Where indoor toxic chemicals live

For many of us it’s hard to believe that there are toxic chemicals offgasing every day into our office environments. The reason is that they live in, around and under the things that are all around us. So where are they?

Indoor toxic chemicals exist in,

- Building Adhesives (Think formica counter tops)
- Paints and finishes (Walls, furniture desks)
- Carpet and fabrics (Office floors and drapes)
- Engineered Wood Products (Partical board desks, bookcases, tables)
- Pesticides (Ant spray, bug traps)
- Cleaners (Counter Cleaners, Window Cleaners)
- Humidity (Mold)
- Pets (Pet Flea Shampoo’s or Oils)

How to “green” the air inside your office

There are three main ways to “green” the air inside your office, Elimination, Ventilation and Filtration.

Elimination

This is pretty straight forward, remove or replace any component that is harmful. What this means is paint with low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints, remove offgasing carpet and replace with recycled organic carpeting or flooring, trade out particle board furniture with metal or organic wood substitutions, use organic cleaners and ask pet owners to use organic pet spray’s.

Ventilation

Increasing air flow can be tricky. If your office doesn’t have any windows there is only so much that you can do. If you do have a window or door that can occasionally be left open, that would be ideal. Possibly have fans placed in certain areas that move the fresh air from the source throughout the office. If you don’t have any fresh air ventilation options, then focus on Filtration.

Filtration

There is a great article by Matt Thomas who works for Automattic, makers of WordPress, where he describes in great detail how he “grows fresh air” in his home office. He points to a fantastic video on TED by Kamal Meattle, who describes how growing fresh air in his office in New Delhi has prolonged his and all of his employee’s lives. This is a must watch, here is the video.

Adding plants into any office creates a much more inspiring and motivated office. The plants that Kamal mentions above are,

Areca Palm – 4 shoulder high plants, per person
Mother-in-laws tongue – 6 to 8 waist high, per person
Money Plant – Removes formaldehyde and other volatile chemicals

Maintaining these plants can be a daunting task, so consider hiring an indoor plant service service and negotiating a price. Though many employers may think of this as an added expense, offsetting increased healthcare costs and loss of productivity due to absences, may well be worth the investment.

There is also a great book called How to Grow Fresh Air, by Bill Wolverton (Affiliate Link) that Matt mentions above, which highlights 50 other air filtering plants that are great for the home or office.

If moving offices or modifying your office to increase the quality of your indoor air is a problem, work with your landlord to see what options you have. They may have some experience on the issue or may pay for some of the modifications you are needing. In the end following through on each of these ways will significantly improve air quality, reduce the number of sick days by employees and improve overall health and well being of the office.

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Today when we dropped her off, it was a little chaotic. Parents everywhere with video camera’s, posing for pictures and people crying. My daughter showed us around, we went yesterday to meet the teacher, played on the playground and endured our multiple photo shoots. She was calm.

We said our goodbyes and told her I would pick her up later and that I loved her. She said okay and jumped in line to go to her classroom. As she approached the room, there was one last turn, a wave and she was gone. I couldn’t help but feel a moment had gone by. I knew this was the first of many “firsts” that we were going to encounter over the next several years with her.

Reflecting on the moment I realized that my daughter appeared to take it all in as a new adventure. She enjoyed the moment, didn’t cry and was having fun! It also came to my attention that my wife and I worried more about what might happen. I think that’s natural when you have kids. There is always so much emotion involved when raising kids. The trick is to not get too caught up in making up stories.

I have a lot of friends and clients that are going through many “firsts” right now. They are starting new careers, moving into new homes or contemplating big bold moves. The natural reaction is to be a little bit scared. The truth is that there is nothing more liberating than creating a new direction for yourself and following that path. It’s truly living.

We have many opportunities in life to create something new in our lives. Re-invent our careers, our lives or even who we are. Don’t like your job? Create your own business. Want a new body? Workout at a real gym. Want to live healthier? Go green!

As we move through our lives we can learn from other peoples “firsts” and realize that they can be opportunities. My daughter taught me today that she can embrace her new adventures and I’m confident she’ll be ready for the next one.

