Green Daily

You can find power strips all over my apartment. I use one for my computer, printer, modem and router, and another for my television, DVD player and stereo. There's a third in the kitchen for the toaster and coffee grinder. (My French press requires no energy, and the coffee is better to boot.) A gadget's phantom power needs equal about 75-percent of the power needed to use your gadget at full-power.

But my Catholic upbringing has caused me a pang of guilt each time I leave my place and switch the power strips off. Am I really cutting standby power on my electronics to zero by switching the power strip off instead of unplugging it? The answer appears to be yes. Plenty Magazine and Greenpeace both indicate that a power strip switched off does cut the drain of phantom power. Entirely? I can't seem to find an answer on that. But likely not.

But power strips can be ugly, hard to hide and difficult to switch off, especially if you've managed to tuck them behind furniture. Thankfully, designers have been hard at work on power strip designs.

For the techie there's STATIC!'s Power Aware Cord. the cord on the power strip lights up and pulses as power is being drawn, creating a virtual power monitor.

Eject Power Strip is a redesign on the usual power strip. Instead of a single switch, Eject links each outlet on the strip to a foot pedal that controls the power reaching the socket. Pedal on for power, depress again to shut the outlet off.

Smart Strip has gotten a lot of attention for its automatic shut-off. Smart Strip Power Strip senses the flow of electricity, through each socket. When a device is not in use the strip cuts power to the plug. The strip itself is still using power, but at much lower rate. For those of your with hidden power strips, this might be a good bet.

For the kitchen, and anywhere else in your home or office there's Belkin's Conceal power strip and Revolve strips. Eubiq's Power and Cable management tracks can be purchased with a tap off power adaptor to cut power consumption. Their products are ultra-high end, but they are also sleek, safe and award-winning.

It's that time of year. As some people hang Christmas lights and display Hanukkah candelabras others load up the grenade-tipped harpoon for another season of "whale research."

As you might imagine a few groups are upset about this. Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepard would be one. (Here's our interview with him.) The Humane Society is another. According to Kitty Block, vice president for Humane Society International, "By claiming its whaling is for research, Japan has been able to kill more than 15,000 whales since the moratorium was implemented in 1986."

This year the Japanese Fisheries Agency says it will kill 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales. Australia doesn't think that is quite necessary. But it's tough to argue with "research" and the International Whaling Commission did approve the annual hunt. So Australia is beginning its own research.

The country will spend $3.87 million on aerial surveys, satellite tags and genetic studies. The idea is to prove that whale research can be done without harming whales. The country's Environmental Agency will also conduct and audit of Japan's whale research program.

[via Humane Society and The Star Tribune]

Dateline: Albuquerque.

Subject: Rare bird.

Why care: The Socorro bird is extinct in the wild and has been slowly bred in captivity by private citizens. Now, the Albuquerque Zoo will breed the doves for the wild.

The doves are originally from Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, México. They haven't lived in teh wild since the 1970s. After a population of birds has been established the doves will be moved to their home on Socorro Island where a breeding ground will be built.

Feral cats decimated the population, but scientists believe the birds can survive on the island because its native vegetation is still intact and they'll be watching closely.

[Socorro Dove Project]

At least, that's what the Chinese government is saying. Last year when scores of animals fell sick and died as a result of melamine-tainted pet food the government said the same thing. Earlier this year authorities discovered manufacturers were still tainting pet food. But the dairy scare this year seems to have fostered a desire to increase government oversight.

So, what makes anyone listen this time? Well, there will be some international observation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently opened a bureau in Beijing. China has set a goal of overhauling its dairy production and packaging industry by 2011. New regulations are already being issued by China' Cabinet.

For now, many markets are looking elsewhere for their dairy products.

[via NY Times]

Melissa & Doug, the toy maker, has a few recalls going on, at least in Canada. The stacking train, showed to the right has been recalled in Canada for containing high levels of barium. According to Health Canada, barium can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and more severe symptoms. The train is recommended for age 2 and up, which makes this rather scary as two-year-olds are still prone to putting things in their mouth, if only their hands.

Barium contamination is a new one that I haven't heard of before this, and I have to say, I'm surprised that Melissa & Doug toys are being affected, as I believed them to have a good reputation for making quality toys. Many of Melissa & Doug's toys are made in China.

Health Canada also recalled a Melissa & Doug geometric stacker back in August. As far as I know, these toys have not been recalled here in the U.S. yet. For more information see the Health Canada recalls here and here.

Custom motorcycle builder (and I'll go ahead and call him a sculptor) Chicara Nagata has come up with a fuel-sipping two-wheeler that in no way, shape, or form resembles any other moped I've seen. Defying the usual logic of a scooter purchase -- they're cheap, great on gas, reduce your carbon footprint as they save you cash on insurance, the whole shebang -- Nagata's chromed out scooter "Chicara Art IV" will set you back $1M.

Oh, the fun never stops. With Thanksgiving coming up soon, it's that time of year when politicians start pardoning turkeys. Honestly, I don't really get the point of pardoning one turkey when you know what happens to the rest of them, but politicians love to do it.

And yes, Governor Sarah Palin got in on the pardoning action. Sure, there was some turkey slaughtering and blood draining going on behind her, but no problem, she was still happy to be there. Unfortunate.

You can watch below, but be forewarned, it's not a pretty sight. In the meantime, here are some more helpful tips about having a veggie thanksgiving and going organic for the meal of the year.

I am in lust with everything on Plover Organic's website. No, nobody is actually paying me to write this. I just stumbled across them and when I saw how beautiful the patterns of their organic bedding were, I had to share with GreenDaily readers.

