It's not so often you hear about a 100% organic clothing shop opening in your town. Treehugger reports that "Eden" has opened its doors about a month ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil that does just that. All articles of clothing in this shop are made with organic cotton, and the shop goes as far as having its furniture made using bamboo and demolition wood.

Promoting organic cotton shouldn't be a rarity, but instead, it should be something more companies pay attention to. YD Confections and Coexis is the company in charge of the Eden brand and they work with manufacturing organizations in the field to produce sustainable materials.

According to the World Health Organization, about 20,000 deaths occur due to pesticide poisoning. On top of it all being a danger to humans, the environment takes a toll as well. Check out Treehugger's guide to Organic Cotton.

I'd like to see these kinds of stores opening up in New York City. I'm sure the fashion world would give this idea a nice big hug!

It is known that teaching children certain things at a young age may benefit their future as it would make things easier for them and their parents. I believe that teaching our kids to be environmentally aware is now just as important as learning to say no to drugs. There is a lot of controversy going on about the validity of global warming and climate change. To me, it's no longer about "playing it safe" and believing in climate change just to have something to rave about every once in a while.

Teaching kids about the impacts of climate change and the pollution caused by our actions would be beneficial to everyone. They can learn about methods of improving lifestyles, reducing waste and energy consumption, and possibly knowing how to take political action to increase government particiaption.

I am a frequent customer of the New York MTA subway system, and lately, I've been pretty observant as to what's been going on. How can things be improved to make traveling via the MTA a more pleasurable and (most importantly) desirable experience? I figured I'd be a bit productive on the train instead of just listening to my music or watching my podcasts. This is the list of things I've come up with that could possibly reshape the MTA into something amazing!

Before reading, I just wanted to say that I do realize that some of these might be a lot to ask for, but as time goes by, and as the MTA piles up on their multi-million dollar surplus, it would be easier to achieve them - eventually. Would you like these improvements in your city, too?

This is an age old topic that's been on my mind for the longest time. Magazines - are they really worth subscribing and holding on to? In the past I've subscribed to a single video game magazine, and now I am subscribed to MacLife which is an Apple oriented magazine. My main concern here is the fact that there are million of magazines being distributed around the world every single day. All this paper comes from somewhere (trees!), and goes somewhere when they're disposed (landfills!).

These days with the internet, the moment you receive your magazine in the mail, the news and articles are already history - that's the disadvantage. The advantage of magazines, though, is the fact that you can take it anywhere and read it without the use of an electronic device. Also, on the plus side, if you're not exactly the news-junky, some outdated info won't hurt you too much.

So yea, the magazine business is a multi billion dollar industry ranging from Hollywood gossip to Pornography, and Automobiles to the latest Tech stuff. How much of an effect is this all having on our environment with all the paper that's being used? Chances are, most recipients of these magazines don't dispose them properly. Portable Readers are becoming pretty popular these days, being able to carry everything from the latest news, to your Harry Potter collection. These are worthy investments in the long run, and reduce your carbon footprint by a good deal - although, when will our world be ready for the conversion to digital, if at all?

Well, it's that time of the year again - April 22nd, the day we recognize as the one to spread environmental awareness, and knowledge on how to be friendlier to our earth. For over 30 years, Earth Day has been promoting progressive actions towards our environment, letting everyone from children to educators to the average person know about what's going on, and how to help the problems of our Earth come to a screeching halt.

This day, a lot of people are doing many things different, but I will continue doing exactly what I've been doing to be green and environmentally aware, plus a little more. I post on this blog sharing my feelings, thoughts, and ideas about global warming, being green, and caring for our environment to get the word out to as many people as possible. Today, I will try to avoid having unnecessary equipment turned on even more, like my speakers, and so forth.

Remember, people! Shower efficiently, shut the water flow when brushing, flush as less as possible, shut unnecessary lights off, switch to CFL bulbs, avoid stand-by mode on electronics, and look out for energy star compliant products. Bonus: Walk if you can. Cycle if you can't. Use public transport if you can't cycle. Save on gas & money all while reducing your carbon footprint.

If you ask most people about sustainable living, they'll respond saying "sustainable what?" Of course, this whole idea of "green living" is still very fresh, and organizations around the world are beginning to recognize it more. This type of living means using solar technology as your primary source of energy, and having your house built with materials such as a bamboo floors, recycled steel and wood, etc.

Some people wouldn't care for this the slightest bit because it's a bit more expensive than standard materials, but I think that the aftermaths outweigh the cheaper and not-so-green side. Thankfully, there are blooming companies out there (amongst already existing ones) that are recognizing the beauty and significance of green design and living. I read an article over at Inhabitat.com talking about a company developing living quarters complying to LEED's Gold eco-compliance standards.

If more companies simply started doing things just like IBIS (Intelligent building = Integrated + Sustainable), it would kick in and become mainstream faster. This way, "green" housing and living would be a standard, and on top of all that, extremely afforable. More after the jump...

I was on my way to the New York Public Library today and surprisingly, I saw something quite pleasing. The trash bins all throughout the stations now have this sign stuck on them! It looks like the MTA is trying to go green and get the thumbs up from the environmentalists! This is definitely good progress on their side.

One cool thing that made me smile is that as I was walking, I saw somebody stopping to read and acknowledge the sign! I'd like to see further developments with MTA's steps towards keeping the subways clean, and green!

In response to my excitement, I made a whole list of things the MTA can improve on to become greener, cleaner, and more efficient. I'll finalize this list and post in soon. Who wouldn't want to have energy generating turn-slides? From the millions of times these things go round and round, the carbon emissions will go straight down!

After all the advancements in today's technology, we're coming up with more things we can use once, and just trash it in the end. This time, a company by the name of Hop-on has created a phone with no LCD that apparently got lots of attention at CTIA. A European distributor bought 10,000 of these GSM based phones for a test run on how these would work out.

I know it's all good for business with the east profits and all, but I think this is just another way to use up more plastic and destroy our environment with plastics! Why can't we just stick with the awesome cheap phones that we can use many times over?

It's understandable that someone may not need a cellphone permanently, but may want a quick way to get in touch with someone. If someone is willing to pay $20 to use a phone for a short time and throw it out, why not just get a damn prepaid phone and keep the credit on that? If someone can give me a good reason to support this development, please do so!

I don't know if this is a good thing, or a bad thing, but it looks like we've reached the point where a law needs to be enacted so cars don't get too quiet! I thought it would be something opposite, like trying to put a limit on how loud those V8 muscle go! So yea, the bill is expected to be presented to the U.S. House of Representatives pretty soon.

AutoWeek reported that the reason why this bill was created is because cars that are too quiet pose a risk to disabled (primarily) pedestrians. This bill requires the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to undergo studies in order to determine whether or not a minimum sound level is needed. I understand the intention behind this bill and all, but I find it kind of humorous if auto makers were forced to make their engines go VROOM! More after the jump...

With today's world going super hi-tech and technological, it's good to see that nature-dwellers and adventure seekers are still out there! A recent article on Inhabitat.com talked about FINCA BELLAVISTA, a sustainable rainforest community preserving around 300 acres of rainforest. What's more perfect than this for those individuals who are ecologically minded that love to live in sustainable environments?

So yea, these guys have a pretty neat sustainable energy use going on by using natural sources of energy, hydroelectric and solar power being some of them. Building a house here requires you to have a few things that aren't really optional like a system to capture rainwater, and a system to manage human waste. There's a power grid system that delivers energy to these houses through underground cables and such, virtually eliminating all electric costs for citizens of FINCA BELLAVISTA. Now you've probably got a few questions in your head. More after the jump...