Via Docuticker.

Maker of Rayon Clothes Barred from Deceptive “Bamboo” Claims
Source: Federal Trade Commission

Just because bamboo is green does not mean that companies who purport to make clothing and other textiles from processed bamboo can make unsupported “green” claims. The Federal Trade Commission today announced a settlement with a company that allegedly falsely claimed its rayon products are made of bamboo fiber, retain bamboo’s antimicrobial properties, and are biodegradable.

Under the settlement, the company has agreed that it will not make any future bamboo claims unless they are true and backed by reliable evidence, and that it will no longer claim that the clothing and bath products it sells are made of bamboo fiber – when they actually are made of rayon processed from bamboo plants.

+ In the Matter of The M Group, Inc., also doing business as Bamboosa…
+ Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo Fabrics?
+ How to Avoid Bamboozling Your Customers

Via Docuticker.

Energy Trends; Highlights on Consumer Energy usage (PDF; 325 KB)
Source: Nielsen
From Nielsen Wire blog:

While there are many motivating factors behind the green energy movement, for the average American “saving money” topped the list according The Nielsen Company’s latest Energy Trends report. Eighty percent of the 32,000 respondents polled cited cutting costs as their main motivation for conserving energy.

Overall, the study shows that many consumers have adopted more environmentally friendly habits, while others have not acted as quickly. “The current momentum surrounding green initiatives and reduced energy consumption presents utilities and home improvement companies with a golden opportunity,” says Jonathan Drost, Account Executive, Energy for The Nielsen Company. “When going green is cost effective, such as opting for Energy Star appliances or government incentive programs, customers migrate in that direction. The biggest hurdle for energy companies is educating the consumer on things like Smart Grids, Energy Efficiency programs and Renewable Green Energy.”

Via Docuticker.

2010 Annual Fuel Economy Guide Now Available
Source: U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy today unveiled the 2010 Fuel Economy Guide, which gives consumers important information about estimated fuel costs and mileage standards for model year 2010 vehicles.
…
Fuel-efficient models come in all types and sizes, so consumers can save thousands of dollars over a vehicle’s lifetime without sacrificing performance. Model year 2010 fuel economy leaders include a wide range of hybrid models, from compact cars to sport-utility vehicles.

Each vehicle listing in the Fuel Economy Guide provides an estimated annual fuel cost. The estimate is calculated based on the vehicle’s miles per gallon (mpg) rating and national estimates for annual mileage and fuel prices. The online version of the guide allows consumers to input their local gasoline prices and typical driving habits to receive a personalized fuel cost estimate.

+ Full Document (PDF; 530 KB)

Read the full story in the Green Guide.

You recycle, ride a bike to work, and buy organic food. You pay extra for “green” electricity and have an eco-friendly car. So can you rest easy, with a clean conscience that your life is as sustainable as it can reasonably be?

Well … although many of us try our best to minimize environmental impacts, our actions don’t always achieve as much as we believe.

Expensive products that are marketed as eco-friendly may help us to assuage our guilt while drawing our attention away from the more pressing issues.

Meanwhile, other actions and products can be useful, but only when used as part of a wider environmentally aware lifestyle. Most worrying of all, some things marketed as sustainable can have negative side effects for the environment—that’s called greenwashing.

The Green Guide talked to several sustainability experts who highlighted five eco-strategies and products that may not be all they are hyped up to be.

Read the full post at Lifehacker.

The Printliminator bookmarklet lets you selectively remove any element from a web page to make it printer friendly in just a few simple clicks.

It (almost) goes without saying that such a tool minimizes paper use. :-)

Read the full story in the New York Times.

New labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods are appearing on some grocery items and restaurant menus around the country.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Levi Strauss & Co. and Goodwill have teamed up on a new initiative to lower the lifecycle impacts of jeans by giving consumers advice on how to care for them and what to do with them when they are no longer wanted.

The initiative, A Care Tag for Our Planet, includes online and in-store messaging, and, starting in January 2010, a new care tag on jeans that encourages consumers to wash clothes less frequently, wash using cold water, line dry items when possible and, when items are no longer wanted, to donate the items to Goodwill.

Read the full story in the Washington Post.

Many savvy consumers are familiar with the color codes that marine conservationists bestow on fish and shellfish, depending on how they’re faring in the environment: red for avoid, yellow for consume sparingly and green for eat without guilt.

