Across Long Island people are responding to the energy crisis by making simple everyday changes such as using reusable containers , implementing the use of renewable energy in their homes by installing solar panels or by cutting back on their use of water.  Visit our directory of solar panel contractors on Long Island.

RELI (Renewable Energy Long Island)

“Is a membership-based, non-for-profit organization promoting clean, sustainable energy use and generation for Long Island. RELI seeks public participation in energy policy decisions to encourage energy efficiency, use of renewable energy sources, and to protect our environment, economy, and public health.”

This organization supports Long Island initiatives such as:

WindWorks - the Long Island Offshore Wind Initiative Learn about Renewable Wind Energy

LIshines - which hosts tours of solar homes on Long Island and green homes on Long Island

Renew LI - an initiative to pass legislation to inact a National Renewable Energy Standard

LI-CAN - Long Island Climate Action Network a grassroots movment providing speakers and taining for speakers looking to spread the word about global warming and climate change

GreenAAA - Reli’s Green Ask, Answer, Act providing expert answers to all of your green building questions and concerns

LISaves - Energy saving tips saving your pockets and the environment

GreenChoice - Green Power is electricity generated by renewable energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric, biomass or solar energy

Some other useful sites which you can use to better educate yourself on “going green” and reducing your carbon footprint:

citizenre

LIPA

Solar Energy Center

Neighborhood Network

New York City, New York

New York City Waterfalls

Opens Mid-July 2008-Mid-October 2008

Mayor Bloomberg, and the city of New York have commissioned artist Olafur Elaisson to bring art to the New York Harbor this Spring. Four electrically powered waterfalls will be positioned throughout the New York Harbor (Lower Manhattan, Gouverner’s Island, and Brooklyn) they will all be visible from the South Street Seaport. The Circle Line Ferry (which provides transportation to and from Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty) will be the sole provider of a tour around the waterfalls through New York Harbor.

Check back there will be more to come!

News12 Long Island, NY did their normal Pre-Storm Winter coverage as they do before every snow storm that hits Long Island. I allowed my self two precious more hours of sleep this morning as when I opened one eye and looked out the window everything was covered in a thick blanket of white. Living in a densely populated but not highly traveled part of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, NY (map) my street is still yet to be plowed even once, but my SUV (Cheap Gas LI) allowed me to float through the snow (generating a sensation very close to skiing) and get to work.

Hempstead, Long Island, NY (map) has recently purchased new technology which allows Hempstead Township to get ahead of the storm. February 22, 2008 the New York Times ran a story saying that the year-end snow storm had left many Hempstead, Long Island, NY residents complaining about the roads that lay in the town’s jurisdiction rather than the county’s or the states.

The roads in Hempstead, Long Island, NY should not be too snowy this morning. As a result of the many complaints that came from not only town residents but town officials whom had found themselves stranded with their employees December 30th, 2008. Hempstead bought new technology from a Canadian company called Epoch. I have always wondered why life doesnt come to a screaching hault every time it snows in northern provinces. The science behind it is as follows. They launch a Pre-Storm assault on the roads. In other words the salt spreaders take to the street hours before the storm hits and spreads a watery mixture of finely ground salt sand and clay. This makes it harder for the snow to stick to the roads before the snow even begins to fall; making ths plow’s jobs much easier and more efficient, and leaving the salt and sand spreaders to complete the mixture after the snow removal has begun.

Hopefully this kind of technology will be come a staple at all of the dispatch stations across Long Island (map) as all of its residents on especially on the North Shore know that one thing Long Island surely does not lack is hills which can become very quickly very trecherous and dangerous.

Town Departments

Madison Square Garden , NY was host to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show this weekend. Thousands of dog lovers, breeders, and most importantly show dogs and their trainers flocked to Madison Square Garden, NY for the Dog Show. It is the 132nd Annual Doge show which started on Thursday, February 7, 2008 and the final celebrations will close off with the Metropolitan Dog Club Best in Show Brunch at Cipriani Dolci, Grand Central Station.
This year there were three new breads introduced: the Plott: a hunting hound an intelligent, alert and confident animal, the Tibetan Mastiff which is believed to have been the origin of many working breeds which we see today known for its protective spirit especially towards women and children, the Beauceron is a French herding dog know for herding and guarding large flocks of sheep and high levels of endurance, intelligence, and ability to learn quickly, and command of respect, the final new breed for this year is the Swedish Vallhund an old Spitz-type breed known for being small, powerful, fearless and sturdily build.
The best of breed list can be found here and the breed results here

The internet is continually changing.  To keep up with the changes and grow with the times companies whom have sold their products online in the past have been making efforts to streamline their web stores.   Internet marketing has become more and more “intelligent” through the tracking of customer’s buying habits and history.  This has allowed companies to target their audiences very specifically allowing for a much higher success rate.

Social Networking sites have especially taken advantage of this resource with mixed results.  It has had success in the sense that ads on pages are targeted directly to the user which has raised the “click through rates” (for those of you non-internet advertising savvy CTR as defined by Wikipedia). 

Facebook took this concept one step to far and in November had to readjust their policies as users were finding that the broadcasting of user’s online purchases to be an invasion of privacy and inappropriate.
As users change their status, add photographs, “tag” their friends in pictures, change details in their profiles etc. Facebook automatically generates a news-feed which gets sent to all of that user’s friends.

