Green Options

For many, people, reducing their impact on the environment is not a fad; it’s a way of life. We need to do what we can to support and encourage more people to take environmental stewardship seriously. By painting everything with the same green brush, the marketing community is running the risk of hurting the very movement on which it is trying to capitalize. This is simply something we must not allow to happen.

President Barack Obama’s environmental-friendly plans have gotten a lot of publicity, but there’s another green part of the nation’s capital that fits the bill.

Recently I went to a meeting in the San Mateo County Council room for local residents interested in learning about how to green their homes. The meeting was part of a bi-monthly series called “A Taste and a Talk,” where San Mateo residents get together, eat, and talk about some green issue. This time is was “Ask an Expert: Saving Energy at Home,” featuring local green business owners and consultants.

Solar System Powers Donggwang Green Village on Semi-Tropical Jeju Island

Donggwang is on the western half of Jeju-do, the largest of South Korea’s semi-tropical southern islands. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.

Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.