Tim Willard of The Future is Green stands apart from many other ‘green news’ blogs in one very good way: he is relentlessly positive. In just the last few days, he’s summarized and referred to articles about new processes to make cheaper ethanol, how the demand for organic food is now so great it’s outstripping supply, that California is about to build the largest solar power plant in the world, about breakthroughs in using the tides to generate powers, and the remarkable concept, touted by the city’s mayor, that Chicago should become the world’s greenest city.

Whenever we feel weighed down by the bad news from every quarter, this blog reminds us of the inevitable: the future MUST be green (or there may not be a future at all).

Photo credit: Mike Gustafson 

You’d think that a blog with as serious a name as Organic Researcher would be focused rounding up all the newest  facts, figures, advances and scientific data supporting an organic lifestyle.  And that’s exactly what this blog by Matt Reed of the UK is, covering everything from big food companies in small communities, the end of McDonalds in the UK (!), new info on organic milk, and insights on what to eat, what to read, and how to get involved. 

But Matt also has a sense of humor, and when he came across this on-line video The Meatrix, he said, “ts back, its brilliant, you’ve just got to love it,”  And you do…

Josh Dorfman is the founder and CEO of Vivavi, Inc., a megapopular green design shopping site…but he’s much more.  He also has a XM Satellite Radio show on green living and maintains a lively blog, The Lazy Environmentalist, that promos the radio show and provides a zillion links to eco-entrepreneurs, green companies, eco-thinkers and much, much more.  A great way to get and stay corrected in a multitude of media.

As we’re all trying to make intelligent decisions about major purchases in general, a hybrid car seems like an obviously mindful alternative…and I’ve heard repeatedly that there are TAX benefits as well as good value (and good values) to be gained. What I didn’t know until greenr told me is that the tax benefits are temporary. This well-built little site gives frequent updates on living simple and smart — news and solutions on everything from wind power to hybrids to peak oil to renewable energy sources and more.

Greenr is the one who told me that the IRS tax credits are still in effect — contrary to some recent reports— but that after t he 60,000th hybrid is sold by your model’s manufacturer, the credit value starts getting reduced rapidly. As an example, 41,779 Toyota/Lexus hybrids have already been sold, so time is running out (and the discounts aren’t small — they’re in the $2,000 - $3,000 range).s

Sometimes the title is enough to get you interested all by itself, and A Suburban Treehugger certailnly caught my attention.. And when that’s followed by a description like “A feminist writer and pantheist Pagan on the path to self-sufficiency and sustainable living”…you gotta read on. Turns out that Kate West of Puget Sound really is all of the above, and offers great advice for becoming an activist, biodiesel fuel, and a great spot for free trade coffee. And she does it all in a personal and even charming way.

Ideal Bite is a blog community with a clear mission: to create a sustainable economy, and have fun doing it. You can find smart, easy-to-absorb and actually useful posts on everything from ethical investing and genetically modified oranisms to the ethics of buying soda…and enthusiastic recommendations on things like Lavera Sun Screen, an all- natural sun screen with an SPF of 20 that actually WORKS.