GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings

Green Lifestyle, Organic Agriculture and Organic

4/30/2013

Speaking Greenish: Part one

Speaking multiple languages is an amazing asset and ability. Knowing English and Spanish offers many opportunities, but do you know Greenish? Going True Green or just going Green speaks with an entirely new vocabulary and many of us don't know the meanings behind the words. Over the next few weeks you will see postings for this multiple part topic called Speaking Greenish. Just having these explanations will make going green much easier.

Lesson One: Do you know what Green Lifestyle, Organic Agriculture and Organic mean?

Green Lifestyle or Living Green has become a way of life for over 100 million people at the end of this century's first decade. They have a set of environmental goals and concerns toward their health, food, water, activities, purchases, energy consumption and environment. These goals and concerns guide the way they live. Have you reviewed your list of goals, your concerns? If not for you, perhaps for your children's children?

organic agriculture, organic, organic food stuff

Farm land should leach out all chemicals for at least 3 years to grow organic food.

Organic Agriculture and Organic have several guidelines and rules. For land to be classified as organic, at least three years must go by for all chemical pesticides and fertilizers to leach out of the soil. According to the USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), organic agriculture is "an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, or enhance ecological harmony. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people."

Now while that definition is a mouth full, this is what everyone really needs to know:

Using the word ORGANIC is based upon the law that defines the word. Supermakets have seen organic products increase in sales by 18% between 2008 and 2010. HOWEVER, also for sale are products with labels stating ECO FRIENDLY or ALL NATURAL which means some organic steps are used in producing the food, but there is no guarantee. For example, some synthetic chemicals may have been used in the animals feed or production.

One additional note on the word Organic. While this term signifies no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, the word also stands for the way any food stuff are grown, processed, distributed and sold. Sold means no plastic wrappers with BPAs. Alas, that is another blog.

Tomorrow I have meetings all day, so I will write part two on Speaking Greenish Thursday. The terms will be Recycling and Gray Water. Take care one and all.

Bill Lauto, GTG

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Going True Green Blog: Screen-Free Week

4/29/2013

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Good morning, I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Yes, this is Monday again and already a week since Earth Day. Not much in the news for Earth Day this year. Big events seemed to be few and far apart. Yet, this is a new week, so let us get started.

This is my first Blog to Host Word Links to relevant data at our parent web site EnergyHotwire.com. Feel free to click on these highlighted words to obtain additional information and helpful details. Have a pencil and pad to take notes!

FYI, this is officially Screen-Free Week, April 29th to May 5th, 2013. Have you ever heard of this? In the year 1994 this idea became an event. Formerly called "TV Turnoff Week" and "Digital Detox Week" by TV-Free America who launched the event. By 2010, CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood) took over and changed the name to what we know today.

Surge protector, power kill switch, standby power, vampire consumption, Bill Lauto, Going Green, Going True Green, power strip

Above is a wall mounted radio frequency on/off switch to my Surge Protector. One push and my computer, monitor, printer and fax shut down completely.

So turn off the Television, computer screens, cell phones and electronic pads. This is a great event for schools, churches, organizations and families to establish far better social skills and host many more achievements. Time spent exploring the outdoors, reading a book, playing real sports outside, working on a hobby (Remember Hobbies?), help your neighbors, join a club, plant a garden, play a Board game (Remember those?) and start saving energy, going Green or reach a deeper shade of Green by doing things like change to more efficient light bulbs or start a compost. Best of all, observer Screen-Free Week and lower your electric bills while helping our environment. This is a great way to be Greener.

Also the best part of Screen-Free Week is the money and energy saved. Those game boxes use around TEN ($10.00) dollars a month in electricity just being plugged in and not even played with! That is $120.00 per year, per box. How many game boxes and cable boxes are plugged into your house? They all use stand-by power! We are wasting energy,

money and our environment. Learn more on how to make things easy to shut off and kill the wasteful power consumption.

So give this a try, break out the old Board games (you know that you still have them - Don't Break The Ice, Don't Spill The Beans, Clue, The Game Of Life... but life isn't a game. So celebrate helping the environment and saving some money this week. Learning to balance technology with the old-fashioned ways to work and play will be great for you and your kids.

Bill Lauto, GTG

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Going True Green Blog: Earth Day 1990

4/26/2013

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Part two of two

New York's City Hall

I arrived very early for the Press Conference. After being cleared by security I immediately set up the comparison light bulb display by the podium in the Blue Room of New York's City Hall. I had all my charts and numbers ready to answer any question from the Press. The room quickly filled up with reporters from around the country and the world.

