If you’ve watched any TV in the past 6 months, you’ve probably seen those ludacris ads put out by the Corn Refiners Association. If not, give this one a whirl so you can be properly indignant about what I’m going to tell you next.

Spluttering for a logical response to that propaganda? Excellent. Now try this news on for size.

On Monday, January 26, the scientific journal Environmental Health published the results of two (not one, but TWO) studies conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The study tested high fructose corn syrup and found that “almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient.”

“Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” said the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies.

That’s right folks, we no longer have the luxury of being poisioned only by salmon and peanut butter. Now, literally hundreds, even thousands, of the prepared products we unfortunately consume every day are silently poisioning us as well.

Of course a rubuttal was immediately posted on the Corn Refiners Association’s official campaign website.

“This study appears to be based on outdated information of dubious significance. Our industry has used mercury-free versions of the two re-agents mentioned in the study, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda, for several years. These mercury-free re-agents perform important functions, including adjusting pH balances,” stated Audrae Erickson, President, Corn Refiners Association. “For more than 150 years, corn wet millers have been perfecting the process of refining corn to make safe ingredients for the American food supply.”

Somehow, I highly doubt that an “Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal that considers manuscripts on all aspects of environmental and occupational medicine, and related studies in toxicology and epidemiology” would risk it’s reputation by publishing an article with “outdated” and “dubious” information. Of course, it’s happened before, but I’m sceptical.

According to an article in the Washington Post, “in the second study, the agriculture group [IATP] found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was most common in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.”

And the real sucker punch of it all? “The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercury. The good news is that mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good push to only use those ingredients,” Wallinga said.

This is why environmentalists support local, sustainable, ORGANIC agriculture. This is why we urge you to grow your own food. This is why we oppose genetically modified foods and the big, untouchable corporations that are sneakily poisoning the earth, the water and OUR CHILDREN by producing these foods. It’s because such atrocities are committed with no thought of the health and well being of the American people, and because these corporations are encouraged to behave in this manner by government subsidies and by YOU when you buy these products. Remember: you are what you eat!

- The Team at GenGreen

Green Living Project™, the leading media production and marketing company focused on global sustainability initiatives, has announced their 2009 lecture tour schedule for North America. Following a successful 2008 tour schedule which featured over 30 events in North and South America, Green Living Project™ has established new strategic event partnerships to educate and inspire attendees, while increasing the promotion and distribution of the company’s multi-media production work on unique and successful sustainability projects from around the globe.

The “Green Living Project™ Lecture Series” offers free multi-media events that are open to the public, attracting a wide audience from high school students to working professionals to retired baby boomers. Events showcase projects from around the globe focused on relevant and important sustainability topics such as responsible tourism, renewable energy, wildlife conservation, community development, waste management, and organic farming. Attendees learn about the geographic regions covered, local communities, examples of sustainability, and responsible tourism. Each event also shows how people can get directly involved with each project and organization by volunteering, visiting, donating, or purchasing items.

In 2009, over 40 different multi-media events will be held across North America in partnership with new and existing festival, trade show, and retail event partners, including:

* Adventures in Travel Expo (ATE Travel Show): www.adventureexpo.com
* Green Festival: www.greenfestivals.org
* Go Green Expo: www.gogreenexpo.com
* Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI): www.rei.com
* L.L.Bean: www.llbean.com

The current lecture tour schedule is available at: www.greenlivingproject.com/lecture

“Green Festivals seek to showcase the best of what works for our communities, at home and abroad, and we’re proud to host Green Living Project”, says Alix Davidson, Washington D.C. regional director of Green Festival. “For example, their [GLP] focus on success stories from Africa highlights the Green Festivals’ vision for the future, one that combines social justice with ecological balance and a sustainable economy.”

“Green Living Project’s tour creates a space for communities to experience work focused on creating solutions to the challenges we face”, says Sally Johnson, retail events coordinator of REI. “This amazing work is taking place all over the world! And Green Living Project is an excellent channel for people to connect to this work and see the possibilities for change. It is very exciting for REI to promote and be involved with their unique work.”

