3 Types of Commercial Solar Cold Email

Energy

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September 29, 2020

There are over 3.9 billion email users worldwide. And that means you can connect with pretty much any commercial solar lead through cold email.

But do you know that 25% of cold emails aren’t actually seen? Even more so, 47% of these emails are discarded. Now imagine gathering several quality solar leads and sending hundreds of emails each day, only for your response rate to be around the 2% mark. Not encouraging, right?

But don’t beat yourself up. Cold email campaigns are tricky and tough to break through. If you’re having a hard time driving sales or higher response rates, it’s about time you stopped spinning your wheels and reviewed your strategy.

For starters, how good are your CTA requests? Not so good, I presume? Many marketers pay more attention to the subject lines, the introduction, and the tone of their emails than the call to action requests. And this where they go off-script.

No matter how good your email looks or how well it is worded, if your call to action (CTA) doesn’t induce the action you desire, it has failed.

The call to action is the key to increasing reply rates. Think of CTAs as the trigger that induces a particular action that helps you achieve your pre-defined objective. For a call to action to bring the proposed result, you need to know how to form a persuasive request.

So, before you swear off cold emailing, take a look at these types of cold email requests. It might just be one of the ways you can be more successful with cold email outreach.

Not Specific Requests

This type of request is cliché, common, and generic. When it comes to cold emailing requests, most salespersons send their emails with non-specific requests.

Want to know what these requests look like? Here are a few examples.

“Let me know when you’re interested.”

“Contact me if you want this service.”

“What time is great for you to meet with me?”

“Please let me know when you would be ready to discuss this idea.”

The examples above aren’t specific. And aside from this, they sound lazy. It is just as though you can’t muster up the will to create a connection and want the recipient to do it.

Second, they also sound very unserious. If you want to drive sales, you’ll have to be a lot more specific than this.

Now, why do many marketers send emails with non-specific requests? Some do so because they think that specific requests come across as highly presumptuous, knowing that you are sending an unsolicited email request. So they choose to go the non-specific route.

On the contrary, non-specific requests elicit a much different response, and it isn’t a positive one. When you end a cold email with a non-specific request, you’re allowing the prospect to send your email to the spam folder. It strips the control of the narrative from you and gives it to the prospect.

Using the example above, a non-specific request would get the following responses.

Disinterest

When you send cold emails, you already run the risk of eliciting a negative response. However, the chances of that happening increase with non-specific requests. If they don’t sound exciting, interesting, or action-inducing, the reader will become uninterested.

Annoyance

Some prospects get annoyed by non-specific cold email requests. Here is someone emailing me out of the blue to get my patronage but doesn’t care enough to be specific about timing? No, I’ll pass. The bottom line is this; non-specific requests won’t get you the replies you want.

When it comes to commercial solar lead generation, the aim is to set up a meeting with a solar company to discuss business requirements and your services. In this instance, a CTA could look like this:

Can you talk on the phone for 20 minutes next week on Tuesday or Thursday afternoon?

Slightly Specific Requests

This type of request is a lot better than a non-specific request. It gives precise times and dates for follow-ups while also giving room for changes to the reader’s schedule.

With a slightly specific request, you’ll probably come off as someone who is invested in what you’re offering. This impression is influenced simply by giving a date and time.

Slightly specific requests also make the salesperson sound considerate. It is one thing to be confident, and it is another to be an arrogant, inconsiderate fellow. You don’t want the prospect to see you as the latter in any way.

Some examples of slightly specific responses include the following:

“Can we meet at the coffee house next to your office to discuss, or would you prefer to meet in your office?”

“Would 12noon work for a business call to further discuss this idea, or would you prefer to discuss it over dinner?

“Is it okay if we have an in-depth discussion at the gulf club on Saturday, or would you prefer to discuss it over drinks?

Why is a slightly specific request effective?

It ensures a response. With the option you give in your request, most prospects would feel obliged to answer you.

If you get a NO, that’s not a knock on you. It is still a great cause because you can go on to pursue other leads. If they aren’t okay with any of the options above, you can negotiate another time. Either way, you get a response, which is very important.

Very Specific Requests

Unlike slightly specific requests, very specific requests give the lead only one choice for a follow-up. It might seem inconsiderate and ballsy, but it is very effective.

In fact, it is more effective than all the other types of requests.

Here is what a very specific request sounds like:

“I’m free to discuss any questions you have about this product at 3 pm on Monday. Is this fine by you?”

“I’ll free up 20 minutes for a call on Tuesday by 11 am. Let me know if this works for you.”

In all examples, the marketer sounds confident, serious, and professional. These attributes often convince the lead to take the desired action.

Remember, don’t sound salesy and pushy. A commercial solar cold email is never intended to sell a product or service. It is meant to start a conversation and develop a background for interaction, which may result in your lead using your product or service.

Conclusion

No more than 25% of commercial solar cold emails are opened. And only a few of these prospects will respond. If you want to increase your response rate and ROI, eventually, you need to rethink how you conduct your CTA request.

Spend some time on subsequent commercial solar lead generation cold email campaigns to perfect your CTA. Although it may take more time to master, the outcome will be worth it.

Coping with Climate Change Depression

Health

Bhok Thompson

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September 27, 2020

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hanging out in a tree, woman on branch of large tree — *Climate change can seem depressing. Does it help if you take it to heart?*

People are starting to wake up to the fact that climate change is here and it’s having a huge impact on the planet. Of course, many have known about this issue for decades and have been trying to get those in power to take it seriously. The lack of action when it comes to climate change measures is very concerning and it even makes many people feel very depressed. If you’re dealing with climate change depression right now, then you might even be having a hard time figuring out how to move forward when things look so dire.

One of the best ways that you can deal with climate change depression is to seek out professional help from a therapist. Your therapist will understand your concerns and will want to do a good job to help you to cope with what is happening in the world. If you know that you need help to get your feelings under control, then you should certainly consider contacting a professional soon.

You Can Live with Depression

Depression isn’t something that has to keep you from living your life. Many people do struggle with depression and it makes it tough to find the energy to do things. You could even feel like you’re unable to function if your depression is severe enough, but all is not lost. It’s possible to get help for depression and this will allow you to learn how to live with it effectively.

It isn’t necessarily always about eliminating depression entirely. Many people struggle with depression for years and it doesn’t always completely disappear. They do get very good at coping with what is happening and this allows them to be as positive as possible while living their lives. If you’d like to get to this point yourself, then contacting a therapist is a great choice.

You can learn to cope with the climate change that you’re seeing in the world. There are quite a few ideas and methods that can help with this, too. The first step is going to be acknowledging your depression and committing to working on it with a dedicated therapist. If you can do that, then you’re going to be able to make things better over time.

Try to Realize That Things Aren’t Hopeless

You might feel hopeless right now due to the state of the world, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope. There is still time to make a difference in the world and many nations are trying to do just that. You’ll find that many countries are taking climate change seriously and that they’re taking steps to reduce carbon emissions. Even if it isn’t completely possible to avoid the impact of climate change at this point, the world can still change and try to make things better.

You can also take solace in the fact that there are many other people out there like yourself who care deeply about this topic. If you wish to make a difference, then you can try to make good choices in your everyday life that will help the planet out. Even simple things such as being conscious of how much energy you’re using and choosing to recycle will help. Every contribution to environmental efforts has significance and you should never give up hope completely.

Try to Focus On Other Things

It’s certainly important to be an environmentally-conscious individual, but you shouldn’t torture yourself by worrying about it all the time. Feeling anxious or depressed over climate change issues won’t change what is already happening. For the sake of your mental health, it’s good to try to focus on other things so that you can feel better. For example, you might want to spend some time on a hobby that you enjoy or you might like to spend time with a friend.

