Help a Friend @ GreenYourDecor

Jennae's 4-year old daughter

Almost two years ago, around the time I was starting 1GreenProduct.com, I came across another new eco-blog called GreenYourDecor run by a talented designer named Jennae Petersen.

Jennae has achieved great success with her blog and has created a real community of readers who eagerly follow her pronouncements on eco-friendly decor.

Recently, Jennae shared some devastating news on her blog - her four-year old daughter had been diagnosed with A.L.L., a type of childhood leukemia.

The good news is that A.L.L. has a 85-90% cure rate.

The even better news (via update from Jennae) is that her daughter's disease has officially gone into remission!! :)

The not-so-good news is that her daughter will still need treatment for 2-years and that neither Jennae (self-employed) nor her husband (recently laid off) have health insurance.

But there is more good news: Jennae's daughter has been approved for Peachcare, Georgia's state-run insurance program for children.  While it's not yet clear how much Peachcare will cover, Jennae is relieved to know that her family's limited financial resources won't affect her daughter's access to care.

For anyone who would like to help Jennae and her family get through this difficult period, one of Jennae's friends has set up a ChipIn site to accept donations.

2010 Honda Insight

2010 Honda Insight (photo via Honda website)

They say, "Variety is the spice of life."

(Personally, I'd choose Garlic as the spice of life, but hey, Variety tastes good too.)

Which is why after more than 200 written reviews of green products, I've decided to branch out a bit and try my first audio review of the 2010 Honda Insight.

To create this audio podcast, I used a service called BlogTalkRadio. As the name suggests, BlogTalkRadio is really intended to be use less as a 1-way podcast and more as a 2-way (or 3-way or more-way) conversation.

But since this was my first time trying BlogTalkRadio, I just went ahead and recorded it as a typical podcast. In the future, I will give advance notice of my BlogTalkRadio shows here on this blog and also on some of my other social media sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) so that anyone who wants to can call in and participate.

Of course, if you miss the show live you can also listen anytime using the BlogTalkRadio widget.

Listen to 1GreenProduct.com on Blog Talk Radi

What do you think? Do you like the audio approach? Do you have ideas or requests for future shows?

Thanks for reading - and listening! Hope you enjoy my radio review of the 2010 Honda Insight.

HP Photosmart A646 Compact Printer

HP Photosmart A646 Compact Printer

In the old days of film cameras, you'd go on vacation, come home, dither for a while, then take your film to a developer (or mail it off) and end up with a handsome set of blurry 4x6 prints of family members with the tops of their heads cut off.

The good news is that nowadays with digital cameras we can perfectly compose works of art using the screens on the back of the cameras and store hundreds or even thousands of photos on a single memory card.

But somehow - most of the time - nobody actually has time to sort through all those images and print out the best ones.

I know that we've got years of photos sitting on hard drives and stored on photo-sharing websites, but only a handful of prints.

That's why I was so eager to test the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Printer. As HP says, the printer lets customers view, edit, create and personalize photos using the TouchSmart control panel.

What makes it eco-friendly? First of all, it's small. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the whole package isn't much bigger than a small toaster. Making something small generally means using fewer raw materials.

Second, it's Energy Star-rated as energy efficient.

In addition, nearly 1/3 of the printer's body is made from recycled plastic. You'd never know this just by looking at the printer, as it looks and feels as solid and sleek as any other piece of electronics these days. I continue to be impressed at the way that recycled plastic can look just as good as 'virgin' plastic.

And the printer itself is so small and compact that it can easily be carried from one place to another using the included reusable tote made from recycled plastics. (By shipping the printer within this tote, HP has really managed to cut out a lot of unnecessary packaging waste.)

How did the printer work in action? Initially, I thought the quality was a little below photo lab standards. Looking closely at certain parts of the picture, I could see a linear pattern where the printer had put down ink. As the printer got warmed up, the quality seemed to improve, although I still feel like you'll get somewhat better quality from a lab.

What HP does give you is convenience and ease-of-use. We printed photos both by connecting the printer to a desktop computer with a standard (not-included) printer USB cable, and also by plugging a memory card directly into the printer. Both worked just fine, although the computer option seemed to work better since I had trouble locating specific images on my memory card using the printer's touch-screen display.

We also had some issues where printed photos were cropped a bit differently than they displayed on the computer. The issue seemed to occur a bit randomly and did not necessarily seem to be linked to the size or shape of the image as displayed on the computer screen. To be honest, I didn't delive into the instruction manual to see if there was some way of getting around this cropping problem.

