LED lightbulbs will be greener, but right now they're pricey - while CFLs are usually less than $2 each. And it's a field of constant innovation.
Between $15 and $50 per bulb over 5 years.

Red-hot innovation. Remember burning holes in paper with a magnifying glass? These appliances focus the sun's rays onto your food and cook it as thoroughly as a traditional oven - without using a spark of electricity. So simple you can even make them yourself.
These replace the standard convection ovens which use around $0.10 of electricity an hour - and then there's gas.

There are mineral-salt-powered equivalents to washing powder, like the Ecoballs "flying saucers". And yes, they work.
$200-$400 per 1000 washes.

Over half of American homes don't have them: that's a lot of homes being heated when they don't need to be. Install one today (say, a Ventstar Flat Stat) and watch your heating bills plummet.
Calculate your exact saving here (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet).

They're wasteful and polluting - and avoidable. Use one of the newer brand of push reel mower - or, if you have some money to invest, solar-convert!
With a gas-powered lawnmower, an hour's grass-cutting is around 100 miles in your car.

You use the most fuel at low speeds and when you start your car. So short trips really aren't worth it - cycle or walk instead. Give yourself longer to shop (you can cut down on gym time to balance things) - and carry less by shopping more often. 
With rising fuel prices, you can expect any fuel economy savings to grow and grow.

Make sure everyone's in before turning the key. And waiting for someone for more than 60 seconds? Kill the engine. You're more likely to consume more fuel idling than restarting.
It's been estimated that idling Burger King customers waste 16 million gallons of gas a year.

Prepacked sandwiches: all that plastic, and how much money? So make your own: it's vastly cheaper and more fun (you get to choose the fillings).
Personal estimate: Making my own - $15 /wk. Shop-bought - $30-50/wk.

Tumble-drying needs huge amounts of energy (see below). So go for a combination of an eco-friendly spin dryer for when it's raining, and washing lines (standard or fancy) for when the sun's shining.
Tumble dryers use around 2.5 kwH of electricity per hour. Compared with the rest of your appliances, that's huge. Dry naturally, and you'll save $100s a year. Oh, and millions of tons of CO2.

If your room's a bit gloomy, don't just reach for the lightswitch. Think about how to get more daylight into your room - whether simply by moving furniture around, or guiding the light in with sunpipes or mirrors.
Banishing the lights for the night will have a significant impact on your electricity bill. Even turning them on an hour later than before will make a difference.

Catch rainwater in water butts or more sophisticated arrangements, and you have a ready supply of water for anything except drinking (you'd need fairly expensive filtration to make it safe).
Up to half your water bill.

We want to see the return of Victory Gardens, using every neglected square inch of everyone's back yard to grow vegetables. Food miles turn into food inches, and the results taste better than you could have imagined if you're been eating the mass-produced variety. Also, buy locally produced food - it's just other people's Victory Gardens!
Huge savings on grocery bills.

There's a great deal of concern about energy being invisibly wasted, particularly with modern devices that have a "standby" setting. So when you've finished with the electronic marvel of your choice - unplug it.
Anything from $50 a year upwards per household is spent on keeping those little red LEDs glowing.

It's cutting-edge, so it's certainly not cheap - but ground source heat pumps are the next big thing in eco-friendly house design. They run some of your water supply through the ground where it picks up natural geothermal energy. Result: toasty-hot water for free!
Your central heating bill will evaporate.

If you can find an alternative to using your electric A/C unit, use it - but remember that it's much less eco-hostile to cool the house down than it is to heat it up. So when the house gets cold, think layers layers layers.
See it as a challenge - to make your Winter electricity bill lower than the summer one!

As Allison noted a while back, 90% of the energy used to wash clothes goes into heating the water. Wash on a cooler setting, and you save energy...
...and that saves you money on your bill. Couldn't be easier.

Meat is the most expensive item on the average food bill. It's therefore ironic that we eat too much of it - and no, I'm not vegetarian (although that's an excellent argument against meat as well). Meat is a delicacy, not a staple - so don't be afraid of having a few no-meat days during the week.
500g T-bone steak - $20. Just sayin'.

If you're the average American, you buy four bags of groceries, and you throw one of them straight in the trash. No, really. So learn to make the most of the food you buy: soups, stews, freezing, composting, you name it.
One quarter (or more specifically, 27%) of your food bill, right there.

