5 Best Tips to Make Green Office

Guest column by Rubela Jhonnie.

There has been a lot of hoopla around sustainable living lately. To give a push to this eco friendly drive, one must adopt green living diktats on a larger scale. This can be done by taking on green living fundamentals not only at home but also in office. Countless items such as newspapers, magazines, tissues, cartons, eatables and cutlery are used in offices daily along with resources like water and energy. A few tricks to pare down excessive usage of consumables in offices are given below.

1. Cut back on paper consumption

There are so many ways to economize the use of paper in offices. Recycle stacks of newspapers, magazines and official documents or give them out to a charity. Make new objects like dustbins or table mats from them. To minimize the scores of printouts taken, read from soft copies as far as possible. If you cannot do without a printout, then take it on both sides of the sheet and choose a smaller font size so that lesser amount of paper is utilized.

2. Green tagged supplies

Buy clean and green products for your office. Chuck the disposable cups for ceramic ones and avoid drinking bottled water to reduce the amount of litter generated. Soaps and cleaning products should be biodegradable and free of chemicals. Office paraphernalia like pens, pencils, envelopes, printer cartridges and folders should be purchased from companies selling eco friendly merchandise. Even tea, coffee, biscuits, chips and other victuals for offices should be purchased from companies vending organic and Fair Trade certified eatables. Try to procure office supplies in bulk to reduce packaging and waste created during shipping.

3. Eco-chic layout

Go green while furnishing your office by doing up the place with chairs, desks, conference tables and drapes made from recycled and reclaimed material. Buy second hand furniture from thrift stores. Bulbs burn up a lot of energy and should be swapped with energy saving gadgets like florescent lights and LEDs. Indoor plants, which can purify air, should be added in and around the office. Towels, table covers and coasters made from bamboo, jute or recycled cloths are a great pick.

4. Conserve resources

Make sure you do something about the oodles of water and energy used in offices. Unplug appliances like printers, scanners and microwaves that are not used all day. Tune energy saving settings on your computer and shut down the workstation when you are at a meeting, out for a lunch break or leaving for the day. Install large windows that keep the interiors well lit and airy to reduce dependence on lights and air conditioners. Do not leave taps running and fix all leaky faucets.

5. Green commute

There is no need to burn the fast depleting fossil fuels by driving your car to office everyday when you can opt for greener modes of transportation like public buses and trains. If your office is nearby then try biking or walking. If you have colleagues living nearby then try carpooling. Use a motorbike, hybrid auto or electric vehicle instead of your gas guzzling car.

People spend a lot of time at their offices; even more than they spend at home. Therefore, society just cannot do without embracing green living at the workplace. Expanding the green movement to offices is definitely a good thing for everyone.

About the author: Rubela is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on cloud seeding attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on bathroom ideas.

Photo credit: Good

100 green apps - inBloom (Buy What You Believe In)

We are creating a list of the top 100 apps that will help you go green as part of our effort to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. Apps become an integral part of our life and a valuable tool and we believe we should also take advantage of them when it comes go greening up our life.

Every week we bring you a new app from the 100 green apps list, and today we're happy to introduce an app that helps you find organic, environmental, and sustainable businesses near your current location.

Our app is inBloom from Andy Ross and Eytan Oren. This app is for iPhone and iPad and is free.

Here are more details about inBloom App:
inBloom finds organic, environmental, and sustainable businesses near your current location. Just press the button to 'See Goodness Nearby' and get a list of positive businesses, with ratings, maps, and more.

This first version is built for NYC's five boroughs as well as members of Musician's Energy Conservation Alliance (MECA), with additional cities to be added throughout 2012.

The app can be easily customized for your specific dietary and eco preferences, and will show you the nearest businesses that are Organic, Locavore, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Paleo friendly, Raw, and environmentally friendly. The app has hundreds of listings for restaurants, farmers markets, grocery stores, CSAs, green hotels, biodiesel and electric charging stations, green supply stores, clothing stores, and retail businesses powered by renewable energy. The information for each listing is extremely detailed, well-researched, and designed to help even the most discerning consumers.

inBloom is built by two musicians-- Andy Ross of OK Go and Eytan Oren of Eytan and The Embassy- who first started the project as a way of making it easier for bands to tour more sustainably.

inBloom App (NYC Edition) from inBloomApp on Vimeo.

