It's Not a Bad Search

I always feel like there is more I can do to help those less fortunate than myself. Between work, personal and social obligations, there is little left of my own time to donate to local charities. One thing I do everyday for hours is use the Internet. It would be too good to be true if I were able to double-bill my time to work and charity. Well, apparently Ken and JJ Ramberg had hoped for the same thing when they started GoodSearch.


GoodSearch is a search engine which donates half of its profits to charities and schools. You, the user, designate the charities, and neither you nor the charities spend a cent of your own. They've also recently added GoodShop with the same idea. Various percentages of purchases made on Goodshop go to user designated schools and charities.

So, be sure to go some good searching and good shopping. You have nothing to loose and someone else has everything to gain.

GoodSearch
GoodShop


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Almost Home Grown

Who has the time, space and green thumb for home grown organic produce? I sure don't! I am, however, lucky enough to live near grocers who have many organic products.


I also use LocalHarvest.com to find local farmer's markets, farms, restaurants and co-op's carrying organic goods. I can even shop from farmers directly on the site. I love this option to buy online for those shoppers who find organic products hard to find of for more specialty items. It's a great online community for those looking to be a little more organic and sustainable.

I know I needn't remind you, but organic is as good to you as it is the earth!


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The Green Street Journal

Investing in the stock market has never been second nature for me, but I do try to keep my investments green. Buying stocks is another way to support businesses doing their part in the fight for sustainability. I'm not suggesting you blindly invest in any company waving a green flag. Do your research and make smart investments.

One way to keep up with eco-business is GreenBiz.com. Articles from around the world are updated daily on this website. The stories are about businesses taking sustainability initiatives, statistics and research relating to earth-friendly products or approaches, and anything else you would expect to find in your daily newspaper, but with an eco-twist.

So, turn on your computer, curl up with your morning coffee (fair trade of course!) and catch up on your environmental news.


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I Give Therefore I Am Green

One man's junk is another man's treasure, or at least the story goes. If you are anything like me, you find you have more belongings than you do space. A couple times a year I begin a look around my house, especially my garage, and the "everything must go" mentality takes over. My rule is, if it hasn't been used or worn in a year it is not necessary.

I suppose these are belongings that could be considered garbage and used to pack the local land-fill. I know quite a few people who take the opportunity to donate to Goodwill for a small tax deduction. Another option for listing your goods as "up for grabs" is to Freecycle.

Freecycle.org directs you to a local email group. You can post any items as long as they are free. I'm sure there are some other requirements so be sure to read the policies. (for example, nudie pics are probably frowned upon) People can contact you about your items and with any luck you'll have one less item of which to keep track.

If you prefer a tax break, you may want to try Classified Circles. Much like Ebay, you post your unwanted goods on the online auction. There is no charge for the auction. Even better, the proceeds from the sale go directly to the charity of your choice.

So, toss your unwanted items online and let's make our landfills more like a big compost heap.


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Stick to Green

I made a professional and personal commitment to help Mother Earth, and I haven't shut my trap since! I'm sure friends and family have just about had it with my eco-preaching. However, I feel if I don't pass along the knowledge I gain, I might as well do nothing.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered I could save my breath and instead just post stickers on any available surface! One with the Earth has developed a universal symbol for environmental awareness . This symbol appears on the stickers they've design to help you spread the green message. Put a "turn off" memo on your light switches, or a "please recycle" request near the trash can.

Whether at home or the office these little notes are a friendly reminder to do the right thing for the environment. I like the added bonus of my being able to talk about things other than eco-awareness, and I don't get annoyed glances!

Get your free stickers.
Check out my recycled note cards.

Green for the Senses

There are a lot of options to tickle my television-watching-fancy. I think the channels on my direct-tv guide go to 800's. And of those hundreds of options I watch only 2 networks religiously; HBO and the Sundance Channel. Thanks to Tivo I can have a life and watch the shows I want. Ah, HBO, what's not too love. I've grown particularly fond of Entourage and enjoy watching familiar places blaze across the screen.

But Sundance I love for completely different reasons. I tune into Sundance for The Green. The brain-child of Robert Redford feeds the eco-conscious by creating a television and web community for them. There are a lot of large corporations who are involving elements of earth-aware activities into their business, but The Green is highlighting businesses that are sustainable through and through. And, more often than not, these are small businesses and individuals.

If you haven't tuned in yet, I highly recommend it. If you've vowed to never watch television again then may I suggest The Green website? I know I've posted my company on the Eco-mmunity map. If you are a Mac junkie like I, use Firefox when browsing this site to avoid any problems.