OneThing Green Conservation Expo This Weekend October 10 -12 2008

This weekend October 10-12, 2008, the Connecticut Convention Center will host a dazzling, three-day event, the OneThing Expo: Home of a Million OneThings. The expo will highlight the endless variety of OneThings that schools, businesses and residents can do to save energy and protect the environment.

Conceived as a "World's Fair of Energy Conservation," and part of Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell's OneThing campaign, the OneThing Expo will be an engaging exploration of energy topics and an unforgettable celebration of conservation. The story will be told in bright detail by hundreds of individuals and organizations across the state - and the country - representing a myriad of industries and topics, including agriculture, recreation, transportation, building technology, the arts and education, alternative energy, consumer products and much more. More than 250 exhibitors and thousands of visitors from Maine to Maryland are expected to take part.

Highlights:

Friday, October 10
A Day for Schools and Businesses What's the Deal ... OneThing "What's the Deal Registration form" This focused business-to-business event and trade show in the Grand Ballroom/Upper Level of the Connecticut Convention Center is designed as Connecticut's largest business energy conference. The day will feature more than 40 exhibitors, 600+ attendees, and a series of panel discussions and keynote speaker presentations from some of the region's most well-known energy/business industry experts. The event is presented by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, the Connecticut Power and Energy Society and the Office of Policy and Management.

Saturday, October 11, 2008 and Sunday, October 12, 2008
OneThing-Palooza! Throughout the weekend, people of all ages can tour OneThing-Palooza!, a 24,000 square foot interactive area featuring Stepping Stones Museum for Children's new "Conservation Quest" exhibit, an invention area and an energy-themed maze. The Palooza! also will showcase dozens of statewide community partners, special energy conservation programming and performances, and short films on conservation and climate change at the Connecticut Science Center Climate Change Theater. The OneThing Palooza! is being designed by the Connecticut Science Center and Norwalk-based Stepping Stones Museum for Children. The Palooza! will be open throughout the three-day Expo.

Show Hours:
Friday - 10 am - 6 pm
Saturday - 10 am - 9 pm
Sunday - 10 am - 6 pm

Tickets:
Adults - $8
Seniors - $4
Children under 12 - Free
Save $2 (click here for coupon)

Directions to the Convention Center:
Connecticut Convention Center
100 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford, CT 06103
Phone: 860-249-6000 Fax: 860-249-6161
http://www.ctconventions.com/directions/index.php

For more information about OneThing please visit:
www.onethingct.com

Tips For Teaching Kids to Go Green

When you were a kid, did the word "green" conjure images of Kermit sitting on a log singing about the difficulties of fitting in? Or perhaps it brought to mind Dr. Seuss's timeless classic about the questionably colored eggs and ham.

Chances are if you ask your child what he thinks of the "green" movement, he'll surprise you with his knowledge of - and passion for - the topic. Like any other major media message, kids are being inundated with information on the need to protect the environment.

"It's important for parents to help kids sift through all the information to find real ways they can make a difference, even at a very tender age," says Karen Farmer, a children's book author and environmentalist. "Kids can really feel empowered by participating in the green movement, and they'll be establishing environmentally conscious habits that will sustain them their whole lives."

With the approach of Earth Day 2008 on April 22 (click here for Earth Day Events in CT), many parents are wondering how they can nurture the budding environmentalist in their children. Here are some practical tips:

* Bag it. From Beijing to Annapolis, Md., communities around the world are banning the use of plastic shopping bags, which take approximately 1,000 years to decompose. Each year 500 billion plastic bags are used around the world, and the costs of bags given away "free" by retailers can top $4 billion annually.

Teaching youngsters to choose reusable cloth bags for shopping not only makes environmental sense, it could be preparing them for a world in which plastic shopping bags are no more.

"Choosing reusable, environmentally friendly bags versus plastic shopping bags, is an easy step even the youngest shoppers can take," says Farmer, who authored "My Bag and Me!" The book, for children 3 to 9 years old, tells the story of a little boy who always takes his own reusable bag to the grocery store when he shops with his mother. The sturdy, brightly colored board book illustrated by Gary Currant also includes a child-sized reusable bag that reads "I Love Earth." The bag is made of Tyvek, the same durable, recyclable material often used to insulate the exterior walls of new houses.

The book and the bag encourage children to make this environmentally sensible step an integral part of their daily lives. Children get the message that learning about and being environmentally conscious can be fun.

Published by Penton Overseas, "My Bag and Me!" is available at Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble, and online at www.pentonoverseas.com or call (800) 748-5804.

