We know what you’ll be making for brunch today. 

Welcome to Sunday Brunch, a new weekly series that’s bringing you inventive and delicious brunch recipes from our favorite food blogs around the web. Today, it’s Sour Cream Pecan Crumb Cake from Turntable Kitchen in the oven. And since Turntable Kitchen is known for pairing music with food, they even made us a special brunch playlist to serve up with this recipe.

Sour Cream Pecan Crumb Coffee Cakes
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
*Serves a crowd

The cake:

• 3 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 sticks of butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 1/4 cups of sugar
• 1 16-ounce package of sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

The chocolate cinnamon swirl:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

The pecan crumb:

• 3/4 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3/4 cup of roughly chopped, toasted pecans
• 6 tablespoons of cold butter (unsalted), diced into small cubes

1. Start by making the pecan crumb topping by putting all of the ingredients, save the butter, into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the butter, pulsing until fully incorporated. Chill in the refrigerator while you make the cake.

2. Whisk the sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon in a small bowl to combine to make the swirl.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter until smooth and light. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.

6. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed.

7. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Next, beat in the dry mix in three additions (don’t over mix the batter).

8. Pour about 1/3 of the cake batter into the pan, spreading it evenly. Top with half of the chocolate-cinnamon swirl mixture.

9. Pour another third of the batter and top with the rest of the chocolate-cinnamon swirl mixture.

10. Pour in the rest of the batter, smoothing it evenly. Sprinkle with the crumb topping.

11. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

12. Once cool, cut into crowd-serving-sized squares or rectangles.

*Note: if you are using a smaller pan, you should keep in mind that the cake will take much longer to cook (up to an hour and forty five minutes). To make sure you don’t burn the crumb topping, make a foil tent and cover the pan while you bake.

Sunday Brunch is an ongoing series featuring brunch recipes from some of our favorite food blogs around the web. New recipes every Sunday, so that you’re ensured a gourmet weekend. Bon appetit!

ColumnFive of our favorite foodie blogs involving everything from music to local produce.

It happens to all of us: the kitchen routine. You’re tired and uninspired and what happens? Your meal, at best, becomes a bowl of sauteed greens. Not that there’s anything with a bit of chard and kale thrown together in the frying pan, but sometimes we all need a little kick in the pants when it comes to cooking. Fortunately there’s the internet, and it has been helping foodies for years.

So go ahead, fuel your culinary prowess and overall food presentation with these 5 blogs:

1. Turntable Kitchen

What should you listen to at your next dinner party? Turntable Kitchen has the answer. It’s a food blog with a musical twist, pairing meals with music. Every recipe they have has a song to go with it, and they even do monthly mixes, which are sure to get the creative kitchen juices flowing.

2. Simply Breakfast

If visual inspiration is all you’re looking for, Simply Breakfast is the place to find it. Jennifer Causey documents her morning meals and keeps things, well, simple, by only posting a photo of what found its way onto the breakfast table. No titles, no recipes, just good old fashion food photography, sure to get your brain going for what to serve tomorrow morning.

3. Foodzie

You know that bored sigh you let out when you look in your refrigerator and everything seems the same? You can cut that out with the help of Foodzie, an online marketplace that lets you buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers. Track down producers by region with the help of the Foodzie map or spend some time perusing the ample amounts of various artisanal products.

4. Kokblog

Kokblog is a personal favorite – a combo of recipes and amazing food illustrations – that never fails to inspire. The most recent example: Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake. A Scandinavian classic, I had been looking for the ultimate recipe for a while, when Johanna Kindvall’s version showed up. Thanks to almond meal instead of flour and my own addition of cardamom, it’s a recipe to be reckoned with.

5. Big Girls Small Kitchen

I have a personal affinity for this site since the name pretty much sums up my own culinary experience. If you’re pressed for time and money, this site is for you, as it’s all about simple and inexpensive meals that are still fun and creative. Love.

Happy cooking!

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Kokblog

ColumnThanks to the internet, there’s a blog for every kind of food, no matter how weird.

