EnviroMojo Finds a New Comfy Home

This is not goodbye, but more like, see you around the corner at the new blog. EnviroMojo and a couple of other blogs have been combined into one awesome blog, WhiteFence Home Services.

The WhiteFence Home Services blog incorporates all the fun and informative blog writing you saw on EnviroMojo plus more topics on how to save money on your utilities, the latest communications news and so much more.

Please, my loyal readers, make the transition with me to the WhiteFence Home Services blog.

Stay Warm and Save Money This Winter

The U.S. Department of Energy just launched a new energy efficiency campaign on their revamped EnergySavers.gov site with the theme "Stay Warm Save Money," with a focus on heating as the weather starts to turn colder.

The site provides free and inexpensive strategies for saving energy and money through the cold months, as well as energy-saving investments that can provide savings over the long term. They also include important information on financial assistance for energy-saving improvements.

Here are a few things the Department of Energy suggest you do this Fall to prepare for the Winter months:

1. Look for assistance from your utility or state
2. Conduct an energy audit
3. Have your heating system serviced
4. Find and seal your air leaks
5. Check your insulation and add more as needed

For more tips and info, make sure to surf on over to EnergySavers.gov. You can also check out their Energy Savers blog for even more information and related links.

REI Goes Green in Round Rock

Last month, outdoor retail giant REI opened its second green-prototype store in Round Rock, Texas. Building on the success of the original green-prototype store in Boulder, Colorado, this new store is a testing ground for environmentally preferable building materials and technologies.

As part of the company’s prototype initiative, findings from this "working laboratory" will help the company determine how it approaches green building design and construction in the future. According to REI, it's expected to consume 48 percent less energy than a typical store.

REI says that the Round Rock store will generate a portion of its power from a building integrated photovoltaic system, solar panel installation and a solar hot water system, accounting for 13 percent of the store’s electricity and heating 70 percent of the store’s water used for restrooms and employee showers. Solatubes® will diffuse natural light, offsetting electrical consumption by an additional five percent as an automated lighting system dims or turns off unneeded artificial lighting throughout the store. All additional power needs will be met through green power.

In addition to a focus on sustainability, the store's focal point will be a community center that highlights REI’s commitment to connecting co-op members and customers to recreational opportunities, outdoor and conservation clubs and non-profit  organizations, and regional volunteer service projects to help protect  shared natural spaces.

For more information on what REI is doing for the environment, check out their Environmental Stewardship program. And if you can't make it to Boulder or Round Rock, you can still support REI by shopping with them online or find a store near you.

Brad Pitt's Bodywash

Now that I have everyone's attention!

Kiehls, one of my favorite hair and body product companies (yes, I have many!), is teaming up with Brad Pitt to create JPF Eco Systems, a partnership established to support global environmental initiatives that minimize impact on the environment through thoughtful design. The first project in this worthy endeavor will be the contribution of 100 percent of the net profits from the sale of Kiehl’s “Aloe Vera” Biodegradable Liquid Body Cleanser to help fund Make It Right.

Inspired by Pitt's work with Global Green, Make It Right is an initiative dedicated to the construction of environmentally sustainable, affordable housing for the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. The mission of Make It Right is to be a catalyst for redevelopment of the Lower 9th Ward, by building a neighborhood comprised of safe and healthy homes that are inspired by Cradle to Cradle thinking, with an emphasis on a high quality of design, while preserving the spirit of the community's culture. (I recently volunteered with the St. Bernard Project in the same area, so I can tell you from personal experience that a lot of work still needs to be done there!)

For more information on Brad Pitt's Body Wash the partnership, check out A Cleanser That Helps Make a Difference. You can also find a Kiehl's store near you to pick up a bottle today. No word on whether or not Brad will come over and help you use it.

New Natural Gas Customers Offered Free Renewable Energy Credit

Just in from WhiteFence: Be green for a month!

