Things I have learned in ACC 255 So Far

1.  The first thing that I have learned so far in ACC 255 is how to set up and use a blog.
2.  The second thing that I have learned is how to set up and run my own website.
3.  The third thing that I have learned is how to create my own products to sell using Cafepress.
4.  The fourth thing I have learned is that a list post is easy for readers to scan through.
5.  The fifth thing that I have learned is how spyder, index, and query software work. The spyder crawls the web, the index captures everything from the spyder, and the query is what is shown when using a search engine.
6.  The sixth thing that I have learned is what "evergreen" means, which is content that readers in the future will go back to for references.
7.  The seventh thing that I have learned is that there are many different types of blog posts that you can do, ranging from lists, to about me pages, etc.
8.  The eighth thing that I learned was that the about me page gives readers transparency to what who you are and what you are doing.
9.  The ninth thing that I learned was that using your email on your website to have people contact you can result in people being spammed.
10.  The tenth thing that I learned was that linking to other bloggers posts can help give your readers more value, and help you widen the views of your own blog.
11.  The eleventh thing that I learned was that websites posts are used for more in depth articles, and blog posts are used for more of the new ideas and general information.

The Better Posts of This Past Week

Tips for Becoming a Sustainable Business

There are many ways to become a sustainable business, but with these four basic ways, you will be a sustainable “mean, green, fighting machine.”

·         Material You May Find Interesting

“Companies that Invest in Sustainability Do Better Financially.” This is an appealing little thought in my opinion.

A Top Blog in the Sustainability Niche

CleanTechnica, the third ranked blog in the Top 100 Green, covers several of the key areas of sustainability ranging from wind turbines, increases in electric scooters, sustainable energy projects in overseas countries, intelligent energy-storage-powered high rises, and even smart phone apps that anyone can download to help them live a more sustainable and energy efficient lifestyle. And that was just on the first page!

More Oil Pipelines?

Everyone needs to be using more oil right? I guess in Mitt Romney’s opinion we need more pipelines to be brought into the U.S. from different countries to further our dependence on oil.

·         Sustainable Practices

      An up and coming website that you might want to check out. Involves the concept of sustainability involved with the business environment. Oh, and one other thing, it’s my website!

        Apps to Keep You on the Road

      A smart phone app, called PlugShare, allows you to access information on electric car charging stations in, or around your area. It even allows you to offer your own house charging station if you want to be the Good Samaritan and help out fellow electric car brethren. 

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      Having a Green Roof

      If you love tending to your own garden, or have many flowers around the house, why not have them on the roof? 

Having a Green Roof

    Have you ever thought about having your roof be a garden? Or how about having some of your favorite flowers growing on your roof? In this post, I wanted to talk to all of you about the benefits that you can have from creating a green roof. Green roofs come in all different shapes, sizes, and wildlife selections. Depending on where you live, you can fit your roof to the specifications that it needs to grow.

    If you are a little skeptical on why green roofs are a good choice for you, I’ll tell you about some of the benefits that they bring. The first benefit that they help with is the heating and cooling of your house. During the summer or warm parts of the year, the green roofs collect that sunlight and protect the house from heating up. In the winter or colder parts of the year, they keep the heat that is in the house from escaping. What's not to like about that?

    Another benefit that can be taken advantage of is having a garden. If you would want to grow your own food, a green roof would be a perfect place to do that. It would reduce the costs that you would have by going to the grocery store, and it would also be a healthier choice for you. By growing your own food, it will be fresh, which in my mind always tastes better, and free of the preservatives that are put into the food so it can be transported.

    So, after reading about a few benefits that green roofs can supply you, hopefully you will now possibly consider implementing the idea for your own uses.

Also, here are some facts on the benefits of green roofs.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/green-roofs

Apps to Keep You on the Road

    Good evening readers, tonight I was reading some articles and found one on a smart phone app that allows you to get information on electric car charging stations in the area that you are in, and I wanted to give it a review. According to the post, the app was launched last year and initially monitored 500 charging stations, and it is now currently up to 11,000. It is an international program, but most of the charging stations that are shown are located in the United States.

    After reading this, I decided to check it out for myself. Now, I do not have an electric car, but after looking over the app it does seems to have some very helpful information. So, if you do have an electric car, then this may be something that you would want to look into. Another thing that the article went into was about being able to include your own charging station at your house to its database if you choose. They allow this so if there is someone in need of a charge they could come to your house to do it. Now, in my opinion, I don’t think that I would do this. You never know who may show up at your door. But, if you feel like being the Good Samaritan and help these people out, you have that option.

    This post I thought was a good post, in the sense of getting this app out to more people. It showed what features were available, and, in today’s world, most people have smart phones so it is easily accessible. So, I would give this article a 4 out of 5.

Here is the link to the article if you would like to read it for yourself.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/04/need-to-top-up-your-ev-battery-but-dont-know-where-theres-an-app-for-that/

Sustainable Practices

    Good evening readers, in this post I would like to promote the website that I also run, along with this blog. The website that I run is called SustainablePractices.com. While my blog posts contain smaller posts, reviews, and other things, my website contains the larger, more detailed posts containing all of the subjects related to sustainability in the business environment. The blog is for more of an up-to-date, recent events type of information, while the website will be a more detailed reference that you can go back to if you need it.

    As of now, my website is still in the developmental stages so there is not as much information on there right now. But, in the next few days I will have the pillar articles that can be read and then referenced at any time when certain information is needed. The design of the website is setup to have a business casual type of feel. I wanted this type of feel so that readers have the sense of comfort, but also have that business attitude. The website will contain any relevant information on sustainability within the business environment like my blog but in just a more detailed manner. Also, as of right now, I am not using any social media sites, but I do plan on getting involved with some social media sites to help further the exposure of my website.

