Running on Sun Juice

For the Over-Scheduled Friend: Solio Charger

Actually, wait. For YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW: Solio Charger

This sleek little gadget IS the future. I love love love it. Basically, it soaks up solar energy, stores it, and then charges your iPod or cell phone anytime you want. Plus, it's pretty.

There are a couple different makes and colors available. Here's a black one:
Solio Charger, $80.00
http://store.solio.com/s.nl/it.A/id.790/.f

Generosity is Awesome

For the Baby: Zoo Cubes

How cool are these? They're stuffed animals, except cubes. I love cubes. The plushy creatures are handmade with reclaimed wool by a guy in Canada. You can get matching hand puppets and normal animals and art work too, but puppets are freaky.

Zoo cubes, $30.00

http://www.cateandlevi.com/

Keep Giving

And now, the next installment of...

For the Bro: Organic V-Neck

I mean, obviously. This one is by American Apparel and it's made of organic cotton. Suit your bro's personality with an exciting color such as Cinder, Galaxy, or Pomegranate.

American Apparel, Organic Fine Jersey Short Sleeve V-Neck, $19.00 http://www.americanapparel.com/2456org.html?cid=107

Tis the Season

Introducing...


Fa la la, it's time to be generous. Time to watch little Susie's eyes light up when she sees that Bratz doll, and to hear her sister Marlene crying in the bathroom because she couldn't fit into the size small jeans from Abercrombie. In other words, time to bring joy to the world and make it a better place for us all.

And when you're out looking for present, why not do the planet a good turn as well? Hmm. There are dangers. Don't be the guy who gives everyone a steel water bottle for Christmas. Can you spell r-i-g-h-t-e-o-u-s c-h-e-a-p-s-k-a-t-e?? Actually, those things are mad overpriced. But trust me, they won't be appreciated.

So we've decided to help y'all out a bit. By choosing a green gift for everyone on your list. Let's get started...

For the Republican: Biodegradeable Shotgun Shells


They'll be having so much fun shooting doves and other fuzzy/winged creatures that they won't even NOTICE they're saving the planet. These shells feature non-toxic steel shot and are 100% free of plastic wadding. You can google shotguns if you're confused. Except if you're a Republican and you support gun rights and you don't even know how a shotgun works, that's just sort of pathetic.

GreenLite Shotshells, $15/box
http://polywad.com/greenlite.html

Ten Hours to Green

Okay, if you're in New Haven like me, it's more like 9:21:16 hours to green. But it was a spin off of ten seconds to green, so I went with it.
Either way -- we're getting just under 9.5 hours of sunlight these days. In otherwords, 9.5 hours in which you don't REALLY need to have any artificial lights on.
Think about it. If you used only natural light for ONE day, wouldn't you feel like a ridiculously good person? And if you're going to do that, why not do it on one of the shortest days of the year? So genius.


Just for context: My room is lit by four 100-watt bulbs. If I turn that off for 9 hours, I'm saving 3.6 kilowatt-hours of energy. If I shut off all the lights on the second floor of my house, I'm saving about 25 kilowatt-hours of energy. If I shut off...you get the idea. It adds up, people. Now QUICK DO IT BEFORE THE SOLSTICE NOW NOW NOW