Solar powered coffee van coming to a town near you?

I recently stumbled upon a mobile coffee company this week, near where my wife works.

Besspresso is a solar and biofuel (soy-based) powered green van that serves a blend of organic, fair trade, and sustainable wood roasted coffee and various espresso drinks. They serve their coffee in 100% biodegradable corn and plant based cups.

They originated near Portland, Oregon a few years ago, but the new owners are taking it all over the United States. They will be here in Iowa City for a few more weeks, then off to Tempe, Arizona for the remainder of the year. They will also be making stops at various music and environmental festivals this summer.

They offer a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy coffee outdoors, and listen to music through their high quality loudspeaker system.

To learn more about their service, and where they are located now, visit their website at: http://www.solarespresso.com/

Philadelphia Eagles set the bar high for sports industry

One of the last industries you think of for promoting sustainability is the sports world. Players and fans flying and driving all over to attend games in large air-conditioned venues with lots of lights, huge amounts of concession stand food in disposeable containers.

One team is stepping out and taking the lead towards sustainability, the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).

In 2003, the Philadelphia Eagles owners, Jeffrey and Christina Lurie, decided they wanted to make the Eagles more environmentally responsible.  They had the insight to see that they could make a difference, and set the team apart from others with a program called “Go Green!”

The Go Green! initiative focuses around some key initiatives: renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation, recycling and waste reduction, reforestation (tree planting), and procurement decisions.

To start with, the Eagles offset their carbon emissions for the 2010 season through the GoZero program, which is managed by the Conservation Fund organization. They had been working their way up to 100% offset over the years. In 2009, the Eagles ran 100% of their operations on wind and solar, a small portion of which comes from their solar array at the NovaCare Complex, which produced 12,757 kilowatt-hours (kWh). In addition, they have cut their stadium’s annual electricity use by nearly 50% since 2004 through energy conservation and efficiency improvements.

The Eagles also created the country’s first Renewable Energy Employee Benefit Program, which encourages all full-time Eagles employees to purchase renewable energy credits (REC’s) from Delaware Valley region energy. The program compensates employees by paying the difference in price between current and renewable energy. In 2009, more than half of the organization’s eligible employees took advantage of this program.

In 2008 and 2009, the Eagles offset 100% of the greenhouse gas generated by team travel (air, bus, train and hotel) through tree planting. Their tree planting efforts take place at Eagles Forest, a 6.5-acre site at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It contains more than 4,000 trees and shrubs, including over 150 trees that have been purchased by Eagles fans. They are also sponsoring tree plantings in Louisiana’s Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge in Marksville, Louisiana, and helping with restoration projects in that area due to the recent oil spill in the gulf.

In 2009, they launched a composting program, in conjunction with their cafeteria service provider. They capture unwanted and disposed of food, and utilize compostable or post-consumer recycled content for utensils, plates and cups. In addition, the cooking oil is sent out for conversion to bio-diesel. They are also using environmentally preferable cleaning products to clean the food service and facilities areas. Along with a strong recycling program that has been in-place since 2003, they are getting very close to achieving a zero-waste operation.

In the office area, they have also made strides in reducing paper usage. They reduced newsletter publications by 36 tons of paper by moving more of the publications to online. They also moved to a digital media guide, saving more than 200 trees. They also increased the post-consumer content of the following items: game day programs, office printer paper, business cards, memo pads, invoices, staff handbooks, stadium credentials, facial tissue, hand towels, toilet paper, stadium maps, event staff birthday cards, tickets, cardstock and certain envelopes.

The efforts continue with the cheerleaders. The 2010-2011 Eagle Cheerleaders calendar was the first in the league to be printed on post-consumer recycled paper. The 38 cheerleaders are wearing eco-friendly bikinis made from organic cotton or recycled plastic bottles, with accessories (earrings, necklaces and bracelets) made from recycled materials such as CD's and computer chips. Additionally, 10% of the calendar sales will go to the Gulf Restoration Network to help protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf for future generations.

Finally, one of the key activities that got the effort moving was the Carbon Neutral game, which took place in 2005 between the St. Louis Rams and the Eagles. The teams worked with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), StopGlobalWarming.org, and NativeEnergy to offset the energy usage for a single game. They agreed to use clean energy from a Native American wind project in the Midwest, and energy from a Pennsylvania dairy farm methane project.

