DIY Home Energy Audit

Check out the Home Energy Saver, an online do-it-yourself audit tool that can help you identify ways to save energy in your home and find the resources you need to do it. Sponsors of this cool tool include the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA. By answering questions about your use of energy, appliances and your home's construction, the Home Energy Saver can help you pinpoint what can be changed, how much less energy would be needed and how much money you could be saving!

Ecodriving Tips

It can be frustrating to read a "Top 5 ways to..." list about greening a specific segment of your life only to find that the 5 suggestions listed don't apply to you, you already do, are not possible where you live...you get the point. So, I was excited to find this list from EcoModder titled "108 Hypermiling/Eco-Driving Tips." Surely we can all pick up some new ideas with 108 to choose from!

No More Sushi Blues

Now you can be a sushi aficionado AND an environmental aficionado at the same time! Thanks to a collaboration between the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Blue Ocean Institute and the Environmental Defense Fund, it's easy to make sushi choices that safeguard ocean wildlife and human health. The folks that brought us the easy-to-use seafood wallet cards have a new pocket guide dedicated to sushi. As with the originals, the new sushi guide takes into account fishing and farming practices as well as mercury and PCB contamination that could be harmful to human health. So, pile on the wasabi and go for it!

Peruse Alternative News and Reviews

If you have not already checked out the Alternative Consumer blog, you owe it to yourself to do so! Launched in early 2007, it offers green product reviews and environmental news. Even better, the posts are quick, upbeat and choc full of good information and resources. Find information on books, appliances, travel, alternative energy, food, reuse, recycling...the list goes on and on, so check out the Alternative Consumer already! Go, now...are you still here?

Save Some Green as You Green

Check out the SustainLane GreenSaver for coupons on sustainable products. You can even sign up for weekly e-mails to have the latest deals come to you!

Food Fight!!!!

Producer-Director Chris Taylor brings us Food Fight, a documentary about how American agriculture and food culture developed throughout the 20th century and the California food movement that has developed as a response. The film shares the story of the anti-corporate protesters, led by Alice Waters, who emerged in the 1960s and 1970s to create their own food chain of local, organic and sustainably-raised foods. They rejected what they saw as trading taste and nutrition for money and shelf-life. Food Fight was recently screened at the American Film Institute's AFI Fest in Los Angeles and continues to receive high praise.

Recycling at the NC State Fair!

The NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance is working with the NC Department of Agriculture to coordinate recycling stations for the collection of plastic bottles and aluminum cans throughout the fairgrounds during the 2008 State Fair. We are seeking volunteers to help staff these stations to prevent contamination of the recyclables. The fair will be held in Raleigh off Blue Ridge Road Thursday, October 16, 2008-Sunday, October 26, 2008.

There will be 4 recycling stations throughout the fairgrounds that need 2 volunteers per station per shift. The stations will be located by Dorton Arena, the Midway, the Green NC booth and by the Village of Yesteryear. The shifts will be 3 hours each starting at 10AM and ending at 10PM. Volunteers will NOT need to haul or sort recyclables but will be asked to communicate with the public about sorting their recyclables from regular trash. Volunteers will be given: 1. A worker day pass to get into the fair for free to work their shift, 2. A parking pass (if you sign up to work 2, 3 hour shifts - they do not need to be consecutive shifts) , 3. Fair t-shirt, and 4. Gloves. Keep in mind, parking is very limited and using the Park and Ride may still be your best option to get to the fairgrounds. Bus passes may be available.

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete this form (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=XYkyYrhXkJTUE0xJYU_2f7Lg_3d_3d) with the preferred days and times you can work, along with the location you would like to be stationed at. NC DPPEA will contact you closer to the event to confirm your date, time and station.