Buffalo News - Humble grocer quietly gave away millions

A wonderful story about a quiet, humble guy who was an anonymous philanthropist.
Buffalo News - Humble grocer quietly gave away millions

Treehugger: Toyota Launches New Hybrid Estima Minivan in Japan

Check out the new hybrid minivan from Toyota.. gets 47MPG!

Treehugger: Toyota Launches New Hybrid Estima Minivan in Japan

Soft drinks: Unsafe beverages

An interesting discussion the drawbacks of drinking soda. The major focus or the article is on weakening of bones, but there are other possible side effects. Maybe I'll go back to drinking Kool-Aid.
Soft drinks: Unsafe beverages

Plastic Free City

Very cool idea in the Goa region of India. The town of Vasco has decided to make the town plastic free due to the amount of trash and litter. They have lots of incentives for the residents to stop using plastic.
D A I J I W O R L D

Fast Food Nation the Movie

Looks like they've made a movie about Fast Food Nation. The book is a really good and eye opening look at the eating habits of Americans, and the fast food industry. Hopefully the movie will be as good.
Fast Food Nation the Movie

Kick The Oil Habit

This campaign is trying to encourage oil companies to start using E85 as an alternative to gasoline. E85 is a mix of 85% Ethanol (made from corn) and 15% gas, which runs in normal cars.Kick The Oil Habit

No More Electric Bills? ‘Zero-Energy’ Homes - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

Nice article on Zero Energy Homes.. definitely a good step in the right direction. I'd really like to incorporate some of these ideas into a house if I ever get a chance to own one :) No More Electric Bills? ‘Zero-Energy’ Homes - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

Double amputee scales Mt Everest

Here's a totally amazing story about a guy from New Zealand who is a double amputee and climbed Mt. Everest!!! Man, I have a hard time climbing Half Dome. BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Double amputee scales Mt Everest

Good Times at a Backpackers' Paradise - New York Times

One goal I'd like to accomplish someday is to hike the Appalachin Trail.. here's a story in the New York Times about Trail Days in Damascus, VA. One of the biggest gatherings of hikers anywhere. Good Times at a Backpackers' Paradise - New York Times

ecoballs

This sounds really interesting. A way to clean your clothes using ionized oxygen, which is much more eco friendly, cost efficient, and cheaper! Too bad its only available in the UK.ecoballs

I'm Doing My Inconsequential Part For The Environment | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

An interesting Editorial post on the Onion about doing our part to help the environment.. I'm Doing My Inconsequential Part For The Environment | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Quinoa

I was at Whole Foods yesterday and ran into this grain called Quinoa at the bulk foods aisle. The description listed it as the "Food of the Incas" and apparently this grain gives all 8 essential amino acids. Here's a link to wikipedia describing the attributes of this grain. Quinoa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Living Simply, Simply Living

I just came across this really interesting essay by a guy named Michael Brooks, discussing Thoreau and how his philosophies relate to modern day society:
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/brooks02.html

Bikes Not Bombs

Here's a cool program I came across.. Bikes Not Bombs.. Here's a clip of their mission statement:

Lasting peace and social justice require equitable and sustainable use of resources. BNB provides community-based education and assists development projects with recycled bicycles, related technologies and technical assistance, as concrete alternatives to the militarism, over-consumption & inequality that breed war and environmental destruction. Our organization is part of a worldwide movement for peace and responsible stewardship of the earth.

Bikes Not Bombs

Nature's Clothing - John Muir

I came across this quote from John Muir in a Sierra Club newsletter and thought it was pretty interesting:

Nature’s Clothing
“Nature is a good mother, and sees
well to the clothing of her many bairns
— birds with smoothly imbricated
feathers, beetles with shining jackets,
and bears with shaggy furs. In the
tropical south, where the sun warms
like a fire, they are allowed to go
thinly clad; but in the snowy northland
she takes care to clothe warmly. The
squirrel has socks and mittens, and a
tail broad enough for a blanket; the
grouse is densely feathered down to
the ends of his toes; and the wild
sheep, besides his undergarment of
fine wool, has a thick overcoat of hair
that sheds off both the snow and the
rain. Other provisions and adaptations
in the dresses of animals, relating less
to climate than to the more mechanical
circumstances of life, are made with
the same consummate skill that
characterizes all the love work of
Nature. Land, water, and air, jagged
rocks, muddy ground, sand beds,
forests, underbrush, grassy plains, etc.,
are considered in all their possible
combinations while the clothing of her
beautiful wildlings is preparing. No
matter what the circumstances of their
lives may be, she never allows them to
go dirty or ragged. The mole, living
always in the dark and in the dirt, is
yet as clean as the otter or the wave-
washed seal; and our wild sheep,
wading in snow, roaming through
bushes, and leaping among jagged
storm-beaten cliffs, wears a dress so
exquisitely adapted to its mountain life
that it is always found as unruffled and
stainless as a bird.”

Treehugger: Sanyo's Aqua: Wash Clothes Without Water

Check out this new washer that can clean clothes without water!!

Treehugger: Sanyo's Aqua: Wash Clothes Without Water

Tilt Your Head Like an Indian

Great article on indian head bobbling :)

World Hum | Travel | Tilt Your Head Like an Indian

Relief Riders International

Here's a group who allows you to sign up to ride on horseback into the villages of Rajasthan to setup medical camps, work with the red cross, etc.. Sounds like a pretty awesome experience! Welcome to Relief Riders International

Whole Foods Market using wind power

Cool stuff from Treehugger.. Whole Foods, their stores in Colorado are using 100% Windpower!
Whole Foods Market Wind Power

Low-cost lamps brighten the future of rural India | csmonitor.com

Great article about using LEDs to power lights in rural India. By using solar power and low power LEDs they can create safer, cleaner, and eventually cheaper ways to light up the villages.
Low-cost lamps brighten the future of rural India | csmonitor.com