Energy alternatives article from Nature Magazine

Solar panels (photo by Kevin T. Houle)

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming (24/7 reviews!) to recommend this interesting article from Nature on various methods of generating electricity without net carbon emissions.

I came away from the story with a renewed appreciation for the potential of solar power in particular. Consider this excerpt:

Earth receives about 100,000 TW of solar power at its surface — enough energy every hour to supply humanity's energy needs for a year. There are parts of the Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert in central Asia, the Atacama in Peru or the Great Basin in the United States where a gigawatt of electricity could be generated using today's photovoltaic cells in an array 7 or 8 kilometres across. Theoretically, the world's entire primary energy needs could be served by less than a tenth of the area of the Sahara.

Exciting stuff! Let's get cracking on those giant solar arrays!! :)

Eco-Travel - Nashville (Hutton Hotel, aloft Nashville-Cool Springs)

View of Tennessee State Capitol from Nashville's Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park

Last month, I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. What a fun place! From its beautiful countryside and charming residents to the thriving music scene, Nashville makes an excellent, affordable vacation destination.

But how about from an eco-travel perspective? Well, I didn't have time to bike around Nashville, but I did see quite a few bike lanes and they were getting some use by the locals.

My initial assessment is that the existing bike paths will need to be expanded and connected to give Nashville a true alternative to car commuting, but the city is compact enough that a better bike infrastructure could make Nashville a wonderful biking city. Nashville does have a Strategic Plan to create an integrated bikeway network, so hopefully the system will become more comprehensive in the years ahead.

I didn't have a chance to ride public transit either, but the uncrowded buses seemed to run pretty frequently.

There is no light rail within Nashville, but a rail line (the Music City Star) recently started service from Nashville to points east. The downtown Nashville station looked spiffy and new.

(For what it's worth, I don't think it would make financial or logistical sense for a city the size of Nashville to put in light rail, but a trolley system of the sort prevalent in Vienna or Prague could work quite well here.)

Bamboo-filled lobby at Hutton Hotel (photo via hotel website)

Eco-travelers have a couple of exciting options in terms of lodging when visiting Nashville. Right near Vanderbilt University and convenient to Downtown is the Hutton Hotel, which just opened earlier this year. The Hutton has some serious eco credentials having just hosted the North American Summit of former Vice President Al Gore's Climate Project.

Built inside the completely gutted and renovated shell of a former office building, the Hutton is chock full of eco-friendly amenities. For instance, the lobby and guestrooms use bamboo flooring and furniture. Interior and exterior lighting uses energy-efficient LED and compact fluorescent fixtures. Remarkable Kone EcoDisc elevators use a low-friction, gearless design to reportedly achieve 70% energy savings over traditional elevators.

Dual flush toilets in the guestrooms (designed by a local company called Baden Bath) and waterless urinals in the public restrooms help save water. Soap dispensers in the guest rooms cut down on the use of plastic bottles.

Hutton employs the key card system prevalent in Europe where guests must insert a card into a slot when entering their guestroom in order to active the room's lights. When guests take their card on exiting the room, the lights automatically shut off 30 seconds later, saving even more energy.

Meanwhile, the hotel's restaurant 1808 Grille has gotten rave reviews in the local press. The restaurant has made a commitment to serve locally-produced wines and beers and Whole Trade coffee (from Allegro Coffee Company, which also provides organic tea bags in the Hutton's guest rooms). I believe the restaurant also places an emphasis on sustainable seafood and using organic ingredients when possible. Some of the restaurant's furnishings involve the use of reclaimed wood, saving natural resources.

While it's certainly possible to walk from the Hutton to Vanderbilt and even to Downtown Nashville, the Hutton also offers a hybrid courtesy car for use within 3 miles of the hotel. That 3 mile range easily covers trips to the convention center and nightlife in the downtown District.

Meanwhile, for Nashville visitors who prefer a bit of distance from the downtown hubbub, the Aloft-Nashville Cool Springs hotel located about 20 minutes south of the city offers another good eco-friendly option.

Owned by Starwood and associated with the W Hotel brand, Aloft Cool Springs has a number of eco-friendly touches including the use of cork building materials, sustainably-sourced wood venees and in-shower soap and shampoo dispensers (cutting down on the use of disposable plastic bottles). Various online sources indicate that Aloft hotels use biodegradable, eco-friendly cleaning products both within the rooms and on the hotels' pools.

