After spending 10 days in the Bay area I was really struck by the number of 20-somethings (or younger) carrying reusable water bottles in a personal act of going green. Wherever I looked — on the streets of the city, on the slopes in Tahoe, or at the field of a local lacrosse game — colorful refillable bottles were everywhere.  The city of Portland is making a huge commitment to this initiative by offering access to tap water in 52 locations. Clearly this is a trend that shows no signs of abating on the west coast and who knows how far it will travel. Good news for manufacturers of the bottles but not so much for companies like Coca-Cola who manufactures Dasani (plant based bottle or not). Still, I am not certain reusable bottles will translate well throughout the country — especially in a city like Atlanta that has really awful tasting tap water. (more…)

It is a nibble weird that a guy who describes his relationship to Christmas as “hostile” runs around greater Los Angeles in a floppy red Santa hat and answers his iPhone, “Merry Christmas, this is Scotty Claus!” But bummed as false merriment and gift obligations render him, Scott Martin — landscape architect and tree hugger in a literal sense — was unnerved by the sight of post-Christmas trees lying about like so much discarded sausage casing. What people really ought to do, he reasoned, was rent a Christmas tree, and return it, alive, to the nursery after the season. Mr. Martin’s idea, enabled by a rotten economy that made his free time greater and his potential labor pool deeper, is now manifest in his new business delivering live, potted Christmas trees that are taken away once the toys have been unwrapped.  You can try anything here, and no one will tell you it’s a bad idea,” said Mr. Martin, who is 30 and grew up in the South Bay here, where as a teenager he delivered trees for a nursery. “California is more attached to the green movement, so they are more willing to try this service here.”  (more…)

This past Friday, September 18th, was Park(ing) Day 2009. Originally created by Rebar, San Francisco art and design collective, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens independently but simultaneously temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. Anyone can participate in PARK(ing) Day, though it is strictly a non-commercial project, intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.    (more…)

Ever wondered what it would be like to have Lance Armstrong pedal your bike for you? Well now you can find out, sort of. About 15 companies are now offering bicycles with an electric power option — as opposed to a purely engine-powered moped — for around $1,000 to $4,000 — and they are catching on with some green-thinking commuters. The latest electric bikes from Giant, EcoBike, Currie Technologies and Ultra Motor, among others, can deliver around 500 watts of power at the flick of a wrist or a turn of the pedals. That is roughly what Armstrong could generate over shorter races in his prime. The result is that you zip up hills or hustle along the street, silently passing all, but the most competitive two- wheelers.  (more…)

The sole of Nike’s new Air Jordan is made with ground-up bits of old Nike sneakers. But the company isn’t selling it as an eco-friendly shoe: That might not be good for business. Nike has an unusual problem. Like many companies, it is trying to make its supply chain and products greener, which brings obvious environmental benefits and, just as important these days, financial ones, too. But while executives at General Electric and Wal-Mart eagerly advertise the eco-conscious changes they’re making, those at Nike choose to play down sustainability initiatives. Nike customers buy shoes to make them feel fast, slick, and hip; they don’t care much about being eco-chic. “Nike has always been about winning,” says Dean Crutchfield, an independent branding consultant in New York. “How is sustainability relevant to its brand?” The lesson for Nike was that its green innovations should continue, but its customers shouldn’t be able to tell. “We want to do more and say less,” is the way Lorrie Vogel, who oversees Nike’s green business practices, puts it.  (more…)

Coca-Cola Co announced it has developed a new plastic bottle that is partly made from sugar cane and molasses, raising the bar in the battle for the most environmentally friendly packaging. Coke will test the new bottle in North America with Dasani bottled water and certain carbonated brands later this year. The test will expand to the vitaminwater brand in 2010. Up to 30 percent of the new “plantbottle” will be made from a material derived from sugar cane and molasses, which is a by-product of sugar production, Coke said. Admirable and cool from an innovation standpoint but at the end of the day what difference will it make? Existing Coca-Cola packaging can be recycled. Will this package be? For those who don’t recycle, the new package is still made with a large percent of materials that will not degrade. I suppose you can argue it is a step in the right direction but it feels like a tiny baby step. It’s not easy being green.  (more…)