by Mercia

These are my favorite green gift recommendations this holiday season from GreenandMore.com. We have tested all these green gift items and know that they work and think that in some way they all contribute to making the Planet a better place for future generations.

Mercia Tapping
President, GreenandMore.com

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	HYDROGEN MODEL CAR
	I showed this Hydrogen powered model car to a bunch of high tech CEOs who all wanted one for themselves - forget about the kids! This is a big kid toy. For most of us, hydrogen powered vehicles seem like a distant dream but take a glimpse of the future with the power source that may one day power the planet. In 2006 this was Time magazine’s best new toy of the year. The Science Kits at $259.99 are what we are giving to the grand kids this holiday season. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: HYDROGEN MODEL CAR $114.99
	KILL-A-WATT ELECTRICITY MONITOR
	With the ever increasing costs of energy wouldn’t it be nice to cut down on costs by finding out which machines and appliances in your home are actually worth keeping plugged in? The Kill-A-Watt Electricity Monitors are the perfect device! Simply connect your appliances to the Kill-a-Watt electricity usage monitor and it will assess how efficient any appliance or machine really is. Wonderful stocking stuffer for Dad! CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: KILL-A-WATT ELECTRICITY MONITOR $39.99
	JONTA LED FLASHLIGHTS
	Ever run around in a power outage only to find your flashlight has run out of batteries? You can just crank these powerful Jonta flashlights up if they ever die on you but with 100,000 hours of LED light that is very unlikely. With no dead batteries to put in landfills these make a useful green gift. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: JONTA LED FLASHLIGHTS $69.99
	INDIGO ULTRABRIGHT LED LANTERNS
	These lanterns are perfect for camping or additional lighting on your deck providing 2.5 hours of continuous light before you wind them up and no batteries required, making them a useful but eco friendly gift or household item. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: INDIGO ULTRABRIGHT LED LANTERNS $41.99
	SOLIO SOLAR CHARGERS
	The Solio charger is a solar powered energy source that can power all of your electronic devices from cell phones to iPods to GPS systems. The sleek, ultra modern design is also compact and lightweight making it great for anyone who is on the go in the outdoors and finds themselves out of juice. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: SOLIO SOLAR CHARGERS $119.95 and up
	SOLAR JUICE BAGS
	Flexible solar panels on your computer notebook case, handbag or back pack – can you believe that? We gave one to our teenage grandson a messenger bag as a gift last month. Stay plugged in to your iPod, cell-phone, or other electronic device while at the beach, walking to class, or simply window shopping. Juicebag Solar Bags and Backpacks have you covered. Each uses a flexible panel of cells and represents the latest in flexible solar technology. And every bag, made of recycled soda bottles, is constructed of rip-stop nylon, guaranteeing years of use. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: SOLAR JUICE BAGS $224.99 and up
	LIGHT CAP SOLAR BOTTLE
	The LightCap is not only an unbreakable one-liter water bottle, it’s also the coolest solar powered LED light you’ve ever used. Simply Brilliant LightCap Solar Water Bottles use stored solar power and convert it to light, all on the top of your water bottle. Great green gift for campers. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: LIGHT CAP SOLAR BOTTLE $29.99
	HANDBAGS FROM INNER TUBES
	These bags are very chic, and you would be amazed to find out what they are made from. The creators of the Camara Handcrafted Hand Bags, take recycling to a whole new level, using recycled truck and tractor inner tubes to make bags that are works of art. As an added feature, all Camara bags come with an automatic lighting system, which helps you find what you’re looking for. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: HANDBAGS FROM INNER TUBES $144.99 and up
	THE ECO CHIC ATMOS ROCKER
	I was distressed to learn recently that for every four trees that are destroyed on this planet, only one gets replaced. So this rocker is going to be my own treat to myself this winter. It takes a while to be delivered as it is custom made, but it is as beautifully designed as it is eco friendly. The webbing on the seats is recycled surplus car seat belts and the beach bent plywood construction is kinder on our forests. I think these rockers are a work of art. A gift for oneself. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: THE ECO CHIC ATMOS ROCKER $1049.99
	BLUEAIR ECO 10 AIR PURIFIER
	My mouth literally dropped open when I first saw this air purifier. It is a first class, quiet, powerful air purifier that only uses 10 watts on its HIGHEST fan speed – a fraction of a low wattage light bulb. This is an air purifier that you can afford to keep going, day and night, without running up your electric bill- and for people like me that is important. I regard the ECO10 as an astonishing feat of ecological engineering. No air purifier, let alone those with a fan are so energy miserly. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: BLUEAIR ECO 10 AIR PURIFIER $899.99
	TRUEAIR ALLERGEN REDUCER - AIR PURIFIER
	If you or you’re your family are in need of a surprisingly good, little desk top air purifier at a bargain price, then the Allergen Reducer is virtually maintenance free and its Hepa grade filter can be cleaned by vacuuming it. No more filters in landfills. It is small enough to put in your suitcase for travel. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: TRUEAIR ALLERGEN REDUCER-AIR PURIFIER $159.95
	AIR-O-SWISS AIR WASHER HUMIDIFIERS
	When you are looking for a humidifier this winter season, in our opinion the greenest design for humidifiers are air washers because they do not have filters which need eventual disposal, and do not require mineral cartridges to control white dust. This means you have a quiet, enormously effective humidifier which is very durable. These get the green nod from me. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: AIR-O-SWISS AIR WASHER HUMIDIFIER $199.95 and up
	WHITEWING STEAM CLEANER
	Vapor Steam Cleaning is a green way to deep clean and remove dirt, stains, and kill dust mites, mold, germs, spores and bacteria. Steam cleaners sanitize and disinfect but without using chemicals, instead use dry steam of levels of 240°F and above. What this means is no more chemicals in your home and no supermarket plastic bottles in landfills. Our WhiteWing steam cleaner is very popular with our customers as it is effective without being overly expensive. For those people who want to treat themselves to the ultimate in steam cleaning there is nothing like Ladybug steam cleaners with its EPA certified disinfectant TANCs process. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS: WHITEWING STEAM CLEANER $449.95

