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Green Furniture – Beneficial or Just a Hype?

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As soon as you enter almost any house today, an infinite number of air-borne pollutants that you cannot even see, will immediately get into your lungs and attached to your skin. This happens in any home, modern or old, at any office or reception area and at any other space where furniture and fabrics are used or displayed. Fortunately, over the last few years, a new method of furniture making has been occurring.

Eco-friendly furniture or green furniture is a new buzzword for a modern type of furnishing product. Environment friendly furniture not only aids and promotes a good cause; this type of furniture is specially crafted in such a way that it has minimum negative impact on the environment.

Green furniture is obtained from renewable natural resources and there are few or no chemicals used in their production, resulting in a very low impact to the environment and the user’s health. Furniture crafted from recycled materials and which also can be recycled falls under the same category.

Those who make and manufacture green furniture are committed to producing non-toxic, environmentally friendly and safe enough products to live without contamination. Herbal oils and polish are used in the finishing process to minimize the toxic levels.

One of the first steps towards manufacturing green furniture is to use wood that comes from a sustainable forest. Gone are the days of exotic woods found only in the few remaining rainforests, instead these woods are now found in areas managed by modern reforesting techniques. For every tree taken, another is either planted or left to grow to full maturity.

The second step is the use of non-toxic bonding agents. Many types of glue, especially those used in imported furniture, are known to release formaldehyde gases and other air-borne chemicals into the home or surrounding area. By utilizing non-toxic glues, green manufactures provide their customers with a safe product that produce no off-gasses in their homes.

The third step to green furniture is in the finish. Many chemicals known to cause cancer and other health problems are used in lacquers, varnishes and other methods of furniture finishing. By using natural approved herbal oils and water based finishes, green builders guarantee non-toxicity of the woods surfaces.

For those concerned about any of the above problems, replacing your old furniture with eco-friendly green furniture in your home may be the perfect solution. True, green furniture may cost a bit more, but the safety and health benefits for your loved ones and the peace of mind you receive is priceless.

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Investing in Green & Eco-Friendly Stocks

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The socially conscious investor will find a wide range of Eco-friendly stocks and mutual funds to choose from, both small and large. Due to the influence of world-wide concern over global pollution and carbon dioxide, the investor will find many large corporations are snapping up green companies to add to their list of products.

A recent acquisition by Royal Philips Electronics (headquartered in the Netherlands) of Color Kinetics, trading on the NASDAQ as CLRK is a great example. Color Kinetics was a ten-year-old company that produced environmentally friendly lighting through its enhancement of the LED (light-emitting-diode) technology to create a new type of illumination.

Color Kinetics utilized digitalized technology to create a new source of controllable illumination. The merger between the giant Philips and Color Kinetics will enhance its Philips Lighting Solutions market in the LED technology. Color Kinetic has existing installations world wide and a huge customer list, with relationships in China and the UK. Philips, in turn will, provide its 60-country-presence to the Eco-friendly technology of Color Kinetics. Investors should not rule large conglomerates in their search for Eco-friendly stock.

Small Cap Companies:

For investors that enjoy investing directly in small cap companies there are numerous opportunities for investors in AMEX. These stocks are very reasonable in price and may provide future gains as going green becomes an integral part of business and not just a slogan. I have watched some Eco-friendly companies grow over the past several years and the following is a highlight of some interesting stocks.

Environmental Power Corp. trades under the ticker EPG on the AMEX exchange. This stock currently sells in the 5 range. The company and its subsidiaries engage in the ownership, development and operation of renewable energy facilities in the United States. EPG owns 83 leasehold of land. It has plants that utilize animal and food industry waste to produce bio-mass and other forms of alternative fuel that utilize their renewable energy biogas. A good reason to give this company a good look is that it filed a notice with the SEC that it has a firm commitment from an underwriter to make and offering of over four million shares of his stock. If the offering goes forward the company could realize a gain in the price as well as an infusion of over 22 million dollars.

There is another stock that has great promise in the fuel cell area. This area has room to grow. I particularly like Fuel Cell Energy. It trades under the stock ticker FCEL. The company has a market cap of approximately 650 million. The company is in the development, manufacturing and sale of fuel cells power plants for use in electrical power plants. Its pipeline products are geared for use in health care facilities, hotels, hospitals, universities, governmental offices and water treatment centers. The company is located in Connecticut with office in Korea, Japan, Canada and Europe. This 9 stock has no where to go but up in the long term. Another reason to think twice about this company is the major holders of stock in the company. Wells Fargo Bank, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and other prominent funds are invested in FCEL.

A stock that is a good value, but lacks appreciation is Calgon Carbon Corp. in Pennsylvania. The company trades under the ticker CCC. The company is in the business of providing means to clean the air and water.

The company has been around for a good period of time and it appears that 2007 may be its year to take a solid place in Eco-friendly stocks. It currently sells in the 13 range and deserves a good review.

There are numerous ways to get into the green, Eco-friendly stocks. There are mutual funds and indexes available. In addition there are segments in wind, health foods and solar energy that have opportunities for investment.

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Cleaning Green

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Toxicity. Do we really know what this means? Can you even say it ten times really fast? What ever it is we know it has become a way of life.

