Filed under: Events, Green Building, Green Business, Solar Panel Installation, Sustainable Living | Tags: Baltimore Solar Power, Baltimore Wind Power, Biomass, Maryland Clean Energy Summit
Up Your Green Know-how At Free Clean Energy Exhibition Monday
Thought leaders from industry, academia and government will come together on Monday, October 4th at the Hilton Inner Harbor in Baltimore to focus on job creation and business development opportunities inherent in addressing the climate change challenge.
The conference requires registration and $250, but a consumer trade exhibit that coincides with the summit will be free and open to the public from 9:00am – 9:00pm. The trade exhibition will have information on technologies such as wind and solar renewable energies, alternative fuels and biomass and smart energy consumption.
For more information about the summit, CLICK HERE.
Filed under: Green Business, News | Tags: Eco-Palms Baltimore, Lutheran World Relief, Palm Sunday
Christians Celebrate Holy Week With Eco-Palms From Baltimore
This past Sunday, many Christians in the region started off Holy Week with Eco-Palms that church leaders purchased from Lutheran World Relief in Baltimore. According to Lutheran World Relief, “More than 300 million palm fronds are harvested each year for U.S. consumption alone-most of them for Palm Sunday”. On Palm Sunday palm fronds are traditionally distributed to Christians to celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem where crowds were said to have greeted him waving palm branches.
About Eco-Palms:
Typically, palm harvesting is done by community members hired by by local contractors, who then sell palms to large floral export firms. Payment is based on volume so the harvesters are motivated to gather a large number of palms without regard for the quality. As a result, up to 50% or more of the palms are later discarded because of poor quality. This method risks the rapid depletion of the forest’s rich biodiversity, including the many bird species that migrate to these regions during the winter.
In Guatemala and Mexico, an effort is underway to develop a new structure for harvesting palms that protects the environment and also provides a fair income for the harvesters of the palms.
Called Eco-Palms, the palms are harvested in a more sustainable way, whereby the harvesters are paid on the quality of the palms they harvest rather than the quantity, which helps to limit the amount of palms taken from the forest. These communities have taken upon themselves to learn about harvesting practices that minimize impact on the natural forest where the palm grows, and ways to protect this wild species of palm.
For more about the Eco-Palms visit The Lutheran World Relief Fair Trade program at lwr.org/fairtrade for more information.
Filed under: Events, Green Business | Tags: Baltimore Convention Center, Green Energy Business Opportunity Conference
From Capitol Wire PR:
The Green Energy Business Opportunity Conference [GEBOC] will convene on May 12 and 13 at the Baltimore Convention Center in the region’s historic center of commerce, Baltimore, Maryland’s Inner Harbor.
The GEBOC initiative is attracting a broad spectrum of national and regional organizations to help organize experts and industry leaders to share insight, business prospects and financing leads. Major energy and construction industry representatives; small, veteran, women and minority business owners; and capitalists, bankers and investors will gather at the forum led by the President’s Round Table.
From the conference site:
The whole country is on the verge of major changes in energy supply and demand. Maryland and North Carolina have emerged as cutting edge pioneers on the East Coast. This conference will give small businesses an opportunity to understand the energy environment, plan business growth and find financing. It’s time to catch the green energy wave.” said Stanley Tucker, President of the President’s Round Table.
To register or for an updated agenda, panel topics and list of speakers, go to www.businessforgreen.com.
Filed under: Events, Green Business | Tags: Baltimore Green Business, Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance, CSBA
Join The Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance
The Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance is a Baltimore-based business association educating the public on the importance of supporting the local economy and encouraging businesses and consumers to be environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. If you are interested in joining the alliance, consider attending their monthly networking event, CSBA Green Mondays. On the first Monday of each month, CSBA holds an educational and networking event at various locations around Baltimore.
UPCOMING CSBA GREEN MONDAY:
March 1, 2010 at Feast @ 4 East.
- Enjoy Mardis Gras themed menu provided by our venue host Feast @ 4 East and local wine provided by Black Ankle Vineyards.
- Hear Prescott Gaylord, LEED AP BD+C, President of Baltimore Green Construction discuss how to apply the principles of “Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle” to construction & building.
- Network with fellow CSBA and Buy Local members.
- Join CSBA at the event and received 15% off the membership price!
For more information, CLICK HERE.
Filed under: Green Business | Tags: Baltimore Blog, Baltimore Business Journal, Baltimore Green Business, Baltimore Sustainable, Green City Living
Green Business Awards
From the Baltimore Business Journal:
Green business can be good business, often helping the bottom line. Do your environmentally friendly businesses, organizations, products or policies have your competitors green with envy? Don’t delay.
Submit your nominations today!
The Baltimore Business Journal will recognize the greenest businesses in seven different categories: green business of the year, green entrepreneur, green school/nonprofit organization, green restaurant/retailer, green product/service, green policy and green development.
