Reuse a...medicine container

Ever wondered what you should do with these orange tubes of medicine once you no longer need to get any refills? My sister decided to use one of these to carry her coins, a very simple and practical idea. You can also use these tubes to holds other small items like safety pins, buttons, and paper clips. You can line them up on your desk or at home just as they are, although that could make you look as though you're overly dependent on medication. Try peeling off the labels instead or covering them up with strips of paper from old magazines or newspapers.

To my garden-loving neighbors:

Allow me to express my disappointment at the blatant and constant waste of water. I acknowledge that you are taking care of your gardens because having gardens are pretty and all that. Imagine having such beauty in your very own backyard!

But to enjoy green, remember that you can also be green. How, you may ask? Three simple tips can go a long way.

Water your garden and lawn as needed.
Then, water it like you mean it. Let the water reach the roots.
Don't forget, water in the morning. There's less chance for speedy evaporation.

Now, go out there and enjoy your garden without wasting water.

Cheers!

Recycling CFLs

Need help disposing of compact fluorescent light bulbs? Improper disposal could be hazardous due to its mercury content. Now, Home Depot will accept any maker's bulbs for recycling. Wal-Mart has accepted the bulbs at special take-back events in certain areas but is working on a nationwide program.

Geo Wash® - A greener car wash in New York City

By the end of next month, car owners in New York City can try Geo Wash®, the eco-friendly car wash. Why eco-friendly? Take a look at the washing cart used to handwash each car.

(Photo taken from the Geo Wash website. For more information on the washing cart, go here.)

According to their Environment page:

"Geo Wash® is committed to the protection of the environment. We developed the most efficient car wash technology to offer premium services minimizing the use of water and energy.

"Eco-Friendly Car Wash.

"While traditional car wash systems use more than 200 litres of water and power consuming devices, we just need less than 5 litres of water per service and we use 100% bio-degradable cleaning formulas."

If you own a car in New York City, drop by Geo Wash.

Questions

1. Which saves more water? Hand-washing dishes or running the dishwasher?
2. Are plastic take-out food containers recyclable?
3. Does it take more power to keep a cellphone on or to keep turning it on and off?
4. Are there healthier, more eco-friendly ways to cover your food than Saran wrap, and to re-heat them?

Kenya’s KWS builds eco-lodges to boost domestic tourism

In Nairobi, attempts are being made to encourage domestic tourists to visit national parks and reserves by building eco-lodges. It seems like Kenyans are reluctant to travel due to high accommodation costs. KWS, the agency that manages most of Kenya's parks and reserves, aims to make the lodgings affordable and green, with the hope that locals will come and visit. For more information, read the article "KWS builds eco-lodges to woo locals".

Summer at the North Pole

We all know the North Pole to be one of the coldest places on Earth, hence turning it into Santa's address of choice. It's a winter wonderland, with snow-covered landscapes year-round, right?

Not anymore, it seems. The ice in the North Pole will reportedly be melting this summer, something that scientists didn't foresee happening until the year 2100.

Seasoned polar scientists believe the chances of a totally ice-free North Pole this summer are greater than 50:50 because the normally thick ice formed over many years at the Pole has been blown away and replaced by huge swathes of thinner ice formed over a single year.

Is that depressing or what? Can't you just imagine the world's water levels rising like crazy? As if we're all not dealing with enough floods in various locations around the world. Who says global warming isn't real?

By George!

The busiest bridge in the world, the George Washington Bridge in New York/New Jersey is getting an eco-friendly make-over. Its cables' mercury vapor lights are being replaced with LEDs (light-emitting diodes). LEDs last for 12 years, compared with the mercury vapor bulbs which have to be replaced every year.

Desperately seeking a greener way to dry your hair

I confess to needing a hair dryer everyday, which makes me feel guilty knowing all the energy hair dryers use, especially the really powerful ones. The other day, it occurred to me to look for a more eco-friendly way to dry your hair. There's the option of simply air drying, of course, but it's not the best way if you're in a rush or if you have some event to go to. I found a couple of hair dryers that promise eco-friendliness though.

