Purchasing a car is likely the second largest investment you will make – and one that you will likely have to live with for at least the next few years – so you want to make the best, cleanest, most fuel efficient, safest, and cost effective decision. For my husband and I this decision has lead us beyond the land of hybrid vehicles and into the land of diesel engines.

The 2009 Green Car of the Year award went to a Turbo Diesel Injected (TDI) vehicle – the Volkswagen Jetta Clean Diesel (TDI). This is the first time the award has gone to a clean diesel vehicle. For Americans, a diesel car probably sounds like an old, dirty engine, but its time for all of us to get back on the diesel bandwagon. Europeans have been driving these new diesels for years, but these cars have only recently been able to meet the stringent American emissions standards. In fact while adventuring to Copenhagen, Denmark, it was hard not to see one of these (or the wagon version) cars on the street — even as taxi cabs!

Hands down, this is a performance vehicle. Its powerful, even though it is only a four cylinder vehicle. Because my husband and I have been seeking a car that would allow us to become a one car family and yet still have plenty of space for lugging things home, someday growing a family, and hopefully space for a dog, we looked at the sportwagon version of the VW TDI. Testing driving this car, we were nearly sold, but it was the little bonuses for the price that really sealed the deal. This car has gadgets galore — and most of them are standard! Between the Bluetooth (which even allows you to play music over the speakers that is streamed from your iPhone), the touch screen radio, and the digital dashboard readouts, this car has just about everything a geek could want! Further, the seats fold down perfectly flat, the front seats (and back!) are heated, and the side view mirrors have a defrosting option. All around, this car is fun to drive.

Its not all fun and games in these cars though. Some of the toys genuinely help the driver drive more efficiently. Much like the Ford and the Toyota hybrids which display the fuel efficiency of the car, the VW and Audi clean diesel cars show the average fuel economy for your current driving trip and your tank of fuel. They also show you instant fuel economy based on the speed you are traveling. These gauges help drivers learn which driving styles generate the best fuel efficiency for the vehicle. Of course, also like most of the hybrids, most clean diesel cars also offer built in navigation which can also help you increase your fuel economy by showing you the most efficient way to get from place to place.

But what’s so great about the clean diesel technology and how is it different today than it was years ago? First of all, today’s diesel engines are highly efficient. The VW Jetta Sportswagon, for example, gets 30mpg in the city and 41mpg on the highway. Best yet, these mpg stats are likely to be surpassed. (It is a Jetta TDI that currently holds the world record for best fuel efficiency with 67.1mpg.) With 236 foot pounds of torque, this vehicle is powerful to say the least, able to move quickly from a standing start and pass other moving cars with a light tap of the petal. In comparison, old diesel engines were known for being loud, hard to start, and belching smoke, a far cry from these clean engines, even if they were efficient for its time. With prices for diesel fuel not much more than that of gasoline and the prices staying far more steady, its no wonder why Americans are beginning to again look towards these new technologies.

Interestingly, the Audi A3 clean diesel TDI is the 2010 Green Car of they year. This makes two years running for a clean diesel cars to win the coveted award.

So if you are wondering what it is my husband and I purchased… you guessed right! The VW Jetta Sportswagon TDI. We call her “Gretta the Jetta.”

As I mentioned some time ago, my husband and I have been in the market for a new vehicle – but not any old car! As professional advocates on climate change issues, it is extremely important to us to make a choice that supports our daily efforts to improve fuel efficiency, keep our air clean, and reduce our carbon footprint.

When we’ve spoken about out interest in purchasing a new car with our friends, they all seem to simply think the obvious choice for us is a hybrid vehicle. But just because the vehicle includes hybrid technology, does not always mean that it’s the most fuel efficient. New technologies are always coming out and while we rely on manufacturers to tell consumers about the benefits, most have done a pretty lousy job. The educated car buyer is challenged to keep up with the innovations, learning the benefits, which manufacturer is using the technologies and when they will be brought to the marketplace. It’s not an easy task.

All hybrid technology is not created equal – and they differ from one manufacturer to another.Learn more about hybrids by checking out a post I wrote about them some time ago. You cannot rely upon car salesmen to tell you about the technology as many have not taken the time to learn about it or will be able to explain it well. Do your own research.

