I’m all for water-conservation, but I’m wondering about some methods — specifically the whole, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.  If it’s brown, flush it down” rule.

According to Appropedia.org, this means that you don’t flush for number ones, but you do flush for number twos. 

I read about this in an eco-magazine a few years ago. While I guess it’s good in theory, I don’t think it would be good in practice.

The Appropedia article doesn’t suggest this practice if you have a low-flush toilet, because it could make the bathroom smelly.

This is also my reason for not liking the practice. We’ve all smelled school or locker room bathrooms. Do we really want our homes or work places smelling like that?

If so, how many pees before you flush? Two? Twenty? What about toilet paper?

We have pretty much successfully potty-trained our toddler. I think the whole only flushing for certain times would confuse him.

And what about company?

We’ve opted to install low-flow toilets. I think selective flushing is an extreme way to save water. The people doing that should either invest in a low-flow toilet or just go outside.

What are your opinions?

It looks like the success of the Cash for projects might expand to include insulation and water heaters.

President Barack Obama has announced proposed plans for HOMESTAR, a $6 billion program aimed at creating jobs in some industries — like construction and manufacturing – by giving consumers extra incentives to buy energy efficient appliances, systems and insulation.

The amount of the rebates is larger than previous rebates offered. Those who qualify can get up to $3,000.

This plan will need to be approved by Congress to go into effect.

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!

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to start thinking about thank yous. Do you write thank yous? I know a lot of people don’t these days, but we try to. A big reason used to be that we lived so far away from families. We couldn’t say thank you in person, so we sent a short note.

But I know that to many, that just adds another element of waste. This year, I had been thinking about sending out thank you emails to most people, but then I received a sample of some really cool greeting cards from ReProduct. These cards  are called No Waste Greeting Cards and solve the problem of wasting all that paper on cards and envelopes.

That’s because once the recipient recieves your thank you, they can then mail it to Shaw Carpets in a really cool postage paid envelope that’s included with the card. One hundred percent of the card will be recycled to make carpets.

How cool is that?

The envelope is a two-way envelope, similar to Netflix envelopes. You fold it one way to mail it out, and the recipient folds it another way to mail it to Shaw — the postage for this trip is already paid.

Shaw will then use all of the card and envelope to make carpet tiles.

The cards come in packs of 18, and cost $29.95. If thank you notes for presents aren’t your thing, these would make great thank you notes after a job interview.

You can also make custom photo cards. These cost $59.95 for a pack of 20. These would make wonderful baby announcements! Celebrating a new life, without damaging the earth.

We tried these out at Christmas, and thought they were so cool. Have you ever tried anything like this? What did you think? Please let me know.

It can be hard to justify sending out greeting cards during the holiday season. You want to let people know you are thinking about them, but they can generate a lot of waste.

Since we’ve been married, we’ve sent out picture postcards of our growing family for the holidays. That way people can put them in photo albums if they’d like. It’s a little more personal and hopefully not all of them are thrown away. We also don’t have the waste of envelopes and postage is a little cheaper. This system isn’t perfect, though. Last year, our son’s face ended up with ink marks on it as it went through the post office’s system.

But now there’s a better solution – ReProduct’s Zero Waste Greeting cards.

These cards are made from materials that aren’t harmful to the environment. And once your recipient is done with the card, she can put them in a postage paid envelope and send them to Shaw to be made into Eco-Worx carpet tiles.The cards are beautiful, featuring polar bears, wolves, evergreen trees draped in snow. But the two-way envelope is the coolest part of this card.

 It’s similar to a Netflix envelope. You fold the flap over to mail them out. The recipient then pulls a tab to open the envelope, which is pre-printed with an address and postage. The card is simply put back in the envelope and sent to Shaw.

If you’re like us, and want to send out cute picture cards, custom cards are also an option.

A box of 18 greeting cards costs $29.95. The picture cards are $50.00 for a box of 20. You can order larger quantities of these, and the price per card is lower if you buy more.

ReProduct’s website reports that we all “…must use the resources we have been given in an intelligent manner.” There are patents pending on the cards, and once I figured out the envelope, I wondered why someone hadn’t thought of this sooner.

It’s a great, and easy way to cut down on waste.

Not only do they do greeting cards, the company also does annual reports. I remember thinking about the huge amounts of paper my old company wasted on these. This could be a very easy way for businesses to start cutting back on their waste.

It’s a rough time for our country, and unfortunately our schools are also taking an economic hit. Just last week, our governor announced major cuts to education.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging school districts across the nation save money by taking the Energy Star Challenge and becoming more energy efficient.

According to the EPA, the annual energy bill primary and secondary schools in the U.S. is $8 billion – that’s more than is spent on textbooks and computers combined!

Schools that participate in the Energy Star Challenge will get to use Energy Star tools and resources to figure out how to improve their energy efficiency.

So far, about 2,000 schools have earned the EPA’s Energy Star label for superior energy efficiency. One school district in Oregon was able to cut energy use by 48 percent, saving more than $1.3 million in utility costs.

When I was looking at which college to attend, there were several factors that influenced my decision. My biggest concern at the time was which school would offer me the most financial incentives in the form of scholarships and grants. For many of my friends, majors offered and a fun night life were more important. But I don’t remember any of us basing our decisions on how eco-friendly the campuses were.

That’s changing these days, and if you are in the market for a college education, the Sierra Club has just released a list of the “Most Eco-Enlightened Universities.”

The magazine factored in academics, administration, efficiency, energy, food, purchasing, transportation and waste management. They also gave bonus points.

Here are the top 20:

1. University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
2. University of Washington at Seattle (Seattle, Washington)
3. Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
4. University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)
5. College of the Atlantic (Bal Harbor, Maine)
6. Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
7. University of California at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
8. University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
9. University of California at Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
10. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio)
11. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
12. University of New Hampshire (Durham, New Hampshire)
13. Arizona State University at Tempe (Tempe, Arizona)
14. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
15. University of Florida at Gainesville (Gainesville, Florida)
16. Bates College (Lewiston, Maine)
17. Willamette University (Salem, Oregon)
18. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)
19. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
20. New York University (New York, New York)

None of the colleges I seriously considered even made the list. I’m hoping as the push for green living continues to grow, that more and more colleges will make this list and will make higher scores.

How about you? Is your college on this list? Was that part of your criteria when looking for a college?

Related articles:

Students seek a “green college”

Going green while living in a dorm

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.

Do you mainly use email for invites, thank yous, and holiday cards? I do, some, but it just doesn’t feel right to shoot off a quick email for some things.

Yes, you can buy recycled paper, cards and envelopes. But those things still need to be made, packaged and shipped. And, then the letter itself will have to be mailed.

Is it alright to justify being polite, or even sticking with the status quo, over wasting so much energy?

For me, it just feels wrong to send certain thank you notes online. And what about holiday cards and invitations to formal events?

How do you feel about this? Do you only use email? Snail mail? Or do you mainly thank people in person?