(above L to R) Don’t you love finding amazing designer jewelry deals? Here’s a perfect example – handmade, earth-friendly designer earrings by California-based, jesmaharry.com … Lucy Love (was $130, now $39) and Bask with turquoise and chalcedony only $22.50 (was $45). Raw materials responsibly sourced. No returns, only 1 pair of each left.

• New Flood Dangers as East Coast Reels From Irene – yahoo! news
• What a coincidence…Gas Prices Rise as Labor Day Nears – cs monitor
• Ahoy matey! Blackbeard’s Ship Confirmed Found Off North Carolina – nat geo
• Don’t release unwanted exotic fish into the ocean…Lionfish Endanger Coral Reefs Near Fla. – npr
• Coral reefs may hold key…Sunscreen Pill Could be Available in Five Years – guardian.co.uk
• These guys can digest some gnarly stuff…Panda Poop May Provide Key Microbes for Making Biofuel – sciencedaily

Toyota USA has announced the final 25 non-profits to receive a new Toyota as a result of their 100 Cars for Good giveaway. Five non-profit organizations were profiled on Toyota’s Facebook page for 100 days, with winners voted on and chosen by the public.

Each winning non-profit can choose a vehicle from the following models: Prius, Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna or Sienna Mobility. Toyota will provide a six-year, 100,000-mile Toyota Vehicle Service Agreement to provide extended protection beyond the vehicle warranty.

You can see the complete list of the 100 deserving organizations on Toyota’s Facebook contest page.

Top priority for most of us is maintaining good health. We try to make smart food choices and exercise, but many of us seek products that provide some extra oomph. Just look at the nutritional supplement business – it’s booming. According to an article in Sunday’s NY Times, Ingredients of Shady Origins, Posing as Supplements:

“Even though there is little evidence that many dietary supplements provide real health benefits, legal supplements, from multivitamins to ginkgo biloba, are a big and growing business. Americans spent $28.1 billion on them last year, up from $21.3 billion five years ago, according to estimates from Nutrition Business Journal, a market research firm.”  (more…)

(above) Another Eco Alternative for Kids …

Green Toys are made from recycled plastic milk cartons, and they’re so much more durable than your typical beach-bound, play-in-the-sand toys. This California-based company prides itself on being local — every part of the process, from obtaining the milk cartons to the final packaging, happens in California. They make a great product while being extra careful to emit the smallest amount of greenhouse gases possible. My favorite design feature is the rope that serves as the bucket’s handle.

$18.88 on Amazon @ Green-Toys-Sand-Play-Set.

With the mess and loss caused by Hurricane Irene, it makes me grateful for all that I have: shelter, food, clothes, water, power, health and love — things that should not be taken for granted. As a friend reminded me, it’s times like these that we need to call upon the power of positive thinking to help us get through the muck. Let’s remember what we have, not what we don’t have – in good times and bad. We’re all connected – it’s yes we can time. Reach out to someone in need – feel your power and put it to good use. Here’s to a beautiful day, full of hope and promise.

photo credit: CNN

Related: Windham, NY – Hurricane Irene Hits Home

Artist and artisan, Bonnie Stone, recovers vintage bath tubs like the one pictured above, from demolished homes. Instead of sending the tub to a landfill or scrap company Bonnie painstakingly restores the tub’s interior and exterior finishes and then hand paints the tub with an artisan design. You can purchase this cast iron claw foot tub (it’s super heavy) at Bonnie’s paintintheair Etsy Shop. Oh, by the way, the claw feet are original and you’ll have to add your own fixtures. Custom designs are available.

via: Anything Indie

Having once owned a home in Windham, and with many of our friends still living in this beautiful area of the Catskills, we’re reeling from the news of the hurricane and sending positive vibrations to all. Hurricane Irene wreaked devastating damage to this sweet mountaintop town as well as nearby Prattsville, and many other historic towns throughout the Catskills.

In Windham, The Batavia Kill runs parallel to Main Street — it was overflowing yesterday with reportedly four feet of water making its way down the center of town. The South Street Bridge got rammed by a floating home, (above) school buses were drifting, cars crashed, homes and businesses are flooded and most, if not all, of the town is without power.

When you’re without power, and faced with highway and local road closings, trying to contact friends and family can be impossible. If you need any info about travel and conditions, or are trying to contact folks in the area, here are a few resources that may be of some help:

• a great live-streaming blog with updates, photos, and local reports – set up by WatershedPost.com
• New York State’s emergency services web page lists closures, power outage info, shelter locations and much more.
• make a donation to help rebuild Windham @ windhamrebuild.org
• another source of road closure info: ynn.com
• if you’re looking for someone check out the Red Cross’s SafeandWell.communityos.org
• a site has been set up as a forum for relief efforts: Catskills Irene Relief Resources
• 511ny.org has a map with road closings, detours and traffic updates
• on Twitter get info through #catskills
• here’s a Google map created to show bridge damage and road closings
• locals can charge their cell phones at the Jewett Firehouse

Please provide any additional emergency info or links as a comment and we’ll add them to the list.

Local radio station WRIP (97.9 FM), serves as a hub for the local community. Although ISP service is currently down today, (no email or audio streaming), you can checkout their website for street closing and emergency travel info. Shout out to Guy and Jay. Phone 518 734 4747 if you need to contact the station.

photo credits: ABC News (top) and Karen Thompson (bottom – Main Street, across from Carole’s Gift Shop).

A Tried and True Green Product Review: we received a 3-pack of Supreme Surface Granite Cleaner & Conditioner + micro-fiber cloths for the purposes of this review. In a word, this stuff is amazing. We love it.

backstory – Did you know that your granite counter-tops need special care to keep them not only clean, but conditioned and protected? Neither did I, ’til recently. It explained a lot – now I understood why my kitchen countertops just didn’t seem to ever look shiny or feel clean. The surfaces always looked rather dull and streaky. So I went in search of an eco friendly solution. When I found Supreme Surface Cleaners – a 100% organic, non-toxic and food-safe option, I asked for a sample to try.

I’ve been using it for the past few days and it’s great. It claims to leave a streak-free shine – and it does. It claims to condition and protect against stains – and it does. No fingerprints. One application lasts a nice long while, too. My countertops really shine and look nourished. Like when you “feed wood” a good natural polish. Just spray Supreme Surface on the microfiber cloth and give that stone surface a good buff. Smells nice, too. (more…)