In these trying economic times, many of us are making-over our homes and offices as cost effectively as possible, and oftentimes this means doing it ourselves.  A great green resource for eco friendly building and home improvement supplies is Green Depot.

On the Web for the past four years, and with a new location in Manhattan, everything from eco-minded flooring, paint, tiles, countertops to cleaning supplies and home decor are all (more…)

Ponds, lakes and oceans should be serene settings where no gas or oil is spewed on waterfowl, swimmers or beer swilling boaters.  Hence, the beauty of the electric boat.  Here’s a quick look at a ragtag fleet of solar-powered craft propelled by renewable energy.  Some may not be pretty but they are a beginning.

• The folks at SolarWaterWorld have designed the 20 passenger SunCat 2000 to reach speeds up to 6.5 knots.  This baby will run for an unlimited amount of time with sunlight, and 10 hours without.  Better have a paddle ready. (photos below)

• Perfect for solar boaters with no friends, The Solar-Powered Personal Boat will only cost you around $10k at Hammacher Schlemmer. (photo below)

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I happened to declutter 3 closets yesterday (jealous, I know), and was enjoying the mental high…when I ran across Cindy Adams’ column today in that pinnacle of style and culture, The NY Post.

She captured my struggle with pithy wit and humor.

“…Redoing my closet is like draining the Panama Canal with an eyedropper….The big decision is the “in case” clothes…in case I lose five pounds, in case I lose eight pounds, in case I lose 10 … in case this comes back in style, in case this qualifies as vintage and I can sell it, in case I grow taller… in case I break the zipper on a certain other one which is basically the same look but which I like better, in case I’m up for the role of a misfit in a play and must supply my own wardrobe for the audition…

…One of those declutter experts came to my apartment.  They’re all blondes.  If they could pass the test, they’d be real-estate brokers or interior decorators.  And they all sound nasal.  As if they stuffed an angora sweater up a nostril…”

After passing along 5 industrial strength sized bags of stuff to friends and family yesterday, I’ve decided that’s really the best way to free cycle pre-loved goods.  And I vow always to be able to see floor, wall and shelf space in my closets. case closed

I love this.  Looking for a good way to rid home, office, and psyche of unwanted and outdated gadgets?  Check out gazelle.com.

This new green site is easy to navigate. Enter some basic info about your gadget, and they’ll tell you if you can trade it in for cash, or they’ll responsibly recycle it for you.  The electronics they consider run the gamut — cell phones, laptops, video games, LCD monitors, calculators, desktops, movies, digital cameras, mp3 players, PDAs…from about 70 brands — including:  Sony-Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry RIM, LG, Palm, Samsung and Apple.  They send you a box, with pre-paid postage.  Just pack the goods, ship it off and wait for them to inspect the items.  If you’re due some cash, they’ll either mail you a check, make a deposit in your paypal account or donate it to charity.

Another cool thing — if they don’t accept your item, they’ll help you locate a nearby e-waste recycling center that does.  Gotta keep that toxic trash out of the landfill.

Want to add a little pizazz to your garden after the sun goes down?  These multi-colored, handblown glass garden globes have a solar collector at the bottom of each brushed steel mounting stake that makes them vibrant beacons after dark.

The 5″ globes come in Nectar and Trilogy (2 color variatons) variations – $46 ea. @ allsop home & garden

Send a man into his workshop with a soldering iron and a funky array of parts and you never know what will come out.  In this case, give him an old cigar box, the wooden knobs of a vintage radio, a gear from a weed wacker, a couple of LED lights (top and bottom), a 9v battery, a little transistor radio, and a three-way switch. You’ll be listening to the Braves game in your bass boat before you know it.

measures 4″ x 6.5″ x 4.5″

$75 from thesteampunktrunk on etsy

The idea of a netbook powered by an integrated solar panel has a lot of appeal.  Like many mini-pcs the iUnika GYY is kinda slow (480MHz), weak (128 MB RAM), teensy (8 inch LCD) and operates on the less-than-mainstream Linux OS.  It does weigh an attractive 1.5 pounds and it is solar-powered.  I’d have more info if the iUnika site weren’t in Spanish…with some Asian text…anyone know what’s up with that?

The new solar netbook will be available in June for about €160

via: iTechnews.net

The Dutch are all about bicycling – when is America gonna get the message?  Be the talk of DUMBO when seen zipping around the pot-holed streets on this single speed, street-cruiser from Dutch bike maker, MOOF.  The beautiful, extruded aluminum frame, stylishly geometric silhouette and above all, solar head and tail lights, make this an eco hipster must have.  Oh, check out those white-walled tires.  Very nice.

$600 @ designpublic.com

Water, precious water…don’t waste that H2O surging off your roof and through the gutters of your home.  A roof area of only 1,000 square feet can provide approximately 600 gallons of water during a one inch rainfall.  You can capture that run-off with a rainwater harvesting system like this handsome one from Fiskars.  The unit’s flat back minimizes “dead space” between the barrel and your home’s exterior.  The kit includes a 58 gallon barrel made of UV treated impact resistant Polyethylene with built-in base, cover, worry-free downspout connector kit and threaded spigot for garden hose attachment.  Easy to install.

$189 @ rain-barrel.com