Green Blog

For a long time, money used for good will was called charity, while money used to make more money was called investing. No more.

Today, the two concepts are forming into a financial arena called socially responsible investing. Both investors and mutual fund companies are implementing this new idea and discovering that they can be profitable and at the same time do some good for the environment and society.

Bob Guthrie, an investment broker with A.G. Edwards in Burlington, Vt. says, “Socially responsible investing means you don’t have to compromise your own personal beliefs to make money on Wall Street - whatever those beliefs are.”

The idea of selectively choosing stocks for social reasons dates back to the early 1900s, Guthrie said, when church members banded together and refused to invest in tobacco or alcohol companies. The trend continued with investors dodging corporations involved in the Vietnam War, he added, and most recently revolved around companies investing in South Africa.

But growth in this form of selective investing has skyrocketed during the past couple of years as more and more individuals and corporations have moved social and environmental consciousness into the mainstream of their investments. And this impact is being felt worldwide.

With help from stockholders, says Rob Kruger, vice president of portfolio management at Progressive Asset Management, business practices concerning the environment are beginning to change, While the issues may differ, he said companies are realizing they will suffer the consequences if they aren’t viewed as being socially responsible.

“As this investing community continues to grow, a lot of proposals are being put forth by investors at annual shareholder meetings,” Kruger said. “A whole range of issues and activities is now being addressed.”

As part of its operational procedures, Progressive Asset Management conducts research for eco-friendly and socially responsible mutual funds. The firm filters out companies for environmental problems or nuclear involvement or whatever issues their clients are concerned about.

“As time flies, companies are becoming more and more cooperative with us,” Kruger said. “Many of them are now very eager to talk about these social and environmental issues.”

Guthrie agrees that American corporations and business practices are aware of stockholders who are very concerned with social and environmental responsibility.

“Make sure your hard-earned capital is not invested in companies with little concern for the environment,” he advises. “Be sure to keep these things in mind when you invest and companies will too.

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Climate change concerns both landlords and their tenants, and using green energy in the form of solar heating tubes to warm your building’s water can do much to make an environmentally conscious tenant happy. Whether you have residential apartments, industrial buildings or commercial property, your potential tenants will almost certainly be impressed by any building that makes use of green energy. Installing green technology whenever possible will give possible renters one other reason to rent your building space.

The fact that it will help to save the planet isn’t the only reason to install solar panels. You can reduce your gas or electric bills significantly by lowering your reliance on outside energy sources to heat your water. The savings you make can be used to increase your profit margins, or pass the savings on to your tenants.

Solar heated water is not a new concept, of course. Experiments into the potential uses of solar power were conducted as early as the mid 1800s. However, although the technology has come a long way since then, until recently solar power was less than effective in cold or cloudy locations. And yet these are the places where energy bills are at their highest. The recent development of vacuum sealed solar heating tubes, however, are allowing an increasing number of people to switch to this green energy technology.

Solar heating tubes’ cylindrical shape means they can be positioned to ensure that a part of their surface continually faces the sun, allowing them to absorb solar energy throughout the day. Because they can glean the sun’s energy more efficiently, they are able to harvest enough solar power to heat a building’s water even when the day is overcast or cold. Being vacuum sealed further helps their efficiency as vacuums provide the perfect conditions for insulating the heat source. Therefore less heating power is lost. The middle of the tube can be blazing hot, while the outside of the tube, insulated by the vacuum, remains cool. This results in more of the solar energy being stored and used to heat the building’s water.

Your building’s boiler system or hot water heater uses up a huge portion of the power your building uses. You can reduce your energy bills and those of your tenants significantly by installing solar heating tubes and using the sun’s energy to your advantage. You only need purchase and install the solar heating tubes once, but the savings can last forever.

There has never been a better time than now to start employing green energy sources like solar water heating tubes. Governments all over the world are now offering financial incentives for landlords to install green technology that generates renewable, green energy sources. Governments will sometimes cover the expenses of installing solar panels or award you a tax rebate equivalent to their value. Ultimately, all buildings will have to switch to using green energy. It’s more advantageous to get on board now, while the government will help defray some of the costs.

Craig Axelrod is VP of Business Development for EmmyEnergy.com, a New York solar power system operation delivering solar heating tube systems solar pv systems & green systems throughout the North East.

