Want a system that can even make your e-mails greener? GreenyMail.com is just that: a system that encourages e-mails to be more eco-friendly. How is this done? GreenyMail.com plants a tree for every 100 e-mails sent collectively from members and every 1000 e-mails sent collectively from non-members. Along with their tree planting initiative, GreenyMail.com includes a banner on the top of every e-mail to show that it is eco-friendly to all the recipients.

GreenyMail.com originated in Australia as an effort to save energy and paper. The developers realized how many e-mails people were printing and realized the great waste of paper that was occurring. Their efforts to help solve this problem include encouraging recipients to keep their e-mails on their computer, not in their printer, and to replace printed e-mails by planting new trees. GreenyMail.com supports the following programs: Trees for the Future and Carbon Neutral.  

Becoming a GreenyMail user is easy. You keep your own e-mail address, and you can use the application on both Microsoft Outlook and your typical web browsers. Start by going to their Get Started page. Joining is free. You can either simply just join and have 1 tree planted per 1000 collective e-mails, or become a member and purchase a GreenKey (sold in 1, 3, or 6 month increments). GreenKeys allow a certain number of trees to be planted from the start, and give you more options when it comes to the banner and sponsor link on your outgoing and incoming e-mails.  If you are a member, 1 tree will also be planted for every 100 collective e-mails sent by members.

We like GreenyMail, because it is not only a great way to develop forests and save paper, but it is also a great way for an individual or company to show the efforts they are making to be more eco-friendly. With GreenyMail you can share what you are doing with all of your e-mail recipients, and even spread word of the cause so others may join too! Green thumb up to GreenyMail!

Between having ties to Brazil and wanting to save our planet, we thought we should share this great project with you. It is a project called Plant a Billion Trees which was started by The Nature Conservancy. For every dollar donated, they will plant a tree in The Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

Why this forest in Brazil? The Atlantic Forest is now only 7% of its original size due to many problems such as illegal logging,  urban expansion, and coastal development. Many species are in danger, and our climate is too. Tropical forests such as The Atlantic Forest are responsible for containing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and releasing enormous amounts of oxygen. What will happen if all of this carbon dioxide is released and the production of oxygen disappears? Check out this link for more facts.

How do we fix this problem? The Conservancy’s goal is to conserve millions of acres of land and plant a billion trees. While doing this, they will work with the local communities and the ruling authorities to make changes in their policy and help protect the forest through time. With these changes, The Conservancy states that the amount of carbon dioxide removed from our atmosphere every year will be the equivalent to take 2 million cars off the road! Not only will our atmosphere be cleaner, but watersheds for the people of Brazil will be plentiful again. For more on what the Conservancy plans to do follow this link.

What can you do? Act now! You can make a donation, a monthly gift, or give a gift of trees to someone else. You could also download a widget to support wildlife and show others what you stand for, post this program on your website, or even send e-cards. Spread the word: $1 to plant 1 tree!

The forests in Brazil are almost as important to you as they are to the people of Brazil. We rely on these large tropical forests to help sustain a healthy climate around the world. Help save the planet one tree at a time.

Disney is doing a lot to celebrate Earth Day this year, and we would like to give you a sneak peek!

Disney is promoting its Plant a Billion Trees campaign at all of its Disney Stores. For every dollar donated to this campaign, Disney Stores will plant a tree! So far over 95,000 trees have been planted.

At every Disney Store, a campaign called Recyling is Magic will be featured on Earth Day. Each store will have bins for the recycling of plastic bottles, and they will be selling earth-friendly products (many made out of plastic bottles themselves). In exchange for three plastic botles, Disney Store will give you one magical t-shirt, which is made partially of recycled plastic bottles.

Starting April 13th, Disney will also be featuring Boys and Girls Club of America’s Earth Day Murals at all the Disney Stores.

Disney has some great educational resources too. Disney has a book called No Place Like Earth in which the Mickey Mouse Club celebrates Earth Day. Even Playhouse Disney has gone green for the month of April!

Perhaps one of the most exciting events Disney will have on Earth Day this year is the release of its new movie, Earth. This movie will be the story about 3 different animal families making their treck around the world! The previews look great. We cannot wait to see it!

Be a Kid! Celebrate Earth Day the Disney Way.

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We have previously written about TerraCycle’s newspaper pencil. And now we bring to you the plastic pen! You may be asking yourself: has the EcoYourself’s staff gone crazy?

We came across a company called Green Pen that specializes in making, you guessed it, green pens. The material used for the body of the pen is plastic. However, this plastic is made out of corn and it’s also 100% bio-degradable!

The coolest feature about this pen is that after the pen has no ink left, you simply “plant the pen in soil and after approximately 8 months, the pen will have decomposed and will serve as fertilizer!” The pen also has an optional feature that allows you to store seeds in the pen, so when you plant it, you might get some cherry tomatoes, sunflowers, calendulas, black spruces, or grey pines!

I can’t wait to hear what you guys think about this innovative product!

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What makes a certain computer “hybrid” is well over my head, but I know that if it is using less material, and uses less power, that it surely is green!

Dell has come out with a Studio Hybrid Computer that is 80% smaller than most desktop towers (much less material), and uses 70% less power than most (meets Energy Star 4.0 Standards). The packaging for this computer is made of 95% recycled materials, and comes with a recycling kit.

Besides just being greener than most computers, it has some other great features. The tower is designed so that it can stand vertically or horizontally, depending on your work space, and it has all of the ports you would need in one panel. You can pick from a variety of six different colors, or even choose a bamboo sleeve. The desktop comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse, to help keep your workspace the way you want it. All sold right now for prices ranging from $449 at it’s simplest to $799 with a monitor.

Purchasing other Dell products? When you are customizing your product, Dell will offer several options such as recycling your old computer for free, the option to have Dell plant a tree for a couple of dollars, or the option to have Dell plant a tree and send you a recycling kit for $6.

Know of other companies that are creating greener/hybrid products? Let us know!

Check out Amazon.com and compare prices!

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