Connecticut Green Living

Earth Class Mail converts mail into digital files. That's the soundbite. But I wanted to delve a little deeper, to figure out if the notion of ridding the world of junk mail could come to fruition. After all, the San Antonio, TX-based outfit boasts that "thousands" of companies have tapped its services, with over 16 million piees of mail and $1.8 billion (with a B) in checks processed by them. Their vice-president of finance, Chisom Iwu, was kind enough to answer a few of my e-mailed questions. Following are Iwu's e-mailed answers to my questions: 1. You advertise that: Thousands of companies have trusted you with over 16 million pieces of mail and $1.8 billion in checks. Please explain how your business works. Earth Class Mail provides a way for people and businesses to access their mail without ever having to make a trip to a mailbox or touch an envelope. Customers select an address from more than 80 “virtual addresses” that Earth Class Mail provides. They submit ...

What's refreshing about Sustainability Made Simple: Small Changes for Big Impact is that it doesn't talk down to the reader, nor does it assume the reader knows anything more than that the climate is changing and everyday citizens should do their part to slow the process. The young authors, fairly recent University of California San Diego International Affairs grads, met on campus when they were studying environmental policy. Laurèn DeMates now works in sustainability in San Francisco at a tech startup, and co-author Rosaly Byrd, who blogs on sustainability for the Huffington Post, was calling in from her role as a sustainability professional for the UN in Rio de Janeiro. DeMates told me recently that the idea for the book arose naturally. "We definitely knew we wanted to do something about the polarization about information on sustainability. There was nothing in the middle that was helpful to individuals who don’t necessarily call themselves environmentalists. We wan...

Connecticut consistently ranks as one of the nation's most educated states. From Yalies to proud UConn alums, we've an embarrassment of intellectuals here. So why is the state so dumb when it comes to tapping public transportation? Although Hartford ranks pretty decently -- in 2010 an estimated 21.1 percent of its residents regularly chose public transportation -- the state pales overall. On the same annual ranking, a city that has no excuse not to be on the bus or the train, a dismal 13.3 percent were onboard. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that over 78 percent of our residents drive alone in their cars to work. This examiner wholly believes that the greatest impediment to getting more folks to share a ride, or get on the bus or train is reversing a stigma. Being a bus rider is even fodder for comic effect in movies. Women walking to the bus in the 'burbs sometimes get propositioned as ladies of the evening! It's the bus, people, not a meth d...