Now, super green has arrived.

On Tuesday the influential Monterey Bay Aquarium is releasing a new set of rankings that identifies fish that are not only fished sustainably but are also rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, a key dietary component in reducing the risk of heart disease. Farmed mussels and oysters make the list, along with line- or pole-caught albacore tuna, wild-caught Alaskan salmon and Pacific sardines.

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

In today’s world of complex supply chains, international supermarkets and big agribusiness, it has become more and more difficult for small farms to sell their produce directly to local consumers at a reasonable price. But one farm in Germany, Peter-und-Paul-Hof, thinks they may have found a solution: set up vending machines which distribute produce instead of junk food.

Read/listen to the full story at NPR.

Filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, along with his family, takes a lighthearted approach to going “green” in a new reality television show on cable network TV One. “Mario’s Green House” follows the Van Peebles as they try to build a home that’s environmentally friendly. Mario Van Peebles describes the project and spreading the green message within communities of color.

Read the full commentary in E The Environmental Magazine.

Last year, Earth Day took some heat by online green scorekeepers (particularly the eco-mag Grist, which launched a “Screw Earth Day” campaign), but this year it’s reasserting its prominence. Earth Day turns 40 this year, and while that brings with it some generational divide (Grist, at 10, is still a kid), it has also allowed the Earth Day Network, which promotes green initiatives year ‘round, to leverage its experience into real, on-the-ground activism and creating sustainable schools. Out of that first Earth Day in 1970 — celebrated by 20 million — came the Environmental Protection Agency, established by President Nixon the same year. Now, says Jeani Murray, the Global Director of Earth Day 40, the nonprofit has moved far beyond fighting early concerns like smog and acid rain to push for climate change legislation, to encourage green jobs and to leverage its influence to enact real commitment from world leaders at the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December.

Read the full story in Mother Jones. They also rate the environmental impact of other bottled water brands in the same issue. See H2Uh-Oh.

Obama sips it. Paris Hilton loves it. Mary J. Blige won’t sing without it. How did a plastic water bottle, imported from a military dictatorship thousands of miles away, become the epitome of cool?

Thanks to Jennifer Deluhery for the heads-up.

Read the full post at Lifehacker.

With flu season approaching—on top of everyday Oh-God-I-don’t-think-he-washed-his-hand-after-using-the-restroom moments—we’re all a bit more wary of germs lately. Keep the nasty illness spreaders away with this DIY hand sanitizer.

Read the full story at GreenerDesign.

More than 50 common purses and some 100 pet toys and accessories contain high levels of lead, and numerous school supplies are made with a wide range of chemicals of concern, according to new website HealthyStuff.org.

The site, launched today, was created by the Michigan-based Ecology Center, which also runs HealthyToys.org, and lists the amount of lead, mercury, chlorine (PVC), bromine and arsenic found in more than 900 school supplies, purses, car seats, automobiles and pet products.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Research firms are releasing reports on green consumer trends with increasing frequency, helping businesses align their offerings and messaging to capture the growing market for sustainable goods and services.

Beyond direct marketing implications, such research uncovers a significant opportunity to engage consumers around personal sustainability, low hanging fruit with broad benefits.

Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency kicked off events to “Change the World, Start with Energy Star,” encouraging children and their families to fight climate change while saving energy and money.

Agency partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Parent Teacher Organizations Today (PTO Today) will engage young people in energy efficiency service projects in their communities and encourage Americans to take the Energy Star Pledge to make energy-efficient choices at home, at work and in their communities. This year’s fall campaign also includes a national, multi-city, multimedia tour of the Energy Star Exhibit House, which showcases energy-efficient products and practices.

Read the full post at Green, Inc.

Several years ago, dog owners in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y., began worrying about all the plastic bags filled with dung that ended up in the landfill.

Leon Kochian, a professor of plant biology at Cornell and, more to the point, the owner of a yellow lab, recalled the thinking at the time: “This is Ithaca. There’s got to be a more environmentally sensible way to do this.”

This year, with Mr. Kochian’s nudging, one of the city’s dog parks — part of the Allan H. Treman Marine State Park — became a dog waste composting park.

