Goal For The Green

This is just a fun little look at Santa’s not so green, and kinda bad behaviors. I wanted to pass along this fun holiday infographic that was recently produced for Ethical Ocean: Santa’s Carbon Footprint.  While there, just click on What’s Santa’s Carbon Footprint, to expand the page. The graphic takes a close look at Santa’s non-green behaviors, and how he too can adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

At Ethical Ocean, they all know that with the end of December quickly approaching, Santa is busy getting everything set for his worldwide tour. The boots he has to fill sure can, and do leave a large footprint behind. So, they took a look at Santa’s environmental impact, and tried to see if they could help him run a slightly more eco-friendly operation. This is what they came up with.  Enjoy, and feel free to comment!  🙂

My first post of the year was entitled “There’s Green Boot On The Roof.” At Boots On The Roof, they offer various solar training bootcamps for electricians and entrepreneurs interested in starting their own solar business, or updating their skills and becoming solar certified.

Boots on the Roof, delivers top-quality market-ready training programs for solar energy industry professionals.  They are the solar energy training division of Unitek Education, a long-time national Learning Partner of high-tech companies (having received the highest education honors awarded by Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix, & RedHat).  Their team has a 16-year track record of successfully partnering with large organizations to train tens of thousands of students nationwide.

Last week, I spoke with Steve Watkins, Director of Professional Services at Unitek, about how the classes were going, and if he had any feedback that I could share with you. Here is what he had to say:

“We do have a testimonials page on our web site now, which are just short excerpts of longer testimonials we’ve received.  Below is one that came to me directly yesterday, with permission to quote.”

” I came away with a sense that these folks are clear on how best to manage all parts of the equation; how to bring various skill-sets and groups of professionals together with the latest products and information on Renewable materials design and installation, be that for application in industrial, commercial, or residential projects.

We hear a lot about this new and fast-developing industry, but rarely do you get an opportunity to be helped to understand what knowledge is required to enter the field, where to get it, and how it can be applied.

Most crucial for the entrant into this field, is that the programs directly address what one needs to know when transitioning to the Renewable Service Industry, and doing so in a concentrated and expedient way.”

~Deborah

Elk Grove, CA

Be sure to read further on the testimonial page for more feedback.  It is important to note that in the Solar Industry, everything is leaning toward specific standards and certification.  You can get all that you need at Boots on the Roof!  Also, you can check out the calendar of the 6-Day Solar PV Boot Camp for dates, prices and other courses offered along with a phone number to call.

About a year ago, Kent Basson, started OddShoeFinder.com, which allows users to buy and sell their mismatched pairs of shoes. It is aimed at people such as polio survivors who must buy a different pair of shoes for each foot due to severely mismatched feet. A few months after starting the site, he was
contacted by several people about accepting large batches of new name brand single shoes.

He started the site after his sister had an injury (due largely to neuropathy from diabetes) that resulted in her having to wear two different sized shoes. He saw that her options were few unless she wanted to spend a lot of money,or go to Nordstrom.  She still lives in their hometown in Alabama, which is far from a Nordstrom.

Kent ended up with over 11,000 shoes that were otherwise heading for a landfill. “We sorted and posted all the shoes we could as mismatched pairs. Rather than buying two pairs of shoes at retail prices, users of the site can buy a pair of shoes that was headed to the landfill for $10-20/pair.”

“We also found a use for boots for which we did not find matches. Construction workers wear boots in two different brands and styles when they pour concrete so that they don’t ruin their good boots,” Kent said.

A lot of perfectly able people also need mismatched shoes.  It is far more common than ever imagined, although most people just buy the larger pair and deal with it unless the difference is extreme. People born with clubfoot are also likely to need mismatched shoes.

He has also rescued quite a few matching pairs from among the thousands, so people who don’t have the problem of mismatched feet also use the site. He has 3000 skates (inline and ice) and cleats arriving next week, so the hope is that lots of people without serious disabilities will use the site as well.

This is not only a great way to save shoes from ending up in a landfill, but also makes filling this need alot easier, and far more affordable.  What a great way to go green and save some green too!