Homeowners Avrim and Vicki Topel are using their experiences building a LEED Silver home in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania as a chance to educate others on how to do the same.  They have written a book, Green Beginnings: The Story of How We Built Our Green and Sustainable Home, and recently announced the release of a companion video.

The video and book show the process of building a sustainable home from the viewpoint of the homeowners, a different perspective than the normal project case study.  The home, constructed by green builder and timber frame artisan Hugh Lofting, has become the catalyst for a nationwide educational and outreach program started by the owners.

Read more of this story »

With only 60 Javan rhinos still in existence, the World Wildlife Fund is desperately tracking the animals with 34 video cameras in their native habitat in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park to better determine their behaviors and plan a conservation effort.

“The project is helping the most endangered large mammal species,” said Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi who leads WWF-Indonesia’s project in Ujung Kulon National Park. “We’ve already recorded video of 9 individuals, including a mother and calf.”

Read more of this story »

Choice Camps, a Boston-based summer camp and youth travel referral service, has just launched a great resource for parents - ChoiceCamps.com.  It’s a website designed to improve the way families find summer camps and teen travel programs online.

Says Nick Riotto, co-founder of Choice Camps:

“Until now, there has been no comprehensive, trusted resource for families to find safe, reliable, and top-rated summer camp and teen travel programs online. Through our online and phone components, it is our goal to inspire families to send their kids to camp, help them make informed decisions, and guide them in selecting an appropriate summer experience.”

Read more of this story »

The schedule for the release of the videos is as follows:

• Greenstep 1: Water Conservation - already posted.
• Greenstep 2: Smart Controls - already posted.
• Greenstep 3: Radiant Heating and Cooling - already posted.
• Greenstep 4: Vegetation for Sun Control - already posted.
• Greenstep 5: The Whole Building Approach - September 2
• Greenstep 6: Green Tags - September 15
• Greenstep 7: Energy Modeling - September 29
• Greenstep 8: Green Roofs - October 13
• Greenstep 9: Daylighting - October 27
• Greenstep 10: Choosing Green Materials - November 10
• Greenstep 11: Carbon Offsets - November 24
• Greenstep 12: Deconstruction - December 8

Links to the videos can be found at http://www.aia.org/walkthewalk/.

While I know that living a green lifestyle is the best for our family and the environment, I have always wondered about the co-relation between TV and green living choices? I am not one for watching TV as a pastime, especially considering the increase in my internet time in the recent years. However even with the expanding world of web entertainment, I have struggled with how to go green in this area. That was until recently…until I discovered Go Green Tube.

Go Green Tube is a brand new tool for the consumer to make educated choices on green products and services. Similar in concept to You Tube it provides a long list of channels that contain videos pertaining to many aspects of environmental issues. Just days after its launch last month, it has accumulated a variety of videos that provide important information about our environment, green technologies, innovations, products, and services so that we as governments, corporations, organizations or individuals can go green using the most effective means possible.

Read more of this story »