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

• For teens and tweens, online community and webzine Girl360 goes green this month, featuring an interview with eco model citizen, Summer Rayne.
• AWEA’s Wind Power Finance & Investment Workshop will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis October 13 & 14 – learn about wind energy incentives to help finance the growth of this powerful industry.  Register here.
• Learn how you may win a Biomega folding bike (retails for $1700) via Inhabitat
• Dept of Energy Kicks off the 2009 Solar Decathlon, A Competition Powered by the Sun
• Clothing company, Icebreaker transforms synthetic tees into running shoe bags in window of Paragon, by Union Square in NYC
• 20th Anniversary of Bioneers Conference and Workshops, October 15 – 18 in San Rafael, CA.  AltCon readers receive 20% off with this link (includes free Bioneers’ Membership).
• Vote for your favorite video in the Drive Smarter Challenge – checkout 10 short videos aimed at helping to drive smarter, reduce gas consumption and drive fewer miles.  Rate the videos 1-5, contest ends Monday, October 19, 11:59p (EDT)
• Prince Charles sends SOS to save our rainforests.
• Review of emerging eco fashion designers at Portland Fashion Week, Day 2.
• Check out www.blogactionday.org/, an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global (more…)

Fall is upon us.  Time to start thinking about scarfs and other chilly weather accessories.

This handsome scarf was handwoven using a combo of Fox Fibre, a naturally colored organic cotton and silk.  No dyes are used, this fiber is grown with the color inherently in it.

$75 @ obeliskfiberarts’ etsy shop

UPDATE: It’s official! Congratulations to our lucky winner, Erin N. Thanks to everyone for entering, and many thanks to five Accessories for sponsoring such a wonderful giveaway. We have Great Green Giveaways on an ongoing basis, so check out the latest one.

Christine Hutchinson, founder of Chicago-based online boutique five ACCESSORIES, is generously sponsoring this Great Green Giveaway.

One lucky reader will receive a cool messenger bag (pictured at right), roomy and sturdy enough to serve as an overnight bag, commuter bag, bicycle bag, diaper bag, or whatever you need bag.

The yellow outer shell is fashioned from repurposed mosquito netting, the inside lining is made from repurposed industrial waterproof tarp; black mesh straps adjust for cross body or over the should wear, bag closes with big sturdy buckle.  There are interior pockets, too, to keep everything organized.  Bag dimensions:  15.5″ x 15″ x 4.5″ (retail value $75 + free shipping to anywhere in the USA.)

To enter, simply:

• checkout five ACCESSORIES and their good causes
• Then leave a comment on this post, telling us why you’d like to win this bag.
• Add the following address to your email address book: m at AlternativeConsumer.com.

One lucky winner will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email. Contest ends Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 11:59p (EST). Winner has 24 hours to claim their prize, or offer is null and void. Winner’s name will also be included on this post. Giveaway includes free shipping, anywhere in the USA.

*One entry per person.
*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 (once per day), and be sure to refer to @altCon, and leave a comment linking to the status. You can also receive additional entries 3 more ways: subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter or friend us on FaceBook. (If you’re already a subscriber, just enter a comment to let us know.) Time’s ticking, so start clicking – good luck!

A little company background:  five ACCESSORIES supports grassroots efforts around the globe to aid under-privileged children by donating five dollars of every handbag sold and 15 percent of all other sales to each artisan’s local cause. Their mission is to create income generating programs for individuals, donate a large portion of their sales to worthy charitable causes and foster the use of sustainable material in fashion. Check out their latest income generating program of accessories handmade by the vendors of Chicago’s StreetWise under the Accessories Tab/Off The Street.  five ACCESSORIES has a new location in the Andersonville Galleria, located at 5247 N Clark St., Chicago, IL.

Would you buy a wine packaged in PET?  That’s what Boisset and Wine.com are hoping with introduction of the new, Eco Wine Trio.

To further minimize their wine’s carbon footprint, Boisset Family Estates, a grower of organic and biodynamically-farmed estate vineyards, just hit the online market with 3 reds packaged in a revolutionary alternative to the classic glass wine bottle.  The new bottle possesses some nice eco perks; it’s created from 1PET, (polyethylene terephthalate, a thermoplastic polymer resin) which is 100 percent recyclable and estimated to have a 50-60 percent smaller carbon footprint than a traditional glass bottle.  Lightweight and safe, (BPA-free), PET weighs 90 percent less than traditional glass — conserving fuel, energy and greenhouse gases throughout its lifecycle — from production to transit to recycling.

