lantern or floodlight offers the option of light at night in a remote location. Campers lighting up large campsites use a solar floodlight with high-efficiency, super bright LED bulbs. For a more intimate site, they use solar lanterns. Some up-market lanterns have functions to imitate the look of a flickering candle or a kerosene lantern. Reliable solar lights are weather and water resistant.

o Solar electric systems mounted on RV motor homes, boats, and small cabins provide significant electricity for weekend travels, or for longer journeys.

o A lightweight solar oven harvests the heat of the sun, allowing campers to roast meats, steam vegetables, heat stews, and bake fresh bread or other treats. Some ovens are made from recycled plastic and aluminum. The best have high-tech insulation and are designed to maintain steady cooking temperatures. Some even include an oven thermometer, a water pasteurization gauge and a recipe book.

o Solar backpacks make it easy for technophiles in fear of withdrawal to bring along an electronic gadget or two.

* Business Travelers
o Solar messenger bags and power units are excellent carry-along generators designed to charge assorted handheld electronics. The bags are usually padded to carry and protect a laptop. Some have large zipped pockets for documents, and multiple small pockets for electronic devices. Having the right connection for a particular cell phone is the biggest factor when travels are choosing a bag. Most bags also have their own plug-in charger (for plugging into an auto) just in case the storage cells need topping up on a rainy day, or after heavy use.

o Some solar powered alarm clocks use so little power they can make it through the night after absorbing just an hour of ambient room light. There are also a few solar clocks that will set themselves automatically to the time signal from the US Atomic Clock.

* Folks on the Road
o Solar Powered LED Flashlights are convenient and practical. The beams on the best ones are bright and stable. Some versions have a built-in compass. Compact and lightweight, they're easy to take anywhere you go.

o Travelers crossing blistering stretches of open highway use energy from the sun to run solar fans. The fans are also popular with beach-goers, campers, and hikers. The fans will run as long as the sun shines on a connected photovoltaic panel.

o Smart road runners know a solar charger is a very handy device for putting a trickle charge on an automotive battery when an alternator throws a belt, forcing them to try to nurse a car's electrical system home on the battery.

o LED road flares may not be solar, but travelers who've used them know they last a long time, and can be run on rechargeable batteries topped up by a solar charging unit.

Lastly, if you're an outdoorsman or frequent road-runner, one of the best gizmos around is a hat with a built-in solar light. The newest photovoltaic technology is combined with durable construction and ultra-bright LEDs, making a solar hat the perfect accessory for campers, cyclists, fishers, hikers and hunters; for anyone struggling to change a tire in the dark; for shading your head from the elements; or for hands-free lighting should you run out of daylight anywhere.

Sleeping in an Eco-Friendly Bed

by Steve Graham

You could be saving the planet in your sleep, or at least minimizing the impact of your mattress on the planet. Eco-friendly mattresses differ from the standard bed in that they use greener materials and fewer chemicals, and are recyclable.

Materials

The visible outer layer of a typical mattress is made of polyester, which may also be blended with cotton. Polyester is typically petroleum-based and non-biodegradable. Greener manufacturers stick to organic cotton or wool.

The squishy stuff under the cover is often polyurethane and polyester quilting and padding surrounding wire coils. Arguably the most eco-friendly mattresses on the market replace all this metal and petroleum-based padding with a core of natural rubber latex.

Flobeds is one of the leaders in natural latex mattresses, but several competitors have entered the natural latex market. Flobeds makes customized beds using three layers of latex in varying firmnesses. The latex is made with no petrochemicals from sustainably harvested, natural and renewable rubber trees.

There also are standard mattresses with some green credibility. The Pure Echo mattress has a standard spring system, but uses organic cotton and natural wool instead of synthetic fibers or standard cotton.

Chemicals

The Pure Echo and natural latex mattresses also have fewer chemicals than most standard alternatives.

