First up – free stuff! We’ve rhapsodized about the joys of Freecycle before, and no doubt we’ll do so again – it’s that good. But it’s also an opportunity for people to offload the craziest possessions – take these 18 items at The Daily Green.

Sustainable power is the way to tackle the imminent energy crisis head-on, but a few ground rules need to be laid down first. First, if it’s still using non-renewable resources behind the scenes, then it’s not sustainable. The recent Financial Times Energy Conference in London flagged this as a major threat to these fledgling energy technologies – as New Scientist reports.

If you’re wandering round San Francisco, you might well be lucky enough to stumble upon a studio filled with robots – the quirky, eerily human kind. Now there’s a use for all that metal we’re going to have lying around.

As the Arctic ice melts and breaks up, polar bears (you know, those creatures that shouldn’t be regarded as endangered, no sir) are finding it difficult to move around and hunt. Steven John Kazlowski’s photographs show this magnificent – and yes, threatened – animal in its beleaguered natural setting…

…while elsewhere, polar bear skins (acquired legally) are on sale from Canadian exporters. How very classy.

A common complaint about wind farms is that they’re an eyesore. So how do we feel about the idea of forests of enormous spinning advertisements, as reported by GreenBiz? Um.

As you read this, Boston will have banned drug store sales of cigarettes – following San Francisco’s lead as of last year. Furthermore, promises Dr. Barbara Ferrer of the city’s public health commission, in 10 years time all smoking bars will be consigned to the history books. Sounds like the place to be, doesn’t it?

As does Los Angeles, if you’re still going through your home and replacing incandescents with their greener counterparts. (CFLs are only a stop-gap on the way to universal LED coverage, but they’ll do nicely for now.)

It’s good to be a Brit. Our energy and climate change secretary has just announced that all British homes will receive a green makeover by 2030 (and a quarter by 2020), nicely in line with the UK government’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 80% over the next decade. Good show. (And thanks, Guardian).

If you want wood to look good, leave it out in the open. That certainly goes for the boards of Wyoming’s snow fences – as Alternative Consumer reports.

Okay, so PETA. Intentions A+, methodology D-. So what do we think of the Humane Society of the United States? Here’s Passionate Green’s thoughts on the matter.

When the snows howl down across our highways, out come the salters and gritters. Except…doesn’t salinity have a somewhat catastrophic effect on plantlife? It’s a problem Katharine Wroth examines at Grist, outlining a few friendlier alternatives. (And just in the nick of time).

Here’s a link with real value. Click here and you’ll have another hundred places to go – namely, a list of top organic living blogs featured by The Health Monitor. (But don’t click just yet – or you’ll miss all the cuteness at the end of this post!)

Oh, don’t get me started on this one. While too much of the popular media is continuing to confuse weather with climate, researchers are keen to explain how 2008 was still one of the warmest years on record. The climate charts paint a conclusive picture – as you can see in John Timmer’s article for Ars Technica.

And lastly – all together now – awww. And even more awww!

Image: zenera

The post Eco Links to Green Your Week appeared first on EcoSalon.

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.

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

The post Eco Links to Green Your Week appeared first on EcoSalon.