Smith Electric Vehicles made its much heralded first U.S. Smith Newton electric vehicle deliveries to lucky Coca Cola and PG&E today.

But it delivered them on The Mall in hopes of snagging some attention from lawmakers on the Hill. In this debut it was following the example of Plug-In America that got some great EV legislation passed by publicizing to the Senate just what electric vehicles can do for America.

Consumer Alert: There are three things you need to know about remanufactured ink and toner cartridges:

1. They are not inferior in quality to new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products. (In fact, in 1997, the US EPA stated that remanufactured products are “as good as new.”)
2. Using a remanufactured or any cartridge other than that of the OEM will not in fact void the printer equipment warranty. (Not that manufacturers didn’t try.  They did but the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 specifically states that a warranty may not be voided because of the use of aftermarket products.)
3. Buying them will typically save you money and selling spent cartridges will typically make you money.

(This information comes courtesy of Ecogreenoffice.com whose primer about the truth about remanufactered print cartridges contains lots of additional information.)

There are two sides to greening your ink and toner purchases: The Buy and the Sell.

The Sell. The act of selling ink and toner cartridges is one of the easiest ways to make money and be green at the same time. On the revenue side, cartridges are valuable (some are worth as much as $22). If cash isn’t what your looking for, retailers such Office Max, Office Depot and Staples have rewards programs that give up to $3 in store credit for each eligible cartridge and have drop boxes in stores. (Office Max also has a postage-paid shipping program for those who recycle high volumes of cartridges—up to 300 a month). In any event, selling spent cartridges is easy and sometimes even lucrative.

The Buy. Want to know the impact of all those cartridges you’re using? The folks at SB Office Supplies, an online office supply retailer with an extensive green catalog, have a nifty Remanufactured Cartridge Savings Calculator that tells how much oil is saved and how many cartridges stay out of land fills when you buy remanufactured cartridges.

Convinced? They are basically two routes to go.

In the past I’ve written about how you can save money by reducing the amount of paper you use and the 7 basics of green procurement (which includes defining office supplies standards). Now, let’s talk about basic office supplies that are great, green and cheap.

It’s easier to buy green office products than ever before. The three largest office supply retailers, Staples, Office Depot and Office Max each carry thousands of reasonably priced products with recycled content and other environmental attributes.

Some even innovate. Take Office Max, they were one of the first national retailers to carry TerraCycle products and they now sell a range of their products from notebooks made from used potato chip bags to juice pouch pencil cases.

There are also a number of green office suppliers online such as Green Line Paper.com, TheGreenOffice.com or Green Apple School Supply that offer thousands of eco-friendly products. And green promotional item companies like John Simonetta’s ProformaGreen.com and EcoPromotionsOnline.com are also good places to find green office supplies.

I found ten awesome green office supply products under $10 because no matter how small every single purchase has an impact on the environment. Whether you’re buying copy paper or forklifts, that purchasing decision is an environmental decision. So, if you want to start with some small stuff, basic office supplies are a great place to start.  Here are my favorite cheap, green office supplies:

#1. on my list is reasonably priced private-label recycled content copy paper from office supply retailers. A scan of websites today (July 2, 2009) revealed the following prices for a 10 ream case (5,000 sheets) of 30% PCW 20 lb. 8.5″ x 11′ copy paper:

Office Depot: $3.30/ream (for a limited time until stock lasts; regularly $4.00/ream)

Office Max: $4.00/ream

Staples: $4.10/ream

2. & 3. The TerraCycle E-Waste Recycling Can is made from 100% e-waste (such as crushed computers and fax machines) that would otherwise have ended up in landfills. It comes in both blue and green, holds 28 quarts and costs $9.99 (www.officemax.com).  For a more funky and slightly smaller version, the TerraCycle 12″ Urban Art Recycled Trash Bin (its that groovy one above) also costs $9.99 (ShopOnlyGreen.com).

There are so many fabulous whole foods that are naturally wheatless, from plump, juicy, healing fruits to bright, crisp vegetables to satisfying, protein-rich legumes.  But when it comes to carbohydrates — you know, the baked goods and pasta we all crave from time to time — things get a little bit more challenging.  But who says being wheat-free means you have to sacrifice these things?

Whether you’re just getting into the swing of Wheatless Wednesdays, or whether you’re in the middle of a life-long wheat-free adventure, don’t despair.  There are three crucial gluten-free ingredients that will leave you with your attention fully riveted to your wheatless plate, just like like the toddler in the photo above.

In the face of a late winter storm here in the Northeast, my friend Stephanie blogged about using what you already have to make snow day meals, as opposed to making a mad dash to the store to pick up the usual staples out of the fear of being snowed in for days.  Now, the Washington Post’s “A Mighty Appetite” blog is busy spreading the word on its Eating Down the Fridge Challenge, taking place the week of March 9.  It sounds easy enough–avoid grocery shopping for a week, instead turning to all the items that have been languishing in your pantries, cellars, fridges, and freezers since God knows when for all your eating needs.

Always up for a food-based challenge, I started thinking about what sorts of items that were tucked away deep in the corners of my own kitchen.  I’m vegan, so there’s tons of dried (and canned, you got me) beans, every nut, seed, and grain you can imagine, near-expired packages of tofu, frozen berries, frozen spinach… even some frozen carrot bran muffins from Trader Joe’s.  With these items in mind, I created a list of ten meals that I’ll likely be preparing this upcoming week.  Given the recent news that even grass-fed beef isn’t so hot for the environment, I’ll take this as an opportunity to say that all sustainable eaters should be looking to lower their consumption of animal products.

Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

I like to watch those shows where the mom has this amazing pot roast ready when everyone comes home for dinner. The mom that can throw it all together perfectly and have the table set with cloth napkins.

I’m laughing a wicked mean laugh right now because I’m not sure who this person is or if they exist in real life.

Everyone I know is trying to make everyone happy, eat healthy and organic and not lose our minds! Take budget concerns into account, snacks and lunchtime food, it can be too much.  Grocery shopping is not my favorite thing to do but I’ve learned that keeping the staples on hand from the local health food store make life much easier.