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

As of right now, Poppy Organic claims to be the first and only organic skincare brand to include birch bark extract in their ingredient mix. Why is this important, or useful, or exciting? For the fair skin-types, like myself, who have to be extra careful in the sun, BBE (birch bark extract) might “prevent and help to treat UV-induced skin cancer.” I know just from looking in the mirror that the sun has caused some damage to my skin, so I’m about to take a closer look at this unique line of skincare.

OK, so I like the philosophy of the company, and their commitment to the environment. Now, what about the fine print? Let’s take a peek at the product ingredients for their cream for sun-damaged skin. There’s one ingredient, a preservative, phenoxyethanol that seems a bit suspect. According the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep study (a great resource for skincare ingredients), over 4000 products contain this preservative, and it’s rated a 1 or 2 (very low risk) on EWG’s safety scale.

If you’re already familiar with poppy organic, let me know whatchyathink. I’ve always loved birch trees; it would be so cool if this beautiful bark actually helped to save my hide:)

find more info @ poppyorganic.co.uk/

click here to review the poppy organic product line

related: beautytruth.net for skin info (beauty facts: preservatives)

• Merkel Presses China on Climate Change – enn
• Next stop Vegas! Hong Kong’s Green Activists Change Mickey’s ‘Wasteful’ Lightbulbs – yahoo! news
• Pulling the Plug on Water Wasting – bbc
• If a turbine falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it…Turbine Tower Collapses at Wind Farm – msnbc
• Industrial Nanotech Announces Electricity Generating Thermal Insulation Initiative – prweb

This practical yet handsome women’s vegan shoe is sold by MooShoes, the first cruelty-free footwear and accessories store in NYC. The vegan owned MooShoes retail store is located @ 152 Allen Street on the lower East Side of Manhattan.

The Alley shoe comes in chocolate brown with contrasting cream stitching. I like this fresh take on the classic maryjane of yester-year.
$95 @ mooshoes.com
MooShoes insists that one cannot have fashion without compassion.

For parents who still have VHS players, Grover of Sesame Street can help teach your kids about conservation during a hike in Monster State Park. He taught me! I was seven when Sing Along Earth Songs (link here) was released, and nearly fifteen years later I still hear a faint voice singing, “she wasted water” if ever I am tempted to leave the faucet running while washing dishes. From this home video was born my compulsion to chase after any piece of trash I drop on a windy day. I can still see poor Kermit, Doctor of Amphibious Letters, sitting in a polluted lake, and trust me, I do not want to contribute to his plight.

This 30 minute video includes the following songs and singers:

• Every Bit a’ Litter Hurts, by Lillian

• Just Throw It My Way, by Oscar the Grouch

• Air, by Bip Bippadotta

• Water Pollution, by Willie Wimple

• On My Pond, by Kermit the Frog and three backup fish

• Box City Recycling Rap, by the Kids

• Oscar’s Junk Band, by Oscar the Grouch and (you guessed it) his Junk Band

• Keep the Park Clean for the Pigeons, by Bert and some Muppet Pigeons

• The Wasteroon Song, by Three Water Drops

• What a Gift, by Big Bird

The VHS is available used @ amazon.com, starting at only $5.95.
The album “We Are All Earthlings” also includes some of these songs.

And for info on more green Muppet media, see wikia.com/

Kids will always sing – why not get them singing about the environment?

• ‘Momentum Building’ for New Climate Deal: U.N. – reuters
• The global economy spreads more than wealth. Icky Algae Alarms New England Fishermen – yahoo! news
• Free enterprise or vandalism? Teen Untethers iPhone From AT&T – cnn.com
• Talk about rising to the occasion… Sex-Mad Scottish Koala Bear Saves the Day – ananova
• Does the FDA control this kind of thing? Animal Parts Used in Alleged Witch Feud – aol news