If you do choose to stay at the Aloft Cool Springs, you'll be right nearby the town of Franklin, recently honored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a 2009 Distinctive Destination.

One more note for bicyclists - the area near Nashville is home to the northern terminus of the Natchez-Trace Parkway, a 444-mile road maintained by the National Park service that offers a beautiful and relatively safe bicycling option from middle Tennessee to the far Southwestern corner of Mississippi. We wanted to bike a little bit of the Parkway, but ended up only having about 30 minutes to drive a tiny piece of the road. In that time, we saw only about five cars and an equal number of bicyclists. Seems like a lovely route for long-distance cyclists.

PS - Nashville has a great zoo that helps spearhead conservation efforts for endangered animals like the clouded leopard. In addition, I was surprised and pleased to find out that zoo's cafeteria  has eschewed petroleum-based plastics in favor of renewable and biodegradable plates, cups and utensils made from such materials as sugarcane, corn and potato! Handy signs (like the one pictured in the unfortunately dark photo above) explain to zoo visitors that all plates/cups/utensils are compostable, biodegradable and designed to 'return to nature' in 45-60 days. Pretty cool.

Japan Eco-Travel: Solar Shopping Mall, Electric Bikes and Oasis 21

Solar panels cover an Aeon shopping mall in Yonago, Japan (photo by Aaron Dalton)

I recently returned from a few weeks in Japan.

Naturally, during my trip, I kept my eyes open for the latest and greatest eco-news to share with 1GreenProduct.com readers. Here's what I found:

1) At a remodeled Aeon shopping mall near the western city of Yonago, I found huge sections of exterior wall had been lined with solar panels. As a result, practically the entire building functioned as a solar collector. Other parts of the mall structure were covered in "living wall" type greenery. This eco-minded mall even had mini windmills perched on poles in the parking lot. The mall's remodeling had let in more natural light, allowing for a reduction in energy spent on artificial lighting.

'Testing' this electric bicycle meant sitting on it (photo by Aaron Dalton)

Meanwhile, I found an electric bike on display at the mall. Having never had a chance to actually ride one before, I hoped to be able to test it out. In one of those comical cases of misunderstanding that often occurs abroad, the salesperson assured me that I could indeed test the bike. But I soon found this meant only that I could sit on the bike as long as I remained still and did not pedal it anywhere. This didn't really end up being a very useful test of the bike's electric functionality.

America has giant shopping malls. America has a lot of parking lots. Surely we could be retrofitting some of our shopping centers with solar panels and windmills as Aeon has done in Yonago. All it takes is willpower and imagination.

Looking at the Nagoya skyline from the water-covered roof of Oasis 21
(photo by Emran Kassim)

2) In the city of Nagoya, I took a break from seeing castles and museums to visit Oasis 21. This transit center / park / shopping mall / futuristic spaceship-style structure located in the city's Sakae shopping district certainly makes an impression.

What makes it eco? Well, the roof of Oasis 21 consists of a very shallow oval pool of water. The water reflects heat, cooling the ground-level plaza and the open-air below-ground shopping center.

Even better, the roof also collects rain water, which it then uses to irrigate the plantings in the park below.

Plus, it makes for a pretty cool place for couples, families and businesspeople on a lunch break to come sit, contemplate the reflecting pool and gaze at the TV Tower and the rest of Nagoya's high-rise skyline.

I like Oasis 21's boldness. There are surely less expensive ways to collect rain water, but Oasis 21 places Green ideas on center stage in one of the city's trendiest districts, showing that eco can be sexy, eco can be dramatic and eco can be architecturally beautiful.

New Tokyo Metro line with protective clear walls between platform and tracks
(photo by Aaron Dalton)

3) I won't dwell much on the differences between Tokyo's mass transit systems and the subway system that I endure in my hometown of New York City. To think too much on the topic would probably reduce me to tears.

In brief, the Tokyo metro is clean, modern, unoffensive, safe, smooth and quiet.

The New York subway is none of those things.

But what I really would like to draw attention to in this adjacent photograph is the fact that some of the newer Tokyo metro stations have walls of glass or plexiglass (not sure of the exact material) separating the platform from the tracks. When the train arrives, the doors of car line up with sliding doors in the glass walls and both open simultaneously, allowing passengers to exit and board the trains.

As a result, I believe that it is practically impossible to be pushed in front of a train in the Tokyo Metro.

