Lighting Science Group and Dixon Technologies Announce World’s First Sub-$15 Ultra-Efficient 60 Watt Equivalent LED Bulb

Company's Full Range of High-Performance LED Lighting Products will Transform the Indian and Emerging Countries’ Lighting Markets

At a press conference in India, Lighting Science Group (OTCBB: LSCG), the world’s premier maker of LED lighting solutions, and Dixon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, a world-class electronics products manufacturer in India, unveiled one of their first joint products: a high-performance, sub-$15 omnidirectional 60-watt equivalent A19 LED bulb that will be available in India by the end of the year and will be sold worldwide by Lighting Science Group early next year. Utilizing Lighting Science Group’s revolutionary technical design, the bulb is the first in a series of products being jointly manufactured and distributed by the two companies. The full line of products will include street lights, outdoor and industrial light fixtures and replacement bulbs that will set a new standard for lighting product performance, producing more light for less energy than any similar products currently available in India.The Indian market for LED lighting is expected to grow to $400 million by 2015 (53% per annum), making it one of the fastest-growing sectors of one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. According to India’s Ministry of Power, the country plans to build 80 new coal-fired power plants to keep up with rising electricity demand over the next 5 years, and the potential savings from simply changing light bulbs to the new LED technology can significantly reduce they county’s electricity demand by as much as 40%.

“With India’s peak load electricity deficit expected to increase upwards of 15% in the near-term, the adoption of energy efficient technologies will prove critical in meeting India’s infrastructure needs and demands of continued economic growth. Our partnership with Lighting Science Group will make LED technology available for large scale implementation in the Indian market and we expect to be the market’s leading seller of LED lighting within two years,” said Sunil Vachani, chairman and managing director of Dixon Technologies.

Consistent availability of good quality electricity can be a constraining factor on economic growth, and moving to LED lighting is the low lying fruit of efficiency initiatives without polluting the environment: easy to implement with rapid repayment of the investment from power savings. The newly announced Lighting Science Definity® bulb fits perfectly into existing screw-in light sockets and creates a clean, bright light level equivalent to a conventional 60-watt incandescent bulb using 85% less electricity and is designed to handle the variable quality of power in India and other emerging economies. Even compared with relatively efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the new bulb uses 35% less electricity and, unlike all fluorescent lights, contains no toxic mercury. At a retail price that is below $15, the payback from electricity savings versus traditional incandescent light bulbs is 8 months and the LED bulb has an expected life of approximately 8 years.

“With 800,000,000 incandescent light bulbs and 300,000,000 CFLs sold in India each year, the market is ripe for these highly efficient, long lasting and nontoxic products,” said Atul Lall, deputy managing director of Dixon Technologies. “The economic and environmental implications of this partnership are significant: old-style light bulbs use 60 billion units of electricity each year, 7% of India’s total, and our Lighting Science Group Definity® lamps could save over 70% of that, equivalent to 32 coal fired plants with 500MW capacity.”

With its high efficiency, long life and high quality light, LED technology is transforming the $100 billion global lighting industry. That is why the Indian government is targeting LED lighting as a sector of excellence and as a driver of the future Indian economy.

“As India undergoes an infrastructure transformation in the next few years, the country has an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world by becoming an early, large-scale adopter of LED technology,” said Jim Haworth, chairman and chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group. “Augmenting our production capabilities by utilizing Dixon Technologies’ manufacturing facilities in Noida, we’ll be able meet the expected strong demand from individuals, businesses and government in India and I expect that our LED lighting products-particularly the new 60-watt equivalent bulb-will quickly become some of the best selling lighting products in the world.”

About Dixon Technologies
Headquartered in Noida, India, Dixon is a leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider focused on delivering high quality, cost effective solutions for consumer electronics, lighting, set top boxes and home appliances for the domestic (India) and international markets. With fiscal year 2009-2010 revenues of USD $200 million (Rs.1000 Crores), Dixon provides its customers with world-class electronics products through a network of manufacturing facilities spread across India. Dixon is ISO 9000 & 14001 certified.

All of Dixon’s facilities are audited and approved by Multinational Customers, as per their global standards. This ensures that customers are able to optimize their operations by lowering their costs, providing reliable and safe products to their customers and reducing their time to market.