Also note that you'll need to take both paper and ink costs into account when determining if the printer is right for you. We typically managed about 40 photos per cartridge. HP did include a handy, eco-friendly postage-paid envelope (folded nicely into a tiny package) for returning spent ink cartridges for recycling.

What's the final verdict? Between its recycled plastic content, its energy efficiency and its small size, the printer seems like a fairly Green product. I may not be smitten with the print quality, but for procrastinators like myself an HP Photosmart A646 Compact Printer could be just the ticket for getting some of your photos off the screen and into the real world on paper that can be handed around, put in a wallet or in a frame and hung on the wall.

Finally being surrounded by physical, tangible reminders of happy moments from the last few years? That's pretty sweet.

Where to buy:

Buy directly from HP for $149.99 or from Amazon.com for $99.99.

Disclosure - HP loaned me an A646 printer for testing. I sent it back when the test was complete.

2010 Toyota Prius V

The 3rd Generation Toyota Prius - Greenest car on the road (image via Toyota website)

No need for waffling here. The verdict is simple. The Toyota Prius gets top honors for the most eco-friendly car I've driven thus far.

Over 10 days of driving and nearly 2000 miles, the 3rd generation version of this iconic hybrid champ delivered fuel efficiency (mostly on highways with 70 mph speed limits) in the 45 mpg range.

I had a chance to test the 2nd generation Prius back on last summer's Colorado trip and I have to say that this new generation takes a dramatic step forward in comfort and driving performance.

The 2010 car comes with both EV mode and Power mode buttons. Press the EV mode and the car will operate off electric power only provided the battery has enough juice and you're moving slowly enough. Press the Power button and you get a potent boost of acceleration that lets you rocket onto the highway or scoot past other cars in the parking lane. (I'll admit it, I got a thrill from passing both a BMW and a Porsche on the highway in the Prius.)

The top-of-the-line V version of the Prius came loaded with luxurious extras including heated side mirrors, heated front seats, a voice-activated touch screen DVD navigation system, satellite radio, integrated backup camera and so forth. I'll admit that I never figured out how to work out some of the options (like Intelligent Parking Assist).

The Radar Cruise Control is a nifty feature that takes us one step closer to the notion of self-driving cars. Basically, a radar device in the nose of the car can sense if you're getting too close to the car in front of you and try to adjust accordingly. If you're already a fan of cruise control, the Radar version will probably make you even happier, but personally I've found that I usually can get better mileage and feel safer with cruise control off on all but the most empty roadways.

My favorite geeky tool on the Prius V was the Lane Keeper Assist (LKA) device that actually keeps track of the lanes and not only beeps to warn you if you're veering outside the lines, but actually gives you a nudge back toward the center of the lane. (Putting on the turn signal supersedes the LKA so you don't need to worry about fighting the car when it comes time to exit the highway or switch lanes.) I think LKA could literally be a lifesaver on dark roads or in cases where the driver is a little bit tired. I wouldn't say it eliminates the need to pay attention or to get enough rest, but LKA definitely seems like the best active safety device I've seen since inventions like Anti-Lock Brakes and Vehicle Stability Control.

From a design standpoint, the new Prius has better lines on the outside and more comfort on the inside. Focusing on the sharp lines of the exterior, I think the Prius has truly entered the 'beautiful car' category.

Meanwhile on the inside, with the rear seats folded down, the cargo capacity seemed voluminous. I liked the high clearance on the hatchback door. The seats were supportive and reasonably comfortable even after 9+ hours on the road. The view through the rear window is still somewhat obstructed by a horizontal solid panel, but Toyota has definitely improved visibility over the previous generation Prius.

Really, I have only two complaints about the Prius. One is mileage. Yes, the Prius gets great mileage, but for the price (more on this later), I would have liked even better mileage. Call me demanding, but since I somehow managed to achieve 50+ mpg in a 2nd generation Prius, I would have hoped to get at least 50 mpg in the next generation Prius.

The second issue is price. Highway mileage of 45 mpg is great, but these days lots of conventional gasoline-engine cars are knocking on the mid-30s in terms of highway mpg. My wife and I will be doing some car shopping ourselves in the near future, and despite being an eco-conscious shopper, I'm having some trouble justifying the Prius premium.

After all, the 2010 Toyota Corolla is rated at 35 mpg on the highway and I've seen promotions for Corolla leases for around $160/month. By contrast, I haven't seen the Prius offered with any lease specials at all. (I called one dealer and was told that a Prius lease would probably cost me $300-500/month.) For folks who prefer leasing, this makes the Prius relatively unattainable. (From a straight purchase standpoint, you'll pay around a $7,000 premium for a Prius over a Corolla.)

