The Dirty Dozen

The Environmental Working Group has developed a list of how different fruits and vegetables rank as far as the amount of pesticides are still on the food when we eat it. They used the US Department of Agriculture Pesticide Testing Program to create their list.

Not surprisingly, foods with a thick rind, or shell, like corn or cantaloupe, give us less exposure to these chemicals, where fruits and berries, like peaches and blueberries, give us high exposure.

Download a pocket-friendly list of the dirty dozen and safe 15 at their site or look at the full list to see where your favorite foods rank.

http://www.foodnews.org/

Green Baby Supplies

Eco Rattle points you in the direction of some awesome green items for your baby.

http://www.ecorattle.com/

Green Shoes

Simple Shoes takes a lot of time and effort to make sure everthing used to make their shoes is as green as possible.

http://simpleshoes.com/

rebates on water-saving purchases

Many Water districts offer rebates on washers and toilets Like these from Santa Clara Valley in California

on washers:
http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water_conservation/In_the_home/Washer_rebates.shtm

on toilets (dual flush):
http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water_conservation/In_the_home/High_efficiency_toilet_rebates.shtm

water saving plants:
http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water_conservation/In_the_home/_Water-wise_plant_list.shtm

Green Hotel Chains

Starwood Hotels & Resorts this week opened the doors of its first Element brand hotel in Lexington, Mass. The goal is the have a chain of eco-friendly hotels. also Starwood will open the "1" chain of hotels as well. The firm plans to build all its “1” hotels to meet LEED standards. The level of LEED certification it hopes to achieve will vary from building to building, says Starwood spokesperson Tom Johnson.

Plans for other “1” hotels are underway in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; and Paris, France.

Eco Metro Guide

At Andronico's grocery in Berkeley today I saw this Eco Guide which essentially a entertainment guide for the eco-friendly world. It costs $20 but is full of coupons and info for local communities. They are avail for the East SF Bay area, Portand, Eugene OR, Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul), and Seattle. Get yours here:

http://www.ecometro.com/

Nellie's has a new site...

Nellie's, makers of non-toxic detergents and those awesome dryer balls, have redesigned their site, and it's worth a visit...

http://www.nelliesallnatural.com/

nau - clothing

https://www.nau.com/homepage/index.jsp#/shopnau/products/107W802

Why should living green mean make you smelly?

Saffron Rouge - Source for organic skin care and aromatherapy

http://www.saffronrouge.com

Natural store for Pet products

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/default.aspx

Biodegradable "plastics"

This is an Austrilian supplier of "plastics" like planting pots, dinnerware, etc... that biodegrade once you've disposed of them. I'm not sure how the product knows not to biodegrade until after you've thrown it away, or maybe I'm mis-reading that info.

It looks like they only sells their products wholesale. Which is a bummer, I absolutely love a couple of the colors they make their palnting pot in, that blue is GREAT. I'd like to know where their products might be available in the U.S. or if there is a U.S. manufacturer.

http://www.enviroarc.net/index.php

CFL's vs. LED's

A video explanation of CFL's vs. LED - very scientific

http://www.21st-century-citizen.com/2007/09/13/youtube-video-compare-led-lights-and-cfl-light-bulbs-energy-savings/

Local Christmas tree farms

keep the impact of your tree to a minumum.

http://www.greenpromise.com/resources/organic-christmas-trees.php

Paper Log maker

Smash your newspapers into logs for your fireplace. This neat tool is only $30 and provides you a handy way of getting rid of your newspapers and providing a warm fire at the same time.

http://www.taylorgifts.com/prodetail~itemNo~27931.asp

Music & Green Living Blog

There's a great resource secction for musicians where you can find sustainable instruments, CD packaging, etc... http://green.jambase.com/2007/05/getting-to-know-your-guitar-interview.html/

green Stocking Stuffers List

From Inhabit

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/gift-guide-green-stocking-stuffers/

thanks to Jamie for the link!

BTC Elements "Be The Change"

lots of products including this recycled billboard messenger bag...

http://btcelements.com/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=97

Recycled Rubber bags

get an awesome dom rep by carting one of these around...made from discarded truck inner tubeshttp://btcelements.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=82

Organic products

https://oneseason.mionegroup.com/home

From the website "The average adult uses 9 personal care products daily exposing them to 126 chemicals every day"

personal observation: doesn't everything on the planet have chemicals in it, and aren't chemicals naturally occuring?

Reware Store

Go here to find solar backpacks by Juice Bag ($$$) and other fun environmentally-friendly items

http://www.rewarestore.com/index.html