Blogs

The snow is thick and blowing around but I think it is a good time to start planning for Spring planting. I always plan things now so I have a nice record of the things I want to get done. It seems like when the time comes I have a long list and only some of those tasks fit into my long term plans.

This year I want to overseed my hay field and put in some new fences for the horse pasture. I need to fix the raised bed gardens so they are ready when it is time to plant. I have many such tasks I need to complete so things will be ready later.
Not too green, but the thing is that if you plan what you, then you can make your plans green. Choosing the plan of action that will do the least damage to the Earth and maybe even make an improvement. Choosing materials that will reuse old equipment, recycle packaging, and save energy because I have all the pieces on hand so I don’t have to run to the store in the middle to get parts or run out of something. It all counts up.

One of my projects will be planting about 100 trees, mostly hardwoods, around the farm in places where the old trees have died and gone down. We used to have a big pasture full of maple trees, they were huge old trees, they slowly died over the last few years, storms and cattle did the rest. Well now we need to replant, so I am putting maples back in there plus a few hickory and apple trees. We always used to replant a tree when it went down unless it was in a bad place or needed to come down. I got away from doing that. Now I want to get going on replanting and restoring the forest to what it used to be.

Think Green. Be Green.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

At HBC we have an uncommonly high number of "Techie" employees. I am sure you can imagine that with all these geeks there are a lot of gadgets in our homes and offices.

In my recent quest to purchase an E-Book Reader, the newest edition to my personal gadget collection. I started to wonder if this is a "greener" alternative to my massive book collection or just another tech toy I think I can not live without...

I didn't have to dig hard to find this article by Martin LaMonica on CNET News. It talks about the life cycle of books vs. a Kindle. (In case you are wondering I purchased a Barnes & Noble Nook) The article is pretty interesting and the data collected by Cleantech Group is in favor of the e-reader as a greener alternative to traditional paper books though, there are some dependencies on usage. According to the article, for me an e-reader is a greener alternative because I am happy to make a full paperless conversion. For those on the fence this may not be the right green gadget for you.

Interested in figuring out how green your gadgets are? Visit Planet Green to learn how.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Developer

As many of you know HBC is very active in the communities we serve and participation in the Winona Health Auxiliary Tree of Lights Fundraiser is just another thing we do to contribute. This year our theme was "Reduce, Reuse, Rejoice" In keeping with the theme we chose to create a tree using only reused or naturally recyclable/biodegradable materials. The tree, bows, star and skirt were donated by HBC staff, all of these were purchased from the same fundraiser in past years (reused). The ornaments were handmade by the tree committee using past years christmas cards (reused) and technical support strung a natural cranberry garland (biodegradable). As an added bonus, being green also cost less! The total cost for the tree was under $20! We included a card explaining that it was created using reused materials and encouraging the purchaser to pass it along to a local charity when they no longer have a use for it.

Save money and the planet? Priceless...

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Developer

I stumbled on a cool website about the greenest, good for the planet and for you food, I have ever seen: SunChips

Ok, I am guilty, I love to each chips and be a couch potato. SunChips are not potato based, but they are crunchy, salty snack food, that I eat to take some stress of the potato supply. Actually they are healthy and good for you.

What I didn’t know is that Frito-Lay the owners of SunChips has made the plant in Modesto, California that makes them one of the most earth friendly plants in the US. Frito-Lay takes energy conservation at the Casa Grande, AZ potato chip factory very seriously, compared to similar plants it used 90% less energy, by 2011 it will have less than 1% waste going to landfills.

They use solar power to run the plant in Modesto. Solar collectors heat the oils used to cook the chips and solar panels to make electricity to operate equipment. At all points in production efforts are made to conserve water. The costs of operating these plants have been such that it will be used as models for the other company plants across the country.

Frito-Lay is also making efforts in packaging, currently a 1/3 of the material in packaging is renewable, by 2010 it will also be 100% compostable/biodegradable.

