Stuff We Found Today - 07.25.10

Upcycled Gown Made From 1,000 Newspaper Cranes

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• Hidden Child Danger: Arsenic-Treated Playground Equipment - (Inhabitots) "From the 1970’s until 2003, a lot of the wood for playground equipment, decks, picnic benches and more, was pressure-treated with a preservative containing toxic arsenic."

Food Stuff

• Seasonal recipes: 5 for peaches - (Mother Nature Network) With all the peaches at the farmer's market these days, gonna have to try these out!
• How food stylists trick us - (Mother Nature Network) "Why do fast-food burgers and fries in TV commercials and print ads look so fresh and delicious when the real deal never looks the same way? Here's why."
• Fair Vodka a toast to fair trade - (SF Gate) Fair Trade vodka...woohoo!!
• Battle of the burgers: Grass-fed or veg? - (Mother Nature Network) Great food for though...haha.

Home Stuff

• Eco-Friendly Wall Treatments Give an Edge to Any Room - (Inhabitat) These are kind of neat. Plus, these "low-relief wall panels are made from 100% bamboo pulp, and each 18-inch square tile is chemical free, and 100% biodegradable!"
• 'Pile on Game' Creates Stackable Stones from Waste Wood - (Inhabitat) Looks like fun, plus pretty enough to keep out on your coffee table.
• Solar Powered Shipping Container is a Pop-Up Prefab Party - (Inhabitat) How cool would it be to have one of these for your next shindig?!! If you had a huge backyard, that is.

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• TransFair USA Introduces First Fair-Trade Clothing to the U.S. - (Fast Company) Awesome!!
• Watch the Story of Cosmetics - (Enviroblog) From the lady that gave us "The Story of Stuff" (video)
• Extreme Origami: An Upcycled Gown Made From 1,000 Newspaper Cranes - (Ecouterre) Kind of beautiful...

Tech & Science Stuff

• GE Nucleus will raise your home's IQ - (Mother Nature Network) "...allows your home to talk to you via web and mobile applications." Cool!
• Google to use wind energy to power data centers - (Yahoo! News)
• Brilliant Kinetic Batteries Recharge When Shaken, Not Stirred - (Inhabitat) Neat!
• The weapons industry is going green - (Mother Nature Network) "...protecting national security and protecting the climate. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon get it; when will Obama get on board?"

School, College & Student Stuff

• Top 10 environmental studies programs - (Mother Nature Network) "...featured in The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011 edition."

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Bizarre Deep-Sea Reef Creatures Discovered - (Discovery News) Great pics of some very interesting sea critters.
• Four Years. Go. - Change the direction our planet is heading in 4 years?? Check this out!

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• Clooney Receiving Emmy for Being Hollywood's Humanitarian Role Model - (Ecorazzi.com) Awww...
• Kids: Turn trash into treasure and get on TV - (Mother Nature Network) "PBS is calling all kids to turn trash into treasure and land a spot on TV."
• Animal Planet present's 'Blood Dolphins' - (Mother Nature Network) "New miniseries to pickup where 'The Cove' left off."

International Stuff

• China Oil Spill PHOTOS: Official Warns Of 'Severe Threat' - (The Huffington Post) Looks like we're not the only ones...

Other Random Cool Stuff

• The 6 Least Green Types of Packaging - (TheDailyGreen)
• Old Cigarette Vending Machines Repurposed to Dispense Books - (Inhabitat)
• Goats on a billboard [video] - (Mother Nature Network) "A Virginia farmer's goats climb up and perch themselves on a billboard." Those crazy critters!
• Plastiki Successfully Crosses the Pacific, Lands in Australia! - (Inhabitat) For those of you following David de Rothschild's journey on a boat of plastic bottles.

Quote of the Week - 07.25.10

"The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention."

~John Burroughs

"The smallest piece of Fair Trade chocolate is better than the greatest that is not."

~Coco-Zen

VIDEO: The Story of Cosmetics

"The Story of Cosmetics, released on July 21st, 2010, examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. Produced with Free Range Studios and hosted by Annie Leonard, the seven-minute film by The Story of Stuff Project reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. The film concludes with a call for viewers to support legislation aimed at ensuring the safety of cosmetics and personal care products."

VIDEO: Colbert Report - Science Catfight...

