Shout out to Jamie Oliver, recent honoree at the 2010 TED Awards.  During Oliver’s speech, he expressed great concern over what we put in our mouths — declaring sugar, fat and non-foods the devil.  He’s advocating “food ambassadors” at supermarkets; calling for schools to establish fresh food standards and teaching “10 Key Meals” that they can live on.  We’re all for it – obesity seems to have taken over in the U.S. and that certainly works against us on so many levels — quality of life, longevity, personal well-being, health care…You can show your support by signing his Food Revolution petition @ jamieoliver.com

Here’s hoping more chefs start “educating” about nutrition rather than just cashing in on fame.  You can check out the debut of Jamie’s Food Revolution tomorrow (Friday) night at 7p (ET) on ABC.

I can see clearly now – someday, almost everything will be recyclable or biodegradable.  Jamak Fabrication just introduced the Tripledge GREEN Wiper Blade, the first-ever, 100 percent fully recyclable wiper blade.

According to the company, “the annual amount of petroleum wiper waste from organic rubber wipers is equivalent to 2 football fields covered in 1 foot of petroleum wiper waste in the U.S. alone.

The Tripledge Green Wiper Blade is a silicone blade, which can be converted into a polymer, a much quicker and easier process than trying to recycle traditional rubber.”

They’re so durable that they come with a Lifetime Warranty — they’re meant to last the lifetime of your car and even longer.  Jamak will replace any blade if you’re not satisfied.  Wish I had known about these a few weeks ago; I just replaced the blades on my mom’s car ’cause they took a beating this past winter.  Wouldn’t it be great not to have to replace those rubber wipers every year or so?

Look for them at convenience stores and gas stations nationwide, or find them online @ theWiperStore.com ($6.99 – $10.99/each, depending on size – from 11 inches to 28 inches)

Spring’s around the corner, which means taking a closer look at those short sleeved shirts stashed in your wardrobe.  Made by sustainable manufacturer, Same Underneath, this smart-looking men’s Polo is made from 70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton jersey.  Aside from feeling soft, the bamboo fiber is a natural at wicking, so you’ll feel cool and dry all day.

Bamboo is highly renewable; and the organic cotton is grown in certified pesticide-free and herbicide-free soil, using organic farming methods – which helps keep our water nice and clean.

Reduced from $90 to $32.50 @ youdeserve.com (available in small or medium).  Who says eco fashion needs to cost an arm and a leg?

• Though forest loss continues worldwide…Global Forest Loss Slows, as China Plants Trees – bbc
• At some point this becomes an emergency…Bees in More Trouble Than Ever After Bad Winter – myway
• Should we be appalled or amused? Hummer Horse Carriage Trots into NY – aol news
• Super Bug! World’s Strongest Insect Revealed – livescience
• Settling an argument the hard way…Rising Seas Swallow up Disputed Isle – msnbc
• This girl must have a great PR person…America Ferrera is a Composting Beauty – ecorazzi
• Making Car Fuel From Thin Air – sciencedaily

I first heard about Cathy Erway’s new book, “The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove”, as I sat down to another Tuesday-night-post-soccer-practice meal at a local Mexican joint where the food comes to the table so quickly that it has me wondering just when it was cooked (as in, before I got there?) and as I was explaining to my husband my need to purchase a Staub Dutch oven that has a charming little escargot topper on the lid.  That is to say that when the esteemed AltCon publisher asked me if I wanted to review “The Art of Eating In”, I was hungry.
Like Cathy Erway, (photo of CE, at left), I spent many happy years eating my way through New York City and remember many of those meals as delicious “events” rather than simple repasts.  I can recall my fellow diners with ease, and can even conjure up memories of some flavors of the best meals I had in Manhattan.  In fact, I can remember eating very few bad meals in New York.  So I was suspicious when I read that Erway had given it all up, from the street vendor, to take-out, to the crisp linen-lined tables of the finest restaurants, to pursue her experiment in “eating in.”  For two years?  As Erway herself puts it, this was a little “like not not drinking the tap water in Mexico.”  Potentially dangerous territory, to say the least.