What “Firsts” are you doing now?

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Over the last couple of years, I’ve realized that everyone needs to find out what green means to them. As with life, one of our many goals is to find out who we are. It’s an interesting question. What do you like or don’t like? What do you believe in or don’t believe in? What’s your passion? What motivates you? What do you stand for? These are all fascinating questions. One of the benefits as we get older, is that these life questions slowly get answered one by one. There is a huge sense of freedom knowing who you are. It’s moving.

For me, being green was an opportunity to take inventory. My life has progressed so quickly that I just tried to keep up. Life can sometimes get overwhelming and I would tell my nieces, “you don’t have to be the best, you just have to keep up!” Sure there is some truth to that, but what does “best” really mean? The best ever or the best you can do? I believe it’s the best you can do at the time. If you want to improve on it, come back later and take it to the next step, otherwise move on to the next thing.

To go green, the first thing I did was to start reading, a lot. I read every article, book and magazine I could get my hands on. I became a Certified Green Building Professional from Build It Green. I went to conferences, networking events and visited businesses. I really wanted to know what it meant to “be green.” I started getting overwhelmed with the thought of how people were going to be green. I thought, “no one is going to do this. No one is going to completely stop buying one product that they have used for generations and start buying another.” The truth is, yes they will. What worked for me, was to not do it all at once. I just did a little at a time, when I had the money. My biggest “aha moment” was composting. It really made me realize how much we throw away. My composting has grown from one composting unit to three. I almost never put anything in the green trash can anymore and the rest goes into the compost bin or is turned into mulch.

I now do rainwater harvesting, planted a garden, am switching old no-so-healthy plants out with edibles, like fruit trees and herbs, switched out my shower heads to 1.5 GPM, self recycle all of our bottles and cans and every time a lightbulb goes out, I replace it with a fluorescent bulb. This has all happened within a year. It’s been a lot of fun to see this grow. I have never imposed on my family any of these ideas and just told them what I was doing. Slowly but surely my wife and daughter have gotten on board. All of our detergents have been switched out with greener options, we buy more fresh food and produce, we all recycle and everyone uses the composting container in the kitchen. I guess the lead by example thing is working.

It’s not only about saving the planet, it’s personal

I’ve been working as a web developer for over 12 years now. It’s truly been a magical ride. I feel very privileged to see history unfolding right before my eyes. When working in this industry you more often than nought, work with startups. It’s a very interesting social experiment. These companies usually have a lot of money or they are bootstrapping it. Typically, the entrepreneurial spirit is high and dreams of being the next Internet millionaire are thick. It’s exciting and energy is high. Ego’s are at their peak and everyone is working at 200% capacity. You have to move fast, make good decisions and go the distance. That’s how make it or that’s what everyone tells you how it’s made. The sad result is that these companies rarely make it. They either die a quick and painless death, the company dissolves and shuts the doors or they lay off most of the company and slowly dies a public and painful death. Lives are ruined, friends become enemies and reputations are destroyed. Then they do it all over again.

It is a lot of fun and you learn a lot, but after years of this you learn what works and what doesn’t. You see your family grow and change and you start to think about what you want your life to be like. Friends and family confide in you about their lives and you see that your experiences with startups isn’t that unique. This seems to be the workforce of today in general. People want balance. They want part of their life back.

What’s happening is that people’s lives have changed and the working environment is slow to catch up. They want flexibility and they want to be a part of something great. They want their work to not just be the place where they exist for eight hours a day. They want to change the world. They want meaning.

Green has become a metaphor for sustainability and sustainability has become a metaphor for how we work and live. If we have to be more sustainable with how we live, we most definitely have to be more sustainable with how we work. It can’t just be at home. It has to be everything. Businesses need to learn to become sustainable in how they operate daily and in the future. This is the time for businesses to re-invent themselves and stop the bad habits of the past. The survivors will be the ones that embrace these sustainable changes and implement them quickly. The result will be leaner greener businesses that are profitable, scaleable and treat their employees as valuable assets. This is the next chapter of being green and on Earth Day we should take a moment and ask ourselves what we want our lives to be like in the future. How has everything been going? Is it sustainable? I think we all know the answer.