* Teach conservation. "If they're old enough to wash their hands on their own, kids are old enough to learn how to conserve water," says Farmer.

Parents should teach children to turn off the tap while brushing their teeth, and keep the water flow to a pencil-thin stream when washing their hands. As soon as they're old enough to safely stand in a shower stall and lather up on their own, toddlers transition from baths to showers. If your family doesn't have low-flow shower heads yet, engage older children in helping out with the very easy home improvement project of installing one.

* Reach for recycling perfection. "Recycling is one earth-friendly activity kids of all ages can get involved in," Farmer says. Children can learn what items regularly used in their homes can be recycled, from soft drink cans and milk bottles to detergent jugs and spaghetti sauce jars. Toddlers and preschoolers can participate in separating and grouping recyclables. Elementary school children can help with washing items and removing labels. Older kids can even get involved with volunteer groups that clean litter throughout the community and recycle trash found on the roadside.

To learn more about Earth Day and how your family can make a difference in the green movement, visit www.epa.gov/earthday.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Can You Do One Thing Green Today?

Can you do one thing green today?

Ready to get your green on? Today Governor M. Jodi Rell announced the launch of a brand new website, statewide marketing effort and advertising campaign that will help Connecticut residents save money on their energy bills and make a positive contribution to the environment: OneThing.

OneThing builds on the enormous impact that could be achieved if every person in Connecticut did one thing, every day, to help conserve all forms of energy – from electricity and gasoline to natural gas and renewable resources.

“Energy is a global issue and sometimes we have trouble getting our arms around it – not just the ‘we’ of policy-makers but the ‘we’ of you and me.”

“Think about it: If everyone in Connecticut did one thing that would be 3.5 million OneThings. If everyone in the state did one thing a day, every day, that would be more than a billion OneThings over the course of a year – a billion ways to reduce greenhouse gases, save energy and save money. That’s enough to have a truly profound impact, to make a real difference. OneThing really can change everything,” the Governor said.

If every household in the nation replaced just one incandescent bulb with a CFL it would save enough energy to light 3 million homes, save $600 million in energy costs or remove the equivalent of 800,000 cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Energy Star estimates.

“Of course, this is just the first of the OneThings I plan to do,” Governor Rell said. “I will also be advocating this program on a regular basis, including publicly recognizing those who have firmly demonstrated a commitment to OneThing and working with state lawmakers to foster their commitment to the idea. I truly believe that all of our OneThings will add up to thousands of things that will save money for consumers and business alike, reduce energy consumption and protect our earth – and ultimately, these are the things that matter the most.”


The OneThing campaign comprises several elements, including print, radio, television and outdoor advertising as well as a spectacular event planned for fall 2008 at the Connecticut Convention Center: the OneThing Expo: Home of a Million One Things. The Governor said more details of the planned Expo will be released in the coming weeks.

Among the website's suggestions for "OneThing" that you can do are:

• onething your utility company is doing to help you conserve energy is giving you a reward for saving! If you use less electricity this summer than you did last summer, you can earn a credit on your electric bill.
• onething one CFL can save enough to buy 35 ice cream cones.
• onething take a 10 minute shower in 8 minutes, you'll save energy and get just as clean.
• onething wash clothes in cold water, and dry in the air outside.
• onething Try a solar iced-tea. Take a 1/2 gallon pitcher or jar and fill it with water and 6 tea bags. Put it in a sunny spot for several hours and let the sun do its thing. Add ice and a slice of lemon and sit back and think about how much energy you saved by not boiling water.
• onething buy locally-grown food if possible. It saves a truckload of transportation fuel.
• onething go outside and play more. It uses less energy than tv and video games. Install a pool timer to run your pool pump or heater only when you need to.
• onething keeping your tires properly inflated saves lots of gas.
• onething Turn off a light when the day is bright.
  

A couple more suggestions:

• Recycle. Anything and everything. Cans, bottles, paper products, clothes and shoes (donate or resell)...
• Ride the bus, a bike or walk whenever and wherever you can...
• Turn the air conditioner up in the summer, and the heating down in the winter....
• Unplug cell phone chargers and other items when not in use...
• Pick up trash when you come across it instead of walking by.
  
• Use the re-useable canvas bags at the grocery store instead of paper or plastic. They're surprisingly sturdy, and can carry just as much as the plastic ones, and they look good! Green goes with everything!!

One wise lady once said to me "We can make a difference if we try".

For more information, and to submit your own OneThing ideas please visit:
http://www.onethingct.com/