With technology, everyone loves shiny and new things - particularly us men (a genetic flaw, perhaps). But if there's a second-hand, perfectly functioning alternative, we should go with it. So become a retrophiliac, and always try to buy last year's technology, first- or second-hand.
Regarding full retail price, look at what happened with the iPhone.

There's no cutting corners on quality clothing - except when a professional tailor is doing it for you. If you want to look fabulous on a budget, trawl your city's second-hand options and find items that are near your size - then have them adjusted.
A guy's perspective: in this manner I saved $200 on a suit last year.

The Information Revolution has changed the way we work. Telecommuting is a much cheaper option to spending 3 hours in traffic. Videoconferencing beats the real thing in bucks. So find ways to avoid those costly long hauls to and from work. (Even if the company's paying!).
Or are you saying that your own time isn't valuable to you?

Always support your local traders - they're where you'll most likely to get the best-quality goods. But when it comes to the harder-to-get items...shop online. You save on packaging and (depending on the items) you save on gas, because it's delivered to your door by someone who was on the road anyway.
And yes, shopping online is almost always cheaper - if not quite as tactile and fun!

It prevents urban tumbleweed. It's stylish. And it's tougher than those flimsy supermarket  bags...
...which you're increasingly being asked to pay for (by companies that lack the nerve to ban them altogether).

Household cleaners are expensive. So don't buy them. Go for the natural, non-polluting options that are just as effective, available everywhere and cost next to nothing.
Miracle cleaners miraculously wipe out your budget. Lemons, on the other hand, are cheap.


In the bad old days, you paid extra for an eco-conscious lifestyle. Now, eco-friendliness is the norm - and in more and more cases, not choosing green is the way to overspend.
Choose green, save money, help the planet. There is no catch.

Image

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There's a vicious cycle underway, and we need to break out of it for the sake of some close relatives.

You'll have noticed fuel prices rising recently. Here's the reason. And now palm oil production has escalated (in that capitalism-out-of-control way that we're so familiar with in the West), and it's causing grievous ecological damage. As Grist reports, the habitat of the orangutan is being razed in a shocking programme of wholesale deforestation.

Greenpeace is on the case and lobbying the Bali government, amongst others. But in the meantime, the Rainforest Action Network are lobbying us.  The Problem with Palm Oil is a new site that takes a long, hard look at the products on our shelves in the search for unnecessary palm oil (personally, I think it's driveways that deserve the scrutiny) - and they want to make clear that the majority of agrofuels, as they are being produced in the world today, are not eco-friendly. (Saying otherwise is greenwashing of the highest order).

Is this the way to tackle the crisis? Have a read and let us know your thoughts.

Image: ianmichaelthomas

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A truly modern city is one that's overgrown.

I love cities. In Rome last month, I was fascinated by how Italians utilized every corner of their balconies and gardens (more so in the Republic of Georgia) - admittedly as much for rusting motorbike/moped parts as for greenery. That's men for you. But it struck me how this most ancient of European cities has evolved - in some places at least - into the very synergy of nature and culture that modern designers are falling over themselves to create from scratch.

That means growing things. That's the personal call to arms of the city dweller, the would-be guerrilla gardener, the committed gastronaut. It's a cinch to line windowsills and balconies with pots and baskets. There are even kits to do half the work for you, like the Miniature Edible Garden Kit, or the "herb eggs" we reported on recently. Your own fresh oregano and mint makes dishes like this toe-wigglingly delicious - grow nettle and dandelion, and you're on the way to a free, healing green tea every morning. The list heads over the horizon. Feeling more adventurous? Have a read of this blog from a balcony-growing enthusiast.

But it's not just about saving money, it's about ownership. The best way to live in a city is to care about it; to want it to have a positive effect on yourself and those around you. A city neglected by its occupants feels ugly and unappreciated. So let your plants run riot over the wood and concrete - beautiful and useful. Bring your city to life!

Image: bluelemur

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I have a friend who swears that dark cherry juice with cacao powder will enhance your mood, and though I can’t vouch for the L-tryptohan (a serotonin producer) he claims this combo contains, I can tell you it’s a blend that just feels good (and tastes divine!).

