Paragon Eco-Conditioner by Haier

I live in New York City, where we have four seasons - fall, winter, spring and 'smelly'.

With the last few days of 90-degree heat, we had an early introduction to the smelly season.

I also live in an apartment building that has centralized heating and air conditioning. According to the building's maintenance man, the air conditioning won't be turned on until May 15. Fortunately, the heat wave broke today, but the last couple of days I found myself wishing for a room air conditioner like the Paragon Eco-Conditioner(TM) from Haier America.

According to the press release I received today from Haier, the Paragon (model #ESAD4066) was just named by Consumers Digest as a "Best Buy" for Small Capacity room air conditioners.

Haier says that Consumers Digest called the Paragon "the most efficient room unit that you can buy."

As far as I can tell from the press release and online product descriptions, here are the key eco-friendly selling points:

1) Haier says the Paragon uses 11% less energy than other energy-efficient room air conditioners.

2) The air conditioner is Energy Star qualified.

3) In addition to providing cooling power, the Paragon also uses ultraviolet light to purify the air.

4) Apparently uses a refrigerant that does not damage the ozone layer (although I couldn't find any information on the product page about exactly what chemicals are used in the Paragon ESAD4066).

Very, very sadly, I did not have a chance to test this air conditioner myself this past week.

Where to Buy:

The Haier Paragon ESAD4066 is available via Amazon.com for $259.99 - $289.99 from several sellers.

Green Cleaning Products

I recently received an email from a representative of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) talking about the dangers posed by toxic ingredients in common household cleaning products.

To encourage people to get toxic cleaners out of their homes, HUMC started a program called Greening the Cleaning(R) that promotes the adoption of naturally-derived, affordable, safer and more eco-friendly household cleaning products.

The Medical Center's list of alternative Green cleaners includes:

- Thymes Frasier Fir cleaner for all-purpose tasks ($9 via Amazon.com)

- Mrs. Meyer's Automatic Dishwashing Liquid ($6.39 - $7.73 via Drugstore.com)

- Greening the Cleaning's own Citrus Sage Glass & Window Cleaner ($4.95 via manufacturer's website). Apparently all profits from sales of Greening the Cleaning products go to support the the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer in Ribera, NM.

- Make-your-own oven cleaner recipe concocted from baking soda, dishwashing liquid and a little water.

Review - Epicurean Cutting Boards

We've covered eco-friendly cutting boards in the past and are delighted to revisit the topic again with a look at Epicurean Cutting Boards.

Most Epicurean Cutting Boards incorporate eco select paper that Epicurean says comes from trees harvested under the guidelines of the North America Sustainable Forestry Standards.

Epicurean also says that 60% of the energy used to produce the raw materials for its cutting boards comes from renewable energy.

But what really caught our eye was Epicurean's Recycled line of cutting boards made from recycled cardboard.

Like all Epicurean cutting boards, the Recycled series boards are Made in the USA (which generally lowers environmental transport costs), dishwasher safe, knife-friendly (won't dull knives) and heat resistant.

(Unfortunately, the Recycled boards don't have the snazzy "juice groove" from some of Epicurean's other boards...)

They do have a built-in handle that makes carrying and hanging the boards a breeze.

So how did they fare in action? The Epicurean boards took some tough cuts and came out of the dishwasher looking good.

We also have to tip our hats to the copywriter who described the color of the Recycled Epicurean boards as having a "warm, natural nutmeg appearance".

We probably would not have thought of the nutmeg comparison on our own, but once it was in our heads, we could look at the boards without thinking tasty, toasty nutmeg-scented thoughts.

Where to buy:

Buy your Recycled Epicurean cutting board online through the company's own website ($11.99 - $34.99, depending on the size of the board) or through other online retailers like Amazon.com.

Alternatively, find an offline retail location that carries the cutting boards using Epicurean's Store Locator.

Ex Officio Clothing

Long known for making durable, lightweight and practical travel clothing, ExOfficio now offers a wide variety of eco-friendly options for Men and Women.

In particular, ExOfficio seems enamored with the benefits of using soy fibers in its clothing.