The only thing more important to a foodie than a kitchen is the internet. How else are you going to showcase all of your favorite food porn shots that you take at dinner every night? But just like with anything on the internet, it’s easy to go too far. Fortunately that means entertainment for the rest of us, and if you’re really lucky, maybe even some weird food inspiration. Here are our top 10 picks of weird food blogs, enjoy!

1. Scandybars

“Like a blog in a candy store,” this blog is almost a scientific collection of candy. It features the photos of cross sections of various candy bars, making you think of your favorite $0.99 overly sugary chocolate fix in a whole new way.

2. Scanwiches

The cross section fad continues, this time with scanwiches. Some look grosser than others (hint: hotdogs), but you never know what might just turn into the inspiration for tomorrow’s lunch.

3. F*ck You Yelper

As helpful as Yelp can be, crowd sourcing food reviews inevitably leads to a fair amount of moronic opinions. Thankfully F*ck You Yelper has them all rounded up in one place, sure to amuse anyone that’s ever questioned the future of society after spending a little too much time perusing Yelp comments.

4. The Bacon Show

Disclaimer: there are a lot of bacon blogs out there. But this one is one of the most extensive, currently claiming over 2000 recipes. And they stick true to their motto of, “One Bacon Recipe, Everyday, Forever.” So if you’re as obsessed with bacon as every other internet user, check it out.

5. Airline Meals

There’s no getting around it: traveling is fun but airplane food is not. Just because you got yourself on an international flight and don’t have to pay $10 for a dry and scratchy turkey – wait, is that actually turkey?? – sandwich, does not mean you’re going to get a satisfying meal. If you’re stuck in economy, all you can do is hope that your meal will be interesting enough to photograph and pop onto Airline Meals, which has a stunning archive of all kinds of meals served to the mile high club.

6. What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner?

Tired? Feeling a drought of culinary creativity? Take that negative energy and make your way over to What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner, a site that gives some simple and humorous suggestions on what you should be serving. Don’t expect any recipes, but at least you’re getting some advice, which we all know the internet is always good for.

7. This is Why You’re Fat

An internet sensation, This is Why You’re Fat is the epitome of weird food blogs. Feel bad about your diet lately? A quick scan through some of these photos will get you back to carrot sticks and hummus in no time.

8. Hipster Food

A quality food blog whose name is intended to be tongue-in-cheek. It’s actually a vegan food blog with creative recipes and hipster enough that they don’t capitalize the first letter of a sentence. Even if you have a vegan vendetta, you should still probably check it out.

9. Cutest Food

If you’re like me and have a cupcake aversion, consider yourself warned: this blog is sweet, saccharin, and mostly pink. Think panda cupcakes and waffles with multicolored heart shaped sprinkles. Le sigh.

10. Paula Deen Riding Things

What can we say, the iconic sugar, butter and fried queen photoshopped onto various images is hilarious. Almost as great as Paula’s actual website.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Cutest Food, Scandybars, Scanwiches,F*ck You Yelper, Natalie Dee, Airline Meals, What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner, This is Why You’re Fat, Hipster Food, Cutest Food, Paula Deen Riding Things

Welcome to cub web publishing 101, the course for literary teens who go one further than Facebook to flex their writing muscles via blogs devoted to pop culture, fashion and eco activism. Green teen blogging is the new black. But just like the sport of crew, it takes time away from homework. You have to want to get your strokes from more than a bunch of A’s on a card. Meet a few of the new breed.

While most high school freshman call it a day after trudging through the mixed cauldron of Macbeth, ancient Rome and conjugating Spanish verbs, It’s Getting Hot in Here contributor Shadia Fayne Wood blogs about climate justice. At fifteen, she joined the World Summit on Sustainable Development – joining efforts to create the Official Youth Energy Policy Statement. She now helps coordinate a global youth journalism network, Project Survival Media and while keeping a personalblog and pursuing a freelance photography sideline.

