Blogs

Sweet tooth truth

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:15:07 PDT

Rich and creamy, chocolate started as the food of the gods. Now it's the ideal gift for every special occasion. But behind the dark, delicious morsels lay some unfortunate environmental truths.

If you want to give your loved one a treat that's sweet to the planet, here's some background info and recommended sources.

First, you should know that 70% of the cacao beans used to make chocolate are grown in Africa, mostly in CÃ´te d'Ivoire and Ghana. Some cacao is grown in South America, the Caribbean, and Indonesia as well. In all of these places, child labor is a big problem.

In 2002, the International Labour Organization released a series of studies about cacao farming in CÃ´te dâIvoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria. This group found that 284,000 children were working on these farms, frequently in unsafe conditions.

Children were handling toxic pesticides, wielding machetes, and working long hours. In CÃ´te dâIvoire, a third of kids ages 6 to 17 who lived in cocoa-producing households had never attended school.

Plus, these operations are damaging rainforests. According to the World Watch Institute, cocoa farming has destroyed 13% of the original forest in CÃ´te d'Ivoire. Global Exchange (PDF) notes that deforestation has reduced habitat for birds. And overuse of pesticides can backfire and create more virulent pests.

The chocolate industry has taken steps recently to address child labor and environmentally harmful farming practices.

The World Cocoa Foundation created programs with farmers to encourage more sustainable farming and safer working conditions. They partnered with various non-governmental agencies, as well as TransFair USA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the industry still has a long way to go.

If you want chocolate that's guaranteed eco-friendly, your best bet is to look for a fair-trade certification. This means a neutral, international system has certified that the farmers received a reasonable minimum price for their goods. Fair-trade also prohibits child labor and promotes sustainable farming practices that are similar to organic farming.

The inspection and certification process does cost money for a business, so this can increase the price for the consumer, in addition to the higher living wage the farmer receives. But you're getting a product that's been raised under better standards -- as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

TransFair USA certifies cocoa and lists quite a few retail chocolatiers. It's also worth looking for USDA organic certified chocolates; some manufacturers may not get both certifications due to the cost or beauracracy.

Theo Chocolate, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolate, Equal Exchange, and Shaman Chocolates are all organic and fair-trade certified.

I especially like Divine Chocolate. It's well named because the taste is divine, and it's fair-trade.

For more fair-trade chocolates, take a look at Nirvana Belgian Chocolates, San Francisco Chocolate Factory, and Alter Eco.

For organic chocolate, visit Lillie Belle Farms and Sjaak's Organic Chocolates.

Another personal favorite is Dagoba Organic Chocolate (I love the Latte Mocha bar!). These sweets are certified organic and sustainably grown, plus all of the dark chocolates are vegan.

If your loved one loves animals too, maybe an Endangered Species chocolate bar would be a great gift. These yummy bars are made of ethically traded, shade-grown chocolate, and 10% of profits go to different conservancy organizations.

While all of the ones mentioned so far are available online, some types are available in stores too. Newman's Own Organics has several flavors of chocolate bars and peanut butter cups sold in natural food stores and markets like Whole Foods.

The luxury UK brand Green and Black's Organic chocolate is highly acclaimed for its dark chocolates. Use the store locator on the website, and you may find this sweet delight at a Whole Foods or Target store in your neighborhood.

Kill the penny, save the earth

Hank Green — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:51:26 PDT

There are a lot of reasons to end the reign of the penny. On top of the list is the fact that they are worth more melted down than at the grocery store. If you got a hundred pennies and melted them down, you'd actually have $1.40 of metal, mostly zinc. That's just not sound economic policy.

Second, it's a waste of zinc, the mining of which is an environmental disaster.

The demand for zinc, mostly due to growth in China, has skyrocketed, and wasting the metal on a coin that is, in general, a nuisance, is foolish economic and environmental policy.