Climate war on the Colbert Report...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Science Catfight - Joe Bastardi vs. Brenda Ekwurzel
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Quote of the Week - 07.18.10

"Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others."

~Buddha

"Happiness comes when chocolate is a benefit to yourself and others…choose Fair Trade."

~Coco-Zen

Stuff We Found Today - 07.15.10

FLOTUS working up a sweat in the WH garden with elementary school kids - awesome!!

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• Reframing climate change as a public health issue - (BMC Public Health) Very interesting study as to how the public reacts...
• AFN honors new crop of young eco-heros - (Mother Nature Network) Kids who get things done...because kids are the future!
• Infants Ingest Nearly 80 Times Safe Level of Dioxin - (Inhabitots)

Food Stuff

• Unusual, healthy homemade popsicles - (Mother Nature Network) Some interesting flavor combos to tryout...thinking that the "Crunchy Peanut Butter-Banana" one is going to be a hit with the kiddies.
• "Agroecology Outperforms Large-Scale Industrial Farming for Global food Security," Says US Expert - (Organic Consumers Association) Organic farming can feed the world and better the environment!
• Stop the Chocolate Industry from Exploiting Children - (The Hunger Site) "The Mars, Cargill, and Hershey corporations use child slavery in western Africa to keep production costs down. Take action!"
• What Your Grocer Won't Tell You About Food Additives [Infographic] - (TheDailyGreen) "What you need to know about nitrates, preservatives, hormones and other ubiquitous additives."
• Do You Know Which Fish Are Safe to Eat? - (TheDailyGreen) "Learn how to avoid mercury contamination."
• Morgan's Gooey Chocolate Brownies - (The Kind Life) Oooohhh...these look too good not to try...just use Fair Trade cocoa powder and chocolate chips!

Home Stuff

• Tips for cooling off this summer - (Mother Nature Network) Tips for keeping cool that will save you $$ and the environment.

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• New York City to Recycle Clothing, Shoes, Textiles Starting This Fall - (Ecouterre) "Over 190,000 tons of textiles made their way into Big Apple landfills in 2008 alone..." That's a lot of clothes!
• Toms Shoes Make A Splash for Clean Water - (EcoStiletto) Another reason to get a pair this summer!
• BioCouture: U.K. Design "Grows" an Entire Wardrobe From Bacteria - (Ecouterre) Wow...talk about biodegradable!!

Tech & Science Stuff

• GE and Yves Behar Unveil Superfast WattStation EV Charger - (Inhabitat) Powers up cars in 4-8 hours and it's way cool looking!!

School, College & Student Stuff

• 10 of the Best Colleges for Environmental Studies - (TheDailyGreen)
• LA students rethink lunch - (Mother Nature Network) "A coalition of New Orleans students joins together to evaluate and offer better solutions to improve school lunches."

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Forty-One Years Late, Have Things Changed? - (Sierra Club) A look back at the Santa Barbara Oil spill...
• Corn is the Biggest Culprit in Gulf Dead Zone - (Organic Consumers Association) "...a biofuel is contributing to a Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" the size of New Jersey..."
• Oil Spills By the Numbers [Infographic] - (TheDailyGreen) "The BP Gulf Oil Spill focuses new attention on a problem that has plagued the oceans for decades."

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• Stunning Swedish Treehotel Opens This Weekend! - (Inhabitat) With mirrored walls, it seems to blend into the forest...way cool looking!

Website Stuff

• A social network for 'off-gridders' - (Mother Nature Network) "Off-grid guru offers a social network and news source for people looking to drop out of the grind and to power up with solar." Interesting movement...
• Cool interactive maps track Gulf oil impacts - (Mother Nature Network) "Two new data maps let you see the scope of various Gulf oil impacts and raise questions about why certain beaches remain open."
• FarmVille to offer organic crop - (Mother Nature Network) "For the first time, gamers can grow organic blueberries and learn the principals of sustainable farming." Hmmm...guess this if for all you Facebook FarmVille junkies!

