The Museum of Science in Industry in Chicago has built this fantastic home that you can tour that is advertised as Green and Wired.  The exhibit originally was suppose to last through January 2009, but because of it’s popularity it was updated even more and extended through January 2010.  Take a tour of the Green and Wired House.

I found a great site on ConsumerReports.org that has an interactive Home Improvement Guide , check it out.  Run the mouse over the rooms in the house you are thinking of remodeling and get reviews and  tips on the different materials and fixtures.  Look for energy efficient products. Consumer Reports home improvement guide.

Want to learn how to construct a Worm Farm?  Follow the steps of this activity supplied by the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Worm Farm activity.

SCARCE

SCARCE  stands for School and Community Assistance for Recycling & Composting Education.  SCARCE is a Midwest organization located in Dupage County, IL – a Chicago suburban  county.  For the past 12 years they have participated in collecting shoes for Nike’s Reuse A Shoe Program that turns old gym shoes into sports surfaces and playgrounds. The shoe collection began Earth day and in five weeks 7699 pairs of gym shoes were collected by local schools, churches, businesses and organizations. 6000 pairs went to Nike’s ReUse A Shoe Program.  The above shoe collection data was taken from a Naperville Sun article 6/21/09.

This is a simple project that should be adopted by many organizations. Take a look at the Nike site and pass the idea around.  Get started today!

Nike ReUse A Shoe

A list of alternative insect repellents. And may I suggest our own natural bug spray – IdeaMarketers

Lamborghini is going green! Now you don’t have any more excuses not to buy one – CARADVICE.COM.AU

The bedding industry is going green. Plus some tips about how to buy green bedding – TreeHugger

“A new study says that the number of green jobs in the United States grew 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007, about two and a half times faster than job growth in the economy as a whole.” – The New York Times – Green Inc. Blog

Many companies that don’t own their office space are starting to utilize “green leases.” What exactly is a “green lease?” My Green Element has the scoop – My Green Element

Recycle

Our town Naperville, IL (over 130,000 people),a suburb of Chicago, recently analyzed garbage and recyclables.  I am going to focus on the recycled items.  Of the 44 pounds sampled 10.5 pounds should have been in the garbage, 19 pounds were properly recycled and 14.5 pounds were discarded liquid.  The 14.5 pounds of liquid amazed me.  I thought most people know to empty the liquid from a container before it is recycled.   Gatorade especially is mostly water, it is suggested you water a plant with it then put it in the recycle bin.  If you include the liquid over half of the recycled products were garbage.

I think we need to be re-educated on RECYCLING, what do you think?

The above data was taken from the Naperville Sun on Thursday, June4th, 2009 – “The poop on waste habits”.

“The average green collar worker makes $76,000 per year,” in this economy that’s a good reason to make even a staunch anti-environmentalist go green – The Business Insider

Are WindCubes going to be the big thing that help metropolitan areas to go green? – Earth2Tech

Obama is “less green than he promised.” (or maybe not… is it just me, or is every paragraph other than the first one a non sequitur when compared to the headline? Maybe something is lost in the translation from French?) – Le Monde diplomatique

“China intends to lead the low-carbon race and is already beginning to unleash a low-carbon dragon.” Isn’t that quote at least a little ethnically insensitive? If Ireland was pushing for massive environmental reforms would it be OK to say that “Ireland intends to unleash a low-carbon leprechaun”? – The New York Times – Green Inc. Blog

Does your local sports team have green facilities? Since only 11 facilities in the United States are LEED certified, probably not – Green Guide for Everyday Living

Harvard is hosting a green 25 year reunion this year – The New York Times – Green Inc. Blog

A Farmers' Market

It’s June already, and in the Midwest farmers’ markets are in full swing. Buying locally grown produce is a great way to go green, because it drastically reduces the impact long distance food transport has on the environment. Each month brings a different variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that will be coming to harvest. For readers in the Midwest, this list should give you a good idea of what you will find in season over the coming months.

May: Asparagus, greens, herbs, leaf lettuce, pea pods, radishes, rhubarb, strawberries, watercress

June: Asparagus, green beans, greens, herbs, lettuce, mushrooms, pea pods, pod peas, radishes, rhubarb, snap peas, spinach, strawberries

July: Beets, blackberries, blueberries, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, sweet and sour cherries, corn, cucumbers, red currants, eggplant, fava beans, fennel, garlic, green beans, greens, herbs, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, lima beans, muskmelon, okra, onions, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, shell beans, spinach, summer apples, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon

August: Beets, blackberries, blueberries, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fava, beans, fennel, garlic, green beans, greens, herbs, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, lima beans, muskmelon, okra, onions, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, potatoes, shell beans, summer apples, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon

September: Apples, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cranberries, cucumbers, eggplant, grapes, green beans, greens, herbs, leeks, lettuce, lima beans, onions, parsnips, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, pumpkins, raspberries, summer and winter squash, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon

October: Apple cider, apples, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cranberries, dried beans, greens leeks, onions, pears, potatoes, pumpkins, turnips, winter squash

This list is adapted from a survey that appeared in “The Naperville Sun” on May 31, 2009

“Green Store and More is a family run business that strives to offer green products of all kinds at fair prices.”

Check out the June specials at GreenStoreAndMore.com.

The items listed below will be shipped FREE for for the entire month of June! Our May specials were popular and we expect this month to be the same.

SPECIAL ONE:

Mini Hybrid Dynamo Crank LED Lantern Three Pack by Viatek
Cost: $27.99
Shipping: FREE

Mini Hybrid Dynamo Crank LED Lantern Three Pack

Their compact, lightweight, water-resistant design makes these lanterns perfect for traveling, boating or camping.

Learn More About These Lanterns

SPECIAL TWO:

Solar Powered Mosquito Blocker – Includes Two FREE Filters
Cost: $29.99 (This item’s MSRP is $49.99!)
Shipping: FREE

Solar Powered Mosquito Blocker

The Malibu solar-powered mosquito inhibitor does what repellents can’t: it blocks the mosquito’s ability to track your scent.

Click here for more information about the mosquito blocker.

SPECIAL THREE:

Thor X Sirius, 9W Rechargeable Hand Held Spotlight
Cost: $69.99
Shipping: FREE

Thor X Sirius

Super powerful quartz rechargeable halogen spotlight with 6V 55W halogen bulb

Click here for more information about this hand held spotlight

President Barack Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu suggests people paint flat roofs white. This is a great idea. It’s simple, scientists believe it will make an impact, and, my favorite part, it creates jobs.

Let’s start with how simple this is. You can hire someone or do it yourself with no more than 5 gallons of paint. It would take 2-3 hours. So an easy job for you or hire someone at $15 an hour plus the cost of paint it couldn’t be more than $80.

Top scientists think it will work. According to Chu “Making roads and roofs a paler color could have the equivalent effect of taking every car in the world off the road for 11 years. That is an impressive stat.

It would create a new wave of jobs throughout the world. It’s easy, someone needs to make this paint and some people would need to hire painters.

Think of what is possible if the world could think of 5 simple things like this to stop global warming. It is not going to be one thing that stops global warming, it is going to be several small things. Do you think this Idea will catch on? Vote on the Green Goings Monthly Poll, located on the far right column of this page. Let your voice be heard!

Steven Chu U.S. Energy Secretary