I’ve often heard people say they do their best thinking in the shower, and although I can’t say I’m one who does heavy brain work amidst the suds I did take a minute the other day to read the back of my shampoo bottle.

What I saw surprised me.  Water, sodium laureth sulfate, glycol distearate, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropylbetaine, cocamide MEA, zinc carbonate, behentrimonium chloride, fragrance, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, zinc chloride, sodium citrate, benzyl alcohol, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, blue 1, red 4.

I’m not sure I want all those things that close to one of my most vital organs, or possibly getting into my eyes, nose or mouth.  Of the twenty-two ingredients that are in most shampoos, only about three of them actually clean.  Others, like cocadamide MAE are suspected carcinogens.  Americans spend almost $11 million each year on shampoos that contain these toxic and useless ingredients.

As a college student I’m not generally keen on paying for more than I’m getting (and nineteen to one just doesn’t cut it) so I went to the trusty internet to investigate a solution, and found several recipes for homemade shampoo.  After some testing and several washes my hair was happy and I had a good working concoction. (more…)

• Seeing is believing…UN Climate Chief Says China Poised to Lead – yahoo! news
• You made the mess, now clean it up…River Heals as Lawsuit Against Big Poultry Looms – msnbc
• I bet electric rates rise, too…U.S. Utilities Scramble for Smart-Grid Stimulus Cash – reuters
• I’m a sucker for ‘mystery creatures’…Mystery Creature Found Dead in Panama (video) – aol/cnn
• Damn those dams…Millions at Risk as Deltas Sink – bbc
• Answer nature’s call and help those tomatoes…Human Pee With Ash is a Great Natural Fertilizer – natgeo

If you have a yard smaller than a Texas ranch, need to manage your storage space, or, you just hate the noise and pollution of a gas-powered mower – we present – the Brill RazorCut 33 manual push mower from EcoMower.  This baby does a great job cutting grass and can fit and store in a space the size of a closet.

Features: ergonomic foam-covered folding handle bars, large wheels, a rear grass ‘spoiler’ and a 15.2 lbs fighting weight.

EcoMowers offers a wide range of eco-friendly mowers – all their hand mowers feature blades that don’t require sharpening for 5+ years.

$209  @  ecomowers.com

Japanese carport maker Sankyo Tateyama Aluminium has developed a new carport with a solar power generation system installed on its roof.  With the burgeoning electric vehicle market calling for a big investment in charging stations and EV infrastructure, this could offer an interesting solution. (more…)

A green stimulus package for your eyes, ears and mind…

• The Age of Stupid, our film review.  There’s an Age of Stupid LIVE EVENT taking place on 9/21/09 with a performance by Moby, live discussions about the rain forests and climate change, and more – 425 cinemas across the USA will be participating simultaneously, with screenings in 50 countries worldwide.  NY screenings are already sold out. Elsewhere, tickets are on sale now at your local cinema.  more @ ageofstupid.net
• Tonight and tomorrow (9/19 & 9/20), 8pm – an avant garde fashion event with one of a kind fashion, performances and music – Williamsburg Fashion Weekend at Secret Project Robot – 210 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY – Five Bucks gets you in the door. (more…)

I guess for a NASA engineer, designing an eco friendly bag presents a different set of challenges.  Rocket scientist Kirsten James left her job at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to stay at home with her one year-old and start her own handbag and diaper bag line.  Looks like hings have really taken off:)

Check out the practical pockets, clean lines and use of durable organic cotton/hemp fabric in the Seeds in Olive diaper bag,  (above, left).  It’s printed with solvent free inks and (more…)

If you live west of the Rockies, or in Canada you may want to help your flowering fruit trees and gardens by providing a comfy home to a local hive of Mason bees.  The solitary Mason bees are great early spring pollinators, aren’t feisty and make their nest out of mud.

This handmade bee house is designed to hang from a wall, fence or tree.

We can all use a little more pollination.

$23.50 @ andrewsreclaimed etsy shop

U.K.- based, Hudson Architects‘, Cedar House is the prototype design for a cedar shingle-clad (even the roof), 2 bedroom, prefab, modern farmhouse.  Lots of windows, a simple floorplan, off-site construction and a form intended to integrate into the English countryside make this an eye-catching little home. The house, which is located in North Elmham, Norkfolk, U.K., was designed and built a few years ago to address the U.K.’s housing demand.

(more pix after the jump) (more…)

The ecotourism hub of the Americas—Costa Rica—is a hot spot for green globetrotters. Every year, tourists hungry for a change to their annual beach vacation routine consider the lush undergrowth of Central America, picturesque with its vast stretches of sandy beaches, mirrored by dense rainforests. For this reason, the country has rapidly grown into a tourism-driven destination, where eco efforts rise above greenwash, but oftentimes, not by much.

Travel company Aventouras is tackling travel in Costa Rica by offering an opportunity to connect with the villages and people in the natural wilderness of the jungle, far removed from the posh island resorts touted as eco escapes. (more…)