Lazy E team member Margaret recently tested out the new Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Here are her thoughts.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI reminds me of a good salsa dance partner; it grips but doesn't cling to the road, it accelerates on demand and without hesitation, and is a thrill of a ride. To be fair, I was driving the clean diesel TDI across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Napa Valley on an exquisite afternoon so, really, how bad could it have been?

This nimble car is being marketed by Volkswagen as another solution in a broader transportation alternative portfolio. On average, a diesel engine goes 30% further on a gallon of fuel than a gasoline-powered car and the math checks out for the Jetta TDI; it gets 34 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway, according to independent testing by the AMCI. One feature that helps encourage efficient driving is an energy monitor located directly in front of the driver on the dashboard (as opposed to the Prius in which the monitor is placed less conveniently to the driver's right by the radio). At one point, with my foot off the accelerator I was getting 102 mpg. Then I abruptly jabbed the pedal which immediately reduced the fuel efficiency to 22 mpg. This alone made me reconsider my driving techniques and challenged me to get better gas mileage as I drove. Apparently, some people do this for a living. Just last month, Australian husband and wife team John and Helen Taylor family broke the Guinness Book of World Records driving 2,753 miles through 24 states averaging 58 miles per gallon, in the Jetta TDI.

Two main concerns with diesel have been that it's dirty and that it lacks pick-up. But neither argument holds up with the Jetta TDI, which uses low-sulfur, "clean diesel," and delivers pick-up good enough for the 30 drag racers competing in the TDI Racing Cup. Moreover, price-wise this car can't be beat. The Jetta TDI starts at just $21,990, plus a recent law gives a federal tax rebate of $1,300 to diesel car owners.

In the past, a major eco-advantage of Volkswagen diesel cars was the easy ability to convert the engine to biodiesel. Unfortunately, in 2006 VW eliminated that capability to enhance performance. Though I was bummed about that, I was assured that the company is working on several biodiesel-compatible prototypes. Now those are the cars I really want to test. Oh, and in Napa.

Ironically when it comes to performance wear, the better the product the less we notice it. That’s because really good products enable us to focus our attention on our favorite activities by keeping us comfortable under diverse weather conditions. And it’s with regard to performance that
Patagonia has forged its reputation. For years Yvon Chouinard and company have turned out products worn by many of the most extreme and accomplished athletes in the world. Layer on top of that Patagonia’s ability to develop products in environmentally responsible fashion and you’re talking about a brand that truly aspires to a "no compromise" mindset.

Take Patagonia’s Common Threads Recycling Program. The concept is exquisite: Use recycled materials to make high-quality, long-lasting products. When consumers are finally finished with them take them back and turn them into new products. Patagonia is at the forefront of what may be an environmental paradigm shift for the clothing/fashion industry by reducing both its dependence upon virgin natural resources as well as its business costs. Imagine if one day you could purchase that must-have Prada dress or Armani suit or Coach handbag or True Religion jeans and then give it back when the season was over so your favorite fashion house could transform it into something new. The eco-impact of your consumption would fall dramatically while you would still derive the pleasure from your purchase.

The point is that it’s not blanket consumerism that’s to blame for our current environmental crisis. It’s the manner in which companies make consumer products and the way in which we consume them. There’s so much room to do things smarter. Fortunately, we have companies like Patagonia to lead the way.

CHECK THE GARB
All of these products belong to Patagonia’s Common Threads Recycling Program:

Women's Stretch Velocity Hoody - $120

Men's R1® Hoody - $120

Women's Powder Bowl Jacket - $350






Men's Classic Retro-X Vest - $120

Women's Stretch Velocity Zip Neck - $100

]]> Men's Guide Jacket - $175

Women's R2® Jacket - $200

Men's Powder Bowl Jacket - $350



Women's Light Smoke Flash Jacket - $300

Men's Stretch Velocity Full-Zip - $120

In preparation last week for the 5-day, 300-mile 2008 Brita Climate Ride, the Lazy Environmentalist had to learn the ins and outs of pitching his own tent. See just how much he relishes being in nature.