Introductions were being done among the guests before the Mayor arrived, so I had my back toward the front when meeting various invited guests, such as myself. Christopher Reeve, Susan Sarandon and Mel Gibson were the celebs for the event. Mr. Reeve was formal and Ms. Sarandon was pleasant. I didn't get to meet Mr. Gibson because he was joking around with others up to the start of the Press Conference.

Now politics had already shut off the main goal for announcing saving energy at this Press Conference. The Earth Day committee presented the bulb changing project so City Hall could change the 60 watt inefficient incandescent candelabra bulbs to new 13 watt candelabra bulbs in each chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the Blue room. Unfortunately we were told every excuse as to why just changing some light bulbs couldn't be done. This bulb project wasn't in the budget, work orders would need to be filed or not enough time. Not enough time to change light bulbs? It was March, not the day before the conference! Contracts were involved, so I guess these old inefficient bulbs had a very good agent working for them. I am sure if Mayor Dinkins had been in-the-loop, the bulbs would have been changed and presented proudly.

energy saving light bulbs, going green, candelabra, efficient candelabra bulbs, chandelier

13 watt to replace 60 watt candelabra bulbs

Chandelier

Nevertheless, that was water under the bridge and I wanted to focus on presenting short and to the point information about these new bulbs that very few knew about. When I turned around to go back up front at the start of the conference, I saw the light bulb display was moved to the side wall and I was now informed there wasn't enough room for me to stand with the Mayor, celebrities and other dignitaries. Yet, I was reassured that the Mayor would call me up to answer any question posed by the Press on energy saving lights.

None of the displays offering solutions were shown, no questions were posed and I didn't contribute anything. An expert witness that attended for teaching about how to save water, became so upset that just before the closing of the Press conference he pushed his display right in front of the podium. I can not remember if one piece of educational information was presented to help the general public. In the end, that was not the purpose of the conference. Introductions and Earth Day event announcements for around the city were made and that was the purpose. Lesson learned.

I will work hard to provide you with situations and solutions. I will not just put on a show. I am already receiving requests for solutions on certain topics. I hope to cover them all. Have a great, safe and green weekend.

Bill Lauto, GTG

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Going True Green Blog: Earth Day 1990

4/25/2013

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Part one of two

In late January, I was put in contact with Pamela Lippe, the Executive Director of the Earth Day events in New York City. The year was 1990, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day would occur in April. They needed someone to direct topic on saving energy and thus saving our environment. I volunteered and received approval to be the energy advisor to the Earth Day committee for NYC after my meeting with Pamela and staff, but promotions and most event plans were already completed. We needed some fast and effective energy saving tutorials by March.

SL-18, Energy saving bulb, first energy saving bulb, Phillips Lighting, Bill Lauto, Going Green, Going True Green

SL-18 Bulb

Over the next two months we set up several menus, some included demonstrating energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs. Yes, those energy saving fluorescent bulbs did not come out in the year 2002 when Home Centers and eventually Supermarkets started selling them regularly. The first energy, money and earth saving bulb (SL-18) had been around since 1982! Unfortunately, because of money making goals, twenty years had to go by before they became readily available at affordable prices. I fear the same will stand true for the new LED bulbs. BUT I digress...

New York's City Hall Blue Room, Going Green, Earth Day Press Conference, Bill Lauto, Major Dinkins, Christopher Reeve, Mel Gibson

NYC Blue Room

Our most advantageous demonstration would be at former NYC Mayor Dinkins' Press Conference for Earth Day. There would be speeches, children, celebrities, and a comparison display of light bulbs with me as the expert witness to answer any question from the press. Nevertheless, the main goal was to have NYC demonstrate their own new energy saving bulbs in each chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the "Blue Room" of the Press Conference. What a show! What a lesson in politics... I will have the conclusion to this in my blog tomorrow.

Bill Lauto, GTG

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Going True Green Blog: Introduction

4/24/2013

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Earth Day, Earthday, Earth Week, Going Green, Going True Green, Bill Lauto, Earth from space, Earth

Hi everyone,

So Earth Day (Monday 22nd) has kicked off Earth Week for 2013 and the Going True Green Blog is up and running. The very title alone, Going True Green, stands for a noble endeavor and as an introduction I want to define what this truly means:

True Green means you are not leaving a carbon footprint, essentially you are operating with a sustainable process that doesn't consume anything that is not renewable nor leave any contaminating elements behind. Such as emitting carbon dioxide from the consumption of fossil fuels. In addition, you hopefully didn't use much energy or resources to reach this True Green goal line.