Special corn-based bags, made by the Biobag Company, based in Florida, are available at several stations in the park. Dog owners put the bag and its contents into large bins near the park’s entrances, which are removed once a week by a company called Cayuga Compost.

Read/listen to the full story at NPR.

Not everyone is sold on alternative fuels as the solution to energy problems. Time magazine senior correspondent Michael Grunwald is a skeptic when it comes to renewable fuels. He tells Steve Inskeep instead of emphasizing alternative energy sources, the U.S. should focus on boosting efficiency and reducing consumption.

Via Docuticker.

Workshop Report: Climate Change Mitigation: Considering Lifestyle Options in Europe and the US
Source: Institute of European Studies

This report summarizes the presentations and outcomes of a European-American Workshop about lifestyle changes as a mitigation strategies for global warming. The conference was held on May 1, 2009 at the University of California, Berkeley and sponsored by the European Commission. The participants discussed various lifestyle approaches as a promising way to address environmental behavior and action within social and cultural contexts. The presenters and discussants acknowledged the theoretical and practical difficulties of this multi-faceted concept which relies on several sometimes virtually incommensurable traditions. Both a merely individualist interpretation of lifestyles (”green consumption”) and a rather socio-structural view (”green milieus”) are not well-geared to explain the often observed discrepancies between environmental attitudes and people’s action. Lifestyle research must address this gap by explaining individual decisions within societal contexts that provide but also limit the possibilities of lifestyle changes. Despite these difficulties, the huge appeal of the lifestyle approach that makes the work on these problems worthwhile is the prominent role of the term “lifestyle” in the public and political discourse about environmental change. However, many policy attempts to influence lifestyles are barely grounded in sociological grounded theories of social change. The report shortly introduces the problem, summarizes the workshop presentations, and outlines central discussion points.

+ Full Paper (PDF; 178 KB)

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

As the famous singer once said, I believe the children are our future; and while we at GreenBiz.com spend most of our time covering the actions of business and the grown-ups who run them, we are always keeping our eyes out for signs of sustainability from the up-and-comers.

There is plenty of promising news coming out of universities, as we found at the beginning of this year with our State of Green Business report. But a recent survey of young adults in Britain gives us pause.

The study, commissioned by IBM, found that young adults in Generation Y — the folks currently aged 18-24 — had both the highest levels of awareness of environmental issues, and were the biggest wasters of energy and water in the country.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

A new national study of green consumers is busting the stereotypes about them: The environment is not their top concern, their kids are not influencing them to be green, and while many know what they should do to save the planet, they often don’t do it. As a result, messages aimed at them often fall on deaf ears.

The Home Energy Saver calculator is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen. The calculator computes a home’s energy use on-line based on methods developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much emissions can be reduced by implementing energy-efficiency improvements. All end uses (heating, cooling, major appliances, lighting, and miscellaneous uses) are included. A detailed description of underlaying calculation methods and data is provided a comprehensive report. Documentation of how the site handles electricity tariffs is provided here).

The Home Energy Saver’s Energy Advisor calculates energy use and savings opportunities, based on a detailed description of the home provided by the user. Users can begin the process by simply entering their zip code, and in turn receive instant initial estimates. By providing more information about the home the user will receive increasingly customized results along with energy-saving upgrade recommendations.

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Baxter International employees in 25 countries ventured out into their communities this summer to plant gardens and gathered internally to learn about the ways in which they could lighten their environmental footprints.

The activities were part of a weeklong event held by the company for the first time to coincide with World Environment Week, the results of which the company publicly announced today. According to the company, more than 200 activities took place during the first week of June, involving more than 70 facilities around the globe.

CNET answers that question on this week’s episode of The Green Show. Be sure to check out the other show eps. Links to the right of the viewer on the web site. Nice job folks.

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

Who would’ve thought? Convert your energy-hogging freezer to a fridge and save 90% on energy consumption. This beats EnergyStar.

U.S. EPA is encouraging people to commit to least five actions that will help the environment. Pick 5 also helps you identify more actions you can take in the future.

Read the full story in the New Yok Times.

After tests of the White House’s kitchen garden site revealed high levels of lead, workers added lime, crab meal and compost to the soil in order to improve it.

Read the full story in GreenBiz.