About Lighting Science Group
Lighting Science Group Corporation (OTCBB: LSCG) designs, develops, manufactures and markets LED lighting solutions that are environmentally friendlier and more energy efficient than traditional lighting products. Lighting Science Group offers retrofit LED lamps in form factors that match those of traditional lamps or bulbs and LED luminaires for a range of applications including public and private infrastructure for both indoor and outdoor applications. Lighting Science Group’s Advanced Projects Group business unit designs, develops and manufactures custom LED lighting solutions for architectural and artistic projects. Lighting Science Group is headquartered in Satellite Beach, Florida; the Company’s European operations are based in Middelburg, The Netherlands; the Company has a sales office in Sydney, Australia; and it has a manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico. Lighting Science Group employs approximately 600 workers building lighting products from domestic and imported parts. Lighting Science Group is a Pegasus Capital Advisors portfolio company. More information about Lighting Science Group is available here.

Forward Looking Statement. Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the performance of LSG and/or its products and/or the marketplace and/or use terminology such as “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “target,” “will,” “will be,” “will make,” and variations of such words and similar expressions. Such statements reflect the current view of LSG with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. In evaluating these statements, you should carefully review the risk factors detailed under “Risk Factors” in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

Article courtesy of Got2BeGreen

Coming Soon to Home Depot: Grape Solar

Grape. It’s a cluster of solar companies with a knack for retailers. Plus: solar varmint zappers. 

 

Grape Solar isn't the largest solar panel maker in the world, but it does seem to understand retailers.

The company -- which assembles panels in Oregon with components sourced from a wide variety of suppliers in China -- will soon begin selling its panels at Home Depot locations. A  formal announcement is due soon.

It's a notable accomplishment, as solar -- and a plethora of solar brands -- are not as prevalent at large retailers as you might think. It takes time and a certain degree of retailer tribal wisdom to earn shelf space at many of these places.

As reported in April, Grape already sells complete solar systems and panels through Costco and Amazon. While both retailers sell small solar panels and devices, Grape is the only brand available on the websites of both Costco and Amazon for complete residential solar systems. (You can also go to Costco and touch and buy the Grape systems, according to my neighbor.)

Home Depot's website currently offers a few kits featuring individual Sharp panels and offers solar leases through SolarCity, but the available selection is nothing on the scale that one might expect from the big-box behemoth.

If you happen to be shopping at the moment, Costco offers a better deal. The 5-kilowatt bundle there costs $16,999 while at Amazon it sells for $19,999. Costco's web site strongly recommends hiring a professional installer. Amazon is a little more cavalier.

"The Solar Power System comes complete with everything you need to rack-mount the 22 solar panels on your roof," says Amazon's site. "Should you decide to expand the array, connecting additional kits is easy."

Home Depot and Lowe's, needless to say, are two of the ultimate channel partners for green home companies. Getting shelf space at either store won't guarantee success, but it certainly creates an opportunity to get close to consumers. Home Depot sells LED bulbs from Cree, Philips branded under its own EcoSmart label, and recently started offering Wi-Fi smart thermostats from Radio Thermostat a few months ago.

Lowe's, meanwhile, has alliances with Westinghouse Solar and has invested in energy retrofitter Recurve and solar installer Sungevity.

And expect more from Costco too. Back in June, Ken Lowe, the founder of Vizio, told us that his company would soon come out with LED bulbs. A few years ago, Vizio was an unheralded, unknown TV manufacturer. After teaming up with Costco, sales zoomed. It is has since become the most popular TV brand in the U.S. for two years in a row. These two companies like each other quite a bit and Costco tends to have a loyal, strangely upscale, clientele. (I interviewed the CFO and CEO at Costco once about hot dogs and patio furniture. It's quite an interesting operation.)

Wal-Mart currently does not appear to offer residential solar systems on its website, but check out this 225-pound solar-powered barrel feeder with varmint zapper for $129.

in Japan, Softbank founder Masayoshi Son said his company would begin to build solar power plants earlier this year.

Besides residential systems, Grape also participates in commercial-scale solar projects.

The company used to be called Centron Solar, but founder Ocean Yuan changed it after getting a legal notice from Germany's Centro Solar. The Grape name comes from the fact that the company gets its components from a cluster of manufacturers near Shanghai. Yuan emphasizes that the company has a horizontal business model, leveraging suppliers, rather than a vertical one in which a single company produces its own wafer, cells and modules.

Grapes and the sun also have an affinity.

