• Helping the Hartfords and Finding a Path to More Energy Efficient Homes – Energy Circle. The original New York Times article was focused on the high price of oil, but this response to it was all about efficiency. It’s great to hear that these people have been helped.
• Maine company ready to install tidal power unit – Boston Globe. Who would have thought there was all this good stuff going on in Maine?
• Cleaner Fuels, Cleaner Cars – New York Times. The White House should review the EPA’s recommendation for reducing sulfur in gas.
• Solar Thermal Around Boston – Green Lifestyle Consulting. It’s funny how much goes on around the city that you don’t see.
• Ask Umbra: When should an old refrigerator be replaced? – Grist. I’ve read before that 10 years is the magic number, but Energy Star recommends replacing anything manufactured before 1993.
• The Pizza Box Recycling Mystery – RecycleBank. Cambridge says they’ll now take pizza boxes, but a lot of towns don’t. (Thanks, Laurie!)
• Ask Umbra: Are coffee cups recyclable? – Grist.  Another common recycling question.
• Hatched Owner Liz Vittori Koch on Eco-Friendly Clothes and Toys – JP Patch. It seems like a lot of people start to think organic when they have kids.

That’s all for this week. As always, if you come across anything interesting, send it along.

• Advice for the Busy Urban Locavore, or What I Ate While Writing My Dissertation – Locavore in the City. I don’t think I’ve figured out my system yet, but I’m working on it.
• Using egg shells in the garden – Girl on Bike. I add eggshells to our compost bin because the  worms love curling up inside them and laying eggs.
• Why chefs are confused about what fish they can serve – Boston Globe. I’m confused, too. It’s hard to settle on hard-and-fast rules.
• New England Aquarium’s approved fish list – Boston Globe. This seems very close to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s list.
• A Pot With Benefits – Slate. I’m a little intimidated to use a pressure canner, too, but this may have convinced me to try.
• Even More Eco-Laundry – Green Phone Booth. Another shout-out for soap nuts.
• 21 Important Documentaries to Watch on Netflix Instant – The Good Human. This looks like my good-intentions Netflix list. Unfortunately, my guilty pleasures Netflix list tends to win out.
• Popcorn on the Cob – Farm Share Stories. To go with the movies… Warning: wring the popcorn off the cob first.

That’s all for now. As always, if you come across anything interesting this week, send it my way.

• Newly discovered fungus eats plastic – Grist. I believed The World Without Us when it said this would happen eventually, I just didn’t think it would be so soon.
• Coop D’Etat: Farmers, Humane Society Partner On Chicken-Cage Revolution – NPR. United Egg Producers and the Humane Society helped draft a law that will phase out cages by 2015. Contact your representatives to tell them you support it, too. (Thanks, Liala!)
• What’s in your orange juice? – Boston Globe. Because my Tropicana uses oranges from Brazil, like most major orange juice brands, I’ve probably been drinking fungicide…
• The Thermostat Wars – Slate. It turns out Honeywell patented and then sat on many of the features of the popular Nest thermostat.
• What’s the Best Way To Get Users To Embrace Mass Transit? – Slate. I think Boston might be considered “low system/high empathy”.
• State of Maine Bans Use Of LEED In State Construction – Treehugger. Is there anyone in Maine who doesn’t think that LePage is completely nuts?
• Cotton’s Hidden Costs – Boston Green Drinks. Conventional cotton is one of the most water-, fertilizer-, and pesticide-intensive crops.
• Dirty Money – Slate. Would removing fossil fuel subsidies level the playing field and reduce carbon emissions?
• Why fixing up old homes is greener than building new ones – Grist. New energy efficient buildings take decades to catch up to the energy savings of retrofits.
• Farmer Groupies and Chicken Coddlers – Slate. Isn’t there a middle ground between well-off suburban dilettante and the poor Appalachians that the Foxfire books emulate?
• Orion Kriegman on Backyard Chickens & Community Resilience – JP Patch. Kriegman and his wife turned a vacant lot into a community orchard. (Thanks, Lesley!)
• Compost for Brooklyn – Locavore in the City. Suzanne’s a Berklee professor, with a book based on her blog coming out next year. Here she talks about how finding a place to compost helped her make connections in her new home.
• Recipes for the Semi-Vegan – New York Times. I missed you, Mark Bittman!
• The habit of pie – Harvard Press. Okay, so this doesn’t have much do with the environment directly, but Jonathan made the best pie I’ve ever had in my life using local honey, so it kind of fits…
• Sustainable – xkcd. Doing my part: sustainable, sustainable, sustainable, sustainable, sustainable, sustainable.

That’s all for now. As always, if you come across anything interesting this week, send it my way .

• 8 Gifts That Reduce Waste – Examiner. Okay, so if you haven’t bought all your presents, you’re a serious procrastinator, but here are a few good ideas.
• DIY Green Wrapping – Green Phone Booth. I love wrapping presents in reusable bags. Two gifts in one!
• Vegetarian Holiday Recipes – Green Phone Booth. Has anyone tried these? They look good.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve shared, so there’s a lot. Do you do want the good news or the bad news first?

