Archive for the ‘Our Environment’ Category

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Hawaiian Monk Seals Get Protection

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Prompted by the deaths of 3 Hawaiian monk seals last year, the state of Hawaii has made it a 3rd degree felony to intentionally harm or kill the endangered species.

Last year’s killings included a pregnant monk seal that was shot by an elderly man on Kauai who wanted to scare the seal off the beach so he could go fishing.

Upon signing the bill at the state capitol, Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona said, “This is a strong statement in regards to our value and our treasure of the monk seal,”.

Under the new law, violators face five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

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World Environment Day – June 5th

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Join the United Nations and the rest of the world on June 5th as we all celebrate World Environment Day, (WED).

Millions of people on every continent will take action for the planet on World Environment Day. Under the theme ‘Many Species. One Planet. One Future’, this year’s event will celebrate the incredible diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. This year’s global host, Rwanda – a country of exceptional biodiversity that has made huge strides on environmental protection – will lead the celebrations with three days of keynote events.

WED activities involve all sectors of society – governments, non-governmental organizations, business, industry, inter-governmental organizations, civil society, media and schools.

You can register your activity here:http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/aroundtheworld.asp

And you can view alist of worldwide activities here: http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/activities/

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Support California Fighting Plastic Bag Use – AB1998

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

As you know, we here at Buy Hawaiian Seat Covers are all about helping our oceans and our environment – and the biggest problem we ALL face right now is plastic! It is literally chocking us to death – it’s killing wildlife as well as getting into the food chain where it is entering our bodies. All this is happening because we’re using something designed to last forever for one-time use packaging – RIDICULOUS!!

Right now many cities in California, (and other states), have their own plastic bag legislation – but California is trying to create one uniform policy for addressing all types of single-use bags to encourage consumers to use reusable bags, the most sustainable alternative by passing AB 1998.

If passed, AB 1998 would:

  • Ban single-use plastic bags at supermarkets, convenience stores and large retail establishments with pharmacies. The ban would not apply to bags used to carry bulk items, produce or raw meat to the checkout.
  • Limit the distribution of paper bags at these stores to encourage consumers to use reusable bags.
  • Require reusable bags to be available for purchase at these stores instead of using single-use carryout bags.

We support Californians who are working to reduce the use of plastic bags and hope you will too!

Please visit the Heal the Bay website where you can learn more as well as send a letter and make your voice heard: http://www.healthebay.org/actionalerts/ab1998/default.asp

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Bamboo Surf Fins

Monday, May 10th, 2010

We know that many of our customers here at Buy Hawaiian Seat Covers are also surfers, so we thought we’d pass along an interesting product we came across: bamboo fins.

They’re not only a ‘green’, sustainable wood but apparently they’re awesome to ride – super light, yet strong. The tip has a slight flex, yet the body of the fin is quite rigid. All of the elements for a high performance center fin to fit your stick. Plus they’re beautiful to look at.

So go green when you get wet and try out some bamboo surfing fins.  :-)

Posted in Our Environment, Surfing | No Comments »

Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter General Meeting

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Just an FYI to our Surfrider foundation friends on Oahu.  :-)

This Wednesday, March 3rd @ 7pm, is the next general meeting. All are welcome, (even non-members).

Come join in the discussion to help Hawaii’s beaches, ocean and enjoy this potluck gathering.

When: Wed March 3rd,  7pm – 9pm Hawaii Time
Where: Tim & Ye’s home, 731 10th Ave., Kaimuki

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Green Motor Oil?

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Hot off the press: we’ve got news of a brand new ‘eco-friendly’ ‘bio-oil’ for your car that is actually plant based!

It’s called G-OIL and is made by Green Earth Technologies in Connecticut. This SAE 5W-30 motor oil is the first biodegradable oil to receive the American Petroleum Institute’s ‘SM’ certification – how cool is that?!?

For those of you who want to get your hands on this new, eco-friendly motor oil it will be available at Honest-1 Auto Care, a national full-service auto repair and maintenance franchise chain with 20 locations in the US: http://www.honest-1.com

It’s also available at Amazon.com , or if you’re in the PA area you can find it at National Auto Stores.

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Posted in Auto Industry News, Car Care, Our Environment | No Comments »

Hawaii Getting Biodiesel

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

An Iowa based company called Renewable Energy Group, (REG), is partnering with Hawaiian Electric Company to supply the state’s utility with 400,000 gallons of biodiesel for their new Campbell Industrial Park Generating Unit.

REG will produce biodiesel from used cooking oil and waste animal fat for testing on the 110‐megawatt combustion turbine generator.

“Being able to use liquid renewable fuels in our generating units is one of many steps ‐‐ including more electricity from other renewable sources such as solar, wind, biomass and the ocean ‐‐ to meet our goal of providing reliable electric service while reducing Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels”,  said Hawaiian Electric executive vice president Robbie Alm.

We here at Buy Hawaiian Seat Covers salute Hawaii’s efforts at going green.  :-)

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MPG for Plug In Automobiles

Monday, October 12th, 2009

In an effort to get consumers the real numbers for the cost of owning and driving a plug-in vehicle the Society of Automotive Engineers, (SAE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, (NREL), are finalizing their proposal to the EPA in which they recommend that there be two rating listed for plug-in automobiles: one measuring miles per gallon, (MPG), and the other measuring electricity per mile, (EPM).

The EPA currently combines gas and electricity mileage making the ratings appear artificially high, giving some cars unrealistic and sky high MPG figures. If you get to see them rated by electricity per mile and gallons per mile you can compare apples to apples with more realistic findings. Jeff Gonder, an NREL researcher says “If you combine them into one (number) artificially, you can’t derive a final output like annual costs.”

The NREL is also coming up with a new way to judge fuel efficiency with dynamometers.  Since putting the car on the machine and seeing how far it can go until the tank is empty doesn’t reflect actual performance for plug-ins, the researchers are mimicking average driving behavior on the machines to come up with average yearly fuel costs.

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Relief Coming to Oahu

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Have you felt it? Have you seen it?

The last few days on Oahu have been on the uncomfortable side as the lack of trade winds have left Islanders with increased humidity and vog, (’smog’ from volcanoes on the Big Island). The blame for the conditions lies partly with the season and partly the southeasterly winds which brought up some moisture from the tropics.

Forecasters are saying relief is in sight as they’re expecting the trades to pick up over the weekend. While most tourists probably haven’t really noticed, relief can’t come soon enough for most locals!

Posted in Hawaii, Our Environment | No Comments »

Green Tip for Your Car

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

We here at Buy-Hawaiian-Seat-Covers just came across this green tip for your auto that we thought we’d pass along:

Did you know that getting your car washed at a commercial car wash is better for the environment than washing your car yourself?

Yep – apparently commercial car washes not only use a lot less water than you would at home, but many also recycle and reuse the rinse water. If every American who normally washes their own car went to a commercial car wash just ONCE, almost 8.7 BILLION gallons of water could be saved – WOW!

So next Wednesday when it’s Ladies Day at your local car wash, instead of getting that mani/pedi, treat yourself to a sparkling clean car… both you AND your hubby will be happy.  :-)

Posted in Car Care, Our Environment | No Comments »

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