Barbar Ceramic Eco 8000 has a
"ceramic heating element" that "negates radiation." I'm not exactly sure what it means to negate radiation, but I do know that the product makes hair drying even faster, ensuring that you get to use even less energy. It costs $150, pricier than the average hair dryer, but it sounds like a worthwhile investment if it does a great job of drying hair AND conserving energy.





Hot Tools Professional Ionic Hair Dryer is yet another hair dryer that can dry hair in less than half the usual time. It used to go for $90, but is now selling for $65.

If you know of any other eco-friendly hair dryers available, I'd love to know about it--I could use some help!

Closed doors

Walking around New York City at night, you notice all the lights on inside empty buildings, which Lynn posted about earlier. During the day, you notice the open doors in business establishments with airconditioning units blasting inside. And then everyone complains about the power usage, or we actually get power outages due to the high energy demand. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg actually opposed legislative efforts to fine these offenders. Wattup Your Honor?

Greenbook

Facebook has this curious application called Greenbook, which is meant to help Facebook users reduce their C02 emissions if they add it to their profiles. Greenbook generates funds from advertisements and sponsorships and purchases renewable energy certificates from 3Degrees. It's a pretty interesting tool, and the best part is it allows everyone to easily take part in reducing carbon emissions.

Summer Streets of NY

A car-free Manhattan? The dream will become a reality this August, at least for a little while. The New York Times reported that a car-free zone will be created on three Saturdays in August, along a 6.9-mile stretch of streets through Manhattan, from the Brooklyn Bridge, north to Park Avenue and the Upper East Side. Cars, trucks and buses will be banned on the streets along the route from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 9, 16 and 23.



The plan has been implemented in other major cities like Bogota, Paris and London. Mayor Bloomberg's initiative got its typical New Yorker mixed reaction.



I give Mayor Bloomberg an A for effort.

California creates an eco-car label system

Congratulations to California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board for coming up with a car labeling scheme based on a vehicle emissions scoring system. Though a simple ranking system seems to simplistic, any effort to make it easier for consumers to choose and be green is commendable. For more information, check out "New-car label makes it easier to choose clean, efficient transportation". Photo below was taken from the press release.

Young travelers are greener than ever

You know how older folks love talking about how young people are frivolous, irresponsible, and happy-go-lucky, but they're about to be proven wrong. One of the ways that younger people are showing concern and awareness for the world's issues is by choosing to travel in a more eco-friendly manner. Australia's travelers are especially concerned about their social and environmental impact on their destination, offsetting their trips, and enjoying authentic cultural experiences. Definitely a better way to take a holiday than just staying in one's hotel room and coming out to take pictures of the same old tourist spots.

Primo Water – A Sip of Perfection

Primo Water looks like any good ol' bottled water out there in the market.

Until you read the label. And check out their website.

The label says "American Grown Bottle". Of course, it's not the bottle per se that's American-grown, but the corn from which the bottle is made from. I've never heard of a plastic water bottle made from corn. Unusual. It piqued my curiosity.

The label also says "Made from corn, not crude oil". Ok, I like corn. I don't like crude oil. Not when it comes to containing something I drink, anyway. Point in favor of Primo Water. What's more, corn is a renewable resource; crude oil isn't. Another point for Primo Water.

Hopping on to Primo Water website, I discovered that the bottle is made from Ingeo™ natural plastic. What is that, you may ask. According to their FAQs:

"What is Ingeo?
"Ingeo™ is the brand name for the performance plastic derived from plants and marketed by NatureWorks LLC. It is clear and strong like petroleum-based plastic, providing great consumer appeal and environmental benefits for products such as Primo water."

Just for the eco-friendly bottle alone, Primo Water is the clear choice for bottled water in the market today. But they also made sure that the water tastes great.

Well done, Primo Water Corporation of Winston-Salem, NC.

Citysol 2008

The New York Times called it "Live Earth without the hype": Solar One presents this year's Citysol beginning Thursday, June 26 to 29 in New York City. Held since 2005, it is an art, music and advocacy festival meant to inform New Yorkers about sustainability. It's free and will be held at the Solar One facility at 23rd st. by the East River, Manhattan's first green arts, education and energy center.

