The Green Life

A Rental Community to Keep it Green

With Black Friday this week and Christmas just around the corner, the holidays can bring out the worst in our overconsuming and wasteful habits. We buy and get gifts, like DVDs, that usually receive more shelf time in a week than actual use in a year. If one of your New Year’s resolutions will be to limit your eco-footprint, one company’s attempt to revolutionize the act of  renting can help reduce waste and save resources while earning you a little extra green.

Rentalic Inc. (pronounced like "metallic"), a company in San Mateo, California, runs a community rental service via an online marketplace. Users can rent out their stuff, allowing renters to avoid spending the full amount for an item they might only need temporarily. The idea is to save or make money while reusing and sharing.

Do Nothing This Holiday Season

Have you checked your holiday shopping list twice? Scoured the internet and newspapers for great sales? Picked out your favorites from this season’s must-haves? Well, you can forget all that this Black Friday.

That’s right. Instead of battling crowds for insane sales, Adbusters’ Buy Nothing Day wants you to stay home and do nothing. The reason? To stop the overconsumption that they claim is decimating the planet.

Buy Nothing Day could be perceived as being a bit extreme. In addition to not shopping, the campaign wants you to turn off the lights, park your car, and shut off all nonessential electronics and appliances. It does, however, help us think about what our lives would be like without consuming anything. Check out the event's Web site to find local events in your area.

--Julie Littman / image courtesy of Adbusters

Is it Green? Scan its Barcode to Find Out.

Do you have trouble trying to find the most eco-friendly product in the store? Is it difficult to tell whether companies are greenwashing? Now GoodGuide has put responsible shopping just a few clicks away.

The first iPhone application that scans bar codes to provide ratings on healthy, green, and socially responsible products is here. The app – which is available for free from Apple’s iTunes App Store – allows consumers to compare and research more than 62,000 products by simply scanning the barcode.

Daily Roundup: November 13, 2009

New Moon: NASA scientists found 25 gallons of water in the form of ice and vapor on the moon's surface. The discovery challenges previous assumptions about the moon's potential for supporting life. Los Angeles Times and Associated Press

Carbon Cutting: Brazil pledged to cut its projected 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by between 36.1 percent and 38.9 percent. Reuters

Cold Comfort: A new study suggests that trees planted at higher latitudes may provide the biggest benefit to the planet. New Scientist

Street Cleaning: More than 50,000 clunkers have been retired through Canada's Retire Your Ride program. Incentives offered in exchange for the polluting vehicles include free bus passes, bike rebates, or $300. AFP

Lookin' Good: The brown pelican has been removed from the endangered species list. The Interior Department estimates the bird's population at 650,000. Los Angeles Times

--Della Watson

Daily Roundup: November 12, 2009

Better Builders: Al Gore and Sheryl Crow were featured celebrities at the United States Green Building Council's 8th annual Greenbuild conference in Phoenix. Examiner

Water Wars: Earthjustice, Environmental Integrity Project, and the Sierra Club appealed a permit that would allow a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant to dump pollutants into the Clinch River. Wall Street Journal

A Walk on the Wild Side: The percentage of traffic fatalities involving pedestrians in San Francisco is more than four times the national average. Treehugger

Still Number One: A new report shows that Texas, the leader in greenhouse gas emissions, cut pollution by 2 percent between 2004 and 2007. Houston Chronicle

Party Planners: Denmark will invite 191 world leaders to the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen and will push for a deal during the final days of the conference. Reuters

--Della Watson

Corporate Demand Grows for Green Hotels

Rarely are the terms “eco-friendly” and “business travel” mentioned in the same sentence. But now companies are urging their employees to seek green alternatives, especially when it comes to booking hotels. The motivation for such a shift has its perks; companies can say they are environmentally conscious, while hotels are rewarded for going green and earning LEED certification.

According to USA Today, the increased interest in green hotels has some companies checking lodging properties' green practices -- such as how much water and energy are conserved and how often towels are replaced -- before signing contracts. Helping this transition is the Green Hotels Association, a group of hotels that promote environmentally responsible ways of operating.

