8 Products You Didn’t Know Were Made From Oil

There are times when we catch posts on other blogs that make us kick ourselves saying, why didn’t we think of that? This is one of them. The Green Routine came up with a great list of 8 products you didn’t know were made from oil.  It’s almost insidious, the way petroleum has crept into the ingredients of so many items that we use on a daily basis.  Well, time to make changes – lots of them! We can’t keep using oil like it’s a never-ending resource.  Here are a few of the items on The Green Routine’s list – get the rest at TheGreenRoutine.com.

1. Paper Cups - Paper cups are coated with plastic or wax in order to make them waterproof. We know plastic is derived from oil or natural gas, but did you know most wax is too? The type of wax used to waterproof paper cups is polyolefin wax — which is a polymer derived from oil or natural gas.
2. Candles - Speaking of wax, did you know that candles are also made from polyolefin wax? A natural alternative to burning polyolefin wax candles are beeswax candles.
3. Fruits & Vegetables - That wax coating on your store bought fruits and vegetables is (you guessed it) also made from petroleum. Another good reason to shop at the local farmer’s market!
4. Reusable Shopping Bags - Many reusable shopping bags on the market today are ironically made from the same oil derived materials they are designed to replace. Reusable shopping bags are typically made from non-woven polypropylene — PP or resin ID code 5 for short. While these bags are recyclable, I would recommend purchasing a heavy duty canvas reusable bag instead. Canvas reusable bags are made from cotton, and last longer.

Link [TheGreenRoutine]
Photo credit: Flickr user nestor galina

Who’s Who in Green: Starre Vartan

It hasn’t been long since the perception held that eco-friendly fashion and beauty were the realm of the hemp-wearing, au naturel granola types. But Starre Vartan, an environmental writer and editor, knew that it was more than that – that it could, in fact, be stylish, glamorous and beautiful, and appeal to all sorts of different women. So, in 2005, she founded Eco-Chick.com with the idea that women who cared about the planet deserved their very own place on the web.

Eco Chick has helped make doing right by the planet fun, sexy and feminine, featuring posts like ‘Eco Lingerie for Every Bella’, ‘Reduce PMS Bloating Naturally with Herbs’, ‘Help Fight Chocolate Extinction’ and ‘The Best Non-Milk Cappuccino Ever!’. Diverse topics from eco-friendly high chairs to the pros and cons of nuclear power are covered, always with Eco Chick’s signature style.

Watch Starre demonstrate some classic Eco Chick go-green tips on Fox News below:

Starre was born in Sydney, Australia and split her time between her home country down under and the hamlet of Garrison, New York, exposing her both to the sand and sea of Australia and the deep forests and mountains of the Northeast. These beautiful natural environments are part of what inspired her to achieve a BS in geology, BA in English and a minor in Biology at Syracuse University. She’s currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Columbia University.

Starre’s work can currently be found on The Huffington Post, Audubon Magazine (where she writes the Green Guru column) and The Daily Green. She’s the managing editor for Greenopia and the style editor for Plenty Magazine. She has also written for E/The Environmental Magazine, The Fairfield County Weekly, Alternet.org, and Worldchanging New York. Starre was also an associate producer for the Discovery Channel’s miniseries Final Hour.

Starre’s latest venture is her recently released book, ‘The Eco Chick Guide to Life: How to be Fabulously Green’. The book delves into ways young women can live sustainably and still be chic and cool, with sections on fashion and personal care, the home, eco-friendly travel and more. Upbeat and lighthearted, The Eco Chick Guide to Life has hundreds of ideas on how to be ecologically smart, from vintage clothes shopping to biodegradable hair products.

Starre Vartan’s Green Score: 13,907

Who’s Who in Green: Preston Koerner

Where do the savvy go when looking for the latest news about green architecture? Jetson Green, naturally, where you can find everything from the latest eco-friendly condo project in Chicago to inspirational green home remodels. Jetson Green is a veritable treasure trove of green architecture eye candy, featuring drool-worthy photos of sustainable homes, green roofs, solar powered communities, modern earth-friendly home furnishings and much more.