Hope Lodge

Aside from providing cancer patients and their families with free temporary lodging, support programs, easy access to New York City's topnotch cancer treatment centers, Hope Lodge is also environmentally friendly. If you need more information, click here. To find one in your state, click here.

Wastespotting

We're currently staying in New York City, and across the street from where we're staying is an office building. I took this photograph at 11:30 p.m. and found it just unbelievable that the lights are still on even though absolutely no one was in the building. It's almost 2 a.m. right now and the lights are still on. Is this part of some plan to help make sure that New York City looks all brilliant and sparkly at night? Are buildings around the city keeping their lights turned on just to create the impression that the city, indeed, never sleeps?

Beat the heat

Summer's officially here, so airconditioners are back in use. Here are some tips from the NY Daily News:

• Turn down the lights and pull the shades to reduce heat. You can turn on fans to help circulate cool air.
• Avoid installing airconditioners in south-facing windows. The sun's heat can make the unit work harder and consume more energy.
• Clean the filter monthly to reduce electricity consumption.
• If you have a window unit, extend the accordion-like extension panels all the way to the window frame to prevent cool air from escaping.

Does your local paper use recycled paper?

Here's a little assignment for you, our dear readers: find out if your local newspapers and favorite magazines are using recycled paper. If they do, write and send them a short and sweet e-mail congratulating them for their efforts. If not, write and send them an e-mail requesting that they start using recycled paper. If there are enough people to do this, imagine how many trees we can save this way! Good luck!

To have new carpet or not?

I blogged about carpeting before, but right now, I'm in a bind. The nearby home improvement chain store's offering $199 carpet installation. Sounds like a good deal, right?

But when I asked about the carpets they offer, they're synthetic. They're not made of recycled materials. I was even told that after installation, there might be a funky smell afterwards – I suspect VOCs?

Living in a condo with carpeting makes me wary about removing them and replacing them with hardwood flooring. For starters, I've been told that we won't raise the market value of our place by having hardwood flooring. Not when our neighbors have carpet flooring. In fact, it might be an expense we won't recoup. Whether that's true or not, I don't know.

I'm all for having hardwood flooring, what with my indoor allergies, but hardwood flooring costs an arm and a leg. A friend told me that we should try out bamboo flooring, but honestly, where can we buy that? Do they sell bamboo flooring at reasonable prices to those with limited budget?

It brings me back to carpeting. Should we simply go for it because installation's so cheap? I'm not inclined to do so, but our floors need help. I'm frustrated for wanting to be green but not having enough green. Any ideas?

iStayGreen

It's very easy for hotels to proclaim their greenness to the world. By simply putting out signs requesting that guests reuse their towels, people are automatically convinced of a hotel's green intentions. But are they really green? What other eco-friendly steps are they really taking to safeguard the environment?

If you've wondered about the very same thing and need the answers to quell your doubts, stop by iStayGreen to get the dirt about eco-friendly lodging. You can check out hotels all around the world and find out what their 'green leaf rating' is, and also get tips and reviews from other travelers. It looks like it's just starting out, so you may find that some properties still lack in-depth reviews. Get things started by signing up and sharing your reviews and opinions about various hotels or check out the site to help you plan your next trip!

Organicures, an eco-friendly nail spa in AZ

If you're ever visiting or living in Scottsdale, AZ and in need of a manicure/pedicure combo, why not try Organicures? Thanks to the article "Nail spa promises an eco-friendly escape" from AZCentral.com for pointing me towards Organicures.

However, I don't think that I'll be able to see it for myself and try out their services. They do say their "manicures and pedicures are 'soakless,' eco-friendly and all-inclusive". I wonder what they mean by "soakless"?

In case you've tried their services, do let me know. I'd love to know how different the experience will be from the typical nail salon.

Costco's "Trade-In & Recycle Program"

Good job, Costco, for your "Trade-In & Recycle Program"!

