Wecanlivegreen’s Weblog

We’ve been scouring the California countryside for the perfect hybrid car. Last week, we drove the Toyota Prius and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. This week, the Honda Civic hybrid.

Marina: The Honda Civic hybrid is gorgeous and drives so well! With a reported
40 mpg city and 45 mpg highway, the Civic is comparable to the Prius, except it is roomier and feels safer.

Jim: The Honda Civic has a 5 star crash rating for frontal and side-impact crash testing. Safety is my number one concern and Honda definitely passes the test.

Marina: The mpg is great! Fuel efficiency is my biggest concern.

Jim: At first glance, it seems that Honda might be our car.

Marina: Except the Civic isn’t roomy enough for our trips to the mountains and to the oceans.

Jim: We need clearance for the snow and the ability to get where we need to get in the mountains. For our days at the ocean, we need room to store our surfboards.

We found a great document to review that gives the scorecards on all 2008 hybrid vehicles. It also breaks down the different rating systems for the hybrid vehicles. Take a look.

While we are excited about the Honda’s mpg, safety and track record, we are still looking for just the right fit for us. We both secretly have our preferred vehicle but we will keep looking. We only have a few more cars we are considering. We’ll keep you posted!

Jim and Marina - We Can Live Green

I am admittedly the biggest Hugo’s Natural Botanical Apothecary products fan ever! And when I saw Hugo this weekend at the EcoGift Expo, I was starstruck. The man is amazing. And humble. And brilliant. And he creates extraordinary products.

Which brings me to a sample he gave me to try. Hugo’s Lip Balm in pineapple and coconut scent. I hope he gave it to me to try out of the kindness of his heart and not because he could see the sad, wintry chapped lips I have right now. But none the less, I was given lip balm. And I tried it.

Not that I would have expected anything less from Hugo, but I love the lip balm! My personal experience with lip balm is that your lips feel great for about half an hour. Then, before you know it, your lips are back to being chapped again. That is not the case with Hugo’s Lip Balm. (Again, I am not surprised. My personal belief is that Hugo is part-magician, as his products work miracles!) I put on lip balm at 7:00ish last night and it is 5:45 p.m. on Sunday. I haven’t reapplied lip balm since yesterday. It works that well! And the flavors are delicious…just don’t eat them. I mean it.

Penelope, the Newbie - We Can Live Green

The Thousand Oaks city council agreed to compromise on a plan to develop Broome Ranch (aka Rancho Potrero) due to a stunning and eloquent community outcry. The original Broome Ranch development plan called for a 200 person plus pavilion to be developed in land that adjoins the Santa Monica National Park system, in addition to smaller structures and parking lots. This plan was met with strong disapproval from the community, which like many other communities in California have seen their national wild lands whittled down over the last twenty years for residential and commercial building projects.

A final stand was made the evening of December 5, where community members from all professions and walks of life voiced their concerns in front of a focus group, related agencies and city representatives. In a truly moving and eloquent display of environmental stewardship, members of the community pleaded with city officials to consider the short and long-term impacts of disrupting one of the last untouched ecosystems in the state of California. Biologists warned of ecological disruption on endangered and declining species in the region. Parents begged to keep Broome Ranch wild. Children stood up and spoke about their love for the area.

And, it appears, the city council listened. A compromise was reached and will go before the Thousand Oaks City Council, Conejo Recreation and Parks District and the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency.

“In wildness lies the preservation of mankind.” Henry David Thoreau

Allie - Reporting Green at We Can Live Green

Green Technology, in conjunction with the state of California, held the first California Green Schools Summit last week. The Summit, aimed at furthering Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s green building initiatives in California schools, brought together state officials, environmental leaders, green products and services companies and a host of celebrities in a three day summit held December 4-6, 2007 in Pasadena, California.

The summit featured:

• 75 educational workshops and sessions
• an exhibition floor complete with a model green school building and more than 200 companies offering green products and services
• a special “Student Summit” featuring green-school projects for California high school students
• keynote speakers
• an awards ceremony to celebrate sustainable schools throughout the state.

