Greenseniors

Proud To Be A Green Senior

Some people have spoken and written to us saying how proud they are to be doing good things for the planet and for the future of all the generations that will come after them. If you are a Green Senior, then you should be proud - after all you are making a difference that the majority of people have yet to even thing about doing. So don'tt feel shy about telling people you are a Green Senior!

Button Badges

It is because of this desire to tell and show people what others are doing that we have created the unique Green Seniors Button Badge, with the motto "I'm a Green Senior". We want to make sure they go to people who are keen to wear them out and about, but we also want to avoid sending out 1000 envelopes with one button in each (not very environmentally friendly), so this is what we would like to do:

If you are in a situation where you can give buttons to others who like the idea of being a Green Senior, then we would like you to become a "distributor". Are you a member of a seniors group or any other community where there are lots of seniors? Do you have lots of friends, or know other people who have lots of friends?

Please send your name and postal address to keith@greenseniors.org and tell us how many you want (anything between 10 and 50 badges). Wherever you are in the world, we will make sure you get a supply of buttons to hand out. That's all there is to it.

Stickers

Because some people want to produce their own materials, and also because buttons are not cheap to make or distribute, Green Seniors can now print off their own sticker sheets to give to others or to stick on notice boards etc.

Providing you have a word processor that can open Word documents, clicking on one of the links below will open a new document containing a page of pre-formatted Green seniors stickers. These documents print on either Avery C2243 (not USA) or 05293 (USA), which can be obtained in larger stationery shops. Make sure you try one page first, just to make sure your word processor formats the page correctly:

Avery C2243 stickers

Avery 05293 stickers

(Note:  Greengranny's local stationery store did not carry Avery 05293 labels, which are round just like the buttons.  You can order them at Avery.com for about US$12 for a box of 25 sheets totaling 600 stickers, but the shipping and handling adds quite a bit. Also, that stock item is labeled as being for laser printers and not for ink jet printers.  Greengranny is hoping to be able to send you only the number of sheets you need, in due time. Please share any of your own experience on printing Green Seniors stickers with her: joyce@greenseniors.org)

We are very proud of the people who have taken the time to come to our web site, and every senior throughout the world who is trying to make a difference. Thank you.

Green Networks...Cool Cities Across America Campaign

Last month Ann Rogers posted a comment to Green Seniors – How To...Join Networks. Ann told us she helped convince Traverse City, Michigan to pass the Mayors Climate Protection Act.  Great going, Ann, for your work in Michigan, and because Green Seniors wants to let our readers know more about this Campaign.

The Mayor of Seattle, Washington originally launched the Act, and the Sierra Club set up the supporting Cool Cities website at www.coolcities.us.  There you can see a map of all the cities who have signed the Act, plus many others that are making progress towards signing.  You can find out how to help.  As of February 1, 2007, 393 mayors representing over 57 million Americans have signed the Mayors Climate Protection Act. 

NOTE: The Cool Cities web site is a dot-us, not a dot-com or dot-org.  There are many other sites that look similar.  Remember, coolcities is a dot-US!

We looked up Ann’s city of Traverse City on the site and learned, among other things, that this progressive community had one of the first city-owned wind turbines.  Then we did a random search of cities from other states and pulled out items here and there, just to give a feel for what is going on with Cool Cities.

Chicago, Illinois -Chicago has made outstanding progress as a Cool City.  Among its many accomplishments, it is a pioneer in the use of rooftop gardens to reduce energy costs.

Schaumburg, Illinois – At the other end of the size spectrum, the Village of Schaumburg’s 12 traffic lights are being converted to super efficient LED (light emitting diode) bulbs.

Ashville, North Carolina – Their statement says, “Because so much of our energy here comes from coal fired power plants, we’re focusing on energy efficiency and renewable power.”

New York, New York – New York has one of the largest fleets of hybrid vehicles in service.  The city introduced hybrid taxis that cut emissions and save cabbies money.

Vancouver, Washington – One of the city’s goals is to plant at least 750 new trees per year.  It has quantified the benefits of existing trees within the city.

San Mateo, California - The new library is a LEED-certified building with provisions for solar power.

Franklin Township, New Jersey - More than one third of the area of Franklin Township has been preserved as open space.

If you look up your city and do not find it listed yet, there may be some preliminary action underway nonetheless.  We know of two cities in that category just by chance.  If you feel the site isn’t able to put you in touch with a local Cool Cities network just yet, please phone, write, or email your own city council.  That’s how Joyce found out what her town was doing! 

It is amazing how much can be going on right under our noses, so do not hesitate to ask around.