I came across it purely by accident, but already bookmarked it. Just remember, CRT monitors, personal printers and fax machines are accepted for recycling only, not trade-in.

Walk or bike, don't ride!

Everyone knows the health benefits of walking and biking. We also know the environmental benefits of not driving – you know, it saves energy and reduces pollution. I read somewhere (sorry, I can’t remember where it was) that by driving more or less 1,000 miles each month, about 100+ tons of carbon dioxide gets produced yearly. Try noting down your mileage for a month. Then you'll see why walking and biking can be a good idea this summer.

"Philips' Eco TV Now Available For $1,219"

"Philips' Eco TV Now Available For $1,219" courtesy of TVpredictions.com

And here's how it looks like:



And guess what? It's available through Amazon.com - the tv's complete name is Philips 42PFL5603D/27 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV. Too much of a mouthful, but definitely worth checking out. 3 reviews in Amazon so far.

Sony comes out with eco-versions of the VAIO

Sony took a beating in last year's Greenpeace report on the green efforts of the top electronics companies, and clearly, the company felt the sting. This year, they're doing a lot better, with some Sony Ericsson phones and a Vaio ranking decently in the organization's electronics guide. They're trying to step up their efforts, however. The Graphic Splash Eco Edition promises to be a lot more eco-friendly by offering the following features:

Slim design for minimum use of natural resources

Easy-to-recycle materials for resource conservation

Packaging comprised primarily of recyclable materials

RoHS compliant components—free of lead and other hazardous materials

Glad to see they didn't limit themselves to simply flaunting designs inspired by nature and that they actually took steps to make the laptop more environmentally friendly.

Flock goes green

I've been aware of Flock for sometime now, though I first heard of it as a "social web browser," but I just found out that it now has an eco version. The eco-edition of Flock easily makes green news and tips available to you, helping you stay in step with the latest news on the environment. A great thing about it is it also gives back to charity.

I just installed it a while ago and I'm loving it so far! Sniffing out the latest in eco-news and trends just got a lot easier.

Paging Samsung!

As a Samsung cellphone user, I was so excited to read these two articles "Samsung Handsets Sport Corn-based Plastics" and "Samsung unveils eco handset duo", only to be disappointed that it was for the Korean and Chinese markets only! Hey Samsung, how about us here in the US? You have users in the US as well! Don't forget us!

Here's a photo from TechGadgets.in website:

Kate Hudson to release eco-friendly hair products

Admit it, we all love ripping into celebrities every time they do something good and green, assuming that they're a bunch of attention-seeking hypocrites who just pay lip service to the environment in order to pump up their images and add more green to their wallets. Whether or not they're doing it out of a sincere desire to protect the environment and get more people involved, however, it's still interesting to hear about their latest projects.

Kate Hudson is the latest Hollywood celeb to get into the green scene. She has recently announced an upcoming hair product line she is developing with her hairstylist David Babaii. The products are said to be cruelty-free, paraben-free, and made from Earth-friendly products--they were even tested on Kate's hair! Once launched, the eco-haircare line will be distributed in bottles made from 10% recycled plastic, with part of the proceeds from the sale of each product to be donated to WildAid.

MyBag Cares

Last year, Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" bag was the toast of Hollywood, the fashion world, and the green movement. Celebrities who were eager to flaunt their eco-friendliness, genuinely eco-friendly, or who simply wanted to be trendy carried the tote around for some time, prominently displaying the "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" sign emblazoned on the bag. It inspired people to rethink their plastic bag usage and also gave rise to not a few knock-offs, with some of them even proclaiming, "I'm A Canvas Bag." (And it's true too. I should've taken pictures.)

This year, another bag is set to hit the scene: MyBag Cares, a reusable bag made from natural fibers that also supports tree-planting projects through the Arbor Day Foundation. Celebrities like Kelly Ripa and Joel McHale, one of my personal dreamboats, are fans of the bag as well.

Do I love the bag? the project itself? Part of me wishes that bags quit being made to display some cutesy statement on how aware and involved they are, but I do know that it's part of what it takes to get people's attention. Besides, any effort to promote reusable bags is admirable and should be supported.

