There’s a bevy of great green news I want to share with you all in case you hadn’t seen it:

Hummer Goes Under….Eventually

HummerGuy.net has been informed by official sources that there will be no “next generation” refresh on the H2 and that within a few years – not fast enough for some of us – it will finally fade to black (“Reports have the H2’s end of production between 2011 and 2014″)

Hah, I almost feel badly for HummerGuy.net….but maybe he can be NonGasGuzzlingRoadHoggGuy.Net instead and write about fuel cells!

Sundance Channel + Barneys + Loomstate support GREEN living

As part of the Season 2 kick-off of “The Green” on Sundance Channel, the network has partnered with Barneys New York and the eco-chic fashion brand Loomstate to launch a first of its kind, national T-shirt recycling program. Beginning April 13th, consumers will be encouraged to drop off old t-shirts at all Barneys’ locations nationwide. Loomstate will “re-fashion” the T-shirts (re-style, re-dye, re-print, etc.) to create a new, limited edition T-shirt collection to be sold exclusively at Barneys for Holiday 2008. Participating consumers will receive a 20% discount on women’s Loomstate for Barneys Green and men’s Loomstate merchandise from April 13-27. Proceeds from the program will benefit 1% for the Planet.

I’m going to be attending the kick-off event for this next week and donating some tees to the project- maybe I’ll get to see them redesigned!

Survey Says! Americans are finally catching onto the peak oil and environmental crises:

The survey gave Americans the choice of seven categories and asked the following question:

What do you believe should be the highest priority, in terms of investing money and resources, in order to achieve a meaningful technological advancement in the next 10 years?

The result in short, has Americans placing the solution to the “gas crisis” ahead of a cure to cancer, heart disease or other similar medical breakthroughs.

Specifically, 37 percent of Americans thought money and resources should be placed into a breakthrough in fuel efficiency or alternative fuels, while 30 percent wanted the effort placed against an advance in medicine.

The environment followed with 14 percent, security and defense tallied 10 percent, transportation and space exploration each has three percent and telecommunication and media two percent.

I guess all us bloggers are doing our part with leading innovation on the Internet already

The process of buying and making new cars isn’t the solution to this enormous fossil fuel problem we’re having. Hackneyed as it might seem, we need to develop long term sustainable community transportation, AND to rethink the way that we structure our lives around cars.

Buying a smart car is kind of like putting a band aid on a giant gash- technically, at a minuscule level, it’s helping- but if your concern stops at your purchase, you’re still going bleed to death… and worse, you may begin to confuse consumerism with activism. Often, trying to change the world by buying things isn’t really creating the change that companies convince us it is.

However, having said all that…

I was getting a ride to work from a co-worker and pointed out Smart Car exclaiming how much I wanted one, he responded with a rant about how the Smart Car is worse for the environment than a Hummer. His basic reasoning was that a brand new factory had to be built in order to make the Smart Car.

To be completely honest I don’t have the numbers to prove it, but it seems fairly logical that a new factory would be off set rather quickly by people driving the cars, and taking their other cars off the road (which would have been replaced eventually anyway). I’ve looked all over for some numbers so I could do a full 25 year break down of it, but I can’t find them.

The Smart car only costs $12 000, not being expensive is more incentive to get one and it gets up to 68 mpg. It is most definitely helping the atmospheric environment.

You could argue that the factory is hypocritical because one had to be built for the Smart Car however, they are the most energy efficient factories ever built (by the standards of the EPA). The fact is that an international standard called the ISO 14001 aims to ensure that everything has a little impact on the environment as possible. The company was awarded the Environmental Certificate ISO 14001 for all of the measures they implemented with the factory. It was built on 30 hectares of industrial waste land.

The land now contains the factory, accompanied by nature reserves with some of the most rare species of plant and animals. All of the materials used were checked against a list of potentially harmful materials and thus none contain formaldehyde or CFCs.

All of the facades are made out of a material that comes from a specific European tree that recovers quickly. The building is designed to catch rain water that can be used in the factory, any that isn’t caught by the actual building is drained into oil separation plants, treated and used. The water is treated to the point that it is up to European Drinking standards and is used for the gardens and coolant.

To save energy there are heat recovery systems located all over the building. The heat generated by the actual machines is recycled and “recovered” all through the building. All of the machines burn natural gas rather than the conventional fuels, the heat recovery system also helps to make the machines more energy efficient.

The car its self is painted using powder coating which is completely solvent free. The coat is actually thinner than the conventional ways of painting a car but it is also a higher quality of finish. The lack of solvent eliminates the fear of hazardous waste.

So yeah, they had to make a new factory. But they made one hell of a factory that produces cars that have such a low impact on the environment. The Hummer factories don’t take these environmental precautions, and the Hummer spews out disgusting amounts of emissions, and there is more material used to make them. The environmental degradation that happened because of the construction of an incredibly environmentally friendly factory isn’t even close to the degradation that would be caused by us a) never having fuel efficient cars and b) all driving Hummers. Therefore – I want a Smart Car.

And for those of you who say “it’s so small you wouldn’t be able to do anything, or fit anything in it…. watch this.