At Teens Turning Green, founded in Marin County, CA., concerned teens from around the globe blog to further the goal of  eliminating toxic chemicals from individual lives. Part of the joy is using the art of writing to effect change.

Its co-founder, Erin Schrode, got her start as a “sustainability prodigy” at the website and it led to awards, testimony before lawmakers and paid writing gigs by the time she was sixteen. Now, at nineteen, she is a guest blogger on Dr. Greene and other sites, and has a healthy TTG cosmetic line promoted by Whole Foods.

“They become experts and have something to share, and that is why they are blogging and articulating their perspectives,” says Judi Shill, Shrode’s mom and co-founder of the site. Shill finds blogging isn’t always an entree into journalism but is a sign of the times of how teens today communicate. Still, she admits some of the writing is “extraordinary” – and you can tell who is taking it further.

Taking it further might require the kind of chutzpah displayed by freelance teen reporter, Daniel Wetter, a member of the Scholastic Press Corps who often reports on eco issues. The upstart also has a passion for sports and covered the winter Olympics at fourteen, despite not having proper credentials. That’s the makings of a network sports writer – no shrinking violet in the locker room! “Every day has a new story to cover which is why I love journalism,” he says, and proves it by seeking out stories in his Sacramento community and working for his school paper, The Growler.

And then, in a league of her own, is fashion force Tavi Gevinson. The 14-year-old haute couture devotee, who also covers second hand shopping, has been writing the consumption blog, Style Rookie, since she was eleven. Next stop, a collaboration with Sassy creator Jane Pratt to produce a new teen publication for what Gevinson calls “wallflowery teenage girls.” A profile on the suburban Chicagoan in The New Yorker, points out bloggers have only recently become important in the world of fashion (our own Amy DuFault has the green niche covered), and that Tavi at fourteen is already an old pro who adeptly navigates her away around the backstage of shows, as well as on the web.

“In seventh grade, I’d come home from school and take an outfit picture, post it, write a little bit about it, and write a little bit about the day,” Tavi told the magazine. “Now, I want to write more article-y things.”

Gevinson is able to crossover from silly to serious because luminaries such as Karl Lagerfeld believe the idiosyncratic, four-foot-ten chronicler has something to say, her fresh eye not “ruined by zillions of bad collections.”

Fresh perspective is nurtured at enrichment workshops for kid writers, such as ones held at 826 Valencia, founded by author Dave Eggers and educator, Ninive Calegari. Stanford University’s EPGY (Education Program for Gifted Youth) urges creative wordsmiths to leap into fountains on the Stanford campus and leave anonymous poems on random  bikes.   Lekha School of Writing in San Jose, CA., circumvents the red tape of publishing houses with an adjunct service of publishing works completed by its best students. Some make it into bookstores before the kid has a driver’s license.

Meanwhile, savvy school teachers also play a vital role in prompting talented writers to journey beyond the classroom to reach a wider audience, even if it means a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

“If students write for an audience of one teacher, they often don’t feel motivated,” says Paul Totah, educator and Director of Communications at Saint Ignatius college Preparatory in San Francisco. “Real world publishing is the best way to inspire good writing.”

Totah, like many of the most insightful instructors, is a former writer who has been in the trenches.

“Whenever I applied for a job as a writer, no one cared what college I went to or what grades or SAT scores I received,” shares Totah. “They looked at my writing portfolio and hired me because of the quality of the writing. Students know they are judged by how well they write anything, from emails to memos to sticky notes, and that concise, powerful prose will serve them in whatever they pursue.”

Edgy and current prose also serves them when selling “article-y things”, catching the eyes of avid Tweeters. But beware of early burn out. It’s a tempting, yet tangled, word wide web we weave, a seemingly endless one at that. The advantage of publishing early comes with a requisite of restraint. Otherwise, prodigies like the Tavi Gevinsons of the world could slide dangerously into child star Lindsay Lohan territory, and risk being washed up before experience and wisdom takes their art to new heights.

