Buzzed on Beer and “Hooked” on Recycling: The Original Bottle Cap Fishing Lure Company! | 3BL Media

In the dead of winter a sportsman’s fancy turns to …fishing. Well, some men, anyway. What’s more traditional than fishing? Ever since Jonah and the Whale, trying to land a big one, or at least to come up with a whopper about the one that got away, has become a feverish obsession with many an angler. Almost as big an obsession as drinking beer, another ancient tradition going back 4000 years that even has its own Sumerian god. Fishing and beer, a traditional winning combination.

Now these two traditions come together in a whole new way that’s good for the planet and fun on both ends. Norm Price was sitting home sipping his favorite brew, when he bent a bottle cap in half and tossed it up on his table, where it landed next to a fish hook. Eureka – a light went on for Norm, and he quickly cobbled together a fishing lure. He tried it out and in short order was reeling in his first fish. He’s been reeling in cash ever since.

Norm pulled together a team of hard working folks to haunt local bars and taverns and collect the caps. He collects about a million caps a month, all brands from Amstel to Żywiec. Less than 10% end up as fishing lures, the rest are saved to recycle the metal, but with over 2 billion beer caps being produced by just one Canadian brewer alone, there seems to be “no limit” to the fishing lure and bottle cape recycling market.

And the lures, whether made from beer or soda caps, catch fish. You can try your favorite brand to see how well it performs.

So get out your hip waders and spinning rod, score a six pack of your favorite brew and head to the fishing hole. You could soon be dining on a grilled filet and your favorite brew dreaming of the ones yet to get away.

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

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The Season of Hope | 3BL Media

GoodB Blog

This is our winter of discontent. The jobless seek a pay check; the almost-homeless pray for a miracle; the indebted seek relief. Throughout the nation and across the globe, human beings are locked in the battle for survival. Yet despite our struggles, this last week signifies a new season of hope for humanity. 

Something miraculous happened on the way to the White House this holiday week. Sixty privileged and pampered U.S. senators dragged themselves out on Christmas Eve in the wee hours of the morning to push through historic health care reform.
 
Many Americans are against the reforms in the current health care bill either because they hold too much or too little change. Yet the miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue is so much more than the bill itself; the debate on healthcare reform represents a shift of consciousness from exclusive self-interest to inclusive world-interest.
 
Healthcare is an economic issue as we know in America. It costs too much for too little. The only people who benefit from the high costs of care are pharmaceutical companies, health insurance companies, those who pad the bills to Medicaid and Medicare, and their investors. Everyone else is out on a limb to pay for the outrageously expensive cost of maintaining our bodies.
 
The healthcare debate has revealed a clear dividing line in the consciousness of the public. The debate cuts across economic classes, genders, ethnicity, and social stratas. We are no longer separated in a battle between haves, have nots or have mores. The debate reveals a clarion call raging through society: The ancient struggle of self-service versus common-good.
 
Given the painful lessons of the last year, the mood of the nation seems to be shifting from a “what’s in it for me” cultural ethic to a newly emerging ethos of “If I flourish, so should you.” Battle lines are drawn between those afraid to lose what they have and those willing to share their fortune with others. A new day is dawning in America, because compassion for others has won a decisive victory—at least for the moment.
 
We are good people in this country; kind people, generous perhaps even to a “fault.” Yet fear of suffering can make even the gentlest of souls selfish and indifferent. A newly minted senior citizen, a woman of 65, is adamantly against health care reform. She states her objection to expanding care, “I don’t want a 45 year old to get my MRI.” The sentiment sounds petty and insensitive coming from someone receiving taxpayer supported Medicare. Yet her concerns are real. Would she get the required care needed or would she have to sacrifice her own health for another’s?
 
Some don’t want to see their already costly healthcare premiums increase. Others don’t want to pay tax on top level care. Still others fear their healthcare will be compromised in service to others. All these are real concerns for ordinary Americans. Some working, some not—all are understandably worried whether their survival and comfort will be threatened by “reform.”
 
Yet an extraordinary change of heart is underfoot, worthy of the era we find ourselves in: the era of shared concern.
 
The issues of universal healthcare go far beyond any legislation debated in Congress. The fundamental issue revolves around, “What is our obligation as human beings to care for others?” “Must I sacrifice any part of my comfort or share my good fortune with you?”
 
