The Green Life

A Tip a Day...

...keeps global warming at bay. (And other environmental problems too!)

Want to start living a lower-impact, higher-quality lifestyle? Not sure where to begin? Sign up for our new Green Life newsletter and receive an easy tip every day about a small change that can make a big difference. Simple steps like replacing conventional lightbulbs with more efficient ones, keeping your car tires properly inflated, or adjusting your thermostat a degree or two can save you money, reduce waste, and help save the planet. Don't delay, sign up today!

No Goods

In one Simpsons episode, Homer loads up his pink sedan with "car appliances" (including a karaoke machine, coffee pot, and deep fryer) and gets so distracted that he drives off a pier. Ford engineers apparently missed that show. The company's latest innovation is a Web-enabled mobile office (complete with handheld computer, printer, digital camera, and credit-card scanner) that runs off a truck's battery. Though Ford claims it's intended "to replace either a laptop or desktop," it's a rare American who uses the release of a new gizmo as an opportunity to downsize.

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Hate doing laundry? The makers of OneDerWear have a solution for you: Throw away your dirty clothes. The company touts its lightweight disposable cotton socks and underwear as ideal for travelers, military troops, "college students and their busy lifestyles," maternity patients, and--perhaps most disturbing--hikers and campers: "You don't have to use limited backpack space with repacking dirty underwear ... just wear and toss." In one of those conveniently located wilderness trash cans, no doubt.

No Goods

This may sound like a joke, but apparently some men really want to smell like a heavily polluting, obnoxiously large SUV. "In keeping with its famous heritage, HUMMER Fragrance For Men is masculine with rugged and adventurous attributes.... The smooth richness of tonka bean acts as the 'axle' that links and balances the fresh and warm notes, creating an olfactory sensation that can only be HUMMER." How'd you like to be stuck in an elevator with a guy wearing that?

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With high-end java joints spreading into every corner of the country, it seems that getting a piping-hot cup of coffee wherever you go couldn't be easier. But it wasn't convenient enough for Wolfgang Puck. Last year, the celebrity chef introduced a line of packaged lattes in self-heating containers. A reaction between water and calcium oxide in a sealed inner cone warms up your drink in six to eight minutes, time you might spend pondering whether getting ten ounces of coffee in a half pound of single-use packaging is much of a breakthrough.

(Hummer Fragrance photo courtesy of Riviera Concepts Inc.)

Welcome!

"The Green Life" was launched in the November/December 2005 issue of Sierra magazine as a place to showcase trendsetting people, cool products, and empowering ideas. Quickly we saw that there was too much happening, too fast, to limit our coverage to a few bimonthly pages, and thus this blog was born.

When we devoted our January/February 2005 issue to the burgeoning green-lifestyle movement, we saw there was a huge interest in earth-friendly options for living well. What we wear, where we live, how we get around, and how we spend our money affects not only our own quality of life, but the quality of our environment. Fortunately, style and sustainability increasingly go hand in hand, reaffirming our belief that the best things in life truly are green.

What's your favorite green product? What ideas have made your life a little easier and the Earth a little happier? Share your rants, raves, tips, and questions with other readers and us.

--Jennifer Hattam, editor