Images: Extra Ketchup;  It’s Getting Hot in Here; The Style Rookie; Erin Schrode; Lekha Publishing

So, what’s on the menu? Now that the chaos of the traditional November feast is but a faint memory, is your menu already lined with dishes fit for a photograph and waiting to flirt with your palate? Admittedly, it may be a little too soon (do you still have leftovers lingering in the fridge?) to write the menu for your next gathering, but the following will give you one more thing (resource) to be grateful for.

What Katie Ate is a blog chronicling the culinary adventures of food stylist and photographer Katie Quinn Davies. Now, I realize that recreating the delicious recipes sprinkled around her blog will undoubtedly not be quite as poetically photogenic, but your taste buds will be just as pleased (you can always eat with your eyes closed).

Ms. Davies’ blog is undeniably one of the most aesthetically lovely places of online real estate, yet it’s laced with pragmatic recipes and confections that allow you to get knee deep in ingredients, baking, and sautéing. What Katie Ate is located in Australia, so there is a touch of the southern hemisphere in her foodie addiction.

Next time you need to consult a cookbook for recipes, peruse the pages of What Katie Ate.

So, what’s on the menu?

(All images by Katie Quinn Davies from What Katie Ate.)

As many of you know, here at EcoSalon, we often emphasize the point that sustainable travel is not just about carbon offsets and packing lighter. Sustainable travel is about conscious travel, and thinking about your next adventure with a holistic approach; everything from where you go and who you stay with, to what tour operators you use and how you get around town. Ultimately, sustainable travel is also about making sure that as travelers we’re doing our best to ensure that the places we want to explore stick around for other people to enjoy them as well, and that means traveling in a manner that’s environmentally, humanly and culturally conscious.

There are a lot of great resources out there on sustainable travel and eco tourism to help guide you in your quest to be a more conscious traveler, with everything from general travel guides to specific listings of sustainable destinations. We’ve rounded up our favorite top 10.

1. Sustainable Travel International – This is the eco traveler’s go-to resource for all things related to sustainable travel. They run an excellent and informative blog that keeps you up to speed on the latest developments in the eco tourism world, and their Eco Directory lets you search travel and tourism providers that have been vetted for their commitment to sustainable practices.

2. Matador – The world’s largest independent magazine, Matador offers a wealth of information to those looking to travel off the beaten path. The articles here are succinct, savvy and are all focused on travel that benefits both the traveler and the local communities. Check out Matador Change which boasts a variety of green travel tips as well as voluntourism organization profiles.

3. Intelligent Travel – National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel blog isn’t specifically green focused, but with the traditional National Geographic attitude it features articles, profiles and tips that all fall under the category of conscious travel, with travel dispatches everywhere from New York City’s High Line to ancient rainforests in Australia.

4. Why Go EcoTourism – Part of the Bootsnall consortium of travel blogs, Why Go EcoTourism is a great place to start your eco travel research. You can easily navigate through various modes of accommodation, including eco lodges and farm stays, and get tips on other eco travel resources like books and guides.

5. Green Traveller – A UK-based site, Green Traveller offers advice on everything from cargo ship travel to staying in treehouses. It’s a well-respected site that’s been mentioned by other travel media like Conde Nast and Rough Guides.

6. Go Green Travel Green – Co-founded by travel savvy ladies Kimberly and Elizabeth Sanberg, Go Green Travel Green features the latest and greatest in green travel gear and tips. They’ve also got a great section on Green Travel 101 for those still a little unsure on the Who, What, Where and Why of it all.

7. HelpEx – If you’re looking to add a stay at an organic farm, or do some volunteer work on your next trip, HelpEx provides a great community of farms, B&Bs, and even sailboats that invites volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation. An excellent way to experience a new place if you’re a fan of slow travel and truly taking part in a local community.

8. The Guardian Green Travel – The Guardian’s section committed to green travel offers a wealth of advice, and includes features on up and coming destinations along with highlighting those spots you just thought couldn’t get any more interesting.