Unfortunately, there's no quick fix. Switching to the nickel as our cheapest unit is confusing, especially in places with uneven sales tax. Transactions would, according on a bill proposed by Representative Jim Kolbe (R - AR), be rounded to the nearest five cents. But people aren't a big fan of paying more for a certain amount of stuff... even if it's just cents.

The change would only affect monetary transactions. Credit card and interest payments would still be made to the penny. Australia underwent a similar change in 2002, eliminating both its one- and two-cent pieces, without much of a stir.

With the rising cost of zinc, and the slumping power of the dollar, the pennies' days are numbered. Already, they're difficult to keep in circulation because people don't like to carry them around, and they simply pile up in jars and car seats waiting for their CoinStar fate.

Maybe Lincoln can find a new home, on a dollar or two-dollar coin. I'd hate to lose him all together.

Solar watches with style

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:25:20 PDT

I was browsing online for a new watch the other day (a mega-time-waster if ever there was one) when I came across a collection of solar-powered watches that don't give the slightest indication that something eco-friendly is going on. The Eco-Drive series from Citizen looks like any other collection of relatively classy mid-range quartz watches, but they embrace some pretty cool technologies that free you from worrying about your battery ever running out.

There's a super-thin disk of silicon under the dial that converts light into electricity through the regular photovoltaic process, and the energy stored in a specially designed cell which doesn't contain the usual battery chemicals and therefore doesn't suffer from the usual charge/discharge cycles that eventually wear out typical rechargeable batteries. In other words, it should last forever.

So how do you know if the watch needs a recharge? The second hand starts to move in two-second intervals. When that happens, a direct light source is needed for as long as the owner's manual indicates. If you're too late, and the watch stops, then you will have to set it again.

It's always good to see solar technology deployed in new ways, both big and small. As for me and my browsing, here's the $295 model I like. (http://www.citizenwatch.com)

Don Willmott's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.

Inside 'The Story of Stuff'

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:35:52 PDT

If you're like most Americans, you have a lot of stuff. Jeans, MP3 players, kitchen gadgets, DVDs, shoes, TVs, kids' toys, T-shirts, cell phones, sports equipment ... you know, stuff.

We buy it all the time, in stores and online. We're the shopping-ist country on the planet. And our government wants us to shop more to boost the economy -- that's why some of us are getting rebate checks in May. Stores can't wait to help us spend that money too.

While we see the shiny, new gadgets in our hands and the growing clutter in our homes, what we don't see is the series of events that created that stuff and brought it to us. Sustainability expert Annie Leonard has traveled to over 30 countries and looked at factories and dumps. She's investigated the waste we export back to the Third World.

All this experience lead her to create the short film The Story of Stuff, which she launched online in December 2007.

With clever animations and straightforward talk, Leonard makes huge economic concepts approachable. She explains how the things we buy in the store are made from often-toxic chemicals and how factories use up natural resources and harm local communities. Leonard even points out that America's consumer culture is a relatively new phenomenon, created by post-World-War-II economists.

When I interviewed Leonard recently, she admitted that the movie happened because, "I realized I was too deep into this that I couldn't talk about it like normal people talk about it." Fellow activists challenged her to explain these issues so that they could understand her and maybe even so the rest of the world could too.

But Leonard says, "I was not making it to convert anyone, and I was not making it for the general public who was totally new to these ideas. I was making it for my peers who were familiar with these ideas but who didn't see the connections and the systemic nature of the problems."

Still, in four months on the Web, the movie topped 2.5 million views, and in March, it won the SXSW Interactive Award as an educational resource.

She's been surprised by the interest the film's received. Leonard put it online, "because we wanted to make it free. We're not doing it to make money. And we never expected that many people to watch it!"

In response to the buzz, she's also made DVDs available to those without high-speed net access. "We've distributed 6,000 DVDs to Third World countries, to India, China, Russia, Taiwan, and places are using them in their outreach programs," Leonard notes. "Public schools in the U.S., Native American reservations, churches have all asked for DVDs. We give discounts to anyone who asks." Sponsors like Ben & Jerry's have helped her small team support these efforts.

