Mariah Power has created a beautiful, tower-like wind power appliance: the Windspire. This propeller free design rises 30 feet into the air and is just 2 feet wide. Rotating at the speed of wind, it is quiet and safe for avian life, so there is no need to take down your bird-feeders. You can expect this 1 kw Windspire to produce 1,900 kw hrs annually if winds average 12 mph. Producers promise easy, DIY installation and low maintenance. Their website includes a calculator for determining how fast your Windspire will spin.

Windspires are expected to be available this fall. Reserve your own @ mariahpower.com

Price: $3,995

• I find as I get older it gets tougher and tougher to get into the maid’s outfit. Boyfriends do More Housework Than Husbands – livescience
• Virgin’s Branson to Shun Fuel Thirsty 4-Engine Planes – reuters
• They’ve gone Pete Seeger one better. China Says One-Child Policy Helps Protect Climate – enn
• As an Energy Saver the Clothesline Makes a Comeback – cs monitor
• Hold on while I put down this bowl of delicious pineapple. Dole Food Takes Steps to Head Off More E.coli – enn
• Even the green conscious can’t resist. Brits Addicted to Cheap Flights – bbc

Babies and kids get all the best stuff. This 100% Certified Organic Cotton Velour Hooded Blanket is velvety soft and available in blackberry with persimmon trim.

I think I’ll get one for my mother-in-law.

$42.00 @ katequinnorganics.com

• Townhouse developments – vast tracts of middle-class housing in cookie cutter formations stretching as far the eye can see. Frightening.
• PlayStation, Sega and Nintendo – the annual transition to next-generation gaming platforms will create mountains of played-out Gameboys and Xboxes that will soon block out the sun while simultaneously creating a generation of adults with arthritically crippled and out-sized thumbs…
• Celebrity hypocricy – how many bodyguards can fit into one Escalade en route to that 11th Hour premiere?
• Shopping at Walmart – can it really be good business for China to poison its best customers? Everything’s on sale everyday…including America.
• Congressional harassment – our elected representatives can’t be relied upon to focus on legislation when young pages, money toting lobbyists and gay men’s room entrapment schemes keep them from their work.
• Stephen Colbert – the sawed-off comic has befriended Bill O’Reilly, violated the Endangered Species Act by adopting a bald eagle, and denied the existence of both evolution and global warming thus contributing to the decline of Western Civilization as we now know it…
• Designer re-usable bags – the point is to replace the noxious and pervasive plastic bag, not gain entry into Lindsay Lohan’s next ‘I just busted out of re-hab and got a big movie deal’ after-party.
• Sustainability – the spelling and mis-spelling of this word will waste an estimated 137 million man-hours per year that could be otherwise used to save the global environment.
• Cats – kitty litter disposal is an odiferous and growing concern to many Americans.*
• Cell phones – I’ve got nothing here but I needed a 10th threat. Any ideas appreciated.

*(misrepresentation to enrage cat lovers and increase traffic to this site)

Convert old magazines into a foot or bottom rest by simply wrapping these straps around a stack. Then kick back and enjoy your new piece of furniture. Great way to save some copies of some favorite mags and de-clutter your home. Recycle, reuse, relax!

Available for $39 @ conranusa.com.

(Source: today’s NYTimes, “Put Your Bottom Where Your Books Are”)

• The Bushies want to enable the blowing up of mountaintops to allow mining of carcinogenic coal. Stop Mountaintop Mining Rule – friends of the earth
• Where’s the fuel? Volvo Announces Greener Truck Engines – reuters/video
• World Facing ‘Arsenic Timebomb’ in Drinking Water – bbc
• The mighty Hudson could become a giant environmental monitor. Networking the Hudson River – abc
• Sea to ‘Engulf’ Tract of China’s Pearl River Delta – enn
• Alternative approaches to housing touch celebrities too. Bobby Brown: I Lived in My Car – tmz

Wonderfully comfortable, smartly designed and ethically made, CERTAINTEES is a tee shirt collection that embodies earth-friendly, socially responsible ideas and actions.

“Wearable Wisdom” for today’s enlightened consumer was originally conceived by Chicago-based artist, Lee Tracy in 2005. Lee’s artwork is thoughtfully related by theme: Energy, Food, Freedom, Nature, Peace and Women. And each design series threads to the non-profits that she is inspired by and supports.

CERTAINTEES’ new 70% renewable bamboo and 30% organic cotton blend has just the right consistency of a perfect tee. You’ll love bamboo’s antimicrobial and antibacterial (odor free) qualities, as well as CERTAINTEES naturally soft (no silicone softener/lycra/spandex) fabrication.

Each purchase even includes a free green gift — a cool reuseable tote. And each hang tag cleverly hangs from a hemp cord, which doubles as a bookmark.

Their carbon footprint is offset via nativeenergy.com and they make charitable donations to several environmentally aware non profit organizations.

For more facts on 100% sustainable and biodegradable bamboo, and CERTAINTEES deep-rooted commitment to Mother Earth, simply click HERE.