“The most rewarding aspect of these events has been the overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees and event partners,“ said Rob Holmes, founder and president of Green Living Project™. “Attendees are engaged, inspired, and have the unique opportunity to get directly involved with interesting projects from around the globe. They also learn about the world, sustainable living, responsible tourism, and how each of us can make a positive impact.  Our professional content and unique storytelling about positive success stories really resonates with people since it celebrates and instigates activism to make a difference locally and globally. These educational components will be expanded when we launch our new Education Program this spring. This exciting new program will further develop our educational objectives, and will expand the lecture tour to elementary, undergraduate, and graduate schools nationwide.”

About Green Living Project™
Green Living Project™ is the leading multi-media production, marketing and entertainment company showcasing sustainable initiatives from around the globe. Through various production and distribution techniques, Green Living Project™ aims to educate, inspire and entertain while encouraging individuals and communities to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. The company markets its exclusive content online and offline, including an international lecture tour. Key partners include National Geographic Adventure, REI, Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), Adventures in Travel Expo (ATE), African Wildlife Foundation, Earthwatch Institute, Timberland, Gregory, and Keen Footwear. Green Living Project™ is a privately held company located in Los Angeles, California. For more information, visit www.greenlivingproject.com or contact Rob Holmes at (818) 988-2234 or rob@greenlivingproject.com

It was about half-way through college when I abandoned make-up. I had been a faithful female, terrified to show my face without it’s mask of products, struggling with teenage acne, insecurity, and pressure to look “perfect” all the time like everyone else (or so I thought). And I have to tell you that showing a fresh face to the world is a liberating thing. “This is me- uncensored- deal with it!”

But there are other reasons to avoid conventional cosmetics besides letting the world hear you roar. Exhibit A – chemicals…and lots of them. For those of you wearing make up on a daily basis, you should know that over 5 pounds of chemicals are entering your bloodstream annually through your most precious and overlooked organ- your skin.

From OrganicConsumers.org:

“Putting chemicals on your skin is actually far worse than ingesting them, because when you eat something the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help break it down and flush it out of your body. When you put these chemicals on your skin, however, it is absorbed straight into your blood stream without filtering of any kind, so there’s no protection against the toxin. The five pounds of toxic chemicals per year you may be absorbing from the use of toiletries and beauty products are largely going directly to your delicate organs.”

Ladies, if that doesn’t make you shudder, you might want to check your pulse.

Contrary to popular belief, avoiding these toxins doesn’t mean you can’t “put your face on” in the manner to which you have become accustomed- it just means you have to be a little more conscious of the products you buy.

Exhibit B – PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics: a small (but powerful!) skin care company dedicated to creating cosmetics using non-toxic ingredients that will keep your body safe and healthy. They pride themselves on their slogan: no nasty anything! and also have many vegan-friendly products. In fact, the company willingly discloses their ingredient list and the rating each product received from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep rating system.

And I haven’t even gotten to the warm-&-fuzzy part yet- “Peacekeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues. Peacekeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land-of-plenty with extraordinary women who just by chance of birth don’t have our resources or opportunties.”

If you visit the site (and you should, even if you’re not in the market for new lipstick right now) be sure to check out one of the company’s very clever philanthropic endeavors, a campaign against the sex-slave industry, in the Kiss Museum.

- The Team at GenGreen

I had gone into town on my weekly trip to get some groceries and a newspaper. I shut off the ignition of my car and walked into the store. My first stop was the newsstand. I read the headline of the newspaper: “Scientists Sound Warning on Global Warming.” It was an ominous and sobering headline. I choked. While I reflected on the subject of climate change, I spotted the driver of an SUV pulling into the parking lot. He left his SUV running. I started the stopwatch. The driver, a young man in his late twenties, had left the engine idling, the vehicle unattended, and the radio blaring. Upon entering the store, he grabbed the newspaper with the headline about global warming. He gave the newspaper a quick glance and then turned his attention to food shopping. He leisurely strolled through the aisles searching for what I surmised was some kind of treat or surprise. The man had spent exactly 8 minutes and 10 seconds in the store before exiting with the newspaper, some cigarettes, a bag of chips and a large cola. He climbed into his car. However, he didn’t take off right away. Instead, he got on his cell phone and sat there with the car idling for another 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Finally, he ended his chat and took off. Total time: 12 minutes, 20 seconds.