While the film doesn't prescribe specific actions to solve the problems it exposes, Leonard does suggest that we tackle an area we feel strongly about.

"One of the things I think is so important is rebuilding our sense of communities and a sense of engagement," Leonard says. "I think our greatest sense of joy in our lives is from coming together around a shared interest, whether itâs a book club or getting a bike lane in your town."

To encourage this kind of involvement, each section of the movie has a tab at the top of the website with a "Learn More" link. For example, click on "Consumption" if you want a sampling of groups dedicated to helping consumers be more sustainable. Or check the full list of recommended resources.

Deeper involvement is key. She's a little critical of a '10 simple steps' approach to changing the world. "It's better to change the structure and system so that the default is the right thing," Leonard advocates.

"I think the individual actions are absolutely important, but we shouldn't confuse that with political actions," she continues. "We should always choose the least toxic, most socially responsible option possible. But not because that'll bring about change -- it simply brings our day-to-day actions into congruence with our real values."

The 'grumpies' who comment on the movie often say that "they get the problem, they get the personal cost, the cost to happiness, but they don't know how to unplug from the system," Leonard explains.

"People express concern that if we reduce our consumption how will it affect our economy?" she adds. "This is a valid concern. If we seriously transform our society, it'll involve a lot of hard work. We need to be intentional, strategic, and figure it out. Let's start planning ahead instead of kicking and screaming until the last second."

In this case, knowledge really is power. "The more we can see the connections between these issues," she says, "we can be more transformative, instead of tinkering at the margins."

'The Story of Stuff' is making those connections happen. Leonard has received more than 20,000 emails from people all over the world -- and the vast majority have been very positive. She may not have set out to change minds, but she is. One comment was from "an SUV-driving, die-hard Republican who emailed and had just never considered any of this."

Schools from elementary level through college are using the movie. A fourth-grader in the Midwest saw the film and emailed saying it was "awesome" with lots of smileys. An Oxford professor used it his class.

Watch the movie, and you may not look at your own stuff the same way again.

Don't save your pennies

Hank Green — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:31:12 PDT

I know Coinstar provides a fantastic service, having availed myself of it several times. But I bet you don't think of it as an environmentally friendly one, do you?

The billions of coins sitting idle in American households right now represent a squandered resource, according to Coinstar's recent "Change For Our Earth" marketing campaign. The U.S. Mint prints coins from non-renewable resources to replace the coins that hide in our mason jars and couch cushions.

Putting those billions of coins back into circulation would substantially decrease mining, refining, and shipping. Coinstar even launched a calculator at "ChangeForOurEarth.com" to determine how much you can help the Earth by cashing in.

We know greenwashing when we see it, but this is ingenious. Coinstar hasn't changed anything about what it does ... just the message.

Still, I hope this will get people to turn their old money into usable money, and put change back into the system. Apparently it could have some fairly significant impacts.

Coinstar estimates that $10 billion in coins sit idle in American homes. If 15% of those coins were re-entered into circulation (preferably via Coinstar's automated counters, which will pinch a few pennies for themselves), this would save 82 million showers' worth of water and 12,000 cars' worth of CO₂ emissions.

Donating your earnings to Coinstar partner World Wildlife Fund will make you feel all the greener.

So go turn that change back into money. For the earth, for yourself, and for Coinstar.

Absolving (some of) the guilt of buying a flat-screen TV

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:02:17 PDT

I've just started the research for my next big purchase: a flat-screen TV. Hey, somebody's got to kick start this economy, right?

The good news is that I'll be ready to sit back and watch the Summer Olympics in glorious high definition. The bad news is that my electricity bill is going to go up because even though they're nice and slim, plasma and LCD TVs use more power than old-fashioned tube TVs on an inch-by-inch basis, according to EnergyStar.

