What's your town like?

Where I live, I can tell that parents love their children to bits. They bring them to the neighbourhood park every evening. The children are always fed all kinds of sweets and tidbits while they played there. They are never left thirsting for water and they are cleaned up before they leave for home. I can also tell that the adults enjoy using the park too. How do I know that?

Every morning when I go for my morning walk, I can see all the tell tale signs like sweets and tidbits wrappers, empty mineral water bottles, plastic bags, cigarette butts and used tissue paper lying around the park.

Do these small bits and pieces lying around the park really matter? You don't have to hear me nag about this. See it through the eyes of this 8 years old Sicilian inhabitant of a little town named Pedara.



Always remember that "Sedikit sedikit lama lama jadi bukit".

What's A Tree?

What's a tree? Hear it from David Bristow.

Whats A Tree

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: global deforestation)

Has he got your attention for more serious facts? They are all in this presentation.

Climate Change Why Should I Care

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: solutionsfacts action)

If you do not know what you can do for the environment, start by sharing David's presentations.

Need more money in your life? Save time, save resources.

If you think your time is precious, then saving it and your resources should equate to savings in $. Here are some tricks I have discovered and I am not going to waste them.

In the kitchen
1) Not all food need the same degree of heat to cook. So, when you boil your soup or use the rice cooker, always try to heat up or steam another dish at a go. Example, you can stew a dish half way and let it tenderize above your pot of boiling soup.

Come to think of it, why can't the paper and steel recycling industries work together? Work on the basis that steel needs more energy to breakdown compared to paper. Also, oil palm fibre have been used to produce biodegradable packaging. The packaging breakdown with moist and heat to become fertilizer. What the players of these recycling industries should do is work together to share heat resources in their processes.

Instead of letting the biodegradable packaging degrade and fertilise areas where they have landed, such as, landfills, where it is not required; soil (or possibly ashes?) can be added to them and processed into compost through the heat source from the steel or paper recycling industries.

2) Serve dishes that required ingredients to be meshed, example boiled potatoes, on days when you are boiling soup that requires those ingredients.

In the laundry room:
1) Buy a washing machine with capacity to wash more clothes so that you can wash them on alternate days. Do you really need a dryer or steam iron if you can iron your clothes right after taking them out from the washing machine? Leaving clothes in the machine will crease them and need more ironing = more energy. Also, when the clothes are still moist, you need less heat and it is easier to iron. After ironing, hang it up to dry completely.

In the garden:
Use water from washing grains and vegetable and fish to water your plants. The blood from your fish is a very good fertilizer. If you are ambitious and use menstrual cup, you can add the collection to your garden too if you are not into painting with it. Yes, there are people who do that. (Doing Your 3Rs. Can you beat this?)

In the bathroom:
1) Take showers as a family activity cum biology class for the children.
2) Pee as your wash your face under the shower.
3) Try to use only one toilet in the house so that you need not have to wash all toilets more frequently.
4) Do not flush the toilet when anyone in the family gets up to pee at night. Flush only in the morning after all businesses of poos and pees have been performed.

Administrative matters:
1) Discovered this from Bnet. Don't let the annoying automated menus of major corporations spoil your day. gethuman 500 database shows you how to skip. No, you do not have to find a rope to start.

2) Keep all your bills in one clear folder. The one I am using is a bag that was supplied with some herbs I bought. Use cardboard cut out from boxes as dividers to segregate one company bill from another. Save time punching holes and looking for the right file to keep each of them.

Need green fund? Look for "birds of a feather".

Discovered your "eureka" green idea and want to make a business out it? Don't let your dreams die off just because you do not have the fund to start it. There are organisations out there looking for people like you.

Where can you start your search for them? If you remember that "Birds of a feather flock together" then you are on the right track. Get a little notepad and pen ready and start looking through your local newspaper.

These are what you should look out for:
1) Name of companies who have won "green" awards.
2) Name of the "green" awards.
3) Your government or local state green campaign.
4) Names of companies with green "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR).
5) Name of companies who organise "green" contest or projects.
6) Names of organisation who are involved in looking into environmental issues.
7) Look out for key words associated with these organisations or related to them.

Following are some keywords I have picked up.

Green Projects and Campaigns in Malaysia:
charity recycling day
construct greener building
save the river project
tree planting mission
green leaf campaign
Shell Gourami Business Challenge
Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution
Taman Negara Eco Challenge
Malaysia Design Council
aqua culture
harvest rainwater
love our rivers
recycling padi straw for mushroom cultivation

Green Awards:
Responsible Care Awards
Hibiscus Award

Look out for words that are tagged with the word "eco" or "green". Here are some examples:

friendly
environment
living
trends
innovation
competition
nominations
recognition
rating
product design
buildings
conservation funds
government funded
waste grant
fact sheets
sustainable business
biodiesel
biomass
natural resources
fuel-economy
e-waste
tourism

Once you have all these noted on your notepad, you are ready to do your search on the internet. How do you work on it?