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You can read the full article here, American companies need to embrace teleworking

Also, a new report by the Council of Economic Advisors, illustrating the importance of work-life balance in our workforce

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The Hard Reset

When I was young, most of our vacations were camping. We celebrated birthdays with relatives and someone would make a cake. Dinners were always at home and occasionally we would get pizza. We almost never went out and life seemed pretty good.

As I got older things started to change. Mom’s started driving nicer cars, eating out for most meals seemed normal and multiple vacations per year were standard. The bar got raised. Weekends now consisted of shuttling kids from one event to the next, while planning the adult get together that evening. Life was busy, over committed and unsustainable. Something had to give.

As we are all living through now, the economy is in a recession. The money that we had previously relied upon is gone. How we lived before is slowly eroding away and we are experiencing how to live with less. This isn’t fun, but maybe just what we needed.

Get Excited About Something New

The most common theme amongst most people that I speak with is that they want more control. Several times a week I speak to people that don’t necessarilly want to work less, but they want more flexibility. They are ready for something different. Some of the symptoms I hear that people are experiencing include anxiety, depression and even anger. Again, this is unsustainable and will rot the foundation of any relationship or employment.

Recently I listened to a great podcast where an author was interviewed about a book he wrote about depression. He made some interesting points about depression and they can be applied here. He said, time and again that peoples symptoms of depression were due to the perception that their life was in flux. They felt they lacked control, were powerless and victims of their life. They were stuck.

There is a way out. The following explanation is hard, not because it’s a lot of work, but you have to really dig deep down and decide what you want your life to be. It’s a tough decision, but has a huge payoff. What I am talking about here is “The Plan.”

Time To Plan Your Future

There is no better comfort than knowing what is going to happen tomorrow. Humans love routine. It actually helps us get things done. There is a reason why our learning institutions are set up the way they are. You get a schedule of courses, you go to them on the prescribed days, then redo it again the next semester or quarter, until you’re done. It just works. Following a plan works.

Planning is really fun, because it can be whatever you want it to be. When my wife and I were moving down to San Diego, we planned when it was going to happen, where we would live and where we wanted to work. It was like a checklist and everytime we completed an item and were able to check it off our list, it was a huge accomplishment. Even better, is that we felt WE were in control, not our employer, not other family members, but us only. It was an incredible and empowering time.

Many of my clients are planning. They are starting their own business, reinvigorating their existing business or planning to start something in the future while still at their current job. The energy is high. New business ventures are exciting, because the possibilities are endless. Having hope and control over your future is better than money. Knowing that you only have to stay at your terrible job for just a little longer, makes it almost bearable.

So, now is the time to plan your future. It’s not going to be easy, but you are in control. You can start today and plan to be done two years from now. If other things happen along the way, that’s okay, just adjust the plan. You can be as conservative or aggressive as you want to be. Make sure your plan includes what YOU want to do, not what everyone else wants you to do. Make sure to set your goals high and create smaller goals in between, they are stepping stones to the larger goal. When those goals get completed, it’s an amazing feeling. Remember, it really is about the journey, but knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow is the best feeling of all.

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1.  Environmentally Friendly Web Hosting

We use Dreamhost.  They offset their carbon they use in their building and even the gas they use to get to their office by purchasing carbon credits from Green-e,   For many businesses, depending on the kind of building they are in, carbon credits are one of the few options.  Dreamhost has been offseting their carbon long before it was popular.

2.  Offset Your Carbon Usage

Carbon credits are controversial and everyone is still trying to figure out if they work and how they are tracked.  There are some great organizations out their offering this service, Green-e, TerraPass and Carbonfund are the most popular.  Right now most of these efforts by us are community based.  We have something brewing that is going to help this process along greatly.  Stay tuned!

3.  The 350 lbs. Project

I like this.  I think this is a great way to get companies to commit and sponsor green projects and be green at the same time.  We are going to see a lot more of this in 2010.  A new business model is emerging surrounding this called, “Donation by Action” and we posted a story about it called, Great story about cancer, follow Drew Carey on Twitter and he will donate 1 Million to LIVESTRONG! By the way, we joined and you should too!