Going Green is much easier than becoming True Green. Ambitions such as getting completely off the Power Grid is not feasible for most of us at this time, but there are many ways we can make a significant difference today by reaching various shades of Green. I hope you will follow the Going True Green Blog. Our videos will start sometime in May of this year. May is a great month to start new things... Like Going Green.

Bill Lauto, GTG
Painting of Earth above: Copyright © 1975 by Bill Lauto. All rights reserved

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Going True Green Blog: Welcome

4/23/2013

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Welcome and thank you for reading the Going True Green Blog and watching G T G's Videos. The goal of this Blog is to provide information or some insight for individuals, families and businesses on achieving the deepest green color possible by becoming educated and committed within their own budget of time and money.

Yes, we can all "Go Green" to various shades, but "Going Green" is not accomplished by just making a few purchases. Becoming Green means you are taking several actions to help our planet, our environment and future generations. The task is only completed when you become "True Green" - not just a pale shade of green.

Going Green, Going True Green, Earth from space, save our planet, Bill Lauto

I look forward to providing the most helpful information possible on various topics and to reading any comment or question so that we can approach this endeavor as a team, as one country. Only then can we say that we didn't squander our children's tomorrow on this planet we call Earth. Thank you.

Bill Lauto, GTG
Print of Earth above: Copyright © 1975 by Bill Lauto. All rights reserved

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Going True Green Blog: Preface

4/22/2013

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Bill Lauto, Light Bulb Bill, Energy Bill, Environmentalist, Energy Consultant, Lauto

I have been asked on several occasions how I started to endorse our environment and why I am seriously involved with saving energy. ...The answer is mostly due to a lasting impression that was made on me by a television commercial I saw when very young. I will never forget the tear coming down the face of the actor who represented Native Americans after viewing the ways people littered upon the water and land from his canoe.
(Link above to view commercial)

If you wish to view the commercial, please use the connection on the left.

Pack 22

I was able to grasp the commercial’s meaning probably because I had just learned about the Iroquois Nation in school and other Native American Nations in Cub Scouts.

Also during our summer vacation in a rural area of New York that year, my Dad and I worked together on several merit badge projects I had for Cub Scouts. For a Brooklyn kid to learn from his parents about

Completing a Scout project

respecting nature in the country, well that was more fun than any adventure I could dream up while exploring an abandoned apartment building in the city. I came to understand why and how our environment was so vital and respected by all Native Americans. An understanding sorely lacking in mainstream society.

Several years later we moved from Brooklyn and I had to write my first thesis paper for Mrs. Mayer, my tenth grade English teacher at John Glenn High School. She gave the class numerous topics that we could select from for our paper. I chose to write about pollution because of that commercial and additional encouragement from my father who was looking forward to me writing my first thesis much more than I. By the time I completed my high school thesis, I had a deeper understanding as to why that commercial was so appropriate and realized the symbolism of the thrown litter onto the Native American's feet. I don't know if this symbolism was intended, nevertheless, our environment wasn't exclusive to being littered upon. For what I wrote in tenth grade click: Young Discourse

"...my father ...was looking forward to me writing my first thesis much more than I."

When attending St. John’s University as an Environmental Studies major, I was enthralled by the gasoline shortage of 1979 and how our country’s economy was intertwined with our environment and energy supply. Thus, I realized the powerful connection between saving energy and saving Earth. Many class projects had two steps: Collect all the data and study all the facts of a specific situation or problem. Then develop a workable solution and implement it. I thoroughly enjoyed the field trips and challenges created by Professor Nieter at St. John’s University. Collecting data and learning all the facts about a project became a personal challenge for me. However, I relished devising a solution, creating a better way and then proudly enjoying the improvements after implementation. I am still like that today. Let me collect the data, study the facts on a topic, and then find another way, a better way of doing something without sacrifice and with everyone as ONE team. Saying this, I do work hard to practice what I preach.

America is smarter than being dependent on foreign energy supplies and we are better than the way we waste energy and our environment. The data is there, the facts are there, the solutions are there, but profit has prevented the implementation. Becoming energy independent and environmentally sound should now be an American obligation.

I find no better satisfaction than working together on developing a better way and then speaking about the work to bring a simple, yet powerful message to everyone. Just like the message spoken so clearly with one teardrop in a commercial so many years ago.

Bill Lauto, GTG
Environmental Scientist
 International Sustainability and Energy Consultant 

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