UPDATE: (April 18, 2009) Many thanks to everyone for participating in this Great Green Giveaway.  Congratulations to our 2 lucky winners! First Prize Winner = Beth Stockdale and Second Prize Winner = Allyson Ayala.  If you didn’t win, don’t despair — look in the right hand column of our site, under Green Giveaways and try your luck on our next one…ya gotta be in it, to win it.

(Original Post):  Kick off spring by winning an eco-friendly lawn tool.  This awesome Great Green Giveaway is sponsored by Black and Decker.  Our First Prize Winner will be able to spruce up their yard by using a brand spanking new, eco friendly, rechargeable cordless lawnmower. The Second Prize Winner will receive a rechargeable, cordless leaf sweeper.

They run on electricity.  No need for gasoline!  These lawn care tools emit zero emissions with no spilled oil or gasoline to pollute the environment and your yard.  How cool is that?   Save money, the planet and your hearing, (these are a lot quieter than gas-powered devices).  The EPA reports that a gas powered lawnmower emits as much air pollution (volatile organic compounds) in one hour as driving a car for 100 miles.  The Cordless Lawnmower is Energy Star rated, and will cost less than $10 per year to operate.

If you don’t have a yard but know someone who does – these clean and green yard tools would make great gifts.

1st Prize valued at approximately $400 + (plus free shipping, anywhere in the U.S.)

2nd Prize valued at approximately $70 + (plus free shipping, anywhere in the U.S.)

To Enter this Random Drawing, simply:
Visit blackanddecker.com. Then leave a comment on this post, telling us how these yard tools would suit your lifestyle.
Add the following address to your email address book:
m at AlternativeConsumer.com. (*one entry per person)

The two lucky winners will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email on Thursday, April 16 at approximately 6p (ET). Winner has 24 hours to claim their prize, or offer is null and void. Winner’s name will also be included on 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.
The more ways you post about it, the more entries you receive.

Time’s ticking, so start clicking, and good luck!

We feature green news, reviews and giveaways all the time; feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch.

The Red Ball is a rejuvenated version of a popular 1960′s design by Gloria Carnacia of Creative Playthings.  Kids of all ages can enjoy the classic lines of this retro-modern gem from Knu.

Knu takes its sustainable furniture-making seriously.  The company’s latest manufacturing plant utilizes energy efficient lighting and heating technologies; and all its transportation, shipping and energy consumption is offset by carbon offsets from the CarbonFund.org.

They sell on-line and they don’t mail tree-consuming, wasteful catalogs.  Raw materials come primarily from suppliers within a 50 mile radius.  Hardware contains a high percentage of recycled materials and wood components are primarily FSC certified, multi-ply birch.  Veneers are sustainably harvested and produced, Italian poplar – not rare rain forest timber.

$225 @  getknu.com

• Coke anyone?  Plastic ‘Diet’ Found in Leatherback Turtles – msnbc
• Prize For ‘Sun in the Box’ Solar Cooker – bbc
• I don’t think this is standard procedure…Rare Megamouth Shark Caught – Then Eaten – msnbc
• No comparison shopping please…Government to Buy 17,000 US Cars – rueters
• Pardon me while I do the Watusi.  Dance Your Way to Successful Aging – sciencedaily

Going to Florida to ‘catch some rays’ just took on some added significance.

Real estate developer Kitson & Partners today announced an agreement with electric utility Florida Power & Light to build the world’s largest solar photovoltaic power plant at Babcock Ranch, Florida, creating the world’s first city powered solely by solar energy.

The developers estimate that the 17,000-acre city of Babcock Ranch (I suggest they change the name) will consume less power than the proposed on-site solar facilities will produce, making it the first city on earth powered totally by zero-emission solar energy.  The city of Babcock Ranch will operate on an integrated “smart grid” that will provide greater efficiencies and allow residents and businesses to monitor and control their energy consumption.  All commercial buildings and homes in the new city will be certified as energy-efficient and constructed according to Florida Green Building Council standards.

The “greening” of Babcock Ranch extends beyond its energy production.  Half of its 17,000 acres will be permanently protected as greenways and open space, and the city is adjacent to the 73,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preserve. The Babcock Ranch Preserve was created by the largest-ever completed conservation purchase by the state of Florida, facilitated by Kitson & Partners.

The Kitson-FPL development has the potential to create 20,000 permanent jobs.

via: prnewswire rendering via: babcockranchflorida.com