In these troubled economic times, could there be a silver lining? There may be in the form of the green jobs that will be created with the Obama administrations stimulus package, and this will mean an inflated bottom line for the green companies that have these green jobs. How to get started in the rocky world of green investing? One of the industry giants, Forbes.com, has a special portal just for green investors to read up a bit more on the subject. If this isn’t your cup of tea and you want a completely managed solution, have a look at some of these green advisors:

Rocky Mountain Humane Investing
http://www.greeninvestment.com/

Meritas
http://www.meritas.ca/

Globe and Mail
This leading Canadian paper crunched the numbers for some renewable energy stock recommendations on June 22.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/number-cruncher/bright-lights-among-renewable-energy-stocks/article1188043/

Business Week also published a great article this May about how green investing is picking up again.

While pollution, chemicals in food, and other environmental factors have long been thought to play a major role in various diseases, studies on the topic have been isolated and underfunded. Finally, the CDC is undertaking a massive project to gather data on the topic for further study.

The CDC has had a network in development since 2002 that tracks environmental public health concerns and is implementing it this year. This network will allow the CDC to examine public health data as an aggregate rather than trying to piece together different reports with different factors from various geographical regions.

The network will go a long way towards definitively proving things like the causal factors of asthma, making the path to funding easier for programs to eliminate things like mould or other forms of pollution. More at the Wall Street Journal.

A bottleless water cooler is a better choice for your office both cost-wise and environment-wise. The cooler is hooked up to the main water supply, and the water comes out chilled as it does in a conventional water cooler. Most companies will also sell service contracts to maintain your water cooler so that it keeps on running just as well as the day it is installed. They are more expensive initially than a water cooler that takes bottles, but the math quickly proves out the ongoing cost savings.

Most can be installed anywhere as well. They don’t need to be right next to a water source. They are just as stand-alone as a conventional water cooler and may be moved between premises. Here are some companies that offer them:

Aquarian Pure Water Company
http://www.apwater.com/

City Water International
http://www.cityh2o.com/home.php

Crystal Quest Water Coolers
http://ccwaterfilters.com/Water-Coolers

To search for one in your area, Google “bottleless water cooler” + “your town name”.

CBC reported today on the fact that trace amounts of BPA were found in baby food that is packaged in glass jars. BPA is used to make epoxy resins on the lids of metal jars, a fact that many consumers may not be aware of.

“It found the BPA levels in different baby food products ranged from 0.19 parts per billion to a high of 7.22 parts per billion in one particular brand of strained organic carrots.”

The tests were done on over 100 brands of baby food bought in Ottawa last August, and Health Canada maintains that the levels were low enough to not be of concern. Parents of most babies eating this food, however, would probably beg to differ.

Many fans of organic food and frugality have taken to making their own baby food. Here are a few sites that you can go to for more information:

Wholesome Baby Food
This site has a bunch of great baby food recipes.

Canadian Living
This article is a good overview on how to make your own.

Chow
These guys have tested several recipes for the approval of little mouths.

Once again, AlterNet serves up an excellent article on products that you should ban from your personal sphere of existence. They include:

Non-Stick Cookware

These contain PTFE, a substance that releases toxic gasses when heated. Grandma’s old cast iron pan is the suggested replacement.

Antibacterials
Anything that contains triclosan should be put back on the shelf. This product and other antibacterials increase the risk of antibiotic resistance, and with all the talk we’ve been hearing about flus, this just isn’t a good thing. Tea tree oil offers a milder antibacterial action that is more appropriate for a product like hand soap.

Plastic Bottles

This one is a little harder to get rid of, but the presence of BPA and the obscene petroleum use are both good reasons to at least limit their purchase. Single use plastic bottles used for water, soft drinks and juices are the worst. Go with glass for everything else and a stainless steel bottle for your workout water.

Air Fresheners

Scented candles, air fresheners, and similar products can lead to problems for the increasing number of people with asthma. They also contain phthalates, which can lead to fertility problems in young male children.