4.  Join 1% For the Planet

I have seen this floating around out there for awhile.  One of our clients, Thinkwear is a member and really explained how and why they are using this organization.  What came through loud and clear is commitment.  Literally, you are putting your money where your mouth is.  You are committing to donating 1% of your sales to any of the environmental organizations listed on their website.  This ensures a clean and honest transaction with your business and the benefitting environmental organization.  Because we believe in this idea so much and we know that no one can do it alone, we currently are in the process of becoming a member.

5.  Offer Eco-Incentives to Subscribers

I think this idea is essential.  We believe this should come in the form of tangibles and intangibles.  Get people to come to an event or give them discounts or free stuff.  At the very essence though, there should be a significant amount of education to go along with it.  Currently we are doing this in the form of contest giveaway’s, We will be doing this more consistently and interactively in 2010.

6.  Encourage Green Lifestyle Changes

Green starts at home.  I really think that you have to immerse yourself in it.  It has to become part of your home life choices if you want to adopt it in other areas of your life, such as work and recreation.  There are so many ways to make your life a lot more interesting and get you and your family to participate in being green.  I definitely think visiting sites like, Treehugger and Mother Nature Network are really good at staying up to date, but I think there are some really good books too.  The Urban Homestead (Amazon Link) is a new favorite of mine that actually gives you step by step instructions on how to become more sustainable at home.  Also, No Impact Man (Amazon Link) is a great book about how a family in New York went extreme and went uber green for one whole year.  Both of these books are entertaining and give insight into how fun and exciting sustainability can be.

7. Simplify Your Design

I am a big advocate of this.  My background is in Web Development and at my company 3GC Interactive one of the big lessons we try to teach is to be obvious.  When presenting information on your website, be short and to the point.  This is not only for your writing, but your graphics.  If you want someone to click somewhere, say “Click Here” if you want someone to buy something, say “Buy Now.”  Eliminating obstacles is really half of what web design is all about.  We are always striving to do this, with our design, information and goals.  We are always striving to be more efficient, refine our goals and improve our site, you should too.

8. Speed Up Your Site

This is true.  Slow loading times take up more energy.  There are many reasons why and a few are indicated in the original article, but for all purposes, it just does.  We use WordPress for WesChyrchel.com, so we use the WP Super Cache plugin.   This reformats how portions of the website our accessed and makes that pathway more efficient.  For example, if a particular page that you are requesting has not changed recently, it will keep it stored in an area that is easier and faster to get to than going the traditional route.  By using this plugin it has increased the speed or our website significantly.

9.  Use Printer-Friendly Versions of Content

Well, I don’t know about this one.  On WesChyrchel.com we don’t like people printing anything.  I mean really, these days you shouldn’t have to print anything unless you need to sign it.  Hopefully, digital signatures will get more commonplace too.  If you really think printing is essential for your site, then, yes please employ the recommendations in the original article, but if you can help it, please use alternatives, like a mobile version of your website!

10.  Consider Your Colors

Yes, black was the new white, back in the big monitor days.  Now almost everyone uses LCD monitors which use 200% less power than older big monitors.  That in and of itself is a huge savings.  Now it appears that LCD’s use more power producing darker colored sites.  At WesChyrchel.com we have a light colored site and that is good, but the more impressive power aspect is that people are almost exclusively using LCD’s instead of CRT’s these days and that power savings is huge.

We think that all business need to go green and become more sustainable.  2010 is the year to do this and making your website green is a great first step in the process.

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So how do you get access to the Stimulus funding?

Green for All is providing a webinar on September 9, 2009 to introduce their Capital Access Program, which is designed to help small businesses and nonprofits get access to the Stimulus funding.  If you are ready to be a part of this new green economy that gets this country back to work and brings in revenue to your business, this is an event you do not want to miss.

