Eco Friendly Reusable Melamine 16oz Coffee or Tea Mug Cup

• Designed cups are extra thick walled for optimal thermal insulation
• Eco Friendly 16oz Melamine Reusable Coffee or Tea Mug Cup
• Dishwasher safe
• Not for microwave

Product Description
Eco Friendly 16oz Melamine Reusable Coffee or Tea Mug Cup

Get your morning cup of joe in this trendy cup with a black silicone lid. Perfectly sized (16oz) to accomodate a paper cozy from your favorite java house.Designe… More >>

Eco Friendly Reusable Melamine 16oz Coffee or Tea Mug Cup

Earth Friendly Products Ecos Liquid Laundry Detergent, Lavender, 100-Ounce Bottle

• Pack of 4 100-ounce bottles(total of 400-ounces)
• Ultra-concentrated, color safe, all-temperature detergent with built-in fabric softener
• Tough on dirt yet kind to your clothes
• Plant-based, non-polluting ingredients and 100 percent biodegradable
• Septic and grey water safe

Product Description
ECOS Liquid Laundry Detergent, 100-Ounce Bottle, Made with Organic Essential Oil of Lavender, Built-in Fabric Softener, 100 HE Loads, 50 Regular Loads… More >>

Earth Friendly Products Ecos Liquid Laundry Detergent, Lavender, 100-Ounce Bottle

Way Basics Rectangle Plus Eco-Friendly Modern 3-Shelf Storage Unit, Green

• Spacious storage unit made of durable, recycled paperboard
• 3 horizontal shelves; multiple dividers for a customized design
• Less than half the weight of particle board, pressed wood, or plywood
• Easy to assemble; water resistant; optional backer board included
• Measures 11-1/3 by 22-4/5 by 45-2/7 inches

Product Description
You will love how quickly and easily you can put this streamlined shelving together. Then You will love how much you can store on its three ample tiers. Lightweight enough to easily move from room to room, sturdy and amp… More >>

Way Basics Rectangle Plus Eco-Friendly Modern 3-Shelf Storage Unit, Green

rinking green tea could help in the fight against HIV, research suggests

rinking green tea could help in the fight against HIV, research suggests.

rinking green tea could help in the fight against HIV, research suggests.

Scientists found a component called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) prevents HIV from binding to immune system cells by getting there first.

Once EGCG has bound to immune system cells there is no room for HIV to take hold in its usual fashion.

However, experts said the joint UK and US work, which appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, was at a very preliminary stage.

Researcher Professor Mike Williamson, of the University of Sheffield, said: “Our research shows that drinking green tea could reduce the risk of becoming infected by HIV, and could also slow down the spread of HIV.

“It is not a cure, and nor is it a safe way to avoid infection, however, we suggest that it should be used in combination with conventional medicines to improve quality of life for those infected.

“Future research is also currently under way in order to determine how much effect can be expected from different amounts of tea.”

More work needed

Keith Alcorn, senior editor of the Aidsmap web service, said tests on animals would be needed before any conclusions could be safely drawn on the potential protective effect of drinking green tea.

“This study only looks at the ability of a chemical in green tea to block HIV binding to human CD4 immune cells in the test tube.

“Many substances shown to prevent HIV infection in the test tube turn out to have little or no effect in real life, so I think there’s a long way to go before anyone should rely on green tea to protect against HIV infection.”

Lisa Power, head of policy at the HIV charity, Terrence Higgins Trust said: “Condoms keep HIV at bay. Anything that boosts your immune system is beneficial for people with HIV, but green tea can’t be a substitute for proper medication and prevention techniques.”

Green tea has been linked to a positive effect on a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s

For more information about Green Tea cllick here

Way Basics Cube Plus Eco-Friendly Modern 3-Shelf Storage Unit, Cedar Wood Grain

• Long-and-lean 3-shelf unit offers multiple home-storage solutions
• Made of durable, recycled paperboard; responsibly sustainable design
• Less than half the weight of particle board, pressed wood, or plywood
• Easy to assemble with no tools required; water resistant; backer board included
• Measures 11-1/3 by 13-2/5 by 45-2/7 inches

Product Description
You will love how quickly and easily you can put this streamlined shelving together. Then You will love how much you can store on its three ample tiers. We have been using ours to keep our precious collection of vinyl re… More >>

Way Basics Cube Plus Eco-Friendly Modern 3-Shelf Storage Unit, Cedar Wood Grain

A PUTTING GREEN, A DRIVING RANGE, OR JUST A WELL TRIMMED BACK YARD?