As Secretary Rosario Marin and State Architect David Thorman wrote in a recent commentary for the Summit, ” A school is not just a building, as any parent or teacher can tell you. Our schools provide an environment that fosters learning and provides young people with knowledge and experience that enable them to imagine their futures.” Indeed, it is no minor task to create a school that facilitates learning and provides a safe and healthy environment for students to learn. Add in the moral mandate we all have to build in an ethical, sustainable and socially responsible fashion, and one can quickly ascertain that the task set before Californians for greener schools is an immense challenge.

But it is not an impossible challenge, as evidenced by the tremendous number of exhibitors, state officials, educators, students and community members who participated in this event. California has set the pace for other states in recent legislation titled Proposition 1D, which allocated $100 million to assist the process of greening California’s K-12 schools.

Never one to shy away from leading the rest of the country, California is setting the pace once again.

For more information on the Green Schools Summit, please go to Green Technology.

Allie - Reporting Green for We Can Live Green

We drove a few hybrid models this week. We focused this week on Toyota - so we tried the Prius and the new Highlander Hybrid. We had mixed reviews on both based upon our goals of fuel efficiency (Marina) and safety (Jim). Following are a few of our thoughts:

Jim: The Prius gets great gas mileage, but when driving in it, I felt a bit like it is a deathtrap on wheels. You’d have to drive the Southern California freeways to get what I mean here. Any one out there that does knows that safety is always a concern when driving on the freeways. Speaking of safety, the crash test ratings are great for the vehicle. However, these crash tests are always measured as a straight on or direct side collision with one object stationary. Accidents don’t happen that way and the laws of physics will definitely be in the favor of a larger vehicle if this Prius gets hit on the road. There’s got to be a safer option out there.

Marina: Yes, it is a smaller car. I happen to think they are cute. And I love what they stand for. Freedom from the gas pump. I like feeling like I am making a strong statement every time I get in my car. The Prius feels like a taller vehicle inside than I imagined. The only thing I really didn’t like was that I felt very vulnerable in the event of a side crash. There’s not much between the occupants of the car and the world outside. I don’t like that. Also, no more trips to the mountains (snowboarding) or oceans (surfing) with this car.

Jim: Now the Highlander Hybrid is a different story for me. It’s safe - all five star crash test ratings except for the passenger side which received a four star crash test rating. It’s a little bulkier. Due to its size, it should survive a crash better, and there are front and side curtain airbags. It would fit our lifestyle, Marina’s interest in fuel efficiency and my goal of safety.

Marina: I liked the way the Highlander Hybrid drove. Very smooth. It has a great feature where I can monitor my fuel efficiency as I drive. The Highlander Hybrid is an SULEV which means it is 90% more fuel efficient than an average vehicle. The Prius has a PZEV rating and it is 95%plus more efficient than an average vehicle. I don’t know how much difference that 5%plus makes. I’m looking that up this week. The Highlander Hybrid does feel safer and it fits our lifestyle. I think we are both interested in the Highlander, but I want to explore all options first.

Until next week -

Jim and Marina, Newly Married and Newly Green, writing for We Can Live Green

I may be a little too hard-core green for mainstream America on this one, but I’m going to give it a shot. I happen to think I’ve got some great ideas that aren’t too crazy and will make a huge impact on the planet.

Take Christmas. I may sound a little cynical from time to time, but the truth is, I am a sentimentalist just like many others out there. I love the holidays. I love the feeling in the air that permeates cities, towns and homes - the laughter, the songs, that general feeling of merriment.

But the thing is…I love planet Earth even more than any given holiday. And many of our holiday traditions are wasteful and harmful to planet Earth. So, I’m proposing people forgo the following activities this holiday season. Here are a few ideas:

1. Don’t put up holiday lights this year. I’m not putting up lights this year. Call me grinch if you want to. If you can’t imagine the holidays without lights, please use the more energy-efficient lights called LED lights. They are now widely available across the United States.