by Barbara

Hello from central Massachusetts!

I dragged my co-worker Sue out here last weekend for the 9th annual Garlic and Arts Festival. What is it all about you ask? Here is their mission statement.

The festival mission reads:
The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival is a celebration of the artistic, agricultural and cultural bounty of the region. The purpose of the festival is to unite North Quabbin people whose livelihoods are connected to the land and the arts, and to invite both local residents and those who do not live in the region to experience the richness of an area that is often overlooked. The festival emphasizes what is homegrown and high quality, as well as what helps preserve and support the environment. The festival is an engaging, fun and educational celebration for all ages.

Everything about this festival promotes environmental “green” design. This was the first year an actual wooden stage was built for the musical performers. Please note that the amplification for the sound system is solar powered.

We were able to purchase many different varieties of Garlic. One of our favorites is a Siberian Garlic that has a hot & spicy taste!

There were wonderful signs around the festival and this is also a festival that for the amount of people produced little trash! Last year for a two day festival that was attended by about 5000 visitors they produced 2 bags of trash. All else was composted. Even the “plastic ware” was a cornstarch based product that will decompose.

Of course this festival was definitely about the garlic! Anyone who knows Sue knows that she lives for good garlic! Yes, Super Garlic Man was there!

I was able to get exercise……AND pick out a new lawn mower.

In all it was a wonderful day and we left with arms full of good produce and crafts.

So if interested, this festival occurs in mid-September. Please check out more information at http://www.garlicandarts.org/

by Nicole

I almost always bring my lunch to work in a plastic MarketBasket bag and also give my 9 year old daughter one for her snack for school, now when I go to the supermarket I ask for brown paper bags (which I may add are also good for covering books, crafts and school projects) and both of us now have fabric bags that are reusable.

by Paul

Your learning section seems extensive and gives me a chance to take a look at options for “going green”. Glad to see there is a lot of info available without listening to lectures about how bad I currently am.

Thanks

by Mercia

Like many people I have fallen prone to the convenience of the ziploc bag for food storage and I confess that after a couple or washings and reusings, they looked so cruddy, I would just throw them away. Now I bought at 2 for 1 sale - dishwasher plastic storage containers in a variety of sizes (a bit like the old tupperware but more sturdy). Still plastic of course, but they will last forever and no more ziploc plastic bags! Saves money to boot!

by Mercia

I finally decided that I could not stand it any longer, and now insist that my drycleaners recycle my metal hangers.I think they see me as a bit eccentric, but they are accepting them back any way. I am encouraging them to put a recycling bin out for all their customers to do likewise.

by Kavita

I went online to pay my NSTAR bill this afternoon and found the following:

“Starting in January, pending approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, NSTAR will be offering electricity supplied by renewable sources to interested Basic Service customers.”

