Green Daily

Think your Toyota Prius gets good mileage? Think again. You're looking at Aptera's funny-looking prototype vehicle built to get 330 miles per gallon. No, that's not a typo.

The three wheeler gets amazing gas mileage due to a couple of features. first, it's light, sports a one cylindar engine, and has only three wheels. Having three wheels means it's technically considered a motorcycle by American authorities. That means it doesn't have to go through the same safety inspections as a four-wheeled car.

In other words, while this puppy can go from zero to 60 in 11 seconds, and can get top speeds near 100 miles per hour, don't expect it to be particularly safe. If that doesn't scare you off, Aptera plans to start selling its vehicles within 12 months. A full electric version will set you back $26,900, while a diesel hybrid will cost $29,900. The company is now accepting pre-orders for $500, which is refundable if you get cold feet.

[via ecogeek]

Sure, you know that greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming, which could cause the world's ice caps to melt, ocean levels to rise, and wreak all sorts of other havoc. Generations to come will have to deal with the consequences. But did you know that pollution, environmental change, and air and water quality issues could decrease your life expectancy?

The European Environment Agency released a report today that states hundreds of thousands of deaths in Europe can be attributed to air pollution. That's more than the number of people who die in car accidents.

The report estimates that pollution and other environmental problems have decreased the average European's life expectancy by almost a year. So next time you run across someone who doesn't understand the importance of conservation, you might want to explain that reducing their carbon footprint could help save their life. You know, if millions of other people also reduce their carbon footprints.

[via Wired]

Ever order one shirt and be shocked when it comes in a humongous box, filled with syrofoam chips and bubble wrap?

The Worsted Witch has some great tips on greening your online purchases, specifically the packaging. She suggests writing this or calling with this request with your order:

Please use minimal and recycled packaging. Kindly do not include any catalogs, inserts, flyers, shrinkwrap, bubble wrap, packing confetti, plastic "pillows," or styrofoam peanuts. (You can use crumpled up newspaper if padding is necessary.) Please do not include me in any mailing lists or exchange lists you may have. Thank you!

There are also some tips on greening your takeout food deliveries.

Via Beancounter.

Last year the Green Awards were created to: "recognize outstanding creative work that communicates the importance of CSR (corporate social responsibility), sustainable development, and ethical best practice" for any brand or company that promotes issues concerning the environment. The 2007 Green Awards are coming up later this month, and the short list of possible winners has recently been announced.

The awards are UK-based, so non-Brits may not recognize the nominees for awards like Best Direct Mail, or Best PR Campaign. However, there are a few nominations for Best Website that you might want to check out. Divine Chocolate, maker of the Dubble fair trade chocolate bar is featured, along with The Nag (a green life coach) and the Carbon Trust (a site about reducing our Carbon Footprint through carbon labeling).

Check the Green Awards website after October 26 to find out who wins.

For many, flipping through a copy of the Bible is food for the soul. Now, thanks to the efforts of one eco-conscious publisher, you can feel even better during your religious readings, comforted by the fact you're spiritual satisfaction isn't coming at the expense of Mother Nature. Introducing the green Bible!

You'd think producing more environmentally-friendly Bibles would be a no brainer -- especially seeing as many church leaders have been speaking out on global warming in recent months -- but it's no easy task. Thomas Nelson Inc., the publisher behind the project, had to basically invent a new kind of paper that was both made from recycled material and lightweight enough for the kind of paper traditionally used in Bibles. In the end their hard work paid off, and yesterday they released the first Bible printed on Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper.

Hopefully it won't be long before the new green Bible shows up at a church near you!

Subaru will show of an electric concept car at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month. The G4e is a four-door hatchback with a lithium-ion battery sort of like the one in your laptop computer. The difference between the G4e and your laptop is that the automobile should be able to drive up to 125 miles on a single charge.

The battery uses new technology to double the energy density of the lithium-ion batteries by using vanadium instead of manganese. You'd have to plug the car in for 8 hours to fully recharge the battery. But you can also charge the battery to 80 percent by plugging it into a mobile charging station for just 15 minutes.

Subaru has not announced any plans to mass produce the G4e or any other electric car. But I'm used to "concept cars" looking super-futuristic. The G4e looks like something you'd see on the streets today, which could mean the company is thinking about bringing the car to market. Whether they can interest Americans in a car that you can't really use for long road trips is another story.

The Internet is abuzz with all the oddball new concept cars set to go on display at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month -- the most interesting of which is the Honda PUYO.

As you can tell, it has no discernible edges, something its creators hoped would give it a "warm, friendly impression." In fact, the name PUYO is a Japanese onomatopoeia meant to express the sensation of "touching the vehicle's soft body." Say it with me..."PUUUUYOOO." Now look at the picture -- do you feel like you've caressed the vehicle's seamless exterior?

The car runs on a super-small, ultra-high efficient fuel cell, and is maneuvered not by steering wheel, but rather by joystick -- for "intuitive operation."

