The modern-day water bottle addiction begs the same question as the cell phone, the Internet, and Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt:  How did we ever live without?  Just try going a day without a portable water source and see how difficult it can be.  You may find yourself gagging on the metallic output of a water fountain or holding your nose to get past the chalky, mineral taste of municipal tap water.  It’s likely that, unless you’re blessed with your own well somewhere deep in the Smoky Mountains, bottled water is a common part of your existence.  Due to this perceived necessity, plastic is becoming human beings’ most enduring legacy, which isn’t necessarily what I want the karmic universe to remember me by. 

On www.911water.com, I found what has been my savior from plastic waste and my defense against the ick factor of Los Angeles tap water in the Clearbrook Personal Portable Water Filter Bottle.  It’s a 22 oz. Reusable water bottle with a built-in “ionic absorption micro filtration system”.  According to the website, this filter is capable of a 99% reduction in all 4 areas of contamination: unpleasant tastes and odors, chemicals, micro-biological, and heavy metals.  I have filled mine with “non-potable” campground water, Sierra Nevada river water, and daily with LA tap water, and each time I have squeezed that liquid through the filter, I’ve tasted nothing but purity.  The only drawbacks are that the bottle is made of a heavy duty plastic, the delivery window can take 2-3 weeks from the time of purchase, and they do not ship to CA or IA.  But, in the battle against plastic bottle waster, this product comes up a winner.  (Available at www.911water.com, $39.95, discounts for bulk purchases or 5 or more)

When I met Andy Keller at World Fest in 2006, he was attracting people to his booth by having them guess how many plastic shopping bags a person uses in one year. As a visual cue, he had piled that number of plastic bags in one huge mound in the middle of the walkway. The answer, it turned out, was somewhere between 300 and 700. As vague and inconclusive as that sounds, it was enough to lure me to his booth where I found one of the coolest, most convenient solutions to the plastic bag crisis. The Chico Bag, named for the city from which Andy hails and for it’s teeny-weeny size, goes from 3” X 4” to 18” X 18” in five seconds flat and re-stuffs into it’s integrated pouch just as fast. It’s made of very durable nylon and comes in eleven colors, ranging from earthy to flashy

Chico Bags fit where most canvas bags wouldn’t and they even have a clip so you can stick them on your keychain or wear them on your belt loop if you want that “green” look (‘cause I heard that’s the in thing now).  Right now, I have two in my glove compartment, two in my briefcase, one in my bedroom stuffed full of dirty clothes, and a bunch more hanging on a hook in my laundry room waiting to be given out as much-appreciated gifts. According to the Chico Bag website, the bags are manufactured in a Chinese factory that employs fair trade and fair labor standards. Lately, I’ve been seeing them pop up at the check-out stands of co-ops across the country. Here’s hoping the major chains catch on soon, too. And as a bonus, if you order four online, the fifth bag is free! (Available at www.chicobag.com, $5)

Batteries!! Though we don't like them, we are often in need of them. With all the great gadgets that make our lives better and actually healthier (seeing as how we can be outside more while still getting work done) it seems that we are using batteries more and more, even rechargeable ones. We are always looking for alternative renewable sources of energy, portable energy. To solve this omnipresent dilemma, a great design team out of Finland has developed a wearable solar energy cell called the Photon. As the picture shows, you can wear this cell while hiking out in the woods … far from civilization. All you need is the sun to charge the rechargeable battery set it comes with. Nice!

The design comes from Kari Sivonen, one of the partners of Helsinki-based design firm Valvom. It currently is not available but will be soon from clothing company, Clothing Plus. The Photon solar cell wearable technology is currently on display in Los Angeles through Sept. 6 at Architecture and Design Museum as part of the Sauma exhibit. Check it out if you can.

Ever get tired of changing light bulbs? Soon you may not ever have to. Aero-Tech Light Bulb Company out of Illinois has got an eco-friendly and home friendly light bulb that lasts a whopping 20,000 hours. That is nearly 2 1/2 years of continual use, or nearly 10 years of 8 hours of use a day. It's not exactly going off the grid but it's phenomenal. What's great is that this light bulb fits into standard light bulb sockets so you can use them anywhere in your home, office, garage, or wherever. They come in various wattages so you can adjust the illumination and not sacrifice the lighting you need. The Evolution bulb also only uses 75% of the energy of a normal incandescent bulb, according the company. The choice of colors is pretty much soft white and full-spectrum white. Basically, white. Check out Aero-Tech for details on where you can find this little bugger.