As my grandmother was opening her gifts yesterday, I noticed that she was carfully picking at the tape (rather than just tearing into the paper itself, like I’ve always done). I asked her why she was taking so long to open everything, and she said that she was making sure she didn’t rip the paper so that she could reuse it.

One of her more frugal friends has been doing this for years to save money…she keeps the wrapping paper, then re-wraps gifts that she gives to others in it. My grandma, on the other hand, was doing it because she has been making a conscious effort to keep her carbon footprint to a minimum. Plus, she said it was less cheesy than wrapping presents in newspaper.

So, I decided to follow suit. As a result, instead of having to go out and buy a new roll of wrapping paper, I was able to reuse stuff that I already had. Not only did it save me some money (even if it was only a few dollars), but it also saved some trees, ink and energy. I even saved the bows, which are really, really easy to save and reuse.

This may seem a bit extreme, but it really was a time saver when it came to wrapping last minute presents. It saved me a trip to Target, if nothing else.

Anyway, I thought it was a good idea to share. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

I have several friends who swear up and down that using paper bags at the grocery store is way better for the environment than if you opt for plastic. On the other side of the aisle (obnoxious pun intended), I have other friends who would bet their life savings that plastic is better. So, which one actually is the best option?

First, let’s take a look at paper bags. Paper bags are made from wood, which means that trees have to be cut down. Moving down the supply chain, once the logs are cut they must be transferred via truck (or, in remote locations, by helicopter). The trees then have to dry for at least three years, when the bark is then stripped and the wood is chopped up. Keep in mind, all of this machinery uses energy.

The wood chips are then cooked, using a ridiculous amount of heat and pressure (pffft, and you thought your electric bill was high!). This creates a wood stew of sorts, which gets combined with a sulphurous and limestone acid for eight hours, until the wood becomes a pulp. All of the steam is vented outside.

This pulp is washed and then bleached, with each stage requiring thousands of gallons of fresh water. Color is added to additional water, which is then mixed in a ratio of 1 part pulp to 400 parts clean water to make the paper. The concoction is strained through bronze wires, leaving only the pulp. It is then rolled into paper and put into bag shapes. They’re shipped to your grocery store, where you can either choose them or the plastic option.

Of course, there is more to paper bags than just bringing them home once they’ve been filled with groceries. They can be reused as trash can liners, for craft projects, thrown away or recycled. If they get thrown away, they will decompose on their own after a few years. Hell, they can even be composted, if you’ve got the time and energy.

If they get recycled, they must be turned back into pulp using more chemicals and fresh water. The rinsing/straining/rolling/cutting process is much similar to the one described above…a wash, rinse, repeat process that uses more energy.

This blog is turning into something much longer than I expected, so tomorrow I’ll go over what it takes to make a plastic bag. The post after that will describe (in detail) the environmental aftermath that both types of bags leave in their wake. Using hard numbers, I’ll help you to decide which way to answer the never ending question of "would you like paper or plastic?"

With the holidays right around the corner (I can practically smell the spiked eggnog already), you may be wondering which gifts are both good for the environment AND pretty freakin’ cool. After all, even if the present is green, if it isn’t wanted by the recipient, it’s just a waste of money.

They’ve even broken it down to various categories, so the foodie, jet setter, animal lover, fashion buff, pop culture fan, health nut, do-it-yourselfer, green geek and the philanthropist on your list will be happy.

To check out the gift guide, click here .

Here’s a tip for the US government: how about you start getting innovative when it comes to energy, like Japan is?

Developed by Japan’s Sound Power , the FB-0001 platform generates electric power when the hundreds of thousands of station visitors step on its surface. In places where there isn’t enough room for windmills, these can do the trick.

As of now, nobody is sure how much power the devices are going to generate (the experiment lasts until Christmas). But could you imagine if stadium floors were replaced with these things? Or subway platforms in NYC? The possibilities are about endless!

If you’re interested, you can even purchase one right now for 50,000 yen ($550). You can also look at pictures of what they look like here .