Over 12 minutes of idling with not a care in the world, like it was his birthright.

I thought how ironic it was that the young man had just idled for some 12 minutes after reading the newspaper headline. He evidently made no connection with the stern headlines about global warming and the phenomenon of automobile idling. The newspaper headline should have read: “Reduce Global Warming: Stop Idling.” Perhaps he would have heeded the message. Yet, I have never read such a headline in any newspaper. Nor do we hear it on television or radio news programs.

So, here we are. Countless motorists continue to idle every day across America. Meanwhile, there are millions of Americans who want desperately to do something…to do their part to fight global warming. So I went to one of America’s foremost news sources: CNN.com. They ran a story on global warming and asked readers to send in their suggestions about what they thought they should do about the problem.  But what do the readers talk about? Everything, except idling. Everyone seems asleep at the wheel. I managed to have one of EPA’s staff admit that their information is not being disseminated to the general public. One of Gore’s think-tank advisors has not responded to my entreaty. I feel like I am a lone wolf out there.  Local environmental groups have seriously omitted the subject in their Smart Transportation Initiatives. So much empty rhetoric. So much denial.

I did some research and found out that in 2004 there were approximately 243 million automobiles in the U.S. I figured that right now (2007) there are about 250 million automobiles. Based on this figure and the fact that in the brief span of 5 minutes of idling a car produces .5 lb of greenhouse gases, then:

- If all the motorists (250 million) across the U.S. idled their cars for only 5 minutes a day, they would produce 125 million lbs. of greenhouse gases.

- If half the motorists (125 million) across the United States idled their cars for only 5 minutes a day, they would still produce 62.5 million lbs. of greenhouse gases.

- Realistically, 1 out of every 3 motorists (25 million) across the United States idle their cars for 5-10 minutes a day, producing a minimum of 37.5 million lbs. of greenhouse gases. This is no small number of car owners: 75 million Americans. This is no small amount of greenhouse gases.

Remember we are looking at only 5 minutes of idling. Motorists idle their vehicles an average of 5 to 10 minutes a day. We idle about 40% less in summer, but it still amounts to an enormous waste of fuel.
That’s a lot of people who haven’t made the connection between idling and global warming. Are you puzzled why in this information age we are still blind about this numbing fact? Yes, someone has to take the responsibility for keeping the motoring public in the dark about this. Our local and state governments and the EPA are doing virtually nothing about educating the public about idling. Yes, they have information, according to one of their staff–and he boasted about it–but they’re still failing to communicate this valuable information to the public, to those of us who need to realize that their behavior is threatening the planet.

Contrary to popular belief, idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to warm up your car or truck is to drive it. In fact, with today’s engines, you need no more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days before you start to drive.

The notion that idling is good for your vehicle is passé– in fact, it hasn’t been the right thing to do since the advent of electronic engines. The truth is that excessive idling can damage the engine. Why? An idling engine isn’t operating at its peak temperature, meaning that fuel doesn’t undergo complete combustion. Idling leaves fuel residues that can condense on cylinder walls and that can contaminate oil and damage engine parts. Fuel residues are often deposited on spark plugs.

As you spend more time idling, the average temperature of the spark plug drops. This makes the plug get dirty more quickly, which can, in turn, increase fuel consumption 5 percent. Excessive idling also lets water condense in the exhaust, leading to corrosion and reducing the life of the exhaust system. Idling warms only the engine – not the wheel bearings, steering, suspension, transmission, and tires. These parts also need to be warmed up, and the only way to do so is to drive the vehicle.