The big banks have answered this question this year by plowing ahead with bonuses at the expense of the American taxpayer. If we really believe in “raw survival-of-the-fittest capitalism” we should be okay with this. Yet most of us are adamantly opposed to this inequity.
 
The Fed Chief states the bailout he himself engineered is “distasteful and unfair;” yet only those who benefited from his actions agree. Anyone struggling financially to survive knows how misguided and undemocratic the 2008-2009 bailout programs truly are.
 
We have been in an on-going struggle in America since our founding between individualism, our personal sense of freedom, and a broader sense of justice and fair play. “What is our obligation to the greater public and at what cost does that come to ourselves?” is the key question consistently argued in our two century history.
 
I don’t know the answer for everyone, but for me the answer can be best told through a story. Several years ago I visited an American friend in Brazil. As we sat at an outdoor churrascaria gazing at the crowded sands of Ipanema, content in all our abundant perfection, a little boy of nine or ten peered at me through the restaurant gates. His huge brown eyes hungrily took in the bounty before me. As the waiters brought more food, I said to my friend, “Can we ask him to join us?” My friend seemed annoyed by the question and explained that Rio was not like the U.S. “Orphaned street children are common here,” he said. “You can give them a few coins, but not more than that because if you do you will never get rid of them.”
 
The callousness of his remark shocked me. I asked, “But we have so much food, can’t we give him some? He looks like he is starving.” My friend shook his head no, made a joke about life’s inequities and detailed the Brazilian social system to me. “People are just used to it here, you can’t help them. This is just the way it is.” My friend and I began a deep discussion on indifference, civic duty, and compassion. All the time the little boy’s eyes stared at the table of food through the gate. The discussion became heated as we both stated our increasingly diverse views. As my friend kept eating and talking, the limitless supply of meats flowing, my appetite and conversation diminished. “How can you eat while this child is starving?” I asked him. He laughed and stuffed a rare piece of Filet Mignon in his mouth and said, “Like this.”
 
When he got up to go to the restroom I signaled to the child to come and sit down. The boy ran through the gates to the table, only to be intercepted by angry waiters who shooed him away like a fly. The head waiter scolded me harshly for inviting “street urchins” into his restaurant. My friend returned to the chaotic scene embarrassed by my social faux pas and I decided to leave, but not before asking for a “doggie bag.” The waiter refused and I scooped up the meats untouched on my plate into a napkin, handed them to the boy who grabbed them and ran off.
 
My companion was as repulsed by my actions as I was by his. In my youth I judged him harshly. I left to go back to the States and rarely spoke to him again. In time, I recognized the real issue between us was not as cut and dry as one might suppose- it was the differing ways we viewed the world. I felt an obligation to help those less fortunate in any way I could; he felt he had no obligation to the “world,” only to a select few. His seeming self-interest belied the fact that he was deeply generous to a handful of friends in New York and Brazil. Yet his kindness did not spill over to the greater human population. “I cannot help everyone,” he told me, “and neither can you.”
 
In the years since, I understand his behavior more than I once did. He was a kind man who could not express that compassion to the greater community without overwhelming himself. That “is just the way it is,” he had told me. His statement marked an apathy and acceptance I did not share. That was the major difference between us more than any innate goodness on my part or his.
 
He was right of course in his mature wisdom. I cannot help everyone, nor can anyone. But we can do whatever possible to help others without sacrificing ourselves. I told my friend in Rio that it might be the way it is, “but I don’t accept it.” Neither should any of us, accept a status quo of indifference and apathy, not if we hope to create a better world.
 
While the healthcare bill is as imperfect as we humans are, it marks an important shift from apathy and indifference to shared responsibility. Healthcare in this country is an expensive commodity reserved only for those who are fortunate enough to afford it or old enough to qualify for it.
 
That might be the way it is, but we don’t have to accept it, because it is just not good enough.
 
The new vote on Healthcare brings Hope for a less indifferent and more responsible America in the year ahead—one where the basic necessities of life are not considered luxuries meant only for a lucky few.
 
Happy Holidays from all of us at GoodB.
 