Philips Predicts LEDs Will Take 50 Percent Of Lighting Market By 2015

Today, Philips announced that their Philips Ambient LED 12.5 watt light bulb — which gives off as much light as incandescent 60 watt bulbs, using less energy — attained Energy Star qualifications. It’s the first LED light bulb of this type to gain approval in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsored program. Energy Star sanctioned products are usually eligible for utility rebate programs that can lower the cost of a product for consumers, while allowing a company to keep their margins strong.

According to Philips, its bulb lasts 25 times longer and uses 80 percent less energy than the 60 watt incandescent bulb it was designed to replace. A company press statement reported that in order to obtain the Energy Star label, its LED bulb had to demonstrate a minimum light output of 800 lumens, a color temperature of 2700K (for soft white light), color rendering index (CRI) of 80 and a minimum three-year warranty; it actually offers 806 lumens, 2700K, a CRI of 80 and a six-year warranty. The bulbs are currently selling at Home Depot for $39.97.

A Philips company representative told TechCrunch the bulbs are also recyclable. The lighting corporation wasn’t issuing predictions about how much the Energy Star qualification would drive sales of its Ambient 12.5 watt bulbs. More macroscopically, however, Philips predicts LEDs will take 50 percent of the residential lighting market by 2015.


Other companies are sure to follow in Philips’ footsteps, from large and medium-sized businesses like Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) and the Lighting Science Group Corporation (OTCB: LSCG) to younger startups like Bridgelux.

The Durham, N.C.-based Cree now has a demonstration 60 watt incandescent replacement LED bulb — the TrueWhite Light — that the company claims is the industry’s brightest and most efficient, and meets Energy Star performance criteria. A company spokesperson said Tuesday that Cree submitted it to an independent testing facility, with testing on track to be completed by the fall. (Energy Star doesn’t test bulbs for certification.)

Meanwhile, LSCG has an Energy Star approved line, called DEFINITY. Bulbs in this line, the company announced today, have been installed in Yankee Candle Stores throughout New England. LSCG claims these are approximately 80% more efficient than the halogen bulbs that they replace, are “dimmable,” contain no mercury, and are completely recyclable. Yankee Candle received rebates from National Grid and Western Mass Electric Company through the Mass Save program, and other electric utility companies throughout New England.

Article by Lora Kolodny, TechCrunch.com

African Huts Far From the Grid Glow With Renewable Power

Thanks to this solar panel, Sara Ruto no longer takes a three-hour taxi ride to a town with electricity to recharge her cellphone. 

KIPTUSURI, Kenya — For Sara Ruto, the desperate yearning for electricity began last year with the purchase of her first cellphone, a lifeline for receiving small money transfers, contacting relatives in the city or checking chicken prices at the nearest market.  

Charging the phone was no simple matter in this farming village far from Kenya’s electric grid.

Every week, Ms. Ruto walked two miles to hire a motorcycle taxi for the three-hour ride to Mogotio, the nearest town with electricity. There, she dropped off her cellphone at a store that recharges phones for 30 cents. Yet the service was in such demand that she had to leave it behind for three full days before returning.

That wearying routine ended in February when the family sold some animals to buy a small Chinese-made solar power system for about $80. Now balanced precariously atop their tin roof, a lone solar panel provides enough electricity to charge the phone and run four bright overhead lights with switches.

“My main motivation was the phone, but this has changed so many other things,” Ms. Ruto said on a recent evening as she relaxed on a bench in the mud-walled shack she shares with her husband and six children.

As small-scale renewable energy becomes cheaper, more reliable and more efficient, it is providing the first drops of modern power to people who live far from slow-growing electricity grids and fuel pipelines in developing countries. Although dwarfed by the big renewable energy projects that many industrialized countries are embracing to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, these tiny systems are playing an epic, transformative role.

Since Ms. Ruto hooked up the system, her teenagers’ grades have improved because they have light for studying. The toddlers no longer risk burns from the smoky kerosene lamp. And each month, she saves $15 in kerosene and battery costs — and the $20 she used to spend on travel.

In fact, neighbors now pay her 20 cents to charge their phones, although that business may soon evaporate: 63 families in Kiptusuri have recently installed their own solar power systems.

“You leapfrog over the need for fixed lines,” said Adam Kendall, head of the sub-Saharan Africa power practice for McKinsey & Company, the global consulting firm. “Renewable energy becomes more and more important in less and less developed markets.”