Little things like this can help you to alleviate depression symptoms more than you might realize. If you combine actions like this with talking to a therapist then you’ll be in much better shape. You aren’t alone in feeling like things are depressing right now, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t feel positive. A therapist can help you to find your sense of happiness again and you can address the issues that have been causing you to feel depressed as well.

Whether you’re just looking for someone to talk to, or if you need help with significant depression issues, you will be able to get what you need. It’s possible to get great therapy without even having to leave home and you’ll be able to cope with climate change-related depression much better.

Electric roads get real in Tel Aviv

Karin Kloosterman

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September 22, 2020

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electric road, ER, tel aviv — *This is what an electric road looks like. It means fewer charges for your EV.*

Tel Aviv is about to ride down Electric Avenue. The city which has ironically doubled its taxes to local businesses during a Covid-19 shutdown, aims to take some progressive measures to make its city smart at least in the transportation sense.

Also years ago there were talks about an electric hover-rail Skytrans which didn’t come to pass and Electroad in 2016. But that idea didn’t come to pass either. Its website is down. And there is the billion dollar failure of Better Place. We test drove one of their electric cars years ago. While the city chugs along building its light rail train by laying down tracks it announces its plan to pilot an e-road or electric road system to power vehicles travelling on it.

Like streetcars in Toronto or San Francisco, common implementations are overhead power lines above the road. But ground-level power supply through conductive rails or inductive coils embedded in the road could be more forward thinking as we pave the way to zero emissions in cities everywhere.

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, in partnership with the company ElectReon and Dan Bus Company, plans to install wireless electric roads for charging public transportation in the city.

ElectReon develops wireless electrification systems to charge electric vehicles in full motion on smart roads. Founded in 2013 the EV company aims to reduce the need for charging stations (see some abandoned ones in the the video below), and to reduce the need for large car batteries.

The system uses copper coils developed in-house that are placed under the middle lane of the road, which are then covered in asphalt, and powered by an underground system. Charging is performed via a receiver, or multiple receivers depending on the size of the vehicle, which are installed under the car.

The pilot, the first of its kind in Israel, will be carried out between Tel Aviv University Railway Station and a station at the suburb of Ramat Aviv: all in all it will be a 1.5 mile route including half a mile of electric road.

The pilot project if it proves to work will make it easier for specially-equipped electric buses to be charged directly from under the road. If the tests work well, the Dan Bus Company’s electric bus will start regular journeys on the route going to Tel Aviv University.

Tel Aviv wants to support all sorts of forward-thinking ideas such as culture, and electric vehicles to reduce pollution. Electric roads might be the solution along with EV charging stations in public spaces; and adopting innovative initiatives and technologies in various fields, including transportation.

The commercial partners is the Israeli company ElectReon, which develops and installs electric road systems for charging electric vehicles while traveling. The company has also started projects in Germany.

If it works, Tel Aviv and its brother city Jaffa will be the first city worldwide to roll out the technology for charging buses on a wide scale. Private cars and delivery trucks which run in the system could be in the mix as well.

electric road wireless Tel A — *Tel Aviv gets its first electric road*

Not that long ago Better Place had a huge plan to electrify the country using quick swap battery stations and they blew about a billion USD making a plan that failed. The plan included home and business charge stations and my kids investigate one at their dentist office in the Green Village just outside Tel Aviv.

The lights are still on but the dusty contraption doesn’t look like it’s given a charge in months, or years.

Alternative plastic packages made from sugarcane

Lifestyle

Karin Kloosterman

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September 22, 2020

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Alternative plastic packages made from sugarcane

Plastics are the bane of our existence. We all want to use less without changing much about the convenience or ordering Chinese take-away. from the same country that brought us Waze to help us get around cities, is W-Cycle, a company that tackles plastic one-time use products by turning them into sugar.

While not suitable for all kinds of food packaging, W-Cycle claims to be the best alternative in being able to handle wet, even super greasy food that needs to be microwaved. The company uses scraps from the sugarcane, aiming to replace an uncontrollable amount of plastics and now microplastics heading to our seas and in the air we breath. Some groups at Oxford are assessing plastics in our seas, and others like Boyan Slat are trying to clean them up at sea but the pace of production and pollution is outrunning the solutions.

Another company from Israel in the same space, but handling mainly dry goods is Melodea and TIPA, handling wet and dry plastic alternatives. TIPA, a woman formed plastics-alternative venture, was the first company of its kind in Israel back in 2011.

sugarcane, alternative to plastic, made from sugarcane, plastics and leather from meat, biodegradable plastic, plastic alternative — *Harvesting sugarcane in India*

W-Cycle’s solution called SupraPulp is a plastic-free packaging product made of sugarcane waste that is fully compostable, safe, yet durable enough to be used for greasy, wet, or hot food. Packaged food with SupraPulp can be frozen and heated with either an oven, convection oven, steam cooker or microwave, the company tells Green Prophet.

“Dispose SupraPulp packages the same way as you would your salad,” says Lior Itai, CEO and co-founder of W-Cycle. “This food-grade, compostable packaging is a one-to-one replacement for its plastic counterpart. There are other compostable solutions on the market, but SupraPulp has game-changing functionality consumers need when they want to heat, freeze, or microwave convenience food products.

Founders Jospeh Siani and Lior Itai, made from sugarcane, plastics and leather from meat, biodegradable plastic, plastic alternative — *Founders Jospeh Siani and Lior Itai take on the plastic industry by creating SupraPulp, a sugarcane based packaging alternative to plastics.*

“Plus, SupraPulp trays have a luxury look and feel compared to plastic, aluminum, or bioplastic containers.”

It could replace plastic, aluminium, or foam containers and is made from 100% sugarcane fibers, called bagasse, which are the dry, pulpy fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice.

The end product is compostable, non-coated, toxin and metal free. The containers have unique characteristics compared to standard bagasse containers that make them the ideal alternative to plastic trays for food products, especially fresh, frozen, or prepared consumer packaged meals.

While standard pulp products cannot sustain liquids and oils, SupraPulp containers are oil- and water-resistant and avoid any absorption or leakage. CPET plastic trays are typically used in for ready-meal packaging.

Fresh meat, poultry & sea food are also commonly packed in plastic (PE, PET, Styrofoam) due to their juice runoff. SupraPulp is a great replacement as it will not absorb them, leak or soften. It can be frozen to -40°F and reheated to 518°F, inviting a comprehensive range of food applications. After use, the package can be disposed of as organic waste.

Other green solutions such as bioplastic made from the whole plant need to be specially grown, harvested, and processed. SupraPulp is made from the waste upcycled from sugarcane, or similar crops such as wheat or bananas.

“Covid19 is drawing consumers’ attention to how we treat our planet and the future of the environment,” stresses Joseph Siani, CTO and co-founder of W-Cycle.

“There is greater demand — and pressure — on brands to offer environmentally responsible products. Providing a compostable solution for ready meals, and meat products allows us to help food manufactures as well as consumers ditch plastic containers and create a cleaner environment.”

Eco-Friendly Ways to Get Around the City

Transportation

Bhok Thompson

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September 18, 2020

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Eco-Friendly Ways to Get Around the City

These days, there are more eco-friendly ways to move around, thanks to the launched eco-friendly initiatives. The world is turning to eco-friendly ways of doing things, and traveling is part of these initiatives. Whatever you are using to roam around the city, make sure it’s eco-friendly. What are these ways? This article will discuss some of the eco-friendly ways you can use within the town. Here is the list.

