How do you convey a message of sustainability when your job is, in essence, to help people widen their carbon footprint? Hotwire, the travel discount site, may have figured it out. Now, when customers book travel on its web site, Hotwire will offer them the option to buy carbon offsets through Terrapass. To sweeten the deal and encourage more responsible travelers, Hotwire will even split the cost!

Now, thanks to Hotwire’s offer, offsetting one week of driving, two weeks at a hotel or one domestic flight will cost you $6. You can purchase offsets for an international flight for $24.

Matching contributions! Think of it as a 401K for Mama Earth!

Some readers might not be surprised to see a story about good grass in Holland. From our friends at Inhabitat, we learn about grass trams taking root across Europe, from Holland to the Czech Republic.  A compelling blend of public transportation and urban landscaping, these ‘green lines‘ provide a new way of incorporating nature into the thick of a modern setting. Read Bridgette Steffen’s piece for more info.

An Eco-Entrepreneur’s New Model Of Sustainability:

What would you do if your boat came in? We’ve all spent idle moments contemplating it, what we’d do if we won the lottery or, say, started and then sold a successful derivatives and financial risk management software company. OK, maybe not so much the last part, but that’s what happened to Roger Lang when, in 1996, he led his company, Infinity, to a successful (and profitable) merger with SunGuard Data Systems. Three years later, at age 40, Roger ‘retired’ and set his sights on a bold experiment in conservation that’s been described as “part anthropology, part economics, part Gunsmoke and part Greenpeace.” With no previous ranching experience, Roger purchased Sun Ranch, a 20,000 acre ranch in Montana’s Madison Valley, 40 miles north of Yellowstone National Park, and set about challenging the traditional relationship between ranching and conservation and to demonstrate that not only could cattle ranching and environmentalism coexist, but, ultimately, they can save each other.

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We’ve covered phones that track your carbon footprint, iPhone apps that help you go green, and now, courtesy of Motorola, a phone made with recycled plastic! The MOTO W233 Renew’s plastic housing is made from recycled water bottles and comes with 22% less packaging and, according to Motorola, is carbon neutral.

Following the lead of other major manufacturers (most notably HP), Motorola has introduced a recycling program, for phones and accessories. The Renew evens comes with a postage-paid envelope to encourage consumers to return the device for repurposing.

Now, talking the talk could mean walking the walk.

They will always be polarizing, but the New York Times has a great article about the greening of Wal-Mart, covering a lot of ground - early shareholder pressures, labor practices, CFL sales, and one of the ways their sustainability plan changed the packaging industry:

“By selling only concentrated liquid laundry detergent, an effort it began last year, Wal-Mart says, its customers will save more than 400 million gallons of water, 95 million pounds of plastic resin, 125 million pounds of cardboard and 520,000 gallons of diesel fuel over three years.”

NYT - Green-Light Specials, Now at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart - Save & Live Green

We’ve seen this video kicking around on a number of blogs- it placed Third in Brighter Planet’s Climate Matters competition- and thought we’d share it. “This Lawn Is Your Lawn,” by Roger Doiron, was produced as part of the “Eat the View!” campaign, an effort by the nonprofit Kitchen Gardeners International that seeks to inspire people to grow their own food in home gardens. This is one of several videos Doiron and co. have made to specifically encourage the Obamas to commit part of the ‘First Lawn’ to growing food for the ‘First  Family.’

A sustainable garden on the Front Lawn? A White House compost? Serving home-grown tomatoes at a State Dinner? These sound like great ideas to help President Obama usher in a new era of responsibility!

Check out Tara Parker-Pope’s recent piece for NY Times, to see how some past presidents have tended to the White House gardens.

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More good news from the Pacific Northwest, as outdoor gear specialists Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) announced it will add the Bluesign standard to its product design process. As reported by the folks at GreenerDesign, REI “plans to use Bluesign’s research to inform product design and sourcing decisions.” Rather than testing finished products, the Bluesign standard ensures that components and processes meet specific criteria before production begins.

Pre-consumer sustainability! It’s such a simple concept- a cradle to cradle approach- and no surprise that companies inspired by a love of nature (Patagonia, REI, Timberland…) are leading the way. We’ll look for their successes to inspire other industries.