Polyurethane foam emits volatile organic compounds that have been linked to respiratory diseases and skin irritation. Some brands of memory foam are known for the heavy chemical smell of these VOCs and other materials off-gassing in the mattress.

In addition, many mattresses are treated with chemical pesticides and flame retardants that may also be dangerous to both your health and the environment. Some major mattress manufacturers have phased out toxic flame retardants, replacing them with wool and other more natural flame barriers.

Moreover, without any of these chemicals, rubber latex is naturally hypo-allergenic, and free of dust mites, mold and mildew.

Lifecycle

The future use of your mattress materials is as important as their history. A more durable mattress is more eco-friendly. Even a traditional mattress full of chemicals and polyester earns some eco-friendly points if it lasts longer than the 5-year expected lifespan of some cheap mattresses.

That’s because it’s difficult to reduce, reuse or recycle a used mattress. Many thrift stores don’t accept used mattresses, and used mattresses can be less than desirable. They may be soiled or infested with bedbugs. Even landfills may be reluctant to accept mattresses because mattress springs can damage their compactors.

There are a few mattress-recycling companies, including St. Vincent De Paul in California and Oregon, and Nine Lives Mattress Recycling in South Carolina. St. Vincent De Paul claims it can recycle about 85 percent of the mattress, including most of the cotton, steel and wood, but options are limited for recycling polyester and some other materials. Also, it can be expensive to get the mattress to these recyclers.

Again, rubber latex offers a better option. It is completely biodegradable and even compostable. When I bought my Flobed mattress, they sent latex samples, which I fed to my compost worms. It took a few months, but the worms ate the latex.

If you want to reduce your environmental footprint in the bedroom, look for a biodegradable natural latex mattress with organic cotton and wool, and minimal chemicals.

Eco-Friendly Planet

Respect your planet and do your bit for nature. Here's how you can help save Mother Earth.

At the office Are you buying a new printer for the office? There are numerous printers now that have the option of printing on both sides of the paper. It makes sense in investing in these printers for the office, where print volumes are so high.

How many of us turn off our computer monitors when we leave for a meeting, or when we go to lunch? Don't shut down the computer if you don't want to, but at the very least, switch off the monitor. Get your child into the habit of switching off the monitor of the computer every time he steps out of the room, if he's going to be gone for more than ten minutes.


When travelling

Make it a point to turn off all the lights before leaving your hotel room. Many of us don't really bother doing this, since we feel "We're paying for staying in the room, right? So lets run up the electricity bill really high!" No one will benefit from your leaving on the lights when you're not in the room, and the greatest harm will be born by the planet!

If you are planning to travel to a relatively untouched destination, try to avoid carrying things that you will throw away a few days after reaching. Although the temptation to carry disposable items on holiday is always there, it is far better if you bring all your rubbish back with you, and dispose it off in your own home. Many travel destinations may not have adequate recycling facilities, and they soon start sinking under the load of excessive tourism. And if you must dispose off some rubbish, do so responsibly. Throw any rubbish you may have, in a bin. Don't litter, and be especially careful about disposing rubbish when you are on the beach, in the forest, or in some other natural habitat.

Tourism as an activity can cause a lot of harm to the environment, the culture and the eco-system of a place, so bear this in mind. Respect the sensibilities of the people that dwell in the villages you may be visiting.


Personal habits

Someone's birthday coming up? Instead of purchasing a paper card, simply send an e-greeting, and follow up with a telephone call. Never forget the adage - save paper, save a tree. With the millions of people engaged worldwide in conservation activities, it seems a shame if we don't do our little bit to help the environment in whatever small way we can.

Avoid buying fruits and vegetables that are not in season, or that are not produced locally. If you make it a rule to purchase only locally made food items, it will save on immense transportation costs and fuel. In addition, local economy will see a boost.

Avoid the temptation of buying little plastic Ziplocs or plastic containers to store food in. Instead, store food in ceramic containers. Also, when preparing your child's tiffin, don't wrap his chapatti or sandwiches in tinfoil. If you must, use a thin muslin cloth instead.