Green noise

Today, The New York Times came out with an article about "green noise," or environment information overload. It looks like a little knowledge is a dangerous thing after all. With all the information and tips coming out about living an eco-friendly life, people are still finding it harder than ever to do so, particularly because they don't know which tips are real or which products are greener than others.

In the early days of the reemerging green movement, the ideas were at least straightforward and simple: recycle, print on both sides of papers, turn off electrical appliances when not in use, use public transportation, and so on. These days, every single aspect of one's lifestyle must be carefully scrutinized to ensure utmost greenness. Being aware is definitely good, but not to the point wherein all the options paralyze you into inaction and, eventually, exasperation.

I say tune out the green noise for a while and start doing greener things that are easier for you. Don't jump into buying a biodiesel-fueled vehicle or a hybrid if you're not sure about all the facts yet; stick with your old vehicle, but make a conscious effort to reduce vehicle use. Introduce locally grown organic produce and meats into your kitchen. Reduce energy use. It can be as simple as those steps, and you don't necessarily need to overhaul your entire home in one go to be greener.

Buy quality

Most people prefer to spend big bucks on big ticket purchases like refrigerators and freezers, cooktops, ranges and wall ovens, dishwashers, washers and dryers, etc. Then they skimp money on household appliances like blenders and mixers, coffee makers, deep fryers, electric kettles, grills and griddles, irons and steamers, microwaves, food processors, toasters, vacuum cleaners and others. It sounds like good money sense, doesn't it? But is it really?

For starters, you use the small household appliances as often as the big ones. Bear in mind that cheap products are, for the most part, made of cheap parts. When the products have cheap parts, they break down easily. When they break down, you can try to replace the parts or you have to buy a new one. If it's the former, good luck in looking for and finding the replacement parts. If it's the latter, discarding the broken appliance might be difficult and creates unnecessary waste.

You don't have to buy everything top-of-the-line and up-to-date. You also don't have to buy all the small household appliances out there. If you can find them second-hand but still in great working order, go for it. Give the appliances a new home.

Just remember: buy quality. Buy only what you need and what you will actually use.

What is sustainable development?

The Brundtland Commission defines sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

How do we put the environment within the context of sustainable development? I don't know the answer, but it's definitely something for all of us to think about.

Bring your own doggy bag

I stumbled upon this excellent tip by Kristen Kancler over at GlamSpirit. She advises readers to bring their own doggy bags to restaurants! Just recently, she took a Tupperware container to a barbecue. This is such an easy and practical idea--wish I'd thought of it before! Just imagine all the waste you won't be throwing out: no more Styrofoam packages, plastic bags, paper bags, or foil!

India's Hyderabad airport: the first green airport in Asia

I'm a huge fan of airports, and it's always nice to see what each of them have to offer. My least favorite airport has to be the one in our country; the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is said to have been the most modern airport in Asia when it first opened. Today, pretty much every airport in Asia has long left NAIA in the dust. It would be nice if the government took a long, hard look at it and realized that the appearance of the airport says, "Seedy, third-world country" rather than the industrialized investor-magnet they hope the country is. The airport is one of the first faces a country presents to tourists and business travelers, after all.

Take a look at India. It's known for its strong environmental efforts, efforts which stretch even to their airports. The Hyderabad airport is seeking LEED certification and is exercising all options to be energy-efficient and eco-friendly.

The notable features of the new airport which makes it energy efficient are reduced overall conductance for the walls and roof, high performance glass with low shading coefficient and optimum visual light transmittance, overhangs and vertical fins to reduce solar gains, efficient chillers, efficient lighting using T5 lamps, amply day lit common spaces with photo sensor-controlled electric lighting, economiser and primary and secondary chilled water pumping for increased energy-efficiency.

India's Mumbai airport is also going green by implementing recycling and waste management programs as well as constructing green buildings. Going green may initially be a costly undertaking, but it's a great thing that people are starting to see that it's not just cheaper in the long run or improves their image, but it also does wonders for the environment.

