The folks from Decor Kraft Inc. (DCI) have come up with a new twist for the paper coffee cup that we have all grown fond of. It is a ceramic reusable look alike with a silicon top and cup collar. It holds about 8 ounces, the lid stays on securely and because it is ceramic like your coffee mug at home it will keep your coffee warmer longer. It also seems to be a little easier to use than those other insulated “roady” travel cups most of us pick up from a trade-show or the local coffee venue. Less paper cups used = less energy used to make them. DCI also recommends cleaning them in an environmentally friendly by way using lemons and toothpaste. See iamnotapapercup.com for more information on it.
About Windspire
Windspire wind turbines are low-cost, low-noise, attractive wind power generators for use with residential, business, and commercial buildings. Manufactured in the U.S., the Windspire wind turbine is a 30-foot tall, propeller-free, vertical-axis wind turbine designed for harnessing wind power in urban, suburban and rural locations. Windspire’s patented technology maximizes energy conversion from wind into electric power, regardless of changing wind speed and direction. For more information, visit www.mariahpower.com.
Consider using green practices when it comes to constructing a new building or when remodeling your kitchen, bathroom or home. Follow the trend of using salvaged or reclaimed items helps cut down on resource utilization. Below are some useful resources for you to learn how or where to get some.
Build It Green has some very good guidelines and checklists for Green Construction, remodeling and building new homes. They have extensive lists of building material recommendations and sources. Advanced house framing techniques for new homes, show techniques on how to use half the wood of current building practices. Build it Green in NYC has information on low cost salvage and surplus building materials. Also Vintage Timber has many reclaimed wood structures which can be incorporated into your home.
There are many more just like these and many more green building tips to be found by typing “Green Building Tips” into your favorite search engine.
The following is information recently reported by one of the top job listing sites. It is very clear from below that job recovery has started in many sectors. Especially encouraging are the increases in job ADs for hospitality and retail as these are good indicators that consumer confidence is increasing – a sure sign that people are spending more money than on the basic necessities. See our JOBS tab or use our JOBS SEARCH to find a job listing that is right for you.
March 2010*
Industry
Job Postings
Annual Change
Accounting
124,153
12%
Construction
87,492
0%
Education
93,224
11%
Financial Services & Banking
205,227
15%
Healthcare
593,545
-4%
Hospitality
78,805
33%
Information Technology
256,866
17%
Manufacturing
80,575
22%
Media and Newspaper
34,930
30%
Real Estate
29,868
29%
Retail
301,849
42%
Transportation
60,579
16%
*Statistical approximations have been used to compute these results.
Ever wonder how you can reduce the amount of unnecessary junk mail you receive? Most of us get catalogs that we never use or want and what about all those value coupon packs! Well hopefully you recycle them rather than add them to a landfill by throwing them out. For some handy ways to reduce the amount of junk mail you get see below for how to eliminate or at least greatly reduce it.
Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has an online form to take you off their preferred lists which will greatly help in reducing the flow of marketing mail to you.
Stop Junk Mail.org has an easy to use printable form to stop junk mail. It has postcards to send in, places to write to, and 800 numbers to call to get you off many direct marketing lists.
Privacy Rights.org has a list of places you can opt out of offers yourself.
OptOutPrescreen is the official consumer credit industry’s site to opt out of credit offers.
ProQuo is a company helps stop junk mail, but seems to be more of a venture funded business that is designed to help get catalogs and mailings you might want to you.
Similar CatalogChoice is a company helps reduce unwanted catalogs but allows you to select new ones you may want.
For more information on other ways to reduce your junk mail see the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse website for tips.
The 2011 Job Outlook survey from NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers)
The top 5 candidate skills desired by employers:
Verbal Communication Skills
Strong Work Ethic
Teamwork Skills
Analytical Skills
Initiative
Source: Job Outlook 2011, National Association of Colleges and Employers
While the NACE organization focuses on entry-level careers, the above list is important at all levels to stay competitive. So how do you score?
If you are a job seeker do you have specific examples for each of the above skills? Do you have multiple examples that show a range for each? For example, regarding verbal communication skills you might highlight your ability to have difficult conversations, your concise and clear communication style, your engaging presentation style, or your ability to communicate effectively with different types of people. These are all compelling and very different attributes of verbal communication. For strong work ethic, this could mean working long hours, working a volatile or heavy travel schedule, or working in turnaround situations against all odds. You need to know your unique skills and experience to position yourself effectively for what prospective employers care about.
Even if you are happily employed, work environments and priorities change. You want to make sure that you are not getting complacent and allowing your skills to rust. The above five skills are always valued, but the standards by which they are measured change over your career. Maybe you got to where you are now because of superior analytical skills and despite below average communication skills, but now you are a manager. You may not get a pass for your lack of communication skills now because proficiency is measured differently at different levels. On the flip side, maybe you were always a great people person with soft analytical skills, but now you have been promoted to running a budget and need to get the numbers to work. The strengths that served you and the weaknesses you could dismiss might be different now. In addition, as situations and people change, your style and approach might need to be modified.
For both the job seeker and the happily employed, you want to translate the overall top five list to your specific prospective employer’s or current employer’s top five list. You want to know the top five desired skills for your specific industry, functional area at your specific level. These overall survey results are a great framework to start reviewing your skills and experience, but they are not a substitute for paying attention to your market and getting regular feedback from people with whom you regularly interact.