With one decisive step, you can cut your heating costs and attract eco-friendly tenants to your buildings. By employing the latest renewable energy technology, you can dramatically reduce the amount of fuel or electricity you use and save money on your heating bills. Solar heating tubes can help you do this. Whether you are a residential landlord or a commercial landlord solar energy will help you attract an emerging clientele who are worried about the environment, both for ideological and practical reasons. As government regulations regarding carbon emissions tighten, industrial tenants have little choice but operate from buildings that reduce emissions as much as possible. Even residential tenants are becoming interested in properties which take advantage of renewable energy supplies.

What Rewards Will Solar Heating Tubes Deliver?

The amount of money you can save with solar heating tubes depends largely on what form of heating system your building employs. Most buildings can benefit from the advantages of using solar power to heat their water supply. Owners of buildings that employ radiant heat could benefit further by using the solar heating tubes to heat the property itself. Either way, you could save a substantial amount of money, particularly when factored over a protracted time frame.

For all landlords heating costs are an issue, particularly if your buildings are in a colder environment, but solar heating tubes can help you cut these costs whether you live in a sunny climate or not. The tubes, cylindrical in shape, are a pretty new development, and represent a dramatic improvement over the standard, flat solar panels that have been with us since the sixties. The way the tubes are shaped means that they can be positioned in such a way that they are in prolonged contact with the sun’s rays, thus absorbing as much solar energy as possible. Vacuum tubes are also used to ensure optimal insulation, which ensures that very little of the collected energy is wasted until it is used to heat the building’s water supply. And less solar power lost means less electricity and gas used, which will ultimately affect your bottom line by cutting your heating costs.

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While solar technology is nothing new, and environmentally conscious tenants have been pushing landlords to seek out energy-efficient, environmentally-freindly ways to heat their buildings for years, the means to do so is now available. If you wish to slash your energy costs and attract environmentally friendly tenants, you should strongly consider installing the newest solar heating tubes at your earliest convenience. With a number of the world’s governments on board with the battle against climate change, and quite a few giving big incentives for landlords green energy is now the hottest thing in the building trade. Why wait?

One final word: even if it were not for the fact that using solar power to heat your building’s water will save you a lot of money, and even if it wasn’t true that using green energy will open up a totally new client base of green tenants to you, it is also the right thing to do. You will be saving money and the environment at the same time, and that’s not a bad combination at all.

Craig Axelrod is VP of Business Development for Emmy Energy, a LI solar energy business installing solar heating tube systems solar energy systems & green systems in the Northeast.

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In today’s business and political climate, intelligent building owners are searching for new ways to adhere to government regulations and tenant demands. Searching for more environmentally conscious ways of supplying energy to your buildings presents a challenge.

You’ll no doubt have heard about the many benefits of wind technology, but you might not have heard about solar heating tubes: the other green energy source. The sun is the most powerful energy source on the planet. Every day, 365 days per year in most environments, the sun gives us several hours of ambient heat. Unfortunately most of the energy it supplies goes unused, while instead we use carbon fuels, which are rapidly running out, and only becoming more and more expensive. Things will only get worse if we continue to burn fossil fuels, so it’s time to switch to using green energy, while the governments of many states and countries are offering financial incentives.

Using solar heating tubes to heat a building comes with several advantages, for both building owners and tenants. Even if solar energy is only used to heat the buildings water the savings can be enormous, depending on how much warm water the building uses. Naturally, buildings with differing purposes will use vastly different quantities of hot water, but hot water is used for one reason or another in practically every building, whether it’s tenants taking showers, washing their clothes, washing dishes, or even just washing their hands. Numerous properties also use radiant heat, using coils of hot water underneath the flooring to heat the rooms. If your buildings are heated in this way, you’ll be able to save a lot of money by cutting deep into your oil, gas, and electrical use for heating your buildings.

In places like New York solar energy has always been regarded as ineffective as the weather is changeable and there is often not enough direct sunlight for solar panels to be effective. Solar heating tubes, on the other hand, work differently and are able to capture much more sunlight. The solar heating tubes can be positioned in such a way that they can absorb the sun’s energy during all daylight hours, as they have a larger surface area than conventional solar panels, which only receive optimal solar power when the sun shines directly onto their flat surface. Coupled with the fact that the energy is then kept inside copper rods inside of a vacuum sealed tube, providing perfect insulation and allowing almost none of the energy to escape. In fact the tubes are so well insulated that the outside of the tubes remain cool even though the copper rods inside of them can reach over 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The introduction of these two factors allows building owners to use solar power even in climates where it was once though to be impractical, like those where there is much cloud cover and colder environments. If you are a landlord in New York green energy is now a practical alternative.

