When most of us see an organic brand on the shelf at our local grocery store we assume that not only is the product inside superior to a conventional alternative (thanks to less pesticides and funky chemicals), but we also conjure up visions of it being crafted by small, environmentally-geared companies with just as much concern for the earth as for our taste buds. Unfortunately, underneath many of the most popular organic food brands being bought up in supermarkets are major corporations that you might be trying to avoid in the first place.

The GOOD Blog recently released a diagram showing the ownership of many of the main organic foods brands and it features almost all the major conventional brands that have been linked to GMO food issues, poor manufacturing practices, and human labor concerns. The Boca Burgers that are staples for many vegetarians are owned by Kraft, the largest food processor in the United States and a company that is itself owned by Philip Morris. Heinz owns a broad spectrum of organic brands from Spectrum Organics to Rice Dream and Garden of Eatin’. Even ConAgra, a company spotlighted for environment, health, labor and ethical issues—as well as a heavy use of GMO foods—owns a few well-known organic brands (Lightlife and Alexia Foods). Click here to read more

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As more Americans get interested in sustainability and reducing their carbon footprints, future university students have started assessing prospective schools based not only on their academics and recreational offerings, but on how green they are. Universities have responded in a range of ways, with some schools striving for carbon neutrality, some creating sustainability strategies, and many fighting to come out as the clear eco-friendly choice. There’s even been enough eco-activity at universities that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started to rank them by renewable power purchases in 2006.

But now the quest for a greener school is starting to shift to an even younger demographic—the primary and secondary set—and the EPA has released their first ever list of the Top 20 Green Power Purchasers in the K-12 category.

In total, the EPA found that K-12 schools purchasing renewable energy are helping reduce to the equivalent of the carbon emissions from the electricity of 11,000 Americans homes in a year, and that Texas and New York are both home to multiple high ranking green schools. In fact, the Austin Independent School District ranked number one for their large purchases of biogas and wind energy (New York’s first appearance on the list is in the number three spot with the Rochester City School District). Click here to read more

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This Sunday is America Recycles Day and there’s no better time to get started (or get serious) about recycling. Celebrating its 12th year, America Recycles Day was designed to encourage all Americans—that means you too—to recycle and to buy recycled products, and you can use it as a reminder about your own recycling habits.

On the America Recycles website you can find out Dos and Dont’s of recycling, search out an America Recycles Day event near you, sign a pledge to improve the planet through recycling efforts (and be reminded of your promise), and even play around with something called “The Conversionator”, which will show you the benefits of everything you recycle—like how recycling two glass jars per week saves enough electricity to power a CFL for 40 hours.

If you’re already pretty advanced with your recycling, use America Recycles Day as a reminder to integrate more recycled products in your must-buys (from clothing to cutlery, there are recycled content versions of almost everything). Or, if you’ve been meaning to start recycling but keep putting it off, make Sunday the day you start. Click here to read more

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Ever been negatively effected by a low cellphone battery and an inability to use a friend’s charger because of compatibility issues? You’ll be excited to learn that the International Telecommunication Union (a segment of the United Nations) has finally agreed upon and approved the universal phone charger that they started working on back in February.

Not only will the new universal micro-USB charger mean convenience for users (who will no longer be limited to their specific phone model charger), the environmental benefits are seriously impressive. The Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) estimates that 51,000 metric tons of chargers find their way to landfills annually, primarily when users upgrade to new phones and have no use for their old chargers. Better yet, the ITU has also made the universal phone charger more energy efficient (particularly in standby mode), which could mean a 13.6 million metric ton reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions with widespread use.

Many major cellphone manufacturers—including LG, AT&T, Samsung and Nokia—have already expressed interest in the universal phone charger, which will not be enforced. Sony Ericsson is leading the way with universal chargers expected to be packaged alongside their phones in early 2010. Even Apple, a company initially resistant to the universal charger because of their success with their unique docking system, has come on board, but they’ll likely be adding an additional micro-USB charging port instead of replacing their current charging method. Click here to read more

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Toyota has been tying the image of plants to their Prius for a long time—there were the solar powered flowers they set up in U.S. cities to promote it, the billboards they created for the car out of plants, and the greenery-heavy print and TV ads (like the one pictured above). But now the company has taken their love of plants a step further and tapped real flowers to help reduce the C02 emissions of their Prius manufacturing plant in Toyota City, Japan (yes, that’s the real name).

The C02 combating flowers have been genetically engineered from the cherry sage and gardenia plants to improve the environmental impact of the Prius plant in two ways: First, by absorbing nitrogen oxides from the air and second, by creating water vapor, which—in theory—should cool the area around the factory. Unfortunately, few details are available on exactly how much positive effect these flowers can be expected to have and it’s not clear whether the genetic modification was a necessary step, as both the plants that have been modified had those properties to begin with (and probably could have been planted together). Click here to read more

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