Easy way to get into the sustainability field

Sustainability is a growing field with many jobs already produced, and many more to come. People have come to realize that we have to change our ways of doing things or we will decimate the environment that we live in. We have already seen these realizations, for example, through the wind farms scattered around the country. If any part of sustainability interests you, then why not pursue a career that it is involved in? Many schools around the country are installing class, or already offering classes to teach students the ways to help you produce products in ways that do not hurt the environment that we live in. In the case of my school, Illinois State University, they offer specific classes such as marketing sustainable products, and have implemented a new minor called Business Environment and Sustainability this year. Sustainability can be seen growing throughout universities and the business world, and it seems like it is going to stay that way.

                If anyone is trying to look for specific jobs that are related with sustainability, there are a few different sites that I myself have looked for on job related topics. The first website is Greenbiz, which has anything and everything that comes with sustainability. They have blogs, news, events, and job offerings that a listed on the site. It is easy to follow and has very good information that can help you. The second website that you can find job postings on is Cleantechnica. This website is similar to Greenbiz having blogs, news, and job postings as well. I know I have mentioned these two websites before, but in my opinion, they can be very helpful in allowing you to learn and possibly pursue careers in the sustainability field.

http://www.greenbiz.com/

http://cleantechnica.com/

A top company in the sustainability field

While taking a class last semester called Marketing Sustainable Products, we talked about some companies that had taken on the idea of being a sustainable company. One Company in particular was Timberland. Timberland was brought up a lot during class due to the way they manufacture new shoes and their use of recycling the old ones. They have come to realize that the manufacturing processes that they use to produce their products is one of the largest environmental impact that they cause, so in return, they recycle their old products to help create the new ones.  Timberland believes in producing products with a cradle-to-cradle attitude. That is that once the product has come to the end of its life, it is then recycled and used in the manufacture of new products. They also have realized that they have a long way to go from the point that they want to be at. Here is a quote on how they perceive their recycling efforts. "While we have a long way to go to determine full recycling pathways for every material, we'd rather recycle even a few parts over consumers discarding them entirely." I think that this is the mindset that companies need to have. With a mindset like this we can really combat the effects that we cause on our environment.  Now Timberland is not the only company out there that has this type of culture, but they are one of the leaders of the pack. And that is something that we need.

http://responsibility.timberland.com/product/?story=1#product-recycling

Apps that take you farther

In this post I wanted to inform all of the owners that drive electric vehicles on three OnStar apps that have been previewed at the GM Electrification Experience. There were three total smartphone apps that were previewed at the GM Electrification Experience. Two of the three apps are used to figure out the "range anxiety" and the public charging costs in the areas that you are in. The third app gives driving an electric vehicle a competitive spin. The three apps that can be used are Waypoint, Park-Tap-Charge (PTC), and the Volt Driver Challenge app.

The Waypoint app is used to help drivers figure out if they can reach a certain destination on the current charge that they have. If they cannot reach that destination, Waypoint will map out a route with specific directions to that final destination that have charging stations along the way. The only drawback of this app is that it will only work with GM's new Chevy Spark model. This app is set to come onto the market in 2013 when the Spark is schedule to come out.

The Park-Tap-Charge app is used to give drivers an estimate of the charging costs of the specific areas that they are in. This app will provide the hourly rate of using the charging station, and the estimate time and cost of a full charge. Drivers will pay these costs through the PayPal method.This app is still in the developmental stages but is in the works to being completed.

The final app, the Volt Driver Challenge app will allow electric vehicle owners to compare their driving stats against others around the globe. Everyone has some sort of competitive drive within them, so this app creates, in a sense, a game that challenges drivers to be more efficient with their driving. This app will award badges and more mileage to those who are more efficient compared to other drivers. This app, as you can see also only works with one vehicle, the Chevy Volt and can be used by any Volt owner with an OnStar account.

These three smartphone apps show us how far technology can take us. Two of these apps give you vital information that people may need while driving from place to place. The third app gives a competitive spin to drive more efficiently, which in turn benefits the environment that we live in. With technologies like this we are on the right way of becoming environmentally friendly.

I found this information off of cleantechnica.com if any of you would like to see for yourself. Here is the link for you to check it out.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/26/new-smartphone-apps-will-help-boost-range-of-gm-electric-vehicles/

Sustainability at Illinois State

Many colleges throughout the nation have been moving towards the idea of sustainability. Schools are implementing new technologies, teaching classes, and many other things that are involved with sustainability. In this post I wanted to talk about the school that I go to, Illinois State University.  This past year, they have implemented a new minor called business environment and sustainability due to the increasing demand for sustainability throughout the university. Fortunately, I was one of the first students to get accepted into the minor.

