Simple Green

As most intelligent people like to read, how does an intelligent, but green-thinking person rationalize the cutting down of 20 million trees per year for American book production? The Amazon Kindle is a great product, but I think it is still a few years away from being perfect. The public library is great, but they only get one or two copies of every new book and the waiting lists can be brutal. Book Swim is Netflix for books. Read it, return it in their 100% recycled plastic bag, and someone else can read it without cutting down another tree. Simple but brilliant.

While Florida is not usually considered a hot-bed for green development, Miami's Tri-Rail Trains have announced that they will be operating on a 99% biodiesel blend. Evidently South Florida is one of the few places that can run on such a pure blend of fuel due to the temperate climate. Public transportation is one of the easiest ways for someone to live green.

The brains behind RecycleBank prove that you don't have to be an expert or have a PHD to impact the environment in a positive way. They have developed a plan that rewards you for recycling. For every pound you recycle, you earn points that can be redeemed for discounts at green-friendly businesses. This article explains the process and how it has been rolled out in 13 states already, or visit RecycleBank's website. This is a win-win-win in that more people will recycle, the businesses that donate discounts get more business and good publicity, and the cities pay less to dump garbage.

These are all simple ideas that translate to huge environmental rewards. I think that simple is a big part of the future of Green.