So what to do? Seek out a flat-screen that does a few little tricks to mitigate its power consumption.

One example that's a little too big for my humble apartment but that could make sense for you is the Philips Eco TV. Among its features is a sensor that detects the ambient light in your room and dials down the TV's backlighting to achieve a picture that's always easy on the eye. It's even smart enough to tone down the backlighting in accordance with what's actually being shown on screen, something not many TVs can do. Philips also says that the TV is built with lead-free components and is shipped in recycled packaging. Every little bit helps. And I should add that at around $1,200, this feature-rich TV seems to be a good deal, too.

Keep in mind that you can always turn down the backlighting on your flat-screen TV if it's too bright for the room or if you just want to save some energy. All you have to do is figure out how. Did you keep the manual?

Big green meet 'n' greet

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:31:53 PDT

Folks looking for eco-fun are converging in Seattle, Washington, this weekend for the first Green Festival of the year.

This project of the Global Exchange and Co-Op America features environmental speakers and businesses. Attendees can learn more about issues, shop for new products, enjoy great food, and generally get down with their green selves.

The next ones are in Chicago in May, in Washington DC in November, and in San Francisco in November. Check the website for details.

Seattle this weekend will feature speakers like Amory Lovins from the Rocky Mountain Institute (we hope to get a first-hand report from RMI next week) and Annie Leonard, creator of the short film, The Story of Stuff.

Some of the vendors to watch for include:

Better World Club - The nation's only environmentally friendly auto club.
ChicoBag - Ultra-compact reusable bags.
Planet - Certified biodegradable household cleaning products.
Honest Tea - Organic ready-to-drink teas.
gDiapers - Eco-friendly diapers.

I went to last year's Green Fest in San Francisco, and it was a blast. I talked to the CEO of the GreenOptions blog site, plus I heard about Discovery Networks' upcoming Planet Green TV channel. The organic, sustainable food was delicious, and I received a bunch of free samples of fair-trade chocolate! Can't wait for the next fest.

Even if the event isn't coming to your town, take a look at the website to learn about earth-friendly businesses you might not have heard about.

Undies for the earth

Trystan L. Bass — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:32:59 PDT

Thank you Grist for tackling the really important issues â¦ how green is your presidential candidate ... achieving social justice with green jobs ... and earth-friendly underwear ...

Yep, you heard that right. Environmentalists finally have a comprehensive guide to a carbon-neutral lingerie drawer. Who says being green is all work and no play?

Buy organic cotton or hemp briefs, since tons of pesticides are used on regular cotton and nylon production is messy. Go commando every so often -- it's good for the planet (and maybe your love life!).

Look for eco-friendly detergents to wash your skivvies. Make everything smell pretty with natural sachets. And consider upgrading to a sustainably-made dresser to store all your new boxers or camis.

About "fair trade" and why it matters

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:12:24 PDT

You look for the USDA organic label. You figured out what "locovore" means and shop accordingly.

But what about "fair trade"? Seems like there's always another thing to figure out before buying food and products if you want to be kind to the planet. What's this one about?

G Living has a handy primer on the fair trade system and even covers the economic side.

Basically, the fair-trade movement focuses as much on the people producing products as on the products themselves. Some crops -- like coffee beans and the cacao in chocolate -- are farmed by people living in wretched conditions. Young children sometimes have to work in fields instead of going to school. Corporations encourage careless pesticide use that makes farm-workers sick. And after suffering through all this to bring a crop to market, the impoverished farmers don't get a decent price for their goods.

That's where fair-trade certification groups like Transfair USA come in. Working with a network of third-party verification groups, Transfair certifies things like coffee, chocolate, rice, and flowers.

Fair-trade products must meet minimum standards for labor conditions, community development, and environmental sustainability. Fair-trade goods might cost a little bit more to the consumer, but that's so the farmer who produced the crop actually gets a decent price.

Fair-trade certification is also available for some manufactured goods, so you can avoid sweatshop labor. Look for the fair-trade logo on products at your local grocery store, specialty shops, and online.

