Recycling Electronics

Ready to upgrade your new computer, cellphone or PDA? Before tossing your older equipment, check out this website for places to donate or recycle them instead. Ebay has collected a number of resources to help keep electronics out of landfills, especially in developing countries where a lot of America's trash has been sent.

Sustainabler

Just found an interesting website originating in Boulder, CO which promotes "green solutions for busy people" - www.sustainabler.com Join the conversation or just listen in on some of the community comments...

Current Energy Store

Next time you are traveling through Dallas, Texas, swing by the unique Current Energy Store, which can help you find energy-efficient solutions for your home and office. These consultants provide in-person evaluations and recommendations as well as an array of eco-friendly products, all in a retail store.

April 19 - Battery Recycling

Hear ye, hear ye - If you live along the Front Range in Colorado, swing by one of the following locations on April 19 to recycle your car or other household batteries. You'll save toxic chemicals from our landfills and hopefully, our groundwater too.
- Marv's Quality Towing, Boulder
- Auto Towing, Colorado Springs
- Mike's Conoco, Denver

Solar Bags

Especially in a location as sunny as Colorado, you're not going to want to pass up this bag. The outside flap features a light-weight solar charging module which utilizes a 12V automotive adapter to recharge your smaller electronics, like cell phones and PDAs. Check out the varying styles, from messenger bags to backpacks - Thanks Eclipse Solar Gear!

Trash? I Don't Think So...

Sometimes it just takes looking at a problem from a different angle, to see a different solution. For a local Colorado company, Great Big Color, their business is printing - Banners, wraps for buildings or cars, billboards - Yet they always had scraps leftover from a job. Instead of dumping them at the landfill, they have found an innovative solution. They have sewn those scraps together and made tote bags for food shopping, a trip to the lake or just for hauling stuff around town. Different angle, different solution.

Spring Cleaning

With spring almost around the corner, or at least that's what some of us in the mountains are hoping, add vacuuming your heating vents and grilles to your cleaning list. By removing obstacles which might be blocking the air circulating inside your vents, as well as those pesky couches and drapes, you'll reduce the amount of heat you need before warm weather really does start again.

Winter Uses for Fans

Think your ceiling fan is just for hot days? Try reversing your fan during the winter, as it will push the hot air near the ceiling down and around your room. Just run it on low, so you don't use extra energy to heat your home.

A Dirty Job

This next tip is not the most glamorous but it will increase the efficiency of your water heater. Once a quarter, get into the habit of draining at least a quart of water from your tank, as this will remove the gunk, for lack of a more scientific term, that collects and blocks the heat transfer. Happy fishing!

Water Pipe Insulation

Ready to do a little home repair? Then check out your water pipes and tank in your basement. If they are not insulated, you are wasting energy and could see a significant reduction in your utility bill if you get this to-do task checked off your list.

Preserve Kitchen Line

If you are in the shopping mode and need new kitchen wares, then check out Recycline's new line of 100 percent recycled plastic items. Made from the plastic in toothbrushes and razors, their cutting boards, colanders and containers come in a rainbow of colors and can be found at Whole Foods Market.

Asphalt Heat Waves

With a funny name, but serious potential, Ooms Avenhorn Holdings's Road Energy Systems is the latest innovation to try to harness the heat from asphalt roads. With an intricate system of pipes below the surface, this engineering feat uses that warmth to heat water in the pipes which can then be stored and sent to nearby buildings.

Home Makeover Website

As featured in this month's Real Simple magazine, check out Low Impact Living's website for helpful tips on a green home makeover. From eco-friendly paints to mini-construction projects, it's easier, and cheaper, than you think.

Drywall Improvements

The construction industry uses huge expenditures of energy, but very few innovations have emerged from this field to reduce consumption. That appears to be changing however, with a new type of drywall created by Serious Materials in CA. The process to build drywall typically uses a tremendous amount of heat, but they have devised EcoRock, a type of drywall which creates its own heat in the chemical creation process. With a recent infusion of $50 million in venture capital funding, this drywall is destined for nationwide distribution.

RenewABILITY

With a patent pending, RenewABILITY could be reducing your water heating costs by 25-40 percent in the near future. This company has created a pipe cover which collects the heat from drainwater and then reuses it again the next time you need hot water. It can be used in commercial or residential settings, so check out their website for an installer near you.

Reclaimed Materials

At Bitters in Seattle, you can wander the aisles and find numerous materials which have been reclaimed from landfill destinations. From flip-flop doormats to scrap wood tables, ingenious artists from around the world have turned trash into affordable treasures.

Hilton Vancouver

The first Hilton to be LEEDS certified is in Vancouver, Canada and hopefully it will set a new precedent for this chain of hotels. Featuring an array of energy management installations, this new construction promotes alternative transportation as well as water-friendly landscaping.