There are, however, proven foods to give our brains a “feel good” boost. Without getting too technical, serotonin is a neurotransmitter which produces feelings of satisfaction and tranquility. Dopamine is another one, creating focus and pleasure. I did some research on how to naturally boost these neurotransmitters and here’s what I found:

Complete protein produces dopamine. Keep in mind, eating too much protein in a meal will cancel out dopamine’s alertness and make you sleepy.
Foods containing complete protein are meat, poultry, eggs and certain vegetarian combinations such as rice and beans, corn and cheese, beans with nuts and seeds, or quinoa. Bragg Liquid Aminos is a great tasting supplement.
Carbs (sugars and starches) produce serotonin. Think breads, grains and veggies. But you have to eat your carbs without protein or fat, or serotonin production will be inhibited. That’s why some foods high in L-tryptophan (protein-rich cottage cheese, turkey, and eggs) won’t boost your serotonin.
Simple sugar gives the quickest serotonin rush (this explains why we crave candy), but also the hardest crash. Complex carbohydrates (brown rice, potatoes, pasta) give a slower, more extended boost.
For added serotonin, try pasta with low-fat sauce, rice with steamed vegetables, potatoes (no butter!), veggie sushi or lentils with steamed broccoli. And of course, cacao.
Overindulging in alcohol, caffeine or stress depletes neurotransmitters, putting you in a worse mood and making it harder to use food as a medicine.

Keep in mind, there’s no quick fix. You can’t just eat a slice of bread, sit back and expect to be happy; brain chemistry is more complex than that. The best solution is to eat a well-balanced diet of organic, whole foods. Perhaps you were expecting a magic pill?

Sources:
The Facts About Fitness
Go Ask Alice
About.com

Image: Ruth L

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I’ve been fully vegetarian for the past few years, and on-and-off for at least a decade, and although there’s been much more awareness about meat-free sources of protein, one question I get a lot is “How do you get enough iron?”

This is a great question because as a woman, I need almost twice as much iron as a man. I’ve suffered iron deficiency at times, but over the years I finally figured out what I need to eat in order to keep myself energetic and balanced. Here are my blood-building essentials.

Dark Green Superfoods: Spirulina, chlorella and wheat grass are the superfoods of green. Every day or two I take a teaspoon of spirulina in a glass of juice. Haven't had any iron problems since.
Dark Leafy Greens: Though they’re not as high in iron as the superfoods, leafy greens like spinach, kale and mustard are good to incorporate regularly into salads.
Nuts and Seeds: Tahini (sesame butter) and almonds top the list in this category.
Dried Fruits: Dried figs, apricots, peaches and raisins. I put these in my luxurious snack mix.
Beans: Garbanzo beans (the main ingredient in hummus), lentils, black, kidney and pinto beans. I eat a meal incorporating legumes at least two or three times a week.
Vitamin C: It’s very important to eat enough citrus fruits and berries, because vitamin C helps your body better absorb iron.

The real answer to getting enough iron is a balanced, varied diet of whole foods, plus the green superfood boost. It’s as tasty and easy as that.

Images: derek purdy

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A lot of things are called “nature’s candy", but the date really is. Sweet, luscious, just a bit gooey – could it get any better than that? Actually, it does. With calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, plus a range of vitamins and amino acids, dates make a great part of a well-rounded diet. They're also a smart sweet if you're watching your blood sugar - the glycemic score of dates is a very low 9.

In the middle of the day when I start to crave candy, I satiate the urge with stuffed dates. I'll split the date open, remove the pit and then fill it up with whatever I have on hand. Here are some favorite stuffing combinations for a decadent treat:

Fill the dates with cacao nibs and almond butter and roll them in coconut flakes.

Bleu cheese (foodies know the sweet-pungent contrast really works well!)

For an Algerian dessert, stuff the dates with marzipan and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I’ve never tried this one, but it sounds intriguing: stuff the dates with almonds and then wrap them with thin slices of bacon or proscuitto. Secure with a toothpick and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until the bacon crisps.

Fill them with mascarpone or cream cheese (flavored with lemon juice and honey). You can eat this as-is, or wrap prosciutto around it and bake it as above.

Blend a mixture of pistachios, orange juice, orange zest and a pinch of sea salt until you get a thick paste. Fill your dates with this for a very Middle Eastern flavor.

Make a mixture of roasted sesame seeds, sliced almonds and crushed cardamom. Stuff and enjoy.