Solar heating tubes are one green energy source that you will want to take advantage of. Choosing the alternative green technology, the solar heating tube, won’t just reduce your carbon footprint and protect the o-zone, it also saves you a lot of money in the long run. When you look at it that way, it’s very difficult to come up with a good reason not to use solar heating tubes.

Craig Axelrod is VP of Business Development for Emmy Energy, a New York solar power system operation installing solar heating tubes solar pv systems & green products throughout the Northeast.

Unless a person has been completely out of touch from the world for the past decade, they will understand all too well about the debate over global warming as well as the constantly changing costs of oil in recent years. These are just two of the reasons why wind power has become such an important topic of discussion when considering the future of energy sources.

Wind power is is relatively clean and continually renewable. After all, is there anyone who has ever known the wind to simply cease to exist forever? Certain environments, or parts of the country are much better than others to trap wind power, but just about anywhere that has generally sustained winds, especially in mountain passes and canyons, can benefit from wind energy.

So what makes wind so vital? Depending on the person that you talk to, you might find a different emphasis on this answer. For masses who believe that global warming is being caused by human consumption and more specifically by the carbon emissions commonly connected with burning oil, then the positive attributes of wind power can be easily recognized.

Wind creates no emissions that can harm the atmosphere that contributes to global warming. These damaging emissions also cause smog around many metropolitan cities, most notably Los Angeles that deals with pollution on a regular basis. Wind power is never-ending; when one day ends, you don’t have to calculate how much wind you have used. It will always be available.

Of course, there will be days that produce more wind that others, and some days may not create any wind whatsoever, but that isn’t an issue with wind power. The force that is captured by wind turbines -those large modern-style windmills- on what are known as wind farms, is sent along power lines to a location that holds that energy for distribution. At the moment, wind power doesn’t provide the electricity for any towns or cities completely, but rather supplements the typical forms of electricity.

So what precisely can you gain by using wind power? If you’re a homeowner and are responsible for the utilities in your home, then by utilizing a portion of the energy brought in to your home created by wind power, then you will be able to reduce the annual cost of your electric bill. The more power that is generated by wind power, the greater the savings.

Basically then, wind power is important to many people for financial gain, rather than the advantages it can offer to the global climate. Perhaps the greatest benefit that wind power can be of to people is that wind won’t cost more depending on how much is available, as is the case with oil or coal. Since it is a replenishing source of power, then any rate increase using wind power would have to be a product of inflation, not because it is becoming a scarce commodity.

Wind power is vital for anyone who worries about the environment, or who desires to save money over the long-term.

Craig Axelrod is a principal for Emmy Energy, a Long Island solar power business installing solar heating tubes solar pv systems & clean products throughout the Northeast.

It’s easy to think of the electricity we use as something which is beyond our ability to supply for ourselves. The utility company has resources and expertise we don’t, we figure and even when it comes to installing alternative energy systems, most of us think of this as a difficult and complex task. However, you can install a wind generator by yourself without paying a fortune for a contractor.

It would make sense to hire a contractor or other professional to install a wind generator for you - that is, if it actually were difficult to do. As it happens, this is one of the easier do it yourself projects, so save your money and don’t call a contractor for this one.

It’s easy to get the information you need online as well as in books and magazines. You can find plenty of comprehensive guides to installing your own wind generator which take you step by step through the process and make the job easy. You’ll also save money by doing it yourself - which is what this is all about, right?

Before getting started, you will want to make sure that you are looking into the various ways you can get help with the expense of the installation of wind generators. In some places, there are programs set up to reimburse homeowners for the installation of such devices.

These programs encourage homeowners to use less fossil fuels and to help the environment. Of course, you’ll still need to have the money to pay for your wind generator up front; but you’ll be able to get some of this money back through these green energy programs.

This is not to say that your wind generator won’t pay for itself anyway - it will and then some. When you generate more electricity than you use, you can sell the rest to your local utility! You’re not going to get rich this way, but this is just another way that your wind generator will pay for itself quickly. You’ll also get the good feeling of knowing that you’re supplying clean and sustainable energy to your neighbors.

Wind power lets you become self sufficient, at least as far as your electrical supply is concerned. You’ll be doing your part for the environment by getting your energy using a technology which doesn’t use scarce natural resources or pollute the air. You can become more self-sufficient and maybe even take your home off the grid entirely!

Using wind power will save you money on your energy costs, help you to do your part for the environment and of course, you’ll have the personal satisfaction that comes from knowing that you’ve become more self-sufficient. You can do this yourself and stop relying so much on your utility company.