That's right, soy isn't just good for you when consumed as tofu or edamame, it's also good for the planet when spun into apparel. Durable, super-soft and machine-washable, soy can sometimes take the place of wool garments that would require chemical-intensive dry cleaning or tedious hand-washing.

The process of making soy clothing uses the leftover products from tofu production, so it's really a waste reduction effort. And apparently the chemicals used in turning soy plants into clothing fibers can be reused again and again.

ExOfficio has numerous lines of soy-based clothing. Take this cute cap-sleeve women's Soytopia shirt ($40) that uses a blend of 56% organic cotton, 37% soy and a smidgen of spandex.

A bit less soy (15%) works its way into the Dualformance line of long-sleeve tee shirts for both men and women ($37.91).

In addition to soy, ExOfficio is also incorporating a significant amount of recycled polyester into its clothing. Both men and women can enjoy the snug comfort of the Migrator line that uses 64% recycled polyester ($52.91).

What sets ExOfficio apart from other eco-friendly clothing lines? Price seem moderate, quality seems quite good and we like the little touches that show thoughtfulness. For example, the Men's Migrator 1/4-zip shirt has a handy little zippered pocket on the sleeve, a small piece of fabric to protect the throat when the chest zipper is pulled all the way up, and thumb loops at the cuffs to prevent the sleeves from bunching up when you pull on a jacket.

We also like the cute floral hood liner on the women's Migrator hoody.

On the other hand, we do wish that some ExOfficio's eco-friendly pieces were made closer to home (less transport-related pollution), rather in Vietnam or China.

We also have mixed feelings about some of the treatments that ExOfficio gives even their eco-friendly clothing. For example, our Migrator tops came with notes that the fabric had been treated with AEGIS Microbe Shield (R), an EPA registered antimicrobial technology. On the one hand, if AEGIS does its job of protecting against "odor, staining and deterioration caused by bacteria, fungus and other microorganisms", that could mean that you'll need to wash and even replace the shirt less frequently, which is good for the environment.

On the other hand, we tend to frown on clothes that have been chemically treated.

Back to the first hand, the Microbe Shield website does a convincing job of explaining that the antimicrobial treatment does not contain heavy metals, will not be absorbed by humans or other animals and uses a violent-sounding physical method (stabbing/electrocution) to rupture and destroy microorganisms. AEGIS also asserts that studies have not shown any adaptation by microorganisms to Microbe Shield, indicating that the use of the product will not lead to the development of superbacteria.

Where to buy:

You can order both men's and women's eco-friendly ExOfficio clothing directly through the company's website.

Alternatively, you can find a couple hundred items of ExOfficio clothing online via Amazon.com.

If you live in Seattle or fly through JFK airport, you can stop into a physical brick-and-mortar ExOfficio store.

Otherwise, click on the Dealer Locator link on the left side of the About Us page and enter your address to find a retailer near you that carries ExOfficio products.

Denver Rolling Out Bike Sharing Program

Kudos to the city of Denver for piloting a new bikeshare program.

As reported on Examiner.com, the program will let city residents and visitors borrow one of 250 bikes located at stations in and around downtown.

The same story notes that Washington D.C. already has a bikeshare program rolling along, with Minneapolis considering a program of its own.

In European cities - particularly Paris, but also in places like Brussels and Vienna - bikesharing is a popular means of getting around town. Basically, you can borrow a bike from a computerized docking station, use it to get where you need to go and return it either to the same station or to a different terminal nearer your destination when you're done.

Personally, I believe that biking and bikesharing should be given serious consideration by US mayors. The costs of setting up bike share programs seem trivial compared to the massive amounts of land, resources, manpower and maintenance needed by conventional public transport systems (trains, subways and buses). And of course bikeshare programs have the added benefit of giving users a workout, which should theoretically help reduce obesity levels and thus reduce healthcare costs (for individuals and governments).

Of course, in some Northern U.S. cities, bikesharing might only be viable in warmer months, but presumably city planners could examine whether Northern European cities (Scandinavian) have a way of getting around this problem.