Whip up some of my chocolate-avocado pudding and top with chopped dates. Mmmmm.

Image: cyancey

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To paraphrase Gandhi, you have to be the change you want to see in the world. If you don’t do it, who will? We’re depending on you (yes, you!) to take the first steps to show everyone how it’s done. Are you up to the challenge? Here’s how you can be the change:

Be the Change in Your Relationships

Communicate. If you’re serious about having profound and loving personal relationships, you have to learn about effective communication. One little-known tip is that listening is just as important as speaking. Check out Non-Violent Communication; it's the best method I know for teaching the communication skills we never learned growing up.

Be Honest. Lying never, ever pays off. You’ll know you did something wrong, and subconsciously so will your partner. Either be transparent with your partner or don’t do those things you'll have to lie about.

Own Up To Your Part. You are not a victim! You play a part in everything that happens in your relationship. Quit blaming others so you can get to the real nitty-gritty of communication, honesty, growth and love.

Look in the Mirror. Do you always like what you see when you look at your loved ones? Remember, they are mirrors showing you parts of yourself. Keep this in mind when the emotional triggers are pulled, and use this information to help you develop more understanding and better connections with the people in your life.

Study Tantra. It’s not all about sex, I swear, but it does make it better. Actually, Tantra teaches about self-love, masculine-feminine balance, and a profound spiritual connection with your partner and the world. Go on, try it.

Be the Change at Work

Do What You Love. You’re not doing anyone any good by suffering at a job you hate. Take a risk and follow your heart. What have you got to lose but your chains? You'll never regret being courageous. (Daring is not the same thing as irresponsible, so try to take calculated risks, not foolish ones.)

Be of Service. Does your occupation contribute to making the world a better place? Enlightened connection with the world requires that we pursue positive and meaningful work, or we’ll just be pursuing empty, egoic dreams.

Don’t Sell Your Soul for Money. Doing something you don’t feel good about just for the money ultimately crushes your soul. It’s always better to do the right thing. Imagine what the world would be if everybody did? But don't feel guilty for being a career go-getter, either - you can use your position and money for the greater good.

Know When to Take a Break. Or a Vacation. Burnout creates more stress, worse health, lower morale and less productivity. Why let yourself get to that point at all?

Consider Work a Classroom. You spend so much time on the job, why not use the arising challenges as a chance to practice being present, compassionate and communicative? Learn to see your job as a springboard for your personal evolution.

Be the Change in Your Health

Eat Consciously. It doesn’t matter so much what you eat as how you eat it, and why. Emotional eating drives us straight to empty foods, whereas self-love makes us want to treat our bodies in the best way. Are you feeding your human machine the finest superfoods, or are you filling up your old clunker with junk?

Move Your Body. Dance, run, bike to the grocery store, do yard work, walk the dog, lift heavy boxes, stretch or do yoga. I don’t care what you do, just get up and do something! Give your heart a reason to pump blood!

Eliminate Toxic Products. Consider every product you use in your house and on your body. Are they poisonous? Carcinogenic? Educate yourself about household and cosmetic chemicals and phase them out of your life forever.

Heal All Your Bodies. It’s humbling to realize that your physical health is deeply intertwined with your emotional and mental health, too. This means you have to look at underlying issues when addressing physical symptoms. Be brave and don’t be afraid to dig a little deeper.

Rest, Relaxation and Relief. Sound, sex, and breathing: there are so many wonderful ways to relieve stress. Use them!

Be the Change for the Environment

Ride Your Bike. Or use public transportation as much as you can. Everybody’s transportation needs are different, but it’s important to set an intention to move yourself around in a healthier, more sustainable manner.

Reduce Electronic Appliance Use. Turn out the lights when you leave the room, unplug appliances when not in use, enjoy evenings by candlelight, and sit outside under the summer moon. Instant bliss.

Ask the Big Question. When making purchasing, lifestyle and household decisions, ask yourself “If everybody else did this too, what would the world be like?”

Reduce. Reuse. Simplify. The simpler your needs, the less resources have to be taken from the environment to support them. Remember, Zen is in.

Learn About Permaculture. It’s more than just an incredibly efficient way to garden; Permaculture principles can be applied to businesses and society in general. Self-sufficient and sustainable to the core - it's the triple bottom line.