Compare vehicles that include hybrid technology with conventional models making sure to look at price, miles per gallon, and even maintenance. If you are more of a long distance, highway driver, hybrid vehicles may not increase your mpg enough to make it worth the extra money. For you, it may make more sense to seek out a conventional or diesel (TDI – Turbocharged Direct Injected) vehicle with excellent highway ratings. More on TDI another day… For those of you who are more short distance, city traffic drivers, hybrids may better suit your needs since the vehicle recharges the battery while breaking and operates utilizing the battery while slowing and stopping.

It’s important to also realize that hybrids will soon be coming out with another big improvement – plugs! No, this doesn’t mean you will be required to plug in your car or park near an electricity source. What it means is that you will have the option to charge the battery of the car with electricity from your home, allowing the vehicle to rely on the battery more than the gas tank. Still you can always fill up at the local station and still recharge the battery through slowing and stopping. Best of all, this improvement to the hybrid technology will come with a battery with much improved energy saving capacity. Hopefully, theses cars are only right around the corner, so if you are not quite in the market for a new car but are just starting to think about it, look out for new plug-in hybrids coming to a car dealer near you in the next few years – if not sooner!

Still, while the U.S. market has just barely more than a handful of hybrids currently available, they simply do not seem to fit our bill when it comes to picking a car. Sure the Toyota Prius, the best selling hybrid currently on the market, is worth a look and remains on our list, it does not have the hauling capacity we had hoped to maintain. The capacity is ok, and certainly doable but for a young couple likely to one day use the car for cross country trips, kids, and our occasional furniture shopping, it is only barely as big as we want – even with the seats folding down flat (a major perk in our book!). We do not prefer the relative low quality and lack of comfort of the Ford Escape and while the Saturn Vue was a pretty good ride, we felt it had very few tech options we wanted for the price, not to mention that we learned just after test driving that GM would be closing the line at the end of this year.

If price were no matter, the Lexus RX450h would be on the top of our list. It’s gas mileage is excellent (though could always be better!) and truly is an exquisite design of luxury. Unfortunately, that luxury comes with a hefty price tag that happens to be out of our ideal range.

So the question remains, will we find a vehicle that is both fuel efficient and family friendly in size which fits into our (hardly meager) price range at under $35,000? Stay tuned!

It’s hard to believe, but more than 28.3 billion pounds of clothing and textiles make their way to U.S. trash heaps annually. In Santa Barbara alone, more than 11 million pounds of usable clothing and household textiles end up in the landfill every year. The good news is that people are starting to take notice!

Forming a new partnership, Levi Strauss and Goodwill announced this week a new label – the Care Tag for Our Planet, a new initiative that aims to put billions of pounds of unwanted clothing to good use instead of into landfill.  Beginning in January 2010, the Levi’s® brand will be the first major retailer to include messaging on product care tags that encourages people to donate unwanted clothing.

Donating your clothes should be the first option when deciding what to do with clothes you no longer want. Even worn out clothes can be donated because many thrift stores and homeless shelters work in close partnership with textile recyclers who will take items which are no longer suitable to be worn. Donating makes a significant difference in the amount of clothes entering our landfills. The 166 community-based Goodwills in the United States and Canada collectively divert more than 1.5 billion pounds of clothing and textiles every year from landfill by recovering the value in people’s unwanted material goods.

You can make donating easy by keeping a paper shopping bag in your closet so that when you have a piece of clothing you no longer want, you can store it until there are enough pieces to make the trip to your local thrift shop or homeless shelter. In my closet, I actually keep a couple of bags – one for clothes ready for donation and another for clothes that I no longer want but is in near excellent shape so I can make a few bucks selling them to our local upscale thrift shop. Whatever the shop won’t take, goes right into the other bags destined for the homeless shelter.

With Levi and Goodwill getting in the act to remind you and I to donate the clothes when we are through with them, millions of pounds will be diverted from the landfill – clothing thousands more people and adding to the stream of recycled raw materials available.

