Late last year, Chicagoland became the home of the chic new boutique—Hotel Arista. Just this month, the Naperville digs announced official LEED certification, making the twelve-story building the first hotel in Illinois to be bestowed the esteemed green status. (It’s true… there are not as many LEED hotels in the U.S. as you might think.)

Boasting 30 percent less water use and over 20 percent less energy use than accommodations of similar size, the luxe Arista pampers eco-minded guests with natural sunlight in 75 percent of the hotel—not a small feat considering the maze-like halls of many hotels. They double up on the green dose with a bevy of energy saving amenities (more here) but don’t skimp on geek necessities (think in-room iPod docks, flat panel TVs and Wii systems).

If you visit, you’ll want to swing into SugarToad, the on-site restaurant that crafts decadent dishes using organic and locally-sourced products, as well as fresh-plucked herbs from the hotel garden. Later this year, Arista will also unveil a 12,000-square-foot wellness center to ensure that every inch of you is tended to during your stay.

Weeknight rates start at $169. Book a room here.

Solar gear at Target?  Here’s an early Father’s Day gift idea for those dads whose battery may have run down.  This 15 watt SunForce 50032 solar charger will keep a car’s battery charged by plugging it into the vehicle’s cigarette lighter and exposing the solar panel to the sun.  Will keep a car, boat or ATV battery fully charged and features a built-in LED charging indicator.

It can also be used to charge the batteries of off-grid deer feeders and stuff like landscape pumps.

$99 @ target.com

• U.S. House Puts Climate Bill on Quick Pace for Passage – reuters
• An ecological disaster…Brazil Approves Amazon Hydro-Power Dam – enn/reuters
• Don’t the Obama kids have this stuff under their swingset? Kids at Risk by Ground-up Tires in Playgrounds? – msnbc
• Who? Mother Nature Too Much for Heidi & Spencer Pratt to Handle – ecorazzi
• iPhone to Get FM Radio? Let the Rumors Fly! – cs monitor
• This would be illegal in 39 states…‘Gay Penguins’ Rear Adopted Chick – bbc
• News from the coal pits…Mammoth Skeleton Unearthed in Siberia – myway
• Tightened zoning is usually a better solution…Topless Coffee Shop Gutted by Fire – aol news

Some engineer in China or Taiwan is wasting his valuable design chops creating junk like this solar-powered turntable.  This baby is perfect for displaying that Obama Coin Collection, your favorite Barbie, or perhaps you want to rotate a couple those Hummel figurines your grandma gave you.

$15 @ brando.com.hk

via: coolest gadgets

Topping the short list in this stinky economy is giving a gift that doesn’t really cost you anything – the gift of time.  Celebrate that special guy or grad and surprise them by doing something useful for them.  Need some ideas?

• Give Dad’s garage a clean sweep – literally.  Skip the vac, and build up a good sweat by sweeping up all the grass cuttings, leaves and other nasty debris that somehow wind up in the garage or shed. Then tidy up and organize the space a bit.  If the space happens to be in dire need of organizing, dive in and really do it right.  Get some boxes from your local liquor store (label them with a marker, ie:  electrical cords, gardening tools, gloves).  Put extraneous nails, screws, washers, bolts in little glass jars (ie: recycled jelly jars or baby food jars).  Place shovels and brooms in the corner or hang up tools, etc on a peg board, (makes great use of the wall space, and it looks so fine).

• For the college grad — offer to help them fine tune their resume, or soul search for a job.  Kick around some ideas on how they might want to start earning a living, refer them to a colleague or friend who might have the perfect first job for them, have a heart to heart and give them some thoughtful advice on wardrobe, interviewing, or just how to deal with all their “free time.”  Oftentimes, grads won’t admit that they need some good sage advice.

My Space, Facebook and the current crown prince of social media, Twitter, are sucking up bandwidth left and right.  Between blogging, texting, tweeting and emailing I’ve developed a serious vitamin D deficiency.  Is Twitter bringing us all together?

Is the 140 character tweet a cultural step forward, the next mile marker in the transmutation of our culture into one giant organism of instant mass communication?  Is Twitter a global catalyst for social activism and digital communal living, or is it another mutation of a behavior that’s undermining our social fabric and weakening our interpersonal connections?  I’m just asking.

And don’t get me started on texting.  (more…)

Express your support for upcycling, recycling and handmade whatnot with this kilnfired, fused bottle dish.

For that entryway counter or coffee table that seems to collect all your keys, change and stuff.

$32 @ bentbottle’s etsy shop

• U.S. Climate Bill Best Bet to Take Enviro Lead: Chu – reuters
• Is that rain coming off your roof community property?  Water Wars Out West? Keep What You Catch! - npr
• Green Quote: Pink Wants to Skin Kanye West For Fur – ecorazzi
• My kid’s been watching too much Jeopardy…Young Childrens Exposure to Audible TV has Implications for Language – sciencedaily
• Remember when Sony was the alpha-brand?  Japan’s Green Incentives Lift Electronics Sales – dailyadvance.com
• Squirrel Steals Flags at Cemetery – aol news
• Another Bush misdeed overturned…Government Suspends Forest Road Building – msnbc
• (video) Illegal Bees Have High Life in NYC – natgeo

The naturalistic form of this desk lamp caught my eye.  Does it resemble the skeletal remains of a fire damaged tree or a coral tower shooting up out of some abstract sea.  Either way, I like it.  Lighting designer David D’Imperio has create this, and many other, striking lighting fixtures in his Stony Run, Pennsylvania studio.

David is currently specializing in lightweight aluminum designs.

The 14 X 13″ La Brea lamp consists of 18 light emitting diodes on a steel and acrylic structure.