Do You Know Where Your Trash Ends Up?

What we throw away doesn’t just end up in landfills. A lot of trash ends up being swept up into the ocean, and into massive floating colonies of junk. The largest of these collections, the Plastic Vortex located between Hawaii and mainland United States, is estimated to measure twice the size of Texas and weight over 100 million tons. Animals end up eating the garbage, which is great at soaking up pollutants, transmitting toxins up the food chain that can eventually work their way into humans.

Never heard of this toxic floating dump? Neither have most people. Douglas Woodring, an ocean conservationist based out of Hong Kong, is on a mission to change that. With the help of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Douglas has just started an expedition, called Project Kaisei, to the Plastic Vortex in order to document and research the formation.

How can you help fight the Plastic Vortex? One of the best ways is to become more eco-friendly by reducing, recycling and reusing. You can also pitch in by following Project Kaisei on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ProjectKaisei) and spreading the word.

Comcast First to Launch HBO On Demand® HD

Comcast announced last week that it is now the first cable provider to offer the full HBO On Demand service in HD. The company says that its original programming, as well as its movie collection, content which has not been offered in HD On Demand before by any provider, is now available to Comcast On Demand customers who subscribe to HBO.  

HBO programming currently available includes original series as True Blood®, Entourage®, The Sopranos® and The Wire® as well as popular movies like The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia!, American Gangster and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix..

Comcast says this initiative with HBO and all of the choices available On Demand are part of Project Infinity, the company’s commitment to innovation and the delivery of exponentially more quality content on TV, including more HD. Currently, Comcast’s On Demand library offers more than 10,000 entertainment programs each month.

If you are not a current subscriber and want access to this new content, find Comcast plans and pricing available in your area. 

Intel, Pepsi and Whole Foods Top EPA List of Green Power Purchasers

In the most recent release of Top Partner Rankings by the Environmental Protection Agency, Intel Corporation, PepsiCo and Whole Foods Market were named the top three green power purchasers. 

These three companies and the rest of the Top 50 are recognized as the best at helping reduce the environmental impacts of electricity use and supporting the development of new renewable generation capacity nationwide. Purchase amounts reflect U.S. operations only and are sourced from U.S.-based green power resources. Organizations can meet EPA purchase requirements using any combination of three different product options (1) Renewable Energy Certificates, (2) On-site generation, and (3) Utility green power products.

Combined, the top 50 largest purchases amount to nearly 12.3 billion kilowatt-hours annually, which represents more than 70 percent of the green power commitments made by all EPA Green Power Partners.

The Houston, Texas was the top city the list at 6, followed by Dallas, Texas and Chicago, Illinois at number 12 and 16 respectively. 

For more information, check out the EPA's Top Partner Rankings, which includes the Top 50 overall, as well as the Top 20 Colleges & Universities, Fortune 500 rankings,  and state and local government rankings.

Mobile Internet Use Increases Sharply in 2009

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project found that 56% of adult Americans have accessed the Internet by wireless means (laptop, mobile device, game console, MP3 player, etc). The most prevalent way people get online using a wireless network is with a laptop computer, with 39% of adults having done so.

The report also found rising levels of Americans using the Internet on a mobile handset. One-third of Americans (32%) have used a cell phone or Smartphone to access the Internet for e-mailing, instant-messaging, or information-seeking. This level of mobile Internet is up by one-third since December 2007, when 24% of Americans had ever used the Internet on a mobile device. On the typical day, nearly one-fifth (19%) of Americans use the Internet on a mobile device, up substantially from the 11% level recorded in December 2007. That’s a growth of 73% in the 16 months between surveys!

The report also found a growth in a broader measure of mobile engagement, as more Americans in 2009 were turning to their handheld for non-voice data activities. The activities probed were: sending or receiving text messages, taking a picture, playing a game, checking e-mail, accessing the Internet, recording video, instant messaging, playing music, getting maps or directions, or watching video.

For more on the findings, check out Mobile Internet use increases sharply in 2009 as more than half of all Americans have gotten online by some wireless means.

25 Great Restaurant Deals

The current state of the economy has people trying to save money left and right. Cutting costs during a recession is always a smart move, and businesses aren't immune from the effects, either. In fact, many businesses are offering extra incentives for consumers looking to save a buck.

It seems that restaurants in particular are trying to lure the hungry masses into their doors through great savings and specials. I came across a cool list over on WalletPop that showcases 25 of the Best Restaurant Deals that you can get for your money right now. Some of the specials are an absolute steal, including a few courses at Chili's for two for under $20.

If you're looking for some ways to eat out without having to search the couch cushions for spare change, I'd highly recommend visiting WalletPop to read more.

Converter Box Coupon Program comes to an End

The government funded convert box coupon program designed to help consumers with the analog-to-digital switch is coming to an end on Friday, July 31, 2009. If you're still one of the 1.5 million households without TV reception, you still have a couple days to sign up for a converter box coupon.

To read more about how to get your coupon visit dtv.gov.

10 Easy Sun Projects You can do at Home

I'm not always the craftiest of people, but occasionally I like to try my hand at easy do-it-yourself projects at home. They don't always work out so great, but hey, what can you do?

However, I recently came across a post over on Lifehacker that demonstrated 10 DIY Projects that Harnass the Power of the Sun. For any of you sun nuts, there's a lot of great material here that you can easily spend a weekend knocking out. The projects range from using a magnifying glass to engrave cool shapes into wood to charging your iPhone with solar power. There's even a way to convert a lawnmower to solar energy and extend Wi-Fi to your backyard.

Who knew you could do so much with the sun's energy at home? I highly recommend checking out the cool list of do-it-yourself projects. To read more, visit Lifehacker.

Summer Freebies

Free stuff for summer! I just want to shout that from the rooftops today.

So a friend of mine sends me a link this morning to a site that tells you where you can get all kinds of free items. This is great news. You can get free chocolate from Mars, free business cards, free lunch and so much more.

In this economy when saving money is key to survival summer freebies are a welcome budget saver. Check out the article 11 Fantastic Freebies.

Get a Green Computer

If you're in the market for a new computer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star can help you choose an energy efficient computer. That's right, you can have it all—get all the bells and whistles you want on your computer and be environmentally friendly.

Read more about how the computer are rated at HowStuffWorks.

Go to the Moon with Google Today

Forty years ago today, two guys got out of a spacecraft and then walked on the surface of the moon. The landing of Apollo 11 was a historic moment in our history.It is still quite incredible even today, though we've progressed in both years and technology.

So how is Google celebrating this occasion? By adding the Moon in Google Earth, of course. If you want to learn more about each of the Apollo missions, as well as browse over the moon's surface, Google Earth has expanded today with lots of information and added usability. There are videos, 3D images of the different craft that have flown to the moon, and general information that anybody can get into.

This is definitely a fun and interesting way to find out more about each of the lunar missions, and you can browse the information by landing sites. Anyone that's played with Google Earth knows how engrossing it can be and this only adds to it. Simply download the Google Earth application, and start clicking through to learn more.