Huddler's new green shopping community

Hank Green — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:37:35 PDT

There are a lot of product recommendation engines in the world. In fact, one could make a pretty good case that there are too many. But Huddler may have actually gotten it right this time.

It's launched a service with a green spin at greenhome.huddler.com. The site is a blog, a social network, a wiki, and a recommendation system all rolled into one. I've spent the last hour on it, enjoying myself tremendously.

I've written reviews of a few green products I own (like the Earth LED CL-5), and I marked a few items as things that I very much want to own (like the Chevy Volt).

The system is extremely simple to use, not to mention pleasing on the eyes. There seems to be a pretty good community growing up inside of the site, plus a huge amount of information on thousands of green products. You can subscribe to users, discussions, topics, anything! It's a joy to use.

Of course, like all social sites, there is a battle to be fought for participation. It will only be a truly enjoyable and robust platform if a large community adopts the site. In order to entice folks, they've got a giveaway going on right now, which you enter yourself into every time you do anything on the site. So that's nice.

But we'll have to wait and see if Huddler can somehow create a chicken without an egg.

Living lighter with Aveda

Trystan L. Bass — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:56:12 PDT

Beauty products company Aveda is celebrating Earth Day during the month of April, which its done for the past decade. This year's campaign supports organic farming and clean water.

Known for using sustainable ingredients and renewable energy, now the company is selling a limited-edition candle with organic lavender. All proceeds will go the Global Greengrants Fund to protect clean water around the planet.

If you're going into an Aveda store, make sure to bring your old bottle caps -- the plastic ones from soda bottles, laundry detergent, cleansers, shampoo, etc. Most of these aren't recycled by standard recycling systems, so they're tossed into the garbage.

Aveda and Shape magazine have teamed up to get those caps back. Through May 10, 2008, Aveda stores will collect hard plastic bottle caps. The company will use them to make caps for a 30th-anniversary shampoo coming out in September.

You can even get a free sample of Aveda's hair or body-care products when you bring in 25 or more caps. If there's no Aveda store nearby, you can also mail the caps in. Read all the details on Shape.com.

Possibly the biggest eco-giveaway ever

Magnus Hølvold — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:32:35 PDT

There's no shortage of giveaway contests on the Internet, but the popular tester of green products, Lifegoggles, now wants to give EcoGeeks a contest of their own.

Up for grabs is an ever-growing stack of gadgets and other products that has so far reached 69 prizes, all of which are of the "green" persuasion.

You can enter the contest in five different ways, all of which lead to varying amounts of exposure for the Lifegoggles and, consequentially, more exposure to various green gadgets and beauty products and the green movement in general.

The news is also good for people not of the United States, as quite a few of the prizes are available for international contestants.

So get your hands on those EcoGeeky gadgets, widgets, and gizmos! Check out the Great Green Giveaway for the list of prizes and how to win.

Shoes and your carbon footprint

Trystan L. Bass — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:30:56 PDT

Did you know that America has more than seven pairs of shoes per person? (If you're female and anything like me, you may have triple that in your own closet.) Did you realize that 84% of those shoes were made in China?

Sustainablog does the math and wonders about the environmental impact of all this footwear. Leaving a small footprint isn't easy when your very soles are steeped in sweatshop labor and unsustainable materials.

According to the Green Guide, everything from the leather to the glues holding our Nike cross-trainers and Manolo Blahnik stilettos together are rather toxic. Shoe factory workers get sick from the chemicals. Production waste is dumped into rivers and delicate ecosystems.

If your shoes are made of synthetic materials, the impact is just as bad. Faux leather and vinyl are made of PVC, and making this plastic creates environmental problems.

So do we have to walk barefoot if we really want to live lighter on the earth? Not necessarily.

