Green Choice award at GreatNonprofits

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in advancing Green causes around a whole host of issues - habitat preservation, alternative energy, wildlife conservation, etc.

If you're looking to find some of the best eco-friendly nonprofits, the website GreatNonprofits.org is a good place to start.

GreatNonprofits.org recently held its 2009 Green Choice Awards and picked three winners that definitely deserve a lot of praise. And the winners are...

1. Hayes Valley Neighborhood Park Group, San Francisco

2. Slide Ranch, Muir Beach, California

3. Chewonki Foundation, Wiscasset, Maine

Commenting about the Green Choice Awards and the winners, GreatNonprofits.org's Founder and CEO Perla Ni said - “There are so many great nonprofits who don’t have an advertising budget and are not household names. Similar to what Yelp has done for small restaurants, we enable grassroots nonprofits to gain recognition. Now there’s an even playing-field through the genuine testimonials and reviews of people who have seen the work of a nonprofit first-hand. Donors and volunteers now have a source of information for which nonprofits are accountable and effective.”

So check out GreatNonprofits.org. Maybe you'll find a great eco-friendly nonprofit in your own backyard that needs your help or deserves your support

News Flash - Rodale.com Launches

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a launch event for Rodale.com.

Created by the same company that has been promoting Organic Gardening since 1942, Rodale.com promises to offer a cornucopia of information on how to live healthy, eco-friendly lives. (Which explains the site's slogan - "Where Health Meets Green".)

Rodale.com provides easy access to searchable databases on home remedies and healthy recipes from Prevention.

Plus Rodale.com has plenty of original eco/health news stories and videos that manage to entertain while they instruct.

(There are also fun money-saving eco-living tips from a contributor named Jean Nick, a.k.a. The Nickel Pincher.)

Still not convinced to take a look? The site is running a contest right now where newsletter subscribers have a chance to win a $16,000 Canyon Ranch getaway!

If that's not incentive, I highly recommend taking a look at Maria Rodale's own thought-provoking blog - "Maria's Farm Country Kitchen".

In short, there's lots of valuable information and advice on Rodale.com that could make the site worthwhile for anyone interested in living a healthy, eco-friendly life.

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.