Wine.com is exclusively offering the Eco Wine Trio, three premium reds — Fog Mountain 2006 California Merlot, Louis Bernard 2007 Bonus Passus Côtes du Rhône AOC, and Yellow Jersey 2007 Pinot Noir a fruity red from the South of France — for an extremely reasonable, $29.99.

I haven’t had the opportunity to taste the Trio, but the custom designed PET bottles are purported to feature a “unique oxygen-barrier that ensures wine quality and taste.”  The Eco Wine Trio is packaged in the first 1 liter PET bottle for wine in the US. One liter offers 33 percent more wine than a standard 750ml bottle.  The Eco Wine Trio’s gift box is produced of 100 percent recycled packaging.

As socially responsible manufacturers strive to reduce their carbon footprint, smart and innovative solutions in packaging are cropping up.

Designer Francois Royer’s Stanker Collection always features something cool created from reclaimed and rehabilitated shipping containers.  Francois created the custom MixMob mix stand for DJ Martin G.  The base is formed by two recycled steel barrels.

Related:  previously on altCon
Stanker Boozbox (10.7.08)
Stanker Collection Updated (5.7.09)

• When the Back Street Boys were on top…Last Time Carbon Dioxide Levels Were This High: 15 Million Years Ago – sciencedaily
• Another sign Sarah P. has left the building…Alaska Sea Otters Gain Habitat Protection – enn
• I could probably use some of these on the subway…8 Ingenious Ways Animals Outsmart Predators – cracked.com
• Japan is messed up. Whaling is just wrong…Anti-Whaling Activist Paul Watson Slams Australia for Visa Lockdown – ecorazzi
• I presume they’re not Catholic…Welsh Squirrels to be Put on the Pill – ananova
• No, Dancing With the Stars hasn’t run out of lame celebrities…Dallas Police Seek Pudgy, Naked Backyard Dancer – myway

It’s not often that campers reserve tent space one year in advance, but not much is typical about Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, a quiet, tent-laden luxury escape in British Columbia. It was by chance that I stumbled across the remote resort’s website, eco-friendly in nature—as it’s literally underneath a temperate rainforest canopy—and therefore, run as efficiently as possible.

Consisting of 20 tents (with composting toilets in tent-side, cedar outhouses), the property sits within the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve Area, one of the best intact temperate rainforests remaining. Self-sufficient, the eco-safari runs a low-impact operation featuring a comprehensive recycling program, organic gardens, and wood furnace hot water heating. In addition, all land and water activities are naturally non-intrusive and conservancy-driven.

From bear- and whale-watching to mountain biking and climbing, guests can busy themselves (or not) on a three-, four-, or seven-night stay May through September. To plan your own eco adventure, get the full scoop here.

• a plasma screen in every room is this year’s home improvement goal
• you think “Energy Star” is an award for burning more electricity
• your electric bill is delivered by hand-truck
• your home draws so much power it has a nice, warm glow on Google Maps
• when you get home and turn on the lights theres a ‘hit’ on the national power grid
• your home entertainment system needs its own electric meter
• before starting your car, you program your SUV’s GPS to get you from gas station to gas station
• you paved over your herb garden for extra parking
• when you enter an appliance store the first words out of your mouth are, “Show me the biggest one you’ve got.”

Who wouldn’t be instantly enchanted by a name like Pollywogg Holler Eco-Resort?  Named for the serenade of frogs that welcome dusk, the Belmont, New York camp-style bed and breakfast is a case study in green living.

Guests wake underneath skylights, bathe in heated spring water showers, can stroll sculpture gardens, enjoy a wood fired sauna and slowly savor an organic meal cooked using non-electric methods. Most appealing, however, is the choice of unique accommodations like School House No. 4, built before the Civil War and used as a school house for more than 100 years, or the less-than-erotic-looking Phantasy Dome (below) that earns its name from an eight-foot-diameter floating bed (boasting a plethora of health claims).

In other words, booking a night here is definitely deviating from the norm. And with rates that start at roughly $100 per person, per night, it’s a relatively inexpensive way to heat up a cool fall weekend.