How do Brits like to be green, and what green behaviors do they still avoid?

That’s what a new survey by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is showing us by examining the environmental actions and preferences of 100,000 British people from 40,000 households.

The findings presented below are the first from a new annual household survey in Britain named Understanding Society. The environmental topics are one subset of the whole survey, which also examines the “working lives, relationships, health, finances, neighbourhoods, education, transport and more” of Brits.

What are the main findings thus far?

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A mindset of green gratitude emphasizes positive abundance, relishing the glass half full perspective.  An important concept to keep on the front burner, especially as tanking economies fuel table conversations that tend to serve up sentiments of fear, scarcity and deprivation.

Add a dash of green reflection and gratitude to your Thanksgiving table by throwing these three questions on eating and drinking better into the conversation mix:

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I found this used battery near the ocean in Pacifica, right across from our friend Rick’s Salada Beach Cafe. It has since been safely recycled, and kept from polluting our waterways.

Our oceans are already turning into acid. We have to start today to try to make things better. Keeping one more toxic battery or piece of plastic out of our oceans, collectively, will make a difference. Once you start looking, you may be really surprised just how many “disposable” batteries litter our streets and sewers. Next time you see one, pick it up; what you do matters.

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Well, why not join the team and be a part of the green crafting blogosphere?

Crafting a Green World is on the hunt for a couple of super awesome crafters that want to share their green crafting knowledge with the world. That’s right, we are on a talent search and could be looking for you!

If you feel like you have what it takes to be a part of our team we want to hear from you! Specifically if you specialize in yarn, paper crafts, jewelry or body care we extra-specially want to hear from you. Also we’d love to diversify, so if you are in possession of an x and a y chromosome and can lend your voice to the green craft movement, we doubly want to hear from you!!

So what are you waiting for? Send us your name, contact information and at least one relevant writing sample to cagreenworld [at] gmail [dot] com. We can’t wait to meet you!

Canadian province Ontario is to introduce green-coloured licence plates, available only to drivers of plug-in hybrids and battery-powered electric vehicles.

Sounds like another gimmick? Well, here’s the deal - vehicles sporting the new green plates will be able to drive in the province’s dedicated carpool lanes until 2015, even if only one person is in the vehicle.

Speaking about the initiative, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said, “The McGuinty government’s plan is to have one out of every 20 passenger vehicles on Ontario’s roads an electric vehicle by 2020.”

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A major new survey has revealed that nearly 50% of all US consumers would consider buying a ‘green’ cell phone, but only if key factors such as the price, features, and performance were equivalent to other phones.

According to the poll of 1,000 American adults carried out by ABI Research, just 7% would be willing to pay a premium to go green, a figure that may cause cell phone companies to think deeply before investing heavily in environmentally friendlier models.

Speaking about the findings, industry analyst Michael Morgan said, “These survey results mean that almost half of those surveyed were at least committed in principle to use of a green handset. However the public is largely uninformed about their availability: only 4% said they were ‘very familiar’ with green handsets.”

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Considering that several thousand people crammed into the festival space on Treasure Island we think that overall they handled the transportation issue in a pretty Green way. We made our way to the festival via zero-emission Bauer buses that picked most of the masses up at AT&T Park. The only real griping we heard came from East Bay attendees who said that they had to drive or take BART to SF instead of having shuttle buses come to the East Bay as well.

Upon entering the festival we couldn’t help but noticing the Ferris wheel but then after that we spied a pair of decent size solar panels that sat near the entrance. Unfortunately, we couldn’t determine or find anyone who knew what the solar power generated. We’re sure it the energy went toward something beneficial.

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Many of the advancements made through racing and hot rodding have been passed down to the passenger car segment. Nothing quite stimulates innovation like pushing a vehicle to its limits. AFVTech, an alternative-fuels conversion company, is building a compressed natural gas (CNG) hot rod based on the classic ‘33 Ford coupe.

Equipped with a hand built LS7 engine (the same motor found in the Z06 but massaged to run on higher-octane CNG), AFVTech expects their Green Rod to make 600 horsepower.

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This week Newsweek’s cover story promotes an exclusive ranking of “The Greenest Big Companies in America”. This is an important moment in time. In 2006, Vanity Fair was among a few high profile publications to introduce entire annual issues to the green movement and their readership was reported to have been the lowest of the yearly issues.

Fast forward three years and six months later, the introduction of Newsweek’s list marks an important moment in time. Joining the annually released lists of the Best 100 Companies to Work For (Fortune), the 100 Best Global Brands (BusinessWeek) and The Largest 500 Companies (Fortune), the (presumably) annual list represents a palpable and permanent shift in business ethics and operations. Transparency is a leading value of those engaged in the green movement but it is still interesting to read that 70% of the companies participating voluntarily provided the data necessary to compile the list (otherwise utilizing publicly available information).

