These guys are super cool. No doubt. I’ve watched several of their blogumentary videos so far, and not only are they funny, they are very informative about different environment-related issues and happenings on their one year trek around the US. This is their description of the project:

“YERT is an eco-blogumentary exploring America’s unique approach to sustainability. With camera in hand and tongue in cheek, we bring inspiring stories of the nation’s best (and weirdest) environmental progress. Visit www.yert.com to watch our videos.”

This is some great, green, educating entertainment.

There was no greater time I felt as connected to the ocean than while I lived in Hawai’i. Every year, Jack Johnson, a native of O’ahu, puts on a concert to benefit the Kokua Foundation, which he founded to help support educate children in Hawai’i’s school system about sustainability. Message in the Waves is a video by BBC Hawaii. Check it out for information on how all the trash we throw away winds up harming our oceans and all the animals that live there. There are a number of shocking facts you will find out about plastic shopping bags and other items that may have you thinking twice about those reusable canvas bags your local grocery now sells. Yes, you have to pay for them. But they aren’t going to kill turtles and seals while you are using them to bring groceries home week after week.

If you don’t want to buy them, an alternative is just bringing bags you currently own. I know I must have four canvas bags laying in the back of my closet that go unused. If you do, dust them off. You’ll feel better about checking out at the grocer next time. An afterthought: it’s always good to get your kids involved in as many meaningful projects as you can. What if you asked them to devise a replacement for plastic bags? Maybe they find the old canvas bags and decorate them in ’save the earth’ spirit.

One of my friends has been involved in my business from day one. He has been thinking more green and making choices to live more sustainably ever since. He just let me know that he is thinking about buying a Toyota Prius because it gets around 48/45 mpg.

That makes me a happy camper.

He always jokes that I am turning him into a tree hugger. I kind of think of him (and I think he thinks of himself) as a ‘manly’ man, one who would be embarrassed to be known as a ‘tree hugger’. The kind that would be feel more justified driving a gas-guzzling Hummer or something else with a big horses. Apparently, his new car choice touches on a new topic. Monetary incentives help us go green. A Prius will save him around $1,000/year on fuel. Now that is making moves in the right direction. And I can claim victory for turning him into a ‘tree hugger’.

While shopping a local book store the other day, he picked up a great book for me that I wanted to share. It’s called Go Green, Live Rich, by David Bach with Hillary Rosner, and Amazon has used copies available for under $6.

It exemplifies many ways you can live more green and save lots of money by doing so. It even gives rough dollar amount savings. For example; you save about $215 per year by choosing an alternate mode of transportation once a week for your commute. Factor in the rising price of gas and you’re up to $300 by next year… I’m just guessing, but I don’t think I’m too far off. If everyone in the US switched to public transit once a week, we’d be reducing US carbon emissions by 149 million tons! If one driver in your house switched to public transportation full time, you’d be reducing your household’s carbon footprint by roughly 30%! Here’s one for the books: 40% of all car trips taken in the US are less than two miles. How easy would it be to bike that? And it doubles as exercise.

Check it out!

These Splaff Flopps are on sale for $26, and they are made entirely from recycled material. Check out the rest of their stuff on splaff.com

The Green Loop is cool for products that are green, but they are really pricey.

If you didn’t already hear, you may want to know about the recent controversy over energy-efficient flourescent light bulbs, ESPECIALLY if you have small children living in your home. It turns out that these bulbs, that save big on electricity bills, contain mercury, a poisonous metal that used to be found in household items such as thermometers until health officials realized how hazardous it is. If you read the small print on the flourescents’ boxes, you will find shockingly difficult methods for cleaning processes if a bulb should break. Some websites that I came across advised people to sweep it up and put it in a doubled-up plastic bag, while another advised that a glass jar with a metal lid was the only safe container for broken bulb fragments. This site also warms that a plastic jar is NOT a good substitute for a container.

Given the new light on fluorescents, it may be useful to think about where in your house fluorescent bulbs are safe to use, such as ceiling applications, and unsafe to use, such as floor or table lamp applications, where the bulb is in danger of breaking if the lamp is knocked over.

These are two articles I found with very different disposal methods (Be sure you read both articles and always use the most caution when dealing with hazardous materials. The plastic bag method of containing mercury does NOT seem to be the most effective method.): pros and cons of CFLs and the controversy

The benefits of fluorescent lighting in regard to energy savings is very positive. You should simply use caution, know the facts, and be very careful when disposing of your bulbs (especially because they tend to break if you throw them in with your regular trash). Call your local waste management and recycling centers to find out how you can safely get rid of them in your area. You can find the adverse health effects of mercury here.