But again, it may be the most environmentally friendly factory I’ve ever heard of, and it may be a really great car, but it concerns me that all too often people are confusing consumerism with activism. There is a whole new line of “environmental” products out there, just to grab onto this new economic opportunity that has opened up – I encourage everyone to think critically about all their purchases, and still consider if it is worth the money that you’re putting into it, and to still dedicate time and money to activism, not just consumerism.

In considering the hidden costs that come with shipping fruit—trucking it around the globe in refrigerated containers—I’m wondering whether it’s more energy efficient to eat dried fruit?
—Justin Van Kleeck, Charlottesville, VA

This is indeed a vexing question. The heavy Hawaiian pineapple wins the prize for most fuel used getting it to our plates; in terms of emissions, that translates to about 40 pounds of carbon dioxide for every pound of fruit, or the equivalent of driving a car 80 miles—nearly the distance from New York to Philadelphia. Your logic makes sense; the dehydration process uses little energy and a larger volume of dried fruit can be transported. But here’s the hitch: Even if trucking the fruit is more energy efficient, the jury’s still out on whether switching from whole fruits to dried would be better for the environment—or your health.

For the rest of the answer, go to Audubon Magazine’s Green Guru page!

After years of hand mowing, I recently switched to a new battery-powered, cordless electric mower. Am I correct in assuming it produces next to no greenhouse gases?
—Tom Sernka, Auburn, WA

Kudos, Tom, for your years of push mowing. Not only does manual labor help keep us couch potatoes fit, but since people-propelled mowers are powered by nary more than a pile of pancakes, it’s the most eco-friendly way to mow. If you can’t be convinced to eschew your verdant carpet for a self-maintaining habitat of native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs, then an electric mower is the next-best choice.

For the rest of the answer, go to Audubon Magazine’s Green Guru page!

Is it true that red dye No. 40, often used in hummingbird feeders, is hazardous to hummingbirds?
—Jane O’Malley, Austin, TX

Even if the last thing kids need is to be hopped up on sugary snacks, hummingbirds actually do survive on the sweet stuff, which gives them the quick energy they require to perform their acrobatic high-speed flying maneuvers. Unlike natural flower nectar (the majority of which is clear), commercial hummingbird syrups often contain red food coloring. While no studies have been done on whether red dye No. 40 causes cancer or other diseases in hummingbirds, research shows that the artificial coloring is harmful to other animals, and it is certainly unnecessary to use it.

For the rest of the answer, go to Audubon Magazine’s Green Guru page!

Lately I have been hearing a lot about “offsetting.” Being able to purchase carbon credits, plant trees, and invest in renewable energy sources allows people the opportunity to pay a cost long overlooked: that of environmental impact. While some feel that this financial compensation allows people to go about their emissions-spewing lives hauling around in their Hummers, others feel that many of the companies that have started to popularize ‘offsetting,’ are educating the general consumer and increasing awareness and motivation to act on behalf of the planet.

Here is an interesting article out of the UK about a company that is doing a bit more than just planting trees. There has been some controversy regarding tree-planting. I was approached by a company that wanted some assistance with their ‘offsetting’ plan. They were planting in North America and when I asked them where these trees were going to be planted, whether the trees were indigenous, whether they had scientific data backing up their plan, etc. they avoided giving me a direct answer.

There is debate surrounding the idea of ‘offsetting.’ Many environmental activists feel we should be curbing our habits and minimizing our lifestyles instead of merely ‘offsetting.’ The term itself connotes a balancing which makes one think of merely reaching a median, as opposed to soaring beyond. Others feel that instead of trying to preach extremity, it is a way to generate change within the system. There is something about the term itself that reminds me of people spraying air freshener over a stench, but the reality is, as seen with the British company mentioned in the article, some offsetting organizations are seeking eco-friendly ways for people to maintain subsistent lifestyles while minimizing environmental degradation.

This is a shirt of mine (you can see me wearing it at the Clearwater Festival below). 

One of my biggest guilty pleasures in life (besides full-fat, real ice cream) is that I love to read fashion magazines. I adore the end of the month when Vogue appears in my mailbox, and the middle of the month when Elle shows up. Of course I have a million criticisms of these mags, (including Vogue’s adoration of fur, which enrages me regularly).

But today, I’m here to praise. In “Norwich Notes”, William Norwich’s fashion/society column in July’s Vogue (with adorable Kate Hudson on the cover) he goes through a list of dos and don’ts for summer weekends. In fitting with his high society friends and cohorts, he gives such sage advice as: ”Don’t wear flip flops to work” (oops, too late!) and “Don’t make phone calls on a crowded Long Island Rail Road train” (Of course not!!) and “Do remember that hostesses love a handwritten note.” (That’s true.)

But my favorite one?? Number 24: “Do point and laugh at people in Hummers.”

Zing! Hummers are OUT!

According to NPR, “Vehicles weighing between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds have been exempt from the standards. If regulators change the rules, automakers would likely have until 2011 to meet the new targets.”

Cheerleaders (Heart) Hummers!!