This is not the first green minded action for Levi Strauss. For years, they have been a leader in encouraging environmentally friendly practices, from water quality guidelines to restrictions on the substances that can be used to make its clothes. Embracing the cradle to cradle concept of their product, the company conducted studies which showed that they greatest impact their clothing has on the environment is actually after the pair of jeans leaves the store to go home with the customer. For this reason, Levi encourages their customers to wash their clothes in cold water and line dry when possible – a significant savings the energy needed to warm the water and dry the clothes.

With the help of company initiatives like Goodwill and Levi, consumers are being given the reminders and opportunities they need to do right by nature. Have more great ways to utilize old clothing or ideas for how to give your clothes a new lease on life? Let us know in the comments below.

The time has finally come when my husband and I will be consolidating to just one car and I can hardly wait! While car shopping is certainly not my favorite pastime, the prospect of getting to vote with my wallet for the cars that should be on the road is exhilarating.

Considering that in the United States, the largest group among American’s owning at least one car, actually own three, it’s no small feat to go from two cars to one. We live close to a metro train stop and usually take public transportation to work. We rarely are using two cars at the same time, these days, so it make this transition to stepping down to one car that much easier.

We currently lease a small, but efficient 2007 Honda Civic and own a small, but as efficient as she can be 2001 Toyota Rav4. The Rav4 is my baby, surviving the worst car crash I have ever been in, experiencing Vermont winters (she’s only a 2×4), and seeing me through my tumultuous 20s. While she may not have been the most fuel efficient cars of her time, she has been a dear friend. Replacing her towing capacity, reliance, and comfort while maintaining top notch fuel efficiency is our number goal in finding the perfect vehicle – the question is: are there any new automobiles on the market up to the challenge?

The simple answer right now is: we just aren’t sure yet. We have looked at the obvious choices like all the hybrid models currently available to the U.S. market. We have researched the conventional engine models which have “good” gas mileage, and we have begun the investigation into new diesel technologies which are not only cleaner than your father’s diesel engines but more efficient too. But there are other aspects to consider too – do they have the room we need? Are they something I want to be in for a long ride half way across the country when we visit the family? Will they last and have excellent resale value five to eight years from now? And sadly, will the manufacturer even exist by year’s end let alone for the life of the vehicle?

We are both professional environmentalists, who both even advocate for strong climate legislation for a living, so it is important to us to make the right decision in a time when consumers can really make a statement just by their purchase.

Over the next few days and weeks, I will be chronicling our efforts to find the perfect auto and hopefully making it easier for you to follow suit when you are ready to look for your next four wheel best friend. Have a question or have advice, comment below!

Faith-based activism is certainly in vogue these days so it should be no surprise that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that houses of worship can now earn the Energy Star label.

There are an estimated 370,000 houses of worship across the United States which now can use Portfolio Manager to receive an energy performance rating, and the most energy efficient among them can earn the Energy Star label.

According to the US EPA website, most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% just by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance.  Worship facilities in the United States spend more than $3 billion annually on energy costs. Improving the energy efficiency of America’s houses of worship by just 10 percent would save nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours each year, preventing more than 1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and representing a cost savings of about $315 million annually.

US EPA says that if America’s more than 300,000 houses of worship cut energy use by 10 percent nearly $200 million would be saved for congregations’ missions and other priorities. Think that’s all? They also say that more than 5.4 billion kWh of electricity would be available without additional cost and pollution and if that were not enough, more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions of about 400,000 cars, or to planting over a half million acres of trees.

Don’t waste another minute reaching out to your house of worship and helping reduce the congregation’s carbon footprint. US EPA has a guide to help members work with their church, synagogue, mosque or any other religious building. With your help, your congregation could be the next to be awarded the Energy Star Congregation label and would be well on your way to reducing greenhouse gases.

Today we give a shout out to eco-friendly taxi services. Everyday hundreds of thousands of people use taxi services to get around America’s cities. More often than not, those rides are for just one person. Certainly this is not the most environmentally conscious way to travel and it’s not the most economically savvy method either. But fear not, there is a new website that  can make you at least feel better about your taxi use – at least if you are hailing one in New York!

CabCorner.com is a new website which helps you find people to share a cab which will either get you both to your same destination or help you share a ride which will reduce your overall cab fare. Currently, they are only in New York City, but their site says that they are coming soon to Washington, DC, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. What could be easier than planning a bit ahead, letting the database know where you are headed and finding someone to split the cost with you – all in the name of reducing your carbon footprint and saving a few bucks? This site is simple to navigate and even allows you to decide the sex of your traveling companions. Brilliant, I think!

