That's right, it's now carbon neutral. What does this mean? Well, I have learned that a blog with 15,000 visits a month (I wish I had that many visitors, lol) has a yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 8lb. Interesting isn't it? I have added that button in support of a team out of Germany that works for an initiative called "Make it green!". They raise the awareness of the severe environmental damage caused by carbon emissions.
I know your asking "How does this make my blog carbon neutral"? They plant a tree in cooperation with the Arbor Day Foundation in Plumas National Forest in North California to off set the emissions of my blog. As you may (or may not) know thousands of wildfires burned down many national forests over the past ten years and 88.000 acres of Plumas' were destroyed by two fires in 2007.
They have asked bloggers from all over the world to help support the replanting of trees and they are doing it one blog at a time. One blog = one tree.
Read more about what they do here
Thursday, March 11, 2010
First LEED-EBOM Silver-certified building in Ohio
According to the release, the building is also the first of parent company Limited Brands Inc. to achieve a LEED certification.
Nathaniel Beegle, LEED Accredited Professional (AP) and manager of the project for Limited Brands, said: "As a values-led organization, Limited Brands is increasingly integrating the protection and preservation of global resources into our everyday business practices. It is part of doing what is right and means that we are committed to sustainable, responsible and thoughtful environmental design, operation and maintenance of our facilities."
The building, originally built in 1997, contains more than 150,000 square feet of office space and about 540,000 square feet of warehouse space, the release stated.
Included in the sustainable design and operation features are: Storm water management, light pollution reduction, water efficiency, recycling, indoor air quality improvements and green cleaning, the release noted.
Additional information is available online regarding Limited Brands' Corporate Social Responsibility, the release added.
Click here to read the complete release.
Senators concerned over poor conditions at American Indian schools
WASHINGTON — Federally supervised Indian schools in Northern Minnesota, which failed testing standards and are in desperate need of building repairs, have senators concerned that they will miss out on additional funding under education reform, according to MinnPost.
According to the story, approximately one-third of Indian schools are categorized as in "poor condition," but lack the funding to make necessary repairs — and may not see funding for years, even decades.
Minnesota Senator Al Franken said: "No student in
Under President Barack Obama's proposed 2011 budget, $9 million would be cut from the Indian school construction line down to $52.8 million — far shy of the estimated $1.3 billion it would cost to repair every "poor condition" school, the story stated.
Franken said: "The people need to know what dismal conditions these schools are in. Only then will Indian schools become a priority in the federal budget."
There are a total of 64 federally supervised "poor condition" Indian schools in the
Click here to read the complete article.
State dedicates first LEED-certified prison building
According to the story, the building, a mental health treatment center, will be dedicated in a ceremony on Tuesday next week at its location at the Salinas Valley State Prison.
The 36,500-square-foot facility will be used for housing and to provide inmates with inpatient care, and will use 50 percent less water and one-third of the energy as a traditional mental health facility, the story stated.
The prison is located in
Click here to read the complete article.
Red Lobsters to go green
ORLANDO, FL — Darden Restaurants Inc. — parent company of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse and other restaurant chains — announced that it will incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in the building and remodeling of its locations, according to GlobeSt.com.
According to the story, eight locations have already begun the process of obtaining LEED certification from the U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC) over the next two years.
Darden Senior Vice President of Development Suk Singh said: "While we may not seek LEED certification for every restaurant we build or remodel, we can make a positive impact by learning from the eight restaurants where we are seeking LEED certification and applying best practices across our entire portfolio."
One of the restaurants seeking LEED certification is an Olive Garden location in
According to the story, the company plans to include LEED points-earning measures like recycled building materials, more windows to allow for natural lighting, energy-efficient fixtures and reclaimed heat from air-conditioning and freezer-system condensers.
Darden Restaurants is currently awaiting LEED Gold certification on its newly-built headquarters in
Click here to read the complete article.
Student dies in third meningitis case on campus this school year
According to the study, custodians have been busy cleaning and sanitizing Robinson's dorm room and common areas at the on-campus house where she lived in an attempt to ward of any additional cases of the deadly disease that infects the linings of the brain and spinal cord and attacks quickly.
Earlier this month, a student living in a different residence hall contracted the disease but recovered and returned to campus, and officials say there doesn't seem to be any connection between the two students, the story stated.
A third student who contracted the disease in October of 2009 also recovered, the story noted.
The university, although not legally required to do so, has elected to make the information regarding the illnesses public, the story stated.
Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said: "Our philosophical approach has been that any time there is a reason for a public-health concern, we do our best to share the information that we can with our population so they can take steps to protect themselves."
Lombardi was told by a parent that it seemed the university had more cases of meningitis than other schools, but he said that may be due to other schools electing not to report instances to the public, the story added.
Click here to read the complete article.
OSHA check scammer swindles thousands
According to the story, Terri Lynn Brennan was arrested for allegedly gathering account information from OSHA fine payment checks and using it to create counterfeit checks and cash them.
Authorities say that while 759 businesses paid OSHA fines in 2009, so far only a handful of companies have been found victims of the scam, with a total loss of a few thousand dollars, the story stated.
Because of the scam, officials have since changed the rules on the handling and storing of OSHA fine checks, and authorities believe Brennan acted alone in the scam, the story added.
Click here to read the complete article.
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