Bicycles

Other than not emitting carbon monoxide, cycling is one of the best methods for exercising. When was the last time you were on a bike? The good thing about any type of bicycles is that they don’t use fuel and are low in maintenance. They can also move in narrow places and lousy terrain, where vehicles can’t maneuver. Also, some states have constructed cycling paths within the main road to accommodate cyclists. Other than keeping you healthy, riding a bike is fun. Get one today and use it within your city.

Scooters

Very few people own scooters but believe me, they are the best when it comes to moving in town. Scooters give zero emissions and can be used daily, especially when exercising and moving from one point to another over short distances and flat surfaces. The good thing about electric scooters is that they are easy to learn, assemble, and maintain. You can check out the best electric scooter for adults and make your choice. Other than adults, you can get scooters for your kids and enjoy the fun together.

Hoverboards

Not everyone can ride hoverboards, but they are the best eco-friendly modes of movement within the town. You only need to stand on them, balance yourself, and off you go. For starters, you might need some training. They don’t use costly gas nor give out fumes, making them the best in towns where greener regulations are in place. Hoverboards come in handy in areas where there is so much traffic, especially during rush hours.

Walking

Walking is the cheapest mode of movement and eco-friendly because it doesn’t use any device or equipment. It’s just your legs. Besides moving from one place to another, walking is also the best way of exercising your body and keeping fit. Besides caring for the environment, you are also managing yourself and have better benefits than vehicles since you get to enjoy vast scenery while walking.

Trains

Do you live in an urban settlement? If so, you have come across commuter trains. These are the best eco-friendly modes of movement that carry masses. Nowadays, trains are becoming greener, since there is an introduction of electric trains that are swift and do not emit carbon monoxide. One added advantage of a train is that it’s safe and doesn’t get caught in traffic jams.

Skates

Skates have been used over time as modes of movement in flat terrains. They can pass in areas where cars and motorcycles can’t pass and do not use any fuel, thus producing no gases. With skates, you get to exercise while having fun at the same time.

Other means you can check out include using buses, taxis, and also conducting carpooling with your neighbors. With the effects of climate change, we need to be swift in coming up with eco-friendly living ways. Get the best mode of travel above and help keep our environment green.

Nature study: Bacteria could be best vaccine against Covid-19

Health

Karin Kloosterman

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September 16, 2020

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Nature study: Bacteria could be best vaccine against Covid-19

Some years ago when I was working as a writer for Tel Aviv University I got to hang out with one of the world’s most interesting and maybe unknown researchers in bacteria. Eshel Ben-Jacob. He was a physicist but extremely multi-disciplined. Together we met Stephen Hawking and he implored me to write a book with him about bacteria. They are smarter than we are, he told me. And looking around at his cadre of collaborators I thought maybe he was right. Students around him from engineering to fashion design were working on bacteria.

In a new study published today in Nature, scientists report that bacteria might be the best anti-viral for fighting Covid-19.

A group of scientists working at the Weizmann Institute of Science has uncovered a gold mine of antiviral substances that may lead to the development of highly effective antiviral drugs.

Virus-fighting viperins, part of the human immune system, turn out to have bacterial counterparts that might boost the fight against human disease, scientists from Rehovot, Israel report.

Viperins were previously known to exist only in mammals, and have now been found in bacteria. The molecules produced by the bacterial viperins are currently undergoing testing against human viruses such as the influenza virus and COVID-19. The study was published today in Nature.

Studies conducted over the past decade by Prof. Rotem Sorek have revealed that bacteria have highly sophisticated immune systems, despite their microscopic size.

In particular, they are equipped to fight off phages – viruses that infect bacteria. These differ from the kind that infect humans in their choice of targets, but they all consist of genetic material – DNA or RNA – that hijacks parts of the host’s replication machinery to make copies of themselves and spread.

Sorek has found that some of these bacterial immune responses suggest evolutionary links to our own immune systems, and the present study in his lab shows the strongest evidence yet: They discovered that viperin antiviral enzymes – whose function in the human immune system was understood only two years ago – play a role in the immune system of bacteria.

“Whereas the human viperin produces a single kind of antiviral molecule, we found that the bacterial ones generate a surprising variety of molecules, each of which can potentially serve as a new antiviral drug,” says Sorek.

In humans, viperin belongs to the innate immune system, the oldest part of the immune system in terms of evolution. It is produced when a signaling substance called interferon alerts the immune system to the presence of pathogenic viruses.

The viperin then releases a special molecule that is able to act against a broad range of viruses with one simple rule: The molecule “mimics” nucleotides, bits of genetic material needed to replicate their genomes. But the viperin molecule is fake: It is missing a vital piece that enables the next nucleotide in the growing strand to attach. Once the faux-nucleotide is inserted into the replicating viral genome, replication comes to a halt and the virus dies.

This simplicity and broad action against many different viruses suggested viperins had been around for some time, but could they go back as far as our common ancestors with bacteria? Led by former postdoctoral fellow Dr. Aude Bernheim in Sorek’s lab, the group used techniques that had been developed in his lab to detect bacterial sequences encoding possible viperins. They then showed that these viperins did, indeed, protect bacteria against phage infection.

Based on the genetic sequences, Sorek and his team were able to trace the evolutionary history of viperins: “We found that this important component of our own antiviral immune system originated in the bacterial defense against viruses that infect them,” says Sorek.

If the bacterial viperins prove effective against human viruses, Sorek thinks it may pave the way for the discovery of further molecules generated by bacterial immune systems that could be adopted as antiviral drugs for human diseases.

“As we did decades ago with antibiotics – antibacterial substances that were first discovered in fungi and bacteria – we might learn how to identify and adopt the antiviral strategies of organisms that have been fighting infection for hundreds of millions of years.”

Further studies are underway to determine which of the bacterial viperins could be best adapted to fighting human viruses, including, of course, COVID-19. Also participating in this research were Adi Millman,Gal Ofir, Gilad Meitav, Carmel Avraham, Sarah Melamed and Dr. Gil Amitai, all of Sorek’s group in the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Molecular Genetics Department.

If you want to learn more about bacteria, and in memory of Eshel Ben Jacob, watch a video of him and his love for bacteria:

Can Cannabis Make You More Creative?

Lifestyle

Bhok Thompson

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September 16, 2020

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Even if you aren’t an artist, writer, musician or other “creative” type, creativity — and the ability to be creative — is a part of your life. Creativity is necessary when you need to solve a tricky dispute between your children, or find a way to make everyone’s schedules work when you’re balancing work, school, and other responsibilities (especially when everyone is trying to do everything remotely). And speaking of work? Creativity is a must when you’re trying to come up with ways to trim costs, or attract new business, or solve a customer’s problem.

The bottom line? Creativity extends well beyond the art studio — and everyone has the potential to be creative. However, you might be one of those people who insists that you aren’t creative, or maybe you just feel like you’re stuck in a rut and cannot find inspiration anywhere. If that sounds familiar, there may be a solution you haven’t considered: cannabis.

For those of you residing in Canadian cities Cannabis is legal and you can easily find a wide selection of cannabis strains including Hybrid, Sativa, and Indica types that can boost your creativity. With so many marijuana choices, you can be sure to find one that suits your needs, whether it is for a boost of energy or for medicinal purposes.

The Connection Between Marijuana and Creativity

The suggestion of using marijuana to increase your creativity might have you scoffing. There’s a difference, after all, between the random musings of your friendly neighborhood stoner and actual creative ideas that make sense. And no one is suggesting that you smoke before heading in to present the third quarter numbers to your boss.