But isn’t restarting hard on the engine? Studies show that frequent restarting has little impact on engine parts such as battery and starter motor. Turn off the engine? Yes. More than 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine. Save gas and money and the environment. Imagine if Americans across the land stopped idling. (Source: Natural Resources Canada, Office of Energy Efficiency).

Now is the time for mobilizing Americans to change their behavior. Hybrid cars aren’t here yet. Neither are electric cars.  Cleaner fuels still emit sulfurous gases. According to the Canadian government, for every liter (about a U.S. quart of gasoline; 3.8 liters = 1 U.S. gallon) of gasoline used, the average car produces about 2.4 kilograms (about 5 lbs.) of carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas. This is unavoidable with today’s internal combustion engines. But we can avoid producing unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions by reducing or eliminating wasteful vehicle idling. Emissions from idling vehicles are needless and can be easily prevented– all it takes is the turn of a key.

In Canada, if every driver avoided idling for just 5 minutes a day, more than 1 million tons of CO2 would be prevented from entering the atmosphere each year. That would represent a huge contribution to climate change efforts. In the United States, if every driver avoided idling for just 5 minutes a day, more than 10 million tons of CO2 would be prevented from entering the atmosphere each year. That would represent a staggering contribution to positive climate change efforts.

By Gary Klinga
gary_klinga@yahoo.com

(This article reprinted with permission from the author).

For further information please visit GlobalWarmingSolution.org

The Hallmark holiday to end all Hallmark holidays is fast descending upon us- the dreaded St. Valentines Day.

Outfitted with the most horrifying pinks, reds and lace, once a year this day climbs from the bowels of commercialism to haunt us with chemically processed sweets, synthetically stuffed animals, mass produced floral arrangements and a forests’ worth of greeting cards. Not to mention the emotional anguish it can inspire- Will you have a date? Will you go to dinner?And (gasp) will you Get Any?

But who said we can’t have an eco-friendly sense of humor and still celebrate this day of sweetness? Here are the top 5 picks for spicing up your sustainable love life:

1. Slip on the No! Shopping Bag Bra – Triumph International Japan

No it’s not for warding off uninvited advances. Instead the No! is more like “just say no” and is meant to raise awareness to the estimated 30 billion plastic shopping bags used by Japanese consumers. The bra, which comes in red, blue, yellow and pink, can be transformed into a ready-to-use shopping bag with only a few steps, and is also made of polyester fibers recycled from plastic bottles using the company’s EcoCircle recycling system.

2. Light up the Room with a Babeland Massage Candle

These ingenious votive candles not only set the stage for a decadent massage, they deliver it. The melting wax, made of gentle, skin-safe soy, transforms into a warm, deliciously scented massage oil. Blow out the flame, drizzle the warm oil on your lover’s body, and unwind with a massage as good for the body as it is for the soul.

3. Explore your Dark (and Chocolatey) Side

Although it has a controversial history, the cacao bean and the love-handles it’s responsible for are a Valentines’ staple. So why not choose some sweets that are doing good as well as tasting good? Endangered Species Chocolate is a high quality, all-natural, ethically traded treat that uses the universal appeal of chocolate to spread a positive environmental message and provides cacao farmers a fair wage that leads to more sustainable farming practices.

4. Get Drunk on Him

Ladies, I’m not suggesting you don’t hold up your end of the tab. Instead surprise your man with Burt’s Bees Bay Rum Cologne- a refreshing men’s fragrance. Fresh citrus oils of lemon and orange and energizing bergamot are enveloped in the warm, spicy depth of cypress and fir to create a crisp, woodsy scent. Plus, Burt’s Bees is one of those cool companies that disclose their products’ ingredient list and never tests on animals.

5. Stage a Spa-napping

Not literally of course, but every girl (and guy) needs to be whisked away on a fantasy vaca now and then. If you can’t swing the carbon offsets for an out-of-country get away, try something closer to home. The Green Spa Network is a directory of spas around the country that have made a serious comittment to reducing their environmental impact. Green spas (as defined by GSN) are those that have pledged to use toxin-free products and are a haven for getting intouch with your calmer, more natural side.

