Call Lou Dobbs. The First Family is ignoring their own “buy American” philosophy by going with a Portuguese Water Dog as the the ‘First’ dog. What happened to creating jobs for American dogs? I haven’t yet heard any howls of protest from Bill O’Reilly or megaphone-mouthed Sean Hannity who, in the past, have rushed to defend 
Christmas, illegal wiretaps, Dick Cheney, border fences and apple pie. There are plenty of great American breeds out there like: the American Pit Bull Terrier, the Alaskan Malamute, the American Water Spaniel and that symbol of all things patriotic, American and free, the studly Boston Terrier.
Oh and they could have gone with a handsome rescue dog like myself…
I admit it. I have a deep affinity for solar gadgets. Thus I present another neat solar flashlight.
Expose this flashlight, (from Florida-based Earthtorch), to direct sunlight for 8 hours and it will hold a charge for 45 days. A 6 hour charge will give you 8 hours of light. No batteries to change and no shaking involved. The 10 LED lights in the 10″ model have light penetration of 70 meters and can be seen 2 miles away. The solar cell is estimated to last 20 years, the nickel cadmium storage cell lasts 500 charges, and the LED bulbs will shine a lengthy 100,000 hours. The solar panel is in the handle.
find it @ earthtorch.com
Pay less for eco fashionable shoes this spring!
In step with Earth Day, Summer Rayne Oakes kicks off her first line of eco conscious shoes and accessories for women and girls @ Payless.
Made of organic cotton uppers, recycled rubber soles and nickel free eyelets, you can’t beat the affordable prices ($20-30) and attractive styles.
With Easter here, we’re hopping on the green with organic and vegan chocolate bunnies, eggs and truffles. A chocoholic’s dream, check out Life by Chocolate, a gem of a confectioner located in Greenville, upstate NY.
Owned by an amazing pastry chef, Mark LaPolla and his lovely wife Kim, who together, also own the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, the creation of Life by Chocolate was almost accidental. While innkeepers, they decided to treat their guests to Mark’s unique, handmade chocolates. Voila – instant sensation. So by popular demand, Life By Chocolate was born. lucky us. more @ lifebychocolates.com
Etsy-based, COGnitivecreations, has supplemented the inner workings of a watch with some ornamental accents to create a pendant that can be a metaphor for many things.
Upcycling can be an artistic endeavor.
$50 @ etsy.com
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
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