This kind of change isn’t just good for the planet it is good business. The kind of thinking we need for today and tomorrow.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

An interesting article on America Infra (http://www.americainfra.com/news/powering-online-obsession/) shows the use of electricity and the growth of electrical power use in Data centers is doubling every 5 years. That may not seem like a lot but our current use is not sustainable due to growth of usage in other areas doing other things. Everytime you tweet or do a google search there is a data center that answers or relays your request or post, every message consumes power but the billions of messages and searches that the world makes every minute adds up quickly.

There is research into more power efficient cpus and storage devices and progress is being made. Netbook computers are powered by an energy efficient cpu, the Intel Atom, now manufacturers are starting to build servers using this processor. Other processors use other types of power management to slow the core processor or turn on or off additional cores so the processors matches the demands.

Storage systems are also going through an upheaval. More people are moving from magnetically encoded storage (Hard disks) to Solid State Drives. Solid state drives are much more energy efficient and as costs have come down they are a viable alternative.

Many new datacenters (Google is a good example) build solar and wind generators into the designs of new centers. The goal is to lessen the impact on the planet of these new datacenters. Combine this with new technology reducing demand within the center and you have a much lower impact on the power grid, and in some cases a new source of power has been created as well.

Think Green, switch it off if your not using it.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

Everyday someone replaces a computer or a monitor and then they wonder what to do with the old equipment. In Minnesota electronics manufacturers are required to recycle their products (Check out it out at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website; http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/stewardship/electronics-law.cfm). Retailers are required to educate the public about recycling programs. So when you purchase new equipment ask about recycling programs for the old equipment you are replacing.
Along those lines Best Buy has a great recycling program for old monitors, Stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin will accept any old monitor (technically any crt screen or display) for $10 and you will get a $10 gift card for Best Buy on the spot. (Charges may vary, only confirmed locally) They will also take old computers (Hard drives must be removed) at no charge. Limit 2 per household per day.
Recycling isn’t just destructive reuse of the old products; it is also reuse of products, and alteration into different products. For example, use of motherboard components to make jewelry and art objects or just reuse of motors, power supplies and fans for use in new computers or repair of existing computers. Every bit that is reused means less need for additional energy to melt or compress old scrap for reuse. Reusing equipment in any way is the greatest energy saver of all.
Looking for a nice cell phone, check out these that are made with recycled wood, http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/ntt-docomo-introduces-cell-phone... . Or these that are made from recycled materials, http://earth911.com/blog/2009/01/08/motorola-unveils-phone-made-of-plast...

Shopping green is easy too, look for the recycle symbol when you shop. It means you can recycle the product, look for the symbol if you’re not sure ask the retailer selling the product.

Kraig Geise - Senior Internet Analyst

As the students return to Winona, like so many other businesses around town, our busy season begins. We are making an effort to ensure this years student rush will be a less wasteful experience than in past years by offering our handbooks in a digital format on a reusable USB HBC Green Drive! Not only does this elimate all paper and printing waste but the information on the drives can be transferred to your personal computer leaving the drive empty and free to be used for other purposes!

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

Incorporating greener practices within a company can be a slow and tedious process but we continue to progress. We have begun printing all of our handbooks and print pieces on 100% post consumer recycled paper. We are using soy inks and choosing vendors who are also utilizing green practices whenever possible. We are currently in the process of putting together a "Green Customer Handbook" that will soon be available online and given to new customers at the time of install. It will contain all service and equipment manuals as well as regulatory information. Each day we progress towards becoming a greener company. How is your green project coming along? We would love to hear from other local businesses about their own green programs.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Developer

Most people know that they should recycle paper, plastic, chemicals/oil and glass but did you know old electronics, batteries and compact florescent lightbulbs can and should be recycled as well? Earth911.com is a great resource for finding locations in your area for recycling different types of materials that can be detrimental to our environment. Do you know of other locations that are not listed? We would love to hear about them, use the comment link below to post.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

Reducing your carbon footprint can be as easy as buying locally grown products. In Winona, the Bluff Country Coop has been helping people do just that since 1972 by selling locally grown fruits, vegetables and other products. Visit their website at http://www.bluff.coop/ for more information.buffcoop

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

The Daily Green has great articles on topics like how to start a garden and DIY non-toxic cleaning. Click here to check it out.

