• Use a solar cooker to roast all your barbecued goodies.  Check the weather forecast and start cooking on July 3rd.
• Invite Al Gore over for a barbecue - make sure you have plenty of potato salad and corn relish.  Al’s such a big eater you may want to invest in carbon offsets to counter-balance his food intake!
• Take the heartfelt advice of my neighbor, Four Fingered Tony - lock-up any explosives or fireworks before you start guzzling any organic wine, vodka or tequila.
• Keep your event’s size manageable.  Invite only guests descended from countries that have adhered to the guidelines of the Kyoto Agreement.  This will guarantee plenty of room on the dance floor and ensure tons of leftovers.
• Create a menu of strictly local fare.  Avoid this approach if your patio is located next to a Nebraska cattle feedlot, your vegetable garden is regularly irrigated by run-off from the local coal mine, or your neighbor’s cloned sheep are known to sport a couple of extra, calorie-rich appendages.

Summer’s here, and so is the rain.  Here’s a great way to help keep the wee ones dry while they make a splash.

French-based boot manufacturer, Aigle Boots, is providing 3 lucky kiddies with a pair of Baby Flac boots (sizes 19 to 27 Euro).  According to their conversion chart, sizes range from roughly 9 months - 4.5 year olds.  Winners get to choose their favorite color from the following selection:  red, yellow, navy or pink!  Handmade from 100-percent natural rubber, with 100-percent cotton lining, (and a removable and washable insole).  Each pair valued @ $39.90, plus free shipping (valued @ $6.00), to anywhere in the U.S.A.

How to enter:

• Visit aigleboots.com.
• Comment on this post telling us what your children are doing, to go green.
• In order to receive our email prize notification, be sure to add the following to your email address book: m at AlternativeConsumer.com. (*one entry per person)

Entries must be received by 8p, EST on Friday, July 10, 2009.
Three lucky winners will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email by Saturday, July 11, 2009. Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize, or offer is null and void. Winners’ names will also be included in this post.

*EXTRA CREDIT
If you have your own blog, you can post about the giveaway with a link back to this giveaway post. To make sure we know, you can come back and leave a comment with a link to your blog post. If you Twitter, you can tweet about the giveaway, and leave a comment linking to the status.

You can also receive additional entries 3 more ways: sign up for our RSS feed via email/Feedburner (see right side bar), follow us on Twitter or become a friend on FaceBook. good luck!

Related:  previously on altCon
(6.23.09) Aigle - Natural Latex Rubber Boots

Designer Donna Edmonds makes these replica pooches out of recycled vintage buttons, trim and fabrics with her very own hands and sells them under her Leafpeople label at her Etsy shop.  She can also create a custom doll of your favorite pooch from a photo.  Just takes a couple of weeks.

The dog friend dolls range from $28 to around $75 dollars - but how can you place a price on friendship?

• I presume the corn lobby needs more time to bribe Senators…EPA Extends Comment Period on Biofuel Standard - reuters
• What kind of sound should they use? Japan May Add Noise to Quiet Hybrid Cars for Safety - yahoo! news
• Could I see that again? I didn’t catch how the life vest inflates…New Zealand Airline Issues Nude Safety Video - aol news
• Don’t try this at home! Pitcher Plant Doubles as Toilet - livescience
• What the Future of the Auto Industry Will Look Like - cs monitor
• Same one used by James Brown. I know you were wondering…Michael Jackson’s $25,000 Casket - tmz

Artefact Design & Salvage creates some nice furnishings from recycled, found and salvaged materials.  The Vineform table and coffee table, (pictured above and below), are made from strangler vine bases with lightweight concrete tops.

Designed by Dave Allen, these tables come in several variations.  Pictures are from Allen’s, Flickr page.

Located in Somona, CA.

Lexus is running a contest to promote the intro of its 2010 HS 250h luxury hybrid.  There are 2 ways that you can win a one-year lease of this new hybrid.  You can either register as a voter on the contest site and you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win a 1-year lease of a Lexus HS 250h. Or register as a voter and enter a profile stating why you deserve to win a one year lease of the car.  Voters will pick the individual with the most worthy profile as the winner of a one year lease of the HS 250h.  100 runners-up will win a one-week “free test drive” of the hybrid.

enter @ drivehs.com

It’s not often (like never) that you find this combo of art, home decor, street memorabilia and evidence of a crime. Empty spray paint cans originally used to create street art (graffiti) on, and around, the streets and walls of Los Angeles are now being transformed into useful and unique lamps by graffiti artist Dash 2000 Fidel.

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Each lamp is said to be “trackable” to the specific art work that it was used to create, providing each lamp’s provenance and forming a connection with art and artist. The DK series (top pic) features original, upcycled, spray cans in all their paint-drip imbued glory. The DS1 and DS2 series of designs (directly above) feature works deemed the ‘best’ of L.A. in a hand designed collage. The design is directly applied to each can, using an artisan technique, with no application of stickers or paper prints.  All lamps guaranteed for life, all electrical connections grounded and sealed via grommet.

$65 to $85 @ dash2000.com

via: recyclart.org

We just announced the 3 lucky winners of our feelGoodz Giveaway, and we’re psyched to tell you that FeelGoodz’ Creator and CEO, Kyle Berner, is so appreciative of everyone’s enthusiasm, he’s offering a whopping 25% off to anyone who entered the contest but didn’t win.  Regularly priced at $19.99/pair, you’d pay only $15, (plus tax, if applicable) for a pair of cool and comfy eco friendly flip flops.

Check it all out @ feelgoodz.com.  Then simply email Kyle and let him know which style and size you’d like.  Here’s his email:  kyle (dot) berner (at) feelgoodz (dot) com.

