UPDATE:  It’s official – Congratulations to our 2 lucky winners:  J. Valentine of Illinois and Catrina H. of Tennessee.  J will receive a Stream throw and Catrina will receive a Mulberry throw.  Thanks to everyone for participating, and to Gaiam for their generosity.  Enjoy this beautiful season. (original post follows…)

The holidays are almost here, and our pals at Gaiam are helping us spread some good green cheer.

Available exclusively from Gaiam, 2 lucky readers will each get to wrap themselves silly in a plush, organic cotton Fireside Throw.  You’ll love the cozy warmth, cashmere-like feel and ability to machine wash this eco fabulous gift.

You even get to choose your favorite style from 10 beautiful hues:  chocolate, light brown stripe reversing to soft-solid brown, mulberry, natural, honey, sage, persimmon, shale, stream, or paprika.  (Throw measures 71″ x 51″.)  Retail value, $98 plus free shipping to anywhere in the USA or Canada.

To Enter this Random Drawing, simply:

• Visit gaiam.com and pick your favorite Fireside Throw.
• Then leave a comment on this post, telling us what you’re doing this season to make your holidays greener.
• Add the following address to your email address book:  m at AlternativeConsumer.com.

Two lucky winners will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email. Contest ends Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 11:59p (EST). Winners have 24 hours to claim their prize, or offer is null and void. Winners’ names will also be included on this post.  Hey, if you don’t get selected in this random drawing, it’s a good buy and great gift for the holiday/winter season.

*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 a day — be sure to refer to @altCon and @Gaiam, 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 become a friend on FaceBook. (If you’ve already signed up, just enter a comment to let us know.)

For the second year in a row, a clean diesel has nabbed the 2010 Green Car of the Year award, awarded annually at the Los Angeles Auto Show.  This time, Audi’s new A3 TDI–which hit showroom floors just last month–took home the prize, and was chosen by a panel of eco and auto experts including Jay Leno and Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club.

The Audi A3, which was up against five hybrid and advanced diesel finalists, is the latest offering that promises drivers both luxury and efficiency, without sacrificing pedal-to-the-metal performance.  It’s tried and true technology; in fact, TDI clean diesel technology was developed by Audi 20 years ago.  Today, the TDI 2.0 engine garners 42 mpg on the highway–the best of any luxury car sold in the U.S.–and 50 percent better than a comparable gas engine.  The EPA estimates that if one-third of Americans drove cars that ran on clean diesel, the U.S. would use 1.5 million (million!) fewer barrels of oil each day (day!).

With a base price that won’t make you faint: $29,950, the 50-state certified Audi A3 is making us swoon.  Since the global introduction of the A3 in 1996, the five-door car that created the “premium compact car” segment has reached sales of more than 1.9 million worldwide.  With its sleek, European appeal, we’re sold.  To check out specs for yourself, visit www.audiusa.com.

Although the price of solar continues to fall for homeowners, experts say we are still some time away from matching the cost of fossil fuels.  Optimistic expectations are set as early as 2013, but range through to year 2020, which may be delaying many cost-conscious consumers from opting out of fossil fuels, and hindering the commercial-scale use of solar.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) may have found another solution – solar thermal hybrid power plants.  How does it work?  Put simply, solar-generated steam is integrated into the steam cycle of fossil plants.  Because the solar thermal application uses the turbine generator that is already established within the power plant, costs are kept low while fewer fossil fuel emission are produced.  There’s no need for transmission lines, a separate power block, or a new site location that building a stand-alone solar plant would require.  (more…)

Tired of being asked at checkout if you want the extended warranty on that new doodad you’re buying?  You might want to consider getting an extended warranty that covers all your eligible stuff, from computers to appliances.

Extended warranties are usually a bad buy, since most small appliances and electronic devices, if they are going to crap out, do so in the first few months while they’re still under the manufacturer’s warranty.  A company called GreenUmbrella gives you the opportunity to protect your entire menagerie of devices for $9.95 a month and covers eligible products for up to 4 years starting at date of purchase.  You’ll have to read their FAQ for details on what’s covered – items do have to have at least a 90 day manufacturer’s warranty that runs in conjunction with the GreenUmbrella coverage.