The good news:

• Empire State Building Achieves LEED Gold Certification – Inhabit. It’s the tallest building in the U.S. to get LEED certification.
• EPA Issues Rule Limiting Arsenic, Mercury Emissions from Power Plants – NPR. About half of the coal- and oil-fired power plants still lack modern pollution controls. Now they have three years to clean up their act.
• Elevation of the Chimp May Reshape Research – New York Times. The government is halting all new grants for research on chimps.
• EPA Report Cracks Down on Hydraulic Fracking – Energy 2.0. The EPA specifically links fracking with groundwater contamination.
• Could Having Better Labels Help out the Environment? – Slate. More argument for social norms advertising.
• Naked People Need Building Science – Energy Vanguard. Okay, so this is less good news and more funny. But it makes a good point!

The bad news:

• The Scariest Energy Graph You’ll See Today – Green Bang. Warning: the the US Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2011 is pretty depressing.
• Canada Holds Hearing on Suspected Virus in Salmon – New York Times. Infectious salmon anemia has spread from farmed fish to wild.
• As Permafrost Thaws, Scientists Study the Risks – New York Times. Permafrost could contain twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere.
• Plastic Bags – XKCD. I love XKCD.

• Energy Circle’s 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts of Efficiency – Energy Circle. I love that spray foam and caulk are at the top of this list.
• A gift guide to bike stuff that people actually want  - Grist. I vote for Smart Wool socks.
• Hubway to branch out next spring – Boston Globe. 20 stations in Cambridge starting in March!
• Winter Farmers’ Markets – Boston Globe. The winter farmers market at the Pru is definitely not getting the love it deserves right now.
• Organic Can Feed the World – The Atlantic. ”A 2010 United Nations study (PDF) concluded that organic and other sustainable farming methods that come under the umbrella of what the study’s authors called ‘agroecology’ would be necessary to feed the future world.”
• Carbon Emissions Show Biggest Jump Ever Recorded – New York Times. ”The increase, a half-billion extra tons of carbon pumped into the air, was almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the Industrial Revolution.”
• What’s the #1 Air-Pollution Source in Montreal During Winter? Old Wood Stoves and Fireplaces – Treehugger. Old wood stoves are not only inefficient, but release tons of particulate matter into the air.
• Sustainability: 4 Principles for Behavior Change – Practically Green. I love these! Berklee’s Counseling and Advising Center did an anti–drugs and alcohol social norms campaign that was just great.

• Win a Free $600 Value Energy Audit from Sierra Club Green Home – Inhabit. Enter before October 31.
• A Chimney Balloon will Keep Your House Warm, Save You Money – Energy Circle. Fireplaces suck for energy efficiency, but chimney balloons can help.
• Weatherize Baby Weatherize – Complete Home Evaluations. DeWitt has now done energy audits for 250 homes in Maine.
• Meal Planning in the Digital Age – Half-Assed Housewife. I used to be great at meal planning; now I’m trying to relearn it. I hope these websites will help.
• Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup – Not Eating Out in New York. It’s that time of year…
• How To Speed Up Your Website And Be More Eco Friendly – Eco Living Advice. I doubt these tips actually save much energy, but they’re common sense that I need to keep in mind.
• 6 Ways To Drink Wine Smarter – Huffington Post. My friend Lesley really recommends Yellow + Blue.
• 5 Easy Car Repairs Anyone Can Do (Even You) – Cheap Like Me. I’ve never done an oil change myself, but I’ve watched my sister do it many times.
• Go Slow To Go Fast – Slate. Reducing speed limits not only saves gas, but can also reduce traffic jams.
• EPA Launches “Greener Products” Portal – Energy 2.0. A new online guide for EPA eco-labeling  programs.

• Meat-free dining in the Boston area – Boston Globe. There are a lot of vegetarian restaurants in the Boston area now. Not mentioned here: My Thai Cafe in Chinatown (formerly Budda’s Delight).
• Guitar Antihero 1: How Gibson Guitars made illegal logging a conservative cause célèbre  - Slate. How is this guy a Tea Party hero? Crazy. I hope musicians are boycotting.
• Making Change Happen, on a Deadline – New York Times. The Rapid Results strategy strives to make a difference in just 100 days.
• Legal Sea Foods … Lousy Ads – Boston Magazine. An ad takes a swipe at groups who want to protect at-risk fish. In response, let’s all get the Monterey Bay Aquarium guide and avoid Legal Sea Foods’ salmon. (Thanks, Lesley!)
• Renewables and efficiency in our energy future – Boston Globe. An interview with Daniel Yergin from  Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
  
• A new toolbox for urban analysis – Boston Globe. New software helps urban planners visualize cities’ characteristics.
• New biomass rules demand cleaner, more efficient plants – Boston Globe. To get subsidies, plants have to reach 40–60% efficiency (from the barely 25% they’re at now).
• The Shirt From Hell – Slate. No-iron shirts contain formaldehyde. Ew!