Our cluttered, muddled world of tangled wires and wasted batteries is starting to get cleaned up and here’s another new product to help the process.  Technology innovator, Logitech, recently introduced its Wireless Solar Keyboard K750.  The keyboard powers itself from solar or ambient light gathered by its integrated solar panels — no power bricks or charging cables needed.  For cave dwellers, the keyboard can operate for up to three months in total darkness (finding the right keys could prove a challenge).

Logitech has included a solar power app (available for download beginning Nov. 15, 2010) that features a lux meter to help you measure ambient light, gives at-a-glance information about battery levels, and even alerts you when you need more power.

The keyboard is slim, 1/3-inch thick, and also features 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity with Logitech’s tiny Unifying receiver.  The Unifying receiver can connect up to six compatible devices, eliminating clutter and freeing up USB ports.

The keyboard will be in retailers’ hands later this month.

When it comes to buying milk, which one is better?  “Regular,” non-organic milk is cheaper, yet expires sooner, while certified organic milk can cost up to a few dollars more per gallon, but has a longer shelf life.  When it comes to nutrition, both certified organic and regular milk appear equal. They have the same amount of fat (depending on which milk you buy), and same nutritional value.

However, a major difference is how the cows are treated, which in turn affects what we’re ingesting.  Certified organic milk comes from organic cows who access cleaner pastures and aren’t exposed to toxic fertilizers, antibiotics, or synthetic hormones.  (Note:  a couple of years ago author Michael Pollan referred to Horizon as “the Microsoft of organic milk;” we hope their standards have improved.)  According to WebMD, non-organic cows are given the rBGH hormone, which increases the amount of milk a cow produces.  rGBH has also been linked to cancer.

Organic milk also has a longer shelf life because it is treated twice with ultrahigh temperature, according to Scientific American.  This kills any bacteria present in the milk.

If you’re concerned about how the cows are treated on dairy farms, and the hormones they’re given, the choice for you is certified organic milk.  Also, if you tend not to finish your regular milk before the expiration date, organic milk will give you some extra time and you might actually save money (as well as produce less waste).

In my opinion, certified organic milk tastes better and is well worth the extra dollar or so – who wants to be drinking “nutrition filled with synthetic hormones, toxic fertilizers and antibiotics”!  Do I really want to make my body “process” all that junk?  Sometimes there’s more to “cost” than just the financial price.  There’s your health and the environment’s as well.

Related:  previously on altCon

• Should Organic Milk have Stricter Rules?
  
• Milk Pricing- What’s the Deal?
  

Even in tough economic times, surveys say that we still manage to squeeze into our budget some small indulgences – chocolate, ice cream, lipstick and … thank God, shoes.  One can debate whether or not shoes may be considered more of a necessity, (my vote), but what’s important right now is knowing that there’s no shortage of chic styles for all of us animal and planet loving kittens this season, and some are already on sale.  These personal faves stand out for overall quality and style.

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Neuara vegan, flex over the knee boot in dark brown; (now $148)

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LuLu’s Lollipop vegan suede over the knee flat boot in rust; ($73)

(above) NYC-based designer and vegan vixen Gina Ferraraccio of cri de coeur (crimes of the heart) never ceases to amaze.  Her Hearts of Darkness line kicks premium butt and ab fab booties on sale are totally on trend.  Try to not stop traffic in her Erin Leopard wedge boot…made in Los Angeles; recycled ultrasuede upper; reclaimed wood sole;  4″ wedge heel with 1″ hidden platform; ($390).  Are you an Amazon shopper?  Find many cri de coeur styles on sale!

(above) Also high on the pure vegan designer shoe scale is Sweden’s olsen haus.  I’m a sucker for blue suede shoes ($330 and $320); find these and many other cool olsen haus styles, including ankle boots, on Amazon.

(above) When all you really want is to slip into something warm and comfy, you don’t have to throw your personal style to the dogs.  Case in point: the Pestoe Cable Knit…Flats + certified organic cotton fleece lining; ($110) @ simpleshoes.com

Stuck in the Tundra?  Strap on the muckalucks!

Try these on for size – Timberland Earthkeepers @ onlineshoes.com ($149.95).

Savings Alert:  (at right) order today and receive 20% off by using code SAVE20 at checkout.

And that’s a wrap for today, mi amigas.  As always, feel free to jump in with your eco fashionable booty call faves.

Kick around and have a fun, low carbon impact weekend.

