A food management crisis was narrowly averted here at the Eco Dog compound.  One of our human decision-makers (they will go nameless…we may need them later) neglected to note that our usual dog chow supply was getting dangerously low.

The good folks at Holistic Select had fortunately chosen to send my two canine buddies and me a fresh supply of their Anchovy, Sardine and Salmon Meal, and Chicken Meal and Rice Radiant Adult Health dry food, along with a few Large and Giant Breed samples for taste testing (I’m a svelte 29 lbs while Madison the newfie weighs in at 125 plus).  Result: crisis averted, 3 well-fed canines with licked-clean bowls – we ate a few small meals as opposed to 1 large to transition between foods – and a newfound appreciation for healthy eating.

You’d think a dog food packed with a variety of “Select Actives” – healthy grains, enzymes, minerals and antioxidants would taste like medicine cabinet – but this food tastes really, really good.  These folks take their pet nutrition very, very seriously.

Taste: 5 dog bones*
Health: 5 dog bones
Digestibility: 5 dog bones

*you can’t do better than 5 bones

Urban Green Energy has introduced its new, easy to install, small wind, vertical axis wind turbine called ‘eddy‘.   Eddy is a quietly handsome wind turbine designed for residential and small business installations.  The turbine is said to be easy to install (under an hour), will snatch wind from any direction and can be pole or roof mounted.  The turbine can be readily integrated into an existing solar panel system with a hybrid controller.  Comes with a 3 year warranty and is designed to keep producing off-grid wind power for 20 years.

Cut-in wind speed is around 8 mph and eddy can survive winds up to 112 mph.  The amount of energy your site will produce will depend on how much wind is present.  It appears eddy requires moderate wind to create significant power.

Comes in different configurations starting at just under $5,000 and qualifies for a 30% federal tax credit.

Storey Publishing, who published a book we formerly reviewed called Keep Chickens!, generously sent me three more books to review, so you can expect to hear more about this green publisher.

The Healthy College Cookbook is the book I wish I’d had when I was a freshman in college.  My story is a common one: I arrived at my new campus home with a car full of clothes, books, a bike, and some office supplies.  Yes, I had two cookbooks in there.  But I didn’t know how to cook, and university life left me busier than I could have imagined.  Plus, I was on a budget.  I made cornbread a few times, and pancakes during sleepovers.  I knew how to boil pasta.  And once I baked a birthday cake for my friend.  That accounts for a grand total of four recipes, so I can’t say I got much use out of those cookbooks.

I was inspired to cook a few other times but soon grew frustrated when I didn’t know the difference between “dice” and “chop,” when the cost for ingredients was twice the amount I would have paid had I gone to a restaurant, and when I ended up spending two hours on a meal I’d hoped to have done in thirty minutes.  My idea of a quick meal at home became (more…)

Here’s a nifty little lighting product.  The Eco-i-Lite is a low energy consumption LED nightlight, a rechargeable emergency LED flashlight, and an emergency light that automatically goes on if your power goes off – all rolled into one.

The green gadget’s 8 LED lamps and rechargeable lithium ion battery never need to be replaced.   Lasts up to 7 hours as a hand-held light.

Designed and created by Florida-based Capstone Industries.

We receive press releases and news stories all day long. These three just grabbed me:

• Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid & Beyond the American Dream – Real-life adventures living with a group of “wild-crafters” in rural North Carolina; a memoir by William Powers.
• Cali Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just announced “the formation of the nation’s first non-profit dedicated to developing comprehensive metrics and standards for everyday products that are safe and healthy for our children, ourselves and the world in which we live.  Named the Green Products Innovation Institute (GPII), the organization, which will be headquartered in California, will transform how companies design, manufacture and use chemicals – driving a new era in research, innovation, economic growth and job creation in the green chemistry sector.  GPII is supported by Brad Pitt, Robert Kennedy, Jr., Terry Tamminen and (more…)

Sometimes good fortune just shines down on us.  I recently had the pleasure of receiving a complimentary Indochine candle from Infusion Organique for the purpose of this review:

When I received my little package, with its beautiful illustration and classy packaging, I knew immediately that this candle was going to be extraordinary.  Upon lighting and closer inspection, I soon discovered that it was indeed amazing.

The scent is divinely exotic.  Derived from kumquat (Chinese for golden orange) with peach, water lily, jasmine, muguet and vanilla, as well as certified organic grapefruit extract and ylang-ylang essential oils — one whiff and you’re in lala land.  So intoxicating, I wanted to liquefy the solid block and drink as an elixir…aaaah.

Doing my due diligence, I discovered that Organique’s three creators make no claims of having created a 100% organic or green line.
However they do incorporate organic extracts and oils because they’re more effective than synthetics, they resonate with your senses. IO’s science is paraben and sulfate-free. Made from a renewable and naturally biodegradable soy blend wax;  cotton & paper blend wick; packaging from recycled stock.
There may be many candles to burn out there, but none quite as lovely as Infusion Organique’s.

In their own quiet way, they provide a healthy whiff of urban cool and subtle luxury to any modern home; ($38).

find @ infusionorganique.com

Will wave power ever become a viable source of energy?  Companies keep designing systems to harness the ocean’s vast renewable energy potential – but the same powerful forces that make the ocean an attractive source of alternative energy also work to destroy systems and make them too expensive to run and maintain.

Perhaps wave energy developer Aquamarine Power, which this week unveiled the design of its Oyster 2 wave energy converter, can overcome the ocean’s reticence to be harnessed.  The Oyster 2, which will be built in Scotland this summer, incorporates many design improvements over its predecessor, Oyster 1, enabling it to

• produce more energy,
• be simpler to install and,
• theoretically, easier to maintain.

The new 800kW device will measure 26 meters by 16 meters and will deliver 250 per cent more power than the original Oyster 1 which was successfully deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney last summer.  (more…)

• As oil hits Gulf marshes…Hopes Pinned to Sunday Attempt to Plug Oil Leak – cnn
• EPA Orders BP to Use Less Toxic Chemicals to Break Up Oil Spill – washingtonpost
• In case you didn’t have enough to worry about…(pix) America’s Ten Most Dangerous Volcanoes – natgeo
• Think about it. This sounds weird. China to Re-Train Pandas to Survive in Wild – yahoo! news
• What goes up…Greenland Rapidly Rising as Ice Melt Continues – sciencedaily
• They’re recruiting…A Passion to Clean Up the Pacific Ocean’s Great ‘Garbage Patch’ – csmonitor
• As we learned with Exxon Valdez – only the lawyers get rich…True Costs of Gulf Oil Disaster Hinge on Lawsuits – livescience

Favorite NYC eco boutique and online etailer, Kaight is offering 15% off Good Society organic denim jeans now through Friday.  Classic slim and straight styles in their raw wash (a deep dark denim that won’t bag out or fade).  How awesome is that? Coupon Code:  goodgirl