Eco-friendly Baby Products: Go green with these items for your little one

Parents have a lot to consider when buying items for their new baby, and more and more moms and dads are choosing eco-friendly products. Synthetic toys can contain harsh chemicals, and disposable products (like diapers) take their toll on the environment. If you want to go green with your baby, check out these gems:

• Skip Hop’s line of Versa diaper bags lets you carry everything you need. The bags are BPA-free, PVC-free and phthalate-free, so all your items stay clean while on-the-go. Other features include eleven pockets, water-resistant linings and even an expandable center. Shop online at www.skiphop.com.

• Pacifiers are handy for keeping your baby calm and content, and it helps to know that the ones you use, along with related accessories, are completely non-toxic. For something fun and safe, take a look at Haba’s Teddy Pacifier Chain. Your baby will love the bright colors and smiling teddy bear, and you’ll love that it’s made with natural, water-based, non-toxic lacquers. Learn more at www.oompa.com.

• While Safety 1^st offers a variety of great childcare products, their Nature Next line is getting positive reviews in particular. The Nature Next Booster Seat is made from 50 percent bio-plastic, a new generation of plastics developed from renewable plant resources. In addition, the factory that makes the booster seat is a zero landfill facility that reuses more than 99 percent of its plastic manufacturing waste. See more Nature Next products at www.safety1st.com

• Due to recent concern over the chemicals in plastic bottles, Lifefactory has created a line of glass baby bottles. All bottles are covered with a colorful silicone sleeve for easy gripping, and both components are 100 percent free of known toxins including BPA, phthalates, polycarbonates and PVC. The sleeves are made with medical-grade silicone and do not contain any plastic or latex. Check out all the colors and styles at www.lifefactory.com.

Many eco-friendly products for babies come in a variety of sizes, colors and more, so you can pick one that fits your style and budget. You’ll get extra satisfaction from knowing that not only is your baby safe and sound, but that you’re doing your part to protect the environment, as well.

Spring Greening: Tips for eco-friendly spring cleaning

Time to shape up and sweep up – spring cleaning is right around the corner. With all the chemicals in many cleaning products currently on the market, however, household cleaning can turn into a toxic disaster that’s not only bad for the environment, but for your health as well. Fortunately, by using these eco-friendly tips and tricks, you’ll be helping the world and your home.

If you want the ease of pre-made household cleaners, seek out brands like Seventh Generation, Method and Biokleen. These cleaners may be safe for the environment, but they’ll do serious damage to the dirt and dust that built up during the winter months. If you’re looking to get a little crafty while you clean, there are several items in your cabinets that, when mixed properly, make excellent, eco-friendly cleaning agents. Toss that toxic window spray and instead opt for a mixture of one quarter cup vinegar and one quart water. You can also mix in some baking soda if you want to tackle countertops and bathroom tile. Floors can be cleaned using a simple solution of vinegar and water while toilets can be scrubbed using straight baking powder. To avoid that lingering smell of vinegar, mix a bit of essential oil into any of these concoctions.

Another excellent tip for green cleaning is to ditch the paper towels. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, paper products make up more than one-third of all municipal waste products. Washable cleaning cloths are eco-friendly and offer a great way to repurpose that old T-shirt that no longer fits.

Last but not least, open your windows. All winter long, people use artificial air fresheners to mask odors and replace the fresh air they lack due to cold weather. In fact, about 75 percent of all U.S. homes use these chemically based air fresheners, many of which contain ingredients that have been linked to adverse developmental and/or hormonal impacts. Not only that, indoor air in homes tightly-sealed against winter’s cold air can become pretty fouled with cooking fumes, off-gases from furniture and carpeting, dust, etc. Now that the days are getting a bit longer, open those windows and bring some fresh air inside.

They say a clean home is a happy home, but also remember that an eco-friendly home makes for a happy planet. Use these simple tips and you’ll be able to keep your house, and your planet clean this spring.

Five Fuel-Efficient 2012 Pickups. These trucks are topping the rankings with their impressive gas mileage.

The new year is well under way, and automakers’ 2012 models are getting more and more attention on top 10 lists across the industry. As in recent years, fuel efficiency is a hot-button issue that can help sway a car shopper’s final decision. And as smaller vehicles have been doing for years, pickup trucks are now starting to reduce their environmental impact, and the rankings prove it.

The U.S. Department of Energy wasted no time comparing new pickup trucks in their 2012 Most and Least Efficient Vehicles list. Here are a few models to achieve the “most efficient” ranking:

• Toyota Tacoma 2WD. This small pickup boasts a 21 mpg city and 25 mpg highway rating, for a combined rating of 22 mpg. Based on 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving, the Department of Energy estimates that Tacoma drivers will get 418 miles on a tank, and it’ll cost them about $65 to fill the tank and $3.75 to drive 25 miles.
• Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid 2WD and 4WD. This Silverado’s hybrid technology helps haul it to impressive mileage estimates, considering the fact that it’s standard pickup size. Both the 2WD and 4WD get a combined 21 mpg rating. It’ll cost you about $75 to fill the tank, and you can expect an annual fuel cost of around $2,300.

shopautoweek.com also released a ranking of fuel-efficient 2012 pickups. In addition to the Tacoma and the Silverado Hybrid, editor Angie Fisher highlights a few more:

• Nissan Frontier. Competing with the Tacoma in the small pickup truck category is the Frontier, which will get you a combined EPA rating of 19 mpg (for the five-speed automatic).
• Ram 1500. shopautoweek.com puts this one on their list of fuel-efficient standard pickups for its combined 16 mpg rating. The truck, equipped with a 3.7-liter V6 engine, will cost owners about $3,216 annually in fuel.
• Toyota Tundra. Fisher reports that with a five-speed automatic transmission with select shift and a 4.0-liter, six-cylinder engine, the Tundra manages to get about 17 mpg combined. Drivers can expect roughly $2,861 in yearly fuel costs.