Walk on
Ecolocalizer points out that we can start by taking better care of the shoes we do buy. Don't throw 'em out if they get a little scuffed -- repair those Jimmy Choos! I've been doing this for ages because once I find shoes I like, I want to wear them as much as possible. Getting a new sole, capping old heels, or repairing a buckle doesn't take long at a cobbler shop, and the cost is certainly less than new shoes.

Buy green
If those loafers have truly loafed their last, replace them with eco-friendly brands. Lime has a guide to stylish green shoes -- Birkenstocks are no longer the only option.

MooShoes, a vegan shoe boutique in New York, sells more than 100 styles. Hear store owner Erica Kubersky's perspective on "fashion with compassion" in this video interview.

Want something a bit more rugged? Timerland's Earthkeepers line of shoes are made of organic and renewable materials. The company is working with its suppliers -- especially leather tanneries -- to be more sustainable. You can even see the environmental footprint those hiking boots will leave, thanks to Timerbland's nutrition label on the box.

For casual kicks, Simple Shoes sells sneakers, sandals, and more made of materials like hemp, organic cotton, and recycled car tires.

And if you're a real Carrie Bradshaw type (with a green streak), step over to Great Green Shoes for almost-daily recommendations of vegan and earth-friendly shoes.

Leonardo endorses green credit on a green card

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:22:57 PDT

Over in Asia, megabank HSBC has come up with yet another way to get more people to use more credit cards: with a feel-good green message.

The card itself will be made of PET G, a chlorine-free material, and the welcome pack for new cardholders and monthly statements will be delivered electronically to save a few trees. Cardholders will also enjoy discounts when using the card at designated merchants that offer environmentally friendly products or services.

HSBC also plans to donate the equivalent of 0.1 percent of cardholder spending to a program to install environmentally friendly green roofs at a number of Hong Kong schools. Leonardo DiCaprio was a guest at the card's official launch and commented, "What if every time we used our credit cards we did something good for the environment? HSBC's new green card allows people to do just that by leaving... a green mark every time they use the card.

"It is heartening to know that HSBC, as one of the leading banks in the world, is doing something for the future of our planet."

Sounds like he had some help from the bank's PR department when he said that.

Cynicism aside, I should note that HSBC claims it was the first major bank to achieve carbon neutrality in late 2005, and in May 2007 the bank launched a five-year, $100 million HSBC Climate Partnership with several organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund, to reduce the impacts of climate change.

Take a look. The program is actually quite impressive.

71% of Americans are EcoGeeks!

Hank Green — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:26:04 PDT

That's right, according the 2007 National Technology Readiness Survey, 71% of American adults are EcoGeeks! Or at least, they're interested in the possibility of becomming EcoGeeks.

In a random survey of over 1,000 people, people were interested in buying technology in 11 product categories that would decrease their impact on the environment, regardless of whether it provided other benefits.

That tremendously underserved market could be worth $100 billion per year. About half of that comes from the automotive sector, but we imagine electronics and housing were also big players.

Honestly, I wish housing had won out over automobiles, since that has a greater benefit to owners and the environment, but people see cars as their big opportunity to go green.

Via Greener Computing

The wearing of the green

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:56:15 PDT

If you haven't added any eco-friendly items of clothing to your wardrobe yet, chance are you will soon. There seems to be a mini-boom in green clothing lines underway, beginning with everyone's favorite middle-of-the-road retailer Banana Republic, which will begin selling a 50-piece collection made from sustainable fabrics like bamboo and organic cotton on April 22. That's Earth Day.

Slightly stranger is the news that Swedish auto maker Saab is getting into the fashion game. Ecoscraps reports that Saab has unveiled the Pure BioPower Eco Clothing Collection, which features organic cottons and buttons made from Coroso nuts, which grow on rainforest palm trees. Actually they look kind of cool and sleek and Euro. Available starting in May at Saab Expressions.