In New York, on the other hand, the narrow and crowded platforms present a definite hazard, particularly during rush hour when a few inches or a shove from behind is all that separates a passenger from the fetid tracks and injury or death beneath an onrushing train.

Given the general state of dilapidation and disrepair in the NY subway, it seems highly unlikely that protective glass doors like these will be installed anytime soon. This is a sad commentary on the extent to which America has fallen behind in mass transit best practices in comparison not only with Japan, but with other countries like France where such systems are being installed.

The Muji e-bike (photo by Aaron Dalton)

4) Finally, not quite satisfied with my brief test of the e-bike back in Yonago, I found an opportunity to rent an electric bike in Tokyo at a Muji store.

For around $15 and a deposit, I had the e-bike for the entire day. This was my first time ever using an electric-assist bike and frankly it was amazingly fun.

The bike was electric-assist - meaning that it would not move unless the rider pedaled. But pedaling up even the steepest hills was no problem with the electric motor on maximum assist. On flatter terrain, I left the electric assist on low or medium settings in order to stretch out the battery life.

Riding the Muji e-bike through Tokyo during cherry blossom season

Using an e-bike feels like someone is giving you a gentle push from behind, like when you were first learning to ride a bicycle. The freedom and speed that an e-bike provides is exhilarating, almost giddy.

At the same time, you do still get some exercise pedaling an e-bike around town for a few hours. But what would have been exhausting without electric assist was merely a nice bit of exercise with the motor providing support.

Incidentally, in Tokyo, bicyclists are allowed to use the sidewalks. This made for some extremely interesting close-quarters maneuvering when the office crowds emerged for the lunchtime rush.

(Oh, another cool thing about the Muji e-bike, which apparently is true of all sorts of bikes sold in Japan, is that it has an integrated lock built right into the bike. Turn and take the key with you when you dismount and a bolt shoots through the wheel, making it impossible for anyone to pedal off with your bike. As a result, no one has to carry around a chain or even a lock to secure their bike to a post or tree. Very convenient and easy. Would love to see this feature on bikes sold in the U.S.! Perhaps it is available here already on some models?)

The Muji bike retailed for approximately $800. Unfortunately, Muji stores in the States don't seem to carry the e-bike, but you can find various electric bikes if you shop around on the Internet or perhaps at your local bike shop.

Amazon sells some e-bikes for reasonable prices, but the $372 eZip Trailz bike appears to use an old-fashioned sealed lead acid battery, whereas newer e-bikes are using lighter and slimmer lithium ion batteries. The Ohm e-bike looks pretty cool, but apparently goes for around $2000.

Based on my experience in Tokyo, I believe that an e-bike could be a real commuting option for people who live fairly close to work (say within 10 miles) and have a relatively safe biking route available. Given the importance of having a comfortable, safe and enjoyable ride, you might want to go to a local bike shop and try out a couple e-bike models in person. If your shop doesn't carry an e-bikes yet, encourage the owner to start bringing e-bikes to the market.

I'm a believer. I think once people get a chance to try out an e-bike, they'll be hooked.

KOR ONE Hydration Vessel

Disposable, throwaway plastic bottles filled with water may be terrible for the environment, but we have to admit that the concept of carrying around water or some other nice potable liquid to stay hydrated actually makes quite a bit of sense.

That's why we're so keen on the KOR ONE Hydration Vessel ($29.95) - a slightly grandiose name for a beautifully designed reusable, portable 750-milliliter bottle.

Made from a new type of plastic called Tritan(TM), the KOR ONE claims to offer greater stability and durability than older generation polycarbonate refillable plastic bottles. Created by the Eastman company, Tritan can also supposedly withstand warm, humid environments better than its predecessors - a trait that allows users to place their KOR ONE in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

(KOR does not come with an instruction booklet, just a little strip of plastic placed around the bottle with information on proper care and usage. We applaud KOR for not printing up a whole information booklet, but we do wish that the info strip was made of paper - preferably recycled paper - rather than #5 plastic. In any case, one of the bullet points on this informative paper strip points out that KOR should only be washed on the top rack of a dishwasher. Given the 11-inch-plus height of the KOR bottle and the fact that the rack of our beneath-the-sink dishwasher is miniscule, we're resigned to washing the Hydration Vessel by hand. Perhaps that's for the best though, since another point on the information strip tells me that handwashing is recommended.)

