In general, amusement parks aren’t the eco-friendliest place to hang out. The thrilling rides are powered by electricity and plenty of trash piles up from all the fast food concessions. But in honor of Six Flags Great Adventure’s 35th anniversary this year, the park got a makeover, including one green update. The New Jersey amusement park’s The Big Wheel, which has been in place since day one in 1974, is now more eco-friendly.

The 15-story tall ride didn’t get any greener as far as what makes it go round, but it’s still saving power. At night, The Big Wheel features animated lights and 7,824 energy-saving LED light bulbs were installed. The now eco-friendly show will display flower petals, chasing rim lights and more. With the greener bulbs in place, Six Flags Great Adventure claims it will reduce about 8.5 million pounds of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, which is equal to taking over 72 cars off the road or planting more than 2,850 trees. We do wonder what happened to all those incandescent bulbs that got replaced though. Click here to read more

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After Earth Hour, it is high time to start thinking of a greener way to put light in you life! With the economic crisis it is also high time to save money. You might think going green is a necessity to protect the earth, but that it is expensive. Think again. Reducing electricity costs while protecting the environment is easy. A LED (light-emitting diode) light bulb which uses half the energy of a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), contains no hazardous mercury or lead and lasts for up to ten years of daily use is exactly what you need.

The newbie we recommend is the new GeoBulb recently introduced by C.Crane. The Geobulb will soon be available on Greenzer, but in the meantime you can find it here. It uses only 7.5 Watts of power to produce as much light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. No mercury or lead, the GeoBulb uses only about 10% of the power of incandescent bulbs and about half of a comparable CFL. It generates very little heat and is an eco-responsible way to light up your life. The GeoBulb costs Click here to read more

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Daily Greenz #60

If you still haven’t gone out to get your tree this year, remember that buying a Christmas tree can be life-giving. Come again? When you buy a tree (potted or otherwise) from a local, organic tree farm, the farm will essentially replace the tree by planting several seedlings in its place, which will oxygenate the air as they mature in 5-7 years. If you prefer the potted version, these perennials should be kept outside until right before the festivities, which will ensure their longevity and freshness. The New Leaf greenhouse in New York City sells them all week long, putting all its profits back into supporting its programs of teaching workplace skills to former addicts. Check out arguscommunity.org for more information. In other cities, you can locate your local farmers’ markets or organic tree farms at localharvest.org.

After you’ve picked out the perfect tree,  make sure you deck it out the eco-friendly way. Use LED lights since they only use a fraction of the energy of regular lights. Forever Bright offers some festive options, with bulbs shaped like snowflakes and strawberries, which go for $14.95 at christmas-treasures.com. As for ornaments, consider making your own out of origami and ribbons, or opt to buy Fair
Trade Federation (FTF)-certified decorations from Tara Projects in India. Their gold star ornament sells for $8 at tenthousandvillages.com .

Once the holidays are over, make sure you recycle your tree! Christmas trees are essential in providing the necessary wood chips to protect and improve park landscapes, and prevent erosion at local watersheds. To find the nearest service that will put your tree to good use, go to earth911.org.

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