The Oscar buzz isn’t over just yet, as the media is still looking at who wore what on the big night. But who dressed green? Here’s a look at sustainable glam from this year’s Oscar awards.

SUZY AMIS CAMERON

LIVIA FIRTH

ROBERT KENNER

Academy Award nominee Robert Kenner, the director of Food Inc. is obviously dedicated to environmentalism, and he exemplified this by wearing the first American-crafted organic-wool tux ever to be made for the Oscars.

WOODY HARRELSON

The Best Supporting Actor nominee wore a black, custom tuxedo made from…hemp! Very appropriate, considering that Woody Harrelson is a an outspoken advocate of hemp reform.

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There are a lot of reasons to grow your own food. Gardening at home protects the environment, plus you know exactly what your food has come into contact with. Also food picked and eaten closer to ripening has more nutrients and antioxidants. You can grow an organic garden for very cheap with things you already have around the house. Check out these tips for a perfect organic garden.

1. Containers: You don’t have to buy the plastic seedling starters to get a jump on Mother Nature! Some paper towel rolls cut in half not only make a great place for seeds to start, but can be planted directly into the ground when the seedlings are ready to grow.

2. Seeds: Let’s say you find the perfect tomato and want some of them in your garden, instead of scouring the planet for seed packets, just use the seeds from produce you already have at your house!

3. Water: Nothing says green like a rain barrel. Summer is always a time of drought, so put a large container in a shady spot of your garden and you’ll have free water all summer long.

4. Fertilizer: Every good gardener knows compost is the only green way to get a garden moving. What cheaper way to boost your garden then by using your own food waste?

5. Pest control: Though many home improvement stores sell organic pesticides and herbicides now days, you can’t go wrong with clever planting. Be sure to plant daisies to attract lady bugs that will defend your garden from aphids, mites, whiteflies and scale. You’ll have tiny garden watch dogs as well as happy flowers without a whiff of chemicals. You can also use things like vinegar and beer to protect your plants.   

Click here for more green Home and Gardening tips from Road & Travel Magazine

Want a green vehicle? Your average gas powered car could be closer to environmentally friendly than you might think. Here are so steps you can take to make your car run great, look great, and save the planet.

1. Check out Your Tires: Tires keep at the proper pressure can save you a lot of gas in the long run.  

2. Smaller vehicle, newer vehicle: if you’re driving an older car, or an SUV, now might be the time to move to a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle.

3. Go Slow!: Lowering your speed on the highway will save a lot of gas. Today’s cars are manufactured to be most fuel efficient when driven at 55 mph. Drive at 70 mph, and you will be getting at least 5% less, miles-per-gallon, than if you drive at 55!

4. Preventative Maintenance: The best way to get the best mileage from your vehicle is to keep your vehicle well maintained. An engine that is not regularly serviced will burn more gas. Preventive maintenance saves you money in the long run, by maintaining your car’s fuel economy.

5. Control your right foot!: Gentle acceleration and gentle braking can save you up to 10% of your gas used. Vehicles are most inefficient when accelerating quickly away from rest. So, take it slowly and save gas.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are an easy way to go green. By replacing your traditional bulbs with CFL’s, you could cut your carbon foot print down by 10%! It uses 75% less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.
So why don’t more people use them? Some cons do come with the hefty list of pros. Here’s how to overcome some of the problems with CFLs.

1. Recycling CFLs have a small amount of Mercury in them, and so they need to be recycled to prevent this dangerous neurotoxin from leaking into ground water. Luckily there are many places where you can easily recycle your CFL bulbs. Check out recycleabulb.com for places near you.

2. Light QualityCFLs can give a room and people a washed out appearance that many of us who grew up in the warm glow of tradition incandescent bulbs find ugly. This too is easily fixed by paying attention to the Correlated Color Temperature, which should be around 2700k-3000k. These will mimic the light given off by traditional bulbs. You can also look for bulbs that list a warm ‘color’ to help with the harsh light.

3. ExpenseIt’s hard to get over the initial expense of purchasing CFL lamps, even though in the back of your mind you know you’re saving money! CFL’s last 13 times longer than traditional bulbs. Remember a CFL will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months!

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How green is your big box store? Even the big guys are beginning to see the light and are taking steps to be more carbon neutral, more organic, and more earth friendly.

Wal-Mart announced it plans to cut 20 million metric tons of carbon from it supplier chain by 2015. That’s the equivalent of taking 3.8 million cars off the road! They’ve also been installing solar panels on their mega marts, banishing plastic bags, and launching the Sustainability index, which will give customers more information on how green their products are. The bigger stores also offer organic fruits and vegetables.

Best Buy also gets props for building only eco friendly, LEED certified stores since 2008, as well as promoting a recycling program for electronics in all of its stores. They also lead the way in offering Energy Star appliances, which conserve energy and cut down on waste. 