9. Seat 61 – If taking the train enters into any of your travel plans, make sure to consult Seat 61. In the online travel community, this is the one and only site to go to when it comes to researching train travel in other countries. The site covers in detail train travel in almost every country that trains exist, including links to train travel companies, tourism boards and tips on buying tickets.

10. Traveling Greener – Traveling Greener is a blog inspired by green travel news and trends, so it’s jam packed with the latest and greatest in green travel information. Check out Traveling Greener’s Twitter feed too which always has links to interesting articles and tidbits.

Image: Gianni D

Sustainable Is Good

This design blog gets high marks from us for focusing on not just green products and packaging, but “the whole lifestyle associated with being sustainable in the home.” It certainly does more than pay lip-service to eco-friendly living – Sustainable Is Good purchases 100% renewable energy uses only green energy to power its site.

Ecoki

If you’re looking for offbeat design and lifestyle news (eco-friendly cigarettes, anyone?), you’ll find this at Ecoki. From nature-inspired decorating themes to how a 71-story tower in China can possibly be the most energy-efficient building in the world, this site digs up fascinating nuggets of info that will interest just about anyone.

TreeHugger

Backed by the same company that produces the Discovery Channel and Planet Green, TreeHugger is the go-to site for the latest in design and architecture. They’ll keep you in the know about all the emerging trends in eco-friendly design, like this wicked-cool clip-on plant room for apartment buildings (uh, you step out there first).

re-nest

What’s not to love about this amazing design site that blends whimsy and charm with a touch of class? Bloggers here seem to have a knack for finding original home decorating eye candy that’s still eco-friendly with a nod to sustainability in addition to syndicating smart, savvy tips from around the green web.

Planet Green

Also backed by Discovery, the bloggers at Planet Green love to explore ways to inject natural and sustainable themes into ordinary homes and dorm rooms!). You’ll find timely tips on decorating on a budget, ideas for celebrating National Garden Month, and even what to do with those awful packing peanuts companies like to use.

Whole Living

The best part about this site’s green living section is how approachable it is for people just learning to navigate the waters of sustainable living. If you’re looking to start small and incorporate little changes one at a time, Whole Living teaches you neat things like how to make your own natural cleaners or where to find the best eco-sneakers.

Inhabitat

This site’s for the big dreamers who want to check out the future of innovative design. It covers everything from where to find upscale, eco-friendly hotels to the concept designs of some of the leading architects in field. Add Inhabitat to your daily reads to stay on top of the latest and greatest in good, green design.

Haute*Nature

There’s so much to love about this site, it’s hard to know where to start. You’ve got green building, furniture, DIY projects, fashion, and more, all wrapped up in one green little package. You’ll find all kinds of cool stuff here, including a wooden henhouse that’s nicer than our first apartment. Pay particular attention to the “Recycled” category for nifty finds like adorable handbags made from recycled plastic to catch-all baskets made from old rubber tires.

Righteous (re)Style

Here’s a design site with so much information it practically jumps from the screen. You won’t be able to look away from amazing finds like tin can wall coverings and vintage furniture you’ll adore. In fact, if you don’t come away from a visit to Righteous (re)Stylewith an overwhelming urge to redo a room, you’re not really trying.

Erika Richmond Green Roof Design

Not everyone is able accommodate a lawn or vegetable garden on the roof, but this is a terrific site to visit if you want to live vicariously through the people who can. You’ll also get fantastic ideas on how to grow flora and fauna in odd and unusual places. If a restaurant in Mexico City can grow a huge wall of greenery, surely you can glean some info on growing organic tomatoes in a window box.

There are so many fantastic design sites out there, we couldn’t possibly get them all in one post. Check back for more soon!

Image:

First up, hate throwing away pill bottles? I do – and ditto the capsules that 35mm film came in before we went digital. Put them all to good reuse instead.

Why are we doing all this? Why go green? Why talk it up to anyone who will listen? According to The Good Human, these are the wrong questions – because there are zero reasons not to want to go green.