They determined that a single game produced 58 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution. The majority of the energy during the game came from heating the dome (wintertime in St. Louis), and running the huge lights during the game.  However, fans, media, and teams traveling by air, bus, and car to the game had a much greater impact. They estimated that travel took up more than 10,900 tons of CO2 – about 99% of the event's total carbon footprint.

Hats off the Eagles, and especially Christina Lurie, for her drive and determination to make this happen! I hope that other teams pay attention, and start competing with them in their sustainability efforts, not just on the football field. 

Learn more about the Eagles' Go Green! program >>>

'No Impact Man' sets the bar really high!

I'd like to think that I do pretty good at being "green", but after watching "No Impact Man", I feel like I've got a long way to go.

The movie is about an author who wants to write about something more meaningful. He decides to try an experiment, with his "somewhat willing" family, to see how little impact on the environment they can have. They start out pretty agressive, and build upon it in stages over the course of a year. The final six months, they go without electricity completely.

They generate zero trash, which is truly amazing! Everything they eat is from the Farmer's Market, or bought in bulk, to prevent having any packaging/trash. They don't use any toilet paper (still confused about how they did that...) and only take public transportation.

There are two sides to this movie. First, the effort took a toll on the couple, and they were ridiculed at times. On the other hand, it made them realize what was really important in life, and break themselves from things they thought they needed. Overall, I think they grew closer going through the experience.

Think you're up for the challenge? Download (don't print) the "How to Guide" to see what you are signing up for. The next scheduled event is April 18th.

Food, Inc. Movie Review

This movie did not play in my area, so I was glad to get it on DVD this week.

The movie explored the business behind the food we eat, and how the veil over how our food is processed is slowly (and luckily) being uncovered.

My biggest concern going into the movie was that it would be a shock movie, that would show you grotesque video of animals being killed inhumanely, and try and scare you into not eating meat again. They did a good job of showing some of the realities of the industry, without making you sick or grossed out. It is an ugly business, and most people don't want to know where their food comes from. However, unless we understand that companies are not looking out for your best interest, we will always be in the dark. The movie clearly explains that we need to start to question where your food is coming from, and start putting your money into food that is healthy and grown correctly, even if it costs more.

There were two main things I learned:

1) Wal-Mart started to carry organic food products because their customers asked for it. If enough people ask for these products, you can change ANY company, even one as large as Wal-Mart.

2) The government subsidies (gives money to) farmers to grow corn. That makes corn much cheaper than other food, which is why potato chips (for example) are so much cheaper than vegetables. So when you look at prices, you will always be choosing a food that is probably worse for you than what you should be eating. As you can see, this has serious consequences (obesity, diabetes, etc). I was shocked at the amount of food made from corn. It is also why corn is used to feed cattle (instead of grass, which is what they should be eating). You can add antibiotic, chemicals and other garbage into the feed, which is easier to do than with grass. Corn-fed cattle can be raised in smaller areas, since they don't need to roam, which means more profit for the meat industry. It's amazing what you find when you "follow the money"!

I highly recommend you watch this movie, if you haven't seen it yet!

Use post-it notes to change other people's wasteful behavior!

Where I work, I see a lot of people leaving their computers on, leaving lights on in their office. Those that work in the factory leave the test equipment and other electronic devices on as well.

Instead of complaining, I decided to make up some bright green post-it notes, and place them on the device, so the person sees the "reminder" when they come back. This way, you don't need to confront the "accuser" and make them feel bad. Often times, people just forget, or don't realize that it should be turned off.



Each pad comes with 50 notes, and they can be re-used (like a normal post-it note). Simply scan your work area, or your house, and place the note on anything that should be turned off. Certain items (like refrigerators) need to stay on all the time. Focus on the items that definitely need to be shut off. If you can follow up with this approach and feedback for one month (20-30 days), that should be enough time that behavior starts to change, and people will become more cognizant of what they're leaving on.

To order some of these post-its:

Green "Turn Off When Done" Post-It Note Reminders

Starlite Lounge in San Diego

When you first walk through the odd-shaped entrance, you are immediately hit with the uniqueness of this restaurant. We had definitely never been in a restaurant that looked like this. Very cool! Supposedly it is based upon the Alfred Hitchcock movie 'North by Northwest' (which I've seen ironically, since I've hardly seen any classic movies). It is dark like a lounge, but perfect for a date, or a night out with friends.