Wee Generation's Diaper Bag

Wee Generation's collaboration with other like-minded companies to create an eco-friendly diaper bag should be emulated by others out there. Check out the diaper bag's "birth announcement".

Photo from the Wee Generation website.

Why not be a green bride?

For those who are engaged or planning their wedding, are you considering a "green" wedding? Our neighbors up north in Canada are getting into green weddings according to the article "Eco-friendly 'green weddings' setting new and growing trend in Canada". My sister Lynn even posted about green wedding cakes before here. So do consider a green wedding. It's a great way to start your married life.

"Print 20% less, save the environment: San Francisco's new tech zeitgeist"

The article Print 20% less, save the environment: San Francisco's new tech zeitgeist began with:

"San Francisco wants to cut its paper use in offices by 20% as part of its new environmental strategy for the city. So how do you get employees to print less?

Answer: Take away their desktop printers."

Sometimes really, the solution is so simple, we just don't see it. I want to say, "what a novel idea", but really, it's common sense. How come I didn't think of that in the workplace? Last I checked, people were even asking for personal printers to be placed at their respective desks and cubicles!

Even here at home, the mere location of our printer makes me think twice about printing. I work in the third floor of our home. The printer's in the first floor. Call me lazy, but I'd rather not go up and down the stairs to pick up my print-outs. And no, I never even thought of buying a printer for the third floor. I just find myself printing only what I need.

Anyway, I wish San Francisco will go for this at full steam. I also hope the other major cities will follow suit. Why not give it a try?

Girls dig the green

Does anybody remember the days when guys think that having the latest sportscar ups their chances of meeting women? If guys still think that's true today, then they're in for quite a disappointment. GM conducted a study for their Challenge X competition and found out that 9 out of 10 women would prefer getting to know a guy with a fuel-efficient car. I completely agree with the results of that study. I would find someone who's into protecting the environment much more fascinating than one who's just interested in flashy expensive things.

NVEY ECO's organic makeup collection

I'm getting ready to get rid of my old makeup stuff, but I have no idea what to replace them with. Until I came across NVEY ECO (for more information about them, go here). Happily, Sephora sells their organic eye shadow, which will make it easy for me to give it a try. I hope there's a way to get samples of NVEY ECO makeup. I don't buy makeup easily due to my sensitive skin. I hope organic makeup is nice and kind to sensitive skin.

The Wire: Eco-Friendly Mousepad

Can a mousepad be eco-friendly, you may ask? Check out The Wire: Eco-Friendly Mousepad. The website tells me that the mousepad's made of recycled rubber. By the way, the image is from the HBO Store website.

"Driven by the planet: The latest affordable automobiles are as eco-friendly as hi-tech hybrids"

We all know how cars contributed to the global warming problem. So when car companies try to do good, I feel like giving them a little pat on the shoulder. After all, they can very well say, "oh, just sod it!" and go their merry way. They can even say, "it wasn't me!" But here they are trying to do something. Atonement perhaps?

Here's an article worth a read from the Belfast Telegraph "Driven by the planet: The latest affordable automobiles are as eco-friendly as hi-tech hybrids".

Father's Day gifts from TerraPass

In case you guys haven't decided yet what to give your dads and/or husbands, hop on to TerraPass website and check out the following cool stuff from their Father's Day gift selection like:

LED Tire Alert Pressure Indicators


Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Meter


Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit


Trevor Baylis Eco Radio


Solio Classic Charger (Black)


WattStopper Power Strip with occupancy sensor


Smart Strip (7 outlets standard)


ScanGauge II car computer


We haven't personally tried these products, nor have we reviewed them. The photos are from TerraPass. These products were found in the TerraPass website and we are sharing them with you, our dear readers. Good luck with your gift hunting!

InModern

Planning to buy or change your furniture? Why not try InModern? Their furniture is FSC-certified and easy to assemble.

SUVs? No! LEVs!