However, there is some evidence cannabis can increase your ability to be creative, and loosen up those creative muscles to help you better meet the challenges you face every day. There’s a wealth of anecdotal and scientific evidence showing that using marijuana can help open your mind to new possibilities and ideas — and there is actually a physical reaction that increases creativity.

Cannabis and the Brain

Brain researchers have discovered that creativity is associated with the brain’s frontal lobe. Regardless of whether you consider yourself creative or not, research has found that when you’re performing tasks that require creative thinking, there’s an increase in blood flow and activity in that part of the brain. In short, the more active that area, the more creative you are. Using marijuana also blood flow to that part of the brain increases, creating a similar experience to performing creative tasks.

However, it’s not just the increased activity in your frontal lobe that can spur creativity. The frontal lobe is also where a concept known as “divergent thinking” takes place. This is a creative form of thought that isn’t necessarily linear or even always logical. It’s the part of the brain that allows you to brainstorm or spur free flowing ideas. It’s the type of thinking that allows you to come up with new solutions, or to look at problems from multiple viewpoints and explore different innovations. In short, by stimulating the part of the brain that supports this kind of thinking, it only makes sense that marijuana can contribute to more creative thoughts and ideas.

There’s also some evidence that cannabis can make you more impulsive — which when it comes to creativity, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many artists note that using cannabis while creating spurs them to take more chances, and reduces the anxiety that can come with the process of creation. Instead of focusing on perfection, and the outcome, the effects of marijuana allow you to focus on the creative process and trying new things that you might not have otherwise considered, or been afraid of.

The Individual Aspects of Creativity and Cannabis

Although many cannabis products purport to increase creativity, the fact is that the effects are very individual, and depend on a variety of factors. The strain you smoke, the potency, and even your own propensity toward creative thought can all make a difference in how well the drug works for you.

One landmark 2012 study found that marijuana only seemed to increase creativity for those who already consider themselves creative to start with. Researchers evaluated people who self-rated as “high creativity” or “low creativity” both before and after using cannabis. Those who considered themselves “low creativity” saw some increase in their creativity after using, while those who labeled themselves as creatives saw little to no increase after smoking.

The researchers surmise the results indicate that marijuana users may be more open-minded to begin with, and there may be a placebo effect associated with smoking in creativity. In other words, those who don’t typically smoke may feel more creative simply by virtue of smoking.

It should also be noted that the dosage of THC you take has a profound impact on creative though. Unsurprisingly, lower doses of THC (less than 5.5 mg) are more closely associated with divergent thinking, a variety of ideas, and the sheer number of new ideas you develop. By the same token, larger doses of THC have the opposite effect, and can actually hinder creative thought.

Ultimately, whether or not cannabis can increase creativity comes down to personal experience. If you’re stuck in a creative rut, or you just lack inspiration, consider trying some THC. You might just find it gives you the answers you’re searching for.

Eco Bible gives ethical green compass to the woke generation

Religion

Karin Kloosterman

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September 16, 2020

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Eco Bible gives ethical green compass to the woke generation

cover image of eco bible, by eco rabbi yonatan Neril — *Eco Bible is a green guide for the faithful*

A pair of Jewish rabbis who call themselves “eco-rabbis” have taken the Bible, also known as the Torah in Hebrew, and found hundreds of passages in it relating to ecology, animal rights, regenerative agriculture, the 3Rs and more, and have found a way to make old ideas relevant to us all in modern times. They live in Jerusalem, the Holy City and are calling it the Eco Bible.

You can buy it here.

The Eco Bible is a green compass helping us navigate some of the ethical challenges that align with environmentalism.

Since converting to Judaism I always found it eerie how similar modern law practiced in Canada where I am from (but also the US and Europe) is very similar to ancient Talmudic Law. A pair of American lawyers compared the systems here in this PDF.

Ancient Jewish scholars in the Sanhedrin would define ethics from Biblical sources and form judgements in their courts of law. I find the whole process of ancient problems and how to solve them both fascinating and exhilarating because most of them are the same problems we have today 2000 years later.

This is the basis of being human and one of our “defects” or gifts is that we have to see the world as being built for us. We need to discover things as though we are pioneers. So I guess we have to make mistakes and if you look at the planet we have some major mistakes to fix.

I often look to examples of stories I see in the Talmud (the Jewish oral laws and stories written down) to how I relate to myself and the world around me. Why invent the wheel when people before us had the same questions and possibly came up with creative and successful solutions long before us?

Yonatan Neril and Leo Dee his partner have done just that in their new book – find it on Amazon. They have collected wisdom from dozens of scholars and hundreds of sources to stitch them together to make an Eco Bible. This I can only guess is to inspire and illuminate the path forward out of climate change –- using faith as our guide. The Eco Bible book can be appreciated by everyone of any faith, I can imagine.

Yonathan Neril, Eco Bible — *Yonatan Neril, co-author of Eco Bible coming out November 16*

Covid-19 has created a spiritual awakening in us all and this new book might help you justify and share the challenges of being ecologically awoke. Buddhism is great for helping us feel the here and now, but an Eco Bible could help us in Phase II – springing into action.

“Applying Hebrew Bible teachings to stewardship of our global environment is not just an idea for today—but essential for a future in which we achieve a balanced, worldwide ecosystem and thrive on a planet viable for all life,” says co-author Rabbi Yonatan Neril, coauthor and founding director of the international Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), which is publishing the book.

“At a time of both ecological and spiritual crisis, understanding the Hebrew Bible can have profound impact on human behavior towards God’s creation, since billions of people worldwide consider it a holy book.”

Indeed if you read a bit of the Bible here and there you will find extremely important teachings that can help guide your eco-ethical compass. There are passages about how to set up cities and factories around the perimeter so that “emissions” don’t pollute the residents, there are extensive laws and thoughts on the public versus private space, and there are very clear examples of damages –- and how people should be compensated when harm is done to them.

Recently there is a big debate as to whether or not a former American Ambassador house built in Israel near the sea with a pool now on public land should be put back in the hands of the public. (The house was recently sold to billionaire Sheldon Adelson). I have visited the house and it is spectacular with the best part of it being the cliff-view (public space) fenced off from the public for security concerns to the ambassador. Can the public reclaim this land set aside for diplomatic purposes which are now over? I’d ask the eco rabbis and the Eco Bible about that.

Currently it seems like the world is mostly “winging” it or looking to other faiths for guidance when clear ecological ethics is spelled out in the Bible and is quite applicable to modern times and to all of the three monotheistic faiths that are based on the Biblical laws: Judaism, Christians and Muslims.

The book connects the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch), and Jewish rabbis’ biblical teachings past and present, with contemporary scientists’ understanding of human health, biodiversity, and environmental protection of air, land and water.

Bill Brown, Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia, calls Eco Bible, “a rich repository of insights . . . for people of faith to move forward with wisdom, inspiration, and hope, all for the sake of God’s good creation.”

I haven’t read an advance copy it but I have known Rabbi Neril for about 10 years since he started his center for faith-based education in Jerusalem. He is a humble man who walks the walk -–– on a journey of finding God along the path of environmentalism.

Raised in California, Neril has a BA and MA from Stanford with a focus on global environmental issues. He lives with his wife, Shana and their two children in Jerusalem. Neril’s center publishes materials on religion and ecology, including Eco Bible and Report on Faith and Ecology in North American Seminaries, and organizes interfaith environmental conferences.