Enjoy shopping for Lee’s super-eco-conscious, stylish tees online @ certaintees.com

• Drought Catastrophe Stalks Australia’s Food Bowl – reuters
• I’m breathing better but there’s something in my drinking water. Cleaner Power Plants Have a Dirty Side – msnbc
• Now about those haircuts and hedge funds…Edwards: Americans Should Sacrifice Their SUV’s – news 13 abc
• Greenhouse Gases Responsible for 2006 Record Warmth – livescience
• Could this explain America’s rush to obesity? Baby Salamanders Rush to Grow Bigger Than ‘Bite Size’ – natgeo
• Do computers and gadget make kids smarter? The Technology Kids Want, Versus What They Need – csmonitor.com
• I think there’s a gecko somewhere with a patent on this. ‘Spider-man’ Suit Secret Revealed – bbc
• I really don’t want to smell like Gweneth Paltrow anyway. Fragrances Tout Celebrity Names & Faces; Consumers Get Short End of the Stick – ecorazzi

Ask anyone who knows me, and “trail blazer” is not a term one would apply to me. “Unconventional?” Perhaps. “Bookish?” Certainly. And despite the fact that I do claim bragging rights for having hiked to the summit of Mt. Washington (elev. 6,288 ft.) and for having made a daring midnight escape from the summit of Mt. Chocorua (elev. 3,500 ft.) during an electrical storm, I do not consider myself outdoorsy by any stretch. Trail-blazing I leave to my husband, and well, baking, he leaves to me.

Happily I recently discovered a delicious marriage of both in Matisse & Jack’s TrailBlaze Bake-at-Home Oatmeal Energy Bars. No crinkly foil wrappers, bland flavors or cardboard texture for these unusual bars. Instead, the smell of cranberries and walnuts filled my kitchen during baking and the 5 minutes it took me to mix applesauce and yogurt with the all-natural ingredients and get the batter into the pan were well spent for someone who rarely has the energy to bake let alone blaze. I wonder if the simplicity of making these bars is really where all the energy comes from.

Thanks to the whole oats and flax seed inside, TrailBlaze bars are a good source of fiber, protein and Omega-3s not to mention calcium and iron. And the only things they’ve managed to leave out are the trans fats and preservatives. Most importantly, they are kid-approved in my house, so packing up a batch and sending them out with my husband, the dog and the kids to explore uncharted territories (while I stay at home with a book) should be energy-saving indeed!

Learn more @ www.matisseandjacks.com

We have finally found a product that combines both our fetish for re-usable bags and all things solar-powered. This solar beach bag from Reware Solarsistem let’s you plug-in and charge small electronic devices while transporting all your essential suntan products and snacks to the beach or lakeside.

Some features:

• charges a wide variety of small electronic from cell phones to mp3 players
• heavy duty cotton webbing handles
• large roomy inside pocket
• gadget pocket for holding your phone or camera
• natural cotton “duck canvas” frame
• removable interior bottom support
• rugged Cordura® nylon cover for a water-resistant bottom
• each Juice Bag comes with a universal CLA/Car charger female socket

The Reware SolarSistem allows you to remove your solar panel for use separately from the bag, or to allow you to clean your tote.

So be the envy of all your greenish friends and techno geeks with the ultimate in re-usable bag utility.

on sale now for $199.99 @ the rewarestore.com

Summer may be flying by, but DON’T MISS OUT on Kaight’s end of season, online sale of boutique fashions. Now through Labor Day, receive 20% off everything online, including sale items of faves, Noir and Bahar Shahpar.

visit kaightshop.com and enter “summer sale” for savings on fabulous, eco designer threads!

• What does ’substantial’ mean? George B. has always had trouble with basic English. U.S. Says Steep Climate Curbs May Not Be Needed – enn
• Ground-water use is a big deal (see also sports: skiing). Golf Projects May Leave Mexico Wildlife High and Dry – natgeo
• Britain may have greener energy and some wind turbines blocking the view. Demand for Green Home Rebates – bbc
• Advanced Tech Allows Diesel-Powered Vehicles to ‘Clean up Their Act’ – pr newswire
• Video: Angry Surfer ‘Board Blocks’ Superferry From Docking in Hawaii – breitbart
• Solar Powered Wi-Fi? – cnet

Used and exhausted office furniture is given a new lease on life with Ryan Frank’s latest design, an elegant eco-furniture range built from the waste wood of old, battered and abused office desks.

‘Strata’, consisting of a chair, stool, coffee table and dining table, has been commissioned by leading Portuguese furniture developer, IMADETrading, who will be distributing it across the UK and the rest of Europe.

The pieces will make their debut at TentLondon, the design event being staged by the duo of Jimmy Macdonald and Ian Rudge being held at the Truman Brewery and also 100% Design at Earl’s Court during the London Design Week in September.

The Strata range is comprised of a mix of different woods layered together. Salvaged materials make up approximately 60-70 per cent of each product’s composition; the remaining material is FSC plywood, required to provide the structural strength. GreenWorks, a charity and social enterprise, which reclaims timber from redundant office furniture collected around the UK, will supply the material and assist in the production process.

ryanfrank.net