1) Key in the name of the company to find its website.
2) Read about their "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR).
3) Are you able to start a green project based on what they have posted?
4) If you already have a green project do their "CSRs" relate to it.
5) Don't forget to take a look at their links for useful resources as they may provide links to agencies you are looking for.

If you do not have names of green conscious organization to check up on, you can locate them by doing a search using the key words I have provided above. If you are trying to locate a government agency, after each keyword, add the tag ".gov" or ".org" for organisation.

Can your green project be commercialized? Whatever way you want to run your green project you can try seeking funds or grants to make it more successful.

1) On the websites of companies you have located, look out for links like, "Applying for Grant or Fund".
2) If you cannot find it, look to see if they have a link to "sitemap" and check their list of postings to see if there is anything related to "grant" or "funds" or "scholarship".
3) If you are trying to locate the organisations who provide green funds in your own country, just add the name of the country against the name of the key words you are searching for.

Other search options you can try:

1) Search "corporate social responsibility grant" or "corporate social responsibility green".
2) Search name of green writers you discovered from newspaper or articles or newsletters. Their articles maybe posted on websites that will provide more leads.
3) Join forums where members support keeping the environment green. As a member of GreenYes Forum, I am able to read many useful articles posted by members.

Here is one I received from a fellow member:

$100,000 PRIZE FOR GOVERNMENTAL TRANSFORMATION
From IBM and the Ash Institute at Harvard's Kennedy School
For further information about the selection criteria, or to nominate a group,
visit http://www.transformationaward.org
Or Contact
Christina Marchand,
Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation,
Tel: (617) 495-0557
Email: christina_marchand@harvard.edu.

Good luck in your new venture. Share your success stories so that others can reuse your green ideas in their homeland.

Pop by this link again, as I will be including links to grants and funds providers. Following are some organisation discovered through the above processes:

In Australia:
EPA NSW Waste grant fact sheets

In Canada
Stewardship Ontario

In UK:
Arts & Business

In USA:

Bonneville Environmental Foundation

Environmental Education Grant Opportunities

Fulbrigh Full Grants

South Carolina Recycling Grants

Recycle Guys Awards Program

S.C. Business Recycling Assistance Program

Useful Articles:
Fortune Profiles The Greening of Corporate America By Mark Brandon

10 Tips For Grant Writers

Fundraising Articles

Wikipedia: About Angel Investor/Business Angel

Useful Resources:
In USA

Award Directory Search Resource by GreenBiz. A comprehensive directory of local and national award and recognition programs that honor companies for being environmental leaders. (If only it works).

SchoolGrants! Your one-stop site for PK-12 school grant opportunities


Locate Grantsmakers In Your Field

Green Zone Resource Guide: Scholarships, Grants and Research Fellowships

EPA: Funding Sources for Communities

Grants.gov is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards.

Technology Funding Sources

Find who are the donors and grant makers:
Charity Navigator, independent charity evaluato
GuideStarConnecting people with nonprofit information.

Campaigns
In USA:

Patagonia’s 2006–07 environmental campaign

Awards
In Malaysia

The CICM Responsible Care Awards

The Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award (PMHA)

Malaysia Design Council: Good Design Award

In UK:
The Conservation Foundation's Projects

In USA
2007 CAFR Recycling Awards Program

The Goldman Environmental Prize annually awards US$125,000 to environmental heroes from each of the world's six inhabited continental regions.
http://www.goldmanprize.org

On boycott, plastic reduction petition and such.

I have a confession to make. I am the 388th person to sign the Plastic Reduction Petition.

I am moved to sign it because according to the website, EPA has reported that over 380 billion plastic bags are consumed in the U.S. each year and when these are indiscriminately discarded, they choke waterways and litter beaches, parks and streets. If this does not bother you, think about the animals and marine life affected when they are entangled in the mess.

Should I have signed it? If the law to tax or curtail the use of plastic bags in U.S. is enforced, it will not affect me and I can still opt to accept plastic bags offered by shops in Malaysia. Whose life have I affected when I signed this petition?

This question dawned on me when I read a GreenYes forum member's posting encouraging those who are environmentally conscious to boycott companies who supply their beverages in non-returnable containers in bottles and cans. The concern is that the garbage generated by these products is becoming a very serious problem in his country.