::Eco Bible

Investing in green bonds with RE Royalties and Peter Leighton

Business

Karin Kloosterman

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September 16, 2020

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Investing in green bonds with RE Royalties and Peter Leighton

solar energy field in ramat hanegev — *The year 2020 onwards will be the decade of action for renewable energy. Green bonds can help get us there.*

Renewable energy is something we all want. Churches in the US are putting their faith and investments in them, and governments –– Germany, Australia, Israel on a smaller scale, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and even Saudi Arabia have set goals for attaining 100% renewables one day. How fast countries support businesses and award tenders for solar power plants and wind turbines depends not only on governments but the corporate funding mechanisms in place and the people who want to support green energy.

Consider that 90% of the world’s electricity companies are blocking investment in renewables (Oxford study), so sometimes we need to take matters into own own hands.

Bonds, or more specifically, green bonds, are just one way that institutional investors – but also individuals – can fulfil client demands to be more green. Colleges investing an endowment, even unions that represent teachers, cities, labourers and artists, can consider green bonds as a carbon-forward structure that puts your clients’ money where their values are.

Today we speak with Peter Leighton, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, RE Royalties in Canada to learn more about how green bonds work, and what they can do for us.

*Peter Leighton, RE Royalties Co-Founder and COO*

Green Prophet: A wind energy farm in British Columbia. A solar park in Texas. What metrics do you look for when financing a deal? Are you looking for more companies to invest in? Tell us about a “dream” deal you would love to see.

Peter Leighton: When we examine an opportunity, we first ensure that the opportunity meets our corporate objective of acquiring a portfolio of long term, stable, and diversified royalty streams that will provide our investors with sustainable long term cash flows.

Specifically, we are looking for the following:

Renewable or sustainable energy projects;
Commercially viable technologies;
Operating projects or those that will reach operation in the very near term – we like near term cash flow;
Projects that have a strong ability to offset GHG emissions;
Global diversification but limited to OECD countries in the near term; and
Targeted returns in the mid-teens.

Yes, we are always looking for new clients and new opportunities!

Our dream opportunity is a developer/owner/operator who has a portfolio of operating renewable energy projects and has an opportunity to develop a new renewable energy project and/or projects but needs financing to realize on that opportunity. We love it when the opportunity has a tight time line because we firmly believe that our speed to close a transaction is unmatched in the industry and we think this give us a competitive edge in the market place and helps our clients do what they want to do – build more renewable energy projects more quickly.

What has been the perception of renewables since Covid-19, before and after.

A2: When I first started working in the renewable energy space some 25 years ago, there was a broad perception that renewable energy was expensive and a bit of a science experiment. What we have seen in the last 10 years, however, is an order of magnitude decrease in the cost of renewables, specifically wind and solar, combined with an order of magnitude increase in the efficiency of both generation technologies.

Immediately prior to Covid-19, I would say that most people still saw renewables as being a bit of a fad, even though in 2018 over $200 billion was invested in renewables across the globe, more money than was invested in either the Mining Industry or the Oil and Gas Industry during the same time.

I do not think that any of us can predict the long-term impact of Covid-19 on energy intensive industries such as transportation, home and office heating, and industry in general. We do know that right now, solar and wind are the cheapest sources of new electricity in more than 2/3 of the world and are expected to be the cheapest everywhere by 2030.

One thing that Covid-19 has proven is that renewables are really quite resilient. In Q2 2020 there was a total investment in renewables of $69.9B compared to Q2 2019 investment of $70.1B, a decline of less than 1%. Even despite the economic impact of Covid-19, the investment in renewables remains robust.

Covid-19 has, and will continue to change the way our society consumes energy and the form of energy we utilise but I do not think it will reduce our overall demand for energy

What do you think is driving up the price of Tesla stock?

A3: If I knew the answer to this question, I would be living off of my capital gains instead of taking part in this interview! I do follow Tesla and I do believe that the age of the electrical vehicle has finally arrived. Economically and environmentally it just makes sense. Carbon and other emissions alone almost make the business case. Then when you add in the fuel cost savings, and the reduction in operating expenses, (approximately 30,000 moving parts in an internal combustion engine versus approximately 20 moving parts in an electric engine), not to mention the reduction in noise pollution, the case for EV’s is pretty solid.

The other thing that Tesla has done very well, is to bring some of the best innovative aspects of the technology sector to what has been a static automotive sector. Tesla is pushing the boundaries on materials, manufacturing, distribution, and pricing, and their shareholders are getting rewarded based on tech valuations instead of traditional automotive manufacturing valuations.

What kind of risks are your investors looking to avert?

A4: Our shareholders and our green bond investors have told us that they like the fact that investing in either our shares or our green bonds provide them with capital protection, immediate cash flow and attractive risk adjusted returns. We believe that we deliver on the trifecta of growth and yield while helping the planet. Our approach is much like a lead-off hitter in baseball; we are aiming for doubles while targeting a very high on base percentage.

Q5: The Middle East is opening up channels to renewable energy to mitigate carbon emissions and to diversify away from oil. What country or two in the Middle East would be an ideal partner for growing your firm’s values? How would you give them value?

A5: We have spent some time looking at renewable diesel opportunities in Canada with groups refining waste products into transportation fuels and we have also been looking at a few renewable natural gas opportunities in both Europe and Ontario.

To date, we have not been exposed to any opportunities in the Middle East. Our values are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as set out in 2015 and we would be open to exploring any opportunity that allows us to meet our corporate objective of acquiring a portfolio of long term, stable, and diversified royalty streams that will provide our investors with sustainable long term cash flows while helping to reduce global carbon emissions.

Who should invest in green bonds?

A6: We think our green bonds are an ideal investment for anyone who wants to earn a solid, safe return while helping the planet. These bonds will offer a strong fixed income return of 6% per annum, and the proceeds will be used to invest in renewable energy projects that will help reduce global carbon emissions and help mitigate climate change. One unique aspect of our green bond offering is that the ability to invest in these bonds is truly democratic; the minimum investment size is only $5,000, and the bonds are eligible for registered accounts. This means that investors can purchase the green bonds in their RSP, RESP, TFSA, or RIF accounts.

Are companies/institutions using your investment as part of their CSR Corporate Social Responsibility plan? Can they use it as carbon credits, for the media? What are you seeing interest in there?

A7: Yes, companies/institutions could use an investment in either our green bonds or our shares as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility plan. The projects we invest in currently offset 321,667 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emission, and any investor would be able to point to their support of that emission reduction.

Any advantages with you being Canadian for US/foreign investors? Explain.

A8: The Canadian securities regulations require a high degree of disclosure and transparency so that fact that we are traded on the Canadian exchange may be an advantage for some foreign investors. The fact that we trade in Canadian dollars may also be some advantage to either US/foreign investors who are looking to increase their exposure to the Canadian dollar. Some investors in very low interest rate environments such as Europe or Japan may also find the 6% yield on our green bonds very attractive. Even in the United States, a 6% yield on the bonds look attractive.

About RE Royalties

RE Royalties Ltd. is a specialty finance company created in 2016 that creates stable long-term cash flow streams by utilizing a royalty financing model to provide loans to, and acquires revenue-based royalties from, renewable and clean energy projects and companies globally. The company’s mission is to provide innovative financing for climate change solutions. RE Royalties is a publicly traded company on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “RE”, and the first to pioneer the royalty-financing model for renewable energy projects.

Bio – Peter Leighton, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, RE Royalties

Peter Leighton is an experienced renewable energy executive with over 20 years of experience in project development and mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of RE Royalties, an innovative finance company specializing in renewable energy. With climate change a pressing issue globally, RE Royalties has become an important source of capital for renewable energy projects. In 2016, RE Royalties officially launched as the first company to take the royalty-financing model, well proven in other industries, and apply it to the renewable energy sector. RE Royalties is a publicly traded company on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “RE”.