Of course, being picky about where you stay isn't the only way to green your business travel. You can also pack light, decline the napkin, and recycle. Consider taking public transportation to and from the airport, and for sightseeing purposes. Finally, flying can seriously deepen your carbon footprint, so look into carbon offsets. But as always, watch out for greenwashing, which is rampant in the travel industry.

--Michael Mullaley

Daily Roundup: November 6, 2009

Fine Dining: Michelle Obama welcomed the cast of Iron Chef the White House garden to film an episode of the cooking show. The episode will premiere on January 3 on the Food Network. Ecorazzi

Poop Portrait: Artist Sam Mahon created a cow-dung sculpture of New Zealand environment minister Nick Smith to protest Smith's stance on dairy farm pollution. The manure bust sold for $2,220. Associated Press

Let's Work Together: President Obama met with 400 tribal leaders to discuss environmental coordination with the tribal nations. ENS

Underwater Matters: Sweden and Finland approved the construction of a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Environmental groups have expressed concern about the pipeline's impact. Reuters

Less Thirsty: A study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that Americans used less water in 2005 than in 1975. Treehugger

--Della Watson

Celebrity Auction Supports Green Schools

Ever dreamed of chatting it up with Stephen Colbert? Or, dare we say it, Oprah herself? (We know you have, don’t deny it.) These and other celebrity “dates” and items are up for bidding at the sixth annual Chevy Chase Green School Auction. The proceeds benefit GREEN Community Schools, a program that creates partnerships between schools and communities to help both work toward sustainability.

The bids for some of the celebrity meetings are in the thousands-of-dollars range, but there are less expensive lots, such as a signed T-shirt from Paul Rudd, a signed book from Jimmy Carter, a suit and sunglasses worn by Paul Shaffer on The Late Show, and VIP tickets to The Daily Show. It all goes to a good, green cause, so check out the list of available lots and bid on them here.

-- Année Tousseau / photo courtesy charitybuzz.com

Clorox Rids Itself of Chlorine Gas

Clorox deserves a tip of the hat. Many sustainability decisions these days by large multinational corporations often are economically motivated. But for this multi-billion dollar consumer-product manufacturer, safety was the primary factor in its decision to convert all of its U.S. factories that use chlorine gas to safer chemical processes over the next few years.

Clorox’s transition will reduce contamination risks to millions of Americans who live near these facilities.

Greenpeace was the catalyst behind the change, writing to Clorox, Dupont, and Dow about the issue, only to hear back from Clorox CEO Donald Knauss. The company’s Fairfield, California, plant will be the first of seven to be converted, a process that will take about six months.

Don't get us wrong: using DIY cleaners is still more eco- and health-friendly than using toxic products such as bleach. Still, Clorox’s decision marks another green step in the right direction. This one follows the Sierra Club’s partnership with Green Works, Clorox’s natural household-cleaning product line.

After all, you can't put a price on safety.

--Michael Mullaley

Daily Roundup: November 3, 2009

A Bug's Life: British conservationists will use GPS technology to locate the nests of hairy northern wood ants before the Forestry Commission removes non-native conifers from a Northumberland forest. Because the rare ants rely on conifer needles to build their nests, selected trees will be left standing. BBC and Treehugger

Fishy Business: An analysis of the environmental impact of salmon farming in Norway, Chile, Canada, and the UK found that Norway's farms were the most efficient. New Scientist

The Danger Zone: The EPA added three hazardous waste sites to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. New Jersey's Raritan Bay Slag, Utah's U.S. Magnesium, and Virginia's Peck Iron and Metal were all deemed to pose risks to human health and the environment. EPA

Free Pass? The European Union's environment committee approved a list 164 industrial sectors including coal mining, oil and gas drilling, and aluminum production that could potentially receive free five-year carbon emissions permits. AFP

For Peat's Sake: A recent study found that 5.5 percent of global carbon emissions are the result of the draining and burning of peat bogs. Reuters 

--Della Watson