Most people don’t realize how much power is used each time they vacuum their house. Fortunately, Electrolux does, which is why they came out with the AirMAX Öko. It uses 33 percent less power than even the greenest vacuum on the market, and the company swears up one wall and down another that it doesn’t reduce the suction capabilities, thanks largely in part to high-performance fans and the design of the dust bag and floor brush.

On top of that, the vacuum itself is made from 55 percent recycled materials, as is the packaging it comes in. As an added bonus, at $270 it costs considerably less than a Dyson.

The minds at Black & Decker have created a thermal leak detector that can help you save a lot of money (and energy!) during the winter months. The gadget works by using an infrared thermometer that detects variations in temperature, even if there’s only a difference of one degree.

The thermal leak detector projects a spotlight onto the area that you’re inspecting, shining a blue light wherever it detects a leak. People can use this information to seal up any air leaks around pipes, walls, ducts windows or doors, leading to less energy consumption. Plus, drafts are annoying.

As somebody who has recently sealed up every window in her house with those plastic sheets that you blow dry tight, I’m pissed this isn’t on the market already. Even worse, Black and Decker are teasing us…it won’t be available until Spring!

When it does come out, it’ll only cost around $40. That’s not bad, considering the amount of cash you can save on your heating bill each month. As more and more companies come out with neat innovations like these, I have a feeling more and more people are going to be going green (if for no other reason than to save money).

This is one of the coolest, and most practical, design concepts I’ve seen in quite some time. Designer Carl Smith, 22, from Doncaster, South Yorks created the wilting flower to let people know how much electricity is being used in their household at any given time.

The flower changes color and slowly wilts in its vase as the electricity consumption increases, giving people a visual account of what their habits are doing to the environment. It’s also a pretty cool way to keep an eye on how much your bill will be.

While it’s just a cool concept right now, it is expected to hit stores one day. When the flowers hit stores, they’ll reportedly cost around $90 each.

Have you been wishing that you could own a environmentally-friendly hybrid car, but are too low on cash to spend the $20,000 or more to get a new (or hell, even used ) one? If so, go ahead and consider Danish engineer Ulrik Poulsen your new fairy godmother.

Poulsen has designed a hybrid add-on kit that can make your car extremely fuel efficient, thanks to either a lithium ion or lead acid battery. The lithium ion add-on kit runs around $8,600. Admittedly, that’s a pretty steep price to make your car look like it has a permanent boot on. However, the lead acid battery version, which is significantly heavier, costs only $4,550.

Dropping almost $5,000 can seem like a significant expense, especially given today’s economy, but the battery will power your car for up to 80 percent of the time you drive. This means that the gas engine will only be used when needed for starts, stops and acceleration. The manufacturers claim that this modification can transform a 30 MPG vehicle to a 50 MPG green machine.

Still, it’s good to see that designers are coming up with innovations like this. It’s even more impressive to see such developments moving out of the concept phase and hitting the ready-to-buy marketplace.

Speaking of retired subway cars , guess what else you can do with them besides dump ‘em in the ocean? Apparently, they make pretty awesome art studios.

In the Shoreditch area of London, four subway cars can bee seen on the roof of a warehouse-turned-art-gallery. Auro Foxcroft, the guy behind the idea, even managed to get a sweet deal on the set of them: only £800 for all four.

It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. First, Foxcroft got loads of free press from it. Second, the people who rent the cars for studio space got the steal of a lifetime, as they only pay $30 a month in rent. The people of London get to look at something innovative, exciting and new. Finally, because these cars are saved from a landfill, the environment wins too.

Check out Dvice for more photos, including ones from the inside of the subway car studios.

Have you ever wondered what happens to old subway cars? Just like buses, cars and old tennis shoes, they regularly get replaced. So, what becomes of them?

As it turns out, our government has been dumping them in the ocean. Specifically, the Atlantic Ocean. But wait a minute before you whip out your email client and start hammering out a nasty letter to your senator. As it turns out, this is actually a good thing for the environment.

"They’re basically luxury condominiums for fish," said Jeff Tinsman, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s artificial reef program manager.

Instead of scaring the fish away, the fish have been flocking to the old subway cars. So much so, in fact, that the program is trying to find even more subway cars for the fish to congregate in. Currently, there are around 700 of them already on the ocean floor.

Via New York Times