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We Add Up: Oil Spill T-Shirts
Are you as outraged and sad as we are about the BP oil drilling disaster, now declared the largest spill in US history? Now you can be a part of the solution and help counter this tragedy with action.
We Add Up has introduced two new t-shirts, “Clean It Up” and “Hair To The Rescue.” $10 from the purchase of each shirt is donated to a non-profit organization working to clean up the spill naturally, hold BP accountable and bring transparency to the response. Spread the word - and give money to people doing the dirty work to clean up this mess.
Keen Cornell II Messenger Bag
Hit the streets with an eco-friendly messenger bag that is truly one of a kind. Keen’s Cornell II messenger bag is made from repurposed scrap material - collected from their factory floor - to create a vibrant, colorful and rock-solid piece of gear while reducing waste.
Add in recycled hardware and reinforced rubber bottom, and you’ve got a messenger bag worth of Keen’s ReThink/RePurpose/ReDefine philosophy - prominently posted on the flap. Material, color and pattern vary, so you won’t know what you’re going to get - but you know it will be unique.
Read our full review - click here.
Save Money, Save the Planet: Read a Book
Problem: you like to read books, but you’re worried about the eco-footprint of buying dead trees.
Solution: BetterWorldBooks.com.
Why? Sure, Better World Books has an inventory of over six million new and used books, with low prices and free shipping anywhere in the US (only $3.97 worldwide). But that’s only part of the, er, story.
Crude: Chevron Worse Than BP? by Rick
June 10, 2010 | Dirty Energy • Energy • entertainment • Movies • Posts with Video | 1 Thought »
While everyone’s attention is on the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, we should remember - this ain’t news. Have you ever heard of Ecuador and a little company called Texaco? Probably not - and that’s the problem.
I just finished viewing “Crude: The Real Price of Oil,” and what I learned about Ecuador and oil companies is chilling.
Killer Tees. That Won’t Kill You. by Rick
June 10, 2010 | Clothing • Gear | 2 Thoughts »
Green Label Organic t-shirts more than live up to their name. In addition to being 100% organic cotton, Green Label Organic t-shirts are dyed with eco-conscious low-impact dyes and printed with water-based inks - not the usual PVC or other harsh chemicals. The lack of heavy metals in the printing also contributes to the shirts’ softness and feeling of light. Oh, and they’re made sweatshop-free in the U.S. Natch.
Good News: Obama Halts, Delays Drilling by Rick
May 27, 2010 | Dirty Energy • Energy • Posts with Video | No Thoughts
From the Department of Silver Linings: Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas are safe, at least for the moment. And Virginia’s offshore lease appears to be, well, dead in the water. Thanks, BP!
In the Obama administration’s most decisive policy response yet to the BP oil spill, today Barack Obama delayed or canceled deepwater offshore oil exploration and drilling in Alaska, Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico.
Art for the Gulf: A Kid Takes Action by Rick
May 26, 2010 | Dirty Energy | No Thoughts
Olivia Bouler, a 10-year-old from Islip, New York, is, in her words, “devastated” about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But she isn’t just wringing her hands; she’s wielding pens and colored pencils to help the recovery effort.
Olivia, a frequent visitor to Orange Beach, Alabama, loves the birds there - and loves to draw them. So she’s made an offer: donate to a conservation group, get a piece of original art.
Read more here or check out her Facebook page.
Brooks BioMoGo: Built to Biodegrade by Rick
May 26, 2010 | Gear | No Thoughts
Running shoes don’t last long: 300 miles of pounding, and they’re trashed - sometimes literally. And in the landfill, they last practically forever. Except my Brooks. Why? They’ve got BioMoGo.
No matter how many lives I give my running shoes - from training to casual street wear to yard work to the donation pile - eventually they’ll end up in a landfill. Once there, the standard EVA midsole material in a running shoe takes upwards of 1,000 years to biodegrade.
Enter BioMoGo.
Green Review: Keen Cornell II Messenger Bag by Rick
May 21, 2010 | Gear • Recycling | No Thoughts
Green Product Category: Messenger Bags; $90
We gave our Keen Cornell II sustainable messenger bag the ultimate test: a middle schooler. He lugged books, lunches and lacrosse sticks, stuffing the bag to well beyond capacity - and lobbing it at his locker. Despite the abuse, the material held up well, with seams and zippers intact. Aside from a few scuffs on the durable rubber bottom, the bag still looks practically new.
2010: Hottest Year on Record? by Rick
May 20, 2010 | Climate Change • Global Warming | 1 Thought »
Welcome to 2010, the soon-to-be hottest year on record.
This week the US National Oceanic and Atomspheric Administration (NOAA) released its preliminary global temperatures for April. Verdict: hot.
In fact, this April was the hottest on record:
READ MORE »
Bottled Water is “Bullsh*t”: Lewis Black by Rick
May 18, 2010 | Plastic • Posts with Video • Water | No Thoughts
If Annie Leonard’s Story of Bottled Water doesn’t convince you that bottled water is a scam, maybe comedian Lewis Black will. Black waxes bombastic on the bottled water industry: “Because when I think clean water - oh, yeah - I f***ing think Coke and Pepsi.”
Beware: Black’s language is about as clean as Coca-Cola’s waste stream.
Did I Say THAT? Eating My Words About BP by Rick
May 18, 2010 | Energy | No Thoughts
I figured I’d regret giving BP credit for its oil spill response. Daniel Gross catalogs BP bumbling.
These Come From Trees: Sticker Vandalism for a Cause by Rick
May 17, 2010 | Recycling • Waste | 2 Thoughts »
I’m trying to teach my 6-year-old about conserving resources and reducing waste. My recent object lesson: paper towels in public restrooms.
Use Google Earth to Calculate Your Solar Energy Potential by Rick
May 14, 2010 | Energy | 2 Thoughts »
Thinking about solar panels for your roof, but not sure about the cost? Use Google Earth to suss out your home’s solar energy footprint.
RoofRay.com zeroes in on your rooftop via Google Earth to analyze your roof’s sunlight potential and estimate your solar ROI: how much would solar panels cost you, and how much could you save on energy?
I gave it a whirl today.
If Only We Could Compost Dell Computers by Rick
May 13, 2010 | Recycling | 1 Thought »
In Dell’s ongoing efforts to green their business, the company just announced that their new bamboo cushion packaging is certifiably compostable, having received the American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM D6400 certification. Dell started shipping netbooks in the packaging in November 2009; they now use it for some of their Inspiron line of laptops as well.
Just think: Now Dell computers might actually outlast their packaging.
But how green is this material? READ MORE »