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

• Toxic Chemicals Lobby: Exclusive Footage - (Organic Consumers Association) "Safer Chemicals Healthy Families created this wacky video to galvanize public support for Congressional action to make sure the products we reach for, sleep on, and eat from every day aren't loaded with toxic chemicals."
• New Law Prevents Media From Photographing Oil-Soaked Wildlife - (Change.org)
• FLOTUS working up a sweat in the WH garden - (Obama Pics Daily) Yes...we think this lady rocks. Love that she's OK being photographed getting all hot and sweaty in the garden.

VIDEO: BP Spills Coffee

"What would happen if BP spilled a bunch of coffee on their conference room table? Pretty much the same thing if they spilled a whole bunch of oil in the Gulf of Mexico."

Quote of the Week - 07.11.10

"He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."

~Confucious

"He who eats chocolate but does not buy Fair Trade is lost. He who buys Fair Trade chocolate but does not eat it is insane."

~Coco-Zen

Organic Raspberry & Strawberry Meet Fair Trade Dark Chocolate...mmm!

Summer berries are here, and they're bursting with flavor. We're pairing them with deep dark chocolate to create our strawberry and raspberry truffles, but we'll only be making these as long as summer berries are around.... so, order some before they're gone!

Each batch of strawberry and raspberry truffles starts with organic berries from our local farmer's market. These ripe and succulent berries are then slow roasted for hours, intensifying their flavor. Finally, they're pureed and blended into a dark chocolate ganache with a touch of organic coconut cream.

Both of our berry truffles are enrobed in organic Fair Trade Certified™ 72% dark chocolate and then topped off with a slice of organic dried strawberry or organic dried raspberry. The "Strawberries & Chocolate" truffles are fragrant, yet subtle, while the "Raspberries & Chocolate" truffles have a bolder and more intense flavor.

Available in our large dessert-sized truffles, the strawberry and raspberry truffles are both options for our Truffles-To-Give, Truffles-To-Share or Bulk Truffles.

Psst... our raspberry and strawberry truffles just happen to be vegan, but no one has to know!

Stuff We Found Today - 07.07.09

New Fairtrade flavor for Ben & Jerry's!!

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• EWG's Sunscreen Buyer's Guide for iPhone - Great resource for when out buying sunscreen and need help finding the safest and most effective (get through iTunes store - free app).

Food Stuff

• GMOs: Hidden Ingredient - (CBS News Video) "A recent poll shows that 53 percent of Americans say they won't purchase foods that have been genetically modified. But, as Armen Keteyian reports, many Americans are unaware that they already do."
• How to Make Your Supermarket Fair Trade Friendly - (Change.org: End Human Trafficking)
• 85% of tested juice box contained LEAD - (Nutrition for Empowered Women) Check out this list...
• The PlanetBox: A lunch box for those inheriting our planet - (Z Recommeds) Pricey, but way cool lunch box.
• Tell Mars, Cargill, and Hershey to Stop Using "Blood Chocolate" - (Change.org)
• Ben and Jerry's Fudge Brownie Ice Cream is Now Fairtrade - Woooohooo!!!!

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• 17-Year-Old Former Refugee Turns Spent Bullets into Pro-Peace Jewelry - (Ecouterre) An inspiring story and the necklace is pretty neat too!
• Sneak Peek at Fall's Best Sustainable Shoes - (EcoStiletto) Ooohhhh, these are cute...and you can win them!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Death by Gadget - (NYTimes.com) "'Blood diamonds' have faded away, but we may now be carrying 'blood phones.'" Something to think about when buying the latest and greatest...
• World's First Electronic Spectacles Could Make Bifocals Obsolete - (Ecouterre) If bifocals are in your future...this may be your saving grace!

School, College & Student Stuff

• Stunning Zero Plus Energy Lab at Hawaii Preparatory Academy - (Inhabitat) Wow...who wouldn't want to go to school here!

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Biggest Animals: The Largest of the Large - (WebEcoist) Pics of some crazy huge animals...the gigantic house cat gets our vote.
• Buzz Killers: 10 Of The World's Biggest, Baddest Bugs - (WebEcoist) OK... any one of these would scare the bejeezers out of us!

Website Stuff

• Trade Your Stuff! - (The Daily Green) "Try Swaptree for exchanging books, music, movies and more."

Other Random Cool Stuff

• 10 Ways to Save Money on Gasoline - (Greenwala) Easy peasy ideas that anyone can do...
• The Story of Bottled Water - (YouTube: Story of Stuff Project) Great video!!