If you’re sending correspondence through the mail these days, why not design your own stamps to promote your green message?

Many sites, including Zazzle.com, allow you to either select from their designs or customize your own using photos or images downloaded from your computer.

If you decide to make stamps for a special occasion, remember to weigh whatever you’ll be mailing before you order so you can specify the correct postage amount. If you aren’t going the route of Evites or other email invitations, using stamps that say something …

Tags: conservation , earth , eco friendly , endangered species , fair trade , green , hang dry clothing , invitations , mail , messages , paper , post office , postage , postal , recycling , slogans , stamps

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The kitchen could be considered the hub of a home. It’s the spot where people congregate at parties, despite protests from the hostess; it’s the place a family gathers to break bread as often as three times a day.

There are all types of kitchens. We’ve shown you recycled or sustainable parts and entire islands of green. But I can’t recall setting my eyes on living or growing.

The Flow2 kitchen isn’t for the faint of heart. It gets down and dirty; it reveals the cycle of life from potted …

Tags: concept , conservation , decor , eco kitchen , green , sustainable

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It’s hard to ignore those cautionary labels (even the misspelled ones). Do we dare wash a delicate garment at home and risk ruining the texture or shrinking it beyond recognition?

Warnings are warnings, but there are exceptions to every wash ‘n wear rule.

With the help of our blog readers, writers and the experts, we have put together a list of myths we are happy to debunk to save you some precious bucks.

1. Washing sweaters will ruin the texture!

“Hogwash,” says EcoSalon’s Caitlin Fitzsimmons, whose mama passed on the tried and true method. …

Tags: air dry , conservation , cotton , detergents , DIY cleaning , dry , dry cleaning , energy , fabric , fabrics , fashion , fold , frugal , garments , hang dry , labels , recession , shrinkage , silk , sweaters , textiles , textures , warnings , wash , water , wool

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This is a new SIGG water bottle with a Keith Haring lady liberty design, part of a limited edition series celebrating America, land of the free, home of  thirsty. Perhaps you could score one of these cool designs for free by getting rid of an old SIGG bottle that contains poison, and you can enjoy the benefits without having to worry about exposing your body to a synthetic drug known to disrupt normal endocrine function.

I simply won’t stand for that in a water bottle. How about you?

If you bought …

Tags: aluminum , baby bottles , bottles , BPA , cancer , conservation , endocrine , Food and Drug Administration , health , leeching , metal , plastics , Reuable , SIGG , sippy cups , synthetic drugs , water

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No one growing up during the upbeat, Mattel-directed Sixties figures they’ll be worse off in middle age, forced to scrounge harder for work, buy less, live smaller.

Those Barbie songs my sister and I sang along to in our pink and green room constituted teenage visions of a supercalifragelistic future that we owned, co-starring Dick Van Dyke, four kids, a shiny Lincoln and full-service yacht.

“Here’s a cake, that you and I can make, I’ll share the recipe, if you say yes to me.”

But due to the recession and soaring costs …

Tags: affirmations , aging , birthday , blessings , book clubs , children , conservation , debt , Disney , family , green , jewelry , Life in the Green Lane , luxury , Mary Poppins , menopause , nature , pets , recession , San Francisco

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The grass is always browner when officials have Los Angeles homeowners turning off their sprinklers during the sizzling days of summer.

Starting June 1, the L.A. Dept. of Water and Power imposed mandatory restrictions aimed at reducing the city’s water use by 15%. Residents were ordered to use their sprinklers only on Mondays and Thursdays or be slapped with higher utility bills.

Nearly two months later, it’s clear that suburban lawns are dying of thirst in the San Fernando Valley where folks are complying as temperatures climb past 100 degrees in …

Tags: cemetaries , colleges , conservation , consumption , front lawns , golf courses , grass , los angeles , parks , San Fernando Valley , water restrictions

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Is it possible to make great California wine in an unfriendly environment? Not according to Hall St. Helena, the first winery in California to achieve Gold LEED Certification.

LEED is an internationally-recognized green rating system that measures how well a building or community does in its efforts to save energy and water, reduce CO2 emissions, improve environmental quality and show leadership in the stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts….

Tags: California , conservation , LEED certification , local building materials , radiant floors , recycling , solar energy , wine

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Last year, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics joined together and went looking for interested citizens to participate in a new anthology.

The topic: personal stories about global warming.

The response: overwhelming. There were over 1,000 submissions from established writers and new voices from across the country.

The result,  Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories About Global Warming, is a collection of 67 essays from scientists, students, activists, parents, journalists, grandparents, artists and business people, all of whom have stories to tell and views to express.

Named after Henry David Thoreau, …

Tags: anthology , conservation , global warming , nature , philosophy , stories , Thoreau , Thoreau's Legacy

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Considering that less than 1 percent of all the water on the planet is usable freshwater, we’re not nearly as careful as we should be with this precious resource. Here are some amazing facts to put things in perspective.

Set in the desert of Dubai, the Tiger Woods Golf Course uses 4 million gallons of water every day to maintain its lush appearance.

Since 1950, water usage in the United States has risen 127 percent….

Tags: conservation , Drought , facts , potable water , statistics , usage , water use

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