Anyone who knows anything about green movements, legislation, and popularization knows that the concept of framing is perhaps one of the most highly used tactics used by green activists and politicians to garner support for environmentalist causes. Basically, framing is the act of taking an issue and highlighting a more specific aspect of that issue to strike the interest and sympathy of supporters who might otherwise not have cared. Two of the most popular environmental frames are public health- based claims and economic claims. A public health- based claim hypothesizes that a pollutant or environmental hazard poses a legitimate and broad-based public health concern, whereas an economic claim supports the position that sustainable living and technology will create a new American economy, will thwart the threat of foreign oil, and will generally be cheaper for the average citizen.

The students at the University of Minnesota have taken up the latter frame as a base for their green campus initiatives, which they hope will save 5% (or $2.5 million) on their school’s energy costs by the ed of the 2010 fiscal year. Broad-based savings are coming from “recomissioning buildings, and optimizing heating systems and timing lights,” yet the focus of students’ efforts is targeted toward a “change of culture” among community members. Since the spring of 2009, the Energy Efficiency Student Alliance has supported the Power Police, “the action arm” of EESA, members of whom visit offices during pre-planned “Building Blitzes”, installing energy-saving devices, and spreading knowledge about the small lifestyle changes that can save the U of M money. The Power Police are especially concerned with what Rob Bauer, co-founder of the EESA, called “phantom” or “vampire” power, or the power that electronics consume when they are turned off but left plugged in (which allows small yet significant amounts of energy to essentially leak into powered devices, which is wasted because they are not in use). At the end of a Blitz, Police can actually measure how much energy has been saved.

The EESA has proven to be a remarkably effective and salient group on campus. New Police are trained every day as volunteers, the coalition continues to grow with the newfound support from EcoWatch (a group focused on environmental outreach), and even uninvolved students appear to be seeking knowledge and accepting responsibility across the U of M campus. Said Bauer, “One of the strengths of the coalition is how it doesn’t exist to supplant what student groups are already doing. Its about bringing together people who are passionate about energy use and the issues that surround that.”

Go U of M! Comment below!

The green industry is one of the hottest industries to work in these days. But contrary to the antiquated perception of green, working in the industry doesn’t really mean working in the fields.  The concept that green businesses literally toil away is hilarious, but it’s a very real misconception of the past.

It wasn’t until Hollywood emphasized green living, that eco-consciousness really took off. Fortunately, with that many industries also realized the importance of going green.  Realizing it would save them money and serve as great PR, today’s green businesses are some of the most competitive businesses that offer some of the best products or services.

Just about any profession can find their niche in the green workforce.  However, some of us have it tougher than others.  For writers, the first thing you have to do is educate yourself on your subject.  Give yourself enough time to check out all the different resources there are for green living.  This includes green blogs, green businesses, green ideas, green policies…the wealth of resources are unlimited.  With there being so much out there, it’s important to have an idea about what type of green writing you want to do?  Do you want to focus more on urban living, home ideas, businesses, etc?  Once you have a clearer idea, you can streamline your search.

Whatever specific subcategory you choose to focus on, make sure you become an expert in the field. Go to events and conferences, borrow or purchase some books on the subject.  The more you know about your subject, the better you can write about it.

What You Can’t Do

Just as with any other job, you can’t just waltz into a company, whether figuratively or literally, and demand a writing job.  You have to show you have experience in the field; you have to demonstrate a skill.  Writers have it toughest in this regard. While other careers translate well across the board, writers tend to work in a very specific niche and usually adapt to a very specific style of writing. So while you may be a great writer in one area, you may not necessarily translate well to a green industry.  Writing for this industry can be different from writing for other industry, and to survive in the green business you’ve got to start learning to adapt your voice and writing style.

Here again we go back to the subcategory you want to work in. If you want to be a part policy changes, or business services, your writing has to be more technical. If anything else, is has to be more conversational and friendly, yet informative.  This is why it’s best to do the research and test out the field.