At last, the practical yet painfully unhip personal shopping trolley gets a make-over. Out go the plastic, tartan-painted horrors (iconic if you’re a Brit) and in come the ethical Turtle Trolleys. Form an orderly queue.

For those of you living in climates with more sunlight than rain, one fun way to take the load off your AC bill is to line the windows with a film that blocks most of the heat and all of the UV rays. We spotted this variety via Modern Eco Homes, although that’s not a recommendation, since we haven’t tried it and the reviews are rather conflicted. Nice idea, nonetheless.

Feeling like the tide of human kindness is at a low ebb? Maybe the story of a tiny cardboard robot can convince you otherwise – and show a little of what binds people together in the big cities even when they think they’re alone.

Here’s a peek at some of the blogs we read.

For a head-scratching example of how environmental pollution gets even more messy when it hits the courts, read the mystery of the $42 Million Pesticide Dump at Treehugger. Shared blame means no blame, apparently.

Congratulations to Viva Terra – they’ve made it onto TIME’s Green Design 100.

On April 25th, Ford set their new hybrid on a journey to promote its astonishing fuel economy. Ford claimed it could manage 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas. Ford was wrong – it managed a jaw-dropping 1,445 miles. Is this the perfect PR stunt?

Watering plants is all about fine judgment. When you’re growing plants as an agricultural business, it could also be the difference between dehydrating your plants to death or killing your profits with over-watering. But modern technology has the answer – a tiny sensor that monitors if individual plants are getting just the right amount of water. Sounds like science fiction, but it’s right here at IEEE Spectrum.

Take a look at the photos in this post at designklub. Without looking at the text – how big would you say they are? You’re probably way off, because it’s the fascinating work of Christien Meindertsma, who is channeling the 16th Century Dutch cordage industry with his practical, tactile creations.

Have you heard of the Energy-Water Nexus? If not, be prepared – it’s a worry.

The latest casualty of global warming is…an Internet domain name? Like the Maldives, the islands of Tuvalu are starting to disappear into the sea, and they own the .tv domain. If they go, do their websites? No so – and frankly, I think the inhabitants are probably worrying about other things right now. Gawker via Hippyshopper.

A splash of color for you. The Boys in Blue are going green, as seen at Red Green and Blue. Got that?

Proving that modern table design is far from dormant, these three sustainably-produced tables have just graced the Modern Design Function Exhibition in San Francisco, and they’re all the work of local table guru Dylan Gold.

Why won’t the world simplify itself? Why do we fight entropy so much with our clutter and complication? I admit, I’m actually speaking about myself here – but if you struggle to simplify as well, try some of these spring-cleaning, simplifying techniques at Apartment Therapy.

Goats are eating machines. That’s why they’re proving a good green alternative to lawnmowers, with the added value of being family-friendly and almost unbearably cute. Ever-greening Google was quick to spot this – and MG Siegler from Techcrunch dropped in to see how a hired army of goats had fared with Mountain View’s variety of 4-foot brush.

We already know that dung is a deeply stylish substance – in the right context, that is. But would you believe that cattle dung will soon power L’Oreal? It’s fast becoming clear that poop – er, “biomass”- will be a superfuel of the 21st century.

We’ve talked about the problem of palm oil before. The Independent has undertaken a two-month investigation, and concludes that even more palm oil is being use than originally thought – finding it in 43 of 100 of Britain’s top grocery brands, no less.

When it comes to eco-friendly lighting, it’s nice to see America take the LEED. (You’re fired – Ed.). The latest glowing engineering feat? The Henry Miller theater in New York – the city’s first to be LEED-certified.

Josyln at Simple Lovely just drew her line in the sand. This Earth Day, she used her final paper towel. What would you – or what did you – give up this year? (We’ve given up the bottle.)

It could have become yet another Los Angeles housing development – but today, the Baldwin Hills scenic overlook offers a glimpse of the city before it was the city. One worry – it’s near what is estimated to be the largest urban oil field in the United States. See the full story at Dwell.