Their stuff is expensive, but not unreasonably so. You can get crib bedding for $65.00, around the same price you'd pay even for non-organic high quality crib bedding. And they have some gorgeous duvets for $175.

When my curbside recycler sent out an email saying that they were no longer accepting cardboard, I thought it was because they had become lazy. Then when they informed me that they weren't going to take my glass anymore either, I knew something was amiss. Sure enough, large recycling centers across the country are having a hard time finding a market for goods that once gained them large profits.

The prices of recyclable goods have dropped dramatically. A ton of corrugated cardboard that went for $150 over the summer now commands $10 to $45. Newsprint, plastic milk jugs, and even tin cans have lost a lot of their worth as well. The slow down can be attributed to China having large inventories of recycled materials which takes them out of the market for U.S. goods. Paperboard is so devalued that it costs recycling centers $15 a ton just to unload it.

Some recycling centers are stockpiling goods in hopes that the market swings back in their favor. Others are simply taking the loss and paying for some of the product to be hauled off site.

How is the west Texas wind power boom weathering the financial hailstorm of 2008? Well, if the latest announcement between Wal-Mart and Duke Energy is any indication, business is still good (if not just a little less robust than projected). In a press release yesterday, Wal-Mart announced that 360 of its Texas locations will be getting a significant chunk of their power from Duke Energy's Notrees wind farm.

The renewable kW hours will start rolling into Wal-Mart stores in April of 2009 and are expected to provide 15% (226 million kWh) of each location's electricity. When you consider the size of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, that's a pretty substantial hunk of renewable power -- I don't care what kind of energy-saving features the stores have installed. To put that amount of energy in perspective, that's "enough for every household in Austin, Texas to do laundry for a year," according to the store's website.

Who would have expected Wal-Mart to be one of the companies to lead the green retail revolution? Congratulations Wal-Mart, you might not be evil after all.

[via Treehugger]

In order to conserve energy, President-elect Barak Obama should eliminate daylight saving time.

Twice a year, a bunch of countries, including most of the United States, practice daylight saving time or DST, shifting one hour ahead in the spring and one hour back in the fall. While I go through the whole twice-a-year ritual of looking for clocks, I only vaguely understood the reason behind it. I knew it had to do with more sunlight during waking hours and I assumed it was to save energy.

Turns out, according to two academics on the NYT Op-Ed page, there is little scientific proof that this reduces energy consumption. It also turns out that this practice could be wasteful, a bit annoying, and a lot of people want to get rid of it.

As uncertainty threatens the American automobile industry, its nice to know that the nation's leading bike manufacturer is still bent on adopting innovating ideas to help make the bike a better mode of transport. Trek is releasing two models this winter that make rusty bike chains a thing of the past. For some, bicycle maintenance might provide a chance for zen-like meditation. For the rest of us, its just an annoying chore.

The two belt driven models -- the District ($929.99) and the Soho ($989.99) -- are aimed at urban cyclists who use their bike as a primary means of transportation. To that end, the new carbon fiber belts are quieter, lighter, and last 3 times as long as their chain link counterparts. Not to mention, the composite carbon belts wont rust, can't be cut, and don't leave those greasy marks on you calf -- because they don't need lubrication.

While it's true that Trek is by no means the first company to make a belt-driven bike, they're by far the largest manufacturer to dabble in the technology. The District will hit stores this December and the Soho will follow a month later.

[via Treehugger]

So you've opted for an organic Thanksgiving this year. Good for you. It's a way to challenge your bargain hunting skills and your box of family recipes. Here are five tips to help you along.

1. Go Seasonal. There is a reason pumpkin pie is so common around this time of year -- they are ripe for harvest. If you are looking for a vegetable dish, stick with the root veggies like beets and turnips. You can do a search for "root vegetable recipes" to inspire you are take a look at one I found for Root Vegetable Pear and and Chestnut Ragout. Yum.
2. Know thy Turkey. If you are committed to go organic, be ready to pay. Organic Turkeys can run around four dollars a pound. Keep in mind that just because they are "free range" does not mean that they have ever left the coop. If you are concerned about antibiotics, you might be able to compromise on a non-organic, antibiotic-free bird. Finally, federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in any poultry so don't let that label fool you.
   
3. Renew old favorites. If it's not Thanksgiving without Green Bean Casserole, then make some substitutions. Unfortunately French's French Fried Onions and not organic but Whole Foods offers a recipe that could even be better than the original. Even your marshmallow sweet potatoes can be saved.
4. Know your lingo. Natural does not mean organic. The government has very strict regulations for what can be labeled "organic."
5. Go local. Farmer's markets are overflowing with fall harvest -- check them out first. After talking to the farmers, you might learn that their practices are organic but they are not certified by the government as such.

After much deliberating and careful consideration, the 2009 Green Car of the Year has been announced. And the winner is, drum roll please ... the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. VW's smooth riding, diesel-sipping, emissions-filtering sedan edged out worthy competitors like the Ford Fusion Hybrid and -- the cult favorite -- the Smart Fortwo. Critics are heralding the win as proof that clean diesel is a real and viable alternative to gas powered hybrids.

Of course, this news doesn't come as any great surprise to me, since I had the pleasure of test driving the impressive green machine last September. Reasons to love the Jetta -- and there are a few: it gets 30city/41hwy or 38city/44hwy depending on who's word you take, it's equipped with a post-combustion filter that removes 95% of sooty emissions, and it costs less and/or gets better mileage than the Malibu, Altima, and Civic hybrids. Oh yeah, and you don't give up that characteristic Jetta performance -- the TDI has definitely got some zip.

No matter whether you're a fan of diesel technology or not, you have to admit that this year's winner is a lot less controversial than last year's -- the Chevy Tahoe 2-mode hybrid.