The United Nations estimates that 1.5 billion people across the globe still live without electricity, including 85 percent of Kenyans, and that three billion still cook and heat with primitive fuels like wood or charcoal.

There is no reliable data on the spread of off-grid renewable energy on a small scale, in part because the projects are often installed by individuals or tiny nongovernmental organizations.

But Dana Younger, senior renewable energy adviser at the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private lending arm, said there was no question that the trend was accelerating. “It’s a phenomenon that’s sweeping the world; a huge number of these systems are being installed,” Mr. Younger said.

With the advent of cheap solar panels and high-efficiency LED lights, which can light a room with just 4 watts of power instead of 60, these small solar systems now deliver useful electricity at a price that even the poor can afford, he noted. “You’re seeing herders in Inner Mongolia with solar cells on top of their yurts,” Mr. Younger said.

In Africa, nascent markets for the systems have sprung up in Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi and Ghana as well as in Kenya, said Francis Hillman, an energy entrepreneur who recently shifted his Eritrea-based business, Phaesun Asmara, from large solar projects financed by nongovernmental organizations to a greater emphasis on tiny rooftop systems.

In addition to these small solar projects, renewable energy technologies designed for the poor include simple subterranean biogas chambers that make fuel and electricity from the manure of a few cows, and “mini” hydroelectric dams that can harness the power of a local river for an entire village.

Yet while these off-grid systems have proved their worth, the lack of an effective distribution network or a reliable way of financing the start-up costs has prevented them from becoming more widespread.

“The big problem for us now is there is no business model yet,” said John Maina, executive coordinator of Sustainable Community Development Services, or Scode, a nongovernmental organization based in Nakuru, Kenya, that is devoted to bringing power to rural areas.

Just a few years ago, Mr. Maina said, “solar lights” were merely basic lanterns, dim and unreliable.

“Finally, these products exist, people are asking for them and are willing to pay,” he said. “But we can’t get supply.” He said small African organizations like his do not have the purchasing power or connections to place bulk orders themselves from distant manufacturers, forcing them to scramble for items each time a shipment happens to come into the country. 

Part of the problem is that the new systems buck the traditional mold, in which power is generated by a very small number of huge government-owned companies that gradually extend the grid into rural areas. Investors are reluctant to pour money into products that serve a dispersed market of poor rural consumers because they see the risk as too high.  

“There are many small islands of success, but they need to go to scale,” said Minoru Takada, chief of the United Nations Development Program’s sustainable energy program. “Off-grid is the answer for the poor. But people who control funding need to see this as a viable option.”

Even United Nations programs and United States government funds that promote climate-friendly energy in developing countries hew to large projects like giant wind farms or industrial-scale solar plants that feed into the grid. A $300 million solar project is much easier to finance and monitor than 10 million home-scale solar systems in mud huts spread across a continent.

As a result, money does not flow to the poorest areas. Of the $162 billion invested in renewable energy last year, according to the United Nations, experts estimate that $44 billion was spent in China, India and Brazil collectively, and $7.5 billion in the many poorer countries.

Only 6 to 7 percent of solar panels are manufactured to produce electricity that does not feed into the grid; that includes systems like Ms. Ruto’s and solar panels that light American parking lots and football stadiums.

Still, some new models are emerging. Husk Power Systems, a young company supported by a mix of private investment and nonprofit funds, has built 60 village power plants in rural India that make electricity from rice husks for 250 hamlets since 2007.

In Nepal and Indonesia, the United Nations Development Program has helped finance the construction of very small hydroelectric plants that have brought electricity to remote mountain communities. Morocco provides subsidized solar home systems at a cost of $100 each to remote rural areas where expanding the national grid is not cost-effective.

What has most surprised some experts in the field is the recent emergence of a true market in Africa for home-scale renewable energy and for appliances that consume less energy. As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families have proved ever more willing to buy it by selling a goat or borrowing money from a relative overseas, for example.

The explosion of cellphone use in rural Africa has been an enormous motivating factor. Because rural regions of many African countries lack banks, the cellphone has been embraced as a tool for commercial transactions as well as personal communications, adding an incentive to electrify for the sake of recharging.

M-Pesa, Kenya’s largest mobile phone money transfer service, handles an annual cash flow equivalent to more than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, most in tiny transactions that rarely exceed $20.

