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Caution: Excessive Use of Aerosol!
Nov 12, 2007
My credit union recently produced a couple commercials that have been getting a lot of buzz. Vancity has always been an environmentally friendly company, and I've had the Enviro Visa for almost ten years now. I have the option of donating my rewards points to local green projects whenever I want.

One commercial pokes fun at how some people get the Enviro Visa and think they're doing the environment a favor while carelessly overconsuming un-green friendly products.

"Vancity Enviro Visa -- For people with good intentions."

View the ad here.

~I'm Linda Bustos. I blog about credit cards and other topics.
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Posted: Nov 12, 2007 8:45pm
Green Pay Credit Card is Al Gore Approved
Nov 12, 2007
The Fintura Corporation in conjunction with MetaBank offers the GreenPay MasterCard credit card program for environmentally conscious consumers and businesses.

The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions or the "carbon footprint" left from our everyday activities (greenhouse gases produced from burning fossil fuel and indirectly by the breakdown of everyday products.) The average US household of 4 produces over 35 thousand pounds of C02 each year.  "Carbon offsetting" refers to compensating for dangerous C02 emissions with an opposite carbon dioxide savings.  This involves calculating your carbon footprint and purchasing carbon offset credits from emission reduction projects.

The Green Pay credit card applies your reward points toward approved offset initiatives including agricultural, landfill, coal mine methane and forestry projects. Depending on what you buy, you can offset your personal carbon footprint by 5 to 10 lbs per dollar spent.

The irony is that gasoline purchases earn you the most credits.  So the more gas you consume, the more credits you earn.  Is there something wrong with this picture?  

Recent Nobel Prize winner Al Gore gave the credit card a nod on his blog earlier this year.

~Linda Bustos is a blogger for Creditor Web, where you can apply online for credit cards and conserve paper.
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Posted: Nov 12, 2007 8:42pm
UK Credit Card Rewards "Eco-Consumerism"
Nov 3, 2007
In the UK, the Co-Operative bank launched the "Think Card," a credit card that offers a reduced interest rate for "ethical purchases" from 16 ethical partner merchants including Lush, Ikea and Adili.com, Raleigh bikes and public transit purchased through thetrainline.com and Arriva.

A rate of 7% for purchases at participating stores will be applied for 6 months, rather than the card's regular rate of 14%.

New cardholders will receive discounts from Ecotricity (a green energy supplier), Ecofirst and Nigel's Eco Store.

Co-operative will also pledge to protect half an acre of rainforest in the name of every new customer who uses the card at least once, and donate 25p for every £100 spent to the rainforest charity Cool Earth.

Rob Harrison of the Ethical Consumer Research Association praises the move toward ethical spending. "By buying Think-approved products, all of which are at the forefront of responsible corporate behaviour, you can not only lend your support to ethically progressive companies, but also put pressure on those that are lagging behind," he said.

~Linda Bustos is an Editor for Creditorweb, where you can learn about credit cards and debt management.
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Posted: Nov 3, 2007 5:31pm
What is Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel?
Aug 31, 2007
October 15, 2006 made history in the fight for clean air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s initiative to make it a requirement that 80% of diesel fuel available for on-road vehicles be Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) officially took effect, and refiners across the country must now ensure the sulphur in on-road diesel fuel is kept to a maximum of 15 parts per million sulphur content. (15ppm). Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel may smell or appear slightly different than current on-road Low Sulphur Diesel (LSD) which can have up to 500ppm sulphur content. ULSD is a cleaner burning diesel fuel and will reduce emissions from diesel vehicles.
USLD is good for the air we breathe and is cleaner for the environment. It has fewer sulphur oxides which cause acid rain. Moreover, emits 30% less sulphur dioxide whose particulate is a key contributor to global warming.  The EPA estimates that nitrogen oxide emissions may be reduced by 2.6 million tons per year, and soot and particulate matter by 110,000 tons per year.

Though ULSD availability became mandatory for all on-road diesel vehicles on October 15, 2006, off-road diesel fuel will be phased in over several years. In 2007 off-road, locomotive and marine diesel fuel must meet the 500ppm LSD specifications. Beginning 2010, off-road diesel fuel will be formulated to ULSD 15ppm except for locomotive and marine fuel which will not move to ULSD until 2012.

ULSD will completely replace the current on-road LSD. It is required for use in 2007 model year engines which will be equipped with advanced emission control systems. These next generation advanced emission control systems cannot tolerate levels of sulphur found in LSD. Engine and vehicle manufacturers expect ULSD to be fully compatible with the existing fleet and anticipate no changes to current equipment in order to operate with the new fuel.
However, the use of ULSD will affect all vehicles in varying degrees. The most vulnerable are pre-1993 engines with original rubber seals and fittings and high mileage vehicles with original fittings. The processes that remove sulphur from diesel fuel reduce lubrication which is essential in protecting various parts of the engine’s fuel injection system from excessive wear. Preventative maintenance is recommended including fuel filters, engine seals and a review of manufacturers ULSD recommendations. Lubricant additives may be needed in some cases.