- The Team at GenGreen

Our computers are big, fast, noisy, hot, high energy consumers, cluttered and jumbled with wires. But these inefficiencies are helping to change the future of desktop and laptops; shying away from the flash of 3D video cards, 30 inch LCD monitors, 4 gigahertz processers and a terabytes of storage.  Thankfully, the industry is shifting to more compact, energy efficient work stations as few users need a 3D graphics workstation to shop on Amazon, purchase airplane tickets, or even listen to music.

Parallel to the automotive industry and real estate businesses, the computer industry now acknowledges that bigger and cheaper is not always best. Many of the leading computer manufactures are making the leap to go green this year with a line-up of compact, efficient work stations. Smart Phones (Blackberry, Iphone, ect), Ipod Touch, Mini Mac, Sony Vaio P, Pi, Z, JS Series, HP mini enano Computers, Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Laptop and Studio Hybrid are just a few examples of the new shift.

How Much Energy Does Your Computer System Use?

A typical desktop PC system is comprised of the computer itself and a monitor. Your CPU may require up to 100 watts of electrical power. Add 50-150 watts for a 15-17 inch monitor, and even more for larger monitors.

The industry leader in energy conservation is the enano computer company. The enano desktop runs at about 20-25 Watts for average computing. The maximum power drain for the enano only goes up to 45W, which is well below most desktop computers. enano computers are also Epeat Certified and are 95% recyclable.

“We have actually taken our energy consumption to a lower level as well. They are currently at 15 watts sitting idle and 28 watts at full power,” said Joey Crowell, an enano representative.

Macbooks, also leading the way in energy efficiency runs at a maximum of 48 Watts under heavy use. In 2009 most major computer manufacturers will probably be producing a model similar to these, making it easier to go green in your daily online life.

For your green electronic shopping needs visit www.gengreenlife.com to find a comprehensive directory of retailers in your area.

By Matt Olson, GenGreen Content Intern

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response received during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Mayor John Hickenlooper and several community partners announced plans yesterday for a citywide bike sharing program – Denver B-Cycle – that will make 500 bikes available to the public at 30 to 40 stations throughout the city beginning this summer.

This initiative is one of the first such citywide bike sharing programs in the country, and demonstrates the continued commitment of both Hickenlooper and the City to keep Colorado at the forefront of progressive sustainability in the Mountain West.

“The positive feedback we received from the bike sharing program during the 2008 Democratic National Convention was remarkable,” Hickenlooper said in a recent press release. “We are confident Denver B-cycle will prove equally popular while improving our fitness levels and our environment. Our 358 miles of bike routes and trails combined with our 300 days of sunshine make Denver the perfect city in which to launch this citywide bike sharing system.”

The B-Cycle Citywide Bike Sharing Program will focus initially on the downtown Denver business district, University of Denver campus and adjacent neighborhoods. The bike stations will be situated in a 3- to 4-mile radius of downtown Denver and integrated with the existing multi-modal transit system, including the 16th Street Mall, Denver’s Union Station, Market Street Station and FasTracks. The program is expected to double in size to more than 1,000 bikes by Spring 2010.

For more information about the B-Cycle program visit: BikeDenver.org

- The Team at GenGreen

Molten gold being poured into molds for bars in Cajamarca, Peru, comes from a nearby open-pit-mine.

Although I’ve never been the type, I’ve heard that some women consider diamonds their friend. Gold too. Pretty much anything shiny and expensive has tantalized humans of all varieties since the beginning of time.

In recent years, the tragic mining of “conflict diamonds” has come under criticism from some in the jewelery industry, spurring the rise of companies like Brilliant Earth that are dedicated to the safe and fair trade of precious stones and elements. So I won’t touch on that here. But while heading down the street towards the coffee shop the other day, I passed a local jeweler displaying a sign for Eco Gold and was intrigued. Here’s what I found out:

Most gold has been procured through “dirty mining methods” for the past 4500 years, and, instead of declining, these detrimental practices have increased as easily accessible gold deposits have become scarce. Open-pit mining, cyanide heap leaching, and amalgamation are some of the dirty gold practices found throughout the world.