Meet Preston Koerner, the man behind Jetson Green (and one of our Hot Guys in Green). He first became enamored with green building when living in Japan in the ‘90s, where the culture was really focused on environmentalism. Years later, Preston was still inspired by their conservationist attitude. In 2005, he was seeking an MBA and wrote a plan for a mid-scale, modern, trendy, green hotel for young professionals as part of a business plan class. To him, the green elements infused within the design and plans were what really made it a winning plan – and it spurred his continuing fascination with the cross-section of sustainability and real estate.

Preston has since earned a B.A. in history with a minor in Japanese, as well as JD and MBA degrees. He founded Jetson Green in 2006 and is still the sole owner and chief editor, with a staff of three contributors. Preston lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and is currently a transactional attorney at Corbridge Baird & Christensen. He’s preparing for the LEED AP exam, and hopes to find the time soon to write a book.

Two of the energy-efficient homes recently featured on Jetson Green, from left: The Alley House in Madison Valley, Washington + the Green on 19 condos in Santa Monica, California.

One of the things that make Jetson Green so beloved by the online green community is the fact that the site focuses so much on realistic, affordable options for everyday people. Preston’s writing is infused with excitement about topics like flat-pack prefab energy-efficient homes, and nothing makes a blog more interesting to read than real enthusiasm.

Of his biggest green inspiration, Preston told Re-Nest,

My biggest green inspiration is probably not any one product or company in particular, it’s the momentum for good green products in general. Whether CFLs and LEDs, recycled content countertops and furniture, or Energy Star and WaterSense appliances and fixtures, all sorts of green products are widely available and they look good, too. Due to the increasing popularity of green certification systems, the need to put less garbage in land fills, and the favorable political and social climate for environmentalism, green materials have come out as big winners in design and construction. And this is good for everyone because good green materials won’t just be available to the rich or elite, they’ll be available to all of us. I like that and continue to monitor the future of materials going forward.

Preston, who is often asked to contribute comments on green building-related news stories and other blogs, is confident that the future of eco-friendly architecture is incredibly bright, writing on Jetson Green, “…the topic of green building has entered mainstream discourse as a major component of environmentalism — and it’s going to continue to dominate the discussion going forward.” We’re sure that Preston’s future is equally as promising.

Preston Koerner’s Green Score: 8,876

Who’s Who in Green: Michael d’Estries

How do you get people inspired to act on behalf of the environment in this superficial, celebrity-obsessed world? Highlight when celebs do good things for the planet, of course – which is exactly what Michael d’Estries set out to do when co-founding Ecorazzi.com, one of the web’s most popular green blogs.

Michael was first inspired to become active in the green movement when he moved to Ithaca, New York in 2004. The city’s passion and drive for environmentalism motivated him to look deeper into green issues, but Michael was frustrated by the lack of good info online. That’s what spurred him to become one of the best-known and most prolific writers and editors in the green blogosphere.

In 2006, Michael founded Ecorazzi along with Rebecca Carter. The popular site is now the go-to source for all things celebrity-related in the green world, as they highlight all of the things that famous folks are doing to highlight and educate on environmental issues. They also catch stars in the act of committing eco-sins, like consuming vast quantities of water in their homes or driving gas-guzzling SUVs. Ecorazzi, the only website of its kind, was named 2007’s Blog of the Year by VegNews, and was also named among the Top 50 Eco Blogs by the Times Online.

One of the coolest things about Ecorazzi is how connected they are across the globe. With correspondents in places like New York, LA, Seattle, Miami and the UK, they’re able to cover events in-person wherever they happen, whether it’s a celebrity gala in Manhattan or an animal rescue fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion. Plus, we’ll be seeing a lot more Ecorazzi web videos in the future!