Beyond the strength/durability/clarity properties of Tritan, KOR really wants to play up the fact that the Hydration Vessel contains no BPA (bisphenol A), a chemical recently designated a "toxic substance" by Canada and placed on a blacklist by Wal-Mart and other retailers. In September, the Washington Post ran a scary story about BPA being linked to mood disorders and brain function problems in monkeys. While some plastic bottle manufacturers have had to scramble to remove BPA from their formulas, KOR ONE can state that its bottles have been BPA-free from the beginning. (Of course, the tradeoff with using a new plastic is that the Tritan formula may itself have risks that are only discovered years in the future...)

KOR has a nice webpage explaining the eco-benefits of switching from disposable plastic bottles to a reusable bottle like the KOR ONE.

KOR apparently made the decision to manufacture its bottles in North America, both to cut down on the environmental costs of shipping the bottles and in order to work with an ISO-14000 certified factory adhering to strict environmental guidelines. (Update - We had originally reported that KOR ONE was made in the States. Apparently it's actually manufactured in Monterrey, Mexico. Apologies for the error.)

Frankly, we're darn proud of the fact that the KOR ONE Hydration Vessel was designed in the States. The pictures don't convey the full beauty of the KOR ONE bottle, but they give some idea of its sculptural qualities. The bottle's beauty may seem a little frivolous at first, but you realize that it makes sense. KOR wants reusable water bottles to seem stylish and sexy - much more appealing than a boring old disposable bottle. That's why KOR ONE fit in perfectly at a NY fashion show.

We dig the details like the rubber base that lets us plant the bottle securely on a table or countertop. The RKS Design team apparently intended to evoke a glacier - pure water surrounded by ice - with their blue-and-white design. But for us, the KOR ONE simply looks sleek, space-age, sculptural and dramatic. The white edges act as a framing device, while simultaneously serving a protective function and providing an integrated carrying handle.

This bottle deserves to win design awards.

Our only concern? Maybe it's so good-looking that people will be reluctant to use it in the real world where it might get scratched or even swiped...

Where to buy:

Order your KOR ONE ($29.95) online today through the company's own website.

You can also find the KOR ONE (for 5 cents less) through Amazon.com.

Grohe WaterCare Faucets

IOHO, simplicity is frequently an eco-virtue.

Scrap all the bells and whistles (except for the Jingle Bells) and just give us a product that does one thing and does it spectacularly well.

Maybe that's why we're so enamored with the Relexa showerhead (MSRP $40) by Grohe.

Relexa comes in one color - chrome.

It's non-adjustable, with an ultra simple easy-to-clean design. (A smaller showerhead means less space for dust to settle!)

Grohe uses something called DreamSpray(R) Technology to deliver an even spray from the showerhead. SpeedClean(R) nozzles made from silicone apparently make it easy to erase limescale buildup.

We haven't been testing the Relexa long enough to vouch for the SpeedClean claims, but we can verify that the DreamSpray does deliver a relaxing, steady washing experience.

Even better, you get clean while saving water. Relexa is part of Grohe's WaterCare collection of faucets and showerheads, which means that it uses up to 30% less water than a typical showerhead. Many of the faucets in the Grohe WaterCare collection also carry the EPA WaterSense label. (Apparently, WaterSense standards currently apply to bath faucets only at this point, which explains why the Relexa and other Grohe WaterCare showerheads don't use the EPA label...)

A quick look through the rest of Grohe's online WaterCare catalog shows that the company has an array of water-saving faucets capable of matching the style in any kitchen or bathroom. Depending on the faucet, you can also choose an array of finishes including chrome, SuperSteel, RealSteel, brushed nickel or oil-rubbed bronze.

Whether you prefer the traditional Seabury (MSRP $384+), modern Atrio (MSRP $604+) or sleek single-handle Talia (MSRP $361+), you'll know that you're helping with the crucial task of water conservation.

If you choose a Grohe WaterCare faucet, you'll also benefit from high-end technology like Grohe's SilkMove(R) teflon-coated cartridge that is designed to deliver friction-free and maintenance-free durability. Again, we didn't have our sample faucet long enough to vouch for longterm durability, but we can say that Grohe delivers on its ease of use marketing claims. We really were able to easily control the single-handle Talia faucet with just one finger.

FYI, the Grohe faucets and showerheads we tested were made in Germany and seem to have the high quality that one would normally associate with German consumer goods (cars, wind turbines, solar panels, sausages, etc.).