The Perks

A career in environmental conservation writing has a great number of perks. One of the biggest perks is that it can be done from anymore. Many writers are able to telecommute, a trend that’s been made even more popular with the recent events. The recession has made it cheaper for many employers to contact writers and have them work from home, which allows them to save on administrative overhead. Additionally, the decline of print media has finally gotten publishers to pay attention to the vast resource of internet media. With these trends, there no longer a need to drive to work, clock in and clock out. These days, your corner coffee shop is as effective an office as the corner desk.

How You Can Get Started

Find a pitch - whether it’s green energy, air quality trends, anything in health, technology, or latest green news. Once you start looking into the specific subjects, you’ll see how much coverage there is for eco-friendly lifestyles in both the personal and business sector.

No matter what you choose to write about, be sure to always cite your sources, use only stock free, approved, or public images, and link to higher quality publications such as .edu and .gov, which tend to have higher rankings. If writing for online content, be sure to brush up on SEO keywords.  And remember, the average piece shouldn’t be more than 900 words, and your pitch to me should be 50-200 words max.

Most publications will be happy to feature well-written quality content, out of which you get a piece for your portfolio, and a byline. But before you clickety-click away, send me a quick pitch and let’s see if we can guide you in the right direction.

However, if you choose to go on it your own, then take in the advice here and give it your best shot.

Shireen Qudosi is a green expert working with http://www.air-purifier-home.com

In a super-sized obsessed age, we’ve now fallen into the gap where we believe our home should also reflect a shift toward the grandiose. Yet this obsession with gigantism has completely dwarfed our sense of self.  Whereas even meals used to be an art form, the rising trend on bigger (and ultimately considerably ridiculous creations) is aimed at promoting a consumer culture that ironically strips us of culture.

Some would even argue that in addition to relinquishing culture, we rescinded our identity as we grow increasingly lost amidst a rising expanse of materialism. With consumer culture, it’s no longer about what we have, but about how much we can stuff into ourselves, pile on ourselves, and collect around ourselves.  An inflationary ideology that compromises quality for quantity, the idea that more is better and less is miserly can be traced back to Hollywood and celebrity, two groups that promote a culture of excess that majority of star gazers flock to emulate.

Yet an undercurrent movement referred to as “small living” is creating waves as a chic counter culture against wasteful consumption.  An increasing number of global citizens are realizing that bigger is not better, that more is not necessarily feasible, and that a continued practice of parasitism is not in our mutual interest.

This all began with a green movement, ironically enough kindled by the very same group that initially made it popular to be wasteful. It was Hollywood and celebrity that made it trendy to be environmentally aware, and while they were not the first group to practice earth-friendly habits, they are the group that got it mainstream attention.  Still, the green movement has taken off considerably since its infant days where recycling was the height of eco-culture.  The newest trend is in sustainable living, a striving effort to live a lifestyle with a minimal or reduced carbon foot print.

Thinking green has spread a new leaf.  While in the early stages of sustainable living, eco-friendly decisions centered on what could be different in the home, the trend now is to change your home itself.  Quickly gaining momentum, the small living movement is leading a greater number of people to realize the personal and communal benefits of conscientious consumption.

From small houses to yachts-turned-homes, people across the country are completely rethinking their approach to living.  And with the rise of do-it-yourself shows and home makeovers, we’re all realizing that we can have the comforts of a larger home, even the aesthetic appeal, without having to scrape out our wallets for that last little penny to fund it all. Whether it’s a boat, mobile, or studio living, the fact is a majority of Americans are downsizing their dwelling space.  This in light of the recent recession mixed with a rising awareness to cultivate positive eco-friendly living solutions, has left the market saturated with a number of alternatives to conventional living.

The emphasis here is not just on saving the environment, but also on saving a green resource of another variety.  Conscientious about carbon foot prints and wasteful spending, many global citizens are down scaling from a humble abode to perhaps an even more humble abode in an attempt to salvage hard-earned dollars.  With that, the trend these days is perhaps not even just to get a smaller apartment, but to get the most compact home possible for your lifestyle.  The idea of compact living has not only gotten many people to downgrade the number of services they use (i.e. cable, internet, dry cleaning, gourmet coffee), but it’s also raised a new crop of spatial economists that have traded in expansive lofts for more resource-friendly spaces.

