• The World’s First Floating Wind Turbine May Be In North Sea by 2009 – enn
• Does everyone hate their neighbors? More US Commuters Drive Solo – cs monitor
• Suffering through another painful poker tournament for charity. Pitt, Clooney, Affleck Join Others at the Poker Table for Darfur – ecorazzi
• Now if we can just get the Queen into an organic cotton tee-shirt….Prince Charles Household is Carbon Neutral – msnbc
• Lake Tahoe Fire 40% Under Control - reuters
• San Francisco Bans Bottled Water for City Staff – enn

New from Jonathan Knodell is the Cutpile Collection — bags, cases and purses created from recycled carpet tiles and wood from his design studio. Love the felt-lined computer case! Let Jonathan know the dimensions of your laptop, and he’ll customize the case for you.
Sleek and chic, $30

Check out the entire Cutpile Collection @ etsy.com

A warm welcome to our new Green Teen Editor, Zach McGrath, with his first post for Alternative Consumer.

Okay, here’s a concise list of my favorite eco-celebs,
(in no particular order). Enjoy!

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Her new home with husband Brad Hall is practically a poster for green efficiency.

• Alanis Morissette – On my list more because I like her and less because she excels at being green, but nonetheless has added things such as solar panels and hybrids to her repertoire.

• Regina Spektor – This not-too-well-known singer/pianist attended Tennessee’s Bonnaroo 2007 along with Alexa Ray Joel and others. This concert’s no Live Earth, but it helps educate and entertain on a green basis.

• Morgan Freeman – Drives an electric car and helps educate about being kind to the environment through speeches and interviews. Basically a cool guy.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger – I know The Governator wouldn’t be the first person thought of when eco-friendly is mentioned, but he actually has been working in California to encourage the installment of solar panels in one million new homes over the next 13 years.

• Harrison Ford- won the Global Environmental Citizen Award (2002) and is vice chairman of the Board of Conservation International (CI), on which he has served for more than ten years.

Others (such as Ashton Kutcher, Jack Black, and Sting) have made small steps toward the new “green and famous” look (which seems to be the trend these days) by driving eco-friendly cars and *gasp* recycling. Not the biggest achievement, I know, but still, it’s progress.

In Other News…

Surprising Decisions: (more…)

Designer Luitpol Ruiz Gaviria fashioned these happy porcine banks from a recycled bottle, some auto parts and a pile of whimsy.
Each bank is signed by the artist.

Get your “Little Pig” through Shopgreen, the new greener offshoot of pricegrabber.com, who can hook you up with a $10 discount code on items over $40, at Novica.
on sale now for $53.06 @ novica.com

• Distemper Kills 41 Seal Pups in Denmark – reuters
• The opposite of eco-tourism. Clooney Fears His Presence is Destroying Town – cnn
• Mushrooms Become Source for Eco Building – yahoonews
• Boyhood fascination turns into manly biz. LEDs Move Into Home Lighting Market – yahoonews
• Eco Options at Big Box retailer are out of control. At Home Depot, How Green is that Chainsaw? – nytimes
• Multi-tasking takes to the high seas. With Every Ferry Trip, New Data on Outer Banks – washingtonpost
• Slogan conjures up memories of 69,000 people dying in Peru. Diaz apologizes for Maoist Slogan – bbcnews

Demi-couture label, Noir reflects not only high fashion, but also high ethical standards of manufacturing. Check out their unique “illuminati II” fabric, made from raw ingredients sourced in Uganda. With endorsements by Naomi Watts and Sharleen Spiteri keep your eye on this seriously stylish design house from Denmark for more organic, Fair Trade, sustainable breakthroughs both on and off the runway.

trippy website and more noir eyecandy @ noir-illuminati2.com

I love the shape and finish of the Seaglass collection from Riverside Design Group. Soft edges and muted colors evoke the look and feel of glass, shaped by ocean waves.

The dinnerware is made of post-industrial/pre-consumer recycled glass by Pittsburgh based, Riverside Design Group, who is committed to both good design and environmental sustainability.

each setting consists of:
7″ bowl, 7″ triangle, 10″ wave, and 11″ square plates – in a choice of 12 tasteful colors; dishwasher and microwave safe; made in the USA.
$132 @ ethically tasteful and environmentally hip equita.com

Four years young and still a fresh face on the scene, Camilla Norrback’s fashion statements are an unusual mix of: hot, fun, sophisticated and eco friendly.

Taking great care to follow environmentally responsible production methods – from cultivation, to processing and coloring of her fabrics; she employs natural alternatives to toxins and chemicals, ensuring that pigments are not contaminating the groundwater.

“A garment of the highest quality that is justly manufactured as well has an entirely new dimension – the wearer can feel both beautiful and proud. This is the modern luxury, what we at camilla norrback call ecoluxury!”

view her spring/summer 2007 collections

find her fresh, fun designs in boutiques @ camillanorrback.com

• If you can’t kill a bill – delay it. U.S. Climate Law May Linger Until Next President – reuters
• Components of Widely Used Pesticides Lethal to Amphibians: Study – sciencedaily
• When did the environment become part of the marketing package of bad movies? The Greening of Evan Almighty – ecorazzi
• Hurt commercial fishing interests or save fish stocks…hmmm. U.S.: More Species Overfished in 2006 – msnbc
• Some good news for shoppers. The Next Step in Self-Checkout – cnn