Facts

Gas prices are outrageous.
We're all worried about the environment and doing what we can to be "green"
Exercise is good for you.

This message is smart:




The weather is warmer now, so there's no reason not to get out there and walk instead of taking the car.

Did you know that ride sharing has many advantages?

Ride sharing, a.k.a. car pooling, aside from being better for the environment, has many advantages. Those advantages include:

• Less stress commuting to and from work
• Financial savings due to sharing commuting costs.
• Reduces need for parking
• Increases free time for riders
• If an high occupancy vehicle lane s available, trips may take less time
• Reduces pollution due to auto emissions

You can calculate your savings on how many car pooling is saving you and your pool-ees by using this handy calculator:
http://www.mwcog.org/commuter/Bdy-Cost.html

We help bring awareness to car pooling using our "grab a friend" poster, AIRP161. We can also custom make car pooling, ride sharing or other cost-reduction posters to meet your needs. Call us for details.



http://www.awarenessideas.com/airp161-Air-Quality-Poster-p/airp161.htm

Not too far? Don't take the car!

"If its a short trip to where you're going, don't take the car. Walk or hop on a bike. You'll save gas & reduce air pollution."

This is the message printed on a great Air Quality Awareness poster found at AwarenessIDEAS.com:

http://www.awarenessideas.com/airp183-Air-Quality-Poster-p/airp183.htm

According to the national safety council & research done by the EPA, "driving a car is the single most polluting thing that most of us do". Car emissions are responsible for Ozone depletion, toxic carcinogens, acin rain & global warming among other things.

While the suggestions this poster offers are great for people to remember at home, we also think it's a great message for the work environment. How many times a day do people in the office take quick runs to the corner store, gas station or coffee shop? If your office is anything like EVERY work setting I've ever been in, probably quite a few!

Consider sticking this poster up at employee-exits to remind everyone there's more they could be doing for the environment. Every effort to reduce motor vehicle emissions helps, and even a couple of brisk walks for coffee each week will add up to cleaner air in no time!

Halloween Sale: No Tricks, Just Treats, at AwarenessIDEAS.com

For the last two days of October, in celebration of Energy Month and Halloween, we're offering FREE SHIPPING on orders over $300 on ALL items in our website. That includes all of our energy conservation, recycling, safety, environmental, and quality process items. That's all posters, decals, handouts, banners, magnets, signs, charts, leak tags and anything else you find at our website!

Energy Conservation:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Energy-Conservation-s/1.htm

Recycling:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Recycling-s/2.htm

Safety Awareness:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Safety-Awareness-s/3.htm

Air Quality:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Air-Quality-s/4.htm

Water Quality:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Water-Conservation-s/5.htm

Quality Process:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Quality-Process-s/6.htm

Not ready to spend $300? We send a FREE Awareness Gift with EVERY order. For details, see this page:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/free-gift-with-every-purchase-a/339.htm

If you don't see what you'd like, give us a call or send us an email. We'll gladly custom make most anything you desire.

Yours,

Denis Baldwin
AwarenessIDEAS
TOLL-FREE: 800-875-1725
DIRECT: 863-868-9300
FAX: 248-616-0485
denis@awarenessideas.com
http://www.awarenessideas.com

Air Leaks are a big problem in most facilities

Air leaks, as well as fluid leaks and water leaks, cost big bucks if left unchecked.

In a manufacturing facility that relies on air to power their machines, the air leak problem is three folds.

1. If air is leaking at a hose or a fitting, the air pump needs to work harder to produce the same output. This compensation costs more in energy costs and can damage a pump from overuse.
2. A machine that normally operates at a certain air pressure level (say, 100psi) that is only getting 80psi will perform at a substantially less efficient rate, if it works at all.
3. Holes tend to get bigger and the structure around them tends to deteriorate if left unchecked.

We have developed a system for identifying, marking and repairing these leaks using out customizable leaktags and information boards. These tags and boards can be customizes for air leaks, hydraulic leaks, fluid leaks or just about any other kind of leak. In addition, your company or department information can be added and we can number tags for easy tracking.

Our Air Quality Leak Tag Information:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/Air-Leak-Tags-Boards-s/173.htm

Blog Action day gives bloggers a chance to make a difference

Today, we're participating in Environmental Blog Action Day:

http://blogactionday.org

From their website:

On October 15th - Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind.

In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment.

What Each Blogger Will Do

Bloggers can participate on Blog Action Day in one of two ways:

1. Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.

   For example: A blog about money might write about how to save around the home by using environmentally friendly ideas. Similarly a blog about politics might examine what weight environmental policy holds in the political arena.

   Posts do not need to have any specific agenda, they simply need to relate to the larger issue in whatever way suits the blogger and readership. Our aim is not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion.

2. Commit to donating their day’s advertising earnings to an environmental charity of their choice. There is a list of "official" Blog Action Day charities on the site, however bloggers are also free to choose an alternate environmental charity to donate to if they wish.

Watch for a few posts today from our staff to see how we each contribute to a healthier world in our individual positions at AwarenessIDEAS. You'll hear from our designers, marketing, the president of the company and even our accounting department. Much like in every company, each person can make a difference.

I encourage anyone reading this blog who has a blog of their own to participate. No matter what your blog is about, you can write about your impact on the world, how you work to be green or anything else that comes to mind.

What is a carbon footprint?

One of the talking points that's been tossed around lately on the news is the idea of a "carbon footprint". What is a carbon footprint, exactly? Wikipedia sums it up nicely:

Carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO₂ emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels; in the case of an organization, business or enterprise, as part of their everyday operations; in the case of an individual or household, as part of their daily lives; or a product or commodity in reaching market. In materials, is essentially a measure of embodied energy, the result of life cycle analysis.

A carbon footprint is often expressed as tons of carbon dioxide or tons of carbon emitted, usually on a yearly basis. There are many versions of calculators available for carbon footprinting.

This is directly related to the amount of natural resources consumed, increasingly used or referred to as a measure of environmental impact. Carbon dioxide is recognized as a greenhouse gas, of which increasing levels in the atmosphere are linked to global warming and climate change.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol sets forth a methodology by which voluntary emission reduction can be monetized in the form of a carbon project. These standards involve the use of an environmental proof called additionality.

What does this mean for all of us? This means that we all need to take personal responsibility for our carbon footprint. Some easy ways to do this include:

• Ride share when possible
• Walk or ride a bike for short distances or small trips, such as to a store or local restaurant
• Eat foods that are grown and produced within 250 miles of your house. The closer the better, as this keeps another truck off the road that would have to haul food to you over long distances.
• Insulate your home and business with the maximum R-value that you can.
• Use air conditioning and heating sparingly and set your controls at the boundaries of what you consider comfortable.
• Minimize waste in all of it's forms: water, trash, food waste, industrial waste and vehicular waste included.
  

Plant a tree to improve air quality

Did you know that planting just one tree will help to improve air quality in your world? Even one tree over it's lifetime will release clean oxygen back into our atmosphere. Imagine what thousands of trees could do!

Here's a great poster to remind those around you to plant trees and promote clear air:



See this item at AwarenessIDEAS:
http://www.awarenessideas.com/airp166-Air-Quality-Poster-p/airp166.htm