Expect to pay a bit more for Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel at the pump than for current highway diesel fuel – several cents more per gallon, according to EPA estimates.

The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute reports that the processes that remove sulphur also reduce aromatics and the density of fuel which may lower the energy content per litre, by about 1%. This could result in a decrease in the peak power of the engine, however under typical operating conditions there should be no noticeable impact on the overall power of the vehicle. The reduction in energy content could result in a similar reduction in overall fuel economy.

This information is printed with permission from 4Refuel Inc., the leader in fuel management.
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Posted: Aug 31, 2007 10:54am
What About the World's Orphans?
Aug 31, 2007

At a time in North America when things are going relatively well, the number of orphans in the world is increasing dramatically. It is easy for us to be so busy with our own lives that we fail to notice events happening around the world. At this moment there are 160 million orphans in the world and the number will grow by 5 to 10 per cent each year over the next ten years - 250 million children by 2017!

These are the vulnerable children of the world. They have been abandoned by their parents because of poverty or sickness. They are frequently abused, trafficked or just forgotten about. The main causes are poverty, war and AIDS. I recently attended a world conference on children without parental care and it was clear that intercountry adoption has become the last option that countries will turn to, if they consider it at all.

As a result, tens of millions of children will grow up without a loving family to care for them, many of them in orphanages. This is contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that a child has the right to grow up in a family environment. More to the point, it defies common sense! There are thousands of parents in the Western World who could provide children with safe and loving homes.

Who is going to speak for these children? Until the world accomplishes its goal of having children grow up in loving families in their countries of origin, I would submit that it is in a child's best interest to grow up in a family environment wherever that is possible - be it Berlin, New York City or Vancouver.

My concern is that we are throwing the baby out with the bath water in a very real sense. Children are growing up in orphanages without parental care, while parents in the western world are increasingly searching for ways to create a family. This is counter-intuitive: more orphans in the world and more infertile couples desperately hoping for a family, and yet fewer international adoptions.

What can I do?

1. Provide support to programs that provide an integrated approach to keeping families together in developing countries.

2. Encourage your government to live up to its commitment of providing international aid it has promised.

3. Send support to help a child to become educated and obtain skills to earn a living.

4. Think about adopting a child internationally.

One person cannot change the world. One person can change the life of a child.

This post is reprinted with permission from Sunrise Adoption, a BC adoption agency.

 

 
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Posted: Aug 31, 2007 10:48am
Biodiesel: One Weapon in the Battle Against Global Warming
Aug 31, 2007
The earth’s climate is changing. Research shows that the world is now warmer than at any time in the past 1000 years. This change is more commonly referred to as global warming. Scientists conclude that the emission of heat-trapping green-house gases from vehicles, power plants, and industry is a primary cause in global warming. As these gases and particulate build up, they act as a huge blanket warming the planet and threatening the environment. In the Ontario government’s 2005 Air Quality Report released in December 2006, 2005 was the worst year on record for smog in the province. Awareness of global warming is growing, yet air quality deteriorates. It is generally agreed among scientists and government that global warming will pose an increasing threat to the air we breath and our environment unless emissions are drastically reduced. Action must be taken immediately.

Alternative fuel sources, including biodiesel, are part of the solution. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made by a chemical reaction of alcohol and oils from vegetables, animals, fats and greases. It is a mix of a variety of feedstock including soy oil, canola oil, waste cooking oil, tall oil and rendered fats mixed with low and ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel. Biodiesel burns cleaner and reduces carcinogenic emissions and gases. Research shows that when used in a 20 percent blend with petroleum diesel (B20) and a catalytic converter, biodiesel will cut air pollution, sulphur and aromatic emissions. Particulate matter is reduced 31 percent, carbon monoxide by 21 percent and total hydrocarbons by 47 percent. Using 100% biodiesel further reduces emissions and carcinogenic compounds. It is non-toxic, and has no sulphur – the major component of acid rain.

No engine modifications are necessary as biodiesel works in conventional compression-ignition diesel engines, from light to heavy-duty just like petroleum diesel. Further, biodiesel maintains the payload capacity and range of regular diesel and is proven to improve engine performance and engine life by removing build-up of impurities inside the engine. As a result, switching to biodiesel does initially require some attention to fuel filters but does not require vehicle changes or fleet upgrades, nor does it demand spare parts inventories, special refuelling stations or specially-trained mechanics.

Biodiesel is supplied onsite by 4Refuel Canada, a fuel delivery company and one of the country’s largest biodiesel refuellers. The company will manage over 200 million litres of fuel in 2007 including delivery of over one million litres of biodiesel each month to its clients.