Synthetic grass is making quite an impression across America these days. You only need to Google reports on the number of high schools and colleges that are installing artificial turfs on their football and baseball fields to know that the stuff is pretty popular. Of course, the reason it’s popular is primarily to do with cost. Artificial turf is much more affordable than natural grass, not only when it comes to installation, but, perhaps even more importantly, when it comes to maintenance and use.

Imagine, if you will, a team of burly football players out practicing on a chill fall morning. They’re all thundering about on the grass, slipping and sliding about, kicking up the grass as they kick up the ball, tackle, and the like. They have spiked shoes that churn up the grass.

Then there are the golfers on the 18-hole course on a Sunday morning. They may be enjoying a friendly game, but they’re still taking swipe after swipe at the ground, hacking up the grass and the sand with their seven irons. Even the green is under attack with a steady onslaught of balls smashing down from 200 yards away.

Natural grass needs a lot of work to stay trim and fresh. Particularly on sports fields (football fields, baseball fields, tennis courses, and golf courses to name but a few), it gets pretty bruised up without regular work. It needs watering, mowing, trimming. Someone also needs to treat it with pesticides and then (and they apparently make a tradition of this in polo) someone needs to put the tufts of grass back into place.

Our point, though, is that grass has to put up with a lot of wear and tear if it is going to be used for the surface of a sports field. Not only does it not survive the usage very well, it actually requires a lot of time, money, and energy when used as the basis for a sporting activity.

If you think about it, the high maintenance required for grass is one of the reasons many people don’t use their backyards all that often. It’s also one of the reasons why most golfing enthusiasts don’t have a mini-putting green in their backyard. It’s at least the reason why the most dedicated golfers don’t find themselves outside on a regular basis, practicing their swing or their putting. Natural grass just doesn’t hold up.

Artificial grass, on the other hand, is not only durable, it is easy to maintain and easy to install. As more and more people are discovering, artificial grass works wonders as a surface for sports grounds. Not only does it survive with minimal maintenance for years (sometimes as many as fifteen years, even with heavy use), it has also been shown to reduce injuries and facilitate more regular practice and game play since it can be used in all weathers (it doesn’t get flooded or frozen provided the right drainage system is in place).

At National Greens, we specialize in providing our clients with a whole range of turf types for all sorts of types of projects. We specialize in providing turf for golf courses, putting greens, and driving ranges, however, and we’ve also taken to helping golf enthusiasts install miniature putting greens in their homes and back yards at extremely competitive prices.

Installation takes less than thirty minutes, in some cases, and you can almost always begin enjoying your artificial turf right away, which is not the case for natural grass. You don’t have to worry about hiring a gardener to maintain your artificial turf and you have no need to worry about how you’re going to manage to store up water to keep your grass hydrated through the summer (with artificial grass, you don’t have to contribute to the summer water shortage in your area since the grass doesn’t need watering at all).

You can have your very own putting green installed in your backyard or take the time to work on your golf swing even on a regular lawn. You won’t have to worry about hacking the lawn to bits when you’re swinging your club or even when you’re playing football with your friends.

Your kids will be perfectly safe as well, thanks to the soft, durable surface underneath artificial grass textures. They can bound about as much as they like and you won’t have to worry about them falling and hurting themselves.

Whatever your project, National Greens offers a whole range of turf types, you’ll see new possibilities opening up for you.

For more information about the products and services available for your residential or commercial project, contact us today via our website.

How Green Are You? – Keys to Sustainable Construction

There are as many definitions of  “green” as there are shades of color. Wikipedia defines a green building, also known as a sustainable building as “ a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner.”