The cheap renewable energy systems also allow the rural poor to save money on candles, charcoal, batteries, wood and kerosene. “So there is an ability to pay and a willingness to pay,” said Mr. Younger of the International Finance Corporation.

In another Kenyan village, Lochorai, Alice Wangui, 45, and Agnes Mwaforo, 35, formerly subsistence farmers, now operate a booming business selling and installing energy-efficient wood-burning cooking stoves made of clay and metal for a cost of $5. Wearing matching bright orange tops and skirts, they walk down rutted dirt paths with cellphones ever at their ears, edging past goats and dogs to visit customers and to calm those on the waiting list.

Hunched over her new stove as she stirred a stew of potatoes and beans, Naomi Muriuki, 58, volunteered that the appliance had more than halved her use of firewood. Wood has become harder to find and expensive to buy as the government tries to limit deforestation, she added.

In Tumsifu, a slightly more prosperous village of dairy farmers, Virginia Wairimu, 35, is benefiting from an underground tank in which the manure from her three cows is converted to biogas, which is then pumped through a rubber tube to a gas burner.

“I can just get up and make breakfast," Ms. Wairimu said. The system was financed with a $400 loan from a demonstration project that has since expired.

In Kiptusuri, the Firefly LED system purchased by Ms. Ruto is this year’s must-have item. The smallest one, which costs $12, consists of a solar panel that can be placed in a window or on a roof and is connected to a desk lamp and a phone charger. Slightly larger units can run radios and black-and-white television sets.

Of course, such systems cannot compare with a grid connection in the industrialized world. A week of rain can mean no lights. And items like refrigerators need more, and more consistent, power than a panel provides.

Still, in Kenya, even grid-based electricity is intermittent and expensive: families must pay more than $350 just to have their homes hooked up.

“With this system, you get a real light for what you spend on kerosene in a few months,” said Mr. Maina, of Sustainable Community Development Services. “When you can light your home and charge your phone, that is very valuable.” 

Article by Elisabeth Rosenthal, NYTimes.com

5 Easy Green Holiday Ideas

1 - Eco-Friendly Holiday Decorating

For holiday lighting, go with LED lights. LEDs are more efficient than standard lights (up to hundred times!), more durable, and much safer and cooler. Operating ten strings of mini-LED lights (as compared to ten strings of wasteful incandescent mini-lights) saves more than $12 in one month. Unplug or use a timer to turn off holiday lights during the day.

Don't let traditional petroleum-based candles ruin your indoor air quality. Use a Tub-O-Carbon to naturally capture (rather than just cover) odors, and use soy-based candles to fill your home with an earth-friendly scent.

Decorate naturally. Head out to your yard and find tree branches, bush stems loaded with berries, flowers whose seed heads have dried on the stem and flowering grasses to fill tall vases or baskets. It's more sustainable than buying a plant or flower that may be flown in from South America. You can also create a natural tablescape with natural elements or fresh fruit like pomegranates, pears, and apples.

For those with a Christmas tree, try an organic potted tree from your local nursery that can be replanted after the holidays. A single tree can absorb more than one ton of CO2 over its lifetime, so imagine the impact if we all replanted our trees! A few companies in the U.S. allow you to rent a Christmas tree. They'll pick it up and replant it after the holidays are over. If you have a cut tree, be sure to look into local recycling options. Many municipalities and some organizations collect the trees to use for mulch and erosion control. This is much better than having your tree end up in a sealed landfill.

For years, many considered the purchase of an artificial tree to be the environmentally friendly choice. However, most artificial trees are made from mainly non-renewable plastics, often containing PVC. They are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable.

Make recycled holiday ornaments from natural materials in the yard or material you find around the house. Not the crafty type? Many stores now offer ornaments made of recycled materials for sale. Another simple option is to string popcorn and cranberries or use hardened gingerbread cookies.

2 - Green Gifting

Buying online will help to reduce your holiday shopping carbon footprint. When you do want to brave the store crowds, do research online beforehand so that you know which stores carry what you're looking for - you'll be able to reduce your driving between stores searching for those perfect gifts, which will save you on gas and on stress.

Consider e-cards rather than traditional greeting cards to reduce holiday paper use. When paper cards are more appropriate, make sure to use cards with recycled content. Also don't forget to recycle any paper cards you receive.

