Eco-Friendly Markers A Hit

It’s Day Two of the Washington State annual summer Principal’s Conference, hosted this year in Spokane, Washington and aside from the heat (over 100 yesterday and hot, hot, hot again today) things have been going very well.

The AusPen booth has been busy, with school administrators from around the state stopping by to learn about our eco-friendly alternative to the disposable dry erase markers. Many of them are VERY interested in looking at “green” initiatives and alternatives for their schools.

We’ve also spoken with several educators who have the Auspen markers currently being used in their school district and love them. It’s been particularly enjoyable talking with people who are users of the product.

Well, back to the booth for the afternoon session.

Olympic Bids Highlight “Green”

I was reading an article this morning that highlghted how the Olympic bidding process is an intriguing barometer on the growth of eco-friendly consciousness.

While it’s true that in the past bid cities have included environmentally-responsible components to their applications, it has only been since the 2010 Olympic bids that a stronger commitment to “green” became apparent.

But to see the new 2016 bids, it is clear how far the movement has come. These cities have fully integrated “green-thinking” into all components of the bid. From mandatory emissions caps (Tokyo) to ‘21st Century Green Urban Spaces’ located near potential Olympic sites (Chicago) and on and on it goes for each city.

Sure, some of the projects outlined won’t see the light of day and there is a clear pandering to the what they believe the Olympic selection committee wants to see in a bid, but the fact sustainability and emission reduction has become such an important focus in a relatively short period of time is very encouraging.

Washington State Principal’s Conference

We will be exhibiting the AusPen markers at the AWSP (Association of Washington State Principals) at the end of this month (June 29 to July 1st) in Spokane.

We have many schools in Washington State (King County in particular) that have been loyal users of our eco-friendly AusPen markers. We’re looing forward to meeting with administrators from schools who are current users, and letting all other administrators know about the benefits of using the AusPen markers (non-toxic markers, significantly reduce waste, and of course, save a lot of money).

Be sure to stop by the AusPen booth if you’re attending, we’d love to talk with you.

Rising Prices Take Cars Off The Road

I read this report this morning on CNN:

Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April than they did in April 2007, the Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

Americans have driven 20 billion fewer miles overall this year, the Transportation Department says.

That marks the sixth consecutive monthly drop and coincides with record gas prices and an increase in transit ridership, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said

April’s drop is more than three times larger than the drop from March 2007 to March of this year, which was 400 million fewer highway miles.

Peters said vehicle miles traveled on all public roads for April fell 1.8 percent from April 2007.

Americans have driven nearly 20 billion fewer miles overall this year and nearly 30 billion fewer miles since November, the department said.

 

Happy Father’s Day

We just wanted to wish a happy Father’s Day to all of you dads out there. We hope you enjoy the day with your family’s (and maybe they’ll even let you watch the last nine holes of the US Open)  

A Mighty Wind

I liked the movie (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer - brilliant), but this is about one of the coolest gadgets I’ve come across in a while.

Has your cell phone died on you lately, or your iPod? Solar chargers are great, but let’s face it, there are some downsides (the need to soak up sun all day, etc.), but here’s a product that just clicks - it’s the Hymini. 

Basically it is a little mini-wind turbine that you hold in your hands.  It grabs energy from the wind and provides the recharge for gadgtery needs. Hold it out the car window,  walk around in March with it, head to the beach and keep it charged all day.

It does come with a solar panel as well, plus a built in battery, so it’ll store a charge with nothing connected to it. 

Check them out here

Green Practices Attract Good Workers

Going “green” at your office doesn’t only make sense from an ecological standpoint, but a recent study (done by Harris Interactive and Randstad) showed that over 60% of employees polled said that it is important to them that their employers are environmentally responsible.

At job fairs and on-campus recruitment drives, there has been a noticeable shift in marketing to potential employees, as companies highlight how eco-conscious they are. From reducing energy consumption, to fretting about the amount of waste their operations produce, these inner-office policies are important to today’s employees and will help in the recruitment and retention good people.

There are inumerable sources for impressive (and easy) ideas on making offices and companies greener. If you’re interested, simply start Googling for green offices and you’ll find everything you’ll need.

Don’t Forget About Grads

With graduation season upon us, we’ve been receiving orders from proud parents who’s children are leaving college and university to head out into the “real world”.

In particular, those parents of students who are graduating with a teaching designation, or will be moving on now to work in the educational sector,  are finding the AusPen markers to be a nice gift around grad time.

Green Gift For Dads

With Father’s Day closing in this Sunday, perhaps you might want to think about a great “green” gift for Pops. And may we be so bold as to suggest a set of eco-friendly AusPen markers for him. If the Dad in your family uses disposbale whiteboard markers (as a teacher, at his office, or at home) they would make a great gift.

You can order the kits online here:
http://www.ecosmartworld.com/order-auspen

AusPen and the Vancouver School District

Just a note to all teachers and administrators in the Vancouver School District, the AusPen markers are available to be ordered through Grand and Toy by any schools in the District. We have been contacting many of the schools to let them know, but I wanted to post it up here as well. 

We have been receiving great feedback from the schools and teachers in Vancouver that are currently using the markers, or are just making their first orders to introduce them into their schools.

If you have any questions, please call the office at 778-297-9915 and we’ll be glad to help.  

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