• Old blue eyes…Blue Whale Discovered Singing in NY Coastal Waters – sciencedaily
• The politics of climate change…House Panel Approves Climate Change Bill – npr
• Avarice and greed…Oil Firms and Loggers Push Indigenous People to Brink of Extinction – guardian.co.uk
• Yuck. Rich Streams of Bacterial Life Found on Skin – livescience
• Ohio Man Arrested for Mowing Unkempt Grass at Park – myway
• I’m just sayin’…The 7 Most Mind Blowing Foreign TV Moments – cracked.com

Shout out to new mommy, (and owner of BTC Elements), Summer Bowen…here are some personal favs for looking good while having fun in the sun.  Be The Change is always on the cutting edge of green style.  (hey, give her a baby gift by buying a little something)

Ebb and Flow tee 100% organic cotton, water based dyes, made in Cali ($25) in ocean blue

Tizi Cut out Swimsuit by Kelly Barry – 65% bamboo, organic cotton, 8% Spandex; ($130) in sun yellow

Mod Dress 90% organic cotton/10% Spandex; ($76) in midnight navy, true green, grape juice, slate gray or black

By Nature’s new collection of recycled floor mats are a nifty combination of form, function and design.  The mats are manufactured entirely of recycled materials including tires, cotton and plastic bottle caps at a plant approved by the Carbon Trust.  An innovative microfibre design allows the mats to absorb 95% of dust, wet mud and dirt.  The mats are colored with organic dyes, washable and fully recyclable.

£39.99 @ bynature.co.uk

I love my long sweaters, hoodies and Peruvian Alpaca fiber; hence, the allure of hand-knit luxurious scarves, hats, throws and sweaters/shawls/hoodies of various incarnations from Mayu.  These are high end pieces, not your average run of the mill accessories.

Chicago-based Kate Robinson spent time in Peru working for the Peace Corps, and while there, she fell in love with the work of artisans in a rural community in the Andes Mountains.  With a relationship spanning the past five years, Kate asks the women who knit for Mayu to decide their wages, and then she pays them for each item before it’s shipped to the U.S.  With a concern for the animals as well, Kate assures that the Alpaca are not harmed when sheared.

Mayu’s one-of-a-kind pieces are also one size fits all/most. (Above), the Rayas features an oversized hood, 2 deep pockets and 2 sets of ties in front.  The back falls to mid-back.  It’s a casual, chic look that I’d love to wear year-round.
(Rayas hoodie, $249).

shopmayu.com (where style and social responsibility go hand in hand)

• Keep talking…Obama Touts Solar Power to Break U.S. Oil Addiction – reuters
• Rare Pink Dolphin Turns Heads Off La. – msnbc
• A ‘tasty’ sentence…People May be Able to Taste Words – bbc
• Ouch! Music Soothes Circumcision Pain – livescience
• Water vs. energy…Face-Off Over ‘Fracking’: Water Battle Brews on Hill – npr

The recession has claimed yet another victim.  Architect and sustainable prefab pioneer, Michelle Kaufmann, is closing her 17 person design firm.  The decline in housing sales, loss of manufacturing capacity and a dearth of mortgage financing have created are a combination the innovative home builder can no longer overcome.  Ms. Kaufmann, who last year had sold her manufacturing facility outside Seattle, will now explore multi-family home design.  See more of Michelle’s work @ Michelle Kaufmann Designs

more green building posts on altcon

Pennies are pinched in a tight economy, and many folks are cutting back by postponing annual vacations. Certainly, you can’t blame a family of four for keeping their bank account intact, but in many cases, a shaky world economy is just the reason to travel.

In Africa, conservation efforts typically fed by ecotourism dollars are hanging by a thread, leaving small camps and lodges without needed funding. And when the money stops flowing, communities often turn to other, less-planet-friendly methods of profitability.

To keep the pump primed, tour operator Natural Habitat Adventures is offering a one-time “Conservation Credit” that shaves $1,000 per person off a 2009 African safari like Secluded Tanzania or Wild Madagascar. That’s a serious savings… and a mighty convincing argument pro-travel in my book.

For all the details, visit Natural Habitat’s Conservation Credit page.

After developing products for mainstream cosmetics companies for 20 years, Mary Futher set out to create a safe and effective beauty product that was missing from the world of eco beauty.  What might that be?