Peter is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Finavera, where he delivered $750 million worth of wind energy projects from the embryonic stages of development through to the ready to build stage. He also worked as the Chief Operating Officer of Accenture’s Business Services for Utilities, the Director of Clean Energy B.C. from 2010 to 2016, and Health Shared Services B.C. from 2009 to 2018. This year Peter was named as an Honouree to Canada’s Clean50 for 2020. Peter holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc) in Geography/ Geology from Queen’s University and a Master, Business Administration (MBA) from the University of British Columbia.

Flip flops take over shores of the Seychelles

Karin Kloosterman

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September 10, 2020

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Flip flops take over shores of the Seychelles

seychelles island boat full of plastic — *Your tuna is contributing to more than 80% of the plastic waste clogging up the Seychelles Islands. It would make David Attenborough cry.*

You are a good citizen. You post selfies cleaning up trash from your hike or swim at the sea. You buy fair trade tuna only. As for shoes – maybe like Natalie Portman or (not Miley Cyrus who quit veganism) – you are going to go for the plastic flipflop or hemp option. But all your life choices affect everything else, especially that which is far away from you.

Tuna nets and 360,000 now pollute the once pristine island. It is the largest accumulation of plastic waste reported for any single island in the world. And we are all responsible for it. Boyan Slat – where are you already?

A new Oxford study following a five-week clean-up on Aldabra Atoll, one of Seychelles’ UNESCO World Heritage Site, found that it would take $4.68 million, 18,000 person‐hours of labor to clean up the entire atoll. The plastic sample they collected in their new study amounted to 25 tonnes.

Some 513 tonnes remain on the island, dominated by waste from regional fishing – buoys, ropes, nets – and 360,000 individual flip flops.

“We highlight that the main sources of the pollution arriving on Aldabra are related to the fishing industry in Seychelles, which provides tuna to EU countries and other high-income markets around the world.

“There should be some recompense for the damage being caused,” says one of the study’s authors.

Removing the plastic waste equates to $10,000 per day of clean‐up operations or $8,900 per tonne of litter —well beyond the capacity of non-profit organisations like the Seychelles Islands Foundation.

Small island developing states receive unprecedented amounts of the world’s plastic waste. In March 2019, a team from the University of Oxford and Seychelles Islands Foundation, a public trust which manages Aldabra, removed just 5% of the litter washed up on Aldabra’s shores in a five-week mission.

“This eye-watering price-tag makes the economic burden of the unsanctioned import of plastic litter on small island states abundantly clear,” Oxford authors state. “The project has highlighted how even remote highly-protected island ecosystems are now being impacted by global pollution and how difficult and costly it is to remedy.”

Aldabra is an iconic site, described by David Attenborough as one of the world’s last remaining natural treasures. It has remained relatively pristine and is home to an array of incredible wildlife.

Lindsay Turnbull, co-author of the study, said: “Our research spells out the unfairness and inequality whereby small island states and islands like Aldabra are paying the bill, both ecologically and financially for actions – or the lack of them – taken elsewhere.

“As with the climate crisis, small island states are at the frontline in dealing with the impacts of actions in which they played very little part. It is time this inequality was addressed with direct financial assistance to rectify and ameliorate these threats.”

The team, led by April Burt and Jeremy Raguain from the Seychelles Islands Foundation recorded all costs associated with the clean-up, and the effort required to do so, by timing clean-up sessions and estimating the amount of litter collected per person per unit time.

The waste collected was weighed and categorised and additional surveys were conducted in each coastal habitat type to estimate the total remaining marine plastic litter on Aldabra and its composition. The composition data was used to determine the main sources of litter arriving on Aldabra.

Burt said: “The biggest surprise was that the composition by weight was dominated by waste from the fishing industry: 83% of the estimated 500 tonnes of litter remaining on Aldabra is fishing-industry related. This is extremely alarming because it shows that waste generated by the local fishing industry is polluting island ecosystems and having indirect negative impacts on the fish communities it needs to sustain.”

Given the serious detrimental effects of plastic litter on marine ecosystems, the researchers conclude that clean‐up efforts are a vital management action for islands like Aldabra, despite the high financial cost and should be integrated alongside policies directed at ‘turning off the tap’.

They recommend that international funding be made available for such efforts, highlighting the transboundary nature of both the marine plastic litter problem and the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity‐rich islands.

The scientists are continuing their data collection on litter accumulation rates and other aspects of the impact of plastics to Aldabra’s ecosystems. There is still 500 tonnes of litter to remove from Aldabra and the scientists say, ‘the project is not over yet.’

Ancient Date Palm That Lived 2000 Years Ago Bears Fruit Again

Ancient
Food

Miriam Kresh

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September 10, 2020

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Judean dates were famous in the Levant and Europe in ancient times, prestigious fruit treasured for their superior taste and alleged medicinal qualities. Jewish farmers grew them. But the Jews were driven out of Israel during the Second Roman Wars (132-136 CE), and the secrets of the dates’ propagation were forgotten.

In 2005, date pits excavated from the Masada fortress were revived almost miraculously by Professor Elaine Solowey of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. Read the story of the 2000-year-old date pits that sprouted under her care here.

2000-year-old-date-pits — *The ancient date seeds*

When we first interviewed Solowey in 2012, she was hoping to mate the male palm that sprouted – named Methusalah – with compatible female trees imported from Egypt. She didn’t expect to see fruits from Methusaleh and his green concubines for at least another ten years. But edible dates from Methusalah and Hannah, a female palm sprouted from pits of the same Judean variety, now exist.

It’s mind-blowing to realize that today, we might taste dates grown from seeds eaten and thrown away 2000 years ago. Dates that might have been eaten by Bar-Kochbah, leader of the Jewish rebellion. Or, at a different time and place, eaten by Jesus and his followers.

Dr. Sarah Sallon, of the Natural Medicine Research Unit of Hadassah Hospital initiated the project in 2005. The date pits, excavated from the Masada fortress in the 1960s, were lying in storage at the Bar Ilan University. Inspired to achieve the impossible, Sallon issued a challenge to attempt sprouting them. Solowey answered the challenge and succeeded in germinating one solitary seed, who grew tall and leafy – Methusalah.

Spurred by the success, Solowey and Sallon tried the experiment again. Out of 32 other excavated seeds, six sprouted, and two are female. One, named Hannah, bore 111 dates. The team at the Arava Institute tasted some, and sent the rest away for research.

Ronley Konwiser, managed a date farm some years ago and understands the pleasure of harvesting fruit:

“From 2008 to 2010 I was fortunate to be a foreman on the “Jericho Dates” plantation, which is in the Judean desert, adjacent to Jericho.

“What I learnt from my experiences as foreman is that dates and palm trees are very special. One of the very special qualities of a date is its ability to last. Most varieties of dates are harvested off the tree already in its dry form.

“And if stored correctly, it will last and be enjoyed at any time as if it was just picked. Therefore it is not surprising, but really incredible that 2000 year old seeds that were found in the Judean desert can still be viable.”

harvest-ancient-Judean-dates — *Young man working on the farm managed by Ronley Konwiser*

Thanks to the vision of Drs. Solowey and Sallon, we can now hope to see a grove of Judean date palms, DNA – true descendants of the fruit that the ancients ate. Maybe in time, we’ll even shop for them at the supermarket. Incredible.