10 New Eco-Friendly Travel Gadgets

Biodegradable laptops, solar-powered batteries, cell phones made from recycled materials, and more.
By Scott Steinberg

Call us cranky, jealous of yesteryear’s freewheeling jet-setters, or just plain old-fashioned, but these days, “getting away from it all“ just doesn’t feel the same. Courtesy of 2008’s ADD-afflicted world of buzzing BlackBerries, text-messaging iPhones, and jangling Bluetooth headsets, even pleasure seekers can seldom afford to unplug from the grid.

With 71 percent of Americans determined to shrink their carbon footprint, but only 18 percent of the nation’s annual 2.5 million tons of consumer electronics waste being recycled, what’s today’s eco-enlightened traveler to do?Happily for those tired of getting the stink eye every time they innocently whip out their Treo or MacBook Air, the answer is simple: geek out the green way!

Increasingly biodegradable, constructed from natural materials, and Energy Star compliant, a new breed of environmentally friendly gadgets promises to offer eco-conscious travelers simple, feel-good solutions. From sustainable hard drives and bamboo-encased laptops to solar-charged video players, H2O-powered timepieces, and memory cards that upload pixel-perfect snapshots straight from quaint Parisian bistros and glistening Norwegian fjords, the future’s sealed in silicon. Even for self-described IT fetishists, there are more ways than ever to cut back on pollution and synthetic waste without cutting the cord.

See our slideshow of the 10 New Eco-Friendly Travel Gadgets.
Don’t mistake it for another tree-hugging fad. Over the past three years, a genuine sea change has quietly been reshaping the fundamentals of high-tech business, and electronics manufacturers are rapidly cleaning up their act. Meanwhile, ballooning public pressure has resulted in groundbreaking initiatives like the EPA’s Plug-In to eCycling program, which has recycled 95-plus million pounds of e-waste since 2003.

To put things in perspective: six out of every ten American households own a digital camera; nearly eight, a mobile phone. And with the consumer electronics industry expected to grow 10 percent to more than $700 billion total by 2009, and 17 percent of holiday shoppers willing to pay more for eco-friendly gifts (according to Deloitte & Touche), well...the future is looking green.

Your first order of business as a responsible traveler, though?Toss that old Polaroid and Reagan-era brick of a cellular handset. (Fun fact: recycling 100 million phones generates enough energy to power 194,000 homes for an entire year.) Best Buy, Staples, and Sam’s Club stores, and even the U.S. Postal Service, have trade-in and recycle programs.

All that extra scratch and good karma will serve you well in your efforts to appease Mother Nature by way of a 21st-century upgrade. Because the next time your spouse complains about you forgoing a night at the opera in favor of copping one of the following deliciously shiny time-sinks?You can look them straight in the eye, gasp, and sputter in semi-convincing outrage, “But, honey, it’s an investment in mankind’s future!”

The Truth About CFLs: Is the Toxic Mercury They Contain Safe for the Environment?