Where to buy:

Use the Showroom Locator to find the closest place where you can examine and select a Grohe WaterCare faucet or showerhead. Since Grohe products are not carried in big-box retail stores, your other option would be to place an order through a designer or plumbing contractor.

Moen Water-Saving Faucets and Showerhead

I still remember Mrs. Symington, my high school biology teacher who had served in the Navy, telling us stories about 2-minute military showers where you were expected to get wet, turn off the water, soap up, then turn on the water to rinse. 

While I admired such water conservation, my own showers used to be quite profilgate (30-40 minutes). I'm pleased to say that I've cut that down to a more reasonable average 10-15 minute shower, but I still keep looking for ways to reduce my water use even further. 

That's why I was so pleased to find the Flow-Optimized Moen Water Saving Showerhead. This 1.75 gallons per minute (gpm) showerhead offers a 30% water savings over the industry-standard 2.5 gpm nozzle. Made in the USA, this simple but stylish showerhead can also lower your energy costs (by reducing your hot water usage). 

Available in Chrome, LifeShine® Brushed Nickel or Oil Rubbed Bronze, the Water Saving Showerhead can coordinate with many different Moen bath collections.

What sort of a showering experience does the Water Saving Showerhead deliver? Well, you won't get the tropical downpour feeling of a gigantic rain showerhead, but the Water Saving Showerhead's innovative spray formers concentrate the flow of water in a way that feels simultaneously gentle and soaking. Moen says that its designers have carefully arranged the streams of water to provide great full-body coverage, a claim that seems reasonable based on our personal testing. 

We also like clever design details, like the way that the showerhead has two flat places on its connecting nozzle that let you get a good grip with a wrench in order to fasten the showerhead tightly onto the water pipe.

If you're putting in new faucets, check out some of the WaterSense®-labeled lavatory faucets in the Fina™, Rothbury™ and Muirfield™ collections. The faucets use flow-optimized aerators that deliver water at a rate of 1.5 gpm (versus 2.2 gpm for traditional aerators).

Note that not all every faucet in a collection may have the flow-optimized aerators, so be sure to look for the WaterSense certification to  ensure you're getting a water-saving faucet.

Where to buy:

Use the "Where to Buy" link on Moen's website to  find a wholesaler that stocks the Flow-Optimized Water Saving Showerhead (MSRP $36 and up), the Fina faucets (MSRP $524 and up), the Rothbury faucets (MSRP $232 and up) and the Muirfield faucets (MSRP $78 and up). 

Moen also has a link on its site to online retailers that carry its products. It can be a little difficult to find certain products on these e-tailer sites, but we were able to find the Rothbury WaterSense faucets on Faucet.com, for example. 

Caroma Sydney Smart Dual Flush Toilet

Australia - known for its shrimp, its beer, its beautiful beaches and its dual flush toilets.

OK, maybe not so famous for the dual flush toilets, but it should be!

Bathroom products manufacturer Caroma has been making dual flush toilets Down Under for 25 years. Put delicately, dual flush toilets use a little bit of water to wash away liquid waste and a more robust flush to cleanse the bowl of solid matter.

A number of Caroma toilets have made in stateside. In fact, Caroma claims to have the most EPA WaterSense approvals (36!) of any brand doing business in North America.

All of these WaterSense Caroma toilets are dual flush, high-efficiency toilets (HETs), meaning they use 20% less water than the currently mandated federal maximum of 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf).

But we're most excited about the dual flush Sydney Smart model. Caroma claims that the Sydney Smart offers "the lowest water consumption of any toilet now available in North America."

The little flush button on the Sydney Smart uses just 0.8 gallons of water, while the major flush lever swooshes 1.28 gallons around the bowl. Caroma says that these levels set "a new benchmark for water conservation in North America."

(If you needed any proof that North America needs water conservation, just check out these recent news stories from North Carolina, California, Georgia and even Hawaii.)

Where prior attempts to mandate water saving toilets resulted in reduced flush power, all WaterSense certified toilets are judged not just on water savings, but also on flushing performance. (If you have to flush a toilet multiple times to get rid of waste, you pretty much negate any per-flush water savings.)

Caroma says that the Sydney Smart's large trapway is virtually unblockable (please don't take that as a challenge), so one flush should be all you need.

Caroma estimates that the Sydney Smart can save a household more than between 18,000 and 30,000 gallons of water per year (depending on whether you're replacing a 3.5 gpf toilet or a pre-1980 toilet that may use as much as 5-7 gpf).
Some Green choices require us to make big lifestyle changes. The Sydney Smart gives us a chance to save thousands and thousands of gallons of water per year at the push of a button.

