A year in Lifestyle – from dire rumblings over biofuel to the unprecedented eco-promises of President Elect Obama, from ravaged coral to eco sunscreen, personal sustainability to green careers. It’s been a whirlwind 12 months…and here’s why.

January: we first look at the menaces of urban tumbleweed, plastic hotel toiletries, greenwashing, and pondered the wisdom of using silicone cookware and fuel in place of food.

February: Kim checks out Japanese holistic toothpaste; salmon stocks crash in north California; we suggest shedding some light; orangutans swipe chopsticks for a good cause; Freecycle helps us get household essentials entirely for free; a mousetrap even mice might like; catalytic converters lose their green credentials; Luanne finds a coral cemetery; travel journals are an Art form – look!; and the bamboo that helps you read in the bath.

March: the first Seattle Green Festival; find out what “Touski” means; See Spot Recycle; not all City Slickers are lost in the country; it’s been a good, green year for laptops; how to lunch on brown bags (or green up your lunch bag); greenwashers on the run; my number 1 fan; AllTop launches; the joy of spring asparagus; how easy it is to give; nobody’s mowing the lawn; the Wabi Sabi way; cleaning without nasty chemicals; bringing back Slow Shaving; magical (not magic) mushrooms; a chat with Aaron “King Corn” Woolf; where else to keep strawberries?; one angry bird; vitamins for the needy; and how does your house score?

April: picnicking with (not against) the environment; You Are Beautiful; what is carbon offsetting anyway?; sustainable scrubbers; sardines are the new salmon; hogging rainwater; giving the almost-green a nudge; the complicated ethics of fur; how to spot if a restaurant is eco; upcycling the softest of brushes; what’s for Earth-dinner?; stain removal without skin removal; how to celebrate Earth Day, quick!; exactly how bamboo is sustainable and green; Harry Potter turns over a new leaf; the sense in embracing the ridiculous; when “reducing” apparently doesn’t mean “less”; the sudsless car wash; the right way to arrange a steamy tumble; and flagging down the right kind of (luxury) cab.

May: 60,000 pounds of shrimp every day – it has to be Las Vegas; plug those sizzling leaks; sneaky, sneaky plastic; chewy rope for furry friends; lunches you won’t want to wait for; sexy soil; greenscouring; the unacceptable nature of animal food-farming in America; the busy, buzzing farming assistants under mysterious threat; how (and how not) to charm a green goddess; plastic – out with the new, in with the old; the Why of rising prices; LEED-certified ELEMENT hotels launch; and lastly, lots of sex.

June: George W. Bush is “honored” by green activists; we’re unimpressed by the Eco Kettle; how to throw a party right; feeling good about eating meat; first steps (first revolutions?) with bikes; political greenscouring abounding; how we’re becoming Nature’s noisy neighbors; how much of our groceries get thrown out?; even matches can be re-thunk; the tranquil – and threatened – Joshua Tree National Park; gardening with the wind; the science of Shh!; Earthship ahoy; eco-friendly sunscreen; why individual choices matter; Do-It-Ourselves cities; the grass is always greener if it’s not faux; and Method get a makeover.

July: the enduring problem with palm oil; the first worldwide climate change pressure group; pack smarter, not lighter; a sustainable spread; 25 ways to fill your piggy bank; the unfairly-maligned clothespeg; as much soda as you can make; festival of destruction?; good habits start young; your SUV is redeemable; what’s cookin’ in the White House?; green buildings you can munch on; pingg!; 30 unusual compostable items; greenwasher is Bond villain; 10 ways to avoid eco-snobbery; marine conservation that works; hitting the spot with eco sex toys; new urbanism; a yoga mat that in every sense isn’t square; and 10 eco gifts that aren’t crunchy, preachy or political.

August: eco-friendly dining venues; curly light bulbs, explained; You vs. Junk Drawer; scoop the poop; Germans champion the passive approach; tips on first date butterflies; in the future, electricity will be weird; on your bike!; making sure your shade makes the grade; a very Italian recession; 15 life-changing books; green gadgets you won’t be able to keep your hands off; school supplies for budding greenies; worlds of meaning; 9 inventions they said would never work; eating out of palm leaves; Barnstable’s beach smoking ban; environmental art you’ll never forget; and lights out for England’s churches.

