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There's no doubt eating locally grown food benefits both the community and the environment, but without regular visits to a farmers' market, it can be difficult for consumers to make that happen. One of the best ways to expand our locally-grown diets is to "grow our own," and the popularity of pea patches, community gardens and home-grown vegetables is on the rise.
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Great ideas are generated every day by people all across the world, and now these ideas have a place to live and grow. A community of small business owners and entrepreneurs bounce ideas off each other and give feedback, advice and much-needed encouragement. Anyone 18 and over with a business idea or anyone wanting to share their infinite wisdom can participate. People like small business owners, entrepreneurs, students, and stay-at-home moms and dads. Oh, and bartenders, plumbers and nannies, too
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Vacant, run-down buildings are usually viewed as a community liability, with quick demolition seen as the only solution. A more eco-minded approach, however, is deconstruction, which allows for the salvage of the building's still-usable pieces. This activity is defined as the selective dismantlement of building components, specifically for re-use, recycling, and waste management. It differs from demolition where a site is cleared of its building by the most expedient means.
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Are you starting a new Green business, but you don’t know where to begin? Washington DC has a membership organization that provides support to green businesses and discounts on everyday green products and services for consumers. They are also helping new green businesses flourish, and investing in sustainable development projects. It is a network of individuals who organize fundraisers for DC-based community groups and progressive organizations. Its goals are to throw distinctive, creative events and foster collaboration between DC's artistic and progressive communities.
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Elements, a new restaurant soon to be opening in Washington DC, will be the first "crowdsourced" restaurant, conceived and developed by an open community of experts and interested parties. The term was coined by journalist Jeff Howe in a 2006 article in Wired magazine. It's essentially the application of open-source principles to fields beyond software. Instead of outsourcing a task to one person or expert, it is outsourced to a crowd. The process uses the group's intelligence to come up with the best ideas, then distributes the tasks to people most suited to perform them putting the wisdom of crowds to work.
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Promotional benefits are a popular marketing tactic used across almost every industry and marketers like offering such benefits as they can greatly increase acquisition rates or drive repeat purchases over time. It should come as no surprise then, that the use of promotional benefits has been extended to the green space. Today, being a “Green” company can be as good for business as it is for the community. Conventional promotional items are well received and serve as a means for the giver to recognize customers, prospects or employees and be remembered.
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Tree-Nation is an ecological project with a focused objective: To plant 8 million trees in Niger, Africa to fight desertification. Large-scale plantation of trees will increase the land's productivity and re-generate the soil. It is also a is an online community in which you can buy your own tree and become its guardian.
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People gather together online to date, gossip or lose weight. Now a new website called Greenopolis has created a community whose members help each other live in a more eco-friendly manner. The site, still in beta, allows registered visitors to complete a survey analyzing their daily activities to determine how ‘green’ their lifestyle is. Based on these findings users receive a colored badge, which shows other members just how eco-friendly they really are. Orange badge holders need to clean up their environmental act, and solid green badge holders are on the right track
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Solara is a green residential community in Poway, CA and the first apartment complex in the US to be fully powered by the Sun.
Energy efficiency is achieved through both passive design features, such as orientation on the site, balcony, and shade overhangs, as well as the selection of materials and systems, including the building envelope that has ENERGY STAR Low-E windows and radiant barrier
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Consumers are concerned with the environment and want to be associated with brands that are too. Los Angeles-based nvohk, aims to create the first community-managed, environmentally conscious, surf-inspired clothing company where members have the opportunity to make critical decisions that not only affect the direction of the brand, but also make a positive impact on the world around them.
This is one more example of the customer-made trend, in which they are given a chance to contribute to a product’s design or features, also called "crowdsourcing".
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