Announcing the “Plant a Tree with Florence I.T. Every Hour” Campaign | 3BL Media

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) December 9, 2009 – The “Plant a Tree with Florence I.T. Every Hour” campaign for the month of December, 2009 is simple: Florence I.T. clients this month simply continue what they are doing already, using Florence I.T. for their I.T. support. For EVERY HOUR spent on services Florence I.T. will plant ONE TREE in the client’s name. There is no limit, so prepayment of time may appeal to some clients if they wish to make a larger impact. “This is, quite simply, one more easy thing we can do.” said President of Florence I.T., Matt Lampiasi. He went on to say  ”The program is being offered because we believe urgent action is needed to reverse the effects of climate change. Instead of it just being about our company, we are doing what it can for the environment, we want to continue to tie the rewards to customer action.” 

About Florence I.T.

Florence I.T. began offering I.T. consulting, Value Added Reselling and I.T. support with a strong social and environmental focus from the start in early 2005.  We donate a large portion of our yearly pretax income to local nonprofit and community programs, usually around 15%.  As a home based virtual business, we employ (and deploy, for clients), remote access technologies which have clear environmental benefit. Our home office employs the aid of a grid-connected solar electric system  that covers most of our yearly power requirements. Client locations are intentionally focused to the immediate geographical area to minimize travel.  We use LED and CFL lights, hardly any paper, responsibly recycle, and use and offer low power computing solutions whenever possible. In addition, we use a small “off-grid” solar setup that runs the Florence I.T. web server, completely on solar power, independent of the electric grid. For more information on our services, environmental or social initiatives, please visit our solar powered website at florenceit.net.

 About Mokugift

A social venture focused on customer experience and tangible, positive benefit to the environment and society, Mokugift makes it easy and rewarding to plant trees, for $1 apiece, through online “gifting.” Giving a mokugift tree is similar to sending an e-card, and recipients can proudly display their trees online at Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo!, and 50 other popular Web sites.

An official partner of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign, mokugift collaborates with award-winning nonprofit agroforestry organizations such as Trees For The Future and Sustainable Harvest International to plant trees in twelve countries: Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Burundi, Senegal, Zambia, India, the Philippines and Haiti.  Using environmentally sustainable methods, farmers in these countries plant mokugift trees to restock existing forests and enable more diverse, productive and economically sustainable land-use systems.

For more information on mokugift, please visit
http://www.mokugift.com

Charlie Brown, Environmentalist! How to Choose the Right Tree!

Remember the scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas where he picks out the saddest little tree in the lot? Everyone else had passed it over – had Charlie not picked it out it would have ended up in the bonfire or trash heap. Then with love and caring of his community of friends, it became a beautiful little symbol of peace on earth and renewal. Charlie Brown became an environmental hero, utilizing a tree that would have gone to waste and likely sparing a living one in the woods!

Well, OK, that’s probably a bit of hyperbole and oversell. The tree was a cut one and was doomed to dry up and die anyway. But the message in that film of spirit and substance over consumption and commercialism is an enduring one, both in the holiday season and all year round. This year, you can do Charlie Brown one better.

via youtube.com

First of all, what’s the meaning you want to create for yourself and family and the message you want to send to others? More and more people are decorating a living tree in their own yard, or bringing a small live one indoors to decorate and then replant outside later. I had one friend who has built an evergreen forest in his yard, one tree at a time. The message is conservation, and the living trees in his yard carry the meaning of each holiday season for ward year after year. Don’t want to buy? You can even rent a live tree in Portland, Oregon from the Original Living Christmas Tree Company - they replant them for you in sensitive areas to conserve water and soils.

If you choose to have a cut tree indoors, a locally cut or one you cut yourself will be fresher and last longer. Don’t feel too bad about cutting a tree from a tree farm, any more than you’d regret cutting a stalk of broccoli – they are grown as a crop, and new ones are planted as the more mature ones are cut, continuing a natural cycle. Avoid the big operations that cut those weeks ahead of time, ship those long distances, wasting fossil fuels and spewing carbon into your holiday air. When you are done with the tree, place it outside and hang popcorn, suet, and other treats for birds and wildlife- some will also shelter in it. If this is not possible, or when you have to get it out of your yard, break it up or chip it, and use it as mulch in your walkways, flower beds or gardens. Apartment dwellers, see if a friend in the ‘burbs or country will take it and use it up. Don’t send it to the landfill. Or you can contact the National Christmas Tree Association about their recycling program – they take old trees and reuse them as habitat, mulch, rebuilding sand dunes on beaches and restoring the Louisiana coastline to prevent future Katrina catastrophes.

For city dwellers. A better choice might be an artificial one. But who wants petroleum based tree in the house, even if you will use it year after year? A better bet might be a Buro Tree, made from reclaimed wood, or make your own tree from recycled materials.