Dade County Florida’s Website reads that, “Sustainable building practices go beyond energy and water conservation to incorporate environmentally sensitive site planning, resource efficient building materials and superior indoor environmental quality.” The website lists five key benefits of sustainable construction that seems to concisely capture the “spirit” of the green building concept.

- Lower electric and water utility costs
- Environmentally effective use of building materials
- Enhanced health and productivity
- Long-term economic returns
- Reduced environmental impact

The need to reduce costs associated with energy production and  importing building materials,  the importance of conserving water and natural resources and minimizing environmental impact are challenges that are even more paramount within our island communities. Green  initiatives provide excellent benefits but carry a pricetag asociated with implementation. We’ve looked at the benefits and the challenges, but what are the affordable solutions?

Lower Eletric and Water Utility costs
Thin-film solar and Atmospheric Water Generation are two affordable technolgies that fit expectioannly well in the Caribbean region. With the abundance of sunshine we receive intermingled with overcast days, it is still estimated that a solar radiation of 4-5 hours per day is typical for the region. Using lighweight thin-film solar, with a capacity of an estimated 5 watts/sq ft. a typical 1,200 sq ft home could easily support a roof laminted 3,000 Watt solar power system. A system of this size would generate an estimated 12-15kWh per day.  By reducing electiical lighintg, cooling, and appliance loads to less than 4k the solar system can also be recued in size.

How do we reduce our electrical load calculations? Design and retrofit with L.E.D. Lighting,  A typical home using high efficiency L.E.D. lighting would use just under 250 Watts for the entire lighting circuit and provide equal or higher lumen output than convenienal incandescent or CFL lighting systems. Heat pump water heating technologies provide an estimates 7,000 btu output and a max water temp of 135 while using less than 800 watts nominal. Air Conditioning units using proven ductless-split DC Inverter technologies provide remote controlled zoned cooling while using as little as 1,200 watts for a 11,000btu system. Energy efficient appliances are readily available and help to reduce overall electrical loads

A very natural solution for clean water production in the Caribbean has been around since the beginning of time. Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG) systems use the natural humidity in the air to produce up to 6gallons per day of pure filtered drinking water without the need for any plumbing or realated  infrastructure. Dispensing 99.9% pure water, the AWG system can be operated directly from solar power or plugs into a standard household outlet.  With a built in water heating element the units dispense hot or cold water on demand without the need for maintaining an inventory of bottled water. Production costs are estimated between $0.06 -0.14 per gallon of water.

Environmentally Effective use of Building Materials
What’s needed is a building system that can resist high winds, is versatile, structural, provides a high level of insulation, minimim waste and is affordable. Concrete Structural Insulated Panels (CSIP) provide an excellent alternative to conventional concrete block construction in the Caribbean. Proven and accepted throughout the United States, CSIP’s are pre-designed, pre-cut, professionally engineered, insulated, provide a strucural frame and exterior and interior concrete fire resistant surfaces for finishing. These lighweight concrete panels are produced by manufacturers that are members of the Unites States Green Building Council (USGBC) such as T.Clear Corp of Hamilton  Ohio. Their ProTec® CSIP building system  provides less skilled labor, reduces wall construction time to a matter days verses months and is competitively afforadble when compared to block or conventioanl construction techniques. The company literature states the panels are “framing, sheathing, insulation and interior wall surface all in one. This equates to building more homes in les time with fewer associated costs and waste.

Enhanced Health and Productivity
Clean water, fresh air, low VOC and no off-gasing products should be the benchmark for homes built under the “green” design concept. Energy conservation and eco-friendly homes do not happen by accident, it takes planning and design guidelines to ensure homes provide comfort, style and are also affordable. Choosing off the shelf products that are eco-friendly minimize costs and help descrease the time required to source specialized products that add time and expense to the construction process. Despite the misconception, “green homes” can be stylish, affordable and built on a reduced timeline.

The Protec® Building System is currently used by HDC Development Corp  within the Bahamas to build as it describes, “Net Zero Energy Homes”. Recently receing apporavel from The Bahamas Ministry of Works, the Protec Building System®  is meticuoslesy engineered to design loads of up to 150 mile per winds. According to the information from the company’s website, these “Net Zero Energy Homes” gerernate more energy than they consume, have minimal environmental impact, resist high winds and are very compatiable to developers seeking higher construction productivity rates.