Cheri Gabbert - Human Resources

Did you know:

Most of us are not experts who are familiar with the green terminology. The EPA has a "Terms on Environment" page full of green terms, abbreviations and acronyms. Visit the EPA's website by clicking on this link.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Developer

Are you a creature of habit? I know I am, and so are most of the staff here at HBC.

As the ECC continues to quest towards a greener office we find that our habits are a weakness. We know at the end of the day remembering to shutoff the printer before you leave is not always your highest priority. To help keep everyone thinking green, ECC members have been sending out email reminders and posting signs on light switches and equipment as a friendly reminder to shut it off when not in use. It seems to be making an impact. We are finding fewer monitors and lights left on!

In other news, we continue to evaluate paperless order and paperless administration processes in hopes that we can, in the near future, switch to a secure digital process replacing our current paper forms. On the customer side we continue to encourage our friends to switch to paperless billing and have reduced our printed manuals and booklets substituting for electronic versions instead.

Did you know:

2 billion disposable razors end up in landfills per year! You can help: Either buy a razor with a recyclable handle or if you're really tough, go for a strait razor that can be sharpened as needed.

Candice Mayberry - Multimedia Development

Green lighting options come in many forms and all of them have compromises but the good news is that we have choices. The technologies that are involved are relatively mature and constantly improving in most cases. Lets have a look at the oldest first.

Incandescent Lighting: I am sure that Edison is happy that his invention still is around, but it is a dinosaur. It produces light by heating a thin wire till it glows, grossly inefficient wasting both light and heat. Many countries have banned incandescent light bulbs. Very short lifespan, perhaps as long as 1,500hrs of usage.

Compact Fluorescent Lights: CFL is for the most part replacing incandescent light bulbs. It is very energy efficient and has a very long life, about 60,000 hrs of use. For example I put in 42watt CFL's to replace 100watt incandescent bulbs in a farm building. I am getting the equivalent of 150wats of light from a 42watt CFL so with two CFL's I get the light out put of the 3 100watt incandescent bulbs. I even added two more so I have a much better lit building for the same power and since they last about 40 times longer it is a great deal. Some mercury is used in CFL's but it is substantially less than in older fluorescent designs and if properly disposed of represents a minimal impact on the environment.

Light Emitting Diodes: LED, is the newest of the technologies I am writing about today, they are small transistor like modules, that use small amounts of electricity to emit light. LED's use an order of magnitude of electricity less than CFL's do, 10's milliwatts vs. Watts. They also last about 4 times longer than CFL's. Currently the cost of LED fixtures (bulbs) is higher than other competing types of lighting so they would need to be used where other forms either won't work or you have a special need. LED's also do not use mercury in their circuitry so they have an advantage over CFL's.

At HBC we have formed a cross-functional team with members of each department to guide our Green Initiatives. The team will research products and practices that can help HBC to be a better and greener company. As residents of the communities we serve, we all feel that it is important for us to do what we can to make a difference.

Our first actions are to kick off our green blog to serve as a forum for those of us who are trying to make changes for the greener. We are not experts, and have a long way to go -- but we are proud that we are doing what we can.

Internally we are exploring changes in policies to reduce energy consumption, use of paper, and improving recycling efforts, among others. Our first "quick hit" was to have employees shut off their monitors when they leave for the day, or if they will be away from their PC for an extended period of time. We were surprised when research indicated how much of a difference this little change could make. (http://www.doit.wisc.edu/news/story.asp?filename=598)

We look forward to hearing from you and to sharing our thoughts and efforts with you.

Dan DeBroux – Environmental Consciousness Committee Chairperson