Spring Flowers by Uberto via Flickr

Well, today is the last day of Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere and tomorrow we will be welcoming Spring. Depending on where you live, you may or may not be ready to welcome Spring, but either way I figured I’d give you a few green tips to help you gear up for a bio-friendly Spring.

Note: Most of these tips were inspired by some really cool people I follow on Twitter:

1) First off, how about some spring cleaning?! I know, it’s not exactly what you were looking forward to, me either, but it’s something you are going to need to get done.

Before you run out and buy a lot of “cleaning supplies”, check out this video and article on cleaning green from my Twitter pal, Rich Massingham:

Now, hopefully you don’t have any mold in your home, but if you have any areas of your home that are particularly susceptible to mold, here are a few simple tips on “How to Keep Mold Away From Your Home” that should fit right in to the rest of your spring cleaning routine.

2) Right in line with spring cleaning is getting rid of unneeded items such as clothes, toys and other misc “junk” you have that has just been cluttering up your house. Almost everyone has stuff they have tucked away for a rainy day…that may not ever come.

If need some tips on what to do with the stuff you are getting rid of, check out these eco-living tips from my good friend, Nan or check out one of my favorite posts from Chris at MoreMinimal.com on “How to Break Free from Aspirational Clutter“.

3) Next is some spring planting. I was chatting with Barbara, because she happened to tweet that she was going out to turn the compost. She mentioned she was going to include some edibles into her landscape this Spring, including some edible flowers, but her main emphasis was on her compost being an important part of her spring garden.

That reminded me of a post from Mike aka CanarsieBK about breaking down and composting his fire escape garden. Just think of it like the new Phoenix, being born again from the ashes of the old Phoenix.

Once you’ve got your compost going, move onto your spring planting. For those of you who need a little vegetable garden help, check in with gardening great, Alison Kerr from Loving Nature’s Garden.

4) If you aren’t going to do any outdoor gardening, you might want to consider getting some indoor plants or even planting some herbs indoors. Here’s a great post from Angie about futuristic plant growing design concepts, which might give you some new ideas.  If definitely gave me a few!

However, if you read all of this and still don’t want to get your hands dirty, then maybe an indoor AeroGarden would be right for you. There’s nothing like adding fresh herbs and vegetables to your home-cooked meals.

I’m sure there are many different things you can do and there are definitely many other people out there that have wonderful ideas. These are just a few simple ones that should get you started.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to get outside and enjoy Spring. It’s no fun if you can’t get out and enjoy it, right?! As my friend Derek says, “All Work and No Play Makes Dad a Glum Chum“. (Moms too!)

So, what are your plans to gear up for a bio-friendly Spring? Do you have anything you do in preparation for Spring?

Every day people come up with new inventions. Some of them are for business, some are for pleasure and some, like the ones I’m about to share with you, were invented to save lives. But, there is one other thing that makes these potential life-saving inventions different…they were also designed to be bio-friendly.

More and more people are factoring in the environment when it comes to their inventions, as well they should. These inventions will show you that smart life-saving ideas can be had while taking into account their potential affect on the environment.

1) Liquid Granite: Liquid Granite, touted as the “Building Material of the Future“, is a relatively new alternative to standard concrete in building construction.

Currently the cement industry is responsible for about 5% of the world’s carbon emissions. Liquid Granite is a bio-friendly alternative as it is made using 30-70% recycled materials and thus has a much lower footprint than traditional concrete .

Some of its key features are that it is very versatile as a substance, so it is easier to build with and it is extremely fire-resistant (to temperatures in excess of 1100 degrees Celsius). Additionally, because of its extreme fire-resistance, it can be used in buildings where fire safety is key. It could be the life-saving difference in case of emergency.

Liquid Granite Ltd has already supplied liquid granite to the Olympic Village in London to be used in connection with the 2012 Olympics.

2) Embrace Infant Warmer: Millions of premature babies die every year due to lack of something most U.S. hospital consider standard equipment, an incubator. My daughter was born premature and was in an incubator for the first 4 days of her life, so I have personal experience with the usefulness of incubators.

But, incubators require electricity and can cost up to $20,000 each to purchase. In many places around the world, neither electricity nor access to hospitals or those kinds of funds are available to be able to provide the warmth a pre-mature baby requires. But does that mean nothing can be done? No.

This bio-friendly invention takes away the need for electricity and takes away the requirement of thousands of dollars, leaving in their place a simple, safe, reusable and life-saving invention. Broad release of this product is expected in 2010, with an estimated asking price of just $25.

3) LIFESAVER®: Every year millions of people die from water-related diseases. Over 84% of those deaths are children (0-14). Since less than 1% of the world’s fresh water is readily accessible for us to use, we need a clean water solution. One company has designed that solution – LIFESAVERsystems.

LIFESAVERsystems originally designed the LIFESAVER® Bottle as a much needed solution for individuals who had become victims of natural disasters. Through their distinct technology, the Lifesaver bottles allowed people to have immediate access to fresh, safe, drinkable water under almost any circumstances.