“Biodoesel is available right now wherever our clients need it. And it can have an immediate impact on air quality,” says Joe Valeriote, 4Refuel’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. “More of our clients want to be ahead of government regulations and take immediate control of reducing emissions and having cleaner air.”

One of those clients is the Township of Langley, British Columbia. John McQueen, Equipment Manager for the Township has been using biodiesel for about a year. “As soon as it became available to us with a good delivery system, we jumped.” The Township first introduced a 5% biodiesel mix to its fleet, then added another 5% in June 2006. In 2007, biodiesel levels in their fleet will increase every six months to a maximum mix of 20 percent.

Biodiesel is a viable alternative for transport, construction, marine and rail industries. 4Refuel currently delivers biodiesel throughout British Columbia, including Burnaby, Delta, New Westminster, Richmond, Langley, Coquitlam and Vancouver, West Vancouver and North Vancouver, and Whistler. The City of Kamloops has started a biodiesel project and CN Rail has begun testing it for off-road applications in Prince George. 4Refuel’s largest biodiesel client is the City of Calgary.

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Posted: Aug 31, 2007 10:42am
Affinity Credit Cards: Do They Really Benefit Charity?
Aug 26, 2007
Socially and environmentally conscious consumers can show their support for the causes they care about by choosing an affinity credit card.  This type of credit card donates money for every dollar spent with the affinity credit card and bears the logo of both the credit issuer and the charity.

Although one might feel like a do-gooder by participating in a charity credit card program -- the reality is that the donations in comparison to the amount of interest charges one might incur can be a very miniscule amount.  With average donation percentages at 0.05% (that's right, a whopping 50 cents for a hundred dollar purchase) - affinity credit cards are kind of a joke.  Why not forego that new jean jacket and send the full $100 to the charity of your choice?  If you only spend about $100 per month on your credit card, that 50 cents per month adds up to a big fat non-tax deductible $6, which could be only a quarter of what you pay for the privilege of owning an affinity credit card - the $25 to $50 annual fee.

If your credit card spending behavior is such that you use your credit card often and pay off at the end of each month faithfully, your contributions through the charity credit card program may be significant - but keep in mind that you may be better off sending checks directly to the charity so you can enjoy tax-deduction - and that the charity can use the lump sum more efficiently than a couple dollars here and there.

The irony is that not all credit card companies themselves have a history of ethical practices. When choosing an affinity credit card, you may want to keep in mind the reputation of the issuer. For example, the Co-operative Bank in the UK has a much better record than the Royal Bank of Scotland or HSBC.

In response to the environmental side effects of producing such credit cards, the Co-operative Bank in the UK is addressing this issue by researching alternatives to PVC for credit cards and debit cards. The goal is to engineer a biodegradable plastic known as polyethylene teraphthalate which is free from toxic chemicals.

One of the US' more successful charity credit card programs include Target's Take Charge of Education card, which has donated over $19 million in student scholarships.  Cardholders can select the school to which their 1% donations will benefit, making it a favorite amongst families of children aged 5-18.

If you do decide to use an affinity credit card, here are some tips for making your choice:

    * Check the APR % and annual fees. If you make payments each month and don't carry a balance, you don't need to worry about the high APR, but you also don't need to pay an annual fee which is essentially interest in itself.

    * Find out what % of purchases will be donated to your charity.

    * Find out if the donations are made on all purchases, cash advances and balance transfers, or only certain transaction types.

    * Make sure the card does not charge interest from day of purchase. Grace periods are your friend!

This article is courtesy of CreditorWeb, where you can learn about credit cards and debt reduction.
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Posted: Aug 26, 2007 10:07am
Spence Diamonds Helps Rebuild a Sierra Leone High School
Jul 23, 2007
Focus: Corporate Responsibility
Action Request: Read
Location: Canada
Spence Diamonds is a popular diamond retailer and manufacturer here in Canada, and is showing corporate social responsibility by giving back to the innocent victims of civil war in Bumpe, Sierra Leone.  Spence Diamonds recently donated funds to the Kposowa Foundation, an organization which is helping rebuild a devastated high school in Bumpe.

Bumpe High School was raided and burned during the ten year long rebel war.  The school was home to over 600 students boarding from areas as far away as Nigeria.

The Kposowa Foundation was born when Sarah Culberson was adopted in West Virginia. The biracial woman sought her birthparents at age 18, which led her to Bumpe – and the discovery that she was an African princess – her father being the heir to the Paramount Chief title in the village.  At that time, Sarah’s father was Headmaster of Bumpe High School which was in ruins.

Sarah’s Sierra Leone trip was captured in a documentary, and she is nicknamed “Bumpenya” or “Lady of Bumpe” by the grateful villagers.