Along with the implementation of the new minor, Illinois State University was recognized in The Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges.  Some qualities considered, according to the Pantagraph, were “the campus's quality of life, how well an institution prepares students for employment in a green economy, and whether school policies are environmentally responsible.” Also according to the Pantagraph, in ISU’s case, they were recognized for “its active Green Team sustainability committee, having a full-time sustainability coordinator, its recycling program, energy efficiency measures, and providing transportation alternatives such as campus shuttle buses and car and bike share programs.”

This is just one example of how the idea of sustainability is spreading not just the business world, but also in schools as well. The world is going heading in the direction of sustainable ways, and ISU is doing their part in helping us get there.  With the continuing trend of schools moving towards the sustainable ways, we may be able to halt the damaging affects we are causing to our environment.

http://sustainability.illinoisstate.edu/

Three products to support Green World Living

Three products that I wanted to let you know about are two T-shirts and an Iphone case that I am selling through cafepress.com. The first T-shirt is a fitted shirt that has the Green World Living logo on the upper left side of the chest. This T-shirt can be used for just wearing out on an everyday occasion. Or it could be worn to help promote the Green World Living Brand. The second T-shirt is a performance dry T-shirt. This could also be worn around and about on an everyday occasion, but it is more likely to be worn when doing some sort of exercise. Exercise is a good thing for you to do to keep you healthy, and living sustainable, energy efficient life is good for keeping our environment healthy. So why not do both at the same time? The third and final product that I am selling through cafepress.com is a Iphone charger case. The Iphone is a very popular phone out on the market these days, and in a lot of cases people can't go about their days without it. I myself have the Iphone and rely heavily upon it. So, when the time comes when you need to charge your phone, you don't have to plug it in. All you need is this case to charge it for you while you are on-the-go. “Time is money” is the saying that a lot of people follow here in the U.S. so why spend time charging your phone by plugging it into the wall. Here is a link to the products if you would like to check them out for yourself.

http://www.cafepress.com/greenworldliving

Saving on energy and creating it at the same time

                In this post I wanted to promote a few products that are out there that can help you save on your home energy costs, and if you would like, create your own energy. The two products are both “do-it-yourself” books that give you step by step instructions to help you save. The first product is called “Save on Home Energy” and the second product is called “Home Made Power Plant.”

                The book “Save on Home Energy” is written by Peter Lindemann who has over 35 years of experience with advanced energy solutions. He also has a website on alternative energies that is one of the most popular websites in the world. A few things that the book goes into is cutting hot water heating costs by 70%, cutting oil heating costs by up to 25%, spending less while keeping your thermostat turned up, and cutting the costs of lighting your home by 50% to just name a few.

                The book “Home Made Power Plant” is written by Frank Patrick who is an alternative energy researcher. On the website where you order this book, it states “Discover How To Pay Only $3 For Electricity This Month... Next Month... Forever... It's Legal, It's Easy, And You Can Do It Today!” Now I don’t know about you but paying $3 a month for electricity would make my life a lot easier, especially since I am a college student. The book goes into the basic solar power system that includes a solar panel, wind turbine, emergency generator, charge controller, inverter, battery box, and a control panel. By using this energy system, you can save tons of money and create it at the same time.

Here are the links to follow if you would like to check these products out for yourself.

http://www.save-on-home-energy.com/index.html

http://www.homemadepowerplant.com/?hop=0

Top sustainability blog you may want to check out

                In this post tonight I wanted to let you know, if you don’t already, about another blog that has very good information on all aspects of sustainability. Greenbiz.com is a blog site that has many different things that you can search for. There are blog posts, job listings in the sustainability fields, and sustainability events. By just looking at the home page, there are blog posts on how Walmart taught a student about sustainability, destructions brought on by hurricane Sandy, how IKEA plans to take their building to be energy-neutral, how an upstart helped Samsung beat the Iphone in energy efficiency, and many more topics related to the sustainability field.

                Also after looking up GreenBiz on social media sites, they seem to be having some success like Cleantechnica has. GreenBiz has over 24,000 followers on twitter, 4,050 likes on Facebook,  and over 36,000 members on Linkedin. With this many followers, likes, and members, it shows the success that GreenBiz is having.

                In my opinion, I think GreenBiz is one of the better known websites based on the sustainability topic, but for those that have not heard of GreenBiz, I think you should check it out. I am now comfortable with the website because I check out some current news on the topic and also look at potential job opportunities  because I am graduating this coming Spring. Even though I know what I am doing with the website, it is an easy website to follow when you first use it. It has everything grouped into categories that are easy to find. By looking at blogs such as Greenbiz.com,  I feel like I am becoming a more knowledgeable blogger on the sustainability topic. By furthering my knowledge, I will hopefully help the readers that follow my blog in a better way.

http://www.greenbiz.com/

http://cleantechnica.com/