For more than five years I've been one of those annoying people in San Francisco, driving a Toyota Prius and feeling smugly eco-superior. There have been many times when my husband and I have gloated over how little we spend on gas and how light it makes our carbon footprint.

This summer I had a chance to drive a few Ford 2010 models, and in that process met several people on the Ford Safety and Sustainability Team. Knowing that Ford offers several hybrids -– the Fusion, Escape, Milan and Mariner -- I figured our conversations would focus on that technology, and maybe get into plug-in electric vehicles.

In the course of several discussions, including a one-on-one interview with Sue Cischke, Ford Group Vice President, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, I learned something surprising: figuring out which car is most environmentally-friendly for your situation is more complex than just picking the hybrid.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Today Walmart is holding what they're calling a Sustainability Milestone Meeting at their corporate headquarters (aka "The Mothership") in Bentonville, Arkansas. Word on the street is that will use the conference to unveil their new "sustainability index" which they will use to rate the environmental impact of all merchandise -- yes, literally everything -- sold in the stores.

The index will take into account several factors, including manufacturing, waste management and how the product is used. Some presumably brilliant faculty members from University of California at Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford and the University of Michigan helped create the index, so in theory it should be all based on data and facts and fair things like that.

Walmart has been grinding the "how can we be evil if we're so green and sustainability-driven?" axe for a while. And yeah, you have to admit that they make a good gesture of using the power of their bulk for good -- if they demand that a supplier change their practices to reduce the carbon footprint of their production facilities, or engage in fair trade practices, then what choice does the supplier have? The result is what we should care about, in theory, although the bully methods are cringe-worthy.

(Photo by Natura)

As I've mentioned, one of my other jobs is writing for UpTake.com's hotels blog. It's a fun gig that lets me indulge in my love of travel and in the best of cases, sometimes it also overlaps with my eco-interests.

A great example of this is the Kimpton group of hotels and restaurants. I just recently stayed at one of their properties, the 70 Park Avenue, in NYC, and as always it was a delightfully green hotel stay. In-room recycling, energy efficient water and light fixtures, organic toiletries, and of course we reused our towels.

The San Francisco-based organization consistently demonstrates some of the best environmental practices in the hotel and restaurant industries. In 2005 they formally launched the "EarthCare" program in all of their properties, but they've been practicing green as far back as 1981!

In the spirit of becoming becoming more sustainable and self-sufficient, many aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs seem to be interested in harnessing our own precious bodily fluids. One such example is an art installation/science experiment by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray, named DrinkPeeDrinkPeeDrinkPee. The object of which is not to drink pee, oddly enough. Instead, it's to harness the power of pee to grow an edible watercress plant.

The Urine-Fertilizer DIY Kit -- in case you want to replicate the experiment -- comes with a glass bowl, stirring rod, pH test strips, 14g Magnesium Chloride, .002g urease, 4 ml distilled water, cress seeds, and a lab filter. The method the kit harnesses is similar to a waste management program in Switzerland where phosphorus and nitrogen are extracted from urine and used as fertilizer. Positive not only because hey, urine the fertilizer business anyway (bad pun), but taking urine out of the waste stream would help reduce eutrophication.

Of course, I already knew how to use my urine in a positive way because I've seen the MTV PSA encouraging us to pee in random places outdoors.

[via BoingBoing]

For an entire year, Dave Chameides put nothing on the curb for garbage pick up. Not even a box of recycling.

Instead, he put all of his trash in the basement. Sounds like a nasty basement? Probably not. The year long experiment in garbage conservation generated only 30 pounds of trash, 153 glass bottles, 64 plastic bottles and a 50-pound box of paper for recycling. Dave's personal garbage dump fit an organized 10 square feet of basement space.

If Dave can do it, there's no reason a lot of us can't take up the challenge and confuse city garbage pick-up folks. Some tips from Dave. No plastic bags, drink tap water, and think about the packaging of stuff you buy. Oh, and probably most importantly, get some worms working for you. Dave used a worm composting bin that ate up leftover foods and "a couple of pounds of paper a month".

Dave tracked his year through his blog 365daysoftrash and now runs Sustainable Dave, a site on sustainability and not throwing stuff out. My city has a good organic bin program so I think I'll stay away from having a worm army in my house. But if Dave could reduce his waste in one year to what the average American puts out in six days, I'm sure there are a bunch of ways I can reduce my curb side pile.

In the US, having two or three children is pretty much the definition of normalcy. Sometimes, families with over 5 or 6 children raise eyebrows, and couples with no kiddies ... some people simply can't wrap their heads around that. Well, if you're trying to keep your family-building activities sustainable in harmony with the planet, Johnathon Porritt from the UK's Sustainable Development Commission recommends that you limit yourself to 2 offspring. Otherwise, you're a planet hater.

If you eat organic, wear organic and practice sustainability in other parts of your life, it just makes sense that you'd want your sexual enhancement products to be green, too.

The (slightly clinical but well meaning) folks at Good Clean Love sell products that make your amorous encounters better, naturally. Their primary product is the Good Clean Love personal lubricant, which is 95% organic, completely free of petrochemicals and parabens, and 99.9% vegan.

It can safely be used through pregnancy and comes in four flavors: Nearly Naked, which has just a whiff of lemon and vanilla, refreshing Peppermint (so seasonal!) and Cinnamon Vanilla and Lavender Rose.

If you're looking for a stocking stuffer, you can get a set of three samples of the lubricant for just $2.00.

And remember to check out the demo while you're shopping at Good Clean Love, not to mention the love oils made with theraputic-grade essential oils, passion candles and the so seductive sounding pleasure butters!

My (closest) large city, Dallas, comes in at number 24, a position it is apparently stuck at. I guess holding steady is better than dropping in the rankings.

