Wave Energy - One of the many ways the Earth generates power without burning something.

The ocean produces a tremendous amount of power 24-7. Wave energy is frequently captured with buoys that rock with the waves, and also involve a great deal of steel. This is one that uses a long, rubber, under water tube called the Anaconda: As waves push against the tube, a surge of water forms and is pushed all the way to the back of the tube where it hits a turbine. http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/giant-rubber-snake-anaconda-could-bring-cost-of-wave-power-down.html

More advances in Solar Cells

Silicon based solar panels use holographic foil that concentrates sunling to increase efficiency of panels and reduce amount of silicon needed. And the printing onto glass method reduces production costs. The system can achieve 28 percent efficiency, much higher than the average 17 efficiency of currently used solar panels. The holographic foil is printed on the cover glass and filters the only the desirable wavelengths of the light. The sunlight is then concentrated on the solar cells, preventing significant energy losses. This concentration reduces the amount of silicon needed by up to 90%. The printing process, modules can be cheaply duplicated. Read more: New Solar Module Uses Holographic Foil to Create Cheaper, More Efficient Panels | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building The most efficient solar panels created have a 43% efficiency, but use technology that is too expensive to be feasible. http://inhabitat.com/australian-scientists-develop-worlds-most-efficient-solar-cell/ At least as of '09 when that article was written. They use a special silicon cell optimized to harness light at the red and near-infrared end of the light spectrum, combined with four other cells made from gallium, indium, phosphorous and arsenic. Read more: Australian Scientists Develop World’s Most Efficient Solar Cell | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building And here's another advance: Black solar cells that reduce reflectivity. Apparently the reflection of the sun's rays is one of the issues reducing effecency of PV panels.

Cow Power manure digesters produce biogas.

Vermont Green Mountain power company puts manure digesters at Dairy farms to produce green energy from the biomass, reduce waste problem, etc. More about Cow Power from Green Mountain Power: http://www.greenmountainpower.com/renewable/cow/how-it-works/ Cow Power in British Columbia: http://www.cowpowerbc.com/cowpower-and-leed

Earliest Blooms Recorded in U.S. Due to Global WarmingArticle: Plants still able to cope with rising temperatures, study finds. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/01/130116-spring-earlier-global-warming-plants-trees-blooming-science?utm_campaign=Content&utm_content=link_tw20130118news-flowerblooms&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter In 2010 and 2012. I know I missed blackberry season. Just about the normal time for blackberries, I asked a few people if they'd seen any and I was told I'd missed them. In 2011, it was big news in Wisconsin and Minnesota that the cold tolerance zones had been adjusted for the warmer weather and they could plant some non native things they hadn't been able to before. But there wasn't much talk about how this isn't necessarily a good thing. It means new species invade. It means old species die out in that area. And some species might not get the cold period they need so they know when it's warming up and time to sprout or bloom.

Minnesota drinking water is contaminated with nitrates from agricultural fertilizer. http://www.startribune.com/local/184570171.html?refer=y Chemical fertilizers also harm wildlife throughout our waterways by boosting oxygen removing algae growth in lakes, rivers, ponds, streams and even the ocean near mouths of rivers. Check out the Gulf Coast Deadzone. Note: your phosphate filled laundry and other soaps don't help. Use less or find alternatives.

Eco-Insanity - supposedly new eco products that have existed for centuries or that people just don't need

Peopletowels!  Get this. They are reusable cloth towels!  Machine washable and they last for years!  As if we hadn't had such a thing for centuries.  And they began with a  design contest at inhabitat.com!

What are PeopleTowels?

People Towels are the newest concept in sustainability, and the latest in eco-chic fashion. An on-the-go, sustainable alternative to paper towels in public facilities, these reusable personal hand towels are made of a patent-pending fabric that’s 100% certified organic Fair Trade cotton.  The light-weight fabric is absorbent, yet dries quickly.

PeopleTowels are printed with eco-friendly dyes, and come in a variety of designs to appeal to different tastes and styles.  Convenient hangtags even allow you to clip or loop your PeopleTowels to your backpack, belt buckle or purse.

PeopleTowels are machine washable and will last for years. The towels will soften and fade slightly after repeated washings.  You may see slight variations in the towels.  

Reusable PeopleTowels are a small sustainable lifestyle change that everyonecan do to reduce their carbon footprint. Read more about the environmental benefits of PeopleTowels here.

Their mission statement: PeopleTowels’ mission is to empower ordinary people and socially responsible companies to contribute to a sustainable environment by replacing paper towels with reusable PeopleTowels.
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Is this a joke?  People buy these?  I have more reusable cloth towels than I can use and they are all hand me downs or resale.  And they all last for years.  That's eco-chic. 

My Garden--Eating Well Can Be Cheap

Filled with greens, onions and herbs.  And right now, strawberries, but they will be moved soon to make room for leeks.  Soon, I'll have to post a picture of my verticle Strawberry planter sitting in one of the few other tiny patches of sunlight.

It's a small raised bed at the very edge of my front yard, the only spot that gets enough sun year round in my home that faces entirely the wrong directions at angles to the sun. That's the neighbor's driveway. Built this past October with the help from Transition Houston in a program they call a Permablitz--the group spends one day doing various permaculture and sustainable projects around your home.

A raised bed garden like this can be trouble free for years if you follow a few simple tips. You don't even have to remove sod. Just put down many layers of newspaper or one layer of corrugated cardboard right on top of your lawn.    Then put down your cinder blocks, timbers or whatever you are going to use. Fill with good soil. Plant. Run a soaker or drip hose around your plants.

Many food producing plants are quite attractive and there's no reason not to include them in your landscape.  Greens, sweet potatoes, pea and bean vines and blueberry bushes are some examples of truly lovely plants. Tomatoes can be made more atractive if you use nice trellises to support them. Put flowers here and there to pretty up the space.  Marigolds repel many pests. Nasturtiums are edible.

I've yet to eat much from this garden though, as I get more fruits, greens and other veggies than I can eat for free each week in exchange for 2 hours volunteer work at a community supported farming and organic coop.