What: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: A Webinar for Small Businesses and Nonprofits

When: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT

Registration: Capital Access Program Webinar

Details: Green For All’s Capital Access Program (CAP) is pleased to announce the release of its premiere publication – “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: A Guide for Small Businesses and Nonprofits.”  This guide is intended to educate and direct businesses and nonprofits on opportunities to access funding and support from the Recovery Act.  We will be hosting a webinar on September 9, 2009 at 4pm EDT.  The webinar is being co-hosted by Tides Center, AEO and Green America.  Our goal is to highlight emerging opportunities to leverage stimulus dollars, and to offer examples of best practices from across the country.

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Join today’s brightest leaders and innovators at the forefront of the green business revolution.

Forge new strategic partnerships and explore the latest in sustainable strategies and best practices to lead your organization to success.

Get the inside view on the hottest topics, trends and technologies at the premier green business event focused on creating new opportunities through sustainability.

This looks to be a great event!  If you have the time and can afford it, you can register at Opportunity Green.

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This book caught my attention.  Its a wild ride!  Make no mistake, this book is a call to action and a cry for help.  Whatever your opinion on climate change, the fact that resources are running low and our economy is suffering is something that cannot be ignored.  Van Jones is emotionally charged and continuously challenges your ideas and beliefs throughout the book.  He pushes you.  He makes you uncomfortable.  He is trying to send a message.

On the surface the book has a strong overtone of race relations in the United States.  He continues that overtone throughout the book.  I found myself re-reading sections because I really wanted to get through some of the outer-lying issues and get to the meat of what he was trying to say.  I think that everyone who reads this book needs to understand that.

The title says it all.  The United States could become the poster child for sustainability and conservation.  We have a very unique time in our history to start again and to right some wrongs.  Since this books publication we have made several steps in that direction.  Now we are seeing “Green” everywhere.  Things are moving forward and we can do more.

Van Jones did not set out to write a “How to Go Green” book.  He does not claim to have all the answers.  He does however offer many suggestions and possible direction.  Implement Green policies from the top and jump-start this country.

Not everyone is going to like this book or what Van Jones is trying to say.  I think there are strong ideas in this book that this country and many businesses can take to heart.  This book is an alarm.  We just have to decide how much we are going to listen.

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I am a huge fan of the small business.  I think small business owners are really tuned in to what they are doing.  They really have to be the experts.  If they are going to compete against larger and more resourceful companies they need to offer a real value.  Now, more than ever, starting a local business, makes a lot of business sense.

The Internet has leveled the playing field

These days if you have a computer and an Internet connection, you can have your own business.  Financially it makes sense.  There are minimal start up costs and the job security may be much better than what is being offered to you from other businesses.  If done correctly, you can create a very profitable and sustainable business.

There are many great and free resources available for the small business.  Google Docs has a whole suite of free online tools that you can use to easily create presentations, reports, proposals, etc.  To create your own buzz, you can use sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, to get your credibility established.  If you have an upcoming event you would like to promote, add it to sites like, Yelp, eventful, upcoming and eventbrite.

The fine lines that existed between larger businesses, small businesses and sole proprietors are being blurred even further.  It seems there is a backlash against the large business.  People are wanting to do business with people.  They want the expertise, they want the attention and the support.

Investing in your local community

When looking for inspiration, support and customers, look to your local community.  With little effort you can get involved with local networking groups, events and clubs.  You have to get involved.  If you have trouble finding a group or event to be a part of, create your own.  There may be several others like you that are also looking to get involved in their community.  One thing that I have found is to hold a free evening course at your local library or public space.  Make it very topical.  Create handouts a presentation, etc and make it worth their while.  You want people to come away from that evening and ask you for your business card.

Another thing that you can try is volunteering.  If you are trying to get into a certain vertical or niche, try volunteering for a group in that niche.  You will meet a large amount of people with shared interests.  In any and all of these events you have to make yourself known.  You really have to make sure that everyone in that room knows who you are and what you do.  Of course the follow up is the biggest piece of all.  With everyone you meet, get their contact information and follow up with them after a couple days.  If they are interested keep connecting with them until they are ready.  Many people are busy and appreciate the reminders.  Always ask them the best time to get in touch with them and then follow up with them on that date.

So, go out and start your business.  Even if it is something on the side and may always stay that way, it is yours and your local customers will love you for it.  There is absolutely nothing like starting a business and watching it grow.

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