Sustainable and biodegradable, 100 percent bamboo, disposable facial cleansing cloths to cleanse and remove makeup. Living the Me to We philosophy, Futher’s Kaia is a one of a kind beauty innovation that works beautifully and feels amazingly soft. In one easy swipe, these handy cloths serve 3 purposes:  they gently remove eye make-up, cleanse your face and tone your skin.  Ideal for those times when you’re bleary-eyed, and just want to drop into bed without practicing your usual makeup removal routine.

Here’s the skinny on how Kaia melds nature, science and ecology into one pretty package.  The unbleached, breathable bamboo cleansing cloths are infused with 8 essential oils, organic Canadian honey and sunflower seed oil.  Free of alcohol, synthetic fragrance, parabens and sulfates, phthalates and certified cruelty.  The packaging is made of recyclable plastic and FSC certified stock.  Creating the packaging from corn-based resin is currently not a viable option — because the cloths are wet, it could cause the plastic to biodegrade before they were taken out of the package.

Traditional cleansing wipes are neither natural nor eco friendly as most are made with traditional wood fibers combined with a harsh cleansing fluid. I’m so glad to have stumbled upon Kaia and met Mary at a recent Makeup Show in nyc.  find @ kaianaturals.com ($17.99, package of 30 cloths)

East coast travelers take note: this July, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will play host to the city’s first LEED-certified hotel, which is taking up residence in the former Baltimore Brewing Company. What makes this project so exciting? I pulled on a hardhat for a tour with general manager Patrick Leary to find out. (photo #2: below)

Chic eco suites. Solar-tracking skylights. Organic coffees. A massive rain collection tank taking center stage as the light-glinting feature in an urban courtyard.

This is no independent, high-end boutique. It’s a Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, which, in my humble, hardhat-wearing opinion, makes it even more intriguing. There’s no doubt that green is mainstream, but the effort going into Marriott’s “moderate tier” Fairfield Inn is a brilliant result of consumer demand.

The 154-room hotel, striving for LEED Gold, is slated to open July 9 and will showcase a variety of eco efforts (think biodegradable cups, bike rentals, electric hybrid car docking, bike storage, and more). Want to plan a green getaway to walkable Baltimore? Bookmark the Fairfield Inner Harbor Website and check back shortly for actual photos and guestroom availability.

To find out more about eco-conscious travel in Baltimore (including the must-visit slow food Woodberry Kitchen and local-focus Spoons Café), check out baltimore.org.

• I feel like I’ve been in a rut for about a month…Dog Survives After 25 Days in Hole – ananova
• “Ecomagination’ is all about making money.  GE Says it Has Reduced Greenhouse Emissions – yahoo! news
• I don’t think they really want the results…EPA to Speed Up Dioxin Review – msnbc
• I’d take him more seriously if he were the ‘Prince’ who wrote ‘Purple Rain’…Prince Urges Action Over Climate – bbc
• What does it all mean?  Cameron Diaz, a Recycled Firehose Belt, and Vogue – ecorazzi
• U.N. Ban Says Climate Change Pace Alarming – reuters

My little girl is still figuring out the mechanics of sitting upright, but I can hardly wait for the day when we can splash finger paints with wild abandon, glue together crazy collages, knead play dough into malformed critters, and conduct other random acts of craftiness. And when she finally realizes that fingers don’t belong jammed in her mouth and glazed with saliva, it’s reassuring to know that safe, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly art supplies are only a click away.

Founded by art educators,  Clementine Art is known for its beautifully packaged, certified-non-toxic art kits, which are chockfull of all-natural and organic products made from plant and mineral sources. More important, however, they’re (more…)

For those who still listen to the radio we present a slightly greener option.  No batteries or grid power needed.  Crank this baby for a minute and you’ll get around 30 minutes of Barry Manilow, Rush Limbaugh or NPR.  When fully charged by its solar panel this AM/FM radio will play for seven hours, give or take.

I’m not going to mention that is actually the color green…

$24.95 @ usefulthings.com via: redferret.com

Just in time for summer, Toms introduces its newest collection of picnic-worthy, madras plaid slip-on shoes. Hipsters, fashionistas and celebrities alike have all recently taken notice of Toms, a line of comfy, bright kicks created by the altruistic Blake Mycoskie. For every pair of Toms purchased, Mycoskie gives a pair of shoes to a child in need.

Since the line launched in 2006, more than 140,000 pairs of shoes have been distributed and the company hopes to give away 300,000 this year alone. The canvas kicks are modeled after the alpargata, the traditional rope-soled footwear of Argentina, and are available in a variety of fun colors and prints. Ultra-conscious shoppers can purchase the vegan styles, available with a micro-fiber insole and made without animal by-products.