The only thing that could be better for local for-hire transportation is to hail a hybrid. Eco-friendly cab services are popping up all over the country. Numerous cities nationwide are turning over their taxi fleets to hybrid vehicles making it easier for residents and tourists to hail more energy efficient vehicles every day. Even in markets where there have been mandates, cleaner vehicles are hitting the roads to give you a lift.

Looking to get even one more leg up on the eco scale for your local transportation needs? Take a bus or ride the local trains. Buses across the country are getting greener everyday too. Many cities are cleaning up their fleet by introducing natural gas and hybrid electric buses to the city streets. These vehicles significantly reduce pollution and are more energy efficient. Next time you hop on a bus, check out the side to see if it says what type of fuel it uses – you might be surprised!

Welcome to August – the month of more water usage than any other month of the year in the United States. It’s time we identify methods to keep ourplants happy and green and still reduce our appetites for the ubiquitous clearliquid.

On average, an American household uses about 260 gallons per day, but this amount climbs to around 1,000 gallons per day during peak water use season with some households using as much as 3,000 gallons a day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

But we can all do more to reduce our water consumption. According to EPA’s WaterSense Program, homeowners can save as much as $110 a year just by following a few tips and making a few changes.

August tends to mean hot, dry weather leading to more yard watering just to keep our plants alive and our neighbors from wondering why we stopped caring for our yards. To save money on your water bills set sprinklers to water your plants only early in the morning or at dusk. Watering in the middle of the day when it is hottest means more of the water will evaporate before being absorbed by vegetation. Purchase a rain gauge and water only one inch of supplemental water in the absence of rain. Your rain gauge will tell you how much water will be needed if your area received rain. Also before watering plants, press your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle and see if it is moist. If the soil is dry and your finger comes out clean, the plant needs water.

If your grass needs water, set up sprinklers in the early morning hours or in the evening and attach timers to them. Nothing wastes more water than forgetting about your sprinkler for hours. Timers are available at most hardware stores and can be as simple as an egg timer mechanism or as technologically advanced as a digital interface. Prices vary so check out reviews online so you can make the most informed decision before purchasing.

Install rain barrels around your home at the ends of gutter downspouts. These barrels will hold rain water for you until your plats are ready to use it. I installed one this summer on our new home and we have barely used our hose at all for our vegetable garden and household plants. Purchase or make a rain barrel which has a spout as close to the bottom as possible. Make sure the barrel has a screen on the top to reduce the number of bugs which can enter the water. To keep any larvae from germinating, add mosquito dunks to the water – they are non-toxic and will not hurt your plants. If the water in the barrel begins to smell at all, do not worry. Add a capful or two of bleach to the water and let it sit for a day before you use it again. Rain barrels offer free water and help reduce runoff in your neighborhood. Some municipalities offer financial help with purchasing these inexpensive barrels and some have tax rebates. Make sure to check with your municipality to see what they offer.

Outdoors isn’t the only place you can save a little water, though. Keep a pitcher of water in your refrigerator so that you always have cold water on hand and you do not have to run the tap water until it is cold. Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes, and scrape dishes instead of rinsing when loading the dishwasher. Lastly, put your favorite handyperson to work fixing leaks around the home, which can waste about 200 gallons per week. Fixing leaks can add up to about $50 in utility bill savings annually.

Renovating or planning to upgrade your kitchen or bath? Look for EPA’s WaterSense label on toilets, faucets and faucet accessories which have helped Americans save more than 9.3 billion gallons of water and realize more than $55 million in savings on water and sewer bills in just 2008. That is enough water to supply 100,000 average households for a year.

Yesterday, we talked about installing motion detectors to help reduce your power bills while saving precious energy and reducing your overall carbon footprint. Today, let’s look at another type of outdoor lighting that can help keep your home safe, beautiful, and eco-friendly.

Solar lights are great for lighting gardens, walkways, driveways, and other landscaping you want to highlight. You can even find solar lights which float in pools and are activated with motion detection too. Most solar lights include a dusk and dawn sensor which monitors the amount of light around so that it only illuminates after dusk and goes off at dawn.