I want to give this car a hug.

Check out this post on AutoblogGreen to read the full press release from Honda.

While vinyl siding sometimes claims to be maintenance-free, anyone who has owned it knows that it definitely does require maintenance, mainly a good scrubbing once in a while. Depending on where you live, you may be dealing with mold, bugs, spider eggs, all sorts of fun things.

DIY Life's Diane Rixon has a post this week about cleaning your vinyl siding in an eco-friendly way.

Rixon recommends starting out the old-fashioned way, with some hot water and a long-handled scrubbing brush before breaking out the industrial chemicals. If you need something stronger, there are many suggestions in the story, including bleach alternatives.

Check out the story for more tips!

I used to work in a law office. The amount of paper that we went through in a day was astounding. We had little blue bins for recycling but not everyone used them. Huge trash cans were filled by the end of the day. Xerox has found one way to address this issue by introducing Xerox high yield business paper.

Xerox estimates that 40% of printed matter ends up in the trash. The company has found a way to produce a lighter paper requiring fewer resources. The new recipe uses more of the tree than traditional methods therefore requiring fewer trees in all. It also requires less water and fewer chemicals than before.

Finally, a hybrid car that'll make beer-swilling frat dudes insanely jealous. The new CR-Z, from Honda, is a honest-to-goodness, feel-the-G-forces-as-you-accelerate sports car, that just happens to run on a gas-electric engine.

While to environmentalists (or those who just love great gas mileage), the typical hybrid design is endearing -- cute even -- these vehicles aren't commonly considered to be the sexiest cars on the market. They're a little bulky, and, though they can eventually reach high speeds (as proven by Al Gore's son), hybrids aren't famous for their acceleration or handling.

But thanks to new technology that reduces the space needed for the hybrid system, Honda has managed to ditch the bulky look with the new CR-Z. The company is staying tight-lipped about how they managed to make the car drive like its sportier, gas-powered cousins, but we'll likely get more information when the car is shown at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Show, which opens on October 27.

According to recent published reports, an American majority would pay higher taxes or accept a higher price on a new home, if it meant the added money was going toward energy efficiency improvements that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. The report is the result of a new poll by GfK Public Affairs and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

"City and local leaders are critical players in the effort to reduce global warming, and it's clear that their constituents want action," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale Project on Climate Change, one of the sponsors of the groundbreaking survey measuring public opinion of local government-led green initiatives. "The public is on board and willing to help foot the bill. All that's left to do now is act."

I nice thought. But if we wait for government subsidies to come along as the answer to our environmental crisis, we're likely to end up buried in our own garbage. What this poll tells me is Americans are simply more willing to pay more money for a better environment than spend a little extra time doing the many things that don't cost anything in order to lessen our impact on the Earth: driving more fuel-efficient cars or using compact fluorescent light bulbs, for example. Is the American majority employing these practices? I have no way of knowing about the latter, but SUV sales seem pretty stable these days.

The government should be getting on board, but let's also do what we as individuals can now to make changes in the meantime.

Looking for a favor or card for an event that will truly be appreciated? Try plantable eco-favors from Botanical Paperworks. Each favor is made with handmade, plantable paper. Handmade paper has a special look and texture; no two sheets are alike.

Later, your recipients can plant the favor or invitation and wildflowers will grow. The pulp will mulch into the soil, rendering it completely recyclable.

Botanical Paperworks also has holiday cards, baby announcements, baby shower favors and invitations.

Score a big one for the environment, the government and public health.

American Electric Power (AEP) agreed to a settlement Oct. 9 with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice to cut 813,000 tons of air pollution annually, at a cost of $4.6 billion. It's the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history.

Environmental groups and the government had sued the company in 1999 for violating the Clean Air Act by upgrading some of its coal-fired power plants without installing the legally required pollution controls.

In a press release, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the plaintiffs, said, "As a result of its Clean Air Act violations, AEP emitted illegal amounts of harmful nitrogen oxides and deadly sulfur dioxide pollution at plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia for over two decades." These gases help cause smog and acid rain, respectively.

Compost piles and gardening seem very romantic to me. I daydream about spending the day in the dirt harvesting my own vegetables and turning my food waste back into the earth. Then I remember that I can't keep a simple houseplant alive. However, I am toying with the idea of planting a garden next spring but I'm going to need all the help that I can get.

Gomestic has a new article outlining the best way to build your new organic garden. Though brief, the article addresses plot placement, fertilization, compost and harvesting. The Helpful Gardner also offers some nice tips.

Hey, have you heard? It's No Trash Week! The week officially started on Sunday, but it's not too late to try to participate by striving to create less trash. Think about your habits, the things you buy, the way you travel and all the bits you leave behind as you move through your day. The organizers of the event know that it isn't possible for many of us to create zero waste, so they've put together a collection of helpful tips on how to reduce the trash you create and a list of things you can do to prepare yourself to reduce your output.

Via Treehugger