Boycotting? Should I participate? The success may lead to other social economic problems that can be as bad as the environmental issues. These multinational corporations are providing jobs that are needed for the country to strive eoconomically. If these companies are pushed to move their operations elsewhere, bootlegging may flourish when there is a demand for the drinks that are popular.

If you do a search on the internet, you can find many ways to utilize these waste materials. I discovered that Clean Washington Center provides many useful reports on how to use waste from glass and plastic.

This is a very common plastic food container being used in Malaysia for takeaways. Instead of throwing it away, I have created a Hibiscus out of plastic bags to decorate its cover. I can use it to store little trinkets like my daughter's hair pins and such. Would reducing waste be a better option?



With a little creativity, the bottom of a plastic bottle for storing detergent, an old piece of sponge and a picture cut out from a food packaging can be put together to make this little piece which I am using to add a bit of colour to my kitchen wall. Is there a possibility to use the idea to raise funds for the needy? If not, I am sure it will look cheery too in an old folks home or orphanage.



If you live in UK, The Recycle for Cornwall, has a very useful tool on its website to search where you can send your waste material to recycle. If the users are aware of such information, it will encourage them to recycle the waste they generated.

On an artistic approach, work on enlisting the help of a well known artist to create an art out of waste material. Maybe that will encourage irresponsible companies involved to participate for publicity if not for a greener environment.

I tried working in that direction in Malaysia but the Malaysia Book of Records chose not to recognise my creation of Watering Pals, using plastic bottles and plastic bags, and it was rejected. Study this idea and see if it will work for you in your country.

GREENBEING'S 3-IN-1 IDEA TO A GREENER ENVIRONMENT

Maybe, instead of waiting till the children grow up to become irresponsible business owners, we should educate them about the importance of keeping the environment green. If you need some ideas, check out how Heidi Rhoades, a Substitute Teacher at Palm Beach County, is teaching the children through her "Ecology Webquest" programme.

Don't want to do anything about it? Maybe some information about the estrogenic compound from plastic and how it can affect the health of your love ones will push you to a decision. Read what Dr Mercola has to say about it in his views on Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should be Avoided.

Buying gifts? Before you start thinking about gold again, check this out.

Do you know that the production of one gold ring generates 20 TONS of mine waste? Other than loosing trees read how the environment can be affected in the business of mining gold and see what you can do about it through No Dirty Gold.

So, the next time you buy a gift or things for your home, ponder awhile to consider its processes and how it can affect the environment if it is not recyclable.

This knowledge initiates my 5th incentive to do all "ThRRRees". I am using stainless steel, which is 100% recyclable, in my creations. So, will it be up to scratch with gold? You tell me.

Something Old? Before you chuck, check this out.

As Southeast Asian countries progress, many teak-wood homes and buildings are being torn down and replaced with modernized brick or concrete ones.

I recall living in an old style Malay "kampung" house while I was a kid in Melaka. When our family expanded, extensions were made to the house and in the process the hall made up of wooden planks and staircase to the entrance with beautiful and colourful inlaid tiles were demolished. If my family members have had the foresight to keep those tiles, we could easily sell them online or in antique shops along Jonkers Street for a good price.

Do you know that, there are also companies who would consider buying your wooden beams and planks that you can salvaged from the demolition? One such company is TerraMai. They sells "reclaimed" wood sourced from around the world. I read from their website that, SmartWood Certification Systems estimates that one thousand acres of old growth forest are preserved by reclaiming one million board feet of lumber.

So, on the next trip back to your hometown, take a look again at the old house to see what you can salvage before it becomes the next target for development. If you need some inspiration, here some ideas for those old shutters to start with.

Don't forget to take some pictures for your children to remember your childhood by.

Plastic: Do Your ThRRRees and Save Some Trees

Did you know that?

1) Plastic bags can take 1,000 years to decompose.
2) Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas which are nonrenewable resources.
3) When one ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved.

With that in mind, we should not let our plastic discards end up in a landfill. So, should we opt to use paper bags? EPA's advise is that you recycle your plastic discards and look into purchasing reusable bags or reusing your paper or plastic bags at the store.

Or do what Mike at Pie and Coffee said, "Forget about “Paper or plastic?” It’s time to make your own canvas shopping bag".

For more information about recycling plastic, try googling "EPA plastic". That is how I found the above facts for you. It is also interesting to discover that recycled plastic soda bottles and reclaimed cotton can be used to produce clothing and accessories.

What can be recycled and what products are made from recycled plastics? Read and discover for yourself at the following links:

Plastics: The Facts On Recycling

Products Made From Recycled Plastic

Recycling Plastics

Check out how I reuse my plastic. Let my pictures do the talking in the next posting.