Long-term Economic Returns
Unfortunately, when green initiatives are initially introduced into some regions for the first time, typically there exists an entense amount of resistance  as traditional stakeholders, with  entrenched concepts and methods are challenged by the new technology. However, for the greater good of the entire Caribbean  region, traditional beauracratis “red tape” needs to be pierced so that a new generation may benefit from the advances in proven  technology and ensure our regions continued success in the renewable energy amd sustainable development sectors.
Openminded acceptance of proven “green technologies” will bring investment, trainig, jobs and prosperity to the Caribbean region. The region is ideal to capture the full potential of clean solar and wind power generation. Long-term economic growth is the fruit that’s harvested when we plant the seeds of green initiavtes today.

Reduced environmental impact
Waste reduction, resource conservation and matinainting pure water inventories are important issues that face any region, but even more so here in the Caribbean islands. As our population grow so does the need to pay more strict attention to the subject of  waste management and recycling. Education and acceptance of recycling is the key. Conservation is an adopted lifestyle and the population must see it as a benefit in order to embrace it. Tangible incentives such as reductions in Waste Collection rates for househgolds that recycle, reduced utility rates for homes with  Solar  or wind Power Generation systems and reduced municipal water rates for households with Atmospheric Water Generators would go a long way to helping the large public adopt and embrace “going green”. 

Lets hope the islands of the Caribbean region can by careful and wise use of our startegic natural  resources become the worldwide leader in the adoption and implemntation of proven green technologies. It is clear we have the most to gain and success will equate to increased toursim, investment, training, jobs and prosperity for our region.

Le Creuset Small Spatula, Black Onyx

• 100% premium quality silicone
• Utensil heads are dishwasher safe; hand wash wood handles
• Made in the USA

Product Description
Le Creuset Silicone utensils are heat resistant to 800 degrees F, will not scratch or damage cookware and cleanly scrape both flat and curved surfaces…. More >>

Le Creuset Small Spatula, Black Onyx

Going Green and Giving Up All Those Chemicals

GOING GREEN and GIVING UP ALL THOSE CHEMICALS

the great living site – is for natural product for the home – for the kids – for the family – for gifts .. for anything and everything in your life ..

Five advantages of going Certified Organic:
1. Beneficial to the Soil – Organic systems use a modern yet scientific knowledge of ecology and soil science, while using traditional techniques of crop rotations to provide fertility, weed as well as pest control.
2. Beneficial to the Environment – Organic systems try to lessen usage of non-renewable resources. Organic production tries all the while to provide sustenance and supports the optimum handling of the environment and wildlife as a precedence.
3. Beneficial to People – Organic products have been proven to possess more vitamins, nutrients and cancer-combating antioxidants as compared to non-organic products.
4. Absence of artificial Chemicals – Organic products ban using the synthetic chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers.
5. Absence of GMOs – Certified Organic products do not GMOs (genetically modified organisms), as they are banned as per standards laid down for organic food and farming. You can buy something that claims organic or natural but if there is no certified organic label they can use genetically modified components.

the great living site – is for natural product for the home – for the kids – for the family – for gifts .. for anything and everything in your life ..

Five advantages of going Certified Organic:
1. Beneficial to the Soil – Organic systems use a modern yet scientific knowledge of ecology and soil science, while using traditional techniques of crop rotations to provide fertility, weed as well as pest control.
2. Beneficial to the Environment – Organic systems try to lessen usage of non-renewable resources. Organic production tries all the while to provide sustenance and supports the optimum handling of the environment and wildlife as a precedence.
3. Beneficial to People – Organic products have been proven to possess more vitamins, nutrients and cancer-combating antioxidants as compared to non-organic products.
4. Absence of artificial Chemicals – Organic products ban using the synthetic chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers.
5. Absence of GMOs – Certified Organic products do not GMOs (genetically modified organisms), as they are banned as per standards laid down for organic food and farming. You can buy something that claims organic or natural but if there is no certified organic label they can use genetically modified components.