Earth Hour took place last Saturday, March 27th. Across the globe, people were asked to turn off the lights at 8:30 PM and to keep them out for an hour in an effort to reduce climate change. An estimated 1 billion people participated in the event in 125 different countries. Check out the story of Earth Hour youtube style here.

World Wildlife Fund President and CEO Carter Roberts said, "Earth Hour is about Americans and people throughout the world standing up and saying ‘climate change is real and we need to do something about it now. From coast-to-coast, Americans provided strong affirmation that they are ready for the U.S. to be a leader in the green revolution."
                                 
Motivators recently ordered a big batch of imprinted recycled jar openers for our appearance at the Go Green Expo. Imprinted on each of the custom printed fluorescent Light Bulb Retread jar openers were the words, "Turn Out Your Lights!" Below it was the information for Earth Hour and their website address. On the other side were the words, "Turn On Your Branding!" and our Motivators contact information. We thought these were especially perfect for the green event because they're actually made out of post-consumer tires.
                                       
We made sure to reserve some of our eco-friendly promotional products for use at a later date. So, the week before Earth Hour, a couple Motivators headed out and hit the local streets with our giveaways. We hung out by the supermarket where shoppers graciously accepted out jar openers with their jars of spaghetti sauce and were excited to hear about the special event. We went to a tire store up the road and told them that these jar openers could be made out of their tires. They agreed to take a stack of our items and keep them on the counter for their customers.
      
Then on Saturday, I walked around the neighborhood and went door to door to promote the event in homes and businesses. I reached some very enthusiastic people and was so happy to spread the message of sustainability.

Unfortunately, at 8:30 PM I was at work at the Vanderbilt Planetarium doing a light show. I know, I knoooooooooow! It's awful of me! But work called and I didn't feel as guilty considering that many homes in our local Westbury shut the lights off because of Motivators.

 

Now let's gear up for Earth Day!

"Athens is pretty green and granola, but there isn't really one place where everyone can come together and talk about what they know about the environment," Kristine Kobylus, program/educational specialist for Athen Clarke-County Recycling, said, "The Green Life Expo brings everyone together at one time to showcase their knowledge."
                                   

The ACC Recycling and Classic Center hosted the second ever Green Life Expo last Friday and invited visitors to sit in through various discussions, presentations and seminars on sustainability. This event is the perfect occasion for environmentally friendly products and florescent light bulbs were the giveaway choice for Georgia Power. The company decided to hand out the smart energy-friendly promotional products as alternatives to non recyclable and power-hungry electronics.
                                          

A senior from the University of Georgia and co-chair of the Go-Green Alliance, Mark Milby, will give a presentation to showcase the voices of local students. UGA's sustainable actions and hopes for the future will be discussed and all I'm wondering is, will there be university giveaways? I'm sure Milby would love to have his club's logo imprinted on eco-friendly apparel. It'll make the Go-Green Alliance more prevalent on campus so that further actions can be made for a brighter, green future.

When you think of electronics today, it can be hard to imagine them as eco-friendly. When they are working, they're hogging energy. When they break, they hog up our land in junkyards and dumps. Luckily, we offer a great selection of promotional eco-friendly electronics that bring you the same quality in a more sustainable way. Just in time for Christmas, the electronics company, thinksound is holding their very own eco-friendly promotion. To popularize their latest set of eco-friendly headphones, the company is having a "12 days of thinksound," promotion.

Through their fan page on Facebook, they will select one person for a free pair of the high tech head phone each day. "Thinksound™ takes their environmental impact as serious as they do their audio products. Their packaging is crafted from recycled materials, with minimal plastic components. They also use PVC-free cables and choose wood from renewable sources. The result is great sound that you can feel good about."

It's important to feel good about every purchase you make. By choosing environmentally friendly products, you'll never have to worry about your negative impact on the environment because there won't be one. While it's difficult to find eco-friendly alternatives to every item, there are many options to browse. For instance choose the custom printed 7 inch bamboo digital photo frame instead of a metal or plastic one. If you cannot find  electronics that are made with eco-friendly components, at least choose the ones that are energy friendly.

Our supply of energy friendly promotional products has gained popularity with increasingly desirable hand-powered items and solar energy products. Thinksound was created with eco-frienliness in mind. This trend will continue as efforts are made, and throughout it all, you can coutn on Motivators for all of your environmentally friendly products.

This week, leaders from around the world met at the international summit building for carbon emission discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark. Government leaders are hoping to make agreements that will help us all move towards more sustainable societies.

The United States, who when joined with China account for 50% of the entire earth's emissions, is feeling the pressure. President Barack Obama plans on joining the committee towards the end of the week when more leaders are present and more brainstorming has been done.

It's likely that Australia will have a strong presence in Denmark as well. An environmentally focused group from Australia recently created the first ever world-wide community dedicated to fighting carbon emissions with fun. They provide packages to help you spread eco-friendly practices in your workplace.