2 If you must have a Christmas tree, buy a living Christmas tree. Take care of it throughout the holidays and plant it after the holidays are over. You should be able to get your local forestry service to plant the tree, or in Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California you can rent a living Christmas tree and they’ll take care of planting the tree for you.

3. Make your gifts this year. Back to the sentimentalist in me, those presents are best. Enough said on that.

4. If you’re buying gifts, check out our Green Gift Guide as well as our online directory. If you plan to buy gifts, please buy gifts that are responsible.

When it’s all said and done, each decision we make is either hurting or helping the planet. There is really no gray area here. So, make the decision to help the planet by foregoing a few holiday traditions. Come to think of it, that’s really the spirit of Christmas at work, isn’t it? Maybe this Greenie isn’t trying to steal Christmas after all.

Chase - Die Hard Greenie, We Can Live Green Staffer at http://www.wecanlivegreen.com

I am a coffee addict. I admit it. There’s just something indescribably delicious about the warmth, smell and flavor of a freshly roasted batch of morning coffee. For me, it’s like the universe just wants to say “Good Morning, Penelope!”. Those of you who love coffee know what I’m talking about here.

I am also a ‘greenie’. I want to do the right thing. I want to change the world. I want to help others change.

And I want to drink coffee.

For some, there may not appear to be a conflict of interest when I make these statements. Others know the harsh truth. A few quick facts: Coffee is a leading U.S. import. In fact, the U.S. consumes 1/5 of the world’s coffee, making us the leading consumer of coffee. Globally, coffee is consumed 1/3 as much as tap water. Think about that! That’s a lot of coffee. But the harsh truth is that the global coffee industry has a dark (unfortunately not dark-roasted) history of non-sustainable, anti-fair trade practices. Because of this truth, I have made a personal choice to only drink fair trade coffee. (See Global Exchange for more information on fair trade coffee)

Which leads me to ‘the best thing since sliced bread’ - Trader Joes Fair Trade Certified, Organic, Shade Grown, Kosher Ethiopian Medium Dark Roast Coffee, 13 oz, $6.99. You can find a store near you at http://www.traderjoes.com/locations.asp.

It truly is the most delicious, sustainable, ethical, fantastic coffee ever! In fact, I’m signing off for now. I’m going to make myself another cup.

Penelope - the Newbie, We Can Live Green staffer at http://www.wecanlivegreen.com

We’re relative newcomers to the world of green. So, we’ve been spending a lot of time trying to find the ‘perfect’ solution to our transportation needs. A little about us…we are married couple in our thirties, with two careers, a dog, student loans and a mortgage. We love the outdoors and spend a lot of time in the mountains and in the water. We are looking for a more energy-efficient vehicle that can support our outdoors lifestyle.

We have spent the last nine months or so researching vehicle options and have settled on a hybrid as our next choice. Jim will be ready for another car in a couple of years, and we hope there will be better options for electric, hydrogen or biodiesel. We are excited about the prospect of electric vehicles, but as of December 2007, there are no affordable ($30,000 or less) highway-worthy (drive 60 mph or above) vehicles. If any electric car manufacturers are out there reading, we are ready and waiting! Until then, a hybrid is the choice for us. The next question is, which hybrid?

Jim: My number one issue is safety. I want a vehicle that is safe for my wife and for our future family. We also need a car that can take us to the mountains or ocean.

Marina: My number one concern is fuel-efficiency and smog emissions. I can’t stand paying so much for gas and I hate being a part of the climate change problem!

Jim: I appreciate Marina’s concern about fuel-efficiency. I feel the same way except I don’t want to compromise safety in this process. Car accidents are so common here in Southern California where we live, and I want to make sure we are as safe as we can be when we drive.

Marina: I know safety is important. But I just feel guilty not doing as much as I can to help our planet.

This week, we’ll start test driving hybrids. We’ll keep you posted. Wish us luck!

Jim and Marina, We Can Live Green at http://www.wecanlivegreen.com