Whether you’re looking for a small or a standard pickup, hybrid or non-hybrid, there are many trucks that boast fuel-efficient features. If you’re considering buying a new pickup and have any questions about financing the purchase of a new truck, give us a call or stop by.

Get High-Tech While Working Out

CBS News explores the latest exercise gadgets

CBS News recently compiled a list of “10 high-tech fat burners for fitness geeks,” which includes everything from vibrating weights to stationary bikes with entertainment systems. These products make working out fun and challenging, offering a new twist for those tired of the same old routine. Here are some highlights from the list:

• TrekDesk Treadmill Desk: This isn’t your average treadmill accessory. The desk consists of a 72-inch by 34-inch surface, slots for phones, pens and coffee cups, and even a file tray. Treadmills are not included, but the desks easily fit around any standard-size machine. For about $500, you can get work done while shedding pounds – it’s the perfect gift for the ultimate multi-tasker.

• TurboSonic Whole Body Vibration: Attractive to those who dislike traditional exercise methods, the TurboSonic Whole Body Vibration collection features different styles of vibrating platforms that you stand on for a minimum of 10 minutes. The makers of these futuristic machines say the devices enhance users’ strength, endurance and flexibility while increasing blood circulation and activating the lymph system. If this sounds intriguing to you, and you have $7,500 to $16,000 to spend, check it out.

• ErgoBike Premium 8i: Daum Electronic, in Germany, promises to please with this combination stationary bike/entertainment system. The bike is outfitted with speakers, a microphone, camera and Internet connection. Users can race against each other and communicate over the headsets. You’ll be so distracted by all the bells and whistles on the ErgoBike, perhaps you won’t even realize that you’re exercising. 

• BodyVib Vibrating Dumbbells: Sold by British company Pro-Idee, these lightweight dumbbells vibrate at 36 cycles per second – more than 2,000 vibrations a minute. The result? Supposedly an increased training intensity up to 50 percent. The BodyVib Vibrating Dumbbells sell for about $1,100.

Other featured gadgets include a rope less, electronic jump rope and a wireless dance system. With so many advanced, user-friendly exercise devices on the market today, it’s getting harder and harder to think up excuses for skipping your daily workout. Fortunately, the right equipment can make exercising a relatively painless experience. Check out the other gadgets to make the list.

The Greatest Snow on Earth? A look at some of the world’s coldest places.

Winter is upon us and the thaw is still months off, yet many of us are already dreaming of warmer weather, lighter clothes and daylight hours that last beyond the workday. No matter how cold or blustery your winter has been, just remember it could always be worse. Comfort yourself by having a look at some of the world’s coldest locations, and your own winter experience might end up seeming downright balmy.

The seasons are swapped in the Southern Hemisphere, making January an ideal time to check out South America, but unless you like losing feeling in your fingers, you’ll want to avoid Argentina’s Patagonia region during the winter months of June, July and August. The continent’s coldest temperature was recorded at more than 20 degrees below zero in Sarmiento, a village tucked into a small fertile valley, and temperatures in the unpopulated areas of petrified forest likely drop even lower—and stay there for quite some time.

That doesn’t even come close to the coldest place in North America, however, at minus 87 degrees Fahrenheit. This claim to fame belongs to the northern reaches of Greenland where there are no stable populations and where only researchers and adventurers dare tread. A few nights in a snow cave here would make an uninsulated Minnesota barn seem an attractive alternative.

Then there’s Russia where the snowflakes are big enough to catch you and the temperatures are just ridiculously low. Oymyakon, a small village in Siberia, has the not-so-coveted honor of experiencing the lowest recorded land temperature in a regularly populated area, and in the Northern Hemisphere as a whole. In February of 1933, the temperature dropped to minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit; average temperatures for the winter months, which last more than half the year at this latitude, are regularly below minus 50 degrees F. Shoveling the driveway doesn’t seem so bad when you reflect that the task at least has a foreseeable end.

What makes Oymyakon truly amazing is that even as the record holder for the coldest regularly inhabited locale on Earth, it’s still only about three-quarters as cold as the coldest temperature ever recorded on land. Researchers at the Vostok Station in Antarctica recorded a temperature of minus 128.6 degrees F on July 21, 1983, and this record is still going strong almost 30 years later. There usually are some residents at this station through the winter, though without bringing in sufficient supplies, the area would be completely uninhabitable by humans.

You can still get colder within the confines of Earth’s atmosphere and gravitational pull, but you can’t keep your feet on the ground. If you head straight up for about 80 miles, you’ll come to the top of the mesosphere where temperatures stay at around minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit year-round and can dip as low as minus 140. The lack of oxygen up there creates other survival difficulties, but the cold alone is enough reason to discourage a trip to the upper atmosphere anytime soon. Instead, just be happy you’re relaxing in a country where the average winter temperatures are actually above zero – practically swimsuit weather!