Beirut design studio repairs people and culture after the blast

Act
Design

Karin Kloosterman

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September 10, 2020

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Beirut design studio repairs people and culture after the blast

bokja founders in their studio — *Bokja founders in their studio*

Lebanese designers from the much-loved embroidery collective Bokja in Beirut have offered to suture and repair home furnishings damaged in the Beirut explosion on August 4. This is the same collective that burned tires in their own special way a few years ago.

The explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at a port warehouse caused widespread destruction and injured more than 5,000 people in Beirut last month.

Bokja Beirut showroom with furniture — *Bokja Beirut showroom*

Founders Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri have transformed their Beirut studio into a community center to help “rebuild a sense of comfort,” the ladies said.

The artisans who have joined in are now working under Bokja Mends to use a signature red stitch to sew the pieces back together.

Red in the region is also a kabbalistic sign worn to keep the evil eye away. Go visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem and you will be offered a red string for protection against jinn and bad luck.

Map of Beurut in stitches — *Lebanon in stitches*

Rising from the dust

Instead of complaining from the rubble Baroudi and Hibri give us all hope that together we can rebuild, even when there are forces out there that want to destroy.

“From the beginning we were so enthralled by the handmade works of embroiderers alongside the Silk Road, their steadfast pace when manipulating a textile, their use of color and pattern, and their intense personal association to the object created,” the duo told Green Prophet.

“Our intention is to celebrate a local cultural identity through reviving and contemporizing a disappearing artisanry. We seek to trigger the evolution of local crafts in the region, forming a newfound language of expression consequently informing a Lebanese aesthetic and identity,” they added.

In good times, Bokja has been working tirelessly by reviving regional textile practices, redefining them in a contemporary voice as it should be.

Bokja embroidery house — *The showroom of embroidered whimsy*

Bokja’s existing body of work combines artisans, carpenters and designers and like Ondi from Om Khadi – it takes a village. Behind every Bokja design is a team of 35 people from 10 countries such as Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan, Egypt and Lebanon.

Transforming what’s lost to be remembered

Their textile practice is a representation of a diverse cluster of textile traditions. As we learned from Bedouin women in Lakia, Israel, who practice desert embroidery, and from my Scottish ancestors who put pride in their tartan, every textile tells a rich story of humanity and tradition.

Cushions of menory — *Memory cushions from old stamps*

And in a culture of fast fashion from H&M and IKEA our humanity is getting lost in a low cost capitalist culture which our culture pays for in a heavy price.

Sofas, armchairs and bed headboards are some of the items that have been brought in for repair in Beirut. Bokja is doing more that repair a home, they are repairing a country still reeling and bleeding with open wounds.

::Bokja

Work Remotely & Cut Your Energy Bills with an Eco-Office

Energy

Bhok Thompson

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September 8, 2020

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Work Remotely & Cut Your Energy Bills with an Eco-Office

Thanks largely to the internet and the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has become the norm for many employees as well as entrepreneurs. With the likes of Twitter stating that much of its workforce can work from home as long as they want to, it seems likely that the remote-working trend may be here to stay.

Despite the economic difficulties, 2020 has been a year for startups too. With many people starting their own business from home, attempting to reduce overheads and mitigate their financial risk. With ancillary businesses such as Moneypenny virtual receptionists reporting remarkable growth, 2020 could mark the beginning of a new era and the mainstream arrival of remote-working entrepreneurship.

This is potentially great news for the environment. Fewer cars on the road during rush-hour, means less pollution, especially in city centres. It may also be good news for the wellbeing of the workforce, with less time on the road meaning less stress & burnout and more time with loved ones.

What would also be mutually beneficial to workers and the environment – would be a home office, that is powered by renewable energy – solar, wind and/or water. If you don’t have room for an office in the house, consider purchasing a shed – if budget, allows, a Tuff Shed is a great option for an office or workshop.

Warning – please consult a professional before attempting any electrical work yourself. Faulty set up could result in fire or electric shock.

Create a Portable Solar Power Unit

Solar power is the go-to for renewable energy, especially in states such as California. To start your solar power system, by creating a portable one that you can take with you and hook up virtually anywhere.

Battery – you will need a battery for power storage in an off-grid system. In this video, they used a deep-cycle marine battery as it should tolerate daily charges and discharges of energy for some time.

Inverter – a Go Power generator rated at 1750 watts is a good choice for a portable system and its output is suitable for small electronic devices as well as larger ones. It boasts a power display and comes with 2 AC outlets.

Power Strip – to add more devices at once, you can add a power strip with plug sockets and USB sockets.

Solar Panel – a Renogy 200w solar panel is an excellent choice for a portable solar panel kit. It comes with a charge controller and everything required for the ‘solar-side’ of a generator. The charger has a 400w capacity, so can be used with more solar panels.

A Batter Maintainer – a battery maintainer can be added to keep the battery at full capacity.

Heavy Duty Hand Truck – If you want to have a portable solar panel system, then it can be fitted to a hand truck, with a few adjustments. You may need to, for example, add some ‘sides’ to the bottom to form a unit around the relatively large battery.

Be careful if you want to transport the unit in a car or van. If turned over, the battery can leak.

If putting together a portable system from scratch sounds a bit daunting – you can be prebuilt systems from the likes of Yeti. You can find more information here.

Wind Powered Office

For a home office, you can install a micro wind turbine. For a wind turbine to be cost-effective, you’ll need to live somewhere that gets quite a lot of wind! Beware that they are quite tall and relatively heavy – between 10 and 20kg typically. They can also be very tall – up to 50ft, but if you get a lot of wind, you might not need to erect it so high.

You may need to create some kind of base, or support to hold the turbine up. In this video, they used a scaffold pole against a fence for additional support.

Micro Wind Turbine

Obviously, for wind energy, you will need a wind turbine. The Cloudsto 500w Wind Turbine Kit comes with free worldwide shipping (at the time of writing).

Three Phase Cable

You may need to extend the reach of the cable that comes with the wind turbine. A 3 phase cable with high-quality copper is ideal if your home office is a few meters or more from the turbine’s location.

Junction Box & Charger

Most turbines will come with a charger, the junction box is simply a three-point adapter that connects to the 3 phase cable. It is possible to buy a ‘rectifier’ too – this will change the AC charge from the turbine to DC.

Charge Controller

If you want to charge specific batteries – such as lithium batteries – you may wish to connect the charger or the rectifier to the charger. You can buy a charge controller from Amazon, but you may want to buy from an independent store as they are more likely to give you specialist advice on which one to invest in. Tesup sells a range of high-quality controllers, for example with most of them coming with a free 5-year warranty.

There are other ways to generate renewable energy. If you have a large roof, and live in a rainy area (like anywhere in the UK!), you can use a Pelton wheel turbine to harness the flow of water in your gutter. More information on the ‘gutter hydropower’ system can be found on this Youtube Video.

The Environmental Impact of Dentistry

Bhok Thompson

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September 5, 2020

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baby sucking on toothbrush, yellow shirt in highchair in green kitchen happy — *Look out for an eco dentist to avoid exposure to dangerous chemicals at a young age.*

In our everyday lives, almost everything we do has an environmental impact that can affect this generation and the next. When it comes to potential health services, it’s also important to see how our everyday tools, resources, and emissions can affect the world and environment around us.

It is part of social responsibility—especially as a business—to find and define where possible problem areas might be in the way we do business from our equipment to the everyday use of tools and resources.

Playing a part in the health of our environment should be at the forefront of any dentist’s practice goals.

In this article, we’re going to discuss the environmental impact that dentistry plays in the world around us and how both business and clientele can do their part in helping reduce our carbon footprint and impact our environment for the better.

