Summertime is here and it's time to get our green in gear.

Typically summer is a time where we waste a great number of resources, like water to fuel our summer fun and energy to keep us cool. We tend to travel more by land and air in summer, which drives our carbon consumption off the charts.

Here are some simple ways to help green our summer:

1. Try a staycation instead of a no-holds-barred, see-the-world vacation. Vacationing closer to home will save energy and can ultimately be more relaxing than a full-on travel adventure. Exploring our local environs can be very rewarding and surprising. We certainly won't miss getting a ripping cold from recirculated air on a plane.
2. Conserve and recycle our gray water for the garden and lawn. This is a wonderful way to green our summer, literally and figuratively. A small bucket in the shower to catch over-spray, a small pan in the sink to catch the mostly clean water we use to wash our summer bounty. These two things alone can make a great overall difference. We can also try diverting our washing machine rinse water onto our gardens and lawns. Water is so precious, we don't have a drop to waste.
3. I know this next one is going to sound like a bummer but we need to get real about separating what our needs are and what are our desires are if we want to make a difference. We humans oftentimes get to feeling that we are entitled to more than our share of comfort. Turning off our air-conditioning and feeling the summer through our windows and doors is what I am talking about. Unless we are elderly or have health issues like asthma or some other serious disease, there is no reason why healthy humans can't put up with a little, or a lot, of heat in summer. In case you are wondering, we installed only one air-conditioning window unit at our house this year, a little oasis of cool for those especially desperate hot days. We use old-fashioned oscillating fans to cool ourselves when needed. The good news is, we have not melted yet.
4. This is an important one: Let our lawns be. Stop trying to kill every weed and bug in sight. Pesticides and herbicides are harming much more than what we intend them to harm. They can ruin our health, environment and wildlife, all for the sake of what? A green lawn that looks like a carpet? Are we crazy? We need to live and let live, in some great measure, all of the cogs in this great wheel.
5. Support local farming by shopping outside the box at your local farmers market or CSA. Becoming a locavore is a great way to keep our dollars working to better our own communities. It also saves on fuel consumption and fosters a great sense of community. Treat yourself this summer to some great local dining out as well.

If you have any suggestions for greening up our summer fun, please feel free to share them.

(Photo credit:chrisbaxter Super Eco group on flickr)

"Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage."  Mason Cooley

"It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish."  JRR Tolkien

"Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; try to use ordinary situations."  Jean Paul Richter

It seems that we humans are caught in the crushing curl of our own giant wave of trash. A long, sad and glorious tradition of using and dumping that spans the entirety of our time on earth.

We have evolved in so many ways yet our methods of dealing with our detritus have not changed that much. Dumping, burning, waste minimization and recycling follow us everywhere we go on Earth, like the swirl of brown dust that follows the beloved Pigpen in Charles Schultz's Peanuts cartoon. Lovable and messy, that's us!

Here are some ways we can all help to green our less-than-stellar human trash-timeline:

1. If we won't or can't clean it up, do not bring unnecessary stuff onto a beach, park, campsite or any other dedicated open space. Always follow the "pack it in...pack it out" principle. Leave nothing, take only pictures. Birds, fish and wildlife everywhere will want to hug us! This also sets a really great example for our small humans, who will inherit the Earth.
2. Leave each place we go cleaner than we find it. I have always admired people on the street who pick up and properly dispose of other people's trash everywhere they go. These are true everyday heroes. It is a great green exercise to bend, pick and toss, any trash we come across, into the proper receptacle.
3. Become aware; keep our friends close, keep our trash closer. By keeping a close watch on how much trash we throw away we can begin to get an idea of the magnitude of our own personal trash cloud. Remember: out of sight, out of mind.
4. Can we please quit building giant floating trash islands in the middle of the ocean. Swear a solemn oath to never, ever again avail ourselves of the dreaded plastic shopping bag. Let's start and or sign a petition to get them banned in our state, province or country. Just imagine, if we can, a landscape without dirty plastic bags blowing in the trees, what a concept.
5. Keep it in our car and not on the roadway! Roadway trash--typically cigarette butts--is a huge problem for the environment. Newsflash: cigarette butts are extremely toxic and chock full of water, soil and animal poisoning chemicals. Yikes, did we know this before we smoked 'em?
6. If our tendencies run towards laziness, consult the Lame Environmentalist for some great ways to trick ourselves into being green.
7. Let's all go to our windows, open them and shout "Let's love the earth and leave it better than we found it!"
8. No more excuses, we all know the drill by now: reduce what we consume, reuse it until it disappears into thin air, and recycle the rest.
9. The time is right for us all to get over our big-bad-old-selves and just do it!

