Archive for January, 2008

Green cleaning products

Published
by
JB
on January 26, 2008
in household
. 1 Comment

I’m just starting to investigate green cleaning products. Everything I use today to clean my humble abode, I’m ashamed to admit, is pretty toxic. I have lots of cleaning agents with bleaches and other bad stuff that I’d rather not know about.

What I haven’t been able to determine is, what are the best products out there? I’ve heard of Method and Seventh Generation, but since I haven’t used them firsthand, I couldn’t begin to give you a recommendation. I know there are a lot of others that are out there too, but 1) what are they?, 2) where do you buy them?, and 3) do they work?

Well, I found this nifty site that provides a pretty decent list of various cleaning agents that are out on the market today. The information is conveniently categorized - you can choose “all purpose cleaners”, “bathroom surface cleaners”, “glass cleaners”, “laundry supplies”, and “toilet bowl cleaners.” Also handy are the other information the site provides - a “GG” rating (I assume GG means Green Guide since this is the name of the website), key ingredients, packaging information, MSRP, and retail locations. It also has another column for user reviews, but right now, these are a bit lacking.

I’ll be using this site as I search for my new green alternatives. In the meantime, if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them!

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Invest in Cleaning up China

Published
by
Paul
on January 25, 2008
in investments and pollution
. 0 Comments

bullinchina.jpgIf you’ve seen my posts the past couple of days, you’ll see that the fact that I’m breathing in so much smog in Hong Kong has reminded me of the huge challenges China faces in cleaning up the mess that their 30 year economic party has created.

One of the books I’m reading right now is “A Bull in China” - a book about investing in China, written by Jim Rodgers, who notes in his book that this makes for some good investment opportunities.

He notes for instance, that the effects of pollution are costing the country up to 10% of GDP per year. That’s no chump change - it’s $200 billion per year. He also notes that China will soon be facing a major water crisis soon. It is already has the 13th lowest water per capita, and its resources will fall by 20% by 2030.

For these reasons, he expects major expenditures in China over the coming years to resolve some of these issues, and gives a few suggestions of companies to look into. These include:

  • Bi0-Treat Technology Ltd. - Singapore company which builds wastewater treatment plants.
  • Fujian Longking Co. Ltd. - Shanghai traded company which builds desulphurization and dust cleaning machinery.

I haven’t listed all the companies, so if you’ve been thinking of investing in Asia, and want to help (or at least profit from) clean up China, then I would check the book out, but take a look before you buy. In addition to a pretty short and detail light list of ‘green’ companies in a chapter about ‘Risk - The Perils of Succes’ (chapter 2) , there is some great info in the beginning about how one buys Chinese stocks. That information, about the types of shares available, and which exchanges have them is worth the price of the book all by itself.

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Styrofoam - it’s bad.

Published
by
JB
on January 24, 2008
in action
. 2 Comments

styrofoam1.jpgLast weekend, I went out to dinner with my brother and his lovely GF at a local Italian restaurant. As per the usual, I was unable to finish my dinner so I got my leftovers boxed up. The restaurant uses biodegradeable containers, so I went home happy as a clam.

This got me thinking about styrofoam though, as this seems to be the most popular material used by restaurants when it comes to take out boxes. I did a little research on styrofoam and found out that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. Sure, it’s good in that in maintains its shape and is pretty sturdy, but the environmental and health impacts are bad. Pretty, pretty, pretty bad (as Larry David would say in Curb Your Enthusiasm).

For enquiring minds, here’s a little info on styrofoam:

  • It’s made with petroleum
  • It doesn’t biodegrade
  • It takes up more space in landfills than paper
  • It leaches out toxic chemicals which may threaten your health

What can you do to curb the use of styrofoam? Here are some actionable steps.

1. Stop buying styrofoam cups, plates, bowls… Instead purchase biodegradeable products such as those made of post consumer recycled paper.

2. Ask your local restaurants to stop using styrofoam and switch to biodegradeable materials. Sure, some may look at you like you’re crazy and blow you off, but others may surprise you, especially if they are environmentally-minded. Hell, I don’t know about you, but I would be willing to pay a few more cents for my meal if it meant getting a biodegradeable container instead of a styrofoam one.

2a. OK, this one is a little wacky and I have yet to try this for fear of being branded insane, but would it be weird to bring your own tupperware to a restaurant? For example, as I mentioned above, I rarely finish my meals. If I know this, why not be prepared and bring a little tupperware along with me? Less waste for the environment, less cost for the restaurant! And away goes a satisfied customer. What do you think?

3. [Non-food related] When packaging fragile items, avoid using styrofoam products (like those incredibly annoying styrofoam peanuts!). Use newspaper instead.

4. [Non-food related] Write to your local government officals asking them to outlaw styrofoam. Apparently there are already a number of cities (such as San Francisco, Berkeley, CA and Portland, OR) which have passed ordinances banning food vendors from using styrofoam.

I’m sure there are a gazillion other tips to avoid using styrofoam, but I’m still recovering from a debilitating flu/fever so that’s my excuse for not posting more. Please feel free to add your comments if you have any more to add to the mix!

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US Olympians to wear masks in Beijing!

Published
by
Paul
on January 23, 2008
in pollution
. 0 Comments

beijing_air.jpgSince we’re on the topic of debilitating smog, the air quality in Beijing this summer for the Olympics is going to be a huge issue. As you can see in the pictures to the left, the air quality from day to day can vary immensely.

Today’s New York Times has a very interesting article on how what effect pollution has on finely tuned athletes (hint: not good) and how US athletes are preparing. For instance, they are being told to show up at the very last possible moment, and many may actually wear special masks when not competing. Just wait for the fracas when the Chinese government says, “Oh no you wo-on’t”

Be sure to take a look at the graphical supplement, which is where I got these amazing pictures.

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Starting to think about Green Investing

Published
by
Paul
on January 23, 2008
in investments
. 2 Comments

It occured to me today that we at TTMYGG haven’t done much posting or thinking about green investing. There are lots of companies going green, and many more which are working on various green technologies. Investing in these companies (as we have listed in the Influence section of our Personal Global Warming Action Plan / Checklist) is a great way to leverage your enthusiasm, and make a larger impact than you could make with most individual actions. And hey, if you can make some money at it at the same time, more power to you! It’s why legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalists like John Doerr and Vinod Khosla are spending their time in the space.

So look for more posts on the topic in the days ahead, as we get our heads around what it means to be a green investor, and what you need to know to not lose your shirt! But in the meantime, if you’re new to the space like us, take a look at these resources, which look quite good:

Have any investment ideas? Stock tips! Let us know!

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