“Customers will be able to choose to have half or all of their electricity come from NSTAR Green.
As proposed, there will be an additional premium of 1.75 cents (half option) or 3 cents (full option) per kWh.”

see more at http://www.nstar.com/residential/customer_information/nstar_green/nstar_green.asp

For me, living in an 850 sq. ft apartment, this would mean an additional $9 - $15 a month if I choose to do the full option. Done and done!

NSTAR will apparently be advertising this option in the coming months. Stay tuned, greenophiles!

by Kavita

I had the chance to live and travel abroad for much of the past two years, and from Singapore to the Arctic Circle, everywhere I went, climate change was something that would arise in casual conversation with local residents (whether Singapore and the Maldives would sink as water levels rise, how much the monsoons in south India had changed in recent years, the extraordinary recent summer heat waves in Central Europe, the rainy winters in Finland where once it was only snow).

I moved back to Boston in June ‘07 and decided that I would try to go without a car for a few months and see what it was like. Initially the financial reasons were as much a factor as the environmental issues. Now, three months later, I don’t ever want to own a car again unless I can get one that runs only on air or love. Or biodiesel. I’d settle for a car that smells like a french fry.

The payoffs are ever growing - I save money on car payments, insurance, gas, etc., I save myself the stress of parking around town and moving the car on street cleaning days. My clothes fit better (I seem to have lost a few pounds from walking and carrying groceries). I’ve realized that things are actually a lot closer than they seemed when I was driving everywhere. I’ve discovered just how much things like parks and urban density mean to me. I have re-committed myself to being more environmentally minded in other areas of my life.

by Todd

Can a car or truck use vegetable oil as fuel? Yes, with some modifications a diesel car or truck can use old filtered food grade vegetable oil (the kitchen oil that restaurants throw out everyday) as fuel. I have a 2004 Passat TDI, and I bought a kit from GreaseCar (see www.greasecar.com) that allows me to use vegetable oil or diesel as fuel in my car.

Where did I get this idea? My co-worker had a Greasecar, and he told me about the financial benefits that he was getting with his converted 1996 Passat TDI. The cost of gasoline is around $2.50 - $3.00 per gallon. Waste vegetable oil (WVO) can be acquired for free, and it can be bought already filtered (I pay $1.25 per gallon).

The GreaseCar kit for my car cost $1,170 including shipping, and I had a diesel mechanic (GreaseCar experienced) in Lowell, MA install the kit for $840. My total expense for converting my car was about $2,000. My monthly savings (buying filtered veggy oil) is around $100 month. It will take about 20 months of driving the car on vegetable oil to pay for the conversion. Now that the car is converted, it’s cheaper to drive than any hybrid electric gasoline car.

How do I like my GreaseCar? I’ve had some minor problems, but overall it’s been a great experience. I save money, and I’m recycling at the same time.

Is this for everyone? No. I spent months researching the topic reading everything I could find, researching the right car/kit, install mechanic, and a local source of filtered fuel. For people that filter their own veggy oil for their converted cars, there is more work and more savings. I buy filtered oil, so now I only spent a few extra minutes per week (compared to someone who drive a gasoline car).

Grease is the word.

Here are some pictures:

1. 13.5 gallon aluminum tank for the veggy oil (tanks fits in the wheel well)

2. 4.5 gallon “cubies” of oil (weight is 35 pounds each)

3.2004 Passat TDI

4. Modified engine

by Ira

While my kids have grown bigger, my basement seems to have grown smaller. As toys were used and then abandoned, they made their way to the basement creating great piles of stuff never to be used again in our household. Adding to the burden of discarded toys and clothes were household items displaced as my wife and I “modernized,” replacing long-serving dishes, pots and pans, etc. with ones that caught our fancy.

Desperate to reclaim basement space and reduce clutter, my wife and I considered tossing the lot out with the trash - recycling as much as possible, of course. Even with commitment to recycling, I felt awkward recognizing how much volume (clearly indicated by the piles in front of us) would be added to a landfill if we left the discarded items on the curb with the trash. We needed to find a way of getting reuse out of what would otherwise become refuse.

My wife contacted Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay and offered to donate what we needed to get rid of. The truck came, the goods were hauled away, someone else will get good use out of what we donated, and there will be no careless expansion to our landfill from our decision to reclaim our basement.