Have a really great green day one and all!

(Photo credit:thelastminute on flickr)

Thanks to Xeros Ltd, a forward thinking company in the UK, the future of green washing machines is about to take one giant leap towards a more sustainable future.

According to Eco geek this new washer will hit the market by the end of next year. By cleaning clothes with tiny plastic beads, this new machine allows for a 90 percent reduction in water usage and could reduce utility bills up to 30 percent.

The 3mm-long recyclable nylon beads, along with a small amount of water and detergent, flood the machine during the wash cycle, then drain away with the water when the wash is done. The beads can be reused hundreds of times. The machine will also have the added environmental benefit of eliminating the need for dry cleaning delicate clothing.

The company claims that these machines will have a hugely beneficial environmental impact, stating that: " If all US homes converted to the Xeros cleaning system, the reduction in carbon footprint is equivalent to taking 5 million cars off American roads."

(Photo credit:parabola-pop in SuperEco group on flickr)

Blue books are so last-millenium ... Get up to date with ACEEE's Green Book. With ratings covering model years 2000 through 2010, not only can you find out what the straight-up greenest choices are, but you can narrow things down to the greenest gasoline-powered vehicles, too.

Here's how they do it:

We analyze automakers' test results for fuel economy and emissions as reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, along with other specifications reported by automakers. We estimate pollution from vehicle manufacturing, from the production and distribution of fuel and from vehicle tailpipes. We count air pollution, such as fine particles, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants according to the health problems caused by each pollutant. We then factor in greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) and combine the emissions estimates into a Green Score that runs on a scale from 0 to 100. The top vehicles this year score a 57, the average is 32 and the worst gas-guzzlers score around 16.

So what are the top five gasoline-powered vehicles for 2010?

1. Toyota Prius (51/48mpg city/highway, Green Score 52)
2. Honda Civic Hybrid (40/45mpg city/highway, Green Score 51)
3. Toyota Yaris (29/35mpg city/highway, Green Score 46)
4. Honda Fit (28/35mpg city/highway, Green Score 45)
5. Ford Escape Hybrid (34/31mpg city/highway, Green Score 42)

And for the hardcore among you, the very greenest choices for 2010:

1. Honda Civic GX (24/36mpg city/highway, Green Score 57)
2. Toyota Prius (51/48mpg city/highway, Green Score 52)
3. Honda Civic Hybrid (40/45mpg city/highway, Green Score 51)
4. Smart for Two Convertible/Coupe (33/41mpg city/highway, Green Score 50)
5. Honda Insight (40/43mpg city/highway, Green Score 50)

And to be totally balanced, the meanest vehicles for the environment in 2010 (for shame, people ... for shame):

1. Lamborghini Murcielago/Murcielago Roadster (8/13mpg city/highway, Green Score 18)
2. Bugatti Veyron (8/14mpg city/highway, Green Score 18)
3. Bentley Azure/Brooklands (9/15mpg city/highway, Green Score 18)
4. Maybach 57S (10/16mpg city/highway, Green Score 19)
5. Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab (Class 2B) (12/17mpg city/highway, Green Score 20)

(Photo credit:Motor Trend)

Are cars going the way of the dodo? Not any time soon—but it does appear that U.S. automobile numbers have entered a new era of decline. The number of cars scrapped finally exceeding the number of new cars sold last year, reports the Earth Policy Institute's Lester R. Brown. The total number of U.S. cars on the road down 4 million, or nearly 2 percent. The plunge was the first time cars scrapped exceeded new car sales since World War II. This trend appears set to continue its slide beyond 2020.