Sometimes I’m not as lazy as some might think. Last week I participated, along with 100 other riders, in a 5-day, 300-mile bike ride from New York City to Washington DC to raise awareness about climate change and press for action. The 2008 Brita Climate Ride raised over $200,000 for organizations such as Clean Air Cool Planet and Focus The Nation that are on the front lines on these issues. Those of us who rode were a diverse lot. Environmental leaders like Randy Swisher of the American Wind Energy Association and Wood Turner of Climate Counts rode as did up and coming leaders from innovative organizations like 1Sky, 350, and PowerVote, all of which are heavily invested in inspiring our nation’s youth to participate in change. Non-activists of all ages biked too. In fact one woman, who was biking together with her daughter, celebrated her 60th birthday on the day we set out early from Valley Forge, PA and crossed through the Amish country in Lancaster County.

On Wednesday, when all 100 of us finally reached Washington DC and bicycled up Constitution Avenue past the presidential monuments and the White House and on to the Capitol building to call upon Congress to act on these issues, I felt proud (and immense relief) for having made it and such deep respect for my fellow riders as I reflected upon the brutal hills we had climbed and those early 5am wake-ups when we would pack up our tents and gear long before first light. Most importantly, the ride was super fun – a true celebration of possibility and I believe demonstrated that fighting for what you believe in can bring out your best and also be undertaken in a spirit of adventure. The ride will take place again, possibly this Spring, so there will be an opportunity for even more of us to become Climate Riders.

“It seems like athletic events have fallen behind the environmental movement,” says a marathon race director in an article in Thursday's NY Times regarding greening road races. Kevin Fletcher, the Executive Director of Audubon International, an organization that has been helping green the golf community for 17 years, agrees. Audubon's Green Golf Program, oversees a certification process containing 100 criteria covering issues such as water use, chemical/pesticide use and on-sight natural habitat protection. 700 golf courses have already achieved certification. An additional 1500 are actively working towards that goal.

Being able to hit the links on a course that respects the planet is very much in line with the tenets of lazy green living. But currently Audubon certified courses represent a mere 2-3% of all golf courses in the US. Finding a course is easy, but but still not quite as easy as stepping onto your favorite course and teeing off. To motivate more golf courses to join the movement, Bonterra, the official wine sponsor of the PGA tour (and maker of fabulous, award-winning organic wines), is paying for up to 100 golf courses to sign up as members and receive the professional materials and individual golf course consulting that comes with such privileges.

Much of the focus in greening the greens is encouraging course superintendents to return parts of the rough area, back to naturally "rough". The average golf course spans 300 acres with about 22 acres of unplayable and even unhackable rough zones. In hopes of bringing back habitat and cutting back on maintenance resources for these areas, the first step to golf course greening is to stop mowing, watering, and maintaining these areas on the course. That simple step begins a process for golfers of rethinking golf and experiencing the sport in a whole new way.

I took my first ride yesterday on my so-righteously-sweet Specialized Tarmac in preparation for the Brita Climate Ride starting this Saturday. When I took it in to be tuned up the technicians at my local bike shop here in Brooklyn were visibly envious and very stoked for me that I get to ride it. There’s an increasingly influential biking community in NYC which has made massive gains in getting bike lanes marked on streets throughout the city, which of course makes riding safer and more comfortable. I randomly met one of the biking community’s leaders last week while in my chiropractor’s office, which would seem odd save for the fact that I’ve also recently met an executive from Whole Foods, a co-founder of a new raw foods company called gRAWnola and a woman who had just spent 8 days tripping her face off while chilling with a Shaman in the Amazonian rainforest all while being adjusted on one of Dr. Adam Lamb’s two tables. The man has quite a following and has even been known to adjust a few road weary rock stars when they hobble into town. But back to bikes. Apparently, word quite literally on the street is that NYC is close to implementing a public bicycle ride share program similar to Smart Bike DC which was launched in downtown Washington DC this past spring and modeled on the successful bike share programs underway in cities like Paris, Lyon, Brussels, and Barcelona.

Specialized also sent me all of my gear for our 5-day, 320-mile bike ride so I’m feeling significantly more confident as I get ready to join serious bike riders from organizations like Rails To Trails which is also a sponsor of the event. The event’s co-founders are amongst other things former bike guides for Backroads, so camping aside (which is just about totally not my preferred way to hang out in nature), I’m anticipating an incredibly fun adventure.