It was busy when we arrived on a Friday night, so we decided to eat at the bar. No problem, it was just the two of us, so it worked out great! We were also dressed pretty casual, but they have a no dress code policy, so we didn't feel obligated to dress up. However, if you and your date want to walk in with a tuxedo and evening dress, that would not be too formal for this place.



We ordered an organic beer and cider from Samuel Smith, which was excellent. I hadn't heard of them before, but I intend to look for them more in the future. They originate out of England, but have distribution out of Washington state. The food is made with local and/or organic ingredients as much as possible, and they support good sustainable practices, which you hope all restaurants are doing by now.

I ordered the steak, which was an 8 oz. prime flat iron, asparagus, organic potatoes, and nasturtium flower butter. I try to minimize the amount of beef I eat, so usually only when I eat out at a nice place do I allow myself to go for beef. It tasted great. My wife ordered the burger (also a rarity for her), which was an all natural Brandt beef patty, Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions served on a
brioche bun with dijonaise, house made pickles & fries. She also enjoyed her meal (and I helped her finish it off).

The only major problem we had was the location. It was a little ways from many other restaurants and stores, so unless you live nearby, you probably want to drive (safer due to its proximity to I-5 and the amount of traffic you encounter). When you get there, you have to park in a residential area a couple blocks away (on a busy night). Not much they can do to control that, so I won't dock them any points.

You can look at their menu here: Starlite Menu

If you're in the San Diego area, and are looking for a cool place to eat organic food, Starlite is definitely the place for you. Visit their website at: StarliteSanDiego.com for more information.

Review of Solio Solar Powered Charger

I received the much-anticipated Solio charger as a gift recently, and I couldn't wait to try it out. The thought of having my cell phone taken "off the grid" was pretty cool.



When I received the package, I was impressed that it came in a reused Motorola cell phone box. They could have chosen a fancy packaging with their logo out of virgin materials, but instead chose to keep with their green image.

Since I have an iPhone, I had to order a special attachment for the charger. When it arrived, it took me a while to figure out that I had to use my computer USB adapter for the iPhone, along with their adapter cable, in order to get things to connect together properly. I made a call to customer service, and they were able to set me straight. The instructions provided were mainly pictures of what to do, which usually are sufficient, but i kept looking for some written instructions for specific issues like this one. Once I got the pieces aligned, I was able to start capturing the sun for my own personal use.

You need to first charge your Solio via the computer first, before charging your device. I fully charged the Solio, but had trouble getting the charge transferred to my iPhone. Turns out you have to turn off your cell phone completely to have the device begin charging back up. That wasn't very clear either. Finally, some success! I was able to charge my phone from the Solio. Next step, getting a charge from the sun, instead of my computer!

I work in an office building that doesn't have any nearby windows, so I used the cool suction cup feature to set the charger on my car windshield while I was at work. I work in Florida, so sunshine is not a problem. After work was done, I expected to find a partial charge on the device, but was disappointed to find the same charge level as when I left it.

What happened?

Turns out the Solio likes to have a direct sunlight right at the device, otherwise it doesn't show a red charge light, and therefore is not charging. Maybe I am unfamiliar with solar technology, but I figured you could just lay the charger on the dashboard, and any sunlight, direct or not, would get captured. Since a full charge requires 12-24 hours of direct sun, i've been unable to get a full charge. I think I would probably need to go out to my car every couple hours and adjust the device so it has the best position to capture sunlight. Maybe I need to park my car in a certain angle so there are no shadows or nearby cars to block the sunlight. I think I need to completely rethink my parking situation at work.



Bottom line, I so wanted this device to be an easy way to avoid charging my phone with electricity, but it has been really frustrating so far. The company gets an A for effort, but I would rate it a C for execution so far. I haven't given up hope yet, but I've been pretty disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high to begin with. Look for updates later, if I find success with this device. If I can find a spot that gets good sunlight most of the day (without leaving it outside, or on top of my car), then that might take care of my main issues.

Kill-a-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor

We bought the Kill-a-Watt, in order to help us figure out where we were spending most of our money in electricity. We were hoping it would also help us figure out whether we had phantom power on some of our devices (using power when not in use).