Facebook implemented Beacon.  Beacon is a program which posts news-feeds every time a Facebook user would make an online purchase.  This very quickly became a problem; users quickly became resentful of their purchases and spending habits broadcast ( New York Times.)

Personally I find Beacon an invasion.  I choose what information I want to make public on Facebook and would not want my purchases made public; or at least enable me to easily decide which purchases I want made public and which I don’t why should I become free advertising for these multi-million dollar companies could I at least get some compensation for my bill boarding?

Internet Marketing and Advertising is a great venue through which to get the word out about your business be sure to visit our sample ad page to familiarize yourself with our options, here is an example of a full page ad which would drive traffic directly from natural Google searches to your website.

Clear

It snowed on Long Island yesterday and every thing is covered in a white blanket. Everybody’s lives moved a little slower and Long Islanders are surprised by a winter, which is hitting Long Island with so much snow so early in the season.

My father travels a lot on business, and as I was taking him to the airport last Thursday I was reminded of how easily winter weather, a car accident, or a pot hole on your way to an airport can make you miss your flight.

Travel is never a stress free experience but times have grown more security focused which has caused the amount of hassle encountered at the airport grow as well.

Unfortunately to keep this country safe innocent people are still being detained for hours as their name matched one on the no-fly list; and hard working people are being made to stand in lines for endless hours adding fatigue and stress to their day.

Maybe its because I have grown up in a highly modernized world with a computer at my fingertips since I was a child and a cell phone at my ear not long after which has now morphed into a gadget which simplifies my life and allows me to multi task all day. Sometimes I wonder what I did before my Blackberry.

The new human “ez-pass”: Clear but at what price?

To register with Clear or give the gift of Clear the card holder must purchase a year long membership for $99.95; lock this rate in for two years for $199.90 or for three $299.85. After having registered and purchased a membership you must go through a security screening done by Clear in conjunction with the FAA. Your first time through Clear you must submit to either a fingerprint or an iris image and from that day on you may pass through the Clear kiosk in approximately 30% less time than this process would usually take. The Department of Homeland Security continually reviews members, and your membership will be immediately revoked if there are any changes in your security status.

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This may bring to mind privacy issues, which are becoming more and more prevalent as technological advances are being continually made and the use of biometrics becomes more and more prevalent.

NPR has been doing an interesting series on DNA, the murky legal limits for the use of ‘discarded’ DNA, and the use of familial matches to track down criminal suspects.

Do you feel that submitting to an iris scan or fingerprinting on file is an invasion of privacy or do you feel that such measures should be taken more often to ensure our nation’s security?

The gas prices have really been putting a pinch on my wallet. I miss my little Honda civic coupe and although my father graciously lends me his Explorer , I really can’t stand how quickly it goes through gas. I am a big fan of cars and attend Car show at the Jacob Javits Center every year. I am always curious about what is new in the automobile market. As I was reading my feed of daily headlines I noticed that at the LA Auto Show the Green Car of the year was unveiled. The winner this year was Chevy’s hybrid Tahoe SUV it gives better city driving gas efficiency on driving in the city and offers up to a 50% better city fuel economy over the non-hybrid model. My favorite car company is BMW it was the first car I ever drove and ever since then my heart has belonged to them. My most recent favorite is the BMW X3 it is a SAV which is a sports activity vehicle; and from what I understand is that it is built on the chassis of a sedan but has the roominess and snow-handling of the bigger SUV’s on the road today with out the killer gas consumption. This morning as I am checking my headlines at New York Times I have found that the United States Government is finally growing more serious about imposing regulations on our consumption and pollutants have become a source of concern. Congressional negotiators have passed legislation forcing automakers to achieve 35 miles per gallon on average by the year 2020. Passing this kind of legislation is good as American and global consumption will only continue to grow exponentially and there is no reason for auto makers to not make any effort to keep the wraps on gas consumption as technology grows. The improvement of fuel efficiency and energy saving is acquiring the national level. For more information on going green and Smart Energy click here.

During this holiday season take a deep breath and let someone pass in front of you with out sneering, hold the door for one more person, and drive a little slower it may allow you to buy an extra stocking stuffer (a lead foot also means a deeper hole in your pocket).

New York State just formulated a task force their focus being Mold. Here you can find government (Huntington) offices and websites that maybe helpful in obtaining more information on what your local government may be doing Nassau Suffolk. With the humid weather conditions especially on Long Island mold and mildew are problems with which almost every homeowner is faced and is not an issue to be ignored as it can be a hazard to you and your families health and eventually force you and your loved ones out of your home.
Mold is has many nuisances as well as uses. As many organisms Ecosystems are established on different organisms each interacting through different forms of symbiosis , amensalism , commensalism , mutualism, mutualism, and parasitism.
Some prevention options include air purification systems or contacting a contractor who has knowledge in the rectification and prevention procedures in the treatment of mold susceptible residences. as well as Resources such as private testing contractors, environmental testing labs, and environmental agencies can be a good starting point for your battle against mold. When you have already lost your battle against mold your next most important step is the cleanup. Some options include cleaning services and carpet cleaning services.
Rectify your mold problem ASAP as they can be deadly to you and your loved ones!!