On September 20th, 120 bicyclists will set off from New York City on a 320 mile five-day bike that will wind through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland before finishing up in Washington DC at the steps of the Capitol. At stops along the way Brita Climate Ride 2008 will educate communities as well as the 120 cyclists participating in the ride about the myriad ways government, business and individuals benefit from a cleaner, healthier climate and a green economy. Riders will also be raising money for two innovative environmental organizations – Focus The Nation and Clean Air – Cool Planet. I’ll be along for the ride too in my role as spokesperson for Brita’s FilterForGood campaign that helps eliminate disposable bottled water waste. My training hasn’t taken me much further than my local “Y’ just yet, but I’ll be riding on a sweet road bike courtesy of Specialized so I’ve got that advantage going for me. I once participated in a triathlon in Vermont that snaked up into the Green Mountains, and I nearly passed out before we were a mile into the first climb. I was the only competitor weaving back and forth across the double yellow line, so I’m really hoping this ride entails flatter terrain. There are 5 spots left, so if you've got what it takes, join us!

Last week I was in Girdwood, Alaska to give a green living and business trends presentation to the amazing members of the Anthony Robbins Platinum Partnership which brings together dynamic folks from around the world who meet throughout the year in some of the most breathtaking places on earth. I arrived on Monday after finishing up shooting in Los Angeles for my Lazy Environmentalist television pilot and was suddenly surrounded by the jagged snowcapped peaks of the Churgach mountains as we traveled south from Anchorage along the Seward Highway. The road winds along the Turnagain Arm of the Chickaloon Bay. We pulled over to watch whales playing in the water and spotted a couple of Bald eagles flying overhead. After presenting that afternoon I got to hang out with the members and accompany them the next day to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where we set about planting trees and clearing fields. The center is home to animals such as bison, elk, moose, and bear. It’s one of the most extraordinary places I’ve ever visited and was a much needed day to reconnect on a deep level with the sheer power, diversity and magnificence of nature. It reignited for me so many of the reasons why we do the work to accelerate positive environmental change. These pics are evidence that this Lazy Environmentalist was not so lazy – at least for a day.

Video Games are awesome; so is harnessing the natural forces of sun, wind, and snow to ensure tundra species like wolves, bears, and oxen survive the harsh terrain. Pocketwatch Games makes hand-crafted video games pertaining to the environment and has created 2007 Sim Game Of the Year Award winning Venture Arctic . Beware, this game is only for players tough enough to handle the task of ensuring species survival. Well, digitally at least.

We had the chance to play Venture Arctic and had mega fun cruising the terrain, doling out sun energy and food, watching animals grow, and restoring habitat to its original pristine condition. Heads up, though: the game is quite realistic and some of the animals do die from man-made factors (climate change) or natural factors (food scarcity.)

Venture Arctic is available online at Pocketwatch Games and at major video game retailers like Circuit City. For less than $20, it is a great way to bring foreign terrain and exotic species into our living rooms, and excite kids (and fun-loving adults) about arctic preservation.

This afternoon I had a chance to head back to the old Sirius stomping grounds to visit with Mario Bosquez on Martha Stewart Radio. Mario is a genius when it comes to the kitchen though this time we decided to chat about innovative ways to combine fashion sense with eco-responsibility. We hit upon a number of themes which I think are crucial for eco-fashion to move into the mainstream: for consumers to adopt green fashion products en masse those products must be stylish, affordable, well-made, widely available, and clearly and credibly labeled. There are plenty of good options for Lazy Environmentalists, but despite the all the hype green has yet to go mainstream. So knowing where to look and what to look for and also adopting some innovative Reduce and Reuse strategies is essential to for achieving style nirvana while saving the planet. Here's some quick links to the companies I discussed today.

Reduce & Reuse
Denim Therapy
Swap Style
Bag, Borrow or Steal

Independent Designers
Crow
Good Society
Melissa Shoes

Major Clothing Labels
H&M
Levis

We also talked about Kaight, a top-notch eco-boutique in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Showcasing the best in modern green design from many of today’s leading sustainable designers, Vivavi has launched an Eco Pop-Up store inside the Riverhouse luxury green condo building in Battery Park City. Set inside a model 2-bedroom unit overlooking the Hudson River, the store features contemporary RC Green sofas and accents, the latest in luxury green lounging from Animavi, a Team 7 sustainably furnished dining room, a bedroom set featuring Okooko’s unique aesthetic and naturally made mattress, an office nook courtesy of Knu Furniture, a nursery outfitted by Oeuf, and loads of others other fabulous pieces from designers such as Amenity, Brave Space, Christian Rathbone, Iannone Design, Knoend, Larson, Lulan, Maku Furnishings, Modern Bamboo, Ortolan, Until Kara and Vers. We also feature the artwork of Sandy Schimmel who transforms tiny scraps of junk mail into visually stunning designs.