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Bugatti’s latest concept car points the way forward for the brand most associated with excess: excessive wealth, excessive power, excessive luxury, and excessive performance… but the new Galibier signifies something more, as well, and it is nothing less than a turning of the tide in the way the world’s automakers see their flagship luxury cars.

More on Bugatti’s million-dollar flex-fuel Galibier — including video! — after the jump.

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The time has come to make a CHOICE. For the economy, future generations and for the sake of nature!

We must decide who will reign the title of the 2009, Green America People’s Choice Award!

“The People’s Choice Award is a celebration of the leaders of the green economy, and a challenge to corporate America to follow their path.”

In order to get nominated these businesses must pass Green America’s screening process. Green America only chooses businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible.

So, without further ado;

Meet the Top 10 Nominees…
(Listed in alphabetical order.)

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As it turns out, a new version of happiness is emerging based on relationships and connections to each other and nature, not all the goods found at the Mall. Many of us are choosing to live and work in a world where the economists (who presently dominate the national economy and national discourse) don’t matter.

The authoritative new book from Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska, Less is More: Embracing simplicity for a healthy planet, a caring economy and lasting happiness (New Society, 2009), is just the right tonic for these topsy-turvy times. Side-step stress, don’t give into your fear, and thrive, instead, in a world of abundance where freedom and cooperation still reign.

My wife and I had a chance to peek at the advance galley of Less is More before it went to print and found Andrews and Urbanska masterful both in their prose and their ability to bring together an eclectic array of writers, thinkers and sustainability advocates who live in ways that echo what they write about.

Less is More is divided into three parts — simplicity defined, solutions, and policies — each containing short essays, analysis and inspiration from some of the leading sustainability, simplicity and community thinkers and doers. From Sarah Susanka discussing clutter and Robyn Griggs Lawrence’ tome on wabi-sabi time to Juliet Schor’s exploration of a carbon-friendly economy and David Korten’s treatise on caring and connecting, a diverse array of perspectives woven throughout Less is More illuminate why there’s greater freedom in having enough rather than always striving to have more and more. Writes essayist David Wann: “According to surveys taken by the US National Science Foundation for the past 30 years, even with the steady increases in income, our level of overall happiness has actually tapered off.” So what’s the economy for anyway, to support a bigger government or make a few really rich people richer?

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I don’t know much about Sophia “the Angry Green Girl”, but this woman absolutely KNOWS how to get attention.  Case in point?  She’s hired a dozen bikini-clad LA models to wash any hybrid vehicle that happens by in the hopes of generating some press for her new website, under the banner of “Shamelessly exploiting everything I got to save our world.”

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Don’t say that we didn’t warn you but those who are short on cash should consider the Global Inheritance sponsored recycle booth in the Eco Lands section. They offered a similar booth last year but not many people seemed aware of it. The deal here is that anyone who wants nifty Outside Lands shirt (for free) just needs to bring 75 empty cans or bottles to the booth. For 250 bottles you can snag a pair of Loomstate organic jeans and 150 gets a recycled record vinyl clock. Those not as inspired can get some Fuel TV sunscreen (and boy is sunscreen mandatory today) for just eight bottles.

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What a perfect time for a shoe sale.  Simple Shoes is currently offering many of their popular styles at special clearance prices – and we are talking dirt cheap here!  Boys Innertube shoes and the adorable GT Janie for girls are each marked at $8.99 and Skippies are just $7.90.  And while you are at it, grab a pair for yourself and baby. 

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I had the opportunity to be a sustainability coach to some of the Clean Tech Open semifinalists last week.

The Annual Business Competition provides green mentoring and sustainability workshops to help clean tech entrepreneurs integrate sustainability into their business plans. And I found myself stressing the business case for why integrating green made business sense.

While some of the companies we met with were very committed to sustainability, others seemed to be going through the motions because it is required by the competition.

I understand CEOs of start-ups have many competing issues to focus on.

I thought it might be helpful to review here the three key reasons why it is makes good business sense to invest in sustainable business practices:

• It will save you money
• It will provide better access to capital
• It will drive top-line revenues

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Now do it a little greener, make a 2 minute video and win a chauffeured night on the town for two, compliments of Astroglide, along with two gift baskets full of sexy, eco-friendly goodies and Astroglide gear to spice up the night.

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I learned of A Distant Village when it introduced what it calls “the world’s most environmentally-friendly labels.” Called Pure Labels, these are adhesive-backed inkjet or laser printer labels made of wild grass paper. They are not only produced with 100% recyclable materials (including no HDPE or other plastics) but are manufactured according to what the company calls “the strictest adherence to socially responsible business practices.”

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