The average American's trash output goes up 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Reduce the number of bags thrown out by bringing reusable bags for holiday gift shopping.

Consider gifts that help the recipient implement their New Year's Resolution to live a more sustainable life. Gifts that accomplish that AND save the recipient money are especially thoughtful.

Consider gifts like concert tickets and gift certificates to reduce packaging waste and the need for wrapping material. Charitable donations in the recipients' name make great gifts.

Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Cheaper, less durable items often wear out quickly. Check product labels to determine an item's recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials (buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available). Avoid any gifts that may contain toxic ingredients like lead or that off-gas Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

About 40 percent of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Buy a rechargeable battery kit to accompany your electronic gifts this year.

Every home really must have a Carbon Monoxide Detector, and surprisingly many people (wrongly) assume they are covered with just a smoke detector. Bring a Carbon Monoxide Detector if you are staying at someone's home for the holidays. It makes a thoughtful gift you can plug in by any combustion appliance (like a gas hot water heater). If they already have one, plug an additional one into an outlet in the bedroom your family is sleeping in.

3 - Reducing Gift Wrapping

When newspaper comics aren't quite the look you're going for in wrapping presents, consider reusing any gift bags that you received last year. Also, try saving wrapping paper for use next year. When buying gift wrap, make sure to find recycled paper content.

Don't burn that leftover wrapping paper in the fireplace. The inks and foils used in wrapping paper may contain chemicals that become toxic when burned. If you can't reuse the paper, don't burn it: recycle it.

For a quick gift tag, reuse last year's holiday cards. Cut off the side that has the signature, thread a ribbon through a corner of the remaining card, and voila!

4 - Eco-Feasting

If you're cooking for the holidays, go local with your food shopping to reduce your carbon footprint. See how much of your meal you can find at your local farmers' markets. For supermarket purchases, try to choose items with minimal packaging to reduce waste. As always, bring reusable bags to reduce waste from disposable shopping bags. If you're bringing your food to someone else's house, pack your dish in a reusable container.

Go organic with your ingredients. Don't forget to go organic with beverages as well; look for organic and local wines, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks. Fair-trade chocolate, tea, and coffee will also add some green to your holiday table.

Serving turkey? Choose a heritage bird. Prized for their flavor, heritage turkeys may cost more than conventional birds, but they are raised naturally rather than in an industrial setting. Purchasing a pastured local bird or an organic bird from your supermarket are also other possibilities to consider when looking for the best holiday turkey for your family.

Recycle and compost while preparing food. Keep a bin handy for glass, plastic and paper trash you can recycle rather than toss. Add vegetable scraps from cooking and dinner to your compost.

Adjust the thermostat down a couple of degrees during holiday gatherings in cooler climates. The heat from cooking and from your guests will keep your home warm.

Disposable plastic ware is energy intensive to produce and can take thousands of years to degrade in a landfill. Providing cloth napkins and reusable tableware is the best option, but can make for a lot of cleanup work. When reuse isn't an option, go green at your holiday parties by using biodegradable tableware.

If you're traveling to enjoy dinner at someone else's house, carpool with family, friends, or neighbors. If you need to fly for the holidays, consider purchasing carbon offsets to keep your travel carbon neutral.

Use all the food you make. Send guests home with leftovers in glass or stainless steel rather than wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil. Freeze leftovers in easily re-heatable portions.

5 - Get Crafty With The Kids

Have the kids cut up old holiday cards to create collages to decorate your fridge, picture frames, or anywhere else in your house.

For a unique holiday craft project, make a simple decorative dough clay with the following recipe: mix 2 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of salt, 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and 1 cup of water together. Use your creativity to shape the resulting dough into unique holiday decorations (just don't mold your dough too thin or too thick, so it doesn't crack or stay uncooked after baking). Glaze your shapes with a beaten egg yolk. Bake the clay for 45 minutes in a medium oven, and then color your decorations with eco-friendly paint.

Create a holiday wreath with evergreen clippings from the yard. Add cranberries strings and LED mini-bulb strips for some color and light.

Make your own votive by recycling a tin can. Remove the label from an empty can and freeze water in it overnight. The next day, sketch a design on the outside in marker and then carefully use a hammer and nail to tap the holes that create the design (the ice will prevent the can from denting). Once the ice melts, add a soy or beeswax candle to create an interesting homemade votive.

Article courtesy of GreenIrene.com