The contest deadline is Friday, March 12.
Winners will be announced in the April 16 issue of the BBJ and at a special event on April 15. More event details to come!
For more information about the contest and editorial content, please contact Special Projects Editor Heather Harlan Warnack at (410) 454-0517 or hharlan@bizjournals.com.
For sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please contact Micah Damareck at (410) 454-0510 or mdamareck@bizjournals.com.
Filed under: Green Business, News | Tags: Baltimore Technology, Chesapeake Bay Funding, Green Tech Grant, Green Technology Financing
Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund
From the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute:
New Venture Capital Financing Available for Maryland State Startups with Innovative Technologies Addressing Air and Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay Area
The Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) at the University of Maryland announces the launch of the Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund.
The fund, supported by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and administered by Mtech, will invest $250,000 annually over a three-year period into Maryland-based startup companies with innovative technologies that may help improve air and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay area. Fund recipients are jointly selected by Mtech and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
To apply, please contact Jim Chung, Director of the Mtech VentureAccelerator Program, at (301) 314-7804, or jwchung@umd.edu.
Filed under: Eco-Shopping, Green Business, News | Tags: Baltimore Ayurveda, Baltimore Green Business, Breathe Books, Kindle, The Avenue Hampden
Holistic And Progressive, Breathe Books Is A Model Green Business
The web is full of press releases lately from businesses who appear to be using “going green” as a publicity stunt. Switching to wind power, for example, is a thoughtful thing to do, but it is not the silver bullet that will suddenly transform your business into an environmentally responsible enterprise. So, with this in mind, Baltidome presents Breathe Books as its latest Green Business Award winner, as it is an across the board green business.
In 2004 Former Journalist, Susan Weis began her transformation of an 1880′s Baltimore rowhome into a bookstore and educational center. Her goal was to “re-create the new-age bookstore in Baltimore” and so Breathe Books was born.
It is a place that you would expect to be green. The shelves are stocked full of books on meditation, yoga, spirituality, and the like and Susan made the switch to wind power some time ago, but that was just the beginning. In addition to the typical items you would expect to find here, there are also books on cooking, parenting, and design, among others and between books are items featured by area artisans, local honey and soaps, organic teas and more, which opens the store to a larger audience. Breathe books is not just delivering to the already converted. Everyone is welcome here, so there’s no reason to feel the need to have your tantric breathing down before entering the shop. Do remember to bring a bag though, as Breathe Books is a bagless store.
If you do not find what you want, Breathe Books will order it for you, and not just the type of books they usually carry in the store. Graphic novels, travel guides…you name it, they will order it. By ordering from Breathe Books, as opposed to online, you not only support the local economy, but will save on packaging and shipping waste. Breathe Books purchases their orders in minimum volume amounts -and yes, they still arrive just as quickly. They are also looking to the future with e-books and taking steps to incorporate digital books into their offerings. If you are interested in switching to an electronic book, Breathe Books recommends the Sony Reader as opposed to Kindle, which only accepts books purchased from Amazon.com and locks out formats from independent bookstores.
In addition to all of the in house offerings, Breathe Books also presents opportunities to become part of a greater community through numerous workshops and presentations. Consider a class in Health Through Ayurveda or attending their yearly community party with vegetarian food on Christmas day.
For more information, contact:
Breathe Books, LLC
810 W 36th Street
“The Avenue” in Hampden
Baltimore, MD 21211
410-235-READ
Filed under: Events, Green Business | Tags: Baltimore Bioneers 2009, Baltimore Green Business, Baltimore Sustainability, Julie Gabrielli
BALTIMORE BIONEERS 2009, Cultivating Change, Inspiring Solutions
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Goucher College, Athenaeum Building, 1021 Dulaney Valley Rd, Baltimore, MD 21204
6:30 p.m., Low Carbon Reception by Bon Appetit
7:30 p.m., Program
Learn what local leaders are doing to change the future of our world, our communities, and our lives. Join us for a panel discussion to answer the questions: How can we lower our carbon footprint? What is being done in the region to bring environmental awareness to more people and to make positive changes in the way we live?
Baltimore Bioneer’s own, Julie Gabrielli will moderate the discussion with our local leaders:
- Henry Kay, Maryland Transit Administraion
- Cheryl Wade, Mill Valley General Store
- E. Rachael Baird & Jessica Pegorsch, Tilt Studio, Inc.
- Ali Smith, Holistic Life Foundation
You will also have the opportunity to view two webcasts of the 2009 National Bioneers speakers:
Jerome Ringo, President of the Apollo Alliance.
Joanna Macy, renowned Buddhist teacher, aco-philosopher, systems theorist and scholar.
For more information, contact ariane.debremond@goucher.edu.