BusinessWeek.com's article "Urban Eco-Transport to Hit the Street" reported about "fleets of nonpolluting electric scooters known as 'light electric vehicles,' or LEVs, a new type of urban transport" to be produced by Ultra Motor for Stuttgart, which will be available for rent. Go Stuttgart! Go Ultra Motor!

This is a development I welcome wholeheartedly. I do hope something similar will get started here in the U.S. For starters, gas prices have reached at unbelievable $4.19 per gallon in our city. I know gas prices are even worse elsewhere, just refusing to acknowledge it. Anyway, scooters would be a fun way to get around. I wonder, what if we even go simpler and restart using bicycles?

Green middle school being built in Vero Beach

Would you have wanted to go to a middle school that has been built green inside and out, and has facilities in place to make sure that everything is eco-friendly? I personally think that would be really amazing, plus it's enough to give you a sense of pride in your school.

The North County Middle School in Vero Beach, Florida is currently being constructed and, once completed, with meet the gold LEED standard.

Apart from energy-efficient lighting, air quality control, and recycling programs, the school also flaunts several features.

The facility will also feature low volatile organic compounds, natural lighting for 90 percent of the space; clerestory windows in media, dining, band and the gymnasium; recycled building materials including furniture; high-efficiency lighting; high-efficiency chilled water heating and cooling system; low-flow water fixtures; automatic day-lighting sensors for interior lighting; "rainwater harvesting system" for irrigation; and solar panels.

Discovery's Planet Green goes on air!

What is Planet Green? According to Planet Green's website:

"Planet Green is the first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network with a robust online presence and community. Launching in June 2008, on-air content will reach 50 million homes with more than 250 hours of original green lifestyle programming. Both online and on-air, Plant Green's content is entertaining, relevant, and accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. By representing a broad range of ideas and perspectives, Planet Green is taking an active role in generating conversation and motivating individuals to take action when it comes to improving the environmental status of our planet."

What's more, today's the day that Planet Green's going on air! Choose Planet Green's Channel Finder to know how you can tune in today at 6pm. I know in my area here in Connecticut, I can tune in to channel 113. How about you?

How about those tealights in metal cups?

I used to buy a bag of 100 tealights. Until I started wondering what to do with the metal cups after the candle inside it has been used up. The thing is, you can’t use just one tealight – the light it provides is just not enough. So what are the options out there – eco-friendly tealights, if you will – to replace these tealights in metal cups? If anyone knows, please leave a comment or send an e-mail.

Image is from this Wikipedia page.

Brad Pitt: actor, sex symbol, humanitarian...hotel designer?

Hollywood star Brad Pitt has most recently been involved in rebuilding New Orleans, and it looks like he's set to add a new item to his list of accomplishments. Brad has been tapped to design a green hotel in Dubai. He says,

"Whilst acting is my career, architecture is my passion," Pitt, who is also building affordable, environmentally-friendly homes in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, said in a statement. The 44-year-old movie star will be part of a team of design consultants for the 800-room, five-star hotel spearheaded by L.A.-based architecture firm GRAFT.

Many eyebrows will probably be raised at this development, mine included, but I'm keeping an open mind and I certainly hope this project will be successfully completed.

SEED

If green architecture's aim is to meet LEED standards, then colleges are shooting for what they refer to as SEED or Student Experiment in Ecological Design. College students are doing everything they can to reduce their carbon footprint, starting with decreasing their waste output in the cafeteria and greening their dorms by taking shorter showers and unplugging their appliances. So this is another activity which college students get up to these days!

Krejci's Eco Ball Garden

How eye-catching is this? LIVING LOUNGE CHAIR: Crazy Krejci's Eco Ball Garden Chair via Inhabitat's website. It's pretty cute, but I do wonder how much it costs?

Green and Greener in LA

Thanks to Los Angeles Times's article "Green and Greener: Valley Village's new eco-shop" for leading me to Green and Greener. According to Green and Greener's website:

"Green and Greener offers a range of green living services to support homeowners, businesses and contractors in living, working and building green including:

• Interior and Landscape Design
• Green Living and Business Consulting
• Public Speaking
• In-house classes and special events"