Open-Pit Mining: “In open-pit mining, companies must remove vast amounts of rock and materials and blast the entire site. This leads to the destruction of the environment at the mine site, damage to the surrounding ecosystem, and the opening up of vast craters. Open-pit mines produce eight to 10 times as much waste rubble as underground mines.

After being brought to the surface, the ore must be processed to extract the mineral, which also generates huge quantities of waste. The amount of recoverable metal in even high grade ores is generally just a small fraction of their total mass. Every ounce of gold produced results in 30 tons of mine waste.”

Heap Leaching: Ore containing gold “is crushed, piled into heaps, and sprayed with cyanide, which trickles down through the ore and bonds with the gold. The resulting gold-cyanide solution is collected at the base of the heap and pumped to a mill, where the gold and cyanide are chemically separated. The cyanide is then stored in artificial ponds for reuse.”

“To dispose of the leftover ore contaminated with cyanide and other toxins, also called tailings, a mine gradually constructs a dam. These dams are often structurally unsound. In the last 25 years, dam failures have accounted for three-quarters of all major mining accidents. In 2000, a gold mine resulting from a tailings dam failure in Romania spilled more than 100,000 gallons of cyanide-laced mine waste into the Tisza river, killing 1,240 tons of fish and contaminating the drinking water of 2.5 million people.”

Amalgamation: “…a commonly used gold extraction process that, unleashes widespread mercury contamination and continues to poison local ecosystems. Small scale gold mining often relies on this process to extract gold, releasing vast quantities of mercury vapor into the environment. Mercury vapor has serious health consequences for both animals and humans.”

Though the recent economic decline has definitely taken its toll on the jewelery business, and for many of us buying gold is the last thing on our list of priorities, it’s important to be aware of the environmentally hazardous processes being used to produce it, and to keep them in mind when buying, giving or wearing it.

For more useful information on Eco Gold and dirty mining, check out:

NoDirtyGold.org (Be sure to sign the pledge to end dirty mining practices!)

The Real Price of Gold

Conflict Free Diamond Buying Guide

Image is from NY Times Behind Gold’s Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed Questions

- The Team at GenGreen

(Quoted portions from BrilliantEarth.com)

The MillionMile Greenway (MMG), a nonprofit dedicated to conserving greenspace, providing public recreation space and connecting existing greenspace, will officially launch to the public on Jan. 14 with a party at 1010 Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia.

Founded in 2007 to help private citizens, nonprofit groups and government planning offices conserve greenspace, MMG provides tools and consulting services toward creating and maintaining greenspace in local communities. In addition, MMG is working to connect communities’ greenspace throughout Georgia and the United States.

To facilitate the connection of local greenspace, MMG has established partnerships with a number of regional conservation organizations within the past year. Among the MMG affiliates is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC).

MMG founder Jim Langford says ATC will be an important partner in the collaborative effort to achieve one million miles of connected greenspace. “The Appalachian Trail is one of the best examples in the nation of conserving and connecting greenspace for public enjoyment despite extraordinary population growth,” said Langford. “The ATC’s more than 2,000 miles of trail will be a crucial link to connecting surrounding greenspace throughout the eastern United States.”

ATC Executive Director David Startzell noted the benefits of the partnership for the Appalachian Trail and the people who enjoy it. “Partnering with the MillionMile Greenway will allow us to better connect with local communities, expanding a network of interconnected greenspace that provides critical ecological services across the Appalachian highland region. The AT is a 280,000-acre greenway that serves as a major artery for other connected greenways along our path. Through our new alliance, ATC and MMG can provide improved services related to recreation and natural resource protection in many trail-side communities,” Startzell said.

Current board and committee members will be available at the launch party to discuss volunteer, membership and grant opportunities. The launch event at 1010 Midtown (Peachtree St. and 12th) from 6-8 p.m. is open to all members of MMG and the public. Visit www.millionmilegreenway.org to join or for more information.