September: the rinse & return of milk bottles; shoes that never get wet?, e-book readers finally arrive; capping escaping caps; what the stars (the twinkling kind) can tell us; building a 21st-Century home; recycled specs; the gift of an eco action pack; SGF seeking SGM; crayons!; Mom, I think I solved the energy crisis; autumn yard decor; chain stores shrinking?; the navy shower; models wearing parachutes, and other madnesses; Greenbottling it; Solay cleaners; Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics; and 15 glimpses into houses of the future.

October: 10 lean, green fashion and decor deals; VroomVroomVroom; October Fair Trade roundup; the Virtual March; a dangerous love of olive oil; the innate profitability of organic farming; Starbucks in hot water; guilt-free roadtrips; of oil and ANWR; gits for an eco hostess; TripAdvisor’s More Than Footprints; greening your junk, 16 creative ways; Nokia’s wooden phone – well, maybe; 10 green collar jobs for 2009 and beyond; interview with Starre Vartan; a better Halloween (here too); 7 endangered species we’ll be seeing more of; USBCELL; cloth diapers fill with controversy; 10 tips for personal sustainability; 10 ways to unlock your inner green goddess; sustainable sushi; save the Angel Oak; shoes that fall apart for a good reason; and biomimicry – how we’re learning from the best.

November: prison inmates gathering moss; traveller’s gadgets; rain harvests; eco promises from the new guy in the White House; more worries over cellphones; the power of Maatiam; Nature’s healthy architecture; Facebook friends frenzy; Oceana Adopt-A-Creature; 12 DIY projects; the magic of England’s Cornwall (home of Eden); 10-4 10-4, top restaurant on the road; One Million Acts of Green; Smart Biking, smartphones and smart networking; Amazon rationalize their packaging (and about time); creative bookworming; the well-named Good Hotel; soldiers and civilians plant 6 million trees – in one day; 7 ways of giving meaningfully; Eco-Libris; eBay‘s environmental record gets spotty; party punch; Madeleine Pickens and wild mustangs; mulching Nature’s cast-offs; and the real cost of 10 everyday items.

December: Africa’s Last Eden; are e-book readers truly green?; Vroom, Woosh, Dig, Sizzle!; Canadians losing their bottle; interview with Robyn Griggs Lawrence; the generation that knows best; 9 reasons not to buy pets from a pet store; elephants are better off in the wild, suggests study; getting there greener; environmentalism 2.0; a viral Brighter Planet; Go-Ahead Group set standards for travel; 7 outrageous PETA stunts; pocket markets take a stand; a new perspective on camel humps; the marvellous Bicycle Commuter Act; your plastic “friend” goes green?; the Surfrider Foundation; 10 reasons to love being on a train; electronic recipe books (at 20 times the price); eco board games; Dubai cons the environment; humane veal?; Australia’s Sunshine Coast; one teenager makes a difference in Darfur; questions to ask your printer; and Vegan Hoppin’ John!

Image: Sir Mervs

The post The Best Green Tips and News: 220+ Lifestyle Links to Start Your New Year appeared first on EcoSalon.

A lot of people talk, but real change requires action. I’m inspired by one person who has made a difference for hundreds of women in Darfur. And he’s only 17.

From his suburban home in Maryland, Spencer Brodsky kept hearing about the extreme dangers faced by the women of Darfur when they leave the relative safety of the refugee camps to scour the desert for firewood for cooking. Women often have to walk miles in their search and risk the possibility of being murdered or raped – frightfully common in that region – each time they venture away. (Sexual assault is a “way of life” for the women of Darfur, and the international political community has been slow to help.)

Brodsky decided to raise money to buy efficient stoves for these women, requiring only ¼ of the wood, so they wouldn’t have to risk their safety and lives nearly as often. He’s raised enough money to send 420 stoves over. It’s a small step towards healing in the Darfur region, but it’s a truly compassionate one and it comes from the heart. We need people like Spencer who don’t allow distance, age or any other factor keep them from doing what they know is right.

Find out more if you’d like to make a donation to Stoves For Darfur. We hope you’ll consider it.

Image: hdptcar

The post One Teenager Makes a Difference for the Women of Darfur appeared first on EcoSalon.