Most candles pollute the air with petroleum by-products, adding soot and synthetic scents to your surroundings. But Big Dipper Wax Works has come to the rescue with all-natural bees wax, hand-made candles.

These beautiful handcrafts are naturally aromatic with the smell of honey. Burning them emits negative ions that help clean the air, just as rainfall does. What’s more, because melting temperature is so high, these candles will last longer than your everyday grocery store tea candles.

These luxurious, organic lights will add a welcoming glow to any room.

More @ bigdipperwaxworks.com

• Consuming less oil will. OPEC Says Pumping More Oil Won’t Bring Oil Prices Down – IHT
• If you’ve ever watched Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi they never find a damn thing. Frightening Trend: Ghost Tourism Booms – livescience
• IBM to Recycle Silicon for Solar – computerworld
• A misguided sense of entitlement or a fabricated story? Prince Harry Quizzed Over Shooting of Rare Birds – sun
• Boo! The Five Creepiest Urban Legends – That Happen to be True – cracked.com
• I have no shame. Hayden Panettiere Saves the Whales in a Bikini – ecorazzi
• Do the ghosts get a piece of the admission fee? Video: Haunted Castle Opens to Public – natgeo
• Solar Energy Boom May Help World’s Poorest – reuters

Like spooky stuff? In honor of this year’s hallowed green, scare us with your take on some tricks or treats. Tricks are, of course, the pseudo/wanna be’s, and Treats are the real thing…
Here’s our short list of Tricks or Treats:

Sting or Bono

Brad Pitt or Ed Begley

Cameron Diaz or Daryl Hannah

Chevy Tahoe Hybrid or Prius

Home Depot or Brooklyn’s Green Depot

L’Oreal or Stella McCartney Organic Skincare

Danny Seo or Mariel Hemingway

corn ethanol or biodiesel

I’m Not a Plastic Bag or reusablebags.com

G.W. Bush or Al Gore

EPA or Greenpeace

McDonald’s salads or Whole Foods salad bar

Lime or Grist

Agree, disagree, or add more…drop a comment and we’ll add to the list.

Boo!

So the Prius is looking a little dingy and could use a little TLC… well, here’s a car grooming product that will help you save water, keep your image buffed and help you avoid those expensive pollution monsters, the carwash.

Spongetech has a one-step sponge washing system that eliminates the need for a bucket of sudsy water or a constantly running hose by including the soap and wax in a reusable sponge that can be used to wash and wax up to 8 cars. An inner matrix holds the specially formulated soap and wax. Get a free ‘Green’ sponge with the purchase of each 3 Pack Sponge Kit from their website.

The sponges are also said to biodegradable.
No info on the eco-friendliness of the soap and wax mixture, but in the car maintenance arena, any bit of green goes a long way.

Spongetech 3 Pack Kit $19.77 @ spongetech.com

Thankfully, though you may insist on filling these bags with misguided purchases, ugly ducking clothes and fattening foods – these bags will conceal your shopping indiscretions while giving testimony to your affinity for all things fashion-forward and eco-friendly.

Pictured above are two of RetroActif’s most popular bags. The Open tote Salamina ($56), is constructed of PVC banner material, is fully lined and features a large main compartment and a cell phone pocket. The Fashion tote Martinique ($64), combines the Open tote’s features with a more vertical silhouette and curved handle.

RetroActif can also create from recycled banner materials, branded or event bags for corporations and/or organizations, like the AFI shoulder bags at right.

Note: bag comes in several designs and colorations.

find out more or buy a bag @ retroActif.net

• Europe has shown us the light. NY May Join Crackdown on Plastic Bags – reuters
• Those jeans make you look much younger. The Child Labor Gap – the onion
• Oh, I’m sorry. I thought that was a fat suit you’re wearing. Too Many Halloween Treats Prompt Health Warning – enn
• Speaking of fat…Airbus Jumbo Jet Takes Off (video) – natgeo
• Girls I believe that is the harvest moon. Soccer Coach Accused of Exposing Buttocks – ap
• Turbine Expansion Said to Threaten Birds - ap/myway
• Ozone Set to Harm World’s Crops – reuters

These salt shakers express a lot of positive vibes. We’ve got the hugging thing, the interracial love aspect, human bonding, timely Halloween ghost imagery and a nicely executed design. Green in a metaphorical sense.

all for $25 @ greenergrassdesign.com

Hood River Lavender Farm provides all things lavender from over 70 varieties of this fragrant plant. Green goods include: teas, massage oil, soap, candles, perfume, sachets, balms, shampoos, wreaths and even lavender-stuffed teddy bears – and that’s just the beginning!

Hood River Lavender and essential lavender oils are certified organic, hand-harvested without petroleum power, use compost from spent lavender, and grown with organic fertilizers. A perfect gift for yourself or others. I think I’m going to treat myself to an organic lavender sachet! Check out the bountiful harvest @ lavenderfarms.net

• Poor Air From Wildfires a Health Threat – msnbc
• Is an 8 year-old with a 42 inch waist obese or just ghoulishly chunky?  Too Many Halloween Treats Prompt Health Warning – reuters
• Will people consume this stuff if you grow enough? Massive Rise in Europe of Genetically Modified Crops – bbc
• I think I see the empirical evidence on this one.  Glen Beck: Idiot – bad astronomy blog
• Hunter’s Photos Stir Big-Foot Debate – aol news
• Why Do Autumn Leaves Turn Red? Soil May Dictate Colors – science daily
• Bliss takes many forms… Red Sox Win World Series Again – myway

According to its website, Zonbox is the first environmentally-responsible computer minus high hassle and price. And according to me, they’re dead on. Weighing in a smidge over two pounds, the tiny PC consumes four times fewer chemicals and fossil fuels during manufacturing than standard desktops, and also complies with the European RoHS Directive, which restricts hazardous substances often found in electronics. (Lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium are a few that may be lurking in your current computer.)

In addition to its efficient build, Zonbu’s Zonbox comes in earth-friendly packaging, and when you’re done using Zonbu, consumers can simply ship it on back to the company. They’ll take it back for free, and foot the bill for dismantling and recycling all the components. On top of all that, Zonbu’s ultra-low power—about one third of the energy used by a standard light bulb—combined with a carbon-offset program through the company), make it a zero-emission, zero-guilt buy.

Best of all, the tiny tower retails for an equally tiny price: $99 (with a two-year subscription plan) or $249 with a month-to-month plan. What type of plans are we talking?

Well, Zonbu offers three plans to supplement Zonbox usage in addition to the free 4GB of space that comes with your desktop unit. The available service plans not only bump storage considerably, they offer unlimited internet support and some, remote file access and free overnight hardware replacement.

So what exactly can you expect to get on your Zonbox? I clicked on the whisper-quiet machine and found applications like Firefox web browser, office basics like full e-mail and a calendar program, word processor, spreadsheet program, an all-encompassing instant messenger that works with AOL, MSN, Yahoo and more.

Also on deck is a photo organizer, media player, music library, image workshop, web page editor and games galore. (Sudoku? Check. Solitaire? Naturally.) And hook-ups are golden. You can connect almost any digital camera, MP3 or printer to this baby. Pretty much, you’ll find everything you use on your standard PC squeezed into Zonbox too.

In a new era of electronic gadgets and web wizardry, it seems that Zonbu is just the thing to usher us quietly into the next generation of minute machinery.

For more info on, visit www.zonbu.com .