The device works by simply unplugging the 110-volt device from the wall, plugging in the Kill-a-Watt into the outlet, then plugging the device into the Kill-a-Watt, and pressing the on button. That simple! It starts to measure the amount of kilowatt hours (KwH) of electricity used, and retains the amount of minutes and hours that it has been plugged in, so you can determine how much is used per hour, per day, etc.



We determined that many of our devices did not have phantom power (good!), and that certain devices are very energy intensive, such as ovens and refrigerators. We turned down the temperature slightly on the fridge, and started using our toaster oven more often, instead of heating the entire oven for items that could fit in the toaster oven.

We would highly recommend this device to anyone looking to reduce their energy usage and electrical bills (which should be everybody!). It is affordable, easy to use, and will pay for itself in no time!

EcoCentre "Living Building" opens in South Florida

The Romano Law Group recently opened "EcoCentre: The Living Building", their new 33,000-square-foot office building, located in downtown Lake Worth, Fla. (near West Palm Beach). It is not just a "green” building. It is actually a "living” building designed with integrated systems that work in harmony with nature and with each other.



For instance, integrated rooftop gardens and other green roof elements collect rainwater, minimize runoff, mitigate internal microclimate changes and treat grey-water while providing a valuable site amenity. Treated grey-water and rainwater are reused in the living building to create an appealing green Biolarium® space that is accessible to all.




The project is registered with the Green Building Council and seeking Gold LEED certification, a procedure demonstrating that the project has been planned, designed, and completed with a primary goal of environmental enhancement. The building will contain, among other things, “a Living Machine®,” a technological innovation which allows for the on-site purification and recycling of water. The building will be topped by a “Living Roof,” or “roof park,” which will mimic a miniature “wetland project” and which will not only provide for greenery, plants, trees, and a lawn on the rooftop, but will be integrated into the building’s water system and environmental life cycle.



EcoCentre, the Living Building, will save approximately 200,000 gallons of water a year, reducing its impact on the city's water infrastructure by recycling water from lavatories and showers, capturing and storing rainwater, using water-efficient plumbing fixtures and condensate capture from the air conditioning system.

We were fortunate to get a personal tour of the facility from Todd Romano, one of the lawyers with the Romano Law Group. He said that the cost of building "green" was less than 10% above a similar building, but the reduction in energy and water will be around 30%, which will result in a payback of 3 years. That is amazing investment considering the impact of having such an intricate and complicated system installed.



When you first walk in, you are greeted with a beautiful tropical oasis and a pond that was created from air conditioner condensation. Though the building needs standard fossil-fuel electricity, Romano says there are plans for a second office building next door that will include rooftop solar panels and wind turbines.



Personally speaking, this building is amazing to be inside. You have the feeling that the you are in the middle of a museum or rainforest, and there just happens to be some offices nearby. The air is clean and the general atmosphere makes it a great place to work.

The EcoCentre officially opened on June 20th, 2008, and an open house to the public was held in late November.

Organic Pizza and LEED certified buildings at Pizza Fusion

Pizza Fusion could be simply stated as the most environmentally-friendly restaurant you could choose. From organic ingredients, LEED certified buildings and hybrid delivery vehicles, you can't go wrong. The best part: the pizza tastes great, and its good for you!

We decided to visit the Wellington (FL) location, which had just opened 10 days prior. We decided to order a couple pizzas to try out as many options as possible. You can select the type of crust, sauce, cheese, and of course, toppings.

We selected an organic white crust, red sauce, pineapple and ham for one of the pizzas. We also selected a multigrain crust, with pesto sauce, caramelized onions and spinach for the toppings. To start things off, we ordered breadsticks, which came in both white crust and multigrain crust, along with side toppings of olive oil, olive and marinara sauce.

Everything tasted great! No complaints about the food. What made it even better was the surrounding environment. The restaurant was clean, the staff was friendly, and the location was decked out every way possible in environmentally-friendly decor, such as: bamboo flooring, reclaimed wood tables, recycled countertops, water-saving toilets, low VOC paint, bamboo menus on recycled paper.

Since we didn't get our pizza delivered to us, we only saw the hybrid cars in the parking lot, but investing in them is a large step for any pizza company. They apperared to spare no expense to send the right message about their mission and dedication to minimizing their carbon footprint.

Overall, we were very pleased with Pizza Fusion. They clearly send a message that they "practice what they preach".

We rated them a 9 out of 10 stars!

For more information, visit Pizza Fusion at http://www.pizzafusion.com