Small living is simply much cheaper. It’s cheaper to furnish your place, utility costs are lower, and smaller spaces are generally much more affordable to rent or purchase.  It was Leonardo da Vinci who first said, “small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it,” – and perhaps he was right.  Surprisingly, there are a number of other benefits that go with smaller spaces, which anyone who’s walked the walk will quickly recognize.

Small living also undoes the idea that your home is your castle. While it remains true that your home is your sanctuary, those living in larger estates are less likely to explore their outside environment.  As such, what was once meant to be a castle becomes a cage that keep dwellers locked in, even if that condition is self-imposed.

On the other hand, a smaller home encourages you to get out, be more social, and explore your outside environment.  Smaller spaces allow for more creative design ideas, in which your home becomes an authentic reflection of you, as opposed to larger homes where the home somehow becomes a fixed museum that dwellers and visitors have difficulty engaging with.

Ultimately, the key is sustainability.  If small living isn’t your cup of tea then the next step is to look into how you create a sustainable environment in your home, no matter what its size.

Shireen Qudosi is a sustainable living enthusiast.

Not often is a book written that can explain the intricacies and effects of economics, international relations, and the green movement, and how the three impact the sociology of our country and our world. However, in his recently released book “$20 Per Gallon,” Christopher Steiner does just that, and makes it interesting and funny to boot. In the text, Steiner delicately yet simply explains to his reader how extremely volatile the American lifestyle is, and how daunting it truly is to be faced with the oil shortage that we all know is in our future, and in some cases, already in our present. His hypothesis is that our lives will drastically change—perhaps for the better—with the rising price of gasoline. We will have to live cleaner, conserve more, be more internationally and politically vigilant, etc, and Steiner begins his weaving of this thesis at the point that our gasoline hit $4 per gallon about a year ago.

At $6 per gallon, the SUV will become defunct, Americans may become skinnier and more fit on average, and the environment will flourish. At $8, airlines will struggle and perhaps shut down completely, travel for college and vacation will largely slow, and Las Vegas (and casinos everywhere) will face huge fiscal downturns. When we hit gasoline prices of $10, delivery services (UPS, FedEx, etc.) will focus on clean, renewable energy for transportation, hybrids, electric cars, and vehicular contraptions beyond our wildest dreams will have their advent in the American market, and ecofriendly plastic will be made faster and be distributed more widely than ever seen before. Steiner predicts that mass urban renewal—both socially and architecturally—will take place at $12, along with migrations to cities en masse, which will cause subways to expand. As the gas price rise, so does the level of technological innovation, architectural and urban reconstruction, and thought revolution, and while the prospect of such change is daunting to a reader (especially one who may have driven 10 miles to buy the text and is currently sitting in an air conditioned room drinking bottled water…), the idea that such change will come gradually and for the betterment of all is welcome. Steiner injects his book with comical and relatable stories of people from around the globe who have already begun to feel the positive impacts of the rising price of gas, perhaps to show his average reader that she can feel it too.

Find it at amazon.com. Read it? Comment!

Randy Cerveny, in his latest book Weather’s Greatest Mysteries Solved!, has transformed the study of weather patterns and phenomenon from boring to fun! In 22 succinct and fascinating chapters, Cerveny tells the story of many of what he calls “weather mysteries,” some of which include The Mysteries of Weather and Climate in Ancient Greece (where he unpacks weather described in Homer’s The Odyssey), The Mystery of the Saharan Hippo (where he explains how traces of a water beast could be found in the middle of the Sahara Desert), and The Mystery of the Mayan Megadrought (where Cerveny hypothesizes about the extinction of the Mayan race). Each chapter begins and ends with a story of a fictional individual experiencing a weather event, and in between, Cerveny cleverly interjects with his own distinct voice and explanations. Indeed, Cerveny also adds personal stories and experiences into the text, which draws him that much closer to his reader.

