The following are related sites that you might find interesting and useful. If you have a related website or blog which you think would provide useful information to our readers, please contact us and let us know if you’d like to exchange links.

Frugal Zeitgeist – Frugal and resourceful living.

Environmental Blogs – Blogs at Action Spark provide comprehensive information on environmental sustainable development.

Effective Survival – Homesteading, self sufficiency, emergency preparedness, and natural living.

Nontoxic Living – Chemical-free and healthy lifestyles, for a better future.

Build and Rebuild – Green building tips and resources.

Source and Resource – Green and sustainable living with optimum uses of existing resources.

The Green Bean Blog – Green and nontoxic living for the home and family.

San Diego Solar Installer – Solaria Energy Systems helps reduce or even eliminate the need for outside energy resources for people in San Diego and all over Southern California using its Solar installations.

“If you go to a coffee shop every day, then you are a maniac who needs to stop right now and buy your own espresso machine. You’re wasting an absurd amount of money and resources.” This is roughly how home espresso machine manufacturers are marketing their products.

However, consumers are starting to learn not to swallow the green kool-aid right away. So, here is an analysis of the argument.

Better for the Environment?

If you drive out of your way to get your moccachino served in a disposable cup every day, then you might be hurting the environment.  Maybe. The claim isn’t backed up with much more than the simple assumption that driving + disposable cups = bad. However, even if we accept this claim, there is something wrong with its premise.

The first problem is that coffee shops are everywhere.  Very few people have to go more than a few blocks to grab a latte, and most people do so on the way to school or work. So, you probably don’t actually go more than 100 feet out of your way.  That is negligible no matter what you’re driving.

Another flaw is the assumption that shops use more resources.  A coffee shop buys larger quantities of product than you, and much of the packaging returned for a deposit.  Your home-brewed latte really uses about twice the packaging.  Also, coffee shops are happy to fill your reusable drinkware. Sometimes, they even give you a discount.

Maybe you consider all the energy a store consumes as waste. But then you have to consider how much energy all the customers would consume at home.  Then you would have to average that difference out over all the drinks the store makes. The math on this one gets fuzzy; there are too many variations from store-to-store.  However, allow us to assert that the home espresso machine does use less energy, but only slightly.

More Socially Responsible?

Being green isn’t just about how much energy a product consumes, but whether that product is ecologically and socially sustainable. Buying certified organic and fair trade coffees are great ways to help in these efforts.  However, when was the last time you saw a local coffee shop not offering organic, fair-trade coffee?  Starbucks is the world’s largest buyer of fair-trade beans.

It Is Cheaper, Though

There is no denying that a home-espresso machine pays for itself quickly.  A good-quality machine will run about $250 (USD). At a cost of $2.50 to $3.50 a pop for lattes, the machine will pay for itself in no time (about 100 times).

Greenwashing

The idea that a home espresso machine is more eco friendly than a coffee shop is nothing but greenwash; any impact is negligible. However, it is true that personal espresso machines can save a ton of money.  So, because it is about as green as its alternatives, let’s call it “a green way to save money.”

If you use a computer at home, you need a smart power strip.

Along with your desktop computer you probably have all sorts of peripheral devices hooked up as well.  If you’re like most people, you probably realize the day after turning your computer off for the night that you didn’t actually power down one thing or another.  Maybe you turn everything off every time, but did you know that even then your devices draw a small amount of power from electrical outlets regardless of their inactive state?  This “phantom power” can add up dramatically across all of your devices over time to high energy waste and utility costs.

The smart power strip reduces this waste pays for itself several times over in energy cost reduction. A smart power strip is able to sense when you have turned off the computer and accordingly cut power to all other power-hog devices (monitor, printer, speakers, etc.).  It works very simply; no programming needed.  Just plug  your computer into the main control outlet and all of your peripherals into the others. The self-contained smart power strip then cuts or allows power to the peripherals according to whether you computer is off or on, respectively.

This way, you will not forget to turn off your extra devices or, as more commonly happens, not realize that they are on standby.  Furthermore, the smart power strip works with a true bypass circuit, meaning that you will not get the so-called “electrical leak” that occurs even when a device is completely switched off. You will save money and precious resources both ways.

If you are not already using a power strip, then shame on you; not only for wasting your own money and the Earth’s energy, but also for putting your computer in immediate danger.  Any computer tech (and even most Joe Schmo’s nowadays) will tell you that a computer plugged straight into a wall outlet is a computer on death row.  Power surges can come completely unexpectedly, not only via electrical storms but by malfunctioning nearby power line equipment or sometimes even from your neighbor plugging in too many Christmas lights.