Bottled water has had a tough run of it lately; for a while, bottled water became the public face of waste. Expensive, resource-intensive and an unnecessary alternative to municipal water supplies (which, the government noted, were more heavily regulated than bottled water), bottled water became the bogeyman.

And almost no brand has taken more heat than FIJI Water. Because it is shipped thousands of miles from the island nation (5,000-plus miles from Fiji to San Francisco, more than 10,000 from Fiji to London), in the heftiest plastic bottle of many major brands, FIJI water has gotten a bad reputation, and not even its nearly 2-year-old plan to be carbon negative has helped.

The latest news, in the form of an in-depth investigative piece in Mother Jones, not only looks at how FIJI the company (it has copyrighted the all-caps spelling of Fiji) affects the people and environment of Fiji the nation, but also highlights its relationship with the country’s military junta.

Read the full story in Scientific American.

We geeks never seem to get our props as trendsetters. My friends Adam and Joe and I were the first kids in our school to use instant messaging over a 300-baud modem in 1979. But I guess girls preferred guys with the latest bell bottoms. Now the frontier of geekdom is energy conservation, and this time, we’re finally getting some respect.

Today’s New York Times talks about how the latest trend in green houses is to paint your roof white— as we did last month. Our roofer stripped off the dark asphalt shingles, exposed the 1868-vintage tin roof, and layered on a thick white vinyl coating. Because the house now reflects rather than absorbs sunlight, we no longer have to shower after visiting our attic and have yet to turn on the a/c at all this year. To be sure, it’s been a mild summer here in New Jersey.

Read the full post at Lifehacker.

You’ve got plans to explore the great outdoors but no insect repellent? No problem. Just use leftovers from last night’s party and this eco-friendly mix that’s as customizable as the cocktails you had.

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

A Pennsylvania couple woke up one day and decided to build a brand new green home. Now they’ve written a book about it called Green Beginnings.

Read the full post at Green, Inc.

A method of financing renewable energy and energy-efficiency improvements through higher property taxes is spreading rapidly.

According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, nine states have put this type of system in place — with Louisiana to follow in August and Maryland in October.

Read the full story at Mashable.

The idea of “ethical consumerism” or “conscious consuming” is a social movement based around the idea that people should be cognizant of the impact their purchases have on the environment and the health and well-being of the people involved in making those products. It’s very hard to be an ethical consumer if you aren’t armed with information about the products you buy, however. Who makes those products? Where did they come from? What sort of social or environmental impact does the company have?

These are questions that can be answered by utilizing the nine resources listed in this post. The sites below offer information for the conscious consumer about the companies and products we buy every day. If you know of any other places to turn for ethically savvy shopping information, please leave links in the comments.

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

From the geniuses who brought you I Can Haz Cheezburger? a new-ish website called There, I Fixed It will leave you either inspired or completely mortified. But most likely, you’ll just have a good LOL session.

There, I Fixed It is basically a duct tape-heavy collection of photographs — some user-submitted — that proudly display “Epic Kludges and Jury Rigs.” While several of the DIY home repair projects featured on the site are actually innovative and eco-friendly, just as many are ridiculous and/or fall into the “don’t try this at home” category (I’m talkin’ to you Two Person Hot Tub and Fire Alarm).

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides numerous tax incentives for individuals to invest in energy-efficient products.

Residential Energy Property Credit (Section 1121): The new law increases the energy tax credit for homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their existing homes. The new law increases the credit rate to 30 percent of the cost of all qualifying improvements and raises the maximum credit limit to $1,500 for improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010.

The credit applies to improvements such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems.

A similar credit was available for 2007, but was not available in 2008. Homeowners should be aware that the standards in the new law are higher than the standards for the credit that was available in 2007 for products that qualify as “energy efficient” for purposes of this tax credit. The IRS has issued Notice 2009-59 that will allow manufacturers to certify that their products meet these new standards.

Until the guidance is released, homeowners generally may continue to rely on manufacturers’ certifications that were provided under the old guidance. For exterior windows and skylights, homeowners may continue to rely on Energy Star labels in determining whether property purchased before June 1, 2009, qualifies for the credit. Manufacturers should not continue to provide certifications for property that fails to meet the new standards.

Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit (Section 1122): This nonrefundable energy tax credit will help individual taxpayers pay for qualified residential alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines. The new law removes some of the previously imposed maximum amounts and allows for a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost of qualified property. See Notice 09-41.