Check out the Ecorazzi video below of Tracy Metro covering the green carpet at the 12th annual Global Green Millenium Awards.

Michael is also founder and co-editor of Groovy Green, as well as Worst Cook Ever. He lends his editing talents to Ecotality Life as well, and is a frequent guest on Josh Dorfman’s satellite radio program, The Lazy Environmentalist.

In an interview with Brand Republic, Michael discussed Ecorazzi’s success and where he predicts the environmental movement is headed.

Thanks to social aggregators like Digg and StumbleUpon, d’Estries says the sites’ content “catches the eyes of people who would never have gone [there]. People can offer fresh perspectives… We’re not just preaching to the choir.”

D’Estries is thrilled with the current level of environmental awareness and mainstream-media dialogue, including special green issues, but predicts, “Like all good trends, it will eventually calm down and just become a part of life.

“Just every month will deal with sustainability, no one will even notice,” he adds. “That’s the best thing I can hope for.”

With many fresh new ideas and projects in the works, Michael’s star will undoubtedly continue to rise in the years to come – we’re sure that his green score is going to go through the roof!

Michael d’Estries’ Green Score: 11,187

Green Blog of the Week: WebUrbanist

If you’ve never visited WebUrbanist before, prepare to spend a lot of time there. It’s got the kind of fascinating material that pulls you in and before you know it, hours have passed while you sat there drooling over Creative Steampunk Art, Design and Fashion and 20 Examples of Hilariously Geeky Art and Graffiti: From Mr. Spock to Stephen Colbert. WebUrbanist features the best urban design, culture, travel, architecture and alternative art on the web with eye-catching photos and snappy, succinct writing.

Better yet, WebUrbanist regularly features green art, design and technology, covering topics ranging from 7 Modern Wonders of Green Technology and Great Green Roofs to Strange Green Vehicles and Creative Green Arbosculpture. It’s all the coolest green stuff, distilled down to display the best of the best.

From WebUrbanist:

We scour the net to find neat new stuff then boil that information down and pack it into an article with relevant images and links, as exhaustive as we can manage on a single subject area. Our team is comprised of web designers, bloggers, architects and other curious urbanists.

WebUrbanist has multiple articles per week. The emphasis is on quality, well-researched and fully sourced articles on whatever the subject is. This is not a blog in the traditional sense (of many smaller posts on a daily basis). It is, rather, a collective online urban magazine which we hope you will enjoy every time you open your inbox or feed reader or visit our site.

Don’t take our word for it – get lost in the addictive posts yourself. Sign up to receive the site’s email updates so you don’t miss out (on the home page).

Link [WebUrbanist]

Eco-Chick.com Kicks Ass!

Eco-chick.com is the go-to source for all things eco-friendly and feminine. It’s a virtual treasure trove of green eye candy, fun features and valuable ‘green’ info. Eco Chick fills the niche left between all of the environmental blogs that cater to men and moms. Sometimes, you just wanna know about the best natural mascara, the latest in green fashion and, as the site’s founder and editor in chief Starre Vartan says, where to get a fair trade spanking paddle.

From the site:

Starre founded Eco Chick in October of 2005 with the idea that women who cared about the planet needed a place of their own on the web. At the time, most environmental blogs were guy-oriented, and very serious, and Starre thought that while discussion of scientific issues was important, consumer action would be second only to policy shifts in protecting the environment and creating a more sustainable culture. Enabling individuals to clean up their lives also gives each and every person an opportunity to realize their impact natural environment, a principle imperative to real change.

It’s a simple principle; every object has a life cycle, whether it be a bar of soap, a take-out container, an energy bar, a pair of shoes or a loveseat. It was somewhere before you got it, and it will go somewhere else when you’re done or gone. Just because you can’t see it before or after you buy it/use it/eat it/love it doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for it. We’ll show you how to find the things you love, and keep you updated on what’s going on in that great green world.