This mini-workstation is designed by BuzziSpace, a design collaboration that specializes in using recycled, flexible and acoustic products.  Though many people today live and work in open floor plan lofts and offices, there still remains the need for a little privacy now and again – a cubby to make a quick phone call or work in peaceful solitude insulated from the surrounding turmoil.

Designer Alain Gilles’ solution – the BuzziBooth – a felty phone booth made of sound-insulating, recycled plastic (rPET) felt that dampens outside sounds.  Referred to by the designers as, “micro-architecture for maxi spaces.”

• Mudslides imminent – they have no trees. Devastated Haiti Braces for Hurricane Tomas – cnn
• Old school scientific method…New Snub-Nosed Monkey Discovered, Eaten – natgeo
• With newfound prosperity comes pollution…China Says Car Sales Boom is Ruining Air Quality – yahoo! news
• Moving away from the ‘dark side’? Analysis: For Dow Chemical, Solar Shingles a New Path – reuters
• Are more ‘space snack’ comets out there? Probe Sweeps Past ‘Space Peanut’ – bbc
• No Facebook or texting, just a loin cloth and a dream…Neanderthals Were More Promiscuous Than Modern Humans, Fossils Suggest – sciencedaily
• Quest for Oil Gets More Remote, Riskier – msnbc

Come January 2011 Levi’s will be offering Water<Less — a line of denim jeans whose manufacture will require 28 – 90% less water than their typical jeans…not totally eco-friendly, but a step in the right direction.  Water is a precious commodity!  Pictured at right, they’ll retail for $40 – $148.

It reminds me of their “RECYCLED” line, which was just 17 percent recycled denim, 82% conventional cotton and 1% Spandex.  And whatever happened to their eco line, which was made of organic cotton?

via:  shefinds.com

(photo credit:  Levi’s)

Thinking outside the box while living inside the box … introduce a patch of low profile, living greenery into your home or apartment with this geometric moss planter.  The “Bole Werc” planter is designed and created by Sara Huston and John Paananen of Portland-based TLAAG (studio of the Last Attempt At Greatness), who describe themselves as “desartists”.

No healthy, living trees die in the manufacture of these planters.  The wooden base is a slab of Oregon black walnut salvaged locally from a natural fall, dead fall, or hazard tree.  The moss comes from an abundant supply growing naturally in the designer’s backyard.  Check out more of TLAAG’s designs at their Supermarket shop.

Thanks to Zhena for providing me samples of various teas for the purposes of this unbiased review.

As a tea lover, I was looking forward to this taste test.  And having just finished my first cup of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea – Coconut Chai, I’m happy to say, it sure tastes good.  The aroma is special, almost enthralling.  A swirling dervish of exotic flavors…certified organic black tea leaves infused with handcrafted organic essential oils and a mix of certified organic spices and herbs — cinnamon, ginger, coconut, cardamon clove, nutmeg, orange peel.  The sexy round tea bag is eco-friendly, too.

What’s behind all this?  Turns out, there really is a Zhena, one Zhena Muzyka, who hails from the Ukraine with its gypsy trappings…and she happens to have a degree in aromatherapy. But her life story is not all easy and breezy.  Flash back ten years and she was a struggling single mom desperate to pay for her son’s life saving kidney operation.  She turned to the thing she knew and love – brewing tea – set up a custom tea cart on California street corners, and life began to get a lot sweeter.  Today, her son, Sage, is a healthy ten year old and it looks like mama’s business is booming.

Launched in 2001, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea is the first 100% certified organic and certified Fair Trade tea company in the US.  Depending on the tea, her designer (more…)

We’ve been following eco and prefab design specialist Michelle Kaufmann as well as green design firm, Blu, over the years and we’re happy to see that Blu’s expanding…Today, BluHomes, Inc. (www.bluhomes.com) just opened doors to their new office in San Francisco and introduced its West Coast team.  Paul Warner, former president of Michelle Kaufmann Designs, and new creative director for Blu’s mkDesigns line, will head-up the West Coast design team.

Blu also today announced that it has launched a new web address for its recently redesigned mkDesigns website, www.mkdesigns.com.  The mkDesigns Glidehouse was re-launched in August 2010 and the first Glidehouse since Blu acquired mkDesigns is scheduled to be delivered to Washington state in spring of 2011.  The firm’s forthcoming design, Breezehouse, created in partnership with Sunset Magazine, is pictured above.

source: prnewswire

Related:  previously on altCon
Michelle Kaufmann finds new Blu home