We would like to congratulate David Thompson from Washington, DC, winner of Sobuka’s Green Photo of the Month contest, with a $50 prize and again it was SUPER EASY… even a child could do it. Let me tell you just how EASY it was, so our winner David went to his local post office to handle some business and purchase stamps when he noticed there was a box of FREE RECYCLING ENVELOPES used for recycling electronic waste (e-waste) such as inkjet cartridges, cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras and other small electronics. He pulled his phone out of its case and went SNAAAAAAP!…actually his camera phone was on silent and his camera flash was off so he didn’t hear the SNAAAAAAP! sound. Afterwards, he emailed his green photo to Sobuka and his photo was the best out of all the other submissions which made him our WINNER. YAAYYYYYYYY! E-waste is literally a growing problem and we must help reduce this problem at all costs. In the U.S., we generated an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of e-waste in 2006 alone. However, this number will continue to grow as new electronics are introduced to the market and consumers continue to upgrade to the next best thing. Do us and the environment a favor and look around your house for all your old electronics (cell phones, PDA’s, etc) and RECYCLE THEM for FREE using the recycling envelops found at your local post office. For more information about recycling e-waste and recycling in general check out the following links: Free Recycling Envelopes from USPS Thanks again to all the participants! For your chance to WIN take part in our next contest. Contest Rules: Submit one picture that you took of something green (environmentally friendly technology, service, process, etc.). Remember to tell us where it was taken, and why you think it’s green related. Mail your photo to contest [at] sobuka [dot] com. Happy shootin!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Recycling Envelopes – Contest Winner
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
There’s a Groupon for you – GreenDeals.org
In case you haven’t heard, Groupon, a web-based coupons seller for various local businesses, is making a killing with its business model. So much so in fact, that itdeclined a $6B offer from Google! Its amazing success in this market has left the doors wide open for plenty of other competitors with a similar model, thus giving customers like you and I more choices for discounted coupon deals to enjoy. The success of the Groupons of the world does show that customers are willing to wait for discount bargains on items that they may have overlooked in the past. From our experiences at sobuka.com, financial concerns are stated as the biggest barrier to entry when it comes to go green. If green related deals are packaged and presented successfully, there is no reason why GreenDeals.org can’t break through the barrier and move more customers to eco-friendly alternatives while shopping. Tags: green america, green coupons, Green Shopping, greendeals.org, groupon
E-Discovery Saves Trees
I occasionally run into many seasoned legal professionals around the Washington DC area working on big corporate cases. In almost every encounter, there is a conversation about the massive size of files (.doc, .xls, .ppt,..) they receive from their clients. They include hard drives, cd’s/dvd’s, flash drives, and even back-up tapes. Yes, I said back-up tapes. Some of you tech savvy people who already know what is a back-up tape, just hold on for a minute, while I explain…. All the information that is central to your job is backed up. Depending on the type of IT budget your company has allocated in preserving your data, the information you work on is saved on or off site, real-time, daily, weekly, monthly, or whatever your IT data retention policy states. WHy is this conversation so critical? Back-up tapes can range in size that’s why. Let’s start with a 250 GB back-up tape, the standard size of a desktop hard drive these days. Let’s assume that each file on your tape is about 1/4 of a MB (250 KB), filled with all types of office files (word docs, power point, excel spreadsheet, etc..). Now you are talking about 1,000,000 files easily just off one tape. Here is how we relate this ‘legal-tecky’ conversation to Sobuka: If the average file is 5 pages, that’s already at 5,000,000 pages (10,000 realms – 500 pages/realm)! Try printing that out to your favorite Xerox machine. You’d be in the office for the next 20 days non-stop. RainForestMaker.org calculator estimates this as cutting down 720 trees. I am trying to figure out how may trees Noah’s Ark used up to save the world. Because for just one back-up tape, the size of a regular computer HD, all the trees on our planet (~ 400 billion) would be in jeopardy, a subtle but trend-like Armageddon. We should be thankful that the legal industry already knows this is not practical but even more from a financial standpoint. They have utilized technology throughout the years to help take snapshots of files by producing them into tiff images, jpegs, and even ‘natively,’ thus reducing the need for paper. Let us know how your business or industry is saving trees. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Tags: E-Discovery, EDD
Monday, July 18, 2011
Recycled paper photo contest
We would like to congratulate Autumn from MD, a previous winner of our Green Photo of the Month contest, with a $50 prize, and it was SUPER EASY. Here is how it went…Autumn was shopping for gifts when she realized that her Target giftcard was attached to recycled paper made from renewable energy and 100% post-consumer fiber which is definitely “green” related. So a light bulb went off and she ripped out her camera phone and went snap…snap and finally she emailed it to Sobuka’s Green Photo Contest. Thanks again to everyone that participated in our contest! To take part in the next one, check out the details below: It’s easy to Go Green and WIN with Sobuka! Submit one picture that you took of something green (environmentally friendly technology, service, process, etc.). Remember to tell us where it was taken, and why you think it’s green related. Email your photo to contest [at] sobuka [dot] com. Happy shootin!
Starting to take public transportation?
For the past two and a half years, John has been commuting back and forth from Washington DC to Baltimore, a 100 mile round trip. Until one day home, John got into a car accident. (Don’t worry he was not hurt.)
After the accident, he was trying to figure out how much he would save by just taking public transportation, a much cleaner alternative than driving.
So one day he drafted the following questions along with his responses to analyze the cost of public transportation vs driving. The follow is his analysis:
1.) What time does my job start and end?
