It’s a mixed bag this week, but there seems to be a bunch of stuff on saving electricity, gas, paper…

• Atlantic Garbage Patch – Huffington Post. Some really cool—but gross—photos.
• MBTA Launches First of Hybrid Buses – Boston Globe. We really need more of these. Our house is on a bus route, and disgusting black dust builds up on the windowsills.
• Going Green at the Treasury – Boston Globe. People receiving federal benefits will now get electronic payments—saving hundreds of millions of dollars and tons of paper and mail.
• EPA Wants 16 Chemicals Added to Toxics Release Inventory – Environmental Leader. Finally!
• Turn Your Key, Be Idle Free – Energy Savers. My landlord’s son leaves his car idling in the backyard for half an hour at a time. It makes me want to scream.
• Universities Across the United States Make Strides in Energy Conservation – Energy Savers. I wonder if we can get Berklee signed up for the College Sustainability Report Card.
• Bouquets of Flowers, Where Do You Stand? – Making This Home. I love the flowers that my landlady tends in our front yard, but conventional flowers from stores are shipped halfway around the world and dosed with pesticides. Ick.
• The Environmental Impact of Everyday Things – Chic Ecologist. Psst—by “everyday things” she means “feminine products.”
• Three Ways Cleaning Can Help You Save Energy – greenUPGRADER. We never vacuum our refrigerator coils, and we really should.
• The Lazy Preserver – Simple. Green. Frugal. It’s kind of cool seeing which things overwintered in her garden or stored well.
• Making Your Own Deodorant – Simple. Green. Frugal. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I think the baking soda/cornmeal powder puff thing is cool.
• Ask Umbra on food dehydrators, cage-free and free-range poultry, and e-readers – Grist. Normally I love Ask Umbra, but here she doesn’t mention “certified humane” eggs, and she equates the Kindle and the iPad. The iPad may use very little power for a laptop but that’s a lot for an ereader.

In other news, my Socially Responsible Banking with Wainwright post was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Punch Debt in the Face.

And as usual, if you read something interesting, send it along.