Number 1? Portland, Oregon. Number 50? Mesa, Arizona. SustainLaine has ranked major US cities on everything from housing affordability, water quality and local food availability to metro street congestion. It's pretty interesting to look up cities near you that have been ranked and see what they are doing right (or wrong).

Rounding out the top 5 spots are San Fransisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York. Where is your city on the list?

Next year, starting in January 2009, Co-op America will change its name to "Green America." Co-op America is a non-profit organization that promotes fair trade and organics, fights sweatshops and polluters, aiming to combine social justice with environmental sustainability towards a green economy. In fact, the name change comes as more and more people embrace "green," according to Executive Director Alisa Gravitz.

Co-op-soon-to-be Green America offers a bunch of great resources, including the Green Business Network, a network of businesses pre-screened for their responsibility towards the environment, workers and communities. Before you buy something, whether a product or service, check out their National Green Pages, for national and local businesses.

Green America also produces the Green Festivals, bringing speakers and vendors to cities across the country. Other programs include the Responsible Shopper program, which provides exposes on America's largest companies.

It's a debate that's been rising up more frequently as consumerism has taken over the sustainability movement. Do we need a brand new hybrid and brand new 5,000 sq foot home on 5 acres to claim the "green" tag? I'm a huge advocate of less is more, and especially making use of what you already have.

In a wonderful article over at Treehugger, they address this issue while pointing out that sustainability doesn't mean shelling out a half a million dollars or more for the latest and greatest in green building technology. The comments to this article also speak volumes, as the general consensus is that people are getting tired of hearing about how green they can be if they're willing to fork up mega bucks. Sure there are exceptions, and a large rural home can certainly be sustainable if done correctly, but this article seems to focus on the negative results of casting away what we have for the latest and greatest, in an attempt to be green.

It's always nice when organizations can create fun and creative ways to spread the word and get more people involved in our planet's sustainability. The U.S. Botanic Garden has recently accomplished this with their exhibit entitled "One Planet - Ours!" which includes 43 globe sculptures, each designed and created by a different person or group to represent the various sects of sustainability.

This exhibit is displayed at the Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., placed throughout the main gardens, near the Botanic Garden conservatory and across the street at Bartholdi Park. Each of these sculptures in the exhibit are designed to help visitors understand how they impact the Earth and what small changes they can do to make a positive difference. This display will run until October 13, 2008, so if you're in the area, you might want to stop by and check it out yourself.

I visited the seaside city of Brighton, England during my junior year abroad. I had a friend going to school there so what I remember most between pints were the massive hills, the techno music in the clubs and the train station ... I spent a lot of time waiting in that train station. This was over ten years ago so the green movement had not yet taken hold. Today's Brighton is a model of sustainability.

Many residents have installed digital readouts, called smart meters, in their homes telling them how much energy they are using at any given moment. This is a great way to remind yourself to turn off the light. One of the most encouraging things about Brighton's transformation is that the old Victorian homes have been retrofitted with small changes, we're not talking about new environmentally friendly construction.

Many houses have been fitted with new windows and insulation has been pumped through the attics and walls of the old homes. Some people have gone as far as to install solar hot water heaters for which there are grants available.

The city itself has expanded its bus system and promotes housing developments that don't allow cars. They've also eased historical regulations once banning solar panels on rooftops. Brighton's success is a great example of what can be done to existing buildings to make everyone's footprint a little smaller.

We've often been warned of the evils of greenwashing, and it's an inevitable phenomenon, especially since "green" and "organic" are such buzzwords lately. According to a new research study by Middlesex University industrial design student Nick Bampton, we all need to keep a diligent eye out for eco-posers.

Many of our new exciting gadgets are extremely harmful to the environment if disposed of improperly. Even products that claim to be green are only helpful until they break, then it's a whole other story. Nick's project reminds us that there are so many important factors that go into evaluating the sustainability of a product than whatever the label tells you.

This is really a reason to hold a bake sale. According to a CNN story, we are in danger of losing chocolate! It could become as rare and expensive as caviar in the next twenty years, which would mean the end of the candy aisle in Whole Foods.

Of course, it's because of overfarming cocoa plantations in West African. In order to meet global demand, farmers use unsustainable practices to grow more cocoa beans faster. The soil is rapidly being depleted. That means they have to clear more rain forest to find land to farm, and ultimately making global warming worse.

This pattern can be turned around, with a lot of attention and effort. The environmental charity Earthwatch is partnering with chocolate giant Cadbury to create Earthshare, a "scientific research project that aims to explore ways of creating sustainable cocoa farming." Earthwatch runs a similar project with Starbucks in Costa Rica, helping them support smallholder coffee production.

This is happening around the world with many crops, but the loss of chocolate is so incomprehensible and horrible that I'm going to have nightmares tonight. But first I have to run to the store and hoard up on Dagoba New Moon bars.

When I'm doing a lot of entertaining, like at this time of year, I can get a little sloppy in my shopping. Things I usually stay away from, like Ruffles and Diet Coke, somehow make it into my grocery cart. Not to mention the charcoal lighter fluid that I almost bought before green heads prevailed!

Over at iVillage I just read a great list of seven things to think about when making a purchase. It's all information you know -- and things we talk about all the time here -- but it helped me to see it again all in one place. The article is an excerpt from Big Green Purse, by Diane MacEachern, which Patricia reviewed a few months ago.

1. Buy less
2. Read the label
3. Support sustainability
4. Look for third party verification
5. Choose fewer ingredients
6. Pick less packaging
7. Buy local

Yes, every single one of those is a no brainer, but it's good to be reminded that every time you take out cash, credit cards or a checkbook, your decision can have a good or bad impact on the world around you. After all, the environment never gets a holiday from us.

Photo via marcin karawczyk via flickr