How do you score on these 5 commonly desired skills?
Do you know if these skills match your target or current area?
What do you need to do in the next 30 days, 90 days, 365 days to improve?
One way to save energy is to use a bike to do local chores especially with gallon of gas topping $4.00 per gallon. Buying an American made one saves energy and creates jobs in the USA. However, if you think you’re going to walk into a Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart or Sears and find a bicycle with a “Made in USA” tag on it, you’re going to be disappointed that you wasted your time as well as your car’s gas.
America needs a Buy American strategy before blindly heading out the door or going online to find an American-made Huffy for under a hundred bucks. Well it’s just not going to happen. Awareness is the key, and such a Buy American strategy to save energy and jobs should apply whether you’re looking for bicycles or cosmetics.
Two of the more-popular names in bicycles are Trek and Cannondale, but it’s difficult to find American-made bikes from these brands for under $1,500.00. You can use Craig’s List, Amazon, the local garage sale or eBay to perhaps find a used one. I recently saw Trek and Cannondale bikes used for less than $800. Most of the high-end, carbon-frame bikes from Trek are made in USA, with their low-end, heavier aluminum frame bikes imported. Cannondale, which not long ago prided themselves as having their complete line handmade in USA, however they too are now importing their lower-end, lower-priced bikes from overseas. Trek and Cannondale are usually brands that are sought after by serious bike enthusiasts. You can locate dealers for Trek bikes at www.trekbikes.com and Cannondale bikes at www.cannondale.com.
If you’re not a super-serious bike enthusiast that wants a basic, casual, American-made bicycle for a cheaper price then consider Worksman Cycles (www.worksmancycles.com). They have been proudly made in USA since 1898, and you can custom design your own Worksman Custom Cruiser for around $299.00. You can also find 3-wheeled tricycles for $449.00 along with other specialty bikes. You can even have one custom built for a reasonable price.
Worksman Cycles prides themselves in the higher-quality of their bikes over the typical import, and they’re not shy in telling you about it. On their website, they tell the reader “To be perfectly frank, if you are looking for ordinary run of the mill imported cruiser bikes, shop somewhere else.” We applaud their candidness!
If you’re in the market for an American-made bike with more of a retro-style feel, check out Aero-Fast bicycles at www.aerofast.com. All Aero-Fast bicycles are made in Jacksonville, Florida. Their least expensive model is the Beach Bomber Econo for $449.00, with almost all of their bikes costing under $1,000.00.
Bike riding is a source for recreation, relaxation and good health for many Americans. By buying an American-made bike, you can better your own health as well as the health of the U.S. economy, and that’s better for all Americans whether they ride bicycles or not.
Toilets are by far the main source of water use in the home, accounting for nearly 30 percent of an average home’s indoor water consumption. Older, inefficient toilets also happen to be a major source of wasted water in many homes. Replacing these toilets with WaterSense labeled toilets could save nearly 2 billion gallons per day across the country—that’s nearly 11 gallons per toilet in your home every day! By retrofitting your entire bathroom with WaterSense labeled fixtures, you can save even more.
What Are WaterSense Labeled Toilets?
Recent advancements have allowed toilets to use 20 percent less water than the current federal standard, while still providing equal or superior performance. The WaterSense label is used on toilets that are certified by independent laboratory testing to meet rigorous criteria for both performance and efficiency. Only toilets that complete the third-party certification process can earn the WaterSense label.
How Much Can WaterSense Labeled Toilets Save?
Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely flush the toilet nearly 140,000 times. If you replace older, existing toilets with WaterSense labeled models, you can save 4,000 gallons per year with this simpler, greener choice.
And Price?
WaterSense labeled toilets are available at a wide variety of price points and a broad range of styles. The EPA estimates that a family of four that replaces its home’s older toilets with WaterSense labeled models will, on average, save more than $90 per year in reduced water utility bills, and $2,000 over the lifetime of the toilets. Additionally, in many areas, utilities offer rebates and vouchers that can lower the price of a WaterSense labeled toilet.
Look for the WaterSense Label!
Whether remodeling a bathroom, starting construction of a new home, or simply replacing an old, leaky toilet that is wasting money and water, installing a WaterSense labeled toilet is a high-performance, water-efficient option worth considering. If every American home with older, inefficient toilets replaced them with new WaterSense labeled toilets, we would save nearly 640 billion gallons of water per year, equal to more than two weeks of flow over Niagara Falls!
Rather than plant a tree for Earth Day, Recycle the stuff you do not want. It has a bigger impact sooner then just planting a tree, shrub or flowers. Below are some resources for redirecting it to people in need who can use the items thus saving them from going to the land fill.
One Mans’ Trash is Another Mans’ Treasure
Craigslist is a good place to place free stuff ad to give away things.
Freecycle is site that helps connect donors with recipients.
PUP Pick Up Please will come to your house if you have many items.
All are some of many the great causes or ways to recycle your unwanted items. You can also use your favorite search engine to find a local organization that will accept donations.
OTHER WAYS TO CELEBRATE
Walk or bike to work today (and other days as well).
Replace an incandescent light in your home or office with an LED or CFL one.
Buy and use a re-useable water bottle instead of buying bottled water.
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