    If there are any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to comment on this post or contact me on the website at any time.

http://sustainablepractices2.webs.com/

More Oil Pipelines?

    In a blog post that I read today, Mitt Romney is supposedly supporting a new pipeline called the Keystone XL Pipeline. The post is written by Tina Casey, on CleanTechnica, a site that has many blog posts on the subject of sustainability. In the world that we live in today, why do we need another major pipeline coming from another country to support our energy needs? These pipelines are big risks that we are taking on due to the possibility of oil spills and the impacts on the environment from building them.  We have already experienced what oil spills do to our environment, so why do we need to be relying on more, less efficient energy sources. Just in the last year the Keystone pipelines had twelve oil spills. Do we really need more oil or should we move from oil to renewable energies?

    Another thing that the blog said was that the oil from the Canadian oil sands, which is where the pipeline would come from,  are harder to clean up due to the density of the oil sands making the carbons solidify rather than release into the air. If there is a major spill with this type of oil, there will be a major impact on the environment. Is it necessary to take that risk just for more oil? In my opinion, this is a big risk to take on when we have the resources to produce the energy that we need. We have all of the renewable energies that can replace oil which will also be good for the environment at the same time. This is the link to the blog if anyone is interested in reading. Also, if there are any questions, comments, or opinions feel free to leave a comment.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/04/in-debate-romney-supports-keystone-pipeline/

A Top Blog in the Sustainability Niche

    In this post, I wanted to analyze another blog that would help me in becoming a better blogger. CleanTechnica, which is the 3rd ranked blog in the Top 100 Green, is a site that has many blog posts over several areas of sustainability. In just the few posts that are showed on the first page of the website, they have  posts ranging from wind turbines, increases in electric scooters, sustainable energy projects in overseas countries, intelligent energy-storage-powered high rises, and even smart phone apps that anyone can download to help them live a more sustainable and energy efficient lifestyle. So, in a sense, they have blogs that communicate to everyone, from countries, to businesses, and all the way down to individuals that want to live in an eco-friendly manner.

After searching a bit, CleanTechnica is on many social media sites, which include Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. By being involved with these social media sites, it seems like they have had success. They have 5,062 likes on Facebook, 9,469 followers on Twitter, and 989 followers on Google+, so they have really put themselves out there where the public can engage with them and follow the posts that they are doing.

When first coming to the site, I got the impression of being a very clean, uncluttered, and easy to follow website. An option that they give other than all of the blog posts is a green job search. This I think is a good idea in the fact that their followers are more than likely interested in the “sustainability” concept and may want to pursue a career in it. After seeing the setup CleanTechnica , it has given me some ideas on how to further my experience with being a blogger, and hopefully will lead to better posts in the future.

http://cleantechnica.com/

Material You May Find Interesting

    I found blog post by another author that I thought that you, my readers, may find interesting. The post was by Gerrit Heyns, called "Companies that Invest in Sustainability Do Better Financially." I thought that this may appeal to you because he gives some statistics showing a resource efficient financial company called MoRE World compared to a less efficient company called MSCI World. It shows that from 2005 to 2012, MoRE World has outperformed MSCI World each year in annual investment returns. He also gives statistics on how MoRE World has higher net margins, return on assets, and return on equity, which is a big advantage to the company over its competitors.
    Not only do the resource efficient companies have better annual returns, they also bring to the table immense levels of innovation and entrepreneurship. This could also become a huge advantage. If an organization is more innovative than their competitors, they could cut costs and raise their profits through any part of the organization. They could implement new, more efficient equipment, or more efficient strategies. These strategies or qualities, and new equipment could put these businesses miles ahead of their competitors, which creates a happy environment for that organization. Employees will be happy due to better job security, and management will be happy with the position that the organization is in in the marketplace and the position they have to their competitors.

    He ends his post describing why these efficient strategies are good things that companies should have. They indicate how organizations are performing economically, and that managers should be "taking advantage of the data." Here is a link to his blog if anyone is interested in checking it out. Also, feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or opinions at any time.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/09/sustainable_investing_time_to.html

Tips for Becoming a Sustainable Business

There are many ways for businesses to convert from the traditional business practices to the up and coming, sustainable ways. Now, I am not an expert by any means in helping businesses move into the sustainable practices, but I thought I would give a few tips on what I have learned over the years of my education.

1. Construct LEED certified buildings

Having LEED certified buildings will help create an atmosphere of sustainability. It will also create a healthy environment that the employees of the organization will want to work in. This will put you on your way to becoming a sustainable business.

2. Use bio-diesel for company cars

Bio-diesel is good for the environment, and it can be made onsite! The bio-diesel that I have been exposed to is made with left over cooking oil from fryers. There are some steps that are involved with making bio-diesel but it will help save money for the organization by making it rather than paying for gas or regular diesel fuel.

3. Use renewable energies

The use of renewable energies is good for the environment, and also lowers the costs for the organization once the set-up costs are paid for. In some cases, the set-ups for the renewable energy could become an aesthetic view for employees to relax with while on breaks, or consumers to see.

4.  Release sustainability reports

Be transparent! By releasing reports on emissions and other things related to the business creates a sense of trust with the consumers of the organization’s products.  If there is a sense of trust between the organization and the consumers, then a prosperous relationship will continue to thrive.

These are just a few tips that I think would help business intertwine sustainable practices into their organization. If there are any other tips to add to these, please feel free to comment.