Recent stories on Eco Chick include natural cleaning recipes, ruminations on the effects of the natural sweetener ‘stevia’ going corporate, an organic bedding giveaway, reviews of organic booze and observations of green practices in Paris, France.  Starre and Olivia Zaleski, the Managing Editor, also write for the Huffington Post and several other green blogs including The Daily Green and Treehugger.

Fun Eco Chick fact: the site is run and hosted by anarchist webmaster, Dan Sieradski. He’s the guy who created the website for Matisyahu, and if you don’t know who that is, go check it out, because he’s beyond awesome. An orthodox Jew from Pennsylvania playing reggae – amazing.

Finally, a little shameless self-promotion if I may. If you just can’t get enough of yours truly here on EarthFirst.com, check out my posts over on Eco Chick, where I write about beauty and herbal medicine.

Link [Eco Chick]

Finally, Something the Righties and Lefties All Agree On: McCain Needs to Stop this Environment Crap

It’s not often that liberals and conservatives strongly agree on a subject, even if they have wildly differing reasons for doing so. But after John McCain debuted a line of eco-friendly merchandise on his official website, things heated up all over the blogosphere. McCain’s got people on both sides of the political fence all riled up right now, and it will be interesting to see what it does to his campaign.

When the presumptive Republican presidential nominee started making claims about what he would do as President to help the environment, many of us liberals weren’t pleased. To anyone who wonders why we’d be anything less than thrilled about the fact that the man on the other side of the ring is professing his supposed commitment to the environment, Energy Smart sums up the general sentiment:

There are some things that fall beyond satire.

Who do they think they’re kidding? Rebranding McCain as Mr. Environment? Rebranding the Republican Party as the Eco-Friendly choice? The McCain campaign must have a real disdain for the intellect of the American voting public.

While John McCain at least has a foot in reality, as he recognizes that Global Warming is real (unlike the majority of the Republican Party, which continues to reject reality), his “solutions” remained half-baked, half-measures.

Now that McCain has introduced a line of eco-friendly gear on his website, he’s being hit even harder with criticism. After his adviser Kevin Hassett wrote an op-ed opposing the designation of polar bears as endangered because of what it would mean for oil drilling in Alaska, Gristmill wonders,

If McCain’s advisers are already pushing for Bush-administration-style policies on issues like the polar bear, how credible are his claims this week that he’s not Bush when it comes to the environment? All the eco-swag in the world can’t make up for policies that continue to prioritize industry interests over the planet.

Another reason why Democrats and other liberals aren’t happy about McCain’s pandering is the fact that his record shows that he’s all talk and no action on environment. The Democratic Party spells it out here.

Commenters on blogs like the New York Times’ ‘The Caucus’ point out the hypocrisy:

“When he comes out with “green” flip flops I might be able to stop laughing long enough to forget his voting record on the environment! NOT! – Posted by JanK”

“WOW! Now I sure want to vote for John McCain! He is so eco-friendly making cotton bags to shops with while riding around in his wifes private jet!!!! — Posted by Shawn”

And then, there’s the conservative reaction.

I usually stay away from conservative media for a reason: reading just a few lines of their bullshit makes me start to feel like a homicidal maniac. I literally feel my blood pressure rising. I start to get a crazy look in my eye. It’s not good. But as the posts started streaming in from right-wing blogs about the McCain campaign’s sudden focus on the environment, I couldn’t ignore them.

Conservatives are pissed. Most of them weren’t crazy about McCain to begin with, but this whole environmentalism thing has their panties in a wad like never before. The Business and Media Institute quotes Rush Limbaugh:

“The troubling thing here, Senator McCain, is I’m mapping out plans here to try to persuade Republicans to eventually cross over to vote for you and this is not making it any easier,” conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh said on his May 12 show. “At some point Republicans are going to have to decide whether to cross the aisle and vote for McCain. Clearly, he’s rolling the dice in thinking that the ‘green’ community and the independents and the yutes out there will buy into this global warming business and think he’s different than the average conservative Republican and that will stand him in good stead.”