Come explore Vivavi's modern green aesthetic, meet our team, and discover first-hand what living in a state of the art LEED Gold rated green building is all about.

The store is located in Unit 8D at the Riverhouse, adjacent to the Sales & Design center, and is open to the public 7 days a week.
Monday thru Friday: 10am to 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm to 4pm
Phone: 866.848.2840

(Click here for a Google Map and Directions)

Al Gore gave an extremely courageous speech this past Sunday. He called for America to move to a 100% renewable energy economy within the next ten years. Such an audacious goal can easily be dismissed as naïve and impractical. But the more I think about it, the more I inevitably feel that what he’s calling for is what I want to see happen. And even if it sounds impractical wouldn’t you want it to happen? Who wouldn’t? I want it to happen. Now. So I’m speaking up. I really want our government and our country to mobilize behind the big G’s call to action.

The key to consider is that unless you and I have our voices heard nothing is going to happen. If we wait for our political leaders to lead on this issue we’ll wait too long. The reason is that politicians rarely lead. They follow.

So if you dig the big G’s message and you’d like to see the country engage in a massive mobilization to change the course of our destiny and set us on a path to a clean and abundant future, then it’s really up to you to speak up. But let’s be clear, the change the big G is calling for is already happening. You can see it in the thousands of solar power jobs moving into Toledo, Ohio and in the wind turbine factories dotting the plains of Iowa in towns like Fort Madison. The movement to renew and revitalize America through renewable energy is well-underway. What’s most critical to fully understand is that the more we participate in the movement, the more we accelerate it. Because while the solutions are here and happening, what we don’t have is unlimited time to scale them up. That has to happen now, which is why the time to be heard is now.

Moreover, the more we embrace the 10 year plan, the more we’ll create a future that we’re actually going to get excited about. Those solar jobs in Toledo and wind manufacturing jobs in Iowa pay well. They provide good benefits too.

We’re living in a hyper-competitive world. Jobs that are here today can easily be outsourced tomorrow. Not just manufacturing jobs either. There are doctors in India who are reading Xrays of patients in America. There are designers in China who are diagramming next-generation Boeing aircraft wings. Blue collar or white collar, in the globalized world that Thomas Friedman calls "flat" our best chance to keep America thriving is to don green collars and work for green-minded companies that recognize that the greatest opportunities of the 21st century lay in building a clean, abundant economy that operates in balance with nature.

The beauty is that we don't have to start from scratch. Just look at where the smartest investors in America – like the Venture Capitalists in Silicon Valley who funded companies like Google, eBay, and Amazon.com – are placing their financial bets. By 2006, these investors were already funneling more start-up capital into companies that are using silicon for solar panels than are using it for computer chips. The shift to a green American economy has begun. It can go all the way. Fast too. This is not some eco-utopian pipe dream emerging from a groovy night of acid tripping on a mountaintop in the high hills of Sedona. It’s a vision of the future that many of the most successful and entrepreneurial minds in this country are already actively engaged in manifesting. Now it needs you. Sign the Clean Energy Petition at Wecansolveit.org

There’s really nothing better for the environment than leaving the car keys at home, throwing on a pair of sneakers and hitting the pavement. Studies have show that compact, walkable neighborhoods allow people to make fewer trips in their cars, travel less to meet their everyday needs – and thus reduce their contribution to global warming. The question really is- is your neighborhood walkable?

Seattle-based civic software company Front Seat is determined to give you the answer. The grass roots operation has just completed a makeover of its one-year old site, www.walkscore.com, where it has unveiled the top 10 most walkable cities and neighborhoods among the nation’s 40 largest cities. The national walkability list is the first list that looks at 2,508 neighborhoods nationally and identifies the closest grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and other amenities near a given address. Type in an address and presto, the neighborhood is given a walkability score from 1-100 (100 being the most walkable). The coolest part is that in addition to comparing addresses or just looking up a current address’ walkability score the site now features a walkability “heat map” for each city with green areas demarking highly walkable neighborhoods and red areas demarking unwalkable areas. So not only can you find your own neighborhood’s score you can browse neighborhoods to which you may be thinking of moving or visiting on your next trip.

What could be easier than having easy online instructions to teach folks how to minimize home energy use by merely adjusting their thermostat settings? Well, that was a rhetorical question, but if it had to be answered, one could say a an online video teaching people how to adjust their thermostats and to what levels.

Thanks to Energy Star, this is available here with the video podcast on the right side of the page.