The GenGreen local green directory and the green shopping engine of Evo.com join Green Guide’s coverage of green tips and products to help shoppers save money and the planet

WASHINGTON (January 12, 2008) – National Geographic Green Guide (www.thegreenguide.com), Evo.com and GenGreenLife.com announce today the formation of a one-of-a-kind, green online destination where consumers can find reliable information on green products and lifestyle tips, make eco-conscious purchases and discover how to find and support local eco-friendly businesses.

“Our readers come to us for tips on conservation, as well as ideas on how to live greener lifestyles on a budget,” said Wendy Gordon, founder of National Geographic Green Guide. “Through our partnership with EVO.com and GenGreenLife.com, our editorial will be complemented with resources that enable readers to purchase green products directly on the site and find out more information about local green businesses and services.”

EVO.com (www.evo.com) provides the National Geographic Green Guide site an immediate e-commerce option for purchasing more than 20,000 green products in various lifestyle categories – from clothing and household items to gadgets and automobiles. EVO aggregates goods from both large retailers and smaller boutiques to create a unique blend of familiar brands alongside cool, new discoveries. Each product and service offered on EVO.com has been carefully filtered to evaluate its social and environmental impact.

“To achieve mainstream adoption, going green has to be easy”, explains Daniel Siegel, founder and CEO of EVO.com. “We’re excited to deliver National Geographic Green Guide customers a simple, credible way to locate and purchase healthier, cleaner, greener products.”

In addition, GenGreen has created a comprehensive resource of local green businesses and organizations helping Green Guide readers find green options close to home. The GenGreen LLC website, (www.gengreenlife.com) has an extensive online green directory that makes local sustainable living easy for conscious consumers everywhere. With more than 35,000 listings across all 50 states and over 350 cities of neighborhood organic restaurants, local recycling centers, non-toxic dry cleaners, green pet stores, eco-friendly hiking trails, green jobs, green events and more, GenGreenLife.com helps consumers live greener lives while focusing locally…

“Throughout the process of building GenGreen, it has always been our mission to get this valuable information in as many hands as possible,” said Charisse McAuliffe, Founder and CEO of GenGreen LLC. “The sharing of content between GenGreen and National Geographic Green Guide is enhancing both of our user’s experiences to a level never seen before.”

About National Geographic Green Guide
National Geographic Green Guide is the go-to resource online, in print and on the radio that smart consumers turn to for product advice, healthy living tips and money saving home improvements. Produced by an expert team of writers, editors and researchers who make it their full-time job to sort through the hype surrounding everyday products and behaviors, Green Guide is the most reliable source of environmental information for the average consumer since its founding in 1994. For more information, visit www.thegreenguide.com.

About EVO.com
EVO.com is the largest online directory of green goods and services. Developed by former eBay engineers with oversight from expert advisors, EVO.com’s scalable ‘green screen’ technology aggregates, sorts, filters, rates and publishes the best of the green marketplace. EVO.com offers consumers easy access to greener choices and provides online publishers a free, turnkey, revenue generating, green commerce solution. For more information visit www.evo.com.

About GenGreen
GenGreen is a Colorado-based company that makes sustainable living easy for consumers everywhere.  GenGreenLife.com is the most comprehensive and diverse resource available for people looking to live a locally-focused, environmentally conscious lifestyle with more than 35,000 listings readily accessible in all 50 states and over 5400 cities across the country. For more information, visit www.GenGreenLife.com.

CONTACTS:
National Geographic Green Guide
Caryn Davidson
National Geographic
(212) 506-1609
cdavidso@ngs.org

Jessica Wolf
mPRm Public Relations
(323) 933-3399 x4202
jwolf@mprm.com

GenGreen LLC
Charisse McAuliffe/Founder & CEO
O: (970) 488-3636
C: (970) 980-7091
charisse@gengreenlife.com

Johnston Wells Public Relations
Christina Bowen cbowen@johnstonwells.com
Blake Jackson bjackson@johnstonwells.com
(303) 623-3366

EVO.com
Susan Spencer
Spencer Communications
(310) 543-9121
susan@spencercomm.biz