It is a fact that we are exposed daily to an incredible array of toxins in our normal lives. They are toxins and each one has a certain degree of toxicity to it. Toxicity can be determined in a variety of ways.

With an interest in a sparkling house you need to know a little bit about it to protect yourself, your family and anyone else whose house you clean.

The next question then becomes how can you respond and what can you do?

Well, you can do a lot as a dedicated house cleaner. First, limit your exposure. Read labels carefully. Use nontoxic cleaning products. Avoid using indoor pesticides.

Secondly, limit the exposure of the people around you. Happily for you and your house there are plenty of effective, earth-safe cleaners that you can buy or make. Borax mixed with lemon juice will take out toilet-bowl stains. White vinegar is useful for disinfecting bathrooms and kitchens. Bon Ami, a borax-based powder cleanser sold in supermarkets and hardware stores for more than 50 years, safely cleans pots, pans, sinks, oven interiors along with other corroded surfaces.

Using these alternatives will reduce the toxic load in your house and beyond. Using environmentally friendly cleaners will also safeguard your health and that of the community. It reduces air, water and ground pollution in the big picture.

So why isn’t everyone doing it? The reality is, few people actually check labels. Start now. Take time to read the lable. Distinguish yourself as a green cleaner. You can start a trend. You can actually become a product toxicity home specialist.

The first thing to know is that not all green products are created equal. Again, read. Catch the ones that have been prettied up with essential oils. Check labels for irritating chemicals such as chlorine, ammonia and artificial fragrances and dyes.

Many people who think green are just now applying their philosophy to the dirt at hand. Eco-friendly cleaning and laundry products are the next frontier of environmentalism, says Marci Zaroff, former publisher of Macrocosm and CEO of Under the Canopy, an organic-fabric clothing company. It’s an inexpensive, easy and effective way to protect our planet and commitment to life.

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How Green Are Green Cars?

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With the issue of global warming taking on international importance in recent years, unsurprisingly the focus has fallen on car drivers, with cars seen as one of the major contributors towards global warming. Green cars have been held up as a potential solution, one that motorists should be embracing.

But are green cars actually ‘green’?

Firstly, let’s take pure electric cars. Unfortunately these electric cars are anything but good for the environment. The electricity that they run on is produced in power stations, where only 30-40% of the energy is converted into electricity. Transferring this electricity along electric cables then results in a further 30% being lost to heat energy. So by the time this electricity reaches an electric car a huge amount of the energy has already been lost. Good for cutting down inner city pollution but efficient it certainly isn’t.

Recently hybrid cars have been preferred, cars that contain both an electric motor and a petrol engine. The battery for the motor is powered by the energy generated from braking. When it comes to being ‘green’ these cars in theory offer many more environmental benefits.

In practice this isn’t necessarily the case. Consumer magazine Which? tested four hybrid cars by driving them throughout London. The results were disappointing, as mentioned by George Marshall-Thornhill, senior researcher for Which?, Some of these should have performed much better. And this is all without mentioning how to dispose of troublesome electric batteries.

Then there’s the cost of hybrid cars. The Toyota Prius is the most popular hybrid car and can be purchased for around 17,000. However, with fuel economy claims in doubt and 55% of people believing that green cars are too expensive, there is still some way to go before green cars arrive on a large scale.

The facts are that green cars use more energy to produce, are harder to dispose of, their fuel economy claims have been doubted, and they are simply too expensive. The age of the green car has not arrived yet.

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Going Green in Your Home

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Canadian builders going green, read the headline, and it got me thinking about the cost of not just building ‘green’, but of converting to green in our existing homes. Being able to list your house as a ‘green’ home must still be a novelty these days. One reason is that it can be expensive to switch to green, but there are reasonable contributions that the average family can easily make toward green living.

Of course, people go green for different reasons for some of them it is just a common sense solution to allergies suffered in the family. But why do other people choose to put themselves through this hassle. It is not money, we know that much going green usually costs more, not less.

Many people seem to object to the idea that their home contains more chemicals than homes used to. What is more, we are paying for that privilege! It is strange to think that Vinyl linoleum gives off toxic gasses, but it is a fact. True linoleum does not, although it can be more difficult to find. (It is often a fact that the newer replacement product also brought with it toxicity.)

Another way of helping the environment is to follow your municipalities outline for re-cycling. Private re-cycle depots in your area will often pick up where the government leaves off. The trick is to get it organized at the home base with different containers that are easily accessed.

When you decorate the home, if you want to think green, use paint that has either no, or low, VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds). Also if you plan on re-sealing sealing wood doors or floors etc, latex has no pollution factor to worry about.

If you decide to remodel, you will find many appliances on the market that will help you to go green. Most appliance companies now offer at least one green choice. Both washing machines and dish washers offer cycles which operate with less water. There are also toilets with the same feature, and all of these options will give you cheaper bills to pay, both on hydro and on water consumption.

If your remodeling or green choices are extending into your kitchen then when choosing a new stove or other kitchen appliance, look for the Energy Star rating. Many of these appliances are designed with a healthy environment in mind, and the stainless steel look of them will bring your kitchen up to the minute!

Switching into a green frame of mind can sometimes have a gradual escalation. Soon you may find yourself buying environment friendly soap powders and cleaners and then you can feel even more virtuous!

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