Vu1 Technology introduces Electron Stimulated Luminescence™ Lighting Technology

Let me start out by saying that if you think you have all the energy efficient
lighting figured out…..   OH, No Grasshopper!

It is neither incandescent, fluorescent nor LED. Vu1 has been quietly developing
an alternative technology, and the lighting industry might be on the verge of a
genuine shakeup. Electron Stimulated Luminescence (ESL™) Lighting Technology is an
entirely new, energy efficient lighting technology.

ESL Lighting Technology uses accelerated electrons to stimulate phosphor to create
light, making the surface of the bulb “glow”.  ESL Technology creates the same light
quality as an incandescent but is more energy conserving. There is no use of the
neurotoxin Mercury (Hg) in the lighting process. (more…)

Starbucks addresses water wastage following tabloid indictment

Following the revelation in British rag-mag The Sun that constantly running
dipper wells waste a humongous amount of water, a Starbucks spokesperson confirms, “Stores will be instructed to switch off the dipper well tap and will wash
spoons after use.” And the plot thickens: According to PRWeek.com, a senior-
level source at an unnamed PR agency claims, “We warned [Starbucks] several
years ago that their usage of water was not good for their environmental
credentials and could be a potential problem for them. They listened, but
they didn’t do anything about it.” Starbucks has tried to polish its green
image, saying that by 2010 it wants to source 50 percent of its energy from
renewables, use green-building practices in all new stores, and “reestablish” (more…)

Good news on the environment front! The Home Depot will now accept unbroken
consumer compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) at all locations. The service
is free and the first such offering made so widely available in this country,
according to the retail chain.

Customers can simply hand over any expired, unbroken CFLs to the clerk behind
the returns desk. The bulbs will go to an environmental management company
responsible for coordinating CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to
maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance. (more…)

Go to earth911.org to find a recycling site near you. Just type in what you
want to recycle or hit ‘more’ and select from the list, add your zip, city,
or state and hit ‘go’. Now don’t expect to find many places that recycle CFLs.
Because of the mercury worries involved with these bulbs, those that do will
normally only accept spent CFLs from their area residents.

There are numerous places on the internet that will ship you a kit to hold
your spent fluorescent and/or HIDs (high intensity discharge lamps), etc.
Then when full you ship back via a ground carrier like FedEX (prepaid). The (more…)

I do not know about you, but here in East Texas, they have been advertising about
the transition to digital signal for your TV in February, 2009.

So your analog TV will not receive a signal from your local channels with an
antenna. You will have to purchase a digital converter for $50.00 in order (more…)

CFL has a small amount of mercury – about the amount of the tip of a pencil.

The internet has been buzzing concerning a woman who spent thousands of dollars
cleaning up from a CFL bulb breaking.

The truth is, this wasn’t necessary. The mercury powder is not in the tube
of the bulb, it’s in a little cathode in the ends that are completely encased
where it doesn’t leak when the tube is broken.

In an abundance of caution, if a CFL breaks, open windows to ventilate the
area, wear gloves, use cardboard to scoop the fragments then duct tape
for the little pieces. Place all contents of the cleanup including gloves
in a plastic bag and hand over to a hazardous waste disposal company.

Between CFL and the standard incandescent, CFL’s are still, hands down, the
only green choice.

Until LED’s become more standardized and economical, CFL’S are the only choice,
at this time, an Earthling can make!

So there!