Their latest promotion uses the ever popular promotional stickers. Each sticker displays a carbon fighter slaying the "C" shaped carbon. The stickers urge people to recycle and conserve energy. One sticker reads, "Go for the Stairs," and depicts the carbon "C" as an elevator being violently shaken. Another urges you to turn off the lights and one more to promote car pooling. 

                             
Each has a twisted illustration, a clever hook and an awesome message. We're got to make every aspect of our lives more sustainable.To my surprise they even have a promotional sticker about promotional mugs. It reads, "Use a mug, not a plastic cup." It shows swords all piercing through the carbon "C" but only sticking out of the custom mugs. Like our promotional eco-friendly mugs, they're durable and long lasting.

Let's hope the United States has some good green resolutions to make this year. The war against carbon is not yet over.  

We have been warned that our unsustainable behavior is contributing to climate change. That's why, across the globe, people are working towards living more eco friendly lives. One way to greenify your life is to use environmentally friendly products.

Many of our concerns of climate change peak at the idea that there will eventually be a natural disaster that mankind cannot withstand. While this is possible, many, many, years down the road, people should allocate these emergency situation efforts to preparing for all kinds of natural disasters. With the atmosphere changing everyday and glaciers more rapidly melting, there's no telling how Mother Nature will react.
                    
Thankfully, custom emergency radios are the perfect items for any emergencies. When a tornado rips down power lines you want to know how soon power will be back up. When there's a major flood, you want to hear about rescue efforts. If you have a promotional crank emergency radio, you're guaranteed to stay connected with up to date information 24/7.

There are even heavy duty promotional crank radios available with features like lights, radios, thermometers and even cell phone and mp3 chargers. Some of these deluxe emergency radios also include solar panels for an alternative to cranking.
      
For an awesome energy friendly promotional product, choose the custom printed crank up AM/FM radio. The crank handle assures that this will never need batteries. Its dual powered, has a telescopic antenna and even includes headphones and DC jacks.

These great emergency radios can be used as gifts to employees, rewards to loyal club members and even deluxe trade show giveaways. Make the people you care about feel safe while displaying your logo proudly all year long.

The 2nd Greener Gadgets Conference came to New York City on February 27th to judge the top ten green gadgets. One of the contenders caught my eye for its creativity and in both concept and design. The Power-Hog is a device created in the form of a piggy bank.

Just like a normal pig, the Power Hog has a tail – that is a power plug.
Just like our promotional piggy banks the Power Hog also has a coin slot – with a special sensor. Just like your average old pig, the Power-Hog has a big ole' snout – that functions as an outlet.
                
With these special features added, The Power Hog is able to perform an essential eco-friendly duty: Make children aware of their energy consumption. They are designed to sensitize children to the importance of conserving energy by creating a pay-for-your-energy piggy bank. For every 30 minutes of power, a coin must be inserted in the piggy bank.

Like our eco-friendly promotional items, the Power-Hog is made from 100% recyclable materials. Though these are not promotional products now, I can see a great future for the Power-Hog as an environmentally friendly promotional item. In particular, I think having a Power-Hog in every classroom would be extremely beneficial to all.
                         
For instance teachers can help advocate eco-friendliness by attaching the power hog to the classroom computer. Now, to use the computer, students will have to insert a coin. This will help them to value their time on the computer and all other electrical devices.

By targeting children as the consumer, the Power-Hog is spreading eco-friendliness like seeds. As these children grow up being more energy-aware, their behaviors will coincide with sustainability. Though my vote for the winner of the Green Gadgets conference was definitely going to the Power-Hog, it missed the gold prize and took second. Congrats. By inspiring our youth to think green, we're raising a more conscientious and eco-friendly generation. Oink. Oink.

This holiday season shoppers are being encouraged to buy pricier eco-friendly products though consumer studies have shown that they will also be spending less money. However, due to unique eco-friendly shopping incentives and fun promotional environmentally friendly products, this holiday season will be just as jolly as the last.

Due to the tight economy, only 62% of companies are planning holiday festivities for their employees, a drastic cut-back of 15% from last year. But luckily, with the addition of budget holiday gifts and some good-ole compromise, many companies are retaining their holiday traditions.
         
Potluck luncheons are being adopted, asking employees to bring in a special holiday dish and reimbursing them for their spending. This puts a special home-cooked touch on each holiday party and dismisses expensive catering hall fees and tips. By moving the party from a fancy restaurant to the company office abides by tighter budgets and also creates a more casual party experience.

Of course, no company holiday party is complete without the addition of company holiday gifts. To be the most cost effective and sustainable, administrators are being urged to use eco-friendly corporate gifts. Cool bamboo products are a popular choice for employees because it will make them feel appreciated and give them a wonderful item for the home or office. There are even bamboo USB drives to consider. Of course more traditional promotional chocolate and corporate gifts are also available. But with eco-friendliness all the rage and pressing budgets hovering, environmentally friendly corporate gifts are the perfect choice.
                                 
