From around the ecosphere, here’s our latest green stimulus package for your eyes, ears and mind.

• Make a note of this date: May 19th at 8:00p.  The stage at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium will come alive with the Music Saves Mountains concert, presented by the Natural Resources Defense Council.  The event will feature the largest gathering of musicians and celebrities coming together to raise money and awareness about mountaintop removal coal mining, a devastating practice that is destroying the Appalachian Mountains.  Performers will include:  Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, and more. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 5th at 10:00 a.m. by phone, the Ryman box office, and www.ryman.com.  More info @ musicsavemountains.org
• Related:  previously on altCon (1.17.07) Mountaintop Removal – A Coal Mining Debacle
• Want would happen to a world without humans? Check out National Geographic’s airing of “Aftermath: Population Zero” March 8 at 8p ET.
• Planet Green has some new original programming coming up at the end of March (the 29th to be exact), when the channel will launch a new primetime block of programming called “Verge.” The block will feature (more…)

As a recent Pulse Survey by Retrevo found – see chart above – many electronics consumers (58%) are not all that concerned about buying green…although a healthy 42% did show a green inclination.

Celery Street is an internet store loaded with eco-friendly products.  They’re currently running a clearance sale with up to an 80% discount on selected items like the cute Organic Cotton B-Fly Catcher Shirt from designer Lauren Chlebowski’s Ollie Sang line –   (pictured above) – marked down from $39 to $14.

In addition to a nice variety of eco fashion items, Celery Street carries a wide range of green gifts and items for the home like the Fashionations Magazine Basket (at right) made of repurposed and recycled fashion mags – marked down from $27.95 to a very affordable $6.

Kaytee, who has specialized in bird and small pet supplies for 130 years, was kind enough to send me a sample of their Soft-Sorbent litter for a Tried and True Green Product Review.  This “soft and comfortable earth friendly bedding” is created from wood fibers that aren’t suitable for paper.  Instead of throwing away these scraps, Kaytee turns them into an absorbent bedding safe for small animals like rabbits, hamsters, and – in my case – birds.

I have two pairs of ringneck doves, (four birds in total), who usually have a layer of bark at the bottom of their cages.  I wanted to use something environmentally friendly that could earn the approval of both me and my doves, so I was anxious to try out the Soft-Sorbent.  After a week of investigating the following questions, I can report that the bedding (more…)

As you know, we don’t favor mindless consumption, but we do occasionally like to perk up our wardrobes and spirits with an eco conscious, stylish indulgence.  Here’s this week’s small, edited collection of eco savvy fashion finds.

Get Super Freaky! Hit your next Lady Ga Ga concert packing this little funk-bucket of a purse, (above left), created from an upcycled Rick James record.

Or, if you want to get all ‘ironic’, tote your essentials around in a purse made of upcycled vinyl by the king of all faux-rappers and pop culture icon, Vanilla Ice.

(above L to R) – $49.99 for the Rick James purse and $55 for the Vanilla Ice bag

(above) – Put a lid on it!  The hip Metric Hat, made of organic cotton twill, will keep the snow off the dome of anyone out there in this inclement weather. (24 inches of fresh white powder fell all around us yesterday and 6 more inches are on the way); $28 @ missionplayground

(above) – Make a splash this spring with Melissa’s plastic fantastic ankle boot, ethically made in Brazil.  find at NYC eco fashion boutique, Kaight, ($130).

(above) – Architect turned recycling and upcycling jewelry designer, Gülnur Özdağlar, collects PET bottles and reshapes them into beautiful works of wearable art.

(above) – TerraCycle take note: NYU design student Emma Kaywin upcycled some expired contraceptives into prophylactic eco fashion.  The unused rubbers were donated by an AIDS prevention organization.  What a “conversation starter” – would you wear this eco chic dress to a cocktail party? (photo credit here:  Ecouterre)

Portable audio goes solar.  Landport will introduce these little 2 watt solar powered speakers in Japan sometime around March.  When fully charged the lithium-ion battery will power your iPod or MP3 player for 5 to 8 hours.  Can also be powered via USB connection.  Just don’t mistake them for your binoculars.  They should cost about $60.

via: akihabara news

UPDATE:  And the lucky winner is — Linda Kish — Congratulations!  Thanks to everyone for entering.  Please check out our Nau Giveaways (men’s and women’s spring hoodies) – ends Monday, March 15 – 11:59p ET.  (the original post follows…)

We’re thrilled once again, to feature The Andean Collection as our generous sponsor of this week’s Great Green Giveaway. This gorgeous eco friendly jewelry is the creation of founder and designer, Amanda Judge.

We’re featuring a new piece that’s soft to the touch and neutral in color, from the Spring 2010 collection; (at right).

One very lucky winner will receive a complimentary Tagua Bib necklace in titanium, Fair Trade made by artisans in Ecuador; (retail value, $78 plus free shipping to anywhere in the USA.)

Here’s how to enter:

• Check out theandeancollection.com/
• Then leave a comment on this post, telling us which is more important to you — the fact that this line is Fair Trade made or that it’s made from renewable resources, (ie seeds)?
• Add the following address to your email addressbook: m at AlternativeConsumer.com.
• OPTIONAL
• Sign up for their enewsletter and leave us a comment here to let us know.
• Check out their video showing how the Spring 2010 collection was created and leave a comment.

Winner of the Tagua Bib (in titanium) will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email. Contest ends Friday, March 5 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 only.

more ways to enter:

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.)  good luck! (more…)

• I guess you can be a dope no matter what computer you use… Al Gore a Lightening Rod at Apple Shareholder Meeting – cnet news
• Geez…could being held in captivity for 30 years be a contributing factor? Why Would a Trained Orca Kill a Human? – scientific american
• I think I’m suffering from Cape Wind fatigue…Fate of Offshore Wind Farm in Government’s Hands – npr
• News title of the day: African Warthog Befriends Giant Hornbill (photo) – bbc
• How big is Luxembourg? Giant Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctic Glacier – msnbc
• The alternative franchise…Is Moby’s Vegan Cafe Coming to Your Town? – ecorazzi

We’re experiencing another snow day in the snow capital of NJ – it’s c-RAZY beautiful — gotta be a foot of fresh powder so far and it’s still coming down.  How to stay warm at times like these?  Bundle up in eco threads — find them at up to 60% off — 26 pages of Website-only sales @ Patagonia.

Above, L to R:  Men’s Classic Vest fleece made from 78% recycled soda bottles – $140 slashed to $84.

Women’s El Cap Jacket fleece made from 78% recycled soda bottles – $90 slashed to $50.