Practical Environmentalist

Solar panels and windmills are cool and all, but did you know that you can make a huge difference by just switching to compact flourescent bulbs and putting your electronics behind surge protectors and turning them off when you aren’t using them?
This Christian Science Monitor article on conservation describes some of the ways where [...]

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Today I sampled a new chocolate product from Equal Exchange, which in addition to chocolate sells a variety of fairly traded products.
First off, I thought the packaging was very nice. It features a photo of a cacao farmer and some nice graphics. The inside of the packaging includes a description of the [...]

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Using native plants in your yard is one of the best ways to restore your landscape and get it more in sync with the surrounding natural environment. Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities by John Diekelmann and Robert M. Schuster is an excellent resource for learning how to use native plants in your [...]

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In an effort to keep you out of the malls on this most Black of Fridays, here’s another great option for the practical environmentalist: donating livestock to needy families in developing countries. Heifer International lets you pick from among dozens of cute, furry, and sustainable gifts. Most of these animals provide milk, [...]

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So, I just returned from buying the groceries for this Thanksgiving day feast, and I had to fight some serious crowds at the grocery store. Yikes! This got me thinking about the poor souls who feel like they have to go running around the malls on Friday taking advantage of big sales. [...]

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Looking for an eco-friendly edible gift this Holiday season? How about organic chocolate!
Rodney North from Equal Exchange wrote an excellent article for the website “Cooperative Grocer” back in 2005 which has tons of information on buying fair trade chocolate. The article has lots of tips both for the consumer and the retailer. [...]

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Feeling the cold this winter?
How about a “micro-combined-heat-and-power” unit, or CHP. The Christian Science Monitor and Physorg.com recently reported on this interesting new technology that heats water using natural gas and supposedly creates up to $800 a year in electricity. The catch? These devices cost up to $20,000 (including installation). Ouch!

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In our quest to provide tips for a healthy and eco-friendly Thanksgiving, I came across a cool on-line store that offers some great organic goodies. Sandy’s - Pure & Simple offers an organic version of one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes: stuffing! This is a complete stuffing mix with vegetables, spices, and [...]

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Well, it’s gobble, gobble time again, and that means it’s also time to be kind to your feathered friends by buying an organic or free-range turkey. Or, you can buy a Tofurkey, with tofugiblets. But man, I’m a meat eater so I don’t go for that. I want me a tasty bird [...]

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I was reading an earth-friendly magazine today and came across an ad for an organization called Mind Over Markets. The ad talks about how Mind Over Markets works to help green businesses expand and prosper. I checked out their website and was pretty impressed. They’ve worked with such folks as Very Special [...]

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