Don’t mess with Texas! Well, don’t mess with Austin, anyway, which has laid out an ambitious goal of diverting 90% of the city’s mess (waste) by 2040. With typical Texan aplomb, city official’s are calling this their “Zero Waste…or Darn Near” campaign. The measure received unanimous approval by the Austin City Council, which said its strategic plan includes: expanded and improved recycling and composting, new rules and incentives to reduce waste, preserved land for sustainable development and green industry infrastructure, advocacy for manufacturer responsibility, and education and community involvement programs.

Surprised to see the Lone Star State capital so ahead of the curve? You shouldn’t be. Austin has been one of America’s greenest cities for years (recently selected #1 Greenest City by MSN), and it’s home to the headquarters of sustainability pioneers Whole Foods.

Can we all agree that Robert Redford is one cool dude? It’s difficult to be political without being preachy, topical without seeming an opportunist and passionate about change without coming across as a conspiracy theorist. Paul Newman perfected it, and Bono has reinvented it with a brogue and over-sized shades. After yesterday’s exciting inaugural address, it’s hard not to feel hopeful that our new president can bring it to the White House.

Meanwhile, Redford has managed all three, quietly building a career as a game-changing activist. His dual advocacy of artistic freedom and environmental causes has come together under his leadership at the annual Sundance Film Festival, underway this week in Utah, and with the programming of the Sundance Channel.

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(Al Gore in the house! - pic from the NYT)

As a record number of private jets landed in Washington this week, it sounds like event planners exhausted all green possibilities in planning their inaugural celebrations. From organic food to LED lighting, party goers can rest easy knowing their fun was not only considered, but most certainly offset. For $500 a head, it better be. Hopefully the event industry starts seeing these measures as best practices. See more below:

Green Inc. - No Organic Cotton At The Green Ball

MSNBC - A Green Tie Affair

NPR - Green Ball: Eco-Friendly Glamour

The Green Inaugural Ball - Details

Today, the entire world tunes in to see Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President. As comedian Chris Rock recently joked, “I’ve never watched an inauguration…It was never like, “I can’t wait till tomorrow. Oh my god! They’re going to swear in Jimmy Carter!” Expectations are high, and so too are the stakes. Pundits predict Obama’s inaugural address will focus on the theme of ‘responsibility,’ and, fittingly, his speech will be set against the backdrop of the greenest inaugural celebration in history.

Critics will argue that with more than four million people expected to arrive in DC this week (including celebrities flying in on private jets), claims of a “green event” are empty. But the culture of responsibility will be on display, thanks to an impressive array of eco-friendly initiatives. Some of them include: EPA officials advising event organizers on ways to reduce waste and maximize efficiency, bike riders being treated to valet parking, public restrooms featuring air dryers instead of paper towels, and caterers who compost and recycle. That, as they say, is change we can believe in.

Here comes the electric vehicle! The Pope has one, apparently tricked out in fancy Italian leather. The Washington Nationals have a fleet of them for a variety of uses around their LEED certified ballpark. Security guards and facilities personnel across a growing number of college campuses are driving them. And, as recently reported on PSFK, the US Army is leasing 4,000 of them to help the military achieve its goal of reducing emissions by 20% over the next four years.

Made by Global Electric Motors, a subsidiary of Chrysler, these puppies are street legal (on roads up to 35 mph) and have a range of 30-50 miles on one charge. Plug them into a standard socket, and the GEM will charge fully in 6-8 hours.

The old iconic image of the Army Jeep might soon be replaced by what some are calling a glorified golf cart. Hard to imagine Patton giving a “go give ‘em hell” speech to his troops from a GEM, but we’re glad to see the Army going green!

Sustainability 2.0, perhaps. A new trend gaining momentum in the sustainability movement is the so-called ‘Cradle-to-cradle’ approach to design and manufacturing.  In her enlightening post on GreenerDesign, Sarah Fister Gale suggests that while manufacturers have spent millions investing in greener practices and products, that’s not enough. Unless a product’s full life-cycle is considered, “landfills will continue to overflow with these ’sustainably-designed’ products whose usefulness have come to an end.”

William McDonaugh and Michael Braungart popularized the concept in their book, Cradle To Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, in which they argue for a “transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.” It’s sometimes surprising to see which industries are more effectively making that transformation.