• Watch, some shut-in with binoculars will complain they can see it from the Breezy Point Jetty…NY Inches Closer to Offshore Wind Farm - reuters
• What did George have against the environment? Bush-Era Logging Rule Overturned - msnbc
• It’s about time…EPA Proposes New Emissions Standards for Large Ships - enn
• 20th Century tiger population has dropped from 100k to 3k…Amur Tigers on ‘Genetic Brink’ - bbc
• I don’t think SPF 50 will help…Is Apple’s iPhone Prone to Sunburn? - cs monitor
• I think it’s hit NYC…Tropical Rainfall Moving North - livescience

This solar charging vest is ideal for those modern individuals who’s affinity for MP3 players, cellphones and gadgets will always trump their fashion sense.  The weatherproof vest features 4 detachable solar panels that can be placed in the sun to charge the portable rechargeable battery while you’re wasting your time in your subterranean Wii cave.  The vest comes with several charging adapters and the battery sports AC and USB power inputs and 2 DC outputs. The company claims it will even charge some laptops.

In additon to geeky bragging rights, the words ‘Solar Vest‘ are plastered across the back of the item to address any questions about why you’re wearing this thing in downtown Miami.

Couldn’t find any estimate of how long it takes to charge in full sunlight.  I don’t think I’d depend on this vest to charge my phone if I were lost in the Amazonian jungle…

$140 @  chinovasion.com via: geeky gadgets

Considering how pervasive and energy sucking laptops are, LAPTOP Magazine rigorously tested the power consumption levels of 16 notebooks to determine who may be the greenest of them all.  Always looking to curb the carbon emissions and save some cash, I was especially interested to see how Mac stacked up.

Check out just how much energy is consumed during the everyday activities of Apple, HP, Dell, Samsung, Sony, Lenovo, MSI, ASUS and Toshiba laptops…awards were presented in 4 product categories:   Ultraportables, All-Purpose Notebooks, Desktop Replacements and Netbooks.  Oh, by the way, in the running with Toshiba, HP, and Dell — Apple’s (17-inch) MacBook Pro came in a disappointing third in the Desktop Replacement category.

Here’s an eco friendly, rechargeable electric ride mower that doesn’t spew air pollution, never needs a tune-up or oil change and probably won’t wake up your neighbors when you go on that crack-of-dawn mowing spree.  The Recharge Mower will run for about 3 hours on an overnight charge (10 to 12 hrs) - just plug it into any wall socket and it will automatically stop charging when fully charged.

The Recharge Mower operates using 3 electric motors and is 50% quieter than conventional mowers.  The drive motor is rated at 900 watts. Each of the 2 blade motors also provide 900 watts of power.  The mower has 3 sealed batteries positioned along the center of the unit which helps improve the stability of the unit by balancing weight.  The mower’s dual cutting blades have 5 cutting heights and the mower can haul a 330 operator around - note: wet grass and heavy riders can reduce operating time.

Safety features: Operator Presence Switch – when the operator leaves the seat the unit immediately ceases to function. Blade engagement switch – require 2 actions to initiate the activation of the blade and only when the operator is in the seat.

Notes: According to the company, a typical overnight charge will cost you roughly $0.55. The 27″ width cutting area is slightly less than most conventional ride mowers which usually have a blade width of 34″ to 44″.  The mower comes with an attached. rear grass catcher.  Recharge also offers additional mower accessories, including a garden trailer and lawn roller which will cost you extra.

the mower will run you $2,195 @ rechargemower.com (the company is currently offering free shipping)

When makeup artist Alison Raffaele started her own cosmetics line in 2000, her True Concealer quickly became a hit among fellow makeup artists and in-the-know consumers. We recently chatted with Raffaele at The Makeup Show in New York City. She told us that she simplified and relaunched the line in 2008, introducing a revamped range of concealers, foundations and powders that integrate naturally derived anti-aging ingredients.

In fact, Alison Raffaele Cosmetics was one of the few truly green brands on display at The Makeup Show. Raffaele says that because she has to compete with so many conventional, mainstream brands, she understands that her products must be just as effective. So she designed them to provide maximum results with minimal effort and skill, all while being great for the skin. The formulas contain a proprietary Frutta di Vita antioxidant complex, which contains pomegranate, goji berry and resveratrol to protect and nourish skin. What’s more, all of the products are paraben-, mineral oil- and fragrance-free, and all of the new packaging is biodegradable, recycled and/or recyclable whenever possible.

Our favorite product is the Transparent Finish To Go Brush, a portable, washable and refillable little brush that dispenses Raffaele’s popular Transparent Finish powder directly onto its bristles for quick and easy touch-ups anytime, anywhere! It’s perfect for summer.  store locator

The 100,000 tourists who disembark ferries onto Provincetown’s breezy MacMillan Pier this summer can now add a vertical axis wind turbine to their Provincetown sights to see.  The pier recently added a 30 foot tall vertical axis wind turbine to its infrastructure.  The 5 kilowatt Helix Wind turbine was erected for a one year trial run under an agreement between pier managers and the distributor of the turbine, Seabrook, NH’s, Waterline Industries.  The turbine can potentially offset up to $2,000 of the pier’s annual electrical costs while garnering both, tremendous public exposure - and important data that can be used to evaluate future wind turbine installations.  The turbine currently awaits power company clearance to provide electricity to the pier.

source/photo: Cape Cod Times related: New Earth’s Helix Wind Turbine

Boston based Etceteramedia makes these cute little wool felt pins from the offcuts of their math sign coasters.  Great for expressing your positive or negative mood - or abject ambivalence.

also comes in black or red, ($20) @ their etsy shop