Be the Change in Your Self

Don’t Be Afraid of Therapy. There are so many different ways to unravel your inner knots, it would be silly not to give them a try. Why reinvent the wheel and try to figure it all out yourself? Sometimes you need the help of someone with experience. Check out yoga therapy, sound therapy, and dance therapy in addition to traditional talk therapies.

Meditate. Even if you don’t set aside time for seated or walking meditation, make an effort to be mindful and present in all that you do. That’s what’s called living meditation.

Be Creative. Keep a journal, carry a sketchbook, make jewelry, funkify your clothes, grow a garden – anything that puts your best energies into material form. The good of the world depends on your creative contributions.

Maintain A Spiritual Connection. No matter what your faith, the world is sweeter and makes much more sense when you live by the belief that we are interconnected and essentially all One.

Identify Your Purpose and Passion. Then let that purpose and passion guide your life. Follow your bliss!

How will you be the change today?

Image: Mayr

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A lonely brownie is a terrible thing.

Ever since organic ingredients became affordable and common, I've been trying to fly the flag for Frozen Organic Brownie Stratifié. It's a dessert that I like to pretend I've invented (and I'm particularly proud of the fancy French word on the end). When I saw this photo over at Oh Joy!, I knew the time had come to spread the word. Because it's all about ice cream. Brownies are layers of a cake, meant to sandwich further decadence. In between, you plaster creamy ice-cream - ideally vanilla. A match made in heaven.

Wellness post, Mike? Bit of a stretch, don't you think? Not at all. Every one of us needs a treat now and then. Simply concentrate on choosing the finest organic ingredients. Here are a few suggestions:

Dark, dark, dark chocolate, like that made by Green & Black's or Terra Nostra. You'll only need a nibble.

Your favourite brownie recipe. Mom usually has the best one, but I can also vouch for Brit chef Nigel Slater's superb brownies (firm but sticky in the middle).

Strong-tasting organic vanilla ice-cream: based on experience I'm a Green & Black's man, but Stonyfield Farm's pots seems to have picked up the best reviews. Get the good stuff.

Now - alternate layers of brownie and ice-cream of equal thickness, with ice-cream uppermost, dusted lightly with cocoa powder. And serve.

It's simple, organic, looks classy and tastes divine...and it makes your brownies feel loved!

Image: rizkapb

Talk about rotten tomatoes. The outbreak started in mid-April and there have been cases of illness in at least 17 states (including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin).

Here's the latest:

The FDA has ruled out California, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico as sources of contamination.

This latest food poisoning outbreak points to a few serious problems with our food supply.

Lack of traceability: it has taken the FDA almost two months to determine that the outbreak is either in Florida, or in Mexico (who knows how long it will take them to narrow it down from there?).

Nonsensical market forces: a person can live in a state that grows and harvests tomatoes and the tomatoes from that state can be perfectly safe, yet this person can become sick from tomatoes grown thousands of miles away because the system is not set up so that they can go to their local grocery store and purchase tomatoes grown nearby.

Way too many food miles: people want tomatoes year round, so I understand importing them from Mexico and Central America. Or the northern U.S. drawing from Florida. But, what are we doing importing tomatoes from Israel, Canada, and Belgium in April? It's insanity.

What's the solution? Homegrown tomatoes and tomatoes grown on small and medium sized farms and sold in farmers' markets have not been implicated. So buy your fruits and vegetables in season from farmers you know or get them from your organic CSA program, and you'll be enjoying your caprese, marinara and BLT in no time.

Image: jacki-dee

Last week we gave a quick summary of the recently passed farm bill. It's curious to me that even though people were more engaged in the process than ever before - writing letters to Congress in support of more money for organics, increased conservation measures, and fewer commodity crop subsidies - we didn't get a better bill.

Michael Pollan has a well-reasoned answer for us at Grist.

To summarize Mr. Pollan's point:  Activists did a great job of getting the public to understand the problem with commodity crop subsidies and getting people engaged in the process. The central problem was demonizing all subsidies without providing ideas for alternative incentives to encourage farmers to grow the types of foods we need. This caused farmers who currently receive subsidies to dig in their heels to preserve the status quo. Mr. Pollan thinks that farm bill critics could have won over at least some of those farmers by providing alternatives...something to think about and work on over the next few years.

Image: Aunt Owwee