Not only does Cerveny, a President’s Professor in Geographical Sciences at Arizona State University, submit a variety of interesting theories regarding weather mysteries, but he also provides his reader with a wealth of information about new scientific studies, technologies, and the opinions of other experts in the weather and climate fields– All of which emerges as surprisingly interesting when told in Cerveny’s simple and comedic tone. Cerveny also adds his own opinion on modern climate change and points out what he thinks are legitimate claims and fears and what he thinks, frankly, is BS. It is this honest yet easygoing position that makes Weather’s Greatest Mysteries Solved! a very successful book, and a very appealing read.

Have you read “Weather’s Greatest Mysteries Solved!”? Is Randy Cerveny your professor at ASU? Comment!

Refreshing and organic, Numi Tea is a line of lightly flavored Puerh green teas that offer a great alternative to coffee and come from a company that actively supports green initiatives and events across the country. The bottled variety comes in numerous different natural flavors like Magnolia Jasmine and Peach Nectar, and unlike other bottled teas on the market, they actually taste like tea (what a novel idea)! They are USDA approved, well under 100 calories a bottle for those of us trying to watch our waistlines, and sport all the natural upshots of green tea—they are filled with antioxidants and provide a natural boost because they are lightly caffeinated. Served cold, Numi Tea is refreshing and a great morning pick-me-up for hot summer days, and the new bottled line is now on sale at the company website, www.numitea.com.

A sperm bank in Los Angeles recently launched a service that identifies donors as resembling different celebrities. Apparently, the agency spent 6 months researching celebrities and matching their donors to them based on appearance, and online customers of the bank can filter their search for potential donors via an extensive list of celebrities, some of whom include actor Antonio Banderas, magician David Blaine, pro wrestler (turned actor) Duane “The Rock” Johnson, football player Payton Manning, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, and comedian Seth Rogan.

Scott Brown of Cyrobank told KTLA news Los Angeles “The number one client question we get is ‘who does this donor look like?’ We decided this would be a great way to give thorough and consistent answers. Clients love it. Look-A-Likes has only been available for a week and our website traffic is up 50 percent.”

When viewing a donor profile (which features donor specifics such as physical characteristics, current occupation, religion, and ethnic origin), a visitor may also view a list of celebrities who most closely match that donor, with each celebrity name acting as a link to the Google Images search page of the given male. One donor Look-A-Like page claimed that he looked like Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Shockey and Paul Walker, although a disclaimer on the Look-A-Likes page states “no celebrity is meant as an exact match for any donor, nor should you assume that your future children will look like any celebrity listed.”

To start your search for a celebrity baby, visit http://www.cryobank.com/Donor-Search/Look-A-Likes/.

Article based on information obtained from dlisted.com

Recently, great strides have been made in the research of many sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes and HIV, and it is widely thought that a vaccine to combat and prevent such communicable ailments is thought to be on the horizon. This should be of particular interest to young people and college students, as statistics show that the American youth (18-25 years old) is the largest, and most quickly growing, group of people with STDs, STIs, and HIV/AIDS. However, new research out of the University of Missouri shows that many students may turn down an opportunity for vaccination based on what researchers call “invulnerability” to physical danger.

According to writer Emily Smith, students were surveyed and those who identified themselves as having being “invulnerable to physical danger” were less likely to receive the vaccination if given the chance, because they essentially feel “invincible” and feel themselves unlikely to incur any physical harm. On the other side of the equation, students who identified themselves as “psychologically invulnerable,” those who basically don’t care what their perceived appearance is to others, were more likely to get vaccinated. Indeed, a correlation may be emerging that the stigma associated with being vaccinated (that a person who seeks the vaccine may be promiscuous, unclean, etc.) will prevent young people from being proactive about their sexual health in this way.

Smith noted, however, that the “strongest predictor of vaccine acceptance was students’ perceived susceptibility to contracting HIV, followed by their number of sexual partners.”

Invulnerability studies are particularly salient in college communities across the United States, because college is known traditionally as a time when young people engage in extremely risky behavior. This study comes on the heels of the Gardasil vaccine released in 2006, which claims to protect women from certain types of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), many of which can cause cervical cancer.