Home Depot offers a huge array of eco friendly options for your home improvement needs. The EPA awarded this big box chain the SmartWay Excellence award for their dedication to offering non toxic paints and sustainable lumber. They are also one of the few places in the country where you can recycle your CLF light bulbs safely.  

These places are not perfect, building new outlets creates a lot of pollution and the packaging from items in these stores fill landfills every year. However the switch to sustainable business practices makes financial sense, so expect to see more and more changes happening every year!

Click here for more articles on green products from Road & Travel Magazine.

What's a Scion xB?

It's the sub-line of Toyota, sort of a brand within a brand to showcase custom-cool cars pitched to that 20-something market called Generation Y. 

Driver and a companion sit on contoured buckets separated by a floor-mounted console and followed by a bench in back with room for three plus seatbacks which split and fold to expand the aft cargo bay. There are a number of stow spots -- like a convenience tray for the driver, a glove box, console box and front door bins. Then a tray concealed below the back bench houses out-of-sight items like a laptop or camera.

This Scion feels fun to drive, particularly in an urban environment on city streets. It zips with a quick run through the lower gears, while handling seems acute with responsive steering conducive to quick-cut maneuvers.

xB's zip stems from a thrifty but lively 2.4-liter four-in-line engine with dual cams and Toyota's valve wizardry under the label of VVTL-i for variable valve timing and lift with intelligent control.

Plus it qualifies for ULEV-II (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) status and delivers fuel economy numbers up to 28 mpg.

The MSRP for a 2010 xB begins at $15,750 with a manual transmission. Add the automatic shifter and that figure rises to $16,700.

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Eco tourism is a great travel option for the environmentally conscious traveler, giving people not only a chance to take a vacation but also to do something positive for the environment. However, there are some dangers lurking in this rewarding experience.

Find the right trip. Do you want to experience nature, learn about it, or really help it? There are packages that fit almost every taste and objective, but if you're looking for a relaxing week and sign up to count bird nests or maintain hiking trails you'll be disappointed! Also be realistic about what you can do. If the package you're interested in requires a 20 mile hike and you can only do 5 miles you shouldn't push yourself. This is your vacation, make it enjoyable!

Beware of green washing. Green washing is normally a problem with products parading as ‘green’ without having any real credentials to do so. It is also a problem with eco tourism. Seriously consider if the trip does more harm than good to the area you’re traveling to. If part of the price of your trip is donated to preservation you know you have a good company to work with.

Consider your impact. Just being there creates an impact on the surrounding area. For example, problems have been arising with people visiting the Galapagos Islands to experience their pristine nature and marvelous diversity only to degrade the environment and legendary array of animals. You may not even realize the impact you’re having on an area until it is too late!

Make organization a priority. Disorganization can lead to travelers getting off the beaten path and causing environmental havoc, which is certainly not the eco-tourists intent. Be sure to look for low impact, small scale trips that focus on preservation and education of visitors.

Click here for more about environmentally friendly travel at Road & Travel Magazine

The Winter games in Vancouver won the gold medal for going green this year! Although the 2010 Winter Olympic Games are over, they will be remembered as the greenest games to date.

While new construction is never carbon neutral, the Vancouver Olympics held all new buildings to very high green standards. They all were required to adhere to the highest LEED building code possible, which requires strict rules for conservation of building materials, energy, and carbon output. A big hit was the Richmond Oval, a skating rink built with the already dead timber of pine trees affected by pine beetle infestations. Using this material saved living trees and prevented rot from the dead trees, which emits carbon dioxide.

The Olympic village, which housed over 1,500 athletes during the games reused captured methane gas from a former landfill and wastewater treatment system to heat and power the community. After the games these green apartments will be sold or rented to the residents of Vancouver. 

It wasn’t just the buildings that were green. Athlete’s were ferried to and from events by hydrogen powered buses and all public transportation was expanded and free to Olympic game ticket holders.  Even the Zamboni that cleared the ice was electric! British Columbia also spent three quarters of a billion dollars setting up a hydrogen refueling infrastructure that can serve the Vancouver community for years to come. Even the medals that Olympians received were made from recycled metals from the nearly 140,000 tons of electronic waste that clogs Canada’s landfills!

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Don’t have the green to go green with a new hybrid car? Buy it used! As the first generation of hybrid vehicles has made its rounds, you may have some questions when buying a used one. Here are a few things to remember when shopping for a used Hybrid.

Get it Inspected!
First, run a vehicle report, like CaFax on any used car you are planning on purchasing. Reports like these can give you insight into how many different owners the hybrid car has had, and alert you to any past accidents or damage.

If you're not buying from a dealer it’s a good idea to have the hybrid inspected by a dealer or an auto shop. Tell the dealer you are considering buying the car and would like a pre-purchase inspection. It will cost a little money for an inspection, but it's money well spent.

Mileage

Replacing a hybrid battery after the warranty has expired could cost $2,000 - $3,000. Prices for hybrid batteries will likely come down as more hybrid cars are on the road, and as battery technology improves.