And I should have seen this one coming. Spookily precocious 9-year-old Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter, is in the green fashion game, too. Ecorazzi links to a slide show of kid's clothing in the Bindi Wear International line. All the profits from the eco-friendly items will go to conservation efforts. They'll carry fun eco-slogans such as "Extinct Stinks!" on them to really make the point.

Wal-Mart pushing China to go green

Hank Green — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:36:12 PDT

No one can tell China what to do. It's an autonomous nation with a proud history and an unquenchable desire to pull itself up by its bootstraps -- international regulations be damned!

Oh ... that is, unless it's Wal-Mart doing the asking.

Next fall, Wal-Mart will meet with thousands of Chinese suppliers and give each of them little hints about how (and why) to go green. Their first priorities will be waste disposal and greenhouse gas emissions.

But Wal-Mart is also hoping to spread initiatives that it began in the U.S., like asking suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and pressuring them to build electronics that are more efficient and easier to recycle.

Of course, the task is enormous. Every supplier has to be monitored and inspected sepeartely. Wal-Mart is already partnering with a large consulting firm and several NGOs to help in the greening of China.

Welcome to the future. There's no way to regulate anyone, except through the power of the world's biggest buyers. If it's going to be the international government...then at least we can be happy that it's got the environment on its list of concenrs.

Via Reuters

Talk about green

Trystan L. Bass — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:11:41 PDT

Want to hear the real deal about recycled paper? Hear it from Office Depot. Looking for the inside scoop on water conservation? Find out from Delta Faucets. Wondering about organic food standards? Learn the details from the Organic Consumers Association.

Listen to these interviews and more on the weekly GreenTalk Radio. Host Sean Daily, co-founder of GreenLivingIdeas.com, talks to people who are on the forefront of green and ecology-oriented business.

Subscribe on iTunes or stream individual episodes on the website, and you'll get a comprehensive view into products and services that aim to help the environment.

Sneaky CFL replacement

Hank Green — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:09:52 PST

I just don't know quite how to feel about this! After a few years of seemingly logical replacement of hotel and office lighting with compact fluorescent light bulbs, a problem has arisen.

It seems that demand for the bulbs, while slacking in store sales, goes way up when the bulbs are just a few twists away.

Office and hotel mangers have begun to complain about CFL theft in a big way.

While the bulbs save a ton of money over their lifetime in energy costs, they don't save money when they disappear after a few months and need to be replaced.

The alternative, it seems, is to either stop using CFLs or use theft-proof fixtures that need a special key to be replaced. We assume the key is only held by the maintenence staff.

It's good that we've got these solutions now, since LED bulbs, just around the corner, promise to be even more expensive, while saving more energy in the long run.

The good news is, the more CFLs offices and hotels buy, the more CFLs there are in the world.

However, it seems odd that hotel-goers and office workers, not known for their levels of extreme poverty, are the ones stealing the bulbs. It seems to me that they could afford to save money the old-fashioned way: by making a modest investment in slightly more-expensive bulbs at WalMart.

Via MT.GOV

China's outta the bag

Trystan L. Bass — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:37:13 PST

According to the Environmental News Network (via Reuters), the biggest maker of supermarket-style plastic bags in China is shutting down.

The Chinese government actually announced a ban on the flimsy bags as part of its pre-Olympics clean-up. An official state website proclaimed:

"Plastic shopping bags, due to reasons such as excessive use and inefficient recycling, have caused serious waste of energy and resources and environmental pollution."

Many doubted the ban would have much effect, or be enforceable. But with Suiping Huaqiang Plastic Co. Ltd. closing its doors, maybe plastic shopping bags are truly on their way out in China.

Now, if we could only get rid of them in the U.S. Whole Foods markets and the city of San Francisco have ditched the urban tumbleweed. More cities are looking into plastic bans or taxes, and grocery stores like Safeway (on the west coast) give you cash back when you bring your own bags.

If China can do it, so can we! Equip yourself with handy reusable bags and you'll never have to worry about choosing between paper or plastic again.