What do you think? Is it your responsibility to get vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available? Comment.

That time is here again, for all the college students across the nation to start packing their stuff to move back to dorm life! College is the best time to get involved in going green, because it is probably the best place to find truly concerned, active, smart, capable people who are informed and ready to make meaningful change and have the means to do so. Now more than ever, college students are concerned with the environment, because they know that the future of their nation, personal safety, and job security rests in finding alternative energy and transforming the American lifestyle into one that is less wasteful. Here, we have posted just a few of the hundreds of ways that you (or your kid) can be green at school. Get started and run with it!

• Plug all appliances, chargers, and light sources into power strips, which will save electricity and can be easily unplugged to save energy when you leave the room
• Invest in a bicycle, either for yourself or for your group of friends, to use to get to class instead of driving. If not, hope on your school’s campus shuttle to get around.
• Instead of buying books from your college bookstore, check the library first. Checking out books for a semester (you can renew them), will save you hundreds of dollars and will force your school to cut back on new book- buying and focus on selling used textbooks instead.
• Eat locally as much as possible, and take advantage of local farm stands and sales if your school features them.
• Get involved and boost your resume! Join or start an environmental group on campus that devotes itself to “greening” your school and encouraging others to do the same. If you are involved in a fraternity or sorority, encourage your philanthropy chair to focus on planning fundraising events devoted to the environment and donating cash to green groups.
• Print all reading materials and papers on both sides of the page, or electronically submit all essays, papers, and projects if your professors let you. Save tons of paper!
• CAR POOL to and from school on breaks with other students who live in your area. And please, don’t make your parents come and get you! They have enough to do, and its double the gas use to make them drive up and back.
• Recycle your beer cans. They add up.
• Instead of throwing books away at the end of the semester, try to sell them back to your college bookstore or to an independent buying company (no matter how beat up they are). If you have abused them too much and no one will buy them, donate them to a Salvation Army or a local library.
• If your school doesn’t already do this, start a program in which students can donate lightly used but unwanted things from their dorms when they move out in the spring. Put a large cardboard box in each hallway, and watch them fill up! Then, have your school sell or donate the stuff.
• Have inter-dorm competitions to see which hall can conserve the most energy in a weekend, week, or month. Davidson College sports a “Do It In the Dark” Month every year, and it is a very popular event on campus!
• Go on a green spring break trip, either by finding a resort or program that is a planned green excursion, or by staying in a green hotel. If these options are too expensive, try going on a service trip.
• If you are a biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, geology, political science, economics, sociology or geography major, encourage your professors to investigate how they can use their expertise to make your campus (and their classrooms) more green. Suggest they design a class about global warming, climate change legislation, decreasing biodiversity, or green technology and its uses.

How do you plan to go green at school this year, or what is your school doing to go green? ENN wants to know!

The idea of “carbon tariffs” has some European countries worried, according to Roger Greenway, editor of ENN, who noted in an article today that “they are concerned that carbon tariffs could be used [in the future] to fend off competition from countries which have not committed to reducing emissions, in effect triggering a green trade war.” In what countries like the US and France are calling “border measures,” developed nations could, in theory, hold another nation’s lack of carbon reduction pledges and legislation against it, and impose tariffs on a country until such legislation is introduced and enacted successfully. This move is supposed to “secure the competitiveness of European industry against emerging economies” and counteract the recent phenomenon of countries outsourcing to nations that have no carbon reduction plans to save money on industry.

France has been the only European Union member state to openly rally for the introduction of border measures, and introduced the idea to the EU in 2008 while it was discussing its emissions trading plans. In the meantime, the EU is currently granting “free emissions ‘permits’ to industries which might be tempted to relocate to areas with less stringent regulations.”

The US is dealing with things similarly, with the House of Representatives allowing a provision to a draft of a climate bill that would allow a kind of carbon tariff on countries who don’t limit emissions after 2020. President Obama was opposed to this action, concerned that in this tough global economy it is important not to discourage trade.

What do you think? Comment.