You can check top 100 green apps at http://www.ecolibris.net/greenapps.asp. As you'll see, this list is in work, but we promise to update it every week until we'll have all 100 green apps.

Last week's green app - Locavore.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

A great animated version of Food Rules by Michael Pollan

Check out this great animation created by Marija Jacimovic in the context of the RSA/Nominet Trust film competition. If you liked it, please vote for us at thersa.org/film-competition!

"Food Rules" by Michael Pollan - RSA/Nominet Trust competition from Marija Jacimovic on Vimeo.

Here are more details about the animation:
Based on Michael Pollan's talk "Food Rules" given at the RSA, this animation was created in the context of the RSA/Nominet Trust film competition. Using a mixture of stop-motion and compositing, our aim and challenge was to convey the topic in a visually interesting way using a variety of different food products. We made a little table top set up at home and worked on this a little over three weeks.

Here are some photos of Food Rules in the making
flickr.com/photos/horror_vacui/sets/72157629336379435/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

The New Treehuggers? Check my article on Triple Pundit about the Forest Footprint Disclosure's new report

Here's an update on an article I published on Friday on Triple Pundit on a new report presenting the latest efforts of large corporations to measure and manage their forest footprint.

The article is entitled 'Get Ready for the Forest Footprint Disclosure'. Here's the first part of the article:

If you were wondering what the next step in corporate transparency is, you got an answer earlier this week. Companies all over the world have been working in the last couple of years with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to disclose, manage and eventually reduce their carbon footprint and later on their water footprint. Now, another project, the Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD), is working similarly with companies on their impact on forests. This week they released their third annual report.

To read the full article go to http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/02/ready-forest-footprint-disclosure/

Links to other articles I wrote for Triple Pundit can be found at http://www.triplepundit.com/author/raz-godelnik/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

Top 100 book apps: iKamasutra (special book app for Valentine's Day!)

Since we believe in the digital future of books as a way to reduce eventually the footprint of books, we also believe in apps. Book apps are integral part of the digital age of books and we want to share with you some great book apps we find and thus we are assembling a list of the top 100 book apps.

In order to get into our list apps need to both book/ebook related and affordable - we choose only apps that are either free or cost less than $2.

So every week we will update you with a new app on out list of top book apps. Today we're happy to introduce you a special app for Valentine's Day, especially for those who are fans of the Kama Sutra book.

Our app today is iKamasutra Sex Positions by NBITE. This app is for android and it costs $2.99 (usually we limit the apps on the list to $2 or less, but since we're looking for a special Valentine's Day app, we're making a one-time exception here). According to eBookNewser, iKamasutra has risen on the Android Books & Reference App Top Ten list this week from No. 7 to No. 4 just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Here are more details about the iKamasutra App:
There’s a position for that.

Find out what over 12 million lovers are all smiling about.

Lovingly written and illustrated exclusively for this Android app, iKamasutra brings thousands of years of Kama Sutra experimentation into one incredibly fun and sensual app. View over one hundred sex positions in 9 categories, each tastefully drawn and explained, and enjoy tracking your progress from Novice to Kama Sutra Grand Master using the world's ultimate guide to sex. iKamasutra is the most highly recommended app of its kind, with a beautifully designed and pleasing interface. You may never be able to stop glancing at your phone again!

There’s a position for that.
· 110 of the most popular sex positions come included with your app purchase to motivate and inspire you. (More available through in-app purchase.)
· Easy-to-follow, professionally written descriptions move you quickly into position.
· Nine categories to get your desires organized—everything from Cowgirl to Exotic.
· Soothing sitar music to set the right mood (optional).
· Password-protect the app to maintain your privacy.

Stretch to your limits.
· Track your progress from Novice to Kama Sutra Grand Master by marking positions you've tried.
· Search for the perfect position based on Intimacy, Complexity & Strength levels.
· Get intimate like your favorite stars with positions sorted by famous movie scenes.
· Create a list of Favorite positions as well as a To Do list for positions you just have to attempt.
· A Places challenge lets you keep track of where you make love, not just how.