See how to make a wind turbine for you house? They can save you lots of cash. See all about how to make a diy wind turbine for your backyard here.

Since the early ages when electricity was first introduced, people constantly leaned on their electric companies because they are the main providers of electricity all over the city and it remains constant so long as their bills are paid. People will do everything they can and work hard to afford these electric bills no matter how much they cost because they are a necessary in the modern age with people closely tied with the latest digital devices.

Of course people didn’t pay their bills without any pressure especially if they do not practice energy conservation techniques. As your household expands, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the electricity consumption to its minimal. Sometimes when you shop for new electronic items, you often think about the electricity it consumes and then finally conclude that the purchase is not worth it.

There is also the issue that the electrical energy available to most of us comes from non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels; and given the rapidly growing pace of energy consumption, these fuels may be depleted in our own lifetimes. The best way to preserve these dwindling natural resources is not to try to conserve the electricity which comes from these non-renewable fuels, but to use alternative sources of energy.

Thankfully, there are clean and renewable energy sources which you can use to reduce your consumption of non renewable fuels and lower your electricity bill in the bargain. There are solar and wind power generation plants already, with hydroelectric and geothermal energy being worked on as other alternative energy sources. However, solar and wind power are the best known and most viable of these energy sources at present.

It would be great if regular households can take advantage of these new technologies so that they can one day become fully energy independent and provide themselves with clean energy that is renewable and environmental friendly. Having that renewable energy means huge savings since electric bills will no longer be of concern.

The only problem that lies between you and energy independence is the materials that you need to make use of the alternative energy. Solar panels should immediately be out of the equation if you expect it to power your entire home. This is because solar panels are difficult to obtain and expensive to order. The delicate material also requires good shipping making it more expensive when ordered online. You also need a lot of solar panels to get the needed electricity and the solar panels cannot function during the night time.

Wind turbines are a more viable option for most of us. You can build your own wind turbine from parts which are easy to find and inexpensive. The materials you need can be bought online or from your local recycler. There are also a lot of different instructional manuals and even videos online which show you how to build your own wind turbine and begin powering your home with this clean, renewable energy source. If you have the necessary space, then you may be able to set enough turbines to power your entire home.

Wind turbines represent the future of electricity generation because homeowners have proved how effective they are and how much savings can be made as opposed to using fossil fuels. It also remains environmental friendly just like solar energy, but doesn’t have as many disadvantages regarding cost and usability.

Want to learn how to make a residential wind turbine really easily and quick? This is a great place to start. You can learn to home wind generator in your own backyard and save big money on your energy bill.

From the Netherlands, the home of trapping wind energy, comes the new Energy Ball v100. This aesthetically pleasing small unit will offer anyone hoping to save money on their next electric bill the chance to do just that.

Wind has for many years been an important source of power, even for many centuries before electricity was discovered. Windmills and sailboats are some of the best examples of wind powered machines and they have been around for thousands of years. It may be difficult to understand how the wind can actually carry energy that can be altered into electricity since it is an invisible force.

The concept of converting wind power into electricity isn’t about capturing hidden electrical impulses in the air, but the use of friction formed when the wind passes through rotors or some other device that spins. The Energy Ball v100 is made up of rotor blades, similar to the idea of helicopters, and the air moving through moves these parts. Inside the unit, a motor traps this power through friction and turns it into electrical power and then passes it on the home or building.

The unique shape of the Energy Ball v100 allows it to accelerate even when there is little wind. It is almost silent unit due to its amazing aerodynamic design. This device can make 120 volts of power and up to 500 watts when the wind is blowing. All that is needed is as little as 4.5 miles per hour of wind to turn the blades and will handle winds as excessive as 90 miles per hour.

Our modern era of conservationism has led millions of people on a journey to discover more efficient ways to save money as well as our environment. The Energy Ball v100 is a machine that maximizes efficiency in a small package that can be built just about anywhere, whether it’s in the front yard, back lawn, garden, or even on top of the roof. The design resembles a work of art rather than a functioning piece of machinery.

With the energy this unit creates on a regular basis, depending on the amount and consistency of the wind in a given region, any person can reduce the amount of kilowatt hours they rely on the electric company for. When you diminish your dependence on them, you begin to save considerable money for yourself, but you also remove your personal demand on the power plant to provide extra power.

