Flowers for Mom this coming Mother's Day

Mother's Day is around the corner. If you're thinking of sending her a bouquet of flowers, check out Organic Bouquet.com.

DTV transition - what happens to the analog sets?

The folks over at EcoSalon posted an interesting article about the upcoming digital television transition "The Revolution Will Be Televised (But Will the Television Be Recycled?)".

Sure, there's the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, so people can replace their old tv sets, but what happens to the old tv after it gets replaced by the new ones? Out with old, in with the new...but where will the old go?

Thanks to EcoSalon for raising this question. Check them out for more tips on how to mix style and sustainability.

Laundry list

Laundry tips from Seventh Generation:

Use the cold water wash option whenever possible, and you’ll save 85% of the money and energy consumed by a hot water load.

Air dry your clothes on a line in your yard or on a rack set up in the bathtub or basement. Air drying saves energy and is free! Most electric dryers cost over $75 a year to operate, and gas dryers are only a little less expensive.

Consider a front-loading washer. Front loaders are gentler on clothes and use up to 36% less water and 60% less energy than top loaders.

Use laundry detergents made from natural, biodegradable ingredients. Conventional detergents contain polluting surfactants like alkylphenol ethoxylates, or APEs. Natural laundry products use safe, biodegradable ingredients such as vegetable oils.

Check labels and avoid gimmicks like optical brighteners. Brighteners coat clothes with an unhealthy chemical that reflects light to trick the eye and make whites appear whiter.

Never use chlorine bleach. It’s harsh on clothing, and can combine with organic matter in wash water to form toxic by-products. Instead, use a hydrogen peroxide-based bleach. These are far gentler on fabrics and much better for the environment.

When you do use your dryer,

Do fewer loads. Use towels and wear sweaters more than once before washing.

Check out Project Laundry List for more information.

How to get U.K. drivers to go green

This interesting article on Insurance Daily talks about a recent survey on Tescocompare.com which yielded the following results:

• At present 2 million people claim to drive an environmentally friendly car.
  
  
• 8% of the over 55s driving green cars compared to half that figure for under 34s.
  
  
• Wales and the south west are the greenest motoring areas in the UK, with 12% driving the greenest cars.
  
  
• In London only 4% of drivers have the most environmentally friendly vehicles.
  
  
• Just one twentieth of British drivers are unconcerned by the environment, with 6% stating they would never buy a green car.

Interestingly, higher fuel prices and taxes don't prompt people to go green in their vehicle choices; it's incentives and lower green vehicles prices that will convince them.

What would it take for you to start driving a green car?

China gears up for green cars

China may not have the best track record when it comes to the environment, but it does look like they're trying. The Beijing motor show is showcasing plenty of eco-friendly vehicle options. While consumers are not yet financially prepared to shell out money for these green cars, the options are at least there already, with Toyota and BMW interested in rolling in their electric hybrids, and even Chinese manufacturers are getting in on the act by promoting their own green car offerings.

Black cars turning green

In New York City, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has approved a proposal to make black livery cabs more eco-friendly.

The regulation will be enforced in two stages. Starting Jan. 1, 2009, all "black car" taxis entering service will be required to achieve a city mileage rating of at least 25 miles per gallon. One year later, all new black cars will be required to demonstrate a fuel efficiency of at least 30 mpg.

Taxis may be some of a city's worst polluters, but while there are plenty of other transportation options available, cabs really don't look like they're going away any time soon. Setting fuel efficiency as a requirement for cabs is still an encouraging start.

Ever heard of green collar jobs?

You've definitely heard of white collar and blue collar jobs. But now, the Green Collar Economy is posting green collar jobs in its site. What are green collar jobs anyway? Simply put, these are jobs that can help the environment. BusinessWeek even wrote about green collar jobs in their article "Switching To Green-Collar Jobs". Check these sites out if you're looking for a job and want to practice your green principles. You'll find more information in the Green Collar Economy site on how to make your business more profitable and green.

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

Here's a driving tip from Better World Club:

Driving into the wind can really lower your fuel efficiency. Thus, you should always drive with the wind. Always. But what if you're running late for Easter brunch at your Aunt Karen's house and you have to drive into the wind to get there? Don’t go. Seriously. Drive with the wind at your back and have brunch at a nearby diner instead. Let's be honest, your aunt’s not that fun anyway.

- If you're driving with a crosswind, and you have your windows rolled down, make sure you only lower the windows on the side of the car opposite the direction from which the crosswind is blowing. This will decrease aerodynamic drag and improve your mileage.

PrintingforLess gets FSC-certified!

I usually receive e-newsletters from PrintingforLess.com, but the most recent newsletter made me think it's GU-worthy. PrintingforLess.com got certified by The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for responsible forest management.

"With this certification, PFL guarantees customers that products printed on house stock-papers are a result of well-managed forests adhering to strict environmental standards."

For the entire article, you can read it here. Kudos PrintingforLess!

Store your wine using STORViNO

To all wine lovers out there:
Here's an innovation you should check out.