Shake it, baby. You’ll like it.
· Ask your partner to shake the phone to choose a random new position.
· Swipe left or right to view the next position.
· Add your own personal notes to each position.
· Rotate the phone to landscape for a full-screen slideshow.

Email just got exciting again.
· Email positions to your partner any time of day, right from your phone.
· No time for email? You and your partner can view Today's Position and get busy!
· Be the envy of all your friends by sharing your kamasutra progress through Facebook and Twitter.

*** Attention Kama Sutra Masters! Are you a true sexual position pro, or just looking for more exotic pleasures? We've kept the app price to a minimum by including the first 110 positions and 27 places free, but additional positions and places may be purchased inside the app's Love Store.

Read the reviews and see why no other sexual position app has garnered such an amazing following!
*******
"Really exciting and entertaining app!" — Wired
"A stylish way to spice up the sex life" — MacWorld
"With all the countless exciting positions, make sure to stretch out!" - DayFly.com

Last book app - Free Books

You can check top 100 book apps at http://www.ecolibris.net/bookapps.asp. As you'll see, this list is in work, but we promise to update it every week until we'll have all 100 book apps.

You're also welcome to check our list of 100 green apps.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

100 Days to Die by Russell Jensen is joining the 100 trees Project!

What do you do when you know that you've got only 100 days to live? This is a question most people don't really think about, but the hero of '100 Days to Die' by Russell Jensen has to once he's diagnosed with Leukemia and learns he has only one hundred days to live.

We're also happy to update you that this great book has just joined the "100 Trees Project"!

This joint program was launched by Infinity Publishing, a leading self-publishing company together with Eco-Libris to promote environmental sustainability among its authors. Through the program, authors that publish with Infinity are able to plant 100 trees for the title they publish. These authors also have the option to add a special "100 trees planted for this book" logo to their book's design, as a way to showcase their commitment to environmental sustainability.

What's 100 Days to Die about? Diagnosed with Leukemia and only one hundred days to live, Earl Roberts wants to leave a dynamic impression on the world, but how? The explosive answer is beyond shocking.

About the author:

Russell Jensen is the author of this book, as well as a two foot high stack of articles that are yearning to be published. His great passion for fishing has earned him over 20 world records throughout the Americas in Alaska, New York and the Amazon of Brazil. Russell is a member of the International Game Fish Association.

As a youth in the military, Russell was part of the airborne division and became a paratrooper. The lessons learned in that time have served him well. The discipline of mind and body continue to motivate and inspire.

100 Days to Die is available for sale on Infinity's website.

Other books on the "100 Trees Project":

My Name is Grace

The Last Original Idea: A Cynic's View to Internet Marketing

Buffalo on the Ridge by Deanna Meyer

What Love Is...A-Z by by Elle Febbo

Raven Wings and 13 More Twisted Tales

Ishift- Innovation Shift

Good Management is Not Firefighting

Play on Words

This is Your Brain on God

DRIVEN! Remembrance, Reflection, & Revelation

X-POSED: The Painful Truth Behind Yoga & Pilates

Last Male Born: Revenge

Reduced Load Ballistics Research Manual

Ligiea / Bryndt

My Million Dollar Mom

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Half the forest isn't enough - A smart (and funny) video of Great Bear Rainforest explains why!

Who said that activism can't be funny, even when it deals with serious issues?

Check out this video from the Rainforest Solutions Project:

Take It Taller from Great Bear Rainforest on Vimeo.

Here are more details on this important campaign, which is organized by a joint initiative of Greenpeace, ForestEthics, and Sierra Club BC:

No matter which way you cut it, protecting 50% of a forest isn't enough to save the whole.

British Columbians helped put this province on the map by calling for the protection of the Great Bear Rainforest. In 2006, provincial and First Nations decision-makers heard you and signed an agreement to save one of the last coastal temperate rainforests of its kind from being destroyed by clearcut logging.

But today, logging is still allowed in 50% of the Great Bear Rainforest. It’s time to take action again and tell the provincial government to Take It Taller by committing to protect more than just half of the Great Bear Rainforest from logging.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!