And lastly, if you’ve wondered what Larkyn has been up to, she’s been growing her own blog, Little Willow. A sample post: she’s helping spread the word about shoes resurrected from the basement of a Swedish clog factory.

Image: Szymon Blasczczyk

You turfed your roof? Yesterday’s green, darling, so yesterday’s green. Anyone who is anyone is lining theirs with loofah. Obviously you haven’t been hobnobbing with the right sort of people over at Ecopreneurist.

You’d be forgiven for losing track of the ever-changing landscape of quality green blogs out there. It’s a little dizzying. So here’s one to bookmark – Trends Updates lists its Top 40 Green Blogs.

The Environmental Protection Agency wants the world to view environmental criminals like any other sort of criminal – literally. As GreenBiz reports, a new EPA new web tool is designed to collate information on particular individuals for easy access by law enforcement agencies – and, remarkably, there is even a public-facing page for identifying fugitives.

Here’s an eco-experiment that takes some nerve. Catering company owner Ari Derfel has held on to every scrap of trash he’s produced in the last 12 months, keeping it in his house (which no, doesn’t smell like a landfill – he composts everything he can). A side benefit – it’s allowed him to scrutinize his diet in detail, and identify where his work is so stressful it’s making him seek solace in junk food. Read the full San Francisco Chronicle story here.

For those employers still resistant to greening up their businesses, consider the findings of the World Resources Institute – they estimate a 48% drop in profits for non-sustainable companies by 2018. Ouch.

A deeply distressing expose of the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed cull of tens of thousands of America’s wild horses. The response of the Animal Welfare Institute? It’s a measure “pure and simple to balance the books for an agency whose reckless management has caused immeasurable harm to a national treasure at considerable cost to the American taxpayer”.

“Hummer“. Boy, how that word has aged. And no wonder, when you tot up the impact this gas-guzzling beast has had on the world since 1983. (Salon does all the work for you).

Ready for Christmas? Me neither. But don’t worry – everyone feels that way. There’ll be plenty of time to panic later, so for now, have a read of The Inspired Room’s Six Strategies For Making The Holdays Sane, and put your feet up.

How do you feel about wearing fur? Elizabeth Rossiter puts her cards on the table, over at SpliceToday.

“Within four months, I’d lost more than 35 pounds and was below 180, less than I’d weighed in 30 years.” These are the words of Mark Bittman – and he accomplished this by going “Vegan ’til Six” (which allowed him to eat more).

Hot on the heels of the discovery that peridotite can soak up carbon dioxide, scientists in Britain and Central America are trialling a technique used by pre-Columbian Amazonian Indians that locked up CO2 in trees that were them processed into a soil-renewing charcoal, boosting agricultural productivity and locking carbon into the soil. The startling implications, in the words of Craig Sams (of Green & Blacks chocolate fame) – “if just two and a half per cent of the world’s productive land were used to produce “biochar”, carbon dioxide could be returned to pre-Industrial Revolution levels by 2050.”

Climate update: this year is the coolest since 2000. What does that mean in terms of global warming? Answer: nothing at all. Long-term trends contain short-term variations, as The Guardian explains. And in the short term, our global climate remains as concerning as every. Naysayers – listen to the scientists, not your weather report.

Are we all done with the fax machine? Not quite yet…but this relic of yesteryear will find it a struggle to fit into the paperless workplace of tomorrow. However, right now you probably still have one kicking around your workplace – so following these tips from GreenHackz will ensure you’re not sabotaging your principles when you use it.

If someone offered you a meat sausage that had been grown in a test-tube, you’d probably show a good pair of heels. But Shmeat is on the way. The impetus for its development is a $1 million prize to be awarded to the first market-ready batch of in vitro meat products – and it’s PETA stumping up that prize money. A step in the right direction, or entirely missing the point? Expect this one to grow and grow. Full story at Grist (via Huffington Post).

And lastly, courtesy of Lisa Farino at MSN – know your Christmas Tree!

Image: Jef Poskanzer