I'm not saying you should rip out your old toilet this minute and put in a Sydney Smart (though if you have an antique water-guzzling toilet, it might make eco-sense), but if you're building a new home or planning a bathroom rehab, the Sydney Smart seems like a very intelligent Green choice.

UPDATE (6/30) - On July 1, Caroma will release its newest high efficiency dual flush toilet, the Sydney Low Profile. Designed for bathrooms where space is at a premium and available in six bowl configurations, this HED uses 1.6 / 0.8 gpf, offering expected annual water savings of up to 18,000 gallons of water per year for a family of four switching from a single flush toilet. Two configurations of the Sydney Low Profile have already received approval from the EPA's WaterSense program. 

Where to buy:

Find distributors around North America through the "Where to Buy" page on Caroma's website. Designed for easy installation, the Sydney Smart has a MSRP of approximately $319.

Price Pfister Ashfield WaterSense Faucet

From a green standpoint, the ideal faucet is the one that does the job (washes your hands and other objects) while using as little water as possible.

Ladies and gentlemen, we present a top contender for ideal green faucet: the Price Pfister Ashfield WaterSense model.

Water shortages are no laughing matter. In recent months, major U.S. cities like Atlanta have faced the specter of pipes running dry. Worldwide, rising populations are putting ever greater stress on fresh water supplies.

There are little water-saving tricks that can help conserve this most precious resource. Ever since Mrs. Symington's high school biology class, I've learned to turn off the water while I'm brushing my teeth, for instance. And I'm in awe of those who somehow manage to take 3 minute showers. (Personally I'm a 15-20 minute shower guy...)

Anyway, Price Pfister is making it easy for us to take a giant step toward water conservation. The beautiful trough design of the Ashfield faucet limits the faucet to a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm) of water flow versus the 2.2 gpm industy standard. Despite cutting water volume by 30%, the faucet still promises not to compromise "the user's water experience."

Think the Ashfield trough would be out of place in your sleek modern home? Stay tuned for another Price Pfister faucet with the same water-saving advantages, but modern-inspired lines coming later this summer.

Meanwhile, if you want to save water without switching faucets, Price Pfister has Eco-Pfriendly™ aerators that can be added to existing faucets - saving up to 2,200 gallons of water per year by Price Pfister's calculations.

Note that the Ashfield faucet has EPA WaterSense certification.

Where to buy:
You can find the Price Pfister Ashfield WaterSense faucet nationwide at major home improvement retailers including Home Depot, Lowes and Menards.

Can a Bottled Water be Green?

Indoor plumbing is a fantastic thing -- turn on the tap in most any home in America and water gushes forth. I'm among those who believe we should use this essentially free resource as our main source of drinking water.

But suppose you've got a bottled water habit. Or perhaps you're going on a picnic or a long car trip and want a non-carbonated, unsweetened, zero calorie, zero fat, zero carbohydrate, zero sodium beverage along for the ride.

In that case, Primo water might just fit the bill. The Primo Water Corporation claims that it's beverage is 99.99% pure and that 3 out of 4 consumers preferred the taste of Primo bottled water over both municipal water and other bottled waters in blind taste tests involving thousands of participants.

(Primo attributes its taste advantage to the blend of minerals - calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate - it adds to the water. I'm no water connoisseur, but I do have to admit that Primo sells some pretty smooth and refreshing aqua.)

But what really got our attention was Primo's packaging. As the package says, Primo is an "American Grown Bottle - made from corn, not crude oil." According to the manufacturers, Primo water is the "first nationally available bottled water whose bottle is made from plants."

While nearly all plastic bottles are made from petroleum-based chemicals, Primo's bottle is made from a plastic called Ingeo(tm). Wikipedia has a nice brief summary of how Ingeo is basically made from plant sugars. (You can find out more about Ingeo at the website of its manufacturer, NatureWorks, LLC.) So you can still drink bottled water while supporting American industry (i.e. buying local) and kicking the petroleum habit - what a sweet solution!

And as an additional bonus, Primo says its bottles are free of Bisphenol A, an organic compound in some plastics that has raised health concerns.

Note that green does not mean more expensive in this case. In fact, Primo is actually far less expensive than many other bottled waters. For around $5, you can pick up a case of 18 16.9-ounce bottles at Kroger-owned stores and other locations around the country.