William the Garbage Truck Crew: William is Going Green
June 23rd, 2009
William Is Going Green is the first book in the William the Garbage Truck series. Starting out as a smoky white garbage truck, William learns about conservation, makes friends, and eventually transforms into a green hybrid recycling truck committed to the fight against global warming. Join William as he makes his debut in this enchanting, colorful adventure.
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50 Plus One Tips for Going Green (Thorndike Large Print Health, Home and Learning)
June 23rd, 2009
The news is out and it is not good. If we do not get serious about the environment, about going green and protecting the world in which we live, the consequences are dire. Oh, you say, you cannot do much about this huge problem-you are just one person. The government and big business needs to take on this responsibility. Well, that is bunk and every thinking person knows it, says author and environmentalist Alicia Marie Smith.
What it does take is a bit of time, commitment and some thoughtful decisions about the products you buy, what you do with them when they are used up and how you think and feel about the entire process of going green. If whole cities are doing it, surely each person can make small efforts in this crucial battle with junk, bad environmental policies and the so-called inconveniences of going and staying green.
In this wonderful and practical book, you will learn:
Why going and staying green is so important.
What are renewable and sustainable resources all about.
Why the basics-recycling and free-cycling are crucial to the war on junk.
The green method of buying a car.
What being a green consumer is all about.
Simple changes in and around the home can make a huge difference.
Why building and remodeling green are so important-and can save money in the long run!
Get involved; get committed; get educated. Join the most important movement of the 21st century-and become a citizen of the world in your own little way. Fifty plus one Tips for Going Green is easy, accessible and fun!
How to detect misleading ads
June 23rd, 2009
How do you know if an ad is telling the truth? It’s not always easy, but there are certain clues you can look for to determine if the claims an ad is making are legit or if a marketer is purposely trying to mislead you into thinking a product is healthier, safer, or greener than it truly is.
Here are some ways to determine if advertising claims are fact or fiction…
Words matter. Look for specific rather than general claims. The following words are essentially meaningless because they are too vague and/or there aren’t any standard definitions for them:
- Natural
- Hypoallergenic
- Nontoxic
- Fragrance-free or unscented
- Free range
- Hormone-free
- Antibiotic-free
- Eco-friendly, environmentally preferable, or eco-safe
- Green
Meaningless claims are ubiquitous in the marketplace. For instance, about 33 percent of food and beverage products launched last year made some kind of natural claim. When shopping, it’s safer to look for specific attributes, but there are no guarantees because in many cases there’s no one verifying the manufacturers claims.
Some examples of specific claims:
- Made from post-consumer recycled paper
- Formaldehyde-free
- No additives
- No animal byproducts
- No parabens
- Phosphate-free
Visit Consumer Reports’ Eco-labels center to find out which labels and terms you can trust.
Look for proof. Choose products with claims that can be verified or that have been certified by a third party. These products have been vetted by an independent agency to ensure that they meet certain standards. Some credible logos to look for include USDA Organic, Energy Star, Forest Stewardship Council certified, Rainforest Alliance certified, and Green Seal.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently charged K-Mart and other companies with makingdeceptive and unsubstantiated biodegradable claims on some paper products. The FTC is expected to update its outdated regulations for green advertising claims sometime this year. Hopefully consumers won’t have to read between the lines quite as much if the government cracks down on misleading claims.
Rely on experts. These websites do the homework for you: GoodGuide rates food, toys, personal care items, and household products based on environmental, social, and health attributes. Greenzer collects product and merchant info from across the Internet to create a score for each product it features on its site. Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database can help you find the safest and healthiest cosmetics and personal care products.
Check out TerraChoice’s list of the Seven Sins of Greenwashing for additional tips on sniffing out misleading advertising.
Want to see some of the most egregiously misleading ads? View a fullsampling, post your own examples, and vote for the worst offenders atthe Greenwashing Index. Or read about Huddler’s top picks.
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Yahoo! Green is now on Twitter! Follow us at http://twitter.com/YahooGreen. Â
Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.
Loving, Living, Party Going
June 23rd, 2009
Henry Green explored class distinctions through the medium of love. This volume brings together three of his novels contrasting the lives of servants and masters (Loving); workers and owners, set in a Birmingham iron foundry (Living); and the different lives of the wealthy and the ordinary, (Party Going).
Going Green: A Wise Consumer's Guide to a Shrinking Planet
June 23rd, 2009
Going Green focuses on the biggest environmental culprits of the American lifestyle–our diet, our housing, our clothing, and our transportation–and provides practical, effective steps we can all take to reduce our carbon footprint and live more sustainably. Comprehensive, yet written with the same approachable and empowering tone as Veggie Revolution (also by mother/daughter team Sally and Sara Kate, aka “Sadie,” Kneidel) the book draws on personal interviews and real-life examples to demonstrate both the challenges and rewards of making environmentally responsible choices.
Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet
June 23rd, 2009
Going Green focuses on the biggest environmental culprits of the American lifestyle–our diet, our housing, our clothing, and our transportation–and provides practical, effective steps we can all take to reduce our carbon footprint and live more sustainably. Comprehensive, yet written with the same approachable and empowering tone as Veggie Revolution (also by mother/daughter team Sally and Sara Kate, aka “Sadie,” Kneidel) the book draws on personal interviews and real-life examples to demonstrate both the challenges and rewards of making environmentally responsible choices.
Honda working on two new ultra-cheap hybrids
June 23rd, 2009
Sadly, the new Honda Insight isn’t selling as well as Honda had hoped. The Prius still reigns supreme. And, since it is the more advanced (though more expensive) option, we can’t really argue with that. But Honda is taking the news in stride. Instead of backing off of their commitment to hybrids, it looks like they’re planning two more, and they’re hoping to make them even cheaper.
While the Prius is the technology leader, it is important that we bring the costs of hybrids down so that more people can get better gas mileage, and that is Honda’s goal. Honda’s president says they’re working on two new hybrids, and that they will both be even cheaper than the Insight. One of these will probably be a hybrid version of the Fit, which could easily come in at $17,000, and the other might be the CR-Z (pictured) which is slated for launch in 2011.
Via AutoBlogGreen
The seven rules of budget travel
June 22nd, 2009
(Photo courtesy of Slickrock Adventures)
I’m a big believer in the popular environmental mantra: Think globally, act locally. When it comes to saving the planet, that saying is as true as it is simple.
And when I travel, my rule of thumb for keeping it green and keeping it cheap is: Think locally, travel globally.
You’ll usually find the most eco-friendly and genuine travel experiences when you spend less – not more – and get local, no matter where in the world you’re wandering. It’s all about traveling independently (not in a tour group or packaged tour) and drilling down to the local level, getting a true sense of place by experiencing it as if you live there.
Here’s how…
Guidebooks kill: Consult a good, locally researched guidebook like those in the Lonely Planet series for basic background and logistical info before you travel, but don’t use it to plan your every move, like where you’ll stay, eat, and hang out. By the time a guidebook recommends something, it’s usually overrun with tourists (and overpriced).
Travel without reservations: Except for perhaps the first night or two when you’re traveling overseas and going to be suffering from jetlag, avoid making advance reservations at hotels and other accommodations before you leave home.
You’ll generally pay a lot more for lodging reserved from overseas, and they’re rarely the type of local, affordable places you can only find once you’re there. Plus, advance reservations limit your ability to be spontaneous in your travels.
The Three L’s Rule (Look for Lines of Locals): If you’re looking for a good meal or friendly place to have a beer, put away your guidebook and open up your eyes and ears. Looking for where the locals hang out and chatting it up with them is the best – and cheapest – way to travel.
Local transportation and short distances are best: Traveling slowly, covering short distances, and staying in towns longer is the key to really getting a sense of place and people. Linger in places you’ve never heard of and where you don’t see another tourist; don’t plan an itinerary that’s just one popular tourist destination (aka tourist trap) followed by another.
Taking public transportation, hiking, or bicycling will give you a great opportunity to meet local people and see how they live. Plus it will save you a busload of traveler’s checks.
Sleep cheap: Americans can travel to almost anywhere in the world and pay top dollar to stay in an American-style hotel, just like the ones back home. Why even bother to travel if that’s what you want?
Look for locally owned, mom and pop places to stay, pensions, and public camping facilities (sometimes they’re free). Check out youth hostels, couch surfing, and house-swapping for a highly affordable, and rewarding, travel experience.
Prepare at least some of your own meals: Sampling the fare in local restaurants is one of the joys of travel, but you’ll sell your trip short – and spend a lot more – if you don’t at least occasionally pick up some groceries from a local market and prepare some of your own meals. Maybe it’s just simple breakfast foods or picnic supplies.
Shopping for food where the locals shop is one of the most enlightening cultural experiences I know of when you travel, and it just happens to make travel much more affordable.
Keep it green when you travel: Not surprisingly to this Green Cheapskate, a recent study commissioned by eco-friendly lodging chain Element Hotels found that 41% of the people they surveyed said that their vigilance about conserving resources is due to the economy (i.e., It saves me money!), while just 28% said it was due to the environment.
The upshot is that when people travel, their eco-conscious habits often slip; they’re not as vigilant about things like turning off the lights in their hotel room, since they’re not paying the electric bill. Don’t leave your eco-ethics at home when you hit the road this summer, because you can’t fool Mother Nature.
Jeff Yeager is the author of the book The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches. His website is UltimateCheapskate.com.
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More from The Daily Green
- The 10 Most Romantic Ecotourism Destinations
- 11 Eco-Friendly Volunteer Vacations
- 30+ Ways to Save Money by Going Green
- 10 Surprising Uses for Vodka
- 10 Easy Ways to Save Gas
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc
