• Who’s got the next beer-run? Colleges Use Car-Sharing to Cut Down Congestion – msnbc
• US population wastes around 27% of its food annually…Painless Way to Achieve Huge Energy Savings: Stop Wasting Food – sciencedaily
• An oldie but goodie…Statue of King Tut’s Grandfather Unearthed – cnn
• Someone must like trout almondine…a lot. NC Farmer: 600 Pounds of Trout Scooped From Pond – myway
• The anti-wolf lobby tries something new…Western Lawmakers Turn Sights on Endangered Wolves – yahoo! news
• Sorry Lea, we really don’t want to see this…Glee’s Lea Michelle Would Go Naked for PETA – ecorazzi

Happy Monday, October Fourth.  Aside from some fun and frightful festivities coming up this month, there’s a campaign kicking off of a more serious nature – National Celiac Awareness Month. Celiac is a genetic disorder that can cause premature osteoporosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune-related conditions/diseases. According to Celiac.com, Celiac Sprue is a condition causing damage to the small intestines resulting from gluten ingestion. The damage occurs when the immune system launches an attack against gluten (the forbidden protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats).

The condition can be reversed by omitting gluten in one’s diet. I don’t have the disorder, but I recently tried a few gluten-free foods simply because I was curious about how they might taste. With so many gluten free options on shelves today, you may even reach for these products inadvertently. Here are a few items I tried and liked:

• Raisin Tapioca Rice Bread from Kinnikinnick Foods.
• Tru Roots Organic Whole Grain Sprouted Quinoa
• Delhi Paneer Peas made by Asian Passage
• Snyder’s Eat Smart Naturals potato, tomato & spinach veggie crisps (great with spinach & artichoke hummus)
• Organicville‘s Olive & Balsamic Organic Vinaigrette salad dressing (1 carb per 2 Tbsp)
• LaraBar – key lime and cherry pie are my faves

I also stumbled upon a few sites with some very good info about Celiac and gluten-free recipes:

• Glutino
• gluten-freegoddess.com
• simplygluten-free.blogspot.com & recipe for, (photo above), gluten-free ricotta gnocchi & tomato sauce
• more @ celiac.com

With as many as 1 in 100 people in the USA with Celiac, feel free to let us know of resources or foods that can help others to live a healthy, gluten-free life…just drop a comment.

(food photo credit above:  simplygluten-free.blogspot.com)

A green stimulus package of a different sort for your eyes, ears and mind…

• Ellen DeGeneres is a rare bird.  She’s urging folks to straighten up and fly right – encouraging the adoption of a turkey rather than its slaughter; via adoptaturkey.org: “Between 250 to 300 million turkeys are raised for slaughter every year in the U.S. — more than 46 million alone for Thanksgiving.  Birds are typically packed by the thousands into dark, filthy factory farm warehouses, allotted approximately three square feet of space in which to live, debeaked & de-toed without any pain relief and bred to reach a crippling weight at an unnaturally fast rate.  Because turkeys and other birds are specifically excluded from the Humane Slaughter Act, which requires that animals be stunned prior to slaughter, their deaths are a brutal end to a miserable existence.” Learn more about Thanksgiving’s toll on turkeys at adoptaturkey.org/ or call the Turkey Adoption Hotline at 1-888-SPONSOR.
• Actress & ocean advocate Sigourney Weaver posts on clean energy & coral reefs on NRDC’s OnEarth magazine blogsite: “Coral Reefs Are Trying to Tell Us Something: We Must Break Our Addiction to Fossil Fuels.”
  From potential massive bleaching due warming water temperatures (detailed in a New York Times piece last week), to threats from ocean acidification (as detailed in NRDC’s Acid Test movie, which she narrated) – Ms. Weaver explains that the world’s coral reefs are trying to tell us we need to curb our carbon dioxide emissions, and calls for our country to move to clean energy.
• It’s not too late to motivate others and get involved in Bill McKibbon’s 350.org 10.10.10 International Day of Climate Action.
• One lucky eco-conscious college student will win an iPad — Enter before October 18, winner announced November 1 – more @ ThinkGreenLiveClean.com (more…)

As daylight hours dwindle and autumn falls upon us…here’s a peek at what piqued my interest in eco fashion this week.

(above, L to R): From eco boutique Kaight… pleated, hooded wool jacket from STUDY; ($250). Jonano’s eco sexy Mini Trench made of certified organic hemp & organic cotton denim ($175) @ Planet Threads.

(above, L to R): Grab bag…Pharao handbag in faux snake or black vegan nappa leather; ($285).  On sale now the Scrilla handbag in magenta vegan leather; ($152) @ Matt & Nat.

(above, L to R): Just off the boat, tread lightly in eco conscious Swedish Hasbeens – @ junoandjove.com

(above): From ParkVogel’s offshoot, Julie Park zippered leggings in charcoal; ($104).

Gotta fly, have a beautiful weekend…

Sustainable Mobility has released the first video of the Renault DeZir electric vehicle.  In addition to the video a special issue of Zero Emission Magazine is dedicated to the sexy, zero emissions concept car, which is being debuted at the Paris Motor Show.  Yes the video is in French, but there are some nice English subtitles.

BMW is testing testing public reaction to its Mini Scooter E electric scooter concept at the Paris Motor Show.

The company is aware of the demand for low emissions urban mobility vehicles, but isn’t quite sure if an Austin Powers-like electric scooter is the way to go…what do you think?

via: autocar.co.uk

SavageSalvage creates these wrist bracelets from upcycled, antique brass skeleton keys.  The key is hammered into a curve and attached by copper rings to a hand-forged, oxidized heavy copper wire bangle.

Each unique, and made-to-order bracelet possesses the patina and character of its previous life.  No two are completely alike.

Archeo Architects designs and builds luxury homes primarily in the southwestern U.S..  Though most of their projects fall well outside most people’s financial reach, projects like the Greene Residence exemplify how a home can be harmoniously integrated into its natural surroundings.

The Greenes were looking to build a home that provided a sense of warmth, comfort and protection, featuring a co-mingling of interior and exterior worlds, an organic connection to the site and the preservation of some of the characteristics of the mesa upon which it sits.  Indoors, they wanted a sense of expansive shelter, without excluding the outdoors.

Archeo describes the home’s theme as one of “a house as a permanent camp” that contrasts old and new.  Conceptually, two “L” shaped stone walls provide the main spine and heart of the house.

Two thousand square feet of developed exterior patios, roof terraces and sky-walks, the home allows nature its rightful prominence.

photos: archeoarchitects.com