Jasmine Greene

For years, compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) have been touted as the green altenative to incandescent bulbs. But are they truly better for the planet?
Incandescent bulbs are extremely inefficient—90% of the energy they require generates heat while only 10% becomes light. Much of that wasted energy unnecessarily contributes to global warming. And with lighting accounting for 20% of residential electricity, incandescents bump up home energy bills.
CFLs, on the other hand, produce the same amount of light as incandescent bulbs but use only a quarter of the energy. This makes them popular with many folks who care about the Earth. Others, however, worry that the toxic mercury they contain will find its way into our environment and our bodies.
The CFL alternative has been around since the 1930s, but CFLs have not been popular for several reasons. The original models gave off a greenish and not a yellow or white light like incandescents. (This is moot as they now come in a variety of colors.) They take slightly longer to turn on and don’t work with dimmer switches. And, in rare cases, they can interfere with cordless phones, radios and remote controls.
The main objection, however, has been their higher cost. They are more expensive, but they last years longer and reduce electric bills (saving as much as $47 over the life of a CFL), so their overall cost is less than for incandescents.
The question here, however, is not if CFLs save homeowners money, but if they are good for the environment. And we'd better settle this question soon. After all, many countries will be outlawing the sale of incandescent lights within the next decade: Canada has called for a ban by 2012, Australia by 2010 and the US by 2014.
While using CFLs will allow people to decrease their energy consumption, a good start to decreasing greenhouse emissions, the main problem is the mercury they contain. Mercury is extremely toxic to humans in even the most minute amounts, but it’s central to the functioning of CFLs.
A CFL is filled with a gas that fluoresces when in its excited state. This gas then produces a UV ray that reacts with mercury and a phosphorescent chemical to create visible light. While CFLs contain only five milligrams of mercury, even such a small quantity can be deadly.
Ironically, incandescent bulbs—although not containing mercury—add more mercury to the environment than CFLs. The reason, according to Wendy Reed, manager of the EPA Energy Star program, is that coal plants are the largest source of mercury emissions in the air and incandecents, as noted, require much more energy—mostly coal-produced in this country—than CFLs.
One of the other major issues dealing with the mercury in CFLs revolves around disposal and recycling. While people never had to worry about tossing incandescents in the trash, CFLs must be disposed of properly, otherwise the mercury can leech into the soil or groundwater.
Many US counties and cities offer a collection/exchange program for mercury-containing devices, but they are not always readily available. Some stores have taken the initiative, such as Home Depot and Ikea, and started in-store CFL recycling programs, The EPA is pressuring more large retailers to start similar disposal/recycling programs.
Overall, while the mercury in CFLs can pollute the air, water and soil if not properly disposed of, on balance the huge energy savings make CFLs the environmentally friendly choice. And the future is bright for CFLs. Some manufacturers have created bulbs that have less mercury, and states such as Maine are beginning to require this legally.
Beyond the mercury levels, one of the growing concerns of switching over to CFLs has been the increased levels of UV radiation from these bulbs. In early October 2008, the British Health Agency (HPA) investigated CFLs and found that nine out of 53 bulbs emitted unacceptable levels of UV radiation at a proximity of 12 inches or less and for a period of more than one hour per day. Not only that, but those suffering from lupus or other problems caused by the sun are especially susceptible to such UV exposure. The HPA suggests enclosed or globe CFLs for any applications where UV exposure is a concern; the extra enclosure is enough to absorb excess UV. While most people are not in contact with CFLs at such close proximity and for long periods of time, those with CFL desk lamps or who work continuously around these bulbs should take extra precaution to cover the lights.
While some folks are still reluctant to embrace CFLs because of their mercury, UV radiation or cost, the majority of US companies and people have now cottoned to the energy-saving fluorescent bulb thanks to its ability to reduce both their electric bills and greenhouse emissions. After all, who among us can say “no” to saving both money and the environment?

Why You Ought To Acquire Eco Friendly Clothing

There are more than just the most apparent reasons why eco friendly clothing has grown to become more fashionable or 'trendy', if you will. The thing is, eco friendly clothing has started to come in production many, many years ago by utilizing "nature's wonder fabric", often known as hemp. Truth be told I don't know why not all clothing manufacturers produce eco friendly clothing, because it's stronger, tougher and a lot affordable than clothing fabricated from wool or cotton, for example..

You might also be thinking the same, which if eco friendly clothing is really so great, why isn't everybody producing and selling hemp clothing? Well, as might or may not be aware, the initial popular label of eco friendly clothing, or hemp clothing, was Levi's jeans in the 60's. Levi's quickly became known for its durability and strength and vanquished most of the competition in the jeans and clothing industry, despite being considerably higher priced versus the rest of their competitors. There was a ban placed on the fabric recognized as hemp after the whole hippie epidemic as government made hemp illegal because a vast majority of folks would smoke hemp, which is another word for cannabis..