Plug-in Electric Drive Vehicle Credit (Section 1141): The new law modifies the credit for qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles purchased after Dec. 31, 2009. To qualify, vehicles must be newly purchased, have four or more wheels, have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and draw propulsion using a battery with at least four kilowatt hours that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. The minimum amount of the credit for qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles is $2,500 and the credit tops out at $7,500, depending on the battery capacity. The full amount of the credit will be reduced with respect to a manufacturer’s vehicles after the manufacturer has sold at least 200,000 vehicles.

Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit (Section 1142): The new law also creates a special tax credit for two types of plug-in vehicles — certain low-speed electric vehicles and two- or three-wheeled vehicles. The amount of the credit is 10 percent of the cost of the vehicle, up to a maximum credit of $2,500 for purchases made after Feb. 17, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2012. To qualify, a vehicle must be either a low speed vehicle propelled by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with a capacity of 4 kilowatt hours or more or be a two- or three-wheeled vehicle propelled by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery with the capacity of 2.5 kilowatt hours. A taxpayer may not claim this credit if the plug-in electric drive vehicle credit is allowable.

Conversion Kits (Section 1143): The new law also provided a tax credit for plug-in electric drive conversion kits. The credit is equal to 10 percent of the cost of converting a vehicle to a qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle and placed in service after Feb. 17, 2009. The maximum amount of the credit is $4,000. The credit does not apply to conversions made after Dec. 31, 2011. A taxpayer may claim this credit even if the taxpayer claimed a hybrid vehicle credit for the same vehicle in an earlier year.

Treatment of Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a Personal Credit Allowed Against AMT (Section 1144): Starting in 2009, the new law allows the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, including the tax credit for purchasing hybrid vehicles, to be applied against the Alternative Minimum Tax. Prior to the new law, the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit could not be used to offset the AMT. This means the credit could not be taken if a taxpayer owed AMT or was reduced for some taxpayers who did not owe AMT.

Questions and Answers

If you have questions about the energy incentives for individuals, these questions and answers might help.

Related Items:

• IR-2009-44, Energy-Saving Steps This Year May Result in Tax Savings Next Year
• Fact Sheet 2009-10, Energy Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• Energy Incentives for Businesses in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
• Flyers, posters and marketing products
• U.S. Department of Energy Energystar Web site
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center

Read the full post at Lifehacker.

Grab your box of misguided music choices, because your Limp Bizkit CDs will no longer embarrass you. Turn those old CDs (and AOL promo disks, too) into DIY dumbbells.

Read the full story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ask any student on a college campus where the “green crowd” hangs out, and she will be able to tell you.

At the University of Pennsylvania, she might point you to the aspiring poets of the Kelly Writers House, the artistic students in the Furness Library, or maybe the earthy adolescents at the Lovers & Madmen Coffee Lounge down the street.

Read the full post at Scientific American.

Editor’s Note: Scientific American’s George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels and taking other steps to save energy in 60-Second Solar. Read his introduction here and see all posts here.

This year, I’ve been spared the annual ritual of lugging the window air conditioners out of the closet. Not only has it been one of the mildest summers on record in the New York area, but our house has a spiffy new cool white roof, so our attic is no longer the hothouse it once was. Reflective window blinds, compact fluorescent and LED bulbs, and an attic fan have also helped to keep the house cool. In past summers, there usually came some days in August where we vowed to upgrade to a whole-house air conditioning system, but so far we’ve just sweated them out.

Ever on the lookout for other ways to save energy, I sought advice from Gordon Wuthrich of Trane, a leading air-conditioner manufacturer. Obviously, a more efficient air conditioner helps. Units are ranked by their seasonal energy efficiency rating (SEER), which is a charming hodgepodge of a number: the cooling output in Imperial units divided by the electricity input in metric units, multiplied by a factor that accounts for the on-off cycling. Doubling the SEER value halves your electric bill.

Read the full story at GreenerComputing.

Dell unveiled an energy savings calculator today that goes beyond what most others offer.

More than just monitoring energy usage, this tool allows a customer to view power consumption for individual components, such as monitors or graphics cards, and compare the current savings to older configurations. It can establish aggregate savings for an entire year in a variety of currencies.

Via Docuticker.