Any consumer doesn’t have to own just one Energy Ball v100; due to their efficient size and appealing styling, you can own several in your yard to produce even more energy. The federal government also offers many tax incentives for homeowners who change the amount of their energy into renewable sources, such as wind power.

Wind is formed when currents and storm systems and rarely will any place endure long periods of stagnant air. Moving air is almost as reliable as the sunshine, reliant only on particular weather patterns. Whether you’re a conservationist or simply hoping to keep your income on your next electric bill, the Energy Ball v100 can help.

Craig Axelrod is VP of Business Development for EmmyEnergy.com, a NY solar energy system company offering solar heating tube systems solar power systems & clean systems throughout the North East.

The term green energy has become quite pronounced in recent years as more and more people are finally starting to truly understand the benefits of going green. While the term green with envy may come to mind for some people, what hits people first when Americans talk about green energy is the fact that it is a cost-saving chance for anyone who uses electricity and other forms of energy.

If you drive your car anywhere, whether it’s a sixty mile commute each way every single day to work or once a month down to the local market, you consume energy. Most often in our modern society energy comes in the form of foreign oil. A product of burning oil and gas is carbon emission, which is deemed accountable for the increase in global temperatures every year for recent memory.

Green energy is rapidly becoming a household term and while most families still haven’t incorporated its benefits into their daily lives, there is a growing list of opportunities that cannot be brushed aside any longer. Saving money is certainly the most important benefit to most people, especially in our financial situation.

Imagine saving five, ten, or even twenty dollars a day by switching to green energy. If you had ten dollars a day saved up, at the end of one month that would be a savings of three hundred dollars! Spread that out over a year that total would then be $3,600. Maybe that amount doesn’t mean much to you, but for most people it can equal a full month’s salary for millions of people.

Is it realistic? Certainly. Green energy is becoming more important every day into households and portions that had been opposed or simply refused to consider it for years, and the people who are benefiting from it are benefiting in large quantities. The most normally thought of green energy sources are solar and wind energy. Trapping the power of the sun and the wind has been a fascination and goal of people for hundreds, and even thousands, of years.

These aren’t new concepts, but when automobiles became the primary mode of transportation during the twentieth century, oil turned into the main source of energy resources. Consumers didn’t care about the long-range effects, and there would be no long-term consequences. People once considered coal in the same light, yet today those conceptions have long-been proven inaccurate.

Green energy produces clean, renewable energy, something that cannot be claimed about oil. When oil runs out, there will be a need for some other source. Of course, this won’t happen in most of our lifetimes, but it is coming. The more important point about green energy is that it is fresh. And efficient. Whenever you have a source of energy that produces little or no harmful emissions, and will continue to supply it year after year, then you have something that should become a routine for just about anyone.

Craig Axelrod is a principal for EmmyEnergy.com, a New York solar energy system business installing solar heating tubes solar electric panels & green systems throughout the Northeast.

At the time the world gradually coming into the energy crisis, it is important that we shrink the utilization of non-renewable sources of energy. Energy solutions that keep on production energy without exhausting the natural resources refer to renewable energy solutions. Three categories fall into the group of renewable energy solutions: solar energy, hydro power, and wind energy.

Because the solar energy is limitless and free, use it. You may utilize sun power options at home. Using power from the sun for home will reduce your electrical power bills and save the environment. Depending on you are set up, you will apply solar power for cooking, heating and AC systems, lighting, and other electrical devices.

The solar power systems include many advantages apart from being cost-effective and environment-friendly. Investing in solar energy for your home makes a lot of sense. You receive a return on investment really soon and the systems become free to use. Bear in mind that cooking using sun power is considered incredibly healthy. Families all over the world are using solar power for their households as an alternative free power solution. Not to mention the tax benefits many states have nowadays from applying this method of free energy.

People have been using windmills since prior to the birth of Christ. The oldest kind of renewable energy is wind power. Initially, windmills were used for towing boats and pumping water although over time, they started generating electrical power.

Windmills and wind generators have been always in demand. Once used in your own home, wind energy will help cut down the use of standard energy. Since wind energy is a great supply of renewable power, it will go a long way promising a bright future for next many years.

Another outstanding resource of renewable energy is hydro or water power. One can transfer the hydro energy into electrical energy to run vehicles and a variety of electrical appliances. Usually, the hydro energy is created on industrial bases. Most of the electrical energy created in the world from renewable energy, is created by hydro power.

Thousands of people world wide are creating their own alternative energy. Reduce your electrical energy bill and save the environment, check out the link at the bottom.

Click Here for More Renewable Energy Information