So ultimately, the Prius is a fun car and a fantastic choice for any eco-friendly driver. But I keep hoping that Toyota will push the envelope more in terms of both mpg and affordability. Perhaps we'll see some new developments next year in terms of a hybrid Yaris that will check both those boxes?

Perpetually unsatisfied. I suppose so. But that's what makes me excited about all the eco-friendly advancements I think we'll see this year and beyond. We've made great strides in terms of Green gadgets and tools, but there is still a long way to go to get to the point where we can enjoy comfortable high-tech lives without placing too much of a burden on the planet.

PS - Interested observers have inquired as to the relative environmental costs of producing a Prius compared to a typical gasoline-only (i.e. non-hybrid automobile). I asked Toyota about this and received a response from Wade Hoyt, Northeast PR manager that " the Prius's manufacturing carbon footprint is slightly higher [than the footprint of a non-hybrid mid-size sedan]. However, when looking at its total lifecycle assessment, including manufacturing, plus the in-use life of the car, as well as its end-of-life recyclability, Prius's carbon footprint is significantly smaller." I tried to get some hard data to quantify the Prius's carbon footprint advantage, but was told that such data has not been released outside the company.

Where to Buy:

At your local Toyota dealer, of course! The 2010 Prius starts at $22,400, but prices can climb steeply from there. With delivery and processing fees added in, my tester car had a total MSRP of $32,771. Ouch.

Disclosure: Toyota generously allowed me to test drive the Prius for more than a week.

2009 Nissan Cube

Nissan Cube - funky and fresh as a cucumber

Happy New Year!

I can't wait to see what sorts of efficient, eco-friendly products hit the market this year.

We're going to start off the year with a couple car reviews. I expect we'll see lots of hybrid cars come to market this year, but meanwhile most cars sold in the U.S. are gasoline-only.

I recently had the chance to test the Nissan Cube - the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the EPA's Small Station Wagon category other than the diesel version of Volkswagen's Jetta Sportwagen.

With 28 mpg highway and 30 mpg city, the Nissan Cube offers more than respectable mileage while still packing 58 cubic feet of storage capacity (with rear seats folded down) into one of the funkiest bodies on the road.

Make no mistake, the Cube turns enough heads to cause neck injuries in passersby.

I've test driven all manner of eco-friendly cars over the past 6 months and the Cube gets more stares than any of them, including the smart fortwo.

I actually had a parking lot attendant crawl into the front seat just to get a closer look at the Cube's instrument panel.

If you ever needed proof that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, try driving the Cube. Some prospective passengers recoiled at the idea of being seen in the snub-nosed squared-off beast. Others literally shook my hand for having the luck to be a Cube driver.

Personally, I think the squat little Cube resembles nothing so much as a little urban tank. It looks a little space age. A little futuristic. A little cartoonish.

But how does it drive and ride? The wide cushy seats make short trips as relaxing as plopping down on the couch. And the Cube's smooth acceleration and handling lets the car glide through urban and suburban traffic with ease and moxie.

On the highway, it was a different story. The Cube's tall, boxy profile left it vulnerable to buffeting by wind gusts. Truck-induced turbulence gave me a hard time keeping the Cube steady within its lane. Compared to my last test drive in the low-and-wide Mini Cooper, I worried that the Cube seemed a little tipsy in high-speed turns. And the seats that had been so cushy for shirt trips didn't offer enough support (lumbar or otherwise) to make me look forward to long road trips.

So the Cube is a mixed bag. It's practical, relatively eco-friendly and you won't have any trouble finding it in the parking lot.

On the other hand, if your commute calls for a lot of highway driving or if you get enough cubicle time at the office, the Cube might not be the right box for you.

Personally, I think the Cube's designers deserve credit for pushing the envelope and taking design risks. I really admire some of these innovative touches on the Cube. For example, I like the way that the rear door opens to the side (like a regular car door) instead of like a lift gate. And I think the asymmetrical glass corner on the right rear of the car is brilliant from both a design and functionality point of view since it gives the driver lots of visibility when merging to the right or backing out of a parking space.

The biggest success of the Cube may be to show car designers and consumers alike that there is nothing to fear from thinking outside the box.

Where to buy:

Your local Nissan dealer. The Cube has a MSRP of $13,990 to $20,120 depending on engine and options.

Disclosure: Nissan allowed me to test drive the Cube over several days.