Spence Diamonds president Sean Jones is excited about helping rebuild the high school.  Spence Diamonds is committed to helping children as well as educating Canadians about issues around the world, not withstanding the issue of conflict diamonds, which Spence assures are not a concern to the Spence customer, as the Kimberly Process has succeeded at bringing conflict diamonds below 1% of the world’s supply.  

Source: http://www.diamondarticles.com/2006/11/15/buying-diamonds/the-straight-goods-on-conflict-diamonds-from-spence-diamonds/

So kudos to Sarah, the Kposowa Foundation and Spence Diamonds!
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Posted: Jul 23, 2007 10:32am
10 Tips To Reduce Fuel Consumption
Jul 14, 2007

10 Tips for saving fuel

It’s summer and the gas prices are high. Here are some green tips to reduce your gas consumption.

These handy suggestions come from our own Green Tips booklet as well as from 4Refuel, a fuel management organization specializing in onsite delivery, fuel logistics, automated fleet management and biodiesel solutions.

1. Start off slower
Being first to zoom ahead at the green light doesn’t get you there any quicker. Countless studies by universities, highway authorities and engine manufacturers prove it. Jackrabbit starts save less than three minutes over 60 minutes of driving but end up using 40 percent more fuel and increase toxic emissions by 400 percent.

2. Slow down
It’s not just dangerous but speeding wastes fuel. Highway speeds over 100 km/h drastically impact fuel efficiency -- cars travelling at 120 km/h instead of 100 km/h use 20 percent more fuel to cover the same distance. Trucks travelling at 120 km/h instead of 100 km/h use 50 percent more fuel. Both emit 100 percent more carbon monoxide, 50 percent more hydrocarbons and 31 percent more nitrogen oxides.

3. Tune-up!
Be sure to provide your vehicles with frequent tune-ups. A well-maintained vehicle performs better on the road, decreases maintenance costs and improves fuel efficiency.

4. Smooth move
Changing the oil regularly is another double bonus for your car and the environment: when your engine is running in top condition, it is burning fuel most efficiently. The average recommendation for oil changes is every three months or 5,000 km. Ask the mechanic to see that your old engine oil gets recycled, and check the replacement oil: the best oils for fuel efficiency are labelled "Energy Conserving" and can reduce your fuel consumption by 3 percent. Consider using a bio-based transmission oil for your car.

5. Stop idling
Letting your engine idle for more than three minutes not a good idea. Idling quickly consumes fuel and can add 50 percent to fuel costs while shortening the effectiveness of your engine oil by 75 percent. And it's not doing anything for the longevity of your engine either. Idling runs your engine below peak temperature, which means that over time you're actually doing damage to it. There’s also no need for that morning warm up since our cars are now electronically controlled. An engine actually warms up faster while driving.

6. Tire pressure
There's a lot more than the environment riding on your tires. For safety reasons alone, you should make a regular habit of checking your tire pressure but do so when tires are cold, not fresh from use. In addition or under-inflated tires increase fuel consumption and cause premature wear on the tires. Transport Canada studies show that 70 percent of the tires on the road are under-inflated. Are yours part of the statistics?

7. Lighten your load
Carrying excess weight places unnecessary strain on your vehicle’s engine and greatly affects its fuel efficiency. A loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel efficiency by up to 15 percent on smaller cars and up to 5 percent on SUVs or trucks. Even driving with an empty rook rack wastes gas.

8. Cut back on your driving
Save gas by driving less. Combine several errands into a single trip, take a minute before you leave home to plan multiple errands and map out your route. Start using public transit as much as possible. Leave the car at home if you can get there by walking, cycling or taking the bus, train or metro.

9. Trade in the off-road vehicle
Sporty utility vehicles and trucks pollute over twice as much as the average new car. Do we really need that SUV on city streets, where the extra weight and friction caused by four-wheel-drive equipment guzzles up gas? SUVs use 30 percent more gas than other cars. So, opt for a lighter, two-wheel-drive vehicle -- they're easier to park anyway!

10. Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle
While the best choice by far for clean driving is a hybrid car, which runs on a combination of battery power and gasoline and uses far less gasoline. But there are also traditional vehicles with respectable fuel-efficiency ratings. A typical car produces roughly three times its weight in carbon-dioxide emissions every year, so a good general rule is the lighter your car, the better its fuel efficiency.

Original Article: http://www.greenlivingonline.com/Energy/10-tips-for-saving-fuel/
Submitted with permission from publisher.

1. Start off slower
2. Slow down
3. Tune-up!
4. Smooth move
5. Stop idling
6. Tire pressure
7. Lighten your load
8. Cut back on your driving
9. Trade in the off-road vehicle
10. Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle
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Posted: Jul 14, 2007 10:17am

 
 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

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Linda Bustos
female, age 28,
Canada
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