Many thanks to eco chic boutique, Natural Luxe, for providing samples of The Bubble Roome bath and body line for the purposes of this review.

I’ve been enjoying their Bath & Body Wash, Walnut Sugar Scrub and Triple Butter Creme for the past week and I’m almost bursting to tell you all about this wonderful little secret of a brand.  (Although bubbles are a lot of fun and flow freely, this Bubble Roome should not be confused with The Bubble Lounge, whereby corks are popped and bubbley abounds.)

With homegrown roots, founder and chief mixologist, David Johnston launched The Bubble Roome back in 2004 from his cozy kitchen in Brooklyn.  As David explains, “for me, goodness means mostly natural and less synthetic.” (at right)

The Bubble Roome’s homemade concoctions are vegan, sulfate-free and paraben-free.  The packaging is made of recyclable HDPE plastic, (soon, David hopes to utilize glass or a biodegradable material); the paper utilized to wrap the soaps is 100% post-consumer paper from Neenah; and labels are corn-based.

About those products…(I have to preface this by saying that my skin has felt quite dry lately – thanks to mother nature’s old man winter).  But a little dose of lavender and geranium (more…)

Fallen trees become beautiful frames.  Matt and Heather King of Turning Green handcraft these organic wood frames from the remains of trees felled by storms, age, disease or construction.

Though they currently source much of their reclaimed timber from their native Chicago area, they have recently begun looking for a source closer to their home studio in Louisville, KY.

Frames come carved or natural, and in variety of woods, including: cherry, black walnut, silver maple, alder and apple — matte finished in natural linseed oil.

Any of you outdoor types looking to upgrade your sleeping bag may want to consider one of these eco-friendly bags from innovative outdoor clothing and equipment maker, GoLite.

Backpacker magazine bestowed an Editor’s Choice Green Award on GoLite for replacing virgin, petro-chemical based materials with Tier 1 recycled fabrics in all of the main pack fabrics in its luggage and sleeping bag lines – the sleeping bags now feature 100% Tier 1 recycled polyester.

The use of recycled nylon and polyester is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by up to 70%, (for nylon) to 80%, (for polyester) – while performing on-par with their conventional alternatives.

There’s not much about this trike that’s NOT eye-catching… a concept vehicle by Honda Motor Co., the purely electric three-wheeler blends the racy appeal of a motorcycle with the contained appeal of a small car.  In essence, it could be the commuter of tomorrow’s dream–assuming they have an option at home to haul their family in.

The vehicle, which was crafted by Honda’s R&D facility in Milan, is named the 3R-C and offers a single seat for drivers, as well as a flip windshield that serves as a roof when the vehicle is in park.  With handle-bar style steering and motorcycle tires, it’s a sporty take on eco transportation.  One of many one-seated wonders to be unveiled by automakers recently, the 3R-C isn’t in Honda’s official plans for a roll-out any time soon, but the company has said that it will likely incorporate parts of the sleek ride into future urban transport models.

What do you think? If a production version — loaded with safety features and a convenient plug-in option — became available, I just might consider losing one wheel in favor of three.

By now you’ve probably heard about Tilikum the killer whale who killed his trainer last week in Sea World, Orlando.  This tragedy, of course sensationalized in the media, is at least raising some important questions about captive marine mammals like dolphins and killer whales.  These are not new questions; these questions were raised in the 1993 film Free Willy, the 2009 film The Cove, and after each news event of an accident involving a captive show Orca.  I’d like to say it’s nice that people are talking about this, but we’ve talked about it before.

Personally, I am not necessarily against having a wild animal captive.  However, when it comes to marine mammals like Orca whales and dolphins, it is tough to justify their jumping through hoops for thousands of audience members daily in the name of conservation.

Here are a few at-a-glance concerns:

• Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are extremely intelligent.  We don’t know just how smart they are or what their linguistic abilities are in large part because the data scientists have gathered is so complex.  It’s hard to justify capturing a wild animal we suspect to be as intelligent as we are, putting them in a pool, and expecting them to stay content.
• Marine mammals live in three-dimensional environments.  While you and I can only go forwards, backwards, and side-to-side in our environment (planes don’t count), marine mammals do all this and also swim up and down – that is, in the wild.  A pool at (more…)

Looking our best doesn’t have to cost the Earth, or all our cash.  Our pals over at SHEfinds have uncovered the Top Five Stylish Vegan Shoes — designer footwear on sale.  Get in step with the times @ SHEfinds.com

• Perhaps it’s a good time to stop sunbathing on the lawn…Common Herbicide Turns Male Frogs into Females – scientific american
• Is that just my stomach or is the room actually shaking? Earth’s Earthquake Hotspots – livescience
• On-the-spot rebates are smart business.  Money talks…Obama Spells Out Rebates for Energy Efficiency – msnbc
• Could be a bad summer for New England beach lovers…Red Tide Alert – sciencedaily
• And I thought it was because friends are hard to come by…The Real Reason We Dress Pets Like People – livescience
• Low-Fat, Mediterranean and Low-Carb Diets “Help Heart” – bbc
• Sad ending…Mad Emu Attacks El Paso Deputy – myway