STORViNO is good for both transporting and storing your wine bottles. It's modular, stackable and expandable. This space-saving storage system is also easy to assemble and easy to carry.





But why is it posted here in Green Unlimited?

How the wine storage modules are produced is pure recycling at its best. The modules come from old, damaged and unusable plastic grocery carts, garbage cans, produce bins, beverage and bread trays, and milk crates that gets ground up into small pellets, melted and undergoes "injection molding".



Now you can enjoy your favorite wine and be green too! (These are pictures of STORViNO Nero.)

Green Unlimited is on hiatus due to family emergency

Thank you for dropping by our blog.

A fire hit our family's home on April 8, 2008. Due to this unfortunate incident, we've put Green Unlimited on hiatus.

Mr. Furious (not really)

From Good Clean Tech: Erik Rhey's list of eco- Don'ts:

Print everything under the sun. You want to print out a recipe or article and automatically hit the Print button. Then you go to the printer and discover that you needed only 1 page of the 4 that printed. Restrain yourself from automatically printing stuff from the Web. What typically happens is that you print it out and put it in a folder to languish until you do your spring file cleaning and just throw it out anyway. Most of the time you didn't need a printed copy to begin with. And if you do need to print, preview it first and print only the pages you need.

Throw out your iPod or cell phone the minute a new one comes out. People are most wasteful with these two categories of device. Unless your phone or MP3 player is completely broken, don't throw it out. You will not be shunned by society if your device is a generation or two behind. If your identity is that tied to your gadgets, you need to go sit down on a park bench and take serious inventory of yourself.

For more eco-friendly technology coverage, go to PCMag.com's Green Tech page!

Buy your kids cheap electronic crap. Think twice before getting your kids everything that blips, beeps, zips around the living room via remote control, or plays games. Imagine yourself taking it home from the store, unpackaging it, putting it on the floor, and stomping it to pieces--because that's how it will end up very soon. You are teaching your small kids to be ignorant overconsumers who pay no attention to quality. Buy cheap and buy often is the lesson you are imparting. Not to mention the plastic, packaging, and batteries that end up in landfill.

Leave your computer on day and night. I've heard the arguments. People hate the lag time every morning waiting for their PCs to start up. Don't just sit there and watch the Windows status bar go back and forth, go make some coffee or do some sit-ups or something. Yes, time is precious. But how much TV do you watch per day? If you're the average American, about 4 hours. Are you really telling me you can't shave 2 minutes off your TV watching or pointless Web surfing regimen to save a few kilowatt hours?

Throw away or recycle perfectly usable devices. Recycling is good, but if the device still works, donate it. Do you throw away good food? Furniture in good condition? There may not be starving kids in China that will die if you don't eat your peas, but there are plenty of kids in underfunded schools who could use your Pentium II system, and women in domestic abuse shelters who depend on donated cellphones.

Spring cleaning

Looking for ways to rid your body of toxins? Ideal bite suggests these vegan formula products.

• Traditional Medicinals EveryDay Detox Tea - contains antioxidant-rich organic green tea and lyceum fruit. Tastes like ginger and licorice, if you're into that ($6).
• Christopher's Liver Transition Formula - contains medicinal herbs like milk thistle. Also: extensive line of detox herb combos in veggie capsules ($20).
• Now Detox Support - veggie capsule with dandelion, red clover, and other time-tested pro-detox extracts ($14).
• HerbMed and MedlinePlus - search here for objective info about herbs and their bodily benefits.
• DIY Bite: Rigorous exercise, massage, and saunas are pill-less ways to clean out your system; as a replacement for coffee, try caffeinated green tea. A few on the team also felt rejuved after the more intensive Master Cleanse - lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and Grade-B maple syrup.

Washup!?

Here's an amazing concept from the Greener Gadgets competition. Washup was conceived by Sevin Coskun from Turkey. A washing machine is affixed on top of a toilet bowl, so the water used for washing clothes could then be used to flush the toilet. Smart way to reuse water. Now if I could only come up with some way to reuse water that has been used to wash rice before cooking!

Old credit cards

My one and only credit card just expired last month and it's time to get rid of the card. It just occurred to me that I don't know of an eco-friendly and secure way to dispose of credit cards. I'd love to hear any recommendations from all of you!

These boots were made for walkin'

Carbon emissions by transportation type from Sightline Institute

Meat Guzzlers

Here's a New York Times article that will make you think about going vegetarian even more.

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

As April showers begin, some ideas for eco-raingear from Ideal bite:

Nau Succinct Trench - rainproof, lightweight, recycled-plastic men's trench coat; with hood, in two colors ($198).

Patagonia Eco Rain Shell Jacket - hip-length women's waterproof coat made from recycled polyester; moisture-wicking, in three colors ($190).

Timberland Earthkeepers Boots - waterproof boots made from eco-materials such as organic cotton. Also: a women's version ($154-$170).

Hunter Wellington Boots - the original wellies are still made using natural latex rubber ($98).

Monsoon Group Umbrella - colorful umbrellas made from detergent containers and toothpaste tubes ($65)