Since then, LIFESAVERsystems has designed the LIFESAVER® Hydrocarry UF (the world’s first ultra filtration hydration pack for soldiers to use), the LIFESAVER® bottle citi™ (the world’s first ultra filtration water bottle to be installed in a car) and the LIFESAVER® jerrycan (the 5-gallon container that can process up to 20,000 liters of water).

Most recently LIFESAVERsystems has been working with Operation Blessing in Haiti to distribute their family size jerrycans to villages that do not have access to clean water sources.

One jerrycan can filter enough clean water for a family of 4 for up to 5 years.  And 50 jerrycans is the equivalent of 1 million liters of bottled water (without the plastic bottles requiring recycling).

Needless to say, LIFESAVERsystems is in the business of life-saving, bio-friendly inventions. Do you have a favorite bio-friendly invention that was designed to save lives? Leave a comment and let me know what it is. We look forward to many more inventions and advancements like these.

Image from superbowlflorida.blogspot.com

Last year an estimated 98.7 million Americans tuned in to the watch the big game on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s not including the 70,000+ people who actually attended the game. But do you have any idea of the costs, both monetary and environmental, of the Super Bowl? Well, let’s review some of those facts and figures as well as go over some environmental tips for your own personal game day activities.

If you attended Super Bowl I, you would have paid about $6 per ticket. Advertisers paid an estimated $42,000 for a 30-second ad spot. Today if you wanted to see Super Bowl XLIV, you’d pay anywhere between $1275 and $5650 per ticket.  Advertisers are paying an average $2.65 million for a 30-second ad spot…and that’s down from the last two years.

Some past advertisers including General Motors, FedEx and Pepsi, have opted out of this year’s advertising slots. However, despite complaints received by the Treasury Secretary, Chrysler plans on being the only U.S. auto-maker to run an ad during this year’s Super Bowl.

Take a look at this 1969 Super Bowl commercial from Chrysler:

Even though Pepsi is not having an ad during the Super Bowl, they are the official drink of the NFL and are debuting their new energy-efficient, HFC-free coolers at the Super Bowl, so I’m sure they will get plenty of promotion.

As far as the stadium and those in attendance for the big day….there are 20,000 parking spaces available e.g. a potential for 20,000 vehicles. The EPA estimates there is about 19.4 pounds of CO2 emitted for every gallon of gasoline burned. Even if each car only drove 20 miles to get there, that would still be over 7 million pounds or over 3500 tons of CO2 emissions. (NOTE: That doesn’t factor in trucks used to bring in food, supplies or any other CO2 emissions generated during game day preparations.)

When you factor in the trash generated on game day from left-over food containers, promotional flyers, etc you are talking even further environmental impact. Did you know at the 2004 Super Bowl, over 428 tons of trash was collected during the four-day event?

Luckily the the NFL has the “Super Bowl XLIV Environmental Program“ in place this year. Their program is designed to help lower the environmental impact of Super Bowl XLIV.

Solid Waste Management/Recycling: They intend to have recycling containers at all major event facilities where Super Bowl related activities will take place.

Prepared Food Recovery: Excess prepared food will be collected up and donated in coordination with Daily Bread Food Bank. Last year over 65,000 pounds of food was donated, due in part to activities like this and the annual “Taste of the NFL” event.

Materials Donation: After the Super Bowl, the NFL plans to donate as many supplies and materials as possible, so as not to waste them. This includes building materials, non-perishable foods and drinks, decorations, live plants, etc.

Sports Equipment/Book donation project: The “Super Kids-Super Sharing” project will be working to collect used sports equipment and books from local schools and school children for donation to other under-equipped schools and school children in South Florida.

Climate Change Initiative: Last but definitely not least, this initiative has a variety of facets, including using renewable-sourced energy to “power” the stadium and other facilities. Basically, the NFL has teamed up with NextEra Energy Resources who will supply Green e-certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to match electricity consumption during the Super Bowl and related events. They will also be decreasing transportation emissions from the Super Bowl fleet by using hybrid vehicles or alternative fuels. Providing sources for alternative fuels to all vendors and partners, including the broadcast media, for use in powering their on-site generators. Planting trees in coordination with the US Forest Service and local community groups to help offset carbon output, etc.

So, with the NFL doing their part to help lessen their environmental impact on Super Bowl Sunday, here are a few tips for you:

1) If you are driving to another location to watch the big game, car-pool with friends. If you are unable to do so, a proven fuel additive could help lower your emissions.

2) Use recyclable or bio-degradable plates, cups, etc. Try to recycle as much as you can.

3) Make your own game day treats, don’t have food delivered. Delivery means someone has to drive food to your home (emissions) and your food will probably come in non-recyclable containers inside a plastic bag. Be prepared and get your food ahead of time.

4) Don’t waste food. Most Super Bowl parties will have more food than people will eat, so package up what you don’t eat and save it for later.

If you really want to offset your Super Bowl Sunday and help the environment, you can always purchase a “Super Bowl Party Offset” from EarthEra. For $10, they say they will offset 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide. And 100% of their revenues from EarthEra product purchases apparently go to build more solar and wind energy project in the U.S.

What are your plans for Super Bowl Sunday? Do you have any tips you use to help lower your environmental impact on game day? Hope you have a great weekend…and don’t forget to get outside a little bit (before or after the game).