A Mountain Dew Tree from green and red Mountain Dew Cans - the site shows you how to make your own, and after drinking all the Dew, the sugar and caffeine buzz will give you the time and energy to do it.

Or if you’ve got a little one crawling about, how about this one made from baby food jars from Kaboose.com?

You can go to Roxycraft.com and make this one out of faux fur.

But whatever you do, keep the spirit and message of the holiday out front. If you need a reminder, you can go here to watch Charlie Brown’s original tree video. Ho ho ho!

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.

Greenopolis: 10 Ways To Have A Greener Christmas

Ever year, I hear people complain that the holidays have become too materialistic. I think it’s true, and not only because the whole holiday season has taken on a “keeping up with the Joneses” kind of vibe. Also because the idea of waste and excess goes against everything I believe the holiday season stands for. Christmas should be a time to embrace family and friends, help others and reflect on ways we can do our part to improve the world. Christmas should be the green holiday.

So here are some ideas to help you reduce, reuse and recycle this Christmas.

10 Ways to Have a Greener Christmas

Re-think re-gifting. No matter what Jerry Seinfeld says, re-gifting is okay. If you’ve received a gift that you really don’t need, re-gifting makes perfect sense. Look for ways you can reuse an unneeded gift by passing it on to someone who can use it. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so re-gift with care and consideration. But keeping a gift you don’t need is wasteful.

Buy Less. It’s the though that counts, remember? Not all gifts have to be purchased. Homemade gifts can show your thoughtfulness.

Shop together. My friends and I do this every year. We car-pool! We make a day of going Christmas shopping together. First we hit the local holiday marketplace, then the farmer’s market and grab lunch. We spend the afternoon walking around the local shops we all love. Going shopping together not only saves fuel, it’s a fun way to enjoy the season with people you care about.

Go the Secret Santa route. If you have a long gift list for family members, why not divide it up? Write names on individual slips of paper and put into a hat or basket, then take turns drawing names. The name you draw is your gift recipient. Keep your chosen name a secret until the gift exchange to maintain the element of surprise.

Keep it local. Check out local craft fairs and holiday marketplaces to find local or handmade treasures. You’ll feel good about giving something unique and special that comes without any unnecessary transportation costs.

Give to others. Teach children the true spirit of giving during the holidays by asking them to pick 2-3 toys that they no longer play with and donating them to a homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter or other service organization like the Salvation Army. Grown-ups can do the same with winter coats, blankets and shoes that can be donated to the those in need.

Lower your impact. Reduce the size of your lighting display to conserve electricity. If you’re buying new lights this year, buy LED holiday lights. They use up to 95% less energy than larger, traditional holiday bulbs and last longer. Remember to turn out all holiday lights at bedtime, and keep them off during the daytime.

Choose a live tree. Although plastic Christmas trees are reusable from year to year, real trees are the more sustainable choice. While artificial trees theoretically last forever, research shows that they are typically discarded when repeated use makes them less attractive. Discarded artificial trees are sent to landfills, where their plastic content last forever. Live trees are a renewable resource grown on tree farms, that are replanted regularly. They contribute to air quality while growing, and almost ninety percent are recycled into mulch. Live trees are usually locally grown and sold, saving both transportation costs and added air pollution. If you buy a live, potted tree, you’ll be able to reuse the tree for 2- 3 years without having to plant or re-pot the tree. If you can, consider planting the tree outdoors after Christmas. Be sure to anticipate the full-grown size of the tree, and avoid planting near foundations or underground services. Also, many communities now have a free chipping service for trees. If you can keep the chipped material, it makes excellent mulch for your shrub beds.

Make your own Christmas greeting cards. Use eco-friendly cards or just use email. Store bought cards can be expensive and they use a huge amount of natural resources for what is essentially a throw-away item. Handmade cards are unique and personal. Use last years Christmas cards to make cards for this year. Last year’s calendar or art work from the kids also make beautiful choices for handmade greeting cards.

There are also some great tree-free alternatives to traditional cards from The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company. Made from odorless elephant dung, they certainly will be a conversation starter! Find more eco-friendly recycled card suggestions in Top 5 Recycled Holiday Cards.

Email greeting cards are a great alternative to traditional paper cards, too. Plus you can personalize each card. No more cookie-cutter cards. Find some neat ones at Hallmark.com or Smilebox.com.

Green your gift wrap. No one will notice if you don’t use store-bought wrapping paper. Instead, use collected and saved paper bags from the grocery store, news print that was destined for the recycling center or left over fabric to wrap gifts. Be creative. Skip the store bought bows and use natural objects to adorn your packages. How about pine cones, holly leaves or magnolia leaves? Or use ribbon leftover from last Christmas.

via greenopolis.com