Natural gas customers that sign up for new natural gas service at OhioNaturalGas.com, MoveGeorgia.com and GasGeorgia.com will receive one free Renewable Energy Credit (REC) with their order. Through December 2008, when when you enter your address at any of the above sites and place an order for natural gas service, WhiteFence will give you a Renewable Energy Credit for free—equivalent to about one month of energy usage.

Ownership of an REC means you are helping to fund the additional production of renewable energy. A single REC represents one megawatt hour (MWh) of traditional fossil fuel power replaced on the electricity grid by clean, pollution-free energy from sources such as solar, wind, biomass and water.

Happy Change a Light Day

Have you changed a light bulb lately? Today is the perfect day to do it as October 1st is ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day! Part of the Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR Campaign, Change a Light Day is in its 4th year, celebrating the 1.9 million Americans who have taken the pledge or participated as one of the nearly 2,000 organizations that have driven pledges to make simple changes to fight global warming.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is leading the way, inspiring more than 200,000 pledges.  Other top organizations include Salt River Project, Georgia Power Company, Southern California Edison, Santee Cooper, CB Richard Ellis, Kentucky NEED Project, and Virginia for Leading Governments. For information on what these and other organizations are doing to drive pledges, check out the ENERGY STAR Pledge Driver Activities.

This year, ENERGY STAR also recommends additional actions you can take to Change the World beyond lighting, such as properly using a programmable thermostat, enabling computers to power down when not in use, and looking for the ENERGY STAR label when making a new purchase. According to ENERGY STAR, if every American household took the expanded pledge, we would save more than 110 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, more than $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from more than 18 million cars!

For more information on ENERGY STAR's initiatives and to take the pledge, check out www.energystar.gov.

We Can Solve It Campaign

If you've watch TV lately, you may have come across this commercial. Still, it deserves a second look.

For more information, don't forget to check out We Can Solve It.org.

Greener Office Supplies

Going greener in the office can be more than just buying recycled paper and turning off your computer at night. What about the company's you buy from? How environmentally friendly are they?

Forest Ethics has taken on the office supply industry with their “Green Grades” report card that provides environmental information you can use as a buying guide to find the greenest supplier for your company. According to Forest Ethics, some office supply companies are making progress in reducing their environmental impact. They rate FedEx Kinko’s and Staples as industry leaders, Office Depot and Corporate Express as companies that have made improvements but have more to do, and save their worst grades for OfficeMax.

The companies who get the highest grades are the ones that do their best to protect endangered forests, including:

• Using post-consumer recycled content
• Supporting sustainable forest management
• Working for Endangered Forest protection
• Establishing chain-of-custody to determine origin of their paper products
• Prohibiting the conversion of native forests into tree farms or other non-forest land uses

To find out how your office supply company stacks up, download the Green Grades office supply industry scorecard.

Wikia Green

Looking for information from a greener point of view? Wikia Green is a wiki site that, unlike Wikipedia, allows contributors to write and edit entries from a green perspective. For instance, at Wikipedia, an entry on Leonardo DiCaprio has information on his personal life and career, while his Wikia Green entry focuses on his environmental activism.

However, it's not just a place to find out about your favorite celebrity's green opinions! The goal of the site is to become a trusted central place to share information on environmental topics and issues and living in a more sustainable way. You can find information on everything from reducing your carbon footprint and starting a compost pile to hybrid cars and wind energy.

So if you are looking for information on everything green or you've got some expert advice you want to share with others, surf on over to Wikia Green.

Green Politics

Are you looking for greener politicians to support? The Sierra Club has created a section on their site that can help you find the greenest candidates in your area as well as information on which presidential candidate has the greenest plan. Election 2008 examines  change, energy and the environment, including the candidates that the Sierra Club officially endorses and current news articles on environmental issues and the election.

Of course, you should also research candidates on your own to find out the complete picture. But the Sierra Club does a good job of breaking down the issues that are important to them. It's a good place to start if you plan on voting greener this year.