U.S. energy use drops in 2008
Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Americans used more solar, nuclear, biomass and wind energy in 2008 than they did in 2007, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The nation used less coal and petroleum during the same time frame and only slightly increased its natural gas consumption. Geothermal energy use remained the same.

The estimated U.S. energy use in 2008 equaled 99.2 quadrillion BTUs (“quads”), down from 101.5 quadrillion BTUs in 2007. (A BTU or British Thermal Unit is a unit of measurement for energy, and is equivalent to about 1.055 kilojoules).

+ Annotated Chart (PDF; 816 KB)

Listen to the story and read an excerpt from the book at NPR.

When it’s time to fill up the gas tank, many fear the price of gas will return to the $4-a-gallon days of last summer.

But according to author Chris Steiner, our lives would be a lot happier and healthier if gas prices rose into the double digits.

Steiner explains himself, and the title of his book: $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better.

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Doug Snower’s neighbors in Highland Park stared hard when the silver and blue wind turbine first appeared on his garage roof.

While it could pass for a kinetic sculpture, the shiny, spinning device he installed a few weeks ago has generated low-voltage electricity and a steady hum of conversation.

Unlike the monstrous bladed commercial turbines that have drawn controversy over their noise and environmental impact, Snower’s gadget is a quiet and modest 600-watt affair, working alongside a solar panel to supply a bank of four batteries. He uses it to power his electric lawn mower, the family’s laptops, phones, cameras and a small fridge.

Snower figures he saves about $10 to $15 monthly on electricity bills and is eligible for a 30 percent rebate on federal income taxes. But he intended the $5,000 investment as more of an educational tool for his teen daughters — as well as for curious passersby.

Read the full story in Scientific American.

“Roses are red….” They are also fragile and almost always flown to the U.S. from warmer climes in South America. In Europe, roses are most often imported from Africa. On either continent the flowers are hauled in temperature-controlled trucks and locked up overnight in cold boxes before their final journey to the local florist. According to Flowerpetal.com, which tries to limit the environmental impact of floral purchases, supplying the 100 million roses ordered for a typical Valentine’s Day produces 9,900 tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. So what’s a lovesick but “green” beau to do?

Read the full story at Scientific American.

A car may look sparkling clean after a wash, but the grime, oil and suds hosed onto the pavement don’t do much for the cleanliness of the environment.

Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

A new national poll by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute found that just 7.1 percent of all 800 respondents have tried to measure their own personal or household carbon footprint. Of this group, 88.1 percent suggested the information was very (47.5 percent) or somewhat (40.7 percent) helpful in understanding how their own lifestyle impacted the environment.

Overall, 31.8 percent of all Americans surveyed suggested they were aware of the term “carbon calculator.” However, of this group, 43.3 percent indicated they understood how it works. A larger percent, 65 percent said they were aware of the term “carbon footprint” with 69.6 percent suggesting they understood the term.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Building inefficient homes locks in waste for decades, but construction codes for many states and cities are weak.

Includes impact calculators, green projects, and a product and services directory. From the web site:

At Low Impact Living, we want to help you lower the environmental impact of your home and your daily life. To do that, we help you find the best green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals. And we will also help you understand the environmental benefits and economic trade-offs of your choices. Our primary goal is to make the path from inspiration to implementation as short and as smooth as possible. Only by taking action will we collectively reduce the damage to our planet and ecosystems.

Web site devoted to information about making your home environmentally friendly. Includes a green products and services database.

Includes links to resources on many aspects of sustainable living. Also includes how-to videos and an online community. From the web site:

Each one of us can make a difference- by changing how we use energy, how we use water, what we buy or don’t buy and how we think: but shifting 2 generations of habits in consumption can be a challenge.

Where to start?

• New section:  Get Organized: The GoGreen approach to stuff- and Green Cleaning
• GoGreen ROOM-BY-ROOM progressively make changes in each room of your house
• Start with the BIG 10: check off the most impactful household changes
• Invite your friends and neighbors to form groups and GoGreen together. Earn pointsfor learning, and growing the community.

Looking for a green collar job? Check out the Green Careers Guide for career opportunities, required training, and a directory of training providers. Tip of the Cubs ballcap to Mary Wilkes Towner, Urbana Free Library Reference Goddess, for the link.