Plastic Bags

If you need another reason to bring your bags to the store, check this: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A patch of plastic bags and other garbage in the Pacific that stretches from off the coast of California to China (see video).

They mention other items as well, including some of the cleaning products that we’ve written about on this blog, but all in all if you can replace these items, you’re on your way to living a reasonably green lifestyle with little to no impact on your everyday life, except for improved health and less of a chance of developing cancer. Who doesn’t want that?

Does the thought of eco-friendly toilet paper conjure up images of sandpaper and 1-ply? We now have the technology to have comfort and eco-friendly in one package when it comes to toilet paper. One thing to look for is 100% recycled paper with at least 50% post-consumer recycled content. Here are a few products to get you started:

Cascades
100% recycled toilet paper. Cascades is one of the leading office suppliers in Canada, so if you are a buyer for a company, mark this one down on your list.

Let’s Go Green
This company features online sales of “Natural Value” toilet paper and other paper products.

100% Cotton Paper
No dyes or bleach have touched this recycled cotton toilet paper.

For more information, check this really helpful article in the Examiner and the resources that it points to at the end, including Greenpeace USA’s tissue guide.

The Environmental Working Group recently released their 2009 Report on the toxicity of popular sunscreens. There is some extremely detailed and scientifically-based information in here about what goes into your sunscreen and the benefits of using sunscreens with some ingredients over others.

One of the surprising findings was that sunscreens containing zinc and titanium are actually better for you due to the fact that they stop more harmful UVA radiation than those that do not contain these ingredients. This is contrary to a 2007 Consumer Reports study that recommended against sunscreens containing zinc and titanium. The EWG study is arguably much more in-depth than the consumer reports study, with a scientific approach to testing over 2000 sunscreen products.

For the Cliffs Notes version, see this article.

To Read the full report, cruise on over here.

For our article on organic sunscreens, take a trip down memory lane.

Speakers are one of those innocuous household items that you wouldn’t think come in “green”. But they do! Here are a few examples of eco-friendly speakers that you can use to replace your 80’s rec room energy hog models.

Ferguson Hill Transparent Speakers
OK, so these are blatantly expensive. But they are transparent! They’re Wonder Woman speakers! That, and they promise the highest quality sound for the least energy draw. Their unique horn shape allows them to use minimal power.

Bamboo Computer Speakers
These are available in all shapes and sizes, but I like these cute ones that look like bongo drums.

Escalante Speakers
Still want the 80’s look without the 80’s power draw? Escalante makes speakers out of recycled wood that won’t look out of place with a few Def Leppard or Metallica stickers on them.

Don’t forget to hit the “off” switch; many computer speaker systems don’t turn off with your computer or don’t do anything when your computer goes into “hibernate” mode. Arrange for a power bar to contain all of your non-essential office items and hit the off switch before you go home every night as part of your routine. The same idea may help you out at home as well, with non-essential items like printers and computer speakers being plugged in to a separate power bar.

The above was the trailer. To watch the full documentary, visit the CBC page.

As Arctic ice melts, resources aren’t the only thing up North that corporations are eyeing. They are also looking to expand shipping routes to make regular use of the famed Northwest Passage. This could bring invasive species, lead to hazardous waste and oil spills in environmentally sensitive areas, and harm existing wildlife. This was announced in a report delivered by the Arctic Council, a forum of Arctic nations. More over at the New York Times and in the documentary linked above.

What exactly do green web hosting companies do? Some donate proceeds to purchase carbon credits, some are powered partially or fully by alternative energy. It’s worth investigating if you are paying for a hosting solution right now to move your site over to a greener alternative.

Thinkhost
Powered by the wind of sun, team members telecommute, and every time you sign up for a new hosting package they plant a tree. There’s even more but we encourage you to go to their site and see what they’ve got.

Ethical Hosting
This Toronto, Canada company goes a tad further than the planting a tree thing and donates 10% of the profits from your new signup to a charitable organization.

..And Tons More
This is a directory of green web hosting solutions. You’re welcome!