But abstain she did, from eating out, that is.  And to her credit, Erway taps many unusual resources to enrich her experiment such as underground supper clubs, freeganism, pot-lucks and cook-offs.  Her chapter entitled “Getting Dirty,” in which she raises the curious question of “what all [her] friends had against eating garbage”, was almost enough to create a “gut reaction” in me.  She eats alone and with friends and family.  She eats traditional fare and the new and unusual. And she cooks up a storm amid relationship troubles, moving house, beer and wine hazes, working, family responsibilities and many of the ups and downs of a young woman living in New York.  And she pulls it off, with creativity, courage, humor and aplomb.  I mean, just how many people have the patience (or the need, really?) to braise beef cheeks for six hours and then move on to cooking live lobsters procured in Chinatown (which somehow gives them an added mystery).

A tasty cook-and-tell, “The Art of Eating In” is satisfying as part memoir, part manifesto and part cookbook. Erway learns plenty along the way, and so will her readers, not the least of which is that with a kitchen and a little imagination, anyone can cook up some wonderful possibilities. Learn more @ theartofeatingin.com and find where to buy here.

Today is one of those, spring is in the air kind of days.  The sun’s smiling, pink and red buds dot bare limbs, and happy daffies are popping up on fresh green lawns.  Life feels shiny and new.

What’s in store for spring for our 2-legged sprouts?  Check out Organically Grown – affordable, one hundred percent certified organic cotton threads — kind to the planet, and comfy for the kiddies.

My personal faves — Free Range Chicks and unisex Preserve bodysuits ($12) with padded hangers; My First Adventure romper & matching bib, ($24); Take Me Home 3-piece ensemble, ($36); and a set of 3, Organic Lion bodysuits — all for only $20.

find the spring line @ shoporganicallygrown.com

We happened by the Mavea booth at last weekend’s Go Green Expo in NYC and were duly impressed with their line of cool looking, affordable water pitchers.  Since roughly 85% of all U.S. households have hard drinking water, products like the Mavea Elemaris pitcher allow consumers to make fuller use of their tap water and avoid buying expensive and environmentally harmful bottled water.

The Mavea pitchers have some nice features:  they’re easy on the eyes and fit easily into most fridges; they direct fill from the tap through the top so you aren’t removing the top all the time; the filter lasts for about 40 gallons, is fully recyclable, doesn’t leak any carbon filter material or need pre-soaking, and takes out all the bad stuff but leaves in essential minerals.

Another nice feature is a built-in Smart Meter to let you know how long the filter’s been in use, the volume filtered and the hardness of your water.

It’s interesting to note that Mavea is an American division of Germany-based parent Brita, (in the U.S. the company sold its Brita line to Clorox years ago) so they’ve been innovators in water filtration for a long time.

You can buy the Elemaris pitcher @ amazon.com $29.95

Though not available to retail consumers just yet – think summer – Genesis Electronics‘ SunBlazer solar charger is designed to keep your cell phone battery at peak charge utilizing solar energy.  The latest design model, the G-3000, (pictured above with Apple’s iPhone), features a larger and more sophisticated solar panel, which the company states should translate into greater light gathering capability, and higher conversion to electrical energy and juice for your cellphone.

Genesis has recently acquired licensing rights to several patents from Johns Hopkins University to further enhance the SunBlazer’s capabilities.  The patents relate to solar technology designed to create a thin, extremely flexible, self-contained power source that can fit a variety of applications — even taking the shape of the device it powers.  Genesis intends to eventually offer solar charging products for a wide array of devices – ranging from laptops to a variety of hand-held and portable devices for consumer, industrial and military use.

Related:  sunblazer solar charging holster

Say goodbye to that nylon or polyester-based bath sponge and treat yourself to a more planet- and body-friendly sponge botanically derived from renewable plant pulp.

By ecoTOOLS, regularly priced at $8.95, it’s available for $4.89 at vita.com

via: become.com.