Good Economic/Ecological Practices for Consumers

After much experimentation, research, and trying out various bags when grocery shopping over the past 3 years, here is the best reusable grocery bag I've found yet: SteppingStones natural unbleached EcoSac GlobalGrocer cotton canvas bag ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E8X3J8/ ). SteppingStones ( http://www.bags4you.com/index.html ) is based in Cambria California and this particular bag is currently made in India. SteppingStones seems to be as green a company as you can find in their operations, materials, supply chain, and product design. See http://www.bags4you.com/company/company.html What I like best about the GlobalGrocer: - very sturdy (can hold very heavy groceries or serve as a book bag even -- they are very versatile) - great handles -- not too short, not too long, and wide enough to hold easily - can sling handles over your shoulder or hold in your hand - folds flat - quite large so holds a lot (but not too large) 18" x 16" x 7" - very tear resistant...

If you want a deodorant that works very well, saves a lot of money, and is much better for the environment and you, I strongly recommend the Thai Deodorant Stick. Please note that it is primarily a deodorant and not that good an antiperspirant. If you need an excellent antiperspirant, use something else. However most people do not need a high-powered antiperspirant every day. For instance, if I'm headed into a situation where it is critical that I stay dry (like a tense presentation in front of many people under hot lights), then yes I still use a good antiperspirant such as Dry Idea Roll On. However 99% of the time (even for most presentations -- and I give a lot of presentations) a good deodorant is all I need every day. Plus sweating is a good thing. It keeps you cooler. To use the Thai Deodorant Stick effectively, it is best to wet it slightly and rub it back and forth on your underarms making sure to cover them thoroughly. This takes a little more time than typical liquid ...

Many gleefully trash Wikipedia , but nonetheless it is one of the most helpful and practical resources on the internet along with Google search. While most articles are not eloquent prose, as a whole Wikipedia is the largest and best first stop when investigating a topic. It is a wonderful example of what people can accomplish when they work collaboratively. My hat is off to Jimmy Wales and all the others who created Wikipedia. It's a self sustaining information ecosystem that is constantly cleansing itself and making itself better and better every day. Knowledge is power. Power to the people. It's as simple as that. For some other perspectives upon Wikipedia's 10th Anniversary, please read: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/01/all-star-thinkers-on-wikipedias-10th-anniversary/69523/

Recently (as of 2010) hotmail, yahoo, and gmail accounts have been under increasing attack by spammers because once they break into valid accounts, spammers can get around most spam filters (because email from known hotmail, yahoo, & gmail accounts are "trusted" by other systems and the email is sent to addresses from those accounts' address books). The only current solution to this problem is for everyone to practice safe computing: 1) use very strong passwords on all of your accounts 2) don't use the same password on different accounts, use a unique one for each (so that if one system is broken into it does not expose a password used elsewhere) 3) be very careful when on unprotected networks or computers 4) keep your own computers and networks well secured and free from malware. These are not necessarily easy things to do although tools such as LastPass ( http://lastpass.com/ ) can make #1 & #2 easy (otherwise #2 is impossible for most people). #3 can be ach...

Here is the best way I've found to take a shower efficiently, effectively, and ecologically. Why a shower rather than a bath? Because it uses much less water to get you clean and rinses all the dirt off of you rather than you sitting in it. 1) Put your dirty clothes in a proper and safe location as well as your clean clothes (a place they won't get dirty or wet but separate from each other). 2) Put your shampoo and soap in an easy to reach location in your shower and have a towel within easy reach as well. Also keep a squeegee in your shower (more on this below). 3) Get the water hot without wasting it. Use an on demand hot water heater or on demand water recirculation system ( http://www.gothotwater.com/ ). Or capture the water in a bucket to flush the toilet or water your plants. Or do it military style and just jump in regardless of the water temperature -- let it get warm while you are in it. 4) Make sure all the water stays in your shower. Shut the shower door or tuck the ...

"There's a sucker born every minute." (quote possibly from P.T. Barnum) The counter to this is don't believe everything you read or are told (whether on the internet or elsewhere). While I believe that most people are generally honest and trustworthy, there are many unethical people who are eager to steal from you. Online marketplaces & exchanges (Craigslist, eBay, freecycling lists, online classifieds, email lists. etc) are great enablers of more efficient distribution of goods, but be warned -- they can be misused as well. The following article from PC World about Craigslist scams applies to all electronic venues. Please read and be careful out there! See: http://www.pcworld.com/article/188584/keep_clear_of_craigslist_scams.html And for freecyclers see in particular: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20070405&slug=webhouse05m A similar scam occurred on a San Jose freecycling list in 2004/2005.

I've been searching long and hard since 1997 for a good way to manage hundreds of online accounts and passwords securely. Everyone who has been on the internet for any length of time has the same problem. It is impossible to remember all your account names, IDs, and passwords let alone use different strong passwords for each account (so that if one is compromised the rest are not). Yet if you write them down, that introduces other security risks. Having your browser remember them is also very insecure. Roboform and many other password safe solutions were inadequate (not cross platform or too hard to use). Bank of America's My Portfolio and Yodlee provide interesting solutions but have flaws depending on your perspective. By far the best cross platform solution and the one I now use is LastPass ( http://LastPass.com ). In a nutshell, it locks all of your account information into an AES-256 bit safe that only you can open. That safe moves wherever you want it to go. LastPass mak...