Green Options

United States Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is by far my favorite member of the Obama Administration; I am even one of his many facebook fans. It is so exciting that science is no longer a dirty word, as it was during the dark ages of Bush. To me, the Nobel Laueate Chu comes across as a no nonsense incredibly competent visionary,

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Do you have a rain barrel for your home?

More and more homeowners are using rain barrels to conserve water while collecting soft, non-chlorinated rainwater to nourish grass and plants.

This weekend, in Calgary, Canada, Clean Calgary Association, in partnership with the City of Calgary, will hold its 8th Annual Rain Barrel Sale.

With spring coming, local residents there are thinking about their lawns and gardens. Water usage in Calgary doubles in the spring and summer due largely to lawn irrigation.

Eco-activists often insist that vegetarianism is the only truly earth-friendly diet for humans.  On the other hand, there are many people, honestly trying to live as green as possible, who are not yet ready to take that step completely.  Others of us find that we are just not healthy without some animal protein in our diet, and that there is some logic to the argument than humans are biologically omnivorous.

If you are a meat-eater, whatever your personal reasons may be, the problem still remains — the beef industry is a nightmare.  From enormous factory farms raising animals in horrific conditions, to growth hormones interfering with our bodies, to mad cow disease resulting from herbivores being fed ground-up brains of their kin, to the ecological devastation…  We simply cannot allow ourselves to support this industry by buying its products.

So what is the conscientious carnivore to do?

Je-Hyun Kim’s Natural Year Phone design almost makes cell phones cool in my book. The phone, which is made up of hay, a screen, and keys, is designed only to last as long as its functional life cycle (2 years) before it biodegrades and falls apart.

Imagine a grass crop, grown on marginal, non-food bearing land without pesticides or much fertilizer, that, when harvested, produces an oil that needs almost no processing to be substituted for diesel fuel.

Much attention has been given to producing ethanol from non-food crops like grasses, but the ability to produce something indistinguishable to diesel from grass could be a game-changer. It would require almost no infrastructure change and could fuel all of the existing long-haul trucks on the road without modification.

In the June 2008 issue of the journal Nature Reviews Genetics, internationally renowned biofuels researcher Mariam Sticklen proposes that future production of cellulosic biofuels will be made infinitely more efficient and affordable through genetic modification of cellulosic feedstocks such as cereal grains and perennial grasses. Citing the impossibility of fueling the world on starch-based ethanol, such as that from corn, Sticklen argues that cellulosic biofuels are the only viable option for future commercial production.

Today’s podcast is a follow-up of my earlier article, Opinion: California Governor Nixes Industrial Hemp While North Dakota Moves On. I felt it necessary to further investigate the North Dakota story and help bring you up to date on other activity around the country.

Twenty-eight states have introduced hemp legislation and fifteen have passed legislation; seven, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia and North Dakota have removed

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The key to a great lawn isn’t more water. In fact, excessive moisture can actually damage the roots of the grass. Keep your lawn healthy by watering less frequently, and keeping track of how much water your grass needs.

According to the U.S. EPA, healthy, established lawns need only about one inch of water per week. Watering once per week should be sufficient in getting to the deep roots of the

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A couple of weeks ago, Rebecca introduced us to "safe lawn" methods: you can grow a traditional grass lawn with organic practices, making the whole process quite a bit greener. Another alternative (which she mentioned in that tip) is the use of native grasses and plants in place of more commonly-planted varieties.

Editor's note: Rebecca's taking the week off to attend the New York International Auto Show, so several of us will be filling in for her.

Spring is here officially, and for many homeowners, that means its time to start thinking about the lawn. As you consider your approach to keeping the grass green, we hope you'll incorporate some greener methods of doing it!

It's officially spring, and that means that those of you in the chilly parts of the country are starting to think about that big green expanse that covers all of the area around your house: your lawn. Having a beautiful green lawn has been a detrimental trend in terms of the environment, with residents placing toxic chemicals onto the ground and spending excessive amounts of water to keep it green. Then we cut

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