If you truly want to make a difference in the world when it comes to vehicle emissions and lowering your carbon footprint, take a look at the Honda Civic GX. The Honda Civic GX is better than a hybrid, because it doesn’t require a drop of gasoline at all. Instead, the Honda Civic GX runs on natural gas. 

When a vehicle runs on natural gas, it has nearly zero emissions. The American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy even awarded the 2008 Honda Civic GX the distinction of being “America’s Greenest Car.” The Honda Civic GX sells for $25,000 and up when new. In addition, natural gas sells for up to dollars less per gallon than your regular gasoline.  It is the most affordable option when it comes to buying a new car that runs on natural gas.

Although the Honda Civic GX is a great concept, the purchase of this vehicle may not yet be ideal for everyone everywhere. There are only a couple of thousand natural gas stations in the United States (many in California), compared to the hundreds of thousands of gasoline stations across the country. Additionally, the tank only holds about 8 gallons of natural gas at a time, and limits journeys to around 200 miles between stops.

Overall, the Honda Civic GX is a great step toward greening our auto industry. We wait for the day for Honda to come out with a hydrogen-cell vehicle, but until then, the lesser emissions will do. If you live in an area that sells natural gas in numerous locations, or you do not drive hundreds of miles a week, you should consider the Honda Civic GX the next time you are looking to purchase a new car. As for Honda’s overall ability to develop safe and sturdy cars, the reputation is unbeatable for its class. We have been consistent Honda customers over the years and are excited to see them making steps towards a greener future.

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Major company Coca-Cola is trying to be greener by changing the material of their bottles. This new material still uses some petroleum based plastic, but 30% of the material is derived from sugar cane and molasses instead. Dasani (bottled water) will be the first lab rat for this new packaging experience. Depending on how the results are, Coke plans to implement the new bottle for all of its products.

We think that it is great that a company is not only looking to reduce the amount of plastic in their products, but trying to change the actual material as well. We hope that a corporation as large as Coca-Cola will find ways to do even better than this, however. Maybe their competitors will come up with something even better. Maybe Pepsi will come up with the next big change? Until then, we believe that 30% of non-petroleum based plastic is better then nothing, and fully support Coca-Cola’s efforts and hope their tests go well!

Looking forward to the next big plastic packaging changes! Any ideas?

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Next time you need a new phone, you don’t need to go to your wireless carrier’s store and spend a lot of money on a product that is not eco-friendly. Instead, go to Zendoo. Zendoo is an online store that sells used cellphones. Their mission is to reduce, reuse, and then recycle. Zendoo purchases used cell phones and then sells them on their website. With this sort of business, there is less of a demand for brand new cell phones which require virgin materials and lots of energy, perfectly good cell phones get reused, and broken cell phones get recycled in the most proper way to prevent harmful toxins from entering our environment. Zendoo cell phones are even shipped in recycled packaging with eco-friendly soy ink print. For more about Zendoo’s environmental efforts, check out their page called Cell Phones and the Environment.

They offer cellphones from all major service carriers for a fraction of the price (from LG and Nokia to iPhones). Each cell phone has a ranking system that lets you know whether the phone is worth your money or not, and each cell phone is tested by at least three employees to ensure customer satisfaction. The best feature is certainly the fact that you don’t need to sign a contract to purchase these phones. Once you pay, the phone is yours: no strings attached. Zendoo even has a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.

Many eco-friendly clothing and shoe companies have prices well beyond many people’s spending limit, so we are very excited to see that Payless ShoeSource has come out with an eco-friendly brand named zoe&zac. zoe&zac products are made from sustainable materials such as organic cotton and linen, recycled rubber, water-based glues, plastic bottles, and natural hemp. To go beyond just the product, zoe&zac shoes are sold in 100% recycled shoeboxes with soy ink printing. All shoes in this brand are sold for under $30.  We love the styles. You can purchase zoe&zac women or girls shoes at any Payless ShoeSource store or on-line. If you have AAA, you can even get 10% off your regular purchases at Payless ShoeSource!

In addition, for each zoe&zac product or reusable bag sold, Payless ShoeSource will donate $1 to the Nature Conservancy’s Plant A Billion Trees program. Big green thumb up for Payless ShoeSource and their affordable eco-friendly initiatives!

FEED Projects and Whole Foods Market are working together to sell the “Feed 100″ Bag. For each “Feed 100″ bag sold, 100 children in Rwanda will be fed a warm cooked meal at their local school. Each “Feed 100″ bag is sold for $29.99. Whole Foods Market claims that $10 of the sale goes towards the 100 meals through the UN World Food Program, and the remainder goes to the daily functions of FEED Projects and the production of the bags. Whole Foods Market does not make any money off of these sales.

What makes this bag great is two things. First, you get to help stop the hunger of children all over Rwanda, which was hit by genocide in the 1990s and is still recovering, and secondly you get to use a reusable bag made out of 100% organic cotton that folds up into a convenient pouch for easy transport. Make a statement with these bags: be environmentally friendly and help support the children of Rwanda so that they may receive a healthy meal, a greater education, and a more sustainable future.

For Whole Foods Market stores in your area, check out their store locations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. You can also purchase the “Feed 100″ bags at the FEED Projects on-line store.

The time is coming for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs to be in season, so we thought we would give you a glimpse into what they are and how they work. We think CSAs are a wonderful concept, as they not only benefit local farmers, but can be quite rewarding to the consumers as well.