Generally, solar lights have LED bulbs or incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs, as they exist currently, have a very bright light but tend to disperse quickly, so they are not great for up lighting or illuminating wide walkways and driveways. Instead, these lights tend to be better suited for guiding guests to a front door like lights along an airplane landing strip.

Incandescent bulbs in solar fixtures are becoming harder to find as LED bulbs become more popular. However, they offer more dispersal of light so they are brighter and often found in warmer colors. The light, therefore, is better suited for use in up lighting against a home or other places a homeowner would want illuminated.

Solar lights are simple to install and usually a fraction of the price of electric outdoor lighting. Most are simply dug or pressed into soil and require no wiring at all. Usually each fixture has its own small solar panel and for those times when you would not want their light, tiny switches where they can be turned off.  They can be found at most hardware stores or box discount stores, but in my opinion, you get what you pay for. Pricier versions tend to work better than the discount priced lights. It may be better technology in the solar panel or the quality of the fixture itself. Check reviews of the product and if you see some you like at your neighbors’ house, ask where they got them!

Looking for a great way to illuminate your next evening barbeque? You can even get solar lights which connect to outdoor umbrellas to illuminate the table at night as well as string lights which can make for great ambiance and a real decorator’s touch. You can even get solar string lights for your Christmas decorations next year!

Already have solar lights illuminating your landscape and home? Let us know which ones you like and how well they are working.  Found a particularly neat solar lighting fixture? Let us know about it in the comments section below.

Over the last few weeks I have continually been amazed at how many people leave their porch lights on all night. It’s not clear to me if it is an effort to show that someone is home and to scare off burglars or if our neighbors are trying to leave the lights on for the feral cats. Either way, it’s a huge waste of energy and a place where homeowners can cut down – even a few bucks a year – on their power bills.

Motion detectors when attached to lights offer a great way to reduce your home’s energy use by ensuring that the lights are only turned on when they are needed. It is by no means a new technology, but it is definitely a technology that should be used more.

A variety of motion detector lights are widely available at your local box hardware store, and likely your locally owned hardware store too. While they sell outdoor porch lights which have motion detector features already included, my home did not come with them. As one of our first projects on the home, we went to the hardware store to find an attachment which would make our lights motion sensitive. What we found required a simple installation which involved changing out our light switch and hanging a battery operated sensor on the outside of the house. The installation took less than a half hour and it works beautifully. Our porch light only goes on when you drive up our driveway or when you leave through our front door. Of course if you are in the market for a new fixture, it’s much easier just to get one that comes already hooked up for motion sensitivity.

Outdoor lights aren’t the only ones you should think about adding motion detection to. If you have a closet light that frequently gets left on, motion detection lights can really help. When the door opens the light goes on and stays on for a set number of minutes unless the sensor is presented with more motion. These sensors are available in as simple a product as a light socket which gets screwed into the existing socket or more complicated versions which require the installation of wall switches. Either way, these are essentially do-it-yourself projects which you can easily do to help reduce your overall power consumption.

Did you know that some of your favorite retail stores actually generate some of the energy they use onsite? Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a list of the top twenty on-site energy generators in the country. You might be surprised to find some retailers you frequent on the list.

Just to name a few, Macy’s, Khols, Wal-Mart, Safeway, and even Sierra Nevada Brewing Company,  are just a few of the companies that together help generate millions of kilowatts of green power onsite. This is a great start, but of course there is always more that can be done to increase the amount of green power we use in this country. Learn more about the others who made the top twenty list of onsite green energy producers.

Businesses, however aren’t the only ones getting in on the efforts to generate the energy needed to operate daily onsite. Around the country, cities and municipalities are helping too. From San Diego and San Francisco to Ann Arbor, Michigan and Iowa University, public offices are getting in on the green energy action by generating their own wind, solar and biogas power.

Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. On-site green power is deployed directly at energy users’ facilities rather than at central power plants. Green power electricity generates less pollution than conventional power and produces no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

If you have a small business, or a business of any size that wants to purchase green power, take a glance at the Green Power Partnership program operated by US EPA. While you may not make the top twenty list next year, you will be helping to reduce your company’s carbon footprint – a sales point your customers will appreciate.