Doing Your Part

If you’re a dental practitioner, you should do your part in recognizing the very specific, yet forward-thinking actions that you can take on an everyday basis that can help reduce your footprint and improve the environment around you.

However, before you have an impact in the world, you have to first focus on what’s happening in your own office.

Materials and Procedures

By first focusing on the materials you use in your dentist office and how they may affect the environment around us, you can then make small, simple changes to minimize the production of these wastes. This can help reduce the overall negative environmental effects and slowly, but surely, reduce your footprint.

Ask your dentist about these eco hazards

To help you identify which wastes from your health center are disturbing the environment, look into how your office is getting rid of or using these common wastes:

Dental amalgam
Lead
Silver
Biomedical, general office waste

Their environmental impact:

Biomedical waste—this can include materials that may cause disease or have pathogenic organisms that can be harmful to any person or persons around. In practical terms, they are gauzes, tissues, and syringes that have blood on them or have had contact with the blood of another person. This type of material can also be broken into two classified groups—sharp and non-sharp.

Obviously, the non-sharp biomedical waste should be disposed of in a properly-labeled bag. The sharp waste—like needles and syringes—should instead be placed in a puncture-resistant, leak-proof, properly labeled container.

General office waste—not just confined to the dental industry, the negative impact of the environment can be reduced by minimizing plastic use and transitioning to environmentally-friendly office supplies that have minimal packaging and reusable plastic. An office can also try to switch to energy-efficient lighting and temperature regulation—this can reduce the energy use and output of a building.

Lead—for lead, you can return the lead shields that are produced from film packets—collected and returned to the manufacturer so they can be properly recycled. This is a simple way to get rid of waste efficiently in a way that doesn’t harm the environment.

Silver—this heavy metal can improperly infiltrate our water system if it is not disposed of correctly in the dental office. This can be toxic to the local population, so it’s important to try your best in doing your proper to properly dispose of it or limit the use of it in your office.

Mercury—although there isn’t a ton of mercury produced by the individual dentist, the accumulated waste of mercury is extremely unfriendly for the environment. A dental professional can simply adopt the most practical approach when disposing of waste to minimize their possible negative environmental impact.

Dentistry leaving a positive impact

Whether it’s making a positive impact for clientele or impacting the environment around us in a beneficial way, we always want to approach each situation in a cooperative light to help the world around us improve. As the technology in the dental industry gets more and more prevalent around us, our social responsibility should also hold importance.

How CBD companies can be more sustainable

Health

Bhok Thompson

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September 5, 2020

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Hydropolis, Nile River, Agriculture, Architecture, Design, Egypt — *Regenerative agriculture, like the proposed Hydropolis in Egypt, is one way to green the CBD and hemp industry.*

If there’s one thing that CBD companies have in common, it’s their deep-seated desire to help their customers. Why else would you get into such a niche (but growing) industry? So, if you are in the CBD industry, you already care about providing the cleanest, perhaps most organic products you can, and that desire to do what is best for the human body likely bleeds into a desire to do what is best for the earth as well.

However, building sustainable business practices that protect the health of the earth isn’t always easy, especially when you are working in an industry that relies heavily on the gifts mother nature gives us. When you sell a product like CBD and seek to run an eco-friendly company, not only do you need to worry about how to keep your packaging and shipping practices sustainable, but you need to make sure your farmer’s growing practices protect the environment as well.

If the idea of creating a sustainable CBD business has your head spinning, never fear. There are a few simple things you can do as a business owner to ensure that your product doesn’t unintentionally disparage the environment from the time the hemp seeds are planted to the time your customer uses the last bit of their product and disposes of the packaging. Keep reading for some fresh ideas to keep sustainability at the forefront of your mind throughout your CBD production process.

Sustainable Farming Practices

Woody Harrelson promotes regenerative farming

One of the best parts of working in the CBD industry is the sustainable attributes of the hemp plant. Hemp farmers don’t have to do much to ensure their practices are sustainable because the plant takes care of a lot of the headache for them.

For example, hemp uses 50% less water than cotton, making it a much more eco-friendly crop. And, not only does hemp produce lifestyle products like CBD oil, but it can also be used to make things like paper and clothing much more sustainably. So, by increasing the demand for hemp in general by running your own CBD company, you are allowing farmers to make the switch to a crop that will lead to more sustainable consumption in the future.

Not only does the hemp plant cause less damage to the earth, but it also actually improves the soil it grows in, in many cases removing toxins from the soil. Because of its hardy profile, hemp can be grown in almost any environment, whether it is in the deserts of the western United States or the more rain-drenched eastern seaboard. This is because hemp plants grow long, deep roots which actually help stabilize the soil around them, preventing erosion and retaining nutrients. Additionally, hemp is already naturally resistant to most pests, allowing farmers to avoid using harmful pesticides and chemicals in their fields.

Sustainable Extraction Practices

If you are familiar with CBD extraction methods, you know that there are many ways to harness the power of the hemp plant and bottle it up for your customers’ consumption. You can use CO2, solvents, or even olive oil to extract CBD from the plant before putting it into your products.

When you hear the term “CO2” in conjunction with sustainability conversations, it’s usually considered a bad word. After all, we are often talking about reducing CO2 emissions or our carbon footprint when it comes to building a greener society. However, while it may not seem like it from the name, CO2 extraction is actually the most environmentally-friendly option.

This is because the CO2 extraction process produces the safest, purest CBD without leaving behind any toxic residues, like the solvent method might. Plus, it doesn’t tap into our limited olive oil supply. The only drawback to using the CO2 method is that it requires specific equipment and expertise. This investment is completely worth it, though, if you’re looking to create a sustainable CBD product.

Sustainable Distribution Practices

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Once you’ve extracted your CBD, you’re ready to put it into products. Whether you’re focusing on tinctures, gummies, topical products, or all of the above, there is a lot you can do on the distribution side of the CBD business to ensure your practices are sustainable.

First, think about your packaging. In what ways can you reduce the amount of material that is not recyclable or reusable? Can you put your tinctures and gummies in glass containers, or offer a send-back program for your packaging that incentivizes customers to participate with a small discount? If you sell CBD bath bombs, can you wrap them in recycled paper rather than shrink-wrapped plastic?

If your company owns a storefront, think about the ways you can make your brick-and-mortar practices eco-friendly as well. Perhaps you can pin some QR codes with a link to your product offerings rather than printing menus and brochures. Again, you could also incentivize your customers to bring back the containers once they finish the products so that you can wash and reuse them.

If you find yourself filling and shipping a lot of orders, there are ways to keep that part of your business sustainable as well. You’ve likely been hearing a lot of news lately about big companies like Amazon and Apple going carbon neutral in their shipping policies, and you can get in on this practice as well. Shipping something “carbon neutral” means that while sending it on a truck somewhere might add to your carbon footprint, you (or the company you ship through) is doing something to offset those carbon emissions, like planting trees. UPS currently offers a carbon neutral shipping service, or you can team up with an app like Shop by Arrive to allow your customers to choose carbon neutral options.

Sustainability Is Key

Climate change issues are not just simply going to go away on their own—as business owners, we must consciously make an effort if we want to affect real change. Luckily, there is a lot you can do in this day and age to reduce your—and your CBD company’s—carbon footprint. Taking even one of these steps can really make a difference.

If you are in the market for CBD for personal use, you can also think about choosing a sustainably-minded company to purchase your products from. One such company is Joy Organics. All of their products are premium grade, broad spectrum, and tested by third party labs, so you can trust that you are getting the best of the best. Plus, you’ll be supporting the hemp industry, which just might be a major answer to our global climate crisis.

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