Green Earth Voices Show

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Erie, PA (Vocus) March 6, 2008

Zurn Engineered Water Solutions, one of the largest manufacturers of commercial plumbing products in the nation, is developing an industry-wide green initiative called Stand Up for the Earth. The primary mission of Stand Up for the Earth is to help organizations reduce their environmental impact and to recognize those that achieve this commitment.

The Stand Up for the Earth partners are working together to help businesses and organizations reduce energy consumption, create more efficient facilities and preserve natural resources. Green building solutions are not just for new construction — most existing buildings can be easily upgraded and made greener.

Eaton Corporation is the first industry leader to join the initiative as a diversified manufacturer of high quality, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly electrical solutions. Zurn and Eaton Corporation will work together to seek additional partners that offer green facility solutions covering all critical areas of sustainable building.

A main component of the initiative is the launch of a web site, standupfortheearth.org. The web site will promote public awareness and acceptance of green building and its benefits, as well as show developers, property owners and facility managers how easy it is to make their buildings more energy efficient. Another component of the initiative is to showcase green products. Green products such as high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, smart energy systems and lighting controls will support the Stand Up for the Earth label.

Carl Nicolia, President of Zurn Engineered Water Solutions, says, “Global climate change and water scarcity is a looming crisis. As a manufacturer, we want to begin an active dialogue about green products and energy conservation with other companies in the construction industry. From architects interested in alternative energy products to facility managers seeking a low water-consumption plumbing fixtures, collaboration is what will move green building and retrofitting of older buildings to the next level.”

While visionary organizations like the Clinton Foundation focus on 40 cities with area populations of three million or more, Stand Up for the Earth is doing its part to help developers, building owners and managers of large and small facilities across the United States. Green building isn’t just for new construction — most existing buildings can easily be upgraded and made greener.

Zurn Engineered Water Solutions, based in Erie, Pa., offers a century-old tradition of high-quality products and customer service. Founded in 1900, Zurn was created initially to manufacture a patented backwater valve. The company has worked throughout the past century to expand its product offering. Today, Zurn manufactures the largest breadth of engineered water solutions in the industry, including a wide-spectrum of green plumbing products. This long-standing commitment to the plumbing industry has made Zurn the leader in its field. Visit www.standupfortheearth.org for more information.

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Do you have an old mattress you want to get rid of? Mattresses are full of materials and chemicals that are decidedly not eco friendly: formaldehyde, polyurethane, petroleum based materials, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and so on. (Come to think of it, why are we sleeping on something containing such hazardous chemicals?)

For anyone wanting to be environmentally friendly, mattress recycling poses a substantial obstacle. You can’t take it to the typical recycling center and most charities won’t accept them because of health regulations. What to do? Here are a few ideas.

1) Craigslist.org. As they say, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. In this tough economy there are tons of people who would simply love to take a free mattress off your hands.

2) Freecycle.org. Freecyle is a worldwide network comprised of local groups whose members give away and exchange items for free so as to recycle products and keep them out of landfills. Check to see if there is a Freecycle group in your area (my local one has over 6000 members!)

3) Your City or County. Your local government may offer mattress recycling–but if they do, make sure they’re not just taking them to the landfill because your attempt to recycle it will be for nothing.

4) Ecohaul.com. Can’t find someone who wants the mattress? Have it hauled away by this company that pledges to do everything possible to keep materials it picks up out of landfills.

Looking for ways to reuse your old mattress will keep it out of the landfill and the environment.

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a new system that some states are beginning to use in regards to green energy. Massachusetts, Ohio, California, New Jersey and Rhode Island have adopted laws that allow cities and counties to aggregate the purchasing of power for individuals and enable them to acquire their energy from alternative energy suppliers. CCA’s charge their customers less money than for-profit energy companies, since they buy the power in bulk. Another characteristic of a CCA is that residents are automatically part of a CCA when it’s formed and they are required to opt out if they want to stay with their fossil fuel utility power. Currently, about one-million Americans are participating in CCA’s and the number is growing daily.

In Massachusetts, the CCA was first established in 1997 in the form of the Cape Light Compact, a united group of cities which now serves more than 200,000 customers. They also install solar panels on schools, fire stations and libraries. The largest CCA in the country can be found in Ohio, where more than 500,000 customers from more than one hundred rural towns receive a variety of energy sources.

The CCA program is also going very well in California. More than forty local cities in California are currently implementing CCA, and cities throughout California will exceed the Renewable Portfolio Standard of California, which requires the state to operate on fifty-one-percent renewable energy by 2017!

CCA is a great example of the kind of bottom-up strategy that we need to implement if the United States is going to move into a green, renewable energy future. In order for this to work, we need to need to make the conscious effort to seek out green, renewable energy. The greater the demand, the greater the availability and the more investors will make renewable green energy theories a possibility! We have made so many advances in the area of renewable energy and green alternatives, however, we have yet to replace conventional energy with an eco-friendly source.

EnviroCitizen.org is a strong advocate for green, renewable energy alternatives. The less fossil fuel we consume, the less greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere. Also, the more green energy alternatives that come to be, the less dependent we will be on depleting energy sources in general! EnviroCitizen.org encourages you to continue researching ways in which you can actively promote green energy and eco-friendly energy consumption.