To help bring in the holiday season, wide-spread chain stores are even joining in on the eco-friendly holiday fun. Home Depot is offering a rare incentive to do holiday decoration shopping with them. By bringing in your old strings of lights, customers will receive $3 coupons towards new, energy efficient, LED lights. This then saves an additional 80% of energy for its users. Likewise, power-drills will be accepted for trade-ins, giving a 15% off coupon towards a new lithium-ion batteried power-drill. Home Depot will then recycle the massive energy consuming items in the most proper way.
                             
The promotions, running from November 5th to 15th for lights and November 5th to 8th for power-drills, hopes to make customer's more earth-aware while boosting sales and satisfying everyone’s holiday decorating budgets.

With advances in eco-friendliness and an abundance of eco-friendly corporate gifts, we can expect more environmentally friendly and happy holiday seasons for years to come.

    We talk about eco-friendly options all the time here with our wide array of environmentally friendly promotional products, but last night I watched an episode of the Daily Show (a day late) in which Jon Stewart interviewed Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and heard a new an interesting idea to help the entire earth 'go green' in a way I had not heard of before. The conversation obviously went down a path of global warming and harmful emissions. Most of us have heard about the dangers that our future may hold if we don’t somewhat alter our lifestyles or come up with new energy saving or carbon-free solutions. But aside from turning off lights, carpooling, using ‘green’ products and a host of other suggestions, has anyone heard an innovative idea to help the entire earth get on the same page? Sure, wind turbines and solar panels are now being built much more regularly and certainly have had their impact. However, some of these solutions can be costly and therefore become more difficult to act on. Another problem comes from the space needed to create such energy grids. Steven Chu is aware of these obstacles and therefore has suggested some alternate ideas that can really have a substantial impact on our eco-system. For example, Chu suggests that when building a home or putting on a new roof to use a white roof instead of the traditional dark black or brown roofs that many of us are used to. Chu says that it costs no more to install a white roof than it does a traditional colored roof and it will not only help the earth by reflecting the sun light back into the atmosphere rather than them absorbing the heat and radiation, but it will also cut air conditioning costs, which is great for the homeowner and the environment because as Chu points out, the less you are using your air conditioner, the less you are using electricity, which in turn is of course helping the environment. With this idea in mind, Chu also proposes that roads are re-paved with an off-white or very light colored pavement. (Probably very similar to the color of a sidewalk so that it doesn’t blind drivers on sunny days) I had never heard this idea before, but it makes perfect sense. We already know that we are welcoming the suns rays and added heat when we wear black as opposed to white, and on a large scale this can have a significant impact on the earth’s climate and environment. It would be relatively inexpensive in comparison to some other solutions we know of and would even create jobs for those trying to make ends meet in a difficult economy. I am not entirely sure of all the parameters of the research that has been done thus far, so it is a little unclear as to just how many roads and roofs would need to be white, but Chu ended his interview on the Daily Show by stating that if this campaign were to be carried out, it would have a similar impact on the earth that taking 1 billion cars off the road for 11 years would have. That’s a very substantial impact for something that would not require a lot of money or a drastic change in procedure.

 

 

 

Promotional OptiSol Solar Mobil Charger

Here is an excellent eco friendly item to have around in case of an emergency or power outage. With this custom imprinted OptiSol Solar Mobil Charger, just 3-4 hours of direct sunlight will provide 10-12 hours of power for your electronics. As a very useful product at an affordable price, this offer is too good to refuse.

Reduce Your Reliance on Central Heating with these Alternatives
Here are a few suggestions for those want to rely less on central heating.

The weather outside is frightful indeed. Even in Los Angeles, it can get pretty cold during the winter. My ungloved hands are freezing as I write this. (Cold, cold Bob Cratchit hands.) I'm going to have to make some sort of heating decisions this winter. Like me, everyone has to make home heating decisions. Remember, the centralized furnace is one of the greatest energy-users in the home. Here are a few alternatives to thermostat-upping.

1. Space Heaters
   Eric Leech wrote a great article on Treehugger about five energy-efficient space heaters. For basic, electric convection-based models, he recommends the Honeywell Low Profile Model HZ-519 and the Pelonis Four Disc Furnace VHC-461. If you're interested in learning more about these models and others, I suggest you check out the whole article.
   
2. Electric Blanket
   An electric blanket uses a fraction of energy in comparison to a central heating unit. HeatComfort Bedding claims to sell an electric blanket that uses very little electricity. The blankets are also loaded with safety and comfort features. If you have a "sleep mate" as electric blanket makers like to describe it, you may want to get a blanket that has two temperature gauges. This will allow you and your sleep mate to rest comfortably.
   
3. Electric Clothing
   These aren't just novelty socks that break and get thrown away. These are real clothes that really heat you. Gerbing's is a company that makes heated clothing for outdoorspeople and folks who travel by motorcycle. They even supply the US army with heated clothing. Gerbing's makes clothes that work with natural body heat. Some electricity is required. The clothes are powered by car batteries or with regular rechargeable 7 volt batteries. Think of it. You can charge your clothes while you drive.
   

More on Heating:
How to Go Green: Home Heating
High:Efficiency Heating Tips
Further Reading on Home Heating

 Via:http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/central-heating-alternatives.html