Heidi Harris, a radio talk show host in Las Vegas, isn’t happy about it either. She rails incredulously, with her Midwestern Mom hair quivering as she speaks, about how the U.S. might as well not even try to cap their emissions since businesses will just send their factories off to China. Let’s not even go there, because that’s a whole different topic. The point is, she wants you all to know how absolutely disgusted she is as a conservative that John McCain is focused on climate change. Watch the video on the Business and Media Institute website and you’ll see what I mean.

Andy Aplikowski of True North needed to knock a few back to deal with the news that McCain is selling ‘eco-friendly merchandise’ on his official website.

Cease and desist on all this Global Warming BS that warms the heart of Al Gore. If we can just stop the Republican officer holders and politicians from speaking in support of it we could easily cut half the so-called human caused global warming gases being emitted from the steaming piles of rhetoric they spew daily in the hopes of pandering for votes based on junk science funded by anti-American billionaires who loathe everything the Republican party is supposed to stand for.

And finally, I leave you with a quote that made me spit my coffee all over my laptop screen. Thank you, Andy Aplikowski, for this unintentional bit of much-needed humor on this dreary day:

Sticking your finger in the eye of conservatives is never a good idea if you are the Republican candidate for President, but waging an all out war on capitalism and promoting the junk science designed to end the American way of life [emphasis mine] is a colossal electoral failure waiting to happen.

Priceless.

Photo credit: Flickr user soggydan

What Are The Other Green Blogs Are Doing Today for April Fools Day?

Here’s a round up of some of the April Fools Day fun bouncing around the green blogosphere today.

Plenty Magazine: ExxonMobil creates new oil based sports drink that sequesters CO2 within anyone who drinks it.

Environmental Graffiti: Al Gore and Crew Admit: Global Warming is a Big ol’ Hoax.

Ecorazzi: PETA will be changing their name after a disastrous pita bread lunch mixup.

EcoGeek: Virgin and Google announced plans to colonize Mars- Sergey Brin and Larry Page will join Richard Branson as some of the first colonists.

Inhabitat: Scientists have made a technological breakthrough in the development of super efficient rainbow panels.

Treehugger: TH takes a look at the carbon footprint of carbon footprint calculators. We wonder what the carbon footprint of the post is.

Happy April Fool’s Day From EarthFirst

I spent a lot of time thinking about how we wanted to roll out on April Fool’s Day. Images of headlines screaming about Al Gore being caught in a dirty motel with Bill O’Reilly and a 17 year old swirled around in my head as I went to sleep. I wanted to do something unique, something beyond the usual silly story about Exxon-Mobil going green. I wanted to do something that hasn’t been done.

So we’re going to celebrate a delayed April Fool’s Day. We will publish three posts sometime in the next year that are written in grand April Fool’s Day fashion. The first reader who picks up on it and calls us out on it in the comments will get a shiny badge, a parade*, and a cool $100.

If you know what you’re getting for Christmas it makes unwrapping your presents a lot less fun. Knowing you’re going to be pranked on a certain day of the year gives the same effect- much better to get hit on the side of the head with our prank hammer when you’re least expecting it. It’s our gift to you.

We’ll be doing roundups of all the April Fool’s action on the green blogosphere today. There will be some good ones and some goats, we’re looking forward to spending the day sorting through them all.

Oh, and I’d like to announce that EarthFirst (us) has acquired Earth First! (the radical eco-activists)for $4.3M in cash and stock. We’re going to merge our snarky green capitalism with their radical eco-activism and form EarthFirstEarth First!, leading provider of organic Kabbalah bracelets. Press release to follow.

Photo credit: Flickr user INTVGene

*- Winner will not actually get a parade. We were lying there.