If you’re spending more quality time with your iPhone or iPod than you are with your kids, you may want to download this little app. Whirleo is an eco-themed app game that can help you connect with your kids while teaching them the importance of saving the planet and fighting pollution. This fun-with-a-message app is pretty affordable — the first seven levels of the new game are free and players can unlock 23 additional levels for just $0.99.

Details: Whirleo follows the journey of a group of colorful, spinning tops that whirl across the planet Rotopolis. As they move around the planet, each Whirleo cleans up pollutants released by the begrimed Guzzler (we know the type). Using their mobile (more…)

Andrea Williams of Bound Earth is devoted to nature in all aspects of her life, from collecting seedpods on her frequent outdoor hikes to using only non-mined materials in her work and encouraging other jewelers to do the same. Her goal is to share her sense of wonder and reverence for the earth, and to help develop a communal sensitivity and respect for the gifts that it provides. Her pieces bear that message beautifully…bold balanced designs, gently uniting person to place.

Andrea seamlessly unites her playful creativity and her love of nature with her holistic work ethic. She uses metals from reclaimed and recycled sources, and she never uses mined gems…instead she chooses alternative materials such as smooth cool beach pebbles. Her New England home was designed by a green architect and is powered by renewable energy. Her studio was built in a renovated barn alongside her beloved bees, chickens and organic garden, and it too uses renewable energy. In her practice she opts for organic solutions such as citric acid in place of the harsh chemicals often found in the metalsmithing process. Her message to other craftspeople is to do the same…question the process, educate yourself and change what you can to better align your work with the natural world.

Andrea’s commitment to truly ethic-driven craftsmanship is inspiring, and her talent for elegantly harmonious designs is remarkable. In fact in 2011 she won (more…)

• The giant oil companies own many of our politicians… Obama Stands by Energy Initiatives Despite GOP Criticism – msnbc
• We may import as little as 36% of our oil by 2035 – down from 60% in 2005…Foreign Oil Imports Drop as U.S. Drilling Ramps Up – npr
• I know you’ve been wondering about this… Shar-Pei Wrinkles Explained by Dog Geneticists – bbc
• Illegal fishing and by-catch threaten mammals… Human’s Taste for Dolphins and Manatees on the Rise – livescience
• (pictures) Oldest Dinosaur Nests Found in South Africa – natgeo
• House rich and cash poor… ‘Billion-Euro’ Home: Irish House Made From Shredded Money – huffpost
• Queen’s Brian May Joins Campaign Against Beagle Breeding Farm – ecorazzi

image credit: wind turbine photo via shutterstock.com

Here at The Alternative Consumer we’re attracted to things that harm neither planet nor person; are useful as well as multifunctional, and made in the USA. When they’re fun as well – that’s the icing on the cake.

We’re shining our Tried and True Review spotlight on SOS Novelties, a company with three signature blends of soy candles that can be used in three different ways:

• when lit – they provide light, ambiance and scent in a room
• 30 seconds after blowing out the candle – they may be used as a silky massage oil
• while cold – the soy wax can be applied to the body to pamper dry skin or act as a perfume

Each 3-in-1 scented soy candle is crafted with: Aloe Vera oil, apricot oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, Shea butter and vitamin E. Rather than derived from petrochemicals, this candle is derived from biodegradable, non-toxic soy, which ensures a slower, cooler, and soot-free burn. The soy wax is both paraffin- and lead-free. The candles are made by hand and free from sulfates, pertrochemicals or animal byproducts; the wick is 100 percent cotton.

(more…)

A new set of Android-based smartphone apps can help you get off the fossil fuel merry-go-round. California-based Iconosys, Inc. has created its “Alternative Fuels” apps to provide users a GPS guide to the nearest alternative energy refueling stations along any travel route.

The Alternative Fuels apps include:

• the ‘Alternative Energy Fueling Directory’ which provides essential information for identifying and locating fueling/charging stations
• ‘Where to get Biodiesel’, for those users driving vehicles that burn diesel fuels that want to go green
• ‘Where to get NGV’, for those users driving vehicles running on CNG, LNG, or LPG
• ‘My Plug-In Directory’, for users driving vehicles that only re-fuel from electric charging stations

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We spend about one-third of our lives in bed, so let’s keep that environment as inviting, clean and non-toxic as possible. Right in season, Gaiam and Ultimate Green Store are holding January White (and green) Sales, so now’s a great time to snag some fine organic sheets and pillowcases from a couple of our favorite green etailers. Here’s the scoop…

(above) For Ultimate Green Store’s bedding and bath White Sale, now through January 31, receive savings on all bed and bath lines at checkout when you enter the following codes:

• for orders over $150, get $20 back with code: 20GREENBUCKS
• for orders over $200, get $30 back with code: 30GREENBUCKS
• for orders over $250, get $40 back with code: 40GREENBUCKS

(above) Gaiam: Save 25% on bedding basics + FREE shipping now through Feb 20. Receive savings on natural and organic comforters, pillows, mattress pads and more during their annual green sale. psst – for the best selection, shop now.

ecobee Inc., makers of the award-winning Smart thermostat and Energy Management System unveiled their latest product, the Smart Si thermostat, at this week’s 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago. Designed for the residential market, the Smart Si offers remote connectivity anytime from anywhere via your computer, iPhone, Smart Phone or tablet and includes a high resolution color display, an intuitive user interface, sleek buttons and live weather –  features designed to help you reduce your home’s heating and cooling expense and save energy.

The Wi-Fi enabled Smart Si allows you to make adjustments to your thermostat program on the go from your tablet, computer, iPhone or Smart Phone. The thermostat has a built-in live weather function and uses advanced algorithms so you can be sure your thermostat is always saving the most energy possible. Other features: a high resolution color display, sleek buttons, and an intuitive user interface makes it easy to quickly set a personalized program, make setting adjustments and create new vacation events. Automatic alerts and reminders notify you when your HVAC equipment is due for service, if there is an equipment malfunction or when it’s time to change your filter.

You can pre-order the Si @ ecobee.com

Related: more green tips from The Alternative Consumer

This compact messenger bag serves as the perfect container for transporting your netbook or iPad. Nice and tailored, it’s a tasty exterior of chocolate (color) that’s handsomely crafted from organic cotton canvas, and lined with sunny yellow organic cotton. Kick up your eco quotient as you journey to your next meeting looking stylish and streamlined.

$75 @ Bag Du Jour’s Cargoh shop

• Safety first… Yoga Made Safer: Experts Provide Do’s and Don’ts – livescience
• She made the 1,100 mile trek on skis… UK Woman Crosses Antarctic Solo – bbc
• Hmm…894 sultry degrees and no oxygen… Russian Scientist Claims Signs of Life Spotted on Venus – yahoo! news
• The numbers don’t lie… Study Links Rising Ocean Acidification to CO2 Emissions – treehugger
• Wildlife officials say they’re escaped pets, western interlopers and coyotes… Cougars Extinct in Eastern US? No Way, Say Those That Claim Sightings – msnbc
• Lessons in Coral Reef Survival Come From the Deep Past – sciencedaily
• Alternative transportation… Mexico Police: Robber Rode Skateboard to Banks – myway

Related: more eco news on The Alternative Consumer

Yoga photo via shutterstock.com