This Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30pm people around the world will be turning off their lights for an hour to demonstrate concern about climate change. This event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. For those of us here in Vegas, we’ll get to see the Strip marquee lighting turned off. It’s so cool that the hotel casinos have signed on to be a part of this!

So while this is an important environmental event, there’s also a lot of opportunity for fun! I’m torn between going to the Springs Preserve or having friends over for a candlelit barbeque. The barbeque would be easy, but the Springs Preserve has a view of the Strip and also has a yummy cafe. They are hosting a viewing party that evening, which will be lit by LED candles.

You can get more information about Earth Hour at www.earthhour.org. Las Vegas is a flagship city and has its own Earth Hour page at www.earthhourlv.org. The Vegas page has links to a variety of events going on at this time around town. Definitely worth checking out! How easy to support the environment here, just turn out your lights!

Note: The focus of this event is not the energy saved during the hour. It’s simply a demonstration of concern. Also, they are asking for non-essential lighting to be turned off, so streetlights and casino lighting will still be on.

Zappos is awesome enough to provide us with free soup, salad and sandwiches every day, to which we are truly grateful!!

But, I must admit, sometimes we all get the urge to change it up and head to the nearest fast food joint.

But if your thinking of the environment, it is best to Home cook, Home Girl! (or Homeboy :) )

With fresh food, very little or no processing is involved. This minimizes the energy used to get it to your plate and reduces the cost to the environment.

In the US, it is estimated that as much as 30% of food gets wasted, adding up to 48.2 million pounds of food.

So next time you want to change it up, try home cooking and bringing your lunch to work…..and bring some for me, too!

STAY GREEN, YO!!

I’m sure you all have your friends that are Anti-Coffee, and Im sure they are always telling you that coffee is not good for you. You know those rumors you hear that it stunts your growth, etc, etc… Well, next time you get into a tiff about your cup of Joe, tell your friend to hit the road, Jack!

A study from the University of Madrid found that coffee does not lead to a early death, even drinking 6 cups a day!

The study found that patients experienced lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses because of the antioxidants that coffee contains.

So now you know that drinking coffee can be a good thing, here is how to Green your Coffee:

Select Organic: Its a little more pricey but organic coffee beans eliminate your exposure to hazardous pesticides

Look for Shade Grown Beans: Coffee is a shade loving plant and provides homes to many important birds who are not threatened.

Look for Fair Trade Certification: When you buy coffee that is fair-trade certified, you are insuring that the farmers who grew the beans are paid fair price and giving them assistance to transition to organic growing.

And of course bring your own mug to work :) STAY GREEN YO!

Want to save up to 16,000 gallons of water a year but dont know how???

There is something sooooo simple and easy to do to help you save water at home that a cave man could do it? Ooh.. wait they didn’t have toilets back then!!

Ok, so if you own a 1-liter plastic bottle, then you are GOOD TO GO!

Green Tip: Put a plastic water bottle in your toilet

By filling up your water bottle and placing it inside your toilet’s water tank, you will use one liter less when you flush, and for a family of 4 that’s 16,000 gallons a year!!!

According to the EPA, the average American home uses more water flushing the toilet than running the shower.

BE WATER SMART! AND STAY GREEN YO!

She recycled it OF COURSE!!!!! :D

And so we all can live happily ever after like Cinderella we should do the same with all our glass products.

Green Tip of the Day: Recycle your glass products

Glass is a good item to recycle because there are so many different types of glass to choose from before it can no longer be recycled.

Make sure you separate different colored glass and don’t include metal bottle tops or corks that can contaminate the process.

KEEP IT GLASSY!!!... AND STAY GREEN YO!!

Hey My Go-Greeners! Today I must say I was very sad, and maybe a little furious when going into the lunchroom to rinse my mug out this morning.

Did you know that we as Zapponians are not taking being wasteful seriously? Sometimes I see employees take as many as Five styrofoam bowls in a sitting for their lunch break. There are so many ways that we as Zapponians can do our part to help Zappos as a company and the environment just by paying a little more attention to the waste we produce.

For example, if we brought in our own utensils such as bowls, forks, plates, mugs, etc., we would cut down dramatically on the wastes we produce as a company.

If one employee used 3 bowls a day (one for breakfast, maybe soup for lunch, and salad bowl for a snack) that would add up to 1095 bowls a year. If one employee used 2 styrofoam cups a day for coffee, that adds up to 730 cups a year.

Lets say 20 employees followed this trend of using 3 styrofoam bowls a day and 2 Styrofoam cups a day that would add up to 36,500 styrofoam utensils for the year. (and Zappos has over 300 employees)

So the Green Tip today is for employees, both a part and not a part of Zappos, to bring in their own reusable utensils, bowls and plates. Now if that’s not going to happen, than at least try to use the same utensils and plates, etc. throughout your day, that way you’re cutting back from 5 to 1 a day.

STAY GREEN, YO!!!

Sooo…. Today I carpooled!! And honestly, it felt goooooood. Carpooling is something that I think we take for granted. Facts show that carpooling cuts down on carbon emissions, even by choosing to carpool once a week!

1 car = half the gas

OFFICE CARPOOL ANYONE??

GREEN TIP: SAVE GAS AND MONEY

Did you know that by keeping up with car maintenance can save you both gas and money? ...... YES WAY! According to Green Hacks, you can lose 1/2 mpg if your tires are not at their maximum pressure and keeping your oil changed when needed can give you 20 more mpg!

That’s definitely going GREEN! STAY GREEN YO!!!!

Have you heard the craze going on about bringing your own bags (preferably canvas) to the grocery store to stop plastic bag waste? Well, let me break down the importance of B.Y.O.B (BRING YOUR OWN BAG!)

Green Tip: BAG THE BAGS

Plastic bags start as petrochemicals, which are transformed into polymers and are, in turn heated, shaped, cooled, flattened, sealed, punched, and printed on, all of which require energy (1001 Little Ways to Save the Planet)

Still, only 0.6% of plastic bags are recycled, with the USA alone throwing away 100 billion bags a year!

So before you consider “Paper or Plastic”, try to bring your own canvas bag which now you can get anywhere for $1!

If you still cant pick up that trend, try recycling or reusing your plastic bags.

When it comes to the planet you have it in the BAG, STAY GREEN YO!