Post Script

Is the Apple greener? Or Microsoft?

Fast Company has a fun read: A sustainability face-off between Apple and Microsoft. It's fun to chuckle at the corporate and loyal customer rivalry ... but this is also interesting to consider. Want to know who wins? Go here.

Eating organic food makes you smarter

Well, no ... we're just kidding. But for what it's worth, our money is on the pro-organic smarty pants team in this Intelligence Squared debate video.

The live debate series in New York put forth the motion: "Organic food is marketing hype" and unleashed six debaters to argue the merits and otherwise of the statement. Before the fur flew, 21% of the audience voted for the motion, 45% against and 34% were undecided. Afterwards, 21% were still for the motion, 69% against and merely 10% were undecided. Or plain stubborn.

IQ2US debates can be seen on Bloomberg television and heard on NPR stations across the country. The debates follow the old Oxford format, with teams for and against, and a moderator stuck in the middle. They're perfect when you've run out of TED talks to watch... and while organic food may not make you smarter, watching these videos surely will.

Saving the world, one app at a time

Too busy to volunteer? Too broke to donate? Frustrated about that? Well, this fascinating read points us to smart phone apps that help us make a difference in the world just by using our social media savvy for good. Hurray for social innovation!

You can earn karma points that morph into charitable donations, you can catalog animal rights abuses or even help government agencies reach survivors of atrocities in far-flung war zones.

This truly made our day. Via American Express Open Forum.

Yes, Milwaukee has a Twestival tomorrow night!

Q: What happens when you send a question out via social media, asking if Milwaukee is taking part in the global "Twestival" tomorrow?

A: The answer is no, and you find yourself organizing it. 

That's what happened to Danijela Massie. And she pulled it off, with only hours to go. Kudos, Danijela.

Here are the details, pulled from a press release that was put together faster than a Project Runway outfit:

On Thursday March 25, for 24 hours, cities around the world will host "Twestivals" to introduce people --- in actual 3D -- who have "met" through the micro-blogging service, Twitter, and it's for a good cause, to raise money for education.

100 cities have signed up to "Tweet, Meet, Give," including London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Toronto and now Milwaukee. All of the funds raised at the all-volunteer events will go to Concern Worldwide, a nonprofit organization supporting 72 million children in the world who don't have the opportunity to go to school. The first "Twestival" was on February 12, 2009, and raised $250,000 for Charity Water.

Milwaukee's "Twestival" will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow evening at AJ Bombers on Water Street. There is no upfront cost to attend, so come and meet your tweeps and Facebook friends, because they're more than just avatars.

Details here.

AUG takes GoodGuide to the next level - the local level

Know your farmer, know your food. Those were President Obama's words, and many of us took it to mean that we should shop at natural foods co-ops or farmer's markets, and join CSA's so that we can get information on the farmer who grew our potatoes. And that's a wonderful, organic, local, warm-fuzzy thing.

But it gets even better. Smart mobile technology is making it even easier to know your farmer - and the impact of your purchase, economically and environmentally.

Imagine being able to use your smart phone to scan a bar code on a crate of broccoli and immediately know where it was grown (with a map showing miles traveled from farm to store), whether it's currently in season, what its price history has been, and get data about the local economic and environmental impact of the product.

The people behind the AUG - Augmented Living Goods - Program imagined all of that and designed it. The system they came up with was crowned winner at the Greener Gadgets 2010 contest held in New York City this week.

Hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association, the competition rounded up 18 entrants with designs ranging from a solar tent to a computer mouse made of cork, and the AUG bar code system.

Judges liked the system because it uses existing technology and takes the popular GoodGuide one step further by encouraging people to shop local. 

We can't wait for this to become available! While we wait, we can learn more about the design at the Greener Gadgets web site.

That was quick. GoodGuide makes Fast Company's top 50 list

Counting down the top 50 most innovative companies, the editorial staff at Fast Company magazine gives a much-deserved nod to Good Guide - the web site (and smart phone app) that helps conscientious consumers sort the green from the green-washed, the terrific from the toxic, and the organic from the 'orrible.

*applause*

There's a (green) app for that

The March issue of the Exchange magazine will be wending its way to the presses in a few days, and hitting stands at the beginning of the month. Inside, you'll find an article written by Erin McCann on iPhone/smart phone apps that help you live a gloriously sustainable and verdant lifestyle. 

Erin covers a lot of ground, reviewing more than 50 apps --  from apps that rate green products and measure the fuel efficiency of your car, to apps that demonstrate yoga poses and tell you where to buy local, organic food.

We hope you find some new must-have apps on the list. In the meantime, the fine people over at The Guardian had the same idea, and posted their list of the Top Ten Green Apps. Some of the contenders are apps that are regional to the UK, but some of them are global, and also appear on Erin's list. We figured it's a good appetizer, until the Exchange reaches you.

Want a Nissan Leaf?

Yeah, you and 50,000 other people ... and counting. The lower price sticker is going to make this electric car a popular choice. While Chevrolet is trying to keep the pending "Volt" under $40k, the Leaf will set you back something like $25,000 (with a tax credit).

Nissan says it will start taking reservations for the lean, mean, green driving machine in April, with delivery timed for Christmas-ish. If you want to make sure you get yours, you can register online to secure your position in line when the time comes to make your reservation. There is a $100 fee for the privilege.

Via Wired.com.

The iPad's green features

Over the past year, there has been much debate about e-readers vs books. Which is greener? Books may be made from a sustainable, renewable and recyclable material, but just think of the energy required to make and ship them. The e-reader, on the other hand, is a device that may not be so friendly in the landfill, and who are we kidding? No e-reader is going to last as long as a paper volume; we're going to upgrade and replace them constantly.

So the new iPad seems to be good news. According to Mother Nature Network: "It looks like the iPad will have some greener features, namely that the energy-efficient LED-backlit displays will be free of arsenic, mercury, PVC and BFR (brominated flame retardant) as well as being 'highly recyclable,' which I assume to mean that it's built to be easily taken apart at the end of its life." 

We're wondering what book stores will look like in a few years? We picture a space filled with the obligatory coffee and tea counter, e-reader rentals and download stations and a selection of gorgeous old-fashioned (paper) coffee table books. The Apple store meets Barnes and Noble. Let's hope the local, independent booksellers adapt and survive.

Love books? Love supporting local book stores?

Here's an iPhone app for you. It's like Urban Spoon for bibliophiles. Wherever you go, you can find local book shops, libraries and book-related events. You need never stop in at the big bookish box store again!