Turn Off The Lights

Earth Hour - an annual event led by World Wildlife Fund, asks cities, business and individuals to turn off their lights for 60 minutes March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM in a unified call for action on climate change.

You can learn more here: http://www.earthhourus.org/

2nd Annual JNF GoNeutral Shabbat Weekend

We invite you to participate in the

2nd Annual JNF GoNeutral Shabbat Weekend

March 27-29, 2009

Join synagogues, schools and communities across the country by celebrating Shabbat in an eco-friendly way and studying the connection between Judaism, Israel and the environment.

You will receive a complete JNF GoNeutral Kit, including a re-usable tote-bag, JNF Blue Boxes, an environmental DVD, flyers, maps of Israel, downloadable educational resource guides with specific programming for students, families and congregations and much more.

Click here to learn more or contact us at education@jnf.org or at 212-879-9305 ext 263.

Book Swaps

Swapping books or visiting the library is the best way to read, while minimizing your toll on the environment. Learn more about book swapping here.

Cellphone Makers Start Offering ‘Green’ Models

The New York Times reports that cellphones are becoming environmentally friendly:

Another way manufacturers are promoting their environmental credentials is through the applications their phones can run. The Nokia 5630 Xpress Music released last week has a preloaded application called “we:offset” that lets users measure their carbon emissions. There is also a link to a payment form for people who want to pay to offset the pollution they create. [Read More]

How to erase carbon footprints in Israel

TEL AVIV (JTA) -- Out of a towering mountain of waste near Ben Gurion Airport, methane gas is being captured to create thermal energy for a nearby factory.

In the Negev Desert, solar panels are on loan to Bedouin villages that don’t have electricity, allowing the residents to run refrigerators needed to store medicine for ill children.

These are two of a small but growing wave of Israeli projects to help reduce the country's carbon footprint by curbing carbon dioxide emissions -- part of the global battle to arrest climate change.

Along the way, the projects are helping bolster Israel's energy independence by promoting energy efficiency and homegrown clean technologies. [READ MORE]

JTA's Eco-Jews

The arrival of Tu B’Shevat, Judaism’s annual ode to the trees, is the perfect time to examine the most significant players and trends in Jewish environmentalism—and offer some hands-on advice for marking the holiday and greening your communities.

Visit http://jta.org/eco-jews/ for more info!

Check Out Our Sponsors Of The Month!

In April 2007, Jeffery Press launched a new line of eco-friendly “Go-Neutral” papers. In six short months, they have helped 75+ clients convert to a 100% post consumer waste sheet at no additional cost to their fine quality writing grade sheets. Internally, they have rebranded all of their packaging materials to reduce shipping waste by 30%, introduced a variety of green products such as a biodegradable window envelope made from corn, have begun printing with soy inks and are buying 25% of their envelopes converted from wind power.

They offer a variety of specialized production embellishments that help clients make a positive impression with every use. Foil stamping, embossing, laser-engraving (a cost-effective alternative to steel die engraving) and short run custom watermarks (embedded into the page) differentiate their clients from the competition and serve as a reflection of how their clients go about conducting their business. Jeffery Press invests up to 3 hours with all new clients to review existing layouts and to prepare files for our presses. Once a client, they maintain all corporate brands absolutely free with 100% consistency guaranteed and are able to expand those brands with new items on an as requested basis.

Designed to address the needs of a growing population of environmentally-conscious shoppers around the country, BuyGreen.com delivers a wide variety of environmentally-friendly products through its website to provide consumers with ease-of-shopping, broad selection, good prices, and great service. For businesses that wish to employ an Environmental Preferred Purchasing program, BuyGreen.com offers a broad, growing selection of products to meet their needs also. In addition to providing green products for purchase, BuyGreen.com also serves as a resource to help consumers understand why a particular item is ‘green’ and to what extent it is ‘eco-friendly.’

“Given the choice between purchasing and using a traditional product versus an environmentally friendly product, I believe that most people would choose the environmentally friendly product,” stated Allison Huke, President of BuyGreen.com. “However, until now, the ability to find and purchase green products has proven to be challenging for consumers who have not had a one-stop shop for their household needs. Our objective is to not only provide easy and affordable access to the broadest variety of green and ecofriendly products, but to also educate consumers and businesses on the importance of and benefits of going green to both the end users and the environment. For instance, taking the simple step of using a reusable bottle for your beverages eliminates a huge part of our waste stream, reduces potential toxins and can save consumers a lot of money.”