You need to also make sure that your power strip isn’t just a glorified extension cord.  In order for your power strip to actually protect you, it needs to have a fuse.  Your power strip will normally go under the superhero name of “surge protector” in this case; however, a good rule-of-thumb is that surge protectors have an “on/off” switch.  Fortunately, all smart power strips are also surge protectors. If you are not already protecting your computer or want to upgrade to a power-saving model that will pay for itself, then get a smart strip.

Smart power strips are only a bit more expensive than their mongoloid cousins.  However, rough estimates show that a smart power strip will make up for this difference in a matter of weeks while completely paying for itself in about three months. After that, you’re just riding the gravy train.

Think your Energy Star rating is good enough to qualify your products as “Green friendly”? Think again, EPEAT provides way more information in regards to your product’s carbon footprint, including any toxic materials used in your products, the product’s recycling practices and even the packaging materials used.

The EPEAT Electronics Registry from the Green Electronic Council has long allowed users to quickly look up the energy savings rating of their electronics equipment. The program has actually been so popular that electronics are now given a mandated rating in the United States. Now that same program has been launched with a global initiative.

The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is composed of various electronics which are judge based on 23 attributes which provide a “Green” performance rating. For certain products an additional 28 attributes can also be used.

The EPEAT ratings currently only cover desktops and monitors and come in Gold (Best), Silver (Middle of the road) and Bronze (Passable but not efficient). The program may soon extend to include TV’s, copiers, printers and other consumer electronics.

Under the companies new global initiative the ratings system will now cover Canada, Japan, China, Taiwan, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico.

Finally, we have a way to determine the true amounts of lead and other harmful products found in our products when they arrive in their pretty environment killing boxes made from ancient redwood trees. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the program quickly extends to include all consumer electronics.

Hey, look at this cool paper bottle from BrandImage! It may be leading the revolution against plastic.

The “forever in a landfill” environmentalist slogan is quickly becoming cliché and lost on the general public. Each day, Americans continue to throw out 60 million plastic bottles. Only 14% of which actually get recycled.  So, forget landfill slogans.  We aren’t getting it done.

Try this on for size: there exists an island of garbage out in the Pacific Ocean the size of Texas?  Texas! Due to some interestingly dull oceanographic factors, nearly all of the refuse jettisoned into the Pacific meanders its way over to become trapped in the same area.  Also, plastic is incapable of degrading. Not only has this resulted in a pile of trash larger than I am even capable of comprehending, but it will apparently never go away. Ever.  Plastic does, however, break down physically into smaller and smaller bits until it resembles tasty krill. Krill is what a very large portion of sea life eats.  So, you see the problem.

Plastic is an amazing substance that makes our activities more convenient and saves perhaps billions of lives through food packaging and medical equipment. Plastic has a variety of wonderful properties and high up on that list is the fact that it doesn’t break down.  It doesn’t whither or turn bad.  It doesn’t chemically react with food or medicine or anything really.  But there is the problem.  A substance that cannot be broken down by any environmental exposure and cannot be eaten by anything will fill its little nook in the world FOREVER.

A few decades of intense marketing for plastic made it out to be the end-all miracle material (which, it may be), but many great designers and high-end businesses are finally breaking out of that rut and embracing paper.

We are beginning to realize again that there is no loss of class in paper products.  Even glass is seeing a packaging decline. Many fine mid-range wine makers have begun adopting boxes in addition to or instead of glass bottles.

The 360 Paper Bottle, for example, is a far more sustainable approach to water bottles and packaging in general. It is totally recyclable paper made from 100% renewable resources. The lining uses biodegradable PLA film. The end result is entirely food-grade material. The 360 Paper Bottle meets all criteria for all liquid categories and is sturdy enough for a variety of applications and multiple reuse.  The paper bottle design has had a good critical and market response, including having received an IDEA (International Design Excellence Award) for this design.

Eco experts and enthusiasts will always stress the value of reusing, so keep in mind that filling the same bottle every day is far superior an option than even the most environmental paper alternative. However, we still applaud this great paper design and hope that it sparks the about-face of old industry packaging standards across the board. If we can get all packaging to be made from eco-friendly materials in the first place, then the collective hazardous waste and energy consumption could go down dramatically.