A Community Supported Agriculture program is one in which the consumer can purchase a certain number of shares or a membership  to access  local farmers’ crops for the season. For instance many CSA programs work so that you pay for a membership in the beginning of the season, and you will be delivered “a box” of fresh local vegetables every week. For the farmers this is great, because they get customers up front, an up front income to help support the rest of the season, and a better relationship with their surrounding community.

For the customers, this program is ideal because they will consistently receive local and super-fresh produce every week. You won’t be able to get everything this fresh at your supermarket. CSA’s allow for consumers to have a better knowledge of the food they are eating, and they even open up doors of opportunity to try new vegetables or fruits! For instance, many farmers come from all over the world and even plant their own native fruits and vegetables along with the typical local variety in your own community. Consumers can support their local communities by joining a CSA program.

To find a local CSA in your area visit LocalHarvest.org and enter your zip code or state. A very popular program in our area (Lowell, Massachusetts) is the World PEAS CSA which supports local farmers in the Lowell area. Tufts University’s New Entry program helped establish World PEAS CSA to help immigrant and refugee farmers to sell their products for a better income and to establish a solid foundation for their future. Education and training programs are offered by New Entry to help these farmers improve their companies and their skills.

Do you participate in a CSA program? Tell us what you think about it!

We have recently come across a new sustainable company that sells organic acai (açaí ) products called Sambazon. Sambazon’s mission is to help locals in the Amazon create a more sustainable environment for themselves and their land by harvesting acai instead of continuing to clear-cut their tropical forests. This mission helps save the rainforest and provides a stronger economic situation for the indigenous people of the Amazon.

To help promote their goals, Sambazon started the The Sustainable Amazon Partnership with private and public groups to help develop sustainable management throughout Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest. Beyond saving the rainforest, their efforts include educating the local farmers, giving the women more opportunities for work, and establish organic standards in farming. You can even donate to The Sustainable Amazon Partnership at NYCharities.org.

As for their products, they sell all things acai. Acai is a berry with great nutritional properties. This purple berry contains numerous antioxidants, omega fats, protein, and dietary fiber, and is known to provide a natural energy boost without caffeine. We have acai all the time in smoothies, and our favorite recipe: The Rio Bowl (a very popular acai dish from Brazil). Check out their products. Our favorite product to purchase is their Organic Acai Smoothie Packs which we use to make smoothies and The Rio Bowl with bananas, strawberries, and granola! You can buy organic acai at various retailers including Whole Foods and Publix or directly from Sambazon.

Support a great company and help promote sustainability in the Amazon Rainforests of Brazil and enjoy the nutricious organic acai berry!

We love green technology, and we are excited to see that Amazon.com will be releasing a new version of The Kindle: Kindle DX. The Kindle DX has the same technology as the original Kindle (which is still sold) but has a display 2.5 times (9.7″ screen) the size of the original (6 inch screen). For more information on the original Kindle, please see our article: Switch to eBooks.

Amazon.com decided to develop this version to encourage even more people to go paperless. The larger display allows for PDFs, cookbooks, and other large formatted books to be read without a break in the visual display, so they can be read the way they were intended to be. With a PDF reader, and the original Kindle technology, the possibilities are endless for what can be viewed. Amazon.com also claims that the larger display provides a clearer brighter image, and days of viewing time in between charges. The Kindle DX can even hold 2,000 more books than the original with capacity for 3,500 books. At a price of $489 you can pre-order the Kindle DX at Amazon.com. The original is sold for $359 at Amazon.com.

For someone who reads book after book throughout the year, a lot of money is spent on purchasing paper. Although a high cost up front, the long term investment seems rewarding!

A while ago we wrote an article explaining the different types of light bulbs on the market called Eco-Friendly Light Bulbs. Many manufacturers of incandescent light bulbs now sell compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) for their energy efficiency, but many of their practices are still not very eco-friendly. We have found a great company that has put sustainability as its highest priority: Earthmate. 

Earthmate not only produces CFLs, they have created new standards for the industry to not only save energy, but to also reduce greenhouse gases and help stop global warming. They have made changes to how the lights are made. For instance, their CFLs contain 75% less mercury than most CFLs on the market today. They have also made changes to how they sell their product. The packaging is made out of 100% post consumer materials, and is labeled with soy ink, which is a huge change compared to most CFLs on the market being sold in plastic containers that require scissors for opening. To complete the process for their customers, they encourage their customers to find recycling centers in their community to recycle light bulbs when they are no longer usable. You can go to Earth911.org to find a recycling center in your area.

Earthmate lights can be purchased at Amazon.comwith prices 40% lower than department stores. We support Earthmate, because they not only made a green product, but they have also taken the concept of sustainability to the heart of their company.

The Motorola MOTO W233 Renew is Motorola’s first green cell phone. Yes, it is green in color, but also quite eco-friendly. The Renew is claimed to be the first certified carbon free cell phone on the market. Through on an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola is able to offset the amount of carbon required to manufacturer, distribute, and operate the phone. 

In addition, the phone comes with a pre-paid postage envelope for you to recycle your old cell phone, and contains 100% recycled housing. All packaging is made out of recycled material, including the user’s guide. The battery is free of hazardous materials, has a longer life to require less charging, and the charger has less of a phantom effect. For more information on what Motorola has done to make this phone “greener,” check out their ECO FACTS.

We are excited to see some changes are being made in the cell phone industry, considering how many cell phones are sold, and how often people replace thier perfectly functioning cell phones with new ones. In addition, several cell phone giants are greening their cell phones by using more recycled materials and even solar panels on their phones. Companies such as those in the computer industry are even using the method of carbon offsetting for their computers such as Fujitsu in Japan.