A couple of years later studies revealed that hemp was "nature's wonder fabric" which led to the government's allowance to work with the material again to manufacture garments. Since hemp grows quickly and almost anywhere, it really is very affordable option for big clothing companies to employ in the creation of their garments. Added to that, the fibers are totally impervious to any damaging weather effects so they don't rot and tear, unlike cotton or wool. All these factors make hemp the ultimate environmentally friendly clothing fabric.

Nowadays eco friendly clothes are more famous than ever. The fact that they are environmentally friendly, sturdy and most likely only half as expensive as garments made out of other materials has made them a preferred item, especially in younger societies. The reasons why these garments are obtainable at such discount prices is because they could be produced in bulk. Since hemp is so abundant there is never a shortage of the product making it easy to produce tons of garments out of it. This ends up in affordable prices which are in turn passed on to you. So you see, not only does the environment benefit from hemp garments, consumers do as well.

Hemp clothing is quite a bit cheaper, lasts longer and doesn't get damaged or deteriorate as time goes by. Why would you buy clothing made out of another material?

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Article Source Earth Articles Green Directory

Ecotourism Challenging Traditional Luxury Reservation Industry

By Peter I. Wilson

While the term "ecotourism" is tossed around quite loosely in the travel and tourism industry, the roots of the word and the concept are not so widely known. According to most records, a man named Hector Ceballos-Lascurain came up with the word to help define the concept of environmentally sensitive travel.

In the concept, nature is the focus of travel that takes individuals and groups to often-remote locations. These destinations have long been off the regular routes of most recreational tourism. In the past, when a tourist made a reservation at a traditional mass tourism stop, there was little or no thought given to the natural resources involved or the environment that was impacted.

But with ecotourism the destinations are generally undisturbed by the activities of human beings. The natural resources and the unique local culture are the primary focus of the trip, along with education that will help the traveler understand the location and its characteristics more fully. In slightly more than two decades, the idea of ecotourism, first labelled by Ceballos-Lascurain, has become a significant sector in the tourist industry. In the process, the fragility of nature has become more widely understood and travelers are more likely to view and appreciate a destination with out exploiting its treasures.

A portion of the world's population will continue to seek out the finest of accommodations and another sector will search for the best prices on excursions that have only enjoyment as a goal. But a growing number of people want something more, though not in the way of treasures or thrills. These ecotourism enthusiasts want to travel to places of natural beauty, but want their visit to have a minimum impact on the environment. These travelers do not care to bring back samples of natural treasures.

As more people take part in this new way, the general public will become more aware of the environment and the need for protecting it. This can be a positive thing, if the ecotourism is planned well and managed very well. Local populations can benefit financially from managed growth of ecotourism, but may suffer if the projects are not put together carefully.

What does ecotourism mean now, more than two decades after the idea entered the public consciousness? In the simplest terms, it means being enlightened about the need to protect natural resources and delicate cultures. Beyond this, it means taking this knowledge along when traveling, putting into action the ideas and beliefs that ecotourism teaches.

Travelers can get plenty of experience with local cultures and with the natural habitat that surrounds an ecotourism destination. But in the process these tourists can also help promote responsible tourism by interacting with local populations in a respectful manner, and when leaving the location, taking only memories and photographs.

As ecotourism grows, it will become even more important that human beings have little or no impact on nature. Travelers heading to remote and often exotic places will bring back stories of wonderful experiences. This positive marketing, by word of mouth, will increase the number of tourists wanting to try ecotourism. Countries will recognize the economic potential of this industry and will begin developing projects that highlight natural resources and interesting cultural activities.

Indeed, much of this growth is already taking place. Ecotourism is, by many counts, the fastest growing sector of the tourism market. Increasing numbers of tourists are choosing this alternative to traditional mass tourism and recreational tourism.