The auto industry, for example, has embraced elements of this approach. Gale points out, “Ford has strict requirements for recyclability in vehicle designs,” with the ultimate goal of dismantling, sorting and repurposing “up to 95 percent of any vehicle at the end of life.”

Paradoxically, manufacturers of some renewable energy technologies, like solar panels, wrestle with sustainability issues upstream (manufacturing process) and downstream (repurposing process).

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It’s not surprising to hear the mood at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week is a little subdued. The only buzz being generated by the Big Three is about the “going out of business” sale price on their Gulfstream V’s. For the first time, a South Korean car (Hyundai’s Genesis) was honored as the North American Car of the Year. But the real excitement was around the unveiling of some of the hybrids and EVs at this year’s show.

The 2010 Prius, for instance, reports a 9% improvement in fuel economy (to 50 mpg!) and a solar panel roof, which won’t power the AC (as rumor had it) but instead will provide power to the ventilation system. The newest SmartCar (ForTwo Electric Drive) looks promising, and, against the prevailing pessimism of the car biz, Smart USA announced it exceeded its 16,000 unit target by more than 8,000 sales. While parent Daimler hasn’t announced specifications of the ForTwo Electric Drive, it will be powered by a lithium-ion battery.

It seems the biggest buzz surrounded the unveiling of a hybrid sportscar, the Fisker Karma. The Karma uses so-called Q-Drive plug-in technology, which will allow the car to go 50 miles before burning fuel. A solar panel on the roof can add 4-5 miles per week, if parked outside. And the Karma will average 100 mpg.

Of course, the Karma could be yours for a cool $87,000.

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If you’re going to pay $3 for a bus ride in NYC, how about paying pennies more to support the city’s green initiatives? That’s the question New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority may ask its customers to consider. As William Neuman writes on the NY Times City Room Blog, the MTA said it may introduce a “‘green MetroCard’ program that would let riders make tax-deductible donations to support efforts to make its operations more environmentally sustainable.”

The MTA is already planning significant fare increases- a $2 bus ride might rise to as much as $3, and the cost of a 30 Day Unlimited Metrocard is expected to increase 23%- to help pay for a widening budget gap. But they’ll give riders the option of tacking on an extra charge to support the city’s green initiatives, which, incidentally, include plans to lessen the environmental impact of the MTA’s operations.

In this city, in this economy, can this campaign resonate with commuters? Well, if we learned anything from Ghostbusters II - and who can really argue that we didn’t? - it’s that, however unlikely, NYers can “channel benevolence” and prevail! We’ll be watching this initiative (oh, and the rumors of Ghostbusters III)!

It’s an interesting dilemma when the things designed to keep us safer are also the things that make us less safe. I’m talking, in this case, about road salt. According to the EPA, around 11 million tons of road salt are sprinkled (dropped? placed?) on US roads each winter. Road salt not only helps cars find better traction in snowy conditions, but the chemical compound of the salt lowers the freezing temperature on the ground, limiting the build up of ice. But the EPA (along with other environmental advocacy groups) has identified ways in which road salt can contaminate rivers, lakes and other public water supplies.

This is not necessarily a new finding- the Department of Transportation sent an internal memorandum in 2003 acknowledging the risks but deferring action to future policymakers- and, since no one questions the need to make our roads safer, road salt is seen as a necessary evil.

But is it?

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The holidays are behind us, and, if you’re like me, you’re already wondering about the next one. If skiing is in your plans, you might be interested in  The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition recent report card on the “eco-friendliness” of US ski resorts. They use a grade of 0-100. Anything over a 70% is an A. The SACC grade resorts on land and water conservation, use of renewable energies (if any) and overall commitment to green.

Among the ones that scored best: Telluride (CO), Mount Bachelor (OR), Bogus Basin (ID) and Aspen (CO). No resort in Vermont cracked the top ten? C’mon! Rounding out the “least green,” Crystal Mountain (WA), Brundage Mountain (ID), White Pass (WA) and 49 Degrees North Resort (WA). C’mon Washington! Ouch! But Washington’s resorts are still greener than that world’s least green resort: Dubai.