"The car promised mobility, and in a largely rural United States it delivered," says Brown. "But with four out of five Americans now living in cities, the growth in urban car numbers at some point provides just the opposite: immobility. The Texas Transportation Institute reports that U.S. congestion costs, including fuel wasted and time lost, climbed from $17 billion in 1982 to $87 billion in 2007."

More cars scrapped and fewer new cars sold aren't the only factors crunching the American auto fleet. Market saturation, ongoing urbanization, economic uncertainty, oil insecurity, rising gasoline prices, frustration with traffic congestion, mounting concerns about climate change, and a declining interest in cars among young people all contribute to dwindling numbers of vehicles on the road.

Fewer cars on the road sets the stage for two trends that we at Super Eco support whole-heartedly: public transit and high-speed intercity rail. Far from being an onerous example of how green living inconveniences consumers, public transit can be not only cost-effective, eco-friendly and convenient but entertaining, as well.

Even those of us who don't have access to public transportation can make do with a lot less when it comes to driving. Read our pointers for painless carpooling, and combine your trips with those of a friend with our ideas for fresh carpool destinations.

(Photo credit:gohsuket, flickr)

No muffler. No exhaust. No joke. Nissan's adding a new Leaf to the EV game.

The just-shown-off-in-L.A. Leaf is a zero-emissions, 100 percent battery-powered ride. And--bonus!--it's easier on the eyes than the Prius, the Insight or the Fusion. But is it easier on the wallet? I'll get there in a minute.

So, just in time for its global debut, here's your SuperEco quick-and-clean low-down on the five-seat hatchback Leaf:

Batteries Minus Green Guilt?
Lithium-ion car batteries, like those that power the Leaf, can be toxic time bombs. Not necessarily the Leaf's. Nissan says it's "working on" second-life uses for Leaf batteries with Japan's Sumitomo group.

They're more than just working on it; Leaf's batteries will be reused, recycled, refabricated and resold as energy-storing units for alternative power solutions, like wind and solar technologies. Nice. A cleaner grid=fewer fossil fuels.

How far will a Leaf battery take on a single charge? About 100 miles.

Extra Green Bennies
The Leaf is manufactured in a ("partially"?) wind turbine powered factor. Plus, parts of the sleek sedan, like the bumper, are made from recycled randoms, like plastic soda bottles and recycled fabrics. 

Price
How much will this adorable new Leaf cost? Nissan's not saying yet. They're "targeting the price in the range of other typical family sedans." Translation: Somewhere between $25,000 to $33,000, according to industry guesstimates. 

Want a closer look? Take a spin through Nissan's Leaf photo gallery. Isn't it cute? 

(Photo credit:Nissan)

It's hard to think of a more dramatic illustration of the "reduce, reuse, recycle" principle than using your own urine to power your car. Ok, we'll admit it: this isn't quite that dramatic in practice. The urea compound in question is actually man-made, and it's being used to help cut down on tailpipe emissions, not to power vehicles. But we still think the Mazda CX-7's "urea selective catalyst reduction" system deserves a green star for helping drivers get more sustainable "MPeeG" out of their vehicles.

Reports The Age from Australia, where the technology is being used for the first time in passenger vehicles:

The Mazda CX-7 uses a special man-made liquid similar to human urine to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). The compound, called AdBlue, is a mixture of roughly one-third pure urea and two-thirds demineralised water.

It is already widely used in the trucking industry in Europe and Australia and is common in diesel cars in Europe, but Mazda is the first to use the technology on a passenger vehicle in Australia.

The technology, called selective catalyst reduction, involves injecting the urea-based liquid into the car’s exhaust system to turn NOx emissions into harmless nitrogen and water.

It looks like we'll be seeing more of these urea systems everywhere in the years just ahead. Anticipated regulation in both Europe and the United States will limit diesel emissions necessitating the catalyst reduction systems on all cars.