John’s response: 8am to 4:30 pm.
2.) Are there bus routes, rail, or combo-metro routes leading from my home to work?
John’s response: Yes. I can take the DC metro, bus F4, from Prince George’s Plaza Station to New Carrollton Station (MD). Then from New Carrollton, I can take the Marc Train to Baltimore Penn Station.
3.) Is the cost of driving a new car effective anyway?
Cost of Driving:
- Cost of comprehensive insurance per month: $200.00 (before the accident)
- Cost of fuel per week given 100/mile day commute: $40.00
- Cost of monthly parking pass: $110.00
- Other factors for John to consider:
- Purchase a minimal, new reliable car: $vary
- Maintenance and service on new car: $vary
Total monthly cost to work by car, not including vehicle purchase or M/S: $390.00
Cost of Public Transportation:
- Monthly transit pass (Bus + Rail + Marc included): $250.00
- Other factors to consider:
- ZipCar: Rental for $7.00 an hour for after work activities.
Total monthly cost for John to take public transportation to work: $250.00
This is a difference of $140.00 that John would save if he rode public transportation.
Have you carefully looked at your own commute from a financial perspective? How much would you be saving or spending?
Tags: DC Metro, MARCX New Carrollton, Prince George's Plaza, SmartTrip, ZipCar
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Leaf vs Volt
The Leaf is Nissan’s leading environmentally-friendly, affordable, family car. It is a trend setting type of engineered battery car. Its battery pack estimated at (£6000) which is $8,896 raises a lot of interest as well as reasonable pricing that is drawing tons of reservation. The Leaf is a tough competition with the Chevy Volt in terms of driving range.
The argument among Nissan fans is whether the Volt is a true EV.
The Leaf has been designed to be self-sustaining. Annual car maintenance does not apply to this vehicle except yearly brake pad inspection, and its navigation system is globally connected especially to find re-charging stations. The Leaf offers more with its new technology and afford-ability with all things considered which include pricing for 5-car seater, driving range, and up-keep.
Good:
- This is a real EV. A 100% electric car
- 8 Year with a 100,000 mile warranty
- $349 Lease program
- Federal, state, and other credits can knock off significant $$ on this vehicle
Other things about the Leaf:
- Like any EV, after 100 miles, your car is dead. Theses are your options; plan your schedule with an electric station in mind for emergency cases, charge your car at home as you would do with your i-phone before you sleep at night, and/or simply be aware about your driving situation by planning your trip accordingly.
- Price: $32,000
- Weight: 3,500lbs
The Chevy Volt is a car that can run up to approximately 40 miles emissions free. However thanks to its range-extending gas generator, it produces enough energy to power the Volt for hundreds of miles. The body of the Volt is slightly bigger than the Prius with a modern look and feel interior. The Volt has a nice on board system that keeps you up to date with your fuel capacity, letting you know if you are running on electric or gas.
Good:
- Goes up to 40 miles on pure electric. After that the gas kicks in extending it to more miles.
- 8 Year with a 100,000 mile warranty
- $349 Lease program
- Federal, state, and other credits can knock off significant $$ on this vehicle.
Other things about the Volt:
- Is this a true EV or a suit-up Hybrid? The controversy remains… On 40 miles, one can say it’s an EV. The rest of the way, it appears to function as a superior Hybrid to my opinion, powered on gas. My guess is as good as yours…let the controversy remain.
- Price: $41k
- Weight: 3,700 lbs
Summary
Hopefully other manufacturing car companies can follow suit and compete to bring the best of clean energy to the United States as well as getting back to leading in manufacturing, which interprets as more long lasting green jobs. Interesting enough there is mention that the Leaf will be produced in Tennessee (currently in Japan) in the next two years. Now that’s a good start.
Article References, Pictures, and more Information: Battle EV Supremacy, Nissan Showing New Leaf, & Toyota Hybrid Recall? No. Chevrolet Volt Display.
Tags: car incentives, chevy volt, nissan leaf
Take Your Clothes To ZIPS Dry Cleaners
We showcase companies and area businesses that are helping our environment. This month’s feature is ZIPS Dry Cleaners.
The following information was provided by Zips:
Reduce, Recycle and Re-Use At ZIPS!
Eco Fact: Did you know that Americans throw away more than 100 billion plastic bags each year? This includes trash bags, grocery bags, packing bags, etc. To help reduce waste, their stores are now using environmentally-friendly, biodegradable plastic bags on all orders. These bags are made from specially formulated polymers that degrade over a relatively short period of time, reducing waste volumes in landfills.
Eco Fact: Did you know that 3.5 billion hangers end up in landfills every year? As a dry cleaner, ZIPS cannot stop using hangers, but please don’t throw them away. Instead, return them to ZIPS for re-use. Their stores have specially designed blue recycle bins for hangers in the lobby for your convenience. Or simply give them to one of their friendly counter associates. If you want, you can re-use the rubber bands that you get from ZIPS to bundle the hangers together when you return them to your local store.
ZIPS Dry Cleaners believes in their part to help the environment. As a result, they have switched the plastic bags that are used to cover the cleaned clothes to an environmentally friendly, biodegradable source. These bags degrade over time, reducing the amount of waste landfills.
For more information about zips, you can visit their website and subscribe to their email newsletter, the ZNEWS. Similar information is shown on ZIPS TV in every store.
Tags: Dry Cleaning, Washington DC, zips