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Holiday Highlights from Greenopolis | 3BL Media

Happy Holidays

Melissa McGinnis shows us true holiday spirit in this collection of Holiday Highlights from GreenopolisTV. Melissa shares her creative ways to “use less and mean more.” Celebrate and conserve our planet’s precious resources this year as you enjoy the holidays with your friends and family.

Christmas was declared a national holiday in 1870. Since the 1970’s, the Kennedy Space Center has made their shuttle landing facility available for emergency landing by Santa Claus should problems develop during his annual visit to children around the world! Hanukkah is celebrated every year between the end of November and the end of December. It begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which varies from year to year on the Western calendar. The eight day celebration commemorates the rededication of the Jerusalem temple, and the miracle of the sacred lamp that burned for eight days on a single day’s oil. Kwanzaa is a seven day celebration of African culture begun by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at California State University. Celebrated from December 26th to January 1st, Kwanzaa (which means “first fruits of the harvest”) is meant to honor African heritage and present day life in America. The holiday ends with a large feast on the final evening called Karamu. Whatever holiday you celebrate this season, do it with joy in your heart and the Earth in your mind.

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

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CSR Minute: Goodwill + Dell Partner for Reconnect; Miami’s Miagreen Conference and Expo

Corporate Social Responsibility News: Goodwill + Dell Partner for Reconnect; Miami’s Miagreen Conference and Expo

Top Provider of Custom and Standard Chef Wear Just Went Green | 3BL Media

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) December 28, 2009 – Green Business League has certified Culinary Classics as an authentically Green Company because of their Green clothing line and Green Practices.  This company has been around for many years and is a family owned uniform company providing uniform apparel for chefs, waiters, bus boys, and more. Your staff can look forward to wearing made-to-order uniforms which complement female, long, short, and plus sizing from XS-7X. They require no minimums, as well as offering complementary design consultation. They are located out of the Chicago, IL area where they make garment from start to finish ensuring the highest quality and the uniforms from there can be delivered anywhere in the country.

Culinary Classics stimulates restaurant and kitchen environments all over the country by providing custom solutions of unique styles and flavors for each location. By combining outstanding customer service, enthusiastic consultation, and a product line of the highest quality, comfort and style, the Culinary Classics brand becomes exactly what you want to wear.

Just as the best recipes benefit from the highest quality ingredients, the perfect combination of flavors and the most stunning presentation, so does their uniforms. At Culinary Classics you can create the perfect visual representation of your character and style because every order is made to order. You choose your product, fabric, size, pockets, buttons–everything. Let your customers know from their first glance what kind of enterprise yours is through the design of your uniform.

Because they make our products after you have placed your order, they have the ability to produce clothing that is exactly what you want. The four step process located under the “Build Your Own” link clearly outlines how to create a customized order. In the “Build Your Own” process you have the option of designing your own fabrics, colors, and styles to make your perfect coat that reflects you or your company all by the click of a mouse. You can also just call one of our sales representatives and they will be more then will to help you through the process.           

Culinary Classics also offers a catalog, which you can receive for free through the mail, our online store gives you the option of selecting winning combinations of some of our more popular products. Every order is still made to order, except the few in-stock items they keep on our shelves, but they do offer the option of purchasing some of our favorite creations online.

When customers ask us for our best chef coat, they make sure to explain that each chef has their own best chef coat. It depends on what you need; it depends on what you like. Here are some descriptions of our classic fabrics, each with their own characteristics. If you would like to get a swatch sent to you, or you have questions about what’s right for you, just ask!

Culinary Classics has a new and 100% Organic Cotton is 6.5 oz, USDA certified and available in White. Organic cotton is grown and processed without the use of pesticides and other chemicals which pollute the earth and our environment. One of the more exotic styles in the Premium Egyptian Cotton which is one of the most luxurious fabrics, premium Egyptian cotton has an incredibly soft feel. Lightweight and breathable, this 100% cotton fabric is truly a mark of elegance. Also, the cotton / rayon blend has a smooth and silky feel and touch. Try these fabrics for your next uniform involving shirts, hats, pants and ties.

Visit the Culinary Classic homepage to see more types of uniforms and what fabrics they use.  At their website you can build your own uniform or contact someone if you are interested.  Take a look around their website and I gaurantee you will like what you see.  The Green Business League is proud to certify Culinary Classic because they are dedicated company that wants to help the environment and make the best quality uniforms available.