I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog. I’m currently filming in the Mediterranean, but just had a chance to get online to take a look at Anca’s Novacovici’s latest Act Natural blog on the EarthEcho site, since she’s going to be appearing on WUSA9 news on Monday morning to talk about alternatives to conventional products, such as household cleaners and lightbulbs. For those of you who haven’t been reading her blog (we are watching you, we know who you are), Anca is president of Eco-Coach Inc., an organization that provides consulting services and tools to individuals and organizations interested in making a positive environmental and social impact. She’s been doing some excellent work and reaping fantastic publicity, such as a plug on Sprig.com (oh, yeah, and while you’re there, you can check out my video).

At EarthEcho, we love promoting the good work of our friends and love celebrating with them when good things happen—especially with champagne made from organically-grown grapes, of course. We hope those of you in the DC metro area will share in the celebration by tuning into Anca’s WUSA9 debut on Monday morning between 9am and 10am. And for those of you non-DC locals, keep the champagne nearby, because this girl is going places—soon.

If you’re like me, and others in the US right now, you’re hearing about how to be green from your morning anchor person, the sign at your supermarket, and your dry cleaner. So who should you listen to and how can you figure out which sources are the most accurate? Well, there’s good and bad news. The good news is that there are a lot of valid sources; the bad news is, well, the same. Below, I’ve picked out and described a few of the major resource sites. I’ve tried to keep the list short, so as not to be overwhelming, but there really are a lot of great sites out there!

Which conventional product is the most eco-friendly?

• Environmental Working Group: Their consumer tools section provides information on which regular products are safe to use. This ranges from cosmetics to vegetables and fish.
• Greener Choices: Hosted by Consumer Reports, this site rates appliances, cars, and electronics, among others.
• Lite Green: International site that rates different mainstream products, ranging from H&M clothing to Coca-Cola.

Which green product should I buy?

• EcoLabels: Consumer Union’s guide to environmental labels. You can search by label, logo, or certifier.
• SustainLane: Directory of green products and businesses rated by the user community.
• FiveLimes: Canadian site for green products, rated by users.
• Pristine Planet: Offers comparison-shopping capabilities for green products with coupons and product reviews.

Where can I get general info on green lifestyle?

• Treehugger (of course!): Aims to be a one-stop “shop for green news, solutions, and product information.”
• Hugg: User-submitted news stories related to all aspects of the environment. Get bite-sized info and decide whether you want to read more and rate it (kind of like Digg).
• RiverWired: Compiles news from about 200 sites and categorizes them—lots of info!

Now it’s your turn to look through these resources and figure out which you like best. Also, feel free to tell us your favorites so we can add them to the list!

If you’re thinking about planting trees to offset the carbon dioxide emitted by your car or plane trip, think again. Don’t get me wrong - I LOVE trees and green spaces. But planting trees is not the most effective way to counterbalance CO2 pollution.

US Today had an interesting article about this, which goes hand in hand with research that I have read about in the past. Essentially, the article points out that planting trees is a short-term solution, and we can’t possibly plant enough trees to cover the amount of CO2 emitted. Not to mention that different types of trees take in different amounts of carbon dioxide, and trees emit carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere when they die.

What should you do instead?

• Calculate your carbon footprint: There are many carbon footprint calculators out there, such as those found at Conservation International, BeGreenNow and World Wildlife Fund in the UK, to name a few. Though they are not an exact science, it’s always interesting to use a couple and see what your average footprint might be.

• Now that you’ve got a sense of your footprint, MINIMIZE IT!
  First and foremost, minimize your overall carbon footprint. This includes transportation, energy use, and items that you own—the majority of actions you take directly or indirectly impact the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. The websites listed above all have tips on how to reduce your footprint, as does the Inconvenient Truth website.

• Offset the rest of your emissions: Once you’ve calculated your footprint and implemented some changes, your footprint will be smaller and you can now offset the rest of your emissions. To get an idea of companies, pricing, and method by which they offset emissions, take a look at this comparison chart. Pick a company that is third-party certified and that also funds renewable energy resources as a means of reducing CO2, such as Carbonfund and Terrapass.

Now you can get on that plane, if you must. And don’t forget to wave “HELLO!” to the trees from the air!