(Photo credit:Mazda)

The basic principles of hypermiling read like the content of a Driver Education Manual. What a concept, drive like you were taught to drive by the DMV and you will lower your carbon footprint, save money at the pump and hopefully, the planet. Driving non-aggressively also has the added bonus of helping to save lives--I just thought I'd mention it!

Hypermilers keep their distance, use their signals and don't change lanes aggressively. In congested road conditions they drive the average speed of the traffic around them. On the open road they do not accelerate unnecessarily to beat lights--which is not a very green idea--or drive aggressively to prove a point or to give someone else a driving lesson. A Hypermiler anticipates lights and stop signs in advance by removing their foot from the gas and coasting to a stop. Acceleration should be smooth and steady, driving speeds should be consistent. 

According to an article at  Examiner.com, Hypermiling can increase overall fuel efficiency up to 33%. They also quote a study conducted by Edmunds that approximates the savings at more like 37%.

Eco Driving USA embraces the principles of hypermiling techniques while driving but also promotes the benefits of proper automobile maintenance. They reinforce the idea that getting regular oil changes, maintaining proper tire pressure, reducing unnecessary weight, etc. is also extremely important for the green minded driver.

Sensible hypermiling gives drivers an opportunity to apply the principles of non-violent communication to their driving. In other words, drive carefully, skillfully, as if our lives and not our egos depended on it. Hypermiling while driving and regularly maintaining our vehicles just makes plain-old, good common sense.

(Photo credit:TheBusyBrain)

It took less than a week for American drivers to burn through the original $1 billion the federal government earmarked for its "cash for clunkers" program, and the government has re-funded and extended the program. The Car Allowance Rebate System (as it's formally known) allows drivers to trade in their inefficient vehicles for a healthy rebate towards a new, fuel-efficient car.

The incentive program is obviously boosting auto sales—but what about the environmental impact? According to the Chicago Tribune, the most popular car to be turned in at Ford dealerships was the Explorer (about 16 miles per gallon combined city/highway), while the most popular car bought was the Focus (better than 29 miles per gallon). That switch saves about 5,600 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions every year, which adds up to something like $806 a year in gas.

Which is the greener choice, your old car or a new model? If you choose to hang onto your old set of wheels, look for other ways of cutting down on emissions (and save cash). Our favorites:

• Use your car less. A low-car diet is the way to go! (Even Gary Numan gives it a whirl.)
• No hybrid? Save gas anyway.
• Don't overlook public transit options.
• Consider car sharing.
• Try carpooling—it works for more than the daily commute to the office.

(Photo credit:PhotoDu.de, flickr)

The Honda reputation for quality stands as a not-inconsiderable selling point for thousands of car owners. I myself drive an old Honda Odyssey, left over from years as a carpooling mama ferrying half a dozen rowdy kids to school, the park and extracurricular activities every afternoon.

But drivers who were looking forward to ushering in the hybrid era with an economical new Honda Insight may be in for a letdown. The Insight's 38 mpg overall fuel economy may be the only selling point for what Consumer Reports calls "the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time."

Shocked? We were, too—but while the Insight's overall mileage earned it an excellent mark from Consumer Reports' engineers, the hybrid fell short in ride quality, handling, interior noise, acceleration, rear-seat, access and visibility.

"The Insight is the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time," said David Champion, senior director of CR's auto test center. "The Insight is a noisy, stiff-riding car with clumsy handling that is nothing like the Fit, on which it is based."

In a ratings chart of small hatchbacks and wagons, the Insight rated a limp 21st out of 22 vehicles tested. The Insight still managed to squeak out an overall "Good" rating but came up short as the only vehicle in CR's test group to not to be Recommended (except the Kia Soul, which was excluded because of a lack of reliability data from its manufacturer).

Given differences of opinion (Motor Week shone a more positive light on the Insight) and factors such as price (where the Insight excels), battery concerns (where the Prius has taken a recent news hit) and looks ("Look at me! I'm a hybrid!"), we wouldn't write the Insight off just yet. In fact, I've been thinking about what to do when my old faithful minivan finally gives up the ghost. Maybe we should take a spin by the Honda dealer to get a little Insight (har, har) into the market ...

(Photo credit:Beige Alert, flickr)