Green vices

Trystan L. Bass — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:43:01 PST

Who says environmentalists are a dull bunch? We aren't all boring leftists who demand that you give up the good things in life just to save the planet. Heck no.

In fact, our pals at Grist.org have exposed the secret behind real green fun: earth-friendly sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.

Yep, you can get vegan condoms for your big date or buy non-toxic love toys. Cop a buzz from organic beer, wine, and spirits. Groove to hot tunes from digital music by green-leaning artists, or even make music yourself on a sustainable-wood guitar.

Proof that you can still party without leaving a huge carbon footprint.

Via Grist.org

Wal-Mart: We're in charge now, let us fix things

Hank Green — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:19:31 PST

As a former Wal-Mart employee (summer of 1999) I have some perspective on how the company used to work.

Health care was a joke. I consistently worked more than 40 hours a week, but because I was a 'part time' employee, I was never paid overtime. And the city I lived in -- Orlando, Florida -- is a worse place because it grew alongside Wal-Mart.

I don't think the Wal-Mart model is a good model. But I do believe that, since they've pretty much taken over the (retail) world, when they do good things it has gigantic impacts.

And now Wal-Mart's CEO seems to think that his company is ushering in a Utopia.

He's promising to decrease the company's greenhouse gases significantly while forcing its suppliers to make their products up to 25% more efficient. He wants to make health care affordable for Wal-Mart employees, and for its suppliers' employees, and for all of America.

He went even further to say that Wal-Mart is working with major car companies on electric vehicle initiatives, hinting that the retail giant may someday place wind turbines in its parking lots so that people can charge their EVs renewably.

That would be pretty cool.

CEO Lee Scott says that we live in a world where we no longer have faith in the government to make positive changes. So Wal-Mart is making that change their responsibility. OMG, do I live in a country where people have more faith in Wal-Mart than their government?

It's great that they're working to be a more environmental company. But does this sound kinda scary to anyone else?

Almost like we're on the edge of being governed more by corporations than by government?

Well, I guess that's a story for another blog. At EcoGeek we just have to be happy they're thinking about the environment for a change.

Read more at the NYTimes and see the speech from Wal-Mart

Nintendo strikes out in Greenpeace guide

Hank Green — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:36:56 PST

Greenpeace has released its updated Guide to Greener Electronics and, Nintendo is ... not doing so well. In fact, Nintendo has received the first score of absolute zero that Greenpeace has ever handed out.

It's almost as if, as soon as I really start to like a company's products, Greenpeace just has to slam them. But the story behind Nintendo's 'zero' has a lot more to do with the way it reports its practices than its actual practices.

For example, the Wii might not have any brominated flame retardants in it, but Nintendo has no policy against using BFRs and doesn't report whether or not it does.

However, Nintendo isn't green enough for me. Sure, the Wii is a power sipper compared to the 360 and the PS3, but Nintendo has no recycling program, doesn't have any third-party accountability for its supply chain, and wouldn't give Greenpeace any information on the majority of scoring criteria.

Chances are, Nintendo will score a lot better in the next round, as it will succumb to Greenpeace's marketing power and actually spill the beans on its practices.

Other big stories in this quarter's guide: Dell is losing ground to Sony, who threatens Dell's spot as the greenest major computer manufacturer. Also, Sony is kicking Nintendo and Microsoft's asses. Nokia had a huge drop as Greenpeace found toxics, and Nokia's tackback policies in developing nations turned out to be a lot weaker than it had reported.

To read more about the guide, check out Greenpeace's ridiculously detailed website with PDFs on every single company listed.

BuyGreen.com: Ethical e-commerce?

Nino Marchetti — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:03:19 PDT

The growth of green e-commerce is one something expects will happen as eco-friendly lifestyles become more the norm.

A new website is hoping to cash in on this potential revenue stream while also offering consumers information about living environmentally responsible. The site is called BuyGreen.com and it's the product of Green Retail and Wholesale, a company in sales and distribution of eco-focused products.