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The National Audubon Society is flying high lately. The revered non-profit conservancy has earned the competitive LEED® Platinum Certification for its new headquarters in New York City. The home office at 225 Varick Street received the highest point total of any commercial interior in the world evaluated for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Audubon has been in the vanguard of green office design before. It’s previous location is considered the first “green building in NYC,” and it’s conversion preceded the establishment of LEED certification standards.

According to John Flicker, Audubon President & CEO, the achievement, “in a leased space, will be a model that can be replicated by more and more businesses and organizations. It certainly delivers on Audubon’s responsibility to have a cost-effective, quality workplace that aligns with our environmental values.”

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Odds are your New Year’s Resolutions started and stopped with that attempt you made at sit-ups Tuesday night, but in the spirit of making sustainable goals, check out this list from Patagonia’s blog:

The Cleanest Line: 9 for 9 - Nine Green Resolutions for 2009

According to the EPA, 82% of disposed electronics end up in landfills each year. That’s nearly 2 million tons of gizmo junk per year. Now, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronics is looking for ways to help curb this trend.

Sony has launched a new environmental initiative it has dubbed its ‘Green Glove‘ service, aimed at helping people responsibly dispose of their old TVs. Customers purchasing a Bravia high-definition television, 32 inches or larger, will enjoy not just home-delivery and installation, but Sony is also offering to haul away old sets for proper recycling.

If you’re not taking advantage of the ‘Green Glove’ service, Sony provides a list of drop-off locations (here), through their partners on this initiative, Waste Management Recycle America.

There has been a lot of buzz about the NYT’s recent article about “greening” snowboards, some of which specifically questions the sustainable nature of the sport - see Treehugger’s interpretation. We’re hoping we get our neighbors over at Burton to comment in a follow-up, but what do you think?

The New York Times - Board Makers Offer the Green Option

Treehugger - Can A Snowboard Be Green?

This is pretty cool. Energizer will unveil its portable solar-powered AA and AAA battery charger at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. The charger is waterproof, comes with a USB port to power your gadgets and, if you haven’t seen the sun in a while (yeah, I’m talking to you Sweden), it can be charged from an AC outlet too.

Look for it in stores this summer.

Why should we care about Audi’s R8 V10 sportscar? With a price tag of nearly $200,000, it’s just a tad out of reach for the average consumer. It’s certainly no hybrid, with a less than impressive 20 mpg. What makes this car a breakthrough? The headlights.

The German car manufacturer recently announced its plans to make its R8 the world’s first car with LED headlights for both lo and hi beam headlights as standard features. Audi has been a pioneer in LED headlight technology, and, according to the company, the bulbs require just a quarter of the energy used by standard halogen lamps. Audi expects LED bulbs to be eight times more efficient by 2018.

In what should be an example of trickledown eco-nomics, it won’t be long before we can see these types of headlights come standard in hybrids and electric cars.

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The Green Education Foundation (GEF), a Massachusetts-based non-profit, is hoping to mobilize more than one million students to participate in National Green Week, a free environmental education program aimed at promoting pro-green habits in children, families and communities. The event, planned for the week of February 2-9, 2009, is based on the highly successful Fisher Elementary Green School Experiment, conducted in a small, suburban school in Walpole, MA, in June of 2008. The Fisher program resulted in a 70% reduction in classroom waste (200 pounds a day) and new town-wide recycling programs.

“By participating in National Green Week, students will learn that simple decisions such as the selection of waste-free snacks and drinks can combat monumental environmental problems, says Victoria Waters, the GEF’s President and Founder. Waters adds, “Children are in the best position to impact the future of our environment by developing green behaviors that become lifelong habits.”

Simple change. Green tweaks. Talk about loving tomorrow today! For more information, visit the GEF’s site.

We were excited to see Kate Galbraith’s post in the NY Times ‘Green Inc.’ blog about the University of Colorado’s plans for a ‘zero waste’ football stadium. [Is it eco-gloating if we point out that we beat the NY Times by more than two months to this story?] After some early missteps, Ralphie’s Green Stampede, as CU’s program is called, seems to have had a successful first year. About 80% of all materials generated inside the stadium- an unprecedented amount for a major sports venue- were diverted from landfills whether through reuse, recycling or composting. As Galbraith suggests, while the team finished a disappointing 5-7, this season will be remembered for something other than football!